For decades, both Americans and Canadians have been supporting efforts to provide young Oaxacans with improved education; donating not only their time and expertise, but also books and related educational resources, food and clothing to make attending school easier for children of families with very limited resources, and cash. But while US taxpayers have been able to deduct donations to certain registered Mexican charities from their income, Canadians have not. Finally change is in the wind, as a result of CANFRO, Canadian Friends of Oaxaca Inc. Continue reading Canadian Friends of Oaxaca→
Reading opens a doorway into the character of the culture and history of a country. But something more: We want to understand why people act the way they do, what’s going on in their minds, what provides the impetus for their actions. Here are a few books recommended by both Mexicans and foreigners living in Mexico. Ideally, you’ll read in Spanish the ones written originally in Spanish, but these books also have been beautifully translated into English. Continue reading In Search of the Mexican Identity: Must-Reads→
Around the world some of the tastiest food is sold by street vendors. Some people may be leery about eating “street food” but I believe it is safer than what might be found on a salad bar at a five star hotel. This is because vendors rely on local repeat business; if several regulars get sick word travels faster than ice cream melting on hot pavement and that entrepreneur is out of business. You won’t go wrong if you look for a vendor who has a crowd of locals surrounding his stall. Continue reading Eat and Learn!→
Although this is a truly American concoction created in 1886 by John Pemberton, and was the first soft drink in space (1985) it may surprise some readers that Mexico has surpassed the United States in consumption since 2010. It now has the dubious distinction of the highest per capita consumption in the world with Mexicans consuming a yearly average of 675 8-oz servings per person. That’s 168.75 gallons per year for every man, woman, and child. Continue reading Mexican Coca-Cola→
Travel like the world is a classroom! Is there anything more ridiculous that seeing a child at the beach watching a movie on a portable DVD player, iPad or what have you? Travelling with kids is an opportunity to revisit things you already know or discover things you otherwise may have dismissed. While traveling with kids can be exhausting, when done with a little bit of planning it can be pleasant for the whole family. While it may be tempting to leave little ones with hotel childcare services while you lie on the beach, you will be missing out on sharing invaluable time together as well as teaching them about the most important thing to carry with you through life; curiosity. Continue reading Señorita Manners→
“This is delicious. It has the flavor of the tradition of who WE are.” — Amelia Gómez, Totontepec Villa de Morelos.
More than a mile high in the Sierra Sur of northeastern Oaxaca lies Totontepec Villa de Morelos, a cabecera, or “head” town of the municipality of the same name. Totontepec currently covers fourteen mountain communities that are home to about 6,000 Mixe (“mee-hay”) people. The Mixe language has nearly a dozen dialects; the Totontepecanos speak Ayook and call themselves “Ayookja’ay”; ‘Ayook’ means la gente, “the people,” and ‘ja’ay’ is del idioma florida, “of a blossoming language.” Continue reading The Wisdom of Maíz – Will it Lose it’s voice?→
Arias pouring into the dry night air from the casinos of Las Vegas? Just one of the challenges Peter Gelb has set for himself this season with a new production of Rigoletto, the classic Verdi opera from Italy that will be set in what Gelb calls the “misogynist rat-pack world of Las Vegas in the 1960s.” Continue reading The Met Opera Goes to Las Vegas: From Red to Black, the Gamble Pays Off→
We, and many in our Huatulco community, have long been astonished at our friend Carminia’s command of the English language. Her enormous vocabulary, unaccented pronunciation, and ability to translate Spanish into English for audiences have amazed many of us. For several years we attributed her ability to her years of living in the U.S. But then, as we began to meet her childhood friends who were also fluent in English and who had spent less time in English-speaking countries, we realized that the common factor was their matriculation in the American School. Continue reading The American School→
On August 5, Chavela Vargas died at age 93. She had just returned from a trip to Madrid, Spain promoting “La Luna Grande,” her new CD dedicated to the famous Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. “I came to say farewell to Federico, to my friends, and to Spain,…and now I return to die in my own country,” she said in a brief address at his gravesite. She became ill soon after the ceremony, and after 10 days in a hospital there she was brought to Cuernavaca where she passed away. In her lifetime she came to be an icon and a pleasure for those who heard her sing. For those who knew her, she was a unique and eccentric character. Her last words were, “I go with Mexico in my heart.” Continue reading A Legend Passes→
In English North American culture there is a long tradition of ‘educational hero’ films that show the power that one great teacher can make in the lives of many. In Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams’ individualism saves the boys from becoming shallow men of industry, in Lean on Me, Morgan Freeman’s strict principal transforms the challenged school into a place where students look to the future. In Dangerous Minds Michelle Pfeiffer’s tough marine teacher goes against the odds and earns the respect of her ghetto students and makes them envision a greater future for themselves.
By contrast in Mexico there is an absence of these kinds of films. What does this tell us about the value of education? In English North American culture we accept the premise that education will set you free of whatever circumstance you find yourself. Continue reading Valuing Education→
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