Do you know the way to Monterrey?

"Monterrey Daydream #1" 24" x 24" acrylic/krylon on canvas

It was a 12 hour drive and the night enveloped the car like a knife in a sheath. There were no lights out there on the road for most of the drive. I could barely make out the dark shape of mountains against the dark sky. I jolted awake as we hit the bumpy dirt roads that led to my abuellitas house- a big concrete affair with two stories. My first memory of Mexico was a graffittied wall with a large happy SMURF smiling at me. He wasn't the right color- he wasn't blue, he was purple and it said PITUFOS in uneven letters next to his face. I watched Pitufos, I didn't know they were called Pitufos. I heard roosters and chickens, this wasn't weird because we had some back home in Texas too. The smells were different here, the air was different here. People were different here. This was my Dads homeland.

The houses were brightly colored and the people were busy. Kids played outside, up and down the dirt roads and broken sidewalks. Peoples windows became candy shops, places to get a Coca Cola and return your bottles. Monterrey calls to me, the happy colors of childhood and the sweet view I had of the world all swirled together...now a daydream of a fantasy land I can't reach unless I close my eyes.

Monterrey in my heart forever.

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