Noise As A Status Symbol

Written by: Foreign Native

Published: Saturday, May 23, 2009 | Comments 2

Thanks to catalytic converters, unleaded fuel, ozone monitoring and restrictions on dirty industry, air pollution in Mexico City is much less than it was in the early 1990s. Noise pollution, however, has survived the endeavors of planners to improve environmental conditions in one of the world’s largest cities.

The birds – of which there are a considerably large number for such a vast expanse of concrete and bitumen – find their dawn-welcoming choruses competing for ears with the continuous rush of tires on tar, the roar of diesel combustion, and piercing shrieks from the whistles of policemen trying to keep it all moving along.

Perhaps not surprisingly, noise is something of a status symbol for the chilangos as they struggle to be noticed among 20 million others.

The owners and operators of the ubiquitous micros – shuttle buses – may well skimp when it comes to seating arrangements, faulty light bulbs, or sticky doors, but spare no expense when rigging up sound systems for the apparent entertainment of the driver alone. From the intricate set-up of twitters and woofers, no one is spared the blast of música tropical, corridas, or rock en español.

In case this isn’t enough, some replace the standard horn with a series of trumpets pumping out Yankee Doodle or La Cucaracha – both proclaiming “make way for the raucous.”

The penchant for forcibly sharing dissonant tastes extends to the owners of cars, many of whom roll down their windows to let fellow motorists and pedestrians appreciate the finer points of disco, rap, or hip-hop at full volume . Pathos comes to mind as the driver tries to shout “look at me” through the speakers, but actually insists, “listen to this awful din.” None of the loudies seem to like Simon & Garfunkel.

And, as elsewhere, even in the best of homes decibels rather than premises, inference, and deduction are the main currency for settling differences in points of view. Here, the more the merrier combines with the louder the better to produce some ear-splitting enforcement of opinion, even beyond the power of the proverbial “sí, mi amor.”

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Comments about “Noise As A Status Symbol”

Darrell Bohlsen wrote:

Recently I have written on the subject:

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TOO MUCH SOUND

It’s too loud! By far the most common complaint from American expats I hear in Mexico. Sitting with friends at Los Arcos, a downtown meeting place here in CuernavacaI’ve mentioned before, one sunny Thursday afternoon, a trio of musicians began playing their scheduled gig. The new audio system proudly installed by management begins to blast out the product.

The Americans begin to grimace. After one then a second get up to talk to the controller to lower the volume to no avail, a well mannered native Sicilian lady sitting with us rises up and successfully negotiates a deal to lower the volume. Although this may speak to our lack of negotiation skills as Americans, I want to talk about noise.

What is it about sound that we Americans don’t like? Exactly? I remember ripping my newly wedded Tapatia wife from her Mexican noise filled environment and plopping her down in USA suburbia. She complained that when she found herself alone in the house she had the feeling that everybody had died and the world had ended. Why have we made our suburbs virtual soundless morgues?

Let’s face it, we Americans prefer our trusted method of receiving information via the written word which is best performed without noise and other distractions. Perhaps this grew out of the attachment to our beloved constitution. Marshall McLuhan reminds us, (Remember? He’s that “The Medium is the Message” or “Global Village” guy from the sixties.) reading is a very individualistic way to gather information.

Sound, on the other hand, tends to to be more social with more than one simultaneous listener, lending itself to the fabric of the Mexican culture. A cyber friend and expat living in Mexico blogging under the nom de guerre of Peter addresses this matter well:

“Living in a society with more personal freedom requires more tolerance for the behavior of others. All night fiestas with music blasting is not something I “tolerate,” rather, to me it is the sound of freedom. And I know I’m welcome to that party also.”

Darrell Bohlsen
Cuernavaca

Posted on 02-Mar-10 at 4:49 pm | Permalink
Bruce dishongh wrote:

I have to agree with Darrell–noise is nice! The sounds of the “Toluca Rocket” still ring in my ears after almost 50 years. No muffler, no pollution control, just the straining sounds of antiquated buses trying their best to navigate the mountains without killing all the passengers and chickens.

What I would give to be back in Mexico with all the noise pollution! Is the Copa de Leche still in business? If so, just set me down there with a cool cerveza and the extra loud mariachis–that would be as close to heaven as I could hope to get!

Bruce Dishongh

Posted on 21-Mar-10 at 3:21 am | Permalink