Producer Ben Slavin cares about Latin America. He rode his motorcycle- a beaten up Kawasaki KLR 650- from the US all the way to the bottom of Argentina, and back. His first-hand observations were often very different from what he'd learned from the US media. He loved Mexico so much that he produced this DVD set.
This isn't a fancy studio production. There is no traditional, mass-media censorship. This is raw footage of actual riders- men and women with real experience- telling it like it is. One look at their faces tells you that anybody who wants to can probably ride a motorcycle in Mexico. You certainly don't have to be a soldier-of-fortune. You can be completely normal and average, and you can ride any kind of motorcycle that you like.
Like Ben, I am also an experienced Latin America Rider, and I often get questions from others who want to travel SOB (South of the Border). The questions range from the idiotic, "Should I bring cyanide in case I get kidnapped?" to the intelligent, "What kind of travel medications should I bring?" and technical, "Where can I find a mechanic for my motorcycle?" In this DVD set, Ben entertains these questions and everything else he and his experts could think of. I know it's going to save me an awful lot of time.
Ben interviewed me, several of my friends, and several people I have never met. The first thing I noticed about our respective interviews was how often we each said the same thing, only differently. Mexico is fun. Mexico is not dangerous unless you are stupid. Mexico has great dentistry. Mexico is big. Overland travel in Mexico isn't for everybody.
Before my first motorcycle trip to Mexico, I was terribly unprepared. I was frightened so badly that I turned back after only a few hundred miles. I wish I had been able to learn from someone like Ben, BEFORE I crossed the border between Texas and Mexico. My fears had been fed by American mass-media, and I was under family pressure to stay alive. Once I was SOB, the differences I observed between American culture and Mexican culture were more than I could absorb in just one day. I thought riding a motorcycle in Mexico was completely insane. But now, with experience, things make sense. Now, when I go to Mexico, I understand. If this video had been available before I went, it would have saved me from an awful lot of fear and anxiety. And it would have prevented damage to my motorcycle's suspension. You don't have to learn things the hard way. Anybody watching this can learn the right way.
I am very pleased with how this huge endeavor turned out. Ben did a great job.
