A Walk Through Vallarta, Part II
Louisa Yim
Join me for the walk, amigos…
The two gringa muchachas, Mama Luisa and perrita Chihuahua, Paulina, do chores today which involve lots of walking and as it turns out, lots of talking, too. Everywhere we venture on these Vallarta streets, there is a friendly face, Mexicano or gringo, and so often a conversation of sorts ensues as a result of just passing by another stroller.
If a walker should have, by chance, a pooch on a leash, that guarantees at least a five minute minimum chat..As others can attest, often those five minutes elongate and soon a bond emerges between two dog parents, not unlike what might transpire between parents of infants or toddlers. I would suspect, that often, we go beyond and share our most intimate concerns regarding our furry children. Case in point; a gringo with leash in hand, gave me sound information as to the best Veterinary venue for anal gland squeezing. Now, can you beat that!
Today, our destination, my furry child and I.. the Mexican open air market, pocketed in a typical Mexican barrio, a good mile walk from home. One that I love for its beautiful prolific produce, fruits/veggies, and meats..
We select our veggies first, all vibrant in color and firm to the touch, freshly harvested and yearning for the dinner table.
Stalls away from fruits and veggies, we head to the chicken vendor venue..
Amongst the’ pollo’ display, chickens looking like real chickens with body parts..I avoid those!
I would rather imagine a chicken as an inanimate object that lives under plastic wrapping…For the most part, not my destiny at this reality show mercado, however!
With one exception. My numero uno favorite poultry outlet, the one of its kind, has everything already cut up, which really helps to numb the imagination. A perfect disguise.. thank goodness…To customers’ delight, the butcher will do a complimentary chicken skin removal. With a terry washcloth in one hand, the process of de-skinning is quick and almost effortless…helping to sustain the illusion of fowl anomynity.
The butcher, a fortyish rotund man with big smile, is friendly and conversational. I order six raw chicken legs to= go and they are quickly bagged in plastic for hand delivery.
Meanwhile, my eyes focus on an oddity behind the poultry glass. I inquire as to why some chicken wings and other butchered parts in the display ‘case’ are golden in color with splotches of red dots…Maybe a different breed of chicken, I ponder..
Come to find out, as my butcher explains, they have been’ pre- marinated’..
My interest is sparked…so I asked to buy one piece, one, only, to try….one.. maybe a little wing; that would suffice.
No such luck! Senor butcher fills a plastic bag with an assortment of sunshine yellowed chicken segments. More than I had hoped for.
Not willing to sound un- gracious, I ask, how much…and he retorts, “A regalo, gift, for you, senora!!!”
I reply…”Graciasgracias, but i want to pay, senor butcher!” “Nunca, senora!” he responds with fervor.
So often, in my travels and interactions with Mexican locals, kind and thoughtful gestures are the rule of thumb.
Pardon my posing the inquiry, but would these not so random acts of kindness be experienced on my native home front??? Most probably not, I surmise!
Paulina, perrita gordita, and mama persona,with yellow chicken parts in tow, happily amble the cobblestone streets enroute to to our abode when something, unknowingly to me, a small parcel, escapes from my overly stuffed backpack.
Suddenly i hear shouts…scared me, really, at first…
To the point…
Men/workers, eating lunch at a small on the street food stand, are signaling me that my parcel has fallen to the cobblestones. As I turn around, one portly man jumps from his stool at the street counter, leaving his taco lunch behind, to fetch my small plastic bag and bring it to me.. It is not my senor Colonel’s chicken that has fallen, luckily; rather,a full head of deep green broccoli has taken refuge from the pack.
A random act of kindness to fetch this gringa’s errant veggie ? I don’t think so! Just an ‘everyday’ gesture that is so typical of the fabric of this community. Another act of kindness, a la Mexicana.
Luisa Yim is six month resident of lovely Puerto Vallarta, hailing from Minnesota.
