FOUNDING FATHERS WERE BRITS

TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICO: FEBRUARY 19
This journey has taken me through every Latin American country other than Paraguay and El Salvador. Texas is the next frontier. I am nearing the end. Riding through Mexico, I must write my conclusions. Boris Corredor's criticism of the BBC kept me awake a while last night. I have been visiting Hispanic America fo thirty years. Hispanic Americans were accustomed to visitors from the US. Brits were viewed as different. We were quieter, less arrogant, better informed, more polite. I write in generalizations. An individual North American might be treasured. A Brit could be a real pain in the arse.
A change has taken place. We have become indivisible. Any attempt at stressing the difference is countered by a reminder that the Founding Fathers were Brits and racists.
There is a sameness.
Our cultural view of Latin America draws on the same sources.
We speak the same language, watch the same movies, read the same books, dance to the same Latin American rhythms.
There is more, of course: US support for Britain in the Falklands/Malvinas war. Britain's support of the US in the invasion of Iraq.
Our present alliance in Afghanistan.
President George W Bush is held in contempt through out Latin America. We Brits share in the opprobrium.

DIATRIBES LOWER CHOLESTEROL LEVELS

government official's home


TEHUANTEPEC, MEXICO: FEBRUARY 18
In Tehuantepec, political activists spray diatribes on walls. My previous post on the BBC was a diatribe. My wife, Bernadette, will be cross. She has instructed me not to write diatribes. Diatribes are boring. Prawns with garlic and chili are Bernadette's favorite dish. I ate prawns with oysters for lunch with Fernando Peto. I ate prawns in chili sauce while answering Boris Corredor's criticism of the BBC. The prawns were big and juicy and delicious.
Boris and Adela are Professors of Literature. They speak perfect English. They choose to converse with me in Spanish.
My son, Joshua, criticizes the mistakes I make in Spanish.
I make many errors. However, writing a diatribe has made me uppity.
Perhaps diatribes are good for the soul – or lower one's cholesterol level?

BBC AND UNGLUED DENTURES

volcanoes at the end of the street



ANTIGUA GUATEMALA: FEBRUARY 12
I am to do a BBC live broadcast over the telephone at 1.30 AM – El Antiguo in La Antigua. I was in bed soon after 10 AM. I read a while, checked the alarm, turned off the bedside lamp. The alarm wakes me at 1.15 AM. I fumble for my spectacles; reach for the cup holding my dentures. Should I glue them in place? Surely there is no need?
The telephone rings. I answer.
Am I ready?
“Absolutely,” I reply - too late for glue.
I can think of nothing other than my teeth. Will they pop out in mid broadcast? Will I lose them under the bed? Or, while hunting for them, stamp them underfoot (something I have done in the past).
The interview progresses badly.
Obsessed by teeth, I lose clarity of diction. The interviewer blames a poor connection. The line is cut. I drop my dentures back into their bath and turn off the light. I am 75 and a failure. I can't sleep.