Chef Amalia, showing her cooking skills at “Egg white beating challenge”
A few days ago, I was invited to attend a 60th birthday party celebration. Lucky me, I had been in Antigua for just a few days. My cousin Armida’s former classmate’s party was what I call Guatemalan hospitality at its best. Not only did they include me without knowing me, but the festivity incorporated welcome traditional appetizers, a well-stocked bar, a nice barbecue lunch with delicious sides, and very fitting experiences to combine the birthday celebration, Carnaval (Mardi Gras), which precedes Ash Wednesday, dancing, a piñata with party favors, raffles and fun and games.
Although piñatas may be primarily for children’s birthday parties, adults can add them too to their party agenda. The result was precious, as we took turns beating on the Flintstone’s Wilma, candy flew all around party guests. As the beating concluded, Wilma was shaken vigorously to release any remaining candy. A candy-collecting frenzy by middle-age women on all fours is priceless! Party favors included cheaters (reading glasses) and packages of candies labeled as blood pressure and cough medicine, a small container for soaking dentures, small plastic bottles labeled as Maalox, a Jell-O snack, and many more fun items commonly used by aging folks. Breaking the Wilma piñata results in gifts and candy
The meal was prepared by the party girl’s younger son, who impressed me with his cooking skills despite not being an experienced cook. As we sat at a table harvest style, I joined the nicest group of women classmates who had all graduated from the school of pharmacy at one of the local universities. As the party went on, we proceeded to all the activities that even included a cooking challenge, where I participated. Carnaval in Guatemala is a unique experience in which children (and some adults) wear costumes and schools, as I recall it, have costume contests. The celebration is highlighted with cascarones (colorful dyed egg shells filled with confetti and sealed with glue and tissue paper). During a fun exchange, participants break the cascarones on unaware guests’ heads while bursting into loud laughs while connecting through friendly exchanges. At the end, people end up with lots of colorful pica pica (confetti) on their heads – a festive symbol. 55