Mexico | A land of Mezcal, Murals, and Mortality
A lovely mural of Frida Kahlo which I stumbled upon in the streets of Tepoztlan, a charming village about 1.5 hours by bus outside of Mexico City, nestled in the mountains.
I am writing this newsletter from the final days of my co-live stop in the splendid country of Mexico. This was my first time stepping back out of the US since my I returned from Portugal in December, and I was curious to see what insights I might discover, especially as I met up with one of my similarly culturally curious friends, Pam Soberman.
I have been refining my process as I go related to planning and preparing for these co-live collaborations, and each one has had different priorities according to my partner(s) in crime. In Atlanta we had a big emphasis on skill sharing. I received support for building my website from my hosts, and I was able to guide them through some envisioning and planning activities to support their desire to work and live abroad for the Summer of 2023. In Austin my collaborator and I are both in the “launch” phase of our businesses, so we did a daily stand-up to prioritize gaining momentum for our passion projects, completed some co-learning around social media marketing strategies…and added a little joy by blowing bubbles when we did a “hard thing.” My Mexico City partner, Pam, had indicated that she wanted our time in Mexico City to have a flavor or “embodied adventuring,” with daily embodiment practices to transition out of the work day, in addition to time to explore and understand the culture and city. My curiosities were to try to see Mexico City through the eyes of a few different perspectives: at least one traveler, one digital nomad, an expat, and a local.
My traveler connection ended up being Angela, who joined us for our Air B&B Food tour. She had come to Mexico to celebrate her 50th birthday, and was pivoting into her latest career interest, flower arranging. We swapped travel stories as we ate mouth watering churros, and I was encouraged to meet another woman who was charting her own unique course through life. Our local host for our tour was also a character, who oriented us to the gay clubs and culture of Mexico City as we meandered through the historic monuments, impromptu street parades, and mariachi bands. I was sad to hear from him that most of his guests want to talk primarily to him about places to party and our questions about the history and culture of the country were an aberration. He made a comment that he was so grateful we were not a bunch of Karens, and was delighted we got along as a group, because sometimes that is not the case. Man, humans.
We were told that the food scene in Mexico City was one of the best around the world, and it did not disappoint! So many amazing cafes and restaurants in charming tree-lined streets with tropical vibes.
Our digital nomad connection ended up being Jonathan Kalan, who I was connected to through my recent affiliation with the Transformational Travel Council. He actually ran a program for digital nomads called BeUnsettled for seven years before he burned out, and decided to pivot back to a more “traditional job” after being an entrepreneur his whole life. Well, not sure if you can call working for a company based in Slovenia that has invented smart bird feeders to help “nature better compete for our attention” traditional. Did you know that birdwatching is the second biggest outdoor hobby in the US? Me either! We took time to pick his brain about his favorite stops from his digital nomad days (Nicaragua), his greatest lesson learned in building community from creating international programs (“if they build it, they will stay”), and where he saw the digital nomad movement going from here (keep an eye out for more fractional ownership concepts in the years ahead - yes, the timeshare model is back, but it’s better!). He has plans to toggle between Mexico City and Slovenia in the years ahead, which is his own personal version of “settling down.”
My local connection came through the old faithful, Facebook. After sharing about my tour stops, a Vanderbilt connection, who went on a service trip with me to New Orleans shortly after Katrina when I was in grad school, suggested she had someone she wanted to put me in touch with in Mexico City. Thania and her daughter joined me for brunch on my last morning in Mexico City, shortly before I took a bus into the countryside for a week to enjoy some nature and solo rejuvenation. Her openness to share about her life and culture touched me deeply, and I was so struck by how unguarded she was, despite having faced quite a few challenges throughout her life. We covered so many topics - education and healthcare in Mexico, career opportunities and how that has evolved over time, religious perspectives, as well as environmental impacts of development. Her father was a lawyer, and she had wanted to be a biologist due to her love of plants and nature, but knew that was the kind of career you can only pursue in a country with resources and opportunities, like the US. So she decided to become a lawyer, like her father, but with an emphasis on environmental law. She had clearly always been bright, and scholarship opportunities had been provided for her throughout her educational journey, so she had received an invitation to further her environmental law studies in Arizona. Unfortunately her studies were cut short, as her Dad received a cancer diagnosis, and she knew it was her family duty to return home and support him through this health challenge, especially after they had supported her as a young single mother in her early 20s. I reflected on how we are able to prioritize our careers in the US because of the ways we hold our family ties so much more loosely. I wonder, is that always a trade-off within cultures, economic advantages or relational advantages?
The amount of skulls and skeletons throughout the country makes a strong statement about how comfortable the people of Mexico are with the idea of death and mortality. I also saw two casket stores in the very small village I stayed, and found it curious.
But one of the most striking parts of our conversation was when I shared that we had been able to visit the Frida Kahlo museum the day prior. My friend Pam and I were quite mesmerized as we familiarized ourselves with this eccentric, tortured, talented, and empowered woman through our tour of her house, art, and wardrobe. Her husband, Diego Rivera shared “And Frida is the sole example in art history who has torn open her breast and her heart in order to tell the biological truth of what she feels inside them.” To become a famous artist who is not only a woman, but able to gain notoriety from Mexico, in a time where we were so much less interconnected, really is remarkable.
And yet Thania indicated she is not actually viewed as a Mexican hero, but more a hero in industrialized nations, like the US. As she explained Mexican culture, she indicated that they are traditional and conservative, while also still being open and friendly to visitors. In general, artists are not taken seriously and being an intellectual is not highly esteemed. Who are the country’s heroes, you might ask? Football (or soccer) players 🙂 It got me thinking a lot about incorporating that as a question to any country I visit - who we choose as our heroes always tells us a lot about our values, as individuals and as a culture.
So, I was able to hit three of four of my ideal conversation partners, which I guess means that I will have to come back to find my new expat friend. And I will, gladly! My next move is back to the US for a Sedona stop on my co-live tour, and shortly after I will begin my coursework with the Transformational Travel Design course. I am prepared to feel a great level of conviction, and have already done some mental prep through watching The Last Tourist, and reading about the disconnects among the digital nomad movement in Portugal.
My reflection prompt for this letter is of course, who is your hero personally, and what do you think that reflects about your values? And who is a hero in your culture, and what do you think that reflects about your culture’s values? Love to hear your thoughts!
Kindred Spirit Connection: Kyle Gaarder and I connected during my co-live stop to Austin, Texas and swapped notes on the power of conscious community. He is currently building his passion project, Growth House, focused on creating a supportive co-living container for entrepreneurs, after participating in a co-living project in Portland for two years during COVID. If you know of entrepreneurs who might benefit from this kind of support who are based in Austin, pass it along!
Suggested Peak Experience: Two of my friends from my co-live experience in Portugal are hosting an amazing retreat experience from May 8-12 in Portugal for women who are craving transformation and a greater sense of wholeness. Highly recommend!
On the Watch List: After our visit to the Frida Kahlo Museum, I took time to watch Frida to fill in some of the gaps. Interesting to layer some of the political activism she and Diego Rivera were driving with the brief review of Mexican history.
