Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Quinceañera

The Quinceañera



We attended a beautiful Quinceañera last night.
The young fifteen year Marcela was the honoree and pictured above in a pirate's hat. She is our "niece"... actually our son's, but we claim her! She is absolutely precious.
The theme for the Quinceañera was
"Pirates of the Carribean".
If you enlarge the collages you will see the great length they went to for this theme.
This quinceañera took place in Mexico, not far from Manzanillo.
Approximately 300 people attended.
The evening started off with Mass at the Catholic Church in the center of the town. The music was beautiful with wonderful singers and violins.
Our son and his wife were the "padrino and padrina" of the traditional event. They were considered the sponsors.
The flowers for the whole event were amazing. What caught my eye were the very large "vases" that held beautiful arrangements of flowers. In the vases which were filled with water were strands of battery operated lights actually in the water. I'm still wondering how they did that.
After Mass we made our way to the events center that was decorated in blues and whites and of course the pirate ship and tables decorated with shells and an ocean theme.
Tiny lights were in all of the trees and small bushes.
As we drove through town we drove next to Marcela's vehicle, the white SUV which was decorated with flowers. It was driven by her older brother. She rolled the windows down so we could see that our two grandchildren were with her
enjoying be "celebraties" for awhile. Bless her heart. She and my granddaughter are inseparable and she was not going to leave her out of this once in a lifetime event. Now you know why I adore this "niece"!
As you can see, the tables were decorated beautifully.
The menu for the evening was

Trufas de Chipotle, Cilantro y Nuez
Mousse de queso cabra/hierbas cebollin

Suprema de Pollo en Espinacas y Requesor
Banada en salsa de hongos

Pasta a las Hierbas

Ensalada Primavera Con Frutas

Pan Surtido

Pastel

To put it mildly, the meal was "magnifico"!
The appetizers were wonderful cheeses as well as a mousse that was so creamy and yet light it melted in your mouth immediately. Cannot say that I've ever tasted anything quite like it. Tender chicken breasts were served as the main course complete with luscious, creamy sauce.
A fruit and vegetable salad accompanied the meal along with pasta with a sauce that was used on the chicken as well.
A date stuffed with creamy chocolate and nuts was served in a tiny paper muffin holder.
The cake was served later... and alas, I did not get a picture of it. I believe it was a white chocolate with a light frosting, drizzled with fine lines of dark chocolate.
Heavenly!!
A live band that played many types of music just would not allow anyone to sit still long. My husband and I love to dance and we could barely wait until after the meal was served to start dancing... in fact we did not wait!
The dance floor filled quickly and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
The band had different dancing games which I always find fun and a little different from the U.S.



Our granddaughter and grandson were dressed for the occasion. It was the first time for a real tie for our grandson and he was quite taken with it. He was one of the few "men" who kept their ties on in the 80+ degree, ultra-humid weather.


I am just now realizing that I have included a photo of my son and his family twice in two of the collages. I suppose that just proves how proud I am of them!
There is also a picture of my husband and me along with our son's mother-in-law. I am wearing white.
Our son and his wife walked down the aisle after the honoree at the church since they were her "sponors".

Well, I am beginning to feel the wear and tear of last evening's fun and celebration.
It will be five years before there is another
quinceañera in this family... and then eight years before our granddaughter's. I've mentioned that to my son hinting that he needs to start saving now. His reply was that he was sure his daughter wouldn't be interested in having one.
Oh how little he knows....

This Monday I will be linking to
Little Red House

for Mosaic Monday
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Here is a picture of Marcela that I wish I had included
in one of the collages. Isn't she a beauty?

By the way: Mass was at 8 p.m., dinner was 10 p.m. and
we returned to our hotel at 2:30 a.m.
Long evening, but so much fun!!