Many Zamorans remember this like it was today. THE ZAMORA CENTRAL MARKET is a buzz with all kinds of sounds. There’s the persistent chatter of the vendors, the music from the pirate CD shops, and there, over in that corner next to the stand selling kitchen supplies … what is that sound? Could it [...]

By Dave Bellefeuille-Rice, guest writer MIENTRAS HAY LUCHA, hay vida, y mientras hay vida hay lucha. (Where there’s life there’s struggle, where there’s struggle there’s life.) Many Mexicans have said this.  They’ve endured and still endure oceans of struggle, under masters Spanish, local, and global.  Yet they also exude oceans of life.  How to explain [...]

   Judith Rios Duarte and my Old Man conduct important research in downtown Zamora. BACK WHEN I WAS LIVING very near downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, there was only one decent ice cream shop in a ten minute walking radius. Between my Zamora house and the central market, a ten minute walk along Hidalgo Street, there [...]

David, also known as Viejo, Chimuelo, and Viejillo. Everyone in Mexico seems to have a nickname. Or two. Or three. But don’t take my word for it. Here is an actual list of the people who I work with at Zamora’s Carniceria La Blanca and their actual nicknames. Thanks to Edwardo for his able assistance.     [...]

Right: A message from your friendly neighborhood drug cartel: “The pain of Michoacanos overwhelms us. No more crimes against innocent people. The Zetas will pay for their terrorist acts. Sincerely, La Familia.” In recent days, signs like this one have appeared in major intersections across Michoacan, including a few in Zamora. IT ALL STARTED SEPTEMBER 15, [...]

DEAR ABBY: I am an American living in the Mexican state of Michoacan. Recently, I moved into an apartment with a spacious roof/deck, and now all my Mexican friends want to use it as a place to hold a barbecue. Is this advisable? — CONCERNED GRINGO TENANT DEAR CONCERNED: You should be aware of a [...]

 Angela and Luis wait on customers at Carniceria La Blanca in Zamora’s central market.   It’s a huge garage sale, but also has food. It’s a zoo, where hundreds scratch out something like a living selling the oddest things a foreigner could imagine. It’s a dirty, gritty, and chaotic place, with bands, friends, and competition [...]

Wanna dance? Bring money. Look closely at that photo. The setting is a wedding reception in a quinta, basically a large retable hall for parties of the wedding, baptism, first communion, birthday, and quinciñera sort. Besides the revelers and the obligatory bottles of Coca-Cola and Squirt, we have the bride, and the groom, who is [...]

She could be your R.A.   Kady Leon Wu is the sort of student that every teacher wants to have in great quantities. She is smart, dedicated to learning English, and always did the homework in our Saturday classes this past year. The daughter of Chinese immigrants who moved to Mexico City and then Michoacan, she recently matriculated [...]

     Mormon crickets: Creepy as hell Half over, the already scenic bike trip took a more dramatic turn for the scenic. Rivers were the hot topic, as I glided alongside the Snake, the Salmon, the Clearwater, and the Lochsa, bodies of water so beautiful (and so cold) it makes you wonder why Idaho’s reputation [...]