Gotta share this! The Mexico Taxi Project! Even though this video is created and paid for by the Mexican Tourism Board, I think you’ll see the truth and sincerity behind the message. Tourists from L.A., Chicago and New York were asked about their experiences in Mexico as they returned to the U.S. from vacation. Oaxaca fits into the same category as Los Cabos San Lucas and Tulum and Puerto Vallarta — SAFE! My son and daughter-in-law are going to Tulum (flying into Cancun) between Christmas and New Years. Have a great time, I say. I know they will.
Stuart Elliott, NY Times business/media writer says (November 21, 2011) …
Although the name of the campaign is the “Mexico Taxi Project,” there are no Mexican taxicabs involved. All the videos, which can be watched on television, as well as online at mexicotaxiproject.com, take place in the United States, not Mexico.
The taxis in question are actually black cars, giving rides home to tourists who have just arrived back in this country after taking vacations in Mexico. There are hidden cameras inside the cars, which film the tourists answering questions from the “drivers” about their trips.
The people involved in creating and sponsoring the campaign told me they decided to film the ads in the United States because they believed they would get more honest, forthcoming comments that way than if the ads were filmed in Mexico.
“It was important for the conversations to take place once the visitors were home,” said Gerardo Llanes, chief marketing officer at the Mexico Tourism Board, because if they were filmed in Mexico they might have felt they would “have to be nice and polite.” He offered this comparison: “If I go to your house and don’t like the furniture, I wouldn’t say it.”
Oaxaca: Beauty is Everywhere — And It’s Safe, Too
Oaxaca is beautiful and safe, says Elliot Stoller, who visited in December 2011. He recently wrote to me and ordered the self-guided tour map of Teotitlan del Valle to prepare for his trip next year. Elliot’s photos are so beautiful that I want to share them with you (with his permission, of course). And his testimonial about safety deserves attention.
Oaxaca: Beauty is Everywhere
Oaxaca: Night of the Radishes
Oaxaca: Mitla
” I felt as safe in Oaxaca as I feel in any city in the USA. The people are friendly and helpful. In fact, in the evenings, I felt safer in Oaxaca than I do in Seattle because there were so many people out and about… socializing, eating at sidewalk cafes, watching performances of folk dancers or taking part in Las Posadas (religious processions) and enjoying the wonderful weather.
Oaxaca: Chocolate
Oaxaca: Rodolfo Morales Museum, Ocotlan de Morelos
“I know about 40 words of Spanish but I always found that the Oaxaca people would be patient and we found a way to communicate. Once, I was in a restaurant and I couldn’t read the menu. I was trying to order tortillas with different fillings. The cook motioned for me to come up to where everything was cooking and she took off the pot lids so I could point at the fillings I wanted.
Oaxaca: Ethnobotanical Garden
Oaxaca: Monte Alban
“A guide we hired took us to Teotitlan Del Valle but we stopped at only one workshop/home. I returned to Teotitlan on the Fundacion En Via tour (a non-profit that fights poverty through micro-finance) so I was able so see more of the town and a more realistic picture of the townspeople.
Oaxaca: The Churches
“I love Oaxaca. I plan to go back again in December this year for two more weeks. And I’m fantasizing about retiring there. I fell in love with Oaxaca as you can probably tell from my photographs.
“Thank you for your wonderful blog,”
Elliot Stoller, Seattle, Washington
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Upcoming photography workshops in Oaxaca: Portrait Photography, Market Towns and Artisan Villages, and Day of the Dead
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Safety, Teotitlan del Valle, Travel & Tourism
Tagged blogsherpa, class, courses, Mexico, Oaxaca, photography, safety, self-guided map, Teotitlan del Valle, workshops