24. Coyame del Sotol

They encountered few vehicles on the road to Coyame. The winding road and the rapid succession of vistas animated ride, but Lilo’s silence and the lack of a radio or music box of any kind in the cab made for a monotonous experience. Then they came out of a curve and onto a short straightaway on the road that rapidly thrust them into the village. A stone carving featuring a spiky dasylirion announced that they were entering Coyame del Sotol. The road skirted most of the settlement on its east side, with few structures to the right of the Kodiak. The most prominent point on the road was, however, a large store and restaurant. When Ervey and Lilo arrived that Monday, there were a large number of vehicles parked in front, so many that they seemed out of proportion for the tiny village. 

“This is it?” asked Ervey, “I’d say there are fewer than a thousand people living here.”

Lilo noded.

“And they’re all here at the same time eating or buying groceries,” Ervey added.

“No, these are all travelers going or coming to Ojinaga,” said Lilo, “you can tell because they’re city cars.”

“So why’s it called Coyame?” asked Ervey.

“They say there used to be a local Indian chief by that name,” said Lilo.

“And the sotol?” asked Ervey.

“That’s new. It’s related to the mescal that’s traditionally distilled here,” said Lilo, “very popular these days with the people from this region who have gone live in the US.”s 

“So these are the people who started the Revolución,” said Ervey.

“Not these people. They were Porfiristas. The people down that road were the renegades,” Lilo said pointing to a road leading west.

“Cuchillo Parado?” said Ervey.

“Sí, Cuchillo Parado,” confirmed Lilo.

“My father-in-law’s from there,” said Ervey, “my wife says that they were the force behind Pancho Villa.”

“They help start what later came to be known as the División del Norte,” said Lilo, stopping the Kodiak in front of the restaurant.

“Ferocious people, no?” said Ervey.

“Brave,” said Lilo, cutting off the engine, “but for ferocious, El Mulato.”

Before Ervey could respond, Lilo made ‘let’s eat’ motion by gathering his fingers and pointing them toward his mouth.