La Quinceañera
The day after finishing our fourth and last week-long summer camp, our group of Duke Engagers drove to Trinidad, a village in northern Belize, to participate in a quinceañera. A quinceañera is the Hispanic celebration of a young woman’s 15 year birthday. It signifies the girl’s passage into adulthood and is accompanied by much ceremony and festivities. Our group leader, Maria, had spent time in Trinidad two months ago and her fast friendship with the girl’s family earned us an invitation to the celebration.
We arrived at a very simple house, with a single-room lower story and beds for a family of eleven cramped upstairs. After introductions, the father of the birthday girl, Hector, showed us his practice of producing fertilizers with worms. This process was fascinating. At first I was shocked that he was rubbing his hands through cow manure like it was sand and not gagging. Apparently, however, the manure contained over 200 earthworms that work for Hector to quickly make the manure into rich dirt. A member of our group asked, “How much do you sell the fertilizer for?” He responded, “I don’t. I give it away. If you ever need any feel free to ask for it.” What a generous man!! His family was clearly very poor, but he had no qualms about aiding people in any way he could.
The quinceañera was not a meeting of the community to show the birthday girl a good time. It was a ritual that the whole village went through to come closer together as a family. We weren’t just invited to the celebration starting at 6pm. Hector invited us to be there at noon and assist in the preparation and orchestration of the quinceañera. Our group felt touched by this, included as part of the village family.
Hector beamed throughout the entire ceremony. While his daughter’s smile dipped a little as the priest recited all of the ways she should live her life, Hector continued to show his cheer. When the dancing started after the ceremony, he encouraged our group of students to join in and show off some moves to the locals. I hope that I repaid a little of Hector’s generosity by dancing for a couple songs with one of his tiny and adorable nieces.