For an exotic place and a surprising destination, I strongly recommend The Instituto Cientifico de Na Bolom, the Scientific Institute of Na Bolom (House of the Tiger). It is located in the State of Chiapas, 8000 feet high in the breathtaking mountains. It was established in the ironically-named San Cristobal de Las Casas, the fastest growing […]
Continue ReadingMexican time is not American time. To Americans, Mexican time is usually thought of as tomorrow, but Mañana does not mean tomorrow, as everyone seems to think, no, it just means not right now. Mañana is not a promise, not a date, not a commitment, it’s just … not right now. And then there are the subtleties that you […]
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High in the mountain cloud forest of Chiapas, nestled within a bowl of hills, lies the ancient Colonial city of San Cristobal de Las Casas. For some 500 years it has pursued its own destiny, isolated from the world as if on a different planet. Through the ages, it has retained its distinctive Spanish Colonial […]
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From the outside, this bullring resembles nothing so much as a red erector-set construction but inside, it is a concrete-stepped cone funneling down to the sand, on which are painted two white rings, one inside the other. Entering the arena, your bags are searched to make sure there are no bottles to throw at the picadores, or […]
Continue ReadingThe Mexicans can’t dance my legs off, I’ll tell you that — oh, well, in the “barrios” they can, but there the dancing is more like Olympic gymnastics. If you’re just going out in the evening to “dar un chanclazo” (kick the old shoes around) at a neighborhood party or dance hall you can train for it like I […]
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Sometimes in the evenings, after the sun has set behind the monolith that towers over the small village of San Sebastián Bernal, ánimas, or restless souls who sleep in the small graveyard near the old chapel, rise up and move silently through the quiet streets. The ánimas mean no harm. They are just continuing their daily round – what […]
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The stairs that take me down hug the curves of the mine as it twists and turns. The walls are coarse with cut stone. I have followed the narrow Carretera Panoramica (Panoramic Highway) that winds up from the Colonial city of Guanajuato to La Valencia, a charming village that overlooks the broad valley where the […]
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We follow a meandering street that twists and turns like the best of any Medieval European city. But that, in a way, is what Zacatecas is. A soft dusk has settled over the cobblestone streets of Zacatecas and we can hear the sounds of the fountain in the small garden across from our hotel and […]
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Zacatecas – a place to return to! Millions of Americans today look to the Mexican state of Zacatecas as their ancestral homeland. In this section, we focus on the fascinating state of Zacatecas, which supplied so much of the country’s wealth during colonial times. Main articles for this section: Zacatecas – A Labyrinth of Riches […]
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Located just east of Zacatecas city, Guadalupe’s palm-fringed Jardín Juárez has the special charm found in so many Mexican towns. Here vendors sell the local crafts that this colonial town, founded in 1578, is famous for – including tooled leather belts and soft, pliant jackets along with large carved rustic furniture and wall hangings, newly woven […]
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