Watchdog on the roof in Teotitlan del Valle © Ron Mader, 2010

Ask an old gringo: crime, sports, Starbucks and the Mexican roof dog

Please do not ask questions that require only yes or no answers. It takes more and better words for me to tell you how much I know about Mexico. Question Is Mexico competitive in international sports? Answer Yes and no. Mexico is almost a world power in soccer. Lorena Ochoa isn’t too bad at golf. Little boxers […]

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Jose Alonso Reynoso Meza with children from th San Quintin school in Nayarit © Edd Bissell, 2011

Mexico mid-term gradecard: Primary school in San Quintin Nayarit

Here is a gift for you, good news, a mid-term report from my favorite little Mexican school. Several years ago I told you about Edd Bissell, pharmacist from New Market, Tennessee, who retired to the high-rent district, Punta Pelicanos, in the town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, on the beautiful Bay of Banderas, in the […]

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Peace March in Guadalajara © Alfredo Cortez Romano, 2011

Ask an old gringo about Mexico border smiles, Barbie dolls and captured catapults

Question: There is so much bad news along the border. Does anybody ever smile? Answer: Of course — and sometimes we laugh out loud. With all hell breaking loose around them, Border Patrol agents in the Juarez region caught a crowd of bad Barbie dolls trying to sneak into the United States. These were not genuine Barbies […]

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Reynaldo Vasquez Hernandez and his wife © Marvin West, 2011

Reynaldo in Mexico has handwoven Oaxaca rugs and more rugs

Reynaldo the Rugman has a problem. He and his relatives have made more rugs (beautiful colors, skillful weaving) than he can sell. Reynaldo Vasquez Hernandez is a fifth or sixth-generation artisan in spring, summer and autumn and a traveling salesman — representing the entire clan — in winter. Home base and workshops are outside Teotitlan […]

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Puerto Escondido © Geri Anderson

Ask the old gringo about Mexico welcome mat, value system, jail time and hot billboard

Question: Are gringos really welcome in Mexico? Answer: Some guests are an aggravation, others are a pain, but it appears their folding money is well received. Officials of the beach community of Puerto Escondido, in the state of Oaxaca, threw a December party to celebrate foreigners. A few hundred attended. Free food and drink remains an exciting lure. […]

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San Blas, the fishermen's home town © Christina Stobbs, 2009

Mexico lost-and-found fishermen still waiting for massive payday

Three Mexican fishermen, lost at sea for nine months and nine days, were world news for a few minutes in 2006. Their survival was a miracle of faith and fierce determination, or the biggest fish tale ever told. As you may recall, shark hunters Salvador Ordonez, 37, Jesus Vidaña and Lucio Rendon, both 27, ran […]

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