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Vilcabamba Glimpse #13
The Marriage of Claudio and Blanca
Yesterday, July 29, I attended the wedding of Claudio and Blanca.
This is the second wedding I've been to in Vilcabamba. The first, Pablo's and Margarena's, was about seven months ago. That was a very formal and elegant affair. The bridegroom wore a tux (actually, a morning coat) and the bride wore a beautiful gown. A horse-drawn carriage took them to and from the church. The reception for 280 people was in the finest hotel in Vilcabamba, Hosteria de Vilcabamba. The bridegroom was an attorney and the bride had her Ph.D. Those who attended were mostly upper-class and well dressed.
The marriage of Claudio and Blanca was different. Very different.
Whereas Pablo's and Margarena's wedding was elegant, Claudio's and Blanca's was magical.
Claudio is the chef at Hosteria de Vilcabamba. He lives at the hosteria in extremely modest quarters provided for the staff. I know Claudio as I've lived in the hosteria for nearly a year.
The wedding was scheduled for 7:00 P.M. Shortly before seven, I walked through the hosteria on my way to my truck in the parking lot. I ran into Claudio who wore a modest suit for the wedding. I adjusted his tie for him. I proceeded to the parking lot. Claudio yelled out for me to wait for Zoilita. Zoilita is the very affable and matronly woman who, with her husband (the reclusive colonel), own and run the Hosteria de Vilcabamba. Zoilita, in her mid-seventies, is a good friend. She and I have breakfast together each morning. Zoilita got into my truck (a Mazda with an extra cab). To my surprise, so did Claudio, the bridegroom.
I thought to myself, "This is interesting, I'm taking the bridegroom to the church."
We drove to downtown Vilcabamba, about a mile from the hosteria. I stopped in front of the church to let Zoilita and Claudio off. I parked near the front of the Catholic church. The church, incidentally, is quite large (see photo). It dominates the town square. This is normal for many towns in Ecuador.
Many people, about 250, were in church. I thought that was very unusual for what I thought would be a very small wedding. As it turned out, this was not just a wedding ceremony, it was the regular Saturday night Catholic mass. The wedding ceremony was folded into the mass.
Claudio and Zoilita (the godmother) sat in one of two small pews provided for them in front of the center aisle. Mass began. About ten minutes later, Blanca, dressed in a beautiful white wedding gown, came down the aisle. She was accompanied by her elderly father. His dress was just a pair of slacks and a shirt, very ordinary. There was no special music, no wedding march or anything like that when the bride came down the aisle. Blanca took a position in the front of the church next to Claudio. About five minutes later, the maid of honor and best man showed up and found seats.
Mass continued. The church service reminded me of those I attended in the Catholic church my family attended in the 40s and 50s in Pennsylvania. Lots of elderly. Very solemn. Very pious. Very devotional.
At a point during the mass, the marriage of Claudio and Blanca occurred. They exchanged vows. They were married. Padre Juan, a friend of mine, said the mass and performed the wedding.
After mass, as most of the people left the church, the wedding party (best man and maid of honor and small number of family members) remained for photographs. I too remained in front of the church. Zoilita asked me if I would take the wedding party in my truck to the reception. This surprised me as I thought those arrangements would have been made previously. Of course, I said I would take them. As an aside, this was helpful to me as I didn't know where the reception was going to be.
I went outside to the front of the church to position my truck so it would be in front of the church's entrance. Hundreds of people were in the street waiting for Claudio and Blanca to emerge. Incidentally, it was a beautiful Vilcabamba night. The temperature was perfect spring-like (as it is year around) and the clear sky was full of stars. It was about 8:30 in the evening at this point.
Zoilita got into my truck. Claudio and Blanca got into the back seat as did the maid of honor (dressed in red). Into the bed of the truck, climbed the bride's father, other elderly men and women family members, and a couple of very young girls in white dresses. Off we went to the reception.
The reception was in Chaupi, a small barrio (neighborhood), home to about 57 families, about two miles from downtown Vilcabamba and adjacent to Hacienda San Joaquin. We drove on the dirt road I drive on every day to get to the hacienda. Other trucks and taxis trailed behind us.
We arrived at the house where the reception was to be held. It was Lee Harrison's house, an American friend of mine who lives in Vilcabamba and Cuenca. Lee write for International Living. I had no idea the reception was to be at his house (he was away on a writing assignment in Brazil). When we arrived, I was told by a man who was sort of the master of ceremonies (MC) for the reception to drive on and return in about ten minutes. I drove on to Hacienda San Joaquin just down the road.
In due time, we returned to the reception. By this time, about 100 people, mostly seated, had gathered in the outdoor courtyard of the home.
Now began the real fanfare. The MC directed Claudio and Blanca to emerge from my truck and make a grand entrance. Now the disc jockey played the wedding march. Everyone applauded. The MC, microphone in hand, had much to say. The wedding party took seats. A small cup of wine was given to everyone for the toast to the new couple. Some typical games were played with the unmarried men and women present (not unlike what occurs in the U.S.).
The disc jockey played the wonderful "Oh How We Danced" (Al Jolson and Saul Chaplin, 1946) as Claudio and Blanca danced:
Oh, how we danced on the night we were wed!
We vowed our true love, though a word wasn't said.
The world was in bloom. there were stars in the skies,
Except for the few that were there in your eyes.
Dear, as I held you close in my arms,
Angels were singing a hymn to your charms.
Two hearts gently beating, murmuring low,
"Darling, I love you so."
The night seemed to fade into blossoming dawn.
The sun shone anew, but the dance lingered on.
Could we but relive that sweet moment sublime,
We'd find that our love is unaltered by time.
Listen: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000005Z8Y/103-8675761-4323069?v=glance&n=5174 (scroll down to #14)
Dinner, prepared and served by the family and friends, began about 10:00 P.M. Outside the entrance to Lee's house on the dirt road where the trucks and cars were parked, about twenty young men from the barrio stood by. They too were served dinner. My impression was that everyone from the barrio was invited to the wedding. A number of these young guys and other guests were known to me as they are part of our work force at Hacienda San Joaquin.
Shortly after 11:00 P.M. Zoilita asked me to drive her back to the hosteria, which I did. The party and dancing went on to past three in the morning.
For me, it was a wonderful evening and another incredible Vilcabamba experience.
The photos:
Best, Joe
Joe Simonetta
Owner/Architect
Hacienda San Joaquin
Vilcabamba, Ecuador
P.S. International Living named Ecuador "The Best Place in the World to Retire" http://www.haciendasanjoaquin.com/best_in_the_world.html