Hi there,
Somehow, some way, The Desert Dispatch has turned one year old! As of this month, we’ve been publishing the Dispatch for an entire year.
In the beginning, this was a get-in-the-car-and-go newsletter. Week to week, we found surprising new ways to explore the character and characters of this wide region we serve – a trip to a gem and mineral show in Alpine, an excursion to see desert bats, an evening attempting to interview people on horseback at the rodeo, lunch at the Petroleum Club to dine as the oil titans do.
This newsletter is very much a community effort. For example, when dedicated Dispatch reader Joe Williams sent a text about a cattle crossing in Fort Davis:
“I thought it would make some unusually good photos. It might also be a disaster. Still great photos.”
“Might be a disaster” was too good to pass up. Carlos Morales and Mitch Borden got on the road and took some of the most unusually good photos we’ve ever seen.
Later, Lindsey Hauck followed a cat down the street. Travis Bubenik cruised the basements of Marfa. Sam Karas took us down the Rio Grande by boat. Christian Patry took us to work as a landman.
These are only some of the pieces we’ve published. And we want to publish many more - from you! We are accepting pitches, so send us your ideas for the Dispatch. Genre and subject matter are up to you. Our only requirement is that your submission have a sense of place, and particularly this place - Far West Texas, the Big Bend, the Chihuahuan Desert, the Permian Basin - however you define this region. Send in your pitch to dispatch@marfapublicradio.org. For inspiration, check out our archive here.
I’ve been away from the Dispatch for some time now, and that’s because I’ve been working on a new podcast for the station called The Last Resort. The podcast inspired by the way that we do the Desert Dispatch – exploring the phenomena, characters, and stories of this region.
Far West Texas sits somewhere on a spectrum of myth: out here, there really are the darkest of dark skies, cattle crossing the road, and sunsets that will knock you to the ground. But there’s also a way in which the idea of this place can sometimes drown out the real deal thing.
I’ve always thought of this as a new pattern. Something specific to this particular time and economy. But then, I started hearing about this story. The story of the Republic of Texas.
It happened in the ‘90s, way out in the Davis Mountains. A guy named Rick Mclaren moved to the Davis Mountains Resort - a secluded, private, and typically sleepy community outside Fort Davis - and attempted to create a new nation.
From his lean-to, which he deemed the "embassy," Rick recruited militia members from all over the country – and eventually went to war with the actual state of Texas.
This wasn’t just a West Texas story. It was national news. Suddenly, people across the country were tuning in to watch what was happening in this place that looked like a wild west movie set. It seems like even back in the ‘90s, the myths of the west were crashing into reality.
What was happening was, among many things: A couple was held hostage in their home. One man died. So did one dog. The Republic of Texas did not go gently, and the standoff left a permanent mark on the community.
Secessionist sentiment, anti-government militias, a fringe movement blossoming in a place where it feels like the sidewalk ends; these themes are still with us in culture and in politics today.
So I went up to the Davis Mountains Resort to talk to people about the myths we’re told and the myths we live in Far West Texas. It’s been wild.
Stay tuned for The Last Resort, coming this spring.
From our friends at Texas Standard
How have President Trump's executive orders affected you? Our partners in The Texas Newsroom and The California Newsroom, a consortium of public radio stations and nonprofit news outlets, want to hear from you. Wherever you live in Texas or California, we want to hear about how the recent actions and decisions by the president and his team have affected you and where you live. Click here to share your story.
Caló
This month, Caló is focusing on some Spanglish terms that have entered the Caló lexicon. Like all languages—maybe even moreso, Caló adapts to the times and takes in words that circulate around it and fits them into its internal logic and aesthetic. Some of these words have become so ubiquitous and ingrained that people come to think of them as Caló words. Of course, Caló is neither Spanish nor English, nor any other language for that matter, but it’s flexible enough that it easily takes in new words without causing much disruption or imbalance to its integrity. I’m sure that, when listeners hear the words, they’ll quickly agree they fit in Caló perfectly.
For this week, the word is chiriár. It’s a verb that means to cheat. In the logic of Caló, the verb always attaches to the person who cheats, the chirión, and there’s no chiriada nor chiriadero, that is, the subjective version of the term.
Caló is a borderland dialect. You can read and listen to more episodes here.
PSAs
See Stop Run West Texas, a survey exhibition of artwork by Christopher Wool, will be open to the public for a preview of the show from Friday, April 4th through Sunday, April 6th at the Brite Building located at 109 Highland Street in Marfa.
Open hours will be from Noon to 6pm.
For more information and to see images of the artist’s work, click HERE.
