Fiesta Grande

Fiesta Grande was the theme of the dinner for the Young At Heart group of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. The tables were decorated with paper flowers, striped pastel runners and a cactus. From the ceiling hung paper ristras de chile. The room was festive looking and the 180 persons in attendance were ready to party!

After burritos from Santiago's Mexican Restaurant without their famous  chile, we
were entertained by three students. The two girls looked beautiful in their Mariachi outfits of black and gold and their mother flitted around making things easier for the girls. She held out music for them to see, she helped sing, she positioned the microphone, and she looked proudly at her two girls. I have known the family for many years and love to see the mother's interaction with her girls. The young girls are just beginning to play for groups (we may have been the first) even though they have been playing (guitar and violin) and singing since they were around six years old. They were accompanied by a young man who played the guitaron (fat guitar). From what I could see, everyone seemed to enjoy the music and there were a few "gritos" from the crowd!

A surprise came when one of the Young At Heart members, dressed in a long Mexican dress, her hair braided (wig) and a silver sash got up and danced to Guadalajara. What a neat surprise to see her dance when we did not expect it!  Some of the members were dressed in some sort of Mexican garb and we lined up to have our picture taken.

Even though we were minus some men, because they opted to stay home and watch the Bronco game, those present would agree that it certainly was a Fiesta Grande!