New kids on the block
In March of 1994, I was contemplating the saying "Mexico: so far from God, so close to the United States", and having a good chuckle over El Sub's interview with Ed Bradley. In March of 1996, Marcos me...
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Excuse me, but do you live here?
This is my first essay, started not long after I arrived in Oaxaca. Later, I added the next-to-last paragraph to reflect my deeper understanding of, and my "upward" movement in, the gringo establishmen...
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A tale of two students
Meeting the folks in this story was inspiring. It sure blows the stereotype of the "lazy Mexican" all to hell. Photography by Diana Ricci
Pablo was the first in his family to move from their mountain ...
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How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm?
In the spring of 1994, I met some young people who had come to the big city of Oaxaca. This is a synthesis of what they told me about the life they left. (The cheerful mezcaleros (makers of mezcal) pic...
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Comparing memories - tall buildings, Janitzio and a hamburger.
I was 9 years old the first time I visited Morelia, in 1973. I was living with my family in Xicotepec, a small town in the north of the State of Puebla. We spent our summer vacation that year with my g...
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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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Renovating our Morelia house
We passed through the Mexican customs station just south of the Laredo border crossing at 5:30 a.m. It was still dark. The car was crammed with things we were going to need before our major shipment of...
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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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Liliana, mi corazoncita
Corazoncita, or little heart, is a Mexican expression of affection, similar to 'sweetheart'. This is a story of my first visit to Mexico, and how a sweet, little Mexican girl became mi corazonci...
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Tortilla run: a day in Tijuana
We woke at 7 a.m. to the blaring horn of the propane truck " beepbeeeeeepbeepbeeeeeeeeep " and wonder if he will ever buy a muffler for that dang truck.
We dress quickly so that we can get to the ...
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A day in the life of my mother-in-law by Alex Vinson
Wake up about 6am.
Verify today is the day that water is available (every 3rd day).
Prop the front door open with a stick.
Remove the carefully coiled garden hose from its storage place ...
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Tienda del las dos estufas
My suegra (mother-in-law) decided that she wanted to sell vegetables from her front porch in rural Guerrero. I asked her how much profit she would like to make and we would work the numbers back...
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My neighbor the truck driver
What was all that whirring and buzzing noise coming from downstairs?
My new neighbor from Mexico City was spending a sunny Saturday polishing the fuel tank on his semi tractor.
I introduced myself (a...
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Anyone for bridge?
"But I haven't played bridge since college."
"The last time I played bridge, Ely Culbertson was the authority."
"I've just been too busy earning a living to find time for Bridge."
Sound familiar? We...
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The Lake Chapala real estate market
The average sale price between 2003 and 2006 increased by approximately 69%.
Yes, the majority of my work involves inspections of homes, however there is a large amount of consulting regarding real es...
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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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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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Coyote's laughter
On a starry June night in San Martin Obispo, the myriad odors of the countryside float on the air. Slightly menacing is the smell of the fire on the rocky hillside above my house, where slash and burn ...
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A Christmas tree in Mexico
Finding just the right tree for Christmas in Mexico was a challenge from the start. My Austrian husband had grown up with a father who worked on decorations for their tree for weeks in advance of He...
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Learning to shop in the village
John's point wasn't, I sensed, simply a lesson in village economics.
When we moved to Mexico in 1976, I didn't regret leaving behind the Alpha Beta Supermarket, the 7-11 quick-stop, or Newport Mall. I...
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Calle Rico
The street is Calle Rico, as far as I knew, the only one with this unfortunate name in the entire nation.
read moreWhere's everybody?
It was just about five years ago that my friends started to disappear from the streets of the little Mexican villages on the shores of Lake Chapala where I had retired some three years earlier. At firs...
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Work permits for Mexico: advice from an old hat
Work Permits: Advice from an old hat
By Julie Black © 1999 All Rights Reserved.
Ask no more. Yes, foreigners can legally work in Mexico, for any length of time, provided they obtain the required...
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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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