Corona Music Fest

Hearing and sawing the advertisements all over Merida we decided to go to Corona Music Fest on Saturday. Official start was at 1 pm but as we already are familiar with the Mexicans sense for timing we went there around 7pm (I have to admit that this was more because of the rain).

We didn't expect such a big event and were quite impressed when we finally get there. The line-up was full of local Mexican bands which rarely also are famous outside Mexico (Molotov and Cafe Tacvba were one of the most popular). The atmosphere was great even though it was raining occasionally. We had a great night with chelas (1 litre) for 40 pesos (!!).

Playing: Cafe Tacvba

Friday Night at centro

Dance floor - Casa Pompidou

This Friday we went to the center (centro) of Merida to get to know the local bars and clubs. We started at Mala Vida - a Mexican style bar in a kind of backyard with an open air terrace, very casual, Mexican music mixed with international chart hits and great atmosphere.

Mojitos for 60 pesos (3€) and chelas (beer) for less than 2€. There were almost no tourists which made it appear less commercial than other clubs I've been to before.

Comic paintings (again: NO ME TOQUEN ANGO CHIDO!)

Second stop afterwards then was Casa Pompidou or just "Pompi" - a club where mainly local Mexican DJs are playing a range of electro, house and minimal. The place has a special charme with its comic art paintings all over the walls and open air dance floor. It also has with a little bistro where they serve delicious pizza and other snacks. However you'll meet more tourists and the people's style definitely differs from the first place (like urban hipster style). We enjoyed the relaxed and chilled atmosphere very much even if the bathrooms could have been in a better shape.

How to sound very Mexican

Once you started your semester abroad in Mexico you'll discover that the Spanish you learned in school (if you even did) or during vacation in Spain won't get you very far.

So let's get started with some basic Mexican Slang vocabulary only Mexicans understand:

¿Que onda güey?
Means "What's up dude?" literally it's "what's wave". Very informal way of greeting friends and rather used by chavos (guys) and doesn't appear very appropriate when used towards strangers by chavas (girls) however it's ok when you already friends with someone. You can add güey to basically everything you say: ¿Qué pasa güey? Qué haces güey? Cómo estas güey? Llámame güey! etc.
But take care when saying it in front of majors of age especially when it comes to authorities , teachers, grandpas etc.

¿Qué pedo?
Another way of say "What's up?". Literally: "What fart?"

¡Qué padre! Qué chido!
Literally "how father" - but actually means cool, great, nice. Universally useful in informal conversation.

¡No mames (güey)! or ¡No manches!
Again very common way of using güey, meaning "no way, unbelievable  or are you kidding me". Use it when you wanna sound surprised or you actually want to seem very interested in what your counterpart says (even if you're not).

¡Me vale madres!
lierally "I don't care mothers" - really means "I don't care!" You can also use "Equis" o "Me da igual" if you want to sound less informal.

Ahorita
Seams to be the favorite word of the mexicans as you can hear it in every corner and in every context. It's the diminutive of "ahora" meaning (right) now. But as we already learned but the Mexican  perception of time and timings it doesn't have to literally mean "right now"- it's more likely to be meant in half an hour or hour. If you want to be more specific about timings better use "ahora mismo" meaning right now/ in this moment.

¡Ando bien pedo!
literally "I'm very fart" - really means "I am very drunk" As you can see the word "pedo" has several meanings depending on the context. Another way of expressing that you're very drunk is "Ando muy chido"- also known through the late internet phenomenon "no me toquen ando chido" - don't touch me, I'm drunk.



¡A heuevo!
literally "to egg" - really means something like "hell yeah"

¡Pinche...!
means damn or fucking. You can add it to basically everything, like for example: pinche cabron, pinche coche, piche perro etc.

¡... de puta madre!
literally "of the prostitute mother" but really means fucking great , fantastic. Can also be used as adjective (puta, puto) in front of a noun.

Welcome to Mexico

Have you ever been thinking about doing a semester abroad? If so have you ever been thinking about Mexico as a destination? Each semester I'm working with students from all over the world coming to Merida, Mexico. And each semester there are the same prejudices that people have before coming to Mexico: social conflicts, danger, drugs etc. That's basically what's in the media in Europe. Now once they've stayed here for a while most of them realize that there is more to discover than what the media reveals.

Mexico is also famous for its marvelous landscapes and beaches, traditions and festivities, great food and drinks (not only that one that you're thinking about) and last but not least the incredibly awesome  Mexicans. I once heard a girl from Germany saying that she never has met such friendly and hospitable people like in Mexico (well the Germans themselves are not known to be the most open-minded people in the world) but nevertheless for me as person working with people from a various cultures, I was happy hearing this.

Within this blog I would like to share my experience and impressions living and working in Mexico. But also give travel tips and advises how you can make the most of your time in this lovely and impressive country.