Two of the most prominent chroniclers of Mexican society in English had dispatches this past week on the swine flu outbreak in the capital. Author Alma Guillermoprieto did a "Talk of the Town" for The New Yorker:
"We don't see anyone," a very pregnant friend complained. "We're all afraid of contagion." In the days since the news of the epidemic broke, she had caught up on all her work, paid the bills, changed the haircut of her toddler daughter—whose kindergarten has also been closed down—and was about to take some photographs of her own belly. There's a small park outside her building, but, like all the other mothers, she was afraid to use it. "Am I bored?" she exclaimed. "Muchísimo! I imagine people all over the city locked up in their apartments, staring into the mirror, plucking their eyebrows down to nothing."
Author David Lida contributed a mask and cantina vignette for The New York Times op-ed page:
With no success in the pharmacies, I did what I usually do in moments of frustration and anxiety: I went to a cantina. Many were closed, but one called El Jarrito, which could be flatteringly described as a dive, remained open. The waitresses, short and squat, encased in tight skirts and suffocating beige hose, circulated among the customers. The woman who served me a drink lowered her mask to flash me a crooked-toothed smile. Customers laughed, argued, played dominoes and lowered their masks to drink or eat.
Things are thankfully getting back to normal. Today, restaurants and cafes reopen. On Monday, schools are back in session. * Illustration above by Anthony Russo for the NYT, where there's also a really good video up on the homepage right now from the streets of D.F.
** NOTE: Still doing low-impact blogging till further notice.