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A lot is happening right now, and we are still wrapping up a few loose ends from our Mexico City trip. At the same time, we have been planning a trip to Texas to look for a new travel trailer. We want something small, but highly functional for our travels around the U.S.
Logistically, getting to San Antonio was our main hurdle. To solve this, we decided to fly and rent a car. Crossing the border itself won't be an issue; Juan has everything he needs, including his Mexican passport, U.S. travel visa, and six months' worth of pension and bank statements. Flying also completely eliminates our biggest worry: driving around small Texas towns with Mexican license plates, which could attract unwanted attention from highway patrol or immigration checkpoints.
We booked a centrally located hotel that includes a full breakfast and a manager's happy hour with snacks, wine, and beer. It feels like we are finally biting the bullet—if we don't just do it, it will never get done.
Since June is Pride Month, the topic has been on our minds, though we don't know much about it. We are fairly conservative and prefer to keep to ourselves. We have certainly faced our share of discrimination over the years, though we don't equate it to the discrimination people face based on color, race, religion, or disability. Many people have tried to school us over the years, claiming that the discrimination we experience is "self-inflicted," saying, "Well, it is your choice".
I'm glad to think that heterosexuals made such a great choice! We aren't paranoid, nor do we really care what people say. Even though our families are very accepting, they still introduce us as a "friend of the family." Other times, people will introduce us and explicitly add, "they're gay." It always makes us laugh to think about reversing it—imagine introducing our friends Harold and Maude (what a great movie!) and adding, "and they’re straight." It sounds absurd, doesn't it?
We notice this dynamic most when we are on the road. People see our Mexico plates, get curious about our travels, and strike up a great conversation. But the moment we use the pronoun “we,” they often literally turn around and walk off.
Well, we are used to it by now. We just count our blessings and keep things in perspective. Imagine being Black, gay, Jewish, disabled, and LGBTQ? Now that would be a real humdinger, wouldn't it? In the end, we find it amusing.
A follow-up on our subway experience in Mexico City. Here are a few pictures of what we encountered.
They've made a mess and spent a fortune, including the purchase of wall sconces in some stations. Really?
If you don't know, major forces are doing what they can to stop the World Cup in Mexico. Agro groups with their tractors, semidrivers with their trailers, and thousands of teachers are set to block airports. It is getting pretty fierce as these groups are retaliating against the police and Guardia Nacional.
In the case of Monterrey, our illustrious state governor had promised many projects that would facilitate the aficionados flocking to the city. The new metro line to the airport, city parks, a new water park, public transport direct to the stadium, including a monorail valued at 1 billion USD, all of which are not going to be completed by this week. A tragic waste of public funds and use of tax pesos. Getting to the airport now is complete chaos, and with the supposed blockades by protesters,s we may have chosen a not-so-good time to go on our travel trailer hunt.
Going back to Tlateloco, I forgot one important point about the location. The Massacre of 196,8 where government troops and military entered the square with army tanks. They rolled into the square via a major overpass, plowing under parts of the ruins which had been excavated and researched. The Mexican government's official death toll was 32. However, families have documents showing up to 300 killed.
The causes were the same around the world at the time. In the U.S., it was the Ohio State killings. In Mexico, students began gathering and rioting as they felt the Mexican Revolution had never fulfilled its purpose of socialist democracy. Levels of poverty were at an all-time high, roughly 72%.
The summer Olympic Games were to take place that year. Just months before, ex-president Diaz Ordaz gave the order to put an end to it and clear the streets of squatters and demonstrators. In classified and declassified documents, Diaz Ordaz gave the order to kill if necessary. You can see the apartment buildings that were built to make way for a new era of socialism, but to really clean up the squalor that had been built around Tlalteloco. Soldiers took to the roofs and shot down on the crowds.
While in Mexico City, we watched a movie, Rojo Amanecer, a Mexican movie that details the life of a family living in one of the buildings. Their teenagers were caught by the secret police, beaten, and the whole family was killed.
Are we in for another round with the World Cup in the next couple of weeks?
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