Celia and Roberto, Raiden's Paternal Grandparents

On my last night in Arizona, Saul's family was celebrating the fifteenth birthday of their eldest grandson with a big party in Saul's sister's back yard. About sixty family members attended. There were eight tables, a trampoline for the children, hundreds of balloons, boxes of pizza and buckets of barbecued chicken wings, cake, a DJ, a disco lighting system with flashing lights and three smoke machines, and a knockout sound system that filled the whole neighborhood with the sounds of Tejano and Mexican pop music.

I am a rather shy person, and parties are hard for me, but what I loved  about this party was the joy, the dancing, the loving energy, and everyone's delight in the children.  

The party began on October 19th and continued well into October 20th, and I was pleased to have a chance to make this portrait of Raiden with his paternal grandparents. (See Backblip of October 19.)

Celia and Roberto are 60, and I watched, dazzled and delighted, as they danced throughout the night, making sure they had a spin with each of their eight grandchildren and many of the cousins. If I had consulted a sorcerer on behalf of my granddaughter, I could not have dreamed up anything better than her becoming part of this big-hearted, joy-giving family. I am so grateful for them.