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      There’s a Starbucks in the historic district of San Miguel de Allende. You may be appalled by that or that may be good news to you.

On the one hand, it’s the “HISTORIC DISTRICT”!!!!! What is it about historic district that they don’t understand?

On the other hand, it’s still in a historic building. And it’s nice to have a really good cup-a-joe. Know what I mean? I invite debate.

But let me give you an observation that I find confusing. Take a tourist. Me, for instance. Say he goes to a place that is one of the most popular (and inland, maybe the most popular) towns in Mexico. What does he complain about? Tourists. Too many of them. (Except for him, of course). They’re ruining the place. It’s awful. Ironic, eh?

Here’s another. In school this morning, sitting in orientation class just before it started, I overheard the conversation of a couple of guys making small talk. One of them had been to SMA the year before, and he said that Starbucks hadn’t been there then. The other guy says, “I know. It’s awful”. A little bit later, the second guy says that there used to be this wonderful American bookstore in that same spot. When the instructor came in, she said that she was touched that he remembered it because her father had started it. They spent a minute or two talking about how wonderful it was. And I’m sure it was. My question is: what’s the difference between that bookstore and Starbucks? They’re both foreign. They both take away from the “Mexican” experience. Is it because Starbucks represents Globalization? Is it because it’s Corporate and not Mom and Pop. It was an American bookstore. It had books in English. Didn’t that represent something too? Perhaps Americanization? For me, it’s just a matter of scale. SMA is being Americanized. By an influx of Americans. Look at real estate prices if you don’t believe me. Four times what they are 50 miles away. And if you’re an American in SMA, you’re helping to Americanize it. (Me, too).

We attended an outdoor concert on Monday night. Just from looking at the back of the heads and the color of their hair, you could see that fewer than half of the audience was local. Fewer than half.

Here’s another aspect. The people working in this Starbucks are local. In fact, only one spoke English. Ask them if they think having a Starbucks in SMA is bad. From all reports, Starbucks is a good employer. I don’t know that for a fact. I did buy a coffee there. The coffee was good, the people were downright warm and friendly, the place was attractive and didn’t hurt the look of the area at all. Except for the name. If nothing changed except the name on the wall outside, would it be okay then? Would “Miguel’s” be better than “Starbucks”? Why?  And why isn’t there a “Miguel’s” there?  

Also, there aren’t many “Mexican” restaurants in historic SMA. Lots of Italian and French. Even Lebanese. Bad? For whom?

Why is Starbucks so successful? When McDonalds started way back when, they were successful mainly for one reason. No matter where you went in the U.S., as you traveled along the interstates, you didn’t have a clue where to stop and eat. Was there anyplace at all? Was it safe? Was it good? Was it expensive? McDonald’s solved that. You knew what it looked like, what the product was, what it cost, etc. I think part of Starbucks success has to do with the same thing. A reliable experience.

Anyway…. there’s a Starbucks in San Miguel de Allende. Wha’cha think?

 

 

 

 

Tags:   El Centro · immersion · Immersion school · Immersion Schools · Learn Spanish · Learning Spanish · Mexico · San Miguel de Allende · Spanish · speak Spanish · Starbucks · Travel SpanishNo Comments