Last Saturday was my hosty-cousin´s (from Roger´s side of the family) wedding. Roger hails from the highlands above Caraz (the town of Antash), so the wedding had a much more traditional feel, as you can probably see by the women´s clothing. The event started with a Catholic mass at 8:00am, where the priest preached on the evils that alcohol can cause to marriages*. After the mass, a marching band came and paraded the couple through town (Roger, Dina, the boys, and I skipped this to go get their wedding gift wrapped in the market). Then everyone met at a vacant house for the reception. The reception played out like any other fiesta (party) I´ve seen here in Peru. There was food served (soup followed by rice and potatoes with chicken), followed by everyone awkwardly sitting around quietly talking, not dancing while the band played, and drinking heavily. After about an hour, after all the free beer and chicha (fermented corn drink) was starting to soak-in, the dance floor filled up. The dancing began around 11:00am and lasted until 2:00pm, when everyone was highly inebriated and the party was moved from Caraz to a Antash, the small village in the highlands. This is when I decided to make my exit. I didn´t partake in the libations, and there´s a point when the party turns ugly and it´s time to leave, we were well past that point. Also, I needed to be padrino for my other host-cousins middle school graduation the next day, and I wanted to bring my ¨A game¨ for that.
With Shaner and Vani getting hitched next June, let me propose the following venue for the event:
Watch the video again and besides noting the a stunning architecture, ample seating, and harmonistic band, envision Shane and Vani sharing the dance floor, like this beautiful couple, while the family sits on their respective cords of wood to watch the magic unfold. Shane just have your people call my people, and we´ll make this happen. But do it soon, before this place gets booked.
Here are a few other pictures of the event:
 |
| Yeferson doing his best 007 impression. |
 |
| Yordan ready to break some hearts. |
 |
| Family shot. |
 |
The priest presenting the new coupls
(the bride sporting a pretty simple dress). |
 |
The bride and groom outside of the church.
|
 |
| The Family |
 |
| Yefferson |
 |
| Roger´s parents. |
 |
| The family at the reception. |
 |
The guests at their seats.
|
 |
The guy in white (with his bucket of chicha and 2 plastic cups for everyone)
was very demanding that people drink the chicha,
especially the women. I wasn´t a big fan of him. |
 |
| The wedding gifts (This face of overwhelming glee displayed by the bride was evident all day). |
 |
| Liquid courage inables the crowd to cut loose. |
 |
| The transportation used to truck (literal use of the term) the party up to Antash. This picture was taken as I escaped out the back. |
* Roger and Dina returned the next morning and told countless stories about how drunk the people got at the party´s final location. The kicker was the story about the bride crying and storming off because the groom was drunk, wanting to fight the guests, and making obnoxious statements. It reminded me of a story about a wedding party at a ski area near Missoula (Marshall), where a fight broke out over the garter toss, and ended with the bride and groom declairing that they both wanted an anullment. Not how I want it to go when I tie the knot, but interesting how there appears to be a cross-cultural similarity there (Wedding= unhappy people= fighting... or am I missing a factor?)
