An Afternoon in downtown Laredo

My job has been keeping me busier than usual. I'm not making excuses, I love my day jobs, but  they do drain the life out of me. Not that I'm complaining, for my jobs pay the mortgage, keep the Schlitz flowing freely and make the wife/s happy. Still, it leaves zero-free time to myself.

That is why when I finally had an afternoon off from work, several weeks ago, I jumped at the chance to once again cruise the crazy streets of Downtown Laredo, where drug deals, rancherismo-dancing, prostitution, panhandlers and cheap, electronic knockoffs keep my blogging back for more. 

Perfect afternoons away from the work are a rarity for me, so I decided to unwind by sipping on a Ziggy-sixer and stumbling down the streets of my beloved hometown. Below you will find of few of the things I encountered on this particular occasion. 

Who says we have no culture in Laredo? Modern art is everywhere.

Downtown, they take their patriotic duties very seriously. Shops get closed for God and Country.

I was surprised at the amount of shops closed on this particular day. Is it El Guapo's birthday or something?

You can stand in the middle of the street on Salinas Ave at 4:30pm and not worry about a thing.
(except maybe the meter maids) #LackOfParking

Wow! Downtown landlords don't mess around. If you dont pay your rent you get shut down
and go the way of Munden's or the Playmore. #GoneButNotForgotten

So my day off was not a total waste. I was able to get my cheap electronics fix, buy an elote, gaze at the lovely Senoritas before calling it a day by wandering into one of several downtown cantinas. All in days blog. You see how I sacrifice myself for you readers. Keep blogging back for more Laredo downtown afternoon delights. 

Nada que Ver (NQV) Video of the week, part.2

At every boda, quincenera or pachanga that I have ever attended in this city, there has been at least one obligatory Fito Olivares song. It never fails. Every single party I've ever been to in Laredo*. Worse, it usually comes on after everyone has had one too many Schaeffer Lights, and everyone thinks they've turned into John Travolta on the dancefloor.

I must include myself in this sad, sad bunch. I'm a horrible two-left feet dancer, but Fito Olivares has a way of putting hot coals under my feet and I begin to move with the grace of a 100 swans.

"Yo tengo un caballito que sabe bailar y mueve sus patitas al ritmo compas. Yo tengo un caballito que sabe bailer, igual que los caballos de Tony Aguilar."

Those are the lyrics to "Mi Caballito" by Fito Olivares. Sure, they aren't the deepest songs out there and most of them can be easily discarded, like empty Schlitz cans, but they sure do make me move. A la pista de baile todos. 



(*What kind of parties am I attending, right?)

Tome Schlitz: Little Joe y la Familia

I ran across a song titled "Tome Schlitz" that I had found on a forum some time back. It's a Little Joe song. Looks like it was recorded sometime in the mid to late 70s. I had a couple of cold ones, during a carne asada, with my father and we played this song several times. Made a video slide show with some random pictures I found online. I'm getting thirsty now. Tomen Schlitz people!

 

Saturday night and Schlitz Beer

It's Saturday night and you have your groove on. All that is missing is some cold, thirst-quenching Schlitz to put the cap on a good week. So, enjoy. Eat your carne asada, dance your rancheras and kiss your 'vieja' some hot loving. It's Saturday night, a pachangear.

Carlos y Jose

So you're having a little 'carne asada' and you invite your compadres over and bust out the Schlitz. Trouble is, you don't have any corridos. Oh my! That could be a problem. But fret not, just navigate over to El Rincon de Julz blog and you can score some pretty neat CD's off mediafire. Download them to your convenience.

Legality issues aside, its a great way to increase your music collection, then that way you can finally ease off KC and the Sunshine Band!

Here is a sample corrido cd from the good folks, Carlos y Jose. If you wish to download it, you can find it here. Now, just don;t forget to invite me! (y di no a la pirateria)

Schlitz Party

Man, that sure does look like the party to have been at in 1978. Schlitz, good music, good friends; what else can a man ask for? Too bad I wasn't invited to this particular shin-dig.

Don't Call it a Comeback

(I've been here for years!) Comebacks are always easier to do on paper, but the difficulty is in the execution. You see, I had me a party of one tonite. I drank me a Schlitz and came to the realization that I just found myself and my comeback is all but certain. You might not know what I'm talking about, but trust me, it will be good. I have been walking down a slippery slope of self-destruction lately, but I had a momentary vision of wowness that I havent had since March 13, 2002. Sometimes life shows you the puzzle and sometimes it shows you a cheat sheet. Well, I just saw the answers, and believe you me, I'm most-def making a comeback. I'll drink my last Schlitz to that.

Drunk while Blogging

Every now and then, I take a break from driving around like crazy looking for dumb things to take a picture of around town. Blogging can be hard work, and looking for 'bloggable' material is time consuming. So, after a long day at work, its sometimes necesary to unwind, relax, kick back and drink a cold one. However, not just any old beer will do. In order to blog correctly and with the necessary passion, the right beverage must be consumed, if not it all goes to waste. Only Schlitz can get me in the right mindset to get blogging on the right foot, however, I can only drink it incognito. So, next time that you see me around town, offer me a cold Shlitz and I might even put you on my blog (aint it great.)

Amistad Nortena and Schlitz Beer

So I was invited to a carne asada the other day (ok, I'll be honest I crashed it since I'm such a freeloader) and I spotted a local conjunto doing their thing. Naturally, I busted out my digi-cam to document them on film. They told me their name was "Amistad Nortena" (jaja, love it) and they had the whole panchanga dancing and causing a storm of polvo. It was great: rancheras, carne asada, baile, compadres and Schlitz beer. To me, this in a nutshell is Laredo, apoco no?