Exploring Enrique Metinides' images is to immerse yourself in those depths of humanity awash in raw emotion, as the 79-year-old photographer has captured some of the most poignant moments to unfold on ... read more

Anabel is a journalist known for intensive investigations. She has written newspaper and magazine articles about slave labor, sexual exploitation, political corruption and the drug machine. She has written one really hot book, Los Señores del Narco.

Anabel won the Golden Pen of Freedom Award for 2012, presented by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. read more

Nobody asks about the sounds of Mexico. Upon arrival, that oversight leads directly to surprise or culture shock. Mexicans live life loudly. Church bells ring very early in the morning. Public address systems have no limits. Car stereos are cranked up to concert level. read more

Happiness is not tied to job promotions, Mercedes super cars and mansions on mountaintops. Expectations are generally lower. Many do not enter the rat race. Strange as it sounds, family, good food, good times and a sip of tequila are more important than pesos... read more

We sit crushed together, moist and miserable, in the back of the battered old VW van as we do every day about this time. Interesting odors assail our noses. We would rather not know what it is we are s... read more

San Miguel de Allende has, for decades, been one of the shining jewels of Colonial Mexico, a mecca for painters, writers, musicians or anyone with artistic sensibilities who has been touched by its anc... read more

Officials of the beach community of Puerto Escondido, in the state of Oaxaca, threw a December party to celebrate foreigners. A few hundred attended. Free food and drink remains an exciting lure. Mexican dignitaries were there and many immigration personnel worked the crowd, nice to meet you, so glad you are here. There were music, smiles and handshakes. A good time was had by all. How's that for welcome? read more

Three Mexican fishermen, lost at sea for nine months and nine days, were world news for a few minutes in 2006.

Their survival was a miracle of faith and fierce determination, or the biggest fish tale ever told. read more

Being an expatriate has nothing to do with a lack of patriotism, it merely means a person who lives in a country he wasn't born in.

You must be thinking of ex-patriot; someone who's turned against his country. It's a different spelling, like here and hear.

Usually the reasons are about experiencing a new culture and a different kind of weather, as they were for me. And they're always about reinventing yourself against a background that in Mexico I think of as simpático. It welcomes people in a mood for a lifestyle change.

But how does it work, really? read more

No question about this, the monarchs are coming, the monarchs are coming from Canada and the United States to the massive butterfly campgrounds in the mountain ranges of Michoacan. read more

The thought of driving in Mexico strikes a deadly fear into the hearts of many Americans and Canadians alike. Of course, they purchased Mexican car insurance when they crossed the border. Yet somehow this only made them feel legal, not safe. Now here's the reality as they ease their $46,000 BMW onto the pavement and point it south. read more

The people waiting at the Civic Center either went to get someone out of jail or take the train to the US-Mexico border. That was life, dia y noche in San Diego and the most charming way to enter Mexico, via Tijuana. read more

Please pardon me. I have neglected Mexico City. It has been years since I have told you how much I love it. No need for me to tell you that Mexico City is the financial and cultural center of the country. Strange mix — then and now are many years apart and yet, in places, they are side by side. Fascinating. read more

It all began with a casual comment by my friend Rodrigo Orozco — also known as Tarantula Man, thanks to the anti-poaching project he leads in western Mexico — when I told him about a hike I was org... read more

Question: I have read about the millions or billions the U.S. has lost on solar investments that went bankrupt. How is Mexico doing on green energy? read more

Some of the tall tales about government bureaucracy and red tape are probably exaggerated but some are tragically true. I and others got a chuckle out of the recent government campaign to identify "the most useless procedure" in delivering public goods and services. Ordinary people jumped all over the opportunity to fuss about paperwork in triplicate which bogs down registrations, health care, education, social security, property transfers, tax administration, almost everything, even banking and discount cards — at state and local levels. read more

For some strange reason, an unusual assortment of questions about Mexico education appeared in my e-mailbox. It could be the world has heard about De Panzazo, the new documentary loaded with enough blame to go around. read more

One reader asked a generic "Anything going on?" which gives me a different opening: Indeed there is. It appears that Mexican holidays are undergoing Americanization. read more

Perhaps you have heard that illegal immigration is down. The economy up north is supposedly discouraging. More and better border surveillance, patrols and the fence could be factors. Up, down or sideways, illegal immigration is, well, illegal. It is breaking and entering followed by an occasional game of hide and seek. All that said, sometimes bad ends up good. read more

This is the story about Jeanine Lee Kitchel and her husband, Paul, who made their first trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in 1985 and fell in love instantly with the place. They had visited various parts of Mexico before that and were quite taken with the country. But the Yucatan beaches were of a different order. read more

Aside from the small, private hospitals, often referred to as clínicas, there are four publicly funded and insurance-based hospitals in the city, as well as a hospital just outside of the city offering specialized treatment for a number of serious ailments. There is the Red Cross facility available to all, often used for emergency treatment only. The civic hospital provides free services or treatment at a modest cost based on a sliding scale respecting means. ISSSTE is a federally funded facility restricted to government employees who are members of a union. Finally, there is IMSS... read more

The venerable old Zuno residence is a historic house in its own right but was designed to teach Mexican history. So it's doubly "historic." It stands at Avenida Union and J. Guadalupe Zuno and was built in the early 1920s. The house was designed for and by artist-politician Jose Guadalupe Zuno, whose paintings are still hung in museums. He was assisted with designs and suggestions from three old pals, all prominent artists, David Siqueiros, muralist, Gerardo Murillo ("Dr. Atl"), said by many to be the father of modern Mexican art, and Amado de la Cueva. read more

Question: The Pan-Am Games are scheduled for October. Is excitement building?

Answer: Yes. The games were awarded in 2006 with considerable fanfare. Carlos Andrade Garin says all 23 stadiums will be 100-percent ready — just in time. Carlos also says Mexico will present "the greatest games every held" for about one third the cost that Canada has budgeted for the 2015 games. Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, governor of Jalisco, says "security won't be an obstacle..."

read more

As I walked through the hotel lobby, the weight of the three hundred $100 bills sewn to the waist band of my Jockey shorts pulled my underpants down over my small rear. The money was hanging at my knees. As inconspicuous as a penguin waddling through the hotel lobby at high noon, I could easily have been mistaken for an amateur drug smuggler. When I approached the front desk, the clerk asked, "Qué le parece un caja de seguridad?" I knew my cover was blown when he offered me a Safe-deposit Box. It had been a long trip read more

Mexico smiles and accepts many foreigners — because they bring money. Most prove to be some degree of blessing. Some gripe and complain but do no real harm. A few become curses. read more