Mexico's famous Te-Amo cigar comes from Sihuapan, near Catemaco, Veracruz. The producer — Turrent, Nueva Matacapan Tabacos, S.A. de C.V. — takes its name from the owner, Alberto Turrent, the fifth ... read more

Josefina is the woman who, when I was bitten by a scorpion and hysterically yelling for help, simply went to the top shelf of her kitchen cabinet, withdrew a glass jar containing a dead scorpion in sticky fluid, and applied the fluid to my wound. "Voila!" The pain immediately subsided, and that was the end of my trauma.

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In 1985, the Servicio Postal Mexicano, the Mexican Postal Service, released five stamps honoring important heroes of the Mexican Revolution with stamps featuring Francisco Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Madero, and the soldadera, the woman who served (even in battle) at the side of her man. Matching sets were issued in November of 2008 and 2009 to celebrate the forthcoming 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, which we officially celebrate on November 20th, Día de Revolución, the day set by Francisco I. Madero in 1910 for the Revolution to begin. read more

The chayote is a mild-tasting, pear shaped, light green vegetable. Like other squash, it grows on a vine and is a common home garden vegetable in Mexico. Besides being ideal to prepare as a stuffed vegetable, and in soups, chayote is eaten raw, grated into slaw-type salads, and used in fresh salsas with a variety of vegetables and fruit, including peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers and jicama. Breaded and fried, it can replace eggplant in baked dishes with tomato sauce and cheese, and is also used to make croquettes. Its flavor has been described as a combination of cucumber and apple. read more

This recipe is adapted from Nueva Salsa Recipes to Spice It Up by Rafael Palomino and Arlen Gargagliano. The original calls for ají amarillo, but serrano chile is a good substitute. If you like it rea... read more

This recipe is adapted from one taught at Susana Trilling's Seasons of My Heart cooking school, located in the beautiful Etla Valley of Oaxaca. The soup is refreshing cold, or may be served at room tem... read more

This can be served as a luncheon dish, as a side dish, or as a vegetarian main course with a green salad and good quality French bread. Ingredients 1 ½ pounds (3 medium) chayotes 2 cups g... read more

The mild taste of chayote is a perfect foil for the robust, spicy flavor of chorizo. Be sure to use fresh Mexican chorizo, and not Spanish chorizo, which is usually cured. Ingredients 1 ½ poun... read more

For a while I've been asking myself how it's possible that I keep finding new natural wonders to write about after 25 years of living near Guadalajara. So, one day I sat down with a map and drew a circ... read more

There once was a questionnaire regarding what was best and worst about Mexico. Wonderful winter weather was judged the single best thing about Mexico. Compiled answers said the second best thing about Mexico was the food. Food was also listed among the worst things about Mexico. The ratio of favorable to unfavorable was about three to one. Instead of Maya ruins or architecture in Guadalajara or ripe mangos at street markets, third among positives were beautiful women. read more

"Every year there are more and more tourists. They're not coming to see our tradition, they just want another reason to have a fiesta. It gets worse later, when they start urinating on the candles."

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When we think of the word trap, we usually think of the small apparatus used to catch mice or something sinister to capture and / or injure a soldier during war. But the traps I want to address in this article are the drain traps in the plumbing of your Mexico house. A trap is an element in drains. read more

Two of the biggest buzzwords in today's media-dominated culinary world are "fresh" and "local," and on a recent visit to Mexico's southern Pacific coast, we found the food to be both. Taking advantage of the region's abundant fresh ingredients, we shopped, cooked and ate our way through the beach town of Puerto Escondido. read more

This homemade candy is the kind sold at regional fairs in Mexico. Although in some places it is sold in miniature clay cazuelas, it is better cut up and individually wrapped in cellophane, since it is ... read more

These could probably be called empanadas, except that the dough is thinner, and if cheese-stuffed masa is called quesadillas, there is some logic to calling fish-stuffed masa pescadillas. Nomenclature ... read more

This marinade is great for thick pieces of fish or fish kebobs destined for the grill. For a far superior flavor, try to use wood charcoal instead of "briquettes." Ingredients 4 8-ounce tuna s... read more

Its an oddity that most people I've asked don't know the National Bird of Mexico, especially considering that everyone seems to know that the eagle is the US National Bird. Do you know what Mexico's National Bird is? I only found out yesterday. Mexico's National Bird is the crested caracara, a mix between an eagle and a vulture or buzzard, and cousin to the falcon. read more

Several years ago, I was rummaging through a box of family photos with my dad, when he showed me an old, yellowing image of his mother from 1908. He told me it was taken in Mexico at the wedding of her cousin, the poet and playwright Manuel Rocha y Chabre. read more

I wandered out of town toward the rock-strewn single runway landing strip of San Andrés. Several Huichols were gathered at the side of the field with stacks of cardboard boxes beside them. They told me that the regular flight from Tepic was not due for several days, but that a single engine light aircraft was scheduled to arrive in a few hours. I checked my wallet and decided to throw myself on the mercy of the pilot, whoever he was, and offer him the few hundred pesos I had left for a flight out of the Huichol territory. read more

Is Mexico moving forward or back? Perspective please. Do they sell Brita water filters in Mexico? Do they purify street water so you can drink it? Can it possibly be true that a Mexican invented color television? What are micheladas? I just heard a tidbit about Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. How did they get back into the news? read more