It is 11:59 p.m. Families are huddled at the dinner table, listening for the chimes of the clock that signal the arrival of the new year. As soon as the clock strikes, each person starts eating a dozen grapes. Mexico’s most unique New Year tradition at times seems like it was taken from a wacky game show – the person who can get all 12 grapes down before the clock strikes midnight gets good luck for the rest of the year. 

Design is the at very heart of living in Guadalajara, and one of the deep pleasures of the Tapatio lifestyle is perusing its myriad craft festivals that spring organically from individual neighborhoods or emerge, especially this time of year, as major gatherings of some of the best artisans from around the area.

Mexico fortunately isn’t wracked by the linguistic controversy that has swept France in recent years: the conflict over when to use the informal form of “you” (tú) and the formal form (vous in French, usted in Spanish).

Mexico’s celebration of Christmas begins in earnest on Tuesday, December 16, when the the first traditional posada takes to the streets in towns and villages across the country.

A growing number of expatriate residents are mystified and miffed at being subjected to a sudden shift in the way they were accustomed to doing banking business here. Many are feeling hassled because certain south-of-the-border financial establishments that are now refusing to handle U.S. dollar checks.