Who Needs Times Square? We've got choclo!

It is 11:36 in the morning, new years day, and the music is still playing. People are still dancing. I have still not fallen asleep since leaving the dance around 3 last night. I am not so in love with the community right now, as the dance was once again in the building next door, meaning that the music has been shaking our house since last night at 6pm.

Actually the fact that there are still people dancing is a reason to be completely in love with the community. There are still people dancing! Last night Norbey and I dazzled with our cunning display of agility, grace and ability to cover the entire dance floor in only 10 hops. I've also decided, upon further observation, that the dancing to vallenato music is of the bobble head variety. You know those things they give out at baseball games? That's what the hip shake/bored face dance ends up looking like. Fantastic.

Some folks from the community had put together “el Año Viejo” the day before. A “man” stuffed with dried banana leaves and dressed up with clothes from community members. At midnight one of the older girls read a poem she had composed to say farewell to 2006. It was a long piece full of clever couplets about folks in the community. Mireille and I even had a couplet and it felt really special to be included. They set el Año Viejo on fire and folks gathered around to watch him burn as everyone wished happy new year to everyone else with a hug and a kiss. There was a really happy and carefree feeling in the air. As the well wishing continued and the Año Viejo burned, the consejo leader and his wife handed out buñuelos and natilla. Buñuelos are sort of like donut holes, only made from special buñuelo flour and cheese then fried into delicious goodness. Natilla is the special holiday treat of Colombia. It’s a custard-like treat with cinnamon and cheese and milk and some other things I can’t remember. The community made at least 654 pounds of it yesterday and since Mireille is a vegan the portion they gave to both of us earlier in the day was really for me to eat.

Other than the natilla and buñuelos, I managed to eat mostly things made only from fresh corn on the cob, or choclo. We were fed mazamorra de choclo, colada de choclo, torta de choclo and arepa de choclo. The torta was the most surprising as it was almost exactly the corn fritter I know and love from home (especially from Eat ‘n Park, Erin remember me eating a dish of them this fall?). The mazamorra is like a corn soup made only of corn, some whole kernels, mostly ground kernels. Colada is the water that runs off when grinding up the corn. And arepa is the Colombian tortilla, but arepa de choclo is really big and thick and more like corn bread than tortilla. All in all, delicious. (All the corn reminded me at lot of V and her 5th grade “state” costume.)

Point is, it was good to work off some of the days eating with dancing. And since the same 15 songs are played in constant rotation, I really felt that I truly knew and understood the music this time around. We left the dance around 3 but knew that we weren’t going to get to sleep for some time so we popped in a movie that we rented at this place in town that charges about 50 cents for a movie. Of course, they are all burned so it’s a coin toss to see if they actually play in my computer. But, it worked and based on Brie’s suggestion we watched “GOAL!!!!” and she is right, it is my new favorite movie ever. It’s not just the mediocre acting and the swelling melodramatic musical moments that merit my adoration but also that it includes an undocumented Mexican immigrant, a Scottish man, soccer and the message of the importance of family, teamwork and overcoming all odds to achieve your GOAL!!!!, plus a love story. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

Today folks in the community have already killed a turkey and I have given wheelbarrow rides to two of the boys, only tipping them out once. It is another scorcher and the music continues to play. Happy new year to you and yours! I hope that 2007 is a year filled with laughter, love, corn on the cob and cheesy sports movies.