My little two room hole above the scrumptious kitchen of Agustin. Front room I call oficocina -- office-kitchen. In the back room I sleep. Doors open in front and back, which is nice for air and view over rooftops. The bath is pleasantly tiled, with hot water. So, although small, it's rather comfortable. I pay more than the market says its worth, but then, Agustin keeps throwing food at me, and it's really, really good food.
I don't live like my parents do, in their sprawling Spanish ranch up on the hill west of Alto, in La Mesa, San Diego; but then again, I have more than most people in Tijuana. Two rooms and bath all to myself. Hundreds of thousands of others crowd around the edges of this city, sleeping in homemade houses and buying water from trucks, while I just turn on the tap (la llave) and whoosh -- water flows. Cold or hot. Pinche spoiled pendejo gringo.
I think my friend Maria has it even better, since she rents a 3-bedroom house with two other women on the hill in La Mesa, Tijuana, in a small gated condo-development above the boulevard. I should go see it some day. But first, bring her here, so she can see my little nest. So that is what I did, Friday night.
But... on the way to meet Marie in front of DAX store where her bus comes, I saw Nina Moreno's door was open. For something like twenty years, Nina has run a gallery featuring new, mostly young, latinamerican artists, many in Tijuana. Now she is closing the gallery and cutting back on her workload, to give more time to her own painting, and also because of medical advice to take it easy -- which if you know her, seems impossible. Nina take it easy? She parties hard and works hard and talks hard and makes it all seem so incredibly suave and easy....
Nina's gallery is in front of the park. I've been to a couple openings there, and spent a few minutes talking with her. Nina has a way of making you feel incredibly welcome and welcomed. Not to mention the art she puts into the public eye. In the few months I've known her, I have come to respect her both personally and professionally. So it was with some sadness I heard she was closing the gallery. And when, walking to meet Marie, I saw the gallery door was open, I popped in.
Yes, she said, it's true. In fact, Sunday is our closing exhibition, won't you come? What? Yes, of course, bring her; you're going to meet her right now, well, we'll be open a few minutes more, come and see us tonight, no?
So I went and met Marie and we walked back along Third Street, and I surprised her with... a visit to the gallery she's wanted to see for a long time. I sat back and listened to the two Mexican women talk. Kind of nice not to have to say anything, just listen and learn. Pretty soon Nina was offering us wine and I opened the bottle and then we talked some more, or rather the women talked while I mostly listened. Before long they were talking about the internet.
-- You know Miguel knows how to write for the internet?
-- No, I didn't know that....
And that is how I found myself explaining what is a servidor and what is a "browser" and so on and so on until....
Later, much later, I took Marie to my place and we snacked on tacos. Finally, sometime around eleven, I walked her to her taxi.
-- You know, Miguel, I may actually forgive you now. What you did was something I wanted to much to see and experience... talking with Nina.... thank you. How did you do it? How did you know I wanted to meet her?
-- It just seemed to happen, Maria, I....