MEXICAN CULTURE CHAPTER EIGHT

In the resort areas of Mexico, the fact that English is so widely spoken makes perfect sense. Since the majority of the tourists are Americans and Canadians, it makes perfect sense that a high degree of English fluency would reign. It seems to me those who have expatriated to these resort areas simply took advantage of something that existed long before it became all the rage to buy a condo in Puerto Vallarta, for example. They could then have this vacation place for family and friends to come and visit without the linguistic handicap one finds in non-tourist venues. This makes sense.

Where I fall apart is trying to apply this to San Miguel de Allende where tens of thousands of gringos dwell. The original expat wave did seek, with all due diligence, to learn the language as the right and common portal to the culture. They sought to experience an intense culture change within themselves as the result of living in someone else's culture. So, would the first wave expats even be called expats? Could we not say they were true immigrants?

The subsequent wave of expats came in like locusts responding to the slick and oily advertising that told them they could have everything, without exception, they had in the United States but in greater and more grandiose quantities. They came roaring into town with the expectation of having more of what they had in the States only cheaper. They could hire a staff of 40 maids, gardeners, roofers, and anything else for practically nothing. The appeal became NOT the learning of a second language or absorbing a new culture.

The appeal was to live in an English-only Mexican town where real estate hounds would show you how to get away from it all without giving anything up. Each expat would become notable for just how thoroughly he or she had managed to bring the comforts of the north into a quaint Mexican town. The term with which I am currently struggling is Cultural Imperialism.