Solidarity. You very rarely see, feel, or understand that word when it comes to social events on the weekend, at least in it’s truest sense. Yet, Monday September 26, 2016, indeed despite being the biggest Presidential Debate disappointment I have ever seen, and perhaps true to the Saturday Night Live’s call of being the biggest joke,

in a larger scenario, it was no laughing matter.

As the days unfold, we STILL have bouts of leaked garbage from both candidates, Hilary’s leaking of her true feeling of Bernie and supporters,

as well as Trump’s plan to address the issue of Bill Clinton’s infedlity as well as his lack of disclosure when it has come to financial transactions (or the lack of), and more

really, one begins to realize before the debates, but exemplified through them, that this has become less of a country-character test and more of a circus put on by various political parties. Even with a declared winner, the disgust at a government flawed and producing even two more flawed products is a dismal look forward indeed.

As I am already stating the same obvious pattern and rhetoric we witnessed at the first presidential debate, one thing would not have been clear unless you were at Pinche Gringo on September 26^th.

In arriving at Pinche Gringo at 7:40ish, a truly amazing site greeted you. Reporters from all over the world, reporters like Carrie Kahn, local business owners like Lucky Dog’s  Cynthia Kaplan, Democrats Abroad volunteers (and yes, they are gracious enough to repeatedly emphasize the fact that they support ANY party as long as you are voting) and to top it off, afterwards a three individual panel that broke down the disappointments and those meanings to everyone at large, ALL of THIS – amid of course a heaping plate of food that carried everyone through the night (or was it the SALUD! every time Trump mentioned the word Mexico?) – one thing begins to dawn on you.

The election, as disappointing as it is with the newest revelations of cheap gossip and bad tabloids that bring itself to our doorstep every day, one thing still remains. The power that lies in the numbers, each of us standing together, whether from the United States, Mexico, Latin American, South American the multitudes that were around all of us and experiencing this loss, this heartbreak, and the disappointment we witnessed, it mattered and it helped us smile, weather through this three ring event, and it mattered.

When a restaurant, or any public institution, puts forth the effort to create a public space and make it a meeting place of ideas, no matter what ideas they are, and to give everyone a chance for their opinions to be voiced, heard, and reflected upon, you can actually rise about the turkeys and yes, feel like an eagle. Pinche Gringo served as a forum for so many people of various backgrounds, political arenas, and diverse voices, they made it possible to get through one of the ugliest debates ever, thanks to the commiserating people that surrounded us.

The days following the debate, yes, it is as if returning from camp where no one truly understands how you felt at that high around so many – there is just this buzz of the moment when you come back to the dirty, ugly reality of wading through so much garbage. The obvious disappointments still hung in the air –

-Hilary succumbed to Trump’s calling out on issues that has nothing to do with the future of this country.

-When Hillary could have gone high she remained low, sucked into a vaccuum of addressing Trump’s bait and hook, wasting valuable time that could have been redirected.

-Trump indeed calling on Hilary’s discrepancies and lack of motivation to move forward in so many years and yet, Trump’s holier than thou “I did this, I received this endorsement, I did, this, I did this…” after awhile the noise resembles the Charlie Brown teacher we had witnessed for so many years.

The silver lining is the realization, that the future, and the pressure that is put on whatever comical candidate is elected, the power resides in each of us. The future, whatever it holds, remains a long one for the public to not stop at getting their voice out, but for pushing that candidate, and pushing that candidate HARD towards a better future, as we see what the candidates are “able” to do on their own. It seems it is very true that hardly any matter relies on the correct candidate, as there does not seem to be one. However, there does remain the conviction to move the country in the right direction, but so many people that we witnessed surrounding us that first debate evening.

It is a gift of enormous proportion to have an institution at Pinche Gringo provide the opportunity to have such a large number of individuals to air these disappointments and find solace in the power of numbers in each of us. Despite the continuing controversies, secrets, discoveries worthy of the worst soap opera, within each other we continue to find the hope and strength to support each other in the very long road that lies in front of us despite which candidate (still difficult to say President for either candidate) is chosen.

The biggest disappointment is each of us, here internationally and those domestically, being represented as Americans at the mercy of those that do not reflect the true values of a United States that respects others, has tried to do better and walk away from the disastrous havoc from past mistakes, and become a better nation thanks to nations around us.  Again, the opportunity to vent these frustrations, the opportunity to point to any hope of restoring the better values of being a UNITED STATES with the support of so many from outside the United States, seemed a much better possibility thanks to the chance to be around so many voices of varying backgrounds. Thank you Pinche Gringo for offering whatever possible bright spot that could come out of a futile and hopeless debate. You did good, way good!