Quince

With all my thoughts about the quince roaming, I wasn't sure exactly how it would go. I first went over to Chyca's house to get ready and try on a bunch of different dresses. I managed to get away without her offering to lend me a dress or a pair of shoes but I couldn't escape her purse and earrings. In the end I chose a gold dress with the flashiest pair of gold heels I own to match and Chyca supplied a sparkly gold purse to top it all off.
After piling little Héctor and Chyca's young niece, Loret into the car, we drove over to the hall in Woodland where the party was being held. During the day I'm sure the building would have looked like any warehouse but that night you could tell from the outside that there was a lot going on. Lights and music were bursting through the roof and the parking lot was brimming as we pulled in. After we finally managed to get to the doors the security announced the capacity was already filled but because of our lucky inside connection, we managed to get in through the back. Ducking in through the secret entrance we made our way through the industrial kitchen where warm mole, rice and beans were being served to all the guests. After pushing our way through the crowds we eventually found ourselves in the big dance room where a mass of tables and families faced the big stage. All around the room had been decorated in pistachio green to match the quinceañera's dress choice, and big colorful lights swept over the band as they cranked out popular mexican songs (none of which I knew).
We ate and talked with the people around us as the usual quince rituals carried on. None of the people around us seemed to care so I continually had to poke Mari to ask her what was happening. With all the distractions, I'm pretty sure I missed a few parts but I did get to see the quince perform a series of studied dances (including a waltz), a very poorly choreographed michael jackson-inspired number performed by some boys in matching green suits, and the quince's parents present her a tiara and a pair of heels to transition her into womanhood.
After her dance, everybody joined together on the stage with no inhibition, old and young alike dancing together. Mari and her husband Manuel danced together while I danced with Chyca and the kiddies.
Finally after a dozen songs the kids began to whine so we decided to head home. But only shortly after all cramming into the car the kids started to complain of hunger so we stopped at what I imagine was probably the only taqueria open at such an hour. The kids nibbled on some tacos and horchata while we sat around feeling cold in our dresses and tiny cardigans.
But as we sat leaning against the wall of the restaurant we realized there was also a lot of music coming from inside the building. Leaving the kids outside with Mari, Chyca, Tony and I went inside only to have our ears greeted once again by the sounds of the uber-popular song, Camaleón. The dark room throbbed with music as we watched couples dance inside, bouncing to the beat. We watched for a few minutes as the sweaty, smoky room pulsed and then turned back to make our way homewards.