What about the water and food? Can I expect to have Moctezuma’s Revenge? Qué me pueden decir acerca del agua y la comida en general en México? Puedo enfermarme? Can I drink the water? Puedo tomar agua? Can I eat the food? Puedo comer sin preocupación? Is it true that shellfish and hot weather don’t […]
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Spiny, tough and menacing, the cacti seem peculiar choices as culinary delights. Cacti are well known novelties among potted plant collectors and gardeners, and some cacti, such as nopales (the stems of prickly pears) and tunas (cactus fruits) have recently gained popularity as a healthy foods outside of Mexico. However, the cactus is nothing new in the Mexican diet, […]
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Cabo Corrientes is one of those vaguely heard of places where nobody ever goes because… well, where is it? And how and why would you go there? Literally, Cabo Corrientes means “cape currents.” It’s the point about 30 miles west of Puerto Vallarta where Banderas Bay finally gives up its apparent attempt to swallow the Pacific. Look […]
Continue ReadingPossibly no other country in the world has as many festivals, fairs and feast days as Mexico. National holidays, religious holidays and people’s santos (saints’ days) are all celebrated with gusto, as are the observances of the patron saints of virtually every city, town and pueblito. The santoral, or calendar of saints’ days, is so crowded with names […]
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Founded in the year 1313, Xico’s original name was Xico-Chimalco in the Náhuatl (Aztec) language meaning “where there are bee hives of yellow wax.” Located only 20 minutes from Xalapa, Veracruz, it’s a village bound to charms one’s total senses. To get there, you travel southwest through the town of Coatepec, past the ex-hacienda of Zimpizahua, curving […]
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….¡Ay laguna de Chapala tienes del cuento la magia, cuento de ocasos y albarradas de enamoradas noches lunadas. Quieto Chapala, es tu laguna novia romántica como ninguna! Enclavado en la parte central del estado de Jalisco, Chapala “el lugar de búcaros u ollas pequeñas”; o “el lugar mojado o empapado”; o “el lugar de chapuzones […]
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Inside Mexico In those days a decree from Emperor Augustus was issued, ordering a census for the entire world. […] Everybody had to be registered, each one in his city. Also Joseph, who came from the lineage of David, came up from the city of Nazareth, in Galilee, to the city of David, named Bethlehem, […]
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Just outside the unassuming little town of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, 40 kilometers due West of Guadalajara, lies one of the most impressive archeological sites in all of western Mexico. However, the first time I saw it — in 1985 — I was anything but impressed. “Where’s the pyramid?” my friends and I asked a local farmer, […]
Continue ReadingAbstract In the past, environmental conservation has emphasized the protection of the physical environment through the exclusion of humans. As a result, the local inhabitants in and surrounding protected areas often perceive conservation policies to be a threat to their land-use rights and source of livelihood. The objective of this project was to examine the […]
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Celebrated 45 days before Easter (April 16th this year), Carnaval is a celebration of earthly, or carnal pleasures before the austerity and sacrifice of Lent. Beginning on the Friday before Ash Wednesday, Carnival reaches its climax on Mardi Gras — “Fat Tuesday.” Perhaps the most famous festivities are those of Rio de Janeiro and New […]
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