Next Gen Journal

By Natalia Cuevas

When most Americans think of Mexico, the general stereotype that comes to mind is “that place south of the border with tacos, Tijuana, sombreros, and donkeys.” Although these are all aspects of Mexico, the stereotype itself is rather misguided.

Natalia Cuevas in Chicago's Millenium Park

I moved to Mexico just over eleven years ago. I’m originally from New York, so I remember my grandparents teasing my parents about moving to Monterrey, Mexico. They said my family and I were going to come back “tan, underfed, and speaking broken English.”  I was too young to understand what was implied by those comments, but looking back now I realize that most people probably would have said the same things about Mexico.

The impressions of Mexico tend to go in three phases. First, there is the typical Chicano image: baggy jeans, Spanglish, and drug dealers. I am not going to lie to you: that is part of Mexico, but only a small part. The second phase is the “pretty” impression: Cancun, high-end nightclubs, and the financial capital of Latin America, Monterrey. That is also part of Mexico’s society and culture, but again not the most accurate in terms of the entire country and its people. The third phase, which most foreigners unfortunately never reach, is the most inclusive and certainly the most honest. Mexico is a very beautiful country, full of natural resources and landscapes, with a diverse group of peoples who are just striving for a better life, not much different than many Americans. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I am a Mexican citizen (American-born, American mother, but Mexican father), and I truly love both of my countries. I have experienced Mexico in many ways, both good and bad. There are so many cultural aspects offered throughout the country. San Miguel de Allende, a typical small Mexican town, is full of artwork and sculptures representative of Mexican life. Real de Catorce,   a historical mining village, has a peculiar entrance: a one-lane tunnel in and out, manned by guards with walkie-talkies at either end to prevent collisions within the tunnel. Puebla, a major city in Mexico, has beautiful cathedrals and even underground crypts built centuries ago. Chiapas, a state in the southern region, is nearly covered by the Lacondan Jungle, a rain forest almost as diverse and beautiful as the Amazon. Quintana Roo and Yucatán (typically related with Cancún and Playa del Carmen) have beautiful water reservations where one can swim with stingrays and sand sharks.

Everywhere you go, there are indigenous peoples: Náhuatls, Zapotecs, Tzetals, Mayas, Huicholes, and Totonacs (to name a few) still populating the countryside. In Monterrey (a city not nearly as diverse as Mexico City or other areas), I have met Finnish, British, Spanish, Chilean, Brazilian, Canadian, Australian, Hungarian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Ethiopian people. Mexico is a diverse country that should be appreciated by the world, not undermined and criticized.

Another factor that has not helped our reputation is the economic sector. Because we are so dependent on the USA in an economic sense (mainly because of the North American Free Trade Agreement, started in 1994), we are tied in much deeper than is normally deemed safe by economists. Eighty percent of our exports are sent to the United States. Despite this, our economic crisis of 1988, caused by President Echeverría for the most part, was solved by the economic genius of Pedro Aspe. Our economic crisis of 1994 was solved by our genius president at the time, Ernesto Zedillo. And we have slowly been recuperating from our current economic crisis. In the second quarter of 2009, our GDP slid -10.3%, and now in the third quarter has been pulled up to only -6%. For a country labeled “a failed state falling into the category of third world countries” by the US State Department, that is not too bad. I am not blaming America in the slightest, but there are a lot of misguided statements and half-truths given about Mexico that do not help our reputation worldwide.

This summer I went to a leadership program at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. I met a lot of interesting people who helped me open my eyes to how misguided most Americans are about Mexico. No one was rude or prying in asking questions, because they were my friends and they were truly curious. However, many people are not as polite. I have many a times had interrogations about the name of my “burro,” the colors of my “serapes,” and the size of the “chile” plants growing on my plot of land. For the record, I have never ridden a donkey, worn a serape, or picked chiles from my (non-existent) plot of land. This rings true for most Mexicans as well.

If you ever have the chance to visit Mexico, and not just for Cancún’s Spring Break, take advantage of it. There are so many things offered by our country that visitors do not appreciate simply because they do not know such things exist. The social, political, economic, and cultural value offered by our people and land are opportunities that should not be passed up. I hope that one day everyone can comprehend the beauty of Mexico, and not only comprehend it but appreciate it for what it truly is: a gift.

Natalia Cuevas is a NGJ Contributor and a high school student in Monterrey, Mexico.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.