Isla from a kid’s point of view.

Dancing, dancing, dancing - carefree and happy.   

To get a different perspective on life on the island, we decided to write about Isla from a kid’s point of view.  

We asked several of our friends if their youngsters would be willing to answer a few questions. Here are their responses.

Where were you born? 

Cancun and the USA were the most common answers.

Hanging out with friends

How long have you lived on Isla Mujeres?

My whole life, or in some cases the youngsters answered with the number of years. 

It sounds so very grown-up, but from their perspective, it is their whole life.

If you have lived in another country do you miss anything from that country? 

The mountains.  

Interesting enough none of the kids mentioned missing a particular food, which according to our grown-up friends is one of the biggest adjustments they had to make. We have friends who ‘mule’ down a variety of their favourite items every time they return from their country of origin. We, on the other hand, have adjusted to the food and flavours that are available here, with the exception of my favourite brand of hard, salty Dutch licorice. That I get ‘muled’ to us a couple of times a year. It’s a must-have.

Bike riding on the Malecon

Is living on Isla fun?

Everyone answered that one with a big YES!

Why wouldn’t it be?  There are parades and fireworks several times a year for Carnaval, Independence Day, and Revolution Day. Then there are traditional dance groups, musicians, and Carnaval dancers. 

Trick or treating for several days is common

A youngster can celebrate Christmas with their Canadian or American friends, and still convince mom and dad that they should receive presents on the Night of the Kings, January 6^th.  Or they can trick-or-treat for Halloween, then continue through November 1st and 2^nd, for the Day of the Dead. 

The tradition of trick-or-treating was brought to Mexico by visitors, and the local kids adapted just fine to the custom expanding it into a five or six-day binge of collecting candy and pocket change from tourists.

One of several basketball courts 

What is your favourite thing to do on Isla?

These answers ranged from playing video games, going out for dinner, hanging out at the beach, and enjoying the annual Carnaval dances and parades. 

Us too, except the video games. We’re terrible at those! With a choice of hundreds of restaurants ranging from high-end gourmet to economical home-style, it’s a great way to introduce youngsters to new foods and a new culture. 

Revolution Day parade on Isla Mujeres

Kids can also learn to play baseball, basketball or soccer. Then there is fishing either with a few friends or as a participant in the annual kid’s fishing tournament. Ride a bike. Learn to skateboard. Go swimming, or just chill at the beach. With the exception of a few storms that roll across the island the weather is normally warm, sunny and great for outdoor activities. No snowsuits required!

Playing in Centro

What languages do you speak?

Everyone answered English and Spanish. 

Other languages that we have heard local youngsters speak include Hebrew, French, Italian and a number of Spanish dialects from South American. How lucky for the kids to be fluent in a number of languages at such a young age.

Annual Fishing Tournament for the young islanders

Do you sometimes translate for your parents?  

Most said no, that their parents are bilingual, some said yes their parents are still learning Spanish or that they translated for grandparents. 

We need one of those! We still struggle to learn the language after nearly ten years of living on Isla. A fluency in other languages is so helpful when you travel to other countries. I struggled with five years of mandatory French when I was in school.  Lawrie chose Latin, which strangely enough has been very useful for deciphering written instructions or road signs in French, Spanish or Italian.

 

Summer fun all year around

Is your best friend the child of a foreigner?  Or a Mexican child? 

The majority of the responses were: I have many friends who are from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Mexico. What a great mix of experiences for island kids.

Where do you go to school?

Most of the youngsters attend school on the island whether it is private school or public school. One is being homeschooled by parents.

Do you like school?

Ha! The answers were pretty plain which ones were boys and which ones were girls. Boys-no! Girls-yes!

Any advice for parents who are thinking of moving with their children to Isla Mujeres? 

Parents, for the most part, answered that question:

Celebrating Independence Day in Centro

Living in Isla is great with kids, safe, and fun. Most of the things I thought I needed to raise a child it turned out I did not need at all. Learning to live simply is the best lesson of all!  

Rent a golf cart, get to know the island and get a house.

Learn the culture, learn the language, and get involved with the island.

Enjoy your week,

Cheers

Lynda & Lawrie 

Treasure Isla

Have you got yours yet? $2.99 on amazon e-books

Treasure Isla is a humorous Caribbean adventure set on Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the eastern coast of Mexico. Two twenty-something women find themselves in possession of a seemingly authentic treasure map, which leads them on a chaotic search for buried treasure while navigating the dangers of too much tequila, disreputable men, and a killer. And there is a dog, a lovable rescue-mutt. 

The cover of Treasure Isla has a new look courtesy of one of my favourite mystery writers Carmen Amato. She is the creator of the popular Emilia Cruz Detective series set in Acapulco. 

Día de la Revolución November 20th

Rat-a-tat-tat, blam, blam, bang, tootle-toot, and bang again! 

High School Band in Día de la Revolución parade

A dozen or so high school students have been practicing with drums and bugles, every day in the basketball court across the street from our house, practicing for the Día de la Revolución parade last Sunday.  This group is much improved over last year's group but, oh my, listening to the discordant clatter and crash for two hours every day increased our need for aspirin, or Tylenol, or whiskey, or anything to obliterate the headache.  They're a good bunch of kids, just lacking musical skills at the moment.  (But, who am I to complain?  I have been tossed out of community choirs and school bands several times for having absolutely no ear for music.)

Apparently this is a very serious event for these ladies!

The Day of the Revolution (Día de la Revolución) is celebrated annually in Mexico on November 20th.  It is the anniversary of the 1910 start of the popular movement leading to the overthrow of dictator José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori after 34 years of military rule.  The revolution ushered in a decade of civil war which ultimately led to the creation of the Mexico’s constitution in 1917. 

To be honest, we still get the Independence Day September 16th 1810, and Day of the Revolution November 20th 1910 confused.  They are both very important holidays in Mexico - we just have trouble keeping them straight.

Take my picture, take my picture!!!!

On Sunday the parade was scheduled to start at eight in the morning instead of the usual nine o'clock, due to the large number of groups that expressed interest in participating.  The Parade Marshall was expecting several of the dance troupes from the 6th Annual Caribbean Festival to join the parade.  In true island-style, I meandered over to the designated reviewing stand around eight twenty in the morning, thinking I had at least an hour or more to wait until the parade appeared.  Much to my surprise the first groups were just arriving at the reviewing stand!  The parade had apparently started on time.  Amazing! 

While I was in the process of shooting a bazillion photos of the various marching contingents with my new camera, I bumped into Janet Davison.  (Both Dave Davison, and Lawrie were at home, preferring to indulge in another cup of coffee, rather than watching the parade.)  Janet and I walked up and down the route clicking lots of photos, but never did see any of the dance troupes - so I assume that they cancelled at the last minute. 



Another part of the high school group



I did however see lots of island friends, and their various off-spring.  I tried to take photos of any of the kids that I recognized.  Some of the kids were camera-shy, other hammed it up as soon as they saw me pointing a camera at them. 

And the high school band who were driving us nuts all week with their practice sessions, well they looked and sounded pretty darn good. 

Random thoughts:

·         Caribe on Canvas:

Thursday night Brad and Tiffany of Barlito's on Hidalgo Avenue hosted a showcase for "Caribe on Canvas."  The art work is created by Mark C., from his photos which he tweaks with a computer to resemble paintings, and then prints on canvas.  The effect is very attractive. 

Caribe on Canvas, the creator Mark C.





When you were 13 - could you dance like this?




Mindy and her dance troupe



What I remember of the school dances when we were 13, 14 or even as old as 15 the girls stood giggling on one side of the gym, and the boys stood on the other side of the gym pretending to be bored. 

So, when we were invited to the "Senorita Secundaria" (Miss Secondary School) competition finale on Sunday we had limited expectations.  Wow were we wrong! 

The seven candidates were between 13 and 15 years old and for the talent portion of the competition they put together dance routines that were amazing.  One of the contestants - our favourite Mindy Poot, the 13-year-old daughter of Fredy and Ana Poot - did two different dance routines, complete with costume changes.   Our cheering section of ex-pat friends along with all of Mindy's family and school friends did our best to create a lot of enthusiastic noise.

A small part of the cheering section for Mindy

The "Senorita Secundaria" was a very ambitious event that started a few weeks ago with the first talent portion.  That night Mindy and her group of ten dancers performed a Lady Gaga routine.  (If you are on FaceBook, Fredy Poot posted a few photos of that event.) 

As for this Sunday night the first activity was a runway walk with all of the young women dressed in simple, and attractive outfits created by Gladys Galdámez, a local seamstress and clothing designer.  Then they switched into originally designed dresses that were created from recyclable or recycled items.  The outfits were very impressive. 



Mindy's dress made from re-cyclable items



The third part of the evening the musical performance with very complex dance routines that would have left me tripping over my feet.  Finally the young women had to answer a spontaneous question chosen randomly from the judges, finishing up with a short speech from each of the candidates. 

The speaking part brought back gut-wrenching memories of high school when at age seventeen I was asked to compete in a speaking contest in front of six hundred students.  Sadly, I missed that event, as I was mysteriously ill with a very rare and debilitating disease that left me unable to speak.  However, I miraculously recovered in time for school the next day.



Mindy in ball gown



During the evening the candidates for "Senorita Secundaria" were judged in five categories; the runway walk was worth 5%, the dresses created from recycled materials 10%, the musical performances 10%, the question and answer period 10%, the final speech 15%, and the final 50% of the mark was based on how much money each candidate raised towards the building of a new classroom at the school.  The amount of money collected made a big difference!  Our favourite, Mindy Poot, came in third.  Drat!  



Mindy, on far right.  Her supporters go wild waiting for results



However her big brother Tony Poot says she's okay with that, as she knows she performed well and did her best.  Again, such confidence and poise.  Most 13-year-old girls would have been a weeping mess of tears to lose after such a stellar effort. 

Mindy currently wants to be a television or radio personality when she is finished her schooling - and we think she'd be perfect.

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