My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

My Big, fat, Cuban Family Party (together) before the Wedding

Today's the wedding day. We've been anxiously awaiting this chance to have a big, fat, Cuban family wedding in Miami. Today is that day. People, we're out of our skin excited!

To be together, to be a family, to welcome more family, to poke fun at each other, to laugh together, to dance together, to tell jokes and family stories.

To celebrate being a family and NOT have to wait until Christmas.

Needless to say, we've been soooo looking forward to this wedding (to be together).

But wait.... we all flew in from somewhere this week.... and there's no time like the present, so last night we all got together in South Beach.....

And, of course, I had my camera.....

So after the buzz of "where are you?" phone calls, we managed to meet in some posh bar....

And we got the chance to be together, to be a family, to welcome more family, to poke fun at each other, to laugh together, to dance together, to tell jokes and family stories.

We agreed that it would be fun if we all dressed up and got together to do it again the next night.
Oh wait.... that's the wedding. Then how about Saturday night? Ummm.... Family Reunion at Cousin Ileana's?

Seriously, this is going to be a LOOOONNGG (and REALLY FUN!!) weekend (together).

(good thing we're all stocked up on Red Lipstick! =D)

Code Red

Prepare yourself South Florida.....

The last few days have been a flurry of texts and phone calls between my mom and my sisters and my cousins and my nieces and myself.
My big, fat, Cuban family is preparing to invade Miami. (Ay Dios mio!)

Michael and Kimberly are getting married on Friday. (Yay!)

And because of the nature of weddings and all the wedding business that has to happen during the reception and all that, well, there just won't be enough face-to-face time, so... we're all getting together again on Saturday. (Ay Dios mio!)

So, see, we're not just going to the wedding (which I'm sure will be just fabulous, but that's not important right now) we're TRAVELING. And as you well know, traveling involves PREPARATIONS.

And so the phone lines are burning with the questions:

"What are you wearing to the wedding?"
"Can I borrow your (fill in the blank)?"
"It's pouring rain in Miami, bring an umbrella."
"Are you having your hair done here or there?"
"What time is your pedicure?"

And so we carry on, as typical Cuban girls/sisters/cousins/nieces do.

So, world-class list maker that I am, I've got my checklist and realize that I completely forgot to get a new red lipstick! I know! Serious Makeup Emergency!!  (you can tell by all the exclamation points I'm using that this is SERIOUS!!!)

My current red is down to the embarrassing scraping-with-the-lip-brush stage and I have been meaning to get myself to Nordstrom, but that would involve actually getting dressed up just to go buy lipstick and well, darn it, it's summer! And I just haven't been feeling it and blah, blah, blah.... All that to say that I never got my new lipstick.  =(

Panicking here. Yes, I know it's my own fault for procrastinating and it's late in the game here. My flight leaves in a few hours....

So, I call my sister, Ofelia (who actually works at the Lancome counter at Nordstrom, which is why I get my makeup there in the first place, because I am being supportive, but I digress.....)

Me: "Ofie, Makeup Emergency! I need a red lipstick for the wedding!"

Ofie (in a completely calm, I-live-for-moments-like-this voice:
"Come over to my house. I think I might have one."

One hundred and fifty lipsticks later, I found seventeen reds.
(God, I love my family!)

Ay Dios Mio!  ;-)

See you in Miami!! 
(I'll be the one in the fabulous Red Lipstick. =D)

Island girls blog, too.

The Balboa Island Ferry.
Just one of those local historically charming things we have here in South Orange County.
Since 1919 the auto ferry has been taking 3 cars at a time (plus pedestrian passengers) back and forth between Balboa Island and the Fun Zone at the Balboa Peninsula.

To my complete excitement and delight, my Cuban friend, Carrie, of the fabulous blog, Bilingual in the Boonies is visiting us here in Southern California, far from their Boonie Home in Tennessee, along with her enchanting husband (No, they're never going to build a bridge there, Tom - get over it. =D) and their delightfully animated and chatty daughter, Maria, who breathlessly told me this great story all about how she has a baby sister, Rebecca, and an older sister, Lilly, but they don't live in the same house as her, and yada, yada...

I knew Carrie and I had much to catch up on, but still....

Me: "You have two other daughters?? And they don't live with you?? You're holding out on me!" 

Carrie: "Marta,( she said in a voice of infinite patience, that she obviously uses to explain things to her 4 year old and her thick-headed-quasi-retarded friends) Maria is four and doesn't quite get the concept of COUSINS." 

And that was just the beginning of our evening.

I suppose you are still wondering what we were doing boarding the Balboa Island Ferry at 10 o'clock at night. I know the setting seems odd, but seriously, what could be more natural (or more fun???) than two Cuban girls on an island?  =D

(Stay tuned - I will have much to report!)  ;-)

TTFN (ta-ta for now)

It's officially SUMMER (!) for the Darbys and we're on vacation for the rest of the week. I will have the laptop and I may or may not be inspired to blog. See there? I have this total "Don't mess with me - I'm on vacation" vibe happening already (but that's not important right now).

I leave you (and my house and garden and cats) in the very capable hands of my first-born. (That's her cross to bear. =D)

Me? I'll be busy.
I have much to accomplish in a few short months and I'll need a head start... ;-)

And the number one reason why I could never live in Miami...

I admit it.
I have no willpower.
This place is open until all hours of the night.
And they serve Cuban food, people.
Fabulous Cuban food!
And pastries.
Amazing Cuban pastries!
And I have no willpower.
It's like the Cuban Mecca.
And I am a faithful pilgrim.
To go to Miami is to go to Versailles.
And seriously, if I lived in Miami, well....
you can imagine!
Cuban food!
At all hours!
I would certainly rise to that challenge.
Did I mention that I have no willpower?
I would find myself completely out of control.
So it's a very good thing that I don't live in Miami.
In fact, I was kind of relieved when we finally got to the airport last week to come home.
I could finally leave temptation behind me and breathe once again.

But when we arrived at the airport and to our departure gate, we found this:

Right next to our DEPARTURE GATE!
I took it as a sign from God.
(Thank you, God!)
That's Kikita and Adam making their "please, Mom, PLEASE!!" faces.
And it worked. Not much arm-twisting needed. ;-)

• Three Cuban sandwiches.
• Three bags of mariquitas.
• Three ice-cold Matervas.
• Ummm.. FOUR pastelitos de guayaba. (por si... =D)

I know my limits. Don't judge me.

Cuba Nostalgia, Day 1 - I'm already Nostalgic

I already have so many stories I can't wait to share . . .

I am so excited to be here in Miami and to re-connect with my friends from last year.

Here I am with my co-bloggers (is that a word?), the amazing Ziva, the wise-cracking Reinier, and the lovely Amanda.

It was crazy, everyone was hugging, talking, laughing, and (of course) blogging. Adam kept joking about how we were the uber-nerds of Cuba Nostalgia. "When there's all this amazing Cuban food and music, you people BLOG??"
There's Amy (exCUSE me - "Kikita") blogging alongside the focused Henry, and the brilliant Alberto.

I found a new best friend partner-in-crime. . . (Hi Claudia!)

And (can you believe it?)  I have a fan club!  (Okay, well, maybe just A Fan, but that's not important right now. =D) People were actually buying My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Cookbook and asking me to sign it!  This is my fan recipe reader:  Mario along with his beautiful wife.

I feel like such a celebrity (with a very little "c.") =D

Out of the frying pan...

See this feast?
It was our fabulous going away breakfast.
Chocolate-chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, real bacon, homestyle potatoes, juice and coffee.
It was KILLER!
Any reason for a party......
And speaking of parties.....picture us coasting through space in our American Airlines plane on our way to MIAMI.

The first order of business will be to meet with the family - all the cousins and uncles. To be immediately followed by The Sacred Consumption of the Midnight Pastelitos. (let's observe a moment of silence here.)

A truly Holy Moment.

After The Benediction of San Cafécito, we will be much more at peace. ;-)

(Okay, so really, we're out-of-our-skin-excited, but that's not important right now. =D)

Memorials and Margaritas

Eric and I just got back from a perfectly relaxing few days spent in San Diego.
We went gallery-hopping in La Jolla and out to dinner a couple of times with my niece, Kelley & her husband Jay.
We did nothing but rest and relax for days and it was perfectly lovely.
There was one day, though, when things could have definitely gone South....

Let me explain:
We had no sooner arrived in San Diego than we found out that Monday was Cinco de Mayo. Every single sign from every single Mexican restaurant and taqueria told us so.

"Eric, it's Cinco de Mayo tomorrow! We have to do something to celebrate!"

(Okay, well technically, I'm not exactly sure what happened on May 5th that's cause for celebration here in Southern California, but it's a big deal here just like St. Patrick's Day is a semi-ethnic day that people use as an excuse to get drunk. Okay, well, maybe I do remember something from 4th grade history about the Battle of Puebla and Mexico gaining their independence from Spain back in 1821, but for the purposes of this story, it's really not important right now. =D)

Eric doesn't even bat and eye. "I know just the thing," he says.

Here's where my husband and I differ on the celebratory aspect.....

I'm thinking a Cadillac Margarita with some tasty Mexican food would be perfect (and I say so).

He swears he has a Better Idea.

So we drive up to the top of Mt. Soledad to the Veteran's Memorial up there. It's an amazing tribute, honoring those veterans and active military who have served our country during times of conflict. It not only is a lovely memorial, but it has a breathtaking view of all of San Diego.

Okay, it was a beautiful place and I'm totally in sync with the importance of having a place like this to honor the sacrifices that veterans have made so that we can have the freedoms that we enjoy.  And I was thrilled and moved as we read each veteran's contribution and service record.  And yes, that included the service records of many Mexican-Americans.  I was so glad we were there. So glad to have experienced this.

It's just that I was not catching on to the Celebratory Cinco de Mayo aspect of it.
"This is amazing! But where's my Cadillac Margarita?" To my credit, I really did say the 2nd part under my breath. (even though I freely admit that, yes, I can totally be that shallow if the occasion calls for it. =D)

So my geographically astute husband points me to the south.

"Look," he says triumphantly, "Mexico!"

And he's right. Mission Bay in the front. The San Diego city skyline to the left. The Coronado bridge behind that and that sprawling land mass behind it is Mexico.

"Happy Cinco de Mayo, Honey!"

Okay, Wise Guy, you're right. And okay, I totally concede that his is a much better sight than me after a Cadillac Margarita.

(SIGH)  He knows me so well.   ;-)

I scrap, therefore I am

On  the heels of that Super Blogger post I have to laugh because I'm sooo resisting blogging today.  I don't feel like I have one original thought to share.  In fact, I decided to shut off the Mac and scrapbook a page that I had originally blogged on the 18th of April. But since I am, of course, a blogger, the page I made becomes fodder for the blog. (See how I just tied it all back together? There's that whole circle of life thing again - and everything is fair game these days.)  ;-)

You remember that I had a post a few weeks ago and I titled it Listmania? Well, this is an example of how I would turn my blogging (journaling) and photos into a scrapbook page - I titled it "In 3 weeks."  Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac, probably more than is appropriate for polite society, but that's not important right now. =D

It's just that sometimes it just feels so good to physically hold all the elements and lay them out and pick out photos and stickers and glue and rubber stamps and lots of ink and even felt flowers with bling! Ah! And actually, in this layout, the journaling is really the most important part and the photos are there as supporting characters.

I moved the photos around until I was satisfied and had totally exhausted my (noisy and bossy) inner critic, then I just glued it all down and called it Good.

What do you think?

I'm going to be scrapbooking today and tomorrow - because, in case you didn't know, Saturday, May 3rd is National Scrapbooking Day and seriously, I must do my part. =D

So near and yet so foreign. . .

I still have papers to grade and end of the year things to finish for school, but my heart is already gone.  My heart has made its way to Miami. I'm hoping it has the decency to wait up for me.....
3 weeks I must suffer. It's not a pleasure trip, really. It's more like a holy pilgrimage.

I guess I'll amuse myself with picking out just the right shade of red for the mandatory killer pedicure.
I haven't time to give anything else much thought.

Why? Because I'm going to Miami....

This is where you'll find me. Giving homage and bowing low at the altar of San Pastelito.

A worthy object of devotion.  (Don't judge me.)

Three weeks! Ay, Dios mio!