By Nick Verde, Staff Writer.
Life: it moves on
Thanksgiving was a point of contention this year, due to Governor Gavin Newsom’s strong advisory to the public to stay home, and not engage in gatherings larger than five people. The American public is ripe with division, over which politician supposedly fights on their side of the ring. Unfortunately this division has seeped into my extended family, who to put it lightly, disagree over certain matters regarding the pandemic and national politics. This has contributed to people I have known for the seventeen years of my life being complete ghosts.The point is, thanksgiving was bound to look different this year. The first difference was the absence of family members, but that wasn’t all. With America enforcing strict COVID rules, we decided that we would not celebrate here, but rather in Mexico with my dad’s side of the family. We flew to the city of Querétaro, from which we would be picked up by my grandparents to go to my dad’s hometown of Ezequiel Montes.
Within the small town lies my grandparents house which is a large lot consisting of a main house, outdoor kitchen, and three other separate houses. One of the houses was for my brothers and I, another was for my parents. The town outside of my grandparents’ walls is ripe with interesting architecture, as there is little building regulation in the small towns, so you will often find square, obtuse structures that don’t blend with the last building. A very interesting one was a store that was designed with two pink castle turrets. Overall, Mexico is a less architecturally homogenous experience than California. The trading town of Ezequiel Montes also has prime food locations, stand outs being Rafa’s Tacos, and Guerro’s Pizza, which happened to be directly across from my grandparents house. The outskirts of the town are characterized by the various wineries, and ranches that are present. My abuelo’s (grandpa’s) ranch is a large section of land on which he has cattle, sheep, and horses he cares for. Apparently the land goes back to the revolutionary war. The wineries of Ezequiel Montes are numerous and in combination with the larger state of Querétaro’s wineries, give the state its title as the land of wine. The one we visited was Vineyard La Redonda, which is considered one of the best in Querétaro.
Outside of tourism the core of my experience was family. It cannot be argued that families have not been torn apart by the pandemic, and it was refreshing to have a larger family that didn’t base its ties on politics. During the trip my Dad’s family accompanied us to many of our destinations. It was refreshing to not be ridiculed so cruelly by those I love. Most of my closer family members in America have turned the cold shoulder, and seldom choose to even maintain a line of connection. I got to experience what could only be described as warmth, orange hues, vibrant smiles– as family which had been missing for almost a year until this point.
A detail that I purposefully left out of the descriptions of my destinations was that of COVID-19 countermeasures. People get this idea that Mexico is lawless, largely free from rules, because of the difference of culture, and law in Mexico. However, this would be an ignorant assumption; in fact COVID regulations in Mexico were almost the same, and appeared to be more effective, whilst offering more freedom to the individual. Enforcement was largely left to the businesses themselves, and there was minimal government enforcement of COVID safety protocols. In the big city the most safety protocols were in place with what could only be described as temperature checkpoints, at the entrances of the mall, and stores within the mall. What was even more of an oddity was these wet mats used to clean your shoes before entrance to a store. I could only guess they were put in place to prevent dust from being carried into the stores.
The most eye opening experience was that the Mexican people were far less afraid of COVID, and the atmosphere surrounding it was far less panicked. Whereas in America there is a stigma regarding those who choose not to live and die by the mask, in Mexico, this is not the case. While it is seen as respectful to wear a mask, it is not seen as unholy to not. People in America seem to lack regard for different opinions, as a nation we have become just as two-dimensional as the two-party system. My experience was quite the contrary in Mexico to say the least, people who believed in masks wore masks, those that didn’t, didn’t. There was nothing but mutual respect between people acquainted or not, something that America has lost overtime. What perplexes me, is how a country not built upon civil liberties to the same extent as the United States, remains freer than us.
With this in mind, I implore you to look beyond fear of your own mortality. Have balance– look beyond the pandemic’s invisible boogeyman, that while dangerous, is not necessarily the end all be all. It is still important to take precautions, have good hygiene, and practice healthy habits, but eventually you have to live. Restaurants have already proven that COVID can’t harm you while you are eating, and running around carefree has proven that people aren’t immune to COVID. So in my week-long Mexican extravaganza, I can say that life moves on, so long as you choose to live.
To learn more about COVID-19, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html