Burton-If Walls Could Talk

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 […]

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Piña colada time at Isla de Ixtapa © 2020 Jane Simon Ammeson

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 […]

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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

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 […]

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Atrium of San Antonio de Padua Convent © 2020 Jane Simon Ammeson

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 […]

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Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato

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 […]

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