The Christmas Lighting here is one of those events I love. It's usually fairly local, in the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's Eve and Three King's Day. There might be a few tourists, like the girl who thought it would be funny to move Chiquitine's crab Popayo to another place from where he'd put it. She didn't really understand why I was insistent that that would be a very, very bad idea. Chiquitine's crab? Yes.
I had wandered down early because watching the set up is part of the evening for me. On the waterfront, Chiqui had this crab. I thought it was dead, because while I've seen a lot of land crabs before, including the one that came inside Chez Shack until I booted it out, I've never seen one this still. People were touching it, Chiqui was posing it. It had to be dead, right? Wrong.
While music started to play and kids started to gather, I headed back to the pizza place to have a seat. Of course it would be a late start, which was fine. There were people out I hadn't seen in quite awhile, everyone in a great mood, some dressed up in holiday finery. This isn't exactly the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Square, but for us, it's an official kick off for the next month plus of holiday time.
Juan Juan getting the stage set up for tonight and especially New Year's Eve
One of my favorite decorations
Little darlin'
And then, the crab and Chiqui reappeared. The crab wasn't dead, he explained, it was just pretty tranquil. He'd been purging it (this might be more information than you want about purging land crabs, but here you go) in a cage at home and decided it needed to come out for the evening. He pet it. He posed it. He posed us. He kept us laughing, a lot.
photo credit: Francie
I was keeping an eye on the crab. Sure it was tranquil, but it wasn't dead. ~ photo credit: Francie
He says in 4 days it will be ready for the pot. Or 2 days. Or 2 weeks. He was on a roll. Finally, an hour late or so, I could hear the countdown going on in the plaza. My camera battery died. Of course it did. But the phone still worked. More or less. 3...2...1! Lights! Blow up figurines rose off the grass. Colors and ooohhh's and aaaah's. Well done!
Hello, Mr. Snowman. This will be as close to snow as we get.
PAZ lights. I love this.
Thus goes another night in Paradox, a good one, a happy one. I headed home as people were still heading in, my fun quota full. Carolyn promised me some pasteles. You can read a great article about the tradition of them and making of them here. Unlike lechon, which is showing up all year long now, pasteles are a tradition as associated with Christmas holidays as coquito is for me (and usually I get both of them from Carolyn; on a walkabout she'll appear, gifties in hand. I count that a lucky honor). Life is good. The images below are from a few years ago. I forgot to get a photo of them tied up, which is part of the coolness of pasteles and also part of the very hard work of making them. Filling, banana leaf wrap, parchment paper wrap, string tied. I am now officially starving for pasteles and it isn't 8 o'clock yet. I recall that I did eat one of these for breakfast that year. I don't even eat breakfast. I'd do it again. Right now.
Have a morsely memorable Monday. Do something mythological.
Hurricane season 2012 is officially over as of last midnight (though for many in the North, the reminders are all too real and present)! Even though there is an invest out there that will most likely bother no one. Weird weather continues, brought to you by climate change. Get used to it!
Around here, strings of lights are going up and soon the greeting of Feliz Navidad! will replace Buenos Dias. The plaza and small park across from the pizza place will be decorated with one theme or another (my favorite was the old fashioned Christmas year, my least favorite was the Disney year). Benjamin has a new painting on his wall (not finished, I'll catch that here soon), always a sign of the seasonal change for me.
We don't have snow or icicles or fires warming freezing rooms. The only branches bare are the ones the drought claimed. No woolen hats or fleecy coats, no long socks to borrow for the fireplace mantel. But the aroma of lechon will soon fill the air, bottles of coquito are being readied, pasteles will be wrapped in banana leaves and tied with twine.
So while I don't have the wish for a white Christmas, unless it means the sands of Flamenco Beach, I do, very much, like the very festive side of the season, and I'd better, since it goes on into January. There will be the usual unexpected closings of places we need to go, the complaints about 3 or 4 a.m. music of the parrandas (which I love, so don't complain to me), some longer lines than normal, post office confusion, but overall, this is a really happy time here and there is a lot to enjoy. So do that! I plan on it!
This pretty much sums up Culebra Christmas for me!
And even though I should save this music for tomorrow, I can't wait to do that. So I won't.
One of my favorite winter season music selections. Thank you, George Winston
Have a seasonally welcoming Saturday. Do something keeping it simple...all month.
