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bikes & beetles
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When you go around with a name like ‘Jude’ you get A LOT of Beatles references thrown/sung at you. It’s no wonder I feel an affinity with VW Beetles. I feel like they understand. I first visited Mexico in 2000 as an excited 18-year-old on a gap year and fell head-over-heels in love with the country. Over the last decade (plus a few years) I’ve been lucky enough to return to Mexico several times. While I was cycling around
Mexico City a year ago, I noticed that there were many more bikes on the road than VW Beetles. In the 1960s a Volkswagen Beetle factory opened in Mexico and they soon became the country’s standard box car. VW Beetles, or ‘Vochos’ as they are lovingly nicknamed, were a symbol of modernity and Mexico’s economic growth. Green and white Beetles (vocho verdes) even became the official taxi.
What’s interesting is that over the years these cars have begun disappearing while cycling has taken off. As I rode around, I started taking pictures wherever I saw a bike and a Beetle together. The car usually represents modernity while the bike is seen as traditional – these pictures question that perception. Perhaps Mexico’s outnumbered Beetles offer a small glimmer of hope that the future will ride on two wheels...
