In English, when we fast forward part of a story, we use “Blah blah blah” (and a few other fun phrases).
However, I kinda like the Mexican version: Sha la la, Sha la la
Example:
Much more sing-songy, doncha think?
I dunno if these kids have become at all popular in the US yet, but for the last few months the Vazquez Sounds have been taking Mexico by storm. This family of 3 kids became famous with their cover songs on YouTube, and they are really good! (and adorable)
The one thing that bothers me, as my hermosa amiga Jessica from Mexican At Heart pointed out, is that all their cover songs thus far have been English songs… and the lead girl seriously needs to improve her accent. I’m not saying all Mexicans should speak English, but if you want to make a living off of doing cover songs in English… learn English! You can tell she just memorizes the sounds and doesn’t really know what she’s singing.
Accent pickiness aside, they’re really good, especially because they sing a lot of my favorite songs. Check out the Vazquez Sounds:
What do you think? Amazing? Sickeningly cute? Annoying accent? Charming accent?
Did I ever tell you how I broke my culture shock? The defining moment when I went from “I hate it here, why don’t they do things my way?” to “Well, this might be ok after all!”
I was in my second year of university here in Cancun. I had a world geography class that totally blew my mind. As I looked up at the world map for several weeks, I thought to myself, “This is wrong. Why is the professor teaching wrongness? Why are my classmates not correcting him? Does nobody care or even notice that the map is wrong?” (Gosh, I’m such a typical American.)
In the US, we’re taught early on that the world has 7 continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and Antarctica.
In Mexico, they’re taught that the world has 5 continents: America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Under this model, what we Americans consider to be North and South America is actually one large continent of America, and Antarctica doesn’t factor in at all!
MIND. BLOWN.
But wait! It doesn’t stop there! North America is everything north of the Panama Canal, right? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Get this: Mexicans don’t consider Central America to be part of North America. Here, the large continent of America is sub-divided into 3 regions: North America (Canada, the US and Mexico), Central America and South America. In this model, Central America is no longer part of North America, it just borders North America.
North America in blue, Central America in yellow, South America in green... 3 regions making up the continent of America
After a few months of fuming to myself, I decided to look it up on Wikipedia to prove that I was right. Instead, what I got was this:
Number of Continents
And that’s when it hit me. My way isn’t the only way.
Even though I was taught something as fact, there still might be millions of other kids in other parts of the world learning it differently.
It was a huge step for me as an expat to realize that I can believe there are 7 continents, and my friends can believe there are 5 continents, and people on the other side of the world can believe there are 6 continents, and we are all correct.
This led me to realize that just because Mexicans don’t do things the way I might want them to, it doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Sometimes their way is even better than my way! (Except when they put ketchup on their pizza. After 7 years, I still find that unacceptable.)
I spent my first year in Mexico trying to make everyone more like… me. Then I spent the following 6 years trying to become more like them. All thanks to one geography course.
The president of my company sends out a daily e-mail with a Bible verse and Catholic lesson… and a prayer to “La Virgen”.
Why do I get the feeling that in the United States, this would result in a company-wide lawsuit?
Sometimes I’m not sure which country is weirder.
For New Years, we once again went to the fishing village of Chabihau in the state of Yucatan to visit Jorge’s family. This year there was even a wedding! Jorge’s cousin Yeni (pronounced like “Jenny”) got married to her long-time beau, Armando.
We also did some crocodile watching out on Chabihau's salt lagoon
I’d heard before about a special tradition in the Yucatan known as “Año Viejo” (“Old Year”), but this year was the first time I got to see it. On our ride from Cancun to Chabihau, we passed through several villages that had dummies set out by the front gate of the homes. These dummies are known as “Años Viejos“, and they’re filled with rockets and fireworks.
Read that again… rockets and fireworks.
On December 31, the Año Viejo dummies are set out by the front door, and at midnight they’re ignited in the street to represent the end of the “Old Year”. Make sure to keep your distance! It can get pretty loud.
An "Año Viejo" in the town of Cansahcab, Yucatan
From what I could gather from Jorge’s family, it seems Año Viejo is a popular tradition throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as in the state of Veracruz.
Since I was at the wedding at midnight, I didn’t get to see the Año Viejo lit up this year, even though we did have some regular fireworks and sparklers. Oh well, there’s always next year!
What did you do for New Year’s?
Hello all! I’m back from good ole Richmond, Virginia, and it was a very Merry Christmas indeed. This was my first time back in Richmond after more than 3 years, and I got to see family and friends I hadn’t seen in forever.
Jorge LOVED the US. He liked the houses, mainly because they “don’t have bars on the windows, like in Mexico”. Very true. I took him to my favorite outdoor mall, and he was a bit overwhelmed but definitely enjoying himself. I have to admit I miss US malls, too… although I did feel bad for the shirtless guy standing in the freezing cold of the Abercrombie and Fitch entrance.
I was excited to be back in my hometown of Richmond! I got to see lots of friends and family I hadn’t seen in over 3 years. Jorge got to see my high school, middle school, elementary school, church and old house.
Everything seemed so much bigger and grander than I remember. In Cancun all the houses are right next to eachother (no side yards, shared walls) and yards are usually just tiny squares of concrete. The bigger houses here have walls around them, and almost all houses here have bars on the windows. In Richmond, the yards were so huge and the houses so much larger than they needed to be that I felt like I was way in the country or something (even though it was just the suburbs). Even houses I used to think were small growing up, today they look immense!
All the shopping centers and restaurants looked so pristine it was overwhelming. Immaculate storefronts were surrounded by massive amounts of parking space. Where were the flimsy taco stands? Where were the family-owned corner stores? Why are there so many SUVs? Who would go to a huge shopping center in the middle of nowhere? (a lot of people, apparently)
The only thing big about Cancun is the potholes.
I was seeing the first stages of reverse culture shock, and I was only there for 3 days. Everything from the cars to the houses, restaurants, movie theaters and malls was just so BIG and PERFECT. It was lovely, but I was glad to get back to the sun and tiny concrete houses of Cancun.
Here are a few pics. The lights are from the James Center in downtown Richmond, and the rest are just family photos taken at my grandparents’ house.
How was your Christmas?
The Mexico Today initiative has joined forces with the Vital Voices Global Partnership organization to host a Twitter Party focusing on women’s entrepreneurship in Mexico and Latin America as a whole. The Twitter Party will be held this Monday, November 21 at 1 pm EST. (That’s 12 pm for all you cancunenses!)
We’re really excited to be working with Vital Voices, who has helped women all over the world to become strong leaders.
“Vital Voices is an international non-profit, non-partisan organization, that provides leadership training and suppport for emerging women leaders in business, government, and civil society.”
“Our mission is to identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.”
Anyone who has lived in Latin America can’t help but notice how strong the female role is in this society, and this year Vital Voices launched its LACBWN (Latin America and Caribbean Businesswomen’s Network), based in Mexico City.
“The network will mobilize and connect women professionals and entrepreneurs to promote economic growth and strengthen the business environment for women’s economic engagement through training, mentorship and capacity building programs.”
I’m so excited to be cohosting this important Twitter Party, where we’ll have the chance to discuss important issues on women’s entrepreneurship in Mexico, like marketing, networking, strengths and barriers.
If you’d like to join in this 1-hour Tweetchat, you can follow the #MexicoToday hashtag and use the #MexicoToday Tweetchat Page. Your hosts for this event are:
Suzanne Barbezat @mexicoguide
Silvia Martinez @mamalatinatips
Craig Zabransky @stayadventurous
Laura Nazimiec @gomexicoguide
Laura Winfree @cancungringa (That’s me!)
You can find more information and see some of our participants on our Facebook event page:
Saturday evening, Jorge and I were invited by PR Director Paulina Feltrin to visit the incredible Fairmont Mayakoba resort in the Riviera Maya for something I have never done before… a tea tasting! On November 12, the Fairmont chain hosted different “Get Steeped” events throughout all their international hotels and resorts, offering everything from cultural events to “tea-quila” drinks.
At the Fairmont Mayakoba, we got to enjoy some unique yet delicious Berry Berry Tea Martinis.
The resort’s resident tea and tequila expert, Jesus, explained to us about the Fairmont’s popular line of teas, offering a variety of delicious infusions ranging from traditional Earl Greys to modern fruit flavors.
Jesus mixed each drink with the following recipe:
All these ingredients combined to create a strong, flavorful and very Mexican tea martini!
I even got the chance to mix my own, which Jesus said was even better than his (Maybe he was just trying to butter me up, but it worked). I learned that the best way to steep tea is by scooping the mixture directly into the water, NOT with a tea bag! Also, you need 20 – 30 shakes to mix a martini. Considering I’ve never mixed a drink in my life, I was pretty pleased with myself.
The final product was quite beautiful, with the alcoholic Berry Berry Tea Martini sporting a lovely pink color and the non-alcoholic martini with a deep purple tone.
I’ve never been much of a tea drinker, but after the tea tasting at the Fairmont Mayakoba resort I just might have to turn these tea martinis into a bad habit!
Since Day of the Dead falls so close to Halloween, the two holidays are often combined here in Cancun. Children roam neighborhoods trick-or-treating with parents and friends, while the streets fill up with images of La Catrina, an elegant lady skeleton symbolizing Day of the Dead.
Tonight was an interesting one for Jorge and me. We had several groups of trick-or-treaters stop by, and we gave them some classic Mexican candies. (Jorge’s enjoying the leftovers as I write this.) Then we took a stroll around Parque Las Palapas, which had lots of family activities, people in costume, and a show with colorful Mexican dances.
My best friend Viri had an ofrenda for her brother and grandfather set up at her home, and her parents were kind enough to let me take some pictures. It has many of the classic ofrenda elements, with incense, marigolds (Flor de Muerto), pan de muerto, candles to guide the way of the deceased, sugar skulls (calaveras) and some of their favorite food and drinks from when they were living.
I always feel like Day of the Dead is a fascinating mix of intimate family memories and vivid social traditions, bringing together families and communities alike. This year in Cancun was no different.
This weekend, I made the quick trip from Cancun to Playa del Carmen with Jorge’s family to visit one of my favorite places in the world: Xcaret.
Xcaret is an immense ecopark filled with unbelieveable attractions. I’ve been there 4 or 5 times already, and I still haven’t seen everything! The park has Mayan ruins, an underground river, a Mayan village, an hacienda, greenhouses, a huge butterfly pavilion (my favorite part), stunning beaches, dolphins, jaguars, sharks, a lookout tower, amazing restaurants, an aquarium… and the list goes on. All this is surrounded by lush jungle and winding paths, making you feel as if you’ve stepped into another world.
This park isn’t just about nature, though. It’s about Mexico. Combining Mexican culture, Mayan roots and the stunning jungle setting of the Riviera Maya, Xcaret is heaven on Earth. (Except for the snake that slithered across my foot at the entrance… sent that thing flying with a high kick and a scream!)
We started the day wandering around the hacienda near the entrance, with beautiful courtyards and unique colonial artwork, followed by amazing views of the Riviera Maya from the lookout tower. Then, we stopped by the orchid greenhouse (WOW) and took a turn on a riverboat.
A few of us jumped into the underground river, where we swam through caves and vine-covered cliffs, exiting into a beautiful enclosed jungle filled with vibrant butterflies. We walked past jaguars, tapirs and monkeys on our way to explore some Mayan ruins, then stopped by Xcaret’s large aquarium.
After a quick dip in the Caribbean Sea in one of the park’s crystal clear inlets, the family grabbed a quick dinner and headed to Xcaret’s famous show. Mayan warriors greeted us along the fire-lit path to the immense theater, where we sat back and watched the Mayan ball game, Papantla flyers and traditional dances from all over Mexico.
The evening ended with the show’s final song, “Mexico en la Piel” (Mexico In Your Skin), which brings tears to my eyes every. single. time.
Exhausted, I took a little cat nap on the car ride back to Cancun, thinking how much I’m dying to go back already.
You can follow Xcaret on Twitter via @XcaretPark
Gringation's Blog 