ArchivesMy esteemed colleague Dan Shearer, editor of the Green Valley News, visited Nogales recently. Too bad.
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His last place of residence was Scottsdale. I just went there this weekend, and man, that place is unnaturally clean. I went out for a breath of fresh air only to suck in eau de parfum and breath of hedione.
We do the best we can, down here. We don’t have the kind of tax base that Scottsdale has.
The three chambers of commerce in Nogales, Nogales, Sonora and Green Valley, for example, are organizing a free tour for a group of Green Valley residents in November. It is the first in what the chambers hopes will be a regular activity offered to area visitors. Those who take the tour will surely go back home with a less superficial sense of our community.
In an editorial published in the GVN on Sept. 22, Shearer said, “The real problem is that Nogales just isn’t interesting anymore. On Saturday, we found torn-up streets, desperate shopkeepers and few decent goods on the shelves.
“It doesn’t help that we need passports or passport cards to get back into the U.S. Most Americans don’t have one and aren’t interested in spending $60-$100 for a card they’ll use once or twice in a lifetime,” Shearer said.
The clincher was this little gem: “And though Nogales is only 40 miles away, Tubac is closer and offers higher quality in a more inviting environment.”
Good thing Shearer is not an anthropologist.
It’s not just about the pottery or clean streets. It’s about the culture; it’s about a warm urban environment; it’s the smells wafting from steaming taco and hotdog stands; traditional home-style cooking at La Posada; and the romantic ambiance at La Roca, a restaurant and bar literally built into rocks that form rare geologic phenomena known as Nogales Formation.
It’s the friendly barkeeps at joints with names such as Potros, Cheve’s and Regis; the strolling musicians; Radio XENY blasting through a blown speaker in the barbershop.
You can’t buy all that in Tubac, my friend.
But someone who comes from where the living is easy and the plastic is rampant, may not understand all this.
Perhaps the chambers will consider saving a spot on the tour van for Shearer. Or better yet, I would suggest he cross the line with NI Assistant Editor William Wilczewski, originally from the State of New York, or Copy Editor Aulton Utsey who is from Oaklahoma. Shearer may discover what those two and countless others have come to appreciate -- the real Ambos Nogales.
(Write us at 268 W. View Point Dr., Nogales, Ariz., 85621, or manuel.coppola@nogalesinternational.com.)
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Comments
observer wrote on Oct 20, 2009 7:38 PM:
NogalesAmerica Lover for 19 years and Counting wrote on Oct 20, 2009 11:26 AM:
A Rio Rico Resident wrote on Oct 19, 2009 5:51 PM:
That explains why Blockbuster is closing and going out of business here.
Sorry but my profession does not rely on Mexico in any way. I am here to help the people who live here. Sorry to burst your bubble. "
resident wrote on Oct 18, 2009 12:38 AM:
A Rio Rico Resident wrote on Oct 13, 2009 11:28 PM:
A Rio Rico Resident wrote on Oct 13, 2009 11:26 PM:
You are right that there are many beautiful places in the world. There are also many beautiful places here in the US that I have yet to see (Yellowstone, Yosemitte, the Dakotas, Alaska, excetera).. Personally, I would rather see what there is to see here first before the rest of the world.
As far as traveling to Mexico goes, in the 25 years I have lived in Southern Arizona, Mexico has held little to know interest to me. I'm just not all that interested in the country. Even as a teenager with most of my classmates going to either Agua Prieta or Nogales to party, I had no interest in it. My mother has told me about Rocky Point, that holds some minor interest, but not enought to make me get a passport at this time. By the way, you can get a passport at anytime so it does not really make that big of a difference.
I did note you stated that it was too bad that Nogales, Sonora, was my experience with Mexico. So are you saying that Nogales, Sonora is a lousy place to go?
And by the way, you can keep Starbucks, KFC, and McDonalds. I really do not like the food or drink at those locations. "
Citizen wrote on Oct 13, 2009 7:24 PM:
really wrote on Oct 13, 2009 11:10 AM:
A Rio Rico Resident wrote on Oct 13, 2009 10:25 AM:
I have lived here for over 10 years. When we first moved here, may family took a day and walked across the line. After that trip I vowed never to go back unless forced to because of my job, or to take my family across.
I never smelt the smell of tacos, but rather raw sewage and rancid garbage. The place looked, felt and smelt dirty.
I also did not appreciate shop keeps walking out into the side walk and physically grabbing my wife and kids to drag them into the stores to see their wears, most of which were actually made in China!
Today I am thankful that the passport law has become effective as I refuse to get a passport or a passcard and therefore cannot be sent across the line for work.
Like it or not, Mr. Shearer is correct. Why do you think the majority of Rio Rico Residents drive north to shop these days? It's cleaner, more inviting, and actually cheaper. "
Well said wrote on Oct 13, 2009 10:22 AM:
Also, people are better looking down there!
Great piece nice to read you from very far away....
I miss it down there, with the problems and the crime, it is still a great place to call home. "