Alamos Antojitos ~ Kathy's Korner

 I have decided that Marcella's antojitos are something like quick fixes. Yes, cravings, yes, impulse buying and little bites, but for me, they are also quick fixes. For instance, I usually read a book in a week and when I am done, I often need another one immediately. So I make a quick trip to Kathy's Korner, the 'Reading Salon' over on Calle Obregon. The salon, or bookstore, as it is more often referred to, is filled with used non fiction and fiction books. Most paperbacks will cost you ten pesos, hardbacks fifteen pesos and then, the prices increase slightly with big coffee table style books .

The proceeds from the sales of these books benefit the Amigos de Educacion program in Alamos. Education in Mexico is free to all children up until the eighth grade. Beyond that, the cost is roughly three thousand pesos, or around three hundred US dollars to put a teenager through the high school system for half a year. So, understandably, many children do not go beyond the eighth grade. The Amigos program gathers donations and other money through book sales and various fundraisers such as yard sales, Valentine's Day dances and Wednesday afternoon bingo through out the year.

However money is not just given freely to students. The process can be tough, students must apply and meet high critera, such as consistent grade point averages, and letters of recommendation will be needed. Once the initial criteria is met, students apply for beccas, or scholarships, in order to receive assistance. Amigos helps many students through the four years at COBASH, the local high school, and continues to provide further help as students leave Alamos for trade schools or even higher education in larger cities such as Navajoa and Ciudad Obregon.

So back to my quick fix antojito. If I need a book, I go to Kathy's Korner. But there is much more to do there. There many good antojitos.

If I need a gift for someone, I can buy a packet of beautiful cards, handmade by local artist, Joan Gould Winderman. Some of the cards are photographs of Alamos and some are collages of handmade paper and feathers and fabric. All are beautiful.

 I might stop for awhile to work a cross word puzzle or to help complete a large jig saw puzzle.

 Or maybe I want to peruse the pamphlets on tourism in Sonora, in particular, the Ruta del Rio de Sonora, an area I would like to visit.

 Maybe on this day, I need to visit an art gallery. At Kathy's Korner I can currently see the exciting photography of Cuba taken by local photographer Bob Rink.

 If you need a little antojito about some happenings in Alamos, you will get your bites here. You can find out about the Garden tours and other upcoming events and buy the Alamos Guidebook which will tell you everything you need to know about Alamos.

 In the non fiction room you might want to check out the 'Mexico' book table. There are Spanish language books, travel books, art books and both fiction and non fiction books as well as young reader books and picture books in Spanish. Or check out the specialty book table of the week. This week it is all about the Rockies. Cookbooks from Colorado and Montana, and books authored by Tucson, Billings, Denver and Santa Fe residents. 

 There is even a section of books by Alamos authors. Authors Robin Ellis, Donna Love, Emily Preece and Robert Cabot are only a few of the local Alamos authors with books for sale in Kathy's Korner.

Sometimes all I need is to sit down in one of the big over stuffed chairs and close my eyes for awhile. I might hear Salvadore or Yolanda as they walk up and down the street calling 'fish for sale'. Or maybe I will hear the squeaky wheels of Arvida's tamale cart. The little 'Red Train' will go by, its music might be 'The Yellow Rose of Texas'. Then the announcer car will go by and I will hear about the latest sale going on in town or someone's lost dog, then the clatter of dishes from next door, as Reyna's Restaurant begins to prepare comida and the smell of coffee and chocolate from Luchi's across the street. If it is quiet for a moment I will hear the bird's chirping in the courtyard of Kathy's Korner, up high in the acacia trees or in a swaying palm.
Now, that is what I call a 'quick fix.' My antojito.