Stories from the RGV: "Going to Mexico"

My current "quarantine life" is, indeed, a privileged one. With no rush-hour commutes and no children to entertain, I have LOTS of free time. And I intend to use this free time to engage in my favorite pastime - nostalgic storytelling. I've met amazing people in my life (and I miss you all dearly!) and had notable adventures. I want to write down as many of these adventures as I can, while I still remember them. I guess these are my love letters to everyone I've ever called a friend. Enjoy. And stay safe!  

This first story comes from the Rio Grande Valley in the 1990's, and I call it "GOING TO MEXICO." 

I was 14 years old the first time I went drinking and dancing with friends in Mexico. It was a rite of passage for teenagers in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1990's. We would cross the border on Friday nights and go bar-hopping and dancing in the city of Reynosa, Mexico. We just called it "going to Mexico." 

I was a freshman in high school the first time I "went to Mexico." It was Friday night, November 17, 1995. I went with some of the cast members of the school play, The Taming of the Shrew. My friend Annika and I were the only freshman in the fall play that year. I had maybe 5 lines in the whole play, but I didn't care. I was in awe of the older theater kids, and I just wanted to be around them. John, April, CC, Jessica, Panta, Ceci, Ian, etc. I adored them! When they suggested "going to Mexico" after the Friday night performance, I was ALL IN!

Photo courtesy of David Bourbois.

After the show, we got out of our costumes and stage make-up, and we headed out. Our first stop that night was the Black Eyed Pea restaurant, to pick-up another friend who worked as a server there. I remember sitting at the table and thinking how lucky I felt to be hanging out with these kids. Then the Fleetwood Mac song Little Lies played in the background, and I said out-loud, "I love this song!" 

Someone asked me who sang it, and I said I didn't know, but I was pretty sure it was called Tell Me Lies. Then CC joked, in an announcer voice, "That was the band Tell Me Lies with their hit song Tell Me Lies, from their self-titled debut album Tell Me Lies." And in that moment, that was the most hilarious thing I had ever heard in my life. To this day, I love that song because it reminds me of that moment at the Black Eyed Pea. 

Our friend got done with his shift at work, and we all headed off to the border. It took less than 20 minutes to drive from McAllen, Texas to Reynosa, Mexico. Everyone parked their cars on the US side of the border, and we walked over the international bridge to Mexico. 

The first bar we headed to that night was Imperial, just around the corner from the international bridge. The front of Imperial was a store where you could buy cheap liquor, cheap cigarettes, and cheap souvenirs. 

Outside of Imperial.

But if you walked through the store, all the way to the back, you found the bar with the masturbating monkey. Seriously! One whole wall of the bar was a giant atrium, and in that atrium lived a very lonely monkey. Imperial was known for their 2-for-1 drink specials. They had cozy leather seats and a chilled-out atmosphere. 

Our next stop of the night was the little bar with the big windmill outside, called Dutch's.

Outside of Dutch's.

Dutch's was famous for their Flaming Dr. Pepper. That was what you HAD TO GET at Dutch's. Your drink came with a glass of beer and thick shot of... I don't know... something... on fire. You're supposed to drop the lit shot glass into the beer, then guzzle the whole beer in one go. To this day, I still don't know what they put in those shot glasses, but the whole thing tasted just like Dr. Pepper! It was magical! 

Next door to Dutch's was a nightclub called Alaskan. Everything else was just a warm-up for a full night of drinking and dancing at Alaskan. We each paid $10 at the door to get in. Then, once inside, it was all-you-could-drink Tequila Sunrises and Tom Collins, all night long! No one asked for an ID card. If you were tall enough to reach the bar, you were served. 

Outside of Alaskan.

The drinks were great, but what I really loved was THE DANCING! I learned to dance at Alaskan! The music was mostly 80's, new wave, goth, and retro. And I danced all night! 

What I haven't mentioned yet is that I was hopelessly in love with one of the older theater kids. John was a senior, and he had the leading role of Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, and I was obsessed with him! Though my love was unrequited, I still worshiped the ground that John walked on. So when I got the chance to dance with John to the Violent Femmes song Blister In The Sun, I was in Heaven! It was euphoric. 

I remember dancing to songs by The Smiths, The Cure, The Cars, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Modern English, New Order, and the Pet Shop Boys. The Cure song "Friday I'm In Love" was practically the anthem of "going to Mexico." 

What time did we eventually leave? I don't remember. It was probably based on who had the earliest curfew. But we probably stopped for food on the way home. 

There were two main food options for the after-dancing munchies. One option was the burger stand just across the street from Alaskan. Those Mexican street burgers always came with a friend egg on top, and they were the most delicious burger you ever tasted in your life! 

The other option was the Whataburger on the US side of the international bridge. I can guarantee that that Whataburger location made a fortune every Friday night! Nothing ever tasted as good as Whataburger after a night of drinking and dancing in Reynosa.

And what's the best part about going to Mexico when you're 14 years old? There's no hangover in the morning! 

November 17, 1995, was the first time I "went to Mexico," but it was certainly not my last. My friends and I continued to make the pilgrimage to Reynosa throughout the rest of our high school years.

I'm not trying to glorify the 90's, but it was a sweet time to be a teenager in the Rio Grande Valley. The Border Patrol knew what stupid shit we were doing in Mexico, but they didn't care. All you had to do to get back into the US was say two magic words, "Yes, sir."

The Border Patrol Agents would ask you and all of your friends, one at a time, "Are you an American citizen?" And all you had to say was, "Yes, sir." No passport required. Sometimes they would try to confuse you by asking what hospital you were born in, but I knew it was just easier to say, "McAllen Medical Center," rather than tell the truth. 

The border has changed since the 90's. Strict regulations were placed on all international ports of entry after the attacks of September 11, 2001. And since 2006, a bloody and violent drug war has ravaged the US-Mexico border. 

Teenagers from the Rio Grande Valley no longer "go to Mexico" on a Friday nights. People are told to stay away from Reynosa because it's too dangerous. I wonder if any of those old bars or clubs are still open. I wonder what teenagers in McAllen do instead on Friday nights? 

I wonder, "What did ever happen to that masturbating monkey?"