Mexplanations

Mexico 5-O

2008-06-09T11:26:00.002-05:00

Being a police officer in Mexico doesn’t quite live up to the glamour that TV shows portray. From the local underpaid officers to those who fight drug cartels and face extreme violence, being a police officer in Mexico is not all coffee and donuts.

In Mexico, we have a variety of police officers, each with different responsibilities.

Transito: These are probably the ones you will encounter at some point if you stay here for any length of time. They wear the brown uniforms and are basically underpaid traffic cops. I have read that they make somewhere around $6,500 pesos per month. They have been compared to a waiter/waitress who are paid low, but are compensated with tips. Great, a waiter with a gun! You can tell when they are between paychecks, as the moving violations increase dramatically. Do you pay the “tip” or not? There is no right answer.

Federales: Normally seen in the back of pickup trucks wearing navy blue uniforms, carrying big automatic weapons. These deal with corruption and organized crime. The Federal Preventive Police (PFP) take care of the serious crimes and patrol airports. There is also the Federal Investigations Agency (AFI) which is similar to the FBI. The AFI are the ones that do raids on the drug cartels. Think Jack Bauer meets S.W.A.T and you get the point. These guys are under heavy attack from the drug cartels and many of them have been killed recently, including Edgar Eusebio Millan Gomez, who was the Federal Police Chief. This is why you are seeing an increase in road blocks and vehicle searches.

Preventiva: This is more the police we know who patrol and uphold public safety and maintain order. They either wear a green and brown uniform or gray uniform depending on their duties.

Lord Acton, the British historian said: “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” While none can deny that corruption in Mexico is rampant, we cannot use this as an excuse to disregard the law. For example, drinking and driving in Mexico is basically go to jail, don’t collect $200 and forget about rolling doubles! Yes…with the right officer, and the right amount of “tip” you might stagger on your way, but you are taking a considerable risk on your personal safety and more importantly of those around you.

The bravery of many in the police force to keep our neighborhoods safe should not be tarnished by the bad deeds of others. Regardless of these problems, I still do feel that Riviera Nayarit is a safe place for tourists and those choosing to live here. I also urge the local police to continue to make our cities safe for tourists, as we bring in much revenue for the local economy.

Keep up the good work. “Book’em, Pedro!”

If you like Mexplanations, you might like...

2008-05-19T14:08:00.002-05:00

If you love art, or better yet, you are an artist - you should check out my podcast at www.outsidepodcast.com.

If you have kids, you might enjoy the Podcast I do with my kids at www.cuddlepodcast.com.

Both sites have online players, so you can listen for free.

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My other blog is www.memorandal.com which is about nothing, and everything.

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Enjoy

The Rooster - the hardest working animal in Mexico!

2008-05-18T12:02:00.007-05:00

I was confused. It’s the middle of the night, why are the roosters crowing? Did I sleep in? Have I gone blind, and I can no longer see the sun? No. I was under the cartoonish belief that a rooster only crows at daybreak, kind of like nature’s alarm clock. That belief got shattered after a few days of noticing that roosters crow all day, all night and sometimes in between. I also noticed roosters and chickens running around free in the back streets of Mexico. Imagine that, no chicken fences in sight! Gangs of chickens would stand defiantly in front of my moving vehicle, and at the very last minute, would move out of the way. Was this some form of the game of “chicken”? Was this how they initiated young members into the flock?

I know that in Canada & the USA, the chicken is the only animal that will never die of natural causes. You never see an old chicken, and chicken retirement homes have been replaced by state of the art factories that give the typical chicken a miserable 5 weeks of life, before it makes it to your plate. Being an only child makes it hard for me to think of sharing my room (a square meter) with about 17 family members, in a house with about 40,000 others soon to be nuggets. About 5% die suffer from heart failure or other issues related to the lifestyle imposed on them. (interesting stats here) So my first thought was that roosters and chickens have escaped the rat race of the 9 to 5 job back home and decided to run away to Mexico and taste the good life. I could picture them in my mind’s eye tying their feathers together to make a rope, planning their escape Hogan’s Heroes style. Then would begin their long journey to Mexico, avoiding at all costs the Colonel & old McDonald or they would be McCaught and McFried.

In the end, it just turns out that chickens have been running free here for a very long time, and that the roosters are there to protect them. In his book “When Do Fish Sleep”, David Feldman says that ornithologists believe crowing marks out territory – kind of like male dogs peeing, only noisier and easier to clean up after. Kind of like saying: “This is my coop, get the heck out of my way, don’t mess with my woman.” (interesting article here) As it happens, mornings are the most active time for them, so they get the “Me casa es NO su casa!” out of the way, round up the flock, count the eggs and chat about the weather. Morning is also when we are more easily awoken, so we notice it more when the rooster is crowing as we are desperately trying to get some beauty sleep.

Sometimes, the crowing is the alarm for an intruder. We saw a pretty strange sight the other day, a rooster got into a fight with an Iguana, who was going for the eggs I presume. There was crowing, and lots of trash talk, and the Iguana had to find another breakfast that day.
I figure, to avoid the dreaded “chop chop”, roosters have become the hardest working animal in Mexico, crowing incessantly all through the day and night to make itself appear busy and useful.

What can we do about the issue? Short of a chicken taco, castration would work, but sort of a drastic solution. Imagine if the same solution would cure snoring in men? Enough said, let’s leave them crow and just add it to the natural sights and sounds of Mexico.

1 Tequila, 2 Tequilas, 3 Tequilas…floor.

2008-05-12T13:32:00.003-05:00

As a gringo, Tequila has a bad rap. In Canada/US, Tequila is that drink that gives you a huge headache that mostly college students drink, on a dare. But once you taste 100% Agave Tequila, it all changes. Tequila has been called, the “new wine” from the in-flight magazine I’ve read. Yuppies are switching from expensive wine to specialty Tequila as the newest fad. I honestly was surprised at how a 100% Agave Tequila on ice could be so smooth!

This week, I visited the town of Tequila, which is 65 km northwest of Guadalajara. It is such a quaint town, with the mandatory town square and church. Upon arriving, you will be greeted by many salespeople trying to get you to visit their Tequila factory. We ended up taking the bus that looks like a Tequila barrel. OK…embarrassing, but hey, that’s half the fun. The tour costs $100 pesos, and children are free (as long as they don’t drink any Tequila!). We got to see how the Agave plant is harvested, which is still much of a manual process. We tasted the processed Agave plant, and it tasted like sweet potato. At the end of the tour, you get to taste test the different kinds of Tequila, and are encouraged to buy a bottle as a souvenir.

Legend has it that the Aztecs used the plant’s leaf, but left the “pina” as waste. One day, lightning hit an Agave plant, and the Aztecs found the root, the “pina” burning briefly. Thinking this was a gift of the Gods, they tasted it, and so began the production of Tequila.

The Agave plant may take up to 10 years to mature and be harvested. It takes about seven kilograms of “pina” to produce one liter of 100% Agave Tequila.

Tequila has different categories. Blanco is what is considered the first batch, straight from the distiller to your glass. That is the Tequila that gives you that famous line: “I will never do this again.” Some Tequila can also be gold color, and this is done through coloring.

Reposado is Tequila that is aged from two months up to a year in oak casks. The factory we visited had casks from Jack Daniel! Reposado Tequila is much smoother tasting and has a natural dark coloring. If you think in Scotch terms, you would call Reposado the single malt.

The next level up of Tequila is Añejo or “extra aged”. It is usually kept for a minimum of a year up to 10 years. This is the considered the high end of the Tequila spectrum. Recently, Extra Añejo has surfaced, which is aged at least three years in oak.

Of course, with Tequila, there are the following warnings:

The consumption of Tequila may make you think you can sing.
The consumption of Tequila may lead you to believe that people are laughing WITH you.
The consumption of Tequila may lead you to think you are whispering, when you are not.

Why not tour the town of Tequila and taste for yourself what good Tequila is like. You can also take the Tequila Express train from Guadalajara on Saturdays, a costs of about $71 USD and the train leaves at 10h00 AM…(hey…it’s 12 o’clock somewhere!). You get to visit Herradura distillery, get a guided tour, live mariachis and of course, taste Tequila!

Hospitality

2008-04-20T14:33:00.002-05:00

Hospitality is sorely lacking in the world today, but it can still be found in Mexico. The other night, my wife & I, along with my father were at the Bucerias town square to find a red cowboy hat for my daughter, for a school project. Of course, we met many tourists while eating a fresh Churro (a Mexican version of the Beaver Tail but costs only $0.30) and spoke to a few of the local shop owners. All the while, my dad was standing on the corner watching some Mariachis playing on the street in front of a house. You could tell it was a private party since they had a big table on the street, they were cooking up a storm and there were plenty of guests. A few minutes passed, I look back and no longer see my dad at the corner. He is now sitting down with the locals right in front of the show and I could see a few people talking to him. Now I'm thinking that they are saying: "Hey gringo, this is a private party!" It turns out, the grandfather noticed that my dad was enjoying the music, and asked his son to invite him to sit down and enjoy the show. It was then announced that the next song was going to be dedicated and chosen by my dad. He was not sure what to pick so they dedicated the song Pancho Villa to him, because of course my dad looks like a Mexican Revolutionary! He was offered drinks and invited to have supper with the family but respectfully declined. We soon all left the town square, but my father returned with my mother to catch the last few songs of the night.
Hospitality is part of the culture of the Mexicans. Hospitality based on giving, rather than based on what one can get out of the deal.
I had a similar experience here on our street. My son went to take care of puppies just down the street, at Molly’s who is the founder of P.E.A.C.E. (Protection, Education, Animals, Culture and Environment) and when I went down to check up on him. I passed a little pickup where some of the locals were taking a much needed day off. I was invited to try a cracker with a spoonful of a mix of shrimp, green chili and cucumbers. Wow...that tasted yummy...but a little hot. So they offered me a Cerveza (Pacifico). I ended up spending a good part of the afternoon hanging around, having a few Cervezas, shrimp, and talking with them. The neighbor showed me this weird fruit which I am pretty sure is the Durian, and I was able to taste it. It smells pretty overpowering, but it tastes like a mixture of banana, mango and melon. There is this weird liquid that is very sticky, so preparing the fruit is not very pleasant, but I froze it and use it in smoothies.
Whether we are living here now, or just passing through for a vacation, we have a lot to learn about hospitality from our neighbors, the Mexicans. Why not show one act of random kindness to a stranger today! There is more happiness in giving than receiving. Find that out for yourself.

Video Fun

2008-04-20T14:30:00.002-05:00

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Welcome to Mexplanations!

2008-04-20T13:10:00.001-05:00

Glad you could drop by! You will find on this site the articles that appear in the following publications:
Tribute Puerto Vallarta

You will find links to sites or things referenced in the articles. Please leave your comments!

Cheers.

Randal Wark