Yearning to be in New York, Chicago, Boston or Dublin on Monday, March 17? Don’t worry! You can still “paint the town green” on St. Patrick’s Day in Mexico, a country whose ties with Ireland grow stronger every day (see story in last week’s Reporter: “History never says goodbye, only see you later” by Michael Hogan).

Each Saint Patrick’s Day in Mexico, we celebrate the Irish-Mexican connection: the story of the Soldiers of St. Patrick, or “Los San Patricios.”

The Lake Chapala Shrine Club (LCSC) went all in on its annual Ribfest fundraising effort this year, hosting back-to-back events on Tuesday, March 4, and Wednesday, March 5.

The origins of the Sayaco and Sayaca dancers who set the tone for Ajijic’s rambunctious Carnaval festivities cannot be pinned down in written historical records. All we know in the present day comes from legends handed down over many generations in the oral accounts of local people.

Cuauhtemoc, the last Mexica (Aztec) Emperor, was famously hanged by Hernan Cortés on February 28, 1525.

Friday, February 14 is Día del Amor y la Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship), as Valentine’s Day is known in Mexico.