Gerie Bledsoe article in SM's Atencion

Entering the Pan Am
By Gerie Bledsoe


The same entry fee applies to the three unofficial levels of participation in the Pan Am. First, a crew may participate at the “tourist” level.

They buy an old car (1965 or older), add some required safety features and come down to cruise the route just to have fun. It’s the “no pressure” approach. Finishing this test of car and driver, even at this level, is a significant accomplishment. It is, of course, the best way to learn about the event.

The second level, “competition,” requires investing more in a car and running it hard. These competitors may not expect to finish first in class, but they intend to extract the most from the car—while being safe. Even at this level, an impressive finish is possible.

A significant minority of participants moves eventually to the third level, “champion” or full competition. They will spend inordinate amounts, up to US$175,000 on a thoroughly prepared vintage hot rod in an effort to finish first in class or high in the overall standings. The stress and expense involved in this approach to the Pan Am should be obvious. These cars will reach 200 mph and are built to last. Reliability is an important factor in this long endurance race.


No one will ask the specific level of participation a crew intends to pursue, but the “tourist” level teams seem to be smiling more often.

Few drivers have won their class or finished high in the overall standing during their first year. Some get hooked on the race and return for several years in an effort to win.

Rookies should come to this event the first time expecting to learn about the problems of endurance racing at high altitude in a vintage car. They should take the time to appreciate the magnitude of the overall experience, as the learning curve is as steep as the road up Mil Cumbres outside Morelia.

Pan Am expenses vary greatly from entrant to entrant. Preparing a vintage car, traveling to Mexico and back, and the entry fee are the basic expense categories. Some make it on US$10,000, while others spend a small fortune. The entry fee set by the organizers of the race covers the expense of staging the race over 2,000 miles. It also includes one room for eight nights in first-class hotels, plus a number of receptions, fiestas and souvenirs.

San Miguel and Master Chefs Ready To Honor Coyote Convoy

Good friend Mary Murrell from San Miguel de Allende has a great writeup in the current edition of ATTENCION SAN MIGUEL which is the local paper in San Miguel. Not only is it a great article but it talks in detail about the gala celebration as well as the sophisticated, world class cuisine that is being prepared by master chefs just for the occasion.

By Mary Murrell September 26, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Panamericana Gala
Concurso de Motorsports weekend
Sat, Oct 18, 7pm
Hotel Refugio del Molino
Salida Real a Querétaro 1
US$150



An important part of the Concurso de Motorsports is the arrival of the convoy of cars and drivers who visit San Miguel on their way to start the Carrera Panamericana Mexican road race.

The Panamericana Gala will be a tribute to the Carrera racing teams and racing legends in Mexico, and it will be an example of the importance of community collaboration in San Miguel. Where else would one find experienced chefs willing to create an outstanding evening, not as individual stars, but as part of a team of stars?

The gala showcases how healthy food can be delicious, especially in Mexico. Why? Because original Mexican cuisine, one of the most sophisticated in the world, is a delightful and delicate blend that tastes good is also good for us.

Kirsten West, who has 35 years of experience in designing and producing extraordinary meals, is a key member of the team. The ancient culture and cuisine of Mexico has been a focus for her during the past 20 years. After studying in Michoacán with Diana Kennedy—one of the world’s top scholars of Mexican cuisine—West worked as her assistant. Together they shot 26 shows on Mexican cuisine for the Discovery Channel.

She has also worked with Rick Bayless, America’s foremost authority on Mexican cuisine. Bayless and his wife, Deann, own the highly acclaimed Mexican restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago. West acted as a recipe researcher and kitchen director for his PBS show Mexico, One Plate at a Time. She also worked on his companion cookbook of the same name, winner of the James Beard Foundation award (foodie “Oscars”) for 2001 in the international category.

West is now the managing director of Rancho Casa Luna Culinary and Organic Garden Event Center (www.casaluna.com). Rancho Casa Luna has a large organic garden, state-of-the-art kitchen facilities for cooking classes and beautiful dining spaces for large groups. Conceived as a way for visitors to better understand the culture and cuisine of Mexico, Rancho Casa Luna is located in the countryside very close to town.

Another experienced chef and caterer, Fernando Padilla, is contributing his extensive knowledge of the finest-quality local ingredients and his skills in cooking for very large events. Padilla is from a family of chefs and learned the importance of memorable meals from his grandmother, who ran a successful catering business in Mexico City.

Padilla has worked in France, Belgium and Israel to learn other cuisines and is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He directed the Lando Grille in Mexico City, selected by Condé Nast Traveler magazine to join their list of top new restaurants. Now he lives full-time in San Miguel, teaches cooking classes at Sazón and runs his catering business, Chef y Más (www.fpgourmet.com). He also produces a line of natural gourmet products sold across Mexico.



Together the two chefs have created a menu for the Panamericana Gala reflecting what original Mexican cuisine is all about: healthy eating.

As West pointed out, “Whenever I made this statement, with conviction, in teaching classes about Mexican cuisine, my students gave me this incredulous look of disbelief. They thought of Mexican food as combo plates served smothered with blankets of melted cheese.”

She says, “The gala dinner includes many indigenous foods but, mind you, healthy is not boring. It is fabulous and tasty. It is not covered with cheese or too spicy for sensitive palates. Come and indulge.”

European influences of chicken, beef and nuts will be paired with the foods of pre-Hispanic Mexico—squash, chile, potatoes, corn, herbs and tomatoes. The finale will be a unique Carrera dessert—fruit from Mexico and the glorious crown of global enrichment from the New World: chocolate.

This memorable meal also includes verdolago, a plant seen in the local markets quite often. Many of us have no idea what it is or what to do with it. “The plant has both European and ancient Latin American origins, a global weed so to speak,” West pointed out. “It is the latest new miracle food besides the nopal, with more omega-3 fats than most fish. We are getting closer to healthy Mexican food, without sacrificing flavor.”




Hotel Refugio del Molino, only nine blocks from the Jardín, hosts the Panamericana Gala. It promises to be an exceptional evening. In addition to the wonderful meal, the winners of the Concurso de Margaritas in July—Hecho en Mexico and Dila’s Restaurant—provide their traditional and exotic margaritas.

An exhibition of rare automobiles from private collections will be open only to gala guests.

Most of the gala ticket price goes to two outstanding nonprofit organizations, CASA and Casita Linda. You can reserve tickets over the internet at gala@concursosanmiguel.org or order tickets and pay by credit card at www.casa.org.mx.

Visit www.concursosanmiguel.org for more information about Concurso de Motor Sports.



Concurso de Motor Sports Panmericano Schedule

A weekend of classic cars, vintage motorcycles and motor sports entertainment



Fri, Oct 17, Carrera de Pokers, a “poker rally”

Drivers pick up cards from five locations around San Miguel, Dolores Hidalgo and Guanajuato, lunch, then return to lay down their hands. Highest and lowest poker hands win prizes.

US$20 registration



Sat, Oct 18, Panamericana Gala

Homage to legendary driver Hershel McGriff, the first driver to win La Carrera Panamericana

Hotel Refugio del Molino

“The Coyote Convoy” arrives in San Miguel



Sun, Oct 19, Exhibit of racing cars

Jardín




October 24, Carrera cars race back to the Texas border, via Querétaro on
October 26 and San Luis Potosí on

October 27. The race also visits Aguascalientes and Zacatecas before ending in Nuevo Laredo on October 30.

Mary Murrell is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Concurso de Motor Sports and a CASA volunteer.

Don't forget.. You Are Their Guest

Taking part in La Carrera Panamericana is always exciting and life changing in so many ways. I guarantee you can't possibly come home from it not having changed your life in some special way. Part of the whole experience is the welcome you will receive and it last from the second you set foot there until the day you return back across the border. It takes some months before they want to remove their "Piloto" or "Co-Piloto" identification badges off.

Something you almost ever hear about or see is any problems the locals have as you drive through their country for 7 whole days. You will not hear any complaining. You won't see anyone complaining about other nationalities but what you will see is hundreds of thousands of smiles and hand wanting to be shacked. All this seems to erase any concerns you may have about political unrest that may be taking place there and why not... The entire country makes you feel like a national celebrity is sorts. IN fact you will be.

At the same time, keep an open mind to what is happening around you and stay on your toes because as much as you won't usually see or hear about it, even Mexico has it's problems. In 2007 Jon and I were driving around in Lucky the GT350, and we came upon a huge political altercation with hundreds of protesters in what was quickly escalating into a violent street riot of sorts. Jon hung on as I ran through a road off road block lined with angry protesters just to get to where we needed to go. In retrospect, we were extremely fortunate to get out of there un-injured.

This week in Morelia which is one of the most beautiful colonial cities that we stayed at during last years La Carrera Panamericana there was a terrible act of violence and exactly the sort of unexpected event that could be devastating to such an event as La Carrera Panamericana. I have to say, when I heard there would no longer be a race through the famous Mil Cumbres and no stay in Morelia I was broken hearted. But now it seems as if it just may have been an unexpected blessing considering.

So to anyone who is taking part in La Carrera Panamericana... Always stay alert. Stay with the rest of the group and don't stray and most important of all... Keep in mind you are in THEIR country and respect everyone.


BREAKING NEWS

Attack in Morelia sends shockwaves through the republic
By Atención staff

Mexico’s traditional independence celebrations were shattered when suspected drug cartel gunmen threw two grenades into a crowd of 18,000 patriotic onlookers in Morelia, the state capital of neighboring Michoacán. Eight spectators were killed and 132 injured.

Just as Michoacán’s governor, Leonel Godoy Rangel, concluded his speech on the evening of September 15, a grenade exploded just 50 meters from the governor’s entourage and another a few blocks from the governor’s mansion. The explosions occurred just as the crowd joined in the cry “Viva México!” and bells rang in celebration of 198 years of Mexican independence from Spanish rule. Hundreds of soldiers and police evacuated the area immediately and paramedics treated the injured. Eyewitnesses described a robust man dressed in black as the instigator.

The traditional military parade held every September 16 was cancelled. Governor Godoy announced on national television that the attack was committed by members of organized crime.

In his traditional Independence Day speech, President Felipe Calderón pledged that the government’s resolve to confront the drug cartels is “firm and unbreakable” and he called for national unity in this “critical hour.” Calderón, who has already sent thousands of soldiers to the state, said the attack demands an immediate response by the armed forces. He also appeared on national TV to ask that Mexicans help in any way possible to combat crime and provide any information they have linked to the attack. The president visited Morelia on September 17 to assess the situation and the aftermath of the attack.

In 2006, President Calderón launched his anti-crime crusade from his hometown of Morelia. Since then the country has witnessed escalating violence, including kidnappings, murders and battles between gangland bosses. Only a few days after tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Mexico City in protest against the wave of violence in Mexico, 24 bodies that had been shot execution-style were discovered outside the capital.


CREDIT: Atención San Miguel Newspaper