Happy New Years!

Since my Spanish has come a long way this year I accepted an invitation to a New Years Eve party at my "sisters" house, just a small  family party she says.

I arrive at 7 with my Tio and Tia and a big bowl of hot tamales. Chairs are set up outside and food is brought out, ceviche, weiners,  a streaming bowl of peel and eat shrimp, tamales, there is a bottle of wine, beer and calmato juice. Stereo is set up outside and a laptop is hooked up to the stereo, music will be played via Utube through the stereo.
As we are setting up I see the neighbours setting up a big stereo as well, how will this work I wonder, they are hanging a white sheet to project music videos....this is something new here.

The kids and my Tio start the dancing again. As the kids dance the adults stand along the sideline and clap and encourage and critique, this is how they all grow up knowing how to dance and how they all grow up knowing the words to the old traditional Mexican songs, all music played is old Mexican music, no new modern crap, they are old songs being sung by the younger generation of musicians. (there is a story here for a different post)

The men like outdoing each other on the dance floor, at times there were only men dancing, this is different from in Canada, where women have to beg their men to dance with them. I get dance lessons from everyone.

Slowly one by one the kids fall asleep, one in the house on the couch, one on two chairs on the patio and another on a lap, the rest of us eat and dance. I am amazed at how the younger generation adores and shows affection towards the older generation, I saw 24 - 28 year old grandsons hug and kiss their grandma over and over throughout the evening, nephews showing affection towards their aunts all evening long, young grandchildren dancing with grandpa. A 22 year old granddaughter danced with her grandpa for about an hour without stopping once, she was dressed like a beauty queen and he wooed her like a proud peacock. I almost teared up thinking of how many moments like this I have missed in my daughter's life, our society separates the ages, resulting in the young people going their own way and us wondering what has happened  to our kids and our traditions. ..... and wondering why they don't know the words to "Summer of 69".
In Canada babysitters would have been hired to keep the children away, or there would have been separate activities planned for the kids.....in someone's basement perhaps.

At one point "brother" and I drive over to my neighbours and delivered a plate of food, he is sick with a stomach flu and can't come out.

Since our music comes from Utube there is always a pause between songs as the DJ (who is the person that just happens to walk by the laptop when a song ends) has to click on the next song, during this pause we dance to the neighbours music, this worked out very well. My Tio never stopped dancing once.

At around 11 pm the party got bigger, friends and neighbours stopped by, the party spilled onto the street. At midnight there is the usual hugging and wishing everyone a happy news years. We pack up the food on the patio and bring it into the house, I get a ride home on the back of my Tio's truck, I was in bed  by 12:20pm. The young people partied until 4 am I heard. This is the first new years that I have been awake past 9 pm in 15 years.....maybe even longer. 

I don"t like posting pictures of other people on here and certainly not other people's kids so I can't put any picture on so I will leave you with a few random shots.

Since you can't see his face........he has a piece of wood between his legs and is sawing with a skil saw towards himself, I shudder. 

Fishermen at sunset bringing in nets,, always excites the pelicans 

Sun set

One of those one armed pictures....of which I have many, it was windy, my hair was blowing straight up