John's Mexican Journal – 11/04/2005 through 11/12/2005
Pg 10
The Whole Enchilada - Reflections on Mexico
When we left for Mexico, I expected to have some stereotypes reinforced and some stereotypes broken. I wasn’t disappointed. I saw dogs sleeping in the middle of the road. I saw guys hauling goods and produce on donkeys. I saw and rode with crazy drivers. (Not Rafael!) I saw poor people, lots of poor people.
I expected to see bad roads, smashed cars, and miserable people.
I saw roads that looked modern and well maintained. I didn’t see any accidents between the crazy drivers. I saw a joyous people.
Maybe the best measure of our experience in Mexico is what we missed when we returned to the US. We walked home from the train station through a neighborhood that seemed abandoned. In the towns and cities we’d just come from, the streets would have been alive with music and laughing families.
I miss the culture of life and celebration we experienced in Mexico. There is vivaciousness in Mexican culture that doesn’t seem to exist in this country. It transcends class and income levels.
I don’t mean that everyone is happy in Mexico. The poor and hungry there are just as miserable as the poor and hungry everywhere, and there are a lot more of them there than here. But there’s a sense of community that manifests itself in the public squares of the towns and cities. The people gather together daily to enjoy music and each other’s company. We gather once or twice a year.
Maybe.
Perhaps when cars, cable TV, and the internet become as common there as they are here, Mexico will loose its sense of community joy.
I hope not.
John Thompson
November 12, 2005