We were just hanging to kill time before going back to Telcel to once again see if they could solve my modem problems. Just because I am posting doesn't mean they did, but rather than waste time complaining, I'll just say I will be going back on Monday and it ain't because I like waiting in line.
We were at the cantina in early afternoon. The road to Oaxaca had been blocked the night before and in the early morning as the people from Pueblo Nuevo, a nearby village, decided that they had waited long enough for a pedestrian bridge to be built across the main road. The road is wide and one takes one's life in one's hands when running across it. I speak from experience. It is dangerous. At any rate, the night before we had gotten caught up in the traffic trying to find a way around the roadblock. We were in a long line of cars, trucks and buses winding our way through rain soaked dirt roads. It was a couple of hours making past but we had fun and just rolled with the obstacles.
So we had no road block going into the city, we had time to visit this cantina. The owner, a woman in her late 70's shared stories with Amate's Henry Wangeman and me as she poured the mescal and brought beer and botanas. They spoke of their friend, Don Ishmael, the master mescalero from Santa Catalina Minas near Ocatlan who died last year. "Wasn't he kind to have left us all these wonderful memories." Here is one of mine with Ishmael.
The cantina was quiet except for the music. She said people did not come to her place because it was so close to the cemetery. They were too superstitious, but I guess there must be a large number of brave souls like us because the place has been around for years. It had a wonderful atmosphere, very welcoming and comfortable. Time went by at the perfect speed and we left relaxed and content. As we left, we looked over at the large gate to the panteon over which were the words, "Here Begins Eternity."
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