On Mexico

I have now been in Mexico for over three months. Shortly after I arrived in this blog I made some observations about Mexico, most of which was stuff that I had heard from others about Mexico, the people and culture. I want to update that with personal observations. I am sure some may differ with what I have to say. I may still not be accurate and I am sure that some areas of Mexico are different from other areas.

I now think that the general feeling that one gets up north that Mexicans are thieves is grossly exaggerated. Since I have been down here the only thieving I have seen is some Pemex employees will short change you. This problem can be easily avoided if you watch the pump, know what you owe and count your change. I have seen other situations where people have forgotten a bag or something in a restaurant and have returned days later to find all their possessions intact and nothing missing.

One thing I find admirable in Mexican society is the whole family has fun together. They can go to a fiesta and the kids are free to run around, the teenagers do their thing and the adults do theirs. Teenagers do not seem to be embarrassed by their parents. You do not hear some of the stuff you hear in the States like: "Johnny, get away from that. Come here!", etc.

A fiesta continued last night. One thing I found unusual was that this fiesta seemed to be confined only to the Valle del Sol colonia here in Armeria. The other colonias did not seem to participate. You could still hear the fireworks explosions here in the El Pelillo colonia where Casa de Schroeder is located but you didn't see the processions.

Norma's house is located in the heart of the Valle del Sol colonia. We were at her house at around 5:30 PM when a procession went by the front of her house on the way to the main gathering area about a half a block away where the street was blocked by a stage, several trampolines for kids, tables and chairs, outdoor restaurant and some booths.

The procession was headed by a dance group. In front was a banner of a man and it said San Juan Diego so my initial thought was the fiesta had something to do with this person but later I came to think that San Juan Diego probably had something to do with the dance troupe. The dancers were about 30 women attired in golden yellow dresses with gold breast plates and adornments. They wore golden headdresses with feather plumes invoking Aztec dancers of the past. I later noticed the banner stated "Aztec Danza".

The dancers had a drummer and the dancers had rattles. The procession was proceeded by young men with rockets who would fire a rocket about every quarter block. The rockets zoom high in the air and explode with a terrific blast.

I regretted that I didn't have my camera with me. After the dancers came a pickup truck adorned with balloons and flowers. In the back of the pickup stood a young boy and at his feet were two even younger girls dressed as angels with wings sitting on the floor of the pickup. After the pickup were a procession of neighbors in the colonia chanting and praying.

At the center of the action where the stage was set up there was also an outdoor church set up where the square would be if this colonia had a park. A sign on the stage said that the fiesta was to honor the Divine child Jesus. What Aztec dancers have to do with Jesus is beyond me but that is part of the mystery of Mexico.

The priest did a short service with hymns accompanied by an organist playing a Yamaha keyboard. After the service, the Aztec dancers danced again and then recorded music started to be played, some of it risque, like Rap about big butts and Mota. Did these people understand the lyrics?

Norma and I got seats at a table in front of the stage and got some Modelo beers. I may just be paranoid or weird but I think everybody in town (at least in this colonia) knows about the "old Gringo" because I hardly get a second glance anymore and people wave and say Buenas Noches. I am now Norma's novio.

The stage entertainment was several different dance groups of youngsters (about 8 to 12 years old). Some were dressed in costumes from other areas like the state of Veracruz. While the adults drank and ate food some of the young boys had fun harassing the dogs with thrown fireworks that would pop when they hit the cobblestone streets. A young fellow flirted with Sara by squirting her with some white foam from an aerosol can. So Sara got a can herself and chased the boy with it. They both ended up with foam all over themselves.

We got some enchiladas and pozole and watched the dancers until I started to fade and wanted to go to sleep. I had arrived at Norma's in her truck which was now blocked by other cars and trucks parked in the street so I slept at her house. Around 3 AM the band started up again and marched around the neighborhood with the fireworks explosions.

Could this have happened in the US? Not a chance. First you would need a permit applied for months in advance with probably a bond for insurance and security guards. You would not have been allowed to have fireworks. Most of the neighbors would have bitched about the noise, someone blocking their driveway, someone trespassing or pissing on their plants. Excuse me but most of the people in the US are uptight assholes.