The Adventure of Dr. Simi Traveler: A Magical Encounter with Alan around the World

By: Marce Mejía

And my most incredible adventure of 2023 didn’t require me to travel to the other side of the world. It was something so simple and so wonderful at the same time. It was not the most incredible place in the world, with the most impressive monuments. I didn’t have to take a flight or plan for months. The only thing I did was set a goal, and with the best attitude, venture into a new experience that would stay in my memory forever, bringing me joy and a smile every time when I remember it.

As Alan says, “The experiences we live and the way they surprise us are not the responsibility of the places or the experiences, but of ourselves. It is the attitude that determines the result.”

As Mexicans, we know that we are passionate and creative, and we leave a mark on those who visit us. I don’t know who started it, or when this tradition was created, but if you are Mexican, you surely know what I am talking about. Generally, Mexican fans have bought stuffed animals of the famous Dr. Simi and dressed them as our favorite artists or idols. Of course, when I saw that Alan Estrada was going to present his book at the Fil Guadalajara 2023 in Mexico (where I’m from), he, being a person that I admire and follow, had to make him his Doctor Simi and take it to him in person.

I was wandering the halls of FIL for several hours before Alan’s book presentation, determined to wait as long as it took to get into the auditorium to hear and meet one of my favorite artists, writers, and bloggers.

While waiting, I managed to meet several people, who I can now call my friends. People who, like me, were united by our taste and love for what Alan por el Mundo represents.

With the best attitude, we managed to be the first to enter the auditorium and be in the front row. Without a doubt, I was already very excited to have achieved that first part. I had achieved part of my vision, which was to get in. The reality is that those 4 hours of waiting went by in a flash, I confirm the saying that says “Time flies when you are having fun”’.

When the time finally came, Alan came out and couldn’t stop screaming with excitement. Me and my new friends were dying of happiness, we were laughing, we were screaming… all at the same time! The excitement we shared and felt about meeting a person who inspires us so much was magical.

The muscles in my face already hurt from smiling so much, but I couldn’t stop doing it. I really value these moments in which one feels pure happiness and how it marks such a beautiful memory that I can take with me forever.

At the end of the conference, I wanted to give my gift to Alan. I tried to give it to him at the end of the talk, but event security wouldn’t allow it. They wanted to take it from me, but I told them no, that I would give it to them in person. It was my moment, and no one was going to take it away from me.

Apparently this gesture of making Alan a Dr. Simi caught the attention of some people. So much so that they approached me to ask for photos of Dr. Simi, a doll who was dressed as a beachgoer and with a poncho that I made by hand, seeking to recreate Alan’s traveling poncho around the world. The publisher Grupo Planeta came to interview me, and they captured one of the best memories that I will treasure forever. These videos and photos are on their social networks.

It was finally time to meet Alan, and I was ready to give him his gift, have him sign my book, and finally meet him (which was what I was most excited about).

Everything happened so quickly, that now I listen to Alan, by doing the constant exercise of remembering in my memory instead of saving the memory in the memory of my cell phone. It’s difficult!

I was very excited to arrive with Alan and tell him “Look what I did for you! It’s a Dr. Simi with his Alan around the World traveling poncho.” Or something like that I told him hahaha, I don’t remember for sure. I remember that he expressed his happiness and content with the gift, we laughed, we took a photo, and… Puff! The moment is over. It all happened so fast.

I left there with a huge smile, not believing what had happened. With an adrenaline rush in my body that the only thing that made me want to scream with happiness. And that’s when a phrase that I read in the Traveling Will Change Your Life book came to mind: “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,” which is practically, in other words, the traveling attitude, as Alan mentions. And that’s when the twenty hit me, that all that experience, that illusion, was fulfilled by the attitude with which I initially went to the event. There were definitely several setbacks along the way of this adventure, but nothing and no one was going to stop me from living this experience to the fullest. So much so, that this attitude made this experience more magical and everything was so special.

I hope that this story reaches the eyes of others, and that this is a reminder that we create moments and stories, and everything is in our attitude. It is brave to dare to look at yourself, so if we are well inside, the rest will come in addition, and this story for me was the example..

Thank you Alan for being such a nice person! It was truly wonderful to meet you and listen to you. I hope you really liked Dr. Simi Viajero with his poncho, which represents an illusion, an attitude and a dream. A pleasure to have coincided in our stories. Have a great life! And greetings to all travelers.