Ixchel, the daughter of one of the family who run Corazon Maya turned six during the week and all the students were invited to her party. Two of the students provided entertainment as a clown and a magician before the real entertainment began – the piñata. It was modelled on a Frozen character, as is to be expected at a six-year-old girl’s party. While the children chanted and laughed in delight at the inability of their blind-folded classmates to reliably hit the piñata, the adults were entertained by the early deskirting of the doll and the gynaecological search for any remaining lollies when it finally burst.
Lunch was traditional chicken, rice, beans with not too much chilli, and the party finished with a large birthday cake and songs. I didn’t follow the whole song, but it sounded like the second verse was a demand for cake – even a small piece. We thought that was good enough to take up in our home countries, but we were yet to be surprised. When Ixchel had blown the candle out, rather than cutting the cake, her friends pushed her face into it. This explains the need for such a big cake and is apparently traditional at birthday parties of all ages. Cake anyone?