Living in Mexico - Archives: October 2005
Sunday, October 23, 2005
I’m afraid I’m running out of inspiration to write purely Mexican blog entries and will have to fall-back to the convenient solution of creating travel-inspired comparative analysis studies between Mexico and other countries. Today I shall inflict you, dear Reader, my reflections on similarities and differences between Mexico, my home, and the Dominican Republic where I’m spending a couple of hectic weeks working on a project.
Though I toyed with the idea of doing the same post about the US, plenty has been written on the subject and re-hashing common knowledge is hardly an appealing prospect to me. While spending this weekend in Santo Domingo, I was often taken unprepared by surprising clichés reminiscent of Mexico City. Thus it is only normal that I make a clumsy attempt at sharing them with you.
So what do Mexico City and Santo Domingo have in common, and what does separate both capitals:
- The ruling class: as a businessman put it quite accurately, the Dominican Republic must be one of the few places on earth where there is a second hand market for Hummers and Porsche Cayenne! As in Mexico, the country’s wealth seems to be placed in the hands of a microscopic ruling elite who positively loves to buy luxury cars. While in Mexico City you have Bosques de las Lomas and its mansions of often dubious architectural style, in Santo Domingo you find the Bellavista rich neighbourhood filled with houses of equally appalling taste.
- Insecurity: as a fitting summary to this issue, let’s mention that Dominicans are well aware that Mexico City suffers from a serious urban crime problem. In Santo Domingo you feel safe enough outside of the “barrios” and their sprawling poverty. The above mentioned rich society lives freely without the omnipresent bodyguards, species of mentally challenged gorillas found in the jungle of the Mexican capital. I can hardly imagine three gorgeous teenage girls driving away alone from a restaurant in their golden Mercedes 500 in Mexico City – in Santo Domingo this is the norm rather than exception.
- Distribution of wealth: while the staggering inequality between upper and lower classes is a well documented problem in Mexico and the World Bank’s key issue to address, in Santo Domingo this predicament takes a totally different dimension. Poor people literally have to scrap a living and many have never left their “barrio” even to visit their beautiful colonial city. As with Mexico, the best universities are charging hundreds of Pesos per day and are well beyond the reach of most young people.
- Racism: the colour of your skin tells it all – if you are black and can’t exhibit a Rolex at your wrist (money corrupts even the most entrenched racist prejudices), you automatically belong to descendants of the slaves imported to Santo Domingo by the Spanish colonial power. As such, you will be denied entry in some clubs for example and will generally be treated like a second-class citizen. Any similarity with darker-skinned Mexicans of “indio” facial features should not be considered fortuitous.
- US colonization: despite the 1965 invasion of the Dominican Republic by the US, Dominicans affect a vastly more pro-American stance than Mexicans. Baseball is the national sport, American brands are omnipresent and US tourists increasingly arrive by full charter planes to beach-side resorts like Puerto Plata.
- Girls, girls, girls: as in Mexico, the female population enjoys wearing skin-tight outfits of the most revealing sort (gentlemen, put your imagination in the closet when you arrive in Santo Domingo, you won’t need it). However, much more than in Mexico the local girls exude a strong sex appeal eminently well backed by irresistible curves. Dancing merengue will guaranteed give you a whole new definition to the word “foreplay”!
- History, or lack thereof: as a European I have always admired the proud remains of the ancient Aztec, Olmec, Mayan, etc. civilizations in Mexico. As for the Dominican Republic, its visible history seems to begin in the 15th century with the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Mexico has the upper hand in that regards, but history is written every day and both countries are facing similar struggles to escape the gnawing teeth of third world poverty.
Overall, Santo Domingo feels like a miniature version of Mexico City transported into and strongly influenced by the culture and weather of the Caribbean. Dominicans are eminently nice people who will welcome you with open arms. There is an interesting African cultural undertone absent in Mexico. The Dominican Republic is clearly not a leading Latin American power and leaves that responsibility to Mexico and Brazil. All this creates a laid back atmosphere propitious for day dreaming under the burning sun.
