Thursday, October 3, 2024

Tango is a lot more than a dance

Tango is Buenos Aires. Tango is Argentina. Tango was born in the slums of turn-of-the-20th-century Buenos Aires, where weary laborers translated their day-to-day burden...
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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...

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...

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...

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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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,...

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 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...

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...

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...

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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...

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...

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...

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...

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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,...
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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...
Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo on their regular Thursday demonstration.

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...

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...