Viva la Independencia!

So for the independence day weekend of the 16^th, “El Grito” (the yell of independence) We took another roadtrip, this time to the beautiful city of Guanajuato (sounds funny? try saying it with me: gwa-na-hu-a-to J) It was my roomie, Sergio, my homegirl Celestine, and two friends who I just met for the trip but ended up loving Jorge from Chihuahua, his girlfriend Else from Norway and yours truly. A roadtrip is fun in the sense is that we’re all connected though waves of energy so there were the lulls; however, about the other 90% of the time it was bursts of restless energy and mayhem. Everything from random stops to the singalongs to songs we didn’t know but hummed the melodies. They’re right when they say getting there is half the fun! This time we took the autopista (tollroad) which was well worth it because the libre (freeway) is in terrible shape with potholes which can engulf a volkswagon, and two lanes undivided going in separate directions. Because of NAFTA and increased commerce, the autopista is definitely up to par with our toll roads. While our weekend plans were to go to Guanajuato, we stopped in Dolores Hidalgo which was where the revolution began with the cry of Dolores with Father Hidalgo rousing up with campesinos. So it was just ridiculous shouts of “Viva México!” and the people would shout “Viva!” and do all the vivas from the states to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Note, for those of you who aren’t catholic or are catholic and just don’t care, the Virgen of Guadalupe is sacred to the Mexican people. It was the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Mexico to the Indian Juan Diego (Click Here) With that it is a strong symbol of faith. The story goes that Father Hidalgo started hitting the banner of the Virgen de Guadalupe with his stick to rouse up the people to take up arms. I would have been pretty pumped. Continuing. We decided to just grab a bite to eat and head to Guanajuato early so that we wouldn’t run into any drunks on the way. You have to avoid that because these are little villages. We got to Guanajuato and I was dumbfounded. The streets we were driving on were a series of stone tunnels under the city which have passage ways that take you up to the street level. I felt like I was in Colonial Spain! I thought Zacatecas was preserved, but this place was gorgeous! Guanajuato won for being the most cultural city in the world. That’s right folks! More than Rome, Paris, Istambul, Guanajuato has preserved not only its architecture but its Spaniard traditions. Its know as a Cervantino pueblo after Miguel de Servantes who wrote Don Quixote. Every year, they have the Cervantino festival and everything from Flamenco to reenactments of Don Quixote. We got there and the party was already started! After a long day of driving, Celestine being serenaded by an old man and seeing a drunken Frenchman wearing a Mexican flag (only the flag people!) we retired to our sleeping Quarters which was Sergio’s best friend’s apartment floor. Thanks Paulo! Next day we woke up to the sound of drums beating and ran out to see there was a parade of all the children from the schools marching. It was cute but a bit too nationalistic for me. I’m not too fond of marching…Why can’t people just walk? But big ups to the chiquilinesJ The rest of the day we walked, and walked…and walked. The big thing here are the mummies. The line was way too long and Celestine and I didn’t really want to support the organization. Its not even an archaeological group. Its just people who go around digging for bodies and started a sort of side show. We bought tickets to a callejoneada, which is a Spanish tradition where you’re given this special cup which looks like a cannabis smoking apparatus and go around the streets singing songs with these groups called estudiantinas, or “tunas” and running around in the alleys. It was a bloody good time. All the instruments are classical Spaniard instruments like the lute and mandolin (which is actually Italian) and these groups are phenomenal. I recommend everybody go to a callejoneada once in their life. After that, we went clubbing and getting a nice light plate of 5 tacos @ 4am with the posse we went to sleep. Saturday, we woke up a little later than expected and got back to some sight-seeing. First stop was the house of Diego Rivera! On my way there, I couldn’t help but be drawn into the churches…so many beautiful churches! Its sad though because the inside domes you can tell were beautiful at one point but the frescoes and the plaster are all chipped and withering away with time. Preservation architects wanted! Diego’s haus was bomb-diggity. Not only did I see a lot of his works or styles of his I had never seen before, but there was a Dalí exhibit of paintings. The collection was based on Dante’s Inferno and there were the three stages of Earth, Purgatory, and Hell. I can’t really explain them other than Dalí-ish. You know what I mean. After that, we headed to The Museo de la Alhondiga de Granaditas, originally built as a grain warehouse, was converted into a fortress during the Mexican War of Independence. In 1810, Spanish loyalists locked themselves inside to fight the Mexican rebels, who were led by Padre Hidalgo. The rebels won the battle when a young miner known as Pipila, with a huge stone strapped to his back, advanced towards the fortress and successfully burned down its wooden door. All hell broke loss once the Mexicans got inside. It is preserved so well is what gets me. The columns were probably struck with swords and ricocheting rounds of ammunition, or even smeared with the blood during the battles.

After that, we went to El Teatro Juarez which had an Arabic interior design with the calligraphy. The better the seats for the nobility, the more ornate the calligraphy they were adorned with, and the most basic for the commoners in the nosebleed section. Later that evening I went with Else and Jorge to San Miguel de Allende for a dinner and seeing the village. By the time we got there it was late and all the shops were closed but the live music was great and I was awestruck by a beautiful cathedral. This will definitely be a town I visit again to see more than the little I saw. We got back around 2 am and the rest of the posse wanted to sleep except for Sergio and Paulo so we left ro go out at two and met up with the French. Oh the French! They were calentando el motor (pregaming) in this really bohemian hippy bar with Ché Guevarra posters on the wall. Once they closed the bar at 3, we headed to a club where they were playing cumbias. Our French friend, Ludo was already halfway to concorde and was haggling with the bouncer to lower th cover for 15 minutes (the cover was 15 pesos, which is like $1.38) He talked him down to us paying 5 pesos each to get in haha because we “were foreigners and deserved the best.” After being there for about an hour we swung to la Havana and danced some salsa and called it a night at 6am. Dearest Celestine woke me up at 9 to get me to go to the open market with her. Celestine bought almost every herb that existed, including pumpkin flowers, and I almost bought a cock for 50 pesos with hopes to train and enter in cockfights. I decided not to because I figured Jorge would have loved a stinky bird in the car all 8 hours. Besides, where would I keep it? Stay tuned…Kate’s coming to visit next week and we’re headed to the ghost town of Real de Catorce. You may know it as the cute little town from the movie with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts in “The Mexican.”

ZacaTECas!!!

To escape from exams this past weekend, I took a road trip with a few friends to Zacatecas. About 6 hours away, due southwest of Monterrey, Zacatecas is one of the most colonial cities in México. The Spanish architecture dominates everywhere and has been preserved immaculately. The climate there was perfect. The cool, crisp breeze with the warm sun was a refreshing escape from the smoggy humidity of Monterrey. Immediately, I felt the effects of the altitude. Zacatecas is 3500 meters above sea-level (11,482 ft.) I had a pounding headache and difficulty breathing walking up the steps. By dinnertime and a few aspirins later, I felt fine. The Hostel we found was amazing! I’ve never stayed at a hostel before but other students who had stayed in some told me it was the nicest they had ever been to. For 90 pesos a night ($8.39!) we got a 2 room loft apartment with bathroom, kitchen and 2 balconies! Its amazing seeing the people who go through there. The common denominator of most of these backpackers from Colombia, Switzerland, Australia, Germany that I talked to all seemed to be very aware of current events and global issues. Thank god I read the economist before getting there!

Just our luck, we were in town for the biggest weekend of the year Zacatecas. The annual fair celebrating its founding. More than 20,000 people were present at the celebration. Everything from food, bullfights, concerts and shopping was there. The big deal for me was the musica banda. Imagine guys in snazzy outfits with cowboy hats playing tuba, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, and drummers on Bass, snare and crash symbols. The majority of them have no classical music education, and I doubt they read music. But the Banda Sinaloence (from the state of Sinaloa) is a collaboration of raw energy and blasting upbeat melodies. It is so much fun to dance! This was just the first night! Day two, we got started and I met up with my Chilean, Aussie, and Swedish friends to take the teleferico (gondola) across the city to the cerro de la buffa peak. On our way up after crossing there were so many Huichol Indians who came from Jalisco and sold the most beautiful beadwork. We made it to the summit where there was a beautiful church and scaled the rocks to the peak on the west side of the mountain. The view I won’t even attempt to describe as other than breathtaking. The updraft of the mountain cool air, the gentle sun and the serenity of silence, so distant from the hum of a bustling city like Monterrey was probably one of the best moments I’ve ever had.

We Proceeded that night to the fair again and went to a really nice club. Clubs in México are amazing because they play everything from banda to reggaeton. There is so much variety and we danced our socks off. After calling it a night at 5 am, I got up to head to the ruins of “La Quemada” at 8:30! I grabbed some some pan dulce and water to re-hydrate from the night before. And took the trip organized by the hostel to the pyramids with some Germans, a Guatemalan and my friend Shannon. The ruins were incredible and indicative of how rich Mexico’s history is. The republic has only existed independently since 1810; however, there were centuries before of Mesoamerican tribes and culture and Spaniard-French colonialism. All I can say is, “enjoy!”

Randomness around Tec and the City

Mil disculpas (my apologies) for having not updated y’all in a while. We’ve had parciales which are sort of like midterms, but happen 3 times a semester. Yeah more stress! Now that I’ve weathered the storm, lets have a recap. Celestine and I went to the Barrio Antigua tiangis, which is an open market where artists, old ladies, indigenous people, and anybody wants to sell something come out to sell their goods on the streets. We ate…a lot! I saw the Nauhuatl Indian who ripped me off about a month before at his table and of course he calls us over. I told him I was Tecpatzin and had already been inducted into brotherhood. He then offered to tell Celestine her name free of charge! She has that charm I guess. Well he rubbed me a lot better this time because he wasn’t trying to swindle us out of our money so Celestine invited him to come out to lunch with us! So picture this- 2 sharp-looking American students walking into this restaurant with a Nauhuatl in his traditional clothing! We spent like two hours there talking and I learned more from that man in two hours about indigenous culture than years of textbooks have. From our conversation, I have come to the following conclusions. The native Mexicans were and always will have been the first inhabitants of this land. The injustice they have been exposed to is a product of imperialism and an avoidable consequence of globalization. Additionally, the indigenous way of life cannot be forced to adopt our western political party system, and should be given some form of autonomy. The indigenous people are extremely passionate about everything that they do. Whether harvesting their corn or weaving their clothing. They cannot be included into the party system because they will destroy each other because once they side with a party; they are wholly devoted to it and will fight to stand in their beliefs. It is for this reason that I am a sympathizer of the Zapatista movement. If you don’t know what it is, get with the times. The Nauhuatl, “Pancho” (his Spanish name) brought up many good points. A bottle of water costs more to the Mexican than a liter of milk. Why is that? Milk requires cows, a lot of equipment, and constant transportation because it is a perishable good. Water (by Coca Cola) obviously comes from a natural source and is purified; however, Coca Cola has the advantage of supply-side economics and a lower cost base. But it isn’t only bottled water. It’s all water in México. For that reason, the campensinos can’t irrigate their farms. The bank system forms a choking leash with its loan terms. For that reason, the campesino can’t acquire capital equipment to farm and only grows for himself and his family. The Nauhuatl who I spoke to was extremely eloquent and a good man; completely opposite of my first impression. He explained to me the banking system because he used to be a loan officer at the agricultural bank and had studied for many years. He was a vagrant by choice and was “free” in his opinion. He had plans to go to Austria next month to continue selling art. Maybe some of you other people abroad will see him around in Vienna (You can’t miss him).

During the week, Tec celebrated its 62^nd anniversary. Sorry AU, but Tec sure knows how to celebrate its inception: mariachis and 50kg of chilaquiles being mixed in a saucepan 3 meters in diameters!

From the Cascading Cola de Caballo to the Bovespa Bolsa do Valores do Brasil!

This past week has been very productive and busy. I finalized my immigration so hopefully, I’ll just need to get my fingerprints done and I will be a legitimate exchange student in no time! I also got a phone here which is prepaid. Because there isn’t really any competition with Telcel, the service is pretty limited and is expensive for non-local numbers (in the state of Nuevo Leon)
I also accepted to start my internship with Gobiernos Corporativos de Latino America doing financial analysis for primarily Brazil, Mexico and a bit of Argentina and Chile investigating the correlations between performance of the 1000 most successful companies for the past 10 years in relation to political and economic developments. It’s really hard because my work is all in Spanish and Portuguese. I don’t speak Portuguese! But I’m learning very fast! The aim of this project is to publish a study for institutional investors, enterprises, and regulators in Latin America to see how structured corporate governance is a vehicle for growth. While Sarbanes Oxley legislation changed auditor-business relations forever, Latin America still has a lot of what would today appear to be conflicts of interest. It’s really exciting because this sort of a study has never been done and is pioneering in terms of information services for prospective investor information in Latin America. Information which we take for granted like executive compensation is a mandatory regulation for the SEC. Here, it’s still in the early stages.

This past weekend, we went to the Cola de Caballo (Horse’s Tail) waterfall. About 40 minutes outside of the city, it was an amazing site to see. I had never really seen a big waterfall until I saw this one, but I would have never been prepared for how powerful and loud it was. The cool mist blowing on my face was refuge from the torrid heat that day. For lunch, we ate at a buffet, which after tasting the mysterious texture of the meat; I really don’t want to go back there again.

The week sped by with schoolwork and weekly quizzes that wrecked my nerves. I figure I’ll enjoy this weekend as much as I can. Plans are tomorrow to go to Alebrije with my Bolivian posse because the Central and South American student activities are throwing a party. Depending on how I feel the next morning, I’m headed to the Grutas Garcia caverns and get to use my headlamp. I’m so excited!! I miss you all back on campus and hope welcome week is…welcoming. Big shout-out to Kogod Investment Group and the UBA! (I’m such a dork, but I promised I’d give a shoutout) So how ‘bout that President Ladner? It’s quite embarrassing for AU. Washington Post material! But I have faith in Provost Kerwin, whose been loyal to the institution for a solid 30 years and will continue to serve the institution and take it to the next level. That was my endorsement.

It’s so weird being so disconnected from everything else. I haven’t read the Wall Street Journal since I left DC and only see what the Dow closes at occasionally. My goal this week is to stay connected more around the world and read some newspapers. 30 minutes a day and I should get back on track. Till next time, Enjoy classes all my AU posse y ¡FELIZ CUMPLEANOS PAPA!-Gerardo

Below are just a couple more pics. The beautiful steed is Jhoan's horse, Benito el Guerrerense, Us at the Cola de Caballo (Alex, myself, my roomie Segio, and Trujillo), and last was from a party the last weekend at my friend's place. Jhoan and Trujillo show my swiss and french friends how to salsa dance (and dress).

LUCHAAAAAA LIBRE!!!!

The first week of classes went well. I’m taking four classes and still hunting an internship. I’ll keep you posted. I’m only taking one class in English and my professor for Org Behavior is Pakistani with a very thick accent. I can hardly understand him and English is my first language. I feel terrible for the Mexican students trying to practice their English. One of my other professors for IBUS is Polish but is Mexican citizen because she has had residence here for 17 years. Tec is a superior institution and the coursework is very rigorous. Each week in most of my classes I have to take a departmental test: 5 minutes five questions, which is on material in the books; so there is not really any room to slack off. The upside is that that I have a 3-day weekend because I don’t have class on Friday’s.

Since it was just the first week and my internship hasn’t started, I figured I had another week of going out so it started Tuesday night where I headed with my Brazilian friends to “La Cabana” a chic Latin lounge with a live trio playing acoustic cover songs. The place in the neighborhood called San Pedro. This is the richest neighborhood in Monterrey, if not all of Mexico. All the industrial giants have their homes here: the Zambranos of Cemex and Garza Sadas who own the Cuauhtémoc brewery and Vitro glass. However, Monterrey has changed its role from being purely industrial to a hub of commerce that funnels foreign investments from the US and Canada thanks to NAFTA. Now many investment banks, law firms, consulting agencies, and other financial services firms have offices or are building their headquarters here. Its funny from a city development standard because what you would imagine to be “downtown” with skyscrapers and offices in the center of the city is actually on the outskirts. The rest of the week consisted of finalizing immigration by day and going to classes and going out at night. Thursday was Alebrije, Friday was San Pedro Antigua and Saturday was…interesting. Earlier that day we all planned to go to a corrido de toros, but it turns out that after 45 minutes of driving around and finding 2 deserted bullrings, we found out that the actual one was closer to Saltillo and a solid hour away from the city. We got our a*ses handed to us by the cabdriver because I figure he knew more than one plaza de toros existed. We were down but not out so we headed to the MARCO contemporary art musem for a while and walked around downtown. Of course some clowns putting on a show pulled me into the bullring and made sport of me for a good 20 minutes. Later that night I went with my roomie Sergio from Tabasco and got thugged out to head to “The Loft,” a hip hop club. After dropping it like it was hot, we called it a night and headed back to campus. But the prime event of the weekend was of course the LUUUCHA LIBRE! In my opinion, everybody should visit Mecca once regardless of your religion and also see a Mexican wrestling match. It’s a spectacle like no other. There’s always the good guys and the bad guys in cheesy outfits and historic rivalries. The luchadores are like heroes to the kids here. Before the match started, like 100 kids ran into the ring and started wailing and womping on eachother. It was quite a site. I can’t really describe the matches so just enjoy the pics and if you want I’ll send you a video of the pandemonium. Stay tuned next week!
-Gerado

One Week Down!

So it’s been a week and I haven’t been deported….yet. So apparently, the immigration process for getting a student visa is a lot easier said than done. Who would have ever though Mexico had a slow bureaucratic process? Well that’s the end of my rant for immigration. Stay tuned next week. Now, Monterrey is amazing. The entire week has consisted of crazy nights from the swanky lounges in San Pedro to the streets of the Barrio Antigua. Barrio Antigua is Spanish for “historic neighborhood.” The dynamic around the university is really warm because the first week consisted of exchange students and freshman. I found myself hanging out with them on various nights; however I still haven’t been able to bridge that gap between the native Mexicans and the international exchange students. Monday night Celestine and headed into the city and checking out el plaza del gobierno and the Marco contemporary art museum. While on our walk, we ran into an old woman and her neighbor in the street. Two hours later…we knew the history of the whole city and her recipies. 84 years young, she’s opened her kitchen to us and invited us to some cooking lessons. The next day consisted of meeting more people. This semester is a record year because there are over 500 exchange students (120 from the US) I’ve met up with some great people from France, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, and also made some American friends along the way. Tuesday, we headed out to go salsa dancing at a club we heard of only to find out that the place was closed for renovations. We walked around trying to avoid the typical dive so I asked one of the parking attendants what was going on that night and we found out about El Zocalo, a hub of live music amazing people and a history lesson all at once. We ended up seeing a Mexican ska band and fire twirlers in one showing. You can live on a pretty tight budget in Mexico, but you need to know how to bargain. To get to the barrio Antigua a cab driver will tell u 40 pesos. I always say I got charged 15 the last time. We usually settle around 20-25. The rest of the week consisted of keeping a low profile and dancing on the tables @ the clubs and getting settled in. Friday, at the Marco art museum, there was an expo for a new artist and it was turned into a swanky lounge where we acted like art snobs and headed to the Coco Loko. Saturday, Celestine and I spent probably 4 hours sitting at a taqueria and watching LUCHA LIBRE! (Mexican wrestling) http://www.cmll.com/02estrellas/estrellas.html with the owner. We later went grocery shopping and indulged in all the free samples we could. By them time we left we had too much groceries to walk and too little cash to take a cab. We then hijacked a shopping cart Later that night, our French friend Edouard had his birthday party at his house. Try singing happy birthday together when it’s being sung in Spanish, English, French and Swiss! Sunday, I headed to the Barrio Antigua for the tiangis (open market). Local artists, Indians and native Rejio-Montanos (from Monterrey) sell arts and crafts, foods, art, music, and every othe nick-knack you can think of. I was swindled 100 pesos to find out my name in Nauhatl (Tecpatzin). I am the Crocodile with the knife!

Hasta Luego,

Tecpatzin

Bienvendos a Monterrey!

Bienvendos a Monterrey!

From the plains of the border, as we drove there was an ominous mountain range on the horizon. The Sierra Madre Mountains cut through Mexico like a blunt knife, leaving jagged peaks and treacherous slopes. They are a young mountain range and were once part of the Andes in present-day South America. Thanks to the phenomenon of continental drift, the two have split. Monterrey is like a sleepy hollow, except a bustling city of 3 million people. It’s like Chicago, but in the mountains. The buildings are accented by the mountains on the horizon, the most recognizable peak being la Serra de la Silla (de Caballo), which is Spanish for “Peak of the Saddle.” It really looks like a saddle!

But aside from the geography are the people. Coming from Texas, DC was a very unfriendly place, however, now Texas is like DC in comparison to Monterrey. The people here are just lovely. Their humility and kindness reflects in every word and gesture.

The University I’m attending, El Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores, Monterrey (ITESM) is prestigious from what I read and heard when applying; however, I had no idea how powerful a place this really is. It is without doubt, the MIT of Latin America. The sciences and engineering programs are world renown; however, their business and economics schools are stellar. The campus is gorgeous. I went with my family today to check out the campus and maybe take care of a few logistical things and look where I would be living and eating (something I never got to do for AU). There are Peacocks and Fawns randomly grazing the campus! I asked where the dormitory I was assigned to was located and the guard said it was off the map. It turns out it was like a half mile from campus and secluded. It seemed pretty sketch to me. Not to mention, the barbed wire fence made me a bit uneasy. Immediately, I asked if I could change rooms and live ON CAMPUS like I had requested. I got moved to edificio 7 (which had no air conditioning) but was overlooking MY POOL And the mountains. I figure that I am in a third-world country and that living on the actual campus was safer. I figured, I could always cool of in the pool, right? With that said, I’ve got my first day of orientation tomorrow and I’m excited to meet the other exchange students and make some new friends.

Ciao!

-Gerardo

Flying Home, Driving Abroad

Texas was….well, Texas. I got my Tex-mex quick fix and some Bill Miller’s BBQ and sweet tea and I was home.

Only, I was living out of a suitcase for a week and a half in preparation for my DRIVE abroad. Mexico looks promising and I am in the phase of planning quasi-excursions and ventures in Mexico like the copper canyon, horsetail falls, the cloud forest, and crossing my fingers for a possible climbing venture of Ixtachulli. Ixtachulli is one of two volcano peaks outside of Mexico City. It means “sleeping woman” because of the shape of the slopes. The giant peak next to her is Popocateptl. My father used to climb it as I had aspirations to as well; however, due to seismic activity and the fact that it was spewing hot ash and was closed to climbers in 1994. No bueno huh? I’ll try and meet up with some other students while there to be safe. So after buying a new daypack, water bladder for the dessert and a headlamp and packing until 3am this morning, we were on the road today. Just my luck, I was watching a riveting segment of Lou Dobbs on CNN only to learn that the state department issued out a new warning for Americans traveling in Mexico. Why you ask? The war on drugs has escalated so much on the Border that turf wars between the cartels has spilled onto the streets, 3 police chiefs in Nuevo Laredo have been executed this year (one of them the first week on the job), and 45 Americans have been kidnapped or murdered this year. Friends and family: please don’t be alarmed. The violence is mostly on the border states such as Tamaulipas and Baja California. Monterrey is further into the interior in the State of Nuevo Leon. The drive here was surreal. Nuevo Laredo is like every Border Town, a lost outer province. Corruption and absolute poverty is rampant. Men make a living doing whatever they can do to etch out a living. Men paint the curbs of the freeway 50 miles outside of the city. Every red light is an opportunity for them to earn a few pesos cleaning a windshield. How can a country like Mexico trade with two superpowers like the US and Canada? Hurricane Emily in the Gulf of Mexico has brought a lot of rain to northeastern Mexico and southeast Texas. Nuevo Laredo was an absolute mess because the streets were flooded with water and mud was everywhere. There just isn’t the infrastructure of an actual city like sewer system and drainage systems.

OK, So this was where I had to get processed through immigration. It's 3 steps. 1st You have to explain your resons you're in mexico and not arms trafficing, showing proof of identity (passport and birth certificate) and then you get a temporary tourist pass that last 30 days. Within that time, you have to get your visa squared away OR ELSE. Then, because you can only drive into the country 25 miles, you need a special permit and proof of ownership to drive in the interior. Then we were on our way!

I like to describe Mexico as a kid that’s outgrown its shoes (infrastructure) and it has three options: a) scrunch his toes and wince in pain while staying in the same pair, b) bust though them with his toes hanging out, or b) get some new shoes that fit. Mexico will most likely burst through the shoes it has because no investments have been made in infrastructure in decades. Well, until then, I can’t wait to get to Monterrey!