A Mexican Wedding

(Click on any of the photos to view a larger version)

The flight from Heathrow to Mexico City was pleasant, uneventful and, at 9 hours, quite long so it gave me an opportunity to try out the Nikon S10 point-and-shoot digital camera that we’d bought recently to use when my wife’s Canon SLR is a bit over-the-top.

We arrived in Mexico at about 8pm local time, or about 2am UK time, so we were glad that we had decided to book a room at the Hilton which is actually on-site at the airport.

The next day, we travelled by coach to Querétaro. The coach service is a bit like National Express, but on steroids! The seats are well padded, and recline! A packed lunch was provided, along with some music and a film to keep us occupied during the 2½ hour journey.

Querétaro or, to give it its full name – Santiago de Querétaro – was first occupied by the Spanish in 1531 and they allied themselves with the Otomí. The city is considered to be the cradle of Mexican Independence since the rebellion was planned here. Following the Mexican Revolution, the victorious forces assembled themselves in the city where, on February 5th 1917, they drafted the Constitution that remains in force today. The city was a host city for the 1986 World Cup.

Our hotel – the Quinta Santiago – has been a delightful place to rest at the end of each day. The staff have been very friendly and helpful. The architecture of both the hotel and the city in general is reminiscent of Spain, reflecting the heritage of the city.

The room we’ve been staying in has been on two levels. The lower level has the bedroom and bathroom, while the upper level has a living room area.

The wedding was between Deborah & Omar. Deborah is the eldest daughter of Pat & Marc. Pat is my wife’s best friend from college days; they later emigrated to Canada from the UK. My wife returned to the UK after a couple of years, but Pat stayed on, married Marc and has two lovely daughters.

The wedding was held in what is locally referred to as a temple. This particular temple is named after Saint Antonio. As seemed to be par for the course with the Mexican way of life, the previous wedding ceremony was overrunning, so we initially congregated outside, making as much use of the shade as possible.

As a Catholic service, we were surprised to see so many people moving around during the ceremony taking photos. It was quite a contrast to how services are conducted back home! Still, it did mean that there were plenty of opportunities to keep memories of the event.

The service was mostly conducted in Spanish, with the exception of a couple of points in the ceremony where the couple repeated sections in English, particularly their vows.

After the service, we made our way to Misión San Gil for the reception. The weather was gorgeous so we were able to enjoy the afternoon and evening outside. By comparison with other wedding receptions, the top table consisted of just the bride and groom. We had a delightful three course meal: a starter of cheese ravioli, followed by chicken in sesame seeds with mashed potato, carrots and broccoli, and a cheesecake desert. After the meal ... the revelries!

 

After the more traditional wedding dances, we had some more unusual entertainment, including a congo that went underneath an archway formed by the bride and groom.

 

 

 

 

The bride then threw her bouquet ... and it was caught by her younger sister!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, the groom retrieved the garter from beneath his wife’s dress and threw it out to the single men, where it was caught by one of the younger participants.

We then had a traditional Mexican piece where the men carried the groom as if to a funeral, then throwing him in the air (and catching him!) and finally, dunking his feet in the nearest fountain.

The partying continued late into the night, with dances involving balloons, straw hats and wrestling masks ... although not all at the same time!

The next day was primarily one of relaxation and, for some, recovery after all of the alcohol from the previous night! After checking out of the hotel, we returned by taxi to Querétaro, trying to ignore the fact that the speedometer in the taxi wasn’t working and we had no way to judge how much over the speed limit the driver was going! 

The following day was an excursion arranged by our hosts as an opportunity for more of us to spend time with each other after the wedding. The first destination was to San Sebastián Bernal, home of Peña de Bernal or Bernal’s Boulder. This is the second-largest monolith in the world (after Mt Augustus in Western Australia) and the third-highest monolith in the world (after the Rock of Gibraltar and Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro).

The town was very quiet as most Mexicans visit it at the weekend. Whilst there, we bought some local items as presents for the folks back home. This has become something of a tradition for us – taking advantage of our various holiday destinations to buy more unusual gifts.

There were some beautiful flowers to be seen, as well as pomegranates!

After staring up at the monolith and deciding that we were all wimps and not going to try to hike up it, we drove on to Tequisquiapan – a town that has a name that is as hard to pronounce as it is to spell! Here, we had a lovely four course meal with choices for every course: chicken consommé or cream of spinach soup, paella or bolognaise cannelloni, chicken in breadcrumbs or steak, both with chips and salad, and finishing off with a small desert of cold custard or crème brûlée. What took us by surprise, despite having bought various local items at a very favourable price, was the cost of this meal. Just £5 per person! The low price of the food was not betrayed by poor quality, either. Each course was very tasty and a delight to eat.

We finished the day back in Querétaro where we sat outside a bar, enjoying drinks while listening to a local guitar player singing Beatle classics to us.

The following, and final full day in Querétaro, was spent doing some final shopping and walking over to one of the famous sights of the city - the aqueduct. Constructed between 1726 and 1735, the aqueduct of Queretaro has gained national recognition as the symbol of the city. Built of local sandstone, its 74 arches reach nearly 1,400 yards east of the city; the highest arch soars some 75 feet above current-day street level. The aqueduct brought drinking water into the city from springs located on what are now the outskirts of town. It was put into service in 1738, furnishing water to the convents and filling the public fountains, an event which occasioned two weeks of public celebration. Although it no longer carries municipal water, the colonial aqueduct is­ one of the most ambitious hydraulic projects of the colonial era in Mexico ­and is an imposing sight as it sweeps into the city from the surrounding hills.

Neither of us really knew what to look forward to or expect during this holiday. We knew we were going to Mexico, where we hadn’t been before or knew much about, and we knew we were going to a wedding, but didn’t know much more than that. The week has been filled with wonderful experiences – Querétaro is a wonderful town to visit. It is popular with Mexicans as a tourist location but is currently off the tourist map for almost everyone else. The wedding was delightful, from the experience of a Catholic ceremony, to seeing everyone so joyous and involved. The wedding reception was amazing and I don’t think we’ll forget all of the parts that went to make up the whole in a hurry!