Saturday, October 2, 2004
Last night, turning the last pages of Jean Lacouture’s fabulous books about the Jesuits, I read these admirable verses from Jean-Joseph Surin (1600-1665):
Je veux aller courir parmi le monde,
Où je vivrai comme un enfant perdu;
J'ai pris l'humeur d'une âme vagabonde
Après avoir tout mon bien répandu;
Ce m'est tout un que je vive ou je meure
Il me suffit que l'Amour me demeure.
Setting aside the religious context of the poem, I confess recognizing myself in the words from Surin: I wanted to wander around the world, and landed here in Mexico; I’m living like a lost son of my European culture, fancying a bohemian life that cost me dearly. Today, more than ever in my life, everything is indifferent to me – numb and empty is my soul.
Why do foreigners come to Mexico? I believe because of lust for a lifestyle that appeals to most inhabitants from Northern countries. Please note my word: lust, not love! I have too much admiration and respect for “love” to accept that, for example, the following common statements convey a deep feeling about this country:
- “Sunshine every day”: and rain every evening and night, six to eight months per year! Probably the most superficial comment of all, though for the same reason Florida and Spain get their share of pensioners. What do you do once you can display a perfect suntan? Count the clouds in the sky?
- “Laid-back way of life”: just wait until you have to face the delightful “ahorita” of your Mexican work-mates, or when the gas delivery arrives 2 days late in mid-Winter and ice-cubes are falling from your nose!
- “Great food”: certainly, until you spend a few weekends locked-up in your bathroom expelling every atom of your Friday night Mexican-style dinner loaded with jumping bacterias. Besides, a tacos diet is about as exciting and healthy as feeding from KFC and McDonald’s all the time.
- “Great music”: you will undoubtedly cherish the mariachi band that will start whining at 6:00AM in front of your neighbour’s house, while you are desperately trying to get a few more minutes sleep before a difficult day!
- “Great heart of the Mexicans”: oh, I promise you won’t ever forget the sincere smile of the street vendors trying to sell you handfuls of necklaces made of fake stones! In reality, Mexicans themselves only trust their circle of closest friends. The legendary “great heart” is often superficial and when in need you won’t find more helping hands than at home.
As ever, this is my viewpoint. However, I would invite all my readers to post comments with their own reasons of “why should you come to Mexico”. Maybe I shall finally see the light and find reasons to love this country?
