Category Archives: 2020

Frida & Diego:  Mexico’s Most Open Marriage?

20204By Deborah Van Hoewyk

On December 8, 1886, he was born.  

On July 6, 1907, when he was 20, she was born.

In 1914, as World War I began, when he was 27, painting and studying in France, and she was 7, she contracted polio. 

In 1922 in Mexico City, when he was 37 and painting his mural La Creación in the Simon Bolivar auditorium at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, and she was 15 and a student studying medicine there, she saw him.  

On September 17, 1925, in Mexico City, when he was 38 and she was 18, she was badly injured in a bus accident.  During her convalescence, she began to paint.

In 1928, when he was 42 and she was 21, their paths crossed at a party thrown by the Italian photographer Tina Modotti.  

On August 21, 1929, when he was 42 and she was 22, they married.  Her mother didn’t think much of the relationship, calling them “the elephant and the dove.”  

On November 6, 1939, when he was 52 and she was 32, they divorced.  

On December 8, 1940, his 54th birthday, and she was 33, they remarried.  

On July 13, 1954, when he was 65 and she was 47, she died.

On November 24, 1957, when he was 70, he died in his studio of heart failure.   Continue reading Frida & Diego:  Mexico’s Most Open Marriage?

The “First Couple of Mexico”

20206By Julie Etra

A very famous Mexican pareja (couple), known as the “first couple of Mexico,” Benito Juárez and Margarita Eustaquia Maza Parada, later known as Margarita Maza, were legendary for their closeness and affection for each other. Much is known about Juárez, an orphan and native Oaxacan who only learned Spanish at age 15, but less about the woman who supported him and his presidency, and who bore 12 children by him, only seven of whom survived to adulthood.  Continue reading The “First Couple of Mexico”

The Spirit of ART

20208By Tirza Bonifazi

Art Show Opening

February 28, 6:30 pm 

Villa Montecarlo @ Cosmo Residences

Arrocito, Huatulco

Open to the public

Jim Spicka established himself as a painter in 2010, drawing inspiration from the life and landscapes of the coast of Oaxaca, and two years later, with his wife Mary, he organized an art exhibition with the participation of other Huatulco-based artists, that ended up being an annual event. His death in 2018 left a void in the local art scene.  Continue reading The Spirit of ART

Editor’s Letter

January 20203

“Everybody in America is so money-hungry. It’s like a rat race and even when you win you’re still a freaking rat.” Mike Tyson

Welcome to 2020! I hope that you have had a debaucherous holiday season filled with cocktails and friends, and that you are ready to settle into what is sure to be a much needed collective existential crisis. You probably want to stop reading right now and order another margarita.  Continue reading Editor’s Letter

A Rat Is Not “Just a Rat”

By Julie Etra

OK, here is your primer on rats – perhaps more than you would ever like to know. There are a lot more rats than the rat with the deservedly “bad rat” rap, the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, hence the common name. It is also known as the brown rat, the sewer rat, the wharf rat, the Hanover rat, and the Norwegian rat. (White lab rats are a product of selective breeding of the Norway rat for the specific purpose of research.) Continue reading A Rat Is Not “Just a Rat”

It’s Not a Rat!

January 20202

By Brooke Gazer

Nineteen years ago, when we moved into our new villa in Residencial Conejos, there were not many residences. With fewer than a dozen homes, the neighborhood had ample forest for small wildlife to inhabit. Many of our construction workers had lived on site, and we later discovered that their habits of leaving tortillas and other food around encouraged small visitors to drop by.  A few families enjoyed the abundant supply of nourishment so much that they moved right in.  Continue reading It’s Not a Rat!

Blues on the Beach

By Brooke Gazer

Since its premiere in 2012, the Blues on the Beach concerts have grown so popular that some Huatulco visitors arrange their vacation to coincide with one or both annual events. Mark two Saturdays – January 18 and February 22 – on your 2020 calendar because you won’t want to miss either of these two fun-filled extravaganzas.  The concerts will be held at The Sea Soul Beach Club in the Chahue area of Bahías de Huatulco.  The lineup for January includes Guy Bélanger on harmonica, blues/soul singer Annika Chambers, and Paul Deslauriers, one of Canada’s elite guitarists. Continue reading Blues on the Beach

The Year of the Rat – from the Beginning

January 20201

By Susan Birkenshaw

As I grew up, one of my not-so-secret pleasures was to read my daily horoscope.  I often would have my tea leaves read or go to the card reader at the fall fair, and I even tried to figure out what the Chinese Zodiac might mean to me.  I remember that I was often surprised about just how “close and similar” the results seemed to be.  As a kid, I would try to live my life (for maybe a couple of days) based on the results of each event.  Ultimately, not a sensible path! Continue reading The Year of the Rat – from the Beginning