In Mexico, the more that things change...
There is a saying "the more things change, the more they remain the same." This saying, is of course, subject to debate. But I admit to always finding myself contemplating this expression every time I return to Mexico.
I always have my ear to the ground about Mexico. I listen to every comment that is made on newscasts, on the internet, by friends or total strangers. I try to hold the abundant information lightly in my mind, waiting for the chance to pass it through the filter of personal experience. This process involves trying to "accept" information without totally accepting it and alternately, "disregarding" information without completely ignoring it. Then somehow arriving at some kind of strategy to handle new and foreign experiences.
If your home-town or city could be rated on a familiarity scale from 1-10, it would measure a 10. You live there and you know most things about it. The next town or city to you, might register, say an 8, especially if you visit there often. A new place in Mexico will measure a distinct 1! In preparation for visiting Mexico again, I glean information by whatever means possible, a kind of quest for "knowing" before the "going".
Take using the telephone for example. This is a very ordinary past-time at home. On two previous long road trips with my family around rural Mexico, I had discovered that telephone calling was in the realm of "foreign". First, there was the actual finding of a telephone in a village. This often necessitated the driving of every rutted, pot-holed street. Every neck would be craned for the "larga distancia" sign (long distance telephone). Once the elusive sign was located, I would enter a tienda, or an office or a room where the purely Spanish speaking attendant would attempt to help me to make a telephone call. Much time, effort and sometimes expense later, crackling phone lines resulted or even-horrors----a busy signal! This could mean a long trip back to the campsite and a return trip the following day. Perhaps only to meet with similar results.
For those of you with businesses, calling cards and fluent Spanish, these experiences may sound very backward. For a person like myself who comes to new technologies with a natural reluctance, such times count among the most trying.
During a recent trip to Mexico as a woman on her own for the first time in Mexico, I was trying to drum up the resolve to make that first long distance phone-call to a Mexican friend. I'd already spotted the "larga distancia" sign by the busy, noisy bus depot of Melaque. While still relaxing on the beach, I was trying to psyche myself for the formidable task. Suddenly I noticed a young man at the beach umbrella next to mine, raise a cell phone to his ear. "Ah, hah! I thought. Another way to make a phone call! I will ask HIM to phone for me, and price will be no object!" Unfortunately I had not figured on Frederico's inability to understand my request. So we had to wait for his girlfriend, Maria, who spoke a little English that she had learned on a recent 3 month course in Vancouver, Canada. (not far from my home-town of Powell River).
Maria explained to me that there was a much easier, less expensive way to place long distance calls and produced a small plastic card from her wallet. Soon we were standing at one of the numerous, white, blue and yellow "LADA TEL" phone boxes that littered the streets of Melaque. Slick as anything, her card helped to generate the needed phone connection. This joint effort still met with an answering machine, but I counted this already as a big improvement upon my previous experiences.
These cards were available to anyone by prepaying 50, 30 or 15 pesos. "Where can I get one?" I asked Maria. "Any farmacia." she readily answered. I was already familiar with using Mexican pharmacists as a frequent tool in my "how to get around rural Mexico survival kit." For starters, in any town, there was almost always a farmacia that is easy to locate. Secondly as "professionals" they almost always know a little English, or at least are good at "guessing" what it is that you need. (Once in a southern Mexican village, the pharmacist cashed travelers checks for our family, when the local bank would not. Getting that phone card was as easy as pie!
The thought nagged at me that perhaps I was the last tourist in Mexico to know about this wonderful telecommunications development!
Back on the beach, I reflected that although I had yet to make phone contact, at least I had a future strategy. Now I could turn my attentions to cold beer and joining in the fun with my helpful neighbours. This group of lively, boisterous young men and women were down from Guadalajara to enjoy the week-end. People from Guadalajara call themselves, Los Tapatios. For me this word is synonymous with lively groups of friends enjoying "wine, women and son!" When they noticed that I was interested in them, I received numerous invitations to join in their activities. They generally spoke very little English. When they called, "¡Mujer!" (lady) to me, I knew that they wanted me to notice them and join in. Without their influence, I doubt I would have tried the large gourd of fresh palm wine or let my 12 year old daughter ride the banana boat in the bay! They enjoyed these things and more!
Five years previously, I had met with another group of Los Tapatios at Melaque. I had been camping with my husband and three small children at the free beach at the north end of Melaque. On the week-end, a group of workers on a construction site in Guadalajara had decided to drive the tortuous Hwy. 80 for 6 hours in order to enjoy a week-end together at this camp-site. As former temporary construction workers ourselves, my husband and I delighted in their company. I was amazed at how they cooked for themselves, continuously, over the open fire all the week-end. In fact, the next morning, I offered them Canadian pancakes (our standard breakfast fare). They graciously declined and offered us, heuvos rancheros which we gladly accepted. Eggs cooked with salsa over an open fire. It was delicious!
The Los Tapatios group of l998, were busy burying one of their girlfriends in the sand. They had sculpted a Pamela Anderson type body for her, which begged me to take a souvenir photo. I asked permission to take her picture and suddenly was incorporated into a very Mexican social past-time. I'll name it, "the highly animated, cut loose, social photo shoot".
This event seems to incorporate complete strangers into the shared social moment. If you want to take a picture of them, then they want to take a picture of you! They want a picture of you with them altogether, then hugging their boy-friend or girl-friend and so on. If you respond with any interest, then you are placed in various poses with different members of the party and given props as well.
Memories were triggered of a similar "social photo shoot" when I visited the ruin site of El Tajin on the east side of Mexico. With my family, I had spent a Sunday afternoon, exploring this fascinating site. Mexican families often come to these magnificent sites and use them as a stunning backdrop for their social life. For me as a first-time foreign visitor, their general attitude had seemed unmindful of the cultural milieu. In contrast to my attitude of past-worshipping, they seemed much more in the "present" moment, treating the site like a park.
I had passed a group of young lively women, one young man and an older woman who were busy playing a noisy, boisterous game right on the stairs of an unearthed temple. It appeared to be a version of the past time called "truth or dare".
In this game, it is necessary to challenge one's friends to tell the "truth" (often an embarrassing or private matter) or to perform a humorous or embarrassing stunt. Several of them were in the process of performing stunts when I had passed by with the video camera so I had started to shoot their antics. My husband, Bill, was immediately invited into the photo game. Through sign language, the girls staged him in all matter of romantic poses with each of them in turn. Not an unpleasant task for him!
Then they dressed up each of our three children in various wedding props and took loads more pictures. And it wasn't just us that they drew into the photo shoot. With this early success with one set of tourists, they started inviting other passing tourists into the photo shoot. The laughter and hilarity escalated!
I enjoy the ease and familiarity with which these Mexicans include perfect strangers into a moment in their lives. I love the way that men break into song, children pass you a soccer ball, or women ask about your family. It's all so, so---- friendly. It makes every trip full of memories and prompts the gut feeling to return.
So far, no matter what has changed on the out-side of their lives, something special continues to shine from within the Mexican's lives. It is the nature of that light keeps that me coming back for more!
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