An afternoon in Matamoros

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Northern Mexico has been a spot of notoriety due to the feuding between rival drug cartels and government forces. Caught in between is Matamoros, a sprawling city on the edge – the Mexican border, with the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite all the negativity, I had an opportunity to visit Matamoros – my first ever visit to Mexico. I won’t deny that I wasn’t nervous about crossing over, but I certainly wasn’t frightened. Invited and escorted by my friend, his wife, and my friend’s grandfather, I ventured across to experience Matamoros.

Crossing into Mexico is comparatively easy and cheap. Pedestrians crossing the border need to bring pocket change in order to walk into Mexico, usually about $1 USD (you’ll also need to pay on the way back into the United States). We took the Gateway International Bridge from downtown Brownsville, one of three bridges that traverses the Rio Grande. On the other side at Mexican customs, there’s device with a button and two lights: one red, one green. If you press the button and the light turns green, you can enter without having to declare anything or even showing identification. Should the light go red, you’ll have to speak with the officer at the table on the side to declare anything you’re bringing in.

Mercado Juárez.
Mercado Juárez.

Matamoros isn’t glitzy or glamorous like any of the resorts or metropolitan areas (none of which I can say I have visited), though the city is charming in its own way. The buildings appear to be historic but have that certain aura of a bygone era. I didn’t feel hurried or rushed in Matamoros; but more so laid back. The people weren’t pushy or vying for my attention to buy their goods. Thankfully I had my friends with me considering that my Spanish is very limited and otherwise poor; I know how to say please and thank you, good day, and ask where the bathroom is.

After passing through customs, we made a point to change our cash into pesos so that we could take the bus to one of the shopping centres. Coming into Mexico, $20 USD netted me almost $270 MXN. I would be surprised later on how much I could buy with all that money. $7 MXN gets you a ride on a weary-looking school bus; inside are two rows of seating up against the sides and then stanchions along the roof for standing passengers to grab onto. I’ve been told the drivers can be quite aggressive, though that was not the case this time; our driver accelerated and braked smoothly. Lacking air conditioning, the windows fortunately opened allowing for a cool breeze and afforded me an opportunity to take pictures of the passing cityscape. During the drive, I was surprised to see a few branches of the Canadian financial institution Scotiabank.

Soriana on Calle Sexta
Soriana on Calle Sexta

The shopping mall that we were headed to is anchored by one of Mexico’s largest retailers: Soriana. The store itself was massive, slightly larger than the average Real Canadian Superstore. To combat against shoplifting, bags are prohibited inside the store; although you can check them in with staff at the entrance. Our first stop was the bakery as we wanted to load up on cheap food for our journey to San Antonio for San Japan. Baked goods lined wooden shelves and with the assistance of a pair of tongs, we piled a variety of breads and pastries on our silver circular trays before taking them over to be weighed and packaged. I paid less than $2 USD for eight pastries and breads. Amazing.

Shopping for food can made us hungry, so we stopped for a bite at the in-store deli. Of course, being in Mexico, I had to have the tacos. A chef stood at a cart with a flat-topped grill, with a tower of soft tortillas, a variety of steaming meats and condiments. I ordered a plate of five tacos filled with barbacoa and topped with diced onions and cilantro. Delicious.

Once we finished our shopping, it was back outside to the bus stop to head towards the zona centro or downtown. While waiting, two Mexican army vehicles zoomed down the street with officers in full fatigues and weapons slung over their shoulders. That was the first and last time I realized that I was in an area affected by the drug war.

Our next stop was the Mercado Juárez (Juárez Market), a pedestrian only shopping avenue along Abasolo Street between streets 9 and 10. Sandwiched between the buildings were kiosks selling everything from bottled water, fruits and vegetable, to bootlegged backpacks and footwear. I wound up purchasing an agua fresca (fresh water) which includes fruit and ice mixed in and is incredibly refreshing on a sweltering day. I went with the mango since I’m a sucker for the fruit and boy was it flavourful.

Presidencia Municipal H. Matamoros
Presidencia Municipal H. Matamoros

We back tracked the way we came to stop off at the Presidencia Municipal H. Matamoros; the city hall. Opposite of the structure is a large open plaza encircled by trees. It was a quiet place to rest for a bit and to take in the relaxing pace. I took a few pictures of the municipal palace and statues in the plaza of Benito Juárez and Miguel Hidalgo, two important figures in Mexico’s history.

Before calling it a day and returning to the United States, we had to stop for candy. I walked out with two boxes of Duvalín, a tiny packet of creamy confectionery that comes in one, two or three flavours and is eaten with a tiny plastic spoon for $30 MXN. I can generally find Duvalín in Vancouver, but only as individual packets and at twice the price of an actual box of 18 pieces.

I did enjoy my brief time in Mexico, getting to see the different side of another country. Matamoros didn’t appear to be as frightening as the media likes to describe it, although we didn’t travel to any of the suburbs or the more seedy parts of the city. The residents seemed to be fairly friendly and generally relaxed. I wouldn’t mind returning to Matamoros again in the near future.

 

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