The Other Santa Fe, part 2

A few more images from the Other Santa Fe:

It's not all working-class struggle, and it's not only an immigrant town. It does have a couple of charter schools. The community college. The city's small business incubator. And a Buddhist temple - which is located behind a trailer park. But if you go out on a Saturday night, or if you even go to Allsup's, you better be wearing your cowboy hat or you're gonna stand out.

On the subject of trailer parks, I'm fascinated by the difference between outer and inner, of so many mobile homes. Such expressions of dedication, creativity, doing a lot with the little you got. A battered aluminum door is just as likely to open (to the pizza delivery driver) onto 40-year-old shag carpet and Goodwill couches as onto saltillo tile, crystal chandeliers, and movie-size television sets. The momentary visions I get, of home and family and life-in-progress, leave me often full of wonder and bemusement. Here's one, from last week: as the door opens, the family of five is just starting up a karaoke program on the wall-size TV. The song cued up on screen is "Rio" by Duran Duran. An 11-year-old boy holds a wireless mike, in the center of the living room, and is playing with the settings on the program. "Canta en espanol", says his mother. "No, I wanna sing it in English!" he replies, and just then the music prompts him to sing out ("DOWN IN THE CITY"), as his father hands me the money and the door closes on the scene.

Here, too, is the Santa Fe I live and work in: Saturday night karaoke at the bowling alley. Five 20-something guys gather round a table, dressed to the nines in full mariachi costume. All immaculate black and white, silver conchos down the pant legs, red bow ties. They take turns getting up, between the other local kids who are doing predictable pop music, to perform very competent Norteno ballads, properly dramatic intonation and all. Then two of them get up at once and do an equally impressive -and dramatic- rendition of System of a Down's "Toxicity". Is there any other city, I ask, where you could see this happen?