Sometimes, a soon-to-be-married couple is formed from so different people that it’s hard to believe in their marriage. But in reality, it doesn’t matter what country you are from, what your religion is, how old you are, etc. When love comes, it comes. Today, we’d like to introduce this nice young couple to you. It’s a Mexican bride and a Filipino groom, who are ready to intertwine their unique traditions on their big day. This wedding ceremony is extraordinary, bright, and surprisingly special.
This is Keith and Sara. They met in law school and now, they're getting married.
“Sara's and Keith's personalities are like yin and yang. They just complement each other. Any trait on one side is balanced off by the other side”, says Sara’s father.
The Filipino and Mexican traditions come from opposite sides of the world. And their Catholic upbringing is sometimes at odds with what they believe. Which is why for their wedding, they're doing things their own way.
“What was really special to us is to be able to do a ceremony that was distinctly ours and really embodied how we felt about our culture, about our family, about our friends, and what we believed in”, says Sara, the bride.
Sara and Keith decided to get married in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where Sara's family is from. But they also wanted to incorporate Keith's Filipino background.
Because both Mexico and the Philippines were colonized by Spanish Catholics, they found a lot of the traditions were actually similar. The Mexican “guayabero” and the Filipino “barong” are traditional white dress shirts worn for special occasions. In San Miguel de Allende, the most special occasion is “Callejoneada”.
A callejoneada is a procession held to honor the couple – with Mariachi, shots of tequila, curious bystanders, and an obligatory donkey.
The highlight of the callejoneada is the “mojigangas”. Mojigangas are born out of a Spanish tradition dating back to the 1600s. They were modeled after religious and aristocratic figures, inspiring wonder and awe.
In San Miguel, the puppets are custom-made taking on a more exaggerated appearance. Currently, Hermes, the artisan, is crafting mojigangas to represent the bride and groom.
“The face is most important. It’s basically all about the lines in the face. This takes me three hours to work on. And once it’s complete, they can begin to dance. Someone will strap it on and begin to dance”, says Hermes, craftsman.
Ceremonial tortillas are a must-have for every wedding in Mexico. The tradition, originated by Otomi Indians in Guanajuato, uses dye from flowers or vegetables to create imprints on the tortillas.
“A circular ceremony, I think, works well. I like the idea of inclusiveness and having a ceremony that's really happy and relaxed and enjoyable to all who attend”, comments Susan, Sara’s mother.
Although it's not a Catholic wedding, Keith and Sara are incorporating two traditionally Catholic customs seen in both Mexican and Filipino cultures.
“El Lazo” is a tight rope, placed around the couple as they exchanged their vows. Shaped like an infinity sign, it symbolizes that the union will last forever.
The second tradition is Las Arras, an exchange of 13 coins that in modern cultures symbolizes Christ and the Twelve Apostles.
“It starts when they put it into my hands and then I drop all the coins into her hands and then she drops the coins all back into my hands, which makes sense because I've been elected the Minister of Finance in the relationship”, narrates Keith, the groom.
Keith and Sara are also embracing a less traditional, more inclusive view of marriage than what the Catholic religion believes.
“In our faith, it may not be perceived as a right thing that certain people, and certain ethnicities, and certain sexual orientation should be married, but who's to say that we are the judges of that”, says Charles, Keith’s cousin and the officiant.
The Supreme Court's decision to undo the judgment against same-sex marriage was something that Keith and Sara couldn't believe in more.
“That's really about marriage and marriage as an institution. And just what is this sort of social construct, that you're entering into, and what does it mean to kind of form this union in the literal sense and what does it mean to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to do that”, says Sara, the bride.
“The decision in that case was such a beautiful description of marriage, the institution of marriage, why people want to be married and why everyone should have the right to be married”, adds Susan, Sara’s mother.
“Sara really brought something out in him that I had never seen. He always wanted a companion. What Sara brought to him was this sense of who he is now”, says Charles, Keith’s cousin.
For Keith and Sara, forging a new path doesn't mean leaving tradition behind.
