Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM)

I am Fulbright-Garcia Robles Fellowship recipient with a focus on Binational Business. As a result, during my 10-month stay in Mexico City, I take MBA level business courses at the ITAM, the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico. The ITAM has two campuses, the undergraduate campus in Rio Hondo near San Angel and the graduate campus in Santa Teresa near Pedregal. Both campuses are in the south of the city.

The ITAM is well respected on a national and international level. The students in the MBA program are generally very sharp and incredibly driven. The atmosphere is collegial but with the expected elements of competitiveness. The faculty is equally impressive, as most are at the forefront of their fields. In general, the ITAM is a prestigious place to learn about binational business, because of its facilities, students and faculty.

The ITAM is a feeder school for many American and European graduate schools looking for attractive and promising graduate-level applicants.

Playas de Acapulco

Acapulco beach is quite the scene. There are plenty of great hangout places and the sun is perfect over the Pacific ocean. 

Angelitos Negros

Taxco angel on the wall.
This angelito reminded me of an old and classic Mexican film titled "Angelitos Negros" (1948)starring Pedro Infante. The film's title actually comes from a popular Mexican song titled "Pintame Angelitos Negros." Both the song and the film tackle the issue of race in Mexican society.

The song specifically discusses the lack of black angels in religious murals, sculpture collections, and figurine ensembles. In the song, the singer pleads to the painter to add a black baby even though the virgin may be white and the other angels fair skinned.

The film tackles the challenges of interracial marriages/arrangements and their effects on later generations. In this film, Pedro Infante and his wife in the film are both white, but they have a black daughter. Discovering the roots of their black daughter helps both Pedro Infante and his wife in the film understand more about their heritage.

http://pedroinfante.yomarnathalia.com/pinfante/AngelitosNegros1948.html

Although Mexico is primarily an indigenous and european blend of peoples, it should be noted that in states like Veracruz and Guerrero there is a substantial black population. In Veracruz and Guerrero, the blacks are descendants of the slave trade, as Acapulco in Guerrero and Veracruz, Veracruz are two main seaports that were used heavily during the Spanish colonial period in Mexico.

Acapulco Times

This weekend I took off to Acapulco, Mexico´s oldest beach resort on the Pacific Ocean in the state of Guerrero. Acapulco is about 3.5 hours south of Mexico City. If you go by bus, you take about 5 hours and get to watch an American movie with Spanish subtitles if you´re lucky. If you´re not, then you get some dubbed Spanish over the original. A bus ride to Acapulco from Mexico City is about 290 pesos each way.

Parishioners

Taxco's church is full of parishioners inside praying to their favorite saint, tourists strolling around its pastel colored halls, and photographers stealing shots of its cherubs, angels and apostles.

Iglesia

This is a picture of Taxco's main church on the Zocalo (central square). The shot was taken from Restaurante Las Ranas, where you can get some mean green enchiladas mineras with chicken inside!

Old Colonial Walls

Taxco is graced with old colonial walls that are losing their coats of paint to the all-encroaching test of time. Walking around this small town surrounded by hills and steep cliffs is very therapeutic. In fact, the town seems very condensed, as if it were built to keep you inside and close to everyone there. It is impossible to not be friendly when you are sharing narrow streets, steep stairs and crumbling walls with other people.

Feria Nacional de la Plata

Taxco is a charming silver mining town where indigenous and mestizo artisans of the state of Guerrero share their crafts with the rest of the world. In Mexico, as in other places around the world, the concept of death is embraced with humor, iconography, and physical personifications.

Tiempo de Taxco

This past weekend I took off to Taxco, an old silver mining town about 3 hours south of Mexico City. I paid $104 pesos (roughly $9.50 US dollars) to get there. I was there for the official start of the Festival Nacional de la Plata. Throughout the festival, a princess and her court are selected, the governor oversees the festivities in the state of Guerrero, and various Mexican pop stars perform live every night.
Taxco is a picturesque colonial city with a stunning central square, quaint cobblestone streets and impressive alley-ways. The people here are extremely friendly, the food is surprisingly cheap and good, and the hotels are equally economically and very nice (about $400 pesos for a double).

Playa de los Artistas

Playa de los Artistas in Montezuma, Costa Rica delivers. You will be fed and treated as the shipwrecked pirate you were in a past life. The sangria is amazing, especially as you enjoy the Pacific Ocean at your feet.

Costa Rican Cuisine

This restaurant is aptly situated on the sand overlooking the Montezuma playa. For dinner, the staff will place heavy antique candles on each table, creating an ambiance of shipwrecked pirates feasting on amazing organic cuisine.

Teach a Person How to Fish...

On the Pacific side of CR, many people make a living by fishing. Others unload ships coming from South America and neighboring Central American countries.

Hammock Time, Can't Touch This

Most shops in the Costa Rican countryside carry the standard tropical shirts, hammocks and mosquito nets.

Girl on Swing Mural

This fountain is in front of an old public school in San Jose´s historic center.
Notice the mural of the girl on a swing in the background.

Zip Lining in CR

When in Costa Rica, it is a must to zip line through its cloud forests. This is a cloud forest in Monteverde.

Casa Amarilla

This yellow building is an old Costa Rican courthouse in San Jose.

Paternity and Maternity in Stone

This monument graces the entrance of a government building in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Volcan Arenal, House of Worship

This is a church in La Fortuna, CR, which is in the central part of the country. In fact, La Fortuna is the town that is at the foot of the active Arenal Volcano.

Walking Stick on a Stroll

When hiking at night, beware of the many insects, etc. that call Costa Rica home. This walking stick obviously shared the same interest in a midnight stroll.

Straight Water Line

Some parts of Costa Rica are inaccesible by automobile. So the locals have designed a clever transportation system that allows passengers to pay a flat rate for bus, boat taxi and bus again. In this way, one can cross a lake on a boat taxi and connect two dots with a straight (water) line.

The Herd

Life in the Costa Rican countryside is very similar to most rural areas around the world. People live off the land and use domesticated animals for milk, meat and additional labor.

Guanajuato´s Own Juggernaut

This is the Pipila of Guanajuato. He stands tall on a cliff overlooking the town below.

Perro Time

Some people in Guanajuato prefer to avoid the large crowds during the Cervantino and simply head upwards in hopes of pedestrian space and tranquility.

musica en cada esquina

Live bands play in almost every corner of Guanajuato during the Cervantino Festival.

and the band played on...

Every Sunday starting at noon, an orchestra plays live music in the center of Guanajuato's old town kiosk. Locals bring a copy of their newspaper, knitting project or something to eat as they enjoy the band's tune.

under the gto sun

Guanajuato offers great climate, amazing food and a lot of culture throughout the year, but especially during the Cervantino Festival.

don miguel de cervantes

During the International Cervantino Festival held every October in Guanajuato, the images of Miguel de Cervantes and his brainchild - Don Quijiote grace every street corner.

queremos pastel, pastel

Many of GTO's buildings and churches are painted with pastel-like colors. Here, a statue of Miguel de Cervantes stands guard by a church next to the Iconographic Museum of Don Quijote.

calles angostas

Guanajuato's streets are quite narrow and steep. But every corner usually leads to a surprise in the form of a church, plaza or fountain.

El Bajio

The canyon-cradled city of Guanajuato is full of labyrinth-like alleys that are in turn riddled with adobe buildings and colonial architecture. Guanajuato is a city in a state of the same name. It is in a region of Mexico often referred to as the Bajio, which also includes the state of Queretaro.