Oaxacabound

Day 3

I set out to drive straight to San Miguel de Allende, about 6 hours. However, I noticed a huge city called San Luis Potosi on the way that might be worth a looksee. I checked Things to Do and AI came up with a ton of great outdoor stuff like magnificent waterfalls and kayaking so I decided to stop.

I immediately ran into two problems very common in Mexico. First, many big cities confusingly share the same name as their state. For example, I live in Oaxaca in the state of Oaxaca which regularly leads to circular conversations. “I live in Oaxaca…oh really, what part?…Oaxaca.” Same with San Luis Potosi it turns out. It’s a grand old city of a million people, but the waterfalls were 4 hours away. Oops. Second, the further you get into the interior where tourists seldom tread, the fewer people speak English and my Spanish is, in a word, mierda (look it up).

I arrived late afternoon, took in the sights and found my way to the National Mask Museum, a personal passion with 20+ of my own collected over the years. They had everything…Day of the Dead, celebratory, burial even Mexican pro wrestling…from all over the world.

Heading to my hotel, I was approached by a pollster. I thought, please let him quickly realize my opinion could not possibly matter, something my family figured out ages ago. But shockingly, he asked in English if I was from Texas (on my hat). As it happens, he grew up with his mother in Arlington and it made him one of the few English speakers around.

I asked if he knew some place with local color to grab a beer, and he took me to a hole in the wall his uncle owned 2 blocks away. It was loud and crowded, 100% locals, with karaoke in the basement. Cha ching. Mucho, mucho mezcals and cervezas later, I took the stage to sing the only Mexican song I know… “Voy a buscar, un rinconito en el cielo…” Fifty people were dead silent when the solo gringo got up, but they were all cheers, back pats and hugs by the end. I didn’t have to pay for another drink the rest of the night. It…was…awesome.

And fade to black…