I haven't posted since I landed Thursday back in the States about my time spent in Puebla - I've been so busy! But I've just sent in a final paper, and I'm back on track to wrap up my semester with a neat little bow.

Which brings me to my experiences in Puebla. Wow! What a really lovely place to be. I arrived Saturday evening in Mexico City, where I went straight to my hotel to get some rest before I caught a bus in the AM to Puebla. Puebla is a fairly large city (pop = 1.4 mil.) located about 2 hours southeast of Mexico City. The bus ride was totally pleasant - nothing like the busses here in the US! Comfortable, impeccably clean, and totally air conditioned -- and only $17 each way! That ain't bad!

I stayed in Puebla at perhaps the most beautiful hotel I've ever stayed in, the Meson Sacristia. Yea, that's the room I stayed in to the right. Holy cow! It was just gorgeous. I booked the 3-night "weekend romance" package there, since it was cheaper than the normal nightly rate. And thank goodness I did! The package included free breakfast each morning from the hotel's exquisite kitchen, one free dinner for two, a free bottle of champagne, and one night of rose petals and candle decorations in my room (more on that later!).

As for the "AIDS in Culture" conference - oh yea, the reason I was there! -- it was really tremendous. I met some fantastic folks from all over the place, including: Paul Sendziuk (History) from the University of Adelaide in Australia; Andi Stepnick (Sociology) from Bellmont University in Tennessee; Fred Maus (Musicology) from the University of Virginia; Nolvert, a local HIV/AIDS activist in Puebla; Natalie L. Gravelle from the University of York in Toronto -- the list goes on and on! What a fabulous group of folks.

My presentation on my Master's research, titled "Being Gay Post-HAART: Young Gay Men Negotiating Desire, Heteronormativity, and Fear of HIV" went really well! I got some fantastic feedback from participants. There's a blurry picture of me talking to the right.

My paper generated some great discussion, particularly around the meaning of the word "heteronormativity" and the disconnect between how Michael Warner originally theorized it in the introduction to Fear of a Queer Planet (as encompassing normative sexuality that's raced / classed / gendered / etc) and how it "reads" / might be mistaken to mean (as a bland distinction between heteros who are normal and non-heteros who are non-normative). The kind of thing that happens at an international conference, I think, which was really useful. This was particularly useful because I've been pushing the Queer Studies Graduate organization here at University of Michigan to organize a conference in 2008 around Cathy Cohen's essay "Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens." If I'm not mistaken, I think one of Cohen's main points is that, indeed, queer studies has often made the mistake of taking up heteronormativity in the latter way, while shying away from confronting its more radical implications that Warner intended. The conclusion of the discussion was that most people in the room agreed that we need a new word other than heteronormativity to describe what Warner really intended (someone suggested using Gayle Rubin's theories instead). There was also some good arguing about whether monogamy was necessarily heteronormative, without of course any conclusions!

There were some other fantastic papers, as well. I particularly enjoyed a paper from Alberto Teutle López, a local Anthropology student at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Alberto conducted an ethnography in the bathhouses in Puebla, most of which were not specifically gay but were frequented by many heterosexual-identified men looking to have sex with other men. This of course could never happen in America, as he had gained access some time before as a regular customer, and had likely had sex with some of his participants. He was also forced to do his research without the knowledge of the owners, because they would immediately kick him out. He found, among other interesting things, that hetero-identified guys 1) were more likely to top and 2) refused to carry condoms for fear of the stigma associated with it (being labeled gay). Thus, I wondered out loud in the session if this meant that bottoms (who were mostly gay-identified) bore the bulk of the responsibility for carrying condoms, and what this might mean for prevention strategies. I told him that an American would be fired if they tried to do that kind of study in America; he was rather shocked! Thank God for unAmerican research standards!

I spent my time not at the conference enjoying the lovely sights of Puebla. The city is just gorgeous! I love the public culture of Mexico - the streets are always abuzz with activity, even very late at night on a Tuesday! My final night there, I was lucky enough to enjoy dinner at my hotel restuarant with Paul, Fred, Andi, Caroline, and Natalie. What gems! I hope to have pictures soon. It was a delicious meal, and afterwards Nol met up with us and Caroline and I joined him for a bit of karaoke at a nearby gay bar. Look at us! How cute! Nol and I found ourselves dancing closer and closer, until we were finally kissing! Hot stuff! He's such a cutie. In any case, we returned to my hotel room to find it decorated with rose petals and candles. Just beautiful. I love my life! I love it!!!!!