Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the United States.
This remark from Porofino Diaz came to mind as we were driving home from Acapulco a few weeks ago.
We had several interesting, and very Mexican, experiences in Acapulco.
First, so that my friends don't think that my life is all about having fun,I need to say that I didn't go to Acapulco to lay in the sand on the beach, lounge around the pool drinking piña coladas, or eat Thai-Mexican food at
fancy restaurants.
I went to Acapulco to see a dentist. Or, to be more exact, to see an oral surgeon. Sigh.
I did manage to do a few other things while I was there. Shopping at Costco and Home Depot are always high on my Acapulco to-do list. We filled Terry's truck with things that are unavailable or outrageously expensive here in Zihuatanejo: a table and two chairs, large plastic storage boxes, large bags of cat food, toilet paper, paper towels, plastic bags... the usual.
While we were in Acapulco the first news of the dreaded swine flu hit the international news. We started seeing people wearing masks --

even the statues were scared! Restaurants were empty, and we saw very few tourists, especially foreign tourists.
As we were leaving Acapulco we were pulled over by a traffic cop, who wanted to collect a "cargo tax" for the stuff we had packed into the back of the truck. A perfectly bogus and nonexistent tax, which we pointed out (politely of course). He wouldn't back down.
The officer insisted that we owed 5,000 pesos (yes, almost 500 dollars). We said we had no money, and once again we politely pointed out that there is no such thing as a cargo tax. He suggested that we could pay "half" the amount if we didn't want to go to the police station.
Eventually Terry offered him 200 pesos, he accepted it, and we were allowed to leave Acapulco.
Acapulco has a reputation for this sort of thing, and this was my first personal experience of "
mordida" (bribery). If nothing else this trip to Acapulco (did I mention the ORAL SURGEON?) was a chance for me to experience another aspect of Mexican life.
The other thing Acapulco has a reputation for is headless bodies (usually the bodies of police officers). Something to do with battles between opposing drug cartels and between the drug cartels and the police. It's definitely not good for tourism or business.
Those headless bodies on the beach are SO unappetizing...
So as we were driving home and I was thinking about the effects of swine flu on the economy, and the effects of so many other " Mexican" problems, and how unfair it was that this flu was being blamed on Mexico when it probably just happened to be first discovered here, and how unfair the drug wars are for every day normal people, and how unfair the political corruption is... well, Diaz's quote jumped into my mind and here it is.
The most amazing thing about all of this unfairness is how most Mexicans I know are still the happiest people I know, despite the unfairness of it all.