KING'S CUP... of soda

January 6, 2007? 2008? . Day of the Three Kings. Dia de Los Reyes. Celebrated at the Reyes' household. Aren't we clever? The whole Reyes clan is present. We had tamales, the Roscas to find the plastic Jesus to see who will throw a party in February, the drinks, the music, the people, it was quite the fiesta. But thanks to two attendees this party became a huge hit. The first, our gullible (for lack of a kinder word) friend who shall remain nameless. The second, Sangria: the soda, not the wine. This friend of ours had driven us over to the Reyes' household. Of course we expected alcohol to be present, which there was, and he was the designated driver. My friend and I, knowing how "gullible" our other friend was, decided to play a trick on him. We did not tell him that the Sangria was non-alcoholic. We had the whole Reyes family in on this plan because we knew how he would react and decided to get a good laugh out of it.

So here it came, the glass of Sangria. King-sized. He began drinking it. We asked how it tasted and he said it was really good. My mother, who was also present, was telling my friend to slow down on drinking because he was driving. He just nodded his head in agreement. During the meal he would take little sips, as if to be drinking very cautiously. He even at times complained about how it was getting warmer in the room. We exchanged looks of amusement across the table but never told him that he was drinking soda. When offered another glass he refused, seeing as he had to drive home. If we didn't know he was drinking soda we would think from seeing him that he was actually gaining a good buzz.

That night, after we all had returned from the party I had asked my "drunken" friend how he enjoyed the Sangria. His exact words were "Oh it was really good! the way they mixed the alcohol with-" At that moment I couldn't help but burst out laughing. He asked me what was so funny and I explained to him that we was actually drinking Sangria soda. He didn't find this funny but I assured him it was in fact HILARIOUS because even our friend's grandma was laughing in the kitchen during the whole scene.

For what reasons he had to pretend that he was actually acquiring a buzz is beyond all of us. However, we were grateful for our friend's "naivety" because not only was it a great kick-off for the tradition to attend a party at the Reyes' house for the three kings day, but we also have a classic story that is shared every year for our other family and friends to enjoy.