Folklorica etc...

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I last posted....  Bill has recovered from whatever hit him and is doing well.  Thanks for all your concerns.  There is a woman here who makes natural yogurt (just plain, unflavored, no additives) and while some folks think it's a bit sour, I love it and think it's especially good for stomach ailments.  Anyway...  all's well now.   

Last week we went to the annual fundraiser at the high school.  If you were traveling with me last year the following photos might look familiar as the event is basically the same each year...

The meal they serve is typical of this area....  pozole (hominy stew), rice, chile rellenos (stuffed chile pepper) and a salad.  They also serve a rice drink that is delicious.  There are deserts available for an extra charge.  You can take your own wine or beer as no alcohol is served.  The food is delicious and very filling.

I don't know how many people attend...  my guess is around 250.  The event is held in the courtyard of the school...  right in the basketball court...  with lots of long tables with plenty of seating.  We were seated just in front of the stage, so had a good view of the whole evening.

These kids played and sang various music pieces while folks were eating.  As you can see, there are several guitarists as well as quite a few singers at the back.

This is a small town and several of the kids who live here attend high school at larger nearby schools, so I don't know how many kids are enrolled here.  But they definitely have talent...

This young lady sang with gusto....

And did a professional job of it!  

And....

This young man also had a great voice and was quite good.

I have no idea what opportunities kids here have to go out into the musical world, but both could have a successful career in the music field, they were that good.

The kids did most of the the musical entertainment, but this lady also sang...

We were told that she's the mother of one of the students (possible the mother of the young man pictured above).  I have no idea if she sings professionally, but we all enjoyed her performance.

A group of young girls performed the "pineapple dance"...

All with precision and purpose....

As dinner was over and the plates were being cleared, another type of entertainment was on the agenda....

The audience is called upon to come on stage and play some games.  On the left are folks who have balloons tied to their ankles.  The object of this game is to break everyone else's balloons and keep yours intact.  The person with the last inflated balloon is the winner.  It started out fairly innocent, but I swear...  some of those guys were way too competitive for my idea of fun.  That's our friend Nancy in the tie-dye dress...  one guy actually stepped on the hem of her dress to stop her from moving so he could break her balloons.  Oh well...  The upper right...  well, that guy has a jalepeno pepper tied to a string hanging from the back of his belt.  These guys (yes, they were all men) had to get the pepper into the beer bottle without using their hands.  And the lower right...  musical hat.....  kind of like musical chairs only when the music stops, if you're caught wearing the hat, you're eliminated.  All fun games and very entertaining for the audience.

And...  what everyone loves to watch!

The Folklorica!

These young folks, dressed in traditional clothing of this part of Mexico, danced the old historic dances.  They were quite good and looked every bit like it must have been all those years ago.

And...  the grand finale!

After the regional dances were done, the kids went down into the audience and found a partner...   then...  back on stage where some new/old/good (and probably pretty funky), dancing was done.  I saw a couple of young men pick their mothers as a partner...  but there were lots of gringos up there giving it their all as well.  Lots of cheering and clapping from the audience too!

It started at 6pm and we were home around 8:30 or so.  It was a great evening and we loved it all.  You can just about bet that you'll be seeing another post very similar this time next year!

Speaking of such...  as of today, March 1, we have only 3 more weeks left here this season.  We'll be flying back to Texas on March 22, stay with our daughter a couple of weeks and be back in our motorhome...  then head to Ohio by the end of April.  We'll be there a month or so, then head on to Maine to volunteer at Aroostook NWR for the rest of the summer.  Those are our plans...   but we all know that nothing's written in stone.

Our time here has just flown by.  I'll have to write a re-cap of what all we got done...  what all we hoped to get done but didn't...  and what doesn't even matter anymore.  You know...  just the way life is.  But...

That's All For Today!