A Mexican Reunión

I'm going to tell you about a  family and friends dinner I was invited to, a reunión, but first, catch-up.

Friday night I attend the Chapala-Ajijic Jewish Congregation for Friday night services. I needed to say kaddish for my nephew Josh. As I expected, it was brutally hard, but also cathartic. The people there were warm, welcoming, supportive and, simply beautiful. I thank them for welcoming me and embracing me.

So much for hard stuff.  Today I had the privilege of being invited to the home of my dear friends Judith and Fernando. Judith wanted her friend to come for la comida so naturally she came with her brother, his wife and daughter, his sister and their mother. In México, when you invite people for dinner, unless they are all nortes, you are never sure how many will turn up. If Judith's guests had had several cousins dropping by when it was time to leave, they would have simply brought them along. Large pot meals and buffets are the norm.

Their house is beautiful, on a hill overlooking lake Chapala and the town of San Juan Cosala.

Everyone was expected by noon and all were there by 1. We sat at the table, had some cerveza [beer] or tequila [tequila] or pop or juice. A big bowl of fruit was placed on the table along with a sprinkler of chile, and a VERY hot hot sauce. Oh, and limes, of course.

That's the fruit bowl in the middle

In the meantime, the main courses were being finished and placed into serving bowls over clay heaters.

Judith says it's almost ready

The main courses were chicken molé [chocolate sauce], chicharones in a green tomato sauce, and rice. Of course, there were also fresh tortillas, salsa, and a salad of nopales [cactus]. ¡Estaba muy rico! It was really delicious!

Mexican parties, whether small reunións, fiestas or pachangas [wild fiestas], tend to be inter-generational. There's always kids and elders in the mix, and everyone is interested in everyone.

There are few people missing here

The conversation was primarily in Spanish, and I did OK, though I found the more tequila I drank, the more I understood. When I was really lost, or thought I'd missed a good joke, I asked Fernando who's fluent in Yanqui.

 The reunión broke up at at 5 ish, and it was a wonderful time.