As a home-based working mother I recently found myself faced with an annual quandary: how to keep my two restless pre-teens entertained over their summer holiday and simultaneously squeeze some quality time into an already busy agenda. Inspiration came from a handsome coffee table book entitled Espacios del Lago de Chapala * (see note below) featuring dozens of […]
Continue ReadingThe graceful 18th century Parroquia de San Andrés, is not only Ajijic’s chief landmark, but also the hub around which village life revolves. It is the focal point for those important milestones that bind the close-knit Mexican family: baptisms, first communions, confirmations, weddings and funerals. Poised in its multi-tiered campanario are the four bells that mark the […]
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Horse lovers (and anyone else looking for a dose of authentic Mexico) will find September is the perfect month to take in the best of the country’s national equestrian sport — la charrería. It’s especially true for those who find themselves in the general vicinity of Guadalajara. As September gets under way, the city’s 12th annual […]
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Mexico’s most intriguing holiday, is linked to a rich variety of popular customs that offer resident expatriates an excellent opportunity to soak in the culture of their adopted home. Here are some suggestions and tips for embracing and enjoying this distinctive celebration. Take a tour of ofrenda displays: Public exhibitions of Day of the Dead altars have […]
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Cogan’s Reviews The two cultures – Mexican and U.S. – come together in a thoughtful way in this interesting novel, which is set in both countries. The story concerns a group of Mexican illegal immigrants who travel north in May each year to work in the cherry orchards in northern Michigan. They are from the […]
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In this day and age, dedicated parents willingly support any type of sporting activity that draws the interest of our off-spring. The average mother of today assumes a host of collateral tasks that go with the territory–handling transportation logistics, cheering from the stands, cajoling during training slumps, rejoicing in victories, consoling in moments of defeat. […]
Continue ReadingJuan Mata Ortíz is a small village of potters, farmers and cowboys in Northern Chihuahua. About 30 years ago, an unschooled artistic genius, Juan Quezada, taught himself how to make ollas, earthenware jars, by a method used hundreds of years ago by the prehistoric inhabitants. Now, his works are known worldwide and over 300 men, women and […]
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Cogan’s Reviews Although it’s about Mexico, this one starts off in Ecuador in the 1960s where the author was doing doctoral fieldwork for a dissertation on haciendas in that country. His work took him to a remote research station on the side of a mountain seventy miles from electricity, running water, telephones, etc. One day […]
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The majority of people who visit the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico will visit Cancún, Cozumel or Mérida. All these places have an established tourist infrastructure, are modern and contain every convenience necessary for tourism. However, in close proximity to these well known tourist destinations, exist the villages of Yucatán. In the villages there is almost […]
Continue ReadingPlaza Garibaldi, 2 a.m., and the mean streets are bopping. Beers flowing. Flowing friends. Tequilas, too. Maybe a few too many. What the hell. You’ll get a taxi … You are a writer and this is a first-person narrative. Maybe you’ll be able to sell the piece. Because you were shot after you boarded that […]
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