May 13, 2021
The path from the street to my front gate is a steep one, and nobody runs up it. I certainly don’t. So, when I saw the funny-looking dog in front of my neighbour’s house, I thought perhaps that breathlessness was distorting my vision.
But it wasn’t a dog. Bumba (‘Boom-bah’) the pig was making a bid for freedom. At least, she was until she found some garbage to investigate, which fatally slowed her escape.
I always have mixed feelings about the pigs the people next day occasionally raise. Their obvious destiny is a barbecue, and the loud, cheerful snorting they make at mealtimes only underlines that fate. The fatter the pig, the pork-choppier its eventual end.
But maintaining good relations with the locals is essential in a small place like Amatlan, so I went and called Eli (‘Eh-lee’), the wife of the owner of the house. She was off helping somebody at a house further along our lane, but her son was home. He checked the sty, then ran off to fetch his mother, while I went to see where Bumba had gone.
It wasn’t hard to find her. Other neighbours – housewives cleaning yards, Ysrael working on his garden plot – had seen this creature passing by, and the hue and cry had begun. It ended when Eli’s two teenaged daughters came back from the grocery store, and laughingly began to urge Bumba homewards. Teresa, the younger one, was the most committed, perhaps she is usually the one that feeds the animal. As Eli herself came back at the behest of her son, Teresa shooed the small beast back into its cramped home, while her sister Ana grinned at watching the chase.
As Eli pointed out, had some of the village dogs found Bumba, her end could have been unpleasant. A large pig can defend itself against various animals, but a fat little porker would have had no chance. Better the slaughter’s knife, quick and sure, than being torn to pieces by half-feral dogs.
So, I’m sorry, Bumba. Maybe if you’d made your breakout at night-time, when you could have slunk up into the hills, it would have worked. But your timing was off.
I hope you enjoy your slops until it’s your time.
Mexed Messages 