A celebration of life!

For Venezuelans, birthday parties are a big deal. This is a celebration of a person's life. In Venezuela, birthdays are celebrated by family and friends together at parties that last several hours, usually ending sometime early the next day.

On Saturday, I attended the birthday party for the son of a cousin of a friend. The birthday boy was turing the ripe old age of 1. The party "began" at 6:30pm. There were tons of people there, talking and celebrating. The party continued long after I left at 11:30pm (after all, I have church in the morning). Here are some of the pictures from the party... (keep in mind, this was a party for a one year old child)

The main tables for all party treats. This is also where the 2 cakes were located later in the evening.

The 30 foot inflatable slide for the many children who were invited to the party.

The birthday boy, Diego, attacking the piñata at about 10:30pm.

Even the adults get in on the piñata action after it has been broken.

This birthday party was a bit of culture shock for me. For me and my family, birthdays are not that big of a deal. We celebrate in a much more subdued manner. We usually just have a small dinner/ gathering with just our immediate family. However, as I become integrated into Venezuelan culture, the differences I see here now will become familiarities to me.