One day we went across the border and
ate at the Pink Store in Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico. (The longer
name of the town, not much used, is Puerto Palomas de Villa.) We were helping our
friend Esther and her two friends from Silver City, Pierre and Jerry,
deliver one pickup load and two carloads of food and other goods to a
senior center in Columbus, NM, and further, by relay, to a location
(school or library) in Palomas. From Deming, Agapi and I were able to
contribute a box of man's shoes, a box of woman's and kid's shoes, a
box of sweaters, ties, and belts, a box of stuffed animals, puzzles,
and games, and a small box of eyeglasses and soap.
We parked our car and crossed the
border on foot.
Our associates for the day have been
regulars at the Pink Store for years. On entering, they were greeted
familiarly by the owner Sergio and his very personable wife Ivonne.
We were seated in the restaurant at one end of the Store, an emporium
of poly-chromed ceramics, tin sculptures, wooden religious icons,
woven blankets, and assorted knickknacks, pattywacks, and
bric-a-brac, all in that recognizably garish Mexican style. Agapi
reported having the very best chile relleno since arriving in the
southwest. I had bistek, which also was very good, if chewy.
On leaving, I came across my first
retablos* in the Store. One I found particularly interesting (for
$16) commemorated a good time a man had with a prostitute before
getting a sexually transmitted disease. I did not note to which saint
it was dedicated.
"Don't be startled," our
hostess Ivonne said as we started for the door. She was referring to
the soldiers coming in, one in desert camo, and the other two in
olive-drab holding matte-black automatic weapons. "It is only
one of our generals coming in for lunch." The general was
smiling; his bodyguards were scowling. Needless to say, it was very creepy, very alien to us.
A colorfully-attired Tarahumara woman
about four feet tall held open the door for us as we left the store.
She also held a colorful basket in which to collect money. Esther
told us we should give her some as all the money goes collectively to
her tribe. The Tarahumara are renown for the their mountain ridge-top
running game, sprinting for miles and miles at high altitudes while
kicking a wooden ball. Because of these skills and their endurance
they too often are recruited by the cartels as drug mules.
Palomas (the Spanish word for doves) is
considered safe now that the war for control over that part of
northern Mexico has been decided in favor of the Sinaloa Cartel,
possibly with a supportive nod from the Mexican government. The rival
gang has been pushed back to its base in Ciudad Juarez across from El
Paso, Texas.
Things also have calmed down in
Columbus since the entire local government, including the mayor, a
village trustee, a former police chief, and nine other people, was
busted by the US Feds in March 2011 for running guns across the
border. Still, the images of violence all along the border during
2007-2011 can give one nightmares with eyes wide open. So, I leave
you with this cleansing image of a morning's sunrise over Tres
Hermanas, instead.
* Retablos are paintings on tin
usually, at times on wood or leather, that serve as votive offerings
of gratitude or supplication to various saints for help with life
issues, such as recovery from illness or injury, successful
marriages, starting university, usually contracted to village
painters who charge a small fee.
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