Three Kings Day

Today, January 6, is Three Kings Day, when Mexican children receive their gifts (rather than on Christmas, when we do). So this morning the neighborhood was serenaded by a new drum kit from a nearby house, and on the way to the studio I met a mother and young girl with her first bicycle, training wheels and all. Mom was explaining how to push the pedals, but the little girl seemed to prefer pedaling backwards because it was so much less work, something we can all sympathize with. All over town there are kids with new bikes, or radio-controlled cars, or skateboards, dressed up, with big smiles.

This is the end of the Christmas season in Mexico. The decorations are coming down, and the temporary creches made from cardboard and palm fronds left over from the nightly posadas are being cleared out in the neighborhood. There are fewer and fewer fireworks and cohetes, thank goodness.

At one point this morning one of the workers at the Jesuita building came in to announce that in about 10 minutes everyone would gather in the office downstairs for the traditional cake and hot chocolate. The cake, called Rosca del Reyes, is like an oval coffee cake, decorated with maraschino cherries and strips of candied fruit, and it contains 3 small dolls that have been baked into it. Anyone who gets one of the dolls has to contribute to a party on February 2, so there's a lot of poking and prodding of the cake (and good-natured joking) to try to see where the dolls are. One doll was discovered by the Maestro (who oversees this entire building dedicated to the arts) and another by one of the women in the office, but when we left there was still a chunk of cake and one doll undiscovered. (Unless someone tucked it in his or her cheek, which is what Derli, the director of the print studio, suggested.)

The Maestro made a short speech in Spanish, most of which I didn't understand, and then we went back to work. I have to say, the chocolate was excellent, but the cake was more like bread with a sugar crust than what we would consider cake. This is what we've found with Mexican pan dulce, that it's sweet in name only.

Mark met me in town at 2pm for comida at a pleasant restaurant on the Plaza Grande. La Surtidora is an institution on the plaza, having been in place since 1916. It's a common sight to see people on the outside tables having coffee or a snack, and local gringos often linger there after dinner for a dessert or drink.

An orderly crowd of children and parents

As we were starting to walk home, we realized that the top of the large round fountain with the statue of Vasco de Quiroga in the center of the plaza was covered with Three Kings Cake, and that the sidewalks were full of kids and their parents lined up waiting for a slice of cake and a cup of hot chocolate. It was very orderly, with no pushing and shoving, and the kids were obviously pretty excited.

The entire top of the fountain was covered with  the cake

Running with cake

 More photos from today here.