I

1

Im so glad you could make it down to Tecate
today. Tecate is a peaceful little pueblo where
there are no strangers, everyone you meet will
smile at you, and no one is in a hurry. Throw
away your watch. Time doesnt exist down here.
Its life in the slow lane. Like most Mexican
towns the plaza is the heart and soul of Tecate
the social epicenter. Come take a stroll around
the plaza with me. There are people I want you to
meet.
2
Early every morning men are out sweeping the
rose-colored walkways with a Mexican
push-broomUntil the plaza is spotless.
3
Everything happens in the plaza. Tears, hope and
laughter. Tragedy and comedy. Here is where
people fall in love or out of love. This is
because Fate is always on duty in the plaza
messing around with peoples lives. Today well
see first kisses, sad kisses of parting and
secret kisses too.
4
Music is always in the air ideal for strolling,
flirting, or just getting acquainted.
5
By the way, that man dressed in white hiding
behind the newspaper is Trinidad Contreras, our
Peter Lorre look-alike and sound-alike!
Everybody calls him Treenie. Treenie is a
state-licensed matchmaker or state-licensed
anything else you need him to be for a fee.
6
You wont go hungry in the plaza. The seductive
aroma of meat and onions browning and roasting
corn on the cob wafts in and wakens the wolf in
your stomach. Youve got plenty of choices. There
are the festive sidewalk cafes or pushcarts like
this one dispensing Sno-Cones, warm churros,
chicharronesplus fresh fruitcups, mango on a
stick, or tamales.
7

• The colorful
• balloon man is
• everywhere.
• Balloons! Balloons! Every color, every shape
• Shamu
• Meeky Mouse
• El Snoopy
• El Hombre Araña!
• (Also known as Spider Man)

8

• Youll always see a couple of old-timers playing
  checkers under the shade of the big
• trees. This happens to be a serious game of high
  stakes between two grandmasters.
• Youll notice its the bottle caps against the
  Oreo cookies.

9
The man over there shining shoes is Cepillos. But
hes not your ordinary shoeshine man. No,
Cepillos is a forensic scientist He claims, and
no one in Tecate disagrees with him, he can tell
you more about a man than his own mother, just by
studying his shoes!
10
This is Tecates infamous bug man. The jar hes
holding contains an interesting assortment of
repulsive creatureslive bugs, squirmy worms,
spiders, cockroaches and other creepy crawlies.
Give him a coin and hell take one out - then eat
it in one bite right in front of you! Kind of
gross maybe, but he earns a living and he doesnt
have to worry about trans fats.
11

• The man in
• the coat of
• many colors
• has the
• widest
• assortment
• of tasty
• popsicles
• youll ever
• see.

12

• And theres never a shortage of entertainment.
  Clowns like this one are always
• acting goofy, bouncing, juggling and handing out
  balloons to the kids.
• I dont believe it! That distant figure in the
  background in a flowered dress is
• Señorita X. I havent seen her around in a long
  time. Not since Well, never mind.

13
If youre in the mood for tacos you wont do
better than Los Amigoscarne asada smothered with
guacamole or a killer quesadilla custom made to
your order. Or we can walk over to Los Arcos just
down the street.
14
Hows your Spanish? Can you read the green sign?
Tongue and calf-eye tacos are a specialty here.
Oh, yummy!
15
And youre never far from the panaderia,
purveyors of decadence and sin, lathered with
rich chocolate or sprinkled with colored sugars.
16

• The young couple you see on the bench is in big
  trouble! Theyve only been novios a few months.
• Poor Felipe. Hes having trouble getting his
  feelings across to Estelita so he summoned Miguel
  with
• his guitar to say it for him with a song. Felipe
  doesnt know it yet but everyone else in Tecate
  
• knows Estelita is going to dump him, as you say
  on the Other Side. Fate strikes again! I told you.

17
On the other hand, that young couple you see
embracing in the shadows of the kiosk, just
recently discovered theyre hopelessly in love.
Two delirious hearts were kindling the fires of
passion just as we came by. We missed the kiss by
only a couple of seconds. The man with the guitar
is Antonio, Tecates favorite balladeer. Hes
singing Amar y Vivir, an old love song that can
still squeeze a heart in love. Antonio told me
once, When I sing a love song to a couple, they
stay in love!
18

• Sunday is market day, you can shop for everything
  from fresh fruits and vegetables to

19

• Intimate
• apparel at
• Josefinas
• Secreto
• Mix or
• match bras
• and panties,
• four for a
• hundred
• pesos.
• (10.00 US)

20
The fountain is everybodys favorite place for
just relaxing or flirting or whispering sweet
perjuries with a kiss. Its easy to see why I get
a lot of my stories right here in the plaza.

• The fountain is everybodys favorite place for
  just relaxing or flirting or whispering sweet
  perjuries with a kiss. Its easy to see why I get
  a lot of my stories right here in the plaza.

21
Im sitting here with a good friend in the famous
Bar Diana a landmark that just celebrated its
golden anniversary with a lavish fiesta. Im the
one holding the margarita. I hope you enjoyed our
afternoon stroll around the plaza. Now that you
know everyone you must come back to Tecate soon.
Fair warning you might just leave a piece of
your heart! But dont forget to drop in on me
once in a while. Whenever I have something new to
share with you a picture, a recipe, a story
Ill post it right here. Salud!