Atenco

This Thursday and Friday we went to Atenco, a place of resistance in the face of brutal government actions, of love for the land and compadres. It happens to be located near Mexico City, but it remains semi-rural ejido land.

Basically the government wanted to build an airport right over their fields, houses, even their cemetary, while negociations about water and schools were already underway. They were accused of kidnapping public officials, a charge that many in the town say was false. Protesters took to the street with machetes shouting Tierra Si, Aviones No! The protesters avoided violence except in self defence, and even then their weaponry was limited to machetes. The government decided to put their airport elsewhere.

In addition to attracting visitors from other resistance movements (including Subcomandante Marcos and other neo-Zapatistas) Atenco began to help other nearby towns. In a particular case they were trying to help flower vendors in another town who stood in resistance to a Wal Mart being built over their flower market. To make a long story short the state police came in, possibly with some national military dressed as State Police, and led a campaign of arrests, rape, and in one case literally beating people to death. Some of the people in prison from that time still have yet to be released.

Touring Atenco, I was amazed by how the people could still remain smiling, and determined (right now freeing prisoners is the main concern) after all that happened. They no longer vote in elections, but to me they seemed more engaged than anyone I had met in the U.S.

Barack Obama was in Mexico City at the same time, and we saw his heiliocopter passing. What struck me here was that, unlike elsewhere in Mexico, here I actually found cynicism about Obama, rather than indifference, or (rarely) hope, as I've found elsewhere. They considered him to be the same as Bush, which to them made him at least something of an enemy. Like me, they were concerned about the troops in Juarez, although theirs was in some ways the opposite of my concern. While I worried that the army would encounter hatred, violence, and endless war (another Columbia, or another Iraq) they were worried that it would be another Puerto Rico! It's not too surprising to hear that kind of sentiment in what history has taught me is the Polland of the Americas. Yet no one else seems to have any problem with the foreign troops. It could be their own experience has made them distrust armies, while in Cuernavaca, one still finds tanks patrolling Holy Week processions.

I worry about writing entries like this. I worry that I will be blacklisted here in Mexico, or that dissidents will get unwanted exposure. For that reason I did not give names.

Urban Homestay familiy

Some people might want to know about my urban homestay. So here it goes:

My host-Mom is Alicia, a retired teacher. She's very understanding of any problems that I have. Originally from Puebla, and the decendent of Hacienda owners, she still enjoys Puebla food and traditions, including my favorite flu remedy: Putting alchohol on ones feet and lighting them on fire, then putting it out (there's probably more to it than that, I've never actually seen it). When I was sick she never actually got around to having here sister do it, but she was planning it.

She considers herself Catholic, although she never attends mass, and believes that how one acts is more important than what one believes. She still has a cross above every bed in the house for protection though. She enjoys chatting with relatives and dancing.

My host-Dad is long-time Cuernavaca resident Rudy, an auto mechanic and bicycling champion. He still bikes long distances every Sunday with friends, often through the mountains. Like Alicia, he does not go to mass. He's not around very much, due to work and cycling. He enjoys talking about history and politics, although all conversations with him are somewhat one-sided, given his hearing problems.

Rudy used to support the currently-powerful PAN party, but now blames them for the current economic crisis and considers them a lesser evil. One could call him generally "conservative" in that he sticks to his habits, opposes large government spending, and strongly hates Subcommander Marcos, a revolutionary in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas. Rudy claims Marcos is merely a puppet for foreign interests, which seems to be the equivalent of calling someone a Communist in the U.S. Yet Rudy is not the kind of religious conservative I know and love from Tennessee. Social and religious issues rarely come up in conversations with him and he would rather ride his bike across mountains on Sunday than go to mass.

Last but not least of my nuclear family is Herbe (pronounced Herb-bay), my host brother. He is an adult technically, but he still lives at home with his parents because of his mental disabilities, which also make it difficult for him to talk coherently. He enjoys sitting on staircases for long periods of time and pushing people in the direction that they are heading. It is impossible not to like Herbe, even if he is the main reason my family does not travel outside the state of Morelos.

As with many Mexican families we often get visits from relatives both young and old. Alicia's young god-daughter Marta also stops by often for help with homework, or to watch after-school telenovelas such as "La Rosa de Guatalupe."

And maybe for lack of practice, I can't think of a good conclusion.

Clubs and Cafes thus far

Here´s a few places I´ve been to thus far. This is not in order of when I visited them. More to come! And I've added a few that I'd already visited when I wrote this but had no time to write about.
Los Arcos:
Restaurant/bar/live music. The prices of drinks are generally cheap. They sell small coronas in sets of eight, which can make ordering beer a bit confusing (I´ve experienced this). Food is generally overpriced (for Mexico) and my friends who have eaten there don't like it very much.
Music varies. I used to think it was always Salsa, but apparently only on Tuesdays and sometimes on weekends. Goose has told me that the entertainment when he was there Thurs. night it was just a man on a keyboard. On nights when there is Salsa, it´s a great place in my opinion. The spaces between tables are crowded at times, but you can go outside the fenced in area and dance (no one will stop you). It´s also right in the middle of town.
Guantanamera:
Club, Salsa and Cumbia music. They alternate between a live band and recorded music, all of it Salsa or Cumbia. It´s fairly expensive, but if you want an actual dance floor it beats Los Arcos. A good variety of drinks, both alchoholic and non-alchoholic. Probably the weirdest feature is the televisions that are always set to MTV, on mute, when not dancing you can watch Bevis and Butthead.
La Comuna:
¨To Eat is a Human Right, at La Communa it is a pleasure¨ bar, and restaurant, nice omlets. It´s run by an independant human rights observer. When I was there it was a night for Mexican political/protest music, which, like its U.S. equivalent is an acoustic style emphasizing lyrics.
La Maga
Restaurant/Cafe with an all-you-can eat buffet for lunch. Excellent food and atmosphere. Also great for live music on some nights including the local ecclectic band Ampersan. Personally I like it if you couldn't tell.
Barcenal
American-pop dance club, with some Reggaton thrown in. As this is Mexico, and given the current music-style's emphasis on grinding, guys outnumber girls (who presumably worry more about modesty). The club is considerably more popular with the girls of our group than with the guys. I'm often fine dancing alone though.
Harry's
Saved this one for last, and worst, but this blog is not just about good things. A group of Mexicans led us here, possibly because Americans seem to like it, despite it being listed in our book under "not recommended." Exclusively American pop and hip-hop music. The decorations look copied from American Eagle T-shirts that happened to relate to bullfighting and Lucha Libre. Nearly all the people there are Gringos. It has a reputation for being racist, sexist, and possibly drugging girls' drinks. I feel guilty that I actually enjoyed myself there, as one Mexican girl there actually seemed to want me to dance with her (in typical Mexican fashion her brother was the one who actually came over to ask). Given the club's reputation though, perhaps the brother forced her into it. Other than dancing with her (which I now also feel guilty about) I can't think of too much to recommend that would counterbalance the club's terrible reputation.