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 Editorials | March 2005 
An Americana Visits Puerto Vallarta - A Cultural Experience
 Leah Cohen
When I arrived I expected to be vacationing in an American tourist community with all the luxuries of home (Southern California). Instead, because my brother had made a decision to reside in the local community, I experienced major culture shock.
This is my son's and my first trip to Puerto Vallarta; I had only been to Acapulco and Tijuana in the past. We came to see my brother, who settled here over a year ago and made Puerto Vallarta his home, and whom my son and I haven't seen for 3 years.
I would like to express my views of this area and how it is to spend a week in a totally different culture than the United States.
As you know, there are a lot of Mexican Americans in Southern California where I live. So I already had my ideas and, I'm sorry to say judgments, about how it would be here in Mexico. Wow, was I wrong. Some of the things I notice about Puerto Vallarta are that it is relaxed and slow, very non-materialistic, has strong family ties, and that the natives here work extremely hard just to make ends meet. My brother has air conditioning and cable TV in his casa. In California, it is commonplace for everyone to own these things and to be in pursuit of more, more, more. But to people here these are luxuries. I guess I made the assumption that everyone in the world has cable TV, a cell phone, a car, air conditioning and money to eat out in restaurants.
I notice that the scarcity of technology in people's homes here forces them to go back to the old values which used to pervade the United States and are fading out of existence, bending to the pursuit of materialism at all costs. The residents here reach outside their casas and befriend others in the community and find simpler forms of entertainment; for example, being around other people, talking about life, walking (a forbidden word in Southern California!) and paying attention to their ninas and ninos, unfortunately a much forgotten value in the United States.
I have also noticed how polite the people are here, and that they do not laugh at an American who is struggling with her Spanish; instead they try hard to understand and be helpful. This is a wonderful change from impersonal California where I hardly even know my neighbors because that is the way most Southern Californians want it; they prefer to remain wrapped up in their own little worlds with their fancy cars and SUVs and talk only to people in their cliques. In the United States, the sense of family and of people taking care of one another has truly broken down. In Puerto Vallarta, I sense that people care about the local people, tourists, English-speaking residents and even strangers. You can say "buenos dias" here and you get a smile and a "buenos dias" back. I already feel like an "amiga."
I also didn't realize how much I miss the rain; I don't remember the last time it rained in Southern California. I love sitting on my brother's patio and watching the skies open up with thunder, lightening and pouring rain and getting a little bit wet from the raindrops bouncing off the patio rail. After the rain, everything is so cleansed and it really cools down the town.
I am very heat intolerant and the heat and humidity here are blazing right now, but I have to tell you that I am so impressed with this wonderful town that I would consider relocating here despite the heat. I love to watch the people sitting outside in their chairs to escape the oppressive heat indoors. It reminds me of my childhood in New York in the days before air conditioning when parents and the elderly would sit outside in chairs for hours and talk. What an old world value that actually works and is still in existence here in Puerto Vallarta! And I love siesta time!
In summary, I was quick to get over the culture shock on my vacation and was able to return to the true, underlying values that I have always had - family, non-materialism, friendliness to strangers, and a less-complicated life - all this exists in Puerto Vallarta and I hope to return soon. Thank you to all the residents for a wonderful vacation and for teaching me that the world is not too far gone to return to a simpler way of life. |
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