Abriendo Caminos: Day 4

Familia. If I had to reduce the first four days of our celebration of Abriendos Caminos to one word, it would be the word familia. And I would be referring to both the small and individual family units here for the week and to the larger family of the community as a whole. All of our activities and events seem to evolve and revolve around the family.

The heat in the jacuzzi has been turned off for the week (the days are quite warm) and children enjoy playing in the cooler water. Their parents, not seen in the above picture, accompanied them in their play and seemed to enjoy the water as much as the children.

There are quite a few pinatas hanging in the dining hall, all of which were constructed by hand.

I do not know the name of these hand-cut pieces of brightly colored tissue paper. Along with the pinatas, they stream back and forth across the dining hall from one end to the other.

Mothers and daughters gathered at one end of the dining hall to make tissue paper flowers. Choose a color, any color, but make it bright.

There is a volleyball game in progress nearly all the time. Get on one side of the net or the other (you have to choose the uphill side or the downhill side) and "SERVE!"

When the afternoon sun grew too warm for the game of Bingo, tables were set up in the shadow of the back of the dining hall.

The parents of these two children were sitting nearby watching them play in the sandbox. The father had just finished volunteering his time to cut the grass on the front lawn.

A concert by the mariachi band was the final event of the day on Wednesday. The band, from Wenatchee, regularly entertained from an outside gathering place, called "the ark" and strolled through the dining hall during meals.

The festivities continue tomorrow. Stay tuned for tamale assembly and for the fiesta finale!

Adios!