Sunday, September 29, 2013

On the Way to Get Some Pumpkin Empanadas

I thought you might like to listen to some mariachi music to get you in a Las Cruces mood...


Fall in southern New Mexico is fiesta time; it's time for parades (it seems like every weekend), the Southern New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo, The Whole Enchilada Fiesta (known locally as TWEF), various wine and jazz festivals, hot air balloon events, and Dia de los Muertos. Coming in November are the International Mariachi Conference and the Renaissance ArtsFaire. You can see a calendar for this year's events here.

The high desert weather cooperates, of course. Chilly nights make for good sleeping, and the mornings warm right up, but the days don't get too hot.

With the cooler weather, our appetites start to return. Yesterday Beez and I thought that some pumpkin empanadas would make a good snack, so we headed out to (what else?) La Fiesta, the best bakery we know.

Here is what we saw along the way. I hope that mariachi music is still playing while you check out this amazing truck. The art work makes me look forward to el Dia de los Muertos.

If we were back in New Hampshire, we would be sipping fresh apple cider and munching on buffalo burgers at the Deerfield Fair. This truck (and those empanadas) tell us that we are, indeed, in a very different land.


"As skeleton-happy New Mexicans know, honoring departed souls is not some eerie voyage into the macabre—in fact, it’s an annual cause for celebration" ~Miranda Mirklein



Under the hood

The hood itself

Detail on the back of the truck


5 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Oh, what a fun post, Clair!! I love the music and the young gentleman singer!! Priceless! Thank you! Just the grins and giggles and toe tapping I needed on a gray, wet weekend, with more of the same on the way!!

Jean (aka Auntie Bucksnort) said...

What beautiful art work. And I really like the quote at the end. So true!

Joyful said...

I really enjoyed the young boy singing along with the mariachi band. I do enjoy the Mexican culture a lot. It would be fun to have festivals with the Mexican flavor all throughout the Fall.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Whether in New Mexico or in New Hampshire, your Fall feasts both sound amazing and make my mouth water.

I think the Mexican custom of honoring departed souls in that joyful way is wonderful...it was one of the most wonderful things we learned from traveling in Mexico and in New Mex. as well!

charlotte g said...

Yum. I have old, fond memories of pumpkin and other fruited empanadas at an ancient restaurant in the pecan groves...with the abundance of skulls on everything this fall, I wonder if it is the culture or the times or both. Music great. And for me, the photograph is one of quintessential essence of the region. Love adobe and hollyhocks!