acapulco

what's a standard response when you tell someone that you are going to spend some time in acapulco? a selection of samples that i've heard includes: "tough life", "sounds great", "i'm jealous", or some variant thereof.

well, i am here (in acapulco) to tell you that it's not all it's cracked up to be. i have been to much nicer resort towns in mexico, and i would recommend to any of you out there who are considering traveling mexico for a beach experience to head elsewhere in the country. i will suggest an old favorite, puerto escondido.

perhaps it's more fun when the area is packed with tourists (i cannot believe that is possible, but i figured it was worth mentioning). my impression of the town is that it is over-developed, the hotels are too damn tall, the traffic on the main road (~200 m from the beach) is treacherous for pedestrians and cars alike, it's loud, the food is average for mexico, there are a ton of fast-food chains (see top picture for a representative collage - all pics taken within 3/4 mile of my hotel), and there isn't much to do besides the beach. obviously, no ringing endorsement from the sage 'stache for acapulco. i have heard that heading just north to pie de la cuesta (~20 min drive) is well worth it, as it is much smaller, more remote, and more relaxing. i don't hate acapulco, but i won't be back next time i'm in mexico.

the one thing that acapulco has delivered is an excellent stache pic. it includes me and an affable character named Dr. Simi. i ran into him on the walk back from the conference yesterday afternoon ... apparently he is named after the pharmacy chain Farmacia Similares. anyhow, my 15-second encounter with Dr. Simi just about made my trip to acapulco worth it.

i'm headed back to mexico city tomorrow morning to spend another 36 hrs there before returning stateside. in other news, i'm happy to report that i gave the eviction notice to the aforementioned microbes residing in my stomach.

** newsflash** literally, as i am writing this post from my hotel room, i am happy to report another street protest here in acapulco. which brings me to my words of wisdom for the day.

** where goes the 'stache, goes social justice and civil unrest **

misplaced revenge

a quick review of this space will reveal my fondness for mexico; however, the relationship is currently being tested by some microbes that have taken up residence in my stomach. i will not go into any greater detail than that, but let's just say that el bigote is a bit fatigued and spending a bit too much time on the toilet. fortunately, i think i'm turning the corner towards restored health and well-being, and that my problems fall short of the dreaded moctezuma's revenge. regardless, i am getting better just in time for a 5.5 hr bus ride over to acapulco for the second round of meetings down here (although the meeting/conference doesn't start until next tuesday). as excited as i am about a couple of relaxing days on the coast with no plans, i am a bit sad to be leaving mexico city so soon. fortunately, i will have a couple of days at the end of the trip to spend here.

because i haven't been feeling 100% the last 24 hrs, i haven't had as much time to walk about and get any good 'stache pics. with that said, today's pics are going to be the first on this space that are non-stache related. my apologies. they are some good shots from a nearby restaurant/diner that i ate breakfast at earlier in the week (and the food has not been implicated in the investigation surrounding my current condition). it's pretty much the classiest decor ever. the funniest thing is that the restaurant was 100% dedicated to the motif and had covered the place from wall to wall with the mexican wrestling memorabilia. i like the dedication.

words of wisdom for today:

**a man with a stache does not fear street food, illness, nor moctezuma's revenge**

el regreso del bigote

my work on the mexico city project - more specifically the MILAGRO field campaign - has brought me back to my beloved mexico city. what does one do when returning to mexico? well, the first thing one should do is appropriately prepare for the journey by growing a mustache. naturally, i was prepared. i was ready for the work part too, but not quite as excited as the return of the vaunted stache. afterall, el bigote carried me through many long and dark nights during the field campaign during march 2006. when work gets you down, it's easier to snap out of that funk when you realize that you have a 'stache on your face. a 'stache commands respect and demands hard work. anything less requires a goatee or a beard or no facial hair at all.

enough about the 'stache though - i'm just happy to be back in mexico city, as this place is one of my favorite on earth. i heart mexico city. even beyond my stache-o-philia, this city never ceases to amaze me. just today, during our lunch break, we witnessed 'veracruznos' (people from the state of veracruz) protesting in the central historic district, urging for an investigation (and punishment) for a senator in the mexican assembly, who is also the ex-governor of veracruz (dante delgado). this, however, wasn't like a lame MoveOn protest, or something akin to the protests in the united states. this protest had men lined up along the sidewalk, stripped down to their underwear. with just their boots, underwear, and hats in the appropriate places, they were a unifed chorus of chants and slogans. to top it off, a small group of women (who were, coincidentally not small women) were dancing around in a fountain in front of el palacio del bellas artes; for you non-spanish speakers, that means palace of fine arts. that's right, 6 naked women from veracruz were co-chillin in the fountain out in front of the palace of fine arts, while just across the streets tens (maybe 100+) men danced around and sang in their underwear. this is downtown mexico city!! try to imagine this in front of the guggenheim in NYC or the MFA in boston ... not going to happen. the best part was that people would stop, check out the scene, and just keep on moving. same old day, same great city.

what a way to welcome back El Bigote!! i was tempted to strip down and lend my support to the protesters, but i figured that it would be bad publicity for the MILAGRO campaign. to make up for the time between my posts, i've decided to post a record 4 pics today. the first one is of me and i call it the poster 'stache (that's me in front of the poster i'm presenting at the meeting); the other three are self-explanatory after the anecdote above, giving you a feel for the setting, and an actual visual (all G-rated though).

the guest

at long last, i am presenting the first guest 'stache. this picture was not taken in mexico; however, i wanted to post this for 2 reasons: it's a great 'stache, and more importantly, it's a virgin mustache for the subject. my guest, bardia (a friend's brother) hesitantly decided to grow a mustache earlier this year. i was very supportive and couldn't be more impressed. the length is great, good thickness, well-groomed, just good balance all around. although he could use a fresh shave, bardia rocks the mustache extremely well. congratulations on a spectacular effort.

i was disappointed to learn recently that he shaved his 'stache; however, i can report with confidence that his first go-round with the moustachio was generally a positive experience. because bardia and i share a fondness for a certain school attended by zack, slater, screech, kelly, lisa and jesse, we're calling this the "bayside 'stache".

we'll be back tomorrow or the next day with an update on El Bigote and another mexican 'stache. until then, i leave you with more words of wisdom.

** a man with a 'stache never hesitates. **

manu

i promised a guest 'stache in my last post; however, that program has been pre-empted in favor of a report from a crazy concert in mexico city on sunday march 26, 2006 (same day as my sister's b-day. happy birthday, barb!)

as part of the Festival Internacional por Agua (International Festival for Water), the city hosted a free concert in the zocalo (city center/square - same location for AMLO rally) starring Los Estrambóticos, Panteón Rococó, and the headliner . . . Manu Chao.

a quick background story: while working in heidelberg, germany during the month of january, i saw a poster advertising what i thought was a night with manu chao. although i did not know much about mr chao (can i call him that?), i was assured that he was quite the performer and a good musician. based on this information, and a quick internet search, it seemed like he was the real deal. i am an easy sell. i was excited that i was going to get a chance to see this international music star in heidelberg, of all places. well, as the 'concert' date approached, it became clear that i was not going to have time to check it out because i had too much work to do. when i later saw the poster, i realized two things: 1) i had the date of the show mixed up, and 2) it wasn't manu chao live, it was a "tribute to manu chao". they suckered me with the ole small font-big font trick. the "a tribute to" was about times roman 10, and MANU CHAO was times roman 5000. regardless, i was duped by some german club promoters. all i really missed was some DJ spinning manu's music all night . . . so, really i didn't lose out too much.

you can imagine, then, how excited i was when i realized upon my arrival to mexico that not only was manu chao coming to mexico city, but that it was a free concert in the zocalo. i love big crowds (usually), and, again, it was free. the following is my helter skelter account of my evening with manu and the mayhem that ensued.

i got to the zocalo with 2 friends (both female) around 4pm, based on an estimated start time for the concert of 6pm. the zocalo was already packed, and was rocking about 80,000 people strong. after grabbing some food, walking around the square to scope out a good spot, we made our way into the crowd.


the picture above captures the calm before the storm. by this time, we're about 100,000 people strong, with no room to move. a quick survey of the crowd revealed: punked-out kids, a plethora of che guevara shirts (don't get me started on this), red stars, black masks (zapatista supporters), enough camouflage gear to clothe a real army, piercings galore, and A LOT of people fucked up (pardon my language). at one point, there was a crew of 5-8 kids behind us, each with a small rag bunched up in their fingers and pushed up to their nose, sniffing in all the wonderfully aromatic vapors of their favorite shoe glue. fantastic!

in general, however, i was digging the crowd. good energy, excitement, all walks of life, etc. this quickly changed just before 6pm when the first band started. apparently, the two bands not named manu chao were both ska bands. not a big fan of ska. based on the reaction of the crowd to the first song, i was a minority of miniscule proportions. the whole crowd around us went nuts and started gyrating and jamming to the music. this sounds cool, but at the same time, everyone was swaying in unison because of the sheer mass of humanity, and you had to spend the majority of your time making sure you didn't fall. i was not into the mosh-ing (which started right in front of me at one point, and i nearly punched a kid when he got too close to me), so i basically spent the first 15 mins of the concert making sure that i wasn't crushed and that my (much smaller) friends were OK. after about 10 mins, the 3 of us exchanged a look of solidarity: it was time to make our way to another part of the zocalo.

after catching a river of people flowing out of the crowd, we managed to regroup and find a much calmer area from which to enjoy the show. rather than re-hash the remaining parts of the concert, i will say that the set that manu chao and company did was really fun and well worth the trip. he's an older guy (40s-ish), but still jams and dances around stage (and not in a creepy way like the rolling stones). his personal connection to his music and overall enjoyment while performing is infectious. final estimate of people by the time manu chao performed: 200,000. final analysis from the sage 'stache: well done manu.

despite how good manu chao was, there was still some serious problems with the crowd. i've selected 3 random tidbits of information that i found disturbing and/or funny. i saved the worst for last . . .



+ grab-ass: one of the ladies i was hanging out with got a full one-handed ass grab at one point. she was pissed off and actually kicked the dude as he walked by. oddly enough, he didn't stop to discuss his action or her reaction. another woman i know who was at the show, had a gentleman jab his thumb into her butt. absolutely shocked (naturally), she turned around, and not only did he stick around to see her reaction, he was giggling. seriously, what's wrong with this guy? who thumb gooses some unsuspecting poor guera in the middle of a crowd? this girl is still disturbed by what transpired. as am i.

+ hypocrisy: one of the over-arching themes of the performers was anti-privatization of utilities (specifically water), and there was also a constant reminder that they were sympathetic to the zapatista movement. the lead "singer" (i hesitate to use that word for this guy because he screamed a lot) of the second band even started the set with a black mask on - a trademark of the zapatistas. at one point, a guy came on stage and held a poster up of a masked zapatista as he ranted and raved for several minutes. more power to the people. that's all great, as far as i'm concerned. i don't know enough about mexico's problems to prescribe a solution, and if they are convinced that they should not privatize water, then i'm sure they have some good arguments. i'm even down with the zapatistas, for the most part. their entire message, however, was diminished in my eyes when my friends and i decided to take a quick break and grab a (non-alcoholic) drink near the zocalo. actually, i just wanted some ice cream. naturally, we ended up at . . . mcdonald's! if there is a better symbol than mcdonald's for capitalism, yankee imperialism, globalization, and other existing "evils" in the world today, then i'm not sure what it is. despite the anti-privatization, anti-globalization message delivered repeatedly to the crowd through lyrics, interludes, posters, etc., and despite the fists raised in support of this powerful message, mcdonald's was PACKED. isn't this the type of place that a zapatista-loving leftist crowd should boycott/avoid? apparently not. even zapatistas love american hamburgers! (for the record, i just had ice cream. i don't eat meat products at mcdonald's any more.) who would have guessed it? i couldn't help but get a good chuckle from the red stars and che "supporters" that waltzed right into the golden arches.

+ the worst display of humanity: this award goes to the gentlemen that would piss into empty water bottles and hurl them across the crowd to ruin some unsuspecting person's evening. this award is accepted on behalf of all pissers out there by the group of gentlemen that a friend witnessed pissing into the same poncho (it rained for the first hour of the concert), only to see them tie it up and then chuck that into the crowd. seriously, who throws a poncho full of 3 people's urine into a crowd of people? this is perhaps the grossest thing that i've ever witnessed in person. fortunately, i avoided all flying urine. i cannot write much more about this subject, as it is too disturbing.


on to the 'stache of the day . . . we're back to another shot of El Bigote, and this one was taken at the conclusion of the concert, on the walk to the subway on my way back home. based on all that happened over the previous 6 hours, i call this the "survival 'stache."

** a man with a 'stache never throws urine at another person. **

the informal goodness of street food

mexico has a vast informal economy. whether it be food, CDs, toys, hand-carved wooden furniture, or sunglasses, you can buy it on the street here in mexico. i don't know the exact statistics, but i've read that as much as 70% of their economy is 'informal' within DF, and that only 25% of citizens here have a bank account. enough with the numbers though, because i'm not an economist and i'm not going to drown anyone with figures and statistics. regardless, firsthand experience tells me that informality in mexico is rampant.

early on in the campaign, a colleague of mine realized that he'd forgotten his cell phone charger in the states. no need to worry though, these things are readily available at any mall, right? well, we took a trip to a local mall and were told by the people at a cell phone dealer to just go across the street from the mall and check out one of the vendors over there. sure enough, the second shack we went to had a suitable phone charger . . . for a whopping 40 pesos (rougly US$4). this thing was "made in china" and made it all the way to mexico, through a variety of people's hands, into my friend's possession for a total of US$4. and someone still made a profit? you figure that out.

in general, i would say that mexicans have a total disregard for copyright with respect to CDs and DVDs. you can sell a burned CD for 10 pesos on the subway, and nobody will stop you. the same is true of bootleg DVDs. back when ebay was first on the scene nearly 10 years ago (i know, a long time ago), i tried to sell some bootleg 2Pac albums (they were post-mortem releases), and my auction was shut down within 24 hrs for potential copyright violation. the authorities at ebay weren't even sure if it was copyright violation, but they didn't even want to take a chance! needless to say, i'm thinking about buying some movies and shelling out the 30 pesos for the movies (some of which, are somehow still in the theaters . . .).

with regard to food, you can buy anything you want from a variety of vendors on any street corner. some of them, i'm sure have licenses or whatever the local/state government may require, but i'm sure a greater number of people don't. before i get into how good the food is, i should mention that the campaign organizers for this project did all they could to frighten everyone coming from the United States or Europe that street vendors were selling poison straight from the bottle, and that eating food from the street was a guaranteed ticket home in a box. i was initially amazed at the general reluctance and unwillingness of my colleagues to try food from the street here. i recognize that there are risks; however, they are not nearly as high as some people made them out to be. fortunately, i (and others, for that matter) have generally shown people that you can eat food from most anywhere you like without risk of dying. now, people are exploring all sorts of places for lunch, rather than hitting up the same-ole-cafeteria at the institute. there is no guarantee that someone might not have stomach problems, however, this is a reality that travelers anywhere deal with, as far as i'm concerned. being smart and being adventurous are not mutually exclusive.

i should mention, however, that the "don't drink the water" mantra is generally true. mexicans buy more bottled water than any other nation, with the exception of the united states. (what's wrong with tap water in the states??) my point, then, is why do we need to remind travelers to not drink the water if the locals don't? this confuses me.

anyway, today's mustache comes from a guy who makes a mean hamburger, and sells them just outside of our host institution. it's a tribute to all the food vendors - informal or formal - that work so damn hard to supply great food for an unbelievable price (burger w/ cheese, all the fixins and pineapple - 21 pesos). also, an overwhelming majority of vendors are more than happy to strike up a conversation with a traveling "guero". much appreciated. i call this the "have a seat and stay a while 'stache".

** like most anything, you shouldn't knock the 'stache until you try it. **

triple the fun

my last post was exceedingly long, and i realize that it was a bit of overkill . . . but i had a lot to say about the metro. to make up for such a long ass post, i am making this one picture heavy. today is a triple dose of mustachio fun.



i caught this guy on the subway the other morning by chance. i find both him and his mustache frightening. i didn't even have to get him to pose like this . . . he was just chilling like this when i happened upon him. seriously, he has more mustachio hair than i have hair on my head. what this picture doesn't show is the man that "scary 'stache" just killed. he is holding what's rest of the man he murdered with his left hand out of the picture. insanity on the metro!



had a great saturday night here in the city. tons of people were out for a variety of free concerts and events as part of a spring festival. all the venues were open-air and there was a lot of energy in the centro historico. the people i was with were great too. the best discussion of the night was between a black guy from barbados and a white girl from switzerland regarding dancing. while talking about what constituted dancingm, my friend from barbados was hoping to catch some reggae and/or some reggaeton and dance with some ladies, while the swiss girl was insisting that when she went out to dance, she didn't want a guy rubbing up on her. clearly this was a cultural clash of epic proportions. the discussion ended when the gentleman from barbados calmly, yet triumphantly decleared (with a caribbean accent): "if we ain't touchin', we ain't dancin'". i still laugh to myself thinking about this. anyway, the guy in the picture with the "saxy 'stache" was jammin' on the street and was rocking the theme to the pink panther when we strolled by. seemed to be enjoying himself despite the other more popular gigs on the streets of mexico city.



finally, an update on El Bigote. this picture was taken from the roof of the building i work on and i call it the "too cool for school 'stache". i trimmed the edges of the 'stache a bit so it doesn't come down quite as far past the edges of my mouth and i thinned it out slightly. i'm pleased with the grooming effort and generally happy with progress to date. i've been thinking about going to the very thin 'stache just above the lip, but cannot bring myself to do so. it's a bit cheesy. but, obviously, that hasn't stopped me before . . .

coming soon . . . a guest 'stache! in the mean time, remember that . . .

** much like girls, a 'stache just wants to have fun. **