The calm amid the storm
Like "The Hidden Places", this article is about the play of light and shadows on the eye of the observer; of the offered and the hidden; of peace in the midst of struggle. (The picture is of the Guelag...
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Shopping in Mexico: the tianguis
The Aztecs called it tianquiztli, Nahuatl for the marketplace". Modern Mexicans refer to it as the tianguis, mercado sobre ruedas ("market on wheels" - a term used mostly in Mexico City...
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The "Indian Time" syndrome
The Mañana Principle- Mañana means tomorrow, right? Wrong! In Indian space-time, mañana can mean almost anytime ... next week, next month ... possibly never. However, it can be a most usefu...
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Mexico: a window on technology and the poor
Over the Columbus Day weekend, I was in Mexico City, attending and speaking at a conference marking the founding of the Mexican chapter of the Internet Society.
That was a potentially historic event i...
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Dancing with the Maya: una fiestita in Copoya
You would think that by now, well into my third year of living in Chiapas, I would have learned that familiar U.S. customs-especially ones which make me feel as though I have slipped into a comfortable...
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Midnight on the Isthmus, returning home from Oaxaca
After an exciting week visiting a close friend, meeting new ones, and immersing myself fully in the rich cultural experience that is Oaxaca, I was headed home to celebrate Christmas with my family and ...
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All's well in Copoya - village life in modern Mexico
I have spent the early morning hours of this cool, beautiful summer morning surfing the Internet for international news and letters from friends in distant places. With my laptop clicking and whirring ...
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Vistas de Copoya, Chiapas
The day starts early here in Copoya. Hours before a bright pink sun rises over the eastern mountain, the roosters, pigs, and braying burros compete noisily with horn blowing little colect...
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Shawls for all seasons (rebozos for all reasons)
We sit crushed together, moist and miserable, in the back of the battered old VW van as we do every day about this time. Interesting odors assail our noses. We would rather not know what it is we are s...
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El colibri
We lie in bed listening to the tympani of rain on the tile roof and burrowing into each other's warmth. My neighbors weren't home when Jaime came to visit, so no one saw him. Secrecy wearies me. I fanc...
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Dog with a human mask
Mexicans love wearing masks. My favorite is a statue of a dog wearing a human mask created about 300 A.D, and found near Colima. Masks are part of the Christmas pastorelas, depicting the devil, ...
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Watching Pablo sleep
Part 1.
It's midmorning in Sta. Lucia and Claire lies on Pablo's right side watching him sleep. He can't go to sleep unless she watches. This is his belief, and his beliefs infect her, fester like spl...
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Honor, vengeance and machismo
Bitter are the fruits they eat in Michoacán, black oval fruits the size of an olive, borne in the summer on the capelin tree. Bitter is the story told to me in a mountain pueblo in the northeast corne...
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Faith: the heart of Mexican fiestas
The Calendario de las Ferias y Festividades Religiosas de Mexico is a guide to enjoying what is uniquely Mexican -- Folk Catholicism which evolved in the last four centuries. Fairs are included ...
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Santiago's funeral
At ten in the morning the day was already hot enough to dry the tears on my face as I walked into San Juan Cosala to attend little Santiago's funeral. His teacher and his six-year-old school friends fi...
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Temezcal y Xun - the sweatlodge
San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, where I chose to live five years ago, is a city time almost forgot. Situated in the highland valley of Jovel at an elevation of 2,100 meters, it's a city mingling f...
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Cohetes, a Mexican tradition
Early one morning in late July, after being awakened by the infernal POP POP POP of today’s Mexican alarm clock, I arose reluctantly from the warmth of my bed, determined to find the true story of ...
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Buying a home in Mexico
Who would have thought that buying a house in Mexico would be such a scandal? Maybe it should have occurred to me beforehand that I would encounter some very unusual problems while trying to acquire pr...
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Mexican driver's ed, a Monterrey perspective
I can think of nothing more torturous than driving in Mexico. A free for all with life-threatening vehicles is not my idea of fun or adventure, but Mexicans seem to love it. When I first started drivin...
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Who would have thought?
I've been very quiet for the past few months; I apologize for the silence. I'm finally back, and I have BIIIIIIIIG news. No, it's not a divorce, or a birth, or a career change that brought me a six-fig...
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The series index - learning to live in Mexico
In July 2002, I moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to Monterrey, Mexico, with the intention of remaining there for the rest of my life. It was an "international love affair" that brought me there. But I...
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An unexpected visit
It was 12:30 in the morning. All of a sudden I woke with a start. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. What was that? I usually wake up at the slightest noise. There was a lot of noise outside the bedroom door. ...
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A bonding of families and countries
I can't say I was thrilled with the idea at first, but I was never against it either. My daughter spent her junior year at Harvard studying in Spain. She came home with new-found worldliness, self-conf...
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Who am I, and how did I end up in Mexico?
I remember my introduction to the theory of Chaos in the movie Jurassic Park. Mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) takes the top of Dr. Sattler's hand (Laura Dern) and drops a tiny drop of water o...
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By the way ...
I've been living and working in Mexico for almost two years, and lately, I've been reflecting a great deal about my experiences-and my articles. I was going to write about Mexican family economics (and...
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