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Last night’s Tijuana escapade left me tired and weak for much of this morning. On Friday while browsing bOINGbOING I discovered that the Nortec collective would be hosting a celebration in honor of the release of a compilation album. Orginally I had nothing planned for the first night of your visit and this seemed like just the thing for us. I sent emails to you and Wadini. You guys had some enthusiam and so off we were to go. I had no hesitation about crossing the border & the attendant todo to get to the party location. My single concern would be that we would maybe feel like outsiders or gatecrashers, something that I rarely feel when I cloak myself in your extra confidence, charisma, and charm. It was a small concern. My interest and curiosity grew as I realized that the event was taking us to a part of TJ I have never explored on my sophomoric drinking binges that have motivated me to the visit the city in the past. We got to the Cortido San Jose (in my ignorance I thought it was a neighborhood of the Playas), which turned out to be a neighborhood rec center that had more than sufficient room for the hudreds of people that eventually showed up to dance in its grand courtyard.
We arrived at ten pm or so, three hours after the advertised beginning & more than 5 hours before the declared end. We perused the perimetter, investigating the merchantile offerings & casing the joint. We wandered to a far corner that was like an outcropping justting out from the main plaza where we “discovered” (like spanish conquistadores) a small drum&bass dancefloor & dj. There after a few beers we jumped, grooved, & shook under the stars. Wadini stuck his face in mine & exclaimed “I though I might need earplugs, but I don’t because the music doesnt pound into my earsmy head. Here it just flows like smoke into the cosmos!” We danced in the red lights & music & to not feel insecure bout my eclectic moves I imagined stars like comet’s tails trailing after my hands.
At midnite the collective jumped up onto the main stage and computored their music and images for the crowd. Dancing seemed to fizzle out as many people stared at the stage and consumed. The crowd thickened as the music & drumbeats crashed down on us. We sat in the back and played with the foxtailed mask someone handed to Wadini as he danced & eventually handed it off to someone else. We talked & eventually decided it was time to head back home.
I am glad we went. ($2 beers, ripoff taxis, getting kicked out of the cafe, no TP & all!) More info.
(written the evening of Sunday, November 24)
I updated my fotolog.