Noise in Tuxpan

We’re going back to the States for a short visit. And one thing I will be very happy to have there is the silence which eludes me here. Right, you say, Portland is a pretty big town, yes? So it can’t really be as quiet as a small country town, right? Sure, I reply, Tuxpan is a tiny town with few of the modern conveniences Portland has. But somehow this town produces more noise than almost anywhere I’ve ever lived. Not in sound level, but in quantity and length of duration.

First of all, I live with two kids – aged 2 and 4 – so there is some built-in noise that I can’t blame on the town. Fair enough. But there is plenty more than two rambunctious youngsters making noise in this town.

Roosters. Whoever came up with the idea that they only crow at sunrise obviously didn’t live around roosters. They crow whenever they feel like it. Morning, noon, night. And there are a lot of families here who own a couple of them for their egg producing abilities. I presume they aren’t kept as alarm clocks.

Cars. Sure, every city has cars. But the cars here aren’t in tip-top condition. So they are noisy. And the roads are in similar condition, some of them are still made of piedras (rocks), so rambling wrecks tend to send up a lot more noise than you’d imagine.

Music. Everyone loves music here. And there are a lot of live bands in this town as well. Tuxpan is the town of fiestas (see below), and every fiesta needs music. So we hear live music all the time. There is a band which practices a few times a week just two doors down from us. The church, which is a mere half block away, regularly chimes the hour plus all three quarter hours. And every once in a while, with a schedule I have yet to figure out, there is a 5 minute chorus of the church bells chiming. Sort of a call to prayer, I guess. (In fact, it is ringing out as I write this!) Plus the pastor of the church seems to have a passion for playing church-y music on the loud speakers early in the morning every so often. And those who have the money for a nice car or home stereo need to show it off when they are driving down the street, or when they are relaxing at home. I love music as much as the next person, but I also like to be able to control the volume.

Fiestas. I repeat, Tuxpan is the city of the eternal party. It says so on their city seal. Really. And I can vouch for this. 365 days in the year, 385 saints to be celebrated. You do the math. Plus birthdays, weddings, christenings, holidays, you name it. We recently had a church fair parked outside our door for two full weeks. It was cool because the kids could walk 40 paces and have a ton of fair rides and games to play. Plus there was some fabulous bad-for-you fair food to be eaten every night if we wanted. The downside was that the fair shut down each night around midnight, and it made noise up until that hour. For some reason still not quite understood by me, around 6 in the morning there would be a live band (you really can make a living as a musician here!) playing music along with the church bells and someone would be setting off fireworks to celebrate the fair. Six in the morning. Right outside our door. It was a fun two weeks.

Street vendors. Commerce is different here than it is in the States. A lot of people sell food out of the front room of their house, or have converted that room into a tienda to sell whatever they think they can make money on. And if they don’t have an extra room, or if they think they will get more business by bringing the product to the consumer, they become street vendors. We have ice cream trucks, vegetable and fruit vendors, prepared food vendors, and pan (bread) vendors all wandering down the street during the day, using their voices or horns to announce their arrival. Plus bottled water vendors (no one drinks or cooks with tap water. Instead you purchase those big 5-gallon bottles of water and pour out whatever you need when you need it.), propane gas vendors (no such thing as city-supplied natural gas), and garbage collectors make their daily rounds. Each one has a specific bell or call so you know who is passing and don’t run out with your bag of garbage only to see the propane truck passing by.

Families. Family is a big thing here. Luis’ sisters don’t really have friends outside of their immediate family (not sure if that is a Vazquez family trait or a Mexican trait), so they rely on each other to fill that spot. Quite often we will come home to a family room full of family, watching tv or a movie, eating, or just chatting with each other. Since we have a nice big family room, our house is a popular gathering spot, and we can fit a lot of people in. And Luis' family is not the quiet, "wait for the first person to finish talking before you jump in with your two cents" kind of family. I think Chuckie Cheese might be more tame some nights.

Even with all of it’s modern, noisy conveniences, I don’t think Portland can live up to this amount of noise. So I’m looking forward to some quiet time in a big city.