Text: Julie Schwietert Collazo
Mexico & Colombia Photos: Francisco Collazo
Cuba Photo: Brayan Collazo
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Back in December, Lola Akinmade invited me to participate in the Tripbase Best-Kept Travel Secrets Project. Time got away from me and I never followed through.

Earlier this week, Katie Erica, the writer who started the project, invited me to participate- again- so this time, I won’t let her down!

The idea behind the project is to crowd-source an epic list of travel writers’ favorite places, preferably places that are “secret.”

Now you can argue whether sharing “secret” places is a good idea, as the excellent writer David Page did in the article “Travelers’ Omerta: Is There No Place We Should Keep Secret?” It’s a valid question and one that leads to important reflections.

But the places where I travel aren’t really secret. They’re pretty much in plain view for everyone to see and visit… they simply choose not to.

So here are my three “best-kept travel secrets” and my defense of why you should visit each of them:

Mexico City, Mexico

If I could have any job other than the one I have, it would be a full-time evangelist for Mexico City.

Seriously, this is THE most exciting city on the planet, and if you know me or read my writing regularly, you know I don’t use words like “most” or “must-see” frequently.

I will spend my life trying to write a more persuasive, poignant description of Mexico City than David Lida, but until then, I’ll simply cite him with gratitude for articulating my exact feelings about “el DF”:

“I had been utterly seduced by the constant sensations of contrast, surprise, even tumult.”

“[I]t has absorbed and swallowed all the centuries of its history, yet most of them are still in evidence in some regurgitated form on the streets.”

“Mexico City is constantly improvising a new invention of itself.”

I could go on and on, but do yourself a favor and read Lida’s book, First Stop in the New World: Mexico City, The Capital of the 21st Century. Start reading his blog. And then, put Mexico City on the top of your travel list.

And once you’re there, make sure you witness the daily flag ceremony in the Zocalo. Go to a lecture at Casa Lamm and then visit their restaurant for an overpriced but totally worth it martini (try carambola). And throw yourself into a visit to Mercado San Juan like it’s the most important thing you’ll do all year. Just don’t forget your camera.

CUBA

First, understand this: Cuba is not closed.

It’s very much open for tourism and business and even if you’re an American you can go there.

I explain how in “How to Travel to Cuba and Why You Should Do It Now.”

I guarantee that you’ll come back from Cuba a changed person, one who has begun to understand what a complex nation it is, one that exists outside of all the polarized rhetoric about it. And if you don’t, well, I’ll take you out for dinner and we can talk about it.

What should you do while you’re there? I’ve written about some favorite Havana attractions for TravelMuse and favorite nightlife spots for Matador.

3. Mompox, Colombia

You’ve got to be determined to get to Mompox. You have to cross a river in a sketchy boat, then take a motorbike or sturdy vehicle to this UNESCO World Heritage site.

But if you do, it will be worth the effort, especially if you plan a visit of a week or longer.

Colombia’s legendary river, the Magdalena, runs right through the town, which is rumored to be the inspiration for novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s imaginary town of Macondo. There’s not a raucous nightlife here, or dozens of museums, but there are lots and lots of stories.

If you visit, book a bed at Matador contributor Richard McColl’s La Casa Amarilla, which Francisco and I tended for a month in 2008.

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What are your favorite travel “secrets”? Share them–or not!–in the comments.
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And be sure to check out the blogs of these writers, who I’m “tagging” to participate in the Tripbase project:

Hal Amen: WayWorded
Donna Arioldi: Prepare for Crosscheck
Megan Hill: See.Write.Live.
Reeti Roy: Clickety Click Click
Michelle Schusterman: MusicTravelWrite

Text, Photos, & Video: Francisco Collazo
Translation: Julie Schwietert Collazo
[vease abajo para la version en espanol]
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I saw them crossing the river with my own eyes. No one stopped them.

In fact, they crossed two rivers en masse: the Hudson and the East Rivers. They came from everywhere– the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and even New Jersey– to celebrate Mexico’s Independence Day in New York. Some were wearing traditional clothing and hats; others carried flags or red, white, and green striped ribbons, the colors of the Mexican flag. There were the churro sellers and the flag and hat vendors. In the background, a mix of ranchera and other types of popular Mexican music are playing and shouts of “Viva Mexico!” resound. It’s an important day for those gathered here: it’s the first official parade celebrating Mexican Independence Day in New York!

The border isn’t Tijuana anymore, but the Barrio, where the greatest concentration of Mexicans can be found in the city. Their presence is easy to see. Businesses carry typical names like “Mi Pueblana,” “La Lupita,” or just post a sign that says “Mexican products sold here.” The Mexican population has grown here in recent years, and they’re the third largest immigrant group in New York after the Dominicans and Puerto Ricans. They work in every neighborhood, doing all types of jobs: restaurant work, construction, cleaning, child care, truck drivers, to name just a few.

This year, they marched for the first time along Madison Avenue to celebrate their home country’s 199th year of independence. Although it wasn’t very well publicized, the event was well organized and the presence of Mexican Americans was impressive.

According to its organizers, the goal was to parade down the 5th Avenue like other immigrant groups do. For them, it’s a sign of recognition and an assertion that they’re here to stay. Long live Mexico!

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Los vi cruzar el río con mis propios ojos sin que nadie los detuvieran. De hecho cruzaron los dos ríos en masa: El Hudson y el Río del Este.

Llegaban de todas partes– Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island y hasta de Nueva Jersey– para festejar el día de la independencia de México en la ciudad de Nueva York, algunos con sus trajes típicos y sombreros, otros con banderas y llevando cintas con colores patrios.

Se ven los vendedores de churros, banderas y sombreros.

En el trasfondo una mezcla de música ranchera y de todo tipo que salen a grito desde las gargantas abiertas de los altoparlantes. Gritos de Viva México! se escucha por todas parte. Es un día muy importante para ellos; es su primer desfile en la ciudad de Nueva York!

El borde no es Tijuana, sino El Barrio. Aquí se encuentra la mayor concentración de mexicanos y se nota con claridad su presencia. Los negocios llevan por nombre “Mi Pueblana,”“La Lupita,” o simplemente le agregan un cartel que anuncia:“Se Vende Productos Mexicanos.” La populación de inmigrantes mexicanos en Nueva York ha crecido en los últimos años.

Es la tercera después de los dominicanos y puertorriqueños. Y ya se hacen notar.

Es muy común verlos en cualquier barrio de la ciudad trabajando en todo tipo de áreas, restaurantes, construcciones, limpieza, cuido de niños y choferes de camiones de entrega, para mencionar solo los mas significantes empleos que estos nuevos inmigrantes ocupan.

Este año marcharon por primera vez la Avenida Madison de esta ciudad. Aunque no muy concurrido aun, estuvo bien organizado y se pudo ver la presencia en masa de los residentes de origen mexicano.

Según sus organizadores sus metas son desfilar por la 5ta. Avenida de Nueva York, como lo hacen los otros grupos de inmigrantes. Es para ellos un signo de reconocimiento y dejan saber que aquí están para quedarse.

Que viva México!

Among the films in the Havana Film Festival New York line up was the New York premiere of director Rodrigo Pla’s morality tale, “Desierto Adentro”:

I wanted so much to like this film–first, because it was made in and about Mexico; second, because the shots were steady and lovely; third, because the plot seemed to have so much promise; and fourth, because the characters–the narrator, in particular–were so interesting.

Yet as it plodded on, each scene became increasingly unbelievable. The sins of the father, for which he was trying to atone, continued to accumulate; as they did, he failed to learn any of the lessons that the consequences of his actions were intended to teach him. Predictably, and in accordance with biblical precedent, the sins of the father were visited on his children–over and over again; they died one by one in needless accidents, all trying to transact repentance on behalf of their father. Eventually, the only child left is the narrator–the most fragile of the children, and the one who was never expected to live. The father, never having overcome his hubris and profoundly flawed interpretations of God’s will, hangs himself from the beams of a church he and his children have spent years building.

There is no happy ending, which is fine, but there’s no growth either. It’s a Mexican tale endowed with a mythic sense of Greek tragedy.

Sometimes the provocation of incredulity works, especially in Latin American cinema, but credibility and faith must either be restored or some other payoff must eventually be rendered.

In the case of “Desierto Adentro,” neither happens. The film may well take a place alongside other contemporary Mexican movies that have been similarly preoccupied with religion, sins, and the theme of taking responsibility for the consequences of breaking moral and social taboos (I’m thinking, for instance, of “The Crimes of Padre Amarro” and “Y Tu Mama, Tambien,”) but if it does so, it will be thanks to the skillful camera work and the raw beauty of the film’s backdrop, not for its script.