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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

Mar

Mexico in March—Monarch Butterflies Take Wing

by Sheron Long on March 24, 2015

Students photographing monarch butterflies at their winter home in central Mexico, illustrating the impact that global citizens can have against the threats to the monarch butterfly. (Image © Carol Starr)

Documentary filmmakers meet a golden subject in the central highlands of Mexico.
© Carol Starr

Global Citizens Fly High, Too

Any day now, the eastern monarchs will leave their winter home in the Sierra Madre mountains of central Mexico and begin their epic journey across the US to Canada. Theirs is a know-no-boundaries flight pattern.

These pollinators are crucial to a continued food supply. Yet, like the honeybees, their numbers are dwindling: the 2014–15 estimate is about 56.5 million, a fraction of the 1 billion monarch butterflies that wintered in Mexico in 1996–97.

Who can help these fragile long-distance travelers? Global citizens, who work for monarch conservation with a know-no-boundaries fight pattern. Read more...

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Symbols/Mexico/Nature Discovery

Jan

Bike Co-ops of Mexico: A Cyclist Movement

by Eva Boynton on January 12, 2015

Repair class in a bike co-op that is part of a larger cyclist movement. (Image © Ernesto Asecas)

How a Broken Chain Got Me Going

A bicycle can travel the globe, but any pedal-powered steed may need a tune-up along the way. On a cycle trip through California and Mexico, I walked into Casa Ciclista, a bicycle co-op in Guadalajara, looking for nothing more than a new chain. Instead, I emerged with a renewed sense of empowerment.

Little did I know a simple part replacement would gear me towards self sufficiency and a “hands-on” community looking to solve problems: themes of a cyclist movement in Mexico. Read more...

Eva Boynton 1 Comment

Adventure Travel/Mexico

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