Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: Part of a community art project of Color a Mexico
Sharing snatches of artwork brightening up walls and doorways we encountered while meandering the streets of Morelia. Some of these murals resulted from Morelia’s Festival Internacional del Arte Urbano in 2022. These photos were taken prior to the fall 2023 event, so presumably there is a fresh crop greeting visitors now.
Continue reading “Postcard from Morelia, Mexico: Festival marks walls with color”
Above: Chiles capones filled with salsa de guacamole at La Guarecita de San Agustin
The first time we peeked into La Guarecita de San Agustin, I rejected it. Having lived in San Antonio for about four decades, the restaurant’s interior decor, waitress uniforms and even logo reminded me too much of some old-school, Tex-Mex restaurants from home. In other words, it gave me the impression it was designed to attract gringo tourists. But later, some friends wanted to try it, and we found it packed with locals.
A platter of plump fried charales caught from nearby Cuitzeo Lake as a starter improved my attitude. Then, La Guaracita introduced me to stuffed chiles capones (the featured photo), which I loved. Instead of a specific type of chile, the name is derived from “gallo capon,” a term for a rooster emasculated for fattening. For chiles, emasculation refers to reducing the heat factor by removing the inner ribs and seeds. The chiles in this case, I believe, were regional dried chilacas – pasillas – deeply rich in flavor but not overly spicy.
Continue reading “Postcard from Morelia, Mexico: Polishing off a few more meals”
Above: Skyline of downtown Austin, 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2023
Readers of this blog seem drawn to the embalmed horse, of course, suspended by artist Maurizio Cattelan from a dome in a former castle above Turin, Italy. And any mention of the Alamo always attracts a crowd, even when I’m drawing no line in the sand but waving a flag of truce. But you also seem drawn to photos of food, or cocktails, no matter the country of origin; street art; ghosts; and saintly tales not taught by nuns.
The following list represents the biannual results of the most-read postcards on this ever-rambling blog, with the numbers in parentheses indicating rankings from six months ago when applicable.
Continue reading “Dangling horse dominates, but you’ve a hearty appetite as well”
Postcards from Barton Springs 