The Aztecs called it tianquiztli, Nahuatl for the marketplace”. Modern Mexicans refer to it as the tianguis, mercado sobre ruedas (“market on wheels” – a term used mostly in Mexico City), baratillo, and many other local connotations. Homeowners use another kind of language to describe the vendors who have set up shop in the street, blocking public access by […]
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Squatting on the rocky cliff high above the bay, two young boys watched the man below who, knee deep in water, held his net ready. Suddenly, the boys yelled and pointed to a school of fish swimming behind the fisherman. As the man cast his small net, the boys clamored down the hill and flipped […]
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Mexico City in the 1920s stood on the threshold of a new era. Although the country had won its independence from Spain in 1821, it became obvious by the early 1900s that the economic gap between rich and poor—and the social gap between the Spanish-descendant and Amerindian-descendant—had only increased following the departure of the Spanish. […]
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In Guadalajara with a short time to spare after a business meeting or a long wait between flight? Even an hour or two will suffice to see something of the artistic heritage that Mexico’s second city, Guadalajara, houses on behalf of the nation. It is especially fitting that the city houses so much fine mural […]
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Spiny, tough and menacing, the cacti seem peculiar choices as culinary delights. Cacti are well known novelties among potted plant collectors and gardeners, and some cacti, such as nopales (the stems of prickly pears) and tunas (cactus fruits) have recently gained popularity as a healthy foods outside of Mexico. However, the cactus is nothing new in the Mexican diet, […]
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Cabo Corrientes is one of those vaguely heard of places where nobody ever goes because… well, where is it? And how and why would you go there? Literally, Cabo Corrientes means “cape currents.” It’s the point about 30 miles west of Puerto Vallarta where Banderas Bay finally gives up its apparent attempt to swallow the Pacific. Look […]
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From the book “CASA MEXICANA” ©1989 Tim Street-Porter, published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York. Reproduced by special permission of the publisher and author. The haciendas were the landed estates of Mexico, some with territories as big as Belgium. For visitors to Mexico, they conjure up surreal images of ruined palaces; still possessing a faded […]
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The Costa Chica (“Short Coast” in Spanish) is one of two regions in Mexico with significant Black communities, the other being the state of Veracruz on the Gulf coast. The Costa Chica is a 200-mile-long coastal region beginning just southeast of Acapulco, Guerrero, and ending near the town of Puerto Angel, Oaxaca. The shaded area […]
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La Virgen de Guadalupe – Mother of all Mexico Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe The Virgin Guadalupe “La Reina de México”, “La Virgen Indígena” Fiesta de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta Paying tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Oaxaca The Virgen of Guadalupe – Celebration in Oaxaca The Virgin of Guadalupe: Tonantzin or Mary? Our Lady of […]
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Founded in the year 1313, Xico’s original name was Xico-Chimalco in the Náhuatl (Aztec) language meaning “where there are bee hives of yellow wax.” Located only 20 minutes from Xalapa, Veracruz, it’s a village bound to charms one’s total senses. To get there, you travel southwest through the town of Coatepec, past the ex-hacienda of Zimpizahua, curving […]
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