Mi Cancun: 1 out of 2 ain't bad ... I guess

We had an itch for Mexican cuisine recently, so we spent considerable time researching what would be a very good place to enjoy that in the Triangle. We hadn't sampled too many such places in the years we've been here, but because Lee Ann is the true fan of that cuisine, I let her settle on a place. 

I don't know how Lee Ann considers Mexican food such a delight, given her disdain for spicy foods, but I've encountered apparent palate contradictions like this in other people (including me) before, so I'm sure it's not uncommon. 

In my case, my stomach and digestive system cannot handle onions unless they are minced (and I'm talking pulverized here) and cooked thoroughly, and my stomach will do cartwheels (not in a good way) with the first whiff of high concentrations of garlic, such as garlic bread. And yet, I otherwise enjoy spicy foods. 

For example, I will sprinkle seasoned pepper on my frozen pizzas, and I like curry and paprika on sundry foods (Lee Ann does not).

But I'm getting off the subject. We landed at a franchise establishment that goes by Mi Cancun and picked the one on High House Road in Cary, a Raleigh suburb, because it had the best reviews. 

I had a luncheon sampler plate -- a burrito, an enchilada and a taco ( feel like I'm telling a joke here ... you know, a burrito, an enchilada and a taco entered a bar ... ). I believe Lee Ann ordered a fajita plate of some kind with rice, bean dip and guacamole on lettuce. She enjoyed her meal, I found mine lacking in imagination and, most importantly, flavor. That's the fajita dish you see in the photo leading off the post. Her side dish and my meal are the first two photos shown below, in that order.

We also had margaritas and elected to get the top-shelf tequila, and despite getting the premium alcohol, which we thought would guarantee satisfaction, we both found the margaritas slightly below average. The beverages looked a lot better than they tasted (see photos below the food).  

The rest of the photos depict the eatery's decor. 

Fireworks: mission accomplished

A bonus for dropping in on the local observance of the Mexican Independence celebration Wednesday was the climax of the evening's program: fireworks.

Fireworks are something most photographers are eager to try their luck at early on. It wasn't that way with me for the longest time. Then, this past Labor Day weekend, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to rush over to Garfield Park in Indianapolis to see what I could come up with shooting the fireworks finale of the "America, We Remember" celebration of patriotism. It wasn't a very productive evening; in fact, I'm probably going to toss everything from the shoot. But then last week, when I heard that Wednesday's program for the Mexican Independence celebration would conclude with fireworks, I figured this would be my last shot of the year for redemption.

This time, I prepared. Checked some sources (and notes) on the best way to get good fireworks shots, got my camera settings adjusted (f/8, bulb mode, ISO-200) and locked into a tripod and attached a cable-release cord -- all before leaving the house -- and brought along a tiny flashlight to use to help myself adjust camera settings in the dark if I needed to.

I decided to concentrate on sky-only shots: no landscape backdrop, other than the corner of a tall tree in the bottom right portion of where the majority of fireworks were landing in the sky. I deliberately lightened the sky on one such image (first one below) so you would have an idea how the skyscape appeared in connection with the fireworks in the frames exposed normally. It explains, too, why some fireworks tails curiously disappear in the bottom right corner (because they drop behind the tree). It did provide for some interesting shapes, I thought.

The images you see here are from that shoot.

Mexican indepedence bicentennial: the observance in Indianapolis

The MacAllister Center for the Performing Arts, the site of the Macbeth play whose pictures were featured in yesterday's post, was also the locale for Wednesday's celebration by Indianapolis residents of Mexican heritage to mark the beginnings of two significant milestones: The bicentennial of Mexican independence from Spain and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican revolution.

The local observance got started in mid-afternoon (4 p.m.), while I was still at work. That's when they had the ceremonial activities, including the "Grito," which is short for el grito de la independencia (cry of independence). The cry Viva Mexico! was uttered on Sept. 16, 1810, by a Roman Catholic priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, who was from the town of Dolores near Guanajuato.

The lengthy conflict entailing the War of Independence ended in 1821 when representatives of the Spanish crown signed the Treaty of Cordoba, recognizing Mexico's independence. In Mexico, the full Grito ceremony on the annual day of observance entails the country's president ringing a bell at the presidential palace in late evening of Sept. 15. Then, while standing at the palace balcony overlooking the crowd below, the president reads the names of the important heroes of the War of Independence, concluding with a three-time shouting of Hidalgo's cry -- Viva Mexico! The annual celebration of independence is observed worldwide, wherever there are Mexican Consulates and Embassies. In Indianapolis, the Mexican community was represented by Consuls Juan Solana and Martin Alcala.

The revolution was another protracted, major armed battle that began in 1910 and continued into the next decade. It launched with the uprising against autocrat Porfirio Diaz and led to the establishment of the Mexican Constitution in 1917 -- four years before the skirmishes officially ended.

The annual observance and celebration concludes with a night of fun, music/entertainment, food and a fireworks show. That's the part of the Indianapolis celebration I encountered by the time I arrived; I'll provide some images from the fireworks in tomorrow's post. These images are from the festivities at the amphitheater, which is in Garfield Park. Featured entertainer that evening (the man you see in several pictures in this post, including the lead image at the top) was Joaldy (full name: Joaldy Yanez), a quite animated singer from Chicago who fashions himself as a premier imitator of singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel, one of the most famous living representatives of the Mexican ranchera, ballad, mariachi and pop music styles.

And now, without further adieu, some of the images I grabbed from the evening festivities.

Joaldy, backed by three dancers, didn't seem to mind the slideshow projector image stamped on his lower torso. He stayed in that position for some time ... and came back several times.

The crowd in the MacAllister amphitheater audience, looking up at Joaldy's show.

The color and festooning of the stage to mark the celebratory occasion is reflected in the stage-level image above and the perspective shot below.

Note the bicentennial number 200 over the orange balloon arc.

The crowd outside the amphitheater and near the vendor booths featuring arts, crafts and paraphernalia promoting Mexican culture.

A detail shot of a multicolor jeweled tiara in one of the vendor booths. Each tiara had at least one jewel with a flashing light.

Some crafted woodwork above a beverage stand in the vendor area.