Those abuelos may have hard lives, but they sure know how to whoop it up on the dance floor! On Friday there were a plethora of events going on at Los Martincitos. First, we held a fundraiser for a woman who needed money to buy the the land in which her house is built on. I know... It sounds a bit backwards, but such is Peru. At any rate, for the fundraiser we sold antiguchos to the public. What are antiguchos? Glad you asked. They are barbequed chicken hearts on a stick. Yummmmm.... I have to say, I did not have the stomach to try them, but I did buy a few plates and gave them to the abuelos that couldn't afford it. The antiguchos must be good because they wolfed it down... But the party didn't stop there! At the end of every month they celebrate all the birthdays of that particular month. So break out the cake and candles because it's birthday time!!! After the candles are blown out and the cake is eaten, it's time for the abuelos to cut a rug! They flipped on that authentic Peruvian music and away they went. They women started to do this traditional dancing that had a lot of stomping and shuffling in it. I tried to pick it up, but no dice. Their feet were doing things way beyond my pay grade. Then Cirilo, a 96 year old Peruvian man, grabbed my hand and started twirling me on the dance floor... I think I'm in love!... Then I noticed my friend Lorenzo. Unfortunately he is confined to a wheelchair. I looked over and saw his extremely expressive face crying. I went over to him and he told me that he was crying because he loves to dance, but he can't now because he is unable to walk. Could anything break my heart more than hearing that? Just by looking at him, you can tell that Lorenzo was quite the charmer in his younger days. So I sat with him and gave him a little shoulder massage. I'm not sure if that made him feel any better, but I guess it's better than not doing anything at all... All in all, it was a good time and the party brought many smiles to the beautiful faces of the abuelos. Viva Los Martincitos!
It's hard to believe that 2 weeks have passed. It has flown by! I feel like I'm just getting started. 13 of the volunteers who arrived when I did are leaving this weekend and about 25 newbies are arriving... New blood! It should be a good time had by all!
Hugs to all! Adios mis amigos!
1 comment:
Rock on!
Post a Comment