Propina, Por Favor
November 12 is
"Dia del Cartero" here in Mexico. According to the pre-printed envelope that my mail carrier slipped under my apartment door, I am supposed to show my appreciation for his work by...
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Mexico City: Biggest city guide for the savvy traveler
Mexico City can be a safe place to visit, and even live in, for anyone who will use a little common sense and follow our informed lead. David and I have visited this phenomenal burg regularly for nearl...
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A Zapotec funeral, Oaxaca, Mexico
"Would you like to carry the casket?"
I blinked vacantly, thinking perhaps the 104-degree heat was melting my brain-or maybe my shaky Spanish was failing me (that seemed more likely). "¿Como?" I...
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Family Life At El Mirador
I doubt any experience Ernest Hemingway had in Spain, or Africa, or at The Compleat Angler on Bimini could top my entrance into family life at El Mirador.
Daniel Casas, a man I never met, started b...
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Church spires guide us through Guadalajara
We were snapping wedding photos in the atrium of the church - that's the big square in front of old Mexican churches where the Indians gathered to hear Mass - when the "next" bride and her wedding part...
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El Panteon: Cuernavaca's new cemetery
In Cuernavaca, on the top of a hilly barranca, parallel to Calle Morelos on its way out of town, lies a beautiful new cemetery. A Panteon, already lush with bougainvillea and shrubbery loving...
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There's a Word for It in Mexico
Here's a nifty idea for a book for both Spanish language students and for people interested in Mexico. Author De Mente has found an effective way to reach both groups with a volume that takes a studious and careful look at 130 key words in Spanish and has written a couple of pages on each one. In the process, the reader is treated to a variety of knowledgeable tours through Mexican history and sociology and customs that would be hard to find elsewhere.
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Laredo and Nuevo Laredo: Four good reasons to visit a border town
Regardless whether you translate la frontera as "border" or "frontier," the images evoked are often negative: lawlessness, dusty streets, harsh climes, and a general disregard for human life. Even...
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Bringing donations: Clothing, tools, school supplies, etc.
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?
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A tourist's guide to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas: Three days of sightseeing
By now, I’m assuming you are finally here, settled into your hotel, refreshed and unpacked. Let’s begin our tour right away, because it will actually take more than three days to see and enjoy ever...
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Mexico Travelers' Tales
This is one of the really superior anthologies of articles and stories about Mexico. It's made up of some 48 items about the country taken from a wide variety of sources. And they're almost all interesting. The topics cover the gamut of attractions and delights from a dissertation on mariachis to Carlos Fuentes' essay on Mexico City's main square.
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Facts About Mexico
OFFICIAL NAME: United Mexican States
CAPITAL AND LARGEST CITY: Mexico City
AREA: 1,978,000 sq Km ( 760,000 sq mi)
MAJOR CITIES: Mexico City (25 mil), Guadalajara (8.5 mil) and Monterrey...
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A tourist's guide to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas: What, how and where?
Now that you've decided to visit Tuxtla Gutierrex, let me give you some information about the climate here and what type of clothing you will need to pack for your visit.
The city of T...
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A tourist's guide to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas: A busy capital
Sometimes, due to business commitments or transportation snags, we find ourselves in a not-planned-for place. Tuxtla Gutierrez is thought of by many as such place. Indeed, most travelers in Mexico go ...
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La Llorona: Mexican-moon-mother?
Sooner or later, everyone in Mexico encounters La Llorona, The Woman Who Wails. It is known that stories about La Llorona dated back to the time of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. Some sa...
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December in Oaxaca
In December in Oaxaca there's a fiesta almost every day, which makes this colonial city one of the most popular holiday destinations for both foreigners and Mexicans. We describe below the main ce...
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Fiesta de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta
Felipe Avila handed me his burning candle, converting me from spectator to pilgrim in the Fiesta de Guadalupe!
My arrival in Puerto Vallarta coincided with the beginning of the weeklong Fiesta de Guad...
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Is it manana yet ?
Mexico is sometimes referred to as the land of Mañana” Those of us who tried to look up the word in dictionaries before coming here, could not find it in the Spanish to English section. Belie...
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Taxi driver in Mexico City
Entering a Mexico City taxi means entering the special world of cabbies - a place where two traffic lanes can swiftly become three, seatbelts generally are very few and far between, and where there app...
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The proper way to eat a taco
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Mexico, don't be a sloppy taco eater. Wouldn't Eleanor, Abigail and Judith just die! Far cry as it is from the excruciatingly correct manners of these three deities, Fanny wants you to know that there IS a proper way to eat a taco:
1. First rule. Don't over stuff that tortilla. This is a fatal error.
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The Reader's Companion to Mexico
This is an odd volume. I originally bought it because it advertises itself as "a gathering of some of the best travel writing ever" about Mexico. However, you quickly find as you dip into it that not all the articles are about travel. Also, very few of them have been written in recent times. Indeed, a couple were written about 100 years ago. However, that's not a criticism.
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On learning about Mexico: Life in the capital
I have walked around Colonia San Juan and observed women in small groups chatting and laughing and men leaning against the walls, sunning themselves and talking and laughing as though they didn't have ...
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Mexico's popular sayings: A taste for dichos
O.K. I admit it! I love 'dichos' (sayings or proverbs). Not, 'nachos' or 'ponchos', but dichos! Yes, those little nuggets of folk wisdom distilled down through generations of wise ...
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Xalapa, Veracruz: city of flowers
I’m puzzled as to why Xalapa hasn’t become more of a permanent residence for Americans and Canadians. Of the six cities my wife and I visited – Morelia, Cholula, Puebla, Xalapa, Vera Cruz and Queretero – Xalapa is for us the hands-down winner.
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El Cohetero: The fireworks man of Mata Ortiz
The 4th of July exploded on November 20th in Mata Ortíz in 1992. The cave-black night near the bridge over Río Palanganas was shot with a kaleidoscope of color and a cacophony of noise, thanks to Jim...
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