This essay consists of my overall thoughts on today’s Mexico. I write this after spending almost two entire months traveling through out the country starting in Tulum, south to Bacalar, making my way across the Yucatan peninsula (Coba, Playa del Carmen, Isla Holbox, Valladolid, Merida, Celestun, Progresso), flying to Tabasco to get to Chiapas, winding my way through the jungle and mountains, flying to Oaxaca City and then to the beaches of Oaxaca, making a pitstop in Mexico City, touring the supposedly dangerous state of Michoacan, up to Guadalajara, then to el norte to Monterrey, back down south to the center of the country to Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro and finally back to Mexico City.
I’d like to engage the topic of racism and anti-Mexicanism in the US and Canada. To the people of the U.S. and Canada who fear Mexican people, you clearly do not know any Mexican people as friends. I do not need proof. To the people who fear Mexicans taking jobs away from them, I encourage you to read the New York Times articles about our labor shortages. To the people who think Mexicans are stupid, to drive on the highways through Chiapas or Oaxaca and watch as the cars whiz by you as you find yourself confounded in disappointment that there are indeed Mexican engineering marvels. To those of you who think Mexicans are lazy, take a look at the photos of Mexican City after the most recent earthquake, find a local and ask them what it was like and listen to the stories of neighbors, strangers otherwise, helping take care of each other and moving broken stones. Pay the 5 cents it costs to use the public bathrooms and pay attention to the fact that there is a bathroom attendant there who is constantly cleaning and re-cleaning. Board buses or airplanes anywhere in the modern bus stations and airports of the country and experience the helpfulness of bus company employees who insist putting your luggage into the stowage for you, and no, they are not asking for tips. They are doing their jobs.
To those of you who think Mexicans are thugs, criminals, gangsters, or people who cause problems, I invite you to take a stroll through Mexico City. Better yet, fly around the country of Mexico first just for the sake of seeing how efficiently and well-run Mexican airports are. Watch as you are kindly asked to place your luggage on the X-ray conveyor belt. Notice how you aren’t being yelled at or even that no one is raising their voice at you. When you walk down the crowded street of El Centro Mexico City, pay attention to the relative quiet of the voices on the street even though there are a ton of people and there are many vehicles. Notice how you do not see anyone talking on cell phones, fighting with each other, scolding children or yelling, in general.
Why? Why isn’t the airport security yelling at you? In the U.S., TSA agents yelled at me when leaving to Mexico on Dec 1 when I was asked to put my sneakers on the conveyor after walking through the X-ray. I misheard him, he said HE was going go take my sneakers and put them through the X-ray, not me. I have TSA PreCheck, I didn't understand what he was saying. Why did he yell at me? On Jan 21 at LAX, I witnessed TSA agents yelling at Chinese tourists to not put the trays on the conveyor belt because the conveyor belt was backed up, even though there were animated signs all over the place instructing us to place the tray down on the table and push forward onto the belt. One agent went so far as to yell at us that if we didn’t follow their rules, we could "leave the security line and go find some other line".
Back to Mexico: why are the public bathroom cleaners working so hard? Why are the taxi drivers insisting in having conversation with you? Why is no one talking loudly into their cell phone on the streets?
The answer is: Mexican culture. Mexico is family-oriented. Money made from working will be spent on the family. Creating healthy and loving interpersonal relationships with family members and clients is part of family. If a family is nothing more than a loving network, this is what they are working to achieve. There is a respect for your peace of mind and personal space on the street. No one is talking loudly because aggression is not tolerated publicly in Mexico. If you act out aggressively, you look like a crazy person. It ruins the street vibe. I can’t tell you how many times I was told, “no te preocupes”, don’t worry. Everyone’s got to go about their business and get home to their family. People can’t be bothered with angry emotions and irrationality. Chill, enjoy the moment. It’s part of being Mexican.
The symbolic wall will further enable racists to hate and fear Mexicans. It is their loss. When you contemplate the core values of Mexican culture, can you think of the equivalents in our US society? Have you thought about how above all, we value money? Personal relationships be damned if my new friend cannot afford to hang out with me. Best not even try to make a friendship. Of course Mexicans care about money too, but not primarily to get rich quick. It’s to benefit the family. It seems that they are more at ease with getting rich in due time vs. U.S. people who are constantly looking for schemes to get rich quick. Yes, there are plenty of hyper wealthy Mexicans like Carlos Slim and other corrupt government officials. This isn’t an essay dedicated to putting Mexico on a pedestal. I am referencing the conversations I’ve had in Spanish with taxi drivers, cooks, waiters, AirBnb hosts, restaurant hosts, roommates, local friends, new people I met on the beach, people I’ve met on the back of a truck, and tour guides. I’m referencing my visits to museums, lakes, archaeological sites, mountains, the jungle, cities, towns, deserts, canyons and cliffs. Mexicans are not schemers, they aren't out to get you and there is no countrywide conspiracy to rob tourists.
I was fed quite well. I was welcomed everywhere. Eye contact was real. The hugs, abrazos, I gave and received were from the heart. The only thing that pissed me off royally was when I would be given an English menu by a restaurant host without having said a word. I was being judged for how I looked. When I tried to figure it out, friends would tell me it was my blue eyes. I saw it as opportunities for more Spanish language conversation. I would explain to the hosts that I am traveling Mexico for two months, we are neighbors (the US and Mexico) and because I grew up in NYC with many Mexican-Americans, I want to improve relations. I want to improve my Spanish. I also want to see and taste as much Mexican culture as I can, in Spanish. I want to know if I like it here. I want to make a political statement by traveling.
Muy padre, super bien, que rico! So many ways to say “how cool!” In Spanish. People I met seemed simply happy for me in Mexico. People gave of themselves to show me the wonders of an open culture that embraces friends and family above all else. They would let me in, with ease. “Mi casa es su casa.”
Two months (okay 7 weeks) in Mexico helped me answer the question I had on my mind: will I want to live here for some extended period of time in the future? Yes, I do want to live there for some period of time. I think I can make it work. I do like it very much. The culture is rich and I feel more fulfilled in Mexico knowing the value of friendships.
P.S. there is a final note I do need to add here. I’d like to say puta madre to the people that hate Mexico. Puta madre for hating my friends and hating a culture you know nothing about. Puta madre for buying into fear as if we don’t have airplanes to go visit places and see things with our own eyes. Keep your hatred to yourself or get help to become a better person.