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/

The $8,000 Elevator

I've had my car for 4 years now and it's in great condition though it had accumulated some pretty unsightly pings and dings, most of them my fault. As most of my friends know, I'm kind of good about taking care of my car. That is, I take it for scheduled maintenance on time.

OK, so last month, I decided to spend a bunch of money to get the car detailed inside-out and alas the car looks great...like new! Fabulous!

Last week, on a hot afternoon, returning home from work, the electric passenger window started acting up and I certainly messed with it enough until it stopped working altogether. I, of course, ran to the local SAAB dealer...they looked at it, and told me that it would cost me MXN $8,000 (about $800 USD) to get the whole elevator replaced since, for some strange reason, they couldn't just replace the small plastic piece that had broken off. Oh dear, I thought. And since I'm nuts, I also thought, oh sh*t, this has got to get fixed...RIGHT NOW...I CAN'T LIVE WITH THE WINDOW LIKE THISSSSSSS!!!!

BUT this is Mexico, right? So the customer service rep tells me, with a wink "Why don't you take it elsewhere? And who knows? Maybe they can fix it for cheaper..."

I wondered how much cheaper? Half the price? Certainly good enough for me.

I called Chava and he told me that in Guadalajara there's a whole district of shops where you can get car parts for cheap. The parts mostly come from stolen cars. I felt a little cringe but again, it was a small plastic part, probably made in China. The wave of guilt left me as soon as it came and I promptly said "Yes, let's do it!"

On Saturday morning we drove out to "the district". I was frightened by most of the sights - wild dogs, bandidos, the ever-present taco stand, dirt everywhere, the shops were shacks with rusty car parts hanging everywhere! Oh, and there was this street vendor who tried to talk me into buying a pair of binoculars...with night vision. Actually, the whole thing reminded me a bit of the South Bronx but with carnies, if I really used my imagination. I said to myself "OK, Cris now you really are in Mexico!"...and "Thank God for Chava!". He even knew where to go, a place called "El Chino."

Anyway, someone was able to help us quickly, as in zero wait, the work was done right there on the sidewalk. The staff was polite, professional and efficient; better yet, I had a new *metal* piece (which presumably lasts a long long time) installed in less than a half hour. The cost? MXN $600 (like sixty green ones!). Hell yeah! Unbelievable, right? This must've been one of the most memorable Saturday mornings I can remember, not counting this one time I was really hungover in Vegas. One time? I digress...this time, I was just shocked and full of glee.

With the leftover money, we headed to Teatro Diana and bought unbelievably cheap tickets for RENT. We also ate a nice lunch, bought floor tiles for the yard, then went to the movies...we didn't even come close to spending USD $100 for the whole day. Holy cow!

As for the guilt...well, I just have to accept that I'm in Mexico and I ain't gonna change it!