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Veracruz, Superior For Cultural Tourism
We rode the city bus to Parque Zamora and entered Mexico of the Mexican people. There’s no glitz here, no hype, no fancy resort. Here you are immersed in the warm, friendly, noisy, energetic, family way of life. This is...
the old Mexico of the wonderful Mexican culture.
It’s so easy to enter and enjoy the culture—just walk into a store or stop in front of a vendor’s sidewalk stand. And then to participate in the culture and all its happiness here’s a great trick—ask a question.
We asked where we could buy a piñata. One of our students is having a birthday tomorrow, and so we’re having a party. “Pinata,” said the first woman we asked, a grandmotherly looking woman, and she broke into a big smile. She talked and pointed down the street and then to the left and the right, and she was talking so fast we didn’t understand a thing.
But we did understand that she was happy that we’d be giving someone the joy of a piñata. We entered her world, and so she got to participate in our fun. It made her day.
We asked again. This time we asked a salesperson, and got directions we could follow. And we got a “Que lindo,” (how wonderful). We found a piñata.
A piñata needs candy. We had to ask where…
In Veracruz a five minute bus ride puts you in a perfect spot to be a cultural tourist, and a question is all it takes to become an active participant in traditional, old Mexico.
Eric Langner March 7, 2007 02:09 PM