When we baptized Gus we selected my youngest sister, Gaby, to be his godmother and my twin cousins Jeff and Jon, to be his godfathers (there was no way I could choose between them especially when I could barely tell them apart!) My sister and “the twins” as we call them are the same age and among the few cousins we frequent.

A few weeks ago the eldest twin, Jeff, married his beautiful girlfriend Holly.  It was a picture perfect California day in the prettiest setting for two families to come together to witness the joining of the young couple.  Standing side by side in identical blue suits, the non-groom distinguished by some pins on his collar, looked proud if a little sad and I could not help feeling sad along with him.  For the last 33 years they were together at every family function but the now married couple had recently moved to Seattle and I knew it would be difficult from now to see them in person (thank you FACEBOOK).

When vows and rings were exchanged and they were introduced for the first time as husband and wife, I was surprised to hear a mariachi start playing (although I should have known my uncle would make sure our Mexican roots were represented).  However, unlike the mariachi sound I am used to, there was an uncharacteristic softness and beauty to the traditional tunes. I was astonished to discover an all female group dressed in colorful embroidered skirts instead of the traditional “charro” outfits.  It was so delightful that I made my way towards my aunt to tell her how impressed I was.  She agreed they were great and wondered if I’d spoken to my uncle about how they came to be there.  It turned out that three days before the wedding, the traditional mariachi he had booked cancelled and as he scrambled to find a replacement he came across a group called “Las Colibri” (The Hummingbird).  And that is how we all knew that Gus was at the wedding…..