Guatemala 8/11/2017

Friday 8/11/2017 - Yoselin's Pageant

We are so proud of Yoselin, who was one of eight young ladies who competed for the title of Señorita INSBAPA at her school today (queen of the school). From the time that we woke up this morning, she and her squad of friends were preparing for the afternoon pageant.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs, fried plantains, chili con carne, and cheese.

Eddy has been talking a lot about the fact that science is his favorite subject at school. When we were at the bookstore the other day, he showed interest in a fold out picture book about the planets. Craig and I decided that we should buy it for him. He has been reading his Narnia book before bed each night, and we want to encourage enthusiasm for learning.

So I went out to Santander to do some errands, which included stopping at the bookstore. I experienced a momentary panic when I saw that the book was no longer on the table where we had seen it last time. But a helpful employee located it for me in another section, and I purchased it.

While I was gone, Eddy spent time in our room with Craig. He made the Minion jigsaw puzzle again, entirely on his own this time. We could tell how much his confidence was boosted.

When I returned, we gave Eddy the book. He loved it, and we looked through all of the illustrations and discussed what we saw. Eddy could converse well on the subject; it was obvious that he had really internalized a lot of the facts that he had learned at school. Yasmin joined us, and she was quite intrigued by the book as well. When she saw that our entire solar system is just a miniscule speck in the context of the universe, her eyes grew wide. "Verdad?" (Really?)

Soon it was time for lunch: deliciously crispy battered fried shrimp with steamed vegetables. We wished Yoselin good luck as she and Yasmin headed to school early to get ready for the pageant. Eddy attached a piece of rope to the front of Ian's moto, and the two of them took turns pulling one another

Paulina wore her new blouse made by Rosa in Ecuador. At 2:30, we walked to Rancho Grande. Along the way, we met Yolanda, Fatima, and Andrik. We took tuk-tuks to INSBAPA school, and entered the campus. The classrooms are are on the perimeter of the schoolyard. Students had brought their desks outside, and were preparing to cheer on their favorite contestant. They had whistles, balloons, and posters.

As families began to arrive, the custodian brought plastic chairs and we sat down. Yasmin and her good friend Maria Jose came to greet us, and they were running around helping Yoselin with last-minute preparations. At one point Yasmin worriedly asked Paulina a question. Paulina shook her head no, and Yasmin jumped on a bicycle and pedaled away.

She returned a while later with a pair of sneakers. Apparently, Yoselin needed them and Yasmin had sprinted home on the bike to fetch them. It was really lovely to see the sisterly devition at play here. Yasmin is rarely serious; she's got a great sense of humor and can make anyone laugh at any time. But she also has a huge heart, and was working tirelessly on behalf of her younger sister today.

We ran into Paulina's niece Lety and her family. Her daughter Nidia was also participating in the competition. We wished her luck.

The contest consisted of several parts: sports, culture, and fashion. At the beginning of each round, the girls were escorted around the schoolyard by a boy, and then seated in a row of chairs. First they were introduced in their school uniforms. There were eight contestants, and Yoselin was #6.

After the introductions, the girls were escorted back to the classroom/dressing room. While the girls changed outfits, the audience was entertained by dance numbers by their supporters. The dance troupes wore coordinated outfits, and danced to pre-recorded music.

After the first two contentants' dance routines, it was time for the sports round. The girls were dressed in sports attire. They walked around the schoolyard, and then described their attire and its relationship to the sport. Yoselin represented basketball, hence the sneakers that Yasmin retrieved for her. She demonstrated some fancy dribbling techniques.

Nidia represented boxing in this round, complete with headgear and gloves. She looked intimidating!

During the dance-filled intermission after the sports round, it started to rain. The dancers pushed through it, but when they were done, the festivities were put on hold for 15 minutes due to the weather.

During the rain delay, we enjoyed a slice of pizza and a slice of pie from food vendors. The rain let up, and Ian ran around splashing in the puddles. The custodians swept the water from the schoolyard, and the festivities commenced.

Yoselin's dancers consisted of three couples. Yasmin, Maria Jose, and another female friend danced with three boys. We had witnessed them practicing this dance in the downstairs corridor at the house, but we didn't know that it was in anticipation of this! They did an excellent job, and we are very proud of them.

When Paola got out of work, Cristian dropped her off at the school to watch the pageant. He came in to say hello to everyone but soon had to leave.

For the final round, the girls were wearing evening gowns. Yoselin looked breathtaking in a beautiful sparkling black gown, accented with her bejeweled white quinceañera heels and tiara. Later we would realize that she was also wearing the necklace that we had given her for her quinceañera. She was so poised and mature. Once again we thought back to first meeting her when she was four years old, holding a kitten. Between her quinceañera and this pageant, our little girl was all grown up, and it brought a tear to our eyes.

It was Yoselin's turn to answer a cultural question, though with the echoey PA system we weren't able to hear much of her answer.

The school administrators gave the students instructions regarding how to queue for voting. It had been chilly since the rain had stopped. Ian fell asleep and Vanesa took him home. Yoselin came over to greet us and thank us for coming. A few minutes later, Yasmin and Maria Jose came running up to me and asked me to take a photo of them with Yoselin.

Throughout the entire pageant, I had tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible. I thought that last thing the girls need is a gringo following them around with a camera in front of their peers, so I stood next to poles and got discreet photos. (Yet somehow, in her Yoselin way, she always made gorgeous eye contact with my camera). But here they were, asking me to photograph them in the center of a crowd of people. It really meant a lot to me. I spend a lot of time and effort documenting the kids as they grow up. When we see Eddy enjoying old videos, and when we see the girls asking me to take specific photos at the quinceañera or today's pageant, it means that they appreciate it as well.

The voting process took a long time. Lety bought us each an ice cream cone, "for the nerves." When the votes were all tallied, they started to announce the winners. Again, the PA system made this difficult to decipher. Paulina had to repeat it for us because we hadn't heard that...

Yoselin won the award for the most photogenic! This was certainly well-deserved. Ever since we first met her at age 4, my camera has loved her. Even when I try to get a candid shot of her, she always has a beautiful smile. It is impossible to take a bad picture of this kind-hearted young lady! We are so happy that we were able to attend this event at the school.

It takes a lot of bravery to put yourself out there like that in front of your peers, and Yoselin and Nidia carried themselves with poise and elegance.

It started to sprinkle rain, so the kids called Humberto to come and pick us all up in the van. By now it was 7:30, the time at which they had told Craig from Australia to come over for dinner. Luckily, Vanesa and Aracely were at home to receive him. We stopped at the Familia Dispensar to buy some food which could be whipped up quickly to feed 12 people.

We were about half an hour late, and found Craig sitting outside. Soon the older girls were preparing food (chips and fresh guacamole, chicken wings, and refried beans). Humberto's niece Isabel came over and prepared some enchiladas. We enjoyed chatting with Craig (whom Humberto dubbed "Billy" tonight to cut down on confusion, whereas we tend to jokigly call him "otra Craig" (other Craig)).

We had many laughs, and it was an enjoyable final night in Guatemala. We will miss our compadres as we head home early tomorrow morning. It has been a lovely visit. Gracias por todos!