Garañona in Metepec, Wedding in a Hacienda, and Friends in Malinalco

Another one of the few Toluca-based weekends but it was a great one because fellow Fulbrighters Preston, Jordan and Clara came to visit! Once everyone arrived we did some good ‘ol home cookin’. We feasted on spaghetti with homemade meatballs, broccoli sautéed in garlic, double baked potatoes, and for dessert: a sweet Mexican cookie pudding dish. We talked for hours and had to push ourselves out the door to discover the magical drink of Metepec: garañona! We went to a little bar to try it and sat at a corner table where the music couldn't have been any louder. The bar didn't even need a sound system it was so small. We set out to find another bar and went to a new one in Metepec that overlooked a plaza. We met up with some of our Mexican friends after and I learned how Mexican Jordan is with his Spanish.

Jess and our guests set out early Saturday morning to hike the volcano Nevado de Toluca that I hiked in January. I told them not to be intimidated because there are trails everywhere and the worst is uphill walking. Too bad, I forgot they were going with Jess! They ended up summiting. Meanwhile Bruno and I had a wedding at noon. One of the teachers I work with at the teacher training school invited me to her daughter’s wedding. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve been to. The bride looked flawless. And the couple was young! They were 24 and had been dating for 8 years. The mass was in a church in a little pueblo then everyone drove over to the Hacienda Serratón where the reception was. The place was stunning. When we arrived, there was an ice cream man in the garden! After a while, they had the civil ceremony in the gazebo (super common to do it right after the wedding) then we headed inside the reception building. We sat at a table with friends of the bride who were all super friendly. The entertainment and the giveaways were on point! They had an entertainment company with a DJ for most of the afternoon\night but then after about 2 hours there was a man on the stage practically giving a fitness class. I swear he was a Zumba instructor. A few hours later there was a Cuban man and a band performing salsa. A few hours after that there was banda. In between all these, the DJ was playing and handing out things like blow up guitars, light-up Minnie Mouse ears, sunglasses, foam hats, aprons, etc. The bride’s family walked around with baskets filled with slippers, flip flops, fans and towels. There was even a candy table! I can’t express how much I love this kind of Mexican weddings. The mother of the bride looked beautiful, as well. The whole event was perfect. I was thinking that 12PM is pretty early for a wedding so it must end early. WRONG. We were there until about 11PM. I had no problem with that. When I walked into my apartment, our guests were cuddled on the couch watching Pitch Perfect. They even bought us cookies & cream ice cream!

Preston had to leave early Sunday morning but Clara, Jordan, Bruno and I went to Malinalco for the day. When we arrived, we had to get ice cream because it’s one of the things Malinalco is known for. Then we hiked up to the pyramid and the ceremonial site that was in the mountains. Part of the archaeological site was restored and we were discussing if it’s better to restore the ruins or to leave them how they were found. I’m on team restoration. We climbed back down and went to the ex-convent with the beautifully painted black and white walls. For lunch we had the famous trout. I couldn’t handle my food looking at me like last time so I enjoyed some quesadillas. Jordan got the spiciest one on the menu. They had updated the place since Bruno and I went in January. It’s always the perfect temperature in Malinalco which was nice. After that the crew all headed their separate ways.

Ruins, Love, and Magical Towns

Another pyramid and wedding-filled weekend! Bruno and I went to Teotenango to see the pyramids on Saturday. They are only about 30 minutes from Toluca. They were some of the coolest-looking pyramids. There were many different levels which made the view of the pyramids awesome. We didn’t have much time though because we had to get back to Toluca for the wedding of friends of Bruno. The mass was at 5PM. We casually strolled into the church at 5:50PM, just in time to watch the newlywed couple exit. At least they thought we were there the whole time. We hadn’t eaten since before the pyramids and we knew it would be a while until dinner time so we had some pizza to tide us over at a pizzeria next to the church.

We got to the reception a little before 8. It was a beautiful wedding and reception that was Valentine’s Day themed. All of the bridesmaids were dressed in red. There were about 250 people at the reception in a place that looked out over the city of Toluca. We ate at around 9 and the music started at 11PM. We danced cumbia for a while and then the Banda arrived. Wouldn’t be a Mexican wedding without Banda! While the Banda was playing, the bride and bridesmaids walked around with a wooden box to ask for money from the women for the newlyweds. This is a Mexican tradition to help financially support the honeymoon. The groom was having men sign his dress shirt with permanent marker which is another tradition.

On Sunday we picked up Faby from her hometown and went to the magic town of El Oro. It used to be a mining town. We went on a guided tour of some of the most prominent places, such as the theater, municipal building, train station, and old mine. The theater was beautiful and was mostly for the wealthy back in the day when they built it. The mining brought business to the town so they constructed the theater. The mine was super interesting, too. We were able to walk over glass that you could look down to see how far it went. There was also an observation deck to get a good view of the town. Then we walked through an artisan center where we bought jams and ate (thick, jello-like bar). We had lunch in an old railroad car. It was so cute! Then we dropped of Faby and headed back to Toluca.

10-Hour Mexican Weddings

I got to go to my first Mexican wedding on Saturday! It was Bruno’s best friend who got married. The wedding was gorgeous. It was at a functioning ranch near Toluca called “Rancho el Mesón”. The ceremony was in a church two blocks away. People threw rice as they walked out of the church doors. Everyone drove over to the ranch and was escorted to the yard in back where the reception was held. They had couches set up and servers walking around with drinks and appetizers while the wedding party took pictures. There is no such thing as groomsmen in Mexico, but there are bridesmaids. They had a picture of the couple set up and everyone left a message and signed the mat around it. There was also a bird cage with mix CDs of love music inside, which guests were invited to take. Closer to the reception tent there were dressers with candy, snacks, slippers, and shawls for later in the night. It was something right off of Pinterest!

After pictures, there was a civil ceremony. Sometimes couples do the civil ceremony the same day as the wedding and sometimes a different day with another reception. This couple chose to do it in one day. The civil ceremony is where the bride, groom, parents of both, and four other witnesses sign the document that says the couple is married in the eyes of the government. The ceremony was on an island-like thing in the yard where you had to cross a wooden bridge to get to it. Adorable.

Then the reception started! When the sun was out, it was in the 60s but it got cold at night so the sides of the tent rolled down. We were served dinner and while we ate there was a saxophonist. The tradition of the first dance is the same in Mexico. The bride and groom danced to All of Me by John Legend. The bride threw her bouquet and the groom, the garter. Then they did they thing where the bride and groom each stood on their own chairs and the single women formed a large circle around them and tried to knock them off the chairs. There were about 4 men protecting the bride and 4 protecting the groom. Then the single men did the same thing. Thankfully, no one was actually knocked down.

When the DJ was playing music when we were entering the yard, it was mostly electronic music in English which, obviously, I loved. It was surprising because I think I was the only person who knew the songs. After dinner there was more music and … DANCING! But it’s good dancing: like salsa and cumbia. I don’t know how I’m going to survive without that kind of dancing in the U.S. when I get back. I think I’ll have to open a salsa club or something. The dance floor was something out of a Michael Jackson video. It was squares that lit up all different colors. I don’t know how so many women survived the whole in heels. And I mean stilettos. I brought my flats to change into. There were all kinds of dresses: short, tight, long, everything. Around 10PM we were asked to step outside the tent because there were FIREWORKS. What?! I’ve never been to a wedding with fireworks. When we went back inside, our post-dinner meal was waiting for us. Shredded chicken on baguettes with a red salsa on top. I love Mexico. When we were eating, the banda group arrived and played for about an hour. The whole event was about 10 hours long. And it kept going after we left. What a wonderful day!