On several occasions, the Guardabosques or Rangers of the Primavera Forest had invited me to observe the liberation of rehabilitated mammals, reptiles and birds deep inside the woods, but never did I suspect that an event like this would one day take place in my own yard, turning me into the foster father of an enchanting baby fox.

The tiny town of Tlajomulco, well known for the giant impetus it gives to culture via its longstanding program of historical tours under the umbrella of “Rutas Franciscanas” (Franciscan Routes), continues to roll out the red carpet to foreign and Mexican tourists with its popular photographic bus tours and, this fall, horseback tours and mariachi galas, many free of charge.

The tequila world is complex. Unbeknownst to most, even the most basic variety, tequila blanco, is made using any number of diverse processes. Some are done right from scratch, the slow and unproductive way while others are made in large industrial operations. To smooth this large-volume tequila out for sipping, it might be triple distilled or very slightly aged. Glycerin might be added for a better throat feel. It’s almost always filtered on top of that, whether by carbon or cellulose processes for varying effects. Most of this information is not printed on the bottle or otherwise advertised, so how’s a person to differentiate between a product of substance and one that’s done quick and dirty?

Concerned by the sewage and chemical waste that is slowly killing Lake Chapala, Mexican-American photographer Victor Hugo Casillas Romo is using his artistic talent to draw attention to its plight.

The American Society of Jalisco (Amsoc) has steadfastly served the Anglophone community of greater Guadalajara for six and a half decades. In a heyday of a 4000-some strong membership, they purchased the large house in Colonia Chapalita that now serves as their headquarters. That was the eighties. Today, Amsoc is struggling to get even 200 paying members.

Blanca Batencourt, a 27-year-old woman from Puerto Vallarta, took up her position as the administrator of the Cruz Roja Chapala Delegacion just three months ago. She’s in charge of the day-to-day operation of the organization with its four ambulances (in two stations), the 24-hour-a-day clinic, 35 employees, at least some of the bookkeeping and collecting money. Certainly, the graduate of Centro Universitario de la Costa (CUC) in Business Administration is not a stranger to hard work. The eldest of seven children, she began working in her uncle’s tortilla store every day before school when she was 11 years old. She put herself through each level of her education. Her position before she decided to relocate to Lakeside was as a manager of the Deportenis sports equipment company in Puerto Vallarta. The change from her hometown is a big one, but she’s excited about what she’s doing. She managed a couple of hours away from her job this week to talk about it with Jeanne Chaussee.