How my Mexican relatives came to California and saved the US economy

If you are a very lucky person, somebody in your family marries into a Mexican family and you end up with an abundance of diversified riches in your life. Your home rings with laughter in at least two languages, your walls shout happy in vibrant colors, and your comfort zone is extended by thousands of […]

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How To Correct Misconceptions About Mexico – And Lose Your Friends At The Same Time

We who live in Mexico, whether full- or part-time, have a duty to correct the enormous amount of misinformation perpetuated by foreign media. More creatures live with their heads in the sand than the ostrich. For your personal enlightenment, if not to increase your popularity, I’ve prepared a list of common misconceptions and corrective responses. […]

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Drugs, rebellion, and Mexico’s militarization

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 weapons. In remote areas of the Sierra Madre it’s not uncommon to come upon small, camouflage-clad patrols bivouacked outside towns and villages. Larger troop movements in Chiapas, […]

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Where a lake dies, a desert is born. Photo by Tony Burton ©2002

Lake Chapala: Part 4 – 2002 follow-up to saving Mexico’s largest lake

This article is Part 4 of Tony Burton’s series: “Can Mexico’s Largest Lake be Saved?” . Part 1: May, 1997 – Can Mexico’s Largest Lake be Saved? Part 2: March, 2000 – The State of The Lake. Part 3: March, 2001 – The Future of Lake Chapala–Suggestions For Discussion Part 5: April 2003 – A review of “The Lerma-Lake Chapala […]

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Frank Henry, an English silver mining engineer who worked in Mexico during the Revolution of 1910. This is part of a letter written by his wife Edith on December 23rd, 1915, days before he was killed. © Julia Swanson, 2006

Murder in Mexico: an English family during the Revolution

My grandfather, Frank Henry, was an English silver mining engineer in Mexico during the Revolution of 1910-16. This is the story of a family’s harrowing escape from marauding bandits at the height of the Revolution. Sadly, it was without my grandfather, as he had been brutally murdered by the bandits while defending their home from […]

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