The image of a young blonde girl begging on the streets of Guadalajara caused an online uproar last week, raising the often overlooked issue of racism in contemporary Mexican society.

Lake Chapala area residents will note not a pause, but rather an intense burst of activity as Mexico’s idiosyncratic commemorations of All Saints and All Souls rolls around at the end of next week.

Downtown Guadalajara, San Juan de Dios and Central Zapopan are “current or potential hotspots” for inter-gang violence, but the metropolitan area will remain in “relative calm” due to its low strategic value, according to a detailed report on the various drug gangs that operate at different levels in and around the city.

How much would you pay for one of the finest burgers in Guadalajara? Think carefully, because in Boqueria restaurant the customers set the prices.

The tianguis (open air bazaar) has held a place as the stronghold in Mexico’s trade system since pre-Hispanic times, surviving through the modern day rise of mom-and-pop shops, big box supermarket and department store chains, slick shopping malls and 24-hour convenience stores. Traditional weekly street markets still thrive along Lake Chapala’s north shore, but this ancestral business model is taking a different twist in the fertile ground of the area’s unique expatriate consumer base.

Like many young boys, Taufic Gashaan spent long hours playing with Lego and creating imaginative structures.