Frosty mornings in the sierras: healthy lifestyles in a small Mexican town
Choosing a Spanish school in Mexico
The reasons to learn a foreign language are many. "For those of us traveling or living in Mexico, there is no doubt that learning Spanish enriches our lives," says Ohio native Anne Meyer, a social stud...
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Art galleries in the Lake Chapala - Ajijic area
The north shore of Lake Chapala is alive with the arts in all their manifestations. Music and dance -- from folk to classical, theater in English at the Lakeside Little Theatre, book clubs and creative writing groups complement the offering of galleries. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
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Puerto Vallarta hosts a writers' conference February 26 to 28
Events take place at the Biblioteca los Mangos (the library) at Av. Francisco Villa 1001, and MexConnect authors figure prominently in the program.
The theme is Creative Nonfiction... read more
Mexico house guests
Mexico real estate and the recession
Mexico's Mariachi Museum needs music
When the honorable and distinguished city leaders of Cocula, Jalisco select me as communications consultant for their mariachi museum, I shall recommend minor enhancements.
The host who greets visitor...
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Woody Allen comes to the Chapala Lakeside
It's called: "An Afternoon with Woody." Little-known works by the comic genius, Woody Allen. And it's a daring attempt to bring the whacko, neurotic zaniness of Woody Allen to Mexico's Chapala Lakeside...
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Expat living in Mexico: Xalapa vs. Ajijic
Reports written some years ago about Jalapa, (or Xalapa as the locals prefer to spell it) Veracruz in MexConnect caught my eye. These tout the pleasant climate, cultural attractions, the presence of un...
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Writing about writers: Puerto Vallarta and Jenny McGill
Jenny McGill
Editor's note: After a brief battle with cancer, Jenny McGill passed away peacefully in the early hours of January 2, 2010.
I'm proud of her work on MexConnect. Few foreigners know Mexico as well as she and her husband, and few people come to understand the country and its people as they did.
We're featuring this article by Marvin West once more to honor the memory of an extraordinary person.
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Obsidian in Mexico: gift of the gods
The third-largest deposits of obsidian in the world are found west of the city of Guadalajara and are superseded only by the deposits of Africa's Rift Valley and the Oregon Plateau. Obsidian forms when...
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Yaqui in exile: the grim history of Mexico's San Marcos train station
An old railway station at the western end of the train tracks in Jalisco, Mexico, bears witness to unspeakable cruelties perpetrated upon thousands of Yaqui Indians in the early 1900s.Yaquis were sold as slaves at the station "for 25 centavos a head."
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Night in Mina Dos Estrellas, a haunted mine in Mexico
The Dos Estrellas (Two Stars) mine has had a long and checkered history. It was a fabled producer of gold and silver in the 18th century. Then one night more than 70 years ago, the god of the mine vented its wrath, unleashing a tragedy on those who made a living from its veins.
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Theater in the Chapala lakeside: The Naked Stage
The Naked Stage, Ajijic's biting and sexy new minimalist theatre, had another successful reading in October — Moonlight and Magnolias. For those of you who missed it, it's a satirical swipe at the ma...
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Antonia Cruz Rafael: the ceramics of Ocumicho, Michoacan
They crept and crawled, oozed and slithered from the clay, prickly spiders and sneaky snakes and pesky lizards darting from the dark wet dough, turtles swimming to its surface, bug-eyed devils rising from the mud, all brought to life by the magic touch of Antonia Cruz Rafael. Ocumicho is part of a cluster of villages in western Michoacan known for its clay crafts.
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Mi Pullman: remodeling a Mexican Art Nouveau townhouse II
This is a story about my love affair with an old house in Mexico. One day I found myself standing in front of a beautiful three storey, art nouveau town house. It was shabby, obviously neglected, and unlived in, but it had certain magic about it, which captured both my imagination and my heart. I knew, in that moment and with great certainly, that one day I would buy it.
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The remarkable road to San Marcos, Jalisco
During twenty-four years of reconnoitering the highways and byways of western Mexico, I have never come across a road as rewarding as the 53-kilometer stretch from Tala to San Marcos in the state of Ja...
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An oasis of comfort in Ajijic: Casa del Sol Bed and Breakfast Inn
In Mexico, it is said you never know what's behind the walls. Typical of Spanish architecture, most homes have high walls around them, affording privacy and sanctuary. It is often impossible to tell if it is a small house or a grand estate behind the walls. This is true of the Casa del Sol Bed & Breakfast Inn in the heart of Ajijic — a 16th century village on Mexico's Lake Chapala, just one hour south of the major metropolis of Guadalajara.
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