Farias Spray Park

Last July, I was driving over by Calton and Santa Maria and I came across this 'Spray Park' behind a Boys and Girls Park and right in front of the railroads. The strange thing was that this picture was taken around 11am in the morning and the water was turned off and there were no chidren enjoying this costly structure. It seemed odd to me to have the spray park not working in the middle of the day on one of the hottest days of the summer. I know there is another similar park beneath the Lafayette Overpass and I have seen that one in action with kids and families having a great time. But i've passed through this one, and each time, its been dead. Maybe someone can explain it all to me.

Lonche Time: Food on the Run

Lets say your working as a construction worker over by Plantation. Its lunch time and you're starving, but you dont want to leave the site for you have lots of work to do. So its loncheria truck to the rescue. The loncheria truck brings hot tacos morning and lunch right to your worksite. Now that's efficiency. So next time you see the loncheria truck at your workside selling taquitos, its your turn to buy.

What happend to our barbershops?

Another lovely site from Laredo's yesteryear. This photo too was taken somewhere out in the west part of Laredo (thanks Alex for the correction). I never actually went to this barbershop, but I sure do miss them in general. Where are men to get a haircut now? A beaty salon? At the mall next to some fifty year old granny getting a perm? Screw that! Its a darn shame we have few places to get a decent haircut. Barbershops in general are a decline and this picture here is a honorary tribute to barbershops everywhere...

The Reen "Disposable Boyfriend" Live

Way back in late 2006, local musician the Reen, played a couple of songs back at our old office and was also kind enough to answer some of our questions for an interview. Since then, we have seen him play around town at clubs and festivals. This song, 'Disposable Boyfriend', penned by him, is presented to you, hope you enjoy.

House with 80s TV antenna

You remember those huge antennas that people would place outside their home in order to receive a crazy amount of channels? Those things were so wicked that it would be able to pick up channels from deep in the jungles of Peru! Anyway, driving down the western part of Laredo the other day, I spotted a house that was still rocking one of those. The antenna is so big its almost the size of the house itself. Its a great visual too, nothing says home sweet home like a quarter ton of magnetic metal. Im a fan of vintage electronics so I think its great. I wonder if this antenna is actually still working? If it does, maybe I can hang at at this house next time that Time Warner Cable doesn't televise the Cowboys game on the NFL Network. I want to see Tony Romeo have the ball slip through his hands...again. Or at least maybe we can watch public access and catch a good fight..oops I mean LISD Board Meeting (wink).

Things are tough all over (recession affects us all)

There is no doubt that we are facing tough times all over. President Bush, Haliburton, Enron, Jessica Simpson and even crooked Reffere Donelly have all conspired to ruin our economy. Even local musicians are not immune from the bad economy. Not even writing a bad country and western song can cure this guys ills. Hey, "ni modo" as my Ama used to say. She always said there'd be days like this.

Laredo Chameleon Advertises

I'm minding my business driving down Meadow Ave.(and Market St.) and I ran across an advertising hanging off the wall at a local gasoline station. The bright yellow sign is used to drive motorists to this local website dedicated to raising awareness of local political issues. Im glad to see local civic minded websites thriving. The only wrong with Laredo Chameleon is the the site is a bit difficulto to navigate, but other than that, good work.

Alfredo Santos building gets demolished

I never actually shopped at any of the Alfredo Santos grocery stores. However, my dad gets nostalgic each time we pass by where one of them used to be and he goes off in a rant about the good ol' days. Thats why this scene captures my attention. From what I can recall, there used to be an old Alfredo Santos buiding on the corner of Sanchez and Santa Maria, that was most recently used as a bodybuilding gym. However, I passed through this intersection several weeks ago and I made the startling discovery that it had been torn down. Just wait to my dad hears about this...or maybe I shouldn't tell him or else he'll go into a Laredo history lesson circa 1971! In any case, what a shame. Here is a picture of the building in 2006 and of the site just last week.

Laredo River Park

Parks in this city are horrible. There are hardly any trees or shade, grass is non-existant and la raza can't keep them clean. But one of my favorite public parks is the one down below the old Int'l bridge on the river infront of the old Riverdrive Mall. The park is great, well, if you factor out the foul stench that spews out of the Rio Bravo, and the daily influx of undocumented immigrants, as well as the zooming border patrol trucks, the heavy noise of traffic above on the international bridge, and the fact that its a hotspot for car theives and crime. Other than that, its one fantastic park and one of the better local ones. But seriously, the park seems to be packed every Sunday night with families doing carne asada. It would be nice if there would be some shady trees and if the restrooms weren't always locked (wtf). But, hey, in Laredo, that might be asking for too much.

Amistad Nortena and Schlitz Beer

So I was invited to a carne asada the other day (ok, I'll be honest I crashed it since I'm such a freeloader) and I spotted a local conjunto doing their thing. Naturally, I busted out my digi-cam to document them on film. They told me their name was "Amistad Nortena" (jaja, love it) and they had the whole panchanga dancing and causing a storm of polvo. It was great: rancheras, carne asada, baile, compadres and Schlitz beer. To me, this in a nutshell is Laredo, apoco no?

Volver Bar

Well, nice, I spotted something on Vidaurri St. in downtown Laredo. I'm not sure if the place is still in business, but the name of the local watering hole caught my attention, Volver Bar. Volver means "return", as in you will return again and again to this place to drink more Schlitz or Old Milwaukee. It looks like a great bar to go in and have a cold beer. Anyone know what type of bar this is, or anyone actually frequent this dive? In any case, love the name, I sure will return here again soon.