Mexican Submarine: February 2007

Last night in San Miguel

All packed up. I'm getting as much banda music into my head as possible.I will truly miss my friends at the Gypsy Cafe, an also transient commune of people, who are also getting ready to pack it up (due to high rent). Some of them will go back to home which is Yucatan, Playa del Carmen. My friend will go to Italy. Anyway, It's too hard to run a cafe in that location.
Maybe they will have more success in the future at a new direction. So, I'll head down there tonight for cocktails and socializing before the long drive back to San Francisco.

I have Valentin Elizalde on now, on Teleritmo. Cooking chile and salchichas. Some of my friends would cringe, but I think of some who would get such a kick out of it, would love it. Cheers to them.

The drive will be pleasant and summery for March 1. (The flip flop is coming around, Mr. Miller!)

Ready for Takeoff

Mexican Submarine Sessions

Here are two more tracks--on our way to an EP. These are both primarily Akire's tracks, although I helped with production (arrangement and overdubs). These songs are mixed on 1" computer speakers. Bass is offered with no warranty.

The Godiva Song
Someday there will be a very cool nation and they will use this as their national anthem.

Nothing Means Much
A trip-hop song that glides from ethereal to grinding to lush.

Reality Found

Today the eggs from the local carniceria had some little feathers on them.

It is good to see these little reminders of reality, that so often seem missing, masked, or erased in America.

Wobblestones

Undulating through San Miguel's wobblestone streets is something more akin to horseback riding or boating. There is a tranquility in relinqishing some control to an imperfect environment. Even in the colorful frenzy of crowded streets, cars simply float around pedestrians and other cars in a non-hurried way. Collectivism and helpfulness is high and competitiveness is low. Like boats in water, fast movements don't pay off. It is more like guiding than controlling. As with many things in Mexico, the approach is one of effective approximation.

At the same time people, including us, navigate wide vehicles past each other through impossibly narrow passages without hesitation, although sometimes the conversation pauses. This aspect is like squeezing down a hallway at a crowded party, you really come face to face with the other drivers. Today, the Submarine was momentarily halted in the narrow streets, squeezed between a city bus on one side and 3 burros carrying sticks along with 2 children and 2 dogs.

Our friend Chris points out that the absence of any traffic lights in town means that even crossing the intersection requires a bit of negotiation with neighbors and a small act of creativity: is it my turn or yours? Maybe the busy mom carry a baby in a blanket should go first. Mexico's lack of American-efficiency can be summed up as this: less official rules, more personal negotiation.

Here there is a sense of freedom and figuring things out, rather than referring to the regulation. As with any trip to a 3rd world country, the abundance of non-90 degree angles in the built environment is as much a turn on for us as machine-printed logo t-shirts are for the foreign kids.

On the downside, it has taken multiple trips to multiple stores and I have still not located the right window to replace on the van. On Saturday, the right windshield arrived, but I need the left. Perhaps if there were a Kragen on every block...

25 Tinajitas, Home At Last

We found home, in San Miguel de Allende, for our last month before transporting back to the Bay. An artist named Javier gave us the keys and told us the history of 25 Tinajitas: the energy of painting and study, children playing, BBQ in the garden, artists from Brazil and Argentina...The only thing missing is Shao Lin!

funky reverse color photography

Chocolate Candyland Cake

the rusty cactus

Days and Nights in San Miguel

Went out last night, heading to the collage opening. Before we could reach Gypsy Café, we were headed off by a different, louder art opening at the Institute. But this opening won us with free beer and wine and great acid world music.

The exhibit was great with books that had been fused with glass, wabi-sabi paper that had been burned and beautiful opal rings. Most of our friends were there, so we stayed and drank and danced.

Heading up to the terrace outside L'invito with our friend for a smoke, we were treated to a perfect view fireworks set off in El Jardin.

Somehow it is easy here to go out near midnight and stay out until 4 or 5, something I rarely consider doing in San Francisco, even though in that time we end up going predictably Limerick, Chocolate, and Cucaracha. What happens is we go to those places and then get carried along by people we know, even if not well. San Francisco, while very friendly, is still large enough that strangers far outnumber friends. San Miguel is as if we took the kind of people we love from San Francisco to a small beautiful town with a fraction the number of strangers, and then kept the activity and creativity level high.

Saturday was a day of chicken wings and NFL playoffs at home. Instant Messaging with Eric and Darcey and Nick (large font emoticon) during the Eagles final game.

Yesterday, we ordered ground meat from the carniceria 100 feet from our house. The patrona took a piece of meat and ground it using a grinder that I have not seen outside of the Another Brick In The Wall video. Then she gave me exactly the vegetables I would need to make Caldo de Res following the recipe she would use herself. She put all the vegetables I would need in a bag that came to 12 pesos.

Sunday drove out to the country for a longer dog walk and gave two ladies a lift into town.