In the first weeks of the new school year, I walk around the campus observing the new students from all over the world: San José, Costa Rica; Managua, Nicaragua; Cali, Colombia; Johnson City, Tennessee; Nogales, Arizona; the Virgin Islands; Tanzania and Ontario.  Usually I speak with them briefly: a word or two of welcome, of encouragement, and then move on.  There are many things I would like to say, but they would not be heard because each has retreated into a private place that cannot be touched, and what is on show is only a mask that hides the real person.  They have not yet discovered who they are in this new world.

Fan of “Toy Story”? Have five minutes of spare time? Then take a look at Toystorytetic — a story of “love and courage” between traditional Mexican toys, filmed on location in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas.

At a recent Friday-night gathering in Guadalajara, the assignment was simple: roll your own Vietnamese spring rolls, pour a drink, meet someone new — and help support migrants and refugees.

A routine maintenance project became a hands-on lesson in traditional architecture last weekend at the Parque Agroecológico Zapopan, where participants repaired six bajareque panels as part of the annual Festival de la Tierra activities.

Guadalajara has dozens of green spaces, but these four are among the very best. Thanks to the city’s central management under the Agencia Metropolitana de Bosques Urbanos, entry to all four of these beautiful public spaces is now completely free of charge.

One hundred years ago this month, a law that few Mexicans today have probably ever heard of set off one of the bloodiest and strangest conflicts in the country’s history — the Cristero War.