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May

Mexican Dances Step Across Cultures

by Eva Boynton on May 26, 2015

Female Mexican dancers in colorful costumes, showing one of many traditional Mexican dances that go across different cultures that make up Mexico. (Image © Eva Boynton)

Las Chiapanecas (The Women of Chiapas) whirl in an elegant tornado of color and tradition.
© Eva Boynton

One Stage, Many Colors

When you travel, timing is everything.

In a new city, any turn down a street can bring a surprise—like my walk down calle Miguel Hidalgo in Toluca, Mexico, that led me straight into a festival lit up with color, music, and dance. This was Toluca’s third Festival Cultural, highlighting National Teacher’s Day on May 15.

A single stage celebrated dances and music from around the world, showcasing performers of traditional Mexican dances side by side with those who embraced more modern influences. The event showed how Mexico goes across cultures to form an eclectic cultural identity. Read more...

Eva Boynton 3 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Mexico

Apr

Five Sure-Fire Ways to Break the Language Barrier

by Eva Boynton on April 13, 2015

A circle of people's hands holding coffee on a table with an image of the world in the middle, showing the connections formed by breaking the language barrier. (Image © Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock )

Dive into cross-cultural connections by bringing a bridge language to the table.
© Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock

Find Your Own Lingua Franca

My best travel connections have had little to do with making a flight and everything to do with making friends.

Like many, I was intimidated by the idea of traveling in a country where my language is not spoken. But I took off anyway and found ways to communicate with local citizens, establishing a kind of lingua franca, or bridge language, that neither of us spoke.

Soon I was breaking the language barrier and making the kind of personal connections that become the best souvenirs. Here are my top five strategies. Read more...

Eva Boynton 1 Comment

Crossing Cultures/Language & Culture

Sep

Mexican Culture: Moments of Note in Miniature

by Sheron Long on September 24, 2014

Miniature diorama of a harvest celebration opens a window into Mexican culture. (Image © Sheron Long)

How Long Can a Summer in Mexico Last?

A lifetime. When you step into another culture, rarely do you leave without life-changing, long-lasting experiences.

Certainly, that was the case during the summer I spent studying abroad in Mexico. One day, I stopped to admire this tiny scene of a harvest celebration—

the corn stalks scratching the sky,

the central beast of burden,

families thankful for the bounty of the crop.

I bought the miniature scene for the beauty of the Mexican folk art, but I came to love it for the thankful moment it symbolizes. A moment of note. Read more...

Sheron Long 6 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Mexico/Study Abroad/The World's Art & Design

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