Visitors & Vigilantes

Vigilantes & Visitors
Recipe:

ingredients:

13000 or so residents
30 plus expatriate Europeans and Americans.
200-300 visitors from countries throughout the world
Ethyl alcohol
Deep seated religious beliefs
A bit of cultural indifference

Place the 13000 residents in one bowl. Stir in religious belief and mix evenly until no more can be added.

In a separate bowl place the expatriates and add smidgen of cultural indifference. Dump in the visitors and mix thoroughly. Distribute evenly among 10 or so Pubs. Add ethanol to taste and let rise for about 5-6 hours (approximately 1:00 a.m.)
Once the mixture has actively absorbed all of the alcohol, add quickly to the first bowl and attempt to stir…

Using the recipe provided one should expect to obtain 50 to 100 Guatemalan sized vigilantes…

Watch out! This entry is laden with a bunch of assumptions and opinions…

Aside from the guard at the bank and the occasional armored car pickup it is rare to see anyone who resembles a police officer in San Pedro. Domingo, my host and lifelong resident of this small city, often reminds us that the best thing about San Pedro is that it is tranquilo…no banditos…no peligroso (not dangerous). One would like to believe that this is solely due to the fact that this community is so tightly intertwined, connected to each other through deep spiritual beliefs in morality and love for one another. Perhaps this is somewhat true, but this is the first place in my travels that anything has been stolen off my bike.

So without cops, how is this place so safe? Perhaps it has something to do with the Comission de Seguridad, a not so small group of townsfolk who patrol the streets and alleys late in the evening hours. Back when I was a punk teenager stealing street signs in my hometown all I had to worry about was the odd cop randomly cruising a back street. And then, even if we were caught, there was a due process that we would be subjected to. The prospect of being caught in the street by a small mob acting on federal and city law mixed with their own religious dogma seems a bit more intimidating. Apparently these groups of 10-50 or more are recognized by the local government and sometimes accompanied by police. During our last lunch, I asked Domingo about the whistle carrying (I have not seen any weapons) groups who roam the street in the late evening hours. He explained that these groups are necessary and good for the safety of residents of the city. Apparently the city is divided into a number of districts, each with its own “neighborhood watch” group.

Let’s add some bars and barracho (drunk) turistas and see what you get.

There are a number of bars in town…or at least the tourist part of town. It seems that although the property may be locally owned, almost all of the dining and drinking establishments are owned and or operated by former citizens of the US, Canada, or Europe. As a side note, I have always wondered what it really meant to be an expatriate citizen. In the case of the folks that either own or are fixtures at many of these establishments it seems to mean that you don’t want to participate in or contribute in any real way to your home country so you move to another country to take advantage of it’s lax laws and cheap living expenses, thereby allowing you to avoid making a real contribution to the new place. It seems that many of these folks are slightly lost souls looking for a great place to be really, really lazy. Of course I recognize that many people give their lives to improve healthcare, environment, education, and social justice in places that are not their birth origin. And it’s important to remember that this is based on just a few conversations with some bitter expats, but it has really made me think about how we as visitors contribute or detract from a place like this. More importantly it has made me think about what my motivations would be if I were to move to a place like San Pedro. I know that I would need to feel like I was here to contribute in some way, directly or indirectly, to positive development in the community or environment. To be sure, this is the case for a large handful of gringos in the area, but I’m not so sure about the folks who spend the majority of their time hanging around at drinking establishments with other gringos.

Drinking is frowned upon by the vast majority of residents in San Pedro. My tutor has indicated that for folks who do drink it is usually limited to festivals. That being said there are a very small number of cantinas frequented only by locals. I’m not sure what they drink, but the persons exiting these establishments are some of the drunkest I have ever witnessed, sometimes passing out in the street only a few meters from the door. Apparently alcoholism and drug use are a rising problem among young residents driving the poorest families into even greater distress.

I heard about the vigilantes about a week ago for the first time. Some of my classmates had run into huge mobs on their walk home from the bar. Generally they were just told that it was late and they should head home. Supposedly the Commission de Seguridad has recently decided that the federal closing time of 1 a.m. for drinking establishments was not early enough, so they have been forcing businesses to shut their doors at 11. It is difficult for me to discern whether or not they are acting on their own in this decision or if it is with the support of the city officials. Recently the groups have made their way through the streets, flooded the bars, and ordered the patrons to go home. These are non violent encounters, but there have been rumors of some rock throwing and possible use of pepper spray. Domingo did confirm that the group took two cameras from turistas that were photographing one of the encounters. An act met with disapproval by city officials. The establishment owners are infuriated with the vigilantes and the city and are uniting to fight this infringement of their rights in court.

The other night I passed a small group of these whistle blowers (there only weapon) on my way home from a late dinner and a couple beers. A simple “Buenos Noches” was the only password I needed to continue on my way. Upon arriving home I sat down on the stoop of my house listening to the intermittent sounds of whistles being blown throughout the city. Is this the response to a culture that is in fear of losing its’ young? Is this the reaction of a community that feels it has been disrespected by the aliens on its shores? The partying is limited to the one street by the shore of the lake, far away from most of the residents of the town, but I try to imagine what it must look like through the eyes of an ultra conservative resident. On a nightly basis there is music and drinking late into the evening, not a whole lot different than any us vacation destination or pub district in a city. The difference is that this behavior is culturally normal in the college town, at a club in Providence, or in downtown Seattle. In some ways this little street is like building a Strip Club in Provo Utah…

Without these businesses there would be very little tourism, no kayak rentals, few ferry boats, no horse rides, and few hotels. Is tourism good for this community…Who knows? Is there a right way for cultures to integrate? Should they? What responsibilities do the establishment owners have to ensure they are respecting the community in which they operate? The patrons? When and how does the community accept change?

How do we all maintain our own beliefs and set of ethics while interacting with another cultural system? As I think about it I cannot find any answers, instead I am confronted with deeper questions. This cultural clash could be seen as but a tiny metaphor for some of the major conflicts in our world. Perhaps some recipes just leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth, but if you can make cake out of carrots then somewhere out there exists the secret ingredient to mutual respect and love for one another.


Thanks for reading

Love
Jay