The People United in…SCHADENFREUDE!

A recent faux pas by Mexico’s top presidential hopeful unleashes people’s intolerance of public embarrassment.

SCHADENFREUDE:  (from the German language) Enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.

Enrique Peña Nieto

There are many peculiarities of the Tapatío culture that I have yet to “get” in my years of living in Guadalajara.  Early on after having worked in academic and corporate settings here for a few months, I arrived at the conclusion that the worst sin anyone can commit against a Mexican person is to embarrass him/her in public.  I have witnessed people come up with the most inane of lies in order to avoid embarrassment.  OK, this happens everywhere but what’s interesting in Guadalajara is that everyone else may know full well that the person is lying, yet that is somehow less morally reprehensible than public shame.

During the most recent edition of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL, for its acronym in Spanish), “pretty boy” presidential hopeful Enrique Peña Nieto was asked which readings had been most influential in his life.  The guy gave an answer that made it quite clear that he is not a reader.  People forget that politicians lie all the time though this guy ventured to wing it instead.  I believe the real faux pas was the fact that neither Peña Nieto himself nor his staff had the foresight of guessing that at a large book fair, he would surely be asked about his affinity for reading.  Now, that is lack of vision right there!

A great number of people in Mexico reacted quite passionately, making great fun of the episode.  In the almost five years that I have lived here have I seldom seen Mexicans become so fervently united for a particular cause.  But Peña Nieto’s gaffe somehow became a good reason for people to flood the social media networks to incessantly ridicule the politician.  I don’t know much about him. There’s something about him that I just don’t like.  I am aware, however, that part of his potential as future president of Mexico lies in his sex appeal.  By the way, I also agree that it is important for a presidential hopeful to be well-read but can anyone accurately prove something of that sort?

It seems people have realized that what is in fact embarrassing is for Peña Nieto to have made it this far presumably just based on his good looks.  It was the people of Mexico who got him this far.  The embarrassment of making him the top presidential contender must be squashed or camouflaged by all means!  That is how the endless, mean, and downright cruel jokes have grabbed hold of the Mexican cyber-psyche.  Have we got nothing better to do with our time? Pena Nieto’s blunder is bad for him but good for Mexicans because now voters have the opportunity, prior to the July 2012 elections, of finding a “more cultured” top contender.

This situation also points out to another purported “embarrassment” that can remain in the shadows as long as there is someone else to crucify:  the average Mexican reads 1 to 3 books per year.  There’s no need to feel ashamed of that.  Everyone has a right to do with their time as they please.  It is questionable though for non-readers to malign another non-reader.   Please malign him for his lack of tangible political accomplishments.

What I really find baffling about this goes in contrast with an unrelated recent event.  The lovely city of Guadalajara has managed to stay relatively safe despite the drug-related bloodshed that the country has experienced in the last few years.  Recently, the city hosted what to date have been the most successful Pan American and Parapan American Games ever as well as the FIL, which is a massively successful event year after year.  However on November 24, the bodies of 26 people were dumped in a main artery of the city in a gruesome, highly symbolic message from organized crime to the local government.  I didn’t hear one single person talk about this. There was zero outrage, no tweets, and no Facebook updates.  The people of the city remained indifferent.  And I remain perplexed.

Back to Peña Nieto’s unfortunate blunder, a canned answer (i.e., a blatant but eloquent lie) would have done the trick and everyone else (myself included) could’ve continued with our superficial pursuits instead of actually paying enough attention to which politicians may be viable candidates for bringing Mexico out of this bloody and painful war against drugs.


Related links:

• FIL Press Conference (YouTube)
• Mexico Top Presidential Contender Can't Name Books (NY Times)

Few sins, miracles galore!

The Mexican-American artist breathes new life into old classics and enraptures the audience with her latest musical creations.

Lila Downs’s current tour, named after her most recent album “Pecados y Milagros” (Sins and Miracles), doesn’t delve into much sinning though it certainly delivers on the miraculous. In fact, it is a sin that this chanteuse extraordinaire is not a bigger star, at least here in her native Mexico.

As a child of an American father and a Mexican mother, Lila’s music speaks to the migrant class and to those of us who can no longer be pigeonholed into one single culture. The artist gained international notoriety in 2002 for her acting and musical contributions to the film Frida, starring Salma Hayek. A few years ago, I bought her deeply relatable album “One Blood/Una Sangre” on a whim, an album that is as nostalgic as it is political and that as a whole triumphs in protesting cultural complacency.

Fast forward to Lila’s recent concert in Guadalajara where the artist enchanted the audience with her unique mix of earthiness and disarming simplicity. Most Mexicans who have never left Mexico have no clue of the impact of their culture on the rest of the Latin cultures. Sadly, popular culture in Mexico has been watered down by the effects of globalization and, contemporary artists like Lila lose out to the glitz and glamour of today’s pop acts.

In comes Lila, a kind of superhero whose power is to reclaim everything that is evocative and iconic in traditional Mexican music. Ok, she sings old boleros but, no one in her generation can breathe new life into these old classics the way Lila can. The genius in her interpretations is that she can keep what is traditional but infuse it with her strong-woman personality and ‘world music’ sensitivity. Her voice is as dramatic as it is acrobatic, taking the listener on a wild ride of joy, for witnessing such a gift, and longing for the simple life of yesteryears. Her musicians are exquisitely trained and demonstrated that the show is a carefully curated cultural installation.

The concert’s song set featured upbeat and downbeat numbers, all uniquely appealing. Like the album, the show started with “Mezcalito” (Little Mezcal) which praises this cousin of tequila not for being a spirit to drown one’s sorrows but for its role in the celebration of life and nature’s bounty, Oxaca’s bounty, that is. In “Tu Cárcel’ (Your Prison), a composition of another Mexican musical genius, Marco Antonio Solis, Downs laments the loss of a lover who is dumb enough to leave…tired old topic but somehow still relevant.

Lila’s playful manner and easy banter with the audience makes her all too human and it would be easy to dismiss her based on her humbleness, but when she sings, she commands the stage, and no one can come close. The classic “Cucurrucucu Paloma” had never met a better performance. Despite the bitter lyrics, the musical arrangement coupled with Lila’s range of vocals, sometimes heart wrenching and sometimes playfully seductive, is almost celestial. “Zapata Se Queda” (Zapata Stays) is a flirty and contagious song that mixes the political with the superstitious and best of all, doesn’t take itself too seriously. The grand jewel of the concert (and of the Album as well) was Lila’s and husband Paul Cohen’s original composition “Palomo del Comalito” (Dove of the Tortilla Pan), a mélange of musical styles that is nothing short of astonishing, thanks greatly to a fascinating mix of musical instruments. The lyrics here are infused with hope. Yes, sometimes it takes that much musical hard work to get us to pay attention.

Lila’s earthiness can be better described as a fertilizing force as supposed to the harvesting quality associated with the term ‘earthy’. I’m no farmer but I bet that what you put into the earth is as important as what you reap from it. Lila gives back to the earth and a miraculous crop results. Days later, I’m still vibrating with the echoes of her invigorating gift. For that, I am forever grateful.

Lila will perform in New York on February 18. This is an artist to be experienced live! For details visit:

http://www.liladowns.com/mx/events

Also, the “Pecados and Milagros” album is available for streaming on npr.org at:

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/23/141546950/first-listen-lila-downs-pecados-y-milagros-sins-and-miracles

Lila's official website is:

http://www.liladowns.com/

Quick Update!

I'm sure many are wondering what I've been up to in 2009, especially as you see in the news how Mexico is apparently the least safe, most disease-ridden place on earth. The short answer is that I'm doing GREAT!!! Been a bit busy. So, I'm going to try to quickly summarize what's going on in my life:

1. Life at home is wonderful. We both work hard but we also know how to relax and enjoy each other's company. The level of drama is really low. However, our house could use some TLC in terms of decoration and gardening. We're finally biting the bullet and hiring someone to come in a few times a week to help with the upkeep. That way, we can focus on the pretty stuff.
2. My yoga work keeps paying dividends much beyond the $$. I now have about 50 students in all of my classes and have been specializing on working with athletic types. I just launched a yoga website in spanish (www.vidalumi.com) and have plans to go into a partnership to open my own studio. That's scheduled for September.
3. I still work at the univerisity teaching advanced business English. The semester is about to end and I think that I won't return. I found that the work is extensive, the pay is low and the students are less than motivated. Enough said.
4. I have some private clients who get English communication coaching from me. I love that work although it's, perhaps, too flexible if you follow my drift? I've learned to live with so uncertainty and it's just fine! However, I'm in talks with a colleague from the university to start expanding together this executive communication coaching idea. There's a great market for it!
5. And finally, the big thing this year is that I've been hired as the official translator for the 2011 Pan American Games. It's kind of a big deal and I'm really enjoying it. I'm meeting a lot of interesting people.
6. So don't laugh but I'm actually thinking of hiring a personal assistant. Funny, right?

I've decided that I'm no good at Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, IM and all that stuff. So, I rarely log in or I go stealth. Good old e-mail and blogging are great tools for keeping in touch.

I promise to follow up soon with my personal opinions of this crazy thing they call the Influenza health crisis. *sigh*

This is it for now. Keep in touch!

Left vs. Right: I'm talking about the brain!

I know it's been a while since my last post. It's just amazing how days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and...well, you get my point: I've been busy!

I quite enjoy listening to NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. A few months ago, I downloaded a show titled "After s Stroke, a Scientist Studies Herself" which left a huge impression on me. I confess that I was so riveted by this story that I listened to the interview several times and then told all my friends and students about it.

The (real-life) story goes something like this: Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist woke up one day to realize that she was having a stroke. The stroke, however, only happened on one side of her brain. I won't give away the story in case you want to get the scoop from the source but, I can tell you that the affected side of her brain would go on and off. During the off periods, the functions of the other side of the brain would intensify. It's just fascinating to see the extraordinary insights that Dr. Bolte Taylor experiences.

It took her about eight years to recover and she's using her experience as both a brain scientist and a stroke victim to shed light, a whole lot of it, into the subject.

While I have not read her book "My Stroke of Insight", I continued to search on the Internet to learn more about this story. Luckily, I came across a video from a TED.org presentation by Dr. Bolte Taylor. I highly recommend watching it! You can see it here. The video is about 20 minutes long.

This story has great scientific and spiritual appeal.

On a related note, back in July, there was also an interesting interview with neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga titled "Mapping The Mysteries Of The Brain's Two Halves." This one gives an easy-to-understand explanation of the relationship of both sides of the brain.

A Year in Mexico

They say, and I can vouch for this one, that as you get older time passes by increasingly fast. Anymore, a year is really nothing. In my opinion, time is the most devalued currency of modern times. I'm trying to reclaim its value in my life.

This past year, more than a transition, has really been about contrasts as I started from scratch in a new country. Frankly, it’s been a lot easier than I thought though I wouldn't try to credit anyone in particular (myself included) for the ease of the experience.

Sure, I came here with a plan and by god, the plan is unfolding and it’s even better than I had envisioned; that’s not to say that I didn’t have many doubts. Some as recent as this week.

My experience of life in Mexico reminds me of my own journey as a yoga practitioner. Not being particularly flexible with my body has actually translated into an invaluable lesson. That lesson is patience. Plain and simple.

Everyone back home knows me as a calm New Yorker. I suspect that here I’m a bit abrasive and loud. Though I’m a lot calmer than back home, there are days when the ugly New Yorker bursts the hell out! I think you have to be Mexican, by blood, to put up with the nonsensical inefficiencies of this country.

To celebrate my first anniversary here, and acknowledging that no place is really ‘perfect’, I’d like to share my experiences of the journey so far.

I want to keep this entry short so, I won’t go into the reasons why this country seems to be so badly stuck in the old ways. Suffice it to say, that everyday I get to practice my patience. I’ve gotten pretty good at it but when you know there’s a better way to do things, you can’t hush down the voices inside. On a good day, when I watch people’s (lack of) reaction to the inefficiencies, I want to praise them for their patience; on a bad day, I want to slap them awake from their feeble resignation.

What is particularly fascinating is that among all the crap, you are always met by impeccably dressed, polite, good humored, soft-spoken Mexicans who simply seem to move too darn slow. That’s it. They seem to have a different sense of time than the average American. I admit that the charm is disarming to the point that I often feel guilty for being such a tight-ass.

Some of the cultural highlights that have particularly struck me are:

- Family comes first, career comes second. There’s no wavering there.

- I’ve yet to see anyone be rude to anyone else in public. People just don’t lose their cool here. Well, except for me…just a little bit, sometimes.

- Personal hygiene ranks high in priority with everyone I’ve come across. There’s no bad odor of any sort coming out the people I’ve come in contact with.

- Mexican children are gorgeous!

- The most beautiful dark, dark eyes are right here in Mexico. They seem to be enhanced by thick, almost curly eyelashes. I find myself mesmerized.

- Driving is scary here. People are nuts! But I haven’t really seen anyone flip the bird or hardly ever blow their horns to express road rage.

- People from GDL are aloof and reserved but when they show affection, it oozes with heartfelt sincerity.

- In one year, I’ve seen like 5 dark skinned (black) people.

- I didn’t know what contamination really was until I moved here. I’m actually allergic to it.

- I haven’t seen a drop of rain since last September.

With all that said, some of the personal experiences that I’m deeply grateful for include:

- I’ve learned to build in and enjoy guilt-free leisure time every day of the week.

- I love shopping at the farmer’s markets for the freshest, most beautiful produce. Beyond that, I love bantering and haggling with the sellers.

- Yup, I’ve learned to haggle. You’re expected to do it.

- Cooking (and having the time to do it) has become a source of joy and creativity that I hope to never let go of.

- Real Mexican food is wonderful! It can be healthy, actually, and it’s always fresh.

- Home is a sacred space for Chava and I. Particularly, every weekend is a chance for renewal, celebration, and mutual growth.

- My students and clients revere my knowledge and my position, treating me with the utmost respect, which makes me look forward to spending time with them.

- I have time to listen to my favorite podcasts -- most of them from the US, helping me keep a pulsebeat on life in America.

- I enjoy meeting country folk who are outspoken, friendly, funny, and infinitely wise.

- I like it when random strangers easily greet you on the streets. I think I've become friendlier as a result.

- People are always late to social events. Live with it!

I view these experiences as a unique opportunity to integrate who I really am and to increase my sensitivities about everything that unites us human beings regardless of cultural background. I’m happy. Perhaps the plan wasn’t a real plan after all. Perhaps it was a trick for me to safely venture out of my comfort zone and collect life-affirming memories along the way.

I think I’ll stop here. I'm trying to be good about posting more frequently.

Portfolio Career

OK, OK! I know I haven’t been very good about keeping up with this blog. You’re probably wondering what I’m up to these days. Busy. Happily busy.

So, I thought I would do a quick post just to fill everyone in on the recent events of my life in GDL.

Right now, I’m very focused on work. I had a bit of a slowdown after I stopped working for the institute at the end of November in order to go solo. Since then I worked on legalizing my business (boy, that one requires its own entry!) and drumming up business. After many phone calls and endless conversations, things finally started to pick up in late March. I’ve learned so many (sometimes painful) lessons from that experience.

So, what exactly do I do? My career can be best described as a “portfolio career”; that is, I do several, mostly unrelated things; all of which I love.

My main source of income comes from my English teaching gigs. Both of them are business-oriented courses taught on the premises. I use textbooks but re-interpret a lot of the exercises and make them a lot more exciting from a creative standpoint. I love that part of the work though it’s time consuming but awesomely rewarding.

I also have a private client, a lawyer, who is in the process of applying for an MBA program in the US and needs help refining her English skills. We have so much fun working toward that goal!

My other major source of income comes from my yoga classes. I teach at the Pilates studio and at a mansion in a shi-shi neighborhood to a set of nine well-to-do ladies. Also, one of the companies where I teach English hired me to give classes there. How cool is that?

As a backup, I can also take the occasional translation work and do some technical writing through project bidding on elance.com. So, that’s what a portfolio career is all about.

My workload is pretty darn good. I teach a total of 12 hours of English per week and about 12 hours of Yoga. The drawback is that I always have to work around my clients' business hours (early in the AM, at lunchtime – 2PM here, and after 5:30PM). My work schedule runs Monday thru Thursday. Fridays are practically my day off though I run around a lot and leave weekends for total play and relaxation.

My worst days are Mondays and Wednesdays. I leave the house at 7AM, come in and out a few times and my last Yoga class ends at 9:15PM. I have decent gaps of time during the day which allow me to go to the gym, do costume changes, cook a healthy dinner, plan my lessons, and not to mention wind down a bit several times a day. Yes, I always have time to go to Starbucks! At the end of the day, I'm hardly even tired.

For exercise, I go to the gym Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for about 1.5 hours to lift weights and to practice boxing with an awesome teacher who is still a competitive boxer. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to the Pilates studio (where they have reformer machines) and also practice Yoga at home.

Since I am my own boss, I’ve instituted a pretty liberal vacation policy. My clients are pretty chill about that. The plan is to give myself a one week vacation every four to eight weeks, depending on the time of the year. Things are looking up in that respect. Next vacation destination? CUBA…before Fidel kicks the bucket.

There’s a lot of demand for both English and Yoga here though networking is essential. I could take on more clients but for now, I’m more interested in a healthy and balanced life. However, if a real interesting project comes along, I’m all over it. Some potentially exciting Yoga opportunities might be working with one of the world famous soccer teams (Chivas!) or with some tri-athletes. For English, I'm being considered for starting a new program with GDL's emergency response system (like 911) and I also have some leads at a couple universities. I feel blessed to have so many options.

Stay tuned for more entries…I have a lot of exciting stuff to talk about! Next up, I plan to write about my first year anniversary here. Yes, there’ve been some cultural challenges but I’m still here. 8-)

Roasted Tomato Soup a la Mexicana

This delicious recipe was inspired by a NYTimes podcast of “The Minimalist” Mark Bittman. The main difference is that I use fresh tomatoes and spiced it up with green chiles to give it a Mexican flare.


This recipe yields 4 appetizer size servings. There are three main processes to this recipe:

1 – Steam-cook the tomatoes (15-20 minutes)

Ingredients:
- 10-12 very ripe plum tomatoes, skinned*
- 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup of celery, chopped
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning mix or fresh mix of oregano, rosemary, and basil
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

1. You’ll need a medium-sized pot with a tight-fitting lid.
2. Mix all the ingredients the pot, keeping the tomatoes whole.
3. Cover and steam at medium heat until the tomatoes begin to fall apart (about 10-15 minutes).

2 – Roast the tomatoes (15-20 minutes)

1. Scoop out just the tomatoes from the pot, draining them as much as possible, and set aside.
2. Drain the remaining stuff from the pot into a bowl making sure to squeeze the juice out of all the ingredients, and set aside the broth.
3. Place the tomatoes in a cookie sheet or oven tray.
4. Drizzle the tomatoes lightly with some olive oil and oregano.
5. Put in the oven at 450 and bake until the tomatoes begin to brown at the tops.
6. Remove tomatoes from the tray and scrape off any brown crispiness on the tray using some of the tomato broth that was set aside.

3 – Make the soup (8-12 minutes)

Ingredients:
- Remaining tomato broth that was previously set aside
- 4 cups of chicken broth (preferably home-made)
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- ½ red onion
- 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
- ¼ fresh parsley or cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Sautee the garlic and onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the carrots and sautee for another two minutes.
3. Add the tomato and chicken broths.
4. Add the roasted tomatoes.
5. Add salt and pepper, if desired.
6. Let it boil for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the fresh parsley or cilantro and let boil for another 2 minutes.
8. Remove from heat.
9. Serve in a medium sized bowl and drizzle some fresh cheese (Cotija or Parmesan) and eat with a nice crusty bread!

* for skinning the tomatoes, I boil some water in a pot, and drop each tomato for 20-30 seconds. Take the tomato out, rinse with cold water and proceed to peel with fingers or with a pearing knife.