Mexico. When you read that word, what does it make you think of?
Many think danger, kidnappings, beheadings and drug cartels. After the film Savages, Salma Hayek and Benicio del Toro made the gringos look a little differently at Mexican gardeners.
Others maybe think of tequila, Tijuana, sombreros and ponchos.
Frankly, that’d be like associating Great Britain with Jack the Ripper, bad food, ghastly weather, football hooligans and Jimmy Saville.
It all exists, of course, but it's neither a fair nor accurate picture of either country.
This post is about the country that I love. It's become my second home and I find myself lauding her beauty and defending her to my back teeth.
People talk about the warmth of a country as experienced through its people - you feel this immediately on arriving in Mexico. Be that in Mexico City, Puebla, Veracruz or Cancun - the smiles, the manners, the sense of the familial. Family and food are held in high esteem (as they should be, really) and meals are important.
The cuisine is incredible. Forget burritos (they barely exist in Mexico by the way, a bit like General Tso’s chicken….an invention to satisfy the Westerners’ tongue). From tacos, quesadillas and chilaquiles to chicharon, chiles nogada and molé – the cuisine is enormous and deserves to be taken as seriously as Italian. Whilst not as “adventurous” as say, the Chinese, the snacks are pretty entertaining – found in market places all over the country are delights such as gusanos and chapulines – worms and grasshoppers. Fried to a crispy crisp and if one doesn’t look closely, as delicious as peanuts.
The architecture is breathtaking. Puebla, a former Spanish city, is chock full of stunning colonial buildings. Then there’s the Talavera, ceramics native to Puebla – every single piece carefully painted by hand and signed on the bottom by the artist. Think a more funky and colourful version of Wedgewood.
There are the bustling cities, the plantation like swathes of tropics (Veracruz) and some of the most gorgeous beaches on earth (the Caribbean side, think Tulum).
Mexico is home to true artisans – we’re not talking straw donkeys here. Stunning hand-embroidered Otomi fabrics, delicately hand-painted alejibres from Oaxaca, silver to die for…
Take a stroll around any marketplace and you’ll see more chiles than you’ve ever imagined possible – ancho, guajillo, chilpotle…and hundreds more. If you love to cook and enjoy experimenting with spices and herbs – you’ll be in culinary heaven.
As for drinkies – we all know Tequila but it’s time to discover its lesser-known friend Mezcal. No, Corona doesn’t count as a Mexican beverage. Nobody drinks it there. Like the burrito, another thing that only non-Mexicans consume.
It’s a family-friendly country – children are welcomed wherever they go. No stuffiness or side-eye if your little one is out with you for supper at 9pm. In our case, we’ve been lucky enough that our toddler all but became part of the staff at the last hotel we stayed at.
This is just a wee snapshot of an amazing country. Go quick, before the rest of the world realizes what a wonderful country Mexico is.
Elaine
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