"Zacatecas is the town everyone wants to go back to," a friend said to me when I mentioned that we were going there. It is a charming, colonial city, and a fairly well-to-do university town with nice hotels, friendly, well-dressed people and some good attractions. In fact, on that first day, we liked it so much we decided to stay another night read more

There are hundreds of photos of all kinds of artistic output, from pottery to wood carvings, from basket weaving to candle making, and lots more but we're given a much closer look at the actual creators of all this work. We're treated to wonderful works featuring mermaids, clowns, devils, angels, fishes, skeletons, Biblical scenes, animals and birds of all kinds, and even ladies of the night. These are all used to decorate masks, bedspreads, candles, baskets, jewelry, furniture, statues, toys, pottery and clothing and much, much more plus some 87 brief biographies of each of the artists. read more

The following comparative time line provides an orientation to the roots, elements and development of the rich artistic heritage of Mexico. The time line presentation allows for a sense of movement a... read more

Scientists first explored El Pico de Orizaba, Mexico's highest peak, as long ago as 1838. El Pico de Orizaba, or Citlaltépetl (= star), is Mexico's highest peak, with a summit 5,746 meters (18,853 fe... read more

It’s a surprise to visit a likeable, livable city like Morelia for the first time and find there’s almost no gringo community there. In fact, one resident put the number at 100 to 150 total. And only a handful of those are the retirees who are so prevelant in Jalisco. Most Americans, for example, are associated with the university in Morelia, as both teachers and students. read more

Travelers, who anticipate old Mexican charm and sunny, beautiful beaches, soon discover much more. Fascinating Puerto Vallarta exudes a warm hospitality, colorful art and joyful music. Evenings blaze with glorious sunsets; explode with summer lightning shows. Banderas Bay embraces beaches for sunbathing, northern stretches for surfing and southern white patches for snorkeling. And, golf courses boast the greenest greens, sandiest traps, chirpiest exotic birds, and live water hazards, crocodiles! read more

For foreigners, the traditions and celebrations in Mexican homes and cemeteries during the Day of the Dead seem strange, if not incomprehensible. There is mourning and rejoicing; sadness and silliness ... read more

I fussed unnecessarily, before moving to Mexico, worrying about how I would continue with my education, with no grasp of the Spanish language. Why unnecessarily? Because I came just before we were able... read more

Even though the story starts out calmly enough, by the time you reach chapter two, you're in the middle of the wildest kind of fantasy, part new age and part sci-fi, complete with time travel, space travel, reincarnation, astrology and almost anything else you can imagine. The time span of the book stretches from the fall of Moctezuma to the 23rd century read more

Patrick Dennis found me in Sullivan Park, just behind El Monumento de la Madre in Mexico City, one fine Sunday, and changed my life. His buddy, Nina Olds, Gore Vidal's mother, and my mother's buddy an... read more

An earlier column described several Guinness records and their connection to Mexico and Mexicans. This month's column examines four more very different Guinness records which do not involve quite as mu... read more

A native of Guadalajara, artist Enrique Velazquez has made his home in Ajijic since 1989, painting and selling from his Arte Estudio on 16 de Septiembre, (a block east of Morelos), which he shares with his wife, Belva, also an artist. read more

Maestro (master, teacher) Rodolfo Morales, one of the most prominent native Oaxacan artists, succumbed to cancer of the pancreas in a Oaxaca City hospital, at 9:30 p.m. on January 30, 2001. Photography by Diana Ricci

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“Every Child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso Art of every description is exhibited in Puerto Vallarta, from bohemian and Huichol t... read more

Mexicans love wearing masks. My favorite is a statue of a dog wearing a human mask created about 300 A.D, and found near Colima. Masks are part of the Christmas pastorelas, depicting the devil, ... read more

A constant fluttering, deafening whirlpool of claws, fangs, fins, tongues and horns bewilder the senses in a frenzied shuttlecock of figures. This is the Mexican art of crafting alebrijes, monsters lovingly formed out of ordinary cardboard. Their grotesque faces and body-parts are delicately sculpted and painted with intricate patterns in a profusion of vibrant colors. Even if the mind tries to identify sections, it is impossible to tell the origin of even one of these beasts, as they are created in the imaginations of the artists and no two are alike. read more

In 1952, John Steinbeck won an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay of the movie, Viva Zapata! Many years later, however, a manuscript was found in UCLA Library in which it was discovered he had... read more

Experienced Mexico travelers recognize a sure sign that a local fiesta is in progress whenever they spy a churchyard or stretch of roadway bedecked with lines of bright tissue paper cut-outs. ... read more

At the start of the Mexican Revolution (1910) painting in Mexico had reached an all-time low. The then President, Porfirio Diaz had been in power for more than 30 years and in the words of famous Ameri... read more

For an offbeat travel experience in the Mexico City area, consider a visit to the Museo Frida Kahlo in Coyoacan. Hidden behind high cobalt blue walls at the corner of Londres and Allende in this charmi... read more

In Guadalajara with a short time to spare after a business meeting or a long wait between flight? Even an hour or two will suffice to see something of the artistic heritage that Mexico's second city, G... read more

Anyone out there on the information highway heard of an American photographer named North? Worked in Mexico, made dozens of daguerreotypes of the cities, churches and countryside circa mid-1800s? Gina ... read more

The art is made by overlaying carved wood or gourds — in the case of ceremonial bowls — with a beeswax - pine resin mixture, then meticulously placing the beads on this sticky base, by hand, one by... read more

The masks are like mirrors that reflect the patterns of face paintings worn during sacred ceremonies. The Huichol people understand themselves to be mirrors of the gods. The Huichol people believe tha... read more

The Huichol People of central Mexico still follow the age-old shamanic ways of their ancestors, an unbroken wisdom-bridge stretching back into the Paleolithic. The mara'akame, the shaman, still leads p... read more