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| San Augustin church. Photos by Stew Magnuson |
It’s
the first Friday night of the month in Laredo and the CaminArte (art walk) is
underway.
Families,
young couples and folks on their own like myself — with a special map in hand —
are making their way around the town center’s streets to check out the local
galleries. About nine sites are opening their doors to sell paintings or
crafts, and the town’s famous San Augustin Square is surrounded by vendors for
an artisan’s bazaar.
One
of my first stops is Gallery 201, a contemporary art gallery, where a handful
of local artists have set up tables.
Erika
Lamar Buentello happens to be selling prints of local iconic neon signs. Two of
them, the Evelyn Motor Inn and Pan American Courts Café (and Hotel) are out on
Business 83. Those signs have been there since before there was an expressway,
and hark back to the Golden Age of road travel in the 1940s and 1950s.
“Sold,”
I say. It’s as if she knew I were coming. She knocks five bucks off, $35 for
the pair, and I get to take some great Highway 83 memorabilia back home with
me.
Find Buentello’s art on this Etsy page.
Find Buentello’s art on this Etsy page.
Another
highlight on the walk is the Laredo Center for the Arts, which has an ongoing
exhibition and local artists there to do some painting as visitors watch.
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| Prints by Erika Lamar Buentello |
Casa
Ortiz, just off the square, is open to visitors. The building has been here
since about 1830 and features a beautiful courtyard. Five generations of the
Ortiz family lived there before it was sold, but someone has been there since
then, making it the longest continually occupied home in Texas. Nowadays, Texas
A&M University owns the building, and lets students stay there. Enrique
Botello is one of the students and shows me around. He’s originally from the
town of San Ygnacio on Highway 83, a community south of Laredo on the banks of
the Rio Grande, which was established before the American Revolution. From Casa
Ortiz, visitors can see the river. This was a good spot with a wide view and
made it harder for Apaches on Comanches to sneak up on the residents, Botello
explains.
San
Augustin Plaza is where the vendors are set up.
I’m
amazed at the low prices. I’ve been to plenty of artisan bazaars in my day, and
I would have never found a beautiful lapis-lazuli necklace for my wife for a
mere $22 at any of the others. Another vendor is offering hand-stitched,
homemade postcards, each one unique and nice enough to frame. She doesn’t
charge more than $12 for any of them.
San
Augustin Cathedral next to the square has been here since 1778. The Gothic
Revival church is open and features a beautiful collection of stained glass.
La
Posada Hotel takes up the entire south side of the plaza. The building the lobby is in was once a high school and bits of the structure dating back to 1916 remains. The hotel was built around three other historic buildings. As a hotel, it only dates back to
the early 1960s, but with two courtyards, swimming pools and palm trees, it
seems like you’re stepping back in time. The four-diamond hotel is one of the best
bets for casual or more upscale dining on the plaza.
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| A vendor on the art walk selling hand-stitched postcards. |
Also
on the south side is the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum. The building
headquartered a short-lived movement to carve out a new nation here in 1840,
when locals chaffed under Mexican rule. During the republic’s short 10 months,
it created a flag, which is why the flags of seven nations, rather than six for
the rest of Texas, have flown over Laredo.
Another
item visitors might notice are the “City of Generals and Saints” banners hung
on streetlight poles. The names of Laredo’s streets in the historic district
alternate between famous generals and Catholic saints, hence the nickname.
Just
two blocks away, is a reminder that Laredo is a border town. A steady stream of
border crossers walk across the Bridge of Americas where a line of shops on
Convent Street cater to them. Laredo is only surpassed by New York and Los
Angeles in terms of trade. Some $280 billion of goods passed through its ports
of entry in 2014, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics.
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| San Augustin Plaza taken from La Posada Hotel. |
For
decades, the U.S Canada Highway 83 Association advertised the road as a great
route to “Old Mexico.” It held its annual convention here in 1963. The city
once worked hand in hand with its sister city across the bridge Nuevo Laredo to
attract tourists under its “Two Nations. One Destination” slogan, but sadly
violence fueled by the drug trade in Mexico forced Laredo to shut that campaign
down and separate itself from its neighbor, explained Blasita Lopez, director of the Laredo Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
They
are indeed different worlds apart in that respect. As the numbers of local
families and young couples exploring downtown during the art walk showed,
downtown Laredo is as safe as any city of its size in the United States. It
would be wrong to say the city is crime free — no place can make that claim —
but it is also wrong to lump it in with what’s happening across the border.
Visiting
historic downtown Laredo is a highlight on any trip along Highway 83, and
shouldn’t be missed.
Stew Magnuson is the author of The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83: The Dakotas, and The Last American Highway: Nebraska Kansas Oklahoma edition. Both are available online or in museums, bookstores and gift shops on Hwy 83.
To join the
Fans of U.S. Route 83 group on Facebook, CLICK
HERE. And check out the U.S. Route 83 Travel page at www.usroute83.com. Contact Stew Magnuson at stewmag (a) yahoo.com
