The state of Tlaxcala is part of the Central Highlands Region of Mexico, along with the states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Mexico (State of), Mexico City, Morelos, Puebla and Querétaro.
The land-locked state of Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state in area, is mostly on Mexico’s high central plateau, though the state’s eastern sections rise into the La Malinche National Park in the Eastern Sierra Madre.
The capital city of Tlaxcala — Tlaxcala City — forms a continuous metropolitan area that extends to the city of Puebla in the next state. The combined metropolitan area is the country’s 4th largest, with a population over 3.1 million.
Tlaxcala City has many colonial-era buildings including Mexico’s oldest church dating from 1521 and several former monasteries. Cultural and sporting activities include bullfights, colorful folk dancing and the laying of elaborate flower and sawdust carpets on religious holidays.
- Tlaxcala – All Articles or All Recipes
Here are select articles and recipes related to Tlaxcala:
![Mural in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, México. April 2024. Photo: Yareli Jáidar Benavides.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_9915-s.jpg)
Modern street art in Mexico City: concrete walls transformed into vivid social statements
Mexico City has some of the best street/urban art murals in the world, but almost all the attention in the press is focused on work done in the center of the city. In reality, much of the best work is being done on the east side of the Mexico City Metro Area (MCMA). The muralism […]
![RIP Rolly](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rip_medium.jpg)
ROLLY BROOK DAY 2024
Our dearly departed Rolly would have celebrated his 93rd birthday today, 20 August 2024. Our tribute to Rolly (1931-2015) Rolly’s co-authored book on moving to Mexico (2009) Rolly Brook’s website (2000-2015) He may now be holding court in a higher world but will long be remembered by his friends and readers in this one.
![Graciela holds a mask made for a woman, and Javier has an Indio Serrano mask © Joseph Sorrentino, 2024](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Sorrentino-Mask-7-cr.jpg)
Mask making in the Magic Town of Huejotzingo, Puebla
Javier Alvarado Saloma carefully cuts a piece of leather on which he’s traced an outline using a template. “I use either cow or pig skin,” he says, as he concentrates. Cutting the leather is the first step of several needed to make a mask. Two weeks after cutting the leather, he’ll have a finished mask, […]
![Monument to Mexico's Niños Heroes in Chapultepec Park © Lilia, David and Raphael Wall, 2012](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/19-columns_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – September
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) September 1, 1880 Porfirio Diaz’s government awards the concessions for building railroad lines from Mexico City to the U.S. border. 1, 1925 The inauguration of the Bank Of Mexico which will function as a central bank, the only one able to print money. On this precise […]
![Lele Doll. © Carlene Fowlkes.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/doll-pic-s.jpg)
Keeping Culture Alive: The Iconic Lele Dolls of Amealco
Amealco, a scenic town in Mexico’s Querétaro state, is one of the country’s designated Pueblos Mágicos or “Magic Towns.” This distinction, awarded by the Mexican government, recognizes places that offer visitors exceptional beauty, cultural richness, and historical significance. Amealco, a reservation of Otomí indigenous culture, is where a treasured craft has been perfected over centuries. […]
![Chela Campos singing](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/image003-e1719870652177.jpg)
Our Aunt Chela part 3: Chela Campos – Nightclub and theater singer
Between working her daytime radio shows. Chela was also asked to sing in various theaters and nightclubs in the city. Construction began on the Palacio de Bellas Artes in October 1904, and its inauguration was in 1934. Located in the center of Mexico City near the Alameda Park, it quickly began hosting all forms of […]
![Limestone carving, 63 X 43 cm, sculptor unknown. © Alvin Starkman, 2024](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/5-rt.jpg)
Why is Mezcal so important to the future of Oaxaca?
Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D. Last year I participated in a panel discussion in Oaxaca about a new book entitled La E del Mezcal: Exportación, by Dra. Blanca Esther Salvador Martínez. While the other panelists essentially praised the author for writing such an important book and explained how it thoroughly covered all the bases regarding the […]
![Promo shot from about 1946](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Chela-c-1946.jpg)
Our Aunt Chela part 2: Chela Campos – Radio Days
In 1937, Celia Campos decided to try her luck at the XEQ radio station Amateur Hour talent contest. She would sing at parties for her family and friends. They would always tell her to try out for those amateur programs. Before you actually sang in the program, you had to go to the station on […]
![Chela Campos and Luis Aguilar. Courtesy of D A Huse.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2027/04/ChelaCamposLuisAguilar-Coll-DA-Huse.jpg)
Our Aunt Chela: international singer Chela Campos, aka The Lady with the Crystal Cane
My husband’s Aunt Chela was a famous singer, who performed internationally. Fifteen years ago, I decided to write a book about Aunt Chela’s life for our family. I searched the internet for information on her appearances in Los Angeles, Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, etc. but found nothing. Wikipedia had only one paragraph of the most basic, […]
![Overview of Chapultepec Park (Credit: Government of Mexico City, used under Creative Commons CC0)](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GobCDMX-CC.jpg)
Sneak preview of updates to Mexico City’s historic Chapultepec Park
It would be hard to overstate the symbolic importance of Chapultepec Park, not only to Mexico City, but to the country as well. It has played a key role in Mexico’s history since the Mesoamerican era, with emperors and presidents eager to leave their mark on it. But its recent history also includes neglect. To […]
![David McLaughlin, MexConnect Webjefe](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/david-mclaughlin-foto-gwen-burton_medium.jpg)
April 17th: David McLaughlin Day
MexConnect’s founder, David McLaughlin (1946-2019), would have celebrated his 78th birthday on the 17th of this month. As we strive to live up the incredibly high standards he set for this website, we remember all the good times we shared in the old days—from hand coding thousands of articles and images to animated discussions about […]
![Acapulco in about 1954](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bashfordacapulco1950.jpg)
What was Mexico like 70 years ago?
G. M. Bashford’s Tourist Guide to Mexico was first published exactly seventy years ago in 1954. It was one of a spate of motoring book guides written after World War II as Americans began to hit the open road and drive south in search of sunshine and adventure. How much has Mexico really changed in […]
![Street food © 2024 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Puerto-Vallarta-Street-Vender.jpg)
Puerto Vallarta: a gourmet’s delight
The foods of the Pacific coast resort Puerto Vallarta can be as simple—and delicious—as those sold by vendors who stroll the beach hawking skewers of fire-roasted shrimp and trays of freshly shucked oysters or the street vendors like Caesar who, wielding a machete, sells fresh coconuts at his stand on Aquiles Serdán to a long […]
![View of Parque Fundidora from atop Blast Furnace. © 2024 Allan Wall](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7.jpg)
Monterrey’s Fundidora Park showcases city’s industrial heritage
As readers of MexConnect are no doubt aware, Mexico has a great variety of tourist attractions of various types. There are the pre-Hispanic ruins, Spanish colonial architecture, churches and cathedrals, government buildings, battlefields, fortresses, houses of famous people, museums, beaches, mountains and other types of natural scenery. But what about industrial tourism? That’s one you […]
![Farmacia Guadalajara in Puerto Vallarta](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Farmacia-Guadalajara-PV-GMc.jpg)
Best medication prices for expats in Mexico
Many of us are old, need medications, and are far from our accustomed US medical care resources. Often we do not know the best ways to obtain medicines securely, legally, efficiently, and at the best price while living in Mexico. I have researched this matter and have found the answers to our dilemma quite complex. […]
![Zihuatanejo © 2023 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Zihua-street-scene-s.jpg)
Relax for the day in picture-perfect Zihuatanejo
We take the coastal road south as it winds through the tree-covered Sierra Madre del Sur mountains and past vistas of the blue waters of the Pacific far below, traveling to Zihuatanejo, pronounced Zi-Wat-En-Ay-O, as anyone who has ever heard the song of the same name knows. Often called Zihua for short, the name comes […]
![Cover](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Postcard-History-Cover.jpg)
Lake Chapala: A Postcard History (review)
Tony Burton’s most recent book, Lake Chapala: a postcard history, is an interesting pictorial romp through the Lake Chapala area from just before the twentieth century to about 1960. Over 150 postcards mostly taken from Burton’s private collection give a broad overview of what life was like around the lake from the time when the […]
![Saguaro at Border Wall © 2023 Allan Wall.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/14.jpg)
Motoring along Highway #2, the edge of Mexico
MexConnect.com is all about Mexico. While most articles focus on the interior, the edge of Mexico is still Mexico and Mexico’s border regions are worthy of exploration. There is plenty to see there. My 20-year old son Raphael and I recently took a drive in a Mexico border region. We followed the U.S.-Mexican border, on […]
![Manuel Zago putting the cheese in molds. © Joseph Sorrentino, 2023](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/DSC_4650-copy.jpg)
Chipilo, Puebla: an Italian town with the best Italian food in Mexico
Chipilo, Puebla is different from other Mexican pueblos. Very different. That’s because it is an Italian pueblo, settled in 1882 by Italians from Veneto, in northern Italy. In the late 1880s, the Mexican government wanted to modernize its agricultural sector and recruited Europeans. Seventy-nine families arrived in Chipilo, worked hard and eventually succeeded in establishing […]
![Carol Wheeler](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Carol-s.jpg)
In memorium: Carol Wheeler, MexConnect’s longest serving Senior Editor
We are saddened to report that Carol Wheeler, a long time personal friend and former Senior Editor of MexConnect, responsible for so ably managing almost all aspects of our site for so many years, passed away on 25 May 2023. Born in Nevada in 1949, Carol trained as an anthropologist and then settled with her […]
![El Palomar monument, Guadalajara © Paul Hudson 2023](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image001.jpg)
Luis Barragán’s architectural legacy in Guadalajara
In March 2023 the city of Guadalajara dedicated a new monument to world-renowned engineer-architect Luis Barragán. The monument, El Palomar, was originally designed by Barragán in the 1970s but did not come to fruition until many years after his death. Barragán’s career has been extensively documented. However, the emphasis has usually been on his later […]
![Zacatecas Convent Museum © 2023 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Zacatecas-Convent-Museum.jpg)
World class mask museum in the city of Zacatecas
The walk from the Hotel Mesón de Jobito where I’m staying to the Convento de San Francisco is only 15 minutes away but it’s a distance that spans centuries. The route takes me from the hotel built in the 1700s as a residence and then later used as an inn with donkeys, mules, and horses […]
![A Mexican local bus](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mexico_local-bus_large.jpg)
I swear the laws concerning size are suspended when Driving in Mexico
Mexican driving continues to astonish me even after cruising the country for over fifty years. Like most newcomers, I used to be amazed by driving differences ranging from speed to taking stop signs with a wink. Most of those alternative driving methods have not just grown on me, but I’ve adopted them and even prefer […]
![Holy Friday evening, Los Varones carry the coffin through the village. The procession walks on tapetes de aserrín. © Joseph Sorrentino, 2023](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DSC_3742-copy.jpg)
Holy Week in San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco, Mexico City
Like virtually every pueblo in Mexico, residents of San Gregorio Atlapulco (in Xochimilco, Mexico City) celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) with processions, extra masses and a depiction of Christ’s crucifixion. But one thing sets San Gregorio apart from other pueblos: Holy Week is run by fourteen young men known as Los Varones. There’s no group […]
![Typical afternoon traffic on the Periferico in the south of Mexico City. © Anthony Wright, 2009](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/f0908_large.jpg)
Car Troubles and Traffic Flow Patterns
If you break down in the middle of a busy highway, avenue or freeway, hope you are in Mexico and not north of its border. In Mexico, other drivers automatically adjust to the problem, and traffic continues to flow. Eight or ten lanes hurrying each way during rush hour can be common. Try Avenida Fundadores […]
![Ivonne Kennedy.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Kennedy-FB-2.jpg)
Ivonne Kennedy: Oaxacan painter with international sensibility
Don’t let the name fool you, Ivonne Kennedy is a genuine Oaxacan painter—but on her own terms. Kennedy was born in 1971 in the city of Oaxaca. While ‘foreign’ last names are not terribly uncommon in Mexico, they are pretty rare in Oaxaca, and ‘foreign’ first names even more so. So, quickly, before we get […]
![](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/n_mazatlan_large-cr.jpg)
So, you know Spanish and Mexican culture concerning languages? A bit of advice
Unless you are one hundred percent fluent in Spanish, expect the Mexicans around you to know more English than you do Spanish. Bob, a friend, retired to Mexico and opened a small maintenance business. He didn’t need to know the simple or common Spanish words for chair, table, or car for his investment. He instead […]
![Female turtle at the water's edge, moments before a wave took her out to sea. © Joseph Sorrentino, 2022](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8-DSC_6970-copy-2.jpg)
Canine beach patrol in Colima: Coco the expert turtle-finding dog
Coco has been finding turtle nests for two years now. “She’s a Mini pin (Miniature Pinscher) and something else,” said Eileen Hoeter, her owner. Eileen and her husband Jedd built Villa Star of the Sea, a resort in Playa del Coco, Colima, Mexico, in 2015, and, as they walked along the beach, would come across […]
![San Miguel de Allende © Nancy Harless, 2003](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/smdk_large.jpg)
PRESENT CONTINUOUS (a Morning Walk through San Miguel de Allende)
PRESENT CONTINUOUS (a Morning Walk through San Miguel de Allende) Two blocks uphill on Calle Jesús and a right turn on Umarán bring me to La Parroquia, the gardeners in the Jardín already at work shaping the trees into perfect rectangles, early risers reading on the benches or drinking coffee under the portales, someone selling […]
![Folkloric Dance, Mérida © 2022 Jane Simon](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Merida-Dance.jpg)
The multi-faceted charms of the city of Merida
Despite two delayed flights and a later than expected check-in to Hotel La Nacional By Kavia, the colorful and charming place where I spent the night, I’m buzzed for my first day in Mérida after a breakfast of chilaquiles verdes o rojos and endless cups of coffee topped with warm cream at Casa Maya Restaurant. […]
![Chiapas fruit stand, 2004. Credit: Marisa Burton.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/MB-fruit-and-flower-stalls-Chiapas-IMGP2117_cr.jpg)
Should You Walk with a Friend in Mexico?
After numerous forays into Mexico over the past six decades, I’ve learned a few things about Mexico and Mexicans. Most of our southern neighbors are honest, trustworthy and friendly to a fault. However, do not trust a Mexican amigo when it comes to accurate walking distances. I don’t care if you’ve known the person for […]
![Statue of Revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata © Julia Taylor 2007](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/u0407L_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – August
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1524 King Charles V of Spain forms the Council of the Indies, making it responsible for the administration and politics of the New World. According to the law, the future well-being of the natives, discovered by Columbus, is guaranteed! 2, 1857 Gas lighting is introduced in […]
![Vintage postcard of Mazatlán, Pearl of the Pacific](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Mazatlan-Pearl-of-The-Pacific.jpg)
A family trip to Mazatlan—Sinaloa’s Pearl of the Pacific
La Perla del Pacífico-“The Pearl of the Pacific”. That’s what Mazatlán, Mexico, is called. Mazatlán is located in the state of Sinaloa, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, looking out across the water towards the tip of the Baja California peninsula. However, Mazatlán is not the only “Pearl of the Pacific.” At least 9 Latin American coastal […]
![People at table by boats: Island visitors indulging in grilled fresh fish, house made tortillas, and, of course, lobster at the Miramar Lobster House. You can even get your photo taken there and pasted on a bottle to tequila to take home as a souvenir.© 2021 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Isla-Mujeres-Miramar-table-on-the-beach.jpg)
National Tequila Day in the US
The US celebrates National Tequila Day on July 24. Mexico’s National Tequila Day is the third Saturday in March. Binationals, and lots of other people, celebrate both days! MexConnect invites you to celebrate by getting to know this quintessentially Mexican drink — Mexico’s gift to the world. Follow link below to read more about it. […]
![Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas artes features a facade of Carrara marble © Anthony Wright, 2012](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bellas-artes-318_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – July
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) July 1, 1823. At the Congress of the United Provinces of Central America, held in Guatemala City, it is decided that Nicaragua and Guatemala (who had joined Mexico of their own volition on January 5, 1822) should be separate entities. The Province of Chiapas votes in favor […]
![Noël, Naomi and Dorian - standing where our grandmother was photographed with a student named Martha more that 30 years earlier). © 2022 Noel Carmichael.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Untitled-4s.jpg)
Visiting Lake Chapala, my grandparents’ winter home decades ago
In April, my two sisters and I traveled to the Lake Chapala area for an opportunity to celebrate the future, specifically the upcoming nuptials of our youngest sister, Dorian. Our trip also allowed us an opportunity to connect to our past, retracing the footsteps of our grandparents, Jean and Ralph Carmichael, who had wintered in […]
![Caimito or star apple is a regional fruit in the Valladolid area of the Yucatan, related to the mamey and other sapote species. It is used in ices and ice cream. — Caimito es una fruta regional del área de Valladolid en Yucatán, relacionada con el mamey y otras especies de sapote. Se utiliza para preparar hielos y nieves.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/b_caimito_large.jpg)
The month of June
June is a great month for foodies in Mexico. The variety of fresh summer-season fruit and vegetables is extraordinary, and June is the perfect time to get creative in the kitchen. For a great place to start, try Karen Hursh Graber’s comprehensive Exotic summer refreshment: a guide to Mexico’s tropical fruit. Like hundreds of other […]
![Passenger Train (Wikipedia)](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Train-wikipedia.jpg)
Railroad Ride Through the Jungle Fifty Years Ago
Who would have dreamed a train from hell could slice through pristine jungle for two days? We’d have gotten off, escaped, even tried to walk out, except for two problems. We didn’t know where we were, and most of the Mexicans spoke Indian languages, not Spanish. The preceding weeks of restful, carefree travel hadn’t prepared […]
![As the battle rages, General Porfirio Díaz leads his cavalry against the French.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/mxcdiaz-puebla.jpg)
Mexico this month – May
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) May 1, 1552 A royal decree establishes four schools for natives in the province of Nueva Galicia (now Jalisco): in Guadalajara, Atoyac, Ahuacatlán and Juchipila. 1, 1917 Venustiano Carranza begins his term as President. During his three years in office (until 1920) fighting continues in much of […]
![Making tortillas by hand , Jocotepec. Credit: Gwen Burton.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Hand-made-Joco-tortillas-GB.jpg)
Mysteries of the Simple Tortilla
You’re at your favorite Mexican restaurant and decide to enjoy a great tortilla with salsa and cheese. You palm the warm disc and spoon chili along the middle bend. That looks great, especially after you sprinkle cheese over the filling. You fold your masterpiece and take a bite. Great, but a second later, your tortilla […]
![Cover, Foreign Footprints in Ajijic](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/FF-COVER-FRONT-800px.jpg)
Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: Decades of Change in a Mexican Village (review)
Tony Burton’s most recent book, Foreign Footprints in Ajijic, captures a period of time in Ajijic’s history from the 1940s to the 1980s that is both intriguing and eye-opening. It is hard to imagine the comings and goings that took place in this seemingly quiet fishing village nestled beside Lake Chapala, a stone’s throw from […]
![Author at Cenote Xlacah. © 2022 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DSC_0427-Cenote-X.jpg)
Visiting Dzibilchaltún: an ancient city in an ancient land
Once a vast city of 40,000 spread across 8 square miles or so of jungle and meadows, Dzibilchaltún was a long-lived Mayan city, a major player in the salt trade, and the ultimate survivor. Founded around 300 B.C., Dzibilchaltún lasted until the arrival of the Spanish in 1540. An architectural marvel even now, as it […]
![The boats from the mainland cross the Bahia de Mujeres to the downtown area where there are restaurants, shops, galleries, and golf cart rentals to navigate the island. © 2021 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Isla-Mujeres-boats.jpg)
Visiting the Moon Goddess: A Day on Isla Mujeres
In bustling Cancún, we connected to old world dining at La Parilla on Avenida Yaxchilán in the Centro or downtown district of the city. Here in the lovely tiled interior, mariachis serenaded us while we dined on camarones a la tequila and Huarache Azteca con popal y arrachera. We also shopped at the sprawling La […]
![In the Ex-Convento de San Pablo Apostol in Yuriria, Michoacan, graceful arches soar above the lower arcade and adjoin to columns that surround the inner courtyard. The beautiful old convent dates from the 16th century and is one of the largest in Mexico. This original photograph forms part of the Olden Mexico collection. © Darian Day and Michael Fitzpatrick, 2010](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/3-LowerWalkway_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – June
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) June 1, 1565. Andrés de Urdaneta sets sail from the Philippine Islands on what eventually becomes recognized as a landmark voyage in sailing history. His return to New Spain, by sailing across the Pacific Ocean from west to east, is the earliest documented successful voyage in this […]
![Cathedral in downtown Queretaro](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/cathedral.jpg)
Mexico this month – January
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1857 Conservative general Tomás Mejía assaults the British consulate in San Luis Potosí and steals $240,000. The British government subsequently demands that this sum be included in the external debt owed them by President Juárez. 1, 1873 The birth in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, of the […]
![Aztec calendar stone](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/azteccal.gif)
Mexico this month – December
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) December 1, 1810 José María Mercado, a priest supporting Father Hidalgo’s call for independence from Spain, attacks the Pacific coast port of San Blas, capturing it in a few hours. 2, 1546 Hernán Cortés, leader of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, dies in Spain. His body is […]
![Fishing boats sit idle on the beach, Isla Holbox, Mexico © Ryan Biller, 2021](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/A9476CD1-19CA-42CA-B5B4-FC0984F40EEC.jpg)
Whale shark ecotourism brings new hope to fishing communities in Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo
Each year, the Mexican state of Quintana Roo is swarmed by foreign tourists. Even in 2020, in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Cancún alone saw upwards of two million tourists. Being that the region was one of the few permitting entry to foreigners, I decided to make the journey from […]
![Located about 50 kilometers southwest of the state capital of Aguascalientes, the town of Calvillo hosts an annual guava fair. Stalls selling food and merchandise appear in the plaza. This one, filled with toys, entices a little girl and her baby sister. © Diodora Bucur, 2009](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/8-booth-sells-toys-in-calvillo-aguascalientes_large.jpg)
December guava fair in Calvillo, Aguascalientes
When I first saw guava fruit I mistook it for lemon. It happened on my first trip to Aguascalientes during the summer rainy season when a tree — its branches loaded with tiny round yellow fruit in the backyard of a house — caught my eye. I soon learned the popular exotic fruit known as […]
![The Zapata Route in Morelos Part 2: Museum at the ex-hacienda in Chinameca. © Julia Taylor 2007](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/c0407L_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – April
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) April 1, 1536. Pánfilo Narváez’s expedition had been shipwrecked off the Florida coast in 1518. After 18 years of traversing the continent, on foot, four survivors, including Alvaro Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado finally make contact with other Spaniards near the Pacific Ocean […]
![Students at UIEM, San Felipe del Progreso, Mexico State - Estudiantes en la UIEM, San Felipe del Progreso, el Estado de México. © 2021 James Musselman](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image002.jpg)
Higher Education for Indigenous Communities in Mexico
More than 8 million people in Mexico, about 6% of the total population, speak one or more of the country’s 68 original (indigenous) languages. [1] Najo’obiñ’eje, Welcome, bienvenidos, in Mazahua. Pjiekak’joo, “We speak”, the name of the critically endangered Tlahuica language. Despite an official proclamation following the Mexican Revolution of the elimination of racial prejudice […]
![Viñedos Aztecas © 2021 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Los-Aztecas-bar.jpg)
Sampling fine wines on the Querétaro Wine Trail
In a land of smokey mezcals, rompopes, single-distilled raicillas, cervezas, tequilas, and Kahlua—that thick, sweet coffee liqueur made in Veracruz whose name in Nahuatl means the house of the Acolhua people—wine would seem to scarcely merit a mention. But in the 30 miles stretching between San Juan del Río and Bernal, known as the Querétaro […]
![Tamales de elote © Daniel Wheeler, 2008](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/tamales_medium.jpg)
Los Tamales: Five Hundred Years at the Heart of the Fiesta
Mexico is the land of fiestas, and never more than during the month of December, when the feasts are so many that they overlap by several days. Starting on December 3, the beginning of the nine-day tribute to the Virgin of Guadalupe, and continuing through until January 6, Three Kings Day, there is non-stop celebration. In addition […]
![A Spanish Galleon aground on the Baja California Peninsula, illustration by Gordon Miller. Reproduced by kind permission of the artist; all rights reserved.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/IMG_91581.jpg)
Solving the mystery of a lost Spanish galleon on Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula
When European ships were wrecked at sea, a Christian burial was usually afforded those whose bodies washed up on the shoreline. That was not the case here. Somewhere on a desolate stretch of a Baja California beach lie the bones and cargo of a once majestic Spanish galleon. It was around 1576 when she vanished […]
![Salsa de Pera © Karen Hursh Graber, 2013](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/salsa-de-pera-1.jpg)
Mexican pear salsa: Salsa de peras
The white pear flesh, green herbs and red onion give this salsa the colors of the Mexican flag and the Christmas season. Just as tasty as it is visually appealing, Mexican pear salsa goes well with pork and is a nice accompaniment to simple grilled pork chops or a holiday roast. Ingredients 1 ½ pounds […]
![A nativity scene represents the first Christmas in one of Guadalajara's four main plazas. © Daniel Wheeler 2009](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/xmas-decorations1_large.jpg)
Mexican Christmas menu ideas: Posadas, Noche Buena, Navidad
In Mexico, the Christmas season is a month-long fiesta, starting with the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12th, and continuing through the posadas, Noche Buena and Navidad, right up to the Three Kings Day on January 6th. During this celebratory month, preparing seasonal dishes is an important part of the festivities, with […]
![San José delPacífico (Creative Commons -CC BY-SA 2.0)](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/San-Jose-del-Pacifico-CC-BY-SA-2.0.jpg)
The Great Magic Mushroom Hunt in Oaxaca
Giovanni strode across the courtyard of the hostel with a glint of excitement flashing in eyes that until then had only gazed placidly. Onto the table at which I had been lazily drinking another coffee, he unfolded a large detailed map of Mexico. It was a much larger and more detailed map than the ones […]
![This diorama in Mexico City's Templo Mayor museum shows a Tenochtitlan market selling agricultural produce © Anthony Wright, 2013](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/tenochtitlan-agricultural_large.jpg)
A Tale of Three Cities: Mexico City, Teotihuacan and Tenochititlan
1. Mexico City On the way to Ecuador, I took a five-day diversion to Mexico City. As souvenirs, I picked up a stomach bug and a rather extreme case of sun-burn. Neither were timetabled, but both easily gained with the correct measure of self-neglect. I was respectively supported by a high altitude that increased the […]
![View of Mexico City's Templo Mayor from the onsite museum © Anthony Wright, 2013](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/templo-mayor_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – February
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1867 The Battle of San Jacinto is fought in Zacatecas between Republican forces, commanded by Mariano Escobedo, and the Imperialist forces of Miguel Miramón. The Republicans win, and take about 500 prisoners, including 139 French soldiers and general Miramón. 2, 1530 Hernán Cortés commissions Nuño Beltrán […]
![MexConnect homepage, November 19962015](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1-1996-9-Nov-MXC.jpg)
MexConnect celebrates 25 years on the web
MexConnect is 25 years old this year! David McLaughlin launched MexConnect (originally Mexico Connect) in 1996 after many months of behind-the-scenes preparation. MexConnect was initially published as a monthly magazine, with an entire new selection of articles on various topics added every month. The first homepage design (eg November 1996) had Living, Mexico Travel and […]
![Mexican chicken salad with chipotle vinaigrette known as salpicon de pollo © Karen Hursh Graber, 2014](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/salpicon-1.jpg)
May in Mexico: A month of holiday food
Look on any Mexican calendar for the month of May, and you will see a lineup of holidays, including federal and civic observations, as well as religious and non-religious festivities. Nearly all of these are celebrated with parties, parades, performances, festive meals, or a combination of these. A holiday in Mexico rarely passes without food and drink, […]
![Chicken-chipotle](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/may-chipotle-enl.jpg)
The month of May
May is an exciting month in Mexico. Carol Wheeler summarizes the many holidays that Mexicans enjoy this month in May in Mexico: Fiestas Galore. Cat Gonzales explores how important Faith is in Faith: The heart of Mexican fiestas. Dale Hoyt Palfrey explains the lively celebrations of Mother’s Day in Reflections on el Dia de Las […]
![Fountain, San Miguel de Allende. © Pat Hall 2021](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image007.jpg)
A Perfect Day in San Miguel de Allende
Pat Hall A Perfect Day in San Miguel Yesterday was rather hot for San Miguel de Allende — about 29°-30°C, but there was a nice breeze and, of course, no humidity. We have a different restaurant for our main meal each day of the week. On Saturdays we always go to one of our favorites […]
![The lintel above the door of this structure is flat. © Joseph Sorrentino, 2021](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/8.jpg)
Site of sacrifice rediscovered in Mexico City: On The Trail Of Xipe Tótec
I first met one of Xipe Tótec’s priests on March 30, 2018. I know the exact date because, happily, my Nikon records the date of every photo I shoot. Me, I’m not that good at keeping accurate records. Fortunately, I didn’t actually meet the priest because Xipe Tótec was the Mexica god of, among other […]
![Tourists sit atop the Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan to contemplate the majestic Pyramid of the Sun. This archeological zone is located outside Mexico City. © Rick Meyer, 2001](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/teo20i_large.jpg)
How does a Temporary Resident get a work permit for online work?
Thilini Wijesinhe The temporary residency visa does not include work rights unless applied for based on potential work plans in Mexico. However, some temporary residents without work rights decide to work, which requires them to apply for permission to work separately. Usually, the permission to work known as “Permiso Para Trabajar” is obtained based on […]
![New Worlds for the Deaf cover](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/New-Worlds-For-The-Deaf-Cover-800px-medium.jpg)
New Worlds for the Deaf: the story of the pioneering Lakeside School for the Deaf in rural Mexico by Gwen Chan Burton
New Worlds for the Deaf: the story of the pioneering Lakeside School for the Deaf in rural Mexico by Gwen Chan Burton (Sombrero Books, 2020) In 1982, Gwen Chan Burton, who had previously taught in government secondary schools in Australia and Canada for 12 years, was faced with a big career decision. Burton (whose name […]
![VivaLatina pendant](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/pendentif-egyptien.jpg)
How falling in love with a Mexican girl led to a jewelry business in Puerto Vallarta
Setting up a business in Mexico is not that hard. Making it work and become profitable is another story, but that depends on you! Back in 2012, when I arrived in Puerto Vallarta with my Mexican wife, Reyna, I had no idea how difficult it might be to set up my own business in Mexico. […]
![CORAL. Photo submitted.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IMG-20200311-WA0062.jpg)
CORAL: innovative project in Oaxaca helps young Mexicans cope with hearing loss
Roosters crowing, church bells clanging, dogs barking, street vendors broadcasting their products, brass bands serenading wedding parties in the streets… the soundtrack to life in Mexico is not the reality for every Mexican. In Mexico the most prevalent disability is deafness. Three out of every 1000 babies are born with some degree of hearing loss. […]
![The Fort of San Juan Ulua was first built as a castle in the 1550s. It is a landmark in the Mexican city of Veracruz. © Roberta Sotonoff, 2009](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/3-Castillo_de_San_Juan_de_Ã_lua_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – March
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1521 Cuauhtemoc, the last Aztec emperor, is crowned, without fanfare. Tradition dictates that he has to marry and he does so, with his cousin Teucipoh. 1, 1845 The U.S. Congress approves the annexation of Texas and chooses the Rio Bravo as its southern limit. 2, 1897 […]
![La Anunciación a María, clay and polychrome figurine, artist unknown, Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, 1982 © Anthony Wright, 2012](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2-1017_large.jpg)
Christmas in Mexico: Navidad en Mexico, a Mexican holiday resource page
Few North Americans recognize that the roots of these treasured “Christmas” traditions were active long before the birth of Christ. In fact, most evolved from pagan winter solstice rituals of the Celts, Druids, Scandinavians and indigenous groups, and the much older Jewish Festival of Lights. While the most beloved Mexican Christmas traditions are firmly based […]
![Dog Walker in Condesa, Mexico City](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/dog-walker-condesa-mexico-city-CC.jpg)
Linguistic and cultural language puzzles in Mexico
Pat Hall On one of our first trips to Mexico, my husband asked a perplexing question: “Why are Mexicans using the Welsh word, oi?” My husband is from Wales and, at that point, spoke no Spanish. The British use the word oi as an interjection to call attention, or as a challenge, depending on its […]
![Robert Richter - cover of Sayulita](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Richter-Sayulita.jpg)
Sayulita – a memoir by Robert Richter (Aakenbaaken & Kent, 2020)
Sayulita by Robert Richter Pull up a comfortable chair and allow yourself to be transported back to another Mexico, to a small seaside village before the arrival of condominiums, time share vendors, polluters and exploiters, and the all-inclusive resorts with herds of tourists spilling into downtown areas where they shop for trinkets and souvenirs of […]
![Minseok Chi. 2016. Buddha. © Leigh Thelmadatter 2020](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2-Minseok-Chi-2016-Buddha.jpg)
Foreign artists influence Mexican culture and vice versa
You are reading part 2 of Foreign artists in Mexico from the Revolution to the present. Part 1 – Mexico attracts artists from all over the globe Mexico’s art history and foreign artists Mexico’s art history of the past 100 years has basically been a shift to internationalism, with some hiccups during times of national […]
![Burton-If Walls Could Talk](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IWCT-cover-1200-px.jpg)
If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants
Tony Burton’s thoroughly researched and utterly fascinating book If Walls Could Talk, published by Sombrero Books, takes us through the surprising and richly textured history of Chapala’s past from the mid-eighteen hundreds onwards. I had no idea that this laid back, seemingly staid resort town on the shores of Jalisco’s Lake Chapala could have had […]
![Lao Gabrielli. Expansión Cromática. © Leigh Thelmadatter 2020](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1-Lao-Gabrielli-EXPANSION-CROMATICA.jpg)
Mexico attracts artists from all over the globe
You are reading part 1 of Foreign artists in Mexico from the Revolution to the present. Part 2 (coming shortly) – Foreign artists influence Mexican culture and vice versa In 1863, French writer and critic Charles Baudelaire did not consider an artist to be “worldly” but rather like a “serf to the soil,” dedicated to […]
![Piñata. © Maria Elena, 1999](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/6118-pina1-p-font-size-1-pinata-images-copyright-1999-a-href-h-home.jpg)
A Mexican Christmas dinner: tamales, turkey, tejocotes
Mexican Kitchen The usually bustling Mexican markets become even more so in December, when the mountains of fruit for ponche navideño (Christmas punch) compete with a wild array of tinsel-y decorations for shoppers’ attention, and the excitement leading to the posadas and pastorelas builds up. The culmination of all this preparation is, of course, Noche […]
![Piña colada time at Isla de Ixtapa © 2020 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2-Isla-de-Ixtapa-pina-colada.jpg)
Pangas and piña coladas: a laid-back lunch on Isla de Ixtapa, Guerrero
Greg knows the old way—or so he says—but all I can see is an empty stretch of sand and water where the southern tip of Playa Quieta ends at a rocky outcropping of rocks jutting out into the Bahia de Palmar. When I lived here, he explains, this is where we caught the pangas going […]
![According to Soledad (cover)](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/KGI-COVER-800px-Medium.jpg)
According to Soledad: memories of a Mexican childhood
Katie Goodridge Ingram’s memoir According to Soledad is a rich and sometimes dark journey into her childhood years growing up in Mexico City and Ajijic, a small fishing village in the state of Jalisco. Her earliest years are spent in an affluent sector of Mexico City with her American parents who are constantly struggling to […]
![Rear vista of the Cerro de la Cilla, Monterrey’s emblematic, saddle-shaped mountain peaks in Cumbres de Monterrey National Park. © Joseph A. Serbaroli, Jr. 2020](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/P1011278.jpg)
An Evening in Nuevo Leon’s Amazing Cumbres de Monterrey National Park
At the end of a demanding day of sales visits in Nuevo León, (see Part I – Research and innovation in the plastics industry in Nuevo León), my colleague Daniel Rodríquez weaves through Monterrey’s rush hour traffic with the skill of a local taxi driver. The day’s bright sunlight is starting to fade and, as […]
![La caída / The fall. Crédito: Luis A. Dumois N.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image010.jpg)
Good Friday in Tuxpan, Jalisco
“The town of everlasting festivity.” That, we were told, is what is says on the Municipal coat of arms of Tuxpan, a town in the south of Jalisco almost on the boundary with the neighboring state of Colima, and relatively close to the Mexican Pacific coast. Haga clic aquí si prefiere leer este artículo en […]
![Skeleton. © David McLaughlin, 1997](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/dmskelfrog_medium.jpg)
Our Day of the Dead Tribute to David McLaughlin, this site’s founder
David McLaughlin, the visionary founder of MexConnect, passed away in September 2019 and is greatly missed by all who knew him or worked with him. As Day of the Dead draws near, we pay tribute to his extraordinary drive and dedication which ensured that MexConnect, founded in 1996, became the world’s leading English-language website devoted […]
![This impressive ultra-modern building houses Camara de la Industria de Transformación de Nuevo León or CAINTRA, as well as the offices of an industrial organization called the Instituto Mexicano de Innovación y Technología en Plásticos y Hule A.C. © Joseph A. Serbaroli, Jr. 2020](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/P1011255s.jpg)
Research and innovation in the plastics industry in Nuevo Leon
Friends call me Joe. I’ve spent most of the past two decades working in the plastics business, or as it’s called in Mexico, “plásticos.” I work for a New York-based supplier of materials for industry, and am tasked with generating sales at companies that can use our products to make pipe or electrical cables. There’s […]
![Atrium of San Antonio de Padua Convent © 2020 Jane Simon Ammeson](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IZAMAL-atrium.jpg)
A fun afternoon in Izamal, Yucatan: a Pueblo Magico in Shades of Yellow
I’m traveling along narrow cobblestone streets flanked on both sides by rows of adobe buildings washed with bright yellow and accented with white trim and large ceramic pots brimming with colorful blooms. My mode of transportation is a white “coche Victoria” (or calesa) pulled by a mule named Dolly, garlanded with flowers and a hat […]
![My journey with La Calaca: a Day of the Dead experience](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/bbmuertos18_large.jpg)
Mexico’s Day of the Dead – resource page
November 1, All Saints Day, and November 2, All Souls Day, are marked throughout Mexico by intriguing customs that vary widely according to the ethnic roots of each region. Common to all, however, are colorful adornments and lively reunions at family burial plots, the preparation of special foods, offerings laid out for the departed on […]
![Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City © Lilia Wall, 2013](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/chapultepec-castle_large.jpg)
Mexico this month – November
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) 1, 1542 The Fourth Expedition to Asia departs from the Pacific coast port of Navidad (now known as Barra de Navidad) under the command of Ruy López de Villalobos. This expedition reaches the Philippines. 2, 1810 In the opening chapter of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain, […]
![Exvotos at the Annex. Credit: Luis A. Dumois N.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/image015-s.jpg)
Toribio Romo: the patron saint of migrants
José de Jesús is a dark-skinned young man who wears cowboy boots and a Texan hat. He arrives to Santa Ana de Guadalupe in a pickup truck flashing US license plates. He drove all the way down from Colorado to greet the saint: Haga clic aquí si prefiere leer este artículo en español “A friend […]
![Frida Kahlo. 1952. “Naturaleza Viva.” This earlier work was the basis for “Congreso de los pueblos por la paz.”](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/frida-kahlo-1-naturaleza-viva-southebys.jpg)
Frida Kahlo’s Homage to Afromexico
On 29 June 2020, Sotheby’s held an auction that included one of the last paintings Frida Kahlo ever painted. The small work, which she completed while confined to her bed, was her contribution to the Peoples for Peace Congress held in Vienna in 1952. Sotheby’s estimated that “Congreso de los pueblos por la paz” would […]
![Tlatelolco, 1968](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/cover.jpg)
Mexico this month – October
Index to Mexico this month (all 12 months) October 1, 1542 The decision is made to refound the city of Guadalajara in its present location, in the valley of Atemajac. Three previous attempts to found the city had not prospered, but the site chosen this time proved more propitious. 2, 1535 The first Viceroy of […]
![Author (far right),with head of the English program, Edith, and two English professors at UIEM (Day of the Dead) - El autor, extrema derecha,con la directora del programa de inglés y otros profesores de inglés © 2021 James Musselman](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/image011.jpg)
La educación superior para comunidades indígenas mexicanas
Más de 8 millones de personas en México, aproximadamente el 6% de la población total, hablan una de las 68 lenguas indígenas originales del país. [1] Najo’obiñ‘eje, Bienvenidos, in Mazahua. Pjiekak’joo, “Hablamos”, el nombre de la lengua Tlahuica que está en peligro crítico de extinción A pesar de, una proclamación oficial posterior a la Revolución […]
![Mermaid by Teodora Blanco Nuñez. Photo: Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Mermaid_by_Teodora_Blanco_Nunez-credit-Friends-of-Oaxacan-s.jpg)
Women potters lead the way in Oaxaca
A great deal of Oaxaca’s charm is the appearance of a timeless culture, even in the face of sprawling modernization. Its strong handcraft tradition reinforces this notion, and at first glance, it looks like all is done just like it was a hundred years ago. But there has been important innovation, with a number of […]
![Pomegranate. Credit: Tony Burton.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_8915-6.jpg)
Pomegranate Vinaigrette: Vinaigreta de Granada
This dressing is good on any green salad when a fairly sweet dressing is desired. It is excellent on a salad of sliced oranges and red onions, garnished with pomegranate seeds. Ingredients: Juice of 2 pomegranates 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar 1 teaspoon sugar 1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to […]
![Mexico City. © 2020 Edythe Anstey Hanen](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_2753-s.jpg)
Mayhem and Magic in Mexico City
Mexico is a country of extraordinary contradictions, a country in a state of always becoming; the heartbeat of a thousand beginnings: half built casas, crumbling stone fences, walls, piles of rocks coming from nowhere, leading nowhere, trailing off into nothing. A place where the sacred and the profane co-exist in this timeless. immutable landscape. It […]
![Mexican llamarada blossoms © Christina Stobbs, 2011](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/llamarada_large.jpg)
Living year-round in tropical Mexico: The dream and the reality
Dreaming of living in tropical paradise year-round? Somewhere with an idyllic sandy beach adorned with dancing palms and crystal clear warm ocean waters? Can you envision waking each morning to the sweet melodies of birdsong and beginning each day with a long, leisurely beach walk? Can you appreciate enjoying a breathtaking view while drinking a […]
![La caída / The fall. Crédito: Luis A. Dumois N.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/image010.jpg)
Viernes Santo en Tuxpan, Jalisco
“El pueblo de la fiesta eterna.” Eso nos habían dicho que dice el escudo municipal de Tuxpan, población del sur de Jalisco casi en los límites con el vecino estado de Colima, ya relativamente cerca de las costas que baña el Pacífico mexicano. Click here if you prefer to read this article in English Llegamos […]
![Shallow waves lap at snall boats with outboard motors on the beach at Los Ayala on the Pacific coast of Mexico. © Christina Stobbs, 2009](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/g_losayala_large.jpg)
Los Ayala: undiscovered gem on the Nayarit coast
Los Ayala is situated at the foot of the Sierra de Vallejo Mountains. An undiscovered gem, Los Ayala is an authentic Mexican beach town and a fishing village. It is just now beginning to be discovered as a tropical beach destination by foreign tourists. The setting for the town is reminiscent of the Garden of […]
![Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Dh13_large.jpg)
Dolores Hidalgo: Mexico’s Cradle of Independence – September 15, 1810
As you walk toward the main square from the bus terminal in Dolores Hidalgo, it’s hard to imagine the impassioned frenzy that heated this Mexican village on September 15, 1810. Here, on the balcony of his home, the town’s beloved priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, yelled “El Grito de Dolores,” the Cry of Independence. It was a cry that […]
![Mezcala Island © Belva Velazquez, 2008](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/gallery1.jpg)
Lake Chapala – a local history
…Ah! Chapala you have the magic of a story book stories of sunsets and earthenware, of romantic moonlit nights Peaceful Chapala, your lake – a romantic bride like none other.. Chapala, embedded in the central part of Jalisco, is “a place of flower vases of fragrant clay and small earthenware pots”, known also as “The […]
![](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Shooting-Script-Door-of-Fire.jpg)
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in poetry — Shooting Script: Door of Fire
Eastern Washington University Press, 2003 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback Decades after their deaths, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera continue to fascinate us, compelling us to still pay attention to them, through works like Frida: A Biography, by Hayden Herrera (1983); or, derived from Herrera’s book, Frida (2002) — starring look-a-like Salma Hayek — a movie that should have won a few Academy Awards; […]
![Dresses. © Marisa Burton 2018.](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/dresses-quinceanera-credit-mb.jpg)
La Quinceañera: a celebration of budding womanhood
The transition from childhood to womanhood is a significant passage for adolescent girls in almost all cultures. In Mexico, it is marked with the celebration of the Quinceañera, or 15th Birthday. From a north-of-the-border viewpoint, it may be seen as a cross between Sweet Sixteen and a debutante’s coming out party. The celebration is a […]
![Juan Compo. Tree Goddess](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/tree-goddess.jpg)
Juan Compo and his Ancient American Goddess Art
Ancient American Goddess images by Juan Compo, in paintings, murals, wall hangings, posters and fabrics, are now in private collections in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Juan Compo is the name chosen by a fifth generation Canadian artist who built his Mexican studio in Ajijic on Lake Chapala in 1991. Viewers of a like-mind are […]
![Mexico, A Love Story: Women Write About the Mexican Experience](https://www.mexconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/cusamanu-mexico-love-story.jpg)
Mexico, A Love Story: women write about the Mexican experience
Mexico, A Love Story: Women Write About the Mexican Experience Camille Cusumano, Editor, Seal Press: 2006 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback Mexico is a country infused with goddess energy. When you’re in her arms, you want to stay there, cradled in her warm, moist smells, re-charged by her underbelly of pulsating earth energy, and sustained by […]