Living > Letters From Mexico

Columns

More Columns Fewer Columns

Stay in Mexico, or go North to work? Every family's dilemma Stan Gotlieb

There are three sons missing from this family portrait. They have gone "North" to find work. Like most villages in southern Mexico, theirs depends on its' migrants for the money to buy food, clothing a... read more

perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

The Oaxaca library: A project of, by and for the people Stan Gotlieb

Ruth Gonzalez, Librarian, in the front room of the Oaxaca Circulating Library, where she has worked for almost all the 35 years of its existence © Diana Ricci, 1999 For the English speaking commun... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Bring it with you when you come: Susan Trilling in Oaxaca Stan Gotlieb

In more than five years as an expatriate living in Oaxaca, I have forgotten much, learned a little, and been more amazed than bored. One of the things I think I have learned is that for most of us here in Paradise, what we get out of it depends a lot on what we bring with us. read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Who's boss here, anyway? Stan Gotlieb

This picture appeared with an earlier article, "The Servant", about four years ago. The girl is still playing and singing along the "tourist walking street" in Oaxaca, as are a couple of her you... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Gringos helping to fight AIDS in Mexico Stan Gotlieb

Condon Mania, a project of the Frente Comun Contra SIDA (Common Front Against AIDS), sells health - and life - to hundreds of Mexican youth and adults every month. The Frente's major concern is slowing... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

My anniversary in Oaxaca Stan Gotlieb

La Casa de Mescal is a Oaxaca landmark, which at the millenium will have been doing business at this location near the Zocalo for 60 years. Those of us who prefer Mezcal to its cousin, Tequila, know th... read more

perspectives Oaxaca

Home again, home again Stan Gotlieb

In the late summer of 1996, the weary traveler reflects on a long time spent away from home. (Pictured are the ruins at Yagul, near Oaxaca ). Photography by Diana Ricci Got my ticket in my pocket... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

A small mound in the cemetery in Xoxocotlan, Mexico Stan Gotlieb

November first is children's day in the series of remembrances and festivities that are known as Dias de los Muertos (days of the dead). On this day, the souls of departed children migrate to the homes... read more

day-of-the-dead indigenous-groups social-issues Oaxaca

After the storm: Summer in Oaxaca Stan Gotlieb

This photo was taken in one of the few buildings left standing at Piña Palmera, on Zipolite beach. By now, the foot or so of mud on the floor has been mucked out. By now, also, relief should be reachi... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

My search for the perfect bathroom Stan Gotlieb

Refugees from Loxicha, near Huatulco, brought their animals with them to the zocalo in Oaxaca. They set up a tarpaulin over a sewer grate for use as a bathroom. The governor did not invite them to use ... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Stan Gotlieb in Oaxaca: the author talks about himself Stan Gotlieb

This is my 73rd article. The other 72, as well as a "letters to the editor" section, answers to some Frequently asked Questions and a subscription Newsletter sample, are also available on this site. Ta... read more

perspectives Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Mexico is a noisy place Stan Gotlieb

Mexico is a noisy place. Unless your cave is very high up the mountain, far beyond human habitation, noise is an integral part of your life. Certain kinds of noises are universal, occurring with equ... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues

Athletics, tour guides, evangelism and Mexico border crossings Stan Gotlieb

Below are some archives of letters to the editor that Stan has chosen to answer with open responses. August 23, 1996: A Border Resident Shares Her Experiences Sandy Weisel writes: Hi, I just love ... read more

perspectives question Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Organic coffee in Mexico Stan Gotlieb and Diana Ricci

This piece was written in early 1995. A year later, pieces on why we should buy "organic" coffee were appearing regularly in the mainstream press. (The picture is of the ancient cedar in Tule, outside ... read more

food-drink social-issues Oaxaca

Mexico's Native American peoples and the global economy Stan Gotlieb and Diana Ricci

I wrote his in early 1995. Thankfully, the decency and good will of the average Oaxacan had not vanished along with their purchasing power and hopes for the future. Teen age gangs, on the rise, have m... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Protest in Oaxaca: Watch out for the wind Stan Gotlieb

This was written around Christmas of 1994. The banner hangs outside an opposition union office in Oaxaca. After ten days, the occupation ended. The teachers, some ten thousand strong, went back home t... read more

social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Truth in packaging: Mexico elections in 1994 Stan Gotlieb

In a place where the image of something can attain more significance than its substance, the propaganda war is waged without letup. Just like at home... (The wall of the governor's official residence, ... read more

perspectives politics San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

How to survive - and stay - in Oaxaca Stan Gotlieb

This was written in 1994. How to survive - and stay - in Oaxaca, were very much on my mind. (The picture is of the Oaxaca State Band playing their Sunday concert in the zocalo.) Photography by Diana Ri... read more

indigenous-groups perspectives social-issues Oaxaca, Oaxaca

« 1 2 3 4 5 »

Showing 101—118 of 118 results

About the author

Stan Gotlieb

I am a traveler. Some people are drunks and some play Bingo. I like to pack a suitcase and boogie. I get restless when I have been too long in the same place, the same job, the same social scene. That's why I travel: for stimulation. So far, I have lived in 15 cities, in four countries, on three continents.

On the other hand, I like my comforts, the more so the older I get. I am not a loner, so I look for places with the possibility of community. And, having been born and raised in Minnesota, I like warm places.

With all this, I had no immediate intention of going anywhere when, in 1993, an aunt died and left me a few thousand dollars (I didn't know she was rich, and I wasn't sure she liked me). At the time I was working in a legal aid office dealing with domestic issues, and the combination of overwork and icky cases was burning me out. So, in the fall of 1993, I gave notice, and in January of 1994 I packed my bags, rented out my house, and headed south. I had visited in many places in Mexico over the previous 20 years, but chose Oaxaca because since first coming here in 1973 it had remained in my mind. Mexico, I told my friends, is the ideal place: very close to here, but very far away.

In some ways, all the cultures I have lived in, including the many that exist in the U.S., were bizarre structures through which I moved as invisibly as I (the "real me", whoever that is) could manage. I guess that aspect of me is part of what makes any creative person: the need to figure out what the hell is happening, and what significance to give to events and people who on the face of it might just as well be happening on Mars.

Nothing about Oaxaca was difficult for me (however much I pretend to complain in my writing). I love the "vamos a ver" (let's go and see how it works out) attitude. I accept the fact that I will always be an outsider to the local folks: people from the next State are so viewed, so why not me? I have my "family" here among the extranjero (foreigner) community, and like all families, I like some better than others and some not at all. The climate (5,100 feet) suits me.

Of course, I miss my old friends, most of whom could not for various internal and external reasons share in my expatriate wanderings. It takes a long time for new friends to become old friends -- although I have observed that the process is speeded up in small town atmospheres such as we have in the expatriate community of Oaxaca.

The day to day reality is not much different than it was "back there": work, sleep, eat, socialize, make love (and occasional war) with Diana, scratch for the rent, and go to the beach whenever the time and money permit. Also, I have to admit, it's fun being a medium sized frog in a very small pond. I like the notoriety, such as it is, and it makes me feel good when I can give others information (power) that they didn't have before, like how to get to x and where to find y and have you seen z. Because aside from writing, which is fun, I am really a "matchmaker" by nature: a living walking connection between here and there, so-and-so and such-and-such.

In the final analysis, I am just trying to keep my grip and have some fun and talk to other folks in hope that they will talk back to me. I enjoy my role (and I often think of it as just that: a sort of persona that time and circumstances invented for me) of "Mr. Internet Oaxaca". It tickles me that a whole lot of people find something that I say worth reading, even if a lot of it is free: with five million or more information providers on the Internet also giving it away, I take pride from that.

Carl Franz says "everywhere you go, there you are". He's not the first person to say that, but he made it the central empowering notion of a valued travel guide, and that is why I give him the quote. To me, the notion that you can "transplant" yourself is an erroneous simile. It's like saying you can grow a cranberry bush in the Sahara. The successful process is more like grafting, where you join your developed personality to roots that are already viable.

However, the problem does not end there. You can graft almost anything to almost anything else, and get a viable hybrid, but what will it do, and how pleasing will the result be? My guess is that a pleasing graft occurs when the cutting and the root share some common characteristics.

This means that if you value punctuality above everything else, you would find life here very frustrating, but if you know how to be punctual but don't value it more than reading a good book, you could probably adjust. Relaxed cultural values regarding punctuality compose one of the roots of plants that grow well in this soil. Among the many others are patience, tolerance, a sense of humor and a nonjudgemental attitude.

The Mexicans reciprocate in kind: they accept us as they find us. Sure, we scandalize them some times, but most often they just shrug their shoulders and assume that our craziness is just the way "we" behave. And don't forget that Mexicans differ even more from one part of the country to another than do we: what you need to bring with you changes, depending on where you go and what you are doing.

There is no-one alive who should never think to move to Mexico. There is no perfect profile for making the move. The best indication of being able to make it here is having made it here, and even that isn't sure. Circumstances change. Things happen. Life's a cabaret. For me, Oaxaca is happy hour.

See all articles by Stan

All Tags