One thing I neglected to tell you about this week’s photographs is that they were not taken with my trusty, but aging, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000. They were instead taken with my iPhone SE. I still much prefer a camera, but I guess this thing will do in a pinch. What do you think?
Ursula Enjoying San Jacinto Plaza
Straight out of the iPhone the images weren’t bad, but they did require a bit of postprocessing on the computer.
San Jacinto Plaza Christmas Tree
We even did something with the iPhone that I almost never do. We posed together for the dreaded, narcissistic selfie:
The Dreaded, Narcissistic Selfie
But, enough about my lapse into selfie egomania. Let’s finish up with a Fun Photo Friday photo gallery. Just click on any image below to enlarge it and to initiate a slide show:
Next week I return to our Mediterranean cruise series.
As you’ll recall from Monday, this week I’m taking you on a tour of El Paso’s annual Christmas decorations in the historic San Jacinto Plaza. This was between venues, starting with dinner at Gonzalos G&R and culminating with this night’s Broadway in El Paso show at our magnificently restored Plaza Theatre. We’ll get to that in a moment, but first let’s continue with the San Jacinto tour:
Another Christmas “tree” in San Jacinto Plaza — This one changes!
Ever strolled through a Christmas tree ornament? Well, here you can, and this one changes colors:
Believe it or not, one piece of history from San Jacinto Plaza’s earlier days involved alligators, which resided there for many, many decades. “What’s that?” you say. “Alligators in the Chihuahuan Desert?” Yep. We had alligators in the plaza — at one time as many as seven of them! Back then the unofficial name for San Jacinto was La Plaza de los Lagartos, which translates to “The Plaza of the Alligators.” Young men would come here to impress their dates by wrestling with these reptiles. Alas, in 1974 El Paso’s alligators were permanently relocated to the zoo, as some of them were maimed, and two of them even killed, by vandals. Idiots such as this is why we can’t have nice things. At any rate, El Paso still honors La Plaza de los Lagartos with the fibreglass statue Los Lagartos statue by the late, nationally acclaimed local artist Luis Jiménez:
Los Lagartos by Luis Jiménez
Now a discussion on thePlaza Theatre and Broadway in El Paso. The Plaza dates back to 1930. Once abandoned and falling into disrepair, El Pasoans rallied and sank about $38 million into renovating it, expanding the screen area into a stage, and making the venue suitable for Broadway-on-the-road productions. Thus was born Broadway in El Paso, to which Ursula and I have had season tickets for many, many years. How long? Let me just say that over the years we’ve worked our way up to the second row, which gives us a really impressive vantage. On this particular night we were there to see On Your Feet, a musical highlighting the lives of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Don’t let the smallish front façade fool you. This theater is massive, seating over 2,000 in just the main auditorium alone!
El Paso’s historic Plaza Theatre showing On Your Feet
This week’s Fun Photo Friday will feature favorite shots of the San Jacinto Plaza’s Christmas decorations and lights. Until then, here’s a few additional views:
It was date night for Doug and Ursula on a comfortably cool 6 December 2022 evening in El Paso, and the main event was to be at the incredible Plaza Theatre. But before showtime we decided to start early with dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, followed by a stroll among the Christmas decorations adorning downtown El Paso’s historic San Jacinto Plaza. So, first stop was Gonzalos G&R at the corner of Nevada Avenue and Kansas Street (401 E. Nevada). I had my usual favorite, the combination #17, which includes a cheese chile rellano (see my recipe here: Get Stuffed on Chile Rellanos), beef chile rellano, red beef enchilada, and a green chicken enchilada. With that I also usually throw it a ground beef taco, all of which you can see here:
Gonzalos G&R combination #17, rellanos and enchiladas
After dinner, and before ourBroadway in El Paso reservations at the Plaza Theatre, we strolled through downtown’s San Jacinto Plaza to take in the annual Christmas lights:
Christmas lights, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas
Christmas tree ornaments, San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas
Many of the lighted decorations include representations of various traditional ornaments, such as:
Christmas “tree ornament,” San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas
Christmas “tree ornament,” San Jacinto Plaza, El Paso, Texas
We’ll continue with this light tour on Wednesday, along with an introduction to Broadway in El Paso and the Plaza Theatre. Until then let’s just enjoy the view:
Decisions — Murder in Paradise
The Globe — Murder in Luxury
R. Doug Wicker — Author 