The
history of every country begins in the heart of a man or woman.
Willa Cather
Spring
fever must be in the air because I’ve blogging a lot lately about spring events
in Second Life (SL). I suspect this long
Real Life (RL) winter which still seems to be hanging around is making look for
satisfaction inworld. After my recent
stories about an art
exhibition opening and a fashion
week,
I’m ready to tackle another rite of spring, namely, Cinco de Mayo.
Cinco de
Mayo is a major holiday among the Mexican-American community in the United
States and the State of Puebla in Mexico where the battle
which the holiday commemorates took place in 1862.
Naturally,
SL can’t resist an opportunity for a party arising from a holiday. (Sometimes I think SL even celebrates the
rare occasion when nowhere in RL is anyone celebrating anything!) This goes especially for my good SL friend, Perryn
Peterson, who took the opportunity this year to celebrate Cinco
de Mayo.
Perryn’s set up a Cinco de Mayo celebration
that runs from May 4 to 12, 2013. He
can’t do anything without a kickoff party.
(It’s the little things in life that make it worth living after
all.) I’m invited and I go. (I give Perryn a lot of credit, I have RL
relations who only invite me to their parties when they want the other guests
to leave. And, no, despite what
Significant Other may say, my mother is not one of them. My father, on the other hand…)
I arrive at the landing
zone and am greeted by a small Mexican village. Mike Olbracht has
worked his usual magic in terraforming Mieville
to look like the geography associated with a particular holiday.
Walking
through the streets, small homes and shops reveal their furnishings and
purposes. (It’s never this easy in
RL.) One thing I notice as I stroll
along is the uniqueness of the scene.
There is none of that bland international style (loose use of the term) of
hamburger joints, coffee shops, and whatever that is encountered these days all
over the world. Someday, if we’re not
careful, only virtual worlds like SL will be left to remind us of what the
world used to be like. I encounter
another friend, Saraid
Dalglish, owner and operator of the Mad Hattery hat shop
inworld and probably the best hat designer and scripter in SL. (Watch this blog for a story about her and
her work in the not too distant future.)
She is attired in a colorful local costume and her merchant’s stand has
a full array of sombreros on display.
I make my
way to Perryn’s Cantina (Funny, I could have sworn this was an Irish pub back
on St.
Patrick’s Day.) As
I enter, I find Perryn there. I almost
miss him as he has decided to come as a cactus.
(Cultural diversity can be taken to whole new levels in SL.) Prof. Grey has elected to come as La Cucaracha
complete with six shooters and sombrero.
Another guest, Mideon McMahon, is a mustachioed spider. (I must have misread the invitation, I came
in my usual steampunk attire.)
Other
guests begin to arrive and soon the party is in full swing as all of Perryn’s
parties ultimately do. Many of the women
are attired in colorful Mexican dresses reflecting on the many designers who
are in Perryn’s circle of friends.
Others are dressed in everything from jeans to formal wear. One guest seems to be made out as a Aztec
warrior. (If not, I apologize in
advance.) All the other guests were in
human form except for the fox and parrot.
DJ
Rab
supplies the music as he does at many of Perryn’s functions.
Parties in
SL, especially with close groups of friends within communities, I find are very
much like good parties in RL. Everyone
knows everyone. Newcomers are made to
feel welcome and are included. (Even
me.) Guests come and go. Greetings are shouted back and forth. Gossip is exchanged. Friends catch up on things that have happened
since they last met. The only things
missing are good food and drink.
(Although, they are on display, Perryn is a good host after all, and I
can’t say what people may be consuming back in RL.) From this perspective, this is a good, no,
very good party.
I take my
leave and walk out into the night onto the streets of a small Mexican town
somewhere in SL. It’s been a good
evening. Friends, dancing, music, and a
connection to a happy time in RL are the formula for a good time in SL just as
they are in RL.
If you
want to visit Perryn’s Cinco de Mayo celebration, I encourage you to get there
before it closes on May 12th.
Enjoy the events that have been scheduled and mingle with the other
visitors. Frequent the merchants and
support them by buying their wares.
Also, contributions to the upkeep of the sim would be appreciated by
Perryn and his team. Also, Perryn told
me a short while ago that events like Cinco de Mayo may not be repeated every
year due to the effort in getting them ready.
So, don’t pass it up thinking you can see it next year. You might not be able to!
I’d like to thank Perryn and
his friends for inviting me to their party and making me feel at home. I had a great time and I wish them every
success in their endeavor.
As
always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk
with a stranger who was passing through their lives.
I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on
my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Photo No. 1 Cinco de Mayo Poster
Photo No. 2 Party
Really Takes Off
Photo No. 3 Perryn
Peterson as a Cactus
Photo No. 4 Cantina
Party – Group Shot
Photo No. 5 Perryn
Peterson, Prof. Grey, Mideon McMahon
Photo No. 6 Countryside
Photo No. 7 Saraid
Dalglish of the Mad Hattery
Photo No. 8 Private
Yard
Photo No. 9 Street
Scene
Photo No. 10 Landing
Zone
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