Saturday

Happy Independence Day! The Grito in Monterrey was great last night. We took a cab to the Barrio and ate at la Casa de Maiz (huitlacoche and flor de calabaza quesadillas, tlacoyos, memelas). After, we hit a favorite coffee shop for drinks. Just guessing here, but a Bandera Méxicana seems to be Grenadine, tequila blanco, and Midori layered to look like the flag--sweet and a little lethal-tasting. Afterward, we wandered down the middle of the street, with thousands of others, to the palacio where we waited for the Grito. The capital building was brightly-lit by flag-colored floods. There was a crush of people filling Monterrey's widest space. A variety of Mexican music played, vendors sold enormous patriotic hats and corn, and massive TV screens here and there showed this and that. I thought that being a foot taller than most Mexicans would be some advantage, but no: everyone carried a child wearing a striped sombrero* around on their shoulders. At eleven, the governor came out and shouted the Grito (Viva Hidalgo! Viva Independencia! Viva México! Viva México! Viva México!) and rang the bell; confetti cannons blasted a ticker tape parade into the air, the anthem was sung, and fireworks were set off over the crowd. Actually "at" is a better preposition than "over": the fireworks were so close flares were bouncing off the plaza around us; drifts of burning dust, left in the air after the cores discharged, raining onto the surrounding towers. Later we walked out: the crush became a mosh for a while, then a press and then a crowd again. Ten blocks away we were able to hail a cab home. [Cavin]

* Speaking of sombreros, I am happy to report my first ever sighting of a Tacate beer hat, certainly a fratboy holy grail.