What Color Is Mexico?
I remember it was yellow on my world map,
so I always pictured it so and it worked with
my images of deserts, sombreros, and corn.
Is it scarlet, like the bougainvillea cascading
over the cracked whitewashed wall or
crimson of her grandfather’s blood shed
generations ago fighting the haciendas
with Zapata?
Or is it deep green like the avocados in the market,
the nopal cactus in the desert, or the innumerable
heads of lettuce and cabbage Téo picks all day
in the sun to collect enough pesos to feed his children?
It could be the inky braid of theHuíchol muchacha
who sells raspberries and cactus fruit in the market
or the black heart of the drug runner who no longer
cares for his brothers and is afraid of his boss
who kicks the street dog with his shiny black boots.
It could be the incremental shades of coffee brown
in the faces of these Mesoamerican children
of Cortez and Montezuma as they help their families
slice and lug and sweep and laugh together
or the honey-colored tequila the Tapatios sip
in the cantina as the youngniñotries to complete
his math homework in the kitchen.
México blinds us with vibrant primary hues:
the casas, the senoritas, the hot blood, the birds of paradise,
the hibiscus, and the rainbows over the Sierra Mádres
that turn the brown heads towards the rich beauty,
away from despair and hunger.
§—William Frayer—§
- Old-time Mexican fair in Ajijic: “Verbena Jamaica del Pasado” - April 17, 2025
- San Antonio Tlayacapan - April 7, 2025
- Capirotada Fair in Ajijic - April 7, 2025