October 21, 2012: When a Hot Latino Dressed in White Invites You to Dance, the Answer is Always Yes

Attending a Traditional Wedding in Guatemala

So there I was, a fish out of water, surrounded by these colorful, beautiful, graceful Latin men and women; all dressed in their finery, in an atmosphere that could only be described as distilled essence of pure joy. We were in a place enclosed by mountains and plains and 10 foot tall corn plants, with turkeys running through the ceremony, marimba music on the radio, and pine needles strewn across the floor.

 

I am in Guatemala, preparing for my upcoming new life. Upon hearing the news that I was going to be in town, my muy amigo Ramon invited me to attend a traditional wedding ceremony in which he and his wife are the padrinos, or godparents, of the new couple. This is an interesting custom that I found very beautiful in its simplicity. The new, presumably young, couple; selects an older experienced couple to be their spiritual escorts through the day's wedding ceremony, and as life advisors for them as they start out together, as scared presumably as any new couple anywhere. Attending was a tremendous honor for me.

 

I got to the church at 10:00, and therefore missed the civil service in the town hall where legal government documents were signed. This had started at 8:00 am. Apparently, the wedding preparations themselves had begun earlier that day, at 4:00 am for my friends, who were charged with outfitting the bride, attending to small details, and preparing the formal documents. Guatemalans are big on their documents.

 

The spiritual wedding service was held in a 400 year old Catholic church in the center of town, with the very handsome groom dressed in white pants, shoes, vest, shirt and jacket. The bride was gorgeous in a traditional corte, rainbow striped with velvet and lace edges, and a white lace traditional blouse cinched at the waist. She wore silver sandals, a tiara, and a white veil to her ankles that was hand embroidered. They both looked terrified.

 

The service form the was included in the normal Sunday morning services, a blend of Catholicism, Evangelicism, and spiritual Maya; and was conducted in Spanish and Q'iche Maya language. The service was short and sweet. A silver chain was used to symbolically bind the couple together, and her veil was wrapped around his shoulders as they proceeded to the altar to light ceremonial candles and receive communion. The rings and vows were exchanged in a matter of 5 minutes.

 

Afterwards, guests were packed into a chicken bus to go to the father's house, where a toast of fresco, a sugar sweetened drink, was served. This part was held in a downpour, so I did not understand much of what was going on. Apparently, besides the godparents of the couple, there are two other older people who serve very important roles in the lives of the young couple. Two older men unaffiliated with the family act as intermediaries between the two families, and thus the service held at the groom's house was to welcome the bride into the groom's family, and formally acknowledge her entrance as a new member of the family, facilitated by my friend's wife, as the spokesperson for the bride, and the anciano who represented the groom's family.

 

Gifts of furniture and household goods were piled into trucks, and we all got back onto a camioneta, heading now for the bride's house, where the fiesta was to take place. Honored guests, myself included, were invited in to attend a formal dinner, while the rest were seated outside. I felt very awkward as I was served the same amount of food as the bride, groom , godparents, and parents- a huge chicken leg, salad, and rice platter; while everyone else got a small piece of chicken and rice on a platter. The Guatemalan way is to accept a gift with both hands and say thank you, so I did.

 

After food and prayers came the dancing. The first dance was led by the godparents. My friend Ramon danced a marimba with the bride, while his wife Maria danced with the groom. The second dance, a meringue, was led by the parents, and slowly the circle was expanded until the bride and groom danced together, and the community were invited to participate. One by one, every man danced with the bride, and every seemingly eligible woman was invited to dance by the groom. They even got me out there, and I am terrified of dancing.

 

There were two more important ceremonies of note; both of which made me realize just how beautiful their culture really is. The first was a traditional toast, where a bottle of good tequila and soda were offered to the women who prepared the wedding feast and were keeping things moving; essentially, the caterers. They were invited to participate as guests in the official toast reserved just for them, because, as it was pointed out, communities require support, and they were the support and thus deserved recognition.

 

The last part of the ceremony were the formal toasts, which were facilitated by the godparents and the old man who represents the bride's family. My friend Ramon opened the ceremony, again in both Mayan and Spanish, asking for blessings for the couple and offering words of wisdom. I realized two things very quickly, watching him: 1) He is one of the best orators I have ever heard, in any language, and 2) I will never be able to marry anyone who is not a poet. Period. His beautiful words of advice and love and wisdom rolled over us for about 10 minutes, and there was not a dry eye in the house. Maria spoke after him, saying she would keep things short, and also asking for blessings. then the groom was welcomed into the bride's family, formally; and the two families were asked to formally accept each other, with the community as witness.

 

After all (a LOT!) was said and done, 10 hours had passed. It was an amazing, rich, experience that I shall never forget. Mantiosh, Ramon and Maria, for inviting me in to visit such an intimate, beautiful service.

Reviews

[Tree]

A beautiful experience, and that you shared these moments with us in the form of your prose brought us close to it. If more people (especially the closed minded) were to immerse themselves in other cultures as deep as you have, I am convinced there would be a more understanding, and tolerance in the world. Thank you for sharing this..

Diego

[Marie Anzalone]

Thanks for taking the time to read my words on this, amigo. I have learned SO MUCH about life, love, sharing, and community from these supposedly third world people. I feel often, when people ask me, "so what was it like?" I have no reference point to even start from. It's like Carl Sagan saying, "in order to tell someone how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you first need to invent the universe." I read travelogues that treat these beautiful people like objects of art or pity, and it deeply saddens me. this is a living, breathing, bleeding culture that demands respect for what they know and do right. Watching my friend Ramon is a gift; he somehow imbues spirit in every small movement he makes; in the office, at home, everywhere. I had read about Native Americans with the grace of imbuing every movement in daily life with sacred motion, but actually seeing it in person is astounding. Being here is like watching a poem dance out loud. Once again, I am glad you "get" it. You are very special in that. Saludos desde la tierra linda de Guatemala.