In the city, when we go to visit a friend or family member, we usually arrive with our mere presence (or maybe it's just us who are overconfident). When we prepare more, we can arrive with a bottle of wine or a snack to share while we chat, However, in Teotitlan del Valle a series of protocols are carried out depending on the occasion.
It is invariably essential to arrive with a gift or present, this will depend on the meeting. Upon arriving at the host house, the visitor must go directly to the altar room, all the houses in Teotitlan del Valle have a room commonly called “Pieza del Altar” where the family's most precious paintings and religious pieces are located. Normally this piece is the first to be built in all houses. Once in the altar room, you must bow before the images (if you are Catholic, cross yourself or say a prayer) and wait there for a few minutes until the hosts come to welcome you into their home.
When the hosts enter the room, the parties greet each other and the visitors give a brief presentation and announcement of their arrival to accompany the hosts in their celebration or commitment and give the gifts they have brought for the occasion. The hosts welcome and receive the gifts, then offer them to the altar as thanks and invite them to come to the meeting with the other guests.
If we had to detail some of those present depending on the celebration, we could divide them as follows:
• On a birthday, it is common to arrive with soda and snacks for socializing. If it is a child, they take a small gift and a piñata, if it is a woman, some flowers and the gift, and finally, if it is a man, in addition to the gift, some beer or mezcal to taste during the evening. It is important to mention that if you bring an alcoholic drink, it is practically mandatory to drink it as well, as a sign of accompaniment to the celebration.
• In bridal celebrations or weddings, depending on whether you were invited to the groom's, bride's, or godparents' house, the gifts or contributions you bring to the celebration will be the ones you bring. In the bride's house, if the invitation is a day before the wedding, the bread will be brought in the morning, corn or some contribution for the food that afternoon, and the gift. On the day of the wedding, if you go in the morning, you will bring bread to share during breakfast. In the groom's house, if the invitation is a day before the wedding, bread will be brought in the morning, corn or some contribution for food that afternoon. On the day of the wedding, if you go in the morning you will bring bread to share during breakfast, and in the afternoon they will bring beers or mezcal to share at the celebration. *In the house of the godparents, in the same way, if the invitation is a day before the wedding, the bread will be brought in the morning, corn or some contribution for the food that afternoon. On the day of the wedding, if you go in the morning, you will bring bread to share during breakfast. After the liturgical celebration in the church, the party is at the groom's house and everyone goes there.
• For an event such as fifteen years, baptisms, or events of this nature, depending on the dates on which you are invited, which may be the day before or the day of the party, these will be the presents or contributions to the celebration that you bring. If the invitation is a day before the celebration, the bread will be taken in the morning and corn or beans in the afternoon as a contribution to the afternoon meals. On the day of the celebration, if you go in the morning, you will bring bread to share during breakfast. In the afternoon the gift.
• For a lost one or as it is commonly called in Teotitlan “deceased”, in addition to the bread and chocolate that will be brought at night, flowers and candles are brought to present condolences for the loss of the loved one. Likewise, the next morning before leaving for the pantheon, you will take bread, flowers, and a candle. Likewise in the case of the nine days of the deceased or the forty days, which are commemorated in the community the deceased is held in both dates.
Once you have finished greeting everyone present or invited, you could say that the men and women are divided. Traditionally, women go on to help their relatives in the kitchen or in any cleaning task in which they can help, such as washing. dishes. The older women take a seat and taste mezcal and beer.
The men, on the other hand, take a seat at the tables and begin tasting mezcal and beer, helping at specific times to move and carry the tables, chairs, or heavy things from one place to another.
Once two rounds of mezcal and beer have passed respectively, the main dish begins to be served for the men first and for the ladies later. Knowing a little more about the traditions and customs of the community opens our perspective a little regarding their beliefs, in addition to allowing us to try to follow their protocols when living together in any of the festivities as a sign of respect for them.
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