"NO GRACIAS"

If there are two words you must know to live in Mexico, it is "No Gracias".  Poverty is everywhere for Mexico is a very poor country.  There is a growing middle class (unlike in the United States) but it is mainly around the industrial towns like Mexico City, Gudalajara and Monterrey.   Mexicans are very poor, but most of them are very hard working honest people (just trying to survive and feed their families).   I read somewhere that Mexicans work the longest hours per week of any industrialized country (but that assumes that Mexico IS an industrialized country).   There are a few who (maybe because of poverty) try to scam the tourist.

On the streets and on the beach, they try to sell you everything from fish on a stick to jewelry, to sex.  In Mexico sex is regarded pretty much as a commodity to be sold just like tacos.  Being an aging male I am constantly being asked if I want a "massage",  Some are men and some are women.  But beware for a lot of the prostitutes here are really transsexuals (and some of them are just gorgeous).  There are legitimate masseurs, but they are in the minority.  There are dozens of "strip clubs" in Puerto Vallarta where you will find total nudity.  I was happy and surprised to learn that the "dancers" must have an HIV test every three months to work in these clubs.  Some of you may be shocked and think this is all too depraved.  No! It is just sad.  These are young men and women who happened to be born beautiful, so they use the one gift God gave them in an attempt to escape the oppressive poverty into which they were born.

You have to steel yourself against the poverty.  Every other block there will be an old woman squatting on the sidewalk with her hand held out (actually she has a paper cup).  One such lady (I use the term loosely) always sits in front of an old mansion on Badillo.  She looks just like all the rest of them, but for all I know she may live in the mansion.  She also did not want her picture taken (maybe she was afraid someone would recognize her).   Also there are the obviously homeless and deranged.  There is no government service for the mentally ill (pretty much the same in the U.S, but the crazy people don't have guns here)  Most of them will just try to bum a cigarette or a few pesos (probably for cheap booze).  What I really hate are the poor young women who drags a gaggle of kids behind her (all under the age of 3 or 4) begging for money.  You want to throw a box at condoms at her.  The law here states that having sex with a male under the age of 18 will get you 30 years in prison.  By the time the girls are 18, they have had a couple of kids.   I must say that the children are adorable.  They are extremely well behaved in spite of their situation (or maybe because of it).  The kids are very good about watching out for and taking care of each other.  Of course they have to for their mothers work and many of them have no fathers.

I ignore all of them.  There are Mexicans that I really like who are hard working, but poor and I do what I can to help them (mainly with outrages tips, sometimes "loans").  If you walk down any of the streets frequented by tourist you will be accosted by the sales people of the various shops catering to tourist.  "Hey Amigo" they all shout and then try to lure you into their stores.  Walking through the flea market on the island in the middle of the Rio Cuale, is like working your way through a mine field as you keep repeating, "No Gracias".    You will also encounter the street vendors, but no where are they more aggressive than at the beach.

During the summer months, the vendors will out number the paying clients.   You can't imagine all they try to sell on the beach.  The beach I was at is a private club where a sign is posted at each end stating,  "No No Gracias"  But it does not stop them (nothing does),  What I really get a kick out of are the guys selling huge wool rugs.  They trudge down the beach with dozens of them thrown over their shoulders.  Lots of jewelry (who knows if it is silver or not, but it is shinny and pretty) but also clothing, pottery, other trinkets.  Of course lots of fish on a stick, but what really gets to me are the guys carrying trays of fresh oysters (yes that plate in the old man's hand is a plate of raw oysters).  No refrigeration or anything just a platter of raw oysters baking in the sun (some how I have managed to avoid this delicacy).  You can also buy lots of pot pipes, then they will try to sell you the pot or hash to go with them (maybe crack cocaine as well, I never sampled any of it),  I have also been told that some of them are actually undercover cops, but I highly doubt that.  Henna tattoos and massages are also popular (I assume no "happy endings" on the beach).  Some of the vendors quietly move on when you say, "No gracias"  but some are relentless and get almost angry when you try to ignore them.  There are always musicians roaming the beach playing for tips, but I was shocked to see a harp last week.

As an example of the hard working (and fearless) Mexicans, I included a photo of the painters working on the church across the street.  There they are, five stories above the sidewalk with no safety net.  They are standing on a platform hung from two holes in the top of the tower and is operated by a hand crank.   In truth, I wanted to show the remarkable transformation of this church.  The painting was done to show off the architectural detailing that was lost with the original white.  In the remodeling they also added a round stained glass window.  The first morning I noticed a huge hole in the front of the church I thought maybe their cannon had gone off and blew a hole through it.   In closing, I must restate that the great majority of Mexicans are very honest and very hard working.  They just do what they can to survive.