Saturday was the big quince birthday party for my dear prima tica, Tiffany. Much like the quinceanera of Mexico, this is a tradition that has been revived in Costa Rica in recent years. It was an amazing evening, full of delicious food, music and entertainment. It is common to pick a theme for the party. For Tiffany's sister's quince 2 years ago, she had a theme of "Arabian Nights", so they had belly dancers and fire dancers. I watched the video. =) For Tiffany, the theme was "Master Queen", so she did a dance to "Dancing Queen" by Abba (in spanish) with her friends, and then a dance with her dad to "Mama Mia".
This is me with Tiffany. The dress I'm wearing is on loan from Tiffany's mother, Rosie. Tiffany's dress is rented. For most quinces and weddings, women usually rent their dresses instead of buying them, which makes sense. Where else could she wear this??
To end the night, there is a "Carnival". everyone puts on crowns, masks, mardi gras beads and for this evening we had these dancing men on stilts. Quince is such a beautiful "rite of passage"...we seem to have a lack of those in our own culture. FYI, men celebrate their equivalent to a quince at 18.
Sunday morning was filled with tearful good-byes to my tica familia. I have been overwhelmed by their generosity, care and kindness. I will miss them all so much, and have made promises to come back with Jon, especially we have nietos that they have to meet.
For now, I'm safely down here on the carribean coast, close to puerto viejo. I'm soaking up some mellow vibes at
Samasati...it is exactly the perfect ending to my stay in costa rica. I have a darling bungalow, and the jungle sounds pulsate through the day and night. Also included are 3 veggie meals a day...ahh, so blissful!!
Okay, more to come when I reconnect to the real world on Wednesday. Until then i'm yoga-ing in the jungle. Stateside on Thursday.
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