I'm finally reporting back after a rather long absence. I keep filing material into my newsletter folder that I want to share with you, but getting around to it gets harder and harder as we steer into the waves of uncertainty . Although we are not all exactly in the same boat, we are definitely all holding on as best as we can on every front: financially, emotionally, intellectually and physically. Those in the hospitality industry are feeling as if the joke is on them. Their resilience and creativity is formidable. I am in this industry, but fortunately my shop is very small, I only have one employee, and getting creative to stay afloat has been my modus operandi for a long time. To get a better picture of how dire the situation is and what San Francisco restaurateurs and bar owners are enduring, I highly recommend that you read Marcia Gagliardi's e-column "This week's tablehopper: red alert". Marcia's assessments are intelligent, compassionate, fair, responsible and unbiased. Yes, we have to do everything in our power to control this pandemic, no question about it, but still, Dios mio what a price to pay.

On a different note, I have good news! My weekly event "Off the Beaten Track at 16th & Capp" was nominated by The Bold Italic 2020 Awards under the category: "Most Creative Dining Experience in San Francisco". The nomination is shared with Slate Bar. This recognition would not be possible without the long list of talented musicians that performed, for the past twenty-two weeks, at this event. I will thank each one later in this newsletter for giving us all a little break from the gloom. My goal now is to find a sponsor and/or grant to finance this production and pay the musicians a stipend once we can get back to serving at the parklets. Following is the link to vote (no passwords): The Bold Italic's 2020 Awards. ¡Muchas gracias!

Please enjoy the holidays and valor y fuerza,

Paula Tejeda

Chile Lindo

You can checkout the fabulous bands at my YouTube channel

The Pepe Jacobo, Eugene Pliner and Rob Bassinette; La Mandanga’s Alberto Gutierrez, Javi Jiménez,, Luis Jiménez and Jacob Savage; the Industrial Ragtime Band Parlor Tricks; Sunset Piano's Mauro Ffortissimo and Anthony Ty; Hipsteria's "Tender" Tim Shea, Danny Brown and Caroline Chung; and Blonde Toledo's Connie Walkershaw, Joe Chavez, Andy Charmatz, Rick Kennan, Jesse Walkershaw. Renditions by Sharman Duran, Salvador Aguilera, Mike Brown, Liza Silva, Ray Scott, Paul Smith. Angela LaFlamme's show lineup featured her band MegaFlame and Banks Street Bohemian’s with guest artists Allison Lovejoy, Momos Cheeskos and Prince Exist & The Discordia Game Show. Caroline Chung featured C’asti, Andrew McKenzie and Jordan Davis. Ollie Dudek featured Danny Brown and Vincent De Jesus. Rado Randriamamonjy Rado & Rufus Funk Trio featured Maurice Miles, John Bartlett and Brian Hill. Rado Randriamamonjy returned with John Villalobos and Fabio M Reis. Dos Bandoleros featured Alberto Gutierrez and Raul Vargas. The Mission’s All-Stars Ricky Aguilar's Quartet Afro Nativo Latin Jazz joined by Eduardo Corzo, Kai Lyons and Sergio Duran. Finally, last but not least, on Friday, September 18th, for Chilean Independence Day we celebrated the independence of numerous Central American countries, Mexico and Brazil with Banda Sin Nombre featuring Hannah Gallagher, Kate Goldstein, Eva Mas Silberstein, J Ángel Rodriguez and Sean Fenton.

Chile Lindo Empanadas