Some curious facts about the north of Mexico

A few days ago, my sister, a friend and l embarked on a journey to the north of the country, a region famed for narcos, cowboys and ... well narcos. Bucking the advice of all of the paranoid friends who watch fox news and even from the paranoid Mexicans who all advised us not to go, we strapped on our backpacks, booked cheap flights and were on our way. Along the way, in our 5 nights and 6 days spent in awe at all the north has to offer (both culturally and naturally) and learning a number of lessons along the way.

Burritos really do exist in Mexico

Growing up in Australia, it was always believed that the most quintessentially Mexican food in the world was burritos. In Puebla however, it seems that it is near impossible to find a burrito anywhere but the most touristy of restaurants. Having heard that margaritas (another 'Mexican drink') actually came from the states and not from Mexico, and hearing from other exchange students in Mexico that burritos were a gringo creation, I began to worry that burritos were a figment of my imaginary Mexico. But as soon as I arrived in the north of Mexico, lo and behold, there were burritos! Big ones, small ones, burritos in all different flavours, prices and qualities, it seems that Burritos are truly as Mexican as mole, panzas and Chicharito, but they are a regional specialty and a big drawcard for Chihuahua.

Stereotypes exist for a reason

When I was in Mexico City (and Oaxaca for that matter) I had the displeasure of meeting a revolting, pretentious hippy who, having done the Mexican gringo trail, considered himself quite the authority on Mexican culture and life. As he was waxing on about the false stereotype of cowboys, sombreros, bigotes and ponchos, I gently reminded him that in fact all of these DO exist, just further north than his 'pretentious, idiot, gringo guide to Mexico' told him. Walking through certain towns, every second shop it appeared seemed to be selling cowboy boots, sombreros or tacos. Men had moustaches, worked as rancheros and I think I even saw a pair of spurs (though I couldn't quite be certain). Mexican cinema from the 40s is certainly not a holistic and comprehensive indication of Mexican culture today, although stereotypes have all come from somewhere and it seems that in certain parts of the country the cowboy spirit is alive and well.

The Drug situation in Mexico is screwing some people hard

While the copper canyon route through Chihuahua is not exactly off the beaten trail, while we were there, we barely saw any other travellers where we were. Was it because we were the dumbasses who went during the cold season? Perhaps. But most likely, and as was confirmed by many locals, since the north got dangerous 6 years ago, tourism has declined dramatically, and the once burgeoning tourism industry was reduced to little more than a trickle. Hotel owners dropped their prices to a level where they surely can't have been turning much of a profit from us and a lot of tourism infrastructure lay empty as it waited for some people to come. Tumbleweed would have been blowing down the street were it not frozen solid and although we were blessed with views unobstructed by some obnoxious tourist with a revolting southern drawl, it was sad to see how the economy of this beautiful area had been ruined thanks to bad politics.


Some people are just never impressed

Despite being on one of the world's most beautiful railway journeys, we were seated on the train opposite some truly horrid looking people who seemed to prefer to stick their beaks in a book rather than admire the scenery that presumably they had paid so much to come and see. Although it was a daytime train journey and the nature was interesting and stimulating for the majority of the trip, these people were more interested in reading to even look up and out the window. Were they just not impressed by the scenery? Bored? Or were their books really just that good. Whatever their reasoning was, it's amazing how blase some people can be.

Camping is evil

While this sounds like quite a general statement, I can only suggest that camping in the north is NOT the best idea. Both times we had the displeasure of being so cold and uncomfortable that we counted down the minutes to the sunrise, just waiting for the opportunity to get out of the tent and to do something other than camping. Freezing temperatures, too many people in a small tent and hard horrible ground, as well as food stealing creatures and a lack of spooning coordination made us wish for a real bed and some creature comforts. Yes we saved money, but for the longest 2 nights in the world, I don't think we can say that it were worth it, not even in hindsight.

Basically the north of Mexico (where we visited) is a stunning,diverse and interesting place where people are incredibly warm and nice, where you won't see revolting hippy boy types and where the steak is amazing. Not once did we feel in anyway in danger (except from dying of the cold) and the drug situation is barely visible to most regular tourists. I would recommend to anyone a visit to this lovely part of Mexico and to enjoy it before a non-shit government fixes the country, the drug war ends, tourism increases to the area and prices skyrocket once again. Just don't bring a tent!

PS. I swear the Mexican tourism industry has NOT paid me to say any of this

Anatomy of a protest

About a month ago somebody sent me an invite to a protest in Mexico City called the Acto Psicomagico. It was to be a march, where all of the participants would dress up as skeletons to represent the 50 000 Mexicans who couldn't march (because they were dead... because of the drug wars over the past 6 years). The aim to attract 50 000 protesters was probably a bit ambitious, made even more difficult by the fact that the day of the march it was overcast and freezing, but it was underway anyway. Not only was it intended as a march/protest (that we were reminded was not political, rather it was 'poetic') but a display of art, an alternative medium for speaking out about the injustices and violence that was taking place in Mexico. And as you can imagine, even a few hundred people gathered in costume, anything from a simple painted face to elaborate Catarina costumes, was freaking impressive. Not only gathered outside Bellas Artes and in the Plaza de Mariachis, but walking the streets as a collective, stopping traffic and raising a few eyebrows, as a group we were unified as one giant work of art, speaking out against what was going on.

However, despite being a creative, interesting and unique form of protest, apart from the idle curiosity that was aroused in locals and tourists alike, how effective (if at all) was our march in fighting the drug wars that have brought an entire county to it's knees for so many years. Unlike most peaceful protests, which usually involve at least some placards and some anti- government/corporation/corruption/Monsanto chanting and blocking of traffic. During this protest, there was singing, holding hands, Viva Mexico yelling and very little interruption of people's day to day lives. It didn't seem to be aimed at provoking or forcing a message on anyone, in fact it almost seemed like it was an event by the protesters for the protesters. What's more, it seemed almost like a lot of the people turned out in support of the artist/organiser Alejandro Jodorowsky, with many fans holding up books and art produced by this guy, and running after him like screaming fans at a Justin Bieber concert (I almost lost my thong as the crowds pushed and shoved to catch a glimpse of old mate).

Farce and follies aside, it was a creative and beautiful march which symbolised something very important and brought together like minded and socially conscious people (the ones that made it out of bed and braved the cold). And of course with one in four people there almost being photographers with their professional SLR gear snapping photos of anyone and everyone (the three white girls seemed to be quite a novelty), there are no doubt many gigabytes of photographic evidence floating around the world wide web (people's 'personal collections') to document such an event. Do the war on drugs and the complete desmadre that grips Mexico continue? Of course it does!

But what makes an effective protest? For those hoping to effect change in Mexico that gloomy Sunday afternoon, was it a day well spent? Or a nice opportunity to take photos and march for a couple of hours? Peaceful protesting is the name of the game these days, since violence is a vicious cycle that seems to manifest itself while in reality solving nothing. However, for all of the peaceful demonstrations outside of government palaces and big corporations and on Wall Streets worldwide, how many have brought about serious change? Perhaps the corporate bigwigs are so accustomed to placards and chanting in the street that they simply pull down the blinds and continue working on how to sell dodgy crap of questionable utility to the ignorant and poor. While complacency is the biggest evil in the world, whether or not spending hours gathering in the street shouting is an effective method of putting an end to injustice and exploitation in the world is questionable. While it does raise awareness of many issues that are going on, as well as let the companies/governments know that there are people out there that are against their current practices, a saturation of protesters and shouters is only likely to numb the senses and reduce the impact of any action, which would in fact be counterproductive to what they are trying to achieve.

So what is the alternative? Violence is a strong tactic which sends a serious message that there are people vehemently opposed to what is going on in the world, but it also reduces the legitimacy of any message that a group is trying to promote, especially when the term 'terrorist' gets tagged to any act of political force that is not strictly peaceful. Another method is the SHAC protest model, which was a creative and unique form of non violent (okay... borderline violent) protesting that hit the sore points of an animal testing corporation and proved (at least in the beginning) to be quite effective. Of course the government came in and closed the legal loopholes that allowed such a form of protesting to exist, allowing animal testing to continue in a gross display of the government once again bending over for the corporations that keep any such party in power. But does the world change then? Obviously it requires an active response from passionate people, but the method? Creativity and intelligence in the way that people go about their activism... that hopefully doesn't involves the killing of trees in order to shove yet another fucking flyer in my face! Viva Mexico?