So last weekend I went to a crazy wedding in Amatlan, the second town that we had homestays in. After I had been there for like three hours the family asked what I was doing and said to come because it would be a lot of fun with “mucho baila, comida mexicana, musica and cerveza!” (dancing, Mexican food, music, beer). They said to bring a friend so I invited Betsy.
We set of on the bus for Tepotzlan, a town a little bigger near Amatlan earlyish in the morning. From Tepotzlan we got on a little bus called a “kombe” which is like a van mixed with a bus because it looks like a van and is the same size, but it has seats around the edges like a bus, handles and a sliding door that connects to a lever by the driver like a bus. It was about a fifteen minute ride.
I had called the family we were going to be staying with (which was also my host family) the night before, and I think I left a message, but I wasn’t exactly sure. It was a little awkward to just walk up and say “we’re here!,” but a lot less awkward than you would think because the “mi es su case” truly applies every place that I’ve been. They are very welcoming and everyone goes in and out of their friend’s and family’s homes with out announcement.
We had a little breakfast, of course, with the families all we do is eat! Then we went with our host mom back to Tepotzlan in a kombe again with bags filled up high with orange peel boxes, decorated with dried flower petals and with candles inside. We went to a few little stores or stands and she sold her boxes to the vendors who would then sell them to the tourists. In only about half an hour, she sold probably about 30 or 40 boxes, so it was neat to see her business in action.
After we returned back to Amatlan on the kombe we heard lots of music. They asked if we wanted to go see and we went out. First the band, which was made up of nine men playing all sorts of brass instruments and drums played behind the groom and his whole family walking to the church. We somehow ended up walking with them, which seemed fine though we felt a bit awkward at first. Then we did the same with the bride, who was dressed in a crisp white dress with a long train that two adorable little kids carried. Most of the men were wearing cowboy dress up attire (creased wrangler pants, button up shirts and crisp hats). Only a few other people were dressed up and then almost everyone else was just wearing day clothes.
We didn’t stay for the mass since it is a very tiny little church and we already felt like outsiders enough. I have never really felt tall, but many of the people of Amatlan are quite a bit shorter than me, and then that included with being a gringa and Betsy (who is quite a bit taller than me) sure did stand out!
Back at the party spot a lot of the women from town were working away making beans, meat, rice and of course fresh tortillas for the party. There were two cooking stations set up. They had probably been cooking since about 8 or 9. We got there around 12:30.
The groom’s house, where the party was at, is a very modest cinder block house with just two rooms and a non-flushing toilet out to the side, but it had sure been set up for a party! There were 6 or 7 tarps of different sizes and colors patch worked to form a large pavilion, lots of sort of tacky “nuestro boda” and “mi baptismo” (it was also a baptism) decorations which had pictures that looked like they had been cut out of wedding dress catalogs. Lots of pink and frills. There was also these beautiful garlands of flowers and pin wheels hand made out of paper that spun in the wind. There were a bunch of long tables set up all over. When anyone can bring guests you can imagine how hard it is to plan!
After a little while we heard the music again and the bride and groom came up, followed by everyone who was at the mass. Everyone sat down and ate the food that many of the women had been working for all day. They also brought in two ginormous 4-tier cakes, one for the wedding and one a little smaller for the baptism. Everyone was talking and drinking… lots of beer and tequila of course. I thought that was a stereotype that Mexicans drink a lot of Corona and tequila, but it is pretty true… lots of Victoria beer though, but that’s made by the same company as Corona and tastes pretty similar… just a little darker and heavier.
We met two little kids, Armarosa and Vincente, who Betsy had met during her homestay in Amatlan. They became our guides and entertainers for the afternoon, which was really nice because we felt a bit awkward and our host family was busy conversing and cooking. They were so cute, bringing us chairs, telling us what is appropriate to do at a certain time, getting us drinks and teaching us Spanish. Eventually it started raining and we were getting a little wet, so Vincente sent us under a little overhang and then dried off our chairs when it stopped. I taught him how to make a paper crane out of a paper napkin, which he seemed to really enjoy. After a while of paper cranes and some magic tricks, they said that there was going to be bull riding!
Vincente brought us chairs right in front of a fenced in circle that had one tiny corral on one side with a big gate and then a larger corral filled with bulls on the other side. They put one bull in the little pen and got him all ready to ride (putting a rope for the rider to hold on, covers on the horns and basically making him really mad). Well that was going on, a, interesting dance started up back under the tarps (which was about 20 feet from the bull pen). At first there was just a man dancing with a live turkey on his head, but then everyone else started joining in by picking up a piece of food, a drink or a beer (or case of beer in some cases). They all danced around in a circle in sync with the music (that was being played by the same nine-man band). Arma and Vincente dragged us in and gave us drinks to dance around with which was really fun though a bit strange because we weren’t sure why. We asked one of our teachers who lives there later and she said it is a giving of dowry to the wife and her family.
So then we were back to the bull riding. It was a little strange because someone would get on a bull, do the cowboy bull riding thing well it bucked it’s way across the pen (about 10 feet) and then the bull put its front legs down and but up in the air. Then the cowboy got up and they dragged the bull in the big pen and got a new bull to ride, which once again did the same thing which took about a minute and a half. There was only one I saw that went a little longer, running in a circle. That went on until they went through all the bulls. Betsy and I suspected that it was B.Y.O.B- Bring Your Own Bull.
We spent some more time just hanging out, the band was playing the whole time and a new band set up on a big stage that had speakers stacked all over like a huge concert. Once the next band started playing lots of people started salsa dancing. They moved a bunch of tables out of the way to make a big dirt dance floor. At first we just kind of watched. I really like dancing here, which is funny because I don’t at all at home. It’s really different dancing and I also don’t mind so much making a fool of myself because I just blame it on being American. I like it, but I must say that I am a TERRIBLE dancer. I think they laugh at us!
I danced with my host father once and then from then on I was dancing almost every dance! Betsy was too! We just kept being asked which actually got quite annoying. As the night went on people got drunker and drunker. We drank a tad, but not much at all. There were some older men that had to be hobbled out hanging on other people’s shoulders because they couldn’t walk. It was crazy. There was one guy who really creeped me out because he kept asking me to dance and wouldn’t take no or I need a break for an answer. When we were dancing I could barley hear but he kept testing my Spanish and at one point said, “Do you understand the word “amor”(love)? So now you know why I didn’t want to dance with him anymore. I sat down and Vincente said, “love at first site!” They all thought it was funny and supported be “no.” My host father finally came up and took me to dance while the other guy was asking, so that was a relief. After that I danced with my host brother for a while and then the guy came back and he said something to him and the guy left. It was nice feeling protected like that by people I wasn’t even really close yet. Everyone certainly watches out for each other in all situations.
We danced and danced and danced, which was fun… I was getting so tired but every time I tried to sit down for a little rest I would get pulled out of my chair for more dancing. At one point there was a big fight which was a tad bit scary because I saw one of the guys almost get strangled. It seemed to be between the bride’s family (her brothers) and some guys from Amatlan. It was a full out fist fight brawl. The band singer kept saying “Have respect. Please for the family, have respect.” Eventually they all got pulled apart by others around and it all calmed down. I think most of them left. The bride was from Santa Cruz and the groom from Amatlan so we were wondering if there was some rift between the two regions. We asked one of our professors and he said people from Santa Cruz have a reputation for using bad language and being more sexually loose, but he didn’t think anything beyond that.
Eventually Betsy and I couldn’t dance anymore, nor hear much because the music was so loud! We told out host family we were very tired and needed to go to bed. Then we waited around for a while because nothing moves very quick in Mexico, which is nice. Of course waiting meant more dancing… Eventually, after saying bye to everyone we finally walked back home more exhausted than I think I’ve ever been. That was at midnight! So we were at the party for just about 12 hours.
Our house wasn’t far from the party and we heard the music at a volume I would listen to it to dance to there! We also had the first band staying in the room next to us, so they were quite loud. But none of that mattered because we were fasssst asleep…
The next morning we had a little breakfast of hot milk and pan dulce (sweet bread), then they said we were going to “almorzar” which is the big breakfast meal- there’s four meals usually, a small desayuno early, a big almorzar at about 10, comida at 2 which is the biggest and then cena at around 8 or so. So right after a little desayuno we went back to where the party was to eat some more… leftovers! Betsy and I shared a plate which was already too much food.
We said our goodbyes before heading off to Tepotzlan for a little bit of shopping. One of our host brothers decided to come with us to show us around and hang out a bit (he’s the one who is going back to LA soon). It was really nice and we just walked around for a while before taking the bus back to Amatlan.
We set of on the bus for Tepotzlan, a town a little bigger near Amatlan earlyish in the morning. From Tepotzlan we got on a little bus called a “kombe” which is like a van mixed with a bus because it looks like a van and is the same size, but it has seats around the edges like a bus, handles and a sliding door that connects to a lever by the driver like a bus. It was about a fifteen minute ride.
I had called the family we were going to be staying with (which was also my host family) the night before, and I think I left a message, but I wasn’t exactly sure. It was a little awkward to just walk up and say “we’re here!,” but a lot less awkward than you would think because the “mi es su case” truly applies every place that I’ve been. They are very welcoming and everyone goes in and out of their friend’s and family’s homes with out announcement.
We had a little breakfast, of course, with the families all we do is eat! Then we went with our host mom back to Tepotzlan in a kombe again with bags filled up high with orange peel boxes, decorated with dried flower petals and with candles inside. We went to a few little stores or stands and she sold her boxes to the vendors who would then sell them to the tourists. In only about half an hour, she sold probably about 30 or 40 boxes, so it was neat to see her business in action.
After we returned back to Amatlan on the kombe we heard lots of music. They asked if we wanted to go see and we went out. First the band, which was made up of nine men playing all sorts of brass instruments and drums played behind the groom and his whole family walking to the church. We somehow ended up walking with them, which seemed fine though we felt a bit awkward at first. Then we did the same with the bride, who was dressed in a crisp white dress with a long train that two adorable little kids carried. Most of the men were wearing cowboy dress up attire (creased wrangler pants, button up shirts and crisp hats). Only a few other people were dressed up and then almost everyone else was just wearing day clothes.
We didn’t stay for the mass since it is a very tiny little church and we already felt like outsiders enough. I have never really felt tall, but many of the people of Amatlan are quite a bit shorter than me, and then that included with being a gringa and Betsy (who is quite a bit taller than me) sure did stand out!
Back at the party spot a lot of the women from town were working away making beans, meat, rice and of course fresh tortillas for the party. There were two cooking stations set up. They had probably been cooking since about 8 or 9. We got there around 12:30.
The groom’s house, where the party was at, is a very modest cinder block house with just two rooms and a non-flushing toilet out to the side, but it had sure been set up for a party! There were 6 or 7 tarps of different sizes and colors patch worked to form a large pavilion, lots of sort of tacky “nuestro boda” and “mi baptismo” (it was also a baptism) decorations which had pictures that looked like they had been cut out of wedding dress catalogs. Lots of pink and frills. There was also these beautiful garlands of flowers and pin wheels hand made out of paper that spun in the wind. There were a bunch of long tables set up all over. When anyone can bring guests you can imagine how hard it is to plan!
After a little while we heard the music again and the bride and groom came up, followed by everyone who was at the mass. Everyone sat down and ate the food that many of the women had been working for all day. They also brought in two ginormous 4-tier cakes, one for the wedding and one a little smaller for the baptism. Everyone was talking and drinking… lots of beer and tequila of course. I thought that was a stereotype that Mexicans drink a lot of Corona and tequila, but it is pretty true… lots of Victoria beer though, but that’s made by the same company as Corona and tastes pretty similar… just a little darker and heavier.
We met two little kids, Armarosa and Vincente, who Betsy had met during her homestay in Amatlan. They became our guides and entertainers for the afternoon, which was really nice because we felt a bit awkward and our host family was busy conversing and cooking. They were so cute, bringing us chairs, telling us what is appropriate to do at a certain time, getting us drinks and teaching us Spanish. Eventually it started raining and we were getting a little wet, so Vincente sent us under a little overhang and then dried off our chairs when it stopped. I taught him how to make a paper crane out of a paper napkin, which he seemed to really enjoy. After a while of paper cranes and some magic tricks, they said that there was going to be bull riding!
Vincente brought us chairs right in front of a fenced in circle that had one tiny corral on one side with a big gate and then a larger corral filled with bulls on the other side. They put one bull in the little pen and got him all ready to ride (putting a rope for the rider to hold on, covers on the horns and basically making him really mad). Well that was going on, a, interesting dance started up back under the tarps (which was about 20 feet from the bull pen). At first there was just a man dancing with a live turkey on his head, but then everyone else started joining in by picking up a piece of food, a drink or a beer (or case of beer in some cases). They all danced around in a circle in sync with the music (that was being played by the same nine-man band). Arma and Vincente dragged us in and gave us drinks to dance around with which was really fun though a bit strange because we weren’t sure why. We asked one of our teachers who lives there later and she said it is a giving of dowry to the wife and her family.
So then we were back to the bull riding. It was a little strange because someone would get on a bull, do the cowboy bull riding thing well it bucked it’s way across the pen (about 10 feet) and then the bull put its front legs down and but up in the air. Then the cowboy got up and they dragged the bull in the big pen and got a new bull to ride, which once again did the same thing which took about a minute and a half. There was only one I saw that went a little longer, running in a circle. That went on until they went through all the bulls. Betsy and I suspected that it was B.Y.O.B- Bring Your Own Bull.
We spent some more time just hanging out, the band was playing the whole time and a new band set up on a big stage that had speakers stacked all over like a huge concert. Once the next band started playing lots of people started salsa dancing. They moved a bunch of tables out of the way to make a big dirt dance floor. At first we just kind of watched. I really like dancing here, which is funny because I don’t at all at home. It’s really different dancing and I also don’t mind so much making a fool of myself because I just blame it on being American. I like it, but I must say that I am a TERRIBLE dancer. I think they laugh at us!
I danced with my host father once and then from then on I was dancing almost every dance! Betsy was too! We just kept being asked which actually got quite annoying. As the night went on people got drunker and drunker. We drank a tad, but not much at all. There were some older men that had to be hobbled out hanging on other people’s shoulders because they couldn’t walk. It was crazy. There was one guy who really creeped me out because he kept asking me to dance and wouldn’t take no or I need a break for an answer. When we were dancing I could barley hear but he kept testing my Spanish and at one point said, “Do you understand the word “amor”(love)? So now you know why I didn’t want to dance with him anymore. I sat down and Vincente said, “love at first site!” They all thought it was funny and supported be “no.” My host father finally came up and took me to dance while the other guy was asking, so that was a relief. After that I danced with my host brother for a while and then the guy came back and he said something to him and the guy left. It was nice feeling protected like that by people I wasn’t even really close yet. Everyone certainly watches out for each other in all situations.
We danced and danced and danced, which was fun… I was getting so tired but every time I tried to sit down for a little rest I would get pulled out of my chair for more dancing. At one point there was a big fight which was a tad bit scary because I saw one of the guys almost get strangled. It seemed to be between the bride’s family (her brothers) and some guys from Amatlan. It was a full out fist fight brawl. The band singer kept saying “Have respect. Please for the family, have respect.” Eventually they all got pulled apart by others around and it all calmed down. I think most of them left. The bride was from Santa Cruz and the groom from Amatlan so we were wondering if there was some rift between the two regions. We asked one of our professors and he said people from Santa Cruz have a reputation for using bad language and being more sexually loose, but he didn’t think anything beyond that.
Eventually Betsy and I couldn’t dance anymore, nor hear much because the music was so loud! We told out host family we were very tired and needed to go to bed. Then we waited around for a while because nothing moves very quick in Mexico, which is nice. Of course waiting meant more dancing… Eventually, after saying bye to everyone we finally walked back home more exhausted than I think I’ve ever been. That was at midnight! So we were at the party for just about 12 hours.
Our house wasn’t far from the party and we heard the music at a volume I would listen to it to dance to there! We also had the first band staying in the room next to us, so they were quite loud. But none of that mattered because we were fasssst asleep…
The next morning we had a little breakfast of hot milk and pan dulce (sweet bread), then they said we were going to “almorzar” which is the big breakfast meal- there’s four meals usually, a small desayuno early, a big almorzar at about 10, comida at 2 which is the biggest and then cena at around 8 or so. So right after a little desayuno we went back to where the party was to eat some more… leftovers! Betsy and I shared a plate which was already too much food.
We said our goodbyes before heading off to Tepotzlan for a little bit of shopping. One of our host brothers decided to come with us to show us around and hang out a bit (he’s the one who is going back to LA soon). It was really nice and we just walked around for a while before taking the bus back to Amatlan.
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