This past week I've been in Puerto Vallerta, Mexico with E and his father and step-mother. It was a pleasant, low-key week, with lots of time sleeping by the pool and reading. We went on a snorkling trip and E and I also got to go scuba diving, which were both great fun. The reefs weren't as alive as in Hawaii, but we still got to see a lot of neat animals - jelly fish, sea stars, trumpet fish, lots of puffer fish, rays, and all kinds of brightly colored fish I don't know the name of. It was a good trip, I relaxed and recharged (which I desperately needed to do), and it was nice to spend time with E and his dad.
There was one incident that I had to write about though. The last night together, Dr. O took us all to a "Mexican Fiesta." It was essentially dinner and a floorshow. There was a buffet of Mexican food (of which there was a surprising amount I could eat), lots of singing and dancing, live music, balloon-hat making and generally merryment. And of course, booths lining the way to the buffet with trinkets and junk for sale. It was totally put on for the tourists, and a bit cheesy, but mostly E and I tried to have a good time.
Then a guy rode in on a horse, and they "danced" to more live music. The horse was beautiful, but it was obvious that he did not want to be there. There was a lot of noise and flashes going off which seemed to make him nervous. His rider was doing some type of dressage, but in a Western saddle, and LOTS of use of crop and spurs. The horse had a front leg wrapped, not in the protective coverings I've seen, but in what looked like gause. It made me sad for the horse, but their number didn't last long and I hoped that the horse was generally well cared for.
Shortly after that the master of ceremonies announced that coming up after the next dance was the cockfight. E and I stared at each other. "He can't be serious." "They can't have a cockfight here." "I can't watch a cockfight." Next thing we know, two men are carrying around roosters for the kids to pet and look at. Before we know it, the roosters were on the stage, circling each other, puffing up their feathers and lunging at each other.
I. Was. Horrified. Sickened. E and I stood up then and there and walked out. I could not believe that they actually brought birds up on stage to fight. It was hard to resist the urge to yell out at the crowd as we left. The glee and excitement in the faces of crowd was sickening. All I could think about were the poor birds, bred and trained to fight, pecking and clawing at each other until one dies. And there was nothing I could do to help. I pray that they stopped the fight before any real damage had been done. I can't imagine they would have fought to the death with all the little kids in there watching. But then, I didn't think they'd actually have a cockfight, so what do I know.
I understand Mexico is a different country, and has a different culture than the US. I understand that cockfighting is part of their culture. But you know what? Slavery, and women not voting, and human sacrifice also used to be part of various cultures. We don't continue these practices today (okay, not in most parts of the world).
E and I wandered down the street, realizing that he left his wallet (with all of our pesos) at the hotel. Luckily I had mine, and we walked around until we found an ATM. We continued a bit more and found a bus going back to the marina. It felt good to be on the bus, away from the tourists, away from the phoney and fake and display of the "Fiesta."
I'm still not sure what I think about Mexico. The cockfight certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. And the constant "phishing" as you walk down the street to come visit a time-share also wore on me (though there was much less of that than the last time I was there). I still don't feel like I've "seen" Mexico. I've seen the sanitized playa for gringos to come and play. It would be nice to go there some time, like how we went to Maui - to get away from the resorts and the tourists and to really experience Mexico.
