Saints, sinners and Marilyn Monroe

Posted Monday, May 28, 2007, 4:58 PM by Lonely Planet

Española in New Mexico is a decent little place - surely no one's idea of purgatory. On the main road through town, a flashing neon sign alternates from grinning white angel to a sizzling red smirking devil.



The Saints and Sinners liquor store has been idling on this stretch of the Taos highway since 1963, its flaking pitchfork-mounted beacon luring customers of both persuasions. Inside, locals help themselves to drinks and linger at a lone wooden table by the door. In a little taste of heaven, all bar tabs are paid on the honour system.



Back on the border with Mexico, Marilyn Monroe may be dead, but she's taking up a heck of a lot of space in Douglas, Arizona. At the Grand Cafe, the iconic blonde still pouts and poses, posthumously snapping up the entire wall surface in the Mexican restaurant's dining room. A previous owner began collecting the images, but her successors and various employees have continued to add to the collection, which now clocks in at more than 200 sultry photos. Glossy movie stills and French-language movie posters jostle for attention above diners and then spill down through the back hallway. The best detail? The men's restroom is for 'Gentlemen'.

Beth Kohn is cruising through the Southwest States researching the USA guidebook. Next stop Roswell... Now's your chance to ask her if she spotted any flying saucers.

Labels: The Americas

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