The main San Antonio Public Library is hard to miss even among the mid- and high-rise buildings sprouting downtown.This striking building, built in 1995, is visible from one of the expressways that slice and dice San Antonio's downtown and it first strikes you as a not particularly welcoming concrete box.But despite being squat, the library …
Author: Alfredo Lanier
My husband and I live on an off-the-grid ranch outside San Miguel, along with the challenging but dear company of four off-the-street dogs and three cats. My interests lie in politics, writing, photography and sundry forms of spirituality.
Our share of the blame for the trade gap with China
Many San Miguel expats, including Stew and I, travel north of the border and make shopping one of the main events of our visits. When it's 102 degrees outside in San Antonio, what better place to be that in an air-conditioned store or a movie house?We continue to be dazzled by Walmarts so large you …
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A peaceful eye amid a hurricane of discord
When we visit other towns for more than a fast flyby, Stew and I often make two stops, one at an A.A. meeting and the other at a Unitarian Church, if nothing else just to have some face time with the locals, shake a few hands, not feel like complete outsiders.And so for the past …
An encounter with old age, opioids and Berniecare
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Two weeks ago today, we came here for Stew to have spinal surgery. Our sojourn has delivered unexpected encounters too with the uncertainties that lie ahead as we both age; a brush with the notorious opioid oxycodone; reminders of what it would be like to live back in the U.S., and the wonders …
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Tiptoeing through the succulents
Initially my interest in succulents and cacti (the latter a subset the succulent family) was mostly practical. The soil around here is very poor and rain comes only during a narrow, three- or four-month window; the rest of the year the landscape is bone-dry. Succulents seemed custom made for such harsh conditions, though I quickly …
A day for goat tacos, pozole and adorable kids
Sosnabar, the hardscrabble rancho where Félix and his family live, doesn't have any landmarks except for a white church with a lonely dissonant bell that clangs on special occasions when the blue crosses atop its three domes also light up at night.Felix' youngest, Jessica. Last Friday was one of those special times, when the town shook off …
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A very gay time at Mexico City's Pride Parade
Rainbow visions. Compared to the last we attended, in 2016, the crowds at this year's Gay Pride Parade in Mexico City were far larger, and certainly more jubilant. The one constant was the oh-so-Mexican lack of any visible organization. It wasn't so much an organized parade but a multitude of people, probably in the hundreds of …
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The urgency of optimism
These are nerve-racking times that can rattle the soul of even the most equanimous American.Relations between the U.S. and Iran are on a roller coaster. After initially threatening to bomb Iran, President Trump reconsidered, one of those rare occasions when his volatility has worked to the advantage of the country. Iran then responded by calling …
Are we there yet? A leisurely drive from San Antonio to San Miguel, with coffee and donuts
A routine among most expats in San Miguel, and I suspect most places with resident foreigners, is to return "home" periodically, to reconnect with friends and relatives, touch base with the family doctor or just indulge in the guilty pleasure of buying unneeded, overpriced crap at Bed, Bath & Beyond or Ikea. (We bought some copper …
Why do the Brits dislike Trump so?
The following came from a friend in San Miguel who was born in Britain but is now a naturalized Mexican citizen. A Brit's View of Donald TrumpWhy do some British people not like Donald Trump? Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response: A few things spring to mind.Trump lacks certain qualities which …
El Rancho Santa Clara 