Jacobo Angeles talks about his work, which is present in the Smithsonian Institute and Chicago's National Museum of Mexican Art. © Alvin Starkman 2008

Jacobo Angeles: A rich wood-carving tradition in Oaxaca, dating to pre-Hispanic times

Jacobo Ángeles’ work is prominently displayed in The Smithsonian, Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art, and elsewhere throughout the continent and further abroad, in museums, art colleges and galleries One would be hard-pressed to search the Americas and find creators of folk art with more form, symbolism and importance to the development and sustenance of […]

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This oil and acrylic on canvas by Manuel Reyes depicts clay effigies eating watermelon. The color scheme is that of the Mexican flag. © Alvin Starkman 2008

Manuel Reyes: sculptor, painter and renaissance man from Oaxaca’s Mixteca Alta

“Look at that female warrior over there… notice the belt I made for her, with penises hanging from it, her trophies.” Artist Manuel Reyes aspires to exhibit his work in art galleries in Oaxaca and Mexico City. Give him that exposure over the next couple of years, and there’s little doubt his genius will be […]

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The alebrije is a uniquely Oaxacan variety of Mexican folk art. This one depicts a rabbit. © Alan Goodin 2007

Ask an old gringo about tax cuts, wind farms, Alebrijes and egg sandwiches

Mexico is a very interesting country. Many things are happening. Nowhere else in the world are people protesting because taxes are going down. The old gringo gets an assortment of questions and requests. This is No. 1 for now. Challenge: Please explain the complaints about the REDUCTION in the tax on soft drinks. Response: Mexicans […]

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A lone foreign tourist (back left) carefully carries out an inspection of the wares.

To market, to market: treasure hunting in Mexico City’s flea markets

Some time ago I was exploring the Mercado de Antiguëdades de Cuauhtemoc in downtown Mexico City with my brother-in-law and an entrepreneurial young Mexican named Carlos Villasena, press officer for the Philippine Embassy in Mexico – who was at that time just breaking into the antiques game, teaching himself to spot a bargain in the […]

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Despite the outbreak of swine flu, life goes on for this organ grinder in Mexico City. © Anthony Wright, 2009

Swine flu at Ground Zero (Mexico City): life in a masked city

People are still going about their business as usual, only we’re all wearing surgical facemasks. I can’t decide if this whole fear campaign is a massive media beat-up or if it has some credence. Greetings from Mexico City… On the subject of the city – and schools, and cinemas, and restaurants, and bars, and churches, […]

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Orozco's goal is to raise 6000 tarantulas per year. By flooding the black market with legal tarantulas, he hopes to wipe out the illegal trade. © John Pint, 2011

Saving Mexico’s tarantulas: Rodrigo Orozco’s ingenious plan

Rodrigo Orozco shares his Guadalajara, Mexico, home with thousands of tarantulas and tens of thousands of crickets. He’s a man with a mission. “I want to end the illegal trade in Mexican tarantulas,” he says. “My goal is to produce 6000 tarantulas per year and eventually flood the black market so that tarantula poaching will […]

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