Clausurado Por Violar la Ley!

This morning I hauled myself out of bed at 6.30 (it's early when you teach until 10pm the night before!), took the dog out, got dressed, and finally was awake and ready for 7am spinning. So imagine my surprise when I realize that the front door is locked and all the lights are off--usually there are at least twenty people there by 7am in the morning. I walk around the corner and on the gates to the parking lot see the telltale yellow sign: CLAUSURADO POR VIOLAR LA LEY. My gym has been shut down!!!

Being "clausurado" in Mexico seems to be a fairly common thing, and I can't quite figure out if it's the deathknell of a business or a common annoyance. A government official arrives, tells you that you are being shut down, and pastes large yellow signs over the entryway to your business such that to enter you would need to remove the sign, which is also illegal. You can get closed down for all kinds of things: not showing up for permit hearings, not paying taxes, serving underage drinkers, allowing smoking... and also, it seems, for ticking off powerful neighbors. They shut down restaurants, gyms, cafes, nail salons, schoools, and it doesn't seem to matter whether you are a hole-in-the-wall run out of your mother's garage or a fancy fresa hot-spot. Some places seem to be closed for a few days and back in business. A lovely art cafe and restaurant nearby that I've always been meaning to try, which has been shut down for several days, has an eloquent letter posted on its door defending itself against what it says are fraudulent charges and pleading that every day it remains closed makes it less likely to be able to reopen. (Unfortunately for them you must still pay your bills while you are unable to operate.) The beauty salon of luchador Shocker, which is a couple blocks from our house (yes, he lives in Coyoacan, and yes, I saw him once on the street!) was clausurado twice, apparently for not paying taxes, and didn't reopen again.

So my gym, whose monthly membership we have paid and which is just a block from our house, is closed. Next to the clausurado sign is posted a number you can call for information; we'll see if this is just a minor annoyance of not paying a permit or if it is a bigger problem... Meanwhile, it's back to the Viveros for me!