It was just before midnight when a group of uniformed Mexican officials approached the bar where I was drinking wine with several other Americans in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Immediately, the wait staff donned the face masks that had been dangling around their necks and slid on rubber gloves. One of the cops ordered the owner to clear the bar, because anti-flu regulations require all bars to close, along with all schools, gyms, clubs, libraries, and any other public places where people can gather.
Because restaurants can remain open (but not bars that don’t serve food), the owner herded the bar drinkers off the stools to tables three feet away. After sternly warning the owner that no one may be served more than three drinks (as if four would set you to sneezing and slobbering germs), the cop issued a written warning and left. Local officials suddenly have a lot more authority in Mexico, and fears of the always-capricious government seem to be rising as anxieties about the N1H1 virus subside.
The estimated 12,000-15,000 gringos in this picturesque high desert town have been grappling with a different dilemma: Should they stay or should they go? Last week, media-driven flu fears hit panic level here, as people flocked to drugstores to buy Tamiflu, shunned people from Mexico City like lepers, and reacted to a rumor that supermarkets would close by mobbing the stores and hoarding food. Although no H1N1 cases have been reported among San Miguel’s 80,000 inhabitants, the expats suddenly found themselves questioning the romance of their peaceful lives in this artsy, colorful colonial enclave, and for the first time felt vulnerable to the Mexico that dominates most American imaginations—the one of poverty, filth, disease, and despair. Relatives in the U.S. burned up the Vonage lines to tell them they were “irresponsible” not to evacuate their children immediately. People tried to book flights out, then wondered about the wisdom of getting on a bus to the airport or a crowded plane.
Mexicans kiss on the cheek when they greet each other, and most gringos follow suit. Physical warmth and friendliness is one reason Americans like to live in Mexico. These days, about half my friends kiss me and half wave me away. I’m still a kisser, because from the start I’ve believed that while it’s important to be cautious about a new virus—I wash my hands frequently but still ride the public bus—this has been largely an epidemic of fear and misinformation, and one that is having a devastating economic impact on towns such as San Miguel.
I have had a few moments of anxiety: for example, when the woman who cleans my house brought her children with her, because child-care was suspended, and I found out the runny noses I’d wiped had turned into fever and diarrhea. (Which turned out to be a run of the mill bug, not H1N1.) Friends in the U.S. worry about me and suggest I come home, but in California, where I live half of the time, there are numerous cases of flu; here in the state of Guanajuato, exactly zero. And yet people here are forced into their houses and away from public places as if we were living under marshal law.
Mexicans are accustomed to such calamities, starting with the arrival in 1519 of the Spanish explorers who brought along influenza, smallpox, and other diseases that reduced the numbers of Amerindians from 11 million to two million by 1607. Educated Mexicans tend to be angrier about the epidemic, and more suspicious. Like the diseases of Cortes, this one, they believe, was brought by foreigners, in the form of an industrial pig farm in Veracruz owned by Smithfield, which fled hefty pollution fines in the U.S. to exploit both NAFTA and Mexico’s lax environmental standards.
The most cynical Mexicans point out that the swine flu is a convenient diversion from spiraling drug violence and corruption, the global economic crisis, and Mexico’s problems with petroleum and unemployment. They note that the closure of public places occurred exactly when many protests were scheduled on May 1. Mexican Facebook pages are stuffed with links to Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine, a book arguing that governments often take advantage of disasters—both real and manufactured—to implement policies that would otherwise be prohibited.
As a gringo, I didn’t pay much attention to the cops in the bar. I can always go back to the U.S. If I lived here permanently, I’d be a lot more worried—and not about catching the flu.
San Francisco-based writer Laura Fraser is the author of the bestselling travel memoir An Italian Affair, and the upcoming sequel All Over the Map. She is a contributing editor at More, and last year won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award for Essay Writing.
I'm very disappointed that Obama appointed Napolitano for to head HS, because she's against securing the borders. Secure borders are essential for a secure country. Each and every day they cross the border with more infectious diseases. many hospitals are filled will illegals, overburdening them
Did you even read this woman's perspective?? Gee, maybe when the borders are secured Americans will not be free to return. Let's make up as many "stories" and "assumptions" as we can about our neighbors, and the border between us.
PS Oops, my post was not meant to suggest the author was making up stories. I was referring to the commenter who suggested that each and every day,,(,assumption), so I made up an assumption of my own. Trying to expose the folly, but poorly done.
I did not see anything in this perspective that suggested securing the border.
I think they are probably rushing to get across the border, more than ever so as to get amnesty. I don't believe we can assimilate up to 20 million more people, without harming our country. There's not enough jobs for the people we have now.
And, Yarrow what amnesty guarantee are people rushing to, and what jobs?
Begging to differ, I live in Mexico. In fact I live in San Miguel de Allende. Here we are trying to assimilate the hoards of Mexican nationals who are returning from a jobless economy in the U.S. Some find work here and many more do not. Your point of view is quite interesting--you really should travel more. The U.S. is no longer the great place for immigrants it once was.
Racist's don't travel, especially north of the Mason Dixie line.
You should read the Michelle Bachmann article, Yarrow. She's as filled with hate and invective as you. If you would do any actual RESEARCH, you would learn that most flu cases are coming from AMERICANS traveling into MEXICO, and not illegal immigrants. PLUS, the Mexican government now thinks a Pakistani or Bangladeshi brought the virus into their borders.
And let's Not forget The Mexicans Identified a Small outbreak Of flu In a city of over 20 Million people Asked for international Assistance immediately Shut down the city To prevent further Spread And acted with Complete transparency. Credit where Credit is due.
So nicely put.
Actually, I didn't read the story, I wanted to comment on border security, and that was near the topic. I am not , in way filled with hate. I have a Mexican relative, I am for people rntering America LEGALLY.
Yes, more should be done to enable this. Language issues, red tape, quotas, directives, etc. need to be dealt with. But, I have to say you made some pretty nasty statements which came off as the same old stuff; and did not offer suggestions as how to address these problems. But do consider that we have, and should have a special relationship with Mexico. People who are here illegally cannot be magically made LEGAL; if that is what is bugging you, SHERIFF!
I lived in San Miguel de Allende, the town this writer is visiting, for 10 years, from 1982 to 1992, and I still know people liviing there, both Mexican and American. There's quite a difference between the full-time expats (mostly retirees) and the visitors, like this author, and how they're reacting to this and other news. We always said that it used to take a lot of guts and very little money to move to San Miguel, but now it takes a lot of money and no guts.
I also spent time in San Miguel although it was too brief. I am curious about your mention of the different observations of the full-time expats. Can you fill us in? I agree about the money to live there as I was there in 2004 and real estate had been driven out of sight, but I also have to sheepishly admit that it still takes some guts; so far from home.
My wife and I have lived in San Miguel de Allende over 18 years. We have many "gringo & gringa" friends who have lived here also. We have not heard one mention of leaving -- for "WHERE" -- certainly not the U.S. -- maybe Paris if the dollar was strong vis-a-vis the euro -- but the flu scare would not be the reason. When someone writes for the Daily Beast -- they should at least represent some worthwhile experience or information.
I guess I am puzzled by her statement that if she lived there permanently she would be a lot more worried-but not about catching the flu. Do you think she meant something about the government?
I responded under "leave a comment" -- but they have not posted it.
I agree. No one here has breathed a word I've heard about permanently leaving Mexico for any reason. Author, you seem a decent California girl who writes essays, which may or may not be all that good. We learned little from this one. Ho hum. Do better next time, author...and read them with more care, Beast.
I am going to be more on topic, from now on. Sometimes , I'm so anxious to comment on a certain subject, that I go on a story not quite on the topic. I am quite a fannatic, about border secutity. I'm afraid we may see a tall man riding a camel across the border, and it would be Bin Laden.
Bin Laden Is dead. Renal failure 2002.
Not to worry in this modern world;-- most people who are fortunate and open to travel to a completely foreign land are pretty sophisticated and interested in the big wide world as opposed to religious conversions. I would think that day is over. I have yet to see a mosque in Mexico.
Maybe one day, when all this fear subsides.
Who knows what or where she's involved with -- a single "gringa" (not sure of marital or social status) can run into lots of ??? in San Miguel or Manhattan. My wife and I have driven in every state in Mexico, we have paid bribes to cops rather than getting a ticket, I have been punched in the nose (and punched back), but I have never feared for our safety from the police or from Mexicans -- in fact, when you have a flat on the highway, someone always stops to try to help. I must admit that I don't 'drag my heels' when passing thru Mexican border towns to and from the U.S. Within 200 miles from the border, some gas station attendants will try to cheat you; but you can avoid that (they can make a 200-peso bill turn into a 20-peso bill in a flash). I think the writer of this article must have a 'narrow' view of Mexico.
You know I really do have to state that my son and I drove through Neuvo Larado crossing the border at 930 pm at night went thru customs and drove into Texas pitch dark for at least forty five minutes and ran into--a Homeland Security checkpoint which after US Customs was just redundant. So many rumors about travel. Glad I am not a scardey cat!
I read somewhere that someone got an email from the school physician to advise everyone to greet each other with a bow, smile or wave, and don't kiss or shake hands. I hate saying no to a handshake, let alone a kiss. What I notice, and maybe it is just here, is the gross habbit, and mostly guys seem to do it, of blowing their nose without a kleenex, and spitting. I think that kind of behaviour is typical of the decline in society in general. (I know, I am sounding more like my grandmother as the seconds go by.) As the gap gets wider, people have less immunity to fight off disease, and then if the disease doesn't kill you, there is the risk of being trampled in the panic, as the masses run to ER making sure they won't die from a simple cold they caught, possibly in the grocery store, when someone rubbed their nostril with their plastic glove after they handled money, which probably has a higher probability of happening right now, I suspect. So I conclude, that money probably has the highest probability of being a carrier of the germs which spreads disease. I prefer to use interac, at least I can wash my cards with anti bacterial soap. And of course we all know, in life, it is not the cards you are dealt, but how you play them. I would find it believable, the swine flu germs arrived in Mexico on a tourist dollar. I have seen with my own eyes how people let their germs travel on money before it is given to someone, who gives it to someone, ad affinity.
Maybe here in the US penicillin is given too freely as a cure all on demand. That could very well be the reason we are vulnerable to germs as I have read many times. Purell seems to be relied upon more and more. Sillly. As my Irish mother used to say: a little dirt never hurt anybody.
She writes from the most Americanized and affluent town in all of Mexico. Affluent due to gringo dollars. You can live without speaking Spanish in that place. Hardly a good example.
With Upscale Furniture stores And wine bars Word is San Miguel Is not really Mexico More like a Mexican Movie set.
It is a very historic town that has been "discovered" and this has been accepted by the residents for better and for worse. It is still a wonderful place to visit that is nearby, and if you don't want to be a landowner is affordable. Not yet Disneyfied, and lots to be discovered.
Actually, Zorro was filmed here, and I can see why.
I think it always polite to try to respect another language. If I blow it I appreciate patience on the part of the host country. Have found it to be so in my travels throughout Mexico; not just San Miguel.
Face it guys, our government is bent on merging with the entire hemisphere, and it won't be long before there's a single currency. Does anyone find it curious that Mexico City was in shutdown mode due to the Swine Flu, yet the U.S. continued accepting flights from Mexico City. In due time we will be governed by a World Court completely ignoring our own sovereignty and Constitution. Corporate America already is making not so subtle references to "North America" in their marketing campaigns, because as far as they're concerned the U.S.A. is no longer a country, but a marketplace, and we are no longer citizens, but consumers. Everybody grab your ankles and sing . . . "We are the world, we are the children . . . "
I am so grateful I have been able to observe and appreciate other cultures. When I was born it was out of reach. Actually, Mexico would be content for the USA to recognize their country as America also. Now you sing: We are the world; you were born too late.
Marshal Law = Martial Law. I think the inability to spell words correcty is obviously a bigger issue here than a flu that seems to have a relatively low mortality rate.
No, that is ad infinitum vs. ad infinity. So there.
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Eric Alterman is a professor of English and journalism at Brooklyn College and a professor of journalism at CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author, most recently, of Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Important Ideals.
Richard Wolffe is an award-winning journalist, political analyst for MSNBC television, and senior strategist at Public Strategies. He covered the entire length of Barack Obama's presidential campaign for Newsweek magazine, traveling with the candidate and his inner circle from his announcement through election day, 21 months later. His book, Renegade: The Making of a President, will be published by Crown in June 2009. Before Newsweek, he was a senior journalist at the Financial Times.
Amanda Fortini has written for The New Yorker, Slate, Elle, and New York, among other publications. She lives in Los Angeles.
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San Francisco-based writer Laura Fraser is the author of the best-selling travel memoir An Italian Affair, and the upcoming sequel All Over the Map. She is a contributing editor at More, and last year won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award for Essay Writing.
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San Francisco-based writer Laura Fraser is the author of the best-selling travel memoir An Italian Affair, and the upcoming sequel All Over the Map. She is a contributing editor at More, and last year won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award for Essay Writing.
San Francisco-based writer Laura Fraser is the author of the best-selling travel memoir An Italian Affair, and the upcoming sequel All Over the Map. She is a contributing editor at More, and last year won the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award for Essay Writing.
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