Connecting Through Cultures: A Love Letter to Mexico

By Stella Violet

Last week, I spent my time in Mexico with my close friend’s family as my tour guide.

I used to go to Mexico a lot as a child with my immediate family and my mother always said it reminded her of her mother.

My nana was raised in both Spain and Mexico, and often visited both before she passed. So, being able to go back and not just see the touristy parts was refreshing and made me feel closer to her.

We went to the infamous Puerto Peñasco for the first three days. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful and the sunsets were like no other. However, once we made the drive to Puerto Libertad, I felt much more in touch with the culture.

The houses weren’t “cookie cutter” and had character like the ones I would visit when I was younger. People actually knew their neighbors, and when we stepped into my friend’s family home it felt like a celebration.

We were treated like family, and that also meant pulling out the little bits of Spanish I’ve learned and making an effort to understand and speak the native language.

The main thing anyone should understand when traveling to another country is that you should not expect others to sacrifice their culture to make you comfortable.

We spent our one day in Puerto Libertad walking around, getting ice cream and watching the sunset at the local beach. My friend’s mom made ceviche that night, that I will be thinking about until I can get my hands on it again.

The next morning we made our way to Hermasillo, a city in Sonora. The drive was full of many potholes and laughter.

By this time, we had been to the touristy part of Mexico, a small beach town and now we had entered the city. This was the place my friend grew up in before moving to the States.

Once we arrived in the afternoon, we went to the cutest coffee shop in town. I got a chai latte and a pastry and enjoyed the scenery.

We walked around and took photos for the majority of the afternoon and did some light shopping at the mall.

In the evening, we danced at the local bar and roamed around the streets. We laughed, cried and made the night our own.

This never-ending stigma behind Mexico being “scary” is honestly quite misleading. Sure, if you aren’t paying attention, walking around at night, something could happen to you. But, “something” could happen to you in any city in America.

Scarcity should not sway you into never wanting to travel to a foreign place. However, if you’re smart and aware, you’ll be fine.

I’m very thankful for being able to travel to a place filled with so much beauty and a culture I have lost touch with these past few years. And, I’m sure I will be back soon.

I hope anyone worried about traveling to a foreign country or, anywhere new, can see that the opportunity to experience a different culture is a blessing within itself.