Why did the chicken cross the International Bridge #2???

Oh the jokes that could be made… The Lincoln-Juárez bridge workers must have had some work ahead of them trying to catch this poor creature. The photo owner stated, “Tendrá sentri la gallina??” Have you got your own caption??

Cycling trails in Laredo

I read the Tucson Weekly. I don’t know why but I do (Actually, I do know; I read it because of Gustavo Arellano’s “Ask A Mexican” column – but I don’t know why I read the rest of it). They had an interesting video about a Tucson sewing cyclist raising money for a US tour. Unfortunately, he didn’t make his funding goal but he did trigger this blog post.

Sewing Tour 2012

Only recently have I made it out to North Central Park because it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too far pa’l Norte. I can honestly say that it is a great place for my rickety bike and beginner me to keep gaining strength. What, did you think I was going to use my cane forever? I only wish our streets were better equipped for bicycle enthusiasts because riding around in downtown has me updating my last will and testament – que miedo.

I’m really digging the growing cycling community in Laredo. During the planning of RioFest, I was very impressed by Bernie Chapa of Ciclo Mania and his role in adding a 10 mile bike race to the event. More recently, I have been impressed by fellow blogger, KeyRose, taking on the challenge of cleaning a trail through the Slaughter Park area for cycling. It is city property but he and his friend(s?) have started to take care of something the city is ignoring.

They have started a Facebook group called Trails Riders of Laredo, check them out.

Not only is Slaughter Park getting a biking make-over, the Pedalheads FB group is making headway at what they call the Shiloh Trail. Posted by Sonia Rios and calling it:

Great video by Danny Aguilar! Shiloh trails with the Pedalheads Laredo and Laredo Ciclo Mania.

This was an earlier video of the trails starting by the Rio Grande Plaza Hotel, along the Rio Grande riverbank, through the Las Palmas nature area and up Zacate Creek. Laredo is looking pretty cool from these views.

Photo posted on the Laredo Cycling Association's FB page

A third group is the Laredo Cycling Association. They recently donated the signs for the Shiloh Trails that individuals have been working on and have participated in numerous races.

By the looks of it, Laredo citizens are creating what they want with makeshift scraps but the city is not keeping up with serving their needs and interests. Eventually, the city will catch up, I hope.

Obviously, all these groups need some muscle power and other help. If you are so inclined… contact them. I am sure they would appreciate the support in making Laredo better for cyclists – even for those like me who still have their training wheels on.

Downtown Trolley Tour

If you are at the Farmers Market, don’t forget to hop on a great Trolley tour and discover the religious origins of Laredo. Jesus is an awesome tour guide!

San Antonio to Laredo in under 10 minutes

I finally got the video to work but could not change the pm to am. Really, this was shot in the wee hours of the morning. Anyway, here is the video I mentioned yesterday taken from San Antonio to Laredo on Interstate 35 after dropping my brother off at the Amtrak station and leaving at 6:30am.

Got my mind on menudo and menudo on my mind

Notice that it is menudo, not Menudo.  This is a South Texas blog so it is definitely menudo the yummy Mexican tripe soup that has the ability to clog arteries after the first spoonful while tasting divinely.

I am sure you guessed that I was on “vacation.”  Not that I went anywhere, I had my parents visiting along with my brother who just left this past week.  Here is my return video from the ride we took up to San Antonio to drop my brother off at the Amtrak Station.  Contrary to what it seems, I was going the speed limit but I had to pass up the other cars that were just going so slow.  We left Laredo at 3:00am, dropped him and and I was on the road at 6:30am just in time to watch the sun rise while I drove down Interstate 35.

video pending upload – stupid YouTube is not cooperating
The temp video, for some reason the audio is off. Waiting for a solution from YouTube and will post again once fixed.

But back to the menudo.  My return back to my normal schedule means returning back to Laredo fun activities – like MENUDO BOWL.  The 17th Annual Menudo Bowl is right around the corner – this Saturday, January 21, 2012.  What does that mean?  It means a whole lotta cooking is going to happen at LIFE Fair Grounds.

The sponsoring organization is Crime Stoppers.  You know them, right?  They pay out for tips that lead to arrests or stopping crime.  By law, Crime Stoppers organizations are not allowed to disclose calls which is very different than calling in a tip directly to a law enforcement agency or to using the EyeOnLaredo app or emailing (like I once attempted to do).  Well, in order to have money to pay for the tips, Laredo Crime Stoppers has to have a few fundraisers.  Menudo Bowl is the largest and most popular one.  Not only that, it is really cheap compared to other fundraisers – only $5 at the door with free parking.  Nice, huh?  If you go between 1pm – 3:30pm, you get a chance to walk from booth to booth – a total of 70 this year, SEVENTY – and get a taste of their menudo recipe.  Unfortunately, even though menudo booths make giant pots of menudo, if you don’t go early, some booths start to run out and well… $5 is still a great price for tasting different menudo recipes, voting for your favorite before 3:30pm and having some fun along the way.

From the Facebook Event that was created:

Join us for MENUDO and FUN!!

Doors open to the public at 11:00am until 7:00pm

1:00pm – 3:30pm = Menudo tasting & voting for People’s Choice

9:00am = Brush Country Trail Ride (from Hurd ranch)
10:30am = Sheriff’s Motorcycle Ride (from LIFE and back)
12:00pm = Team Roping
1:00pm = Laredo Wrestling Alliance performance
3:30pm = People’s Choice voting ends

Johnny Canales will MC throughout event with VMT students performing throughout the day. The musical line up is:
1:00pm = Grupo Retama
1:45pm = Love Gun
3:00pm = Zamorales
4:00pm = Zensible
5:00pm = Mick Cruz & Diamond Back
6:30pm = announcement of menudo cook-off winners!!

Food booths, Merchandise booths, Beverage booths, Nonprofit booths will be available for purchase or information.

Children’s activities in Exhibit Barn. For more information, contact Laredo Crime Stoppers Administrative Office at 956-724-1876 or email crimestoppers@bizlaredo.rr.com. Website: http://www.laredocrimestoppers.org/

Check out the photos from one of my early posts in 2010.

On a sad but worrisome note, my hopes for minimal impact to the three injured workers in the Pearsall Fracking explosion and the repercussions for the area. Here is the KSAT News link to the explosion of the fracking tank which released hydrogen sulfide into the air. Ojala nunca pase en el condado de Webb.

SOPA/PIPA

This little Laredo blog will be joining forces with many other internet sites to protest SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) on January 18th & hope lawmakers will listen to those it can affect.  Ya estamos suficientemente fregados. 

MLK Day of Service helping Veterans

New year, new food habits so I gathered up all the pasta and cans of corn and other things I am avoiding. Good stuff for others, not so good stuff for me. And I gathered food with a bunch of things in good working order like – the under sink wire sliding organizer I never never installed and that under cabinet work light I never took out of its package – to give to Volunteers Serving the Need on the Martin Luther King’s Day of Action.

It is, after all, supposed to be a “Day On” and not just a “Day Off” so I am going to try to do my part. I’ll be volunteering with them for a few hours, too, since they are such a new nonprofit and they serve local low-income veterans and widows of veterans with food bags.

Hope you get a chance to volunteer someone in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and if you happen to have an item or two to donate, swing on by to 1202 Salinas.

Happy New Y… what was that loud boom?!?

Yes, I have been around but… it was the holidays. I had asked my mom who is visiting from up North to kick off my 2nd year anniversary (January 1, 2012 – literally, I did start this blog on the 1st) post. This is what she wrote:

Que Fregados, te felicito en tus dos años de existencia. Mi visita aquí en Laredo te quitó de tus fans por dos semanas pero disfruté mucho, especialmente de su weather (her Spanglish, not mine). Me hizo falta tiempo para disfrutar más, pero tuve tiempo para ver nacer este año 2012 chocando nuestras copas con buenos amigos de mi hija. Espero dejar mi casa del norte para venír más seguido a ésta cuidad que conozco desde que la Que Fregados vestía diapers. Aunque Laredo ha cambiado mucho desde que primero lo visite, ha sido lo mejor para mi hija inquieta. Felicidades, “Que Fregados” por existir y que sigas explorando y compartiendo.

Rough translation: “QF, congratulations on your two years of existing. My visit to Laredo has taken you away from your readers for two weeks but I really savored the visit, especially the weather. I needed more time to continue enjoying it but it let me see the birth of 2012 crashing/clinking our glasses with good friends of my daughter. I hope to travel from my house in the north more frequently to this city that I have known since QF wore diapers (paisanos, what can I say). Even though Laredo has changed much since I first visited, it has been the best for my restless daughter. Congratulations “QF” for existing and keep on exploring and sharing.”

Aw, my mom is the best!

Well, that was going to be the end of my blog post but then… KABOOM!! She was sitting right next to me at my computer when the explosion was heard. By now, almost everyone has heard it or read about it and a few were eye witnesses. I don’t pretend to be mainstream media – if I were, I would be getting paid big bucks, no? Ok, maybe not big bucks but I write for free and for fun.

It was solely coincidence that we heard the explosion and that I posted the reactions on Facebook. Then the pictures started coming in. Because there are so many Facebook “friends” on my account, I am in a unique position to be able to see what information other people were posting about the explosion that rocked 2012 . So I shared. And shared. And shared. What I was looking for was an official source or mainstream media but chaos rules when it is something so unexpected.

This is a repeat lesson for us all yet… I just don’t foresee much happening citywide. I had written about our lack of emergency communication in our community. I asked why we don’t hear about sirens that can let us know to evacuate, why we don’t have drills for different emergencies, we don’t have a system to at least let people know that the emergency is contained and they will be ok if they stay put. This is a quote from that past blog post:

A friend recently pointed out that when the question of where are the city’s emergency sirens, s/he was met with defensiveness by a certain city official who should know.

So I checked out what the State of Texas asks of municipalities – we can assume we probably met the minimum standards, or at least I hope.

So then I checked online to see what the city of Laredo has for its residents. Well, there is a plan but it still lists Luis Sosa as Fire Chief and Agustin Dovalina as Police Chief… hmmm… how long ago was that?

When thinking of my friend’s comment, I looked for the communications information. Again it looks like all agencies can communicate with each other but who is communicating with the public? I guess I have to keep in mind that this was written for a Homeland Security grant … I’m wondering where is the practical plan?

If there is one for the public, this public (me) doesn’t know.

Higher Education institutions now have texting mechanisms for potential evacuations in case of things like shootings but what does a city have? The explosion occurred a few minutes after 11:00pm, after the news media was off-air and probably too late to run the story in the local Laredo Morning Times (although they are awake at this time, now that it has to be printed in San Antonio & get back to Laredo in time for distribution…not sure what will be seen on the front page). Where did people go?? Twitter and Facebook and any other social media.

City officials or emergency responders or mainstream media may not like it but there was no other communication coming from “official” sources. The first notice from el vocero from Laredo Police Department said this:

snapshot of an FB status update by Mr. Baeza

Although his language is a bit condescending (ok, more than a bit but I don’t think this is the “official” LPD facebook page), at least it was something for people to go on and appease some of the concern.

This may be the way 2012 begins, with a freak accident, but hopefully not how it continues. Thank you for those who followed the shares and posts (I neglected my twitter account, sorry) and hope no one was hurt in this horrible explosion.

Now I am off to bed because I just heard my parents say “¿Cuando vas ha apagar la luz?” (when are you going to turn the light off). Yikes! So much for their vacation in peaceful, calm, warm Laredo when their fregadita keeps them awake after they had just gotten over the earlier explosion scare.

The most current update on the explosion is on the Laredo Morning Times page:

snapshot of the Laredo Morning Times webpage - hopefully they were in time to write a story for the morning newspaper.

Dia de los Inocentes aka December Fool’s :P

This post almost started with me telling you that I was calling it quits… but after all day of getting pranked by one person or another, I figured I would not say that to an audience that may or may not know Mexican traditions.

With that said “Happy ¡Dia de los Inocentes!”

Today is almost like a Latino April Fool’s Day but with a religious origin. It is related to Christianity’s story of Herod killing toddlers and younger, the “innocents.” Anyway, over the years, I imagine the meaning has changed a bit and the focus is now on playing tricks on people.

The Wikipedia Spanish entry says:

En Hispanoamérica y en España es costumbre realizar en esta fecha bromas de toda índole. Los medios de comunicación hacen bromas o tergiversan su contenido de tal modo que la información parezca real. Se trata de una libertad que se dan los agentes mediáticos para dar rienda suelta a su sentido del humor, oportunidad que solamente tienen una vez al año. Es tradición que los periódicos publiquen páginas enteras de noticias cómicas, con la advertencia de que es día de los inocentes, que van desde las que son una obvia mofa a cualquier suceso reciente, hasta las que parecen serias y engañan al lector desprevenido. El día de los inocentes se vive en todo el mundo hispanohablante.

Trust me English-speaking readers, it says that in Latin-America, the Day of the Innocents is all about humor. Sometimes even newspapers will publish an entire edition of fake news, with a reminder that it is the Day of the Innocents.

What did sound like a mean prank, was what went on in Nuevo Laredo right before the Holiday break. A friend and reader was lamenting the loss of close to half of the staff of Cultural Center of Nuevo Laredo, in charge of fairs and museum projects and other cultural events. Yikes! According to El Mañana, twelve employees were relieved of their duties with the only reason given was a sudden restructuring. By the looks of the comments, this isn’t the only department that has gotten “restructured” with people unexpectedly losing their jobs in Nuevo Laredo. Doesn’t sound too fair or stable, there, sister city.

One response that really did make me giggle was Gil Rocha’s response to a car ramming into his studio earlier this week. When a Facebook friend made mention of the one way sign being what the car was following when it rammed in, Mr. Rocha must have gone straight to work.

Very funny, Gil (one of the people who played a trick on me earlier today, too!). Hope the studio is up and running soon!

Photo of Gil Rocha's art studio and belongs to Gil Rocha, Laredo artist

Visiting hospitals once, twice, maybe three times?

Duplicate efforts just caught my eye. It made me wonder what Laredo thinks …

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At the end of the day, the children who are hospitalized at this moment are the winners. They got TWO gifts from the community and we hope they also got the return of their health, too!

The thank you release from LWA

The COLMO release - several photos

If you are still in the toy giving mode and were not part of the LWA’s (Laredo Wrestling Alliance) or COLMO’s (City of Laredo Mayor’s Office) earlier efforts but still want to help out another group trying to brighten the holidays of children who may not have the same access to toys as others may have, stop by Legacy Comics. The LPRS is working with Iglesia Shaday who directly works with the DIF orphanage and will be making the trek across the border this week:

The Laredo Paranormal Research Society is collecting toys for the young children in a Nuevo Laredo Orphanage. Many of these children became orphans due to the border violence and kidnappings. The children’s ages are from 11 months to 13 years of age. Please join us by providing a Christmas gift toy and bring happiness to these beautiful children of love. If you want to donate a Christmas toy please bring your donation at:

Legacy Comics Store

Today 1pm – 7pm at
5901 McPherson Rd
Suite #2B
Laredo, TX 78041
(956) 723-4420

I was just sent the info and I understand there might be some exceptions to dropping off toys a bit later – if you are so inclined. Enjoy the Winter Solstice and welcome the return of the sun .