Nombre de Dios

What a sweet “little” town outside of Durango, maybe less than an hour – I lost track of time after the search for water this morning.

But I am ready to stop when I come to Nombre de Dios – Name of God! I haven’t had time to eat and I’m so hungry!

There’s a little picnic area just before entering the town, which is unusual for here but I've seen a few! At first glance, the dirt leading to the picnic area looks like it won’t hold my truck but then after passing, I notice lots of tire tracks and that the road actually goes down to this pretty, little “river”.

I say “river” as almost all the rivers I’ve seen in México, including Boca El Rrio, are barely filled with large puddles let alone running water.

I was going to turn around and try my luck on the dirt but suddenly a town appears on both sides of the road so I park and walk the length of the town, which is only about 5 or 6 long blocks.

The sign says there are 4,500 people in this town. It really doen’t look that big to me. On one side of the road, I make and right and walk about 7 or 8 blocks until the town ends at a cliff’s edge. The other side of the road only goes about 3 blocks before ending at a large field.

Besides cute little houses mostly adjoined to each other, made of brick, adobe, cement, and clay, and painted the typical beautiful bright colors, there are several businesses including mostly restaurants, a couple of bars, stores selling fresh meat.

Horses and chickens are plentiful, with some of the latter being cooked on the grill. Dogs roam the same way they roam all over México, and several people have little gardens of veggies, melons, and cacti.

Lots of people are out in the streets but mostly on the main street that 45 runs through. It definitely looks as if the town grew around the street. The ubiquitous church whose steeple towers over every building is there a couple of blocks off the main road.

Some people are playing xmas music and some homes are decorated. There are definitely xmas trimmings being sold on the main street.

I only have one conversation with a womon who is grilling chicken. She wants me to buy a whole chicken with onions, tortillas, and salad for 60 pesos, $5.00. I explain I’m a vegetarian so she makes me a salad and puts the grilled onions and tortillas into plastic bags and gives them to me.

I want to pay her but she says feliz navida – oh my. I take off my codepink button and give it to her and then she allows me to give her two girls 10 pesos each.

We talk about her little town, which is very pretty and tranquil. She says this town is peaceful, no violence, but she points over in the direction I am headed, and then the direction I left, and says muy violencia.

I ask her about the truck that pulled up in the next block and emptied soldiers with long rifles and machine guns onto the streets. She waves her hand as if shooing an annoying fly, and says something like they jump around every day.

I ask her if she rides a horse and she looks horrified. Her girls giggle and I ask them if they ride a horse. They are 5 and 7, and Lupita is a single mom who also hates her name. I tell her it is beautiful but if she wants to, she should just change it.

I ask Lupita if there are women in Los Dios who are feminists. She struggles to understand me. I ask her if she knows “feminista” and she says certainly. I ask if she is a feminista and she says yes but doesn’t look at me.

I want to ask her to introduce me to the feminists but she is cooking and has her two girls. I cannot tell if they live in the space that is the restaurant, or maybe behind the space or if they have another home. I don’t ask.

Everywhere I walk, people say hello and good morning, good afternoon – but no one else speaks with me. 

I walk back to the truck, make me tortillas and avocado with salad, and get back on the road. I’m a happy viajera!