Why would you go live in Mexico as a black man, is it even safe for black people? These are some of the questions I got asked as I was moving to Mexico as a black man.
In recent times, the United States of America has quickly become the “Divided States of America” with lots of people wanting out of the country. For me being a Cangerian (Canadian-Nigerian) working in the states, my options were limited which meant either going back to Canada or choosing the neighbours south of US – Mexico.
Why Mexico?
Many were confused by my decision to move even more south to the so-called “third-world” country Mexico. But the main reasoning was because I lived in El Paso, Texas for five (5) years which if many of you know that is basically Mexico in the states. Living in El Paso, I quickly gained a lot of exposure to Mexico. I would regularly visit the once was the most dangerous city in the world, Juarez (with my Mexican brother of course) and even go as south as Torreon (a city in Coahuila) and I quickly realised how much I loved Mexico. I started to proactively learn the language, surround myself with more Mexicans (which of course was not an issue in El Paso), and just practice the language as much as possible. Mexico had stolen my heart and I just could not explain why I was gravitated to it so much, perhaps it was the resemblance to Nigeria for me.
Fast forward to when I accepted a job offer to be a construction engineer in San Diego. Yes I am aware that SD is everyone’s dream city with the amazing beaches that have soft sand, year round pleasant weather and nice people. But for some odd reason I just did not like San Diego, I did not get the hype of it, things were so freakingggg EXPENSIVE (which if you know me, that’s just something I can’t stand) and I seemed lost in this whole new world.
I met new friends, had a solid church community but things were off and I knew the next step was to figure out how to terminate my year long lease prematurely after 7 months of living there and just make the move to Tijuana, Mexico. Long story short, I had talked to a few construction workers that lived in Mexico and commuted across the border daily and they told me I would have a blast if I did it. So guess what?!
I made the move, of course I did the needful such as apartment hunting, getting my SENTRI card (click here for more info.) and terminating my year long lease in San Diego.
Life in Tijuana Mexico as a Black Man
I have been living in Mexico for over two (2) years and have loved every single moment of it. It is important to state that when I first moved to Tijuana, there were not many black people there. I would get the regular stares from strangers (and if you know Mexicans, they will stare you down and make it known) anywhere I went to, but I just knew I was like a Lamborghini on the streets i.e. I was something unique and different to what they were used to. This was nothing special or new to me since growing up in Barrie, Ontario there were not many black people around, so this seemed like familiar territory.
Are Mexicans Racist?
Mexicans are some of the nicest, kind-hearted, most hardworking people you will ever find in the face of this planet. Like I stated above, Mexicans will give you the looks but its not done out of hate or anything negative, but just out of curiosity. The only people that might have any sort of racist intentions are the older generation which you pretty much deal with them if you need their services (at which they know you have money and will treat you properly).
Something that also helps with racism in Mexico as a black person is learning to speak spanish. The moment you understand much of the language, you will realise that Mexicans are typically not talking smack about you when they see you rather they are just appreciating you. Also, being able to converse in the local language means that more Mexicans will be very very willing to help you when you need it