Southern Dispatch

people keep asking me if i’m still blogging. yes, but this particular blog was all about mexico, and since i’m no longer IN mexico, i decided to wrap it up. (see previous posts.) i don’t post as much as before, but i do throw some things up on occasion, including pics and random video clips. if you’re interested in reading, click here.

click here to see fotos from mexico over the last 14 months or so. (full disclosure: a handful of these are not my shots. but most of them are.) oh, and i also posted some fresh pics to the other blog, for those who want to see my current surroundings.

anyone who knows me also knows i’m prone to taking things and shaking them up every fews years as if my life is some kind of snow globe. i suppose this time things are no different. i am officially back in the u. s. of a. now, adapting to the culture shock of re-entry and settling in for the time being. as i write this i’m tucked away in the pine trees with the snow piling up on the ground outside.

there is something both terrifying and exciting about moving to a new city where you don’t know anyone. after 14 months in san cristobal de las casas i can tell you where to find the best tailor, caldo de camaron, locksmith, bike repair shop, laundromat, fresh-baked bread, zapatista paraphernalia, organic produce, homemade tamales, deep-tissue massage (90 minutes for $25!), glass of wine, hammocks, brick-oven pizza, veterinarian, and coffee in town. these aren’t things to be taken for granted, i realize. in learning them and familiarizing yourself with a new and foreign place, however, you also leave your mark. i will always feel welcome there.

and for me, that’s enough right now because the promise of whatever comes next is currently strong. i’ve always listened to and heeded this gravitational pull and it has never let me down, so i guess that’s what i’m doing now. without getting too personal, the past few months have been marked by emotional highs and extreme happiness i didn’t even know existed before one of my dearest friends and i decided to abandon caution and see what happened if we explored new territory. it’s something i wouldn’t trade for anything in the world but, as always, life is a balancing act and things are always in flux. if i had to guess, the coming weeks will involve a good amount of introspection and simplification on my part as a result, which means a more private presence. is essence, i won’t go as far as saying this blog is officially being retired, but for the time being it’s going into hibernation. it’s been fun sharing all of my mexican adventures, but it’s time to reel things back in a bit.

as i mentioned before, i started the blog for two reasons: to keep me writing on a regular basis, and to update those who asked for updates without spending vast amounts of time writing and responding to individual emails. it evolved into something more than that… i’ve received feedback from people i had completely lost track of, been motivated to take and post far more photographs and videos than i anticipated, and had impromptu conversations with strangers from all over the world. all in all, it has been an extremely pleasant surprise.

anyway, all this to say i sincerely hope i was able to give back even a fraction of the enjoyment and fulfillment i’ve gotten out of this silly little experiment. and so, thank you. if you’re reading this and you want to keep in touch, drop me a line or a note anytime. i’d love to hear from you. lastly, i will most likely continue posting to my other blog but be forewarned… this blog has no thematic consistency nor any editorial restraint. in other words, read at your own risk.

(602) 540-2748 [cell]
(575) 257-2206 [land line]
(602) 490-8066 [skype]

mlsmith3@gmail.com

cuidate, gracias, saludos, y nos vemos. for now.

so i’m back in the united states. as expected, it’s an adjustment. i had my requisite freak-out about a week ago, immediately after crossing the border. the traffic went from the busy yet flowing ebb of reynosa, mexico to the freewayed, frenzied crush of mcallen, texas. it’s no wonder there are gas stations on every corner in this country: that was my first thought. i stopped at an old navy to pick up a pair of pants, since all i had with me were tattered jeans. there were two heavily make-upped and overtanned women in the dressing room hallway talking loudly about their recently upgraded breast implants. mmm. ¡bienvenidos al circo otra vez!

the drive itself was long but mostly uneventful. i made the trip in about 50 hours, 34 behind the wheel. i got pulled over and searched a couple of times, but i didn’t have to dish out any payola this time. if anything, aside from some crazy fog and a brief snow/hail storm less than half an hour from my final destination, the trip was mostly boring. if you need proof, click here.

there are definitely things i missed while abroad. i think i’ve already overdosed on tofu, for example. um, good beer? flushing one’s toilet paper is also a nice perk. the night before last i ordered new shoes online and they showed up on my doorstep less than 24 hours later. amazing. minor luxuries aside, though, i know re-adjustment will take a little time. the coming weeks and months promise to be marked by more change. it’s becoming more and more apparent that we can’t really control life, when it really comes down to it. we just have to trust things and see what comes next. no? (and no, i did not look that up on WorstBlogConclusionsEver.com).

tomorrow morning i shove off for the united states once again. it’s been a crazy week already so i’m not going to get too emotional and make this my sign-off to mexico, but this is likely the penultimate post. the drive should take me about four days. with the car packed up and about 12 hours left before i depart, my little house suddenly feels eerie and foreign — empty, echoing, lifeless, at least until the next tenants move in and make it their own.

the drive out of san cristobal always saddens me for various reasons and this time promises to be no different. the amazing friends i’ve been so fortunate to meet down here, a sky so brilliantly blue it always takes your breath away, blindingly colorful buildings and cathedrals, the rich street smells of elote and tacos and fresh fruit, endlessly smiling faces… i will miss them all.

i’ve been in san cristobal for just over 14 months now. in about a week i will pack up again, shove off for the border and slip back into the united states. i think i’m prepared for the crushing force of re-entry. (do you get the bends, i wonder??) i’d be lying if i said some anxiety and apprehension don’t come with this decision, but i know it’s the correct one and, yes, i’m excited for what comes next even if i have no idea what that is. so. off i go.

it is with some reservation (and perhaps a little sadness) that i’ll be wrapping up the blog when i leave mexico. as i said in my first post back in 2006, this was started as both a way to keep myself writing on a regular basis and also a way to let others know what i was up to down here. while i admit i’ve gone off-topic a few times, i’ve tried to keep the focus on mexico. thus, with my departure goes the blog. like the move itself, i guess it just feels like the right thing to do. simplification seems important, lately. anyway, i’ll write again before i climb behind the wheel and point the tires north.

oh, and it seems that this morning’s 6.4-magnitude earthquake didn’t do any major damage, at least here in san cristobal. woot! thank you, life. just yesterday i was thinking, you know what would be nice right about now? a catastrophic act of god that quite literally makes the world shake.

as you might already know, the time has come for me to depart these mexican environs and make my way north once again to grigolandia. suddenly i’ve become one of the migratory folks who make this town so transitory in nature. i recently made a quick trip back to texas and had an adventuresome drive back down that included my first run-in with a crooked cop who took me for $50, an outright shake-down by federales armed with machine guns who searched everything right down to my allergy pills, and fog so thick i couldn’t read the signs on the side of the road. two 15-hour days of driving and almost 700 pesos in toll-booth fees later, and i’m back in san cristobal.

perhaps in conjunction with the coming changes, the social scene down here seems to be experiencing a recent revival of activity, not that it ever really disappeared. last night my friends jay and anne (a new orleans native) hosted a mardi gras party we’d been planning for the last couple of weeks. we garnered two of the best bands in town to play the event and distributed flyers [see below] in advance. the result was a huge success and probably the best party i’ve ever been associated with, organizationally speaking. i’d estimate we had about 150 people show up. after the bands finished someone walked over to the ipod speakers and selected cuban music and the entire place erupted into salsa-dancing mania. there were limbs and hair and feet and hands flying every which way. i was in awe and, frankly, felt very white.

on tuesday night we’re headed to the local sports bar. my friend meredith convinced the owner of the place (“tequila zoo”) to reserve a room for us so we can watch the results of super tuesday as they come in. this level of nerd-dom is unprecedented, i realize, but i’m ok with that. i plan on wearing a shirt given to me by bruce that says “barack and roll.”

it’s not unusual for rumors about a second zapatista uprising to circulate through the streets of san cristobal, but lately i’m starting to question what’s rumor and what’s real. an acquaintance who has lived here for 3 years and is somewhat connected recently said the news around town is that the zapatistas are preparing a “second phase” of the war. marcos himself has explicitly stated the zapatistas will not stand by as paramilitary groups continue to harass villagers and attempt to steal their lands.

of course, you can always find predictions of another uprising on lefty pubs like the world war 4 report and narconews. but when mainstream news agencies like reuters and high-profile writers like naomi klein suggest war is near, well… you start to wonder.

take all this into account and you start to notice other little things. that subcommandante marcos recently said he would not be seen in public for some time, for example. or, as my friend meredith pointed out, the fact that the mexico solidarity network recently decided to postpone its spring speaking tours “due to unforeseen events.” quite simply, many of the volunteers and activists who work closely with the zapatistas are quietly slipping out of sight. where are they going? what are they doing? i guess we’ll find out.

there are many ways to interpret the zapatistas and those who support them, but i think this commentary recently published mother jones provides one of the best overall understandings and summaries. in particular, the author rightfully downplays the role and importance of subcommandante marcos, but she also presents zapatismo as a successful, sustainable movement rather than some momentarily popular cause du jour or passing fad. after all, it can argued that the zapatistas launched the first real (social, agrarian) revolution the western hemisphere has seen in decades. since cuba, really. anyway, i highly recommend reading at least the first page of the article.

a couple of people have said the photo link below is bunk. try clicking here instead. if this doesn’t work, let me know. gracias.