Article for Volaris (HCP Media Miami) about Tequila, both the town and the drink, published in Spanish, September 2016
Earlier that morning, we had accompanied one of the hacienda’s jimadores, Don Quirino, into a nearby field of agave azul to observe the harvesting of the piña, the pineapple shaped core of the cactus....So often in modern times, we witness these artisanal demonstrations of a process, knowing that the product we purchase in the supermarket is elaborated 90% by machines. Not the case with tequila. There is no machine that can do the work of a jimador. The planting, care and harvesting of the maguey is all done by people...
Article for Volaris Airlines (HCP Media Miami) on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, published in Spanish, September 2019
The year is 1936 and in sleepy Coyoacan, just south of Mexico City, Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo are knocking back shots of tequila in La Guadalupana as they deliberate politics with friends. At this point in their story, Diego is the famous one. His is a large man and a larger presence. He has rubbed shoulders with acclaimed artists in Europe, including Picasso...
Article for Volaris Airlines (HCP Media Miami) on Woody Allen's New York City, published in Spanish, September 2019
“It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” --Woody Allen
Although his movies show many Manhattan landmarks that are on most tourists lists, Woody Allen revels in the places that have resisted modernity. Visiting some of these off the track areas will give you a more complete appreciation of the city and New Yorkers...
In Annie Hall, Woody’s character gets into an argument while standing in line at the Paris Theatre (4 W 58th St). Next year, the Paris will celebrate 70 years, making it one of the oldest art houses in the United States. An amazing accomplishment, given that it has one screen, shows one movie a week and prefers foreign films over Hollywood...
Article for Volaris Airlines (HCP Media Miami) on Guatemala, published in Spanish, February 2020
The Color Red, Chichicastenango: I arrive at night to a gray village in the highlands, two hours from Guatemala City. I check into the colonial Mayan Inn and slide into a chair in front of the fireplace to ease the chill. First impressions of the town were not too encouraging, but I have learned to mistrust first impressions.
The next morning, awakened by sounds of movement on the street, I step out into Guatemala’s most unique marketplace which engulfs the village’s streets every Thursday and Sunday. To my left, the colorful cemetery rises over a valley. I turn right towards two white churches which face each other, both constructed on top of Mayan ceremonial locations...
Article on the surfing town of Puerto Escondido for Volaris Airlines (HCP Media Miami), published in Spanish, June of 2019
The next morning, I wake up to a privileged view of Carrizalillo Beach from my hotel room. A couple surfers are already out in the water. Sunlight slowly creeps towards the palapas which line the beach.
Over breakfast, I start to plan my day which looks something like this: unwind down on the beach, enjoy a fresh coconut with my toes in the sand, take a dip in the pool back at the hotel and then watch rookie surfers tumble while eating seafood and drinking a margarita. Sounds like a perfect day, no? Except I couldn’t get one thought out of my mind. What if I were one of those surfers? Could I actually stand up on a surf board? If so, how would it end? I could see myself slipping off the board head first into the arms of a wave just waiting to twirl me in its clutches.
I decide to make a spur of the moment call to the surfing school Puerto Surf where David Salinas assures me, “the waves are small and we’ll have you up on the third one.” He fits me into a class that starts within the hour on the beach right below.
In a mix of English and Spanish, David takes us through the safety instructions, then the basic “Cobra” move that will get us from prone to upright. It all seems fairly doable in the sand. Once in the water, however, it gets more complicated...
Article on the coffee plantations above Tapachula, Chiapas for Volaris (HCP Publishers Miami) in March 2017
The website for Finca Hamburgo claims that their address is “a half a block from heaven.”
“Perhaps that is why it takes some effort to get there,” I reasoned as the van slowly wound its way up the stone road.
“I still wonder how my ancestors managed to make it up here back in 1888,” commented Doris Edelmann while relating the history of the place to me. When her grandparents, Arthur Erich Edelmann and Doris Martens, determined to start a coffee plantation in this area at the invitation of the Mexican government, these hills were nothing but jungle. After years of progress, along came more hard times during the Revolution which lashed out against all land owners, then again, during World War II, when the Germans were declared enemies of the state. Despite all this, five generations of the Edelmann family, working together with gifted local Chiapanecos, have crafted a plantation that produces some of Mexico’s finest “café de altura..."
Article on adventure options in the Pacific Coast city of Mazatlan, Mexico in May of 2015.
The mom looked worried, as if she had lost a bet and was being forced to pay. Three men were strapping her and her teenage daughter onto a parachute on the beach of the El Cid hotel.
“You see this strap here with the red cloth,” one of them was explaining, “pull on it when you see me raise the flag and let it go when I lower the flag, it’s as easy as that.” His words of encouragement did nothing to appease her worries.
You see these parachutes flying serenely by your hotel room and think, “I would like to do that someday.” Then, your mind starts pondering all that could go wrong and slowly convinces you that it’s too dangerous. That’s right where this mom was, but now it was too late. Air filled the colorful parachute behind her and whisked her and her daughter (hands raised, screaming with delight) out over the Pacific. By the time they landed ten minutes later, the mom was laughing out loud, waving, ecstatic. Just like the previous six people I had seen go up..
Article for Volaris Airlines (HCP Media Miami) on the Oregon Coast, published in Spanish, April 2018
One of the “must do” activities on the coast is sunset on the beach near Haystack Rock. From Hemlock Street, I walk to the wide expanse of beach at low tide south towards the 235 foot high monolith. A kite flier leans away from his kite, battling to control it like an energetic dog on a leash. Closer to the rock, photographers with their tripods set up in the sand and play tag with the waves to keep their feet dry. Couples stroll by, one girl walking barefoot, shoes in her hand, comments to her boyfriend that she can no longer feel her feet because of the cold water.
Everyone lingers, even after the sun goes down and campfires begin to appear on the shoreline. I don’t want the moment to end, but finally turn landward to search out something hot to eat. The Oregon coast is famous for its clam chowder and Driftwood Restaurant makes some of the best. The outdoor fire pit looks inviting, but I opt for the cozy, dark wood interior and am warmed by the thick soup served in a bread bowl...