The first party to come to mind when you think of "crashing" is probably a wedding. Well interestingly enough my Saturday evening experience in Santa Ana, El Salvador, was not so far off.
In El Salvador, and many other cultures as well, it is significant when a female becomes fifteen. It marks a time of growing and maturing. Therefore, the celebrations for a fifteenth birthday are a bit bigger. And the party I crashed seemed to be of a wealthy family-- so the party was BIG.
The way I got connected to this event was by a youth group in San Salvador that I have been hanging out with. Some people of the youth are friends with the birthday girl, so they were able to invite more of the youth to tag along for the fun.
And fun it was! The whole event reminded me much about a wedding. It started with a Catholic mass in a beautiful church filled with decorations. It could probably even be considered a cathedral. The birthday girl had a chair in the front of the sanctuary facing the priest. She wore a big blue, almost like a grad, dress. The front row was filled with family. The younger family members wore matching green dresses or suits with green ties. There was also a guy who seemed to be a date who wore a matching blue shirt. Then behind the family sat a group of friends that seemed very similar to a wedding party. ( I kind of want to call them the birthday party party, but that will probably get confusing). There were fifteen girls wearing light orange dresses and fifteen guys wearing matching light orange dress shirts. There was a wide range of ages in this group from people that seemed a few years younger to people who looked at least eight years older than her.
The service seemed like a typical mass. (my lack of Spanish leads me to make a few assumptions). There was communion, offering and a homily, but what was different was a symbolic shoe change. The birthday girl's shoes were changed to more glamorous ones to signify the transition of becoming an adult. Then the service concluded with her walking, in her new shoes, through a human arch way of her matching friends holding up their arms.
After the service, it was time for the reception. It was a beautiful facility with pools and a bar. Yes, it was definitely the first birthday party of a fifteen year old where I have seen an open bar. It was also the first time at a birthday party of a fifteen year old where I have seen a grown man drunk... I guess there is a first for everything.
Anyway the reception was incredible. It started with a dance routine from the birthday party party and the birthday girl with her date. I do not know if the birthday girl happened to be friends with internationally recognized dancers, or if she held auditions, or if they practiced for a year, but it was outstanding!
After the dance routine, there was a nice supper. When supper concluded, it was time for everyone to come dance. If being white, blonde, and blue eyed did not prove I was a foreigner, then my dancing definitely did. My knowledge of jive and swing simply did not cut it for for Latino styled dancing. Males are supposed to be leaders on the dance floor, but I am afraid that I had lack of leadership qualities in this circumstance. However, people were kind and patient to teach me some moves. I was then later rewarded when an Elvis song played and I could actually swing!
After a bit of dancing, there was a cake cutting ceremony by the birthday girl. This sounds quite similar to a wedding, except that she did not smudge the cake in anyone's face.
Then there was a another dance routine. This time it was only guys. And for someone who has been decently athletic for his life, I was completely mind blown by the athletic capabilities of these people.
The floor was then open to everyone again, and it continued to be fun. There is something about Central America that makes a Congo line/ train so much more special.
As the night continued, the dance floor became a bit less populated. People, including the birthday girl, began to head home. Then the athletic dancers began preforming stunts to jump into the pool.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. I am not sure if I will be successful in making big fifteenth parties in Canada a trend, but it may be worth a try.
It was a great experience because of how people went out of their way to include me. Many of the youth there knew very little English, and I know very little Spanish, but we would still find a way to communicate. Dancing does not involve a lot of talking. And again it is still funny a week later to talk about how a Canadian striker missed a wide open net against El Salvador.
So, even if glamorous fifteenth birthday parties do not begin to trend in Canada, I think making sure visitors feel included and welcomed is a trend that we should make a priority.
Thanks for reading.
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