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...
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...
Don’t overlook the Guachimontones pyramids
If you're in the Guadalajara area (perhaps on a Tequila pilgrimage), don't overlook the pyramids of stacked disks at the Guachimontones archaeological zone to...
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...
These crude markers honor Argentinian heroes.
If you pay attention to the sidewalk as you wander the streets of Buenos Aires, you're likely to spot numerous colorfully tiled markers that...
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...
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....
Che’s life commemorated in a single statue
One of the lesser-known memorials to Che Guevara in Cuba is the statue of Che and a child that's located at the provincial headquarters...
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...
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...
Don’t hurt me. I’m fixed.
In Havana, there are so many unsterilized dogs and cats that some people try to kill them just to try to keep down their...
The Soumaya is a visual treat, inside and out
Mexico City's Museo Soumaya building at Plaza Carso is one of those buildings that I never get tired of looking at. The building is...
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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...
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...
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,...
























