Just about everyday I walk to or through the Zocolo (city centre + La Catedral) which is a very touristy district. Touristy streets mean three things: beggars, solicitors, and buskers. I generally prefer the latter (if they are working for their money and supplying me with quality music, then they deserve a buck or two), some of my street instruments of choice are saxophone (preferably tenor), Stroh violin, accordion, and ten gallon plastic pickle jug. If you know me, then you know that I cannot resist an accordion player... and unfortunately for my wallet, Mexico has TONS of accordionistas. I had to stop giving out my spare change the second day. Speaking of the destitute searching for a better life (or at least dinner) in a tourist’s pocket, last night I was walking up La Calle Macedonia Alcala thinking about how awesome Mexico was and how great life is and how perfect the night air feels, etc… when I noticed a woman holding out her bowl on the side of the street. Like in any big city, there are homeless people here, and like I said before, if they aren’t working for the money in some way, I generally don’t feel bad for looking past them and not offering what I can. What caught my eye here was some figure behind the woman. It was her two year old son sleeping on the pavement. All of the positive thoughts were immediately shattered. This image occurs quite a bit in Oaxaca. I have never seen this many homeless children before in my life. I struggled for the next two blocks over whether or not to turn around and offer her the 20 pesos I had found on the ground earlier that day. I finally forced myself to come to the realization that my 20 pesos wouldn’t change the fact that a toddler calls the sidewalk home... and commenced to blow my money on alcohol.
So I saw the Dark Knight (in English with Spanish subtitles - I learned how to say shit) on Wednesday at the Cinepolis, which is a theatre far superior to any commercial movie theatre I’ve been to in the states. The Cinepolis theme is apparently MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” because that was played over and over in the lobby and in the theatre prior to the previews. Wednesday night is dos por uno night, so the place was PACKED (lleno)… and did I mention I only paid $2.80 USD? Fucking A. Batman (one of the theatre employees in costume) ripped our tickets, helped direct traffic and find seats for people, and even staged a chase scene with one of the other employees before the previews. I love Mexico.
Last night I went to a German Orchestra concert in the Municipal Palace. German vs. Mexican is quite possibly one of the most awkward culture clashes ever imagined. I’m sorry, but ringing cell phones, screaming children, Spongebob (Bob Esponja) balloons, and psychedelic light shows have no place at a German Orchestra concert… but somehow they all found their way in. Plus the acoustics were terrible, the music selection was slightly worse than god-awful, and the German conductor’s Spanish language skills were embarrassingly laughable. Luckily, I had an excuse to leave early (unfortunately this didn’t save me from musical selections from Walt Disney’s “Tarzan”… I shit you not). I left to meet some other students from the institute and we all went to a salsa club called “La Candela”. My usual dance partner, Barton, had consumed far too much mezcal before we even got to the club, so our moves were less than impressive; though I’m sure they were entertaining. Our salsa maestro, Roberto, even came! Yesterday was mi último día de salsa (my last day of salsa class). Next week I’ll start a conversation class.
P.S. – In researching the Stroh violin for this blog, I came across this article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/onyourstreet/mssophie3.shtml. It sounded so uniquely awesome that I bought the album and I’m so excited about it. Also, the picture of the Stroh violin player linked above is the same dude I gave a Euro to outside the Reubens House in Antwerp this past spring!
¡Hasta luego!
So I saw the Dark Knight (in English with Spanish subtitles - I learned how to say shit) on Wednesday at the Cinepolis, which is a theatre far superior to any commercial movie theatre I’ve been to in the states. The Cinepolis theme is apparently MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” because that was played over and over in the lobby and in the theatre prior to the previews. Wednesday night is dos por uno night, so the place was PACKED (lleno)… and did I mention I only paid $2.80 USD? Fucking A. Batman (one of the theatre employees in costume) ripped our tickets, helped direct traffic and find seats for people, and even staged a chase scene with one of the other employees before the previews. I love Mexico.
Last night I went to a German Orchestra concert in the Municipal Palace. German vs. Mexican is quite possibly one of the most awkward culture clashes ever imagined. I’m sorry, but ringing cell phones, screaming children, Spongebob (Bob Esponja) balloons, and psychedelic light shows have no place at a German Orchestra concert… but somehow they all found their way in. Plus the acoustics were terrible, the music selection was slightly worse than god-awful, and the German conductor’s Spanish language skills were embarrassingly laughable. Luckily, I had an excuse to leave early (unfortunately this didn’t save me from musical selections from Walt Disney’s “Tarzan”… I shit you not). I left to meet some other students from the institute and we all went to a salsa club called “La Candela”. My usual dance partner, Barton, had consumed far too much mezcal before we even got to the club, so our moves were less than impressive; though I’m sure they were entertaining. Our salsa maestro, Roberto, even came! Yesterday was mi último día de salsa (my last day of salsa class). Next week I’ll start a conversation class.
P.S. – In researching the Stroh violin for this blog, I came across this article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/onyourstreet/mssophie3.shtml. It sounded so uniquely awesome that I bought the album and I’m so excited about it. Also, the picture of the Stroh violin player linked above is the same dude I gave a Euro to outside the Reubens House in Antwerp this past spring!
¡Hasta luego!
2 comments:
There is no way for you to know whether or not that woman and child were actually needy, so in playing the game of cautious uncertainty you win. But thinking that even 20 pesos won't help them feels incorrect. That sounds like the person who sees litter on the ground, debates whether or not they should pick it up, and decides not to by justifying their inaction based on the assumption that the their minute amount of cleaning up isn't going to make a difference. They might think, "I could pick this up, but what difference does it make, really?" It makes a difference, and every little bit counts.
It sounds like you're having tons of fun in Mexico. Someday, when I grow up, I'm going to have fun like that. Keep this blog going. Your entrys are interesting and amusing.
...And don't get raped.
Toil each day with all that you have each moment, but be at peace each night when you sleep. Love you.
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