First Fieldnotes: El Compa

6:30 p.m.: As we drive past the restaurant "El Compa" to park in the rear, I notice a young Hispanic man standing out in front with an apron on he must be one of the workers.

As I get out of my car I greet another young Hispanic man and his two small daughters as they were getting into their car. I said,"Hola!" he responded back with the same greeting and we parted ways.

6:35 p.m.: We walk around to the front of the building to enter the restaurant. As my husband and I enter wonderful smells permeate my nose. Lively Latin music is playing to welcome us in. I notice splashes of color here and there. A young man starts to come out to greet us and stops then turns and says something in Spanish, out comes another man to greet us. We sit down in one of the very sturdy boothes by the window. They have pretty red leather on them. I notice the carpet on the floor is new, the color grey and is indoor/outdoor carpet. Our waiter gives us menus and asks in English what we would like to drink? I order Diet Coke and My husband orders Iced tea.

6:45 p.m.: I am trying to look at the menu but I can't stop looking at all of my surroundings. Along one of the walls are two bistro tables with high back stools up to them, how quaint. White lattice work is on the walls above them. There is a picture of a Mexican man holding a guitar in his hands. He has a poncho draped over his shoulder. The whole picture looks like it would light up if it were plugged in. A couple more brightly colored picture of families join him on that wall. Down farther is a picture of an old blue 1953 Dodge truck parked in a yard,cool. Our waiter comes back to take my order, he brings our drinks and some homemade tortilla chips along with some red dipping sauce. He asks if the music is to loud, we reply," No it is just fine". I order a combination meal. It comes with a Taco, Burrito and Enchilada made with beef. At that time I ask the waiter if he is the owner and he says he is and that he owns the store in the other room too. I ask his permission to observe his place, take notes so I can write a paper for an English class I am taking. He invites me to look around all I want and to ask as many questions as I want. I hope he will let me watch them clean some cactus!

6:50 p.m.: As I wait for my food I hear joyous laughter and workers talking in Spanish. I look around some more and notice that there is a string of colorful "Papel Picato" strung from one wall to the other. This tissue paper is beautiful and has very intricate diamond cuts with pictures in the middle. Some have a bull or a guitar, cactus,sombrero or a parrot bird. Some have the words along the top of them that say Bienvenidos (Welcome) and Fiesta ( Party) or Happy Fiesta. I begin to eat the tortillas and sauce,they are delicious! The sauce is very light and has a wonderful taste of garlic and just spicy hot enough.

6:55 p.m.: Another young waiter brings out my food. Boy, that was fast! The food looks and smells great! I ask the waiter if he knows who made the "Papel Picado" he tells me his Grandmother made them. I tell him they are beautiful. I explain to him that my granddaughter and I have made some, but they are of flowers and diamonds not as detailed. He did not speak hardly any English, but he seemed to understand what I said.

7:05 p.m.: The owner came back out and he asked how the food is? I tell him just simply delicious. I ask him what is in this red sauce over my enchilada and burrito? He grins and says, "Its a secret". I could taste cinnamon and nutmeg, it was great. I found out the owner is a different owner than the first one I had met years ago named Mario. This owner is Arthur ( Rudy), he and family moved here after he was raised in San Antonio,Texas. His Aunt owned a Mexican restaurant over across from Loomis Park here in Jackson for awhile. It is closed now. So owning and running restaurants does run in his family. This is his first time running his own restaurant and store. He is the only one that is bilingual that works there. They do use Nopales cactus in a couple of their dishes.

7:10 p.m.: A Caucasian couple comes in and they sit in a booth along the outer wall. They order and sit conversing back and forth. My husband has already eaten so he sat correcting his papers from work. A pop machine rattles ice as the waiter/owner brings the other couple their pop and tortilla chips.

7:15 p.m.: I look outside, the cars are passing at a good pace. There is a Mexican take - out place that says it will open soon across the street. I hear a refrigerator opening and closing alot. It's starting to get dark outside. It is hard to eat and write, because there is so much to take in!

7:20 p.m.: Different shapes of soda bottles line a half wall dividing part of the room from the kitchen. The music gets stuck several times, they fix it. It does it again so they turn it off. The other table of guests has a cell phone ring. The woman answers it, she talks for some time.

7:30 p.m.: I hear Spanish banter coming from the kitchen. Someone changes their voice pitch to sound like a girl. Then comes an out burst of laughter. I notice Sombreros hanging on the walls. Wood parrots are hanging from the ceiling here and there with their vivid colors. There are banners proclaiming, "Viva Mexico" which means, Long live Mexico!

7:45 p.m.: It is dark outside now. The neon " open" sign is easy to read with it's red letters. The phone rings several times. It is answered in Spanish. I can still see the "Schlinkers" restaurant across the street. The owner of El Compa comes out and talks with the other couple. I hear him share that he and his girlfriend were together for a long time and that they have two children. Then he shares that they are now broke up. There is a beautiful Azteca Calendaria on the outer wall. As the owner walks back towards the kitchen he stops in front of the CD player that is now playing again and begins to dance with his back to us. As he starts to walk again he looks over his shoulder. I give him a thumbs up and he throws his head back and laughs as he walks to the kitchen. So full of life.

8:00 p.m. : As I am studying the menu I notice a worker peeks around the corner to see how things are going. The menu has a picture of an animated cactus wearing a sombrero and he has a mustache as he smiles chagrined. On one of his arms hangs a colorful blanket. It says El Compa on his hat.

8:15 p.m.: We pay for our bill and decide to visit the store. I ask the workers several questions as we pass through. I speak my broken Spanish but they seem to understand. The store is wonderful! It is like a replica of being in a store in Mexico. They have a variety of everything. They have a fresh meat counter, many types of spices in bags. I turn a little and see bagged nuts, cold pops, juices, eggs, cheeses. There were bags of fried potatoes ( potato chips). Lots of CD's and video movies to purchase and to rent. You could choose from figurines,utensils,wallets,sandals, watches,shirts,cowboy hats,belt buckles. Also a wide variety of cookies,nectar's,cotton candy,a candy type fruit on a straw type stick that Rudy gave my husband and I to try. It was a sweet sour taste and picante! He also gave us a piece of peanut flavored confectionery. It was kind of like fudge only not real sweet.

8:40 p.m.: I decide to buy a fruit type roll up for my family to try. The older woman running the cash register and I were doing pretty well talking even with my broken Spanish. The woman seems so wise, strong and kind. I found a picture I liked and I tried to ask her how much? She did not understand, so she leans over and just yells to the others. One of the workers came right away to her aide. You could tell they had respect for her. I told Rudy thanks so much for everything. I told him we would be back. He gave me a couple of "take out" menus for one of my artifacts. I plan to buy that picture for $5.99 it was neat. I also spied some figurines. They all gave us " goodbyes" as we left and waved. What a fun night! Mustang Sally