You are new to Mexico City.
With just a week here to be a tourist, you plan on doing as much as you can with the limited time you got.
Your tour guide is another foreigner who is running some local volunteer group that introduces tourists to the main attractions.
And, to your observation, there's another gringo in the group who is always making negative comments.
When someone asks if there is a bathroom, he points out a public bathroom and says "watch out, there probably isn't any toilet paper."
Later on, you all experience the metro.
And the metro stops abruptly for no reason and then gets moving again 5 minutes later.
The gringo says "ah, typical, isn't it?"
Perhaps someone asks him about how much rent costs in areas like Condesa and he rolls his eye thinking about the rising costs.
After that, you all stop to get some street tacos but then someone in the group gets sick and the gringo says "hmmm. Food sickness? In Mexico?"
So on and so on.
These little inconveniences add up but so do the comments.
To which, in the end of the tour, another inconvenient thing happens.
Whatever it might be.
And the gringo says something about it also under his breath.
To which the gringo guide responds back in kind "welcome to Mexico!"
Then a Mexican woman in the background hears this comment and she retorts "what do you mean by that?!?"
"Welcome to Mexico"
There is a certain comment that sometimes gringos will throw out there during a discussion about Mexico.
It wouldn't surprise me if the comment exists among some gringos in other Latin American countries because some of the inconveniences that you find in Mexico can also be found elsewhere in the region.
Anyway, the comment in question is literally "welcome to Mexico!"
Said gringo often says it in a bit of a condescending manner.
Sometimes it could be said in a condescending manner to the other gringo in question who is complaining about whatever is bothering him.
And so it is an indirect way of saying "get used to it or get out. This is Mexico."
Others might not feel any ire towards the gringo making a critical observation but are simply having a joke at the inconveniences that, to them after enough years here, are normal and tolerated.
But, to the new gringo in town, he isn't used to whatever is annoying him.
Regardless of what exactly he meant by such a statement, it also obviously comes with some condescension towards Mexico at large.
Where the statement is indirectly saying "this country is third world and you just have to get used to third world shit because this is Mexico. Welcome and get used to it."
Of course, sometimes other gringos take offense at such an implication.
And, to the surprise of nobody, obviously some Mexicans find it offensive also.
Regardless of how sensitive or not they are to critiques of their country, nobody wants to hear "welcome to Mexico!" after someone complains of being robbed by the police, of the toilet breaking, of getting food sickness or whatever else.
"Welcome to Mexico! This is such a shit hole that these things happen all the time!"
And, on social media where anyone feels bold enough to make such statements with no risk of being punched in the face, you'll see such comments more regularly.
For example, I remember someone starting a conversation a day or two ago on some Facebook expats group where the person was asking about the water in the city.
Something about how "my shower doesn't work" and "is there a water shortage in the city?"
Most people gave helpful replies.
Then someone responded with a "welcome to Mexico" comment.
Right away, some chick with a Latina sounding last name (perhaps a Mexican) immediately starting bitching at the guy.
"How rude" this or "how racist" that.
Conversation soon ended.
Life went on.
On other occasions, you see someone giving the same comment also.
But what is there to be said on such a simple topic?
Is it ever OK to say "welcome to Mexico" in such a fashion?
Final Thoughts
One could perhaps find it surprising that a Mexican would find it insulting given that Mexicans and Latin Americans of other countries don't miss an opportunity to call someone "gordo" when addressing a fatass.
Or just taking the piss out of each other and laughing at the expense or misfortune of others to feel better about themselves.
With such a good humor, who would be mad at a slight joke of "welcome to Mexico"?
Well, it's obvious why any Mexican would find it offensive.
Plenty of people in a lot of countries never miss a chance to bitch about "how bad things are getting" or complain about anything else to do with their own society.
But leave it to a foreigner to make the same observations -- sometimes in a humble and non-joking way -- and you'll trigger the nationalism and inferiority complex of the local who would be most enraged by a foreigner critiquing the same country.
Anyway, when it comes to the "welcome to Mexico" comment in response to that inquiry about water, I'd say it wasn't bad.
After all, Mexico does have a water crisis.
So a "welcome to Mexico" is appropriate.
You better get used to it because it's part of life here.
Anyway, I don't really give a shit about the comment.
I think it's fine.
Just know you'll piss some people off when you say it but I think it's an OK comment to say because it just rightly stab at some of the shit that comes with life in Mexico.
Despite all the great things about the country, there are obvious negatives and some of them are quite apparent in Mexico and Mexico City specifically.
So to make fun of such annoyances is fine.
If you get butthurt about it, you're more likely a local with an inferiority complex or a gringo standing up to battle for a country you are not even from for social media points and/or to sit on a high horse above others like you probably did back home.
Sit down. Have a drink. Shut the fuck up. And relax for once in your life.
But that's all I got to say.
Now it's time for me to have a drink.
If you got anything to add, drop a comment below.
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Thanks for reading.
Best regards,
Matt