And Then They Danced For Me

Ha, ha, ha bunch of liars, you keep telling me that the suspense is killing you, well I am here to wrap it all up. So far it's all been fun, and we haven't even started dancing yet. Some of my friends had to leave early and they were starting to say good bye when mi chica stopped them and asked them to sit down just for a few more minutes.

Next thing I know my microphone shy chica is holding a microphone and talking to the guests. She told us that all the girls in my life (at least they represented all of them) had prepared a dance for me and they were about to perform it. She proceeded to let us know that my two daughters, two of my grand daughters, my goddaughter, three of my sisters, my sister in law, and my daughter in law, along with my nieces were going to perform their original version of "El Jarabe Zapatio". (Yeah, she even changed the name of the song).



I had no idea they had planned this for me and I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was told they practiced maybe once back in June and then again before they actually performed it. My goddaughter wasn't even part of the group but she learned it in just a few minutes.



I was surprised to see that the Mexican motif carried even in the way they were all dressed. They all looked so pretty as "The Adelitas" with their rebozos. I caught a glimpse of mi chica dancing along with all of them from the side lines like a proud mama.

After that awesome performance we started to dance and kept dancing until past midnight. For the first time in a long time we were not asked to turn things off by the cops. We ended the fiesta when we wanted and not when the neighbors wanted.

I don't normally drink and yet I got five or six bottles of tequila. We opened two of them and we started drinking shots. I kept up with everyone else and yet didn't even feel buzzed. Oh, I was drunk alright but I felt fine all the time. The same could not be said for some of my drinking partners. (can you say barf) All I can say is... lightweights. lol -- My hangover consisted of a mild headache which was immediately taken care of by two aspirins.

Well, that pretty much sums up the fiesta. It was extremely well planned and executed, the guests had fun, my family had fun, but most importantly I had a blast. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife... errr chica that loves me enough to put herself through months of stress just to carry this through.

Thanks to all that participated and celebrated with me this milestone in my life.






































All images on this post courtesy of Michelle Duckworth Photograhy.
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A Charro Came and Sang For Us...

Not one, not two, not three but four cakes. How awesome was that?
So, the guests started coming in and it didn't take long until we had a pretty full backyard. My biker buddies, Mustang fellow club members, karaoke friends, work mates, and of course my huge family.

There was still plenty of daylight, mi chica asked everyone to please take a seat, I was still taking pictures when she said, "To you I order you to take a seat". I knew then she had some sort of a surprise. The music started playing a little louder than before, it was a popular Mexican song and I was about to start singing on my own when this mariachi looking señor comes out from inside the house microphone in hand and singing a the top of his lungs.

This guy was great, good singing backed up by good comedy. Gabriel Garcia is his name and besides singing he also teaches music. He gives guitar lessons, singing lessons, art lessons, and acting lessons. (480) 522-9515 and (480) 329-1035 or email at principecharro07@yahoo.com

Wow, mi chica had hired an entertainer to sing to us while we ate. LOL Except the food people were an hour late which thanks to the singer was not too bad a wait. Besides the food was worth the wait as the tacos were sooooooo tasty. It has become very popular among us Mexicanos to hire a caterer that prepares what we call a "taquisa". The plate consisted of tacos with three different choices of meat, salsa bar, rice and beans, ummmmm, ummmmmm, ummmmmm, tacos, you can't ever go wrong if you serve tacos at a party.

The tacos were so good the line was solid for well over an hour. Many came back for seconds, and so did I.

The entertainer had been hired for two hours but he stayed an additional hour courtesy of my brother in law and my sister. This guy not only sang nice but he also kept us laughing with a plethora of jokes. And additional surprise and definite crowd please was when his son whom I estimate was about seven or eight years old came out also dressed in his charro outfit and sang two songs to every ones delight.

El Charrito sang so good that he got the biggest ovation.

Even I had a turn at the mic as he graciously offer it to anyone who wanted to sing. So my sister and I sang a song but she claimed I kept singing in her tone. Hey I never claimed to be a professional. lol

My sister and I doing a duet.

As far as the food go, there was plenty of it. Normally food runs out within the two allotted hours for dinner, mi chica made sure and ordered enough to ensure that everyone was fed, heck most of us went for seconds and still the food didn't run out. Way to go baby!

The taco line kept forming for almost two hours, poor taco guy, he probably needed a brake but that was not about to happen. All of a sudden I saw mi chica take center stage holding a mic, she asked for our attention and pretty much came out with yet another surprise...

But that story will have to wait for the next post.

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The Fiesta

What an elaborate set up, there were plenty of tables for all the guests.
Notice the black clouds in the sky. Looked like rain.

And finally the day of the party came. Our California relatives got here on Friday night and Saturday morning. Everything was ready but to me everything was still a mystery, all I knew was there was a party about to happen but I had no idea of what mi chica had in store fore me.

I spent most of my morning in anticipation of what was to come, to kindda take my mind off things I run some errands in the morning, my black slacks were no where to be found so I had to go and find me a new pair, also buying some more beer and fresh flowers was in my to do list. Once that was accomplished I went back home and took a little nap, I found out earlier in life that naps are great time killers.

At around 5:00 pm mi chica and I headed out to my sister's house where the party would take place. Driving into Phoenix I noticed that the sky threatened to spoil things a bit, dark clouds had move in and we thought for sure a monsoon would visit.

Upon getting there they started putting the table decorations which had a plethora of Mexican related articles such as a Mexican hat, a Mexican soda, Mexican candy, and some Mexican toys. The flower vases were made out of "Salsa del Pato" hot sauce cans, and there was a tin luminary on each table. I am sure I mentioned before the party had a Mexican motif.



There definitely was a feeling that a Mexican Fiesta was about to happen. Just look at all those table decorations.

It took a good forty minutes to set all the table arrangements, everything look so good and pretty and then all of a sudden a gust of wind came and in 30 seconds undid every thing they had made so far, yes Mother Nature wanted to crash my party and it did.

Obviously I started taking pictures and capturing images as soon as I got there. The weather was a little on the hot side but it was bearable, normally our California guests complain a lot but I don't think I heard even one complain. Actually once the sun went down and the threat of a monsoon passed, we were getting this rather nice wind gusts that felt so good.

Ah, for those of you that still haven't met mi chica please allow me to introduce her to you. She planned this moment for the past six months along with my daughter. Yes I am lucky and I know it.

Exactly at 5:30 pm guests started showing up, and little by little a once empty backyard started getting full. The DJ got there early and immediately set his equipment up, the soft welcoming music started playing, yes we had all the makings of a fun party.

The DJ set up pretty early and started jammin' even before the guests had arrived.

But what happened next I leave for another post.

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