A common disciplinary measure employed by Mexican moms is a jalón de orejas, which might be interpreted as a wrenching grip on a kid’s earlobe or perhaps an emotionally painful verbal scolding.
Well. I’ve run out of steam on berating fellow expats for rude and uncouth behavior towards our mexicano neighbors, so instead this time I’m focused on motherly reproof of government folks who come up with bizarre and perplexing schemes.
I fully know that as a foreigner it’s not my place to tell the authorities how to do business, but there are moments when I can’t help shaking my head in bewilderment and wondering aloud “What the heck were they thinking?”
Take for example City Hall’s public invitation to attend a Noche Mexicana to fund the creation and installation of a plaque to honor Chapala’s newest Sister City. The issue isn’t the ticket price at 300 pesos a pop. That’s perfectly reasonable for an event that includes the cost of dinner and entertainment.
What irks me is that the government treasury seems to have sufficient funds to throw mass celebrations for Día del Niño, Día de las Madres and Día del Maestro, just to mention this month’s three major public parties.
So what’s up with the Sister City monument? Are the bigwigs contemplating something on the scale of Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower? You can bet your bottom dollar the City Council in Pico Rivera, CA didn’t ask constituents to shell out for their “We Love Chapala” marker.
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.