Mexi-Go! Winter 2012

It’s been nearly one year since we started Mexi-Go! Magazine and we are thrilled to share our enthusiasm for Mexico with you. Thank you to everyone for your continued support! Please share this digital version with your friends and family. Mexico is a beautiful country that has so much to offer. From beaches to mountains, major cities to small villages there is a place here for you too! We welcome all your comments. If you haven’t already please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Interested in an annual subscription? Available only in Canada. $19.95
SUBSCRIBE TO MEXI-GO!

Saludos!

Living with a Mexican family substantially enriches your language and cultural experience. It is surely your best choice if you would like to enjoy a total immersion in the Spanish language and Mexican culture. Families serve as excellent hosts in the town of your choice and provide a comfortable and safe environment in which to assimilate to another country. Many students make lifelong friends with their host families.  You will find that a homestay option is not much different in cost than other independent options, and they typically include at least two meals per day.  Homestay programs are offered to individuals, couples of all ages, and families. Many language schools offer homestay programs as well.

Visit these websites for more information:
Various cities and towns
www.spanishabroad.com
www.learn-spanish.com.mx/study-spanish-abroad/mexico/
Guadalajara
www.spanish-school.com.mx/spanish-mexico.php
San Miguel de Allende
www.mexicospanish.com
Oaxaca
www.vinigulaza.com
Playa del Carmen
www.cancunspanish.com
Puebla
www.sipuebla.com

For myself, I love the humour and the creativity that is often found in Mexican  tin art but, without a doubt, it is one of the least known and often times, most beautiful, expressions of Mexican folk art. Known by the people that work it as “the noble metal” and others as “the poor man’s silver,” Hojalata (tin art work) has been shaped, stamped, punched and cut into a wide variety of artwork. Mexican artisans have specialized in mixing different elements to create unique works of art. The origins of punched metal seems to be lost in the mists of time.

Mexican artisans and craftsmen use the tin art to form both useful and ornamental objects ranging from purely fun to elegant and delicate. Only hindered by the imagination, tin artists produce candelabras, frames, ornaments, jewelry boxes, figures, lanterns, bowls, and even nativities. Often glass, mirror, talavera tiles and other materials are used to accent the tin work. On holidays, such as Day of the Dead and Christmas, special tin objects are created to adorn the home.

Of particular elegance is an artist from Guanajato,  Enrique Badillo Aguilar who’s pieces I found at the Annual Chili Cook Off in Ajijic (held in February). Enrique creates a huge variety of pieces but his mirrors are the most impressive. I managed to ship two home to Canada for about a tenth of the cost of buying anything as spectacular back home.

“Hello, I am liar!”

THE STAR OF THE SHOW Villa close to both beach and town in Todos Santos, BCS, Mexico includes 1200’sq Casa and 700’sq Casita with kitchen, walk-in, and bathroom. Rent together or separate. Email: film@telus.net or call Dean McQuillen 604.209.5559

Vancouver residents, Dean and Doris, bought property in Todos Santos a few years back and began the process of building their dream home. With a long history of construction experience, Dean moved to the Baja for two years to general contract the building of their home. Needless-to-say it was a learning experience and one he willingly and hilariously shares with Mexi-Go!

“Hello, I am a liar.”

This stranger to me was just outside the gate of the house I had just rented.  The very house I was in the process of converting into a carpentry shop for the fabrication of components for the construction of my house in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

“Yes, I am liar.”

Smiling broadly, he had offered his hand through the bars of the gate for me to shake.  Remarkably honest of him, I thought, considering his apparent vocation, I threw my wife, Doris, a wry look – she looked like she just swallowed a canary.

You’ve seen her – the fancy dead lady usually all dressed up with her hat and her flowers. She  is Catrina and a relatively new cultural icon in the long history of Mexican icons. Created as a satirical commentary on the rich, Mexican artist, José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), created a famous drawing of a skull wearing a fancy woman’s hat. He named it ,or “her,” La Calavera de la Catrina.

The rich were less likely to succumb to the diseases and malnutrition that ravaged the poor, but they were ultimately no more immune from death than anyone else.  Posada’s powerful, yet humorous, image of the skeletal rich woman, a dead woman who could not buy immortality, became the inspiration for the iconic figure you see today.

Catrina was resurrected by French artist and art historian Jean Charlot shortly after the Mexican Revolution in the 1920s. La Catrina soon gained iconic status as a symbol of uniquely Mexican art and now plays a significant role in Día de los Muertos festivities. She can be found in many forms in the shops around Mexico, from delicate clay figurines to paintings and masks. A perfect souvenir from your vacation!

Casa Contenta Cabo San Lucas

Craig and Lori Harrison moved to Mexico approximately 14 years ago and have been living the reality in Cabo San Lucas ever since. With a gorgeous B&B and a house full of entertaining animals, Craig and Lori have crafted for themselves a profitable, comfortable life on the southern most tip of Baja California Sur.

Craig and Lori are an eclectic mix of South Africa and Canada, who have traveled extensively throughout the world since the late 1960’s. Lori is a born & bred Canadian-gal, who established herself as a clothier of some note in Vancouver, BC. Craig is a dashing CPA (CPA – Ernst), born & educated in South Africa, immigrating to Canada in his mid-20’s.  Gaining Canadian citizenship, Craig lived in Vancouver for 17 years, building one of Western Canada’s premier import wine businesses. After picking up the importation rights for Corona to Western Canada, they made their first investments in Cabo in the 1980’s in condos, for personal use and rental.   And that is when the “love-affair” with paradise began.

“For my husband and I, the Jaltemba Bay area is home, and as we often say “come, before the rest of the world finds out”.”

Residential Zone in Guayabitos

In the Jaltemba Bay, nestled between the tropical vegetation of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, hides the quiet seaside town of Rincon de Guayabitos. Named for the groves of guava trees that once lined the shore, the name translates to “corner of the little guava trees” and nowhere will visiting vacationers find a better value for a beach escape in authentic Mexico.

In the 1970’s the Mexican government decided that Guayabitos was to become a resort and an area where foreigners could own property. Since then, many North Americans have discovered the affordable pleasures of Guayabitos and its handful of neighboring coastal towns and villages. Visitors often rent or even buy vacation homes here, but others will find the offering of B&B’s and small independent hotels and resorts in this area some 40 miles north of Puerto Vallarta International Airport equally appealing.

View of Puerto Escondido

Into every life, a little rain must fall….but if you have wearied of the endless rain and grey skies, perhaps it is time to visit Puerto Escondido….

Surrounded by verdant tropical forests, blessed with endless white sand beaches and warm, sun-kissed ocean waters, Puerto Escondido will restore the body and soul of any rain-soaked Canadian traveler.

Puerto Escondido, or “Hidden Port”, began as a sleepy Mexican fishing village along the Oaxacan Emerald Coast. Even into the 1970’s the town only had 400 inhabitants. Despite a growing numbers of tourists, the area still possesses a laid back charm and distinctly Mexican culture while offering every amenity to a discerning traveler.
Following his heart and starting with a small piece of bare land in the early ‘90’s, Canadian Dan Clemans has crafted the quintessential Mexican hotel experience. Hotel Casa de Dan is an inviting and charming 15 suite hotel that is the “go-to” hotel for surfers and others who appreciate a tropical ambiance married to down-home Canadian friendliness. Many of the guests make themselves right at home in Dan’s kitchen, even though all the rooms come equipped with kitchens, bathrooms and most have private terraces. Don’t we all gravitate to a friendly kitchen? There’s free wifi, a long lap pool and a small restaurant that serves the best French toast in Mexico along with fresh blended Tropicale fruit drinks.

The Fives in Playa del Carmen

Everyday more and more foreigners, people from the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, have found Mexico to be an ideal location for healthy retirement. Others have come to Mexico as a result of job transfers. Others still, taking advantage of electronic and wireless communications, seek out delightful areas in which to live and work from their in-home offices and studios.

Many newcomers prefer to rent or lease a house or an apartment while they shop for the ideal location and home for purchase. This increase in demand for housing has made the acquisition of rental properties an increasingly attractive investment. What better and more secure income can be found than a house or apartment complex which will produce rental income for many years? Especially when it is most likely increasing in value at the same time!

Investors can pay all cash, use funds from IRA accounts or even, possibly, negotiate seller financing to establish solid long-tem gains. Rental contracts can be simple and should always contain an arbitration clause. Just as in a rental in the U.S. or Canada, a security deposit is a good idea. For the real estate investor who is thinking of acquiring properties for rental there are a couple of important considerations: one is the way to hold title and the other is how to declare and pay taxes on income.

“Don’t assume because your pets shots are up to date by Canadian standards that you will be cleared elsewhere.”

Chihuahua Puppy

When considering the purchase of a vacation or retirement property and/or a part or full time move to a new country one question at the top of the list for pet owners is: Will this move work for my pets?  The good news for those considering Mexico as a destination is that it is a comparatively easy country to transport your pet into and a wonderful place to continue to enjoy their companionship.
Ours is a tale of two Chihuahuas who had lived their entire lives in often rainy Vancouver dreading the long stretches of large, head pelting raindrops and embarrassing jackets.  These faithful hounds were master road trippers and had been on as many ski trips as they had days at the beach…but all of that was about to change.  My wife and I had decided that we were going to take a year away from our lives in Canada and do something we had always dreamed of…live a simpler life in the sun and close to the ocean.  We were moving to Mexico!
We had flown with the dogs only once before (for a snowy Saskatoon Christmas) and without the aid of sedatives it was an agonizingly long flight for all involved. This time we were very motivated to look into different options to make the flight more comfortable.  We also wanted to make sure we did everything required for our boys to be welcomed with open arms by Mexican immigration.
My wife, who has a background in nursing and works as a project manager, jumped into action compiling to-do list and gathering information about vaccinations and requirements for transporting animals across borders.  I concentrated on brushing up on their obedience both on and off leash and of course, practicing Spanish on them.