Before the day of the event arrived, a lot of my mom's side of the family from El Salvador had flown over in order to attend the event. This included my mom's mom (mi abuelita Glorita), her sister (Tia Glori) and her husband (Tio Roberto/Tio Goofy), and their two kids (primito Andres y primito Javier). They arrived in early April and helped move some of the preparations along before I even managed to head home. I left for Jersey this past Thursday afternoon slightly anxious to speak Spanish in such a high volume (I need to practice it more, seriously), and to see family that I haven't seen since summer of 2002. Eventually, I got home safely and arrived to find my grandma waiting with open arms and a thousand blessings - literally. I was bombarded with hugs and kisses all around, and got to see my cousin Andres - I babysat him when he was just 1, and met my new baby cousin, Javier - both ridiculously cute. I was also greeted by one of my great aunts (la hermana de mi abuelita), Tia Cora, who lives in Florida. My Spanish soon kicked in, but not without some stumbles and grasping for unreachable words in front of my aunt, uncle, and grandma. I've got no option with my grandma since she doesn't know English, whereas the others know quite a bit. Regardless, I managed to effectively communicate throughout my stay home, which included a nerdy, yet awesome talk about Harry Potter with my aunt. Go Tia! Glad I'm not the only cool one in the family.
But as for Natalie's party and service, it couldn't have gone better. Granted the lead in to the whole event was chaotic beyond all belief, characteristic of Salvadoran culture - my aunts constantly reminded me of this, and told me it was impossible to control or resist. And, apparently, it only gets worse when there are more of us around. I never noticed that, but it's true! (Curious ... )
The day's events started with a personalized Catholic service at 4pm in a nearby church. We all dressed up and headed out, late, of course, to a nearby church. A lot of my family attended, in addition to a good bunch of my sister's friends and classmates. It was a beautiful service that reminded me of a mini-wedding. It began with a lovely organ-played tune as the family procession took place: my mother with her two sons at her right and left, followed by my father holding my sisters arm in his. After the opening prayers, my brother and I read the two readings before the Gospel reading, which was followed by a tear-jerking homily about the importance of how Natalie has gotten to where she is with the help of others and how essential it is to have allies, friends, and family by your side in all your endeavors. It was augmented by how my family is a good example for helping others, and ended by what a special gift Natalie is to all of us. She was then given a kind of send-off blessing for the future and assured that she will go on to do great things. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I gave out the wine for Communion, while the priest distributed the host, as my father (on guitar) led the gathering, along with the organ player, in a traditional Spanish church hymn, Pescador de Hombres (Fisher of Men). The service was concluded with a blessing for all who attended to help guide Natalie in the best of their ability for any future hardships, and best wishes and safe travels to all. It was a beautiful service, which was only enhanced by the atmosphere of support, love, and togetherness of all who attended. The service was followed by much picture taking and congratulations to my sister.
(Carlos [the evil twin], Nat, and me [the good twin])
After this, we went back to my house for a quick rest, after which we headed to the restaurant that my parents had booked for my sister's reception. The restaurant was spacious and set up in a way that was convenient for serving food, chatting amongst each other, and dancing - impressive! My dad hired some DJs that he knows through a Salvadoran program for soccer enthusiasm (or something like that), which also turned out better than expected. The night began with a lot of appetizers, ranging from cheesy pasta, to garlic shrimp, to basted portobello mushrooms, etc. - point is, it was delicious. This was followed by a small announcement on my part that Nat was to undergo the traditional quinceanera "father-daughter waltz," which was to be followed by a toast, given by my uncle, and more words of praise from my grandma. The dance was beautiful, and my brother and I even got to step in and dance with my sister. Sadly, the music had changed from waltz to something else ballroom, so it was semi-awkward, but regardless, it was a touching moment for me.
This was followed by much applause, and then the dinner course - either garlic-basted chicken, spiced flounder, or tender veal. Mmmm ... it was pretty darn good. There was also unlimited wine, beer, sangria, coke, and water to go with the food. After the eating was mostly over, my aunt and uncle from El Salvador busted out some awesome party gear - glow sticks, silly fedoras, masquerade masks, and Mardi-Gras-esque beads. This was an obvious cause for multiple pictures to be taken, lots of laughs to be had, and crazy dancing to take part in.
(And yes, that's my grandma dancing in the fray of teenage girls, haha!)
At some point after the craziness, my father told my sister to take a seat in front of him while he played his guitar for her and sang a Spanish song, "De Niña a Mujer," (From Girl to Woman) to her. He had never been able to finish the lyrics without tearing up, but managed to do so for the first time that night. Go Papi!
Before the night was over, there was the mandatory cake-cutting and having, which, by the way, came right after an amazing dessert. Everyone was stuffed that night, haha. And the cake, which was made by an aunt and uncle duo from South Orange's Cait and Abby's Bakery (GO NOW!) was delicious and moist.
It was a fantastic weekend, full of family fun, togetherness, and extreme amounts of love and caring. I had forgotten how much fun family gatherings can be, parties especially. As much as I might resent my family at times, and think they're insane and semi-broken, I feel extremely privileged to be part of the Lazo-German family. We might be tardy, lazy, broken English speaking dark-skinned dysfunctional people, but it's our own insanity that keeps us tightly bound to each other, through thick and thin, for better or worse. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Happy Birthday, Nat. And God bless! Love, your brother, Tomas.
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