From the December 2008 issue of the Ester Republic.

A few Sundays back I attended one of the four or five farmers’ markets that serve the Tucson area. I was struck by the appearance of vegetable starts on many vendors’ tables, in November! I did not notice the strangeness of this right away; at first I merely browsed through the tomatoes, squash, peppers, and eggplant—all varieties that one might expect in the Southwest—and lamented not having a garden of my own to tend during this sabbatical. It was not until later, when I saw a sign advertising special pricing on pre-order lamb for Thanksgiving, that the right side of my brain turned on and alerted me to the incongruity. People grow their gardens here in winter! How fascinating, how different, how beautiful!

(more…)

From the November 2008 issue of the Ester Republic.

Walking across the border from San Luis, Sonora, Mexico into San Luis, Arizona, United States, returning from my last trip to La Cienega de Santa Clara, I noticed a sign that read “No Transport of Agricultural Products.” I tried to take a picture, but apparently no photos are allowed of the border crossing—breech of national security. That the border agent asked me nothing about myself other than whether or not I had any agricultural products on ‘my person’ apparently wasn’t a breech of national security, however. As he asked me this I thought back to the miles of agricultural fields that line both sides of the main road that runs south from San Luis to the Gulf of Santa Clara, at the top of the Sea of Cortez. Fields as full of onions and maize and lettuce as they are of hard workers, workers who leave their homes as early as 2 AM for the chance of work. I looked past the custom’s agent and through the glass wall behind him, into a waiting room full of men and women applying for work papers that would most likely be denied. Apparently ‘No Transport of Agricultural Products’ should be taken to mean agricultural workers too.

(more…)