Sitting in the sun-lit office of Avenida Chapultepec-adjacent tattoo shop Chamuca at three in the afternoon, owner and artist Rodrigo Ruiz related an anecdote which may serve to give nuance to the perception still held by a minority, that of tattoo artists as untrustworthy occupants of the squalid depths of society’s lower strata.

What began as a notice posted on the LCS bulletin board seeking carpenters and “handyman types” led Richard Bansbach on his volunteer path at Lakeside. With five years of handyman experience under his tool belt, Bansbach replied to Richard Williams’ notice. The two of them met and hammered out the logistics for Mr. Hammer, an organization that teaches Mexican youth woodworking and carpentry skills.

Most people know Chapala from a ground-level point of view.  Thanks to his drone photography, retired German-American expat Bernd Sawatzki is allowing us to see the town from an entirely new perspective.

Three years ago, John Friesen felt inspired to sit down and work on a film script celebrating a friendship between two boys from two different cultures in Ajijic: Pat, a privileged expat youngster and Paco, a Mexican street boy.

Terry Vidal refuses to take all of the credit for running western Mexico’s largest expat organization. 

Ingredients: 4 guajillo chiles, 4 ancho chiles, 1 cup hot water, 1 pound top round, cubed for stew,