Category: Mexico

Austin, Texas: Fanfare for the dead adds to our melting pot

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feathered headdresses adorn dancers parading for day of the dead in austin
Colorful Día de los Muertos sugar skull stamp labeled “USA Forever,” surrounded by flowers and candles.

Above: Folkloric dancers wearing colorful feathered headdresses participate in Mexic-Arte Museum’s annual Viva la Vida fiesta in downtown Austin.

Death is democratic, given that in the end, blond or dark, rich or poor, all people end up being skeletons.”

Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913)

For many in this country, ghosts and skeletons are regarded as frightening spirits one should try to outrun. The dead should remain firmly anchored under their grave markers. But Mexican Americans have contributed a cultural change in how death is viewed. Ancestral spirits can be invited to visit, welcomed with family feasts and fiestas.

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Postcard from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: Colors flying for Diez y Seis

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Vintage Mexican postage stamp featuring a portrait of Ignacio Allende, marked with 'Correos' and '10 Centavos'.

La patria es primero. Si te piden la vida, dala por tu patria sin dudar./The homeland comes first. If they ask for your life, give it for your homeland without hesitation.”

Ignacio Jose de Allende y Unzaga (1769-1811)

Ignacio Jose De Allende was born in a house across the street from the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, and the name of his hometown reflects both the importance of the saint and this hero of the Mexico Revolution. While serving as a captain in the Army, Allende became enamored with the dream of independence from Spain.

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Postcard from Guadalajara, Mexico: No need to gobble tacos on a stoop

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A vintage stamp from Mexico featuring three green bottles labeled 'Tequila' with agave plants, indicating a value of $10 and marked as 'Exportado'.

Above: Open kitchen at Birrieria Las 9 Esquinas

My days of wanting to stand in line to grab a meal at the street-corner taco stand, even when fresh tortillas and tantalizing smells rising from the grill are at their most seductive, are gone. I love street food, but I want to enjoy the experience…. At a table. Preferably with a shaken margarita and a beer or two alongside.

Guadalajara was heaven for me. Great ceviches and tacos in colorful, contemporary, relaxed settings. I have never eaten such a high concentration of tacos in a two-week period as I did there. I promise Lamar and I did not consume all of the food pictured below ourselves. There usually were four at our table, close enough friends and relatives for sharing freely, and we went to several of these spots multiple times.

As I start this alphabetical list to help you in your restaurant decisions, I realize that the first one, with white-shirted, black-aproned servers, is perhaps the most formal of all we frequented. In other words, you need not read any farther if you are seeking romantic white-tableclothed candlelit restaurants, or ones with any table coverings at all. Although two, Birrieria Las 9 Esquinas and Palreal, are recognized in Michelin’s new 2026 Guide.

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