"Ir De Colados"

"Honing in on somebody else's gig"

Or in more educated terms, "going to an event you weren't invited to."
"Ir de colados."

Last night, JP and I went to Ruti's house.  Ruti and two of her sisters make amazing Queretano food every Saturday night, and sell it fresh from the grill in front of their house.  JP and I are good friends with Ruti's kids (Job, Sandy, and Sandy's husband Phil).  So we go every now and then for good eats.  Most of the non-family members who get Ruti's food take it home to eat it, but since we're *almost* family, we eat there.  We joined in a large room where lots of the family (many of whom we didn't know) were eating, and had good conversation with those we do know. 

Here's a GUAJOLOTE sandwich, the type that Ruti makes for dinner!  YUM!

All of a sudden, ladies started bringing in cakes, the lights went out, birthday candles were lit, and we were all singing the Mexican birthday song.  The cake was cut, and pieces were distributed.  I still have no idea who the birthday person was (I didn't understand the name during the birthday song, as there were too many people for me to see who blew out the candles). 

I immediately felt like we had "honed in on someone else's gig" by being present at a birthday party that we weren't invited to, and we were even eating their cake!  I voiced this to JP, Job, and Phil, that maybe JP and I should go, since this was an event that wasn't meant to include us.  Job and Phil looked at me and made comments about me having been in the USA for too long.  Then MORE free cake was slid down the table to us! 

It's true.  Here, you don't HAVE to be invited to the birthday party.  If you happen to be in the area, you can just come on in.  I've been to baby showers for ladies I'd never met (without bringing a gift!), and many birthday parties for friends of friends.  And we eat their food or cake and have a good time, even though we didn't know the celebrated person!  It's all about everyone being included!  Kind of nice!  heehee!

This picture is from our 30th birthday party a few years ago.  We knew there would be people coming who we didn't invite, so we bought two cakes, and asked some of our good friends to bring pop, chips, and small sandwiches to make sure everyone was taken care of!  :)

* One exception to this is weddings.  Many people give "tickets" to their wedding so only the number of people with a ticket can come.  This is because a lot of people have very expensive dinners after the wedding, and you HAVE to know how many people will come so you have the correct amount of seating and food.  We put everyone's first name on their wedding invitation so the family would know who exactly is being invited.  (So there was no mistake that their grandparents from Mexico City, or the cousin who lives down the street shouldn't show up for this one!) Although in small towns, sometimes the entire town is invited to the wedding!