Dear Mexican: Whenever I see the television show COPS, the white folks pull over and hope no one searches anything where there are at least three syringes, one crack pipe and enough pills to make CVS Pharmacy look like a corner drugstore. The black folks are being pulled over for…
This missive about Balls! recently arrived from a Denver native and frequent bold name: I read your column about Denver. Granted the tourism office’s efforts are an easy target, but boy, you are starting to sound like Gene Amole! Although a hipper, more in-tune Gene Amole, but just as cranky…
Last month, the Colorado Tourism Office offered a taste of this state to New Yorkers in the form of “Colorado High Altitude Concrete,” made by the distinctly un-Coloradan Danny Meyer. Anyone hungry for more was referred to a website that touts our fine cuisine of rattler cakes and Rocky Mountain…
Can we talk? The Colorado Tourism Office still has some work to do. A few minutes ago, Fox News offered a distinctly unfair view of Colorado skiing. Specifically, that all Colorado ski areas are now closed, which was too bad, said the distinctly blonde anchor (who last week mispronounced “groin”),…
Dear Mexican: Consider the similarities between my people, the Celtic Scots, and yours, the Hispanic Mexicans. For centuries, we, too, tried to hold out against our larger and more powerful neighbor. The big difference is that eventually we realized that being uneducated barbarians was no way to beat the English,…
After thirty years, Taqueria Patzcuaro is finally adding a patio to the side of its building at 2616 West 32nd Avenue. The duplex that was there has been cleared away, and the restaurant’s owners hope to have an outdoor dining area in place by June. And not a moment too…
I haven’t eaten at Annie’s Cafe in years. But I still have fond memories of the great gringo green chile that was the perfect way to celebrate the end of yet another all-nighter getting Westword out the door. For that matter, I haven’t eaten at Goodfriends in years — although…
Exactly four months from now, the Democratic National Convention comes to town. Colorado’s not ready for its close-up. That became all too apparent on April 11, when the Colorado Tourism Office turned New York City’s Madison Square Park into Colorado for the day, under the chirpy order “Let’s Talk the…
“Hear that voice? That’s Danelle.” The ponytailed man was so excited to have his favorite anchorwoman bossing him around on the DIA train, it seemed a shame to correct him. But once I start talking — and correcting — Colorado, I can’t stop. “Adele Arakawa,” I said. “Yeah, that’s Danelle,”…
Dear Mexican: Lately I’ve been hearing how punks and metalheads in Mexico are trying to beat up emos because it’s been said that emos make Mexican culture look bad. As a metalhead, I support this, because I don’t see the point in being emo since they are very sensitive and…
Somewhere, Elbra Wedgeworth is smiling. To be precise, the former Denver city councilwoman is smiling down from her portrait on the third floor of the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library at 24th and Welton streets. Because fortune — hard-earned fortune — is finally smiling on this spot. On Tuesday, the…
What does Colorado look like to you? To American Airlines passengers stuck at Denver International Airport last week, it must have looked like the back of that fleece the guy ahead of them in line was wearing. That, and endless fast-food meals and frustration. Too bad the FAA couldn’t wait…
Dear Mexican: Our customer-service department uses a phone-tree system that asks callers to press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, and a few other numbers for commonly spoken languages in our area. I handle customer complaints as part of my job, and I get a surprising number of complaints from…
Dear Mexican: On my desk is a levy from the Internal Revenue Service for over $12,000 in unpaid taxes. Turns out some dude used my Social Security number for two years in Albuquerque and didn’t bother to pay taxes. It’s taken me plenty in time and attorney’s fees to figure…
The University of Colorado just got an F in music appreciation. Next week, the dean of the College of Arts & Media at CU Denver will lead a tour of CAM’s classrooms. “As the first college in Colorado devoted entirely to arts and entertainment,” the school’s announcement boasts, “CAM combines…
This is the second week in the federal trial of Cory Voorhis, the immigration agent accused of accessing the National Crime Information Center database and leaking information that wound up used in an anti-Bill Ritter ad back in October 2006, one of two involving Ritter’s dealings with illegal immigrants when…
Here’s my favorite story about the Mexico City Lounge — a great neighborhood joint that was in the ballpark neighborhood long before Coors Field ever entered the picture. Back in the days when Denver having a Major League Team was just a pipe dream, Pete Coors was having lunch with…
Dear Mexican: Why are indigenous peoples from north of the Rio Grande called redskins and those from south of it called brown-skinned?El Hijo del Paleface Dear Gabacho: “Redskin” dates back to the sixteenth century, but its etymology is still being debated. Some historians say it’s a reference to scalping, others…
Bad enough that Colorado actually paid money for an awful, out-of-date tourism campaign that sounds like an old Joan Rivers shtick: Let’s Talk Colorado. But can we talk about what that campaign’s sending out to would-be tourists? Today an e-mail newsletter arrived from the Colorado Tourism Office, with handy links…
Dear Mexican: I’m a gay man in his mid-thirties who has always loved Mexican men. And this question is not only from my experience, but also that of friends: Why is it that Mexican men are so flaky? They seem the top offending ethnicity in this. And by flaky, I…
Last week the Colorado Legislature shot down a proposed economic subsidy for filmmakers — despite the impassioned testimony of John Ashton, aka Sergeant Taggart of Beverly Hills Cop — which gives you a pretty good idea of the B-list star power of the state’s current film scene. But late last…
Denver has a lot to do to get ready for the Democratic National Convention, including fixes both large and small that could help this city put its best foot forward. First up: Going public with the fact that the anonymous voice that started sounding off on DIA trains last summer…
