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 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...
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
Sitting about 25 miles from Mexico City, the Teotihuacan archeological zone preserves some of the largest and most impressive prehistoric structures in the world....
Taxco, the silver city on a hill.
Taxco is about 100 miles south of Mexico City, perched on the side of a mountain that became one of the invading Spaniards' most...
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...
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...
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...
Tequila!
Because I love tequila, I decided I needed to go down to tequila country in Mexico to see where and how they make it.
Tequila...
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...
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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...
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...
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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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...
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...
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,...
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,...