Baja Vacations: Punta Banda

Punta Banda is a three-restaurant no-hotel kind of town. The main attraction is La Bufadora, a pseudo geyser in the ocean that’s really just a spurt of water caused by waves hitting underwater rocks.   My BF and I scoped out the scene last week and made sure we’d be able to easily find the casa my family and I are renting over Thanksgiving weekend.

We only got lost once, and, believe it or not, someone pulled up behind us, asked who we were looking for (I gave them the name of the owner of the house) and they were like, “Oh yeah, we know her. Follow us.”

I’m in love with the place already, but I’m sure I’ll have more to say when we return. So far, we plan on doing a lot of hanging out, a little going out (we definitely have to check out the new Rincon del Parque restaurant, which is owned by the same people who run Laja), and maybe even a bit of sightseeing, which includes going to the real Hussong’s, the birthplace of the margarita.

Have I mentioned how much I love Mexico lately?   Have I told anyone yet about my next tattoo?  It’ll be the Tijuana Zebra with “I Heart TJ” written underneath.  Pretty sweet, huh?

Baja vacations: La Fonda

That's the famous Tijuana artist Jorge Tellaeche relaxing in the sun.

Good God I feel lucky.  This past weekend was the longest, slowest, most relaxing weekend I’ve had in a long time. From horseback rides on the beach and fabulous home-cooked meals in a beautiful kitchen with an ocean view to drinking gallons of Tecate while talking about the merits of cereal around a campfire and eating fresh coconuts on the beach while chatting up the locals, the time spent in La Fonda, a beach town south of Rosarito in Baja, California, Mex., was damn-near magical.

We even adopted a dog for the weekend. The furry guy ran up to our rented beach house (which just happened to be a house built by the famous physicist Richard Feynman) and kept us company until the day we packed up.  We ended up naming him Oso (Spanish for bear) and each fell madly in love with him.

I feel sorry for those who are still too scared to come down to Baja, although, a part of me loved having an entire beach to ourselves this weekend.

Mas photos below:

Adapta vs. Sezio: Round Two pics

Round Two of Adapta vs. Sezio went down last Thursday and I think it’s safe to say it was — be ready for some hyperbole and a major cliche — a total success.   The series, which pits one San Diego artist against one Tijuana artist for three months at Cream Coffee Bar in University Heights, has been an interesting one.

Last month, we (as in my arts collective, Adapta Project) put a graphic designer from TJ against a painter from San Diego and this month it’s the complete opposite. Tijuana painter Fernanda Uski presented her darling dog portraits, which play with the idea of bourgeoisie luxury and status symbols, while graphic artist Justin Skeesuck’s prints brought back both mid-century aesthetic and simplicity and actual vintage stock certificates, which he mounted to the frames.  The end result was a sharply contrasting show that was both pretty and interesting if you took the time to talk to the artists.

Pictures from the event are below:

Tecate tourism

"Storyteller" by Kinsee Morlan

The first thing you’ll notice about Tecate is the thick wheat smell in the air, which is pungent at first but becomes almost agreeable over time. The huge Tecate brewery is located right in the center of town, and if the winds are blowing, the smell of beer being made is blowing, too.

The second thing you’ll notice about Tecate is the park. Located smack dab in the middle of the town center, what’s amazing and mystifying about this park, at least to us gringos, is the fact that it’s actually used by the townsfolk.  The idea of a plaza is native to Latin America and the public life and interaction that goes on in this place in unparalleled to anything I’ve ever seen in small towns in the U.S.

During the day, young and old sit on the park benches reading, playing chess, listening to mariachi, drinking beer and letting their kids play tag and chase the pigeons.  At night, karaoke takes over as couples dance around the gazebo to the sounds of their neighbors voices.

My BF and I went to Tecate this Saturday with a somewhat absurd task in mind — we were going to find Daniel Reveles, the writer who lives in Tecate and gets most of the inspiration for his short stories from his neighbors and friends.  We started by asking some of the old men in the park, and it didn’t take long before we were pointed in the direction of Bar Diana, one of Reveles favorite haunts.

We headed inside, ordered two Bohemias and, after just a few sips, my BF recognized one of his old literature professors from Grossmont College in San Diego. The professor and his two fellow coworkers were at Diana’s trying to find Reveles, too.  They had the new Murakami book and they wanted to give it to Reveles.

The bartender at Diana’s was nice enough to call the old writer at his home in Tecate Ranch, about a three or four minute drive from the bar. I talked to Reveles and he told us he’d meet us in a few hours.

About four beers and one shot of tequila later, the man was there telling us stories about how he gets his stories, sipping fine tequila (his “life potion” as he called it) and greeting nearly everyone who walked into the bar.  The man is a living legend, and although I’ve yet to read any of his books, I already know I’ll likely love ‘em.

Here are some photos of our beautiful day in Tecate:

This kid was fantastic. He kept chasing the pigeons with his cotton candy, running in circles with a huge smile on his devilish little face.

Fences wouldn't even stop him.

He came close a few times to actually swatting the pigeons.

He made his mommy proud.

Inside Bar Dianna with a few of Daniel Reveles's friends. Apparently, he dedicated his newest book to them.

There's Daniel Reveles, the old guy second from the left.

Everyone who visits the Tecate brewery gets one free beer.

Vendors add to the sense of a healthy public life.

A cowboy waiting for his cowgirl.

The gazebo is the center of activity.

Dancing in public.

Karaoke in public.

Play time.

Julieta Venegas in San Diego

Julietta, the magnificent.

Julietta Venegas will be in San Diego this Sunday, Nov. 9, at Spreckels Theatre.   For those who don’t know, Julietta is Tijuana’s pride and joy.  Her Mexican pop songs are beautiful, emotional and good even if you don’t understand a single word she says.  She plays the piano and accordian and writes most all of her own songs, too.

Tijuana artist: Fernanda Uski

Part of Fernanda Uski's "The New Elite" series.

Fernanda Uski will be the next Tijuana artist to take on a San Diego artist at Cream in part of the three-month art-off my art collective, Adapta Project, is doing with Sezio.

The show opens next Thursday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Cream, 4496 Park Blvd. in University Heights.  It’s free and fun, so put it on your Google calendar right this moment.

Mas info below the break:

The water problem

Why the hell is it so hard for us gringos to catch on to this water thing in Mexico?  You can’t drink the tap water, and I’ve even been told not to cook with the tap water either.  We have a five-gallon jug of water that we refill for $1-$2 at neighborhood markets (there are at least three places to fill the jug within walking distance of our apartment), but, for cultural reasons I suppose, my BF and I just can’t seem to keep the thing filled.

We always seem to run out of precious drinking water at the most inopportune times.   The good thing about the whole situation is that I really appreciate water and treat it like gold.  There’s definitely no wasting water in our household.

The Donkey Show in Tijuana

"Kinsee and the Tijuana Donkey" by Derrik Chinn

The Donkey Show, to my knowledge, is probably something that happened a few times in Tijuana during its heyday, but has since stopped happening.  For those who don’t know, The Donkey Show is a live sex show between a donkey and a woman.

A few weeks ago, I put on my own little Donkey Show on Revolucion Avenue in Tijuana.  And no, I didn’t have sex with the spray-painted donkey, I simply ran over and asked the man if I could hang out with the little fellow for a minute.

I love the Tijuana “zebras” because they show how, in Tijuana, people capitalize however, where ever and whenever they can. I can’t help but think that when the United States starts to really truly feel the effects of this economic crisis, we won’t laugh so easily at the Mexicans and mock them for all the silly ways they come up with to make a quick dollar.

Mas photos by Mr. Chinn below: