Go Visit Mexico to Understand

"While we bear responsibility for our problems, the caricature of Mexico being propagated in the United States only increases the despair on both sides of the Rio Grande. It is also profoundly hypocritical. America is the world’s largest market for illegal narcotics. The United States is the source for the majority of the guns used in Mexico’s drug cartel war, according to law enforcement officials on both sides of the border...." Read the NY Times Article - The Mexican Evolution

Saltillo, Mexico

The Garcia sons returned to their place of origin.  Our grandfather departed the town of Saltillo back in the early 20th century as part of the Bracero Worker Program with the U.S. To my knowledge we are the first of our family since that time to step foot back on the soil containing our deep roots.  We were all proud to be in a place that at one time in our family's history we called home.

Saltillo itself is quaint and the people are incredibly friendly.  It is not grand like the colonial tourist towns, but not ragged or culturally devoid like some of the smaller towns in Central America.  

Emotionally we were all in period of "calm before the storm" - well, especially Max and I.  We were one night away from home and all the luxuries that come with it.  As a result of that mindset we spent the day aimlessly wandering the markets and sitting in the plazas.  We even spent a good amount of time in the hotel.  At this point in a long trip, you almost want to go into hiding so as to not have any bad experiences that might taint the trip and be qualified as bad luck.  One night until home - only one night.

Even with a mixture of calmness and anxiousness we decided to go out

 on the town for our final evening.  We drank some beers and danced with some new friends at the very American Carlos and Charlies Bar.  

The next day we would cross the border into home.  The final post to this blog will follow.

San Luis Potosi, Mexico

On this trip I have encountered the most beautiful rainbow, volcano, waterfall, pyramid, and sunset I have ever seen.  All those natural occurrences became temporarily forgotten when I entered the city of San Luis Potosi.  It is there that Max, Tex, and I would find the most beautiful women of the entire 45 day excursion.

I wish at this point there was more to offer in the way of personal experience, but

 there is not.

The town itself was surprisingly beautiful.  It was unexpected only because I have met many immigrants in the U.S. who have roots in this particular town.  I figured it must have been, well, a place that one would actually want to leave.  This was not the case.  There were beautiful plazas, churches, shopping avenues, and parks.  There was a slow pace of life, but nothing implicating the place as a monster scaring away its citizens.

Two days from home, we passed the day away eating, drinking, and window shopping.  Having already spent my money in San Miguel de Allende, it was definitely a good decision.  

During the only evening in San Luis Potosi I found myself engaged in a religious conversation in one of the

 town plazas.  A young man sat down next to me on a park bench to discuss Jesus and all the other tangents that naturally accompany a discussion of him.  Slowly but directly, the rest of his group gathered around me as well to take part in the debate.  

All in Spanish, I proceeded to defend my opinions/theories/philosophies with regard to religion and Christianity.  It was as if God sent me a final oral Spanish test to take at the end of my trip.  It was a good opportunity to practice Spanish and also pass on my logical conclusions.  Imagine 8 people huddled around me, listening, objecting, and eventually shaking their heads in understanding. It should not be an illusory image, because the event actually occurred.   On the stoned plaza, beneath the stone masoned cathedrals, I felt like a philosopher of old teaching in the School of Athens.  It was an incredible hour and a half experience that will not be forgotten.

Knowing that only one town, one blog, and 6 hours lay between me and the U.S. kept me constantly thinking of home.  At the end of a long trip you spend then last few days willing yourself to get back.  I apologize to San Luis Potosi (and even the women) for not being wholly present in mind and heart. I do promise to return to San Luis Potosi (and the women).

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

I returned to the movie set Mexico likes to call San Miguel de Allende. Last summer I lived for a week in this colonial town learning and practicing Spanish. Clean and vibrant, San Miguel is still the place that I am most certain I will return many times into my future. The actual filiming location for "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" really looks as it does on the big screen. Because of its appeal, the emphasis of this blog is on location and not so much on us.

We stayed at my hotel - the place I called home for a week in the summer passed. After a brief contemplation the owner of the hotel remembered who I was and quickly moved to replace her current reservation in order to accomodate us. The family bond that had existed from the previous year was still intact. It is a warming feeling to make true lasting friends in a foreign country.

Most of our days in San Miguel were spent filling the empty suitcases Tex brought with gifts for loved ones back home. The artesanias, jewelery, and pottery handcrafted in the town are the best in the area. Shopping is exhausting but we managed to survive the arduous task. We filled our bags with blue-rimmed glasses, beaded masks, decorative silver, and ornamented crosses. As all of us Garcias had recently moved to Austin, we found plenty of Mexican pieces to fill our new apartments.

San Miguel was the first of our final 3 quick stops. Leaving the town was not sad or difficult because I will be returning frequently.

Mexico City, Mexico

I completed a life goal by entering the streets of Mexico City....

First impression: Mexico is humongous. It is not so much overpowering as it is never-ending. The former home of the Aztecs was like the last frontier of Mexico for me. I had never been to the city in all my travels throughout the country. It was an accomplishment of a lifetime.

We arrived late on a Saturday night so we quickly showered and took a taxi straight to the Zona Rosa bar section of town. The bar scene was not as impressive as I expected it to be. After a brief stop at a bar with live rock music we decided to liven things up a bit - so we headed to a place called ¨Foxys.¨ It was a waste of time and money, but not effort I promise. At the end of the display I was surprised with the collective $300 bill. Turns out, this fine establishment chages $13 for a corona and $30 for our ¨friends¨ drinks. I bit my lip and we walked out feeling collectively hustled. Welcome to the big city I guess.


The following day, in order to redeem myself, I set out to find the true essence of D.F. Leaving the younger cousins behind to shop, I bussed myself to Teotihuacan - the location of the Aztec pyramids. As this was the most important moment of the trip for me I would like to explain its siginificance...



Imagine the feeling that most people have upon their college graduation - mixed nostalgia, combined with exhiliration, upon excitement of the unknown. Some might also feel relief or for some a sense of accomplishment; I truly felt none of the previously mentioned emotions. The sentiment of completion for which I yearned had alluded me.

My true graduation occurred while walking at the summit of the Aztec pyramid. My bedtime stories included the names of the Aztec kings Cuahtemoc and Montezuma. Raised with the confidence of an heir to their ancient thrones, I have carried within me a strength and spirit derived from another era. The ruins were part of a mythology to me and representative of something divine. As if that was not sufficient to give them greater meaning, these pyramids had come to represent a relationship that is no more. Near the heavens, surrounded by blue sky, with the strong wind pushing against my skin, I could only feel whole. In my life that experience has marked a termination. It was truly the completion for which I had been searching.



I descended and would meet a couple new friends on their way back to the metropolis as well. I would spend the entire rest of the day running around the city with them. They gave me the underground guided tour of the non-tourist sections of town. I hung out in an apartment, rode the subway, and ate a famous taqueria. It was the pefect ending to a life-changing day.



If I described everything I saw in Mexico City it would bore all readers and myself. Therefore, I will let this post mostly be a tribute to my experience at Teotihuacan.



Mexico City was the pinnacle to my trip and catalyst for a new period of my life.

Oaxaca, Mexico

"Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Oaxaca......"

These introductory lyrics delivered by the distinctivly haggard yet uniquely soulful voice of a zocalo (plaza) singer continue to resonate in my mind. He was only one of many performers that would seronade use while eating the comidas tipicas of the puebla.

This was not my first rodeo in Oaxaca; I had previously visited the state for a week with my family at the age of 13. I had hoped I would walk into the zocalo to have memories remerge. I had no such luck. Unfortunately, no expert knowledge could be claimed.

If 2 Garcias travelling together didn´t create enough volatile energy then 3 was certainly sufficient to create an explosion. We picked up Max´s brother, my cousin, Tex at the airport. He would finish the remaining 7 days with us.

The only place that I did vividly remember was the famous Dona Rosa black pottery shop. The Oaxaquans mold sculptures, pottery, and jewelry out of natural clay. Once set to fire, it hardens in a pitch black hue. It had been 10 years since I had walked on that very ground. Even though I am in my early 20´s that kind of experience can make one feel a bit weathered.


We tried some local prodcuts. Tex and I tried Mezcal. It´s basically tequila without the chemicals, straight from the plant. Also, we all ate crickets. I wasnt´t brave enough to try the delicacy on my last visit so I had to on this one. The picture is posted.


After a day of trying new things the spirits of Mexico would take over...

Following our feast in the romantically lit plaza, we would accept an offer from Tex´s new friends to attend a house party in another section of town. The tequila poured and the bachata, salsa, and banda music were no less intoxicating. We were the triggers to the party. Eventually we would make our way back to our luxurious hotel in the zocalo. Drama ensued.

Due to the family friendly rating of this blog I will leave readers to their imaginations. However, here is a list of verbs (some requiring direct objects) that help to tell the tale of the night: Eating chile rellenos, sipping tequila, dancing, shooting tequila, carrying family, shoving family, throwing luggage from 2nd floor balcony (okay, one prepositional phrase). The events of that festive evening will allow me to expound upon an observation of mine.

Mexico is replete with emotion - for better or worse. Love can be more loving, violence more violent, hate more hateful, and compassion more compassionate. A culture that embraces both life and death is bound to provoke emotions in people. On my trips to Mexico I have felt the entire spectrum of emotions - from love to anger. Both beauty and darkness inhabit this country and it can consume the inhabitant and visitor. I have been consumed by and touched the soul of Mexico.

In the morning I said goodbye to Oaxaca, later than planned, yet necessarily. On the bus toward Mexico city, I mentally dispelled the chaos of the previous night and the dumbfoundment of the morning. The only things left resonating in my head were the lyrics of the old man singing ¨Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Oaxaca.....¨

San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico

We have arrived to a place that is recognizable, familiar, and comfortable. It is not home, but it is soothingly similar. After 33 days of travelling through 6 unknown lands Max and I have entered our 7th and final foreign country: MEXICO.

Although we stood on our own two feet, internally we both were crawling toward the Mexican border. It took us 4 chicken buses under a rainy afternoon in order to finally set foot in our intended destination. We inherently knew that the trip would get a much needed final boost of energy upon entering the country of our ancestors. Mexico to this point has certainly been just that.

Our first stop was the puebla of San Cristobal de Las Casas in the state of Chiapas. Chiapas is where the revolutionary guerillas Zapatistas originated, so there is still an aura of pride in the distinctive qualities of the state. One can also find a fair number of international hippies scattered around.

In previous posts, possibly prematurely, I compared Central America´s aesthetically esteemed cities to those of Mexico. My observations were confirmed while walking around San Cristobal; That is, Mexico has the most tranquil, culturally saturated, and gorgeous pueblas from Latin America´s waist up.

We spent two full days wandering around the cobble-stoned town. Each store is painted with a unique pigment. What would be considered an eye-sore to some neighborhood communities (cough...cough... Irving, TX) back in the states is cultural expressionism here.

Tacos are back. I know it may sound a bit odd to some, but not all Latin Americans consume tacos. Mexico is actually the only Central American country that offers them.

Since this would be our last stop in what was previously land occupied by the Maya, Max and I bought tickets to a play with a plot based on Mayan mythology. The dialogue of the work was performed completely in Quiche, so we understood very little. However, the elaborate constumes and the scantily clad love interest were more than entertaining.

We generally spent our days as one should in the beautiful pueblas of Mexico. We shopped for artesanias, sipped coffee at the outside cafes, read in the parks, and lounged the time away in the zocalo. Of course, filling the gaps with internet stints for blog posts.)

At the end of our 2nd and final day in San Cristobal we entered an 8pm bus for a 12 hour ride to Oaxaca - the location where we would add a new traveller to our journey.