Obama ends Mexico day with LAT bureau drive-by

Just as we here at the Mexico City office of the Los Angeles Times were thinking that all the excitement of Barack Obama's visit to Mexico was over, the cry went up last night that his motorcade was going to drive-by -- right outside our offices.

Not ones to shy away from a glimpse of arguably the most popular U.S president south of the American border in recent times, we dashed outside. Lots of men in suits were loitering around on the streets waiting, kidding around and saying that they could already see "La Bestia / the Beast," Obama's black Cadillac, coming.

We joked that there are so many cars and SUVs with blacked-out windows in Mexico, we might not even recognize Obama and his entourage when they arrived.

A policeman on a low, wide motorcycle wearing dark glasses drove down the street where our office is located, and our expectations rose. Metal railings were quickly dragged into place by police officers standing guard, cutting off the street that crosses ours. Police gesticulated wildly to each other.

It seemed like a long wait, but after what was probably not more than five minutes, the start of the motorcade turned the corner onto our street, and there was no missing them.

Preceded by a line of motorcycle-mounted police, five or six black SUVs with dark windows sped by, then two black Cadillacs appeared, both adorned front and back with small Mexican and U.S. flags. People waved, I took a (bad) photo, and after another 10 or so more black SUVs had brought up the rear, together with two press buses (one of them empty) and another flank of motorbike-mounted police, it was all over.

But it was a great end to a long day.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Barack Obama's official motorcade cruises past -- but where's Obama? Credit: Deborah Bonello / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO]

Why MEXICO ? ...

MEXICO has been living as the backyard of the USA for ages.
In terms of economic dependence, it is clear that many US interests are focused across the mexican border.

Cheap labor costs, logistics, supremacy and control are the key issues behind this fact.

But, what do the mexicans have to say about this ???

Hollywood has shown us a MEXICO full of dirty streets, short men under big straw hats, long moustaches, pollution, dust, etc... Apart from, obviously, corruption, drug handling, delinquency, murder,...

In fact, nothing of this is unreal, but is it different from any of the suburbs of big US cities like L.A., Chicago or even MIAMI ?. Does it mean that MEXICO does not have a skyscraper downtown, fancy hotels, extra-luxury restaurants, ... ?

Then, how do you explain the continuous flights from US main cities to CANCUN, PUERTO VALLARTA, LOS CABOS ???... Do the rich americans want to spend their leisure time with dust, dirty streets, corruption and delinquency ???

Maybe, and this is my personal point of view, MEXICANS are lacking some branding and marketing wash-up. Let´s try to put this in words:

TELEVISA, CEMEX, CORONITA, GUILLERMO DEL TORO, ALFONSO CUARON, LUIS MIGUEL, PAULINA RUBIO, ALEJANDRO FERNANDEZ, RBD, GUILLERMO ARRIAGA, ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ IÑARRITU, GAEL GARCIA BERNAL, SALMA HAYEK, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, CARLOS SLIM, EMILIO AZCARRAGA, BIMBO, MODELO, MARIA ASUNCION ARAMBURUZABALA, LORENZO ZAMBRANO, OMNILIFE, AMERICA MOVIL, HOTELES CAMINO REAL, ICA, CINEPOLIS, ESTADIO AZTECA, ...

International names, linked with reputation, welfare, distinction, in all fields: "movies, singers, retail, and a high elite of entrepeneurs of the so called 3rd generation driving multinational companies well beyond mexican borders".

Then, Why MEXICO ???

The answer is not easy, but for sure, it has something to do with culture, history and politics.

But only with creativity, effort, and hope can mexicans leave these stereotypes apart, and start washing-up their own image.

Let´s finish with the "mande señor !!!" and begin with the " Qué me dijiste ??".

JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO
President WWShares, Inc
www.worldwideshares.blogspot.com

[JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO]

If OBAMA quoted in the stock exchange ...

Barack Hussein Obama, the new US president, has come into town !!!
If 4 years ago, someone said that the president of the US would have this second name, probably would have been jailed or even suffered some kind of brutality from the HOMELAND SECURITY officers. Even more, no one with that name would have entered the US without answering many, many questions to the airport officers.

4 years later, OBAMA is our new hope.

Today, 23rd March 2009, OBAMA together with TIM GEITHNER present a plan that says something like " I am going to spend from the US citizens taxes till 1 billion dollars to remove the greedy errors of all my financial system (toxic assets)... and What happens ??

Wall Street is up 5% at this time...With all the indexes around the globe jumping up heavily.

At the same time, in Europe or even in ASIA (...the so called new emerging leading continent), everybody awaits the US economy to jump off from the hole, to shout loudly: " We are saved,... crisis is over"

In Spain, people uses to laugh from the US way of living..."MC DONALDS garbage food, Hollywood circus, Americans only like bizarre shows, The simpsons, etc... ". We think that our "tortilla de patatas con una cervecita", or our "GOYAs", or our "futbol los domingos por la tarde..." portrait us as "guays" and "cachondos", exporting our way of life around the globe as the unique happy feeling of existence.

But if JAVIER BARDEM or PENELOPE CRUZ win an Oscar, they go directly into the history books of the country.
If GASOL plays with LAKERS, we say "he is the best player of our country´s sport spectrum".
If OBAMA stretches our president´s hand, we say that SPAIN is gaining international presence.

If one day, someone called "Pedro Sanchez Lopez" arrives to the WHITE HOUSE, I do not want to be in my country at that time, because we can even float carriers to transport 45 million people across the Ocean just to live the moment.

Thanks god, no one can become US president without being american.

Let´s welcome mr OBAMA and wish him good luck... because the entire world depends on him.

JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO
President WWShares, Inc
www.worldwideshares.blogspot.com

[Heather Czerniak]

Uh, why do you guys insist on calling it a "drive-by?" It wouldn't have anything to do with...you know...would it?