REAL Mexico: Where the Children Still Know How to Play

You Know You Aren't in GringoLandia When... This Up-and-Coming Drummer Lives Across the StreetClick on the Video Version Below:
Or View at  www.HealthyLivingandTravelinginMexico.blogspot.com
     The Riviera Nayarit is promoted to the public as a fun, safe place to vacation. And it is!  But is it more than the pretty, picture-perfect resort areas along the Pacific Ocean.
    The state of Nayarit is also a wonderful place to live. We live in a neighborhood that is largely Mexican nationals, a barrio, with a sprinkling of international folks mixed throughout. This isn't gringolandia, a cluster of homes and businesses where the gringos stick together, often with gates surrounding it. This is a simple barrio, where the local people are friendly, the expats are helpful, and the children still know how to entertain themselves, playing outdoors. When school is out, the kids gather in the streets, using whatever they can find to create games and music. The sound of laughter and friendly shouts are happy sounds in the barrio. 
     Our neighbor boy is practicing for the rock 'n' roll band he is getting together. His drum set is a collection of buckets and cans, each with a different sound, put together in an ingenious manner. When his friends show up, they begin tooting on "horns" made of various lengths of PVC pipe, some playing recorders or whistles. It is so much fun to watch them play! I asked our neighbor if I could take his photo, and he grinned and nodded. When I showed him the playback of the video, he was engrossed in watching every second of it.
     I'm glad the up-and-coming band doesn't have a practice session every day, as their "music" carries well into our yard. But when they do, I smile and think, "This is so much better than if they were sitting indoors playing on an "XBox" or whatever the latest video gadget is that is hypnotizing the kids in our countries".
    At times, the youngsters are in a marble-playing competition that will go on for weeks. The street between our home and theirs was never cobblestoned so the sand and dirt makes a perfect game area for tossing marbles. It appears to be a very competitive and serious game, though the kids are always good natured, even when they lose. Healthy living in Mexico...