Belly Shots and The Spanish Court

A great burden has been lifted from my shoulders: I have now been able to relinquish all social duties on Sundays to Ramona, Countess d' Latina. Her Spanish Court has turned the town on its high heels and no one could be happier than me. A year ago or so I published a photo of Ramona's table and suggested they were a rival court; they always amused me by their careless antics and flair, despite the stories of scandal that trailed them. THAT only amused me more. Now, they have their well-deserved own Court and the Old Court can sit back and rest and watch. Jesse had an amusing comment. He asked, when I told him I was content with sitting in our reserved table and fanning myself, "What will the Patrons think?" (I assumed he was referring to The Patriachs, the Highest of the High in the original Mrs. Astor's Four Hundred. ) I replied, "The Patrons are too busy with their well-tuned tounges down the throats of members of The Spanish Court to care what I'm doing."


The staple of The Spanish Court is The Belly Shot; unlike the American version, sugar is used instead of salt and rum (or a cordial) instead of tequila. It actually makes it look all the more fun. The first shot seemed--to my well-trained eye--to be of boyfriends (it was so intimate and loving). Of course, this is Miami and the same intonation can be derived from the 7-11 counter boy where you buy your half-and-half.

The next shot was of a well-seasoned member of The Spanish Court and he seemed to have that element of "I Love What I Do".

But the third was a victim. Thomas Barker, who had been acting as an MC of the shots, accepted my advice to ask for an American for the role on the bar. I am always looking for that turn which might produce the buzz. I also strong-armed Official Court Favourite, Jay, to submit and he graciously did after much protest. What happened next was everything I could have wished; a bidding war erupted between representatives of several Latin countries with Mexico and Costa Rica garnering enough support from the crowd for me to remind Barker that Central America had gone to war over a soccer game once. In the spirit of Henry Kissinger, I suggested that both be allowed to feast off of Jay.

For service above and beyond, Jay has been awarded the title of Sir Jay in Mrs. Astor's court (the one that REALLY matters). He was a trooper and I hope he got up for law school the next day.

No party would be complete without Miss Tiffany to electrify the room....

...and, once electrified, the only thing to do is make sure you don't step in water so you jump up on tables to dance. It's one of the things people in this town do best, anyway. My feathered hat is off to Ramona for the great success of his night, the absolute fun his people have, and the joy it brings the rest of us.