La hora loca is a Latino wedding tradition that reminds me of carnival. Just as the dance floor at my friends’ wedding in Puerto Rico this weekend was slowing down just a tad, a team of bold and brash drummers, followed by 2 men clad in colorful costumes on stilts, barged into the dining room. Giving out giant foam hats and head accessories, they wound their way through the tables and found the dance floor. Singing, laughing, clapping, and dancing with the crowd, they proceeded to conduct us for a solid hour in how to immerse ourselves in collective and rhythmic joy. It’s the best wedding tradition I’ve ever witnessed. It’s what a wedding, and life, is all about.
Christa Avampato 