Cantina.

I have to confess: I love beer. I really love beer. Prison, landing on railways of metro stations, the loss of cameras, undressing in public, a wounded head, regrettable love affairs, vomiting, inappropriate lectures in the auditorium, being a bigmouth. The list can be continued, but I will not stop drinking beer.

Mexicans love beer as well. You can see bars all over the place. For this reason I was really looking forward to drink a beer in a typical cantina in a village in Mexico. This cantina is in Ignacio de la Llave a small town in Veracruz. One hot place on this planet. Really hot. With no water close to it, the heat is almost unbearable. But refreshment can be found in cantinas. 

Pipo is the owner of this place and he is a great supporter of Club América, one of the big football teams in Mexico. When I entered the bar with my friend Mario and his brother in law, the crowd was watching a match of Club América. I did not watch the entire game but I remember that América lost 0-1. Some of the guys were not quite happy about the result.

As a real beer lover I was shocked when Pipo offered me a beer with lemon and salt on top of it. But unexpectedly it tasted really good! To top that new flavor in my mouth my second beer was a "Sol con Clamate". Clamate is kind of a tomato juice with lots of spices in it. Beer and tomato juice? Well, I have seen beer mixed with coffee or energy drinks. So, why not with tomato juice? And it tasted damn good! A really great refreshment on a hot summer day. To me it seemed like a little snack as well. With no salads in the last few weeks I grabbed some "Sol con Clamate" to refill my vitamins. At least it is good for the health. So that is why:

Salud!

(Ignacio de la Llave/ México/ 01.04.2012)

One strong man in the bar. And quite drunken, too. Pipo said to me: "Cuidado, el es un maricón!" Machismo is written in capital letters in this land. Therefore I am always aware of not using ambiguous gestures. Otherwise I might get smacked in the face.

(Ignacio de la Llave/ México/ 01.04.2012)