Ecua-weekend

So this past weekend was full of two events, one very ecuadorian and the other semi ecuadorian.  The first was the Fiesta de la Quinceaños of a cousin of Chino.  They don´t lie when they say that 15 is a big deal here.  The party was quite fancy and I have yet to figure out if everyone does 15 yr old birthday parties or just those who have money.  The party took place in one of the nicest hotels here in Ambato.  We arrived around 7:30 and at about 8 the birthday girl entered.  Before her entered 6 girls and then 6 guys.  She then entered with her boyfriend....kinda like a wedding to be honest.  She wore this huge, fancy, very girly, pink dress.  She entered, there were a few words said and then there was like a father, daughter dance.  During the dance each of the friends that entered had a candle and as she danced she blew out the candles one by one.  

The father sang a song and then each table was asked to come up and congratulate the parents and the daughter for turning 15....We were FINALLY served dinner at like 10 p.m. She went around and they gave out the table decorations to one person at the table.  Then there was desert and dancing till like 2 in the morning.

I was really at aw at the whole thing.  Back in the day they did these fiestas to present the daughters to the community as women ready to be married!!! To be honest I thought a lot of it was a little ridiculous but at the same time it was a nice time to have everyone together and celebrate this girls birthday.  It´s kinda like the importance of turning 16 in the states.  I just couldn´t believe at how much money was probably spent on a girl that was turning 15....Interesting though that the tradition from years and years ago is still present in the Ecuadorian culture.

So the day after, Sunday, (yesterday) was the 65th anniversary of the the grandparents of the girl that turned 15 the night before!!!  The couple is 96 and 99 and have 6 children, tons of grandchildren and several great grand children.  We traveled out of the city to the countryside where one of the son-in-laws has a house.  It was a beautiful but simple house, with lovely gardens (of flowers and fruits).  We ate and then sat around for over an hour, listening to jokes.   How these men think of and remember all these jokes I have no idea, but it was a fun time getting to know more of Chino´s family.  Then we walked around the grounds a bit to take photos. (I´ll try to post them later) and walked in the house because it was getting cold.  

After a bit the Karaokee started, oh how ecuadorians love their Karaokee, haha...then we were served "cafe and pan", which was really te/coffee, bread, cheese and cake, along with other nuts and stuff.  We sat at the table and conversed for awhile.  It was a really great time to be with extended family, reminded me of the family gatherings that I used to have back at the states.  Nothing too out of the ordinary, just a whole bunch of family together to celebrate the 65 years of marriage of the parents (grand parents, great grand parents).  It´s amazing to see how well the husband gets around at his old age of 99!!