Join the fun : fun, small-scale commerce and engagements with global capitalism among skateboarders in Puebla, Mexico

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Abstract

In this ethnographic study conducted among skateboarders in Puebla, Mexico, I investigate how the skaters negotiate the tension between global capitalism and small-scale commerce through the practice of fun. I do so from the perspective of youthful experience and signification. The skaters of Puebla draw on social, symbolic as well as subcultural capital to promote their skateboarding brands and shops. The rules of global capitalism are less strictly followed in Mexico since authorities have difficulties checking on unregistered brands when these are not sold from solid locations. This grants youthful entrepreneurs in the skateboarding scene possibilities to bypass imposed regulations. Thereby, these youthful

subcultural entrepreneurs have a good time battling the million dollar skateboard companies coming from the United States. The skaters consider these big companies as a huge source of competition and they are not sure if they are able to win this competition. In the end the skaters might not be more successful in terms of incomes but they do have considerable fun trying.

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Formulae on plagiarism

"Declaration: I have read and understood the University of Amsterdam plagiarism policy [published on http://www.student.uva.nl/fraude-plagiaat/voorkomen.cfm]. I declare that this assignment is entirely my own work, all sources have been properly acknowledged, and that I have not previously submitted

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Chapter 1: Researching the fun world of the skateboarding economy in

Puebla

1.1 Introduction

Scene 1: Another sunny day at the Xonaca skate park in Puebla, Mexico. People are skateboarding, filming or enjoying conversations while secretly sharing caguamones, a bottled liter of beer. A group of friends is sitting in the hot sun, enjoying

their conversation as well as their beer. Suddenly, one of the guys challenges someone else. “I call a bet! If the next guy jumping down the stairs makes his trick, I buy you a new board. If he lands the trick, you buy one for me, alright?” The other guy agrees and they wait until someone approaches the stairs. In the meantime, cigarettes are shared, jokes are made and fun is had. After some

time, a skateboarder is checking out the set of stairs and is clearly trying to visualize his upcoming trick. As he takes a few steps back in order to gain some speed for the jump, he accelerates. He approaches the stairs and jumps. In the middle of the jump he fails to get his position straight. As he lands on the ground he breaks his board, he sees the bunch of friends going wild. Seemingly out of nowhere a guy comes up to the skater and asks him whether he would like to buy a new skateboard. The friends overhear this conversation and whistle to signal the salesman to come over. What does a shop-less salesman do at the skate park of Xonaca? The friends buy a skateboard from him, which he gets from the trunk of his car. The friends give the old deck to the skater who broke his board. In the end, one skateboarder broke his boards and two got a new one. How does this informal economy come about in a commerce-free setting as the Xonaca skate park?

Scene 2: “Hey everybody! How are you doing? I know you’re thinking ‘what the hell does Denzel Washington know about skateboarding?’ But no. This is your boy Gary Rogers with another episode of

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Skateline NBD and let’s get to it! Ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it!”1 This is Rogers starting an episode of Skateline on YouTube. A home-made news program describing the ins and outs concerning the world of skateboarding. Nike runs a commercial in skateboard videos about a mobile app that was to be released. On November 5th, 2013, Rogers gave a rant about it. He began by promoting the app. Then he continues: “Don’t worry. After the first month you might notice some small, some eeny meeny tiny things. The J in your text messages is now converted into the Nike logo. Your screen is now also camouflaged into a Nike stencil, so you can’t see anything on your phone except the Nike SB app. Then, Nike now owns your phone so you’re no longer a part of your actual telephone provider; you’re just a part of Nike“. He mocks Nike for taking control of the skateboarding scene, and does so in a very entertaining way. This funny approach to situations is very characteristic for the skateboard scene. As Nike is slowly taking over your phone, or the skateboard community in a metaphorical way, the ‘real’ participants of the skateboard scene are still enjoying themselves. Global capitalism is penetrating informal, small-scale commerce, while the skateboarding scene is challenging this with creative ways of fun.

This interplay between seriousness and fun, as illustrated in the situations sketched above, is fascinating to me. In Puebla, Mexico, participants in the skateboard scene engage in an informal economy, buying and selling skateboard products straight from the trunk of a car or in a small shop. This approach provides the salesman with the opportunity to bypass the laws and regulations of the capitalist system while having fun. This is a niche that took my interest immediately.

On the face of it young Mexican skateboarders do not seem to have much opportunity to combat the capitalist system. But as is often the case in situations approached from an anthropological perspective, not all is what it seems at first. More importantly, these skateboarders are having tons of fun battling this capitalist system, whether deliberate or not. This thesis is interesting for readers who want to know more about the politics of fun, youthful practices and experiences, skateboarding, creativity, subcultural capital and, lastly, ways of engaging with the forces of global capitalism. How does the seriousness of commerce in a global capitalist world correspond to the innovative, creative ways skateboarders tend to view this world? How is this informal economy creatively used to challenge the seemingly dominating force of global capitalism?

My study focuses on the creative ways in which skateboarders provide both entertainment and a living for themselves and, possibly, others around them. An ethnographic study of skateboarding culture can

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offer us a critical appraisal of the relation between the politics of fun and the seriousness of global capitalism, by showing that the two are not mutually exclusive. The politics of fun concern the ways power dynamics are engaged in through the use of fun. Moreover, in the case of skateboarders, fun is a key element of their subculture, it is present in all their everyday engagements, thus also in their commercial engagements. This made me formulate the following research question:

How do participants of the skateboard scene in Puebla, Mexico, use fun as subcultural practice to negotiate the dynamic between small-scale commerce and global capitalism?

I developed the following sub questions in order to approach this research question in a more tangible manner:

How is the skateboard culture in Puebla constituted and reproduced through fun as subcultural practice?

How do small-scale vendors of skateboarding products practice fun while managing their businesses?

How do skateboarders engage with the concrete manifestations of global capitalism in the skateboard scene of Puebla?

As an anthropologist I bring nuance and focus on all dimensions of this phenomenon. I will do this from the perspective of youthful experience and signification. I adopt elements from different theories concerning play, globalism, capitalism, skateboarding and youth cultures so as to combine them and constitute a relevant theoretical framework for my specific case. I will do so

since existing theories do not grasp the complexity of the politics of fun in relation to small-scale commerce. Besides a great challenge for myself this is also what makes my subject academically interesting. On account of my interest in skateboarding culture, fun as practiced by youth and the force of global capitalism I found my niche in academic research. In particular, there is a gap in the literature concerning the concept of ‘fun’. There are several publications concerning play but the concept of fun is under-researched in the current field of anthropology. In terms of social relevance my research is

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interesting to shed light upon the, in my opinion often unnoticed, collective power of youth. From an outsider perspective these skaters in Puebla might just look like a bunch of unregulated no-good for nothing rascals. While in fact there is a whole shadow economy going on, as well as dreams and aspirations these skateboarders have which are pursued through effort. This research points out that the capitalist system is not at all as powerful as it seems. In fact, there are ways to work around the system and build something which is more comparable in the sense of collective effort.

The following image (Fig. 1) can clarify my exact focus in this research. I focus on small-scale commerce, which is part of the informal economy. The alternative economy of skateboarding is based on the wants and desires of the skateboarding community. This alternative economy overlaps with the formal economy and the informal economy. Small-scale commerce is characterized by informality and creativity, this is exactly where the alternative economy and informal economy overlap. On the one hand I found out skateboarding products originate in the formal economy from which they are distributed towards the alternative economy, small-scale vendors and ultimately to the skateboarder. On the other hand products can also originate, as to my surprise, in the informal economy as so-called pirateria (piracy) products; fake brands with an inferior quality. These products are distributed towards the formal economy, sometimes even without shop owners being aware that they sell ‘false’ products in their shop. Gato told me the popularity of Mexican brands is increasing over the last few years: “Look at how I see it now, as an advantage [having a Mexican brand]. A lot of skateboard culture with Mexican brands and Mexican support are developing. The people are really choosing the Mexican brands. In my shop it used to be that we sold like ten pairs of American shoes and one or two Mexican, now it’s the whole other way around.”

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As can be seen here, the formal, alternative and the informal economy are all related. The two scenes in the introduction show that fun is a possible way of negotiating the influence of global capitalism on skateboarding. This applies to the micro as well as macro levels.

1.2 Theory

The skateboarders in Mexico who sell products unofficially were very friendly, made jokes and became my skatemates, at least for the day. In my experience youth tend to be into having fun. But fun can be seen in different dimensions. Existing theories focus more on play than on fun. Since play is related to fun I engage in play theory as to demarcate my research.

1.2.1 Politics of fun

Johan Huizinga (1938) states that culture arises from play. He defines play in five characteristics: play is free, is not ordinary or real life, is distinct from ordinary life in locality and duration, creates order and has no material interest. For my case, all of these aspects can be fun but are not essential to define it as such. This is what makes it complicated. Huizinga argues that play is distinct from everyday life and that there is no profit to be gained from play. However, my case shows that play actually is everyday life for skateboarders, since the freedom and creativity in skateboarding, discussed below, breaks down any boundary between a ‘play realm’ and the ‘real world’; this breaking of boundaries is what skaters achieve through their playfulness, that is, fun. Their engagement in an informal economy shows that profit can indeed be gained from playful practices. Profit can be conceived as economic as well as social, symbolic and subcultural capital, I elaborate on these terms below. Since Huizinga differentiates play from ordinary life I will have to look into another theory which does not make this differentiation. What can fun tell us about a particular culture if fun is actually embedded in everyday life? Geertz can be helpful where Huizinga’s work does not offer a decisive answer.

Clifford Geertz (1973) conceives of a cultural form, such as play, as a text. Play can thus be ‘read’ as an entrance to a culture. To analyze play can give insights into broader cultural aspects underlying the game such as ethos, hierarchy, social relations or norms. A game, then, is more than a game. The way skateboarders in Puebla perform fun will be telling about their world view. Borman (1988) turns more towards the actual practice of play on the workplace. He defines play on the workplace as something which creates solidarity among co-workers, offers tension release and an escape from boredom. This

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seems applicable to the skateboarding scene, especially in regards to creating solidarity. Just hanging around at a skate spot, the small-scale salesman might be working and having fun simultaneously. Like Geertz, Borman states that more complex forms of humor convey information on social norms, correspondingly it defines the rank of people. Both authors emphasize the functions of play but where is the fun in these theories? What are the politics of fun in Puebla among participants of the skateboard scene specifically?

In focusing on the issue of fun in this research, I hold an analytical distinction between the concepts of ‘fun’ and ‘play’. I define fun as an emotion that follows from a subjective manner to provide entertainment. This entertainment is aimed at the individual who is practicing fun, but can also provide entertainment for others. Fun is a state of being and can in addition be strategic, as the word ‘politics’ implies. Play on the other hand is typically associated with games. A game is not essential for fun, as it is for play. Fun is an affect that can arise from play as well as from commerce, or any other dimension of life. The skateboarders’ perception of fun offers a window into their subjectivity. This subjectivity is lived in the moment, this is what makes it captivating, contextual and embodied. Fun adds legitimacy to the small-scale salesmen, it gives them a degree of subcultural capital. The definitions of play as noted in this paragraph are very close as to how I identify fun. However, fun and play are not the same. In order to acknowledge fun in its very broad sense I prefer this term over play as a central concept in my research. I do so since fun can be located in play as well as in commerce. My respondent Gato (27) showed me that fun is even broader than I initially thought it was: “Well, I say that fun is like love right? It’s a form of love. I mean, if you do everything while having fun, you are in the act of loving no?”

1.2.2 Skateboarding culture

Skateboarding can be done in a skate park or a skate spot. A skate park is a park built for the sole reason to practice skateboarding whereas a skate spot is not built for this purpose. A skate spot is an object of architecture which can simultaneously be used for skating. In a skate spot skateboarding films are made since the spot is not perfectly built for skateboarding and thus more impressive to other skaters since it is harder to perform tricks at a spot.

Not much, but quite a diverse literature has been published on skateboarding. Most discusses the actual practice of skateboarding in relation to urban governance, city planning and public space (Carr, 2010; Németh, 2006; Jenson, Swords & Jeffries 2012; Stratford, 2002 Woolley & Johns, 2001). Less research

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has been done on the culture surrounding and sustaining skateboard scenes, the ‘lifestyle’ so to say. I do focus on the skateboarding lifestyle with its own norms, values and worldviews concerning the aspect of fun.

Becky Beal and Lisa Weidman (2003) discuss how the values and norms of skateboarding constitute authenticity and

legitimacy in the

skateboarding subculture.

They identify two

fundamental differences between traditional youth sports and skateboarding. First, skateboarding is not organized by adults. In this recreational sense,

skateboarding is an autonomous activity. It is up to skaters themselves what, when and how to go about it. Second, skateboarding does not rely on competition. Again, in the recreational sense it does not, in a professional sense it can. Professional skateboarders can compete in competitions where every rider has several minutes in a skate park to show his skills. However, only a small group of pros participate in these contests. Most prefer working on their video parts, a video part is a sequence of several tricks accompanied by a song chosen by the rider in an official video. Morado agrees on this: “[I prefer] working on a video part because it’s more real. [..] I think skateboarding is, well, it’s from the streets”. The skateboarders in Beal and Weidman’s research make clear that skateboarders feel free and able to express themselves owing to the lack of formality in non-professional skateboarding. Still there is discipline in skateboarding as Krusty (22) clarifies: “Yeah, much is discipline, it’s not just getting on a board. Many drink, many smoke. Like this is just what people see you know? But behind this there is a discipline, because a body doesn’t endure all these slams or all this exhaustion. There is discipline in this, you have to be organized”.

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This lack of formality is what makes skateboarding so creative. Beal and Weidman define creativity in skateboarding as the opportunity to set one’s own standards and not having a judge. This is in contrast with traditional sports since in skateboarding there is nothing comparable to a trainer who will force a schedule on a skateboarder. There are no demands, rules or qualifications, this freedom can be filled creatively in a personal manner. Skateboarders feel creative and free while practicing skateboarding, since in skateboarding they have the privilege to set their own standards. No other person can order anyone to do a certain trick in a certain way. The style, location and choice of tricks are all up to the skateboarder himself.

Besides creativity in the actual practice of skateboarding, this creativity also emerges in the interaction between skateboarders. I perceive skateboarders in general as very creative in finding ways to entertain themselves, ergo having fun. This creativity in having fun, with or without ordinary means to do so, intrigues me. Besides being creative in having fun, creativity is also useful in managing a business. What are good, fun tactics to make a business get by?

Beal and Weidman furthermore mention the ability to challenge social standards. This is a huge source of fun in the skateboard scene in my experience. This twisting of social norms always creates a laugh. In the skateboard film Moondog, for example, Cotonete is passing a crossover. Suddenly he runs to the cars stopping before the traffic lights and starts performing a silly improvised dance. After the light switches green, he quickly runs past the drivers to collect some change as pay for the entertainment he brought them. Of course, this is usually considered a poor man’s job. So the switching of social class by doing something quite unusual is perceived as good fun. Beal and Weidman’s study is very useful in

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pinpointing these subcultural norms, values and views of skateboarders but does not explore this any further. What do these values, norms and views mean in relation to having fun as well as to work? Gregory Snyder (2011) writes about the career options for skateboarders by following his younger brother Aaron Snyder who is a former professional skateboarder. These career options are all related to the professional skateboard industry; professional skateboarder, filmer, photographer or careers coming from designing, administering and selling of skateboards and skateboard-related products (Snyder 2011: 324). These occupations show the intersection between ‘fun’ and ‘work’. In this thesis I will delve further into this paradox. Is a skateboard related occupation fun, work, both or something completely different? However, perhaps due to his geographical focus on the United States of America, Snyder does not focus on any informal economy. As I have witnessed in Mexico, the possibilities for anyone to make money out of skateboarding is facilitated by the lack of enforcement of laws concerning informal trade. Moreover, where is the aspect of fun in these skateboarding industry related occupations?

Skateboarding has evolved enormously from an activity to replace surfing, into a million dollar industry where big companies such as Nike got involved. Kara Jane Lombard (2010) writes about the commercial incorporation of skateboarding. In 1996 the Extreme Games were held for the first time. The term extreme is an umbrella-term for BMX, snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. Yet due to its overuse it eventually became a synonym for ‘desperate marketing tool’. The Extreme Games was renamed X Games since the term ‘extreme’ became an unpopular appellation. This points to the importance of legitimacy in the skateboard scene.

Beal and Weidman (2003) argue that sincere, longtime involvement and commitment in the skateboarding scene grants a skater a privilege of being a respected member of the scene. Following this logic, established companies display their long-time involvement in the scene to demonstrate their legitimacy. This display of legitimacy is a display of subcultural capital, being in the know. Beal and Weidman state that skateboarders are very critical of the advertisements they consume, therefore companies strive to make these advertisements as close to the subculture as possible.

Taken in these "natural" surroundings, the photos are not flashy or professional looking. [The advertisements] belie their commercial purpose. They depict regular guys (mostly) having fun and skating on their own terms, thus sending the message that the pictured skater has a total commitment to skateboarding, not for the sake of winning competitions or making money, but for the pure enjoyment of skating. (Becky and Weidman 2003: 347)

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Does the quote above imply a dummy company with a legitimate image? Or does the use of subcultural capital by capitalist companies mean that skateboarding culture is co-opted by global capitalism? This is what the Don’t Do It Foundation is rebelling against. The Don’t Do It Foundation is a foundation that strives to keep the skateboarding scene in the hands of the skateboarders themselves, in order to protect it against the forces of global capitalism. But is global capitalism that powerful at all?

1.2.3 Global Capitalism?

John and Jean Comaroff (2000: 335) argue that: ‘life, under millennial capitalism, is neither a game nor a repertoire of rational choices’. They are of course chiding the idea of scholars, whether of the liberal or naive Marxist persuasion, being able to grasp capitalism in formulas or models. I take their cues and would rephrase their words thus: life under millennial capitalism is a game as well as a repertoire of rational choices. It is through the politics of fun that innovative youth make something out of nothing, regardless of the opportunities.

Arjun Appadurai (1996) calls attention to the tension between cultural homogenization and heterogenization. His view differs from the cultural imperialism approach where the dominant cultures from the economic core influence the less fortunate cultures at the global margins by force of the market. Appadurai furthermore states that globalization leads to deterritorialization of local experience, which can give rise to agency. In my opinion getting entangled in the global market can, despite giving the illusion of dominance, grant local actors innovative possibilities as well. Among skaters in Puebla the global meets the local and new unexpected forms emerge in the form of an alternative economy, an economy focused on the needs and desires of the skateboard scene. This can be a reason to ambivalent feelings towards globalization.

According to William Mazzarella (2004), people experience a sense of ambivalence towards globalization, in particular regarding the mediated quality of their lives. ‘Mediation’ refers to the process of social exempt produced by media. Globalism, states Mazzarella, generates a desire for global goods (such as Nike products), but also generates a sense of need for protection of cultures from the global market. This is exactly the goal the Don’t Do it Foundation strives for. Mazzarella calls for a grounded ethnography of places of mediation. The skate spots in Puebla can be considered such places where the global meets the local. By selling products unofficially, the skateboarders work their way around the global market. The processes of mediation involve a struggle with internal indeterminacies and external

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involvement. In this case, the external involvement would be the power of the big corporations, the internal indeterminacy would be the creativity of the skateboarders by engaging in this informal economy. Why should youth in particular benefit from the global capitalist barricade? Should this be considered as a barricade or as an opportunity for the skateboarding entrepreneurs?

Comaroff and Comaroff (2000) state that the global market exercises decontextualization, taking a distance from particular locations and its socio-moral pressures. This is a blessing in disguise for alternative economies, especially where laws are less restrictive than they are in the western world. Opportunities arise in this relative freedom from business restrictions, especially for entrepreneurial youth. Engaging in an informal economy does not require papers or being an adult. Comaroff and Comaroff argue that, in terms of culture, technology and interest, youth are at the frontier of the transnational, where the global meets the local. By their relative marginalization of the normative world they form a ‘counter nation’ with its own ‘twilight economies’. Since they are not fully accepted citizens, in terms of wage at least, many of them take it to the streets. In my case youth do this literally since the streets is where skateboarding is practiced and small-scale vendors operate. I don’t know if skateboarders in Mexico unwittingly aspire resistance towards the nation, but they do indeed constitute an alternative economy. Above all, they seem to have quite a good time running this economy.

I want to note here that by ‘youth’ I mean participants of the subculture at issue, not young people per se. Since subculture is conceived as a youth

culture I speak of ‘youth’ as members of this subculture even though they are not minors. Sarah Thronton (1995) states that youth get prestige from leisure as opposed to adults who acquire prestige from occupation. Youth make due with what they have. This is exactly why they do not resign to their position in this stratified society. As a social category youth tend to aspire autonomy, as the Don’t Do It Foundation shows.

The Don’t Do It Foundation, coming from the brand Consolidated Skateboards, is a movement whose main objective is to keep the skateboarding industry in the hands of skateboarders. They try to make the

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skateboarding scene conscious of the influence of corporations that just care about money. As seen in the name which is a spoof for ’Just Do it’; Nike’s slogan. This corporate influence concerns the investment of capital and the loss of ‘feeling’. I see this as an instrumental rationality versus a more value oriented rationality as the Don’t Do It Foundation promotes. Although Consolidated Skateboards is also a company, it is founded by skateboarders and from the love of skateboarding, as opposed to the love for money, which they blame Nike for. On their webpage they state their ideology clearly:

The Snow, Skate and Surf industries were born out of passion. These passionate hands are what nurtures and guides the industry to grow on the proper path. We all have the power to help direct the course of these industries by what we purchase and who we support. We encourage you to empower those companies who were born out of passion, rather than those companies who wish to take someone else's passion down their own path.

"KEEP OUR INDUSTRY IN PASSIONATE HANDS"2

NATE HANDS"

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Interestingly, skateboarding youth can support the Don’t Do it Foundation, but still choose to wear Nike sneakers because they like the quality or it fits their style. Although this seems contradictory, a skaters’ opinion can be in harmony with his taste. This is an interesting position in the apparent contradiction between political stance and cultural practice. This is solely understandable from the perspective of youth culture as cultural practice.

1.2.4 Youth Culture

Initially, most work on youth subcultures was done in the neo-Marxist and semiotic tradition of the Centre of Contemporary Cultural Studies. The CCCS mainly described youth cultures as a source of rebellion against mainstream society. Due to this political bias, the CCCS approach overlooks the intrinsic value and significance of everyday practices. However, some sophisticated scholars from the CCCS, such as Dick Hebdige or Stuart Hall, do recognize these important aspects and promote a politics without guarantees when looking at youth culture. Subcultures can be a source of rebellion but in my opinion this is not the appropriate starting point for my case.

Mary Bucholtz (2002: 541) argues that: “the explanatory power of resistance becomes less adequate as youth identities move further away from the class-based cultural styles that the concept was designed

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to account for. [Youth cultures] are better understood as founded on a politics of distinction, in which [cultural taste and practice] is tied not only to pleasure or social identity but also to forms of power. This is a very different kind of oppositionality than is implied by the concept of resistance, for it is based not on a rejection of a powerless structural position but rather on a rejection of an undiscerning mainstream culture.” This politics of distinction links very well to the concept of subcultural capital as a basis for a politics of distinction. By collectively engaging in the skateboarding subculture instead of conforming to the mainstream culture the skaters create their own separate, bubble. This bubble is created on terms of interest to skateboarding instead of the traditional class based division.

What is it exactly that the Don’t Do it Foundation opposes? Why would one company be ‘tight’ (good) and the other not? This has to do with subcultural capital in relation to legitimacy. Bourdieu (1984) introduced the concepts of habitus, field and capital. Habitus are the internalized norms and values of the actor whereby capital is the quantity of power or prestige in any particular field. Sarah Thornton (1995) adds subcultural capital to these concepts. This form of capital is the ‘being in the know’ of a particular subculture. What skateboard movies are hot at the moment? What brands to wear? In short, the do’s and the don’ts of the scene. Subcultural capital can be objectified or embodied. Subcultural capital raises respect in the scene, but when overdone fakers are easily spotted. The driving engine behind subcultural capital is subcultural media according to Thornton (see also: Beal & Wheaton 2003). Subcultural media show the subcultural value of popular brands, films or products. They also reproduce the social codes of the skateboarding subculture. Ultimately, subcultural media disperse subcultural capital to the ones keen enough to recognize it.

Likewise, and similar to Appadurai, Mary Bucholtz (2002) stresses the influence of modernity, globalization and locality on the cultural practices of youth. She focusses on the influence of these cultural transformations though internet, media and travel. Moreover, youths are often the agents of these same transformations. Youths exercise agency as producers and receivers, they are thus cultural and political actors.

The transition from being in a marginalized position regarding global capitalism, towards a relatively easy, and more importantly, fun job on the side is the basis for innovation. This creative innovation is the agency of the skateboarders. Besides their indirect political engagement by forming an alternative economy of the kind the Don’t Do it Foundation strives after, skateboarders still engage with the products of big American companies. This dichotomy is re-constituted by cause of fun and this

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negotiation is where I focus on. Thereby, my research produces new insights into the changing dynamics of informal economies in the hands of youth.

1.3 Methodology

I conducted this ethnographic study among participants of the skateboard scene in Puebla, Mexico and have investigated these questions through three months of continuous fieldwork, living with, and following skateboarders in Puebla in order to unravel their perspectives on the politics of fun and small-scale commerce. I investigate the tension between the informality and creativity of the skateboard scene and the increasing encroachment of global capitalism. I state that my fieldwork is continuous since my research and my personal interest closely overlap. As a result of a former visit to Puebla I was already familiar with the relatively new skateboard scene that emerged in Puebla since a few years. Because of this former visit, gaining access to the skateboard scene was extremely easy. I contacted friends before my arrival. Spending time with the skaters in Puebla is, for me, just like spending time with friends in Amsterdam. As a fellow skateboarder and friend I am blessed by this opportunity to delve deeply into the subject of fun and small-scale commerce. This resulted in rich data. As I entered the field I just kept wondering; is fun a way of negotiating this global capitalist tension for skateboarders in Puebla?

As participant observation is the main research method in anthropology I use this method extensively. Participant observation is observing the culture being researched while simultaneously participating in this same culture. By participating in the skateboard scene of Puebla, and living with and spending considerable time with my respondents, I have become familiar with this scene on such a level that I have developed a deep understanding of the skaters’ performance and perception of fun as well as their engagement with the forces of global capitalism through small-scale commerce.

My respondents are mostly males, aged 19 to 30 (with the exception of youthful 39 year old Burpe). The skaters are generally middle class since the low classes in Mexico live their lives in a different socio-economic and cultural sphere and are thus unlikely to be involved in skateboarding, although the skate park of Xonaca is situated near a barrio (ghetto). This made local kids as well as varilles (thugs) come by the park every now and then. Varilles are even more common when skating street spots, because these spots can be practically anywhere, including barrios. But danger on the streets in Puebla is perceived as something quite normal. According to Krusty: “in Mexico it’s something insecure, but it’s not always like

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this. It’s simply when it happens, you understand? Yeah, when they get you they get you. It’s not every day but you always have to watch out”. Moreover, these skaters have finished or are currently involved in further non-compulsory education. Some work some do not, some are starting their own skateboard brands and some are not.

Since fun is a social construct based in practice I decided on following my respondents rather than being attached to specific locations. The skate park of Xonaca was normally the place to meet up. After skateboarding we would get some beers and drink those in front of a skate shop next to the skate park. What happened after was quite diverse and could go from hanging around and having some beers in the car while driving or making a house party out of this. Mariwas (26) shows the normativity of drinking beer quite vividly when talking about an appropriate time for drinking. “Eh, in the weekends, or when I don’t have anything to do, or when it’s warm, or after dinner”.

Besides participant observation I conducted semi-structured interviews with the skaters. These interviews were about past events where the politics of fun were practiced and how a skateboarding entrepreneur manages his small-scale business. After a relevant event took place, I held an interview with the skaters involved. I also discussed subcultural media which both of us were familiar with. Comaroff and Comaroff (2000) as well as Thornton (1995) state the importance of media in reproducing values. In skateboard movies, brands such as Baker, Shake Junt and Deathwish show a ‘cool’ lifestyle as well as their skateboarding tricks. This lifestyle aids many skateboarders in giving form to their membership of the skateboarding subculture. A clear example is the popular handshake introduced by Baker: clap, clap, fist bump.

Besides semi-structured interviews I also held unstructured interviews, or rather, recorded informal conversations. I chose to do so since recording interviews in a hot car to avoid the noise of bypassing traffic changed the normal order of interaction. By changing the ‘normal’ interaction with the skaters they naturally became more formal. Normally the skaters know me as a fellow skater, or friend. But the situation got more formal when I came by with a list of written questions. In order to relax my informants I chose to switch to unstructured interviews without preparation during my fieldwork. These proved to be much more informal in terms of the respondent’s answers.

During my fieldwork it was quite hard finding a balance between work and fun, this is very indicative for my research. When writing reports, more often than not friends would invite me to pass some time. There was not much understanding from their side about my studies, why could I not do my work some

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other day? Frequently friends or neighbors would knock on my door and drop by with some beers, this is indicative for the collectivist Mexican society as well as the normativity of consuming alcohol. I can safely state that I had a lived experience in regard of the complications when fun (personal interest) and work (research) is intertwined. This was hard at times but in retrospect I enjoyed experiencing this complicated dynamic between work and fun.

In the following chapter I will give background information on Mexico, Puebla, small-scale commerce and skateboarding. This chapter is also used to introduce my main respondents. The third chapter is about fun, subcultural capital and small-scale vendors. The fourth chapter will explain how these skateboarding entrepreneurs manage their businesses and how they deal with the influence of global capitalism. This chapter ultimately shows where the fun is in managing a small-scale skateboarding business. Lastly there is the conclusion to tie all these strings together into a solid answer.

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Chapter 2: Getting to know the skate scene

In this chapter I will discuss the background and history concerning my research. I will illustrate the context of the skateboard scene in Puebla by pinpointing some relevant aspects of Mexican society which the skateboarders have internalized. This should also shed light on the norms, values and mode of conduct these skaters practice. In order to understand what skateboarding means to skaters in Puebla today, I shall also trace how skateboarding initially started in Puebla. With his long time involvement in the scene, Burpe’s (39) narrative helps me understand how skateboarding was practiced back in the days.

First, I shall introduce my main respondents in order to acquaint the reader with them and show their respective fun personalities.

2.1 Meet the skaters

Morado (27) has been skateboarding for 12 years. He studied marketing at ESCIHO University (escuela superior de ciencias y humanidades) and is considering applying for a second study, perhaps languages. During these 12 years of involvement in the skateboard scene several local sponsors from Puebla came by as well as a few national patrocinos (sponsors). Sponsors provide the sponsored skater with the necessary equipment that this particular brand

produces, for example wheels. The skater is expected to display the brands of his sponsor in a clear way while skating. During the time of this research it was unclear whether Morado was still on a sponsored team or not. Through his skateboarding Morado wishes to motivate others to get into skateboarding as well.

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23 Morado lives with his mother in a gated community in Los Fundadores, a neighborhood with social problems such as criminality, broken homes and poverty. His official first name is Jesús, which he never uses. Actually, I only learned about his first name when attending a wedding of his cousin. He does not like the religious connotation the name Jesús holds, so he uses his second name, Abraham, in formal situations. As made clear, he is not religious at all.

Even more importantly than being a key informant he became a close and dear friend with whom I made a lot of desmadre (chaos, ruckus). The nickname Morado means purple. He is nicknamed this way because he is rather dark skinned. Friends often refer to him as nigga which

he eventually adopted himself as well. At high school he did not really like being referred to as dark skinned but decided that if he himself is able to laugh the loudest about it, he would not be able to be harmed by others. When not offered samples at the supermarket he would often respond; ‘is it because I’m black?’ Or when going to upscale parties he would like to wear golden chains with dollar signs to mess with people, as seen in the picture. These examples indicate that he fully internalized this nickname.

Morado told me he is somewhat different than other Mexicans. This is so because he was raised solely by his mother. There is no contact with his father, who allegedly mistreated his mother. Because of this, Morado has been raised in a way with immense respect for women, as opposed to the normativity of machista culture in Mexico.

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Morado considers skating his profession, skating every day is seen as training for his ´career´. Besides, he is playing with the idea of starting a skateboard brand. This brand would be different from the ones already established since his brand would focus on ‘good

people’. Good in the sense of social. He wants to have a team with only very friendly skaters, this attitude combined with the skills in skateboarding would be his most important criteria. Morado himself is very outgoing and is usually the person who takes initiative to take action

Burpe (39) started skateboarding at the age of 15 or 12. This vagueness is indicative of the blurry lines of age and what is considered youth. He makes great effort to help the skate scene of Puebla with his civil association COPAPUE4 (Comunidad de Patinadores de Puebla, Pueblan skaters community). This association organizes events, skateboarding contests and demonstrations. His

degree in civil engineering helped him to build the Xonaca skate park while his civil association helped him lobby at the local government to realize this plan. He is called Burpe because he has always been drinking beer since he was a teenager; back in the days he used to burp quite a lot, thus the nickname. Besides drinking beers and smoking joints he spends his days chasing girls. He does this to such an extent that it can practically be termed a sport. A woman to his liking will never be able to walk the street where his skate shop and civil association are situated. He is charismatic and likes to pull pranks on people. Helping people progress in their lives fills Burpe with joy and satisfaction, thus his association.

Gato (27) is the owner of Viva Skateboards and Giro Skate

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shop. In his own shop he is a big loudmouth while outside of his comfort zone he is quite shy. He has been skateboarding for 11 years now and will never leave his phone for even a second, he is busy managing his businesses and does so very well. He finished a private university and obtained his degree in business administration. Gato is always pushing his skateboarding team to the limits to make them go bigger, faster and harder. He currently has seven skaters on his team and sponsors them with clothing and all necessary skateboarding products. Besides the actual practice of skateboarding he is known in Mexico for his skills in filming and editing skateboard clips. When he was younger he switched schools and did not want to socialize with other children, so he bought a lot of food in the break. He did this every recess, just sit down and eat. After a while the other children thought he made a resemblance to Garfield the cat. In the end this became simply Gato (cat).

Cotonete (22) is very creative with words and will always joke around with this. He would unconsciously teach me a lot of words by greeting me with ‘mai‘ for example. After looking this up, it appeared to mean the boss of the construction workers. He lives together with his wife and 4 year old son, Dante. Cotonete and his wife are concerned about the indigenous people and pre-Hispanic art. This is linked to hippie movements in Mexico and ultimately to psy-trance raves and consuming hallucinative drugs. He recently launched his brand Quetzal for which he produced his first

t-shirts and caps. He is called Cotonete (cotton swab) because he used to have an afro-like hairdo and had a rather skinny body type, thus resembling a cotton swab. Cotonete is very active and outgoing but is also said to be a bit unreliable when it comes to appointments.

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Krusty(22) has been skateboarding for 9 years and is famous for having the best skateboarding style in Puebla. He lives with his three sisters, one brother and his parents in a semi shady neighborhood, but according to Krusty any place in Mexico is semi shady. He is currently enrolled in a private university studying administration. Sometimes he works and sometime he gets bored because he cannot skate because of his work. This passion makes him quit his job every now and then. Krusty is somewhat vague as he does not always say what he thinks. He is by far the most passionate skater I met in Puebla, he breathes skateboarding. When going somewhere with Krusty he cannot stop talking about all the spots that we are passing by and what tricks he would like to perform there. He is called Krusty because he got bald spots on the sides of his head at quite an early age, similar to Krusty the clown from the Simpsons.

Chapa (27) came to see a skateboarding contest in Puebla and got a liking to the city so he decided to move here from Mexico City seven months before my research. Before that he was selling products at skate parks straight from his backpack. During my stay in Puebla he opened up Over Skateshop, close to Xonaca skate park. Because of recently opening a skate shop, owning a brand and having experience with selling products on the street as well as from

his shop, he became an important source of data for my research. Chapa is a quiet, relaxed person who keeps mostly to himself. He is called Chapa because he was very small when he was younger. Small people get called chaparrito in Mexico, this became Chapa for short.

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2.2 Historical Background

The informal economy is booming in Latin America. Helen Safa (1986) states that this is due to the international division of labor that has made some countries turn their focus on export manufacturing to lower their foreign debt and solve the economic crisis. This export has received increased governmental support, although much of its products come from the informal sector. The informal sector can produce cheaply due to loose regulations and by relying on personal networks for employees.

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Alejandro Portes and Richard Schauffler (1993) state that in 1989, 34.8 % of the economically active population in Mexico worked in the informal economy. For more recent percentages, on July 31, 2013, Business Mexico Online6 published an article claiming that 59% of working Mexicans are engaged in some form of the informal economy. In the state of Puebla this percentage is even higher: 74.2%. This is almost three out of every four working persons.

Consistent with the pervasiveness of the informal economy, many aspects of Mexican society appear chaotic. Plans are more often changed than followed and the traffic is rather anarchistic. A driver’s license is valid for one, three or five years, the most expensive of these would be around $500 Pesos (27,50 Euros). The exam consists of a few multiple choice questions. If this might be a problem, the people in the office will gladly advice you in the right direction. There is nothing such as drivers’ lessons. The permit is obtained and that is all. Road rules are not strictly followed, ‘do as you please’ seems to be the general consensus while on the road. When going to Xonaca skate park I travelled by bus. Once, the driver went out of the bus to get a sandwich. Friends of the driver took over the wheel, closed the doors, and tried to hit the original driver with the bus. Shortly after, the driver returned inside and started play fighting rather roughly with his friend who took over the bus. Ultimately, the original driver ate his sandwich as his friend continued driving the bus route. While this took place none of the other

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Taken from http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/Culture+of+Puebla,+Mexico Consulted on 20th June, 2014. 6

http://business-mexico-online.com/59-percent-of-mexican-workers-labor-in-the-informal-economy/ Consulted on December 9 2013.

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passengers were surprised or even looked at what was happening. Chaotic scenes as this apparently do not surprise Mexicans.

Puebla is the capital of the state which bears the same name. It is the fourth biggest city as well as the fourth largest metropolitan area in Mexico. Volkswagen has its largest factory outside of Germany here as well. This attracted other factories and made it an industrial city. Puebla hosts the largest number of universities in Mexico after Mexico City. This makes Puebla attractive to students from all over Mexico since the universities here are more easily accessible than Mexico City’s. This reputation as a student-city gives rise to a large student population coming from all over Mexico. There are correspondingly skateboarders coming from all over the country. Lastly, Puebla is not greatly affected by the current war on drugs which is mostly situated in the northern part of Mexico and near the southern boarders. Although a couple in their fifties who own a bar in downtown Puebla told me that because Puebla is so quiet, all the drug lords are supposedly holding up in this city.

Oddly, this big city only became host to some skate parks since 2010. Morado is not very pleased with this: “I think we are still very, very backward. Well, you’ve become aware that Puebla is a big city right? And there’s only like three skate parks that function!”

Skateboarding arose in the 1970’s out of the surf scene in California, United States. When the waves were not good the surfers put some wheels under a board and started sidewalk-surfing, which was later named skateboarding. How skateboarding actually came about in Mexico remains unclear to me due to the lack of relevant literature on this topic. But does it actually matter how the skaters in Puebla see the origin of their beloved activity in terms of significance? How the skaters see the origin of skateboarding in Puebla is more focused on oral histories than it is on historical facts. Burpe would be the most knowledgeable on this subject due to his age and long-time involvement in the scene.

Skateboarding was introduced by surfers who noticed skateboarding in California and took this with them when surfing the Mexican beaches. This interpretation is supported by Burpe who witnessed the rise of skateboarding in Mexico.

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29 In an interview, he talks about the origin of

skateboarding in Puebla, this came about through Mexicans who brought skateboards back from trips to the United States in the 1980s. Skaters would hand over used skateboards to other skaters to provide them with the necessary equipment to practice skateboarding. Burpe tells me he remembered skating when growing up. He started skating in 1985 or 1986, he does not exactly

remember the year. Burpe had a neighbor at the time who passed by his house on the sidewalk on an old-school skateboard with clay wheels. Seeing this, he could not imagine that anybody could actually perform tricks on this piece of wood with four wheels underneath. His neighbor went to the United States regularly and would bring back professional skateboards to Puebla. Beforehand, Burpe had never seen a professional skateboard, just the plastic skateboards from the toy store.

Burpe initially knew no other people skateboarding besides his neighbors. One of them came from Pennsylvania and already knew some tricks, he taught Burpe how to do the basics like Ollie (jumping on a skateboard), backside, frontside(jumping while making a 180° turn; back- and frontside refer to the direction of the turn). These neighbors who came from other places would sell Burpe their used skateboards so that he could skate as well. The banda (crew)would consist of around ten kids, they would all go and practice skateboarding together. Every once in a while someone would have a camera and they would imitate the professional videos they had seen on VHS. This period in his life was a lot of fun and very padre (cool) he explained:

“I remember, in the vacations we would meet up very early and went out to skate. We had our spots; La Flor, La Margarita, Plaza Dorada and Paseo Bravo. We always got by on skateboard. We made a parade [skating in a line with the crew] to a spot, we skated, we went to the store to buy frituras [fried food], sodas, we hydrated ourselves! And from there we skated to another spot, I mean, we never used transport, besides skateboards that is. And yeah it was fun because it wasn’t common to see another skater on the streets. When you saw another skater it would be like; chido [cool]! What brand is your skateboard? Which brand are your wheels? Because it wasn’t very common, it was not like today, right? That you see a skater, he sees you, and yeah, they give you a dirty look”

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According to him, back in the days the scene was more as a brotherhood. Because the scene had very few participants, the skaters became relatively close to one another. The scene now is different, says Burpe: “It’s different now, right? Nowadays there’s more, I don’t know, negligence? There are a lot of kids I know and their moms are, well, they’re single moms you know. And they work, so I guess the kids don’t get much attention at home.” Another change in the scene is the drugs involved.

“At a certain point, an abondonado [abandoned person] comes to the park and we have had some cases. They repeatedly get too much into mona [paint thinner which is sniffed], well, into drugs muy corrientes [low, cheap]. And also to alcohol, I mean, they shape up to be teporochos [drunkards]. Besides that we're rejected (or outcasts) in society as skaters, for the image or what we stand for, we rejected these chavos [kids] even more”

Burpe reasons that the kids feel lonelier now than they did in the past. To fight this, the kids need to leave the mona. When Burpe’s generation was growing up they all had solid families, with fathers and mothers, there was not that much bronca (problems) with drug addiction. Now there is mona and inhalants, kids just use whatever is cheap and affects them the most, while in Burpe’s time the drug of choice was just mota (weed). In a last statement Burpe sums up his opinion about

mona: “And now, well, I have seen how the mona transforms them, right? Because really, it does affect them”.

As is more often the case with feelings of nostalgia, Burpe has the feeling that the scene was more ‘pure’ in the past. The skate scene was not ‘rotten’ by drugs, broken homes or gangs as it is now. When skateboarding in Puebla, and especially at the Xonaca skate park, kids who use mona pass by. They are noticed by their worn out faces and the typical fist under their nose as a manner to sniff the paint thinner. Among the skaters with whom I interacted on a deeper level this drug was not consumed and severely looked down upon. Even though, consuming mona is mocked rather frequently, as shown in

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the picture above. Likewise among the skaters with whom I spent time, they all had their fair share of problems, but I never heard of any complaints about broken homes or severe difficulties concerning money.

Recently the scene is becoming more like a community once again. It is difficult to see, but it is taking shape according to Burpe. In 2010 the skate park of Xonaca was built in Puebla, owing to Burpe’s efforts This is one of the better skate parks in Mexico and has thus given a great boost to the skateboarding scene in this city. Since then, some other skate parks have also been built in Puebla. The skaters now have solid locations to meet up and skate together, whereas before the skate parks were built, skaters would choose any pavement without too much cracks to practice skateboarding. Surely a skater would not run into many other skaters in such a big city without designated locations to practice skating. This rediscovered sense of community is clearly expressed in collective practices of fun.

2.3 A joking guide to skaters in collectivist society

During my first visit to Puebla, in 2010, I knew, initially, no local skateboarders. One day a friend took me to a fancy photo exhibition with a lot of shmuck. This exposition was not too far from the center and involved many people who would look at the pictures and make artistic, insider comments. At a certain point, a western looking adolescent with glasses and bald spots on the sides of his head started a conversation with me. He asked me if I happened to be into skateboarding. He introduced himself as Jake. He had been living in Puebla for some time and invited me to go skateboarding with some of his friends the next day.

The following day we went to Giro skate shop, which at the time was situated at Boulevard de Valsequillo, a big street which since then has been reconstructed into a fancy piece of architecture situated on a raising road over other traffic roads. This road remains without any promised benefits in terms of preventing traffic jams. Today, Giro Skate shop is located in the upscale shopping center Las Animas. This shopping center is equally filled with marble as it is empty of people. Jake introduced me to la banda (the gang, group). This group accepted me in their circle immediately and I continued skating the streets of Puebla with them for the upcoming months. What exactly does this skate scene in Puebla consist of according to its members? And what are some of the typical Mexican behavioral structures that are internalized by these skaters?

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One of the styles of conduct the skateboarders follow is that of challenging others with offensive jokes. A person who is really into challenging others this way is called a castroso; someone who grabs you by the balls. This is quite a telling name since this is actually how it is experienced, someone grabs you by the balls and does not let go. You have to watch out, be aware, since the person holding your balls might just make unexpected movements. On the face of it this seems quite unfriendly, as I initially experienced it myself as well. Later, I realized that this is actually a method to include others into the group. On a small road trip to a natural sight, Mariwas (26) made a revealing remark about this: “if they don’t fuck with you, they don’t accept you!” By this he means that if you are not mocked, you are most likely excluded from the group altogether. Thus, in order to show the good companionship you “chingar” (fuck around) with friends. This is a clear indicator of the politics of fun as practiced in everyday life. But this style of joking goes much further than this example shows.

Albur or doble sentido (double meaning) is a custom in Mexico in which two persons hold a conversation while both have a different understanding of the conversation as one tries to play tricks on the other. Different dimensions are experienced in the same conversation. A famous example Mexicans try on foreigners is asking if they happen to have tried chili. Chili, just as anything which is long-shaped, is a synonym for the male genital. The joke is when either replying that you did, or did not, eat the chili. The answer will be the same: “ah, puto! Te gusta el chile!” (Ah, pussy! You like the chili/penis!). Surely there are some tactics to defend yourself as well.

My personal tactic to understand a bit of albur would be using my mind in the most vulgar way. If words start with the same letters they can be used as synonyms as well. For example Jamaica can be a synonym for jamás (never), or chicharrón (type of food) can be a synonym for chichis (boobies). Most albur is about sex. One night I was drinking with Morado as we went for tacos. We stood by the taco stand shaking on our legs by the amount of alcohol we had consumed, I repeatedly dropped some coins. Some rancheros (ranch-style people, with boots, sombreros and vests) were ordering tacos next to us. As I went to pick up the coins from the ground, one of the rancheros made a loud kissing sound. I did not pay attention to them and waited for our tacos.

While we walked back to my house, Morado laughed a lot and told me that I have to be prepared for these types of jokes. Apparently, when someone bends over and another person makes a kissing sound, this kiss implies that the person bending over gave oral sex to the person making the kissing sound. Morado explained to me that a method to counter this, is by saying puchas gracias when standing up

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again. Pucha means vagina but is very similar to saying muchas gracias (thanks a lot). This implies that the one making the kissing sound is in fact ‘the bitch’ instead of you. This phrase of puchas gracias proved to be helpful to me as a comeback whenever I was being made fun of in albur. Most of the time, these jokes were very sexist, anti-gay and thus quite masculine. I see this as a confirmation of the heteronormative masculine tendency in the Mexican society.

Jamie-Leigh Ruse (2011) states that these traditional gender roles are shifting. In her research among youth in San Cristobal de las Casas, a village in the southern state of Chiapas, Ruse noticed a shift in the paradigm concerning gender roles. Initially men were seen as providers for the family while women would simply have to keep up with their husbands. If he was a drunk, financially irresponsible and violent husband, the woman would humbly have to endure this. According to Ruse, young men and women are moving away from these gendered stereotypes, men move away from being the macho while women seek new forms of relationships to fulfill their personal needs. She further argues that gender roles undergo constant reinterpretations and need to be understood in their specific context. I do agree with the latter, but I did not observe the skaters of Puebla moving away from traditional gender roles to this extent. I rather join the observations of Elsa Herrea, Gareth Jones and Sarah Thomas de Benítez (2009); in their research among street children in Puebla they concluded that women adopt either masculine identities or traditional identities as mothers or caretakers. Women switch between subduing and highlighting their sexuality whereas male sexuality is considered as infidelity and machismo. This is much closer to what I personally experienced. Now let us return to jokes. Still, in some joking situations, affirmation and disruption of gendered (and age) norms can go hand in hand, as the following example illustrates.

Jokes were not always a personal attack. I recall a situation where we went to visit the wedding of Morado’s cousin. First we went to the church and there after we all drove in a convoy behind the newlyweds. We drove in a car with Morado, his mother Mercedes and two friends. All the cars were honking their horns and there was a very happy ambiance. Morado started making a familiar rhythm with his claxon, but he was not finishing it. I asked him what he was doing. His mother started screaming enthusiastically. I figured something funny was coming up.

When making this familiar rhythm, the riff of Shave and Haircut, you can put the words chinga tu madre (fuck your mother, this is extremely vulgar to say in Mexico where the mother is holy) on the rhythm. Someone else can make two honks to add ca-bron (ass-hole). We all started laughing and making this