American cities talk about burying power lines but never do. New Orleans and Charleston and have been implementing flood mitigation measures for 20 years and they still flood frequently. And a street can flood for as dumb a reason as a storm drain gets clogged by leaves and one individual with a broom could unclog it in under a minute.
In a way, the post is not really about Mexico. It could just as easily be about India. Many of the observations feel deeply familiar and mirror what I see around me every day.
a) this is an excellent read. I've made just a few (very, very short) visits to Mexico, and this makes me look forward even more to the next. Thanks.
b) Cancun hurricane proof? Not Cancun's fault: I don't think anywhere is truly hurricane proof, and "Hurricane resistant" is still very impressive. One of our trips was just after a hurricane, which shut down travel for a bit. Didn't know about / notice the underground cables, glad to learn about that.
c) Kidzania sounds like one version of the theme park I've always wanted. A grown-up version would be fun, too.
Mexican here, I find everything super accurate. Querétaro is utterly horrible, but this is no YIMBY dream. Parking lot demands for homes and apartments have made cities outside of cdmx this bad
I was helping a friend plan a potential destination wedding in Cabo.
We soon learned that it was more expensive to do so in Mexico than even California … and there wasn’t even clean water on tap.
It’s almost as if Mexico has two different GDPs that one can experience. On one side, NYC priced cocktail bars like those in Roma and the on other are those eastern CDMX taco joints charging near nothing.
Does Mexico have anything analogous to Brazil’s “pigmentocracy,” then? Because it seems in that case social stratification is not just the product of the Great Gatsby Curve, but also the fetishisation of Northern European features (blonde hair, blue eyes). I think there is some genuine social mobility with this - one marrying outside their class because of a desirable/exotic phenotype.
Also, BAP discussed, in his recent Caribbean Rhythms episode, the rise of a new type of incel in Brazil: men who exist in a kind of sexual limbo as a result of their mixed heritage. This is more or less an inversion of the Anglo-sphere trend of foregrounding black/indigenous heritage. I wonder if there was ever a moment in Mexico where people attempted to LARP as egalitarians and deliberately marry outside their caste?
Lack of clean drinking water is a poor reflection on state capacity, or at least priorities. I lived in Beijing for several years. All the foreign observers gushing over China's fast trains seem unaware that you can't safely drink from a tap even in its largest and richest cities.
Also that kosher detail is priceless. In the absence of actual religious observance, what's the inference? Jews know good meat?
It’s so interesting the way these memes play out in different cultural contexts. I mentioned this to a Brazilian friend yesterday and he said kosher meat has the same currency in Brazil. He thought it had more to do with consumer trust in kosher’s stricter processing. Makes sense given haphazard standards in food production in developing world. But easy to see how that spills over into elite signaling.
Am in Mexico now too, will write my thoughts up in the coming days once back. Happy new year!
Nice, where are you? If CDMX let’s catch up today (my last day)
Wonderful post!
I learned so much!
Re: Lebanese businessmen in South America, Africa: 'World on Fire', Amy Chua [she's the Yale Law professor who mentored J.D. Vance}
Oops, I forgot Carlos Slim!
Thanks!
Spot-on!
American cities talk about burying power lines but never do. New Orleans and Charleston and have been implementing flood mitigation measures for 20 years and they still flood frequently. And a street can flood for as dumb a reason as a storm drain gets clogged by leaves and one individual with a broom could unclog it in under a minute.
As promised, adding my notes
https://www.strangeloopcanon.com/p/notes-on-mexico
I read and enjoyed!
In a way, the post is not really about Mexico. It could just as easily be about India. Many of the observations feel deeply familiar and mirror what I see around me every day.
Fellow gringo married into a Mexican family (currently visiting in Oaxaca). Can't forget the casket stores everywhere ⚰️
I hadnt noticed that actually!
Maybe it's just in Oaxaca 🤷♂️. But we're about to go to Guadalajara so I will observe and report back 🫡
Update - no casket retail store sightings in Guadalajara. Looks like it’s just a Oaxaca thing 😂
a) this is an excellent read. I've made just a few (very, very short) visits to Mexico, and this makes me look forward even more to the next. Thanks.
b) Cancun hurricane proof? Not Cancun's fault: I don't think anywhere is truly hurricane proof, and "Hurricane resistant" is still very impressive. One of our trips was just after a hurricane, which shut down travel for a bit. Didn't know about / notice the underground cables, glad to learn about that.
c) Kidzania sounds like one version of the theme park I've always wanted. A grown-up version would be fun, too.
This is already informing the next-time plan.
I see you're Texan? You might like some of my pieces on Texas:
https://open.substack.com/pub/kvetch/p/coming-soon-comancheria
Thanks!
Mexican here, I find everything super accurate. Querétaro is utterly horrible, but this is no YIMBY dream. Parking lot demands for homes and apartments have made cities outside of cdmx this bad
I was helping a friend plan a potential destination wedding in Cabo.
We soon learned that it was more expensive to do so in Mexico than even California … and there wasn’t even clean water on tap.
It’s almost as if Mexico has two different GDPs that one can experience. On one side, NYC priced cocktail bars like those in Roma and the on other are those eastern CDMX taco joints charging near nothing.
Yep...
The Kosher label for beef in Mexico restaurants is akin to the Kobe label for beef in American restaurants. So odd!
Fun article!
Does Mexico have anything analogous to Brazil’s “pigmentocracy,” then? Because it seems in that case social stratification is not just the product of the Great Gatsby Curve, but also the fetishisation of Northern European features (blonde hair, blue eyes). I think there is some genuine social mobility with this - one marrying outside their class because of a desirable/exotic phenotype.
Also, BAP discussed, in his recent Caribbean Rhythms episode, the rise of a new type of incel in Brazil: men who exist in a kind of sexual limbo as a result of their mixed heritage. This is more or less an inversion of the Anglo-sphere trend of foregrounding black/indigenous heritage. I wonder if there was ever a moment in Mexico where people attempted to LARP as egalitarians and deliberately marry outside their caste?
Yes most of LatAm is split into deep ethno-classes
"Does Mexico have anything analogous to Brazil’s “pigmentocracy,” then?"
I am hardly a Mexico expert, but the answer throughout Latin America is "yes".
Yes
Also, how does one manage to be an incel in Brasil?!?
Lack of clean drinking water is a poor reflection on state capacity, or at least priorities. I lived in Beijing for several years. All the foreign observers gushing over China's fast trains seem unaware that you can't safely drink from a tap even in its largest and richest cities.
Also that kosher detail is priceless. In the absence of actual religious observance, what's the inference? Jews know good meat?
“Jews are rich and elite” > “Jewish food must be rich and elite”
It’s so interesting the way these memes play out in different cultural contexts. I mentioned this to a Brazilian friend yesterday and he said kosher meat has the same currency in Brazil. He thought it had more to do with consumer trust in kosher’s stricter processing. Makes sense given haphazard standards in food production in developing world. But easy to see how that spills over into elite signaling.
Ha! Amazing