The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The special home of the tilma (cloak) of Juan Diego, to whom the mother of Jesus Christ appeared on a hill just outside Mexico...
Sunday on Reforma with no cars
On Sundays, Mexico City's usually chaotic Paseo de Reforma is closed to automobiles and opened to bicycles, skaters, and pedestrians. It's a transformation that...
Cuba is in love with its cats.
One thing you'll notice if you travel to Cuba is that Cubans like cats. Cats freely roam the streets throughout the day and night,...
Che Guevara’s Mausoleum in Santa Clara
Just outside of the city of Santa Clara, Cuba, the mausoleum of Che Guevara attracts travelers, mourners, and revolutionaries from around the world. Che's...
Puebla’s cathedral has the tallest bell towers in Mexico
Construction of the Cathedral of Puebla started in 1557 and was not completed for another 211 years. When it was finally finished in 1690,...
Leo has an entire subway station dedicated to him
The city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, loves Lionel Messi so much that they have dedicated one of their subway stations to him. The Jose...
Mexico’s magnificent Teotihuacan
Located about 25 miles from Mexico City, the Teotihuacan archeological zone preserves some of the largest and most impressive prehistoric structures in the world....
The Kiosco Morisco of Mexico City
Although its appearance would make one think that it was originally designed and built by a North African country and gifted to Mexico, the...
Signs of impending change?
Among the eight or more major "March for our Lives" demonstrations around the East Bay on March 24, the gathering in Oakland attracted several...
On the streets of colonial Trinidad.
Trinidad was one of the first cities established in the Caribbean by the Spanish. In 1514 -- only 22 years after Columbus first landed...
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Quetzalcoatl’s temple is also worth exploring at Teotihuacan
Because he's one of my favorite gods, I particularly like the Quetzalcoatl Temple (Templo de Quetzalcoatl) at Teotihuacan, which is at the opposite end...
The falling rocks of Lubaantun.
Although the ruins at Lubaantun aren't a secret, they're not nearly as well known as those at Xunantunich, Lamanai, or Altun Ha because they're...
Puebla’s flavorful colonial center
Known for its flavorful food, the architecture of Puebla's historic center also has a wide variety of flavors.
The city was founded in 1531 by...
Riding the California Zephyr into a blizzard
I love the history of the construction of the original railroad route through the Sierras from Sacramento to Reno and I have always wanted...
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Bang Data at the F&S Music Festival
Berkeley's Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse celebrated its 50th anniversary with an outdoor music festival on Addison Street last Saturday. The highlight -- for me...
Bailando en las Calles (Dancing in the streets)
On Sunday, May 6, Brava! for Women in the Arts and Precita Eyes Muralists presented their sixth annual "Baile en la Calle: The Mural...
Fandango at the Bulb!
The members of Son de la Bahia, a son jarocho community based in the East Bay, gathered on the Albany bulb to host a...
We should all honor and emulate the mothers of Plaza de Mayo
During the decade or so between 1976 and 1983, malevolent right-wing military dictatorships terrorized Argentina's intellectuals, leftists, artists, and anyone else with the sense...