Today was amazing! It all started off with an 11:00am red wine mimosa and a couple hours of transplanting/ gardening. The weird day of weather brought me to doubt my planned walk to the 26th annual waterfront Cinco de Mayo Fiesta. Rain, steaming ground, then rain, then sun, a little thunder, oh my goodness what should I do? As I ate my, "day-off" chocolate chip pancakes and sipped my soy quad mocha I thought to myself, "should I really venture out to experience an amazing festival full of great food, a beautiful culture and amazing dancers?" After three thoughtful bites of my maple syrup drenched pancake and Jonathan saying,"you better belly up babe" as he cracked open a beer, I thought...why yes! I shall go! Not only will I attend the waterfront festivities, but I will also attend my hermanas(sister's) fiesta later on. Following some planting of beefsteak tomatoes and mesclun mix lettuce blend, we were off!
Walking along the water smelling the roasted corn and peppers mixed with a hint of cigarette smoke, I was immediately glad I chose to come to this occasion. I heard the Mariachi style guitar strumming and saw colorful dresses swirling about. Though the rain pelted my face continuously, I was sure I was in for a treat. Upon entry I was dumbfounded why a creperie or a pasta shack would dare show their face at a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta. Then I saw the leashed children screaming, "spaghetti, spaghetti" and remembered where I was. Sure, we gotta keep it diverse, but really? After getting over that, I settled in with a mojito and a giant array of grilled veggies from Casa de Tamales. Local asparagus, potatoes, green and red bell peppers, button mushrooms, succulent spinach, sweet onions and even beets were handed to me by a smiling face and not to mention a true cook. She had a dirty apron, fast moves and an obvious true love of cooking. Who knew there would be a delicious vegan basket full of goodness at such a fiesta. As I mowed down on my veggies, my love, Jonathan enjoyed a Tecate and a grilled bell pepper quesedilla topped with an amazing smoked tomato salsa and a circle of sour cream. I knew he enjoyed it when I heard nothing until there was an empty plate, " That was f*^%ing good" he concluded. We were then joined by friends and more margaritas. I learned to love tequila today, despite past experiences. Looking at all the booths I found a new delicious candy, a mango sucker covered in spicy chili powder. I saw many people walking around enjoying fresh mangoes on a stick with chili powder on the outside. Apparently, this has been a favorite of many for quite some time, but I have just been out of the loop. After a trek through the well lit carnival it was time to head to the sis's party at her casa. Thank goodness for the failure of rain this afternoon for we would have been drenched with all of our walking. So we mosied on with our mango lollipops.
Our arrival was welcomed by yet another margarita, I must say a bit stronger then the festivals, and a wonderful spicy black bean dish served up with chopped cilantro, avocado and salty yellow corn chips. The best part was the filled pinata on the table ready for a beating! After a game of Cinco de Mayo trivia to see who would start the game, we went at the colorful donkey pinata with a broomstick and discovered godzilla like finger puppets, kazoos, dum dums and everyone's favorite, strawberry pop rocks. Which disappointedly enough have milk in them! Observing my finger puppet as I got a tequila scented kiss on the cheek, I realized I was very happy. What more do you need then friends, family, great food and excellent music. In 1862, the people of Mexico came together to fight for their country and now they invite us to celebrate their liberty with them. Let that be an honor to you all and take advantage of these kind of events. It is a lot of fun and a fabulous party. You will learn a lot and support what matters. If you didn't enjoy it this year then there is always next year. If you love Mexican food as much as I do then you will not regret it! I hope you all had a fantastic Cinco de Mayo and enjoy your night.
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