“Camino de Guanajuato que pasas por tanto pueblo” (“Way of Guanajuato, you pass through so many towns”) Thus sang Jose Alfredo Jimenez in his song “Camino de Guanajuato”. And the roads of his homeland, the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, do indeed pass through cities, towns and landscapes worthy of exploration. The standard version of the song […]
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For big cities worldwide, transportation is a major issue. Regular streets, avenues and boulevards may not be sufficient for growing traffic levels, so new streets are constructed, old streets re-routed, and mass transit systems established. Since 1863, when the first subterranean railway was opened in London, many cities have opened completely new transit routes by […]
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City parks were not an important part of my life when I was a child. I was raised in the country on a farm which, for all practical purposes, was a park. Growing older, though, I learned to appreciate the importance of city parks, especially in large urban areas. In fact, I wound up residing […]
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Will the world really end in 2012? Is the ancient Maya prophecy true? What exactly is supposed to occur on December 21, 2012? Does the Maya calendar really predict a cataclysmic event on that date? People are talking about it, books have been written about it, and some folks — believing it — have contemplated […]
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What can one say about Mexico City? It’s the capital of Mexico, the biggest metropolis in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s eighth-richest city. It’s also a first-rate tourist attraction. Located in the Valle de México (Valley of Mexico), a natural bowl ringed in by volcanoes and mountains, the city sits at an altitude of 7,350 feet […]
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By an amazing historical coincidence, calendar year 2010 is both a centennial and bicentennial for Mexico. This is great for students, as it’s a mnemonic device to help them remember dates! And as you might well imagine, it leads to 2010 being a great national celebration for Mexico. Every nation needs symbols, traditions and celebrations […]
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Just as in the US, Mexico holds a presidential election in 2012. Because the presidential term of office is four years in the US and six years in Mexico, the countries’ elections coincide only every twelve years. How is a Mexican presidential election similar to a US election, and how is it different? In both […]
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Many cities worldwide have famous downtown squares, or plazas. Notable examples include London’s Trafalgar Square, Moscow’s Red Square and Beijing’s Tienanmen Square, among many others. Such a plaza is an essential part of a city’s history and identity. Consequently, it is a major draw for tourists. Mexico City’s principal plaza, called the Zócalo, fills such […]
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