Stepping Outside the Expat Bubble: Making Mexican Connections
Updated February, 2022
Local coverage of the event I attended.
In part 3 of our series of how to make Mexican friends (It’s really not a series, but I do write about it from time to time... It’s a gradual series), I’d like to cover the rarely explored venue of cultural events as a way to meet gracious, well-educated natives.
People who move to Mexico often dismiss this entre unless they’re bilingual. It’s understandable to think that you need to speak the language extremely well to attend a poetry reading or a play. Yet I have found that cultural activities are the very best inroad to meeting stimulating people in Mexico, and I learned it before gaining any fluency in Spanish.
It’s true, you may not get much out of the actual content of the events at first. The use of metaphors, slang, outdated or colloquial language and elevated vocabulary makes it a challenge. Often sound systems don’t do you any favors either. However, these events can open social doors.
With a little homework, you can start conversations and demonstrate respect for the Mexican culture that will be noticed. All it takes is a little study and improvisation. Mexican enthusiasm and affection for their regional writers and artists will do the rest.
For example, recently I attended a poetry reading and lecture about perhaps the most popular poet in Latin America, Amado Nervo. People used to cite his poetry in the streets, in the cantinas, and in the markets. How much he was loved in Mexico City was evidenced by the fact that in a city of 700,000 inhabitants (the population of Mexico City in 1919) 300,000 attended his funeral although at the time, only 14% of the population could read.
While born in Tepic in 1870, Nervo was born as a poet in Mazatlán, where he lived for a number of years and worked as a journalist and writer. Several of his most famous poems were inspired by the Mazatlán's ocean views. His writing is said not to have lost his force with the years. He wrote for an elite culture, but at the same time his writing was entertaining and ironic, and referenced daily life.
Mexican cities celebrate their artists past and present. Cultural centers in many cities popular among expats hold commemorative events, readings and surveys demonstrating how their cities influenced local artists over the course of their lives and work.
Mexican are viewed by their Latin peers as intellectually restless (according to my sources in Spain). They have less interest (i.e. none) in masticating the news cycle and great interest in hashing out the cultural significance of their ancient literary legends.
I find myself in on those conversations frequently, even if I'm simply nodding along, picking up a thread or two. Listening is highly regarded everywhere, and you can do that with just about any level of Spanish. Book fairs are very well-attended in Mexico too, and another excellent place to mingle and start conversations.
The poetry reading I attended drew probably 50 people, equally divided among men and women. Although the crowd leaned older, a number of twenty-somethings were there too. Photographers snapped photos and the event was reported in the paper the next day, paying homage to the poet and his choice of city. Due to the poor acoustics and the metaphorical nature of the poetry, I understood very little. Was it a waste of time?
People smiled at me. I smiled back. I met the city’s historian and a well-regarded economist lingering around afterwards to look at the pictures in the gallery. Because a large percentage of the very-well educated in Mexico have spent large periods of time in the U.S., both the historian and economist spoke fluent English. They were able to answer several questions I had about the poet. I never would have met them any other way.
At the reception, I got a kick out of the refreshments: flutes of champagne alongside shots of mezcal served in an adjacent hall of a museum. I’d never tasted mezcal (and was surprised by its smoothness, nothing like what I’d always heard about it). The hall was a part of the museum I had never seen before and had a wonderful collection of modern art.
Do a search for "teatro" or "museos," in Facebook and well as Google in your target Mexican city to ensure you get all the info when looking for such events. A surprising number of small cultural venues do not have websites and have begun to use only Facebook pages.
As Woody Allen once famously said, “Eighty percent of success in life is showing up.” Never forget the importance of providing an audience for those who act, read poetry, give lectures or sing opera.
Without you as the admiring, appreciative fan, an artist's job isn’t nearly as rewarding. You have a critical part to play in the success of such events just by being there. Whether you understand every word is irrelevant to the goal of bearing witness to the participants' passion and talent.
If you only memorize one poem in Spanish…
When I asked my Spanish and my Mexican friends what their favorite poem was, incredibly, given the number of choices they had from throughout Spain and Latin America, they cited the same poem.
It’s by Spaniard Antonio Machado and seven stanzas. Various singers have composed songs for it. This is best excerpt to memorize. More simple than the rest of the poem, and captures its beautiful essence of life as a highway.
Caminante No Hay Camino
Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar.
Memorize the passage and win over your favorite Mexican.
Related Links:
A guide to major cultural venues in Mexico's most popular expat cities - Ventanas Mexico
Opera is not dying in Mexico, as these young opera singers demonstrate. - Ventanas Mexico
Most recent:
Every time I return to Mexico, I find myself occasionally exhausted for no reason other than this.
Up next:
Lusty living in Mazatlán’s Olas Altas. [blog]
About the author:
Kerry Baker is the author of three books.
"If Only I Had a Place," is about how to rent in Mexico holistically, and establish the social network you need to find the best places for less year after year.
Her second book is The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of living through living part-time in Mexico. This is the only book on how to live in Mexico that won’t leave you numb. Most recently, she co-authored a cookbook, The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico for travelers, snowbirds and expats trying to maintain a healthy diet in Mexico.