Columns

There’s nothing quite like a food fair to get even reluctant cooks excited about experimenting with new or unusual ingredients. That’s what happened to me after a family excursion to Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos last weekend for the town’s international quince festival.

Gentrification—the process of renovating urban areas that leads to the displacement of the original population by newcomers with greater purchasing power—sparked a rowdy protest last week in Mexico City.

Last week, a local resident uploaded a photo on Facebook showing a small reptile that had appeared on her patio, asking, “Does anyone know what this guy is?”

Most responses gave the correct answer: a harmless spiny lizard. Some folks said they had found look-alikes in their homes and gardens. Several even mentioned giving names to their uninvited house guests, underscoring their beneficial dietary habits of feeding on unwanted mosquitoes, cockroaches and spiders. 

Some local folks were overjoyed last weekend over the unexpected arrival of rainfall. In truth, it was nothing more than some light sprinkling detected in some isolated Chapala neighborhoods, lasting no more than 15 minutes.

Just over a week ago, a national scandal erupted about a “gringo” who ran off a construction worker eating lunch in a shady garden space in front of the man’s property in Mazatlán. He was widely outed on social networks and in the media for his xenophobic behavior.

I’ve been amused by the multiple social media queries of late about what day folks can see get out to watch Ajijic’s marvelous “flour” parade” Whether you call it Carnaval, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the raucous celebration always fall on the day before Miércoles de de Cenizas, AKA Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.