Border towns, all about the same, but first, look at two movies: El Mariachi (classic) and its sequel, Desperado.
Most of El Mariachi was filmed in Ciudad Acuna, from what I’ve been told. Oral history and fact don’t always align, so I won’t say that it’s fact. But it looks like it’s true. Some of the scenes are identical.
My friends wanted not-quite over-the-counter substances that cost a lot more, here, on the other side of the Rio Bravo. As an example Retina A, costs $120 per tube, here, stateside, looks like it’s about $20 a tube, just across the border. That was the basic reason for the trip. I would’ve picked up some cigars, too, but those are illegal, and I’m not interested in explaining anything uncomfortable to a custom’s agent.
Shorty was just getting to work as we rolled into town. He was short, from Coahuila, and for 15 bucks an hour, he would stick by us. We weren’t the exciting group he was hoping for, that’s for sure. I speak, at best, broken Spanish, with a nod towards border patois. He spoke plain English. We hit the highlights, a pharmacy, then the bars. One of the best experiences was a little six-inch Mexican Coke. The small bottles, old-school. With the Mexican recipe Coca-cola. Real sugar and cane sugar instead of reprocessed petroleum products.
At one place, I paid about five bucks for a liter-sized bottle of vanilla extract. Mexican Vanilla. There is none finer. It was all, really, just an exploratory trip, no real goals for me, other than to watch them buy certain pharmaceutical items. More like a day trip bereft of brain power. However, there is that one scene from the movie, the part where the bartender is shot? That was filmed at the bar, and I had to include a stop there. Me, clutching a bottle of vanilla, like it’s in a barrio coozie.
The funny part to me, as we wandered in and around the famous bar, looking at the pictures, while I struck a pose, Shorty and the bartender were speaking in Spanish, talking about how I didn’t understand. Sometimes, it never hurts to act like a dumb tourist. The afternoon meal was, like, a cafe in Del Rio that advertised Deli-Cappuccino-Internet. That worked. I did sneak a picture of the old Kress building, another ghost sign, and the US side of that port town is a lot sadder than its Mexican counterpart. Gentle decay and disuse compared with abundant growth and constant renovation?
Comparing prices, though? I think my dentist might’ve just lost a patient. Crown in Mexico? $300. Think about that, next time the co-pay is higher than the whole cost. Just watch out for guys with guitar cases.
The disclaimers.
Shorty’s Taxi
The Bar (Corona Club – Ciudad Acuna).
Roadside dangers.
Ghost sign – downtown Del Rio.
