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Posted By: Marty SPTC celebrates La Isla Bonita's mothers - 05/12/11 03:10 PM
While the love is there year-round, on the second Sunday of May, mothers around the world are shown extra love, care and attention. Mother's Day is a huge celebration, and in San Pedro, an annual gala is held by the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) to spread love to the mommies of our San Pedro community. Every year, mothers look forward to an evening of entertainment, dinner, laughter, drinks, prizes and surprises.

2011 proved no different, as hundreds of mothers filed in to the old football field, where they were greeted by the lovely Miss Chiquitita Gabby Knox-Alexander and Miss Carnaval Ileny Aguilar, who presented them with a beautiful red rose. With a special entrance ticket in hand, mothers got comfortable at the tables in anticipation of a night of fun.

Master of Ceremonies Elijio Lopez led the show, inviting lay minister Lucio Guerrero to lead the prayer/blessing, after which Mayor Elsa Paz read a poem dedicated to the charming mothers in attendance, and to those who were unable to attend. After a few words from Minister Heredia who was on hand, young singer Christian Ku took the stage to start off with a medley of songs for the mothers. He was followed by a special dance performance by Yamily Vasquez and Jhoshi Alexander.

The real fun began when a few games were played. MC Elijio called up mothers wearing green shoes, red shoes, and even mothers who had a picture of Pope John Paul II in their possession during the night. The mothers who made it to the stage first won prizes donated by the very generous business sponsors from around town.

After a very fun game of musical chairs that had everyone laughing, dinner and drinks were served to the deserving mothers by a staff of young volunteers, as well as members of the San Pedro AIDS Commission (SPAC). There were ten special plates that guaranteed prizes for the lucky mothers, so even during dinner there was an air of excitement and fun. (Kudos to the organizers!) Raffles were held throughout the night, and winning ticket holders got to take home great prizes like blenders, mixers, and one very lucky mother, Mellie Badillo, took home the biggest prize, a TV.

Dinner was then followed by a dance competition where ten brave mothers took to the stage and shook what their momma gave them. The audience got to choose the winner by applauding heartily, and Angelita took the prize for her Punta skills. MC Elijio then called up the 2010 Mother of the Year, Mrs. Leonor Trejo to come up on stage and help crown the new Mother of the Year. Volunteers gathered the names of all mothers over the age of 60 that were in attendance. The names were placed in a box then shuffled, and one name was drawn. There was an expectant pause before Mayor Paz announced the winner of the title; the new 2011 Mother of the Year was announced as Yolanda Ayuso. Yoli, as she is affectionately known, is the mother of Marivel Gomez, Zoby Ayuso, Tula Ayuso, Adolfo Ayuso Jr. and Ricky Lemus. She was presented with a tiara, sash, a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, a framed tile from Gecko Graphics, plus $500 cash from the SPTC. Minister Heredia promptly added $200 extra to the list of prizes.

The excitement didn't end there, as it was then time to bring out the special guest for the night. The time had come for the highlight of the evening: Jennifer! Comedy, music and antics took to the stage when Jennifer came out with her partner Rodrigo to perform a great and very irreverent comedy/musical routine. With songs from such acts as Pimpinela and Gloria Trevi, plus racy jokes, mothers were in stitches, some sang along, while others simply did not stop smiling from the start of the show to its finish.

It was another wonderful night celebrating the well-deserving island mothers. Hats off to the organizers of the event, and as always, the SPTC thanks all the generous sponsors who helped make it such a success. To the SPAC members, SPTC staff, student volunteers, the island's reigning beauties, and everyone who helped in one way or the other in making the night a great one, a very big thank you!

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