Mexplanations

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 You never see an old chicken, and chicken retirement homes have been replaced by state of the art factories that give the typical chicken a miserable 5 weeks of life, before it makes it to your plate.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.

Labels: chicken, hogan's heroes, Mexico, rooster

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.

Labels: Bucerias, Mariachis, Mexico, Pancho Villa