I have waited and waited, patiently seven-eighths of the time. After all these years, after a hundred and a half MexConnect columns about Mexico, most of them favorable, I have not yet been invited into the Order of the Aztec Eagle. Past presidents of this colorful country could have done it with a wave of […]
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Mothers of Mexico’s missing say Christmas and birthdays are the hardest parts. That makes sense. Christmas is family time. We see it in our community. Workers are off for a few extra days. Three generations climb into pickup trucks and go visit relatives – even if it is just across town. They have lunch and […]
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The more Mexico changes, the more it remains the same. Despite delusions of assorted miracles, it is still largely a country where the past remains vividly present. We have been hearing about reforms since Enrique Peña Nieto launched his presidential campaign in November 2011. Together we will build a new and better Mexico, he said. […]
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It works! Advertising actually works. Mexico’s tourism board kept pouring millions of pesos into splashy ad campaigns featuring white sandy beaches, turquoise blue waters, Maya ruins, fresh fruit and genuine hospitality. Americans, Canadians, Europeans and several from the Orient ignored dire warnings, bought the sales talk and came to see for themselves. OK, there are […]
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MexConnect magazine readers ask good questions. They deserve at least interesting answers. Question: What is an afilador de cuchillo? Answer: I saw one not long ago. There was a new whistle in the neighborhood. Curiosity caused me to go to the gate and see what was causing the sound. It was anafilador, a knife sharpener, working the […]
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One more win can make a wonderful world of difference. Victor Espinoza, 43, calls himself the luckiest Mexican alive. He was the jockey aboard American Pharoah, winner of the U.S. triple crown of horse racing – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. His name will be forever etched in sporting history. Fame and fortune […]
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Mexico has struck gold – again. Long, long ago, Aztec and Maya chiefs, visiting Spaniards and Catholic fathers accumulated gold as a status symbol, to enhance riches or to upgrade church ambience. There was a bowl of nuggets for the tomb, a full chest for the sailing ship and layers of gold for steeples, saintly […]
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Barry Golson’s book, Gringos in Paradise, is a warm, entertaining, and illuminating tale of the experiences Barry and his wife Thia had while building their “dream house” in Sayulita, a little seaside village forty-five minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. The book is organized around “the house,” beginning with their initial impulse purchase of a piece of land […]
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I like this book, but I don’t like the title: Drama & Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town. The book is not about “drama & diplomacy.” It’s about one person’s life in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from the mid-seventies to the mid-nineties. And that life is a fascinating one. I think it might be better titled, Sex, Lies, and Lots of Fun […]
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As told to Shelley Dale by Juan Quezada Illustrated by Shelley Dale Norman Books (Santa Monica, CA 90403) Here in Ajijic on a cold night a week or two ago, my nine-year old Mexican daughter Gabriela and I curled up in a couple of wool blankets and read to each other. Gaby held in her […]
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