La Tiendita (The Little Store)

It was not my first time. I had been to "las tienditas" before, but this time, being there made a more significant impact on me than before. Tienditas is slang for secret locations, or stores, typically located in dark, half-paved, dirt roads where addicts and leisure users go to purchase drugs. These secret stores are usually run out of old, abandoned homes, enough space for two to three drug dealers and their contraband merchandise.

One night as we approached la tiendita, I was a little surprised to find that the location was easily visible and set in the corner of what seemed like a normal residential area. The street light was on and I could easily distinguish what was happening in front of me. A person wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt and jeans walked away calmly from the car in front of us. He had just presumably sold something. The driver we were with slowly accelerated forward, turned the headlights off, and put the vehicle in park. The hooded man came to me because I was sitting in the front passenger side nearest him. I had no idea what to order so I turned to the driver and he blurted out, "Una paloma, primo." A paloma is slang for a small, square-shaped zip lock bag enough for three to five lines of cocaine. So far, this was not what made an impact on me. As the hooded man searched for the "right" tiny sized baggy, he and the passenger seated behind and to the left of me started having a conversation as if they were long friends. They started to joke about girls and laughed out loud.

By the way, I do not take drugs, but I obviously know people who do. Continuing on...

I was amazed. I started to ask myself, "Did this really happen? Are these guys actually having a conversation that one might have with a real, normal friend? Do the people I'm with really frequent these places like a normal loyal customer might frequent their favorite ice cream shop?" I kept quiet, of course. In my previous experience, I remember going in, paying, and leaving. No conversations took place. No one laughed. We went for what we needed to and left without saying more than what we needed to say. We placed our order, paid, and left.

Another surprising thing is that as we left our hooded "friend," less than half a block away, the homes situated there seemed legit and normal, but no lights seemed to be visible from within. I wondered whether normal families actually lived there. I don't remember seeing any cars parked in front, but its normal not to own a car in many towns in northern Mexico. I thought about how I would feel if I had no choice but to let individuals sell illicit merchandise half a block where my kids play during the day. I thought about what might happen if the home owners alerted police. I got a feeling that law enforcement may be aware of these illicit activities since these drug gangs feel comfortable enough to set up shop near potentially, inhabited homes.