Some moments fit a songwriter’s lyrical fragment perfectly. As I walked to the Mexican restaurant where our older men’s book group met last night, the photo’s scene interrupted my mope about the USA’s haunted condition.
Instead of the usual five-minute delay before the words appeared in my brain, the chorus from Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem ” galloped across the sky.
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
So even before the Modela Negra and the Colorado Burrito, I was primed to discuss our October book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America by Gustavo Arellano.
But first, the owner, Martin Peña, and one of his sons told us how Martin came to America from Mexico at eight and eventually ran this popular local restaurant with his family for 19 years, with plans to expand.
A very old and very sacred American story.
