La Peluqueria
Mexicans have a much higher standard of personal grooming than Working Gringos will probably ever achieve. When walking along the calle at 6:00 AM, the women are impeccably dressed. Their makeup is carefully and prudently applied. They leave a scented trail of rose water or talcum as they pass by. The men wear guayabera dress shirts, slacks smartly creased, and polished black leather shoes.
We have no idea how early these people must wake up every morning to achieve this effect. Working Gringo spends ten minutes in the bathroom to shower and shave, then throws on tee shirt, shorts and sneakers, the standard-issue uniform of the gringo expatriate.
Most Yucatecos dress predominantly in white. It is nothing short of a miracle that they manage to keep their clothes as white as they do. In case we've not mentioned it before, the weather here is often a tad sultry. It's the tropics, and in some places it's a jungle. Things get dirty. But even the most modest of Mayan women living in the smallest pueblo in the farthest reaches of Yucatan manage to achieve whiter laundry than our technologically advanced Frigidaire over-under washer-drier combo using new, improved Tide.
We also assume that Yucatecos take at least three baths a day. That's the only way we can account for how pleasant they smell. All day long.
The first time we recognized this was during our first El Grito. This is when everyone in Merida swarms into the main plaza to hear the Governor re-enact Hidalgo's cry for independence from Spain. This happens at 10:00 PM. It happens in September. In other words, it has been a long day during a rather humid season, which can leave one smelling a bit, uh... ripe.
We waded into a crowd packed more tightly than a mosh pit at a Pearl Jam concert to get a better look, and the first thought is: gee, the crowd smells like a botanical garden. The second thought is: do we smell like cattle?
Fortunately, there are always fireworks at El Grito, so the familiar battleground aroma quickly covered for us.
The crowning achievement of Yucateco grooming is their hair. We have no idea what feats of mechanical engineering are required for the various women's hairdos, nor how they maintain the colorful garnishes they plant in them. We do know that the men check in to their local peluqueria, or barbershop, at least weekly, if not daily, in case the Armani people call for a photo shoot.
One of the oldest and best barbershops is on Calle 60. It's called Estetica Panamerica and the proprietor is a 68 year-old maestro del pelo named Fernando. He knows everything about Merida. He speaks deliberatly using basic Spanish so Working Gringo can actually have a conversation with him. And, of course, he's perfectly groomed.
Last night, Working Gringa suggested we go out to dinner. Oh, and on the way we should stop in at la peluquiria so Working Gringo could remember that for only 15 minutes of his time and $9 dollars of his money, he could rejoin human society. Clothes may make the man, but a fresh haircut makes the Mexican.
Comments
Theresa 17 years ago
That is how you make lye. You pour water thru wood ashes, in England they used Oak, you can probably use any wood ash. Lye is very caustic, and one of the ingredients in homemade soap, which is basically lye and fat and water. You can look up the recipe on the net, if you are so inclined.
Theresa
reminds of when we did historical re-enactments (mostly when I was at the cottage at Blackpoint). Someone would ask 'how do you wash clothes". The loooong answer always was, first you make a good oak fire, then you collect the ashes in a busket, then you filter clean spring water thru the ashes. etc, etc, etc....I will spare you the part about how you obtain the fat.
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sacbe 17 years ago
Regarding their white clothes, one mayan woman told me she uses the water that ashes have been sitting overnight. The ashes are poured in the water and it sits for the night. I don't know what kind of wood it is or if there is any truth in this story but I thought I would share it with you. When you find that special receipe please let me know.
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Working Gringos 17 years ago
Sacbe,
We've visited some of the most humble Maya pueblitos in Yucatan, and the one thing that always stands out is how clean and white their clothes are. They seem to be masters at stain removal. But we have not yet learned their secret.
Tito,
It's true. We've had perfectly serviceable haircuts in Merida for $25 pesos, while Don Fernando charges as much as $90 pesos.
We think it's a good thing that there is a market here where everyone can afford a good haircut. But there are two things we get for our $90 pesos when we choose Don Fernando. One is Don Fernando, which means free history and language lessons. The other is decades of old-fashioned, haircutting experience. Maybe charging $90 pesos is the secret to staying in business for as long as he has...
And if you want a high-class, hair salon experience, you can visit places in the north of Merida (with French-trained stylists, no less) who charge over $400 pesos.
We suppose that for many, a haircut isn't just a haircut...
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Tito 17 years ago
Don Fernando is an interesting person who gives a good haircut, and who charges three times the going rate in Merida for the same.
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Sacbe 17 years ago
What is the Mexician receipe to their WHITE clothes???????? Can I buy in a market??
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Sacbe 17 years ago
What do they use to wash their clothes that makes them sooooooooooo WHITE? Do you have a secret you would like to share with us?
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Khaki 18 years ago
I love reading even these old posts. Was just commenting to a cousin, (in the States) this weekend, that the only thing I am not crazy about in Merida - in true gringo "child of the 60s" style - is that it is a "dress-up" town. How do they DO that???
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Yucatan Living » Blackout! 19 years ago
[...] One of the first people we talked to was our old friend from the Peluqueria who was standing outside his darkened barber shop, sipping a Bacardi and 7up next to a burning candle stuck into the ubiquitous Coke bottle. He sold us a pack of cigarettes and informed us no hay noticias (no news) about la apagon de luz (the blackout). [...]
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Yucatejano 19 years ago
For decades my trips to La Republica religously included:
- haircut
- shave
- facial massage
- shoeshine
The restorative properties of this regimen cannot be overstated!
Thanks for the glimpse into this slice of Yucatecan life.
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