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Josefina: you got to know when to fold 'em
When Kenny Rogers sang, "Ya got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em … " in his hit, "The Gambler," he was singing about more than playing cards, he was singing about life with Josefina.
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Cejas and the great escape: Dog rescue in Tijuana
Juanita and the president: Obama's Mexican connection
Juanita, newly arrived from Zacatecas, and who has no reason in the world to make things up, admitted to being in love with the new American President.
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From conspicuous consumption to conspicuous frugality
Ever since Al Gore sounded the alarm about global warming, everyone on earth is aware that mankind (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) must preserve itself and the environment if it is to survive. We mus...
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Wishes Instead of Resolutions
For a change, this year I'm not going to fool around with a list of resolutions to alter my behavior, resolutions that have always been elasticized by my characteristic rationalization. There's always ...
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My first Christmas in Mexico
Everyone who relocates to Mexico sooner or later cooks a big holiday dinner for visiting family and friends. My first Christmas, everyone I ever knew, casually met, or went to high school with, showed ...
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English, and how she is spoken
Global economy just can't be ignored any longer, no matter how hard I try. To keep up with the times and learn at least one more language while still keeping things simple, Spanish seemed a good choice...
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Expatriate writers in Mexico and the six-word memoir
Some expatriates muse knowingly that retirement is a state of bliss, while others declare emphatically that it's the State of Jalisco. So much to do and for once, so much time in which to do it. Many r...
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La Llorona: does she seek your children?
"Don't go near the water," mothers caution their children, "You might drown." Good advice, but it has another meaning in Mexico and Texas. Moms living near the Rio Grande are protecting their children ...
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Ajijic: the way we were
In the ancient Nahuatl language, Ajijic means "The Place Where Water Springs Forth." This year marks the 40th anniversary of an historic event: the Great Geyser Eruption. It is said to have been the ta...
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The Widow Tamez, accidental expatriate
Back in the old days of Pirate Island, an island only by definition, located along the Rio Grande near Ysleta and San Elizario in El Paso County, Mexico and the U.S. had a boundary by treaty mdash; the...
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Border promotions, or the Mexico two-step
"You can become anything or anyone you like the day you cross the border," they tell us when we arrive in Mexico. They're right.
In Ajijic, a man wearing a U.S. Navy cap and respectfully referred to a...
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Stars shine in sunny Mexico
Along with many other expatriates living in Mexico, we occasionally hear of a famous one who lives, or once lived, among us.
We know that Helen Hayes, Erich Fromm and Maurice Evans lived in Cuernavaca...
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Elvira Arellano: saint or sinner?
When Elvira Arellano illegally crossed the U.S. border in 1997, she had no idea that one day, she would become a beacon of light in the darkness of U.S. immigration politics, nor that Time magazine wou...
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Oaxaca: what is it like?
Interactive map of Oaxaca
What is it like in Oaxaca? It's like no other place in all of Mexico. It is as close to a true mixture of the various Mexican cultures as can be found. Visitors to Oaxaca Cit...
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Honeybees: have they emigrated to Mexico?
There's been a big U.S. flap over the fact that honeybees seem to have gone missing. North Americans are becoming alarmed that, without pollination, foods such as almonds, apples, blueberries, peaches,...
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Christmas shopping with the sliding US dollar
This Christmas will really test a person's ability to stretch a dollar, especially a U.S. dollar, since we've been watching it shrink for quite awhile now.
It certainly isn't necessary for big-mouth m...
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A modern day Rio Grande ferry tale
The sun was shining, the breeze was gentle and Mark Alvarez was in a really good mood. "People call me all day when it starts raining," he said. They call because they need to find out if they'll be ab...
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Ghosts, goblins and Gonzales-Gonzales
I am the ghost of Pedro Gonzales-Gonzales, a guy so nice, they named me twice. My mother was a Mexican dancer known as "La Perla Fronteriza" who once danced for Pancho Villa and his men. You can imagin...
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The fence along the Mexican border
The English-speaking people of the world aren't always as smart as, say, Stephen Hawking who writes about cosmic stuff like time, black holes and the universe, but wouldn't you think the people in char...
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Say Bartender, make mine tuna on the rocks
In the Bible, Jesus turns water into wine and multiplies two fishes into enough to feed 12,000 people, including women and children. Can China top that? Seems as though they're going to try.
Sun Keman...
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The Fighting 201st: Mexican heroes of WWII
Until yesterday, I had never heard of Charlie Foster. Today, I'm writing about him. One of the benefits of being a writer is the fact-checking, because you can end up with provocative information. That...
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Yes Virginia, there is another Mexico
"Move to Mexico? What, are you crazy?" said friends and relatives alike, adding, "Don't you know it's full of drug pushers, kidnappers and corrupt politicians?"
This attitude, prevalent among North Am...
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Las Posadas, 2001
"What is Christmas like in Mexico?" asked my friend, Edward. It didn’t take much encouragement for me to eagerly share this experience:
Once upon a Christmas nighttime, in a tiny village on the shor...
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A Balloon In Cactus
By popular demand, this column has reverted to its original title, “A Balloon In Cactus.”
Well over three fan letters urged me to go back to the original title. Here’s what I mean:
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