SpanglishBaby™ » Category: Traditions + Culture

My Easter Confession + More Cascarones Love

Ana Flores — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:04:28 +0000

I have to admit the traditional American Easter celebration with bunnies, egg hunts and such still feels new to me. As much as I grew up with both the U.S. and Salvadoran traditions, in El Salvador Easter week was Semana Santa; and that meant a week of beach and religious celebrations.

This is honestly the first year we’ve gone all out with a visit from the Easter bunny, an egg hunt and, claro, learning how to make cascarones (confetti Easter eggs)! My girl is so privy now of the celebration because of all the input from preschool and she came home last week asking why the Bunny had never visited her house. So this year, it visited.

She also had a blast dyeing eggs, filling them with confetti and smashing them over our heads. I truly love making cascarones because at least I feel the eggs serve some type of purpose. I really have no idea what you’re supposed to do with a batch of hard-boiled, beautifully colored eggs once their use is over? Please enlighten me!

In any case, we’ve had a blast adopting this “new” tradition for our bicultural family and my girl can expect many more years of Easter bunny visits, baskets with chocolate and fun cascarones action.

Speaking of cascarones, last year Roxana wrote a post about her first time making cascaroneswith her kids and taught us how to do them. Well, that post was found by an Associated Press reporter, she interviewed Roxana and wrote a story titled “Cascarones: Latin American tradition of confetti-filled eggs expands in US” which ended up in publications such as the Washington Post and the Houston Chronicle! Now, how’s that for keeping our traditions alive?

Check out more beautiful cascarones by fellow Latina mom bloggers:

Two Good Eggs: Confetti Easter Eggs|Cascarones para Pascua {How to}

Muy Bueno Cookbook: How To Make Cascarones

Mamá Latina Tips: How To Make Cascarones: Confetti-Filled Eggs

Growing up Blackxican (on SpanglishBaby): Amiguitos Conejitos: Cascarones With a Modern Twist

Share: What is your favorite Easter/Pascua tradition?

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Posadas in Mexico: The Largest Nativity Scene in the World

Ana Flores — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:01:12 +0000

The tradition of posadas have begun and Mexico honors this celebration a lo grande. So big, that they’ve even broke two World Guinness records this year for having the biggest nativity scene, as well as the most amount of figures in one scene.

This massive nativity scene, which is a recreation of what the city of Belén must have looked like two centuries ago, has been set up on the parking lot of the famous Estadio Azteca of Mexico City. The size of the whole scene covers the extent of four football fields!

The idea behind such a massive endeavor is to bring back the essence of what the holiday of Christmas is originally about–the birth of Jesus as told by the Bible. Living in the United States, it´s easy to forget that this holiday has a strong, religious base behind it. Many in Mexico want to make sure that this essence is not forgotten and have created this record-breaking nativity scene–with a two million dollar investment to make it possible–with 57 scenes which recount the passage of Mary and Joseph upon their entrance to Bethlehem.

A sort of biblical playground for children, the life-size figures, such as the three wise men, an angel, camels, burros and more, the kids can interact with were made by Mexican artisans, and some even have movement.

I´ve spent many Christmas holidays in México and always loved how rich in tradition these celebrations were. The food, the drinks, the piñatas, the posadas everywhere, the villancicos in the air. This Nativity scene is just one more mark of pride for the Mexico which loves its traditions so much it has to be the largest in the world.

To get a glimpse of the largest nativity scene in the world (at least for this year!) take a look at this video below (in Spanish):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9RbknZsNBY

The nativity will remain open until January 15th. If you happen to be in Mexico City and visit this, please share a picture with us on our Facebook wall!

This post is part of the Mexico Today Posadas blog hop. If you have any articles about posadas and holiday celebrations in Mexico, please link it here so we can give it the love!

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my work in creating and managing content as a Community Manager for the México Today Program. All stories, opinions and passion for all things México shared here and everywhere are completely my own.

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Santa Claus: Does It Matter What Color He Is or What Language He Speaks?

Ana Flores — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:54:41 +0000

I have to admit the first time I saw a brown Santa Claus I was taken aback. He didn’t seem right. He didn’t fit into the mold of the Coca-Cola envisioned Santa Claus we’ve all grown up with.

This was years ago, and I had honestly not given Santa’s skin color any more thought until a couple of weeks ago when a friend asked a group of us (almost all Latinas) if we cared if the jolly man was brown or white or if he spoke English or Spanish.

I realized then I was still bothered by the image of a brown or Latino Santa Claus. I mean, why do we feel the need to change a legendary figure into something else just to fit our own mold? Why do we even have a mold? Aren´t we the ones always fighting to come out of that mold that defines all Latinos under one color, nationality or even music style?

If we want a man from the North Pole– who’s real origins trace back to a Christian saint from Europe, Bishop Nicholas–to be brown, then we have a lot of explaining to do to our niños, right? Santa Claus is who he is. He is white, with a huge white beard, a perfectly round belly and a red fur outfit. If we change any of that, then we change the game some of us have accepted to play along with during this season.

I don´t need my daughter to have to identify with Santa Claus as a Latino for her to feel connected. Just seems ridiculous and closed-minded to me since I´m teaching her to embrace all colors, all languages, all religions and all traditions.

The issue of language is different, though. As the legend goes, Santa is supposed to know all the languages in the world since his job is to go around the globe spreading Christmas joy and gifts. So if my bilingual daughter is to sit on Santa´s lap and at that moment decides to speak to him in Spanish, then he´ll just have to be able to respond to her.

I hadn´t really thought about this little detail when I stood in line with her for almost an hour to finally-after four years!-get her picture with the Claus (yes, the one at the beginning of this post.) This Santa clearly only spoke English, so what would happen if she told him que se había portado muy bien y quería un vestido y la corona de Rapunzel para Navidad?

Fortunately, not a single word came out of my stunned, yet brave, four-year-old as she sat on Santa´s lap and coyly posed for their first picture together.

Now I´m sure that next year I will be doing my Santa Claus research to try and locate a Spanish-speaking one around town so my girl can have yet another immersive experience to reinforce her need and want to speak her heritage language.

But, please, no need to make him brown! If I want a Christmas character to identify with, I have el Niño Jesús and los Tres Reyes Magos to bring us plenty of cultural and authentic traditional cheer.

Share: Does it matter to you, or your kids, Santa´s color and/or language?

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Villancicos: A Christmas Tradition

Ana Flores — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 07:29:54 +0000

photo by: Manel

The Christmas season/la Navidad is finally here! The air is quickly filling up with the holiday cheer that our familia and all that great food brings. Along with all of the great traditions that come with the holidays, we cannot forget about music! So let´s get ready to practice our villancicos.

Villancicos? Some of you might know exactly what I’m talking about, and for the rest, you might be more familiar with them than the name leads you to believe. They are Spanish Christmas carols!

Villancicos were common poetic and musical forms during the 15th to 18th century in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. Yup, villancicos have a very long history that will surely get longer as we pass them down to our niños. We have prepared five posts for you with some of the most popular villancicos throughout Spain and Latin America.

You can check out five of the most well-known villancicos (many suggested by you on our Facebook page!) along with videos and printable lyrics by clicking on the links below:

What is your favorite villancico?

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Celebrate a Traditional Mexican Holiday: Día de los Muertos

Ana Flores — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:03:45 +0000

Photo by Andy Castro

In our bicultural home we have a fondness for Día de los Muertos {Day of the Dead}, which is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, and is a traditional Mexican holiday dedicated to the memory of the loved ones we’ve lost. The idea is that we celebrate and remember them with joy, cheerfulness and colors.

This tradition is so full of history and symbolism that it’s one I’m hanging on to tightly to instill some meaning into these over-hyped holidays.

Altars are made in honor of family and friends that have passed away and are decorated with their pictures, personal objects or mementos and candles. Their favorite food and drinks are also placed on the altar, along with a trail of marigold flowers to create a path so their soul can find its way back and join the celebration for the day. The idea is that by placing these artifacts, flowers and foods the person will be remembered and celebrated for who they were in life and this will encourage them to pay a visit. The concept might sound spooky, but it really is celebrated with so much positiveness towards the inevitability of death, and in such a festive environment, that the feeling of being scared will rarely creep upon you.

So much so, that even cemeteries and burial places take on a carnival-like atmosphere. Aside from creating private altars in their homes, people also head out to cemeteries to visit their beloved and tend to their resting place. The burial grounds are cleaned, decorated and adorned with ofrendas (offerings) such as pan de muerto, strings of flor de cempazuchitl (marigold), sugar skulls and toys. In many parts of Mexico it’s also a custom that the families camp out all night in cemeteries to accompany the dead during their “visit.”

Day of the Dead is a holiday infused with so much tradition and history that Mexico as a whole embraces it. You can see some very elaborate, to the point of being works of art, altars in public schools, government offices and most public spaces. In fact, it’s one of the few ancient indigenous celebrations to remain after the Spanish conquest.

The most important icons associated with Día de los Muertos are the calaca, the Catrina, las calaveras and the pan de muerto. These are all basically representations of death in a playful way. The message is that passing away is just one more inevitable stage in life that should be met with joy because it just is what it is. Talk about chilling out!

I’ll tell you a bit more about each so you can incorporate these in your own Día de los Muertos celebration. It’s all about making it work for you.

Photo by JL.V

CALAVERAS

The name simply means “skull.” However, in Day of the Dead terms it takes on several meanings.

1. A sugar or chocolate skull which is fancifully decorated in many colors and which is typically personalized with the name of the person it will be given to as a treat. This is a very fun tradition to start with your kids. You can buy simple calaveras via Amazon and have fun decorating them with different color frostings. These can be handed out as Día de los Muertos gifts to friends.

2. A satirical and humorous short poem written to criticize a social situation or person, usually aimed at politicians and celebrities. You can imagine the fun cartoonists and print news outlets have with these ones! Schools also bring out kids’ literary creativity during this season by having them make up their own calaveras literarias and even holding contests for the best ones.

Here’s a great example of one written for the great Colombian novelist Gabriel García Marquez. (Sorry…it’s in Spanish and the translation wouldn’t make sense):

Al escritor García Márquez

Quiso esconderse en Macondo,
La muerte fue tras él.
Ella se puso sus moños
y lo tiró a un hoyo hondo
¿ De qué se murió Gabriel ?
De amor y otros demonios.

3. Artistic representations of skulls abound during this holiday. These are also called calaveras. We can thank artist José Guadalupe Posada for popularizing them and for dreaming up La Calavera de La Catrina as a satire to the upper classes. Little did he know it would become his most famous lithograph and one of the most obvious graphic representations of Día de los Muertos and Mexican culture at large.

Photo by sillysocks

PAN DE MUERTOS

It literally translates into “Bread of the Dead” and is what I look forward to the most. It’s basically a soft and sweet, round-shaped bread that’s baked to place as an ofrenda on the altars and to be shared by families and friends with hot chocolate or coffee. Traditionally, the top of the bread is decorated with pieces of dough thinly rolled out to resemble bones. Take a look around your local Latin market or bakery to see if they’ve baked some this week. If not, and you’re feeling adventurous, try out this recipe I found here.

Photo by Sarah B in SD

CALACAS

These are basically skeletons having a blast in their afterlife! Calacas are used as decoration and also to spoof on popular celebrities and politicians by creating calacas in their image. The tradition is to dress them up in colorful clothes and have them appear to be dancing, playing a musical instrument, eating and just plain having fun. A great example is this video called Viva Calaca of animated skeletons dancing to a high-energy song. Warning: your kids will want to dance like a calaca!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek3p8F-es7c

Octavio Paz, Mexican poet and essayist honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature, perfectly defines in his book El Laberinto de la Soledad the special relationship Mexicans have with death:

“Para el habitante de New York, París o Londres, la muerte es la palabra que jamás se pronuncia porque quema los labios. El mexicano en cambio, la frecuenta, la burla, la acaricia, duerme con ella, la festeja, es uno de sus juguetes favoritos y su amor más permanente”.

Translation: “For a resident of New York, Paris or London death is a word that is never uttered because it burns the lips. A Mexican, on the other hand, frequents it, defies it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it, it’s one of his favorite toys and his most permanent love.”

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Celebrating Day of the Dead in Oaxaca

Guest — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:23:24 +0000

I grew up in Canada and I always enjoyed celebrating Halloween. I have fond memories of dressing up in costumes, carving pumpkins, and trick-or-treating. When I chose Mexico as my country over a decade ago, my associations with this time of year underwent a radical shift. I fell in love with Day of the Dead, and it’s a tradition I’ve embraced wholeheartedly, and I enjoy sharing it with my children very much.

Halloween is a fun holiday, but Day of the Dead celebrations have a much deeper significance. Dia de los Muertos is about celebrating connections with family and friends, and it honors those who have passed on before us in a very special way. Add to that fun activities, delicious foods and time spent visiting with family and you have all you could ever want in a holiday. My two children were born and have lived in Oaxaca their whole lives. For them, Day of the Dead is an integral part of our yearly calendar of celebrations, just as important as Christmas or Easter.

In Oaxaca, children are involved in all aspects of Day of the Dead, from putting together the home altar to cleaning and decorating the graves of family members and keeping vigil in the cemetery. Those are somewhat solemn aspects of Day of the Dead, but there are also playful aspects of this holiday. In schools in Oaxaca there are friendly competitions for the best altar and also costume contests, as well as comparsas, carnival-like processions of people in costume.

My children participate in our family observances of Day of the Dead by accompanying me to the market to purchase the items we will place on our altar. We assemble our altar together as a family, and while we do so we talk about the loved ones to whom our altar is dedicated. We remember them as we place the things that they enjoyed in life on the altar for them. We go to my father-in-law’s grave and decorate it also, and we often visit other cemeteries, because they’re decorated so beautifully at this time of year.

I’ve found that the task of explaining death to my children is easier in light of Day of the Dead. I think it’s extremely valuable to teach children about death before they have to deal with it personally, so that they have a concept of death and what it means before it touches their lives. Day of the Dead offers a socially prescribed way to deal with loss, not just when it happens, but every year at a specific time.

My father-in-law passed away when my daughter was four, and that year she went through a period of a lot of questioning about death. Framing our discussions of death within a context of Day of the Dead made it a lot easier to explain. In the years following his death, Dia de los Muertos became a special time in which we could remember him, bring out photos, and talk about our memories of him.

The scent of marigolds mingled with copal incense, the taste of pan de muerto dunked in hot chocolate, and the sight of cemeteries festooned with flowers and lit up with candles, are some of the memories I hope my children will carry with them. Celebrating Day of the Dead adds depth and meaning to our lives; it offers us a moment to remember those who are no longer with us and reminds us to enjoy our time together because we’re aware it won’t be forever.

Learn more about Day of the Dead in Oaxaca.

Have you downloaded your printable Calaverita yet? Go here to download and to find out how you can win $100 by sharing your kid’s Calavera personalized art! Follow all our Day of the Dead art, crafts, recipes and more here!

Suzanne Barbezat grew up in Montreal, Canada, but made her home in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she lives with her Mexican husband and their two children. She shares her love of Mexico on About.com’s Mexico Travel site (gomexico.about.com), and she is a Mexico Today contributor.

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Day Of the Dead Party E-book {Giveaway}

SpanglishBaby — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 07:12:10 +0000

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is almost here, so it’s time to get ready for this festive tradition. For us the fun doesn’t end with Halloween, we have two more days of a Spanish enriching celebration to enjoy. If you´re looking to plan a party your kids will remember for years to come , Happythought’s new “Celebrate Day Of The Dead” e-book is full of fun Dia De Los Muertos fiesta planning materials. There are over 90 pages of party planning fun including recipes and craft tutorials!

Day of the Dead is a time for familia. Involving our niños in a Día de los Muertos party preparation is a great way to share and pass on our traditions. Happythought’s new e-book includes 14 beautiful and easy to make printable invitations, decorations, games, and party favors. With so many options the fun will surely begin hours before the actual party.

“Celebrate Day Of The Dead” also includes simple recipes, fun party tips, and craft tutorials. So when you’re ready to start preparing for your fiesta all you have to do is print, cut out, and have lots of fun!

If you want more info on this party planning kit click here.

The Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winners: Monica, Marisol, Karina, MJ, Lindsey, Anna, and Laura !

We are giving away one copy of the “Celebrate Day Of The Dead” e-book to seven lucky winners!

To enter, all you have to do is check out the e-book here and leave us a comment telling us what is your favorite Day of the Dead tradition and how you can celebrate it with one of the activities in the party planning kit.

That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway. If you want to up your chances at winning, then this is how you can get additional entries (only after you’ve completed the step above):

**Please leave a separate comment for each so we can count them and avoid mistakes.

1. Subscribe to receive blog updates and subscriber-only content via email and leave us an extra comment letting us know you did so or that you’re already a subscriber. Make sure to leave the comment using the same email you subscribed with.

2. Follow us on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway including a link to the post and @SpanglishBaby. Copy the link to the tweet in an additional comment on the giveaway’s post.

3. Like SpanglishBaby on Facebook and join a thriving community of parents.

This giveaway ends Tuesday, October 25 at 11:59 p.m. EST and is open to everyone over 18 years of age. Check out the Giveaway Rules.

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Bicultural Birthdays Celebration | Puerto Rico

Guest — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:33:33 +0000

{Photo by Tela Cche}

Editor’s Note: This whole week is dedicated to the topic of Bicultural Birthday Celebration. Make sure you’re subscribed to receive our posts because we have an awesome round up of guest posts and fabulous giveaways.

I remember one of the first birthday parties I attended after I moved to Florida from Puerto Rico. I was taken aback by how laid back it was. I was so used to the celebrations we had in Puerto Rico that it took me some time to get used to the differences.

One thing I remember most about birthday parties growing up is how festive they were. There was music, food, games, and lots of people. Always. Parties were full of friends and family, with plenty of adults present. They normally lasted quite a few hours and were mostly held at our home.

Now, as a mother myself, I tend to host similar birthday parties for our baby girl and still see differences from the parties we attend for her school friends. We’ve never hosted a birthday party for her that wasn’t held at either our home or abuela’s. On the other hand, every single birthday party we’ve attended for her friends has been at a Chuck E Cheese’s or a similar venue.

For food, we serve full meals: chicken or pork with arroz con gandules (or another variety of yellow rice). Additionally, music is always playing in the background at our parties and it’s not uncommon for the adults to get up and start dancing. These two things are also quite different at the parties we attend, since normally the food served is pizza or sandwiches, and music is not commonly a part of the party, unless there’s a game of musical chairs.

In Puerto Rico, when it was time to sing to the birthday girl/boy, we normally would sing Happy Birthday in Spanish, with our version being:

Cumpleaños feliz, te deseamos a ti, cumpleaños a {insert name}, cumpleaños feliz!

Immediately after that song, we’d sing:

¡Feliz, feliz en tu día! ¡Amiguita(o) qué Dios te bendiga! ¡Qué reine la paz en tu día…y qué cumplas muchos más!

And then sometimes, just for fun, we’d add: “Te estás poniendo vieja(o)…con cara de coneja(o)!”

Though now we sing Happy Birthday in English, we do still sing the second song in Spanish. It’s just another layer of keeping birthday traditions from Puerto Rico alive for our children, even though we don’t live en la Isla del Encanto.

I enjoy our birthday parties and though they take a lot of work, I always look forward to them. I love that we are able to celebrate alongside so many friends and extended family and that my baby girl has so much fun. As a plus, I’m able to keep a piece of my childhood alive and pass down a bit of Puerto Rico to my children.

Melanie Edwards is the founder and editor of ModernMami™.com, a lifestyle blog from the perspective of a Latina working mother, and owner of Ella Media. Married 8 years, she is the proud mother of an energized 5-year-old girl and newborn boy, and is raising them in a bilingual, multicultural environment. Originally from Puerto Rico, Melanie now resides in Orlando, Florida. Connect with Melanie on Twitter, Facebook, and 40weeks Plus.

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Bicultural Birthdays Celebration | Spain

Guest — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 16:41:53 +0000

{Paella Cookout}

Growing up in New York during the late 70s and 80s (shhh… don’t tell anyone), birthday parties in the United States were low key as compared to today. They consisted of sandwiches or pizza, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, cake and a big old “adios” as you handed your friends their “bootie bag” on the way out your door. Oh, yeah. Parties were held at home – en casita. If you were lucky you might have it at McDonald’s or the back room of your local diner. That’s if you were lucky. In my case I didn’t celebrate many birthdays in N.Y. In fact, in the time leading up to my 25th birthday, I probably celebrated no more than 6 birthdays in the States. That’s because I was born in the summer and every summer, without fail, we packed our bags and headed to the country. The country of Spain.

In the 1960s the Spanish government promoted a tourism campaign with the motto “Spain is different.” “España es diferente.” It’s true. Spain was (and still is) different in many ways, with birthday celebrations being no exception. My most vivid birthday memory is my favorite birthday custom of all – “los tirones de oreja” or “the ear tugs”. Growing up in the U.S. back in the day, on your birthday, your friends would give you a punch in the arm for each year of your life, plus one for good luck. Not so in Spain. There, your friends and family would pull your earlobe, one tug for each year of your life, plus one for good luck. Naturally, the older you got, the more “energy” your buddies put into pulling your ear. If you were a boy, you were doomed. That is to say, starting in middle school and ending somewhere in your late teens it was in your best interest to avoid your more “gamberro” (troublemaker) friends because by day’s end your ears would be aching. Naturally, your mamá and papá would take it easy on you, with only a slightly harder tug for “el de la suerte“.

Another “costumbre” is the one of whose responsibility it is to “invitar” or, plainly put, pay. When you are a child, naturally, you are treated on your birthday. However, as soon as you were old enough to carry some (then) pesetas or (now) euros in your pocket, it was your responsibility to pay. So, if you went out with your “pandilla” (group of friends) to the local “terraza” (outdoor café/bar) on your birthday, it was your responsibility to treat everyone to something. That something could run the gamut from Coca Colas, to a “ración” (small portion) of “pinchos” (appetizers on a toothpick) to “cañas” (glasses of beer).

Birthday parties were low key growing up as well. Generally they consisted more of having your amigos over during “la merienda” – snack time. This meant treating them to “pasteles” (Spaniards refer to pastries as pasteles, not to be confused with some Caribbean or South American countries’ versions of the word), “bollos” (sweet breadlike treats) or maybe “chocolate con churros”. I always wanted to teach my Spanish friends about what we did in the States so I would ask my parents to order a cake. The funny thing about the cakes there were the flavors. For example, whereas here strawberry shortcake is pretty run of the mill, in Spain “yema” (egg yolk) was the standard. I was not a big fan of it then. Now… I love it.

Naturally, the older you got, the more creative you got on your birthday. By the time I was 14, la pandilla and I would spend the morning shopping either in the “ultramarinos” (markets) or our parent’s fridges for pan, arroz, pollo, cebolla, ajo, tomate, azafrán, chorizo, morcilla, Fanta and fruta. Then in the afternoon we would beg our parents to borrow a “paellera” (typical paella pan), a sarten (frying pan), cuchillos y tenedores (forks and knives), cucharas de palo (wooden spoons) y cerillas (matches) and we would head out to “el campo”, build a fire and cook our meal. (I still remember the birthday I ate so much morcilla (blood sausage) I spent the evening throwing up… good times, good times. My mother got so angry…) We had cookouts in the countryside because we were in the Sierra de Guadarrama outside Madrid. Our friends from Galicia – to the north – would tell us about seafood cookouts and ancient pagan “queimadas” on the beach. The ones from the Andalucía – to the south – would talk about parties with “sevillanas” (typical folk dances). Music is essential at all times no matter what part of Spain you are in.

Now as the world gets smaller, the differences in birthday celebrations are lessening. “El mundo es un pañuelo” as the expression goes. The world is a handkerchief. It’s true. But still most of these customs remain, and typical birthday foods – as with any holiday – generally revolve around “lo que da la tierra” or what is produced locally. These Spanish traditions are so ingrained in me that my Greek American hubby and I pull our daughters’ ears on their birthdays. Sadly, neither Carvel nor the local corner bakeries offer yema birthday cakes in our area. But even though we throw elaborately themed birthday parties for our girls as is customary in NY today, you can bet there is always at least one “chorizito” lurking in a corner somewhere.

As for my birthday this summer, I’ll be cooking a paella in the Outerbanks.

Maria Amelia was raised in a Spanish speaking home in a neighborhood with only a handful of other Latino and Spanish families. Despite being looked down upon for speaking Spanish at times throughout her childhood, her parents always told her to be proud of her family, her culture and her heritage. She shares her pride and her love in her blog Mommylogue.

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.

Bicultural Birthdays Celebration | Mexico

Amy Conroy — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:01:27 +0000

I asked my 7 year old if he thought birthday parties were different in Mexico than in the U.S. He said, “Totally”. Sweet, I thought, some food for fodder…

How?

“Spanish”.

Thanks for the insight, love. I will argue, however, that is the cool thing with kids – they take it as it comes, and assimilate instantly. The clowns, the piñatas and cascarones, mordita (for sure) are as much a part of their repertoire now as the traditional ‘cake and ice cream’ in America.

Anyway, a gorgeous birthday party is why we’ve now spent so much time in Mexico: thank you to Olivier for turning 4 years ago. At his party, we were welcomed as complete strangers and introduced to friends. We shared a slice of life that day touched with sweetness and frivolity, but underscored in tradition, that made us hunger for more. Seriously, was this how other people lived?

But let’s start with the basics: In the States, kids are often invited a month in advance for a birthday party from 2-5 pm. Lovely. In my experience in Mexico, you could be invited the day before for a party at “4”, which EVERYONE advises you not to arrive until 5 at the earliest, a la Mexi-time. An intentional late arrival makes me squeamish as I wouldn’t want to offend the host, but as others point out – the host might not even be there if you arrive at the exact time (and then where are you?!), and anyway, what’s the rush? The party will go on for hours… no host in Mexico would ever impose an ending time – THAT would truly be rude.

I have never been invited to a dull party here – children’s birthdays are celebrated with abandon and a full cache of families and friends. They are generally a rich blending of activities, not unlike those we entertain in Los Angeles, delicious food, and traditions.

My favorite custom of singing the “Dale, Dale” song has given way to “mordida”. But the “Dale, Dale” song is a fun way for everyone to participate while one child beats a piñata to a pulp. I say it that way because I’ve often witnessed sweet little girls in princess attire (or for that matter, sweet little boys) baffled by why they should be hitting the floating castle with candy… thank goodness, someone usually jumps up, happy to demonstrate wild behavior to break it open. And only once have I seen the actual stick break before the piñata does. Either way, “Dale, Dale” keeps everyone in line (3 swats and you’re done) and involved.

Cascarones are great – hollowed out eggs with confetti. They are an awesome time consuming craft and can create quite a mess, but confetti alters moods like only the pop of a nice champagne bottle can. In Antigua, Guatemala, the novios purchased them to squash over amorous heads as a flirting technique when circling the town square on foot. We made them for Easter, since they’re eggs. But traditionally in Mexico, they are used for particular celebrations – like birthday parties. We made about 3 per person for Easter, totaling around 2 dozen minus the ‘bad eggs’, of course… But my friend brought out a plastic storage box the size of a laundry basket filled with cascarones. She had to beg the kids to finish them up – there were so many that adults jumped in! …another refreshing aspect I love in the Mexican culture… adults welcomed to act like children, again It is SO fun.

So aside from the bouncy houses, clowns and games, pony rides and piñatas, cascarones, and SCRUMPTIOUS FOOD, our hands-down favorite tradition is “mordida!”. This, I tell you, is not solely reserved for children’s parties – as witnessed when celebrating 39 years of an amigo one Friday night.

Traditionally, the cake is brought out as everyone sings “Las Mañanitas”. After the candles have been blown, the excitement builds. “Mor-di-da! Mor-di-da!” is chanted in unison. Supposedly, somebody well positioned behind the birthday person, then gently aids in pushing his/her face toward the cake. Truthfully each time I’ve seen it, the birthday boy has welcomed the opportunity and without prodding, into the cake a whole face flies! The crowd always goes wild! It is hysterical – every time!! It is also completely shocking to the uninitiated… which can be seen in the face of my daughter. I am told that every ‘good’ Mexican family has an album for each child documenting the frosting faces over the years. What a treasure – that’s the album I would keep in a fire proof safe, along with a viewing copy on my coffee table.

The party never ends until the last person leaves. We’ve definitely carried home sleeping children from another child’s birthday party, because the celebrations never cease! And while my children’s heritage is a smattering of European ancestry heavily weighted toward the Irish, their cultural capital most certainly includes some Mexican traditions.

***All photos courtesy of Amy Conroy

Thanks for being a subscriber and reading our posts! We'd love to have you join the conversation on Facebook and get to know you on Twitter.