A Ladies’ Man If there’s a garment district in Mazatlán it’s in Centro Historico with the epicenter for ladies lingerie at the intersection of Azueta and Melchor Ocampo. Garage 33 is a surfer/skate board place. Fashion conscious dudes shop here. But look harder. Keeping with the theme at his neighbours, this young man’s shop also… Read More
Ash Wednesday After the excesses of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) this Wednesday was the start of Lent – Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, adherents go to Mass where a priest paints a cross on their foreheads using ashes. I know it’s the thought that counts but some of the priests could benefit from an art class.… Read More
Winter & The Tropic of Cancer When I say “Tropic of Cancer” I’m talking about one of those imaginary lines that runs around the earth in the same way the Equator runs around the earth; not to be confused with a book of the same name by Henry Miller, notorious for its sexuality. Anyway, as the crow flies, The Tropic of… Read More
Heads Up Insights from the Mexican culture – How to compete in an overcrowded market – Specialization. In Mexico, tacos are soft tortillas made from maize (that’s corn – sort of) with a filling and then you finish it off with chopped tomato/raw onion/grilled onion/pickled onion/cilantro/radish/cucumber/peppers/guacamole/hot sauce/really really hot sauce/fresh squeezed lime – whatever strikes your fancy If… Read More
Now You See’um Now You Don’t! It’s about testicles but is this post also about medical tourism? People are coming to Mazatlán for dental work, hip replacements, cosmetic enhancements, the whole bit. Is that it? Perhaps my turmoil is a reflection of the man’s own confusion. Should this posting focus on gender identity, confusion and re-assignment–all very… Read More
Carmelita and Her Tiendita Carmelita and Her Tiendita–Coke Delivery-A slice of life. Maria del Carmen Gomez Gonzolez (aka Carmelita), with the help of her husband, Miguel, and their dog, Bongi (that’s Spanish for bungee cord – no idea what he did to acquire that moniker), runs a store out of her home, right next door to us. … Read More
One Yellow Banana The life of a farmer is not easy. I know because we farm bananas in Mazatlán–without success. We started by cultivating regular bananas but the banana palms overwhelmed us, overrunning our yard. We retaliated by ripping them out and introducing a dwarf variety of banana. That bit of crop husbandry succeeded except the dwarves have… Read More
Moto Week Mazatlan Moto Week Mazatlan (Mar 30 – Apr 3/2016) an unpaid announcement (perhaps a warning)– In Mazatlan, nothing says “The Week After Easter” like SEMANA INTERNACIONAL DE LA MOTO (International Motorcycle Week.) Coming this March 30 to April 3, 2016, Mazatlan expects to host 20,000 bikers from around the world. While they say “bikers”, in truth… Read More
Faux Paws We are blessed with good fortune. I know this because floor tiles marked by paw prints are said to bring good luck. We just had saltillo tiles laid in our Mazatlán home and some of the tiles have cat tracks in them. What luck! The question is–should I buy lottery tickets or are these merely… Read More
Shave and A Haircut A Translation Gone Horribly Wrong–(this blog post requires parental guidance) Even if you can’t read music, you know this tune. If that doesn’t jog your memory then click on the sound bite below– You often hear the tune for its comic effect in cartoons. Mexicans have kept the tune but used creative… Read More