This is Holy Week in Mexico. The Passion Play, church services, parades, and gatherings have all been canceled. It is inordinately quiet here today. No workmen building. No handymen or gardeners working. Hardly any traffic. The Mexican people are resilient. I’m sure they’re finding ways to celebrate. (Photos from 2019)
Like many of you, I find myself waiting. Waiting to see how this life-changing pandemic hits Mexico. We are in lockdown, with more businesses closing every day. We go out weekly for food and/or medicine. We have vegetables, fruits, and staples delivered. We are the lucky ones. I worry about the Mexican people who survive on so little, knowing that that will most likely be taken away now as well. There are few reported cases of COVID-19 here in the Chapala area, probably very little testing going on. And reports of local, well-revered doctors not using PPE. The Mexican culture takes a “que será será” – what will be, will be – attitude we’re told. Take life as it comes. What will be left after the “tsunami” hits? Will we lose some of our Mexican friends? Who will go without food? What businesses will be gone? Restaurants? How will indigenous artisans survive? How will this country recover? We wait and wonder.
There are efforts, known and unknown, going on around the Lake to help those in need. Friends recently started a FoodBank for Ajijic and neighboring villages. Restaurants have switched to take out and delivery and patrons are urging others to support them. We are blessed, in our house stocked with food, and a pool to lounge in. We have so much. We look out for our Mexican neighbors nearby. And our handyman with four children and no steady job. It is time to step up to the plate. It is time to be COMMUNITY.
So I leave you with photographs of people and places I’ve encountered in the past two years of living in and visiting a small portion of Mexico. I experienced the people and places you see primarily in Ajijic, Tapalpa, Pátzcuaro, and the state of Oaxaca. Reviewing the images makes me realize (again) just how rich Mexico is in color, culture, and history. I know a lot of these folks and count them as friends. The businesses are ones that I frequent or acknowledge as part of our community. I am concerned for them all. Please hold them in your hearts as we endure these next few months together.