Tropico to the Top

Most of the Peliculas de Espanol I watch are gratis from the Sacramento Public Library: an extensive collection from many countries including Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Spain. After watching a preview for Tropico de Sangre I was intrigued in both the story line and the film acting of Dominican-Puerto Rican Michelle Rodriguez, who played Ana Lucia Cortez on the television show LOST (I watched the entire series - 121 episodes - on DVD).

Tropico de Sangre is based on the true story of Minerva Mirabal and her sisters Patria, Maté and Dedé, siblings in an upper-class, well-cultured family in Salcedo, Dominicana Republica. The country was in turmoil for years under the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, who ruled the with an iron fist until his assassination in 1961.

The film, set in the 1950’s, presents the story of how Minerva, Patria and Maté dared to stand up against the dictator, with historical nods to the era including Trujillo’s gang “The 42” and SIM, the secret police led by tormentor Johnny Abbes. Minerva Mirabal is played by Michelle Rodriguez, with support from Luchy Estevez as Patria and Sharlene Taulé as Maté; Dedé Maribal plays herself in the present-day scenes.

Although the plot is slow to start, once it is in full swing with rebellion and dictatorship, Tropico de Sangre holds you firmly in its path of visuals: the stylish clothes of upper class Dominicans, a creepy portrayal of Trujillo (played by Juan Fernandéz, with ashy-grey skin at times) and sadly, the violent prison beatings, all relevant to the events that occurred. The film ends with several paragraphs including notes that Mirabal’s sister Dede maintains a museum today in memory of her sisters.

With my interest piqued from Tropico de Sangre, and the bravery of the Minerva sisters who risked their lives during Trujillo’s reign, the lush and historic Dominican Republic has definitely moved closer to the top of my Places to Visit list.

De Magica Llame Denio’s (The Magic Called Denio's)

Sacramento has been my home since 2007 and after 4 years, my friends could not believe I’d never been to Denio’s Farmer’s Market and Swap Meet. “Nunca?! Aye, Chica, eso es loca!” So on that prompt, I set aside a sabado to see what it was all about. Arriving around 11:00 am, the parking lot was nearly full and people were entering the gates in manageable droves. My first mission: food.

Giddy Up! Skeleton rides demon pony at Denio's

The Denio’s snack bars offer hot dogs, corn dogs and baseball-stadium nachos, but I was craving Mexican food (big surprise there). The first Jimboy’s Tacos resides just outside the gates to Denio’s: a nostalgic shack offering beef tacos (only) for (only) $1.70. With no variety and yo no come carne, the nearby Maron’s Mexican Restaurant served up a delicious chili relleno and icy Victoria cerveza: the perfect precursor to get my Denio’s Shop ON.

YUM Maron's knows how to cook Mexican perfectamente

It’s true what they say, Denio's has Something for Everyone, and it’s hard to know where to begin or how to end. I had a short list with me to which I tried to stick, but found myself instead constantly distracted by the randomness of items.

You KNOW you want to wear these to the club: Jar Boot's Aye, Hoy y Siempre

The Farmer’s Market section offered foods of all kinds, from dried beans and nuts weighed by the pound to exotic flowers, cacti and caged birds. I bought big, flat, green nopales and giggled like a kid over the tiny fruit. So cute!

Aw don't cry Baby Banana, he is here to take care of you now

The Short List:
Mexican flag bikini
Big tacky cocktail rings
Silver “Tito” name necklace
Virgen de Guadalupe blanket
Bienvenidos door mat

Sadly, I only found the cocktail rings but happily they were $1.00 each. Maravilloso! I was surprised no vendors had name necklaces: an abundance of dollar signs and crosses, but no “Tito” para mi. El sigh. I was told it’s too soon for bikinis but there would probably be a Corona one offered soon, to which I answered proudly, “Gracias, pero yo tengo una bikini de Corona.” Yep.

Many of my wonderful friends represented in one booth - ¡Hijole!

I saw one Virgen blanket made of highly-flammable poly-velour, it was fly,colorful and super tacky (in other words, perfect) but at $45, the Thriftana in me pressed on, in search of a Bienvenidos door mat... to be found… no where. (Pero, sí por uno momento, I contemplated the Chivas car mats...)

Chico con el pistole - yep, Denio's sells (fake) guns to kids. Bang!

My favorite part of shopping was the Mexican candy. Offered by the Fiesta y Pinata vendors, whose crepe-paper masterpieces swayed in the breeze overhead, I selected piece after piece of imported dulce, including Carlos V chocolates, several varieties of tamarind, assorted sweet-with-hot-chili-and-salt confections and chewy guava-mango bars. Eight dollars later, I was muy feliz.

mmm filling up the basket for the big sugar-induced haul home

As the afternoon progressed, a snack of coconut paleta and chilly Modelo helped, but I was disappointed no one at Denio’s offered Michoacana paletas and the Modelo was a can for $3.75. Regardless, it was fun to enjoy a frozen treat AND open beer while rummaging through brightly-colored bras and pajama sets (4 for $10, can’t beat it).

So confusing! Where do I start? And that's just the corn dogs

Around 3:15 pm you start noticing everyone closing up, packing their trailers and sweeping up around their stalls – closing time is at 3:30 sharp. Walking back to the parking lot, I found a brochure on how to Pray the Rosary and took it as a sign – “Ay Dios, gracias por el lugar de magica llame Denio’s”