The Weird Juxtaposition That Is Monterrey
Two San Pedro municipal workers recently gave me yet another example of how this area is a bridge between Latin America and the US. I was walking the dog on the Calzada a few days ago. I passed a worker using a backpack leaf blower to clear the leaves and dust from the sidewalk, a scene I've witnessed countless times in the US. I reached the end of this branch of the "cross" (where the two Calzadas, del Valle and San Pedro, intersect) at the statue of David and turned back towards home.

A few minutes later I encountered another worker. This one was probably 15-20 years older and he was clearing the sidewalks with a large dead palm frond, sweeping it back and forth. I'd say this method was just as good for the leaves, seeds, and twigs, though probably not for any dust or dirt.

A few days later I saw this same older worker using a backpack leaf blower. Maybe he lost the rock-paper-scissors or coin toss that determined which worker got the gadget the first time around.

Modern and primitive, high tech and low tech, Hummers and donkey carts - this is Monterrey, Mexico.

P.S. I finally saw the tangerine sherbet colored Lamborghini that everyone told me about about a week ago. I can add that to all the Ferraris and Porsches I've seen tooling about. Have I mentioned that San Pedro has one of the highest per-capita incomes in Latin America?

Emily makes the news!
Okay, not really. A case Emily was involved with made the local news recently. Often Emily's day is composed of replacing passports, visiting US citizens in Mexican prisons, or trying to explain to the nice, but unqualified applicant, that she can't approve his visa. Other times she has to deal with things like this:
My San Antonio site story
My San Antonio site story - updated.
Dallas News
Dallas - Fort Worth ABC affiliate story

It was a long night. She worked late and stressed over the incident all evening. Privacy concerns prevent her from discussing details, but it was a very sad incident.

Background and terms:

• Visas are for non-US citizens only
• New babies of American Citizens apply at the consulate for Consular Reports of Birth Abroad - CRBAs - as proof of the child's citizenship and to serve as a birth certificate in the US
• CRBA's are the "seed" citizenship document and can be used to cross the land border or obtain a passport. Because of the importance of this seed document, CRBA applications are closely scrutinized.

While I was trying to dig up any additional news coverage, I stumbled across this article on the California Family Law Blog. The situation appears to be similar.

Christmas in Monterrey is noisy!
Mexicans enjoy celebrating holidays with fireworks. Starting Christmas Eve we heard firecrackers (some little, but mostly big, like M-80s), bottle rockets, and other loud things. We were told to expect it at midnight, but no one waited that long. Eventually it quieted down somewhat, allowing Boots, our fearless dog (ha!), to allow us to sleep. This didn't last long, since the midnight Mass crowd got home about 2 AM and promptly ignited their fireworks... in the empty lot across the street from our house... until about 3:30.


Here's Emily with her low-key fireworks (the legal kind).

We did NOT get up early to open presents. In fact, we didn't open them until around noon. I'm holding an item Emily really wanted: a hand-held bug zapper. I'm sure she'll put it to good use once the mosquitoes return.

Here's the fabulous chicken Emily baked for our Christmas dinner.


Boots even got a special treat. Emily took leftover egg yolks (from cardamom bread - yum!) and whipped up a sort of quiche. Eggs, meat, cheese - Boots' favorite food groups!

Here's a picture of a special cake (rosca de reyes) made for the holidays (New Years, in particular). It's mildly sweet, has bits of fruit around the outside, and hidden somewhere inside is a small, plastic toy (a baby). It's considered good luck to find it. More details on this page.

Walk pix
Here are a few pictures Emily took on a recent walk we took with Boots.

This is a monument at "our" end of the Calzada del Valle. It was presented by a group, the Italy-Mexico League or something like that. (Now that I've forgotten, I'll have to look at the plaque again.) The globe lights up green at night.

Here's our favorite pedestrian overpass on Calzada San Pedro. It's quite attractive. Those are the peaks of Chipinque in the background.

This is from the overpass of Calzada San Pedro, probably a mile from our house. In this view we're looking southwest down Lazaro Cardenes, a major street. This is looking in the general direction of Saltillo.


This shot is of a local lawn ornament/statuary shop (although they have other art work inside). Yes, the statue is covered in Christmas balls for the holidays (gone now). During major futbol (soccer) season, he'll often sport the colors of a team. And, yes, those are Beatles statues. I don't know why, but the locals seem to like the Abbey Road cover shot, which they alter. Don't ask why, given the small population of Indian and SE Asian people locally, but there are a lot of Hindu and Buddhist statues and figures available in local shops. There are also several Egyptian-themed shops. Just another little mystery.

Here's a shot of Boots on the walk. She rarely holds still for a shot - camera bad! Scary!

Here's a shot of Mitras, a small mountain on the outskirts of Monterrey. It's been used heavily for aggregate for construction, so it's missing chunks. I'll have to dig and see if I have any more shots of it.

Alan Parsons Project - Live in Monterrey
Last night Emily and I went to see Alan Parsons Project. It was a good show. The band played a bunch of the old hit songs, with a couple I didn't know, at least one of which is from a new CD (A Valid Path) which was nominated for a Grammy (Best Surround Sound Album? I didn't know they had that category). I was disappointed not to hear one of my favorites: Days are Numbers (The Traveller). They did play my other favorite, Old and Wise, a song I always envision being used at a memorial service for someone who died tragically young. A few songs I didn't anticipate hearing, but did, include The Raven and (The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether. I guess I should have figured on it, though, since they "rock" a bit more than some of the other tunes.

If we had only known how lax things are here, we'd have taken our digital camera AND camcorder. I kid you not, we saw both in use, not to mention dozens and dozens of camera cell phones. At least then I'd have some royalty-free pictures to post!

The funniest thing was that Emily and I pegged the lead vocalist identically: he looked like he should be fronting for Guns N Roses! The drummer looked a bit hard-core for the band, too, and the bassist definitely looked a little on the young side. Then again, it's not like APP had a solid lineup through the years. A quick glance at the two-CD The Definitive Collection shows sixteen (16) different lead vocalists! Last night's singer had a few minor problems hitting the "quiet" voice often used in APP songs and definitely had a "rock" voice. He was dressed in tennis shoes, black leather pants, a flannel shirt, and a dew-rag. The guitarist, keyboard/synth guy, and, of course, Alan Parsons himself were all old enough to look as if they belonged in the band. Go here to see the band's bio. I did enjoy the fact that all six members of the band not only sang harmony parts, but each took lead on at least one song.

My only question is, what the heck were the locals chanting when they were trying to get the band out for an encore? I think it was, "Claro claro claro" over and over. That word is used widely for an affirmative "of course", "I understand", and "clear" so it makes some sense.

My only complaints were:
1) Cost. It was a fairly expensive show, particularly outside of the US & EU. There were quite a few empty seats. This did result in us getting "promoted" into better seats, along with many others. Can't complain about that.
2) Temperature. It was cold in that auditorium! My guess is that they generally don't need heat in there and so they never installed it. Given recent temps in the 40s here (unseasonably cold, we're assured), they need it now.