Lo de Marcos Folklorica...

Our friends, Greg and Francine, whom we met in Costa Rica a few years ago are our next door neighbors here in Lo de Marcos.  They do a very special thing here...  they volunteer at the local high school, teaching English as a second language.  Bill & I listen to their stories about their experiences with both the teachers and the students.  A couple of weeks ago they told us that the high school was putting on a fundraiser...  dinner and entertainment...  on Friday, February 26.  

Of course we wanted to go...  and Francine secured our tickets.  Last night was the big night...

It's just a short walk from our bungalow over to the high school and we arrived in plenty of time for the start of the 6 pm event...

 Here's Francine...  at the entrance to the school grounds...  being greeted by one of the lovely ladies.

 The kids/teachers did a great job of decorating the dining area.  Just to the right of the dining area was the stage where, after dinner, the performances would be.

 Our friend, Memo, joined us at our table.

That's Bill, Greg and Francine and Memo...  Francine is telling us how she's surrounded by all these guys.

 No buffet lines here....  the kids brought everyone's dinner right to the table.  Since this event is about Mexican culture...  dancing and the such...  the meal was posole, (a kind of hominy soup), a chile relleno (stuffed pepper), a serving of rice, and a tossed salad.  It was delicious!  They also served a rice drink and also an jamaica drink (the purple glass).  I should add here that they also brought each table a bottle of tequila, but none of us wanted any right then.

After an introduction of the school personnel (again, here there are 3 speakers...  one speaks Spanish, one French Canadian, one in English.) we knew that they would be other entertainment beside the music folklorica.  

 During the course of the evening there were "adult" games played...  folks from the audience were encouraged to participate in the games.  The games were interspersed among the school entertainment and lots of folks joined in providing entertainment for the rest of us.

But it was the Folkloric dances that we enjoyed the most...

 Bill & I have been to several performances both in South Texas and various places in Mexico and knew what to expect.  Historic regional dancing and costumes from different areas in Mexico.  This is a very small town...  and a small school...  but these kids were quite talented and performed the dances to perfection!

 The costumes were regional also and made the dances totally authentic.

 There were some female singers as well...  accompanied by a nearly a dozen guitars.

 Another regional dance with appropriate costumes...

 And, I believe, the Jalisco historical dancing...  the very region where we are now.

 At the end of the last dance, all the performers came down from the stage and chose dance partners from the audience...  the whole area was filled with the kids in costume along with folks like us, who'd just come to see the show.  It filled the room and even up on the stage.  Quite a festive ending to a lovely show.

It was dark by the time it was all over...  around 8:30 or 9:00 pm.  Francine pointed out to me that all the decorations, including those colorful banners flying overhead were made by the kids.  It was a great fund raiser...  I hope they made all the money they wanted to...  I'm sure they have plans for much needed supplies or improvements.

I know that we had a great time!

That's All For Today!