leaving florida/arriving mexico
artist book on playa del carmen (2005). 30 x 3.75 inches, accordion folds to 3.75 x 3.75 – double sided. digital print on paper.
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| TRAVELING A 5
hour drive to Miami and a 2 hour flight to Cancun. Welcome to beautiful
Cancun in the state of Quintana Roo the pilot announces…the
local time is 5:10PM and it is 79§F with light rain.I arrive in Cancun.
When it is my turn, the ofÙcial at customs said NOTHING. No smile.
No Welcome to México. I felt like I was just like every other
American flying to the Maya Riviera. I wanted to say to him “I
am not like THEM” because I AM NOT A TOURIST. I don’t
like being the gringa, all the time I hear hey sweetie come here and
buy this ____. It’s a 45 minute shuttle to the hotel Casa Tucan,
a small German-run hotel. Horst started it many years ago from a few
small rooms and just kept adding on. I meet a Canadian who called
in sick for a few days to meet some friends in Playa. We are both
waiting for what seems like an hour for the shuttle to Playa. It’s
much less popular than Cancun–it is still off the beaten path.
When I tell people I come here for work they usually wink and smile.
Beautiful beaches, beautiful weather, beautiful people. People want
to bring out their small violins for me. WELCOME TO PLAYA DEL CARMEN Playa is one of the fastest growing cities in the western hemisphere. 30 km south of Cancun. Many people wear leisure clothes. These are the tourists and expatriate residents of Playa del Carmen. After a while, their origins become easy to identify – Americans, Europeans, Australians all dress differently. Some people sew an embroidered flag on their backpack – most likely because they don’t want to be “mistaken” for Americans. They make the walk from busy Avenida 5 to the beach with ease in their shorts, bathing suits with sarongs, flip flops and tans. THE PIER TO COZUMEL The pier, about 100 feet long, is the major route between Playa and Cozumel – one of the major diving destinations. Upon entering and exiting one is able to eat, drink and shop. The end of the pier houses several franchise restaurants including a McDonald’s and a Señor Frogs, a few local bars, and several small stores that sell tequila, tourist souvenirs, gifts, Cuban cigars and beach wear. Signs along the pier and in the stores are in English and Spanish. A tequila gift package in one window reads “Tequila is Mexico.” THE ELUSIVE EX-PAT I meet Jack on the beach in front of his rentable beach area that is in front of his large home. I think Jack is about 65 with grey hair and beard – he alludes to people mistaking him for Sean Connery. He has an opinion on everything. Jack came to Playa in 1985. In 1985 there were lots of Mayas on the beach. Cooking meals. The reefs were beautiful. It was all palapa huts and tents. He reiterates that Playa was a place to disconnect yourself from the rest of the world. At least that was what it was like when he Ùrst came here. Or a place to hide. Things happened in Playa pretty quickly. Playa was hidden from the world. The natives didn’t appreciate what they had – the trees, the beach… For so many years it wasn’t a destination. It was a place where people went to go to Cozumel. Or to hide. The design and building of Cancun – well it was all preplanned for tourists. Then people started to come here – looking for something different. And the people who lived here – the Mayans – they had no idea the value of property. The Ùrst people who came were foreigners. Then came the Mexicans. The beaches were something the Maya didn’t want. But there was beauty. Pure air. Trade winds from the northeast. Cool sand. Stable climate. It’s got the second largest barrier reef in the world. But it was never considered a beach or seen as industry by the Maya. THE REASON THERE ARE NO ITINERANT VENDORS ON THE BEACH The same day I meet three women who are part of the tourist police force – sort of. They enforce what is considered the “ambulante situation” in Playa, or clean the beaches of itinerant vendors. Since 2000, selling on the beach has been illegal in order to maintain the beach in Playa as an environment that is peaceful and relaxing. Enjoying the beach means you will not be bothered with people trying to sell you anything, like at other beaches in México, where vendors sell souvenirs, drinks, and beach toys up and down the beach all day long. Not having been to other beaches in México, I can only imagine what they are referring to are beaches like those I’ve been to in the Dominican Republic where every 5 minutes someone is coming up to you to ask if you want to buy something – jewelery, a beer or soda, a t-shirt. It is like dealing with mosquitos – they’re irritating, and even though you keep swatting, one continually follows another. There is no time to relax. They tell me their job is to give violation notices to the “illegal” vendors on the beach. I ask them what that means and they respond that their presence generally scares people off. If someone sees them and won’t leave, they’ll write them a violation notice or perhaps call the person into the police. They say this rarely happens. That their presence is enough. So they spend the day walking up and down the beach, enforcing with their presence. They wear jeans, tennis shoes and yellow shirts with the slogan “Solidaridad para todos” which translates to “Solidarity for all.” They stand out as workers in their street clothes. They are not on vacation. WOMEN FROM CHIAPAS Later, I ask them about the women from Chiapas, who are on the beach and on Avenida 5, selling handwoven bracelets, belts and bags from their region. I am told that the women from Chiapas come here and make about 2000 pesos per day, roughly equivalent to $200. This seems like a very high salary for selling bracelets for a dollar each. I express my disbelief and they tell me that we (meaning the tourists) think they make nothing but they make a lot on the beach. That I should not be surprised at this at all. They wear their traditional clothing so people will feel that they are part of the imaginary. People want to buy something from an authentic Indian, and the dress is all part of the plan, of the mystique, of the marketing of the goods. I suspect that they don’t clean the Chiapas women off the beach since I have seen many of them, and that despite the rules, seeing Indians is a sort of pleasure for the tourists. To come to Mexico to see the exotic Mayas in their traditional clothing is a legitimate experience. To buy something and connect is to further this legitimization. The Chiapas women I imagine have it harder than the Tourist Police since they wear their black woolly skirts and polyester blouses as they walk up and down the beach and on the street during the day. The visual contrast between them and the topless women is tremendous. I ask when they came here. Two women have been in Playa for one year, coming from Veracruz. I Ùnd that a lot of people I meet are from Veracruz. One of the women camer here from Mexico City Ùve years ago. The tell me there are lots of jobs here now that Playa is growing, and they are very happy to see this growth. It’s good for the economy and this is a good job for them. They see what’s going on and meet a lot of people. And based on this, they tell me that the Italians and Spanish are poorly behaved and strange but Americans are nice. I wonder if they tell me this because I am obviously an American, a gringa? I ask and they claim this is not the case. That they really do like Americans. I am still surprised a bit, because I hardly ever run into anyone who likes American tourists, myself included. The irony here is that I never consider myself to be one.The women tell me that the difference between here, Cancun, and other Mexican beach resorts is that Playa is nice and tranquil. This is the image they want to convey. It is what tourists come here for. They reiterate that this is NOT Cancun. This image of Playa is a result of their work and the city’s dedication to security in the tourist zone. We part and they walk down the beach, to continue their job until 5PM. At that point, another group will take over. SHOPPING IS A FEELING I met two teenage girls out shopping for something to wear during their vacation. The wrist bands on their arms indicated they were staying at one of the local all-inclusive resorts. The girl in black told us they were on Spring Break from a high school near Dallas, Texas. I was surprised to learn that they were only seniors in high school, partly because they seemed older – well at least the one in black did – and because I always thought it was college kids who came to México for Spring Break. She seemed very in control in the way she helped her friend select what to try on. The girl in black mentioned that some of their friends were in Playa but most of them were staying in Cancun for the week. These were the “partyers” – and they came to Playa because it was more tranquil and presumably somehow “cooler” since it was off the beaten path and their other friends were in Cancun, which they had said with some disdain. Trying on a few dresses, the color was a concern but most of all the Ùt. The orange dress seemed too loose, too big. The friend convinced her that the blue dress, although a little snug in the breast area, was a better option. The tie-dye pattern was the focal point of the dress and followed the flow of her hips and abdomen to point downwards between her legs. There is a kind of sexiness necessary for evening beach wear, even with hippie tie-dye. Both girls seemed like they had money, not only because they were staying at an all-inclusive but also because they paid the asking price in US dollars. The girl in black made the transaction with conÙdence in her broken Spanish. They left with the blue dress for $40 and continued shopping on Avenida 5. SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE One thing that has always fascinated me has been the souvenir. Stores providing a variety of goods to tourists line Avenida 5 in Playa. Products come to this place from all over México and are things one can Ùnd anywhere – ceramic ashtrays, stone statues based on Maya art, hammocks, sombreros, postcards, tequila, shot glasses, and tshirts. In the time I have spent in Playa, I have seen very few people wear any of the t-shirts that are for sale. But people buy them. And there are many of them, made for all tastes and interests – but these are demonstrably for an American audience. Most employ humor. Some focus on the iconography of the region or of Mexico. Others just focus on Sex. This is a big industry apparently, but only for Americans. All the sex t-shirts are designed for am American market. I am sure Europeans and Mexicans wouldn’t be caught dead in them. In fact, you never really see anyone wearing them. People just buy things to take home. They are a way of sharing the vacation.. PROOF YOU WERE HERE |