The concept of the home is at the heart of Mexican culture, “Mi casa es tu casa” says the age-old refrain. Homes are family centers, meeting points for friends and the building blocks of communities. Few visitors to Mexico fail to notice that locals offer some of the warmest hospitality on the planet. 

It’s time to shake the dust off your leprechaun headgear, order in the Guinness and Bushmills and prepare for some craic on St. Paddy’s Day.  

As demand for seafood soars with the arrival of Lent, one’s thoughts may turn seaward. Many people realize the health benefits attributed to seafood, yet may be disappointed by the quality in markets and worried about contamination.

From the arid, cactus-strewn deserts of Chihuahua to the foggy, mysterious mountains of Chiapas, Mexico offers a huge variety of landscapes. The 120 million inhabitants of Mexico also reflect this diversity. The mega-rich of Mexico City live only a few hours drive from people living a way of life that’s remained practically unchanged since the arrival of the Spanish. And sprinkled throughout the country you’ll find surprising little places - towns, villages and communities that are so unique as to seem otherworldly.

In recent years, Petco and +Kota have successfully cornered the lucrative Mexican pet market. The former is a US chain offering bright and airy superstores on edge-of-town retail parks, while the latter follows a convenience store model, offering a vast proliferation of branches in locations across the country, with 20 in metropolitan Guadalajara alone. 

What have Anna Pavlova, Pablo Casals, Placido Domingo, Ravi Shankar, Rudolf Nureyev and Marcel Marceau got in common?