A Great Weekend

I know Thursday isn't technically the weekend but that's where this starts. Becca's cousin Alicia gave birth to her second little boy. They had picked out the name Ian for him but once they got a good look at him they decided that wasn't his name. Caleb Dwight Dorton apparently fit him much better. Here he is with his dad Derron. We also want to congratulate Derron for getting a new job!

Friday night we went to a fundraiser dinner put together by the Chilean Association of Utah. I rarely get to be around a big group of Chileans anymore so I jumped at the chance. We sampled yummy food and got to see a great show of Chile's national dance the Cueca.

This is called torta de mil hojas or Thousand Layered Cake. It's flaky and has a caramel like filling in between the many layers. We also had completos (Chilean hot dogs) and cheese empanadas.

They then invited people up to learn how to dance the Cueca. As a missionary I wasn't not supposed to dance with girls so I never learned the Cueca when I was down there. Becca was a good sport and we went up in front of everyone else with a few other couples. Then they began the competition, the prize being the lovely dish you see above. I convinced Becca to give it a go. I figured we'd get eliminated on the first round but it would end up being a fun experience anyway. To our shock, most of the couples decided to just sit down after the first round and Becca and I were left alone up front with a guy dressed in a traditional Chilean country outfit and his two dancing partners.

My dancing in this video reminds me of Forrest Gump. I'm sure it's just the effect of the camera because they named us the winners! We won on a technicality: the Cueca is supposed to be danced by a couple, not a threesome. We had a lot of fun that night with our Chilean friends, getting outside of our comfort zones and dancing the Cueca.

Saturday we went up to Salt Lake City to the Living Traditions Festival. It was fabulous! The weather was perfect and there was a perfect balance of there being a good turn out without there being too many people. There were traditional groups ranging from 19th century immigrants, like the Swiss, to 20th century ones, like the Bosnians.

Becca and I were very impressed by the first show we saw. These Chinese American girls really did a great job showing us a variety of traditional Chinese and Mongolian dances that required balance and grace.

These guys above are from a Swiss musical group that's been in Salt Lake City for 75 years. These traditional horns are played with no valves and yet, somehow, they were able to play several songs in three part harmony.

This rug shows how the old is mixing with the new. It was made by an Armenian fellow, using a traditional loom, but portrays an important landmark from his home here in the Rocky Mountains.

This Tongan fellow worked on his statue the whole time we were there. It's a great effect because you're pretty sure the rest of the stuff they're selling wasn't just mass produced in Indonesia or China and sold as Tongan.

I had my doubts about the authenticity of a Basque churro. The Basque people have lived up in the Pyrenees Mountains since before the Greeks and the Romans established colonies in what is now Spain. After looking it up at home, I found that the churro actually does date back to Spain and that there are different varieties all throughout the Hispanic world. Most Basque don't consider themselves Hispanic but I guess they thought the churros would sell.

There must have been two dozen booths set up selling different types of foods from all over. I settled on a Greek gyro. I've been missing our little Greek restaurant in Modesto. What I got on Saturday was good but nothing beats Super Gyro in Modesto.

Garit and Lorena met up with us later that day in Provo where we went to go hear my buddy David Higbee's band Zero Summers. They played a variety of original songs and covers from other artists. While their style is definitely Indie they had their own unique sound that is richly harmonious and often melancholic. It was a great way to end the day.