Colonel Crump House: A Big Day

Yesterday morning Josh and I headed up to Cerro del Cuatro to go and meet with the four CODENI kids who are about to leave for the U.S.- with a coyote (person who will sneak them across the border). The children have been taken care of for a number of years by their aunt and uncle (Maura and Domingo) up on the Cerro, and needless to say, they are quite sad to see the kids go, and are worried about their journey ahead. The kids' parents are waiting for them and have been working long hours at fast food restaurants for years in order to pay for the very steep fee for the coyote. This is sad to Josh and I as well, as we were trying to imagine these kids that we have grown close to not only trying to make it TO the United States, but also wondering what their lives will be like once they settle there. They know no English, and they are leaving for a number of unknowns.

As we walked down toward their home we found Efrayn (a CODENI student) outside hammering nails out of wood for a fire he was stoking. The family was preparing to roast an entire lamb in a barbeque pit that they had constructed. Huge chunks of meat sat waiting in a pot covered by cactus leaves and Maura and Nicasia (affiliated with CODENI and members of the artisan cooperative) worked on filling the elastic-y stomach with intestines.

This little boy Antonio was just great. Every time I looked at him he had this grin on his face, and later he made it even better by putting his straw hat on. The meat pot sits behind him.

Meat pot covered in cactus leaves.

Meat pot being lowered into the BBQ pit.

The pit has been covered and Domingo stokes the fire on top.

Josh began interviewing a couple of the children who will be leaving, and I teased the little kids that were running around the street.

Blanca trying to teach Liliana how to ride a bike.

View from Cerro

We were invited to come back for the wedding, so Josh and I caught the bus back down to our house to change and grab some more things for the evening (this is about an hour 1/2 trip one way), and then we headed back up to the Cerro. We walked up nearly to the top of the Cerro and met the family of the bride and photographed her in her house.

Niece of the bride.

Father of the bride

Mother of the bride (Nicasia from the artisan cooperative).

Then we all piled into the back of a pick-up truck, including the grandmother of the bride (who is very fragile, deaf and nearly blind) and rode to the iglesia. At one point there were about 15 of us crammed into the back of the truck moving fast down the highway.

Upon arrival to the church we waited on another ceremony that was finishing, and then proceeded inside. It was a Catholic ceremony which went on for quite some time as kids ran around playing between the pews. We then piled into the back of another truck and drove on to the fiesta.

The space was filled with Otomí families and all of the kids were set free running around, teasing and tagging each other. At one point the DJ had to yell out, "Parents, control your children!" We ate the lamb that had been prepared earlier that day and drank cervezas. Soon the music started thumping and it seemed that nearly everyone got up and once and began dancing. Every song had the same beat and people's bodies were collectively moving up and down. We recognized quite a few of the Otomí families, which was really wonderful. They were very welcoming to us and it was a night we won't forget.