Enough talk about Free Trade! The last three months I've spent working, eating, sleeping, and drinking "Free trade". As a Canadian living and working in Mexico City, its difficult to avoid the subject, whether I'm sitting in a cantina comer reading the local or international press, or attending another numbing cocktail party where everyone has an opinion on the subject or expects some insightful analysis from their own resident gringo!
Thoughts of impending financial ruin, cultural loss, abandoned workers, environmental suicide, and soon I'm drifting off in a sweet contemplation of simpler times and the beauties of this city which was first inhabited by a drunk eagle wrestling with a cactus and a snake...if anything is sacred, original, and definitely worth importing from this great belching capital, it's the grand tradition of Mexico City's bars and cantinas where H.G. Wells' notion of time and travel can be captured in one quick swallow and a joyous (or painful) yell.
No "Wine Coolers" or "Bacardi Breezers"Ñthese are times of stronger stuff. A visit to any cantina or local bar, and you'll find a dizzying array of tequilas, brandies, rums, whiskeys, liquors, and, of course, beer. Traditional Mexican style is to drink your personal choice of liquor straight (in a shot glass) with a cold beer chaser. Don't bother asking for light beer - you won't find it! Happily, Mexico has still managed to avoid the ridiculous brand proliferation which has wiped the minds of North American beer drinkers.
What Mexico City has managed to keep, is the wonderful tradition of cocktails. Bar patrons drink them with enthusiasm, and bartenders make them with care and pride. It is nearly impossible to find a bartender who isn't wearing a white shirt and tie and one who doesn't know the more than sixty different cocktail preparations which are consumed regularly. Vampire's, Cuba Libre's, Pancho Villa's, Brown Cow's, Silk Stocking's, Angel's Kisses, Bull's, and of course, the legendary Margarita. It comes as stiff surprise to many of Mexico City's visitors, that the Margarita is not a giant lime slush cup as it is commonly served in the United States and Canada. In fact, the Margarita is Mexico's version of the Martini, prepared with two ounces of tequila, one ounce of triple sec (orange liquor), and only one ounce of fresh lime juice...and a little bit of ice.
It's hard not to smile at the passionate and humourous affection Mexicans have shown for their "watering holes". Cantinas often have hilarious and ironic names:
"The After Life", "My Last Will and Testament", and "The Second to Last Stop" are all cantinas situated next to local cemeteries. Other names include "I Didn't Get an Education", "The Door to the Sun", "The Black Rat", and "My Office".
And Mexicans have always been fervent in protecting the ambiance of their bars and cantinas. Today one can still find cantinas where they prohibit women, minors, and men in uniform.
As you read this, take comfort that this evening I'll probably be visiting my favourite cantina, "The Seminary", which is tucked in right behind the Grand Cathedral of Mexico City, and I won't be thinking of Free Trade.
