Spent a week in my in-laws village in Mexico and nobody would talk about my aunt's cancer

Last summer I stayed with my wife's family in Oaxaca for eight days and every time I brought up my aunt's breast cancer diagnosis the room went dead silent. My mother in law finally pulled me aside and said we just don't talk about illness like that here, it brings bad energy. Has anyone else run into a culture where health issues are completely off the table?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.zara1mo ago

Bad energy? That's a wild way to frame a serious medical diagnosis. Cancer isn't exactly a topic you can just sweep under the rug, especially when it's happening to family. How did your wife react to all that awkward silence?

beth_hart681mo ago

Geez, bad energy? That's a new one on me. I guess cancer is just the ultimate party foul in their book, right up there with showing up empty handed to a funeral. Honestly, I'd be tempted to start whispering about my allergies just to see if I could clear a room. Does the bad energy rule apply to hangnails too, or does it have to be life threatening? Maybe next time you visit, just stick to talking about the weather and hope nobody's got a secret case of sun poisoning.