It's that time of year when family traditions are front and center.
And one of our traditions here at the Fina Mendoza Mysteries is to spend a bit of time with the Mendoza family celebrating their family traditions.
My name is Fina Mendoza.
I moved to Washington, D.C. with my older sister Gabby because Papa works in the U.S.
Capitol.
He's a congressman.
Me?
I solve mysteries.
Here.
Scissors?
I got to thinking about all the things we thought Abuelita was going to do when she got here and all the things she won't be able to do with a broken leg, like unpacking all our moving boxes.
Or walking me to school, or going down the basement to do the laundry.
I thought we could help.
At least with the unpacking.
How about this?
Let's each unpack two boxes and I'll figure out what to make for dinner.
Deal?
Deal.
I'll go first.
Ta-da!
The new toaster.
No more burnt toast for breakfast.
Your turn.
Open a box.
What is it?
It's our Christmas manger set.
See?
All the little shepherds and donkey and wise men are still wrapped in the newspaper.
Look, the little sheep has a broken leg.
You didn't get much of a christmas last year, did you, fina?
Papa didn't even get a christmas tree.
Mamma loved christmas.
Remember the year when you were old enough to make tamales you and me and mamma and all the cousins Tia Catalina's kitchen was like a tamale factory.
The smell of chilies roasting, corn husks soaking on the stove.
The mess we had to clean up after our masa fight.
Your tamales looked like lumpy hot dogs.
Mama called them dodger dogs.
After midnight mask.
All those people wanted to talk to Papa, but he took us home for champurrado on the front porch.
I can still smell the cinnamon in the hot chocolate.
Maybe it was there to keep us safe.
Mama asked Papa for a prayer.
He always said it was easier to do that out on our porch than in church where babies were crying and the choir was singing too loud.
He likes the silence.
So do I. But not tonight.
Give me the little lamb and I'll glue it back together.
Tape up the box and we'll put it in the hall closet.
Come on.
Brownies.
We need to make Brownies!
Right on time you two!
What's the big mystery, Claudia?
I got this text from Papa.
Meet me at the south door of the Capitol, 445 Sharp.
You're the detective, Fina.
What do you think?
Maybe Papa's taking us to that Christmas tree lot at Eastern Market.
We didn't have a tree last year because... There you are.
Let's get moving.
Bye, guys.
Have fun.
Where are we going?
I have geometry homework.
You'll see, look on the west lawn, in front of the capital, a giant christmas tree, our christmas tree, mijas.
What do you mean?
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, And welcome to the 55th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at the US Capitol.
Come on, over to the stage.
I have the great honor to introduce to you the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Who cares?
Isn't this tree gorgeous?
Let's hear it for the tree.
First of all, I'd like to introduce the man whose district once was home to this lovely white fir tree.
Congressman Arturo Mendoza represents the great 34th Congressional District of California.
Now, many of you might think of Los Angeles nothing more than freeways, cars, and traffic.
Congressman Mendoza's district stretches all the way up to the Angeles National Forest in the mountains above smoggy LA.
Congressman Mendoza.
Thank you.
Great.
It's a tree.
Big deal.
It's cold.
When do we get to go home?
It's an appropriate theme for this year's capital Christmas tree, given the fact that the Democrats and Republicans have been fighting this year well, like cats and dogs.
Like, well, the congressman is accompanied by his two lovely daughters.
Gabrielle and Josephina Mendoza.
Come on up, you two.
How do you do, sir?
Mr. Speaker?
Smells like a cigarette.
No, a cigar.
The same cigar smoke I smelled in the crypt.
Of course.
The speaker's office is right upstairs from the crypt.
It was him who was smoking.
Another mystery solved.
The people of Southern California are honored to share one of our beautiful white furs with the nation as this year's capital Christmas tree.
Though, as a California native, this poor old guy can't quite understand why it's so darn cold out here in Washington.
And now, would the congressman's two lovely daughters, um... Gabrielle and Josephina.
Oh, yeah, Gabrielle and Josephina, would you step over here and do the honors?
Ladies, do you want to push the button and turn on the lights?
Cool.
Three, two, one.
Thank you to everybody.
Enjoy the concert.
Oh, look, Gabby.
Pretty cool.
Look, there's even confetti.
That's not confetti, Finafine. cold and wet.
Snow, Gabby.
Papa, it's snowing.
Wait till I tell Trina.
Maybe it'll last until Christmas when Abuelita gets here.
We can show her the snow and our own capital Christmas tree.
Did you notice the ornaments, mija?
Come on.
Check it out, Fina.
Cars.
There's a Porsche and a Jaguar.
Oh, a classic Stingray.
Kids in schools all over the district made every one of them.
Papa?
Look at the snow.
It's starting to stick to the branches.
Papa, the ornaments.
They aren't just cars.
You noticed.
There are dogs and cats too.
Look at that one.
The dog with the curly orange fur.
Senator something.
And there's a German shepherd that looks like Hans the police dog, and a gray striped tabby and a tuxedo cat like Trina's cat, Pixie.
Dogs and cats and cars.
How did you know, Papa?
I do pay attention to my girls once in a while.
You've got snow in your hair.
And look, there's your special ornament, black cat, yellow eyes.
Of course, it's not exactly the size of a school bus, but it looks a lot like your demon cat.
Don't be silly, Papa.
There's no such thing as a demon cat.
The Fina Mendoza Mysteries podcast is written and produced by Kitty Felde.
Our cast includes Amy Solano as Fina Mendoza, Monica Vigil as Gabby, Raul Garza as Papa Linda Graves as Claudia, Terry Marks and Tarlow as the Mistress of Ceremonies, and Steve Dvorkin is the Speaker of the House.
Hannah Matzecki is our associate producer.
Our music is written and composed by Andrew Barkin, and our logo design is by Imelda Hinojosa.
The podcast is based on the Fina Mendoza Mystery Series of books and you can get a copy of State of the Union, the latest title right now, wherever fine books are sold.
It's a perfect gift for the holidays.
And if you'd like to know more about the Christmas tree lighting ceremony outside the U.S.
Capitol.
Check out our Facts Behind the Fiction blog at the website or just sign up for our newsletter that's always full of interesting facts behind the fiction in the Fina Mendoza Mysteries.
You'll find a link in the show notes.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and have a great Kwanzaa and we will see you in the new year with more bonus episodes from the Fina Mendoza Mysteries.
I'm Kitty Felde.
Thanks so much for listening. you
