Tag Archives: Mazatlan

Rite of Passage

 

Rites of passage. What images does that phrase bring to mind? Masai warrior rituals? Debutante balls? Walkabouts? Bar mitzvahs? Uros Indian boys knitting hats so tightly that water won’t leak through? Menstruation? Graduation? Marriage?

We moved to Mazatlán four years ago. Since that time, Danny and I have attended church every Sunday. Same church each week. Same Mass each week. Same people we see there each week. Four years. I love Sunday Mass. Love to sing. Love communal prayer. Love the people we celebrate with each week.

During that time, we have gotten to know the priest. We greet the greeters: those women at the entrance handing out bulletins. We sit in the same pew, pretty much, every week, too. There are about three women who will sit in our pew and greet us. I like them. They help me feel human, not just gringa. There are lots of other people who will sit in our pew and act as if they’ve never seen us before, even though of course they have seen us every Sunday the past four years. And, there are loads of people who avoid sitting anywhere near us. Maybe they’re afraid we won’t speak Spanish, or know the rules, or…

Now, it’s a Catholic church, and anyone who knows Catholicism will tell you that good Catholics don’t fraternize at Sunday services (written tongue in cheek, but true). You come, you pray, you leave. No small talk. The priests basically have to order us to shake hands with the person beside us in the pew.

Well, a few weeks ago we had something going on in the morning, and we went to the Sunday evening service instead. Lo and behold, the altar guild lady asked me if I’d do the collection! Wow! A rite of passage! I had never been asked to take up the collection before. I was becoming a regular part of the parish after all!

But this was not “my” Mass. It was the evening Mass, which I rarely attend. It was a welcome invitation, for sure. Now, in the parish’s defense, I have made no effort to get involved in the church outside of Sunday Mass. My schedule right now doesn’t allow it, my preferences right now aren’t prioritizing it. There are people who attend our Mass that I know outside of church. They of course greet us.

Well, unwittingly this am, as Danny and I knelt in prayer before the service started, the altar guild/greeter lady at OUR service, our church, came to our pew, and asked us if we would be so kind as to take up the gifts! “Would you take up the wine, and your Mami take up the bread,” she asked Danny.

Wow! How cool is that!

As if that wasn’t cool enough, one of the “friendly” ladies sat down beside us. She actually KISSED me during the giving of the peace.

Four years, people, but we feel included. We have received our rite of passage.

I will say I attended church in Tokyo and in the US longer than we’ve been here, and was never ad-hoc included in this way.

Now the Episcopal Church, where Danny used to serve Mass every Sunday morning, and I was the greeter, that’s a different story… 🙂

 

Counterfeiting and Scalping, Teenage-Style 2012 (llegar de colado)

 

My parents met one night when they both crashed a wedding reception. Neither one of them had been invited to the party. Neither one of them even knew the people getting married!

They lived in small towns near each other, and told me that in the day it was common to show up to drink and dance whenever anyone nearby got married or had a party with a band. According to them, the hosts didn’t mind. They expected uninvited guests to “crash.”

They fell in love after meeting as uninvited guests, a love that lasted nearly 60 years.

Fast forward to four years ago, when we moved to Mazatlán from Kansas City. One of my son’s cultural adjustments was that early on he just could not bring himself to go to a party to which, in his words, he “wasn’t invited.” Which to him, a good US American, meant that the host of the party had not personally invited him. “But here in Mexico, baby, if your friend is invited, and the friend invites you, you are usually welcome if not expected to join.” No, he just couldn’t do it.

The day after such a party, his friends would say, “Hey, Danny, where were you last night? We missed you!” Sometimes even the host of the party would say it to him. So, he learned a more inclusive approach to party-going. He learned he usually didn’t need a personal or direct verbal invitation; friends are always welcome.

But, this “open invitation” approach to parties obviously can get out of hand, especially when kids attend a huge school, when they have a wide circle of friends, or, as with teenagers anywhere, “the word gets out” and there aren’t a lot of other parties that same night. Two weeks ago there was just such a “small” quinceañera to which 300 or so kids showed up! Parents, who pay the bills for the parties, wisely want to limit attendance. But how? It bucks cultural norms.

In order to bridge cultural norms and economic realities, the wrist bracelet was invented. Parents can say, “We are only paying for 100 people for your party. We’ll invite 20 of our friends, and you can invite 80.” Then the parent gives the kid 80 personalized party invitation bracelets to hand out. If you have a bracelet, you can enter the party. No bracelet, no dancing.

Seems clear enough to me.

Well, the other night I learned that kids COUNTERFEIT the bracelets! One of our son’s friends proudly showed me the pulsera he had purchased blank, and how he had taken a Sharpie and carefully and competently copied the personalized text so that he could get into the party. I of course dutifully scolded the kid, and threatened my son with what horrible things would become of him if he ever were to do such a thing. But, in the process I’ve learned that such counterfeiting, and even scalping, of party entrance bracelets is common these days.

The kids told me about a boy at school who has a whole counterfeiting operation. He goes to a party place and buys a bunch of the identical bracelets for that weekend’s party (bracelets come in all colors and many foil or reflective designs as well). He has a counterfeiting “kit” with 3 kinds of Sharpies plus Q-tips and alcohol to clean up any erroneous strokes that occur while making the fake bracelets. He sells the blank bracelets for 25 pesos (they must cost a few pesos at most at the shop, but hey, he delivers right to you at school). Buying a bracelet complete with the counterfeited markings costs 40 pesos (15 pesos for his copying prowess).

If you don’t want to participate in counterfeiting, you can buy a pulsera from someone who was “legally” invited to the party but can’t or doesn’t want to go. These “scalped” bracelets sell for 100 pesos. Who says young kids nowadays aren’t enterprising! Capitalism is alive and well among teenagers in Mazatlán.

Thank goodness that these bracelets didn’t exist in the 1940s. My parents may never have met, and I wouldn’t be here!

 

Wednesday Hump Day

 

Mid-week. Wednesday. “Hump day.” We decided we needed to get out, see a bit of the “interior” of our beloved Mazatlán that we hadn’t seen in a while. Not like we don’t often do that, but, hey, it’s Wednesday and we’ve been working hard …

We ended up driving toward Infiernillo. We were so very psyched to spend time noticing just how clean everything looks, we suppose after it was cleaned up from the flooding last year. Danny’s Scout troop has gone out there many times cleaning up. But this was obviously a clean-up of larger, more mechanistic proportions. Well done, city!

We stopped at a little mariscos and taquería that Greg had noticed yesterday, when he was refilling the gas for the grill. It is called El Pariente, and it did not disappoint.

The owner was very gregarious, and worked busily on the outdoor grill. His wife worked the indoor kitchen.

Despite the pull of the ceviche de jaiba and other cold dishes, we all ordered shrimp: camarones rancheros and

camarones a la diabla. Both were really tasty, portions were huge (we couldn’t finish), and

prices were definitely right: 80 pesos per plate.

Plus, the view was very pleasant!

After lunch we drove around the other side of the estero, past the fishing pangas,

the waterfowl,

the recycling truck,

the gas delivery truck,

the roof dog protecting a roof-top camper shell (?),

and a hand painted and festively decorated mural of the Virgen.

All in all, a most welcome mid-week respite to recharge our batteries and ground ourselves in the reality and security of our beloved city before we headed back to work.

 

Wonderful New Restaurant and BB in Cerritos

We made a terrific new discovery today, out of the blue. A wonderful little restaurant right on the beach with a laid-back style and … drumroll please …  a very creative menu: Jamaican jerk beef, sun dried tomato quiche, shiitake mushroom and vegetable spring rolls with mango-habanero salsa … How unusual is THAT for Mazatlán?

As if creativity weren’t enough (you know you can recite the ceviche/aguachile/pescado o camarones a la diabla, mojo de ajo o a la plancha of 90% of our local restaurants), items are made fresh, the menu changes weekly, and it includes lots of fresh veggies, salads and homemade soups. The owner loves music, so she chooses a musician of the week (this week is most rightly dedicated to recently departed Etta James) and tailors her weekly menu to the theme. As I said, creativity reigns in this place.

The restaurant, called “Surf’s Up,” is owned and operated by a vivacious young Canadian woman named Leanne Wright (that’s her at left, between my two boys). She relocated here from Vancouver a year ago, and together with her parents has spent the past year readying the cafe and an adjoining four-room bed and breakfast called “El Sol La Vida” for business. The “resort” opened nine weeks ago, and is located right next to Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay (Camino al Delfín #520) in Sabalo Cerritos. It is definitely worth the drive!

The inviting interior with open kitchen seats maybe 20-24 people, and there are outdoor terrace tables as well as numerous tables on the beach. The view is spectacular, the setting very peaceful and yet vibrant. Surf’s Up is open Wednesday through Saturday 8 am – 4 pm, and any evening for dinner with a prior reservation (669-164-1896). They also serve a Sunday brunch from 10 – 4. In addition to the substantial meal menu, there is a full coffee menu (lattes, cappuccinos, frappes).

Leanne (that’s her at left, between my two boys) told us she’s worked in food service for 14 years, and loves to travel the world taking cooking lessons with top chefs (this summer she’ll be in Tuscany). She buys breads from Héctor at Molika and produce from the new Organic Farmers’ Market in Plaza Zaragoza. Turns out that in addition to being an outgoing and upbeat cook with a keen sense of design (the whole place is really charming), she’s a highly ranked amateur boxer who will travel with the Canadian team to this summer’s London Olympics (she won’t be boxing, though, due to injuries from a car crash). And, no, she hasn’t yet made it to la cancha German Evers to see one of our local boxing matches.

There were three of us for lunch today, and we had the above-mentioned spring rolls served with a terrific side salad (spring mix lettuce with sweet onion, four colors of bell peppers, craisins, almonds and cheese);

a very tasty chicken tostada (the sweet onions made it);

and roast beef on ciabatta with potato slices, two kinds of cheese, grilled onions, and mustard seeds. This last was listed on the menu as a breakfast item. The breakfast menu is lengthy and also creative, and is served all day.

For dessert we split a homemade oatmeal cookie with coconut, raisins and almonds. Leanne was just taking these out of the oven as we entered, and the smell was to-die-for. She also had slices of apple coconut cake available.

We all very much enjoyed our meals. Each of them was solidly good tasting, beautifully presented, and a welcome breath of fresh air in an exceptional setting. Keeping in mind this restaurant is only nine weeks young, it is our hope that as Leanne settles in and gets more comfortable, the flavor of her recipes will rise to the high level set by the creativity of her menu.

Menu items (most accompanied by soup or salad) ranged from 80 – 100 pesos, which we felt was very reasonable, though for some reason the hamburger is priced at a very high 150 pesos. Yes, it’s Henderson’s sirloin, but … My fear is that as Surf’s Up gets popular the extensive menu may have to be trimmed, and Leanne will obviously have to hire and train some more staff, which seems so often to make for difficulties with a new place. Changing menus each week can place added stress on a kitchen staff as well and quality may suffer; we will have to check back and see.

After lunch we toured the four rooms and common area of the bed and breakfast, El Sol La Vida. The rooms were large and airy. The wood carpentry has been beautifully done. All rooms except one had a terrace or patio.

Bathrooms have onyx sinks and marble tile work. Shower enclosures are glass block. Rooms are $129 Canadian per night, and the one without a terrace is $99/night.

Leanne’s parents were owner-operators of a garden center for years and it shows with wonderful landscaping and floral treats throughout the property.

The pool is heated and well positioned. There is a poolside bar, and some incredibly comfortable-looking seating, plus easy access to the beach.

I wish Leanne and her parents all the best of luck! I do hope this place gains popularity in a way that will allow them to succeed; it has a terrific energy about it.

Welcome to Mazatlán, and thank you for being here!

One other small note:
As we drove in, we noticed a very interesting property next door. Danny said it reminded him of the Lord of the Rings. Sure enough, Leanne told us that the guy who built it had the book series in mind, and the 5-bedroom uniquely built place is now a rental property, called Sand Castle. Like elves? Check it out!

Cultural Change on the Malecón: A Case Study

Ok, the title of this post sounds a little too “professional” for our family blog. But it’s about dear friends, Mexican society and our beloved malecón, so I think it belongs here. It is really the story of the power of one.

Our dear friend, Guy, retired from a career as an air traffic controller in Canada and relocated to Mazatlán about five years ago. He loves the “blue:” the ocean, the sky, the outdoors, the views. He is a passionate athlete. He started out running the malecón many times a day, and has evolved to roller blading it. He is a French speaker who also speaks English, and he has actively sought to learn Spanish since living here. Guy is very outgoing, optimistic and friendly. He loves coffee, and makes a great pot of cappuccino every morning, sharing it with those friends lucky enough to be nearby when it’s ready. Guy has become a city icon. Everyone knows the bald guy dressed in black who can be seen skating along the oceanside promenade nearly any time, day or night. To see him is to be reminded to enjoy this beautiful city in which we live—not to get lost in work or daily drudgery, but to take a look around and a deep breath, and to get out and move our bodies before we lose the ability to move them.

We also love walking and biking the malecón every day; it’s one of the best things about Mazatlán. In our opinion it’s the best oceanside promenade in the world, with 4+ miles of paved, gorgeous walkway between Valentino’s and Pedro Infante. We imagine that everyone would enjoy using the malecón. Thus, we have been repeatedly surprised by friends, mostly locals, who tell us they prefer to exercise at home or in a gym. I’ve had girlfriends tell me their husbands won’t “permit” them to use the malecón if they’re not with them. Girlfriends tell me they don’t use it because they don’t want to be out in the sun; it causes wrinkles and spots on their fair skin. Others say the malecón is dangerous; that you’re looking to get robbed.

And, honestly, I know very well that many people don’t use it because it’s beneath them. That is a side of society, any society, that I very much dislike. Beach vendors, people who can’t afford gym memberships, people whose only mode of transport is a bicycle or public bus, even beggars and homeless people, use the malecón. “I have more money than them. I was born higher class than them. I need to maintain my status by not associating with them.” No one in polite society says it directly, but it’s there; it’s palpable. And this is a side of any society that I’d love to change.

There are loads of Canadians and US Americans who come here and desire to make a mark on this gorgeous city, to help make our city better. They often wreak havoc on themselves and others despite their good intentions, because they come on like gangbusters and try to “change” or “fix” something they don’t yet understand, something that is much larger than they are (a culture, a society). I know this well; I’ve seen it worldwide; it’s my profession.

Guy didn’t set out to change anything. By setting out to enjoy himself and stay in shape, he has inspired many people to get out and move: to bike, run, walk, rollerblade… People from all walks of life started coming to Guy, asking him to teach them to rollerblade, to help them get started, to give him advice. They told him they’d pay him for his lessons. “No,” he’d say. “I’ll teach you for free, but you must pay it forward and in turn do something helpful for somebody else.” Thus his “entourage” was born, including a running group and a roller blading group, as well as, now, people who hang out at the coconut stand to share good conversation and homemade ceviche.

Guy has made a wide circle of friends from all different parts of society: government, big and small business, housewives and young singles, wealthy and humble. I am sooooo so so so happy to see the gatherings of people around him. It crosses socio-economic lines. There are people roller blading now who, personally, told me the malecón was no place for them! I have had friends who previously refused to use the malecón for the reasons above ask me if they could walk with us, bicycle with us. It’s because, I believe, they see these other people, “society” people, out there, exercising. Not just with Guy, of course. Kelly and his bicycling tours and groups, other running, roller blading and bike groups…. The culture is shifting. I’ve seen a huge shift towards egalitarianism and inter-mixing of the social classes on the malecón in the four short years I’ve lived here. Bravo!!! Long live culture change! Let’s keep it up! We aren’t there yet, but… Just the other day a friend asked another friend, aghast, “You have the coco guy’s phone number in your cellular?” Well, she did. And proudly so.

One last photo: this one of the malecón during Carnavál. Forbes Magazineranks our Carnavál/Mardi Gras one of the world’s top three. I will just add that it is VERY family-oriented. Come join us!