TRAVELING IN MEXICO

 Jalapa Veracruz and Roy, the Gringo Jalapeño

By : Eric Durán

2008 

Buying real estate?  There are three words to remember; location, location, location.  Traveling to or planning on retiring in Mexico?  To you Americans and Canadians I give three key words; attitude, attitude and attitude.  You get a lot of mileage out of respect for its people, language and culture. 

 Expatriate Roy B. Dudley who has made Jalapa Veracruz, Mexico his home for thirty five years is a perfect example.  He is buena gente or "good people" as it were.  I, an avid mountain biker in and surrounding Jalapa for three years in the early 1990's, would see Roy on his bike with all kinds of flashing lights and turn signals, wearing a helmet.  I could tell he was safety conscious and, American. 

Roy, known as the Gringo Jalapeño not because he thinks he's a chili pepper but rather when you are from the city of Jalapa you are called a Jalapeño.  Having recently regained contact with Roy I decided to write about him as he is knowledgeable in Mexican culture, speaks fluent Spanish, is an excellent photographer and real estate agent.  Since I train people in Mexican culture and teach Spanish, and am a travel writer I can assure you that if you ever plan a trip to Jalapa ojalá, hope you do, your man to contact is Roy B. Dudley.

Jalapa also spelled Xalapa comes from a Náhuatl or Aztec word meaning "the place of sandy waters".  It is a city of about 800,000 and is the state capital of Veracruz.  Jalapa sits on the historical Ruta de Cortés, the route that Hernán Cortés took on his advance toward Tenochtitlán, the great Aztec capital and where he conquered them (with help from natives who hated the Aztecs) in August 13, 1521.  Jalapa to the port of Veracruz is 73 miles (119 km) and Jalapa to Mexico City is 195 miles (315 km).

I lived in Jalapa for one year in the mid 1980s and three years in the mid 1990s.  Being of Mexican descent with a Mexican father and American mother, I wanted to improve my Spanish, immerse myself in the culture and open a private English school.  I discovered that doing "house call" private lessons was a great way to keep my overhead low.  I also taught for one year at a Montessori school as a substitute for a friend who decided to become an ecotourism guide in Puerto Vallarta. 

Another business I had was doing mountain bike tours for tourists and college exchange students.  Jalapa and outskirts offer a wide variety of outdoor activities including river rafting, spelunking (caving), and mountain biking.  Roy B. Dudley can give you the latest on the best adventure tours for all ages and levels.  Roy's email is jalaparoy@gmail.com  and his website is www.jalaparoy.com . 

As a general rule any of the highland cities like Jalapa and Mexico City will be a bit more formal in dress, over all behavior and culture.  I tell my students though that "all generalizations are wrong, including this one".   "Intelligent travel" always requires flexibility.  Prepare your trip but don't overdo it.

 In the port of Veracruz and other coastal regions Guayaberas are used.  These cool tropical style shirts are usually short sleeved with four pockets and lots of buttons.  I once went to a business meeting in the port of Veracruz in a suit and tie.  The governor of Veracruz was hosting a dinner for the ambassador of Spain and several of the local tourist agencies were invited to attend.   After a steaming hot bus ride to the Hotel ballroom, I was surprised to see the ambassador, governor and others dressed in the Guayabera.  I learned a lesson to check in advance what attire is required for business meetings and social gatherings.

Jalapa has art galleries and museums comparable to any in Mexico City.  The anthropology museum of Jalapa has some of the huge stone Olmec heads as big as 9 feet tall from the pre-Columbian period. It is considered as good as or better than the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City.  Jalapa also has a world class symphony orchestra. 

Jalapa is less touristy but with a lot to do.  It's a great place to make friends and chat over coffee at one of the many cafes.  It's an intellectual haven with the University of Veracruz here.  Maybe you too would like to become a Jalapeño some day. Visit sometime and see what you think.

San Luís Potosí, Palco de México

San Luis Potosi, Opera Box of Mexico

By: Eric Durán

January 2009 

Carlos takes pride in his city San Luis Potosi.  Carlos is my first cousin, an accountant and family man, he also is a friend.  I have a large and loving family in Mexico and even have an extended family. My cousins' brother in law call me primo (cousin) something not common in the U.S.  Carlos calls San Luis, (population one million), a Palco, like a box in a theatre with the best view. 

I researched how an American could move here, buy a house and retire here.  I took over 400 pictures, 2 hours of video and 3 hours of recorded conversation.  "It has no earthquakes, the climate is dry and warm, no hurricanes" says Carlos.  "Cool in the evenings requiring a sweeter but tolerable.  At a four hour drive you are in Mexico City, seven to Puerto Vallarta, five to Tampico on the gulf coast".  On the eastern side of the state is the Sierra Madre Oriental (eastern mountain range) where after crossing you're in the region called La Huasteca where our aunt Toñeca lives.  Here a sub-tropical climate provides lush vegetation, beautiful waterfalls and caves like the Sotano de Las Golodrinas, Cave of Swallows.  This cave measures at a 1220 feet drop.  The "pit", second largest in Mexico was discovered by a group of ornithologists from the University of Texas in 1976.

North of San Luis is an 18^th century mining town called Real de Catorce, (royal fourteen).   Founded in 1782 you get a sense of what it might have been like to live during the colonial period in Mexico, (1521 to 1810).  The only road into town is through a two kilometer tunnel.  The movie "The Mexican" has Brad Pitt driving through the tunnel with other glimpses of the town.  The Huichol Indians of western central Mexico make a pilgrimage to Real de Catorce to harvest the Peyote cactus, a hallucinogen used for their ceremonies. 

On a trip in December 2008 at one of my favorite restaurants called La Parroquia in downtown San Luis one morning it hit me I was in Mexico again.  Just being there, no hurry, no tourists around gives you the chance to see the Real Mexico. Professionals sometimes called licenciados and families come here.  I ordered fresh orange juice, pan dulce, coffee and chileaquiles, like a corn chip omelet.   In the realization of the moment that I was in Mexico lindo, beautiful Mexico, the tears came. San Luis is not touristy like the resorts.   Very comfortable and roomy Mercedes Benz buses will take you anywhere you want to go.   See the old Spanish colonial era cities and go discover!  I did one day in San Luis and found El Muladar de Calzada. 

 Trash heap restaurant, that's right.  That would be one translation for Muladar.  The place needed lots of work.  Now it is one of San Luis' most pleasant establishments where authentic Mexican art and personalized décor make it a very warm and pleasant place to eat.  I had sopa de tortilla, tortilla soup, Milaneza a breaded steak and refreshing watermelon juice that beats soda pop any day in my opinion.  My waitress was a friendly and confident twelve-year-old on vacation, whose mother was one of the managers.  When children work with their parents in Mexico they are being groomed to someday take over the family business. 

 You get a good sense of La provincia right in the center of a large city at some of these quaint places.  La provincia sounds like and spelled similar to province (from the same Latin root) and means urban or country.  Even in modern Mexico City with a population of 22 million a family may raise chickens and grow a nice little garden with chiles and other necessities.  Mexico in a general sense has a strong connection to the land and agriculture even in the la gran urbe, big city.

When it comes to cultures there are no absolutes, why?  Because cultures are made of people and humans differ like snowflakes.   Respect and genuine interest will bring successful and enjoyable moments when visiting Mexico and any foreign country.  ¡Viva México!