Recuerdos

Chapulines!

Many reporters advise that when food is offered, eat. Prior to this trip, I re-read Ned Glascock?s ant-eating account Read him here
to steel myself for the visit to Pahuatlan. I was disappointed when the most exotic dish set before me was a seeping tres leches birthday cake. Two weeks ago I had another near-culinary adventure - almost sampled sheep intestines. But we did not arrive at the Zacatecas taqueria until midnight, too late even by Mexican standards. Saw tobacco workers, though:

Then today, just as I was beginning to lose myself in the famed Oaxaca markets, came grasshoppers.

Market day is a feast for the senses. The scent is overwhelming, coming at you from a block away - chicken feet, dried fish (eyes intact), piles of mariscos, mole paste, mango-on-a-stick, cut calla lillies, rose bushes and fresh coffee beans. Goats and pigs bleet and grunt their way past, until customers pile them into their trunks. Is that the sound of parakeets singing, or a Hello Kitty alarm clock striking the hour? Banda competes with Thalia?s ?Cerca de Ti.?

And then, grasshoppers.

They come in three sizes: large, medium and small. The small ones just look like a pile of red sawdust. The medium ones look like dried bark. The large ones are fresh from the frying pan, still wriggling. Usually there are some fried larvae nearby.

I had a large one pressed upon me. Tasted...salty. Oh, but you need more, the vendors agreed, filling a foot-long bag. I really do not need more I thought as I watched one escapee wriggle free of the platter. Plus, I have grasshopper guilt. When I was about 12 I went through a grasshopper killing phase. I pelted them with rocks. Have always regretted it.

So I only bought a half a bag. Not sure if I can eat them all. But I have eight days left, and the vendor assured me they last at least a week.

The Hood

What makes for a bad neighborhood? And how can you tell, as a foreign journalist? According to Nelida Villa aka Nelly who has been helping me translate interviews, I must be a lot more careful in Colonia Centro, which is where I have spent most of my time trailing immigrants and hanging with mariachis outside the metro:

I need to watch my back, the translator said, and not take the subway after hours. I was surprised to hear all this from a former party girl/sports reporter who has traveled the world. But she did just turn 30. That?s her holding the baby (Feliz Cumpleanos - now the world knows!)

The real bonus of working with Nelly is that she is such a star all the workers - that is, a bunch of guys from the countryside ages 20 to 40 - want to come talk to us.

She also corrects my grammar, and has me joking in Spanish. I remember this much from my sojourn in France - it is such a thrill when your personality, and not just words, start to translate. Yesterday I chided a guy who tried to run me down (Monterrey drivers are infamous, sort of like Boston as I explained to a taxi driver today), traded barbs with a bunch of norte?o cowboys and had the padre at Iglesia Cristo Rey singing me Irish lullabies.

Next week: More story links, La playa, and the search begins for Amaranta...

Single mothers

My first story ran in The News & Observer today, with photos. Viewable

here

I also promised that Josh Benton link a fun read from a former Pew Fellow who, despite e-mail delinquency, is a swell guy and a new convert to the marathon fold.

El Campo

Was cursing myself today for not pumping a source for information about Fox's visit to his hometown of Guanajuato today. He went to celebrate Benito Juarez Day, the first day of spring (and the Aztec calendar) and to see his mother. Waiting for him were a group of ex-braceros with demands. Apparently he made concessions and is scheduled to meet with leaders in the D.F. Wednesday. Locals had promised to kick out protestors, but according to the news tonight they did not clash much. Not sure if Fox actually emerged from his ranch (the Mexican equivalent of Crawford) to talk to them.

The trip would have taken two days, and I was busy interviewing workers here, touring the consulate and preparing a story set to run in The News & Observer tomorrow (link to come).

Quick update: A few days ago I returned from visiting workers in the fields of Nayarit.

This photo, like the rest on the site, is made possible by my dear Cannon G5, Dell Inspiron and Josh Benton, now viewable at http://www.crabwalk.com (updated link to come). Many thanks, props, etc.