Day 24. Mexico 2022. My bucket list in Tecolutla

I woke up with a start, to the sound of a trifulca or water spout that fell on the town with unusual fury. Over 30 minutes we had as much rainfall as in a couple of normal rain days. I took the time to go over my Must-do list for the day:

• Take a canoe ride through the estero.
• 2.      Go for a long walk on the beach.
• 3.      Eat a huachinango al mojo de ajo.
• 4.      Relax.

I accomplished the first three, but as usual failed miserably at the fourth one.

The estuary of the Rio Tecolutla is a river-dominated estuary, where the fresh water of the river floats over the wedge of saltwater coming from the sea, so it is freshwater almost to the bar, where the waves encounter the river flow to form a bore or hump. Near its mouth it has small branches, locally called esteros, which are the site of numerous juvenile fish species, crabs, birds, turtles, and crocodiles. It was a highpoint of the family vacations to Tecolutla (which, truth be told, does not have many exciting options), and we were always thrilled when we sighted a croc or saw a group of turtles sunning on a tree trunk. I was lucky enough to get a sit on a boat ride with another family, and enjoyed myself as much as when I was a kid. One difference is that, on our way back, we received the visit of another boat (which we called the Oxxo boat) carrying fruit sherbet, mangos, sodas, and all sorts of snacks. I had a cup of sliced mango with Tajin. Super-yummy.

Contrary to yesterday, when the beach was deserted, today it was a lively affair, with lost and lots of families playing in the surf. Lots of brown scrawny kids playing in the sand, in which I thought I recognized myself and my siblings. Tecolutla is pitched just right for the Mexican tourism, with lots of small palapas and beach vendors. So it is possible to have a seaside lunch of seafood, drink a few drinks, and relax seeing the children play without having to take a second mortgage to afford it. Unfortunately I have lost the taste of playing in the waves, particularly solo, so instead I walked a good three kilometers along the beach, remembering the old days. I believe this was the one place where we were happiest as a family, and I was glad I could celebrate the memory of my wonderful parents in this lovely walk.

I have been eating too much, as you will be able to see next time we meet. However, I just had to have a deep fried red snapper (huachinango), for old times sake. I asked around and finally was directed to the pescadería de Don Goyo, who has the reputation of being the freshest fish in town. I found it in a dead-end street and it sure was not a glamorous place, but Don Goyo and his wife welcomed me like a son, I was taken into the pescadería to choose the fish that best suited my wishes, and the lady of the house prepared it for me to perfection, right then and there. I am the luckiest guy!

Relaxation is not something that comes easily to me, but ever since I visited Yucatán I have been puzzled about the indenture servitude of the henequeneras, and the mahogany exploitations in the jungles of Chiapas, so I got hold of a book that has shaken me to the core: Barbarous Mexico by John Kenneth Turner. Turner was an American journalist who traveled to Mexico in 1908 and 1909 to document the barbarous implementation of the indenture servitude system, which should probably me simply called slavery of the worst kind. I will tell you more about this in the next couple of days, because I have decided to change my plans to go visit the deepest pit of the slavery hell, in Valle Nacional, Oaxaca (almost border with Veracruz, along the Rio Papaloapan),

For today, please let me set the historical scene. In 1857 a new constitution was approved, which some critics claim was a repeat of the US Constitution, but which differed in one very significant point: The Constitution of 1857 gave the right of ownership of the land to the people who had lived on it and worked it since ancestral times. Conservative and foreign interests opposed this clause, and in part that was what triggered the French invasion and the monarchy of Maximilian. One Juarez had defeated them, he enforced the Constitution of 1857 plus the amendment that stripped the army and clergy of the property and privileges they had enjoyed so far. Porfirio Diaz attempted to wrestle the presidency from Juarez by vote and by insurrection, but was defeated. After the death of Juarez, Lerdo de Tejada became president, and this is where Porfirio Diaz got his chance. He organized a military coup, and thus became president from 1876 to 1880, and then dictator from 1884 to 1911. Pressured by foreign interests and his own corrupt friends, he found a clever way around the right of ownership clause of the constitution, by asserting that the right of ownership would only be recognized for those who had official title to the land. Since the ancestral users had no such title, suddenly the land of the whole passed to the government, which was glad to sell it to the best bidder. Enormous tracts of land were bought by powerful amigos of Diaz, some as front for American land investors, at which point hands were needed to work the new haciendas.

Enter Felix Diaz, nephew of Porfirio Diaz and Mexico City’s Chief of Police. This SOB was a corrupt as the worst mafioso has ever been, and started the massive deportation of people to tierra caliente, to create the system of indenture servitude. Porfirio Diaz also refined the system of corruption that has plagued Mexico ever since, selling people and protection for generous kickbacks all the way to the top.

I have been to Chiapas and Yucatán, but now is time for me to go to the heart of the beast, in Valle Nacional, to pay my respects to the million slaves murdered there, and to Valle del Yaqui in Sonora, to do the same on behalf of the thousands upon thousands of Yaqui Indians that were deported to work and die in Yucatán, just because some greedy bastards coveted their fertile lands.