It was exciting to be among “only family” invited to Anibal and Claudia’s wedding, last night. It was a beautiful ceremony in the only church in Arazape, followed by a reception at their home. The wedding began at 7:30pm and the reception went well beyond 12:00am, (when we went home).
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| Felicidades Claudia y Anibal! |
The vows were amazingly similar to traditional wedding vows
in the states, other than they were in Guarani in addition to Spanish. Claudia
wore a white dress with a fuzzy white jacket, a gorgeous bride, who skipped the
long johns despite the freezing weather, (it’s winter here!). I know this,
because at the reception, instead of the groom tossing the garter, he
“transferred it.” Claudia wore ten garters, and one at a time, a single woman
sat across from her, placed the sole of her foot against Claudia’s and Anibal
transferred the garter from Claudia’s thigh to the other woman’s. The
significance? I’m not sure- I still need to ask about this one.
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| Claudia- the beautiful bride! |
There was a variety of genre of music blasting from 2
columns of 8-foot tall speakers! We all danced to a variety of music from
traditional Guarani, to polka, to more modern Spanish selections. Imagine our
surprise when Credence made their entrance with “Rollin” and “Stuck in Lodi,
Again”!
“What about the food?” you ask. In a word, MEAT! Cooking
meat for large groups is an art form here in Paraguay. A week ago, Mark and
Teodocio went into the forest in search of “palitos,” long thin branches,
carefully selected so as not to transfer flavoring to the meat, but also hard
enough to withstand the heat from the cooking fire. Large chunks of meat are
skewered onto the stakes, which are then hammered into the dirt in a circle
around the fire. The meat is carefully turned and roasted in this manner for
about 7 hours. Simmering along side the meat was a large pot of batiburillo, a
specialty in Misiones. Batiburillo consists of all the internal organs of the
recently killed cow, cut into small pieces, cooked in brown gravy, with a stick
of mandioca on the side. Actually- quite delicious!
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| The MEAT! |
The wedding cake looked much like a traditional wedding cake
in the states, with one exception- it had 20 ribbons sticking out of the cake
from the various layers. As the bride and groom began to cut the cake, the
single women each pulled a ribbon out. The woman with the ribbon that had a
ring tied to the other end will be the next to be married, as the tradition
goes.
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| Teodocio and Mark Take a Break |
Of course, the element that transcends the cultures was joy
and happiness. Claudia’s voice wavered as she tried to hold back the tears
during her vows, Moms and God Mothers cried, Anibal got lots hearty slaps on
the back from his brothers, and the dancing and celebrating went well into the
night!
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