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Latin America Celebrates its Independence Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 26, 2019
Last week, Mexico celebrated 209 years of independence from Spain, but it wasn’t the only country celebrating! Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua also celebrate their independence this month. In this post, I will briefly share with you the independence stories of these Spanish-speaking countries! ¿Cómo empezó todo? Much of the independence movements…
Mexico’s Call for Independence 209 Years Ago Posted by Karoly Molina on Sep 12, 2019
In the early hours of September 16, 1810, in the town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla together with other revolutionary fighters, asked his people to take up arms and fight against the forces Nueva España or the Spanish colony in Mexico. Miguel Hidalgo gave the famous grito and rang the…
Mexico and its Cheeses Posted by Karoly Molina on Aug 22, 2019
When we think of cheese, our minds usually think of France, the Netherlands and Italy (to name a few), but much less to Mexico. However, Mexico boasts of some delicious cheese that complement Mexican cuisine quite well. In this post, I would like to explore the queso tradition in Mexico with four of its varieties: queso Oaxaca…
Heatwaves in Europe and the U.S. Posted by Karoly Molina on Jul 25, 2019
Europe and the U.S. are currently being hit with another heatwave or ola de calor bringing temperatures past 40° C or +100°F. Governments from several countries have raised the alarms and started contingency plans to take action. In this post, we explore a few of the medidas or measures being taken. Ola de calor In order…
Practicing “ch” with Mexican Slang Posted by Karoly Molina on Jul 11, 2019
The sound “ch” is not always easy. While there are some equivalents like the “sh” in English, the sound of “ch” is a bit stronger, less of a long shhhhhhhh and more of a short ch. If this sound is not your forte, this post will use a song by an iconic Mexican band to…
Sargassum Heading for Mexican Coast Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 27, 2019
The state of Quintana Roo, a major tourist destination in Mexico, has seen a dramatic increase of sargazo or sargassum washing up on its shores leaving the tourist industry busy cleaning up the beaches. To make matters worse, a big sargassum formation with a diámetro or diameter of 550 kilometers (approximately 340 miles) is heading towards…
Mexico City Updates School Uniform Policy Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 20, 2019
This month, Mexico City updated its school uniform policy that required girls to wear skirts and boys to wear pants. While there was some confusion, the policy aims to limit the gender-specific constraints of the previous policy. In this post, I will explore the use of uniforms in Mexican schools and what the new policy…