Quinceñeras

I got to go to my neighbor Yadi's Quinceñera yesterday and it was just as good as I had hoped. In most of Latin America, 15 is the biggest birthday for a girl. When she turns 15, it's the birthday that ends her childhood and makes her an adult. Sort of like Sweet Sixteen in the States, but an even bigger deal. Needless to say, after watching several My Super Sweet Sixteen episodes with Quinceñeras I was pretty excited when I got my own fancy invitation that just said "Señorita Rebeca". Sandra, Yadi's mom, told me she was very sorry, but she still didn't really understand my last name.

I spent yesterday morning helping prepare food for the reception. We cut up a LOT of carrots. Instead of having the meal catered, the family hired someone to come direct the cooking and invited lots of friends and family to come over and help prepare everything. We made rice, rolled hamburger meat with jam and cheese inside, and a vegetable salad with cooked carrots, peas, and mayonaise-- which is definitely Guatemala's favorite condiment. No sandwich, salad, hotdog, etc. is complete without being completely covered in it.

At the actual ceremony, Yadi wore a very, very poufy dress and there was a cake with a fountain on top. There was a part of the ceremony where her aunt changed her shoes from ballet flats to some of the rediculously high heels that girls wear here all of the time- even when they're playing basketball or hiking up mountains. She was also presented with her ¨last doll¨ wearing a replica poufy gold dress.

After the ceremony, we ate dinner, cake, and sang ¨Happy Birthday¨in English with a distinctly Guatemalan accent. It was all a lot of fun and I'm really glad that I got to go.

I don't know whether it's made news in the States or not, but the other big thing going on here is the video that Rodrigo Rosenberg made three days before he was assasinated, accusing the president Alvaro Colom of being responsible. It's a pretty crazy story, and I can't help but think about how much it sounds like a Law and Order plot. Today there were big demonstrations in the capital both supporting the president and calling for his resignation. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. This week's trivia question: What is Guatemala's national instrument?