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Fiesta Navidad: Ringing in the spirit of Christmas

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Image CreditGaurav Nanda

The sky, a mosaic of blue and red, coupled with the crisp wintry air and Santa hats bobbing all around, seemed to be the ideal setting for the event. Organized by the youth of 4 Cooperative Housing Societies (CHS) at Andheri (E), Fiesta Navidad is a Christmas-themed tuck shop that was held for the second time, after its establishment last year.

Entering the pavilion at Roof-Top Cooperative Housing Society on Mahakali Caves Road in Andheri (E) on Saturday evening, attendees were greeted with the sound of people carolling familiar Christmas tunes, along with the aroma of freshly baked Yuletide delicacies, and star-shaped lanterns hanging from the buildings encircling the venue.

However, the inception of Fiesta Navidad, wasn’t as rosy.

At the beginning of Advent, each society in the neighbourhood – Gracious, Roof-Top, Mini India and Green Valley – starts constructing a large community star, which is put up by the time Christmas Day rolls around. For creating the star, members would use a room in one of the buildings, and finances for the same would be released by the society’s council.

In 2012, however, when the youth approached one of the societies’ councils, the secretary initially deferred on releasing funds, and finally, declined their request entirely. About the residents’ response to this, Franklin D’Souza, an engineer at Reliance Industries, and one of the organizers said: “People started asking us why we weren’t building the star that year, so we told them that our hands were tied.”

Since building it was a long-standing tradition, furious residents confronted the council. “The secretary said that we (the youth) had approached them when it was too late to sanction funds, when in fact, that wasn’t the case. We had sought permission on the first day of December itself,” informed D’Souza, a resident of Gracious CHS.

D’Souza, along with other Gracious society residents Jesse Monteiro, Jason Fernandes, his sister Jenessa, and resident of Roof-Top society, Terina Peris, form the core of the organizing team.

The ambitious lot didn’t let the council’s refusal dampen their Christmas spirit, and went around the society collecting funds. However, the amount fell short of the budget required to construct the star, so they had to make do with building one made out of bamboo. Soon, the group realised that funding would be problematic, and decided to get the community involved through other means. And so, Fiesta Navidad was born.

In addition to bringing the community together for celebrating Christmas, the event is being hosted to raise funds for subsequent youth activities throughout the year. Elaborating on the activities, Jason, a research scientist at SAMEER, IIT-B said: “In May, we had telegames for the children and, during the rest of the year we organized treks to places like Lonavla and Lohagad, and conducted jive classes.”

Members from the older age groups weren’t left behind in the festivities this year. On the first Sunday of Advent – December 7, an excursion was organized to Bosco Wadi, which saw a majority of middle-aged and elderly in attendance.


Image CreditGaurav Nanda

Jesse Monteiro, youth animator for the community said: “A lot of the games we held were Christmas-themed, and the picnic was a wonderful break for the seniors, in particular.”

Another way that members got involved was thanks to the brainwave that hit St. Andrew’s College student Jenessa. “I wondered how it would look if everybody pitched in and helped create a large Christmas tree on cloth. It had the handprints of a majority of the 50 members present, forming the foliage,” the final year B.Com student enthused about/of the six-foot-high Christmas tree that attendees are greeted with, at the entrance.

Jenessa, along with 21-year-old Terina Peris represent their parish, Sacred Heart Church, at the zonal level.

Last year, the tuck shop received good response – in terms of footfall and monetarily. “We realized we needn’t depend on the authorization of one person for funding. Thanks to that financial independence, our group decided to raise funds for donating to charity,” added Jason.

So, the enthusiastic members went around the society singing carols and, through contributions by a delighted audience, the group managed to raise Rs6,000 – All of which they donated to Shanti Daan Missionaries of Charity, a Gorai-based home for orphans. Interaction with the residents there only strengthened their resolve to make the tuck shop and carolling, an annual affair.

And so they did. Positive of the feedback they received in 2013, the group decide to increase the amount of items available at each stall this time around. “Like last year, we went around the community to enlist prospective contributors for the tuck shop,” said Terina, adding: “We’re hoping to make at least Rs20,000 this year.”

Saturday’s extensive menu ranged from traditional Christmas sweets – kulkuls, marzipan, milk cream, guava cheese – to Croquets, BBQ chicken, and other dishes that are synonymous with the season, like tea cakes, macaroons and Christmas pudding.

The evening ended with a round of Housie, followed by a round of carol singing by the enthusiastic participants.

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