The Mexican Version of Crufts

Getting ready!

The Mexican version of Crufts is a lot noisier, more accessible and cheaper than the English one. It is also somewhat smellier, owing to the fact that spectators can bring their mutt along to watch.

The show took place in the Mexican World Trade Centre, located in the most un-Mexican district imaginable full of Italian and American street names..

Every reputable dog breeder made an appearance, business cards at the ready and presented their best puppy before the judges. I can’t remember exactly what they are judged on but it had something to do with the way they ran round in circles and made themselves dizzy. Here is the winner of the St Bernard competition.

Other competitions were more complex, involving agility tests like these:

Some dogs were pocket-sized, like this chihuahua.

Although the chihuahua is native to Mexico, they don't cope very well with the climate and they shiver all the time unless it's summer. I was cradling this one to try and warm it up.

Other dogs snuggled together in this lady's handbag.

The dogs were right to take cover. Going back to Ale's house later on, the road was practically a river.

When I arrived in Mexico, I joked that Mexicans didn't know what rain was but it turns out the opposite is true. I've never seen it rain so hard in my life and was astonished at how suddenly the level of water rose.

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However, thanks to Ale's masterful driving, we made it home safely.

Mexican Teachers Protest against Peña Nieto’s Education Reform

(As published in the Oxonian Globalist)

Controversy over Education Reforms results in police clashes with striking teachers in Mexico City.

After weeks of disruption for residents and workers in Mexico City, teachers protesting in Zócalo Square have been forcibly removed. Riot police used tear gas to disperse the occupiers and were backed up by armoured vehicles and helicopters. The teachers (who mostly came from Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and Tabasco) belonged to the CNTE Teachers’ Union and were campaigning against the government’s educational reform, which was passed by congress on Wednesday September 4th.The educational reform aims to improve the low standard of education in Mexico by being tougher on teachers and giving the Union less power. Protestors fear this will result in mass lay-offs for Mexican teachers.

However, the Union’s fear is not entirely justified because government proposals only pose a threat to job security in cases of incompetence. Up until now, the Teachers’ Union has had complete control over the education system. The Union has abused this power and there are numerous reports of corruption within the organization. The most notable example is the embezzlement of public funds by the CNTE which culminated in the arrest of ex-Union leader Elba Ester Gordillo on February 26^th last year, who was alleged to have stolen more than $2 billion pesos. Under the Teaching Union’s rule, jobs in education could be obtained through contacts not merit; nepotism rather than qualifications. For example, teachers had the right to sell their jobs or pass them on to their children. Cancelling classes for no reason was common and the Union did nothing to prevent it. 

Whereas, under the new education reform, the Union will be stripped of its budget (which will be re-directed to the government) and teacher assessments from independent bodies will become mandatory. Those who fail their performance evaluations will be given the opportunity to improve and risk being dismissed or re-shuffled if they refuse to comply. Teachers’ children will no longer inherit their parents’ jobs automatically and teachers who miss more than 3 classes in a row without an adequate excuse will be sacked.

Perhaps as a consequence of incompetent teaching, Mexican education is below par. A study carried out by the OECD in 2012 found that only 47% of Mexican students are expected to graduate from secondary school. Instead of completing their studies, the average student goes to school for 8.7 years, which means that if they were going to school in England, they would leave just after Year 8.

Furthermore, the percentage of 15-29 year-olds who are neither in education nor employed (NEET) is the third highest in the OECD area. Within this category, women are three times more likely to be NEET than men. This figure can be explained by early pregnancy. According to the newspaper La Reforma, 69 births in every 1000 are teenage births (between 15 and 19 years old) and a quarter of Mothers in Latin America gave birth when they were less than 20-years old. Mexico is a very Catholic country and most children are not taught about sexual education, except to say that sex is wrong. Peña Nieto has done nothing to address this problem or change the sex-ed. curriculum.

Other criticisms of the reform include the overemphasis on teacher assessment, which sparked the protests in the first place and the fact that his proposal is incredibly expensive. At a time when Mexico is suffering from an economic crisis and is indebted to other countries, carrying out 800 000 teacher performance evaluations per year will be costly. Moreover, if the Union is corrupt, who is to say that the government is any more trustworthy in its handling of the education budget? We should also ask what the performance evaluations will entail. Surely a rural teacher who has to walk a long way to school and has little resources should be assessed in a different way from a city teacher with lots of material. Also, is it fair to mark a teacher in their 1^st year of the job against the same criteria as a teacher who has 20 years of experience?

All in all, the Mexican Education Reform is a step in the right direction. According to Zamarripa, a columnist for the magazine Reforma, “the 2013 demonstration is a socio-political movement which epitomizes the crisis of our times.” However, the education reform is not a panacea. It is a response to the education crisis but is not a solution. The quality of education here varies drastically from school to school;  and is a facor which contributes to the high levels of inequality in Mexico. Currently, 43% of the population does not meet the requirements for a basic education including key skills such as reading, writing and maths. This figure is unacceptable in an increasingly competitive and educated world. Enrique Peña Nieto may have passed some new laws but he needs to do much more than that to introduce and maintain higher education standards in Mexico.  

Independence Day

Mexican Independence Day and it’s raining. The town centre, usually packed for the event, is half-filled with a sodden crowd of Mexicans; their beautiful traditional dress covered by raincoats. One baby braving the climate has a raincoat that looks like a duck. The Mother looks bemused when I take a photo of it; but not angry so I guess I got away with it!

Grumpy policemen also donned their raincoats. (But the baby's one is better, of course!)

The reason it’s such miserable weather at the moment is due to hurricanes in nearby Guerrero and Cuernavaca. About 20 people have died and the roads are flooded.

Back in rainy (but not hurricaney) Puebla, we saw some traditional folk dancing which was beautiful and the music was really good as well. They played songs like Viva Mexico!, Ojala que llueva café en el campo and other Mexican classics. There were Mexican flags everywhere as well as masks, hairbands, horns & all sorts of tatt emblazoned with the national colours: red, white and green.

Undeterred by the rain, market sellers advertise their goods and the people missing from the Town Square take shelter under their tents. They gorge on tacos, gorditos, molletes, tamales, lotes, nopales and pozole, or a combination of the above.

Returning to the car at dusk, Edu couldn’t open the car door. The lock had been broken as some hooligans had evidently tried to wrench it off. We waited by the car as Edu went to find help and felt very tense because some dodgy looking people were passing. Maybe we were just being paranoid but given the vandalism we had just encountered then it was probably wise to be alert.

Eventually, Edu stumbled upon a mechanic while asking where to find a locksmith in the pastelería. He managed to prise the lock off the car so the door opens but now it doesn’t shut. He didn’t charge for his service but offered to put the handle back on so I’m sure Edu will pay him handsomely for his services.

Given the course of events, we were late to dinner at Nadya’s house. Her Mother’s food was famous in DF (=Mexico City) where she sold fried fish and a fiery prawn soup (which I’ve tried but don’t remember the name of. ) She served pozole, frijoles, patos and much more and although I was hungry when I came, I was achingly full when I left.

Frustratingly, I’m still in culture shock when it comes to the food. Although I’ve recovered from gastroenteritis and I’ve been here for over a month, my British belly can’t stomach a plato fuerte. In Britain, I thought I was fairly good with chilli but now I realize that I barely knew the meaning of spicy food until I came to Mexico!

                                                    Source:Icanhascheezburger.com. 

By the time we had finished eating, it was about 10.30pm and almost time to leave for the club. We had a table reserved (all Mexican clubs have tables so you buy more drinks/fall onto table and bruise self by accident) but we wanted to stay and watch the telly to see President Peña Nieto and his telenovela wife announce ‘El Grito de Dolores’ in Mexico City.

11pm and the bells sounded for ‘El Grito’. This marks the moment when in 1810, the priest Hidalgo rang the bells to gather a congregation and proclaim Mexico’s independence against the Spanish. The sky lit up with fireworks across the whole of Mexico.

Zocalo, Mexico City. Photo from noticierostelevisa.esmas.com

The Two Faces of Mexico

There is a lot of stick on social media at the moment for Year Abroad blogs. People seem to think that bloggers writing from abroad are pretentious, self-indulgent twats who have an unlimited budget and a massive ego. I’d like to promise you that this blog is a chunder-free site which does not include any ‘spiritual’ clichés such as ‘the awesome power of nature and the insignificance of man.’ If at any point, I do sound like this, feel free to punch me!!

Above: Please no!! Don't let me become one of those!

By writing this blog, I’m not trying to patronize anyone; only to show from my own personal experiences that the media depiction of Latin America as a drug-haven with masses of violence and corruption is a gross generalization which causes people to overlook some of its more positive attributes. Even the media portrayal of Mexico’s problems is somewhat simplistic and unfair. I’m not going to pretend that everything is perfect here but the fact that English-speaking countries only seem to hear about the most dangerous, radical events does not give you a balanced impression of the country.

Most people are not drug-lords; they are just ordinary people going about their day-to-day lives. If you believe the stereotype about Latin America, you would trust no-one and be suspicious of anyone who approaches you. In which case, you would alienate yourself from a society which will often go out of their way to help a stranger. The same cannot be said in London, where no one will help you up if you fall over in the street and no one has the time to tell you directions.  

Above: what Londoners are likely to do if you fall over

As anyone who knows me well can tell you, I have a horrendous sense of direction so I often rely on fellow passengers to help me out. But even for people with a better navigation system, the Mexican bus system is pretty much unintelligible. The route can change without notice and there are no printed maps or timetables. So you must ask people where to go because there is no chance you can figure it out on your own.

Last weekend, I was on my way to Capu to see my boyfriend in Mexico City. I’d had a long week and think I drifted off halfway through the bus ride because when I woke up, I was in a small town called Capulín on the outskirts of Puebla.

I asked a fellow passenger where I was and the lady told me to get off with her because she was dropping her cousin off soon and could give me a lift. Off I got and instead of heading into the car with her cousin, she brought me into her house and invited me to lunch with some relatives.

The house was a concrete room with no floor, one bed for four people,one sink and a load of junk hidden under the bed. I politely refused lunch on the grounds of hygiene and my eyes were drawn towards a massive television which was showing a telenovela. My boyfriend later explained that even the poorest people can afford TVs because they pay it off in a loan bit by bit, month by month. Even so, I was surprised that they chose to invest their money in something that might be considered a luxury item when they seemed so hard-up.

About an hour later, the family finally finished their lunch. The husband came in and said hello to me, without even questioning why a white girl had unexpectedly turned up at his house. The children were all staring at me and pointing, as if they had never seen a foreigner before.

On we walked, me and the lady to find the bus station and get to Capu. By this point, I had figured that there was no car and that this was a stupid place for a Westerner to walk because non-poblanos simply don’t come here. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable; but at the same time, I was grateful for the opportunity to see Mexico from the perspective of how half the population really live and escape the middle-class bubble I was stuck in in Puebla.

I’m not going to lie, the scared foreigner part of me was certain I’d get robbed. And everyone told me how stupid I was to trust a stranger, especially when I was carrying some valuables and didn’t know where I was. Of course, they were right and I won’t be so reckless in future.

But, thankfully, the only thing that happened to me was the señora asked me to donate a T-shirt because she sold clothes to be able to afford her children’s education. Of course I gave it to her but was careful to hide the contents of my rucksack, which she was becoming a little too interested in. I paid her bus-fair back because it was less than a penny but said goodbye to her at the next stop. I think she wanted to help but I needed a second opinion and the driver told me I was going in the wrong direction. I wasn’t about to risk turning up at a second household god-knows-where with god-knows who and continued my journey without her.

All weekend I was thinking about that woman. I still don’t know what she wanted from me. Maybe she was trying to help me in her own misguided way. Maybe she would have robbed me if I’d have got off at the next station. But I guess there’s no point speculating because I’ll never know the answer to these questions.

I was very late to DF because of that detour and also because it’s the rainy season at the moment so the roads are flooded so you have to go slowly when driving.

Source: http://www.m-x.com.mx/2013-09-06/la-lluvia-provoca-mas-de-100-encharcamientos-en-10-delegaciones-del-df/

The next day, we went to see the teachers protesting, which I will tell you more about in my next entry as part of my article for the Globalist. The only think I want to mention now is that to me, it seemed like a very selfish strike which is leaving kids who should be in school on the street and is making life Hell for millions of commuters and residents in Mexico City.

Having said that, I’ve got pretty used to the chaos in Mexico City. It’s so full you feel engentada (overwhelmed by the number of people), which isn’t helped by the number of casually-employed street sellers which tend to sell the same thing in the same space. Whenever you stop at traffic lights people try to sell you confectionary or newspapers or perform tricks. The saddest thing is when you see kids doing it.

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Source: 20minutos.es

Another thing that contributes to that engentada feeling is the protests Protests are a national past-time in Mexico and some causes seem more worthy than others. I want to end with the most entertaining protest I’ve ever seen in which about fifty to one hundred campesinos were salsaing naked in the street.  To be honest, I’m not sure what they were campaigning about but they certainly got a lot of publicity and everyone was wolf-whistling their encouragement. 

How to Indulge your Sweet Tooth in Mexico

Mexico's sugary treats are a little kid's wildest dream and a diabetic's nightmare.

Here's a list of the top ten sweet things you should try if you visit Mexico:

1. Miguelitos

In Mexico, they put chilli in everything... 

Chilli & chocolate, chilli & mints, chilli & sherbert (see above)

and many more weird and wonderful combinations!

2. Pan Dulce/ Pan de Fiesta

Deliciously fattening: sugary bread, perfect for fiestas or a mid-day snack.

My friend Alma treated me for lunch today.

We started healthily with a soup and salad

then ended on a sugar high with pan dulce filled with nieve (ice cream).

Loved the textures and sweetness.

3.Pastel 

                                              Birthday cake from a local pasteleria.

                          Topped with mango, pineapple and a glace cherry. Chosen by Ale :)

                        (And yes, if you look closely, you can see the bitemark in my cake. See

                                                previous post for explanation!!)

4. Pozol

Mexican legend states that if you drink posol 

(traditional Mayan drink made from fermented corn dough with cocoa),

you will return to the place where you drank it.

Does this mean I'm going back to Chiapas?

45 Jamoncillo

Dulce made from pumpkin seeds, milk and sugar.

A traditional poblano sweet.

.6. Jugo de toronja y guayaba

Sweet guyaba (plus a sprinking of sugar) 

compliments the sourness of the citrus fruit, toronja.

7. Mango

You don't know what mango tastes like until you go to a country which grows it.

Divine.

(If Mexican, add chilli as desired)

8. Dulce de Leche

Personally, I'm not a fan. But this sickly sweet

confection made from caramelizing milk

remains popular all over Latin America.

You can eat it with toast or on its own (gross!)

9. Alegrias

Nutty, seedy, sugary delights

10. Borrachitos

Another poblano delicacy. 

A bit like turkish delight but with a hint of tequila;

hence the name.

Jokes about Borachitos-the people not the sweets-in Spanish

Amigo de borrachito: ¿Quieres tomar un taxi?

Borrachito: ¡No, ya no quiero mezclar!

______________________________________________________

Borrachito: Bebí para olvidar de ella. ¡Pero ahora la veo doble!

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Money, money, money

The recent controversy over Britain’s decision to put Jane Austin’s face on a tenner got me thinking about the relationship between a country’s currency, history and cultural heritage.

This inspired the theme of the following post, which examines the cultural history of Mexico in pesos and banknotes.

     1)1000 pesos

Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla not only appears on a banknote but also has an airport named after him. He was the leader of the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821), when the Mexicans fought the Spanish to regain control of their own country. As part of this war, he led an army of just under 90,000 campesinos and Mexican civilians. Hidalgo’s forces were poorly equipped and trained and were defeated by the Spaniards. Hidalgo was later executed by a Spanish firing squad.

    2) 500 pesos

Diego Riviera-aka el sapo (the toad) appears on the front of this banknote and his ex-wife, Freida Kahlo on the back. Reasons for their separation include mutual infidelities and el sapo’s violent temper. In their lifetime, Riviera’s art was far more famous than Kahlo’s;  whereas nowadays, Kahlo’s work is more internationally renowned.

Above: photo of Frida and el sapo. Source: wiki

Kahlo on love:

"Leaving is not enough. You must stay gone. Train your heart like a dog. Change the locks even on the house he's never visited. You lucky, lucky girl. You have an apartment just your size. A bathtub full of tea. A heart the size of Arizona, but not nearly so arid. Don't wish away your cracked past, your crooked toes, your problems are papier mache puppets you made or bought because the vendor at the market was so compelling you just had to have them. You had to have him. And you did. And now you pull down the bridge between your houses, you make him call before he visits, you take a lover for granted, you take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic. Make the first bottle you consume in this place a relic. Place it on whatever altar you fashion with a knife and five cranberries. Don't lose too much weight. Stupid girls are always trying to disappear as revenge. And you are not stupid. You loved a man with more hands than a parade of beggars, and here you stand. Heart like a four-poster bed. Heart like a canvas. Heart leaking something so strong they can smell it in the street"

                       Above: Henry Ford Hospital 1992 by Frida Kahlo. Source=artchive.com

      3) 200 Pesos

Sor Inés de la Cruz-hmm I recognize this name from my Oxford reading list. What a pity I never read this famous poet/nun. For anyone who hasn’t heard this name, it’s pretty obvious she’s a literary figure judging by the inkpot, feather pen and library by her side.

    4) 100 pesos

Nezahualcoyotl. An Acholhuan leader who fought to reclaim Texcoco. He led an army of 100,000 men to the capital of Texcoco to reclaim power from other indigenous tribes. However, he’s best known for his poetry and his alias is el Rey Poeta. He wrote in Nahuatl, an indigenous language still spoken by over 1.5 million people. He also built an aqueduct by the castle of Chapultepec and founded several temples.

Mr Unpronounceable Himself. Source: mexicodesconicido.com

    5) 50 pesos

My favourite banknote because it’s relatively new (they added a few extra features to make it more secure) so it always comes crisp and clean rather than mauled and grubby (see 20 pesos). The best part of this banknote isn’t Morelos, it’s the butterflies. Sorry Morelos.

    6) 20 pesos

The protagonist of this banknote is el presidente Don Benito Juarez García (1806-1872). For security reasons, as well as a watermark, the new 20 pesos note also has a dove in the left-hand corner which changes colour when you hold it up to the light. The dove is symbolic of Don Benito’s rule, in which universal human rights were advocated.

Paloma Mural from artelista.com

    7) Monedas (Coins)

      10, 5, 2 & 1 peso coins are all based on different rings of the Aztec Calendar. Very cool.

     

                                    Source: noticias.vaticano.com

                                    La Piedra del Sol (The Aztec Calendar) as shown in the Museo Antropolgia                                     Mexico, which I visited this weekend.

Use this hyperlink to find out which ring corresponds to which coin and what it means (explanations in Spanish only-sorry Anglophiles)
http://www.cmm.gob.mx/cono.html