…there is a video circulating the internet about San Miguel…the #1 City in Latin America…I believe Travel and Leisure Magazine may be behind it….the video depicts two very white youthful Americans enjoying all the moneyed destinations in San Miguel. I find all my buttons being pushed. The disparity here is not addressed…..how many Mexicans play polo? Where are the brown faces in this video? Where are the streets where there is no sewage?…where are the beggar ladies who are bussed in every day? In my short time in San Miguel (15 years), I have been very fortunate and blessed to know and engage daily with everyday people…such a gift. At the same time the video for tourists does not promote this simple pleasure of immersion…I am quite perplexed…'cuz I am still the white guy amongst these beautiful folks…I am gifted by the tourism here like many others…but forgive me if I do not buy into the fantasy world of the Discreet Charms of the Bourgeoisie…..the video that I mentioned above depicts a fantasy life that I find to be a beguiling charade……just give me some truth in light of all the upheaval the world is embroiled in…….
thank you for this, i was going to write something in response to that internet video but you beat me to it. i’ve lived here for 33 years, married to a Mexican and i find this very insulting to the real citizens of San Miguel.
Said better than I ever could, Anado. It is a beautiful video of two scrumptious looking young people, (whom many of us know and merely were the actors, not the opinion-spouters for this endeavor). I could not bring myself to post it because I found the gloss very troubling and, in fact, the video soul less — San Miguel is many things, but it is not a Disney/Epcot production. The video’s siren song is intended for people whose reality is always observed through self-created rose colored glasses, the kind that keep out the soot of the streets along with the heart of the country and its people.
I agree completely. Not the San Miguel I live in and love. Certainly not the “all” of it… When folks read this and come looking for this fantasy, point them in the direction of Casa Cohen… Give me my Mexican home in my Mexican colonia with my Mexican neighbors, the ones I meet three times a week at the basura pickup.
The atrocity that occurred at Casa Cohen is known on the street as “The Duty Free Shop”…tacky with no “there” there……..
I had the exact same reaction to this video. It’s actually pretty sickening and insulting. I don’t live in SMA but I am a frequent visitor and love it for many reasons, but not the reasons that are shown in the video. Shame!
OK, guess I’m guilty of sharing that video. But to me, it’s just a piece of pretty fluff appealing to the people that read Travel & Leisure. Preaching to the choir is what we are all guilty of, aren’t we? We are also all free to make authentic, edgy, documentary style portraits of our town for those who feel reassured by that truth, and desire to have that voice heard. We all fall into the trap of labels, so let’s live and let live. Do our best to make the world a better place. Criticism is easy.
Amen