In Latin American culture, music and dancing are a staple of life. In just about every city I lived in, you could walk around the city on any given day and hear salsa or merengue music filling the streets. I loved the rhythm, the beat and the affect it had on me.

It is very common for Latin Americans to play loud music from their homes with doors and windows wide open. They play music for any type of party or get-together, for special occasions and just for fun. One event they play music for, that I really enjoyed learning about, was one-year-old birthday parties. For a child’s first birthday, parents invite friends, relatives and the child’s godparents for a big celebration where there’s a lot of music and dancing. For me, it was a very interesting that so many adults would get together to celebrate a party where the guest of honor (a one-year old) wouldn’t even remember anything about it or the people who came or participate in the principle activity of the party – dancing.

To me it seemed like either a great excuse to have another party with music and dancing, or a cultural thing that is done in other areas of the world where parents are so thankful that the child has lived through the delicate first year of life. (more…)