Blog Tapatio

BMV - a model of capitalism??

Alejandro Riquelme suggests that Mexico's stock exchange could serve as a model for development of the new Bagdad market.

posted by David @ 9:51 PM

Stereotypes

Jon, in his "Mexico blog", reinforces a number of stereotypes about the Mexican people. Problem is, as Jon states, he tends to hang out with white, liberal northeastern Americans. Alas, Jon is not so different from the vast majority of gringos that spend time living in Mexico. They live in semi-isolation from the natives, in less than native circumstances and think they are experts in understanding the Mexican psyche. I lived there for almost a year and personally was able to dispel personally most of the myths that Jon and others perpetuate.

Jon states, "Everyone practices the same religion, everyone observes the same holidays and traditions, everyone eats the same food, everyone drinks the same things, everyone listens to the same music, etc. And because of this cultural uniformity, they can seem quite provincial when they interact with people who are different from them." I think estadounidenses can be quite provincial, at least as much - if not more than the urban Mexicano. They certainly don't all practice the same religion, although most are Catholic - and even the catolicos don't all practice equally. They especially don't listen to the same music, unless you consider it the same just because it is all in spanish - that's not even really the case. And they don't all eat the same food, unless you call pozole the same as tacos just because they're both mexican.

I lived in an entirely Mexican community - Los Tabachines in Zapopan on the outskirts of the Guadalajara metro area and spent over 10 hours of every day walking through all kinds of areas, especially the asentimientos irregulares, while also attending classes at the U de G at los Belenes. I shopped mostly at the tianguis with an occasional trip to El Gigante. I spent a week in Hotel Frances near the cathedral and investigating the downtown area, while spending hours talking to people on the streets. I had close association with ancianos that rode with Pancho Villa to homeless children wandering nameless streets. They were all my friends. I learned the trials of those who crossed the border illegally so they could provide for their families and sought to understand their yearnings and inner desires. I wandered the gullies of Arroyo Hondo and the high rises of middle class Zapopan. I visited the Basilica to understand the need for reconciliation and walked the dusty streets of Comayagua, Honduras at an earlier time hand in hand with young children in the simplest of holy week processions. These are passionate people who befriend their neighbor in the grandest fashion.

posted by David @ 10:20 PM