New World Women is a native women artisan group in Tecalpulco, Guerrero who decided to form a production cooperative. These skilled artisans are the original designers and producers, creating beautiful jewelry. Theirs is a cottage industry with a goal of perpetuating the region's craft tradition and creating a source of work that can keep their people at home — an alternative to migrating to urban centers or to the U.S. These enterprising women utilize modern means of communication. They communicate through their web page and via romantic novelas serialized on blogs. They write e-mail, post videos on YouTube, and have published an unusual book: The New World Mexican Women Workbook: How to Make Your Own Traditional Mexican Jewelry. read more

Reading the recent Mexconnect article Tears of the maguey: Is pulque really a dying tradition? brought me to the realization that here in Cholula, many of the pulquerías (pulque bars) have slowly and ... read more

Most protests seek some kind of reform. Some are purely political. A noisy minority, even a few, can inconvenience the multitudes. This is how it has been for a long, long time. Mexico City is the world headquarters for protests, in part because of the diversity of opinions and in part because government does little or nothing to discourage it. read more

This is a powerful book! Four thousand people — men, women, and children — over the past ten years have died trying to cross the Arizona desert in search of better lives.

This is the story of some of those courageous people from Mexico and Central America, and it is also the story of some equally courageous people from the United States... read more

If pulque can create such positive results in all of our daily lives, why is it in danger of extinction? What happened to pulque? It appears to be the victim... read more

Mexico is an ethnically diverse country. To understand México, one must understand her peoples, their history and contributions to what is the México of today. Within this section, we consider those ... read more

"Most Mexicans don't live on dirt farms, wear sombreros and eat only beans and tortillas. Most Mexicans stay in Mexico because they think the quality of life is better than in the United States. … These are their stories." To write Modern Mexico, "Mexico" Mike Nelson talked with lots of people... read more

When the Cole-Gardner family recently vacationed in Oaxaca, Mexico, they brought along several basketballs, soccer balls and baseball gloves, to donate to indigenous children without ready access to su... read more

The men and women in the Chapala-Ajijic area whom I admire the most are those who can give so generously of their time to help others (without expecting anything in return), and Lakeside seems to be ov... read more

One of the prizes of the revolution, a hundred years ago, was free public primary education, as mandated in article 3 of the constitution. Early education is said to be "compulsory" but that means states are compelled to offer it. In most places, youngsters are not required to attend and certainly aren't forced to learn. read more

The Costa Chica ("Short Coast" in Spanish) is one of two regions in Mexico with significant Black communities, the other being the state of Veracruz on the Gulf coast. The Costa Chica is a 200-mile long coastal region beginning just southeast of Acapulco, Guererrero, and ending near the town of Puerto Angel, Oaxaca. read more

For some, illegal immigration is a simple equation, what you risk for what you get.

Luis Alberto Martinez Gomez became an illegal four years ago. He was 16.

The family concluded Luis might be better off in the United States. There was an uncle who once made a promise to help the nephew if ever needed. He came through with cash for a border coyote.

Going north sounded so simple.

It wasn't.

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Often, when we think of starving children, we're thinking about Central Africa or parts of India or even remote areas of South America. But Mexico has its share of the poor, as close by as the Chapala area. The truth is, unremitting hunger is right here under our noses and most of us aren't aware of it. Three Lakeside residents have formed what they call "Operation Compassion." read more

At 9:15 a.m. on February 3, 2010, I steeled myself to enter the Central Penitentiary in Oaxaca, Mexico. Having heard stories of overcrowding, rampant drug use, filthy conditions, torture, inadequate fo... read more

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." read more

More than 190 countries, including Mexico, have now signed up to the UN Millennium Development Goals, originally agreed in the year 2000. There are eight key goals (see table) and Mexico is well on... read more

Most people probably have a vague idea that the Green Revolution was something to do with improving crops in the developing world, but how many realize that it began in Mexico? In fact, the Green Revol... read more

People are still going about their business as usual, only we're all wearing surgical facemasks. I can't decide if this whole fear campaign is a massive media beat-up or if it has some credence. read more