It’ll Do – Tales from the It’ll Do, a Family Bar
Publicaciones Papelandia Catalog
22 Oct
A Gringo Guide to Mexican History
Available for download on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.
Papelandia Publishing Catalog
Gringo Guides
A Gringo Guide to Living in San Miguel de Allende – A complete 150 page, perfect bound book a guide, and advice for living and enjoying San Miguel de Allende as a resident or a visitor. A fun filled, Cartoon illustrated day-to-day guide with stories chronicalling the authors «Early Years» in San Miguel. Even long-term residents are guaranteed to find information they never knew before, supplied by a 50+ year Bilingual/Bicultural American resident of San Miguel. GG-101 – $20.00 plus $12.95 International S&H. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com.
…to Mexican History – A 354 page, complete History of Mexico with historic pictures. An easy read to learn the incredible history of the Republic from the Conquest until Today. The places, events, and the characters that played out their roles in one of the bloodiest histories ever recorded. Interspersed throughout are accounts of events taking place in the U.S. and the rest of the world simultaniously to give one a sense of the time. GG-103 – $24.95 plus $19.95 International S&H. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com at a considerable discount.
…to the Mexican Revolution – A 56 page, coffee table style book with the complete, bloody history of the Mexican Revolution 1910-1921, with lots of great historic pictures. GG-105 – $16.95 Plus $6.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…to the Cristero Rebellion – A twenty-eight page book with the complete forgotten history of the Rebellion against the Calles Administration 1926-1930 in which the Pope closed the Mexican churches, and the government waged modern warfare against their own people over religious differences. hundreds of thousands of people died and a half million people migrated to the U.S. GG-106 $14.50 Plus $6.95 Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…to Witchcraft – A 30 page booklet about the practice of witchcraft in Mexico now and in the past. Implements, herbs, and spells used in Mexican witchcraft told by a 50 year resident. GG-108 $7.95 Plus $2.95 International S&P. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount (Includes the following book in the same download)
…to Pulque, Mescal, and Tequila – A 30 Page booklet about these spirits from production to imbibing. The History surrounding the discovery and modern production. GG-109 $7.95 Plus $2.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com at a discount. (Includes the previous book in the same download)
…to a Bullfight, a Mexican Rodeo, and a Cock Fight – A twenty eight page book that serves as your personal guide to these Mexican sports events. Describing the tradition, the culture, and the mechanics of the events to promote understanding of them. GG-107 $14.50 Plus $6.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…to a Mexican Kitchen – A full 200 pages of time honored, traditional Mexican Recipes, with food and food preparation glossaries. Hundreds of Full-Color pictures, and it’s spiral bound for the cook’s convenience. The book Includes Party Snacks, Gala Banquets, and Mexican Adult Beverages too. GG-102 – $24.95 plus $18.95 International S&H. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, for a considerable discount.
…to: Salsas y Chilies – A 28 page booklet with everything you should know about chilies, and naming the most popular Mexican variaties. Including how to prepare them. Seventeen delicious recipes for Salsa with full-color pictures. GG-102-A – $7.95 plus $2.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com.
…to: Mexican Beverages – A 28 page booklet to Non-alcoholic, and alcoholic beverages alike. Recipes from teas; coffee; hot chocolate; punches; egg nog; cold thirst quenching, cooling drinks and fruit ades to 27 different, popular, alcoholic ones. GG-102-B – $7.95 Plus $2.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com.
…to Soups and Salads – A 28 page booklet wth 10 delicious recipes for popular Mexican soups and 11 scrumptious Mexican recipes for salads including full-color pictures. GG-102-C – $7.95 Plus $2.95 Internat. Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com.
…to Mexican Desserts – A 24 page booklet with 20 fabulous recipes for some of the most popular and delicious recipes of Mexican desserts. GG-102-D – $7.95 Plus $2.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for $9.99
…to Throwing a Mexican Fiesta – A 24 page booklet with 5 delicious Mexican recipes for appetizers, botanas; 11 great recipes for Mexican dips and spreads; and 8 wonderful, time-saving recipes for Mexican microwaves treats. GG-102-E $7.95 Plus $2.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com.
Walking Tours
Walking Mexico’s Colonial Heartland – A full 123 pages of History – Legends – Step-by-Step Walking Tours of the world famous Spanish Colonial cities of: San Miguel de Allende; Guanajuato; Querétaro; and the history of Mineral de Pozos, the Ghost Town. These are 450 + year old cities protected and preserved in the Spanish Colonial style of the XVII and XVIII centuries. They are living, breathing cities, full of life and culture, but mysteriously silent about their history and legends. With this book you will appreciate fully your visit to them. WT-101 – $10.00 plus $12.95 International S&H. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com.
Walking Tours of San Miguel de Allende – A 30 page book of the History, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460 year old Spanish Colonial city, a National Monument. The booklet has a four-color, slick cover suitable for saving as a souvenier, and includes lots full-color pictures. WT-102 – $16.50 Plus $6.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
San Miguel’s History – A twenty-four page booklet of the history of San Miguel de Allende from the settlement through the War for Independence with historic pictures. WT-101-A – $7.95 Plus $2.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com.
…of Guanajuato – A 30 page book of the History, Legends, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The legends are authentic, and have been handed down generation after generation.The booklet has lots of historic and full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-103 – $16.50 Plus $6.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…of Santiago de Querétaro – A 30 page book of the History, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The booklet has lots of historic and full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-104 – $14.50 Plus $6.95 Int. Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a big discount.
…of Morelia: The City of Music – A 30 page book of the History, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The booklet has lots of historic and full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-105 – $14.50 Plus $6.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble at a discount.
…of Puebla de Los Angeles – A 30 page book of the History, Legends, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The legends are authentic, and have been handed down generation after generation.The booklet has lots of historic and full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-106 $14.50 Plus $6.95 Int. Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…of Taxco de Alarcon – A 30 page book of the History, Legends, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The legends are authentic, and have been handed down generation after generation.The booklet has lots of historic and full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-107 – $14.50 Plus $6.95 Intnational Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…of San Luis Potosí – A 30 page book of the History, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The booklet has lots of full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-108 – $14.50 Plus $6.95 Intnational Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…of Zacatecas – A 30 page book of the History, Legends, and Step-by-Step instructions for touring this 460+ year old Spanish Colonial city. The legends are authentic, and have been handed down generation after generation.The booklet has lots of historic and full color pictures, and is suitable for saving as a souvenier. WT-109 – $14.50 Plus $6.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
Driving Adventures:
Day Trips From San Miguel – A 56 page coffee table style guidebook to easy one-day trips with historic and full-color pictures. Visit Acambaro, Guanajuato’s oldest city; Dolores Hidalgo, the Fountain of the Independece movement, La Luz, Guanajuato’s Other Ghost Town; Cerro de San Pedro, San Luis Potosí’s Ghost Town, and Jaral de Berrio, the ruins of an historic Hacienda. DA – 102 – $16.95 Plus $7.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…Hidalgo, and the Ancient city of Teotihuacan – A 56 page coffe table style guidebook with the history of the State, and instructions for driving around the state of Hidalgo with stops in: Huichapan, Alfajayucan, Zimápan, Ixmiquilpan, Tula de Allende, Teotihuacán, Pachuca, Mineral del Chico, Real del Monte, Atotonilco El Grande, Metztitlan, Molongo de Escamilla, Tlahuitepa, Huazalingo, and Huejutla de Reyes. with lots of full-color pictures. DA – 104 – $16.95 Plus $7.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a big discount.
…Mexico’s Colonial Ghost Towns – A 56 page coffee table style guidebook of the history and legends of: Mineral de Pozos, Gto.; Mineral La Luz, Gto.; Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosí; Cerro de San Pedro, San Luis Potosí. This book contains lots of historic and full-color pictures of these XVI, XVII, and XVIII century Silver and Gold mining cities. DA – 101 – $16.95 Plus $7.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a big discount.
…Michoacán, Touring the Tarascan Empire – A 56 page coffe table style guidebook with the history, and instructions for driving the state of Michoacán with stops in: Ihuatzio, Tzintzuntzan, Santa Clara del Cobre, Pátzcuaro, Janitzio, Zrahuén, Santiago Tingambato, Uruapan, Paricutín, and Paracho with lots of historic and full-color pictures. DA – 103 – $16.95 Plus $7.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a big discount.
…in Mexico’s Huasteca – A 56 page coffee table guide book with a complete driving tour of the Adventure and Ecotourism Paradise that is the Huasteca area of Mexico. Includes areas in the Mexican states of: Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz. Includes information on White water Rafting, Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, Swimming, Spelunking, Hunting, Fishing, Hiking, and Camping. With lots of historic and full-color pictures. DA – 105 – $16.95 Plus $7.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
Adventure and Ecotourism
…in the Copper Canyon – A 38 page coffee table style guide book with the history, accomodations, and tours of the entire Copper Canyon System located in the State of Chihuahua. Lots of full-color pictures and Driving Adventures down into the depths of the Urique and Batopilas Canyons. AE – 105 – $16.50 Plus $7.95 International Shipping & Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Barnes and Noble.com a considerable discount.
…with Mexico’s Glittering Monarchs – A 38 page coffee table style guide book with the Complete story on the migrating Monarch butterflies. Where they are, how to get to them, and how they were found. A Driving Adventure loaded with full-color, full-page pictures. AE – 106 – $16.50 Plus $7.95 Int. S&H. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a big discount.
…in San Miguel de Allende – A 36 page coffee table style guide book with the Complete possibilities for Adventure and Ecotourism sites to visit while you’re in San Miguel de Allende with lots of full-color pictures. Includes Horseback riding, ATV Rentals, Hot Air Baloon rides, Mountain bike tours, hiking tours, touring the Botanical Gardens , and the Cañada de La Virgen pyramid. AE – 107 $16.50 Plus $7.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
…in Edward James’ Surrealistic Garden, Las Pozas, Xilitla – A 28 page coffee table style guidebook of the Surrealist Sculture garden of Edward James with lots of full-color pictures and a map of the complete site. AE – 101 $16.50 Plus $7.95 International Shipping and Handling. Order by email: wjconaway@yahoo.com, or download from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com for a considerable discount.
All of these books are available in the San Miguel de Allende Library Gift Shop, the Casa de Papel Card Shop, Garrison & Garrison bookstore, La Deriva bookstore, and for downloads Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. Follow the author on Twitter @williamjconaway, and Facebook/williamjconaway. Join and comment with him online at: http://www.williamjconaway.com
Guanajuato, Enchiladas Mineras
19 Oct
Guanajuato, Enchiladas Mineras (cut and paste the recipe)
Guanajuato, Enchiladas Mineras
Adapted from Eli Guzman-Macpherson’s kitchen
Serves 4
For the sauce:
2 guajillo chiles,* seeds and veins removed
2 ancho chiles,* seeds and veins removed
1 c water
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp dried oregano
salt to taste
For the enchiladas:
8 small corn tortillas (~6in diameter)
1 c queso fresco (or substitute a very young feta or goat cheese), crumbled
1 small onion, sliced
2 medium gold potatoes
2 medium carrots, peeled
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 c white vinegar (or rice vinegar)
4 jalepeno en escabeche [pickled jalepeno], sliced
1/3 c sour cream or creme fraiche (it’s closer to Mexican crema)
1 c green cabbage, finely shredded
2 Tbs lime juice
vegetable oil
salt + pepper
Make the sauce. Heat a heavy pan over medium-low heat and gently toast the chiles for about a minute, turning constantly so they won’t char. Soak the chiles in very hot water for 10 minutes to soften. Puree the guajillos with 1/3 c water until very smooth. Strain through fine wire mesh. Add the anchos, garlic, oregano and remaining 2/3 c water to the pureed guajillos. Blend until smooth and add salt to taste.
Make the enchiladas. Cut the potatoes and carrots into bite-size pieces. In a heavy pan, cover the vegetables with water, add 1 tsp salt and cook until they are just fork-tender (10-15 minutes). Put the vegetables in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and stir in the vinegar. Set aside.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the cumin and fry for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent. Set aside. Toss the shredded cabbage with the lime juice and a touch of salt and set aside.
Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil over a medium flame. When a drop of sauce sizzles in the oil, thinly coat a tortilla in the sauce (dilute the sauce with a little water if it’s too thick) and fry in the oil for about 30 seconds per side. Spread a generous tablespoon of both the onions and the cheese across the tortilla and roll up to make a loose packet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and place 2 on each dinner plate. Add more oil to the pan when needed, and scrape and discard any fried tortilla bits to prevent the next one from sticking.
Drain the potatoes and carrots very well. Cover the enchiladas with the vegetables. Fry the remaining sauce in the remaining oil until it thickens slightly and pour over enchiladas. Place shredded cabbage on top, then sprinkle with more of the cheese. Drizzle with sour cream and garnish with the sliced jalapenos.
Guanajuato, City of Cervantes “Walking Tours of Guanajuato.”
18 Oct
Guanajuato, City of Cervantes “Walking Tours of Guanajuato.”
Present Day – Guanajuato, City of Cervantes
17 Oct
Mexican Miners
Present Day – Guanajuato, City of Cervantes
Excerpts from my “Walking Tours of Guanajuato.”
Part II
The Mines
20. LAS MINAS, The Mines: Most of us have no idea how gold and silver end up where they’re found, but the following paragraph from my “México Adventures! Discover México’s Secrets” might help:
“Gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals were introduced into the earth’s crust by the action of magma which forced its way upward from the much hotter and fluid strata below. The heat of the magma tended to separate and concentrate these various elements. By thrusting upwards, the magma created cracks (fissures, they’re called) in the overlying sedimentary rock. As all of this material was lifted the pressure was reduced (somewhat like taking the lid off of a pressure cooker), and streams of super hot gasses and water carried various minerals into the fissures the magma had created. As these intrusions or veins, oftentimes containing gold and silver along with the rock, cool they solidify. Deep mining operations follow these veins back down into the earth.”
Once a vein is discovered, the rock is tested for its gold or silver content in a laboratory. If the percentage of precious metal is enough to prove profitable, all the rock in the vein is extracted from the mine, and the ore is processed to remove most of the gold and silver it contains. (Even modern day extraction methods do not remove every trace of precious metal.) A really good vein is called a bonanza in Spanish as well as English.
Guanajuato is filled with many popular legends, and linked these days with Miguel de Cervantes, romantic Quixote spirits, and the Festival Cervantino (a yearly festival of music and dance).
Also present in Guanajuato—logically it has to be—is that indispensable poetical ingredient known as “fantasy”.
Late in the XVIII century a miner named Florentine Montenegro became a legend:
Florentine was a spendthrift prospector, swindler, and miner at the mine of San Juan de Rayas. It was his habit to squander any and all the gold he found with parties, drinking, gambling, and orgies. He and his friends went from opulence to misery and back again over and over.
Florentine, being an assiduous visitor of the houses of bad fame and the taverns along Robles Alley, set out, true to custom, on one of his innumerous carousels a certain night. His pockets were full of a great variety of silver coins, which were the product of the recent coinage of the active mint in the city of Guanajuato.
Money, wine, and the most extravagant excesses flowed, and diminished little by little as the pockets of our spendthrift Florentine emptied. At two o’clock sharp the friends retired, and he decided to retire too. Passing through the adjoining Alley of the Dead Dogs, he heard a feminine voice, soft and sweet, calling him from a house from which came a pleasant inviting warmth.
A woman in white showed him a table laden with food and drink. He downed a glass of liqueur which seemed to him to be a rare beverage, making him feel immediately queer such as he had never felt before.
In this state of mind Florentine tried to make love to the lady, where upon she led him by the hand towards what he believed to be a subterranean room. Florentine, an adventurous man, let himself be led through a strange red luminous vapor down what seemed to be an interminable number of steps. Down, down they went and Florentine, hearing moaning, began to shiver.
Seized by panic, Florentine tried several times to free himself from the woman’s grasp, but she encouraged him onward with a sweet glance. He felt safer in her company until finally they arrived on a landing.
He saw a closely packed procession of dehumanized beings coming by. They were beating one another with lashes full of barbs and thorns. They writhed horribly, victims of the blows that they reciprocally administered. He was alone!
From the walls of the cavern flowed thick layers of boiling lava, and from the ceiling scalding water, which burned the shoulders of the miner.
He then saw a most pitiless flagellator, a huge diabolical being, along with the lady in white, clearly a demon too, gazing at him, and coming toward him in a threatening attitude.
The horrified Florentine screamed and scrambled up the stairs in full flight, conscious of the demons chasing him. He climbed those interminable stairs faster than he thought possible, and when he came at last to the top he rushed through the outer door, and completely exhausted he fell unconscious to the ground.
Florentine was found by neighbors the next day, but remained a complete imbecile for days afterward unable to utter a coherent word. After many days he recovered, but when he told his friends his tale it was greeted with shouts and laughter.
Never the less, he reformed his life, and became one of the most honest, industrious, and generous men at the mine!
Mexican Prospector
Becoming a Writer The Early Years, The Gato Negro
15 Oct
Becoming a Writer
The Early Years, The Gato Negro
My favorite watering hole in San Miguel these days (1989), is the Gato Negro bar. It’s my favorite for many reasons but especially because I was warmly welcomed by the bar’s owner and his son on my very first visit. At the time my income was very low, and my writing partner, Peyton Breckinridge’s was practically non existent. We were pleased to find a place where we could have an inexpensive drink or two of an afternoon, and not spend all of our time holed up in his place or mine where we collaborated on various writing projects.
Don Gory (short for Gorilla), the owner of the bar, was a stooped over old boxer who had spent his youth, and probably much more as a stevedore, hauling heavy bales of flour, sugar, etc. on and off trucks in a local, over the counter, grocery store by the name of La Balanza. The heavy labor permanently bent his spine slightly, which gave him a gorilla like stance and gait.
His son, El Niño (the boy) a law school graduate, is long haired bohemian, with an appreciation for the arts and artists which abound here in San Miguel. El Niño got his nickname from his early apprenticeship as a gofor in another local cantina named El Infierno. As in, “Boy, go get me some limes,” or “Boy, go get some ice,” etc.
One afternoon, we were having a break in the bar when my friend Peyton became very sleepy. One of the other patrons roused himself from the overstuffed sofa they affectionately called “La Plancha” the morgue slab and stumbled out the door. Peyton, seeing his chance, immediately took his place and stretched out his six foot frame for a snooze. The bar erupted in applause, and the “Gringos” were in.
One of the Gato Negro bar’s nicer touches was a very animated, friendly, black kitten named Tommy. Tommy, like all kittens, was very curious especially about the strange world outside the swinging barroom doors, and the patrons, good naturedly, would take turns shooing him back inside. Well, one day Tommy disappeared, and could not be found. He had been around long enough to have grown-on the bar’s owners as well as the customers, and the bar was plunged into melancholy.
One enterprising fellow, after quite a few tequilas, took it upon himself to put an ad on the local radio station announcing the loss of the kitten and offering a reward for its return.
The ad was supposed to run for one day only, but the radio station having practically no ads lined up, ran it for the whole week. No sooner did it air, but a parade of bums began arriving at the bar carrying cats to claim the reward. Either they couldn’t see, were color blind, or were just trying to show their concern in order to con a free drink for themselves, we’ll never know, but they brought every kind of cat known to man. Big cats, small cats, fat cats, and old cats in all colors of the rainbow. Day and night drunks, their faces, arms, and hands scratched to ribbons, struggled up the street carrying, dragging, juggling their varied asortment of spitting, screaming cats toward the Gato Negro which by now was overrun with hungry felines, who knew a good thing when they saw it, having finished off Tommy’s cat food forthwith.
The well meaning customer who started it all dropped by at the end of the week, when El Niño, armed with a broom and a garbage can lid was busily clearing out the last of the remaining free loaders, and was promptly cleared out himself. The radio station showed up to present their bill for a weeks advertising and was paid off in cats, and Tommy was found in the next door neighbors kitchen, hiding under her rerigerator….
Next I’ll begin posting a series of stories that Peyton and I wrote about this same time, called the It’ll Do. They were accompanied by a series of drawings by Don Carlos. Hope you enjoy them.
Becoming a Writer, The Early years, Ride in the Country
12 Oct
Bajada de Salida a Queretaro
Becoming a Writer
The Early years, Ride in the Country
On one of our carousings we met Bob Vinzant, and it was evident
from the first that he was to become a part of our little group.
Bob was from California, a little older, and was much more
sophisticated than we were. He was a college man, and intended to
teach high school English and write on the side. I’ve lost track
of Bob, and other than an incident, about an LSD spiked punch,
which I heard about much later, I never saw or heard of him
again. But he and I had a real adventure together that summer of
1962.
Bob and I decided one day, while we were sitting around drinking
beer, to hire some horses, and ride to the Sierra of Guanajuato which
we could see on the south-western horizon.
There was, at the time, a stable located behind my little
apartment on Codo street. I haggled with the owner, and managed
to convince him to rent us a couple of horses for an entire day.
Being stupid teenagers we set off for the distant mountains with
only the clothes on our backs. No food, no water, just ourcigarettes
and matches.
Not realizing how far it really was… it took us the whole day to reach
the foothills. A drizzling rain had started falling just before dark, and
we took shelter in a shallow cave. The horses huddled together, and
stood outside in the rain all night while Bob futilely tried to light a fire.
Luckily both of us had worn jackets which kept some of our own warmth in
because that was all we had. However, we did managed to sleep some, and
awoke to a glorious dawn. Mounting my horse I really enjoyed the warmth
it provided.
Realizing, of course, that we were in real trouble with the owner of the horses,
but had decided during the night that we might as well enjoy ourselves.
Riding on, up into the mountains, looking for someplace to eat. What we
expected to find I don’t know, but remembering from the day before,
there was nothing back toward home.
After awhile the warmth of the sun allowed us to stop shivering
and we really began to enjoy our adventure. Not having seen
another human being, or motor vehicle in 24 hours or more, it
felt like we had gone back in time to the old west.
Riding uphill through a forest of pine trees their aroma filled the air.
The only sounds we heard were the bird calls and the creaking of our
saddles. Pausing only to carefully light our brown Principe cigarillos
using only one of our dwindling supply of matches we rested. Our
stomachs began to growl, and completely drowned out the bird calls.
We really needed to find some food.
A little further on we came to a village that at our approach
became deserted, the shutters on all the houses slamming shut. We
called out, but nobody showed themselves. We thought it strange,
but decided after awhile that the men were probably all out in
the hills working leaving the women and children alone. After
riding all day and spending the night in a cave we probably
looked pretty rough to them.
Only one woman came out, and in our halting Spanish we asked her
for something to eat, jangling our loose change. “Si, como no,” she said,
and disappeared into her house.
Dismounting, I tied the horses reins to a nearby tree, and sat
down on a large log to wait. Sitting there, smoking more
cigarillos, we looked around at the collection of adobe houses
nestled there in amongst the tall pine trees. The morning
sunlight filtered down through the boughs of the trees in
scattered patches, and we could see rusting tin cans of flowering
plants all around the little houses. It was a beautiful, peaceful
scene.
Gradually, a few women, huddled in rebozos, came out of the
houses, and began tending to their chores only occasionally
glancing in our direction. We waited quite awhile, worrying that
maybe the woman hadn’t understood us, but could see and smell
wood smoke coming from her abode house.
At last she emerged carrying two, large clay bowls, and she served us,
sitting on the log, a dish we would later come to know as menudo. A
tripe stew with lots of onions and chilies, accompanied by lots of
blue, freshly made tortillas. A meal fit for a king!
Warmed and sated with the delicious food we began to ready
ourselves to ride back to San Miguel thinking to head back
using the paved San Miguel-Celaya highway as a guide, but to
our inquiries for the highway, la carretera, we were directed to
a donkey path instead. That was their idea of a highway! It
was headed in more or less the right direction so off we went.
Riding on, through beautiful wooded country with grassy meadows that
bordered, in places, on wild rocky cliffs that dropped off into deep
chasms…it made my skin crawl to look down into them. We carefully
steered our horses to the far side of the path, as far away from the edge
as we could get. Slowly descending out of the high mountains into the
foothills we were finally able to relax a bit.
During this long ride, and coming to know our mounts a little, we
had noticed that my horse refused to let Bob’s horse pass him. Finding
that amusing, Bob kept trying to sneak by me. Each time he tried my
mount would charge ahead flailing its head, nostrils flaring and cut him
off. He was really serious about it.
Coming to a small, shallow stream that ran with cold clear water
and we dismounted to take a drink. It was very refreshing and
tasted a little earthy. Scooping out some holes that quickly
filled with water so the horses could take a drink too, we
spent some time there lying on the grassy bank in the warm
sunshine. The horses grazed a little, we couldn’t imagine how
with bits in their mouths, but we didn’t dare take the bridles
off because we had no idea how to put them back on again, and
feared losing the horses entirely.
I know some of you horse lovers are furious at the way we treated
those fine animals, but remember I said we were stupid teenagers,
didn’t I?
Riding on, using the soft mud of the little stream to cushion our ride,
Bob began his little game again of trying to pass us. Gradually speeding
up until we were riding at full gallop down the gradual slope of a hill
until coming to a curve Bob’s horse slipped in the mud, and went down,
dumping Bob into the muddy water. Luckily Bob kept a hold of the reins
and was able to keep the horse from bolting off. He was unhurt, except
for his ego, and we stopped for awhile to calm the horses down.
We had lost the path a long time back, but could tell we were
heading in the right direction even though there was no sign of San
Miguel. Gradually we came down out of the hills onto flat land, and
riding all the rest of the day finally reached the outskirts of San Miguel.
It was twilight by then, and we clip clopped along the cobblestone streets
practically unnoticed by pedestrians (mounted riders were pretty common
back then).
Making our way along with the dim street lights barely illuminated by
small wattage bulbs over a few of the doorways, we finally arrived at
the door of the stable on Tenerias street.
The owner of the horses was fit to be tied, and only after handing over
all the money we had with us were we able to get out of there alive!
Callejon La Garza
Living and Writing in Mexico 