Austin American-Statesman – Tobin Levy – Jun 24, 2009
Sandlot baseball requires a certain amount of trash talk, and there was plenty of it at Parque Zaragoza earlier this month.
Austin’s Texas Playboys were facing off against their favorite Texas rival: Marfa’s Los Yonke Gallos. But despite the brash talk during the afternoon double-header, the competitors were chatting in the other side’s dugout and the fans seemed to be cheering for both teams at once.
In fact, the amity seen at the East Austin baseball diamond reflects a larger camaraderie between the two communities, the effect of Austin’s ongoing love affair with the tiny West Texas town of Marfa.
Take Austin architect Jack Sanders, the founder and captain of the Playboys. He’s currently project manager of Marfa’s El Cosmico, which is “part yurt and hammock hotel, part residential living, part art-house, greenhouse and amphitheater” and is the latest project of Liz Lambert, who was the creative force behind the Hotel San Jose and Jo’s coffee house on South Congress Avenue and Hotel Saint Cecilia just off South Congress Avenue.
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