RON MADER'S UNUSUAL MEXICO LINKS
(Mexico on the Web)Journalist and savvy webmaster Ron Mader sifts through the web to find the most interesting and unusual Mexico-related websites. Ron is the webhost of the popular Planeta.com: Eco Travels in Latin America website -- http://www.planeta.com -- and has written about the internet since the early 1990s.
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Best of 2001
Upgrades and InnovationsManos de Oaxaca
Centro Historico
National Institute of Ecology
Narco News
The NEWS
MexicanWave
Each year Mexico on the Web pays tribute to innovative sites. Our five-star rating rewards content-rich sites worth a bookmark. While dot-com enterprises tanked by the dozens, quite a few sites upgraded both content and layout last year. We pay our respects to the best sites of 2001.
MANOS DE OAXACA
/5 Stars
This site pays homage to the artisans and traditional handicrafts in the state of Oaxaca. Focusing on potters - www.manos-de-oaxaca.com/intro.htm and to a lesser degree on weavers, Manos de Oaxaca is one of those rare businesses that understands the need to educate the consumer before making a sale! The site is hosted by U. S. ex-pat Eric Mindling who has created an adventurous life in Oaxaca by exporting traditional wares.
CENTRO HISTORICO
Mexico's 750-year-old capital receives top billing on this tri-lingual (English, French and Spanish) website. Engaging features provide background and visitor tips to landmarks dating back to the Aztec empire. Stellar attractions such as the Templo Mayor, Bellas Artes and Latin American Tower are not only described, but they are shown in real-time video. This site has been around for several years, but it took a great leap forward in 2001.
Whether you live in Mexico City, have fond memories or future travel plans, this site shows the Centro Historico in all its glory.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ECOLOGY
Part of the Environment Secretariat (Semarnat), the Instituto Nacional de Ecologia (INE) has long been at the vanguard of environmental communication in Mexico. This is perhaps the most reader-friendly secretariat in Mexico. INE publishes its own books in print and online - www.semarnat.gob.mx/vs/public.shtml.
Most of the site is in Spanish, but the more popular references have been translated into English. Examples include Environmental Indicator Concepts, found at www.ine.gob.mx/dggia/indicadores/ingles/index.html.
The home page documents a choice few environmental issues in the news, such as the cancelled tourism development project at Xcacel-Xcacelito - www.ine.gob.mx/dgoeia/impacto/sad/mapas2000/qroo/index.html and the environmental criteria behind the selection of the Mexico City airport site - www.ine.gob.mx/aero/index.html. For anyone following environmental business or conservation issues, this site is required reading.
NARCO NEWS
This may be one of the ugliest sites on the Web. Its black background and primary school color text is simply gaudy. This site foregoes visual attractiveness in favor of reporting on the backroom deals in the ongoing "War on Drugs." Narco News calls to mind the passion and energy of the underground press of the '60s and '70s. It is also quite aggressive in its reporting, which is why the publisher was taken to court this summer!
THE NEWS
Mexico City's daily English-language paper reformatted its website this year. The change was worth the wait! Politically conservative, it's the 'Ying' to the Narco News' 'Yang.' Drawbacks: archives remain limited and many features from the print version don't make it over the digital divide.
MEXICANWAVE
This UK portal to Mexico is one of the best overall English-language introductions to Mexico travel, business and culture. The Sunday Times of London calls this one of the 'Top 10 Cool Travel Sites,' and it is well-deserved praise. Complementing the features and calendar is an interactive reader forum - www.simplymexico.com/forums/custom/mexicanwave.
For those interested in Mexican culture in England, be sure to check out details about Mexicolore on the 'Partnerships' page - www.mexicanwave.com/corporate/partnerships.asp.
This article originally appeared in Business Mexico
magazine.
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Ron Mader (ron@planeta.com) is a journalist
and author of Mexico:
Adventures in Nature.
He also hosts Planeta.com (http://www.planeta.com) which in
1999 was awarded the "Lente de Plata" award from The Tourism
Secretariat (Sectur) for best Mexico-related website.
