don't shoot the messenger

Mexico can be a bit peculiar about its signs.

Some expatriates and tourists love saying there are no rules in Mexico. They are wrong.

Public venues are festooned with signs. Some in almost impenetrable international symbols. But, the message is always clear -- someone in authority does not want you to do a long list of things.

Whether or not the rules are obeyed is a completely different topic. You might get a hint from one of the most frequent highway signs that exhorts drivers to "obey the signs." I imagine a car driving past one of those signs and the driver thinking: "I never thought of that. Maybe I should obey the signs. -- Naw!"

There is one sign I am seeing more frequently -- not just in Mexico, but around the world. You can see an example at the top of this essay.

That is not an iPhone. It is a kiosk setting out the rules for customers who want to use the small shopping mall in San Miguel de Allende. There are the usual warnings and prohibitions. Do not leave valuables in your car. No bicycles. No roller skates. Respect the green areas. Curb your dog.

And today's topic. No cameras. Without prior authorization.

Cameras have quickly become restricted in more public spaces. Churches. Museums. Governmental institutions.

There are good reasons for those restrictions. Some sacred (in churches). Some to avoid light damage (with flash). Some to prevent pedestrian jams in front of cultural icons (the Mona Lisa being the most obvious, but there are plenty of other examples). And sometimes the sign seems to show up in some Podunklan museum just because the curator saw a similar sign in a bigger museum.

But, a shopping center?

It would be easy to dismiss the restriction as being just another unobserved rule. However, this one is enforced. I know from experience.

Five years ago, I was standing next to the parking lot of the same shopping center shooting cloud when one of the security guards told me I could not take photographs at the shopping mall (what's with this?). Not even the sky. It was The Rule.

This year I spent hours on my daily walks at the shopping center. As a result, I got to know several of the security guards. I must have walked by the rules kiosk a hundred times in the first week I was in San Miguel de Allende.

One day, I decided to bring my camera -- to shoot the kiosk. Just as I pulled out my camera, one of the guards I knew best rushed over and told me cameras were not allowed. I pointed out that they were with permission.

He cocked his head like a spaniel and warily asked if I had permission. I smiled. "Who do I get permission from?" He had no idea.

So, I changed tack. I pulled out my telephone and focused the camera. This was his turn to smile. He nodded and walked away.

Well, it makes sense. The sign clearly indicates no cameras. It does not show a telephone. True, it says "no photographs," but what does it matter?

In the end, I had what I wanted. An illustration to accompany this essay.

But, I am curious about the "no camera" signs you have encountered. Do you have any tales?