Happy Birthday, Josesito!

Saturday, we had a birthday party for my homestay parents' 2 year old grandson, Josesito. Preparation for the party begin Friday as extended family came in to help clean, rearrange the house, and decorate. The birthday party was car/racing-themed, and it was very detail-oriented. Having your own print shop certainly has its perks, as is evidenced by the custom banners and signs that transformed the house.

Josesito's mom Ivone must have spent weeks prepping for the event. They made metals and little cars filled with treats as the favors for everyone who came to the party.

  

I was told that 20-25 kids and their parents would be attending and that the party would start at 2 p.m., but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The birthday boy actuallyslept through at least the first 30 minutes of his party, and after that, he wanted to spend the entire time playing with his grandpa in the entrance way. He took so many items out of the piñata that they had to restock it before it made its way to the other kids. But, hey, he had fun, and that's what matters, right? 

For the first two hour of the party, we were entertained by a magician. I felt badly for the magician who first began performing for about 4 kids and 6 adults. Most of the guests arrived between 3 and 3:30 p.m.. Everyone seem to really enjoy the magician, who did many of the same tricks I've seen at parties in the U.S. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I guess that makes sense. Magic translates well. He had the three ropes of equal length that changed lengths; he did a card trick where he drew on a piece of paper and the card "lifted" out of it; he had silly magic wands that fell over and made noises; and he had many many handkerchiefs that turned into staffs (next to the mirror). He even had birds and a rabbit that made appearances! I'm not ashamed to admit that I quite enjoyed the magician. My favorite part was his magic phrases: "Alacazam! Richinpun! (I don't know what this means) Guayaba verde" (a fruit) [at which point, you had to do a full body shimmy]. Let's face it, I'm a sucker for a good shimmy!

After the magician performed, we cut the cake. Confession: there were actually two cakes: the masterpiece below and a second one big enough to actually feed everyone. A bonus of being part of the family: we got to eat the pretty cake after everyone left (although, like most ornately fondant-decorated cakes, it wasn't as good as the other one. Still, cake twice in one day? Score!) Then, they shook the pinata for the kids rather than hitting it. Then there was dancing. A lot of dancing. Some songs had choreography that only a few of the kids new, so us adults had to follow along. There was a lot of step-touching and hip circles as place holders. I was surprised to learn that the Macarena had/has slightly different moves here (basically the same, but fewer motions). I was pumped when Ricky Martin's "Livin La Vida Loca" came on, but instantly bummed when it was the version with Spanish lyrics....which makes sense, but still. How am I supposed to annoy the boys in my elementary class if I can't sing the words? ;) Many of the kids and their parents left before I got around to opening presents. It turned out to be a six-hour long party that was super fun!