Taco Asado UP!

Hanging the artwork at Taco Asado

My May 17^th post was about my creating two weavings for an art show to be hung at one of our favorite restaurants in Palm Springs: Taco Asado. The show is titled “Los Amigos de el Taco Asado” For those who don’t speak Spanish, it translates as “The Friends of Taco Asado”

We hung the show last night.

I’d asked many of my Spanish speaking friends what “Asado” translates as in English. Most told me “barbecued’ or “roasted.” I looked it up.

Asado [ah-sah’-do, dah]

adjective

1. Roasted; dressed.

· Asado a la parrilla -> broiled; grilled

2. Cross, angry. (Ante Meridian & Latin American) (m)

3. To be broke. (Caribbean) (m)

I loved the three different definitions! Roasted, Dressed. Cross, Angry, To be Broke. My pieces for the show are titled “Serape Asado Uno” and “Serape Asado Dos”

Then I looked up Serape:

Serape [say-ra'-pay]

noun

1. A narrow blanket, worn by men, or thrown over the saddle. (Mexico) (m)

Again, I liked the translation: narrow blanket, or saddle blanket.

I suppose one could translate “Serape Serape Uno” as First Poor Little Blanket” and “Second Poor Little Blanket”. I’ve taken linguistic liberties, of course.

And, as I think about it, living in Palm Springs one would indeed roast if one wore a blanket in this heat.

Now, I have no idea what this all has to do with Taco Asado other than we hung our “Los Amigos do el Taco Asado” show the other night and our nondescript, no nonsense, no frills, little restaurant now looks like an art gallery. Tony and his staff had taken down the usual decorations and we walked into a room with pristine walls. It was our blank canvas to cover with over 17 works of art.

After yet another wonderful meal at Taco Asado, we hung our show. We did wait until all but one family had completed their meal. We kept their 4 children entertained while the parents ate. They were a rambunctious bunch! I think Mom & Dad were enjoying seeing the artwork as it went onto the walls: the children watched our every move. OK, perhaps they were just overly confused and suspicious of these Gringos redecorating their favorite restaurant.

And we had a good time. We finished our work, cleaned up our mess and stepped back to survey our work. The restaurant was transformed! We’re going back to night for dinner in the Taco Asado Gallery.

If you are in Palm Springs or the Coachella Valley, stop in at Taco Asado (440 S. El Cielo, Palm Springs). Come see what Los Amigos de el Taco Asado have “cooked up” for you to enjoy while you dine in this gallery. The food is outstanding, too! I recommend the ceviche.

All of the artwork on display is available for purchase from the individual artists. The artwork will be on display throughout the month of June.