The Happiest of Holidays
By Grace Carballo ‘17
During my last few days in Managua, I had the absolute privilege of celebrating La Gritería with my amazing host family, our last hurrah. The holiday was described to us by our program director, Anita, as a mix between Fourth of July, Halloween, and Christmas, so my expectations were obviously high.
I was not disappointed. My younger siblings, Edén, and I piled into the back of our dad’s truck one last time to drive to meet up with our extended family at Papa Juan’s house. We brought bags, (like Halloween), and saw plenty of fireworks along the way (like 4th of July), which lasted well into the night and started at noon.
My family in the United States hosts a Christmas caroling celebration every year so I went into the festivities a little cocky with a “This ain’t my first rodeo” attitude. But if I’m being honest with myself, the fact of the matter is my friend Edén, another Gringa, and I significantly brought down the overall quality of the group as a whole.
We often couldn’t find the right song in the little booklets until they were about halfway through, our pronunciation left a lot to be desired, and we had no choice but to make up our own tunes given our lack of experience.
Fortunately for us, my host family, particularly my aunts, carried us through it all and the other families in the neighborhood that hosted the celebrations and decorated the beautiful altars were very gracious and nonjudgmental.
If you ever find yourself celebrating La Gritería, I can’t give you much advice because I’m a novice myself, but I will give you some:
The first step is to assemble your posse, preferably with people who know the lyrics and tunes. It’s generally a good idea in life to associate with people who bring out the best in you/are better than you.
Next, walk together to the many homes that have set up altars honoring Mary on their porches. They are well-lit and you really can’t miss their beauty.
When you arrive, someone in your group shouts, (to start the singing), “¿Quien causa tanta alegría?” (Who causes such joy?) and everyone within earshot responds, “¡La concepción de María!” (The conception of Mary!) It’s really fun and very easy to get the hang of quickly.
Next, someone starts singing a song and you try to figure out which page of the booklet it is on. In the meantime, I just sang vowel sounds and focused on the chorus. My mom and aunts would often trade me their books with the right pages or find it for me- I really was as much of a handful as my 10, 7, and 2 year old siblings.
As you’re singing, the people who have set up the altar and live in the house, come out and bring you gifts. Our academic director told us that some households plan all year for what they will give. In downtown Managua, different government ministries set up huge altars and give out huge things, like tin roofing and ovens, to those who sing there, but the lines are crazy.
In the neighborhoods, the goods range from prepared food to eat right away (like bowls of rice and bread) and candy (pictured above), to juice, to fruit, to household items like dishes and pitchers and packets of uncooked rice. At one house, we got a calendar and another, we got what I believe was hand-prepared olives.
I had a very early flight the next day so I was hesitant to try new foods, especially given my track record, but I had a literal jolly good time earning all these gifts and singing my heart out with the people I love most in Nicaragua.
My Gritería experience was almost perfect, except of course for the fact that when the magical night ended, I had to say goodbye to the people who loved me like a daughter/sister for 3 months and all my friends/classmates, as well.
I fear I may have traumatized some of my youngest cousins with my uncontrollable sobbing…I can’t even imagine what it would be like if some weird foreigner hung out with my relatives and I for a few months, joined in on our big family holiday, and then left a snotty, tearful mess, but hopefully when they’re older they’ll understand- because I fully intend on going back and maybe it will become a tradition of sorts?
La Gritería really is a happy holiday. But in my experiences from August to December in Nicaragua, “¿Quien causa tanta alegría?” (Who causes such joy?)- it was my family, my classmates, and the amazing staff, although María is a wonderful woman, as well.
It wasn’t always an easy experience and I shed some tears/spent a good amount of time fairly ill and very worried, but I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
Because now I have a second family in Nicaragua, 9 amazing new friends from different universities who support, challenge, and love me, and innumerable lessons from people far wiser than me. And if that’s not something worth celebrating, than what are holidays even for?
Want more from Trojans 360?
Visit Trojans 360 on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with more student content!
Check out our Instagram, where we feature a week in the life of a USC student each week!
Trojans 360 is USC’s official student-run blog. Content created by students, for students.
