Staring at Strangers

One More Reason to Run for the Border

Quality medical care for less.

 

Technorati Tags: health care, dentistry, physicians, Mexico

Sacrificing Santa

Over at The Immoral Minority, published where surely the North Pole is within sight on a clear day, Santa has been rescued from the thrashing he’s been given by both the politically correct and the religious right. Maybe it is time that we restore him, his goodness and cheer during the world’s day off. There’s a lot more unity in gathering ‘round good ol’ Saint Nick than passing around a baby doll for everyone to kiss.

Like this image? Let’s give credit to Prefiero soñar despierto for that.

 

Technorati Tags: Navidad, Christmas, Santa Claus

Can You Sing “Silent Night” in Hebrew?

 

Technorati Tags: Paul Rudnick, Tips for the Sensitive Christian, Christmas

Devolution of Memory

Bill Clinton was the Man from Hope, and Obama was The Audacity of Hope. In between those two came Vicente Fox’s Revolution of Hope. Hope never let any politician down. Hope is right up there with kissing babies and handing out party favors.

I’ll never forget arriving at La Soledad, an elegant resort in the old colonial silver city of Morelia, more like a hill town in Tuscany with its ancient vine-covered aqueducts and gracious cathedrals.

—Revolution of Hope, Vicente Fox and Rob Allyn

Morelia’s old, and it’s colonial, but Taxco and Guanajuato it’s not. If there’s any silver here, it has yet to be discovered. Since when have Morelia’s aqueducts been covered with vines? Is there more than one cathedral in Morelia?

 

Technorati Tags: Revolution of Hope, Vicente Fox

Matters of Faith

They call it the religion of death, the cult of criminals, narcos and riff-raff. The Catholic Church doesn’t much like it, and neither does the government. All of this sounds suspiciously like a cult that started some two thousand years ago, doesn’t it? That’s Santa Muerte for you.

So, it was the day before Day of the Dead, and we’ve seen everything new there was to see in Patzcuaro. It was time to do some exploring, and we went off to the tiny burg of Santa Ana, nestled along the winding road between Patzcuaro and Erongaricuaro. On the lake side of the road sits a small chapel dedicated to Santa Muerte, and we went in, not knowing what to expect.

We were taken aback by what we saw. And fascinated. The chapel was filled with a refreshing sense of faith, mixed in with caring, devotion, and humor – more so than what we’d seen in ages and ages. A catrina sat waiting for the perfect man, and it’d been evident that she’d been waiting a damn long time. The people in charge weren’t the kind of folks who’re “not our kind.” For all I knew, they could’ve been actuaries, orthodontists and schoolteachers. They were amazingly normal. They were nice and gracious people, the kind of people you’d pick for neighbors.

So, why is everyone up in arms over Santa Muerte? Beats me. Maybe it’s the frank honesty that institutions really fear.

Many thanks go to Marisol Contreras of Morelia for supplying these photos when our camera didn’t work.

Technorati Tags: Santa Muerte, Santa Ana, Patzcuaro, Holy Death

The Wondrous World of Wieners

Sure, you’ve seen Un Chien Andalou. But what about a Perro Caliente Sonorense? Feed your frankfurter fantasies right here. It’s the stuff Mexican people like. Except for me. Let’s just call it Hermosillo’s Revenge.

 

Mandatory FTC-mandated disclosure: Oscar Meyer did not give Staring at Strangers a free hot dog or anything of value. No dogs were injured in the publication of this blog.

Technorati Tags: hot dog, frankfurter, Sonora, wiener

A Dog’s Dinner in Utopia

54 eggs

2 jars of minced garlic

15 pounds of ground turkey

5 huge bags of stuffing cubes

4 giant bags of mixed vegetables

3 bags of shredded cheddar cheese

6 cans of Alpo prime cuts

3 large bottles of olive oil

a large sack of dog food

That’s what Clark Kent and his pack at the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch over in the Hill Country of Texas will be eating on Thanksgiving day.

And poor little Goodman, the Nearly Perfect Doberman, will just have to make do with the same old dog risotto he has to eat day in, day out. But since he’s Mexican, Thanksgiving is just another day to him.

Technorati Tags: Cousin Nancy, dog rescue, Utopia Animal Rescue

Blogging Leads to Bucks

The Anonymous Lawyer Jeremy Blachman gets this book deal from his blog detailing the nefarious dealings at a nefarious BigLaw firm in some big city.

Christian Lander takes note of Stuff White People Like, and that lands him a book deal. And I’ve heard from good authority that there was a time when the guy didn’t even like being white.

Julie Powell starts cooking and writes about her relationship with Julia Childs, who hated her when she found out. But that’s not important, since Julie got a book deal and a movie out of the concept. And another book dealing about butchering and having an affair.

Then, shades of Walter Miller’s Home Page, Justin Halpern starts Twittering about ShitMyFatherSays, and he lands a book deal within a month.

And all the while, Staring at Strangers gets nothing. But then, who would really be interested in lawyers, Astoria, Queens, Mexico, and WhateverTheFuckWeWriteAbout?

Mandatory FTC-mandated disclosure: Even though I wrote somewhere about Jeremy Blachman, he didn’t send me anything. Christian Lander sent me a review copy of Stuff White People Like, and I’ve met his Gangs of San Miguel father. I paid to see Julie & Julia, but I would not turn down a review copy of her book about butchering. Walter Miller responded to an e-mail I sent him around 1996, saying that I had a Laura “”out on the veranda” Ashley name.

Technorati Tags: Jeremy Blachman, Julie Powell, Christian Lander, Rich Lander, Walter Miller, Justin Halpern

Secret Lives under the Volcano

Many ask me what life is like in Mexico. We move in slow motion amid Technicolored landscapes wearing bright-colored clothing while symphonies supply the background noise. Nature’s bounty hold us in constant rapture. We are a passionate people, you see. The rest of the time we simply engage in our national pastime of smiling. That is, when we’re not breaking into dance at the drop of a hat.

And we do a sweeping curtsy before Jason Dormady’s Secret History: Reflections of Latin America for sharing the secret lives of Mexicans with the rest of the world.

 

Technorati Tags: Mexico, Jason Dormady, Mexican tourism

Everyone Needs a Velvet Apron

As we sat over breakfast on the day before the Day of the Dead at La Surtidora, overlooking Patzcuaro’s Plaza Grande, I thought aloud “I get to wake up in Michoacán 365 days a year, and I’m thankful for that. Look at these tourists, the poor souls, who only get to do so a few days here and there.” Telling myself that I wasn’t going to buy any artesania this year, partly because I’ve collected enough and mostly because money is in short supply, in less than thirty minutes, I broke my pledge in the Ocumicho aisle where an embroidered velvet apron just had my name on it. Deploying my new routine of offering 60% of the asked price and just once, I let the fates decide whether it would go home with me or not. Within minutes, the vendor found me and accepted my price.

No, I’m not going to wear the apron. It will find itself displayed on a mannequin someplace in the rose museum of arts and treasures. Definitely next to the Santiago Apostol on the green-eyed horse. And, of course, my two-hundred year-old cannonball.

Unlike last year, shoppers in Patzcuaro were out in full force. I saw no non-local Estadounidenses, but maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough. The atmosphere in Patzcuaro has changed palpably over years past, merchants actually acting as if they appreciated visitors instead of treating potential shoppers as if they were little more than annoying intruders. Morelia-based candy purveyor La Estrella set up shop over near where the Oasis once was, and the woman running the store greeted us warmly, refusing to let us leave the store until we’d tasted nearly everything for sale.

Maybe that year of hitting rock bottom was a much-needed wake-up call that Patzcuaro needed.

Technorati Tags: Patzcuaro, Ocumucho, mandil, apron, artesania