Las Papas del Papa

BY ALEX RIVERA

In 1999 Pope John Paul II visited Mexico. In true end-of-the-millennium style, the visit was not only the visit of Mexico’s most revered living religious figure, but also an opportunity for product placements and corporate tie-ins. In one case, promotional stickers of the Pope (El Papa) appeared in bags of potato chips (Las papas). This short narrative follows the confusions of a young boy who searches for a shortcut to heaven, in the media saturated world of the Pope’s 1999 visit to Mexico. ‘Las Papas del Papa’ is a wicked commentary on faith, free markets, and the surreal by-products of the New World Order.