We would like our children to visit a local school and we would like to bring some gifts to the school. Can anyone tell me what type of items would be most useful? We thought of solar calculators, writing instruments, early English readers, etc. but any ideas would be appreciated. Also, are clothes and other items (ideas?) appreciated as gifts in the hotels? read more

Whether rain or shine, the protests in front of the government palace in Oaxaca go on. This banner, with likenesses of Ricardo Flores Magon and Emiliano Zapata, says "This paradise, this flag, this lan... read more

"The key to understanding the ‘Mexican Way’ of doing business is to recognize that business management in Mexico has traditionally been an application of cultural attitudes and customs - not the objective, pragmatic function that is associated with management in the United States and other practical-minded countries." read more

Update posted by Richard Ferguson February 4 2000 There are several web sites with security information for travelers and tourists. The ones that I am aware of are listed below. I urge people to rev... read more

This picture was taken in the Sumidero Canyon, a man-made lake in Chiapas. The cliffs reach over half a mile in height in places. © Dan McWethy, 2000 Gringos call them "speed bumps". Mexicans nic... read more

Some days you have to laugh to keep from crying; some days you have to laugh, period. The following stories are true, but the names (and other details) have been changed to protect the author. read more

This road, graded to a high standard for gravel-based bituminous construction, was less than one year old when it washed out. Fortunately, there was still enough mountainside left to make a bypass. Man... read more

Based on a true story.   By Julie Black © 1999 All Rights Reserved. Oh, Mexico, he thought to himself, the azure sky that meets the silhouette of red tiled roofs, central patios overflowing with t... read more

These bells were removed from the church at Santa Maria Tiltepec. An earthquake caused severe structural damage to the bell tower in June of 1999. Erosion caused the red gashes in the surrounding hills... read more

For tourists, perhaps the most serious crime problem in Mexico is taxi robbery in Mexico City. This problem is more or less unique to Mexico City, so many tourists are not aware of the problem. The governments of the US, UK, Canada, and Australia warn travelers of taxi robberies. I have also read several first person accounts of taxi robberies, via the internet and in the media. read more

There are three sons missing from this family portrait. They have gone "North" to find work. Like most villages in southern Mexico, theirs depends on its' migrants for the money to buy food, clothing a... read more

Ruth Gonzalez, Librarian, in the front room of the Oaxaca Circulating Library, where she has worked for almost all the 35 years of its existence © Diana Ricci, 1999 For the English speaking commun... read more

This is not meant to be a political question, I know this may seem impossible, but I am looking for some factual info.

Last evening I saw a documentary by Nettie Wild entitled "A Place Called Chiapas." Wild is a Canadian filmmaker who spent eight or so months inside the Zapatista uprising and created a rather moving and even-handed film.

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In more than five years as an expatriate living in Oaxaca, I have forgotten much, learned a little, and been more amazed than bored. One of the things I think I have learned is that for most of us here in Paradise, what we get out of it depends a lot on what we bring with us. read more

This picture appeared with an earlier article, "The Servant", about four years ago. The girl is still playing and singing along the "tourist walking street" in Oaxaca, as are a couple of her you... read more

Condon Mania, a project of the Frente Comun Contra SIDA (Common Front Against AIDS), sells health - and life - to hundreds of Mexican youth and adults every month. The Frente's major concern is slowing... read more

Discrimination is an important moral concern for all of us. In the business world, the issue of discrimination goes beyond moral grounds. Although businesses’ main concern is profits, discrimination... read more

In the late summer of 1996, the weary traveler reflects on a long time spent away from home. (Pictured are the ruins at Yagul, near Oaxaca ). Photography by Diana Ricci Got my ticket in my pocket... read more

Long-time travelers to Mexico will have noticed an increase in the presence of Mexican military units around the country, particularly roadblock inspection squads purportedly searching for drugs and we... read more

(populations based on 1990 census) GUERRERO           ... read more

( En Español: La Caridad Empieza En Casa) By: Ing. Luis Dumois Weeks ago, the world was shocked by the news arriving from Acteal, Chiapas. More than forty persons, including women and children, ... read more

The action never stops at the border. There is no other place like it on the globe. The international boundary stretches for almost two thousand miles, from the Pacific Ocean through the mountains, the deserts, the valleys of the Rio Grande to the Gulf of Mexico. The region is a vast world unto itself. And the westernmost, fourteen-mile strip between San Diego and Tijuana, the border's biggest and richest cities, is the most intense microcosm of that world. The U.S. Border Patrol records half a million yearly arrests of illegal immigrants here, accounting for almost half of all its arrests. read more

November first is children's day in the series of remembrances and festivities that are known as Dias de los Muertos (days of the dead). On this day, the souls of departed children migrate to the homes... read more

This photo was taken in one of the few buildings left standing at Piña Palmera, on Zipolite beach. By now, the foot or so of mud on the floor has been mucked out. By now, also, relief should be reachi... read more