Day Thirty: Fast Food Invasion

Since the adoption of NAFTA, American fast food restaurants have headed south of the border...generally with some substantial success.  Among the chains you will find here are McDonalds, Subway, KFC, Burger King, Starbucks, Carls Jr., Dominoes, Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut.  Of course there are also American chains that have not come south.  Chinese food has not made much headway, for instance.  There are no Pandra Express or Mr. Chau's chains here.  Wendy's, Jack 'N the Box, Arby's, Dunkin' Donuts and White Castle are all absent as well.  And of course, Mexican restaurant chains have no business here.  Taco Bell is non-existent --- in fact, mention the very name and you will receive much derision.  No Del Taco, Green Burrito or Chipotle either...

Pizza Hut's extreme pizzas are a hit in Mexico.

Some of these chains replicate their American versions to a tee while others make small changes.  KFC in Mexico, for instance, seems to be in love with jalapeno sauce.  Good luck getting honey mustard or BBQ sauce with your Popcorn Chicken, but Jalapeno sauce --- well, they have tons of that.  McDonalds also has differences.  As John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson famously noted in Pulp Fiction in regard to France and the Quarter Pounder, there isn't one because "they have the Metric System."  Mexico is in the same boat.  Instead they have the Cuarto de Libra along with other specialties such as the McPollo, Pechuga Extreme and the McBurrito a la Mexicana.  This last one is a bit puzzling, since there are no burritos in Mexico --- at least not in Guadalajara.  Other chains have small differences as well.  Pizza Hut has a Mexican Pizza with Pico de Gallo sauce, for instance while KFC adds Mexican sodas such as Manzanita Sol and Miranda to their menu.

All in all, American fast food in Mexico is a little different, but if you really want something greasy that comes in a bag American-style, you will no doubt be able to find it.

Finger-licking good, in Mexico.

Day Twenty-Nine: An Unexpected Tip

In every society, tipping seems to be an imprecise science.  Who to tip?  How much to tip?  Is the tip a standard fee?  Does the tipper evaluate the tipee and tip accordingly?  Mexico has its own rules and a lot more people to tip.

Probably the most unexpected tipping situation here for Americans is in the grocery store.  The baggers tend to fall into one of two categories: a) extremely young or b) extremely old.  In both cases, you are generally supposed to tip.  Most grocery stores hire an incredibly large cadre of baggers.  They wear uniforms and are generally between the ages of about 11-16.  The surplus of workers is extensive.  In a large store like Walmart or Bodega Aurrera, there are usually ten to fifteen baggers working the checkout aisles while an equal number sit in a corner of the store jostling on one or two long benches as they await their shift.  Usually, they gossip, giggle and mess around while waiting to take over.

After a bagger has performed his or her task, a shopper usually will use some of the change they receive for their grocery payment to provide a tip.  Most baggers wear aprons with store logos and they put their tips in their apron pouch.  All this requires the shopper to think ahead.  For Americans who usually pay for groceries with credit or debit cards, having spare change on-hand is a necessity if one does not want to stiff their bagger.  In fact, it is generally advisable in Mexican society, with its large collection of daily hand-outs, donations and tips, to keep a neatly ordered packet of coins on hand at all times.

Day Twenty-Eight: The Richy Rich

Many Americans are surprised to find that Mexico has stores, malls and restaurants every bit as luxurious and upscale as the United States.  There may be fewer of them but they have no trouble finding a clientele to serve.  There are a number of plazas (malls) here in Guadalajara that cater to the rich.  Plaza Gallerias, Plaza Centro Magno and Gran Plaza Fashion Mall (with its anglicized name) all are popular hot spots.  But it is probably Plaza Andares which most personifies Guadalajara's bastion for the well-to-do.

Take a stroll through Plaza Andares and you are reminded of any American high-end mall.  There are all kinds of  fancy sights: pools of exotic swimming fish, water falls doing acrobatic tricks and perfectly manicured lawns.  America's chains are here too.  There is an Apple Store, a P.F. Chang's Chino Bistro, and Outback Steakhouse and many more.  The prices are equally American.  It may be cheaper to live in Mexico, but not if you shop at Plaza Andares.  The pricetags are every bit the same in this mall.

It feels rather strange to step into the world of Plaza Andares.  Visiting such a place in the middle of a third word country is a much harsher contrast than in an American suburb.  When you are face to face with poverty every day, seeing the beautful people ordering $25 entrees just seems a bit obscene.  Of course, it's an illogical point of view. Or at least it is no more obscene than in the United States where such poverty is simply more hidden.  But whatever the logic, a trip to Plaza Andares is a bit like stepping into a Mexican fantasy world.

Day Twenty-Seven: Feel the Noise

There is no two ways about it, Mexico is a loud country.  There are all sorts of reasons for this, from its late-night culture to taco stands to a lack of zoning, to trucks on residential streets.  But one Mexican phenomenon that considerably adds to the noise is the preponderance of speaker trucks.

Sometimes you see these types of vehicles in American movies about the 1950s or '40s.  They are usually a normal truck or car (Volkswagen Beatles often seem to be used here) with a loud speaker device on the roof.  They drive very slowly down residential streets and blare out a repetitive recorded message to anyone within hearing distance.  And because the messenger wants "hearing distance" to range as far as possible, the recording is extremely loud if you are nearby...such as any house along the street on which the truck passes.

This advertising technique in the U.S. has most often been associated with political campaigns, although it is banned in most of America these days.  But here in Mexico it is definitely permitted and used more often for mundane things...mattress sales, a new grocery store, sometimes a radio station.  While these ad trucks or cars come and go quickly enough, it is one more component adding to Mexico's noise pollution.

Day Twenty-Six: Dangerous Seating

The most shocking cultural differences between the United States and Mexico may be the differences in child safety --- especially in cars.  While there are car seat laws in Mexico, they are rarely followed.  Based on my own informal survey, it seems that a majority of Mexican children ride in cars without seat belts or in the passenger seat.  Many parents carry their babies in their arms and often childen are seen literally bouncing about in back seats.  Of all the differences in culture between the two countries, this seems the most difficult to explain and to put into context.  It seems unconscionable to many Americans that Mexican parents would allow such things to take place.

A mother holds her baby in the front seat as the driver backs into traffic.

But this is a lesson in cultural differences.  What is seen as "normal" in one country can be seen as reprehensible in another.  More to the point, it is amazing how quickly these cultural norms have changed in the United States.  While it may be difficult to remember, the wave of child safety laws in the U.S. are relatively recent.  Even thirty years ago children often rode in the front seat or in the back without seat belts.    While seat belts existed, they were often seen as optional and the multitude of baby chairs and child booster laws had not yet come to pass.  Attitudes and times were different.

Still progress was made.  While many American parents these days are probably over-protective in numerous facets of the lives of the children, on the subject of car seating they probably do set a better example.

Day Twenty-Five: Pan! Pan!

Supermarkets in Guadalajara are similar to U.S. markets, but one very noticitable difference is the panaderia, or bread section.  Every supermarket in Guadalajara has a large area offering a variety of pan.  Of course, pan means "bread" in Spanish but the definition here is a bit looser than what we are used to in the States.  It includes rolls, baguettes, muffins, bagels, croissants, pastries and a wide selection of so-called pan dulces, which are pretty much any type of pan that will ruin your diet.  As in an American bakery, the pan dulces (literally, sweet bread) include all types of frosting, sprinkles, chocolate, jellies, sugar and other such sweets.

The paneria is a requirement for every Mexican supermarket.

Mexicans are also a  bit more concerned with hygene in the supermarket.  In the bread section, touching the bread is definitely frowned upon, even if you are simply grabbing a roll to put in a bag.  Instead, there is a rather strict procedure that needs to be followed...  Each supermarket has a stack of wide circular metal trays --- almost like pizza pans. Next to the trays are a great many large metal tongs.  As you shop for your pan, you pick up each item with the tongs and place it on your tray.  You then bring the entire tray full of bread to a worker behind a counter who weighs, prices and puts the pan in a paper bag for you to carry to the main checkout.  The workers are equally hygiene conscious --- they wear plastic gloves and a nurse's-style mouth guard to cover their mouth.

Even given this perhaps overly-developed sense of bread sanitation, any Mexican supermarket out-pans it's American counterpart.

A man shops for pan in a supermarket in Cancun.

Day Twenty-Four: The Graffiti Nuisance

Graffiti is the type of problem that can overwhelm a city.  When there is too much of it, it's an endless task to get rid of it all.  If there is none of it, it's easy...the city simply comes out and takes down the new instance of graffiti the next day.  Guadalajara suffers from a terrible graffiti problem.  It is everywhere --- in nice neighborhoods and not-so-nice, in the suburbs and downtown.  It is a shame because it makes a very pretty city look quite ugly.  After a while you don't notice it so much, but it still adds to an overall impression.

This lovely old house is in one of the trendiest and most picturesque neighborhoods in Guadalajara.

Of course, there is some very pretty graffiti around as well...the kind that is more like murals than defacement.  This type of graffiti is colorful and cool.  But there are other heartbreaking examples.  For instance, at the Panteon Mezquitan cemetery in Centro GDL there is an beautiful mural painted by an unknown artist which spans two city blocks.  Unfortunately, much of the bottom of the mural has been defaced by ugly graffiti.  In some cases, churches are victims of graffiti.

One begins to visually ignore graffiti after residing here for awhile.

The graffiti tends to make one look at the beauty of Guadalajara with blinders on.  There are lovely pockets of beauty in GDL but while one is gazing at a fantastic mural or elegant church, one often must turn away from the graffiti-covered building sitting just next door.

Day Twenty-Three: Round About GDL

They are called traffic circles, rotaries, roundabouts and in spanish, rotondas, but just because you can name it, doesn't mean you can drive it.  Whenever entering one of these hair-raising driving challenges I think of the scene in European Vacation where Chevy Chase gets stuck for hours in a London roundabout, pointing out Big Ben and Parliament.  But actually Chevy had just two lanes of traffic to deal with, while the big Guadalajara rotondas have three to four lanes and often a pretty statue or waterfall in the middle to add further distraction.

What really makes the Guadalajara rotaries difficult is that you have to be in different lanes as revolve, depending on how close you are to exiting.  This is because according to the traffic rules here, it is the far right lane (and often the next one over depending on what street is approaching) that is supposed to peel off and take the exit.  This means that if you are planning to go 3/4 of the way around the circle, you cannot simply stay way over in the far right lane because cars will A) cut across you while exiting and B) expect you to be exiting.

So what the experienced driver does is enters the circle on the far inside lane and slowly moves right until he is ready to exit.  But this isn't easy, especially given that many times the traffic circle lanes are not painted, that there are sometimes traffic lights inside the circle and that most Guadalajarans drive extremely fast.

Ah, Chevy never knew how good he had it.

Day Twenty-Two: Hollywood Fantasies

Most Americans realize that their culture is sent all over the world.  They understand that there is a Disneyland in Paris and a McDonalds in Beijing.  But it is hard to get a sense of the giant, over-sized behemoth that is the exported American culture until you see it from the perspective of another country.

Going to the movies in Guadalajara is an enlightening experience.  The first thing you notice is how much the American movie experience has been replicated here.  This is one area of daily life where the two counties are almost identical.  In Guadalajara theaters they have the same enormous-sized Cokes, the same candy boxes under glass, the same ticket-taking teenagers and the same previews and stadium seating.  And there's another thing that is the same --- the movies.  The large majority of movies seen in Mexico are films made in the United States.

This means, of course, that most Mexicans read their movies (although there are dubbed options).  It also means that while most Mexicans don't spend too much time contemplating the state of American life, they actually know quite a bit about it.

But Hollywood's America doesn't really seem to be a real place to the average Mexican.  Of course, it isn't. Hollywood's version of America has always been a rather glossy interpretation.  But it is even more so from the perspective of a Mexican sitting in Guadalajaran theater.  America seems like some kind of fantasy-land with perfect grass, enormous houses and incredibly over-sexed people.  It is not really a place to be taken very seriously.

And yet one has to imagine that American culture does not slowly pervade into Mexican life.  You can see it in the way Mexicans are drawn to the new American-styled malls popping up here, in the way the fast food giants are gaining ground here and in the cutesy/sexy shirts Mexican girls now wear with English tags..."boy magnet" and such.  While it may seem like a place beyond belief, Hollywood's America is an awfully appealing place...and one that is rather hard to resist.

Day Twenty-One: Intersecting Nightmares

It's amazing how much a city's street layout can effect the daily tempermant of its people.  Boston, where I grew up, suffers from a street grid that looks the lines on a person's palm.  Roads run in every which way, supposedly dating back to the cow paths which set the original pattern.  Because of the chaos, driving in Boston makes one tense, irritable and sometimes downright angry.  When driving there, it seems humanity has suddenly collapsed.  Everyone is cutting corners, driving dangerously and doing whatever it takes to get ahead.  But it's really the street structure that is the culprit.  Cars are jammed into such small spaces that to survive, one is pretty much forced to drive aggressively.

Guadalajara has similar problems.  Many intersections are so poorly planned that accidents are pre-destined.  Even the most civilized drivers must adopt their worst nature in order to survive a structure which leads to the worst common denominator.

One excellent example happens to be just outside my apartment building.  With a third story view, I have an excellent vantage point on the chaos which consistently takes place at this intersection.  It is a horrendous convergence of three streets in which two of the directions do not have a stop sign.  As cars speed down the hill attempting to make a left hand turn, they come fast upon other vehicles attempting to proceed straight across their path.  A third group attempts to make a U-turn while encroaching upon the first two.  It's all a recipe for disaster.

On a busy night I can hear the blaring of horns every two or three minutes as hundreds and hundreds of drivers come across this same poorly planned intersection.  Again and again drivers become enraged at their fellow Guadalajarans, when it is really the street grid that is to blame.  Every couple of weeks, squealing breaks and then a dull thud is heard.  I race to the window to find that sure enough, two cars have met head-on in an all too predictable scene.  Eventually police cars pull up, tow trucks arrive, the drivers stand around making calls on their cell phones.  Finally, the scene is cleared and the blaring of horns begins all over again.

It's all just such poor design.

A recent crash at the intersection mentioned above.

Day Twenty: Look For the Red Towel

In an earlier post, I wrote about the Mexican poor who sell small products and wash windshields at traffic lights.  Another popular way to earn spare change here in Guadalajara is to serve as a kind of informal parking helper.  These workers (who are almost always men) usually hang out in parking lots near busy streets and in outdoor shopping plazas.  They often carry some kind of red towel or flag, wear a fluorescent orange vest.  Sometimes  they also blow a whistle to help you direct you into and out of your parking spot.  Occasionally they are hired by the bank, plaza or store that they work near but more often they simply take over the area informally.

This is another Mexican job that blurs the line between donation and work.  Sometimes, these red-flagged helpers are truly helpful.  When pulling into a tiny, crowded parking lot, they can help you find a space among the chaos.  Other times they are basically waving their flag and blowing their whistle at you in wide-open lot.  As with the traffic light workers, it is multi-layered exchange.  You are partly paying for a helpful service, but partly giving a donation to the poor.  Rather than simply beg for money, the parking lot attendant tries to make himself useful.

Another implied part of the exchange is that the parking attendant will watch your car and protect it.  This is needed in some part of Guadalajara more than others --- although, it is hard to imagine your new friend putting his life against a band of thugs.  A better deal is what you find in some metered spaces, where attendants even carry spare change and pop a few pesos in the meter if you are running late.  Others will give your car a washing while you are gone.

It may not always be a necessary job, but it should be an appreciated one.

Day Nineteen: The Lover's Parque

Mexico is a Catholic and rather conservative country, but stop by any of its parks and you will find something rather strange --- make-out central.  Every Guadalajara park seems to be filled with couples, young and sometimes not-so-young, sitting on benches and lying on blankets, kissing, hugging and even groping in what many Americans would view as a PDA nightmare.

Why is this?  It seems to be a strange off-shoot of the country's family-based nature.  Many adults here live with their parents well into their 20's and even 30's.  The problem arises for those young folks who are dating.  Mexican houses tend to be much smaller and more crowded with family members --- often parents, a few siblings, maybe even a grandparent at home.  Not such a good bachelor pad...  Hence, the park.

The parks can be a rather surreal place, especially in the early evenings.  There are parents pushing babies in their strollers, kids running about kicking soccer balls, old folks sitting on benches and taking promenades--- all intermixed with amorous couples pushing the boundaries in the park's darker corners.  Sometimes these couples are merely engaged in a romantic embrace.  But look closely (if you are dare) and you will find many others have wandering hands or are intertwined in rather compromising positions.

After all a while, one gets used to this park atmosphere and it all begins to feel quite normal and slowly that urge disappears to shout "Get a Room!"

Day Eighteen: A Colorful Collection

One of the the things I love about Guadalajara is all the bright colors.  When someone decides to paint a house or building here they are not shy when picking out the paint...bright yellow, orange, pink and green are all viable options.  Put all those colorful houses together and a neighborhood becomes as varied as the rainbow.

American neighborhoods tend to be far more reserved.  In fact, many cities have ordinances, covenants or thinly-disguised "taste committees" that can actually forbid a home-owner or building-owner from picking a so-called "outrageous" color.  Seems a bit un-American, frankly.  What results are neighborhoods of bland grays, light browns and off-whites which make the houses blend into one another.

One drawback of the color paint choices in GDL, however, is that the houses and buildings look particularly bad if not painted regularly.  And this is a problem here.  It is not difficult to find a bright orange or yellow building with badly peeling paint.

For this post I hope to put together a collection of colorful houses and buildings in Guadalajara to give a flavor of some of these outrageously fun colors.

Day Seventeen: The Ad Trucks

There is a new trend that is present in both the U.S. and Mexico --- the mobile billboard truck. These are not trucks with advertisements painted on the side.  These are trucks whose only purpose is to advertise --- they are especially built for this purpose.  They look like pick-up trucks but the rear of the truck is actually a billboard, and a rotating one at that.  The truck drives down the main boulevards of a city and its sign changes periodically to advertise various products.

But while these trucks may seem strange to Americans, I was surprised to find they actually exist in the United States as well.  And the trend is spreading.  Many American communities have fought hard to outlaw them in the United States, however, here in Guadalajara there are few restrictions.

But if ever there was a bad idea that should be outlawed, this is it.  Guadalajara already suffers from crippling traffic congestion, especially on its main surface streets.  Sitting in a major traffic jam in brutal heat, there is no worse sight than a couple of these roaming billboards stopped in line in front of you.  Mexico has a tendency to sometimes import America's worst forms of commercialism --- and this is no exception.

Day Sixteen: Buenas Something?

Mexico remains a somewhat more formal society than the United States.  One case in point is greetings. Mexicans are quite meticulous in their hellos and goodbyes.  In many circumstances this extends to strangers.  For instance, when passing anyone on a stairway or while walking in a park, Mexicans will almost always greet one another.  In the U.S., this might be an occasion for a simple nod --- or often, no greeting at all.

In addition, the Mexican greeting is a bit more complicated than the "Hey" that one often hears in the U.S.  Essentially, when greeting here in Guadalajara, you have three options, "Buenos Dias," (good morning or good day) "Buenas Tardes" (good afternoon), or "Buenas Noches" (good evening or good night).  Sounds simple enough, but this actually leads to some thinking during the greeting process.  While it is easy to give a spaced-out "hey" in the U.S., one has locate oneself in time before giving the Mexican greeting.  This is not always so easy if your thoughts are elsewhere.  You might need to consider:  "Is it past noon yet?"  or "It's about 6 o'clock, is that tardes or noches?"

Then there are other factors to consider.  For instance, Mexicans tend to identify the afternoon (tardes) as running later than Americans, sometimes 6 or 7 PM.  This is partly because the Mexican workday extends longer.  How early the sun goes down, when is daylight savings time, and what time lunch is all play some role in your greeting decision.

So it requires some quick thinking to be on target with your greeting.  A number of times I have greeted someone with a "Buenas Tardes" only to hear in reply, "Buenas Noches."

Day Fifteen: Zoned Out

Zoning is a big difference between the United States and Mexico. Most U.S. cities have rather strict zoning laws in which locations for businesses, housing and industry are neatly specified.  Guadalajara seems to have very little in the way of zoning regulations.  In my neighborhood, there is a car repair shop next door to an apartment house next door to a school.  In another spot there is a small industrial plant with an apartment complex and soccer field on one side and a junior high school on the other side.  Businesses pop up most anywhere.

This lack of zoning adherence create many tensions and a lot of interesting co-mingling.  Probably the most obvious negative result is noise.  Because family homes and apartments are often side-by-side with businesses or industrial spaces, residents must often get used to the accompanying noise. One does not realize the large amount of noise pollution created by say, a taco stand, a junior high school or a tire repair company until one is living next door.  Sometimes there are also various smells that a resident must be accustomed to.

Another issue is trucks.  In the United States it is very clearly defined where and when certain sized trucks can drive on certain streets.  While such laws do exist in Mexico, they are more difficult to erect when shops, industry and housing intermingle.  Business and industry need big trucks --- to make deliveries and pick up produce.  This means that neighborhoods and smaller streets here are often bombarded with trucks of all shapes, sizes and noise-levels driving down small streets.

This Schneider Electric building is oddly located in a residential neighborhood across the street from a park.

However, there are definitely benefits to the intermixed zoning.  At least if you enjoy the hustle and bustle of a big city.  Mixed zoning creates lively neighborhoods.  There is contstant motion, constant movement in such places as people come and go.  There is foot traffic, space negotiation and constant interaction.  The experience is a cacophony of sounds and a kaleidoscope of movement that is lacking in most U.S. areas, excepting commercial districts.  In short, to live in a Mexican neighborhood is to be part of a scene.

Day Fourteen: The Security State

Safety in Guadalajara is an illusive concept in many ways.  You feel safe, but you don't know if you actually are safe.  Many factors are difficult to determine.  For instance, the drug wars that are crippling the northern part of Mexico have not spread so much to this area of the country.  And yet it is an issue here.  Drug crimes happen and they are splashed on the front pages of the newspapers.  But they are not very evident in daily life.  It goes on, but it is largely undetected.

One often finds it difficult to judge the danger level of a neighborhood in Guadalajara.  In the U.S., you can immediately judge (at least superficially) a neighborhood based upon such visible signs as cracked sidewalks, graffiti-covered walls and the number of vacant lots.  Here in Guadalajara, such problems plague even wealthy neighborhoods.  However, crime here tends to be more economic than violent.  Petty crimes such as stealing side-view mirrors and taking bicycles tend to be rampant.

The presence of armed guards can be an unnerving sight in Guadalajara.

The security presence here in enormous.  Many in the U.S. complain about their own increased security state, including everything from gated communities to airline regulations.  But here in Mexico, security is far more ostentatious.  Few Americans who visit Mexico will forget the first time they see a guard standing outside a bank flaunting an armed rifle.  And one often sees various types of army personnel or police with loaded rifles and shotguns standing outside government offices or important buildings.  When the cash truck pulls up to a 7-11, two guards step out with shotguns and guard the door.  It can be a bit unnerving.

An intricate system of spiked wires guards a Guadalajara vacant lot.

But the security measures of private citizens also lead one to feel that the environment may be unsafe.  Most houses look like small fortresses, with high walls, extremely secure gates and an expensive array of electrical shock wires and spiked fencing above.  Many houses also have rather vicious-looking dogs who make a great fuss when someone walks past, while a percentage of dogs live on the roofs of houses, barking down on street passer-bys.

And yet despite all this, most of the Mexico feels just as safe as the United States.  As always, it seems security is as much about perception as it is about reality.

Day Thirteen: Mexican Time

In the wonderful 2007 film, The Visitor, there is a reference to something called "Arab time."


"Tarek Khalil: We have to get home! Zainab's gonna kill me, I'm on Arab time again. 
Prof. Walter Vale: What is "Arab time"? 
Tarek Khalil: It means I'm late by an hour. All Arabs are late by an hour, it's genetic, we can't help it." 


Well if there is such a thing as "Arab Time," then there is definitely such a thing as "Mexico Time," even if an hour might be a bit of an overestimate.  Being "on time" is a slippery concept here in Mexico since there is a general understanding that 9:00 does not literally mean 9:00.  This is certainly true of social engagements, "The party starts at 10:00," "I'll come by your house at 4:30,"or  even "I'll meet you at the restaurant at 1:00" are all statements to be taken lightly.  But it's also true in more formal settings ---  A 2:00 doctor appointment is likely to start at 2:20.


But what is the reason for this?  Is it "genetic" to Mexicans as well, like the explanation that Tarek gives in "The Visitor?"  More likely has to do with some tendencies in Mexican culture.  Without question this is an unscientific study, however, I see three main societal differences that account in large part for the entire country running a good 30 minutes behind schedule.


The first has to do with country's physical structure acting as a kind of giant time impediment.  While every city has traffic, Guadalajara's traffic is less predictable.  It tends bog down in odd places and for odd reasons.  For instance, there are few laws about where trucks can and cannot drive, so an eighteen-wheeler may tie up a street for twenty minutes while delivering a few boxes of oranges.  Due to poverty, cars are older here and tend to die in the middle of the street, so that might be the reason for your delay.  And the street system (off-ramps, turn lanes, carriage roads etc) is just not that well-planned, so you really never know where there might be a back-up.  If you say you'll be there at 6:00, you are counting on everything going smoothly on the road, which it rarely does.


Another reason is the social experience here.  Hospitality and politeness are still valued in Mexico in a way that has been discarded in many parts of the U.S.   If you stop by your cousin's house to drop off a sweater or you run downstairs to talk to a neighbor about the water in the building, you will be obliged to stay and talk a bit, maybe have some coffee.  The Mexicans have somehow found a way to keep hospitality and politeness strong in a fast-paced society, but it also tends to make one late.


Finally, there is simply the Mexican relationship with rules.  I discuss this is another post, but Mexicans are not the same type of sticklers for rules and regulations that we are in the U.S.  Time obligations and appointments fall into this category.  It is a trait that cuts both ways...Americans tend to be more often punctual and respectful of rules, but they also tend to be more prickly and uptight.  Mexicans tend to be laid back and have greater "joie de vivre," but at times their disregard for rules can drive one up the wall.

Day Twelve: Statues Galore!

One of the lovliest things about Guadalajara is its preponderance of statues.  It is very difficult to overestimate how many statues there are in the city.  Virtually every park, public square, rotary circle and church plaza has at least one statue, and often a whole series of statues.  It makes the city a kind of public museum, a place that both honors its past and teaches a little history to anyone who happens to walk by and look up.

The grandest statues in the city stand triumphantly in the prominent rotaries or round-abouts which you find at major intersections.  For instance, the Ninos Heroes Statue at the intersection of avenidas Chaputepec, Mariano Otero and Ninos Heroes is a 50 meter-high remembrance of the legend of six cadets who refused to surrender during the American invasion of 1847.  It is made from pink canterra stone and crafted by Juan Olaguíbel.  Nearby is the famed Minerva fountain and statue which represents the Roman goddess of war, poetry, and wisdom.  The statue is the creation of Joaquin Arias and includes a base containing the names of eighteen Tapatios (Guadalajara residents) who helped create the city. 

The Ninos Heroes statue in Guadalajara.

There are also many sets of themed statues.  For instance, along the center passage of the Avenida de Americas, each American country is represented with its greatest leader (the U.S. gets Lincoln).  Another set of statues in nearby Zapopan marks streets named after famous composers with their busts.

Of course, sometimes the number of statues can border on overkill --- can there really be so many heroes in Mexican history worth honoring in stone?  Does every resident get a statue to call his own?  And of course there are political and sociological questions to be raised...are women fairly represented? (doesn't seem like it) Are all of these honored leaders worthy? (undoubtedly no).  But the questions arise only on a close and rather cynical inspection.  Most of the time it is a lovely experience to walk through a park and come upon a famous figure about whom you knew nothing before.

Day Eleven: A Holey Problem

One reason that local governments in the United States need to be very diligent with community upkeep is the ability that folks have to sue.  If there is a crack in the sidewalk or a manhole cover is missing and someone comes along and trips or falls, the government might be out millions of dollars.

The same powers are not invested in the citizenry here in Mexico and thereby governments are not required to have that same kind of diligence.  Repairs will be made eventually, but it may be months before a government truck comes around to do the work.

This results in rather strange scenes for an American in Guadalajara, such as the preponderance of holes.  It's hard to say how these holes come about but within a one-mile distance of my house there are nearly a dozen holes of various sorts, all of which make me think of million dollar lawsuits whenever I happen to pass by.

This hole in the middle of the sidewalk is about 4 feet deep.

In the daytime, you can see it coming.  But at night?

Most of these are manholes where somehow the top has come off and is nowhere in sight.  Many are just a foot or two deep or are located in places where no one is very likely to walk.  But a number are either right in the middle of a sidewalk or in crossings where someone might be hastily crossing a grassy median only to find themselves suddenly plunging downwards.  In a few cases, the holes are quite deep.  The worst example in this neighborhood is one that is about 8 feet deep and about 3 feet in diameter.  That is truly scary.

Neighbors often try to find creative ways to make the hole problem a little less dangerous.  They might put an old tire in the hole, or a bunch of sticks, a bright red flag --- anything to let people know that they are just a few feet aware from a rather unpleasant step.  In general though, because the hole coverings are so bulky, everyone is somewhat at the mercy of the government.  And it seems the government has more pressing problems to deal with.

So watch your step...

Day Ten: Beetle Redux

There was a time in the United States when the Volkswagon Beetle seemed to be absolutely everywhere.  Driving down the street every third or fourth car was a Beetle, those little hump-backed alternatives to the gasoline guzzlers.  Indeed, no car had dominated its market niche the way the VW did for decades. But after OPEC and Middle Eastern politics forever ended America's banana boat innocence,  Toyota and the Japanese finally made it a fair game.  Still, for years, the Beetle seemed to have the entire small car market to itself.

After discontinuing the line in 1980 in the U.S., Volkswagon brought back the modern Beetle in 1998, a yuppier version of the old "get you here to there" model.  The modern replica has its own charm, but it has never dominated like its cheaper and less luxiourous cousin.  In the U.S., it is rare that you see the old Beetles nowadays.  Having almost disappeared, it has almost become an antique sighting when one is spotted.

But a trip to Mexico brings back the old days of the Beetle.  While they are not exactly every third car here, the old Beetles remain prominent.  This is in part because old cars hang around longer in Mexico.  This is a great place for viewing old Gremlins, Pacers and Pintos.  But more to the point, it is because production of the Beetle continued in Mexico long after the Beetles in the States were no more.  Mexican production of the older Beetles continued on until July 2003, when the last one was produced in Puebla, Mexico. 

A trip down any Guadalajara street should bring a Beetle sighting within a few minutes and bring back memories for any American car lover.

Day Nine: Red Light Runners

If we are to document some of the differences in Mexican and American daily life in these pages, it will be our unfortunate task to touch upon the precariousness of Guadalajara driving.  Today the subject is red-light running, and in all fairness, we must report that in Guadalajara, it is rampant.

First, a minor societal difference.  At traffic lights in this city, one receives an extra warning during the changeover to a red light --- the flashing green.  Traffic lights in Guadalajara proceed from green to flashing green to yellow and finally to red.  Still, the extra step that the government has provided does not seem to have tamed red-light running.  Because of this tendency, it is imperative that when sitting at an intersection when a red light turns green, to look both ways to make sure there are no late runners barreling through the intersection before making your move safely.

Unfortunately, safe driving here is not always entirely safe.  As the cautious driver approaches a fading yellow, they run a risk by not running the light.  The driver behind you is likely to expect the light to be run and may well step on the gas themselves.  A late stop on a changing light can result in the car behind you ending up in your back seat.  Similarly, in Guadalajara, one often sees the rather comical episode in which one cautious driver stops on a changing red only to have the car following, swerve around the first driver and run the light from the next lane over.

Careful out there, boys...

Day Eight: Delivery to Your Door? Not Just for Pizza

You wouldn't expect Mexico to be so big in the home "delivery" business.  After all, Mexicans are an incredibly industrious, gregarious people, rarely content to sit back and let life come to them.  But when it comes to fast food, perhaps they are.  Home-delivered food is huge here.

Of course, you would expect that American chains that operate in Guadalajara such as Domino's and Pizza Hut would have delivery service well-established.  And they do, along with other big pizza chains here and even small mom and pop pizza shops.  In fact, the typical guaranteed "30 minute or less" delivery time was the basis for an underrated 2004 comedy film from Mexico called Duck Season (Temporada de Patos).  Across culture, pizza delivered to your home is basic.

The smaller chains have motorcycle delivery to compete with the big boys. 

But in Mexico, you can get a lot more than just pizza delivered to your door.  Virtually every restaurant has a "servicio a domicilio" option, including those serving Mexican food, Chinese food, steak, even sushi.  Surprisngly, American chains who have never ventured into home-delivery in their homelands, have "domicilio" service here as well.  You can order a Subway 12-incher, KFC Popcorn Chicken or even a Flame-Broiled Whopper and be eating in front of your TV in a matter of minutes.  You can even order pharmacy prescriptions and have those delivered too.

Domino's has a strong presence in Guadalajara.

The bearers of these home-delivered meals are helmeted (and often uniformed) motorcycle drivers who zip about the city with small cubes attached to the rear ends of their bikes.  The food is kept hot in these boxes that are no more than the size of a footrest and usually hold the orders of just a customer or two.  The motorcycles move at a fantastic speed, often running red lights, cutting through lanes of traffic and weaving through stopped cars to get to their destinations within a half hour from the time the order was placed.

Indeed, while these motorcycles may make driving in Guadalajara a bit more precarious, at least you know that your pizza, or anything else that you care to eat, is going to arrive piping-hot.

Medicity allows you to order medications delivered to your door.

Day Seven: The Traffic Light Workers

In big cities in the United States there is often vocal opposition to those who beg for money. In the northeast cities of Washington DC, New York and Philadelphia, there are places downtown in which you can not walk more than a block without being asked for spare change.  Some Americans feel that those who beg should try to find useful work.  Whether or not this point of view has merit, these Americans would (or at least should) love the entrepreneureal spirit of the poor in Mexico.  While there are far more people who would qualify as the poorest of the poor, almost nobody actually begs in Mexico.

It is true that when you pull up to almost any traffic light along a main boulevard in Guadalajara, you'll find people asking for money.  However, the person asking is almost always ready to sell you something,  provide some sort of small service or even entertain you in exchange for your generosity.

These services fall along a continuum of usefulness  Some are really quite appreciated.  On a hot 110 degree Guadalajara day, no sight is more welcome than that of the man selling ice-cold water bottles at a downtown traffic light.  Similarly, the harried gentleman on his way to a date might well appreciate the vendor selling red roses at a traffic light along his route.  Other products available at your GDL traffic lights include fresh fruit, toys, bubble-makers, candy, lego sets, windshield wipers, car ornaments, roach-killers and just about anything else you can think of.

But there is another class of poor who cannot afford the initial purchases required for these such sales and are really just asking for your compassion.  The services they provide may not be particularly useful but their effort is appreciated by many.  These men, women and a surprising number of small children are often without decent shoes.  Most wear dirty clothing and sometimes are missing teeth or even limbs.  However, rather than simply beg, they try to do something to provide at least the semblance of an even exchange.  For instance, many will wash your windshield with soapy water and a rag --- a practice that has banned in many American cities, including New York City in 1992 .  Others actually do a small performance.  One man who works on Avenida Federalismo in Guadalajara dresses as a clown, carries a guitar and will sing a song of your choice.  At night, many men, and even a few women, do a fire-breathing performance that looks shockingly dangerous --- at least the first time you see it.  In the daytime, there are many jugglers who perform for the first minute of a traffic light cycle and then spend the last 30 seconds heading down the row of cars collecting donations.

Not that all Mexicans give or appreciate the spirit of the traffic light market.  There are a many rationalizations for not parting with one's pesos --- some reasonable, others less so.  Undoubtedly, some of those asking for money spend it on liquor or drugs.  Some traffic light workers collect for organized crime organizations who divert the money toward their own ends.  Giving to children can encourage their families to keep them out of school.

These reasons may be valid, however, any good free-market Republican would have to be appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit of those who piece together a living at Mexico's traffic lights.  They have found a way to turn major intersections into small free-market economies, making a couple minutes of lost time in a car into a chance to sell, service and entertain.

Day Six: Can I Help You?

The salesman in the United States has changed a great deal in the past half century.  Watch a few old movies and you often see a glimpse into the old salesman of year's past --- an overdressed, slick-haired, hyper friendly and smarmy gentleman ready to pull out all the stops to get you to buy his vacuum cleaner or toolset.  He was pushy, a master of smalltalk and a major-league nuisance.  In those days, salesmen (and occasionally saleswomen) even came right to your door.  During the 1970s and 80s, such individuals were largely put out of service in the United States.  The salesman and his routine still survive on the used car lots of autorows and perhaps in a few men's apparel stores, but generally when you enter a store in the U.S. these days, you are largely left in peace.

Of course, the flip side of this change is that you are now on your own when wandering through the empty chasms of modern stores like the Home Depot or Walmart.  Good luck finding a salesperson to point you to the section for plumbing supplies or home decoratating.  And with many employees working at a high turnover rate and at minimum wage without health benefits, they are not likely to give you the kind of personalized service of yesteryear.

But shopping in Mexico is a bit like a timewarp when it comes to customer service .  Many stores seem to "overhire" to the degree that there are more employees than customers.   For instance, if you visit a Guadalajara mall and enter a typical shoe store, clothing store or sporting goods store, you will likely find three or four employees waiting in expectation of the next customer.  Upon entering, you will be greeted by one of the employees and clearly "assigned" to that person.  The notion of entering a store and browsing on your own is more or less non-existent.  Of course, this does have its benefits.  The employee is usually ready to do anything under the sun to make your shoe apparel or clothing assessory dreams come true.  They are beyond helpful.

The reason companies are able to hire such a surplus of employees relates to the inexpensive cost of hiring workers at a minimum wage of just over 50 pesos per day.  In larger stores like Walmart or Home Depot (American behemoths that entered Mexico post-NAFTA), there is, of course, a less personal feel.  However, an abundance of workers still exist in such stores.  For instance, at supermarkets there are always nearly a dozen employees parading through the aisles with samples of mini-hot dogs, cheese with crackers and other assorted products.  At big box stores like Walmart, many employees hang out at the ends of each aisle ready to help you at a moment's notice.  In the pharmacy section, employees are there to help you find the exact toothbrush you are looking for or the correct flavored mouthwash.

It remains to be seen if customer service changes as Mexico continues into this new era of American franchises moving south of the border.  But for now the old style service of the helpful salesperson remains alive and well.

Day Five: Late Night Eats

A taco stand with a wide assortment of salsas and fixings.

Guadalajara is a city designed for the late-night eater.  While the U.S. may have Denny's and recently Taco Bell has started its "Fourth Meal" ad campaign to lure customers in sometime after dinner, Mexico is a comparative heaven when it comes to midnight snackers.  And actually midnight is not quite accurate...1, 2 even 3 AM is more like it.  This is the phenomenon of the late-night taco cart or puesto.  These carts are usually operated by two to four people and offer the very popular, very small Mexican-styled tacos.  A variety of meat are available usually including pastor, carnitas, chorizo and the like. Watching the cooking process is not for the faint of heart.  Usually some unfortunately large part of a former animal is waiting to be chopped by a man with a splattered apron and an usually large cleaver.

Customers standing and eating at a puesto.

You can find these taco carts almost anywhere.  They are often along main boulevards but due to the lack of zoning (or sometimes zoning enforcement) here in Guadalajara, they also operate in neighborhoods --- presumably keeping the neighbors awake.

The plethora of late-night customers is related to Mexico's later clock.  Because of the tradition of a long lunch hour where many school children and adults actually return home between 2 and 4, rush hour doesn't occur until 8:00 and night-lifers often don't begin their evenings until 9:00 or 10:00.  This sets the clock back considerably, and a late snack between midnight and 2AM is not uncommon.

These tacos are larger than typical but the red plates look familiar.

There are a few customs at the puestos which may seem a bit odd to Americans.  One is the tendency for Mexicans to stand while they eat.  Some taco stands have a few scattered tables and chairs ---and you can always find a spot on the curb --- but most Mexicans seem to prefer to stand. This can be a bit difficult if you have a drink in hand as well, but customers are quite expert at balancing their small plastic plates along with a beverage.  The plates themselves are usually red and plastic and covered with some kind of bag, almost like plastic wrap.  In this way, the owners can reuse the plates after throwing out the bag.  This saves money and is also (perhaps unintentionally) environmentally friendly.  One final custom is that taco eaters usually do not pay immediately.  Rather, the money exchange works a bit like at a sushi bar in which the owners hope you will keep asking for "one more" and adding to your bill.  When you are getting ready to leave that is when the final bill is tallied.

Some taco carts also bring along a few tables and chairs.

Taco stands remain extremely popular in Guadalajara even with the new preponderance of McDonalds, Burger Kings and KFCs.  While a Big Mac at 1AM is certainly tasty, the late night drive-thru pales in comparison to the character of your neighborhood taco stand.

Day Four: Trashing the City

Even designated trash areas often become unmanageable.

An unfortunate issue in Mexican public life is trash.  The truth is that is it is far too prevalent in places that it should not be.  The reasons for this are similar to Mexico's traffic problems.  The infrastructure is simply not organized enough to handle the problem.  In the case of garbage, there are not enough trash receptacles, recycle bins or closed-lid garbage bins.  And that's not even getting into the question of recycling.


This infrastructure issue leads people to throwing their trash any old place --- often in piles in parks or along the side of streets.  Even when trash receptacles are available, such as in some of the photos here, the system breaks down.

Many trash receptacles are not designed for all types of trash.

The lack of a solid garbage infrastructure also leads to unfortunate attitudes among the citizens. A kind of culture develops in which people do not think of public space as their own.  It is hard to buy into a system of responsibility when the system it is based on is clearly breaking down.  Thus, many citizens here attend to their own spaces fastidiously while letting public spaces go.  Individuals seem to have their own plots of space which they preserve intensely while anything outside is seen as a free-for-all.

This phenomenon is often seen in apartment buildings in Guadalajara.  You approach a building to find peeling paint, graffitied walls, weeds everywhere and a broken door.  Then you step into an apartment within the building and you find a beautifully decorated, well cared-for home.  It's as if anything beyond the line of the door frame doesn't count.

Unfortunately, nature and trash often go together in GDL.

The cultural difference here is unfortunate for Mexico.  While the United States is headed toward multiple choice composting options in most trash containers, Mexico seems to be lucky to have trash collected at all.  It will be interesting to see if cultural attitudes in Mexico force the government to do a better job with trash or if government action leads to a change in the attitude of citizens.  Or perhaps nothing will change at all...

Day Three: Promotions Galore

A giant Santa looms over Plaza Arboledas.

Mexico is a land of many promotions.  It seems every grand opening of a grocery store, tire center, mall or restaurant has a high likelihood of including some variety of balloons, piñatas, dance music, giant clowns, roaming spotlights, people dressed in costume and a whole lot else.

At Christmas time, the city abounds with Santa Clauses, snowmen (a bit strange given the 80 degree weather) and colorful lights.  Of course, this is true in the United States as well, but it's a matter of degree.  For instance, one local mall celebrated the recent

A promotional blow-up doll apparently looking for a hug.

Christmas with very large blow-up dolls of Santa,
stockings, snowmen and the like, all positioned on the roofs of various stores.  One truly gigantic Santa Claus (taller than a nearby three story building) stood in the parking lot.  Perhaps this would seem in proportion at the Mall of America or on the front lawn of the White House but this jumbo Santa stood at a rather mediocre shopping center with a grocery store and the usual selection of accompanying stores.

Spotlights are also big in Guadalajara.  One night I approached a roaming spotlight from a few miles away and was a little excited when I realized my path was taking me directly to the site of the festivities.  I expected to see some kind of major event...perhaps featuring Mexican movie stars or at least a Mariachi band.  But when I finally arrived, it turned out to be the opening of a Farmacia Guadalajara, a chain of drug stores in the city.  And there wasn't a movie star in sight.

The Dico clown sits on the top of every Dico Furniture store.

It's hard to say if all these promotions are effective or not.  They do seem to arouse excitement and they are certainly popular with children.  One imagines (hopes?) that given the prices of 150 foot inflatable Santas, someone must has some evidence somewhere that they work.