By Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
With pageantry unrivalled in all of Mexico, the Guelaguetza is the most colorful and exhilarating of the multitude of festivals in Oaxaca. And in a state with 16 different indigenous cultures, each with its own unique traditions including language, food, music, dress and dance, the annual July extravaganza draws both Mexican nationals and tourists from all corners of the globe. Continue reading July in Oaxaca is Synonymous with the Guelaguetza, Indigenous Pageantry
By Brooke Gazer
Crime occurs everywhere, but the wheels of justice spin differently from country to country. Here is an experience we had years ago in Canada, contrasted with how something similar is handled in Mexico. Continue reading The Wheels of Justice
By Linda Kelly
When my cousin Roberto Jones first visited Huatulco with his father and younger brother in 1974, they drove by Jeep from Puerto Escondido, where the family had had a summer house since 1962. The drive from PE to Pochutla, on a new highway, took only about an hour and 45 minutes. The drive from Pochutla to Huatulco – on a dusty, hilly, bumpy, rough mountain trail – took seven hours. Continue reading Roberto Jones, Owner of Agua Vital, and His 30 Years in Huatulco
By Julie Etra
Joaquín Murieta Carillo was a Mexican miner, cowboy, and legendary ‘California’ character baptized in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico, in 1829. At that time the capital of northern Mexico (Alta California) was Monterey (originally named Bahía de Monterrey by the Spanish maritime explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno) in what is now the U.S. state of California – California, Nevada, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico were part of Mexico until the Mexican-American war (1848). California became a state (non-slavery) in 1850. Continue reading Mexico’s Robin Hood: Joaquín Murieta
“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:21
On April 15th a fire ravaged one of the towers of the iconic Notre-Dame Basilica in Paris. Unless you live in a state of disconnect, then I am sure you heard about it or at least saw images flit by on your newsfeed. Within 24 hours, staggering amounts of money had been raised to rebuild. It is astonishing that the Catholic Church, one of the richest entities in the world, needs handouts from other billionaires. Continue reading Editor’s Letter
By Julie Etra
Salt content of the seas and oceans varies, as do the types of salts they contain. The simple definition of a salt is any chemical compound formed from the reaction of an acid with a base, or cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negatively charged ions), to produce a neutral charge. We tend to think of salt as sodium chloride (NaCl), or table salt. But there is also calcium chloride (CaCl2), a de-icer and food stabilizer, or magnesium chloride (MgCl2), another de-icer and stabilizer in tofu production, etc., etc. Continue reading Oh, the Salty, Salty Sea
By Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
On the world stage, the state of Oaxaca is noted for its cuisine, crafts, mezcal, cultural diversity and archaeological sites. And on the Pacific, Huatulco has its pristine safe beach coves, and Puerto Escondido has Zicatela with its annual international surfing competition. Yet the 2019 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards virtually ignored Oaxaca, and with few exceptions all that Mexico has to offer. Continue reading TripAdvisor Awards Ignore Mexico, Oaxaca Despite Its Beaches and More
By Deborah Van Hoewyk
When you planned your trip to Oaxaca, especially to Huatulco, what did you think about? Flights? Food? Hotels? Fun with friends? All the things you could do? But how much time did you spend thinking about whether the inauguration of Mexico’s new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (best known as “AMLO”) would affect your plans? Did you mull over the work of Mexico’s tourism institutions and how they might affect your experience? Continue reading Change in Government, Change in Tourism?
By Jan Chaiken and Marcia Chaiken
Spoilers ahead! Visitors to the coast of Oaxaca, and residents alike, have ample opportunity to see the ocean or to enjoy being in or on it. But how many are fully aware of the civilization that lies beneath the surface, as revealed by DC Comics and subsequently by the movie Aquaman? (Oh yes, the ocean portrayed in the movie is the Atlantic rather than the Pacific, but the characters repeatedly refer to other kingdoms under the surface, so surely some of them must be in the Pacific.) Continue reading Aquaman
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