This is a story that began in November, but ended just recently.
I spent some of November and most of December on the back of a motorcycle, or some equally unsafe mode of transportation, heading all over the Pacific side of the country with my fellow intern Heather looking for sesame producers to interview. On the Isla de Ometepe, a large volcanic island in the Lago de Nicaragua, I met a woman by the name of Nubia Ampara Chavaria Jimenez. She and her husband, Juan, produce organic sesame for a living. Although this year they had planted extra sesame to help pay for their daughter's 15th birthday party or Quinceañera. As it was only our second interview, and the first one had gone really badly, Nubia seemed especially nice. The couple took us to see their farm and explained all the crops that they grew. They even took us to see our first sesame plants at their sister's farm and listened with remarkable patience to our stupid questions in terrible Spanish as we 'oooed' and 'awwwed' over the crop. After that we chatted some more over freshly roasted corn with a great view of Volcan Concepcion. When we told them there was a photo contest for the best photo of an intern working (with a prize of $100USD) they began suggesting all kinds of strange poses which we reluctantly agreed to. One of them went like this,
NUBIA: Go over there and pretend to interview that cow!!
LAUREN: Okay... (Thinking: This cow is huge and holy crap could he hurt me if he wanted to)
Nubia
Heather knew she'd be leaving at the end of January, but I was interested in staying longer and thought about going to Elva's Quinceañera if I was in Nicaragua during February. I jokingly told her that if I won, I'd bring her half the prize money when her daughter turned 15.
Christmas came and went and I submitted some photos, completely forgetting about the cow one, and thought nothing more of the contest. As luck would have it, Heather submitted the photo of me and I got an email in January saying that I'd won. So, on February 21st I found myself on the ferry *** (see end for funny ferry story) heading towards the island for a party I knew nothing about and $50USD in my pocket.
The winning picture
So as I found out, the reason Nubia and her husband had to grow extra sesame to pay for the party is that this birthday party was nothing sort of a wedding themed pink. It started with a service in a church decorated by swathes of pink fabric and a ton of balloons. The birthday girl herself entered the hall preceeded by about 15 ladies in waiting with their boyfriends all wearing matching dresses and suits. What I found the most impressive was that the girls were not just wearing matching dresses but had matching gloves and fans and some serious salon hairstyles. Elva, the guest of honor, came in wearing a pink gown that looked like it came from a fairy tale with pink flowers in her hair as well as a pink shawl and bouquet. During the ceremony they pronounced her a woman and changed her flower crown for a sparkly tiara and her old shoes for new silver pumps while her parents watched wiping tears from their eyes. The silver pumps really got to me. They somehow were the perfect, most Nicaraguan thing, they could have given to her to symbolize her newfound adulthood. Probably because, even though they're heels, she'll wear them whether she's walking 3 km along a dirt road, or to go to the corner store for eggs. I love this country. I really do.
The dress and procession!!
After the church ceremony was finished, the procession left the church and walked around town while on lookers clapped. Eventually we ended up at their house where a DJ had set up (of course!) and their small front yard was crammed with more tables and chairs then I though humanly possible. The ensuing party was filled with endless amounts of food, machata dancing and choreographed dances, as well as plenty of toasts. There were no less than 5 cakes, all with multiples layers, connected by plastic bridges and figures of little people. I couldn't get over how much money they had to be spending on this party. These are farmers from humble backgrounds who bend over backwards to give their daughter the best party possible.
The famous cakes with Elva herself.
It was fantastic!! I had the best time. It was an even greater pleasure to give her the prize money and send a ton of pictures in an album for her. She called me this morning on my cell phone and we spent 5 minutes trying to figure out who is more grateful, me for being invited to one of the best most personal moments in her life, or her for having recieved pictures and money. The conversation ended in smiles.
Isn't that the prettiest story you have ever heard?
Nubia and I
1 comment:
That was awesome.
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