Oaxaca
June 2000
24 Junio 2000
Un dio tipico en Oaxaca
Me levantÈ a las ocho, y me duchÈ. DespuÈs, fui al restaurante ´La Ollaª y desayunÈ. ComÌ un plato de enchiladas oaxaqueÒos con pollo y tortillas. Tambien bebÌ un vaso de jugo ´vampiroª, una combinacion de los jugos de zanahoria, betabel, apio, y naranja.
[I got out of bed at 8 in the morning, and showered. Afterwards, I went to the restaurant 'La Olla' to eat breakfast. I ate a plate of Oaxacan Enchiladas with chicken (and black mole) as well as tortillas. I also drank a glass of Vampiro juice, a combination of carrot, beet, celery, and orange juices.]
A las diez, mi amigo Victor, un taxista, me condujo a Arrozola, un pueblo muy famoso for los alebrijes. Por una hora, caminÈ las calles de Arrozola, visitando los artistas y mirando la vista. Arrozola esta debajo de Monte Alban, y los ruinas son muy conspicu sobre de las colinas al lado del pueblo.
[At ten in the morning, my friend Victor, a taxi driver, drive me to Arrozola, a pueblo very famous for figures of wood. For an hour, I walked the streets of Arrozola, visiting the artists and looking at the view. Arrozola is below Monte Alban, and the ruins are very conspicuous on top of the hills next to the town.]
A la una y media, regresÈ a mi casa, y despuÈs fui de compras por un regalo para mis parientes. No encontrÈ nada, pero encontrÈ una amiga de clase, Ana (del masaje mexicano.) Charlabamos con Ana por un rato cuando nosotros encontramos mi amiga Sabrina. DespuÈs, Sabrina y yo fuimos a comer en un restaurante italiano. TomÈ una litro de limonada y comÌ una bruchetta con anchoas. Fue un comida ligera.
[At 1:30, I returned to my home, and afterwards went shopping for a gift for my in-laws. I didn't find anything, but I met a friend from class, Ana (of the mexican massage.) I was chatting with Ana for a while when we met my friend Sabrina. Afterwards, Sabrina and I went to eat in an italian restaurant. I drank a liter of lemonade and ate a bruchetta with anchovies. It was a light lunch.]
A las cuatro y media en la tarde, tomÈ una siesta porque hacÌa mucho calor, y estaba cÛmodo debajo del ventilador sobre el techo.
[At 4:30 in the afternoon, I took a siesta. It was very hot, and it was comfortable under the fan on the ceiling.]
A las siete en la tarde, fui al cafÈ de internet y leÌ mis emails. DespuÈs, regresÈ a mi apartamiento y hice un orden por una pizza con piÒa y peperoni para telÈfono. °QuÈ adventura! Ahora, espero para mi novio llamar por telÈfono. Echo de menos a Dan.
[At 7 in evening, I went to the internet cafe and read my emails. Afterwards, I returned to my apartment and made an order for pizza with pepperoni and pineapple by telephone. What an adventure! Now, I am waiting for my boyfriend to call. I miss Dan.]
The rest is going to be in English, because I'm tired.
I was supposed to meet a teacher from school at 10:30pm. We were going to visit Oaxaca's major gay bar together. At around midnight, I realized he wasn't going to show so I went to bed. I didn't want to go to a strange bar alone. But then I tossed and turned. I was being a wimp. Whenever my mind doesn't want to do something, I try to figure out why. In this case, I felt it was a fear of trying new things. A fear is like a challenge to me. I got up, got dressed, and went.
The bar is called '502', and is the only true 'gay bar' in the U.S. sense in town. It's very different, though, from San Francisco. First, you walk up to a doorway. Outside the door is a padlocked grating of iron bars. You reach through the bars and ring the doorbell. A small window opens in the door, and the guard checks you out. He then opens the door, checks you out again, and unlocks the padlock with a key. After you've passed through the doorway, the iron bars are once again padlocked shut behind you. All of the windows have locked iron bars. If the building were to burn, there would be no way out.
Once inside, you pay a $20 peso cover, plus $10 pesos for your first beer. You're then frisked for weapons and allowed to enter the bar.
At midnight, people were just starting to arrive. The place had an empty, expecting feel. I collected my Dos Equis, found an empty table, and started to drink. Around me couples and groups of friends chatted. One guy was making eyes at me, but I wasn't interested. Why was I here?
I started looking around. The walls were covered with some sort of silver metalic paper. There was one poster of the beatles, and four (!) of Marilyn Monroe. In the other room was a poster of a male torso. By all American standards, this place was seedy.
After 10 minutes I finished my beer and left. I'm sorry it wasn't a fun, happy bar. I wish it were, but it wasn't. It was sad. When I remember my gay experiences in Oaxaca, I'll remember the Zapotec fiesta, which was happening and very gay in all senses of the word.
I got home at 1pm. The night was still warm. I cranked up the ceiling fan and slept. At 8am the next morning, I was going on a tour to Teotitlan del Valle.
Ron
