With our friends from Minnesota visiting, Mary and Dick Fowler, we drove an hour and a half inland to a mountain pueblo called San Sebastian. A local ex-pat who runs a bar/restaurant in La Cruz set up an overnight party with music, food and local accomodations. Philo is well-known for gathering talented musicians, employing the local people to help and having a dedicated following. We joined them this year and were not disappointed!San Sebastian is an inland pueblo located in the foothills of the Sierra Madres. The weather at that altitude required that we find our jeans and jackets for the trip. Good walking shoes were in order as well because the town streets were uneven cobblestones. The walk from our 120 pesos per night hotel to the music venue was less than two blocks. (Actually the $10USD per night was per person, so our room cost about $20.) It was raining so the
band set up under the eaves of the courtyard, leaving the brave, or drunk, to dance under the open skies. A local restaurant catered lasagna, which was a real treat.After a few hours of Philo's band playing their regular sets in the courtyard, we all retired to a funky cave-like dwelling turned bar for the evening. There the band members jammed "a la acoustic" and their talent truly radiated. Oscar, who played saxophone in the courtyard, did a wicked rendition of House of the Rising Sun. My favorite player was Leon - a
retired high school principal with a twinkle in his eye. Leon's rhythm on the washboard brings cohesiveness to the rest of the sounds. He strums with thimbled fingers and clangs attached bells and cymbals with dynamic ease, adding a sparkle to the entire performance. At the acoustic jam session he sang witty songs that made us all laugh!On our descent to the coast the following day, we made two interesting stops.
The first was an old hacienda from pre-revolution days where the Spaniards mined silver for a number of years. Today, remnants of the mining days exist as a tour and a portion of the old house is a museum. The explanation of the mining process was interesting. We learned how to spot poor quality silver. The interior paint on the walls of the house are original. Almost two hundred years old, the colors remain fast and the style looks three dimensional. The hacienda exists also as a B&B that boasts excellent food in a very rustic atmosphere: no electricity in the place.
The second stop was at a roadside tequila stand - or so we thought. It was a small place where a tourist bus was just boarding to leave so we took advantage of their absence. The owner gave us a tour of the production process. We thought he was showing us a demonstration lab of how they made tequila in the "olden days". The agave plant is put into a primitive looking mound oven for five days. After its cooled, the root is mashed by hand in a hollowed out log with a wood hoe. Into plastic barrels for fermentation followed by a small still for distillation. Very simple process. Then we asked where their production facilities are today. The owner looked at us quizically, "I just showed them to you." Oh! Then we had all kinds of questions! Remember, we had just toured the Jose Cuervo Tequila plant in the town of Tequila about a month ago. This was NOTHING like that! This is considered a "boutique" tequila, similar to a small vineyard. According to Eric, the tequila was excellent!
