One of the last days my girlfriend was visiting, we went to Old Town State Park in downtown San Diego. The park is a monument to the "birthplace of California," the first European settlement of the western coast. I'm not usually one for museums and monuments, but I'm glad I went. There were mock-ups of some of the original buildings of that era, with 19th century clothing, furniture, and in one case, overpowering tobacco smell (put there on purpose).
The smells coming from the various authentic Mexican restaurants were deliciously intoxicating. Fresh tortillas, carne-asada, and grilled peppers filled the air (and made me constantly hungry). We didn't eat at any of them, but we did indulge in some other "authentic" fare (see bacon post).
One of the cool, old-style buildings they had was an old tobacco shop. And boy, was it authentic. We made it about 2 feet into the doorway before promptly turning around and walking out. The smell was like a hammer on my nostrils. And it was on purpose!! They actually had a machine that pumped out thick, gut-wrenching tobacco stench throughout the entire store. I'm all for accurately depicting history, but DAMN.
The one thing that struck me incredibly strange about Old Town is the incredible emphasis on Mexico's Dia de los Muertos. Every souvenir shop was at least 75% covered in skeletons. Painted skulls, skeleton figurines, paintings of people covered in skeleton make-up. You name it, they had it covered in skulls.
It's not that that particular holiday isn't cool and all, but isn't there more to Mexican culture and history than one holiday? Is the skull and the celebration of death a recurring theme in 19th century Californian and Mexican history?
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