Sequin jackets and pink feathers

Sorry I haven't given any updates on what's been going on here lately. I guess I only want to recount the most interesting of stories. Or maybe I just forgot about my blog...

Either way, I've been getting the royal treatment while I've been here and I thought you might like to hear some details. For two weekends in a row, José Luis and I have attended two dinners where we had to dress up all fancy. The first dinner was the installation of the new president of the Rotary Club here in Puebla. All the women had to wear either black or white long dresses, and of course I don't own one because I've never been to anything in my life fancier than prom. So for that one, I had to borrow a dress from Gaby, José Luis' sister. However, I was quickly informed of another party the coming weekend.

José Luis' parents are members of a danzón club in Puebla. Danzón is a dance from Cuba, usually danced by old people (not a whole lot of movement). His parents helped organize the event, which included various danzón groups performing in front of around 2000 guests. I figured if I am going to events like this so often, I better go ahead and buy a simple black dress. I spent a lot of time and energy planning the whole outfit: jewelry, shoes, makeup, hair, etc, expecting this evening to be similar to the week before. José Luis and I looked pretty snazzy that night (as you can see from the picture), but when we got in the car, he let me in on a little secret about danzón parties. Apparently, I was going to see some very strange things that night. He told me his mother, who comes from one of the wealthiest families in Puebla, is mortified to participate in the whole danzón thing because it's for nacos (Mexican version of redneck). She only goes because his dad enjoys it. This would not be Rotary Club night.

When we entered the dance hall, I knew we had to be some of the only people there that had any fashion sense at all. We saw sequin jackets, chains hanging from pockets, and even a suit equipped with pink shoes and a pink feather for the hat (if you want to see pictures, click on the link to the left for my Facebook albums). We hardly danced at all because the music was all danzón/boring stuff. I think we had more fun making fun of the way people were dressed and how they danced. Although not the most memorable night of my life, it still deserves to be put on my list of amusing things that can only happen in Mexico.