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Mexicans eat bugs. And so should gringos. “Consume more insects” is a directive from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to the whole world, reminding us that there are more than 1,900 edible insect species on Earth, hundreds already part of the diet of some two billion people in different countries, among them Mexico. And global food production will not keep up with current population growth.

Most gringos here at lakeside have connections north of the border – family, friends, doctors, psycho house-renters. So, for most of us, there’s always a dreaded plane ride in the offing. 

This past May produced an unusually high number of in-flight rages among passengers worldwide, resulting in fist fights and brash verbal conflicts. Aviation experts say they have no clue why, except to point the finger at flight-day alcohol consumption. Except that prohibiting alcohol for many would be like prohibiting rosary beads.

According to Earthquake Track, Mexico, the largest earthquake in 2017 in Jalisco was on the coast in San Patricio, measuring 6.2 on the Richter Scale. The largest earthquake in Guadalajara occurred just this month at 4.3. 

The truth that follows underscores why this bullfighting business continues to be debated here in Mexico. Is it art? Is it sport – man against primal beast? Is it ritual slaying as theater? Or is it something even weirder?

To help you appreciate the art of Lakeside’s enormously popular Little Theater, I want to share with you exactly what goes on behind the stage walls and into the corridors of the creative action itself, as I first experienced it. 

One question we hear a lot down here at Lakeside: Should I get my surgery in Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Europe, the States? Or do it myself?