RON MADER'S UNUSUAL MEXICO LINKS
(Mexico on the Web)

His Bio
His Home Page

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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Business Mexico picks the Best of 1999

In the past five years we have witnessed an explosive growth on the Net in terms of the quantity and quality of Mexico-related websites. For example, a handful of Mexico City newspapers debuted online in 1995. By 1999 that small club had grown exponentially and now includes newspapers from every state, international portals and even an online daily (Mr. Mexico News -- http://www.mrnewsmx.com ). Government officials have beefed up their sites and it is no surprise that the Web will provide some of the most in-depth coverage of the upcoming Presidential elections in 2000. Last but not least, personal websites—many produced by Mexican students—are providing some of the most interesting reading on the Web thanks to free websites offered by Geocities and Xoom.

So before the New Year celebrations begin in earnest, we salute 1999's best of Mexico on the Web.

Informal Cyberspace

http://www.openair.org/cross/
/5 Stars

Meet John Cross, author of the 1998 Stanford University Press book Informal Mexico http://www.openair.org/cross/precis.html. While working in Egypt, he created this website to archive his academic materials on street vending and to stay in contact with researchers across the world. While this site may not boast cutting-edge design, it a provides background into social policy and street vendors that has been missing in research until now. This site has grown from a collection of academic papers to an impressive web portal which, in addition to promoting a book, explores the informal market throughout the world. It even includes a photographic tour http://www.openair.org/cross/phototour.html of street vending in Cairo and Mexico City. For anyone interested in the city’s ambulantes, this is a must-visit site. Excellent!
Email contact:JOHNCROSS@prodigy.net

Mexico Networking, News and Career Resources

http://www.latpro.com/country/mexico.htm

Part of the popular Latin America's Professional Network or LatPro http://www.LatPro.com, this Mexico-specific section offers links to business organizations and chambers—including AmCham—as well as Mexican Universities and Mexico-specific search engines. The LatPro website provides tools for job seekers http://www.latpro.com/job-tools.htm and recruiters http://www.latpro.com/recruiting.htm. Other highlights are its collection of Latin Career News, information about regional conferences and marketing. A web-savvy site, it even boasts a forum for Latin Web developers. http://www.latpro.com/webdev

Email contact: ejs@latpro.com

Weather Underground - Mexico

http://www.wunderground.com/global/MX.html

Traveling in Mexico? From Acapulco to Zamora, this site has the latest forecast for more than 50 cities in the country. A highlight is the site's global focus and attention to severe storms, including hurricanes that have a tendency to wreak havoc on the Mexican coasts each fall. A plus: temperatures can be viewed in Celsius or Fahrenheit and the site can be read in English or Spanish. Hopefully, more cities and features will be added, but this site demonstrates innovative measures in making information accessible to everyone.

Mexico Connect - The General Forum

www.mexconnect.com/wwwboard/index.html

Here is the English-speaking "insider club" of all things Mexican. Welcoming visitors, the page reads: “This Forum is for viewers wishing to exchange ideas and information about Mexico with like-minded folks.” This virtual bulletin board is one of my personal favorites and the best place to ask a question about a place you haven't visited or provide a traveler's tale of a recent journey. For commercial queries, the site has a Business Forum. Hungry for Mexican cuisine? Be sure to visit the site's Mexican Kitchen Forum.
Email contact: mexico@mexconnect.com

Honorable Mentions:

Aguascalientes City Government

http://www.ags.gob.mx/

A good example of how municipal governments are improving their online presence.

Burritos! Hot on the Trail of the Little Burro

http://www.littleburro.com/

Log on and listen to mariachis singing the tale of the "Little Burro"

Cine Estrenos

http://www.mexview.com/cine/cine.html

The latest in Mexico City movie offerings

Museums of Mexico

http://biblioweb.dgsca.unam.mx/museos/

A slow-loading front page hampers the site, but it's well-worth an extended visit.

© Mexico Connect 1996-2006