December 2017

“Consumerism is at once the engine of America and simultaneously one of the most revealing indicators of our collective shallowness.”

Henry Rollins

Christmas decorations appeared in early October this year at our local supermarket; stuffed Santas, string lights, shiny balls to hang from faux trees available in a variety of colors. December holidays have become one of the biggest spending times of the year. In 2016, over 154 million Americans shopped over Thanksgiving weekend. That is a lot! Continue reading Editor’s Letter →

By Jed Pitman

Simply put, Huatulco is the town that changed my life. January 2016 and, back in my home country of England, frankly I didn’t know whether I was coming or going, my brain needed rewiring. It was on the fritz.

I had heard many a tale of people from Canada and from Europe who had made the move to this part of paradise on the Pacific, some permanently, some as snowbirds. I had travelled here with my wife, Kate, on and off over the years merely as tourists. Now, as the rain came down in Bristol and another Somali moved in next door, I needed a fresh outlook to my fast-diminishing existence. Continue reading The Town That Saved Me →

By Julie Etra

Topes (speed bumps) are an integral part of the Mexican transportation landscape and associated culture. With the exception of very few stretches of road, and toll roads, they are ubiquitous and a great low-tech way to get drivers to slow down without costly traffic lights. But there are just some stretches of road that are just painfully slow. Hence this article was inspired by our trip from Huatulco to Palenque in Chiapas and the particularly miserable stretch from Ocosingo north (and south). There is no specification or detail for a tope on the MexTrans web site, and it appears individual communities, especially on dirt roads, install them where they determine they are needed. Dimensions also vary. At times during our trip we had a tough time discerning the rationale for placement and spacing, as well as what defined a “community.” Continue reading Topes by Any Other Name Are Till Topes: A Photo Diary →

By Laura M. Ouellette, MD, and Louis W. Weinstein

My husband, Louis Weinstein, and I are physicians in the United States, and have been traveling to Huatulco intermittently for over a decade. We were drawn by the natural beauty, and warmth of the local inhabitants. During one of our visits, a tour guide advised us that he had concerns about the local medical care. Louis and I are gearing down in our practices, and had the time and interest to investigate. Continue reading Observations Regarding Rural Health Care in the Municipality of Hualtulco →

By Lic. Maria del Carmen Galván Rivera

The Lupita Project is a charitable organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of those among us who have limited resources and suffer disabling infirmities. The Lupita Project addresses their quality of life and assists where possible with the gift of independence and mobility.

The Lupita Project has its origin over 16 years ago, when its founder, Andrew Glassman, realized that medical equipment considered un-rentable in the U.S. by virtue of age or cosmetic imperfection, could have a long and productive second life in Huatulco and the coast of Oaxaca. In collaboration with the DIF, Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, the Mexican agency that assists families, he began a program of importating used wheel chairs (manual and electric), as well as walkers, canes and crutches donated by Medical Supply Houses in the U.S. and Canada. These were distributed by the DIF to children and adults selected by them on the basis of need. Continue reading The Lupita Project →

By Sandra P. Cruz Rionegro

Stand near a rose bush and you will receive the benefits of its natural healing energy and scent. Did you know that scientific research has shown that essential oils vibrate at the highest frequency levels known and can produce environments where no disease, bacteria or viruses can survive? Damask rose oil for example, emits the highest energy vibration of them all. Studies have proven that a drop of a high quality essential oil placed on a human foot can deliver its healing information into each and every cell in your body within 21 minutes. Continue reading The Healing Qualities of Essential Oils →

BY Carole Reedy

A list dominated by long-beloved writers and some new faces too.

4321, by Paul Auster. No surprise to my friends as Auster has been a favorite novelist for more than 40 years. This book is his tour de force. He could stop writing now, though I hope he doesn’t. The novel, running 800+ pages, examines a boy’s life from four different viewpoints, each relying on life’s great wild card: chance. Continue reading 2017: My 10 Favorite Reads →