Mexico

Mexico:

Cinco de Mayo, which is also my birthday. I thought this
would be a good day to post on my back log on Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is often thought of as Mexican’s independents
day, but it’s not. The day actually marks a victory in a battle between Mexico
and France. This lead to Mexico’s Independence.

According to Sandra Garcia, the calibration in Detroit is much more wild then the ones in Mexico, with years where police even have to break up the festivities in Mexican town after they get out of hand. 

Movie:

The movie that I watched was “Frida”. The movie is about the
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Who was not only a painter, but deeply involved in
the Mexican Revelation. This movie does not always focus on her art. Instead it
focuses on her relationship with fellow painter Diego Rivera.

Their marriage lasted over 30 years, though they did divorce
and remarry. This is due to their many marital troubles, including but not
limited to extramarital affairs.

The movie did show where some of her art came from. When she
was a teenager she had been in a terrible bus accident that led to major health
problems that would last for the rest of her life. She was often isolated, and in
pain. This pain and isolation influenced much of her work.

Food:

I ate several Mexican food dishes over the course of the

last few weeks. The first was cheese enchiladas that my Step mother Connie had
made. She served this with a side of Mexican rice that she told me was one of
Eva Longoria’s recipes. The recipe involved canned peas.

The Enchiladas were great. Probably the best I had outside a

restaurant.

I went to two Mexican Restaurants over the course of the
week. The first was Mexican Village, in Mexican Town, Detroit. When I think of
good Mexican food I think it has to be authentic, but this place broke to mold
on this. There was no chili spices in the enchilada sauce. In fact the sauce
tasted a little more Italian, yet it was still excellent food. Proof that
Mexican food can be Americanized and still great.

I also went to Frida’s, a Mexican place in Dearborn, Michigan.
I was going to have enchiladas here, too, so that I would have three versions I
could compare. However, they had Mole. I cannot pass up Mole when I see it. If
you have never had it, mole is a spicy sauce made from coco and chilies. It may
sound a little strange, but it is really quite good. In most American restaurants,
it is served over chicken. Authentic Mexican will simmer the chicken in the
mole sauce so that it fuses into the meat.

The first time that I had it, I was working in a factory in
San Antonio. The aroma of peanuts and spices wafted over the shop floor. I had
no idea what it was that smelled so good, but I knew I had to try it.  The small cafeteria that served the factory
workers served it for $2.50 a plate. At Frida’s I had to pay closer to $15, but
I don’t regret getting it.

If you wonder how the enchiladas are at Frida’s, don’t fear.
My step mother ordered some. She said that while this place made it well, she
made it better.

Interview:

I work with people from all over the place. One of the women
that I work with is Sandra Garcia. She was born in Tamahlipas, Mexico, but
moved to Texas when she was only a few months old. She talked with me about the
hardships of her family calling both U.S. and Mexico home.

Her father had come to the U.S. illegally when he was only
14. After being deported he decided he had to make it back here.  He married a U.S. citizen 9 years later, and was
able to move back. Her parents always claimed that they did not marry for his
green card. Beyond love, they both had much to gain. He had been an experienced
rancher with almost no money, and she had inherited a lot of land that was
perfect for ranching but had no idea how to manage such a venture. Together they
were able to develop a great ranch.

Still, Sandra’s parents maintained residence just north of
the border. Her father would take seasonal construction jobs in Chicago, would
go home to Texas and then back to the ranch in Mexico to manage that.

I asked Sandra, how often does she go down to Mexico visit
family, and she responded: “Almost never”. Due to the drug wars that have exploded in the last few years, it has
become unsafe to visit her father’s ranch, or to go down there to see family.
Especially with her children.

Last year she finally felt safe enough to go back. She
recalled to me how much it had changed and how sad she felt seeing what the
drug wars had left behind.

Now that her father is retired from construction, he frequently
goes down to the Northern State of Tamahlipas, to tend his cattle. It worries
both her and her mother that he goes, because they sometimes feel that this
could be the last time they see him. However, the place is his home and the
cattle his livelihood, and he feels that he must be a part of it.