July 04, 2008
Guadalajara to Host MTV's LAm Video Music Awards
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that MTV is going to hold their 15th Video Music Awards Latin America in Guadalajara at the Auditorio Telmex on October 16th.
Posted by crispy at 11:09 AM | Comments (1)
April 29, 2008
Victoria Soda
Victoria Soda, from San Juan del Río
I am delighted to have discovered yet another Mexican-made soda that has somehow thus far survived the Coke®/Pepsi® holocaust that has killed off nearly all the independent soft drink manufacturers of Mexico: Victoria!
It is manufactured about 32 miles southeast of Santiago de Querétaro in San Juan del Río, Querétaro, the second largest city in the state. It is also imported to the United States by The Victoria Beverage Company, Inc., Conroe, Texas.
I saw it at the Oxxo, and selected the unusual red currant flavor over the more typical lime, apple, sangria, and orange. At first, I thought it was a little funny tasting, but the more I drink, the more I like it. It seems a little weak on flavor, but it's certainly not weak on sweet.
I was unaware of the Spanish word for red currant, which appears to be grosella.
Refresco Victoria, de San Juan del Río
Black currant is grosella negra.
Posted by crispy at 09:32 PM | Comments (3)
February 05, 2008
El Santo contra los burocratas
Yeah, it's entirely in Spanish, but it's got universal appeal.
Posted by crispy at 12:54 AM | Comments (1)
January 15, 2008
Apple Pricing in Mexico
Like the rest of the non-US, we're still waiting for word on when we might get the iPhone. Frankly, I'm starting to lose interest in that.
The new MacBook Air that Steve Jobs announced today at Macworld 2008 is a bit more exciting, because it was immediately available for the rest of us. One can pre-order it right now at the online Apple stores around the world.
At the US Apple online store, the base model is being offered at the list price that Jobs stated: USD $1,799.00. Yet at the Apple online store for Mexico, it is going for MXN $24,999.00. If you convert that price to dollars, you'll see that it is a full USD $490 more, at USD $2,288.93. [See CORRECTION below; before tax figures are: MXN $21,738.26 and USD $1,985.50]
Mexican consumers have to pay almost 500 dollars [CORRECTION: almost 200 dollars] more for the product.
Converting the local currency to US dollars, the price in Canada is higher than the US, but not nearly as high as Mexico: $1,868.82. That's less than $100 more expensive than the US price (and that includes the Goods and Services Tax and any provincial tax).
Even Australia's price is lower than Mexico's: $2,222.60. Heck, you can buy one in Korea for even cheaper than that: $2,126.72.
Maybe I should just shut up and be glad I don't live in Sweden, where they really get screwed at $2,602.48.
[CORRECTION, sorta: I forgot that in Mexico, tax is always included in the shown price, but in the US, it never is. Going through the order process, I'm told that the tax is MXN $3,260.74, or USD $298.06. Figuring for taxes, that is still a difference of USD $191.94...still nearly 200 bucks.]
Posted by crispy at 11:58 AM | Comments (4)
October 30, 2007
Score!
Ticket for the Sonofilia Festival, December 2007
In typical Mexican fashion, we lucked out and noticed the announcement in the Ocio this past Friday, which finally explained what was up with Bjork's announced, yet mysteriously vague, appearance in Mexico. She will be the headlining act at the Sonofilia Festival, to be held in Huentitán on 8 December 2007. As far as I can tell, this is the first Sonofilia Festival ever.
The tickets are rather outrageous: MXN $1200 for general admission (the only ticket available), and the sales outlet (Super Boletos) charges a 5% commission on top of that. That's better than the 10% commission and additional per-order fee charged by TicketBastard, and I suppose by international standards, that's about right for a festival with five bands (Claude Von Stroke, MSTRKRFT, Ratatat , Jay Jay Johanson and Björk).
According to a map of the event on the Super Boletos web site (unable to be linked here because for some reason they've done it as a stupid Flash file linked to with Javascript), the grounds will have restaurants and bars scattered about, which will be nice since the event runs from 6 pm to 3:30 am. I was annoyed to read that we will have to bring our passports to the event in order to gain entry. It's so smart to take such important documentation, especially if it is difficult and expensive to replace, to crowded events where everyone is whacked-out, including you. Yet I was impressed by the fact that their Frequently Asked Questions explicitly (and rather shockingly) state that they will have vegetarian food available.
I guess if I lose my USD $67 passport while in a drunken stupor from a couple of MXN $100 shots of tequila and have to forfeit my USD $600 air ticket for our Christmas vacation in Panama, I can console myself with a MXN $150 veggie burger. Cool!
Posted by crispy at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2007
If it's a cartoon, it must be for kids!
It's hard to get any animated shows on TV in Mexico that with subtitles, because of the ridiculous assumption that cartoons are for kids. Since cartoons are for kids and kids can't read, any animated programming carried on TV in Latin America must be dubbed.
The assinine prejudice is amazingly resilient in the face of amazing evidence. Surely people doing the programming at Latin American Fox, MTV and even Azteca know that their demographics for such shows are not children. South Park, airing at midnight on MTV down here, is sandwiched between Scarred and Exposed, the former being "an intense look at some of the most gruesome scars from across the country" according to the MTV web site, and the latter being the successor to the dating show, Next.
Yeah. That's some real hora de la familia programming for you.
Posted by crispy at 11:18 PM | Comments (1)
September 24, 2007
César Costa
Let's talk about César Costa. Not César Costa of São Paulo, but of Colonia Condesa, in Mexico's Distrito Federal. No, César Costa that was in La edad de la violencia in 1964, a surprisingly good teen exploitation flick by Julián Soler, actor-turned-director from the golden age of el cine mexicano.
Just like in the United States, the music and film industry decided to target what they perceived to be their teenage market with a completely fabricated view of teenage life. Yet where Annette and Frankie have fun in the sun, Mexican music movies were more often dramas that shocked, showing a grittier side of reality where good kids did not always come out on top and doing the right thing could cost a terrible price. In these films, César Costa always played a character that was hip, suave and ready to sing a song whenever the dramatic flow would allow.
He started out as the lead singer of a band that did Spanish-language covers of English-language pop hits, Los Black Jeans, whose debut album in 1958 had Plácido Domingo singing backup behind Costa. He was called "César Roel" at the time, but changed his name to its current form when the band switched labels and changed their name to Los Camisas Negras. The band broke up, and he recorded three solo albums that fared well. He recorded hits on RCA Mexicana, Velvet and Capitol Odeon.
In 1961, he starred in Jóvenes y rebeldes, directed by Julián Soler. This was the first of many films he would do in the genre of wild teens looking for kicks, singing songs and doing elaborate dances. He did four such films with Soler (Jóvenes y rebeldes, Si yo fuera millonario, La edad de la violencia, y La juventud se impone), and went on to do a lot of other work in film and television. In 2004, he was named an Abassador for UNICEF, and in 2005, he returned to TV to make "Ensalada César" on Canal Once.
I know him only from the 60s teen movies, shown on our basic movie channels. If I see that he is in a production, I feel the assurance that it will be of a certain quality and style, like Doris Day and Rock Hudson films. Dated, hokey and bordering on surreal, they remain well-executed and lovely to look at. César Costa has the suave cool of Bobby Darin, and the tunes he belts out are often already familiar to English-speaking viewers, being Spanish-language interpretations of hits by Fabian or Paul Anka. Some of his hits include versions of "Tiger," "Fever," "Mona Lisa," "Crazy Love," "Blue Suede Shoes," and "Teddy Bear."
He even did a Spanish-language version of "Sing, Sing, Sing," the song made popular by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra.
For someone from the United States who grew up seeing old teen musical films, it is really strange to see the Mexican take on them. Yet what is shocking isn't what is different, but rather how much is the same. I tend to recognize more than half of the songs in these films as tunes played regularly on oldies stations in the United States. Sure, they're being sung in Spanish, often with the lyrics completely changed, but they are still very familiar. The thing that is the most odd to me is that the Mexican films of this genre are just as whitewashed as the American ones of this era. With the sound down, you might not be able to tell the difference.
Posted by crispy at 03:10 AM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2007
DOH! No More
UPDATE!
With a little help from a chilango, Shawn and I found a theater in Mexico City showing The Simpsons Movie in English with subtitles. It's showing (currently) at the Cinemex in Santa Fe, a huge, burgeoning area of the city where a lot of multi-national corporation headquarters are. People fly in and out from all over the world to go there, so it's one of the most multi-cultural parts of the city. In fact, our favorite Indian restaurant in the city, Kohinoor, is there.
Maybe they figure enough gringos go there that it is worth it to show an animated film in English. Maybe they're actually hip enough to realize (unlike the rest of the cinema industry in this country) that some animated features are not intended for kids. Or maybe that's a pipe dream and it just turns out that enough gringos traveling on business to Santa Fe take their kids along.
One thing I have learned living here in Mexico is that you shouldn't waste your time questioning why something good happens. You should just kick back and enjoy it. With The Simpsons Movie, we certainly did.
Thanks Cinemex!!
Posted by crispy at 06:26 AM | Comments (1)
July 28, 2007
DOH!
Shawn and I were deeply saddened today when we went to see The Simpsons Movie, and were told that at the time we wanted to see it, it was dubbed into Spanish, not in the original English with Spanish subtitles. We were devastated to learn that we cannot see it anywhere in Buenos Aires with subtitles. Every single showing is dubbed in Spanish.
We looked to see about Mexico, and it appears it will only be dubbed and not subtitled there as well.
I'm crushed. BOO! Shame on you Cinépolíis for not screening animated films in their original laguages!
Posted by crispy at 10:30 PM | Comments (5)
July 20, 2007
Friendship Day
Today, 20 July, is 'Friendship Day' in Argentina ('el Día de Amistad'). We were informed of this at the meeting of the English-speaking group, when one of the members advised me to make any intended dinner reservations a few days in advance. He told me that the holiday is relatively new, but it is growing in popularity, being celebrated with friends getting together to go out for dinner. Apparently it is even more popular than he knows, because even following his advice and trying to book in advance, I could not get a reservation for tonight.
The porteño that told us about the holiday is under the impression that Argentina originated this holiday, and that other countries around the world think it is so interesting that they are copying Argentina. Perhaps the idea of celebrating it on 20 July is an Argentine idea; it is the same day as the first moon landing in 1969, but nobody here seems to know if that is mere coincidence or intentional. Yet the truth is that in 1935, the United States Congress proclaimed the first Sunday of August as the National Friendship Day, and it has been celebrated as such there every year since. Of course, that does not mean that anyone knows that in the US, but supposedly, it's on the books.
Maybe the Argentines were the first to actually celebrate a Friendship Day. I suppose that should give them some claim to fame. It is only a social holiday though; everyone still has to go to work.
Posted by crispy at 09:21 AM | Comments (2)
May 27, 2007
Midnight cinema in Mexico
Musicians from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
Alberto thinks Mexican cinema mostly sucks. It's a widely-held belief here in Mexico, especially among those that don't remember the good old days when stars like Andrea Palma and Ramón Novarro graced the screens.
But I've mentioned before that Mexicans tend to think their own stuff is crap. Shawn's students don't want to get candies from Mexican marcas, the only kind that will do is something like Hershey's® or M&M Mars®. I hated to see Mexicans with no pride in their national products. I mean, who doesn't like candy?
I've had a lot of types of Mexican candies now and I have to say, I can see where they might be coming from. Some Mexican candies are hideous. I am sure some are just an acquired taste, but there seems to be a trend in Mexican confections for things that are perhaps very sweet, but also very bitter, sour or burning. Maybe there is a cultural subtext behind it and coming to love those candies is coming to terms with the national condition. Maybe kids hate them because they've not yet learned to courageously smile on through the sour of the tamarind paste or to maintain a graceful composure through the searing of your mouth lining brought on by the powdered chile dusting. There might be something there that speaks directly to the resigned calm of the Mexican spirit in that. Maybe there is no psychology involved, and we all hate them simply because they suck.
Mexican cinema has the same thing going on. There are films that are breathtaking additions to world cinema and some that would make Ed Wood recoil in horror. And just like I enjoy some exotic Mexican candies that taste a little strange, I also have a strange fondness for some trashy Mexican films because they're so alien to me. I often cannot sit and watch one paying full attention to it, nor usually do I make it through a whole one before I change the channel. Still, I've seen enough in bits and pieces that I feel comfortable making a few comments on some interesting aspects of midnight Mexican cinema. (I call it that because it's usually shown late at night before 6 or 6 am, when the Mexican movie channels go back to showing classics from la época de oro or "golden age" of Mexican cinema.)
I have difficulty accurately judging the age the films. They look to be about five to ten years older than they really are. Sometimes you can date them properly from products, advertisements or fashion, but the film stock itself will look like a bad 70s movie when it's really a bad 80s movie. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe the cameras and other equipment used were old? Perhaps the processing was not as cutting edge as what I'm used to seeing from the 80s? In any case, when watching Mexican color films from the 60s through the 80s, they're usually a lot more recent than you think they are.
Grieving Wife, Mil caminos tiene la muerte
Contrary to the oft-heard complaint, there is no shortage of roles for older women in Mexican films of this (or any) era. It tends to always be the same role: the elderly grandmother or the devastated wife crying at the side of the coffin of a recently murdered innocent during a wake or funeral.
The imminent threat, La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
Younger women don't often fare too well either. They're usually the victims of rape. Whether this serves as a twisted gratification in the male gaze or merely as the realization of the ultimate national masculine nightmare, I am unsure. During the era of these films, all good guys are macho and all the women in their lives chaste and pure. Contrary to popular belief, machismo does not dominate contemporary Mexican culture. You see those stereotypes nowadays once in a while, but more often than not, they're the subject of gentle mocking.
The destiny of a young female character, La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
Not so in the midnight movies that take place in the countryside or desert, with a cast of all cowboy-clad males. They look like cowboys everywhere, but of course, they're Mexican. They don't necessarily have to be cowboys. They might ride horses or they might use motorcycles. They might be the toughs of no specific career other than initiating random violence and criminal escapades. In any case, the cowboy otfit means tough and macho.
I once saw a movie here once where the enemy was the gringo hydrological engineer that came to a small agricultural pueblo to help with their irrigation problems. He was tall, skinny, white, blond and wore glasses, and while he had a ridiculous accent in his Spanish, when things turned ugly in a town meeting and the crowd (dressed in flannel, jeans and cowboy hats) threatened to lynch him, he understood every word they were saying, even in the heat of the moment. Maybe he was a highly educated spy or a plant from a multi-national narcotics ring. I don't know because I stopped watching.
This type of film usually plays upon the fear of a violent disturbance to domestic tranquility in a family or small town by an outsider, like Shadow of a Doubt. In a similar vein, you have films wherein a group of outsiders, like a gang of ruffians on motorcycles, comes to a place simply to terrorize it. Sometimes this involves violence committed for kicks and other times it is an orchestrated plot like a kidnapping or attempted robbery of a poor family mistakenly thought to have money hidden somewhere in their house.
Motorcycle gang rides into town, Mil caminos tiene la muerte
Often in the end of these fearmongering movies, the love interest gets killed. I don't mean they are killed in the beginning of the film, giving the hero or heroine cause to take up a mission of avenging their deaths. I mean that at the very end of the film, they're killed by some pointless tragedy or accidental oversight, like not making sure that the bad guy is really dead and he comes back to life just long enough to aim his gun at and fatally shoot the girl whose father has just been rescued by the hero-boyfriend from the gang of maniacal kidnappers. It seems that films of this era needed to have an unhappy ending for some reason, even after all is said and done and the day has been saved. The moral is that you should never be too happy, I guess.
A more lighthearted genre popular in the 70s and 80s is the sex romp. These are just like the sex romps in the rest of the world, but in Mexico they have Sasha Montenegro.
Sasha Montenegro
She's interesting because she was born (1950) in what was then Yugoslavia, moved to Argentina, then ended up in Mexico, but best of all, she had a 20-year affair with a president (1976-1982): José López Portillo y Pacheco. He was still married at the time, but he got a divorce and the two married in 1995. She had two children with him. He was taken sick though, and she had to struggle with his children from his former marriage for visitation rights in the hospital. Since his death in 2004, she has been battling them in court for her part of the estate.
De todas todas (1985) demonstrates a common feature of the Mexican sex romp: the male lead can look like Ron Jeremy, but he's always surrounded by beautiful women.
Dinner scene from De todas todas
Yet despite these ridiculous aspects of Mexican films from the 70s and 80s, they are not without their charms. First off, they do more with less. They are obviously low-budget productions, but it seems that a lot of thought has gone into their production. Even in cheap movies with absurd storylines, you will come across creative blocking, breathtaking lighting or incredibly sharp editing.
Maribel Guardia and Rafael Inclán, De todas todas
In Mil caminos tiene la muerte, from 1977, the group of toughs is a little more nuanced than in most films. The group is detained by the inevitable Man, who is acting as the man does and threatening the toughs. As the toughs are pushed into a corner by the Man, they strike back. First we see the faces of individuals in the group just as they are starting to act, punching a cop or hitting a townsperson over the head with a chair. Before the blow lands, we cut to a scene in which that particular character is having a very bad previous experience with a prior Man (an abusive father that beat on the individual and his mother), then cuts back to the individual landing a punch on the Man in the present day story. This way the characters are developed, and you identify and sympathize with the individual. You know that in attacking the Man, they're accomplishing the greater social feat of breaking with the will of authority.
These films often evidence Mexicans' love for their country, or more specifically, for the diversity to be found within it. The various cities in Mexico are all renowned for their own particular characteristics or attractions. For example, Guanajuato is known for its tunnels and mummies, where as Tijuana is historically famous for bordertown excitement. The midnight movies you see here often exploit those characteristics in their locations, and it's a fun way to find out about the different regions of of the country and their specialties. It's especially fun to check out, say, Tijuana of 1975.
There is no shortage of music in Mexican movies from the 70s and 80s. Whether it's a mariachi ensemble or two drunk guys singing off key in a roadhouse, you hear all kinds of stuff. There are a lot of films from the 50s and 60s that were showcases for that hip new music that all the teens were listening too. These often have juvenille deliquency themes also, which makes them doubly entertaining for me. (My favorite is La edad de la violencia from 1964, which has a Spanish-language version of "Moon River" and the classic Sonora Santanera, "La boa.") The films of the 70s and 80s do not live up to the quality of these classics, but you can see how they're similarly throwing in music to try and liven it up a bit and give the audience a little more pow for their peso.
Perhaps my favorite thing about the trashier side of Mexican cinema is taking screen captures of the outrageous things they do and posting them on my blog. Someday, maybe I'll figure out a way to take motion picture clips from the tv and post them on here, so you can see their nuttiness in action. Until then, if you want to check it out, maybe you can order it through your local provider.
Posted by crispy at 02:13 PM | Comments (2)
La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
I was watching La muerte cruzó el río Bravo on de Película, one of our better movie channels here. It was the undisputed best before they started cutting the films and showing commercials.
It shows a lot of Mexican films that are more recent. A lot of these are, well, disappointing. Yet a gem comes along once in a while that knocks your cultural socks off. I looked up from reading the news online to see if La muerte cruzó el río Bravo had gotten any more interesting.
Unfortunately, I was so stunned it took me a while to boot up our camera, discover there was no charge at all in the batteries, change the batteries, then snap a few shots of this scene. I shall call it, 'the playing pool on horseback scene' from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo:
Playing Pool on Horseback from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
It's hard to tell, but that's a pool cue in his hand, and another one in the hand of his opponent.
Playing Pool on Horseback from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
It is even harder to tell that they are both riding horses, but they are.
Playing Pool on Horseback from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
Here the pool table is a little easier to see. As you can see, playing pool on horseback is very popular with the locals in this part of Mexico. I'm hardly one to criticize. I was fascinated by the whole thing.
Playing Pool on Horseback from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
With the game over, a tie is declared between the two sportsmen.
Playing Pool on Horseback from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
The scene ends with this:
Playing Pool on Horseback from La muerte cruzó el río Bravo
Posted by crispy at 02:13 AM | Comments (4)
April 30, 2007
Spencer Tunick Shoots Mexico City
Photographer Spencer Tunick, known for his photographs of landscapes covered in human flesh, will be shooting this coming Sunday, 6 May, in the Zócalo in Mexico City. If you happen to live in Mexico City and have always wanted an excuse to get naked in the Zocalo, now's your chance! You can't just show up though and hope to be in the picture. You have to sign up in advance. Only those registered to be in the photo will be admitted to the Zócalo, so us voyeurs who might hope to sneak a peek are out of luck.
See some examples of Tunick's previous work.
Posted by crispy at 01:48 PM | Comments (1)
April 18, 2007
AP: Miss Mexico modifies pageant dress depicting hangings, belted by bullets
Mark Allen, our friend and editor of the Olney Daily Mail, brought our attention to this story from the Associated Press:
MEXICO CITY: Miss Mexico is redesigning her Miss Universe pageant dress — not because it is too slinky or low-cut, but because it is too violent.The floor-length dress, belted by bullets and accented by sketches of hangings during Mexico's Roman Catholic uprising in the 1920s, outraged Mexicans who said it was in poor taste and inappropriate for the world's most important beauty contest.
Read the full story at the International Herald Tribune.
Posted by crispy at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2007
The Migrant Kingdom
A recent report from the BBC program "From Our Own Correspondent" tells of a theme park in Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, which aims to give more Mexicans the experience of trying to illegally enter the United States. That's right, Eco Alberto Park lets you be chased by imitation INS agents across desert and rivers to give you an idea of what it's like to be a real illegal immigrant to the US, all for under 20 bucks!
[Read more at the BBC's site for "From Our Own Correspondent."]
Posted by crispy at 10:51 PM | Comments (1)
March 04, 2007
Molotov Breaks Up
I really like the band Molotov.
The first time I heard them was in a gay bar in Tijuana. It was the night that a hooker sat in my lap at the infamous Adelita Bar, after I bought her a few drinks. I was just trying to be culturally sensitive. I mean, here I am, entering her place of business and basically taking up valuable space. The least I could do is buy her a few drinks so she gets something for her time. Besides, God help me when the day comes that I don't have enough class to buy a lady a drink.
I explained to her that the guy next to me was my boyfriend and that I'm interested in guys, but maybe she suspected that that's just a line people use to turn a particular girl down easy. Perhaps she thought I just didn't know what I was saying. Perhaps she figured I just don't know what I'm missing.
Now that I look back on it, having lived here a while, I don't think it was any of that. In Guadalajara, young people are paid by companies to hang out in stores (Wal-Mart is the biggest offender in this regard, in my experience) for the sole purpose of giving you a sales pitch (and on occasion, but not always, a sample) while you're shopping. They'll make sure you know about a particular type of eggs, from their specific benefits to your health to their currently reduced sale price. They will let you know why the product you just pulled innocently down from the shelf is inferior to the one they are going to tell you about.
This can be rather disconcerting, when you are not a native speaker of the language and you just kind of zone out when you do mindless tasks like shopping. All of a sudden, someone is talking to you about something and when you come to it, you realize that they are deep into it already and it's going to on for some while. I have taken to wearing my iPod and listening to it while I shop to try and keep it a more solitary experience, because I feel like in grocery shopping, like electing candidates, they had their chance to make any pitches and promises to you up to the time you walk through that door.
Still, I have looked up from putting my shaving cream in the carrito to see that a young woman of about 19 was in the middle of her speech about another brand. She looked as interested in the product as I was, but I took off my headphones, wagging my finger to indicate that I couldn't hear her. Once I got the headphones off, I thought she'd start over, but she didn't. The first time, because it seems like you don't care, you tell her to start over because you didn't hear what she said at first. You get over that quickly. They're there to do a job, and that's to say the set speech to anyone and everyone that goes by. That's their job, and they don't really put any more thought into it than necessary, because it's a stupid job.
Maybe the whore of Adelita Bar doesn't know much, but she knows how she sells sex night after night, and experience has proven there is no need to deviate from the formula. She sat on my lap because that's what you do after two drinks. It was mindless shift work to her, the other hooker and the bartender. The bar was otherwise devoid of customers, and the management had long ago considered and decided all the big stuff, like whether or not to invest in fumigating to keep cockroaches from crawling along bar. They decided not to.
Since I didn't want to dry hump a woman in a Tijuana hooker bar, we moved on to the aforementioned gay bar. It was cozy and small, crammed full of maricones tijuanenses. We squeezed through and took seats at the bar, drinking tequila. The music is deafening in Mexican bars and clubs, and Tijuana is not a town where a business will distinguish itself by doing something unusual. I don't remember any of the other music they played that night, but I remember "Puto," the song that got me started with Molotov. Everyone in the place started jumping up and down and yelling "¡PUTO!" at the top of their lungs when the chorus came on. It was shockingly chaotic for Mexico, even on a dance floor.
You see, puto is the male variation of puta which is a fairly universal term in Spanish, meaning 'whore' or 'bitch.' One could have described my impromptu date at Adelita Bar as a puta, and while you'd not say it to her face, reasonable men would agree that the term was appropriately used, as she was selling sex. In English, to talk about a prostitute in the masculine sense, we'd say something like 'hustler,' 'rent boy' or 'man-whore,' but in Spanish, all you have to do is switch the 'a' to an 'o' at the end.
Because bigotry is not overly concerned with accurately distinguishing small differentiating details, in Spanish, the term puto became used to identify male homosexuals also, despite the fact that not all male homosexuals are prostitutes. Likewise, it also got used to describe someone as a cheat or coward, or uwilling to stand up for themselves.
Well-meaning straight people are always explaining to me that, 'That's so gay!' is not a derrogatory slur against gays, and I suspect that compared to having someone scream, 'Die faggot!' as they hurl a brick at your head, this holds true. Since these are people that are socially beyond screaming brick-throwing, they are much nicer and better intentioned. They don't seem to understand that by using the word 'gay' as a substitute for 'lame,' by the transitive property of equality, you're saying that 'gay' is 'lame.' To them I say, thanks. It means a lot to me that you care enough to try and explain why it shouldn't be offensive. That would indicate that you think my opinion on the subject matters, and lots of people out there (like those in the screaming brick-throwing category) don't. That's nice. Thanks. But the bottom line is, I'm offended by people saying "That's so gay!" At least when they're not also pointing at a picture of Paul Lynde at home with his dog.
The use of the word puto to describe someone with what you consider reprehensible personality traits seems offensive to me, wheras if I hear someone use the word in the other two senses, I can differentiate when someone is using it with the intention of being offensive. The other way seems like a more systematic bigotry, and that's always creepy.
The whole puto thing was mildly controversial for the band, and they went around justifying that they didn't mean anything against gay men, they meant it to describe people who won't stick up for themselves. In any case, the gay men in the Tijuana bar didn't seem to care, and in fact, had taken it on as a Mexican gay anthem. So to me, it remains that: a loud Mexican rallying cry for the putos of Mexico, for which I have undying respect. And while I might lecture the boys of Molotov on the subtle connection that I described above and tell them that using it that way is ultimately offensive, I love the song 'Puto.' Among my cherished, growing collection of Mexican memories, it will remain an early favorite. That and the real puta sitting on my lap in Adelita Bar.
After that first exposure, I started listening to more of their work and I found that they were really much more musically literate and talented than they were given credit for, using some very classic sounds to create something very new. I have been surprised that they are not considered the Mexican Led Zeppelin down here. In my opinion, they're the best thing to happen in Mexican rock music since Carlos Santana. If you are a friend from my Boulder and Denver days, I probably forced you to listen to them on multiple occasions. I don't think anyone really got into them much besides me, but they were big enough in the United States to score tour dates and airplay on indie stations.
I highly recommend checking them out. You need to have at least tolerance for rap, hip-hop, metal, classic guitar rock, sex and swearing (in English and Spanish) or you probably won't be able to take it. If you like at least one of those things a lot, you might find them interesting.
Like I said, I really like them. I have happy memories associated with them. They get people angry about how their songs demonstrate a united Mexican effort to reconquer the southwestern part of the United States. They have a song that uses a litany of classic Mexican and American foods to describe the female anatomy. It's witty and naughty, in English and Spanish!
Therefore, I am sad to learn today that they are most likely breaking up.
Their web site, which I would normally consider to be the last word on this, says only:
Separados ¿o no? ¡¡Nadie Sabe Nada!! Enero 18, 2007Por el momento, desde Molotov.com.mx no podemos confirmar ni desmentir los rumores que desde hace unos días giran en torno a la banda. Hay fuertes rumores de separación, ya aparecidos en diversos medios, pero nada de eso es 100% seguro. Mas información próximamente...
Broken up...or NOT? no one knows anything!
January 18, 2007As of now here in molotov.com.mx we cannot confirm or negate the rumors that have been circulating in the past days of a possible break-up of the band. Such rumors have been circulating in several media outlets, but nothing is 100% sure. More information soon...
Unfortunately, I learned about it because rocking neighbor Alberto mentioned them, and after some joyous conversation about how wonderful they are, he broke it to me that he heard that they'd broken up. He opened the copy of Friday's El Publico (March 2) and showed me the headline:
Aunque los integrantes de Molotov disolverán el grupo, cada uno se dedicará a actividades relacionadas con la música
That uses the future tense, but it states in black and white that they are breaking up the group. The article goes on to confirm that one of the band members announced in a press conference (El Publico does not give the date of the press conference) that the band members are "worn out and sickened by the same journey," and that they want to continue to pursue music individually. I think that probably spells the end of Molotov. That makes me really sad.
Gracias por la música, cabrones.
Posted by crispy at 01:36 AM | Comments (8)
February 21, 2007
Theaters compete, services improve
The Miami Herald, Mexico Edition gives us an interesting article on how competition between movie theaters has improved the quality of the experience for cineasts here. I didn't realize that unitil 1990, the government was in the movie theater business and regulated ticket prices. Crazy!
Posted by crispy at 12:15 AM | Comments (1)
February 07, 2007
Flaming Heterosexuality
Young Mexicans in Love, Morelia
It's a phenomenon that one doesn't see frequently out in the open in the United States, but it is spotted now and again in dark clubs, lonely corners of parks or out back behind the dumpster. I generally don't have any problem with it, as long as they don't flaunt it. Yet in Mexico, they are really 'in-your-face' about it, like they have to show the whole world that they're heterosexual.
You can't walk along the street in any city in Mexico without having it thrust upon you eventually, whether you're ready to deal with it or not. I consider myself a pretty enlightened guy, but even I have been shocked at the level of heterosexuality that is demonstrated in public here.
You read all about how Mexico is a Catholic country, so you think that they might be a little more discreet or that guilt and shame would prevent them from making a scene in public. Yet nothing of the kind is the case. They make out, sit in each other's laps, and perhaps most disturbing of all is when they walk down the street, the male following the female, with his arms draped around her shoulders and without a milimeter of daylight passing between them. How they manage it without falling down is baffling.
They do it with no regard whatsoever for the other people that are about. There could be a million people all strolling by in the plaza, taking in the sun and enjoying the lazy afternoon, and there they'll be, a straight couple going at it like they're the only people in the whole world. You have to scream, throw something at them or take their picture to even get them to notice you, and even then they only stop long enough to shake their fist at you and call you a pendejo before they return to their frenzied mating rituals.
Young Mexicans in Love, Morelia
I have been tempted at times, when I'm passing in a taxi by a particularly amorous couple that is leaning up against a parked car and locked in a passionate kiss, to shout out to them, "GET A ROOM!" but then I realize that they might be like a lot of other Mexicans I've met that don't speak English. Why should I waste my breath? They ought to know better themselves.
Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not against love or its expression, and I don't care what people do in the privacy of their own homes, even if that privacy is actually shared with several other family members. I'm not a heterophobe. I just don't want to have to see the passionate groping of two people driven by lust to an animalistic state of physical indulgence, no matter how arousing it may be.
I understand that it can be hot and sultry here. I know that Latin America is known for its lovers. I accept that coming from the United States, I may be a relative prude. But let's have a little cultural sensitivity for your neighbors from the north! Knock it off, or take it indoors...or at least invite me to join in.
Posted by crispy at 09:02 AM | Comments (3)
January 11, 2007
Single-Size Me!
There used to be a cultural reference between the state of Texas and ridiculously enormous sizes. Cartoons, novelty songs and even commercials would make use of this joke, based on the size of the state, as well as other things for which the place was famous, such as longhorn cattle, big trucks, or huge oil rigs that thrust skyward. It was not a far leap for such an association to be taken to imply enhanced masculinity, and subsequently, increased sexual virility. It does seem silly to associate the landmass of ones home territory to his sexual superiority, I admit. Yet when you boil it down, it seems silly that one would make that association with a larger income, a bigger house or an SUV that can guzzle gas faster, but I suspect that we have all seen those compensation mechanisms in action.
As if the rest of the states were envious of Texas for its legendary Big Bend, a trend began with jumbo sizes being sold throughout the country. Not only could you super-size your Coca-Cola® at McDonalds®, but you could buy king-size containers of M&Ms®, Miracle Whip® and Mr. Clean® at super-size stores like Sam's Club and Costco. Studies indicate that bigger packaging results in greater consumption, an effect called unit bias in the psychological literature, so it's easy to understand why manufacturers of products would prefer to sell things in bigger packages. People may pay less per unit of weight, but then end up using more of the product overall.
Clearly, not all Americans are filling their shopping baskets with boxes of Tide® big enough to wash a load in Bank One Ballpark because of any perceived inadequacy in their other baskets, but with the overwhelming machismo the United States has forced upon the rest of the word with its big guns in the past few years, it makes one wonder if the entire country has something to prove. Whenever Shawn and I return to the United States for a visit, the single most shocking thing to us, whether we're in California or Massachusetts, is consistently not only the length to which a manufacturer will go to sell you a bigger box, but also the breadth of the selection offered to consumers. One can buy nearly any product not only in king-size, but in one of seven different exciting new flavors!
In contrast, it seems as if the entire nation of Mexico has been symbolically emasculated by manufacturers who offer their products only in small size packages and in limited styles. For example, with peanut butter that is manufactured in Mexico, the largest size I've found is a jar of 12 ounces. I have heard you can get "chunky" style, but I've never seen it at any of the stores where I buy groceries. Your average peanut butter container in the United States is 18 ounces, but you can easily get bigger ones. You can also get peanut butter that has reduced fat, comes from honey roasted peanuts, has candy bar chunks or jelly mixed into it, is organic, or has not been sweetened. While I tend to like my peanut butter relatively plain (okay, I admit, chunky would be nice), it's the fact that I can't buy a container that would last me over a week that annoys me.
Milk is a similar situation, unless you drink it whole. You cannot buy 2% (descremada) in gallon containers here, at least not in supermarkets or corner stores. The only kind of milk that comes in gallons is whole milk. Otherwise, you have to buy it in half-gallon containers. Shawn likes to drink skim milk, which is relatively hard to find. Only one company here produces it, Parmalat®, and you can only get it in aseptic packaging, which makes it not only more expensive, but it means you can only buy it in one-liter boxes (which is even less than a half-gallon). One of those doesn't last a day in our house.
Butter can be bought in boxes of four sticks at larger supermarkets, but it's usually sold by the stick at corner grocery stores. Boxes of cream cheese are about half the size that they are in the United States. A bag of whole-bean coffee at Starbucks® is 250 grams, or about half a pound. Candy bars made in Mexico are tiny little sticks that are 3/4 of an ounce (about 1/2 the size of a Hershey® bar). Razor blades that come in packages of four in the United States and Canada come in packs of two here (it even comes in the case that is made for four, but it's only half full). The biggest bottle of ibuprofen one can buy here contains 100 tablets, and that costs about USD $15.00. Spindles of blank DVDs only come in sizes of 25 or 50. Coca-Cola® has even come out with a smaller-than-average size of can for certain drinks (most of them diet) that they call "Espacio Leve." These are 10.9 ounces, for those who are overwhelmed by that extra 1.1 ounces in a regular can.
With some items, there are good reasons for the smaller packages. For example, many people have limited freezer and refrigerator space, so the fact that packages of frozen potato products (like french fries) come in packages that are 1/2 the size that they are in the US and Canada makes sense. Otherwise, you'd use up half your freezer just for a bag of french fries. Also, it's easier for many people to afford the cost of buying something when one can buy just a little bit of it. If manufacturers only sold things in very large packages, many people would not be able to buy a whole package.
Yet other small packaging is just frustrating and annoying. Take for example the Espacio Leve line by Coca-Cola®: these are mostly diet versions of sodas that they sell in regular size cans and bottles, like diet Fanta®, apple, or even Fresca® (in Mexico, the regular Fresca® is sweetened with sugar and is hardly a diet soda). Using artificial sweeteners costs more, so instead of taking a cut on their margins to sell diet sodas, they sell you a smaller size at the same price. Getting 1/2 the number of razor blades in a package is also annoying, because they're the same size as the four-packs, but you have to buy two packs to get four. Smaller packaging promotes more trial purchasing, but when you know what you want and you know you'll use a fair amount of it, it's just downright obnoxious to have to buy, carry and store six little bags instead of just one big one.
Certainly the super-size phenomenon in the United States has its down side, in promoting obesity, overconsumption and affluenza. Yet the single-size phenomenon in Mexico also causes problems, like the generation of more trash and just being a downright hassle sometimes. Not to worry though. Always swift to assist less fortunate nations, the corporations of the United States, such as Costco® and Sam's Club®, has been taking Mexico by storm, permitting Mexicans to buy olive oil, soy sauce and mustard in gallon containers. In fact, in some cases, these warehouse stores are the only places where one can buy certain products that are otherwise hard to find here, like Tide-To-Go® laundry markers, mayonnaise without lime juice in it, and lemons. Just as often though, these stores serve as the dumping grounds for what consumers in Canada and the US don't buy, so they'll have a great deal on Gatorade® powder, but only the nasty lemon-lime flavor. You couldn't find a can of orange to save your life. So these stores, while providing Mexicans with some opportunity for king-sized consumerism, fail to deliver of the wealth of options to them that consumers in the United States and Canada enjoy. This is a recurring theme with American businesses and their Mexican branches: gladly take Mexicans' money, but don't give them the same level of service.
Ah, but when all else fails, one can do what many Mexicans do and make a road trip to Texas for the sole purpose of buying things one can't get here, or can't get big enough.
Posted by crispy at 10:42 AM | Comments (7)
December 25, 2006
Starstruck!
We used to live in Los Angeles. Anyone who lives there for a certain period of time experiences the phenomenon where they'll look up and see someone they recognize, only to subsequently realize it's not someone they know personally, but some celebrity that they know from television, movies, newspapers or tabloids. It's a strange phenomenon, but after a while you get used to it.
Then you move away and it just doesn't happen in other places. You get used to being in Zanesville, Ohio and not running into Kelsey Grammer with your shopping cart as you round an aisle in the grocery store. Life goes back to normal and famous people stay where they belong, on those screens and pages.
Shawn and I were out having dinner in Condesa and I wanted to go by Cinnabar, a hotspot in Condesa that is reported to have good cocktails. We're walking down Nuevo León toward the bar and chatting about our impressions of the neighborhood when no one other than Uriel del Toro walks by us in the other direction. URIEL DEL FREAKING TORO. The drop-dead, gorgeous, absolutely perfect Mexican fashion model that also has a show on Telehit, the Mexican music channel.
If you know me, you probably know what a thing I have for this guy. And unless you're a lesbian, straight man or dead, who wouldn't?
Uriel del Toro, on Telehit
After he walked by, I was utterly speechless. Hell, I was utterly breathless. Shawn turned to me and started to mention how that guy was really hot. Finally, I was able to mouth "DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT WAS?!" and Shawn wasn't sure. I had to try about three sentences, but at last I was able to get his name out, and Shawn didn't recognize that, so I had to tell him it was the guy I'm crazy about on that video show. Then he recognized who it was.
That will probably be the incident I remember most about this trip: seeing my favorite Mexican sex symbol in the flesh, not more than two feet from me.
You can say all you want about the evils of big city living, and I've been grouching about Mexico City the whole time we've been here. Yet there is a certain magic to moments like those, that only happen in big, glamorous, sexy cities like this one.
¡Viva México!
Posted by crispy at 12:34 PM | Comments (8)
September 16, 2006
Wacky Mexican Television Revisited
Playing Jenga® on Muévete
This is a Saturday morning show called Muévete. It's for kids, mostly.
It reminds me of the children's programming in Brazil as represented on The Simpsons. They have scantily-clad hosts that bounce around, banda ensembles, and perky songs about not smoking cigarettes complete with a dance line, again, scantily-clad.
Playing Jenga® on Muévete
The audience seems like a big party, with everyone dancing around and singing. They hold up big signs that talk about how they love the hosts of the show and young girls (scantily-clad) blow kisses to the camera.. At one point, they bring out a special guest, usually someone slightly famous from Mexican TV, and...what else? They play Jenga®!
Playing Jenga® on Muévete
The band plays this trippy abstract "tension" jam, like when the protagonist is walking through a dark house and you know the murderer is waiting for him in there somewhere. But because the Jenga® game can go on and on and on, it's like the house is the château de Versailles and the inevitable victim is practicing walking meditation.
Playing Jenga® on Muévete
Given that it's a couple of people playing Jenga® for half an hour on tv, it cracks us up that they run a title at the bottom of the screen that reads: ¡El momento más tenso de televisión!
Posted by crispy at 11:05 AM | Comments (3)
August 28, 2006
Mexican Hot Dogs
Alberto stopped by one afternoon while we were preparing tofu hot dogs. That we would eat hot dogs made out of tofu amused him, but we scored further chortles because the American style of eating a hot dog is very different from how Mexicans eat them.
I don't know if the particular style Alberto spoke of is limited to Guadalajara, as some culinary items are, or if it's common throughout all of Mexico. The longer I live here, the more it seems like there is nothing that is common throughout all of Mexico. Like every burg in Germany having it's own style of sausage, or every cow town in India having its own recipe for dal, I suspect there are regional variations on hot dogs all over Mexico.
Many readers in California have seen the typical late-night Mexican hot dog stand on their local streets, where they're frying up dozens of dogs, each wrapped in a slice of bacon. Those are typical of the Baja Californias, although you'll find them all throughout Mexico. For example, there's a popular cart that fixes those at the corner of Prisciliano Sánchez and Colón in front of the 7-11, but that's not what he was talking about.
Of course there are several variations on hot dogs throughout the United States, and on occasion, I'll top the tofu dogs in chili, serve them with tomatoes, onions and chiles. Yet that day, we were doing the casual mustard and ketchup thing.
Here, the hot dog is a very elaborate affair. They start with the buns, which are called medias noches here. Then they smear some crema on the bun (crema is not the same as sour cream but that is worth an entry of its own), put the hot dog on it, then add mustard, ketchup, onions (sometimes fried), tomatoes, chiles, diced pineapple and then slices of panela cheese. Some people like to add canned, sliced mushrooms.
If this sounds too daunting to try at home on your own, you can try an approximation at Pink's of Hollywood (709 N. La Brea Blvd., Su-Th 9:30 am to 2:30 am, F-Sa 9:30 am to 3:00 am), the famous hot dog stand. Their Guadalajara Dog consists of a hot dog with relish, onions, tomatoes, and sour cream. They added it to their official menu when they found their cooks (of Mexican origin, of course) eating this particular combination during their breaks. I suspect that many Mexicans on this side of the border would shudder about their using sour cream and relish, but hey, when you're far from home, you have to adapt to local ingredients.
Posted by crispy at 05:41 AM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2006
I've Got Some Junk Food That's Better Than That
Shawn noted on his recent trip to the United States that sugary cereals like Kellog's Corn Pops® have 1/4 of the protein in the United States compared to the very same brand (Kellog's Corn Pops®) in Mexico. I noticed a while ago too that cookies (the really sweet kind that are like Oreos®, not the panadería kind that are more like homemade) also have considerably higher nutritional content in Mexico than their United States counterparts.
For example, Marinela is a brand of cookies here. They're owned by Grupo Bimbo, which is a vast bakery empire (think Wonder®) that started in 1945 in Mexico and has since gone worldwide. Their USA division owns brands you're sure to know: Oroweat®, Entenmann's®, Boboli®, among others. There are several types of Marinela cookies, including sandwich cremes and chocolate chip. But the Marinela cookies are quite different from the same types of things that you buy from Kraft-owned Nabisco in one detail: they have vitamins.
I'll grant you, they're not something that any nutritionist is going to include in a healthy diet regimen. However, compared to their American counterparts, they have a measurable amounts of vitamins. Check out Oreo® Cookies which have 4.7 calories per gram and do not meet any percentage levels for the RDA of Vitamin A, Vitamin C or Calcium. They do have 10% of the iron and 2g of protein per serving, so that's something.
In contrast, Marinela's "Principes" cookies (a chocolate wafer cookie with white chocolate filling) has 4.8 calories per gram and 3.1 grams of protein per serving. Yet a serving also gives you 15% of the vitamin A, 11% of the vitamin B1, 12% of the vitamin B2, 10% of the vitamin B3, 13% of the vitamin B6, 25% of the vitamin B9, 14% of the vitamin B12, 22% of the vitamin C, 15% of the vitamin E, 29% of the iodine, 15% of the iron, and 12% of the zinc that you're supposed to have daily.
What's up with that? Why doesn't the most powerful country in the world have junk food that's healthier for you than the junk food in Mexico? Granted, it's probably not all that important to most folks. But don't you find it a bit odd?
Posted by crispy at 07:11 PM | Comments (4)
April 14, 2006
El Santo Comics
Someone who is obviously one of the coolest people in the world has scanned and uploaded two entire El Santo comic books for your viewing pleasure.
Posted by crispy at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2006
Mexican Pizza
Pizza varies a lot from coast to coast in the United States, so I should not have been surprised to find out that down Mexico way, they have their own peculiar variations.
I first realized this when I saw listed, right alongside the classic cheese and pepperoni pizzas, hot dog and bologna pizza. Upon seeing it, I commented to Shawn that people who would eat that stuff on pizza are crazy. He insisted that this wasn't crazy, because people in New England eat hot dog pizza all the time. While I do not see how this is an effective argument against my claim, I did find some evidence to indicate that hot dogs on pizza are not only a Mexican phenomenon. And when I say that they had bologna pizza, I do not mean pizza topped with bolognese sauce, but pizza topped with the sliced meat usually served on sandwiches with white bread and mayonnaise.
I did not have any other disorienting pizza experiences here for some time after that. We would often eat at a fantastic restaurant in our neighborhood called Mio Cardio [Avenida Tepeyac 189, Colonia Chapalita, Tel: (33) 35 87 57 90], where they serve some of the best pizza I've ever had. The crust is thin and uniformly crispy, the sauce seasoned con gusto and they have a few rare, but not strange toppings, like arugula and a pesto that is, well, chunky, for lack of a better word. I have confirmed that both are delicious through extensive hands-on research.
But the other day, I went to a restaurant in Centro Magno called Italiani's. [Disclaimer: I usually refuse on principle to eat at a restaurant if it has a name like this, turning a common noun or an adjective into a posessive noun, but we often go to the cinema in this mall, and it has the best vegetarian offerings there.] The place is fairly expensive, so I usually forego the baked ravioli with two sauces and go straight for the pizza, because it is more filling and two-thirds the price.
The waiter placed it on the table and I let it cool a bit, since I scalded my lip once on one of their pizzas, when the blistering (literally) hot sauce squirted into my mouth on the opening bite. As I was sitting there with the pizza at a safe distance, the waiter returned to the table and put down a bottle of Tabasco® sauce and a bottle of Heinz® ketchup.
Let me repeat that last one: Heinz® ketchup.
This was the first time that I'd had this put on the table, although before, I'd had waiters ask me if I wanted anything to go on the pizza, listing off ketchup among the more standard items like parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper. I thought at that time that they probably just think gringos are wacky and who knows what they like on their pizza, so they list off a bunch of stuff they have in the kitchen as an option. Yet putting it down on the table without my asking for it made me realize: Mexicans must tend to put ketchup on their pizza.
And indeed it is true. I have found an article online that backs up this shocking discovery. In fact, the article mentions that Mexicans also put Worchestershire sauce on their pizza, but for some reason, this doesn't sound so odd to me. I want to ask around to find out the general application technique, like whether they put it on top of the pizza or if they keep the ketchup on the side and dip it in. I mean, I'm not yet to the point where it sounds even remotely interesting to put ketchup on pizza, but if I ever do try it, I wouldn't want to do it wrong. I'd hate to have people think I'm some kind of freak.
Posted by crispy at 01:35 AM | Comments (6)
March 14, 2006
Wacky Mexican Television
It's 1 am on a Tuesday and I'm watching one of Mexico's most revered female authors, Elena Poniatowska, being interviewed on a show called "Show del Insomnio." Yet she's not being interviewed in a studio or any place befitting her stature in the country's literary landscape. She's being driven around what I presume to be Mexico City in a flatbed truck that has been set up like a bedroom, complete with bed, nightstand and a television.
Elena Poniatowska on Show del Insomnio
This is the only aspect of the interview that is so campy; she is discussing other authors, recounting her early days as a journalist, and talking about the advantages of being small.
Elena Poniatowska on Show del Insomnio
Although we get it on channel 80 here in Guadalajara on Megacable, it's a Canal 22 production.
I love this country.
Posted by crispy at 12:13 AM | Comments (5)
February 28, 2006
El cine
With the Oscars® rapidly approaching, it's time to discuss going to the movies in Mexico.
First, it should be said that the range of the theater-going experience is broad. They have theaters where they serve sushi and cocktails, and they have old spaces that are like warehouses with fluorescent tube lights as the only illumination. Some offer seats that are like recliners you have in your home while others have old creaking metal beasts with wires that stick up through the upholstry to rip your pants and give you quite a pinch. You can see the latest Hollywood crap or an interesting documentary from France.
The top of the line theaters are run by Cinépolis, and are a special deluxe brand known as "VIP." These are the ones where you have barcalounger-side service for food and drinks. The tickets are slightly more expensive than the regular cinemas, and the food isn't cheap, although overall, things like popcorn and sodas at the cinemas here are not as ridiculously expensive as they are in the United States. For example, a large popcorn at a theater chain that is comparable to the major ones in the United States, is $28.00 MXN, which is roughly $2.68 USD. It also isn't as enormous, though.
The regular Cinépolis theaters are still quite nice, and seem pretty much like the googleplexes of the United States, with all the amenities and at times a few more (like capuccino out of a gas-station style machine, variations on popcorn like caramel-coated), but a little cheaper. The VIP theaters are $90 MXN (around $8.60 USD) at the most expensive, and the "plain" Cinépolis tickets are $44 MXN (around $4.20 USD). They run matinee discounts like you're familiar with in the US, but on Wendesdays, all day, tickets are half-price. Films are usually shown in their original lanuage with subtitles, and only a few of the bigger ones are dubbed into Spanish. When this is the case, the fact is noted on the marquee.
One thing I really appreciate about theaters here is that the screens are almost always normal size, and by that, I mean big, not what is becoming normal in the United States, where you have 25 theaters crammed into one location and the screens are squeezed down into the approximate size of a garage door. I have been to one screening here that was on a relatively small screen, but this was a film series that shows old and more unusual films for very cheap prices (like $2.50 USD).
Then there are older theaters that are not as new and shiny as the Cinépolis theaters and their rivals, but that were built in like the 70s and 80s. These are certainly decent theaters, but they are a little worn at the edges. There are several theaters that pre-date those, and these run from well-preserved to wacky.
In all these older theaters, the experience is interesting, and sometimes very disappointing. You certainly see things you'd never see in a Mann Theater. For example, we went to one theater where you could buy a bag of homemade potato chips in the lobby from behind a small display counter that, despite its size, still looked barren because they offered just these chips and a few candy bars. The woman attending the counter was actually sitting at a table in front of the counter smoking a cigarette and chatting with a friend when we passed through. That was in the place with the fluorescent lighting in the theater. Last night we went to see Transamerica in a theater where they show one film in the afternoon and another at night. It was done up in earth tones from the 70s (although those have never gone out of style here in Mexico), and three times during the film, a huge notice stretched across the screen that was burned into the print and read, "BAFTA SCREENING ONLY! NOT FOR SALE OR RENT." Tonight we went to see North Country, and the theater actually had ushers with flashlights. About halfway through the film, the house lights came up and they turned off the film for a 5 minute intermission.
In these slightly-less-modern theaters, one consistent thing really annoys me. After the film ends and the credits start to roll, they just switch off the film and turn up the lights. Nobody really seems bothered by this.
I'd like to close with a request of you folks: Would you be so kind as to add comments giving the ticket prices for movies where you live? I know you folks in California are being taken to the cleaners, whereas Mr. Allen can probably still afford to see a recently released film at the Arcadia for a fraction of that cost.
Thanks!
Posted by crispy at 10:57 PM | Comments (8)
February 09, 2006
An Open Letter to Proctor & Gamble
9 February 2006
Hello!
I am an American that moved to Mexico in December. Before I left the United States, I fell in love with the Tide-to-Go stain remover "markers," and they were such a hot item that I could only find two to bring with me. Now that I'm here in Guadalajara, I cannot find them ANYWHERE. I realize that there is a different branding down here ("Ace" instead of "Tide"), but there do not seem to be "Ace-Para-Llevar" removers of manchas either.
I have looked in Mexican stores, I have looked in American-owned chains like Costco and Wal-Mart, and I must admit, I've even haunted dark alleys in hopes of finding a black market for those babies because I NEED MY FIX! I spill a lot of stuff on my clothes and more often than not, this happens in a restaurant, where it is just not appropriate to take off my clothes and soak them to try and get out a spot of chiles rellenos or a smear of mole.
I have written to the Mexican branch of P&G but I fear that they will not know what I'm talking about. Granted, my Spanish is not all that great, but when I try to describe this product to the folks down here, they look at me like I'm talking about a lost city of gold or a tortilla with the Virgin Mary on it; they are incredulous that such a miracle product could exist. Yet I know they do - I've seen it! I've used it! I have seen the future of impeccable cleanliness in fabrics and its name is TIDE-TO-GO!
Please, please, please tell me where I can lay my hands on more in Mexico because I'm positively desperate. I cannot imagine that you would deny this portable miracle to the world when it would be so simple to make it a nicer, cleaner, fresher-looking place with Tide-to-Go stain removing markers.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter. I eagerly and messily await your response.
Chris Coen
Posted by crispy at 07:13 AM | Comments (3)
October 01, 2005
"Bordertown" to Address Rash of Murders on Border
Director Gregory Nava's upcoming film "Bordertown" will deal with the unsolved murders of hundreds of women in border towns over the past year. Jenifer Lopez will star as a Chicago Sentiel reporter sent to investigate the killings in Ciudad Juarez but ends up in danger herself. The picture will also feature Antonio Banderas.
Posted by crispy at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2005
American Football In Mexico City
Great. As if it were not macho enough already, Mexico is about to host the NFL's first regular season game held outside the United States.
Read more in English at the International Herald Tribune.
Posted by crispy at 05:23 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
The Cowboy's Lament
Sent to me from my father, who remembered this song from his childhood.
Old Texas (The Cowboy's Lament)
I'm going to leave old Texas now
They've got no use for the long-horn cow
They've plowed and fenced my cattle range
And the people there are all so strange
I'll take my horse and I'll take my rope
And hit the trail upon a lope
I'll say goodby to the Alamo
And turn my head toward Mexico
Posted by crispy at 12:03 AM | Comments (0)
May 31, 2005
Alarma! Online
This Mexican tabloid specializes in gory photos. They are so nasty that I can't even discuss the content of the photos without making you sick. You really don't want to look at them. Really. But that having been said, it is a wacky Mexican phenomenon.
I was first told about Alarma! by a friend of mine who has turned me on to many many things. Lest you get the wrong idea, he does complain that I don't take his book suggestions, which I must nevertheless say are quite sublime. Yet he also shares an interest in Mexico and lives right next to it. He was able to get a few, but not outside of Mexico. No, Alarma! probably won't replace the Weekly World News in your local market any time soon.
It is pornography in the sense that it appeals to that lurid interest in the grotesque, but any nudity is incidental. It's often featured at ogrish.com. Art exhibits have been named for it. One source claims it sells 15,000,000 copies per week, but I don't think that's an audited number. Still, enough people buy it to keep them in business.
In contrast to America's culture of life, Mexico does have a greater incorporation of death into their culture. It is much more visible largely in part due to the arts. Perhaps the most accessible is that of José Guadalupe Posada, but Kahlo's retablos also reflect the comfort with death that Mexico has developed through many years of exposure to iconography showing the martyrdom of saints. [see also Kahlo's El ciervo herido and Unos cuantos piquetitos]
Yet I don't mean to go too far. Alarma! has no artistic pretense. It only claims to contain "únicamente la VERDAD," and even that is questionable. Mexico does have a view of life that is more inclusive of the big adios, but this magazine is not a representative example of that perspective. And people in Mexico are not the only ones that delight in the macabre.
You won't get much insight into the Mexican psyche from it, but if you ever need evidence that it's better to avoid getting involved in organized crime, operating dangerous machinery or even driving your car, Alarma! has it, in color.
Posted by crispy at 06:24 AM | Comments (1)
May 20, 2005
Mexican Simpsons Actors On Strike
The voice actors who play the Simpsons en español have been on strike for six months, arguing that there are only three of them doing all the voices and they are being kept on temporary contracts. They are not even complaining about the fact they only earn about $55 USD per episode.
Más: http://www.todito.com/paginas/noticias/175077.html
Posted by crispy at 09:37 PM | Comments (2)