Ovidio

Down and delirious in Mexico City

Warmth is a very strong characteristic of Mexican population. Everybody says that if you come you are going to have new friends for sure. Daniel Hernandez in hisbook talks about all the people he met and how nice they were to him, but in the first chapter (Guadalupe´s test) he showed how different Mexicans behave when faith is included.

In the secondchapter that we read Daniel writes about his very first experience with chilangos, for example Victor who the author describes as a bright, friendly, and generous guy that operates a restaurant named ElGeneralito in which Daniel spent several afternoons eating, having coffee, and talking with Victor and his partner, Juan Carlos but they never charged him for the meals, maybe this is an example ofMexican generosity but if we think twice they are nice with him after known him better and started a kind of friendship but in the first chapter when he met Christian and his other friends they werefriendly with him just because he met them in the pilgrimage to the Basilica and the faith bring the group together.

Another example is written in the book when Daniel’s parents arranged his stay withthe Uruzquieta family and Don Alfredo meet him at the airport and he “shakes his hand unenthusiastically”, although the fact of let him stay in his house without know him reflects warmth at theirfirst contact he didn’t show must confidence but in the other part of the book he mentioned how people gave food to the pilgrims at all their journey to the church and when Daniel asked his new friends“why people around the pilgrimage became so generous” the only answer was because it comes from their hearts.

The Guadalupe’s test was my favorite chapter so far because although I’m not a ferventcatholic I feel very related to la Virgen and as a Mexican I know how important she is for us and how different we all behave in the holy days and specially on December 12th and I’m very sure that...