New York Times, Monday, March 15, 2021

This crossword would not exist if it weren't for my coworker Tim, who taught me about the intricacies of the Mexican flag. I forgot why we were even talking about it to begin with... probably nerding out about "Jeopardy!" as we often did at the office. I was aware of the eagle but never noticed the snake before, which I thought was pretty cool.

I'm a civil engineer at the NYC Department of Transportation. I work in the Geometric Design unit, which in itself feels like a giant puzzle. Pedestrians, bikes, vehicles... they all compete for the same limited space, so we need to get creative with our designs to safely accommodate everyone.

It makes me happy to see others get joy out of my work. In addition to constructing crosswords for fun, I design my own "escape room" puzzles. I would lock my friends and family in my apartment and see if they can get out. I don't have fancy video equipment to spy on them from the outside, so I'm in there moderating. My most recent escape room was pretty well-received (it's Pokémon-themed)!

When I told my friends that my puzzle would debut on March 15, a few of them jokingly commented, "beware the Ides of March"... Let's hope I can make this day lucky for me. One puzzle in the Times is a good place to start.

Happy Benito Juárez Day! "Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz — Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace." ― Benito Juárez

What do GOLDEN EAGLE, RATTLESNAKE, and PRICKLY PEAR have in common? They're all on the MEXICAN FLAG? What a delightful discovery! This is an instance where I'm ecstatic to be stumped at "Name That Theme." Now that's an A+ a-ha moment.

All four themers being exactly 11 letters, how fortuitous! Perhaps Crucivera, the Greek goddess of crosswords, has a Latin(a) counterpart.

I appreciated the other touches echoing the MEXICAN FLAG, too: PINATAS — with an awesome misdirection clue, [They get smashed at parties] — and SIESTA. It's rarely easy to work in mid-length material that reinforces theme without muddying it up. Philip's efforts here are a big success.

I did hesitate before giving this the POW!, since AWN and ALEE are entries called out on editors' spec sheets. They're the glue types that I often hear newer solvers complain about, giving them a reason to ditch the crossword and do something else.

I'd also have liked fewer 3-letter words — Rich Norris over at the LAT rarely allows constructors to go over 20 since these shorties can make a solve feel choppy. I'd have asked if Philip could take out the block between AWN and ERE while upping the smoothness factor. I'm not 100% sure it's possible, especially without losing the color of BOHEMIA and BASE HITS, but it'd be worth the effort.

Memorable debut!