Dispatches from The Mayan Empire

 "The global phenomenon of poverty tourism - or 'poorism' - has become increasingly popular during the past few years. Tourists pay to be guided through the favelas of Brazil and the shantytowns of South Africa. The recently opened Los Angeles Gang Tour carries visitors through battle-scarred territories of urban violence and deprivation." - Leslie Jamison + + + March 21st is kind of a big deal here in Nuevo Progreso. It marks the end of the winter tourism season. "Winter Texans" are the lifeblood of the local economy, mostly retirees fleeing the cold winters of their home state, or country, there are more than a few winter Texans that hail from Canada.Most of them seem to hail from the Midwestern United States. At least as far as the ones I've spoken to, and the shirts proclaiming their home state along with some slogan about being a Texan when its convenient (winter). [[And so the Day of Tourists begins...]] Dia del Turista its called...

"You bravos had better be ready to fight, or we'll never get out of East Texas tonight, but the trail is long and the river is wide, and my ride's here" - Warren Zevon, My Ride's Here + + + My day tends to start around 10:30am or so most of the time. No more early mornings on the corners barking or occasionally DJ'ing for Vampiz has allowed me to set my own schedule for work (writing, which tends to be in fits and starts throughout the day unless I'm on a roll). Which is nice, since I am not a morning person. I tend to shamble out of bed like something from the 'Legend of Boggy Creek' films, swallow my morning fistful of pills (allergy meds, the price I pay for my lovely cat, vitamins, and acetaminophen with codeine to allow me to move without wincing in pain constantly). After that its typically a lovely hot shower thanks to my miracle shower head with a built in heating unit. I admit its not the safest of showers, but it is hot, with...

"She lives like tomorrow isn't coming and yesterday never happened." - Crystal Woods, Write Like No One Is Reading + + + Friday, Day One: Nuevo Senorial "Around the outside of the room other beautiful women wearing little or nothing at all flitted between the infatuated, intoxicated men, sometimes luring them away for a private dance. The men would follow obediently, weighed down by lust and credit cards."  - R.D. Ronald, The Zombie Room [[They have a sign on the front of the building, but I suspect this is how most random clients discover what waits beyond the privacy curtains at the end of the entrance hallway.]] There are a lot of strange places I expected to find myself in my life. Sitting in the corner of a darkened Mexican strip club in a dusty border town wasn't one of them. 2:30 in the afternoon, beer in one hand, pen in the other, making observations about the club and its clientele for my weird little travelogue. Somet...

New material coming shortly. Between the spotty internet down here and several other writing projects taking up my time I have not had a chance to finish the upcoming post. It will appear shortly. In a day or two. Expect weirdness, strippers, and general shenanigans from south of the border courtesy of your friend and humble narrator, me. Until then; courage. + + + This post and its original content copyright James Radcliff, and has been brought to you by Mexico, tequila, and generally poor decision making. If you would like to donate to support this bizarre little travelogue, feel free to do so via Patreon or PayPal. As always, this strange and debaucherous adventure has been brought to your screen by viewers like you. Thank you. https://www.patreon.com/jamesradcliff paypal.me/jamesradcliff  https://www.instagram.com/dispatches_from_the_field/

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." - Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas + + + The day started like most others here in Nuevo Progreso; wake up, be angry with the alarm clock, pet Tessa, shut off or forget to and be angry with secondary alarm (I'm not a morning person, at all), "morning constitutional", wash face and brush teeth, pet Tessa, get dressed and ready for the day, pet Tessa, inform Tessa she is in charge of la casa until I return, lay out her duties for the day (hunt any vermin present, eat healthy, nap frequently, don't go too hard on the 'nip, generally be a good gato pequeño until I return), and leave to walk the arduous one quarter of a block from Carlito's Cafe to Vampiz. After arriving I retrieved my flyer (theirs are laminated and thus reusable), said my usual pleasantries...