The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

Not the most wonderful time of the year

by

I loved all the colors and the pageantry of Día de los Muertos in Mexico. I expected I’d love Christmas here too.

Not so much. Traffic is now insane in my neighborhood, largely spurred by the presence of the World’s Largest Christmas Tree. It’s impossible to find a taxi. The markets are crowded and crazy, and for the first time in my 11-month marketing experience, some of the vendors I encountered were rude. One at Mercado de la Merced sighed and acted annoyed when I told him I only needed a half-kilo of tamale flour. Dude! Por favor.

In the Zona Rosa yesterday, the streets were nearly empty, hopefully because everyone was fleeing the city. Unfortunately, less people meant less crowds, which meant I was suddenly a walking target for folks selling things. One lady approached me and said, “Hola chica guapa!” and then asked if I wanted to buy some lotion. Another one approached with incense.

Usually if you say “no gracias,” they’ll leave you alone. But one guy started walking right next to me, matching my fast pace as I walked down the street. (As a sidenote: None of this has never happened to me in the Zona Rosa before. Usually there are so many people, you’re able to walk safely and anonymously.)

The guy was yammering on about religion, or something, and I said “no gracias.” He kept on walking and talking, staying close to my left side.

I started to feel uncomfortable, so I said no gracias again.

“Are you an angry person?” he asked me. “Are you sad about your life? God can help.”

He kept on talking, but I couldn’t tune him out. Finally I looked at him and barked: “Déjame en paz! Por favor. Gracias.”

He looked startled and walked away.

Lord. Seriously? Is this what it takes now? Puro yelling on the street to get people to leave you alone?

Right after that, various men walked by and murmured “hola chiquita” at me and made a lip-smacking sound. I HATE THE LIP SMACKING SOUND. Mexican men do it all the time. It’s like some carnal form of cat-calling. It’s disgusting.

Can’t wait for life to get back to normal around here again. Merry Christmas, yeah, great. But January cannot come quick enough.

*Photo of a Christmas piñata in front of Mercado Sonora, taken on Dec. 14, 2009

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  1. Yes it is crazy here and I am staying close to home BUT the weird thing is Christmas day. Walk out on Paseo de la Reforma or Insurgentes, busy streets, and you will find no one. Amazing where 25 million people that were one day running around can go. There will even be parking on the street available too. Merry Christmas.

  2. Jesús is right! I love Christmas morning. You can practically lay down in the middle of your street without having fear of being run over. That’s because everyone has partied most of the night and won’t be out and about until the day after Christmas.