It was a little like tag team visiting. All day had been grey and rainy, and the one time there was a break in the weather, we decided to make a break for it and go mess around a bit. However, we did not get too far. Not far at all. The battery was dead. NO sooner had we peeped under the hood had it started to rain again. Back inside and stare at the walls.
Lulu had called and said she was coming by later, Mordo said he may come as well. This was making Tonya a bit edgy because she could not decide what should be on the menu for dinner tonight. One thing would have to meatless, because Mordo is cutting down on his intake of the red stuff. We decided to wait until they got here and we would play it by ear.
Lulu was on time, like always. She said she would be here at 6, and she was! Typical routine, say hellos, sit throw out the latest news and gossip while the water boils for tea. After the tea, break out the tequila and sit and chat until it is time to eat. Mordo had not shown up, so we opted out for the simple thing to do during rain and being saddled with a dead battery, PIZZA!
We had already chomped through a few slices when Mordo showed up. Yes, he was carrying a plastic bag with his already opened bottle of tequila. He obviously started his own party already. He’s wearing a scarf (it is actually quite chilly today) and it looks like a Burberry one. Believe it or not, this will plague me all night because I will keep looking at it wondering if he really threw down the dough to get an actual Burberry scarf. To myself, I say it is a fake. It is Saturday night and Mordo has his bottle in tow so this can mean only one thing, he’s in for the loooooonnnng haul.
We sit for a while and chat while Mordo basically has a piece of pizza on his plate for decoration. He is more interested in his drink than the food. We pig out and eventually, Mordo finishes his piece. As it nears 10pm, Lulu informs us that she has to go. Mordo has called a mutual friend and tries to convince us all to go to her place. As preparations are being made as to what to do next, Mordo gives a heavy warning to us all about drinking and driving. It is Saturday night and the kooks are out. Yes, he is practicing what he preaches because he took a cab over. He tells of how the cops are out in full swing, catching chumps left and right for drinking. Loulou verifies his tale, saying that form Thursday through Saturday night, they are heavy duty. Supposedly, there is ZERO tolerance for drinking here. If you have one drink and get behind the wheel and get busted, you are sent to “El Torito” (the slammer) for 36 hours and your car impounded. They both have friends who have experienced this. Mordo’s eyes are wide as he says, “Tim, seriously, can you imagine getting thrown into that place for 36 hours? You have no idea of who is in there already!” I agree with Mordo, jail in any form is a scary and bad thing to have to face, especially El Torito. Lord only knows what kind of kooked out, greased up bad-ass Mexican is in there with Arizona ‘issues’ bouncing through his head. Yikes!
Lulu laughs and as a cloud of smoke withers away in front of her she says, “Yes, this is true, but I have a friend who says they serve great chilaquiles in the morning” needless to say, this gets an obvious round of laughter. Lulu looks a bit serious and ponders if she might have a target on her back on the way home; after all, she has had a bit to drink. She grabs her purse and pulls out some gum. As she is unwrapping it she asks us, “Do you think this will help? Just in case.” She says laughing as she pops it in her mouth.
Best of luck Lulu. We exchange goodbyes and she is off into the night, only to play taxi later for her son. Speaking of taxis, Mordo has convinced us to go to Liliana’s place, not too far form here. He has phoned her and informed her that we are on our way. Tonya called a cab and in no time at all, the doorbell rings and our carriage awaits.
Our can driver is a heavy set guy. He humps over the wheel as he drives, and stares straight ahead. He has the demeanor of a paranoid prison escapee. I can’t understand what he is saying, but he seems nice enough. No joking, not even a minute outside our door that we pass an entourage of cops on the feeder of the periferico, pulling people over for breath tests. Yes, their paddy wagon is parked and waiting for all those getting a free ride to ‘El Torito’ where they can dream all night long of their luscious chilaquiles that daylight will bring. The drive is short, and in no time we are at Liliana and Caesar’s. It was a bit awkward, as Liliana’s was not fully aware that we were going to be houseguests tonight. Caesar was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in viewing a new mixing program for his studio. Liliana was on the phone downstairs. We walk in to a peaceful night at home, and now they must entertain. Mordo doesn’t care, he’s got his tequila and now more people to chat to. Liliana comes upstairs and apologizes for not greeting us. A typical round of embraces and kisses and then she asks if we are hungry. She and César have yet to eat (what! This late?) And says she will make them something quick to eat. César says it is too late, not to bother, but she disappears to go get some food anyway.
She returns with two plates of single tostadas. As she is crunching into hers, she tells us that this brand of store bought tostada is amazingly crisp and absolutely no fat or grease whatsoever. César makes a quip about getting to the ‘bordello’ before Mordo gets too drunk. They laugh and I have no clue what they are laughing about. As soon as the crispy tostadas are finished and the plates hauled away, César rubs his hands and makes a sweeping motion upward, “Ok, let’s get up to the studio”. Liliana seems happy about the suggestion and stands ready to lead us up into César’s studio. We walk down a long hallway, up some stairs and out onto a roof top. There is a large tent set up, with plenty of seating around. César stands like a proud father and motions the perimeter of the roof, “This is the ‘bordello’. I call it that because of the lighting” True, it is dimly lit and a bit seedy looking.
“I love it up here” Liliana explains, “One side is all trees and mountains and the other side looks out on to the lights and traffic of the city”
“It is nice up here” I concur, “Especially looking out over the lights and seeing the huge McDonalds arches over there”
César is a musician. He’s been around a bit. Cut his chops in London Germany and ended up in LA finally succumbing to all the glories that Los Angeles
We are sitting there chatting away about this and that when all of a sudden César says, “Did you see Jupiter?” I thought I missed out on some LA new age secret. He asks again, then comments that it should be out again in a few moments after the clouds move. He points to the night sky, to the glowing clouds. I simply reply the truth, “No” César asks me another simple question, which I find quite odd. “You have never seen Jupiter through a telescope?” He asks as if that is something everybody does for fun. I think about it and again tell him the truth, “No. Not that I can remember”
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| Jupiter and its four moons (courtesy of mikesastrophotos.com) |
César gets up and goes into the studio again and returns with a telescope. He gets busy getting it set up and focused. Once again the clouds cover it up and he sits down with his hand between his legs to keep warm. As soon as a glimmer of Jupiter peeks over the clouds, he’s up and back at it. “It’s here. It’s beautiful!” He says with excitement, once he has the planet focused. “It has four moons” he adds. I get up and walk across the roof to where the makeshift observatory is set up. “Try not too look straight at it. It is very bright” and he makes way for me to look in. What can I say? I see Jupiter! It is bright and yes, I do see its moons. However, I spot two, and then a third. I cannot see the fourth. He calls Tonya over. She too, is a bit excited over the celestial peeking going on. “Awesome” she says with a huge smile on her face.
“What else can we look at?” I ask like a kid. There are clouds in the sky, so the view is a bit obscured. César says that there really isn’t much to see tonight. ‘Let’s look at the moon!” I say.
As César re-adjusts the telescope, he tells a few tales, much to my amusement. “This used to be great for the girls” he says taking his eyes off the scope to let me in on the ensuing ‘guy thing’. “You get close to them…you put your hands here…look here…It was great! They loved it. It was a real hit with them” and he laughs at his own memories of the nights with his telescope. “Oh. It looks great. Here” and he hands me the lens. The moon is super bright. It is amazing the detail we see. Once again, Tonya is called over to look at another planet. Again, she is amazed and comments on the clarity and detail.
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| The 'popo' and 'izta' volcanoes |
César and I stand on the roof and continue to talk. There is no more planet viewing as the clouds have moved in for good now. He tells me of a project he is finishing up, and album based on an ancient Indian fairytale of the two outlying volcanoes that can be seen from his roof on clear days. The “Izta” Iztaccihuatl and the “Popo” or Popocatepetl . The story is fascinating. In a nutshell, it is about a princess (Izta) who has been poisoned by a bad guy while her prince (Popo) is away. When he returns home from war a huge hero, he has no idea that his princess has been put to sleep by the poison. He vows to stay by her side for ever. Thus, you have the two volcanoes which over look Mexico City
When César goes into the details and the linguistics, it is amazing. Apparently, César is really into ancient Mexican history and language. He is of Nahautl descent. This is a dying language, an ancient one, as he informs me. “Funny isn’t it? I ended up all the way in LA at UCLA to study a language from my own homeland” he says shaking his head. There is something very neat about this moment. We stand on a rooftop, overlooking the city around us, and César explains in detail the fairytale and the use of the actual words in the native Nahautl tongue. He tells of different facts and information about this area, ancients Mexico City
After standing on the roof edge, chatting of Aztecs and such, he changes tone and invites me in to his studio. It is small, but fit. He has just outfitted the isolation booth and finished some wiring. He shows me all his percussion. There is a huge, amazing wooden drum in the corner. It is his pride and joy, custom made by a guy who still makes ancient Aztec musical instruments in Tepoztlan. It was carved from a tree trunk, and is played with you on top of the drum, straddling the monstrosity. He has some neat stuff, and the story for each drum is interesting in its own right. I pick up a plastic shaker, made to look like a bell pepper, “Ahhh, and what about this, the pepper. Where is the matching banana” I ask jokingly.
“I have!” he says, and immediately starts rumbling through his chest of assorted percussion thingies. He pulls out assorted fruits shaped shakers, “Here is a pear. Oh, a peach too.” He keeps looking, “I know I have a banana. I do” he raises his head up and says that their daughter had a party the other night on the roof, and someone must have stolen the banana. He is holding a lemon and a lime shaker, “I have these though” he says smiling with his hands outstretched. He starts shaking them to an obvious Latin beat, “It is wonderful isn’t it? They sound great! It is 6/8 timing” he says beaming. He stops and then explains a few different time measures. “Here, you want to try? Do it” he tells me. I politely refuse to take his lemon and lime and say I cannot keep time like that.
I have no clue what Tonya, Liliana and Mordo have been doing all this time and I don’t care. Although I have no clue about all the studio talk and the instrument histories, I am enjoying César’s company and his enthusiasm. He has invited me into his world and it is interesting, he is interesting.
It is late now, almost 3am. I am over it and cold. Mordo wants to drink more and César and Liliana offer us a ride home. Liliana’s yawn tells us all that she is ready for bed too. On the way home, Mordo asks if we are really ready for bed, “You don’t want to stay up longer? Have some more tequila?” We invite him in and Tonya asks if she should make him a bed. He seems a bit let down that our partying is over. He pours another glass of tequila and sits at the table, a bit somber. He says he will go home if we will not stay up. A cab is called for him and he swigs his last glass of tequila. There is enough time for him to have his drink and Tonya to smoke.
The sudden ring of the doorbell means it is time to say goodbye, hug and walk the guest out to his waiting ride home.
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