Mexico, Captured
I believe visual tableaus exist in every culture that capture the essence of that culture. Here is one scene I witness regularly that, in my mind, expresses the character of Mexico.
When I go to the MEGA supermarket, I walk through one of Guanajuato's darker, mustier tunnels. It's not my favorite landscape scenery, but it allows me to get to MEGA in about ten minutes, rather than the half-hour it would take heading the roundabout way, above ground, or (heaven forbid) taking a taxi.
On the other side of the tunnel, I approach a long, imposing, curving wall... a moat that separates the world outside from the castle grounds. I proceed along the wall to the parking lot, then cross it to reach the moving ramp down that will bring me to the door of MEGA.
And there, on the ramp going down, or on its neighbor ramp going up, is where I observe the scene that is a freeze-frame of Mexico.
Whoever I see, whether it's other customers or the young employees who MEGA generally hires, they are always standing still. They may be laughing, shrieking, chatting, hanging off the sides of the ramp, or playing with their shopping cart, but they are never moving forward toward the goal, not one inch. They do not keep to the right to allow others to pass. They do not position their shopping cart over to one side. They wedge themselves right in the middle of the ramp and stay right there, surrounded by their plastic bags, shopping carts, children, and friends. Even going downhill with a shopping cart that would wheel itself, they stand statue-like. If I indicate that I'd like to pass, they look surprised, as though it would never occur to them that someone might actually want to WALK on a moving walkway, whether to move their feet or to reach the destination faster.
This, to me, is Mexico.
When I go to the MEGA supermarket, I walk through one of Guanajuato's darker, mustier tunnels. It's not my favorite landscape scenery, but it allows me to get to MEGA in about ten minutes, rather than the half-hour it would take heading the roundabout way, above ground, or (heaven forbid) taking a taxi.
On the other side of the tunnel, I approach a long, imposing, curving wall... a moat that separates the world outside from the castle grounds. I proceed along the wall to the parking lot, then cross it to reach the moving ramp down that will bring me to the door of MEGA.
And there, on the ramp going down, or on its neighbor ramp going up, is where I observe the scene that is a freeze-frame of Mexico.
Whoever I see, whether it's other customers or the young employees who MEGA generally hires, they are always standing still. They may be laughing, shrieking, chatting, hanging off the sides of the ramp, or playing with their shopping cart, but they are never moving forward toward the goal, not one inch. They do not keep to the right to allow others to pass. They do not position their shopping cart over to one side. They wedge themselves right in the middle of the ramp and stay right there, surrounded by their plastic bags, shopping carts, children, and friends. Even going downhill with a shopping cart that would wheel itself, they stand statue-like. If I indicate that I'd like to pass, they look surprised, as though it would never occur to them that someone might actually want to WALK on a moving walkway, whether to move their feet or to reach the destination faster.
This, to me, is Mexico.
posted by Louisa at 3:35 AM
1 Comments:
Louisa,
I discovered your blog today by typing Meditation Guanajuato, to discover if I might find other meditators/sanghas should I come there, which would be among the important features of any place for me.
Your blog is a delight! I appreciate your talent
for sharing some of your journey, and the consciousness with which you do so. I have a very real sense of a genuine fellow traveller, and I like the insights you share when you chat with your partner also.
I don't have a blog yet, though I do have the ubiquitous, myspace.com /annapurna5
At present, coming to Mexico is a thought, and the action is as far as the computer. Hablo bastante Espanol, porque vivi en Costa Rica y Panama por tres anos, y I love it as much as English. I miss speaking Spanish, and I want to move in the world again. I've lived over lots of the world, and my children are Norte Americanos. I've also been trying to find out if there is anywhere to swim year round in Guanajuato? If it's the 'place of frogs', then what's the water like? Hay un lago en que puedo nadar? I keep fit that way best, as I'm 61 and my knees are just a tad too wonky for very extended walking. (Too much flamenco dancing!)
I'd like to paint with other artists perhaps, and learn from them, mejorar mi Spanish, meditate, and meet new people from all kinds of places.
Here I live near Byron Bay, in an exquisite valley 10 ks. from the beach and a river. It's a bit rural really, and my gypsy streak is itching. I haven't had a long trip away since 2002! I feel like I have footrot of the brain.
So, there you are, on the road again, and I wish you wondrous adventures.
Hasta cuando,
Annapurna
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