¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Anna Sullivan
California, USA

With nearly 25 children at Casa de Guaguas (house of babies), birthdays are not an unusual occurrence.  Despite their frequency, the staff at Casa de Guaguas insures that each child, even those completing their very first year of life, receives their own party! An average Casa de Guaguas birthday party includes decorations, sweets, happy spirits and more sweets!

The tías, volunteers and the children decorate the patio with streamers and balloons. However eager the children are to help in making the patio colorful and full of life, they still manage to make the process circular; the tías put a decoration up, kids tear it down and its starts all over again. Inflating balloons turns into an impromptu taller (workshop) as the kids suddenly become attentive and focused, circling around you asking for assistance in blowing up their balloons. Those that insist, at first, on doing it "solo" will inevitably bring their un-inflated, slobbery, balloon over to you and for the first time that day, choose to use the words “por favor tía” unprompted. Once the patio is looking festive and the children tire of the group project, the sweets arrive!

For Carlos’* first birthday, the cake that was brought out was as big as the table. Everyone who works at the Casa attended the party. The office staff, kitchen staff, psychologist, sociologist, every tía and volunteer, gathered around the table where the kids were seated and sang the loudest, liveliest rendition of “feliz cumpleaños.” Carlos was in my lap at the head of the table and when the song was over, the tías told me to stick his face in the cake because he has to have the first bite. Everyone became silent as they waited for me to process this request and go through with it. I was taken off guard and not sure if I understood them right. As I brought his mouth closer to the huge frosted cake, I thought to myself “this will be really bad if I am, in fact, misunderstanding them and I stick a one-year-old’s face in a cake for no reason.” But to my relief, everyone cheered as Carlos flashed a big frosting ringed, toothless, grin.

The amount of love that exists between the children, the tías and all that are involved at Casa de Guaguas is astounding and heartwarming and there is no better way to be reminded of this than to attend one of their birthday fiestas!

*Name has been changed.