The United States Embassy and Consulates in Mexico will close on the following dates: January 1 and 19; February 2 and 16; March 16; April 2 and 3; May 1, 5, 10 and 25; July 3, September 7 and 16; October 12; November 2, 11, 16 and 26; December 25. The Canadian Embassy and Consulates in Mexico will close on January 1, February 2, April 2 and 3, May 18, July 1, September 16, October 12, November 16, December 25 and 26.

Niños Incapacitados recently announced a new “Two-Hour Volunteer Campaign.” Realizing that most expats are overloaded with activities and volunteer positions, the organization is asking local residents to find just two hours to volunteer at an event to raise funds to help sick children of low-income Mexican families.

Going to a Halloween bash and want to bring your dog along? Stop into Monster House and get him a costume. Monster House is a Halloween mask company based in Cuernavaca that ships its products to the United States but also puts up four temporary stores in metro Guadalajara.

Representatives of the United  States Consulate General this week donated equipment valued around 15,000 dollars to a worthy charity hospital in Guadalajara.  The Hospital Materno Infantil “Esperanza López Mateos” received six fetal monitors and 16 wheelchairs, made available thanks to the USNORTHCOM Humanitarian Assistance Program.

While the rest of the country celebrates Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day) on Sunday, October 12, here in Guadalajara the Italian sailor who stumbled across a continent and its people 520 years ago gets trumped by Tapatios’ very own miracle worker.