Real Problems Real Solutions

Two weeks ago we traveled to Loma De Bathi a small community located in the state of Querétaro to meet the artisan, Laura. A few weeks ago, we went to the town of Amlealco to find local artisans and with the desire to work with them to sell their products for them online, reaching a larger market. We received positive feedback from a group of seamstresses and we met up  with Laura, one of these workers, to take us to the shop.

KOTI workers

Laura is one of eight other women in a company called KOTI. Each worker has a slightly different skills ranging from embroidery, different types of stitching, and weaving. The personal lives of each woman differ, but we learned that some of the women lacked the opportunity to obtain a formal education and as a result, some are not able to read and write. Because of the lack of this skill set, they are alienated from other job opportunities.

KOTI started as municipal government initiative to create social and economic prosperity for women in the Amealco area. The livelihood of these women is based off of the products that they sell in the markets and at festivals. Currently, the shop only operates when they have revenue from sales and due to the structure of their business, it is not uncommon for them to return from the market empty-handed.

The workshop 

In addition to this blog serving as a community to share Mexican culture, Hecho's higher goal is to provide an avenue for Mexican artisans, like Laura, to sell their products online and create social and economic development for communities. While we recognize the good that other grassroots groups provide, we believe that too often these projects do not promise the results desired. Funds are dispersed, schools are built, or wells dug without true consideration towards the recipients' actual needs. These projects fail to achieve their potential. These  managing organizations may also fail to utilize the enormous human capital available in these communities to help produce these products, missing opportunities to unite and enrich the community in a common purpose. Our approach with working with KOTI is to provide the opportunity for these women to reach a larger audience to sell their products online and create direct economic stimulation into the lives of their families and communities.

It's easy to think of a solution to Mexico's challenges from sitting in the United States. However, just like a mountain becomes more detailed as one gets closer, Mexico's strengths and weaknesses become more complex and intertwined as more is learned. Negative judgments or blurted out observations on Mexico are the norm when the only information absorbed is from CNN, Fox News, or tourist resorts. When we take time to develop friendships with Mexicans and become more educated on their reality, it's apparent that we are more alike than different than originally thought by realizing our goals, desires, and fears are similar, if not the same. We have a richer appreciation for Mexico, and the people who represent it, and as a result, find real solutions to real problems.

Is Mexico Industrialized?

Perhaps you pride yourself on staying current with the news, you are reading this because you want to learn more about Mexico, or that you've stumbled upon this blog and liked the photo on the right. Think about what you know about Mexico what comes to your mind?

One perception of Mexico is that it's a purely undeveloped country filled with men wearing sombreros and colorful Mexican ponchos living in a huge cactus filled country. Surprising many who visit Mexico*, the country is filled with diversity and is much more developed that we are led to believe from this spreading falselore in the United States.

One of the reasons for this is that, like much of Europe, the buildings here are built from block and cement, not of wood like they are in the US. While Americans consider cement buildings for homes as strange and typically inferior, Mexicans and those Europeans that I have befriended and talked to about this topic, find it equally strange that while our commercial buildings are typically built from cement, our homes are built out of wood and are more susceptible to damage from storms, tornados, and hurricanes. Houses built from block more effectively insulate against hot summer days. Air-conditioning is minimal if existent at all. 

Notice where Mexico is listed on the far left.

Our media diet also contributes to our false understanding of Mexico. We gorge ourselves with stories of assumed Mexicans crossing the border and Hollywood's portrayal with comical, but not accurate, movies like Nacho Libre. Synthesizing these factors, we are lead to believe that Mexico is Hellishly dangerous and Mexican day consists of dealing drugs, drinking tequila, and eating tacos. We forget, or are just pridefully unaware that many cities in the United States have a much higher homicide rate than cities in Mexico. Because we are familiar with our own communities, we discredit the danger of our own areas and magnify danger of the unknown.

The culmination of our unawareness of Mexico is pity. Pity towards another culture and people. Tourist pity comes from other developed countries' citizens visiting Mexico while they view the country through the lens of their own culture. These tourists look down and degrade Mexico. To make maters worse, these people then go and return home, sharing their experiences of assumed Mexico with their friends and family. We are happy that they had fun in Mexico, but we wish that the tourists that only stayed in the resorts took the opportunity to see the rest of what the country offered. They are fixed on believing that their customs are automatically better rather than being willing to view another culture based of what is considered right or wrong in the one they are currently visiting. Mexicans don't want pity, they want to be respected and understood and when visitors create this mental divide between the countries, more uneducated assumptions are spread about Mexico.

Anna and I don't disagree that there are places in Mexico that are underdeveloped, there are also places that are just as developed, if not more, that my own country. Here are a few photos to illustrate this from the capital of Mexico, Mexico City, a smaller town called San Miguel De Allende, and the city where I study, Santiago De Querétaro.

San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato 

Mexico City even has a China Town

A street in Mexico City

One of Mexico City's subway stations 

When I am asked by my Mexican friends what I have liked most while in Mexico, I gratefully respond that I have been able to witness and interact with authentic Mexico. I have learned for myself what Mexican culture really is, rather than what we hear and see in the United States. I have opportunity and responsibility to share this knowledge with others.
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*Ideally in places outside of the tourist havens like Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. 

Amealco

Hecho has been on the hunt to locate local
artisans and connect their culturally rich products to the global market. As mentioned in our last post, Hecho's goal is to be an online retailer of Mexican handcrafts and goods directly from the makers, creating economic development to these communities. Last week our search took us to the towns of Amealco and San Ildefonso. The Amealco area is known for its production of traditional muñecas (dolls) and its hosting of the National Muñeca Festival. When we arrived, we wandered through crowds of people at the various booths selling clothing, ceramics, bags, and everything in between. We knew that the festival was our best shot at finding these local artisans. Thankfully, we were able to create a few connections, and we hope to be able to share these artisans' goods with all of you. You can check out some of the photos we took of the festival and market by going to our Facebook page here.

The state of Oaxaca.

While there, we met another group of social entrepreneurs from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca (pronounced Uahaka). who travel to various festivals and markets selling their products, such a honey and embroidered textiles. We want to recognize them for the good they are doing by encouraging you to visit their website.



As we left Amealco, I happened to record a video of us driving through the town. By chance, Anna has music playing in the background so it does a nice job of creating a positive ambiance and distracts from the dirty windshield.

Keeping you updated on what's to come, we are going to return to Amealco and visit out connections this Friday. We are going to tackle the misconception held by many that Mexico is an purely undeveloped country.

Anna and I want to write about Mexican topics that are most interesting to you. Please write a comment or question below here or on our Facebook page.

Thank you all again!

Mi Mexico.

Hello everybody, I'm Ana and I'm from Mexico (born and raised in this country). As you know, we have a lot of regions, each one with different types of traditions, foods, music. 

The weather in Mexico most of the time is hot. We have deserts, forests and beaches. We don't have snow, but you always see the sun even if is a cloudy day. Sometimes it is really hot, especially in the summer, but you can eat lemon ice-cream, sweets, or maybe drink horchata. 

Mexico has 32 states, and each one has different traditions, but we have something in common, and I want to share those traditions that define me as a mexican. 

We have big families. There are five people in my family, but every weekend we spend time with our grandparents, aunts, cousin, and so on. We are 70 in total, more or less. We like to cook different types of food, mostly food with chili (Mexico has a variety of chilis), and we eat a lot of things with corn, like tortilla, tostadas, pozole, tacos :).

The aqueducts "Los Arcos" built in 1762

I live in Queretaro. This city is a colonial city and here you can find beautiful churches and "Los Arcos", the most emblematic moment from here, we have candies like "pedos de monja" (nun farts) and some other candies, the most popular ones are "Dulces de Bernal", but most of them are made with chocolate or milk.

Hidalgo, Mexico

I was born in Hidalgo, another state, this state is know because we have "barbacoa" (food), and a lot of natural hot
springs.

I want to talk about some traditions starting in January and the "Dia de Reyes". Here the children have toys and we have "Rosca de Reyes", and inside of the rosca there is a little dolls, and the people who have the dolls in February he/she has to give "tamales" for the people. In February we have "Dia de la Candelaria" and here the people who have the dolls have to give tamales. In March we have a parade to celebrate the start of spring. The children make a parade with customs related to the spring like animals, flowers, trees, etc. 

June/July is summer, time to relax and going to the beach or to vacation with your family somewhere. For me, I always go to the south because my mother is from Merida, Yucatan. In Merida, we have lots of beaches, pyramids, good food, kind people, and a lot of sun and hot humid weather. The summer is about 2-3 months long. I enjoy going there because I love the the hot humid nights. If you go there, you will see a lot of people and you will hear the "trove", this is the typical music from Merida. While you are there, you have to try all the food you can, and don't forget Chichen Itza. 

an altar during the Day of the Dead

After the summer, we have our independence day, September 16th. For the holiday, we eat tamales, pozole, "chiles en nogada", drink tequila and sing mariachi. In November we have "Dia de Muertos", well know worldwide, this is beautiful tradition. We make alters to remember our deceased family members. For the holiday specific food, we eat "calaveritas" from sugar and chocolate. In addition, also we eat "pan de muerto", and we use special flowers to decorate the alters. In December we have a lot of celebrations. Almost all the month we have something to celebrate. We start with the "Dia de la virgen de Guadalupe" (Lupita), she is a Mexican virgin and in Mexico is a very important day. Some people go to celebrate in the "basilica the Guadalupe". We have the "posadas" these are celebrations around Christmas. During the posadas we have piñatas and we make hot ponche with fruits, after this we have Christmas and New Year eve. 

Those are the most important celebrations, but each family has their own and also each part of the country celebrate it different.

Hey You!

Introduction:

Ana and Nathanael is the town of Amealco, Querétaro, Mexico 

First off, THANK YOU for reading this, and let's introduce ourselves, we are Ana Cruz and Nathanael Haggard. We are students of Tecnologico de Monterrey, Querétaro.
Ana is Mexican and is studying finance and Nathanael is from the United States and is studying international relations.

Our blog's intentions: 

This blog has come about because of our desire to showcase Mexico to those around the world. While studying in Mexico, Nathanael realized that Mexico is not what people say it is. Ana and Nathanael decided to start this blog in order to erase some of those false assumptions. 

Our plan:

While we are still just getting started, our goal is to create social development in Mexico. We are working with local artisans to sell their products online to share their cherished culture. You can help us start this movement by continuing to read this blog, leave comments, and share it in your spheres of influence.  

We also are in the process of featuring other Mexican on the blog to let them share their voice.

Querétaro, Mexico 

Thanks for reading and sharing!