Dia de los Muertos with El Teatro Campesiño

This weekend, El Teatro Campesiño will start off its 50th year with its annual Dia de los Muertos celebration in San Juan Bautista. Through dance, music, art, and altar offerings, the locally-based, renowned theater company will honor and remember the dearly departed. The event will begin on Friday, October 29 and go through Sunday, November 1.

Joining in the celebration is the Esperanza del Valle Folkloric Dance Troupe, which will perform throughout the weekend at the Playhouse on 705 4th Street.

• Friday, 8:00 p.m.
• Saturday, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
• Sunday,  4:00 p.m.

The dance group will perform traditional dances from the Huasteca, Veracruz, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima regions, as well as perform Macaria, an original choreodrama that the dance troupe adapted from the novel written by B. Traven. Tickets can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets.

El Teatro will also have traditional and artistic altars on display at the Playhouse. The public can view the altars, for free, during these hours:

• Friday, 7:00 p.m. with Altar Blessing and Danza at 7:15 p.m.
• Saturday, 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday, 1:00 p.m. with a closing Danza Blessing

As in past years, El Teatro will lead a Dia del los Muertos procession through the historic streets of San Juan Bautista. The parade will be held twice—6:00 p.m. on Saturday and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Eyes Playing Tricks

Does that dark shape on the right hand side of the photo look like a dog, boar, or some other kind of animal to you?

I took this photo on Bolsa Road (aka Highway 25) as the Husband and I were driving home to Hollister. Perhaps the "creature" only runs along Briggs Road at sunset.

Talented High School Thespians

On Friday evening, the Husband and I enjoyed watching No Signs of Intelligent Life, a comedy performed by the San Benito High School Drama 3 class at the Baler auditorium.

The play was about extraterrestrials from the far distant planet of Gilroy pretending to be humans so as to study them more closely. The space aliens are hilariously confused and dumbfounded with the ways of the humans as they relate to them in such situations as gossiping around the workplace water cooler, substitute teaching, dating, survival camping, and purchasing a fast food hamburger.

The young men and women totally delivered the funny. Their passion and joy for the craft of acting was so infectious that I wanted to suddenly audition for a play.

The drama department has several other performances scheduled for the rest of the year. No doubt, they'll be as entertaining as the one we saw.

• November 13: ComedySportz (competitive improvisational comedy)
• January 15: ComedySportz
• March 17, 18, 19, 24, and 25: Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
• April 8: Variety Show/Faculty Follies
• April 22: ComedySportz
• May 12 and 13: Student-directed One-Act Festival

Chocolate To Go, Please

This is the large chocolate that the Husband ordered to go from Vertigo Coffee in San Juan Bautista yesterday. After seeing it, I wished I had, too.

Nano's Caribbean Restaurant

Nano's Caribbean Restaurant is something different for Hollister. It's a wonderful difference, too. Jamaican jerk chicken, coconut prawns with a mango dip, fried plantains, black beans, and more.

The restaurant opened several months ago in the former site of Ella's near Ace Hardware on Airline Highway (aka Highway 25).

The Husband, the Godmother, and I had dinner there earlier this week for the first time. We all ordered dinner plates—jerk chicken for the Husband, coconut prawns for the Godmother, and pulled pork fajitas for myself. Each plate had generous portions of the entree, grilled vegetables, black beans, rice topped with a bit of slaw and pineapple, and a slice of fried plantain.

I not only had a delicious dinner, but lunch as well the next day.