I recently found out my great grandmother died belly dancing.

I ( Leilainia) recently found out my great grandmother died belly dancing. At least that is what my aunt told me as I shimmied up to her during our Nomads show at Portugalia last month. Needless I say I couldn’t get all the details right there and then. But I did call my father the next day and asked: “What? Grandma Latifi died belly dancing.” My great grandma had passed way in the 80’s so it wasn’t sad information, just interesting. My father laughed and explained that at 85 years old she hopped on a plane from El Paso, Texas to go to Mexico City for a wedding. Everyone had asked her not to go. They said she was too old to travel. She said “shut your mouth!” like this old Syrian lady

loved to do. No one could ever tell her what to do ( now you know where I get it from). Oh she was bossy and great! So powerful. She drug her husband from Syria to the US to raise her family when her child ( my grandpa) was just a baby. They came over through Ellis Island. 1/2 the family went to Mexico and 1/2 to the US. I believe they ended up in El Paso because my great grandfather's brother had a business there selling fabrics to the whore’s in a whore house. El Paso was on the main train route back then. The story went something like that. Anyway, she jumped on the plane to go to the wedding in Mexico City. If you’ve ever been to a wedding in Mexico city you know: the party lasts for the entire weekend and everyone age 8 – 80 are required to dance, eat and drink tequila! She was dancing and she had a heart attach. Died doing what she loved with the people she loved – dancing – belly dancing, because that is the only dance she ever did. She came from the old country. And they Belly Dance!

More about me: http://leilainia.com