By Neil Diamond
What a beautiful noise Comin' up from the street
Got a beautiful sound It's got a beautiful beat
We are voyeurs!
This island thrives on noise, and music, and laughter.
Early
in the morning the honking of a bicycle horn lets us know the tortilla vendor
has started his route, followed by the whine of motorcycles as they whiz past
depositing teenagers at the college, and still later we hear the squeal of
brakes, slamming of car doors and laughter as kindergarten students arrive at
school.
As the day progresses the sounds change.
Need a 20L bottle of agua purificada? Two blasts
from a truck’s horn and the squeak of the suspension – and you know the Cristal
delivery truck has arrived.
The deliverymen
for the small portable bottles of propane have a recorded song that reverberates
from a speaker; Zeta Zeta, Zeta gas.
Businesses like Super X-Press and Chedraui
hire car-and-drivers with loud speakers to cruise the island advertising the
weekly specials. The municipality uses a
similar method for advising islanders of upcoming important public events.
We have many photos of Christmas parades, the Night of the Kings,
Carnival parades that happen nightly for a week, political parades,
Independence Day, Revolution Day, cowboys riding to the bull fight-ring, caged
lions and tigers complete with loud music advertising the circus, numerous religious
celebrations, and national holidays.
Then
added on top of the parades are the five or maybe six annual fishing
tournaments, and a music festival that attracts islanders and visitors alike – the
noise level just keeps increasing.
And then there are times when the noise is a bit too much; the over-loaded
mufflerless dump trucks racing to catch the last car ferry off of the island,
the poorly maintained city garbage trucks that blat and grind and wheeze along
the roads like old men struggling with a bad case of gas.
The ocean-side view at our island home. |
We grew up in a relatively quiet country, Canada, where noise is quite
strictly regulated. We have lived on
country acreages, in rural homes, and in a converted warehouse-condo located on
Beatty Street in Vancouver BC. Living
here is similar to residing downtown in a big city where the ambient noise
level is ever-present, but with a lot fewer people creating the noise - that
beautiful noise.
When it all becomes too much for us we can retreat to the ocean-side of
the house and listen to our favourite noise of all; the sound of waves sliding
in from the Caribbean Sea, swooshing up onto the beach, slowly receding and
gently pulling the white sand back into the ocean.
Ah! Joy!
2 comments:
What is happening to my my beautiful little Isla? If I come down there in February and find dead dogs on the side of the road...it will sadly be my last trip!
Gloria in Virginia
Hi Gloria:
I am sorry, I have no idea what you mean by the comment "dead dogs by the side of the road."
The Mexican, Spanish and Italian cultures are all noisy cultures - we love it.
I wasn't complaining. We really love living here full time.
Cheers Lynda
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