Fiesta Alrededor del Mundo

I went to this year's Fiesta Alrededor del Mundo with certain limitations.

One of them was a finite small amount of cash in my pocket, and another a limit on how much my stomach can hold. Fiesta Alredeor del Mundo is an annual charity fundraiser put on by the diplomatic women to raise money to buy Christmas presents for needy kids who otherwise wouldn't get much. Nearly three dozen countries participated, with the diplomats relying heavily on the expatriate communities from their countries to staff tables and booths that more often than not sold the typical foods and beverages of those nations. There was a lot to eat and drink, and no way could I sample all or even most of it.

Yet another limitation is that I went to this indoor event with a 35 mm camera without a flash and loaded with ISO 800 film and, moreover, possessed of certain attitudes. A bunch of folks were taking posed pictures at the event, but that's not my style. As far as I'm concerned, one of the most self-condemning things about the Cuban government is its wretched official newspaper Granma, which tends to be dominated by boring portraits of dignitaries standing next to Fidel. Likewise, one of the most forceful unintended statements of the lameness of Panamanian capitalism is La Prensa's occasional "Reseña Empresarial" sections, wherein Panama's corporate managers and rabiblanco elite pose in the style of a capitalist Granma. I don't much like posed photos, and I like the people who most feel the need to be photographed with dignitaries and celebrities even less. I go for the candid shots.

However, my rummaging through my chacara for the camera that was hidden in a bag within (to avoid attracting the attention of muggers) while a few feet away from US Ambassador Linda Ellen Watt was noticed by a towering young man, who edged closer to me with gaze carefully affixed. Apparently this was the US Marine Corps doing its job --- nobody was going to pull a gun on the ambassador on this day, and I felt reassured rather than offended by the attention. Alas, the photo I took wasn't very good, and when I tried to get another one after a first tour around the fair a woman who was apparently an embassy aide objected to me snapping a picture of Watt while she was eating. Now I'd never barge in with a camera when a public figure is sitting down at a restaurant, but I consider diplomats sampling the food at the Fiesta Alrededor del Mundo in the same way that I would politicians eating pierogis at Detroit's Polish Festival. (It could be worse. In fact it WAS far worse under former US Ambassador Simon Ferro, who used the embassy guards as a football-style flying wedge to avoid contact with reporters and other elements of the unwashed masses at public events.)

Anyway, Watt dutifully sampled the offerings of the American grill and bake sale, and I did as well. I also sampled foods that the Koreans, Chileans, French, Peruvians, Hungarians, Italians, Indians, Ecuadorans, Greeks, Norwegians and Danes had to offer. Plus, after agonizing over whether I should imbibe a pisco sour instead, I sampled Germany's beverage. It was arduous labor, but SOMEBODY had to do it.

It wasn't just food and drink. Part of the American display was a diverse display of products and services that US companies doing business down here have to offer, and nearby the Koreans were showing videos of their soccer team's glories on a large Samsung screen. The Taiwanese didn't offer food this time, and worse yet, the beautiful illustrated multilingual book on Szechuan food was just a display copy. Were it for sale I would have blown my budget to buy it. A number of the nations represented promoted themselves as tourist destinations.

Over at Denmark's display I sampled a smoked salmon sandwich and hoped that the lady wearing the Viking helmet with cow horns would start singing. Alas, it seems she wasn't heavyset enough for them to let her sing, whether the role might be that of Brunhilde or of a cow.

There was, however, music and entertainment up front. I snapped the photo of the musician below while he was tickling the keys in a syncopated version of "God Bless America." There would be more song and dance and a drawing on the stage in the hours to come. (The door prize was a Caribbean cruise, which I didn't win.)

So you want me to get to the bottom line? Actually, there are two bottom lines, the general and the specific.

Specifically, I give honors for this year's best food to the delegation from Greece. It's what might have been expected from a civilization that has been making such great pastries for all these millennia.

In general, hats off to the diplomatic women's Caravan of Social Assistance once again, for another fun and successful fundraiser for a worthy cause.

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Fiesta Alrededor del Mundo