Just a few random happenings and sightings of the past day or so...

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There is a grand restored art deco theater in the center of Merida, where many theatrical events as well as films are available. There is a large poster in the lobby now for a performance by a Mexican comic who does standup character comedy. The promotional text says in part..."para cargarse de risa". This translates roughly to "..you'll fall down laughing." However, the first 'r' is very small compared to other letters, and is elevated above the line of text. This leaves the impression that it says "...para cagarse de risa". This changes the meaning to "...you'll shit yourself laughing."

So much for the fabled Yucatecan propriety. Lost out to the Mexican love for word play and sardonic humor.

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I was riding a bus yesterday, and once again admired the style and individualism of each bus. These are poublic conveyances, but all manner of modifications for comfort, entertainment, and spiritual reassurance are to be found and appreciated. This day's bus had a fine salsa-playing cassette player mounted with velcro to a plywood shelf, and a veritable transit-chapel on the driver's overhead area across the entire width of the bus. A shrine on either side with saints illuminated by little vintage automotive lights, and a central larger altar for the sainted Virgen of Guadalupe, bathed in the soft red glow of what looked to be 1961 Chrytsler Imperial bullet taillights.

Oh, and just beneath the side-saints are Bart Simpson decals with his bare ass hanging out and "kiss this" captions.

Then, today when I was in a cab to escape a tropical cloudburst, I admired an elaborate crucifix constructed entirely of toothpicks. No wonder no one wears seat belts here, with all this protection. Most belts are inoperative anyway, and you feel foolish struggling to operate them, so soon abandon the practice.

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I was in a small poor neighborhood park, on the hottest of days. I was chatting with a sweating walrusy older gentleman, and asked him who was the man immortalized as a large bronze head mounted on a pedestal at the end of the park. "Oh" he answered matter-of-factly wiping his brow with his forearm, "That's Benito Juarez - he is greater than George Washington, you know."

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I was in a big 'Super Kmart' sort of store today checking things out for future reference, and as I wandered the aisles, I noted that they were playing over the store audio system the entire Beatles 'Magical Mystery Tour' album (Too young to remember? Que triste...). There was a middle-aged Mexican guy next to me picking out yoghurt, singing along in English the words to 'All You Need is Love".

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You've no doubt heard the expression "dirt poor". Friday while I was walking near the cemetery I heard a call I couldn{t quite make out repeated every five seconds or so, along with the 'clop-clop' of horse hooves. I looked around and there was a cart drawn by a little horse, and the guy pulled over to me, and asked if I wanted to buy some...dirt. His cart was loaded with sacks of dirt. The call had been "tierra.........tierra........" When I told him I didn't live here (yet) and couldn't use any dirt right at that moment, he gave me an easy alternative by suggesting that instead I buy him a refresco (soda). Which I did, gladly. Later I heard his call again, and he clopped by, soda in hand, and we waved at each other.

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Text © 2003-2004 Stanley J. Wolf