More ancient than the celebration of Christmas itself, the feast of Epiphany is a Christian holiday commemorating divine power as manifested in three significant New Testament events: the baptism of Jesus, the adoration of the Magi and the miracle at Cana.

The first time 10-year-old Ismael arrived for a session at the Pepe Martinez Equine Therapy Center  (CET) his gaunt body was so rigid he had to take his first horseback ride laid out facedown along the hinds quarters of the gentle steed called Rocco.

The cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe emerged in the early 16th century, only a decade after the fall of the Aztec empire, with her legendary apparitions on the hill of Tepeyac at the outskirts of the newly founded capital of New Spain.

In most minds, the spotlight at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) is focused pretty narrowly on — what else? — books. So what were a bunch of art historians, art critics and gallery owners plus luminary artist Santiago Carbonell, who some call the best known painter living in Mexico, doing here this week? 

A lakeside native who raised his family in Sacramento, California is realizing his dreams of sharing his Mexican ballads with the world.

When the first branch of a well known U.S. pet store threw open its doors in southwest Guadalajara in October, Maricarmen Portilla saw it marking a major shift in Mexicans’ attitudes toward animals.

“Petco is a very large, nice store bringing the concept that they only offer dogs and cats for adoption, unlike another major store here that sells, for example, Shih Tzus for 20,000 pesos,” she said.

Portilla, a young mother and former lawyer for a U.S. corporation, had devoted herself to rescuing dogs and cats for the past ten years, the last five of them full-time after being laid off during the financial crisis. She and her fellow volunteers in Adoptando un Amigo had become so outstanding among local rescue groups that Petco contacted her to head the adoption effort for its first store in Mexico.