A Day in the Life of Two Performing Artists and Moms

By: Ana Lucia Divins 

It is another Saturday of Criss Cross Mangosauce performances, this time we were invited to the  5^th Annual Taste of Culture Festival in Morganton, North Carolina. Spring and summer are usually very busy times for us, a lot of festivals and celebrations going on.

If you have little ones, you would know that as a mother of a 10 and a 9 year old, I usually have to do a great deal of planning every time I have a commitment during the weekend. Weekends are usually prime time for our families, from soccer games and birthday parties to many other social commitments. 

Irania and I usually run a quick “check list” before we take off to share our “mangosauce” with the world, just making sure each of our kids are covered while we are out.  It is just funny to overhear each other’s conversations on the phone talking to our significant others saying things like: “I thought I told you I won’t be back until 3 pm, can you please take her to that birthday party ?”.

But this time the logistics were quite simple. My son had soccer games all day and his daddy was spending the day with him. My daughter Natalie decided that she would rather tag along with us, instead of spending the day watching her brother playing soccer.

 

Irania’s kids came along as well and the “work related trip” became a cool road trip for our three children. An adventure to this town they haven’t seen before and an exploration of the Taste of Culture Festival.

 

We stopped for a quick bite to eat on our way there, milkshakes and burgers where part of the menu.  Then we got there right on time to perform, interact with everyone and tour the library.  According to my daughter, the festival turned out to be a really great one with “free face painting, popcorn and balloon making”.

At the end of our performance, the emcee of the event, said: “I wish I had a job like the one these ladies have, it looks like they really enjoy and have fun doing what they do”.  On our way back home, while our kids were singing and laughing in the back seat, I asked Irania: “Do you ever wonder what they (our kids) really think about these “performing adventures”?”…  I certainly hope that one day they remember the fun of the free face painting, popcorn and balloon making, but I mostly hope they remember and embrace this joy they witness every time we get up on stage to do what we love to do the most: signing, dancing, acting and sharing a bit of our Latin culture and our “mangosauce” with the world.

What would you like your children to embrace from the examples you set (consciously or unconsciously)? 

 

 

 

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