2021, here we go

So last year was a total mess, in general, for everybody. First we thought that the out of control fires in Australia were the worst… then, well you know, all those things that happened after, and most of us made it to 2021.

For me it was a year of a lot of learning, and when you don’t have the chance to meet new people or reconnect with old friends, the only one left to visit is yourself. Indeed reconnecting with myself and visiting the library of my thoughts, fears, desires, goals and dreams was exhausting. One isn’t used to do that, is like going back to your old house, to visit your parents, you cherish it with great nostalgia, but after a week there you realize why you don’t visit that often. Showers that need to be fixed, a messy backyard, drawers filled with old useless papers, closets with coats, trousers and t-shirts pilling up dust and mothballs scent. A mess.

Hence, 2020 was a 24/7 work in progress into myself, and due to that, this 2021 has to be a follow up to all the work I did. Some of the things I want to accomplish this year do not need a some social media challenge or “let’s do this” program, there’s only honest work here. Let’s begin:

Read and read some more. I’ve been collecting great books throughout my travels abroad, which I don’t dare to read them all. I mean, there’s “Ready Player One”, or “The Hobbit”, or “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” on my bookshelves, just there, staring back at me like “well… we are waiting”.

Listen to new music. I do have a sort of basic and corny taste of music. And that needs to change. I don’t want to become a melomaniac, but at least now I’m willing to expand my taste in music, good music.

Watch more great films. Like kick ass artsy shit, you know? Not Oscar nominees or winers, but films that received other international awards, or classics like “Citizen Kane” or “The Wizard of Oz”, or “Casablanca” or “Psycho”. I’ll start with this raking and see hot it goes: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/movies/best-movies-of-all-time

Get published. Aye, I do have several texts and short stories I wouldn’t mind send to a publisher and see how they go.

Reach my 40s with pride. I was born in 1981, and I reach 40 this year, it was a decade full of ups and downs, but mostly ups. Let’s embrace it, celebrate life and the path I’ve walked.

Keep up with taking care of my mind and body. This is self explanatory, but on 2020 I lost around 7 kilos, trained more, and loved it, thanks mostly to my cousin, the pandemic and my dog. Obviously, a healthy body comes with a healthy mind, it is never too late to find inner peace, mindfulness and self care. Oh, before I forget, I even went rock climbing (I took the photo, but believed me, I climbed some freaking walls that day):

Now that I think about it, these resolutions are more about enjoying myself, rediscover the things I like, get out of my confort zone, and devote more time to personal endeavours. Everything else will come eventually.

Have a great 2021, let’s see what happens this year. Get vaccinated if you have the chance, don’t be a dork. Be kind to others, but more importantly, confront those who bully others: stand up against discrimination, racism, homophobia, misogyny and injustice in general. Recycle. Cook more. Go for more walks. Stay safe.

And be true…

Mexico: the racist behind the wall

Discrimination is real, and segregation is now more subtle than before, but it does exist. You could be called out if “they” see you where you aren’t supposed to be. Here, you need to know your place or someone will remind you that your kind “isn’t welcome here”. I’m not talking about the USA, I’m talking about the chill out, cool, super friendly, party-goer, flirt ass, down the road neighbour, Mexico. Yes, Mexico is a racist, homophobic, misogynist country, prove me wrong.

*gasps in Spanish

Until recently, Mexicans, through social media, dared to talk about “Pigmentocracy”, term coined by Alejandro Lipschutz, a Chilean anthropologist in 1944, to refer to the ethnic and colour-based hierarchies of Latin America.  In fact, it was a very uncomfortable topic to many, as upper middle class and higher do not believe that Mexico could be racist, mostly referring to social existing inequalities as the lack of will to “do better in life” by the poorer.

This conversation went on and on, and from it, some other terms arose, like “whitexican”, referring to those individuals who belong to these upper middle class and higher, who lacked a rough start in their professional successful career, usually fostered with family money.

According to one of its definitions in the Urban Dictionary, “whitexican” stands for “a derogatory way to refer to Mexican people who they consider to be “privileged” regardless of their ethnic background.” If you need a broader explanation and some context please go ahead and read this entry by The Mexicanist, What is a ‘whitexican’ and why does this account make fun of them? which couldn’t be closer to reality.

I’m a whitexican undercovered, and I find myself thinking that sometimes, as I do have a good job, come from a middle class working family, went to university, studied a masters abroad, and pretty much have running water and electricity all day long without worrying about shortages, I’m a privileged Mexican. But most of those things I take for granted came from the opportunities I inherited mostly, which later derived on those opportunities I created myself.

Which made me realize that discrimination can be seen in Mexico all the time. At moments it is subtle and tame, like friends talking about their maids and house cleaning services (or “muchachas”, who are now the new face of modern slavery in Latin America*) and how hard it is to find one who “doesn’t get pregnant” or one who doesn’t has the urge to get the weekends off to see her family, instead of serving them 24/7 while staying in a tiny room at their house.

*Oh, you think I’m talking rubbish here, The Guardian had something to say about modern slavery in this 2015 article: “Mexico City’s domestic workers: a life being treated as a lesser person”

Or the way newborns are given the “oh he/she is so white, lucky you!” among other expressions referring to the fact that the whiter the baby the prettier he/she is. On the other hand, I’ve heard the “regardless of being brown, she/he, is very pretty/handsome”. You know you’ve heard it (I’m talking to my Mexican friends, aye, you there, the ones who dated a brown girl and thought she was way “too exotic” to introduce her to your mum, exactly).

And don’t even get me started with Yalitza Aparicio, Oscar nominee for her performance in Roma, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, who was heavily criticized in Mexico not because of how she did in the film but for her indigenous looks. Aye, that’s Mexico, a racist, blatantly discriminatory society who justifies itself with excuses such as “we are just kidding” or “it’s just a cute nickname”.

Well, all this rant has a point. Just recently, because of what’s happening in the USA after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, and the afterwards riots all throughout the country, many Mexicans started sharing or posting a pitch black square in their social media (#BlackOutTuesday), this as a form of solidarity with the African American community in the United States. Hypocrites, that’s what we are, as we solidarize with the neighbours but we turn our heads the other way to our own people, who we call “pinches indios” (fucking indigenous), “Pinches nacos” (no translation), “pinches jodidos” (bloody poor).

So there you go, this is Mexico, a blatantly racist, homophobic, misogynist country. So don’t forget this, you, aye, my Mexican mate, before joining the trending topic with your “prayers and thoughts”, think of the way you despise your own people and segregate at will. Yes, you are equally racist, but we are just behind that wall.

Recommended articles: 

• The Mazatlan Post: “Whitexicans”: a new form of racism in Mexico against the white and wealthy?
• Pigmentocracies: Educational inequality, skin color and census ethnoracial identification in eight Latin American countries. By Edward Telles, René D.Flores, FernandoUrrea-Giraldo.
• Stand up comedian: “Mexicans Are Racist Too” | Felipe Esparza
• CNN, In Mexico, racism hides in plain view