The Mexican Taco guys : the quiet heroes of the Pandemic

people standing in front of a taco stall (in black and white)

In every culture there is a magic place, personal, where we often go to satisfy our appetite or thirst; to start a day or to finish our day. To celebrate or cry our worries to the person on the other side of the bar. In Mexico, those places are the taco stands that fill our streets, some in the morning and others in the night. Probably in Italy you have the espresso bar where you go to have a quick 1 euro café in the early morning or early afternoon. People usually know the server, either a “taquero” in Mexico or a barista, in Italy. In the UK some local small pubs who are served by the same person or family for decades have a similar connection with their customers. In some cases the connection is such, that they should be called therapists.

Now that we are more than six months into the Pandemic and “lockdown” and “stay at home” seem to be forgotten phrases, many people in Mexico are still too timid to go to a restaurant but a street taco stand seem to be more accesible and since most of them are in open air, people are visiting them more and more. Those guys selling tacos, known as “taqueros” in Mexico, stood firm for months without selling when people just stayed at home. After three months, my local taquero just couldn’t take it anymore and reappeared at his corner. I see him every night, with more and more people around. People with face masks approach his stand and then retreat to their cars to eat the tacos or eat them standing with social distancing from other customers. You can see how happiness has returned to the face of the taquero and the satisfaction on his expression when people ask for a certain taco that’s sold out: “se terminaron, jefe” (sold out, chief).

A few months ago I wrote on facebook on how I considered them heroes because they retreated to their homes and didn’t sell for months. Now they are back and their mission is a different one: to bring a bit of happiness to people at the end of this infamous year. Well done, taqueros!

Featured Image Credits

“Taco Stand!” flickr photo by 2nified https://flickr.com/photos/skyinthepie/6765622555 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

Gracias, amigos

Two friends walking into a forest

En este sencillo post quiero agradecer a todos mis amigos que han estado ahí durante esta pandemia que ha sido difícil para todos, quizás para algunos más que otros. En particular en esta oportunidad quiero agradecer a mi amigo Ken Bauer por estar diario disponible con su #educoffee y siempre dispuesto a compartir su tiempo con el mundo. (now I switch to English) Never thought that I would be checking my watch to see if it was #educoffee time. He has been more than a colleague, a true friend at the distance, several hundred kilometers separate us but still, when we meet for coffee in his educoffee sessions it feels as if we are meeting at the kitchen in our Engineering building on campus. People from several countries come and join him and others for a nice chat. I also want to thank him for helping me set up this website. I asked him one Monday about what I needed for it and by Wednesday that same week my website was up and running. This pandemic for sure is breaking many rules about everything, but it is also creating strong bonds of friendship. My other friends here in Puebla and overseas, you know how much I cherish your friendship and I also thank you for being there, always. You know who you are.

So I now end up with a video of a song that says it all: Friends for life (Amigos para siempre), the theme of the 1992 Olympic Games.

Featured Image Credits

“Freundschaft – Friendship” flickr photo by Philipp Zieger – www.philippzieger-photographie.de https://flickr.com/photos/philippzieger/31991663920 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

Concierto para “Raoul”

Dog rolling eyes

Era la noche del domingo, me había tomado dos deliciosos vasos de CocaCola con la comida y me disponía a dormir, pero no tenía en cuenta que esa noche era noche de concierto para “Raoul” . Al final de la cuadra, un gato decidió que la 1am del lunes era la hora perfecta para despertar a los perros del vecindario que, como buenos fans de este tipo de conciertos, se unieron con sus voces al coro de la rola llamada “Raoul”. Para explicar la reacción en cadena a estudiantes de cualquier nivel, deberían usar el ejemplo de los perros, que una vez que escuchan a otro a la distancia ladrar, se unen, sin importar el motivo. Esto me recuerda a mi profesor de matemáticas de primer año de secundaria de nombre Lerín, quien nos decía que parecíamos perros de rancho cuando nos uníamos al relajo en un salón cuando el profesor no llegaba a clase. Volviendo al tema del concierto, mis dos pastoras alemanas se unieron al concierto y aunado al tema de la cocacola en la comida, me pasé la noche casi en vela. Tuve que llamarlas y decirles que no eran horas para participar en conciertos y menos cuando estamos enmedio de una pandemia. Ese tipo Raoul al que nombran los gatos en sus conciertos debe ser como el Michael Jackson de los gatos. Espero que la temporada de conciertos esté terminada por el resto de la semana laboral. A dormir ahora.

Créditos de la imagen de portada:

“Betsy” flickr photo by myri_bonnie https://flickr.com/photos/myri_bonnie/6509687743 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license

Real Hero

Ship in icy waters

Mis alumnos saben que ya va a empezar la clase, tanto en el salón como ahora online, porque me gusta poner un poco de música en lo que llegan todos y se acomodan. De igual manera, cuando va a terminar la clase pongo la música y ya saben que es momento de guardar sus cosas. Ahora con esta pandemia de Covid19 la música ha cobrado un nuevo significado para mi y espero que para mis estudiantes, pues todos somos héroes unos para otros. La primera vez que escuché esta pieza musical fue en un evento hace 6 años o quizás un poco más. El evento se llamaba “Formación que Transforma Vidas” y en este evento se recalcaba la importancia de nuestra función como profesores transformando vidas, no sólo educando alumnos. La ponían en los intermedios y me gustó, sin saber que era un track de una película: “Drive”. El grupo que la cantó originalmente se llama Electric Youth. Tuve que escribir un correo a los organizadores y me mandaron el playlist para ver cuál era la melodía que me había gustado. La letra y todo tiene que ver con un piloto de un barco o nave que lleva a 155 a bordo y todos salen sanos y salvos. Haciendo la analogia con mis cursos, me gusta pensar al inicio del semestre que llevo a tantos pasajeros y espero que todos lleguen al destino esperado: aprobar el curso. Ahora con la pandemia pues está de más explicar que debemos cuidarnos todos para que cuando volvamos a vernos en persona no falte ninguno. Aqui les dejo un cover que acabo de encontrar en YouTube, espero les agrade la canción.

La letra de la canción, si o no aplica para este 2020?

Real human being
And a real hero

Back against the wall and odds
With the strength of a will and a cause
Your pursuits are called outstanding
Your emotionally complex

Against the grain of dystopic claims
Not the thoughts your actions entertain
And you have proved to be

A real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being and a real hero
Real human being

A pilot on a cold, cold morn’
One-hundred fifty-five people on board
All safe and all rescued
From the slowly sinking ship

Water warmer than, his head so cool
In that tight bind knew what to do
And you have proved to be

A real human being and a real hero

Featured image credits

“Polar Star” flickr photo by wili_hybrid https://flickr.com/photos/wili/3956249209 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC) license

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