By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken
One of the joys of visiting the city of Oaxaca is the variety of museums that cater to many interests; history, archeology, anthropology, textiles and stamps are just a few of the many choices. MACO, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca, is one of the most entertaining yet often overlooked museums in the historic center. Continue reading The Museum of Contemporary Art in Oaxaca
By Kary Vannice
Museums often contain objects that evoke our fascination, admiration, and sometimes even, our trepidation.
Museums also often put these objects behind Plexiglas in order to protect them from being damaged or harmed by visitors. In the case of these next two “museums”, the objects on display are indeed behind Plexiglas, but here, it’s the visitors who are being protected! Continue reading Rattlesnakes and Scorpions
By Carole Reedy
This past April I was fortunate to spend a month in three Latin American countries I’d been eager to visit for years: Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The historical and political aspects of each country dominated our sightseeing agenda, but perhaps more compelling were the daily customs and habits in each country and our perceptions of the people. Were you to visit, you’d perhaps have a different vision. My observations were polar opposites of my expectations. Continue reading It’s All Latin America, But…Viva La Diferencia!
By Leigh Morrow
Perhaps the most unusual museum in Mexico is The Museo de las Momias in Guanajuato, the capital in the state of the same name. This former silver mining town with stunning examples of baroque and neoclassical architecture is a world heritage site. However, the museum here has nothing to do with the beauty found above ground. The fascinating origin of Las Momias, dates back to the mid 1800s, 1833 to be precise. A cholera epidemic was sweeping through the area, and the town, in an effort to slow the spread of the deadly disease, quickly buried those who had succumbed to the illness. The rapid burials may have led to at least one person accidentally being buried alive. Ignacia Aquilar may have suffered this fate. She had a rare disease that on occasion made her heart beat so faint, it was perceived to have stopped. Thinking she had died, poor Ignacia was buried. But was she still alive? Continue reading Eternal Life in Guanajuato
By Brooke Gazer
Huatulco has the distinction of being home to the only archeological site open to the public on the entire Pacific coast of Mexico. Although it is impossible to determine who originally developed this 3000-year-old-complex, we know that over the centuries it became home to many different people, including Mixtecs and Zapotecs. For some reason not clearly understood, each group who resided here eventually died out or deserted it, leaving nature to reclaim it. Continue reading More Than Antiquity
By Dardan Surring
The idea to board the El Chepe Train and explore Mexico’s magnificent Copper Canyon was sown into our brains approximately two years ago, by a friend of ours who had heard, then read about the Copper Canyon Train in northern Mexico. The idea appealed to all of us (3 couples), and having travelled together before, it seemed like a great adventure to embark upon. Continue reading Copper Canyon Train Trip
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”
Steve Jobs
Prince just died. People are shocked and saddened, they are covering their social media personas with purple and sharing their favorite ‘Little Red Corvette’ and ‘Purple Rain’ moments. It’s nice. I am sure if Prince was alive he would be very moved by the outpouring of love and sadness from his fans. What doesn’t sit very well with me is the outpouring of disbelief, the ‘can you believe it’ sentiment that seems to pervade their collective emotion. Continue reading Editor’s Letter
By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken
Mexico is known throughout the world for fiestas. And fiestas are times for eating wonderful food, lots and lots of high-calorie food washed down by beer or supersized glasses of colas and other refrescos. Even without a fiesta, typical comida corridas (lunch on the run) consist of three courses including dessert and a large pitcher of delicious flavored sugary water. So it should be of little surprise that the number one cause of death in Mexico is diabetes. Among 172 nations included in the World Life Expectancy data, Mexico ranks ninth in deaths from diabetes; in comparison the U.S. ranks 122nd and Canada 140th. Continue reading The Ten Top Causes of Death in Mexico
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