|
Newest Mexican Theme Park....Pretend to be Illegal for the Night
On a misty, moonless night, the group scurried down the canyon wall, their feet slipping in the ankle-high mud. The sirens grew louder as their guide, clad in a ski mask and known only as Poncho, urged them to run faster. "Hurry up! The Border Patrol is coming!" A couple in matching designer tennis outfits loped awkwardly along, the boyfriend clutching a digital video camera and struggling to keep the pop-out screen steady.The 20 or so people fleeing the Border Patrol aren't undocumented immigrants - they're tourists about 700 miles from the border. Most are well-heeled professionals more likely to travel to the United States in an airplane than on foot. They've each paid 150 pesos - about $15 - for what is perhaps Mexico's strangest tourist attraction: A night as an illegal immigrant crossing the Rio Grande. Advertising for the mock journey, which takes place at a nature park in the central state of Hidalgo, tells the pretend immigrants to "Make fun of the Border Patrol As craven as the advertising sounds, the organizers say they are trying to build empathy for migrants by putting people in their shoes. And the organizers, members of a Hnahnu (pronounced nyah-nyoo like Mork from Ork) indigenous community, speak from experience. Leaders estimate as many as 90 percent of the 2,500-person community have made the journey to the United States, most ending up in the boomtown of Las Vegas. Can't wait for them to claim the right to form a reservation, and to open their own casino....ah, the American dream.... The trip also seeks to educate participants on Hnahnu culture and represents a source of income for the community, leaders said. The Mexican government helped finance the creation of the Eco Alberto nature park, which is communally-owned. Until almost 2 a.m., the group scaled walls, hid in tunnels, jumped on the back of pickup trucks and followed a path through a cornfield. The trip ended with a blindfolded ride to a Hnahnu holy place where Poncho, whose real name is Alfonso Martinez Flores, asked the group Word of the tourist attraction has provoked much head scratching among immigrant advocates in the United States and real life immigrants who have made the trek across the border. Some called the risk-free adrenaline rush insulting. Others said it could improve the often-conflicted attitudes of Mexicans toward their compatriots who migrate. "Anything that "Not to mention the rich ones living large back here in Mexico are less likely to leave and send back money! We need dollars, not pesos, dammit!!" The trip starts with a rousing rendition of the Mexican national anthem and a meandering speech by Poncho, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Mexican Zapatisa rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos, in his black ski mask. Poncho tells his charges that they will not only be retracing the steps of migrants, but embarking on a personal spiritual journey. So it's not simulated lawbreaking, it's a New Age retreat? "Through this we are going to create the bonds of brotherhood that we've forgotten as a people," he says. As the group sets off down the muddy road, high-pitched sirens pierce the night and the group begins the first of what will be many forced gallops through the woods. Coming into a clearing, the group crouches down as Hnahnu community members pretending to be U.S. Border Patrol agents shine a spotlight. The mock agents try to lure the people out with food and water and warn them of the dangers of the desert. "We're here to help you," they call out in accented English. Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2006-08-23 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=163789 |