Mexico - A Beautiful Country Wracked with Problems

I've been writing a lot lately, for a website called Suite 101, another called Helium. And, of course, I've been blogging here. I've also been busy on a memoir. All this writing has put my head in a space where I take only casual notice of the external world. Yet, if I don't speak to real people from time to time, I'll go nuts.

With this in mind, on January 1, I went to a fantastic New Year's Day dinner. Ninety-three people filled my people quota for a while. Yesterday, which was Tuesday, but I thought it was Wednesday; I was off to a garden club party.

I rang the doorbell and Dora opened it, welcomed me, invited me in and said I could come back on Wednesday. We toured her garden. I'm sure she was inconvenienced but gracious. Although I missed the party, I got some great gardening tips.

On my way home from Dora's, I dropped into a restaurant for a coffee. I was served two pieces of sweet bread, and a cup of coffee. I explained I didn't want the sweet bread, only coffee. The waitress told me the cup of coffee would cost $22 pesos. I was shocked. "No, no $15 pesos es normal, no?" She gave me a lot of information as to why prices have gone up so much in Oaxaca. I've never experienced inflation like this before. Two years ago a cup of coffee was $12 pesos, now a cup of coffee is $22 pesos. And, the coffee is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

She was so well informed that I asked her if she was the owner. She told me that she was simply an employee, but she worked the cash register and many people were questioning the increases.

I think part of the reason inflation is so bad is because the Mexican peso has devalued. $3,000 pesos in July were worth $252.96 Canadian dollars. Now, $3,000 pesos are worth $227.48. People I know here are very excited at the perceived benefits of their American or Canadian dollars going farther, but there are two sides to each coin.

After I left the restaurant, I walked past Santo Domingo Cathedral. There were over one thousand ceramic figures in front of the cathedral and stretching down Calle de Alcala. Apparently the plan is to complete 2,501, which represents the number of men from one village that have had to go the United States in order to support their families. The artist is Alejandro Santiago.

Inflation, devaluation of the peso, emigration to the United States, this is a beautiful country that is wracked with problems.

Pancho Villa Look Alikes Take to the Street

This morning on my way to the Oaxaca Street Children Centre I heard music, a marching band playing "Roll Out the Barrel." Curious, I took a detour up Acala, a Street I don't usually walk in the morning, but it was the street the parade was coming from.

The parade consisted of a few trumpets and drums played by children likely in Secondaria and a large group of preschoolers dressed in revolutionlary clothes, along with adults, likely their parents and teachers. There were many little Pancho Villa look a likes, interestingly none were reminiscent of Emillo Zapata. It was an odd day for them to march because the governement declared Monday Mexican Revolution Day, but the actual date is November 20, 1910. The day Madero denounced Diaz.

Alcala Street

For those of you reading this blog who are not familiar with Mexico's history, here's a very brief outline. The first constitution was implemented in 1824, and ignored by dictator Porfirio Diaz who was a Mexican dictator in power from 1876 to 1911. Diaz suppressed the people of Mexico and was the primary catalyst that brought about the Mexican Revolution, which went on for roughly ten years, from 1910 to 1920. Madero was the first Revolotionary President, and was shot be those who placed him in power. Carranza brought the factions together, Zapata from the south, Pancho Villa in the north, the Catholic Church, the worker's unions and others to develope a new constitution. The constintutions that governs Mexico today is the constitution that was developed in 1917.

Independence from Spain, the Mexican Revolution and perhaps the expulsion of France are the three primary historic events that Mexicans celebrate. Sort of. . . ask any Mexican about their country and their government and there isn't a single Mexican, other than the few elite, who believe those in power are anything other then no count thieves and that the fighting and loss of life was all for nothing.

The kids did look cute, and the children at the Oaxaca Street Children Centre have their costumes ready for the concert they will give Friday.