“Mi México Querido”: a Tale from a Güera
How I went from guacamole in a powder to reading about Quetzalcoatl
Five years ago, if you asked me what I knew about Mexico, the answer would have been summarised in three words: sombreros, Día de los Muertos and tacos.
My perception of Mexico was the one we see in Hollywood movies and cartoons: people with ponchos, sombreros and small guitars walking around what seemed to be a deserted land full of cacti eating tacos and celebrating the Día de los Muertos and of course 5 de Mayo (yes, I thought this was an actual Mexican state holiday; in reality it is only celebrated in Puebla). The situation was even worse if you asked about any other Latin American country; I knew virtually nothing except their flags, capitals, their approximate geographical locations and occasional news that made the world coverage on TV. And of course, soap operas.
They say ignorance is bliss but I dare to say that when it comes to cultures, it’s not the case. Even though my then fragmented knowledge isn’t exactly justifiable, it is somewhat justified: I come from a small country situated on the other side of the world compared to Latin America.
Greece is small, and travelling to this region of the world is not very common; if they have the chance, people usually prefer to visit the US or Canada or even a country in Asia. And even though salsa and bachata courses are very popular in my home country, as well as Mexican food (which you can now find even on the beach) I never really learnt a lot about Mexico growing up.
For me, Mexico was too far away, too distant, too unreal. I even remember having a conversation with a friend on a hot summer evening: “We’ll definitely go see the Día de los Muertos when we’re older”. I agreed; but my instant thought was “I’m not sure we’ll ever get the chance”.
Things gradually changed when I came to France to pursue my undergraduate and later graduate degree. Apart from getting to know the culture of the Spanish-speaking countries during my Spanish class (you can find more about my journey on learning Spanish here), I met people from Latin American countries, including Mexico; you won’t believe my immense surprise when I learnt that chimichangas aren’t an actual traditional dish or that Mexico is almost the size of Europe. People don’t wear ponchos in Mexico; not all of Mexico is deserted and Ramon isn’t that common name after all.
To these awesome people I owe my newly found curiosity about Mexico. I started to learn more about Mexico, its culture and the Mexican way of life. I watched Mexican news and Mexican YouTubers, listened to Mexican music and read Mexican novels. I realised Mexico had much in common with Greece; from people driving through the cities’ streets advertising their services as “collectors of everything old” (chatarreros, in Spanish) and balloon sellers to the evil eye superstition and the greatness of ancient civilisations on our land, Mexico was more like Greece than I could imagine.
I couldn’t take that trip to Mexico yet, but I decided I could learn more and more about Mexico and Latin America in general. And what better way, I figured, than going back to school? I took up a University Certificate in Latin American Studies for which I studied right after work, and even though most of my peers were interested in South American countries, I mostly focused my dissertations on Mexico. I wrote about Mexicans in the US, the socio-historical reasons behind femicide in Mexico, presidential elections and other topics among others.
And even though Mexico still remains quite mysterious to me, I can now confidently talk about it in my everyday life. I even have a Maria doll in my desk!
I hope one day I will be able to visit Mexico and see the Día de los Muertos, just like we talked about with my friend on that hot summer night.
Till then, I will continue delving into Mexican culture, food and literature. I think it’s now appropriate to say : ¡Viva México!
