Sweeping: the other national sport?

Every morning I wake up to the ch-ch-ch of the señora sweeping the sidewalk around my apartment building.  You would think that the cars revving and honking and going unmuffled down the eje (traffic artery) a half a block away would be the sound to wake me up.  But I think I’ve gotten semi-used to the traffic because it’s so constant: I fall asleep to it, I wake up to it, sometimes I do yoga to it, etc.  The sweeping, however, happens once a day, without fail, every morning around 7 o’clock.

And similar sweeping is happening on sidewalks all over the city.  Most businesses and residences have somebody sweep the sidewalk directly outside their building every morning.  Parks and public places get their daily sweep from city employees (who, by the way, keep their face masks on all year round, to protect themselves from the dust they’re stirring up).  Street vendors sweep or mop their section of the sidewalk every morning before they set up, like this lady getting the area ready for her taco cart.

Everywhere you go, somebody’s sweeping.  It’s like a national obsession… not quite on the level of soccer, but I would say definitely higher up than the actual, official national sport.  Oh, what is the national sport of Mexico, you ask?  According to my research, in 1933 the government declared the Deporte Nacional to be charrería, which is a rodeo-type equestrian event.  I have yet to see any evidence of this charrería, or meet anyone who’s mentioned being a fan, but maybe I’ve been looking in the wrong places.  Check out the pics in this video, though.  Looks action-packed, and the women do it in frilly skirts!

Well, sweeping certainly doesn’t get as much glory as other sports here in Mexico.  I’m sure the sweepers don’t get paid nearly as much as those pro futbolistas, and they don’t get to wear chaps like the charros.  But heck, if they’re gonna call curling a sport, I’d say sweeping qualifies too.  And the lady who goes for it every morning below my bedroom windows is a real champ.  Ch-ch-ch…  Buenos dias!

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