By Carmen Rioja
After the revolt caused by the pandemic in Mexico and in the rest of the world, communication tools and ways of weaving ties changed dramatically. In the Greek sense of drama, there are media that died along the way and remained as examples for the historical archive, such as landline calls.
I had never thought that the intense communication that Mexicans carry through WhatsApp is not something that a foreigner can guess, since for them it is not a frequently used application. Maybe they use Messenger or Zoom and other platforms. They video call, write an email, or arrange to meet in person.
We Mexicans have communicated before but more so after the pandemic, by WhatsApp. They took several tremors and several satellites started up that knocked down the satellite connections in which, despite everything, Whatsaap was still standing with, if anything, very brief periods of interruption.
This tool has meant for young students, workers and people with very limited resources, access to connectivity to take classes, investigate homework, attend to procedures, etc. Etc. No more cost than finding a place with Wi-Fi access and a cell phone device.
According to Maestra Alma Cervantes, middle to high school students in the municipality, especially in rural areas, are at a serious disadvantage as students since they rarely have a computer, much less an internet signal. 90% of the students who come to the scholarship system did not even have access to a personal tablet to do homework. Thanks to the San Miguel Public Library scholarship program, students are receiving support in this regard.
During the pandemic, the different platforms for video conferencing became essential. Not only for those who work in companies, but also for those who wanted to contact family, or see each other in some way without the risk of contagion from coronavirus.
Human coexistence is necessary, in no way can it be replaced with applications, but an effort on our part is necessary and we must be flexible to learn and use new platforms that go as far as including 3D digital representation of the participating people; but flexibility also means continuing to use the above in courtesy for those who do not have this or that type of communication.
My Aunt Licha, who was a telephone operator for fifty years, would say, «Here we handle the connections from the satellite to the cloud of smoke.»
In San Miguel de Allende, as in the rest of the world, we look to the future and we know that the challenges that we will have to solve are great. We must embrace all forms of communication; by being informed and communicated we will be able to make better participatory decisions.
The newspaper Attention is making an effort to renew itself, with a presence on the web and social networks, with videos and excellent work by the design and art team to merge tradition and new community collaborations. However, much more citizen participation and opinion articles will be needed for the dialogue to be constant and fruitful.
Do not hesitate to send your proposals bilingual or in any language. The extension can be 500 or 800 words with photos and credits to the editorial team ten days before the desired publication date editorial@atencionsanmiguel.org and editor@atencionsanmiguel.org
The efforts of those who today support the newspaper in hiring publicity or advertised events will also be multiplied, since 100% of royalties and a percentage of profits go directly to scholarships for students. This year, despite the pandemic, 80 scholarships were awarded to students with whom Maestra Alma Cervantes works personally throughout the year, and they will continue until graduation.
If you live in Mexico you have to install WhatsApp on your cell phone or mobile device. It is the means of communication for the majority of the population for now. I also recommend outdoor places this week, the bug is still waging war and the infections have not stopped. It may also seem strange, but the Mexican government, through the Ministry of Welfare, made the decision to inform citizens through Facebook. Or at least it is like that in Querétaro and San Miguel. I doubt very much that there are numerous examples of other countries that have chosen FB as their official medium. But I am almost certain that if the government studied the problem, it determined that the majority of Mexicans consulted FB but very rarely researched health data and information directly on official or academic pages. If you want to live in Mexico, for now you’d better have an account on that app.
