Mexico-in-English: mexico

Showing posts with label mexico. Show all posts

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Expatriate Services

Well, it's been forever since I've written in this blog, but I am inclined to pick it up again now in 2010. I'll keep it short, but informational... there's a lot to talk about.

Let's start with this website, a sign of things happening and things to come.

More and more gringos are moving to Mexico... if you're one of them and moving to the Yucatan, you'll want to know about these fine people. A group of educated, intelligent, bilingual and well-connected Yucatecans that have formed a company to provide services to people moving here or owning property here or starting a business here. They've been providing this service to large corporations for a few years... now they are branching out to help the little people. Good for them and good for us!!

The accounting firm affiliated with YES (that's the acronym for Yucatan Expatriate Services) is the oldest and most respected in Merida. The law firm is headed up by a fine young lawyer who got his degree from Yale and worked in NYC for awhile afterwards. The project managers are all experienced women (at the moment they are all women...) who are efficient, effective and good at what they do.

Yucatan Expatriate Services ... YES!

Find their website at http://www.yucatanyes.com

OH, and one more thing. We've edited four (to date... more coming) Expat Guides that they have written. You can download the guides from their website. Each one is amazingly comprehensive... chock full of information on the particular subject. I've lived here for eight years and I was amazed at how much I learned from editing the Employment Guide, for example. There's also a Personal Finance Guide, Personal Insurance Guide and an Immigration Guide. I'm working on the Personal Healthcare Guide now... to be published this month.

If you are in the market for this kind of service or information, this is an awesome website and service to know about.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Truth About Mexico

I've started contributing to this new website started by my friend Malcolm. Those of us who live in Mexico have been appalled recently by the onslaught of bad press in the American media. So we are working together on this website that brings our opinions and information to bear on the issue.

Check it out if you want to know what it is REALLY like in Mexico these days...

The Truth About Mexico

Comments?

Saturday, January 12, 2008

This Website Cooks!

A reader of Mexico-in-English alerted me to her blog, called Mexico Cooks!. I'm not much of a cook myself, but since I have been living in Mexico, I've gotten a lot more interested in food. The Yucatecan cuisine (panuchos, pavo en relleno negro, cochinita!!, habanero chiles, I could go on...) are so delicious. After living here awhile, you start to want to know how it's all done.

So I was excited to find an apparently very knowledgeable blog about Mexican cuisine. But I wasn't in the least bit prepared for the richness of what is here! Dios mio!! This blog is a treasure!!

First of all, it's well-written. Secondly, it has photos... good photos... to accompany every story. Thirdly, it's written by an English-speaking woman who has lived in Mexico for 26 years, speaks Spanish like a native (I'm soooo envious!) and is a Mexican citizen. She seems to travel around Mexico learning about the native foods, crops and recipes. She interviews people, gets recipes, photos and then shares it all with us... lucky us!
I've so far read stories about quince (it's a fruit, doncha' know...) and a town that grows it in abundance near Lake Chapala, about various foods unique to the Purepecha Indians that live in the Morelia, Michoacan area (one of my personal favorites), and then I found a recipe chiles en nogada! If you've ever tasted a really good chile en nogada, you will doubtless be as excited as I was. It's one of the most delicious Mexican dishes I've ever tasted, AND it's pretty too!

The added bonus of this site, of course, is that in reading about the food and the writer's travels to find and document the food, you learn a lot about Mexico and its geography and culture too. There's a lot of good information packed into these pages, and I for one can't wait for a little more free time to explore.

So rather than spend any more time telling you about what is in this blog, I'm just going to tell you to GO READ IT! If you love Mexico, if you love the food and culture (and frankly if you don't, why are you reading this?), you're gonna' love this blog.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Preserving Treasures of Mexico

What a find I have brought you tonite! Thanks to Rollybrook's Blog (a very comprehensive website with lots of good info about Mexico...previously reviewed), I have stumbled across this labor of love, all about the textiles of Mexico. I cannot say that this is the most beautiful website I've seen, nor the most organized or well-written. But it is a gem when it comes to unique information and photos about a very specific subject: the disappearing textile traditions of Mexico.

The gentleman who writes and researches this website, Bob Freund, obviously travels a lot, seeking out the smallest villages and the oldest women in an effort to take photos of and purchase examples of the many different types of textiles used as clothing by the indigenous peoples of Mexico. In many places, these textile traditions are dying, and he is documenting the last people to wear certain types of clothing.

Are you looking for a unique Christmas gift but don't have time to travel to the mountains of Veracruz or Guerrero? Bob has an eBay store (linked from his website) where he sells some of the indigenous textiles that he buys in his travels, using the proceeds to pay for more travel and documentation of these traditions. The store offers placemats, wall hangings, blouses and bedspreads. The textiles are all hand-made and hand-woven and are one of a kind. And I'm sure I don't need to mention they are beautiful.

One of the best things about this site is the wealth of photos of the women of these little towns throughout Mexico. All too often, Bob finds the last woman in a town who wears the traditional costume. He visits and photographs her, and we get to enjoy and share the experience through his website. His travels take him to some very remote places that most of us will never get to (unfortunately!).

As he says many times, so many of these textile traditions are being lost as these women die. I would encourage anyone who appreciates these to buy from this eBay store so that Bob can continue to buy from the women who make them. What a great place to get a unique Christmas present and to do good at the same time. And to let Mr. Freund now that his work in documenting these textiles is appreciated.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Black Mexico

What a find is this website!

A labor of love, written with insight, intelligence and as a result of much research... this is a website all about Mexicans of African descent.

Here in the Yucatan, we see a black Mexican about once a month... the black culture is not well represented in this part of the world. And the blacks we see are usually from Cuba. But on the other side of the country, in what is called the Costa Chica region, blacks have a definite presence, though still small. (The other area of Mexico with a significant black presence, according to the website, is the state of Veracruz)

The website is written by a cultural anthropologist named Bobby Vaughn, who boasts impressive degrees from places like Lafayette and Stanford. A former Fulbright scholar, he has researched the black population and its history within Mexico and shares the benefit of that research on this website.

For instance, did you know that there were six blacks who participated in the conquest of Mexico with the conquistadors? They were probably the personal slaves of their Spanish masters, brought over with them from Spain and that they were probably Spanish-speaking by the time they got here. Sometime after 1519, the New World started receiving slaves brought in directly from Africa, who were not christianized beforehand (not were they taught Spanish). According to the website, these slaves were called bozales. Probably the most fascinating fact is that black slaves from Africa outnumbered Spaniards from the Old Country from about 1553 until 1810 when the Spaniards started feeling more secure about their place here. Think about it!

I don't want to spoil the rest for you... check out the website yourself. There is a brief history, a little bit about the author, a photo gallery and a reading list. It seems that the website hasn't been updated for awhile, but the content is no less interesting for that.

As one who always loves to learn more about Mexico, I was happy to find this website. Hope you enjoy it too!

Friday, September 14, 2007

San Felipe Mexico

On the other side of the country from where I live is San Felipe. But thanks to the Internet and a dedicated woman who goes by the name of Kat, I can find out all about it from the comfort of my own home at midnite in bed! Ah, the wonders of the 21st Century!

I've never been to San Felipe, but it's not far from my original home of California and it seems like a place I'd like to know more about... because, as you all know, I'm interested in just about anything having to do with Mexico. This website, which bills itself as the official town website, has a lot of good information on this small but growing town on the edge of the Sea of Cortez.

The website has the usual suspects of departments: Weather, News, a Photo Gallery... It has an entire page about Fishing, which gives you a clue about the nature of the place. If you click on "About San Felipe", you'll find a good concise synopsis about the place, and you'll find out that San Felipe is humid in the summertime, is a big fishing village and was founded as a commercial fishing port in 1916. As Mexican cities go, it isn't very old.

So you don't go to San Felipe for charming Mexican architecture and indigenous culture. What do you go for then? Well, sea views, apparently. Dry warm climate in the wintertime. And did we mention fishing? According to this website, about 250,000 Americans and Canadians come to San Felipe in the wintertime for the warm weather (and the fishing...). That is a very large community for a small town with only 25,000 year-round residents. Apparently, there is a lot of RV activity there, as it is only 125 miles south of the US border.

I learned something else that was interesting. Unlike many seaside communities, San Felipe does not discharge its wastewater into the sea, recognizing that its livelihood comes from tourism and yes, fishing. They have a water treatment plant in the desert and individual septic systems for those houses outside of the city limits. Sounds intelligent and thoughtful to me... I like the place already.

For the personal touch and a personal view of the town, click on the tab labeled "Kat's Korner" and get the inside scoop. Right now, Kat is out of town waiting for her daughter to deliver her first grandchild. That's pretty personal, but that's the kind of writing that makes this website a good resource. Even if you don't like to fish!!

Enjoy...

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Laying Mexico Bare

Jeremy Schwartz moved to Mexico City with his wife less than a year ago. He is Cox Newspapers man with his ear to the ground in Mexico City. His blog is published on the Austin newspaper website, www.statesman.com.

I like Jeremy's writing style... it is spare and to the point. He doesn't romanticize or poeticize (is that a word?). He's all about facts, insights and the kinds of things you hear over coffee or a drink. He gives you an idea what is being talked about on the streets of Mexico City.

He also communicates, though seldom overtly, what it is like being a young professional expat in Mexico City.

Today's short blurb was a brief look at a few of the slew of books coming out this week about last year's Presidential election in Mexico. Over the last few months he has covered the President of Mexico's activities, the experience of shopping for shoes in Mexico, rich and poor at the movie theatres and Mexico City rainstorms. And everything in between.

He doesn't write every day, and when he writes something, its interesting and not too long and complicated. A nugget of information for busy minds in a busy world.

About Mexico.

In English.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Luis Barragan

You may have noticed that my postings have slowed down lately. This is partly due to being tremendously busy, but also partly due to running out of good websites to talk about.

So I'm starting a new series. I'll still be highlighting websites about Mexico that are written in English, but I am going to be focusing on famous Mexican people, either living or dead. Just people that I find interesting that call Mexico their home.

I'm starting with Luis Barragan, one of the first Mexicans that I became aware of, strangely. I fell in love with photos of his homes... there was something about a hot pink wall next to an orange wall that just blew my entire conception of space. I loved his willingness to break the boundaries of convention with color. Only later would I realize what a patently Mexican trait that really is.

The main website about this famous architect is offered by his foundation and is available in German, English and Spanish. It features a biography, where I learned that he was born in Guadalajara in 1902 and realized his first project in 1927. He traveled to Europe and the US during his life, but spent most of it in Mexico City. He was awarded the very prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1980 and he died in 1988.

He is known for his very original style, which is both modernistic and distinctly Mexican. He is without a doubt the father of Mexican modern architecture, and is known around the world. He was one of the first architects to use color in his work.

If you are interested in his work, you will enjoy the Foundation's website. One of the best features is in the Visitor's Guide section, where they map out all of his works in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

Another good website for information about this gifted architect is the Pritzker Prize website, which has a comprehensive photo gallery of some of his work, as well as the text of his acceptance speech.

Do you have any famous Mexicans that you are interested in? Let me know... or just visit here regularly to learn more!