Obama en Mexico

We were walking past the Hotel Mercurio in Puerto Vallarta and out of the corner of my eye, in the lobby, I saw the image of a tall, dark man dressed in a black suit. It was Barack Obama. Actually it was a life-size cardboard cutout of his photo. He was standing next to the window where guests check in, perhaps to welcome everyone to the hotel.

A couple of days later, walking past the hotel again since it is next door to Casa Andrea, I saw Obama’s twin, also standing in the lobby. As the days advanced, Obama II kept shifting his position in the lobby, retreating from the open door, perhaps because the ocean breezes were blowing him over. I don’t think it was a political statement.

Today, inauguration day, we got up, grabbed some coffee to drink, and a bowl of fruit, yogurt and granola, and sat down by the pool-side TV to watch Obama get sworn in. Seven of us, two ladies from Vancouver and the rest from various parts of the U.S. One of the couples was from San Francisco and said they lived just down the street from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who coordinated the inaugural. They also had backed Hilary Clinton in the primaries, donating enough money that they had met Hilary and her husband at some event.

All the Americans and Canadians we’ve met in Puerto Vallarta have been Obama supporters. Either that or Bush detractors. Mexicans too. Not sure what that means. Adam, who works at Casa Andrea, remarked about Bush, Chinga tu madre, which is about the worst thing a Mexican can say to someone. All of us watching the TV inaugural were happy about Obama coming and Bush leaving. No big show of emotion but some clapping and smiles. I didn’t think Obama was talking about retirees like myself when he said Americans should work to help their country, not seek leisure.

Later on inauguration day we were walking past the Hotel Mercurio again and I noticed the Obama cutouts were gone. I asked the hotel clerk where they were and he said they had rented them out to the botanic gardens for the day. Some of the guests at Casa Andrea had gone to the gardens on inauguration day and told us the restaurant was closed for what apparently was a fundraiser. In addition to the 40 peso entrance fee, people could pay something like 500 pesos (about $40 USD) for a private luncheon and celebration. The gardens are owned by a Texan, although they are a non-profit.

There was a TV at the botanic gardens so people could watch the inaugural, and the speeches were broadcast over the loudspeaker system along the tree-lined paths. A Canadian couple we met sat among the coffee trees and listened to Obama’s address. Jill, an American who voted for Obama, said she was put off by the extra fee to get into the lunch.

We also learned that the Obama cutouts were used as props at the luncheon. American flags lined the tables. There also was at least one cutout of a George W. Bush photo. People could pay extra money to throw things at W’s image. If you hit W you won an Obama T-shirt.