Mexico:Adventures in Paradise

by Glen Strachan

I am often asked by fellow-Europeans - "Why do you choose to live in southern Mexico?"

The answer is simple. Flora and I visited the mountain city of Oaxaca, planning a three week holiday which formed part of a longer visit to the USA. After four days of that holiday, we moved into our present home in this beautiful city and here we still live, four years later. Holidays of course are quite a different proposition. The twelve hour flight from Europe makes for a very taxing vacation start and finish. Much of Mexico is high above sea level and the thin air can also be a fatigue factor for the first week of your stay. In simple terms, Mexico is a great destination for Europeans with a few weeks to spare but it makes little sense to travel all that distance for a few days.

Mexican road hazard

Mexico is a good jumping-off point for a Central American or South American trip but, if you do wish to include Mexico on a round-the-world ticket, you must fly up to Los Angeles before continuing to New Zealand or Australia. Cancun is a popular destination for US tourists - mostly because a visit there carries exotic kudos that, say, Florida resorts do not offer.

Otherwise Cancun and the popular US coastal destinations offer like accommodation and services at a similar cost. One advantage for Cancun is the prospect of visiting some Mayan ruins which lie within a four hour road journey from the coastal resort. Rural areas are generally more fun than Mexico City which, like many other large cities, can be dangerous for the unwary. The city has many interesting galleries and a wonderful natural history museum but do avoid hailing taxis in the streets - you could be heading for trouble.

Usually the further south you travel in Mexico, the less that area will be influenced by our large northern neighbour. If you want to add a Mexican trip to a visit to the USA, I strongly recommend that you try to arrange your flight to Mexico City from San Antonio, Texas. It is a short flight, quite inexpensive and will also give you a little taste of the Tex-Mex flavour of the wonderfully cosmopolitan city of San Antonio. David Gourley wrote about ethical tourism and in the case of Mexico; there are reasons not to visit, but I believe there are many more reasons to come here.

So why my title ? Why adventures? One way to describe the mood of Mexico is to compare daily life in this country with its most durable musical form, Mariachi. Just as the notes of the Mariachi are tantalisingly off-key and yet fit the songs perfectly, so it is with almost everything else 'South of the Border'. Life in Mexico is always far from predictable.

Much of the flavour of Mexican cities is best gathered in the Zocalo or main square and in Oaxaca, every week brings a fascinating range of parades, processions, religious events, trade union or politically-sponsored marches etc etc.

Many of our festivals are of Pagan origin but have been co-opted by the Catholic church over the centuries. A fine instance of this is The Days of the Dead. This celebration of the contribution of ones' ancestors invokes inviting their spirits to return (temporarily) to our earthly world where they will be treated with reverence. In pre-Hispanic times, Mexican cultures believed that the cold north winds brought the spirits of the dead back to visit. Festivals were then arranged to honour these spirits.

The conquering Catholic church realised that erasing such local customs would be impossible and, selecting the Days of the Dead as an important pan-Mexican festival, the Spaniards fused it with All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Such synthesis has for generations defined Mexican Culture.

'Days of the Dead Altars' are built in homes, decoration varying according to the traditions of each region. In Oaxaca the altar is usually installed on a table with a white cloth and tissue paper cut-outs. Stalks of sugar cane or bamboo are used to fashion a triumphal arch. This is where the spirit will enter and be welcomed. The altar is decorated with marigolds (the flower of the dead), oil lamps, scented candles, photographs or portraits of the deceased, incense, special sweet bread (pan de Muerto), black mole (a local delicacy), sugared figures, candied pumpkin, hot chocolate and seasonal fruits like the little Tejocote apples together with 'individual items' such as a favourite beer or a particular food.

When the altar is completed on the morning of October 31st, nothing is touched. The departed soul then returns to our world, takes in the aromas of the altar and seeks out the bereaved. The day ends with a lively family dinner and the deceased depart for another year.

But what of my reference to Paradise? Paradise would require the perfect climate of almost constant sunshine and low humidity and clean mountain air, beautiful scenery and smiling, friendly people who deserve such surroundings. Mexico presents this and, for somebody who has had the good fortune to have lived on every continent, I am prepared to label Oaxaca as my Paradise.

First published in VISA issue 39 (winter 2000).