Las Mañanitas

Yesterday, my neighbor and friend, Claudia graciously invited me over to her house for a birthday dinner. When I walked through the door, I was greeted by Claudia’s daughter, Ceci who painted my face with the colors of the Mexican flag (Independence Day is coming up.) The family gave me 2 little presents: a small, silver compact mirror to keep in a purse or backpack and a pin that says ¡Viva México! Before dinner, I was treated to snacks and some agua fresca (fruit juice)—agua de tuna. Tuna is the fruit that is found on the cactus. The agua de tuna tasted like a combination of kiwi and just ripened banana.

For dinner, we had enfrijoladas—corn tortillas filled with vegetables and dipped in a black bean sauce. They were topped with crema (sour cream), queso de canasta (a shredded white cheese), avocado, tomato, and green pepper. Wow…were they tasty.

After dinner, the family sang “Las Mañanitas” to me. This is the traditional birthday song that is sung here in Mexico. While there are many verses to the song, the first two are usually sung at most parties. Here are the lyrics:

Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,
Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti,
Despierta, Nicole, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,
Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.

Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,
Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte,Y
a viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,
Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.

And the translation:

This is the morning song that King David sang,
Because today is your saint's day we're singing it for you,
Wake up, Nicole, wake up, look it is already dawn,
The birds are already singing and the moon has set.

How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you,
We all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate you,
The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light,
Get up in the morning, look it is already dawn.

You can hear the music by clicking here.

I was very excited to be able to celebrate my birthday with a Mexican family. For dessert we enjoyed vanilla and strawberry Rice Krispie Treats that I prepared and a creamy gelatin painted with the colors of the Mexican flag. It was certainly a birthday to remember.

Abrazos, Nicole