Una Fiesta para Kike

Last night we were invited to the Garcia’s house in town (what we call the Casa Azúl) for Kike’s birthday. We arrived at 8 pm, and were greeted by Sonia, Luana, Kike, Kike’s parents, and Sonia’s mom. As the night went on, more people showed up. We met Sonia’s brothers and their families, some cousins, and some friends. In total, there were probably around 20 people there, including a bunch of kids.

Kike was manning the grill, with his Dad’s help, who seemed to enjoy directing the cooking process. Three huge spiral chorizos were cooking on the grill, and then they added some hamburger patties for the children. We ended up making sandwiches of chorizo, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. They were really good.

Everyone in town seemed to be out at night, hanging out together in backyards, like us, or along the street. Dogs were barking, music was sometimes playing, and people chatted through the night. A kitten who is trying to make a home at the Casa Azúl kept coming by, and Catalina, one of the cutest little girls, was mesmerized. She kept picking it up and dragging it around. Her mom kept trying to teach her how to hold it more carefully, and how to pet it gently, but it didn’t quite catch on.

We actually met Catalina and her parents (namely her dad) at the Criolla in Tacuarembó during our last visit. Her dad was taking her around the rodeo festival on his horse, and I snapped a picture of them. It was funny to see him last night, because he looked vaguely familiar and I was confused as to why I might have seen him before. Once Sonia said, “Criolla!” I remembered that we had actually met before.

Luana made Kike’s birthday cake, which was pretty cool. It was layers of cake and filing (possibly dulce de leche) with some dried fruit tucked in. She then frosted it and decorated it with chocolate icing to say “Feliz Cumple” for Kike. We all crowded inside the house and sang “Feliz Cumpleaños” for Kike before he blew out the long candles on his cake. The song was still to the tune of our regular “Happy Birthday” song, but the words were different than the straight translation of “happy birthday to you…” and their version involved clapping with the beat.