THE WORLD'S 6 MOST OVERLOOKED FOOD CITIES FOR FOOD LOVERS

The Thrillist says, "Here's how you know a city is a food capital: when you return from a visit and the first question your friends ask isn't what museums you visited, what beaches you loafed on, what mountains you climbed. Nah, you know it when they blurt, "What did you eat?"

Mexico City, Mexico A world-class hub of food and culture, so close and so very cheap

Why you should go: Clued-in travelers have long headed to this pulsing metropolis of 21 million souls, where they've explored world-class museums, a vibrant independent art scene, and stunning colonial architecture. And while Mexico City's profile is definitely on the rise, the Ciudad de Mexico, or CDMX as it's known locally, remains an overlooked destination in comparison to the shining stars in the firmament of international travel. That's a downright shame: with its warm, welcoming culture, leafy, tree-lined colonias, and wonderfully delicious food, there are endless reasons to visit Mexico City. It can go head to head with the world's more touristed cities any day -- and at a fraction of the price.

What you'll be eating: Few places in the world take eating as seriously as Mexico City. Street food reigns supreme, and you can hardly walk a few steps without being enticed by the aromas wafting from the little carts where hard-working, immensely talented cooks serve up delectable (and cheap -- we're talking less than $3 for a complete lunch) snacks all day long. In the morning, visit a tamalero, a vendor who serves hearty, corn-based breakfast items: in addition to tamales, he'll offer sweet cinnamon-and-vanilla-scented cups of atole, a hot, smooth corn drink. Ready for lunch? Seek out a tlacoyo, an eye-shaped disc of blue corn masa griddled and stuffed with creamy mashed fava beans or porky chicharron. Mexico City's tacos are equal to all the hype, available all day in every neighborhood, and filled with a huge range of meats. For a taste of the ultra-local, look for tacos al pastor, little corn tortillas folded around seasoned pork and warm, juicy bits of sweet pineapple. Said to be brought to the Mexico City area by Lebanese immigrants in the 19th century, the style has proliferated across the country but reaches its apex in CDMX.

If you're the type of diner who prefers an unhurried, sit-down meal, take note. In recent years, the city's fine-dining scene has exploded: star chef and CDMX native Enrique Olvera's Pujol, located in the tony neighborhood of Polanco, is probably the best-known example. It more than merits its many accolades, plating refined fare that demonstrates an intimate knowledge of traditional Mexican ingredients deployed in surprising ways -- and at about $100 for a seven-course meal, it won't blow up a vacation budget. Other excellent white-tablecloth restaurants include nearby Quintonil, where Jorge Vallejo creates Instagram-worthy dishes that taste as good as they look, and Maximo Bistrot, a cozy little corner spot in Roma with an excellent wine list.

What to do between meals: The vast expanse of Mexico City is divided into diverse neighborhoods known as colonias, and one of the most rewarding activities is to stroll among them, leisurely taking in the bustle of the city. Architecture buffs should check out Roma Norte, where expansive early-20th-century mansions now house cultural centers, bookstores, and art galleries; nightlife lovers can bar-hop around Condesa, the city's most tourist-friendly area, packed with cafes and clubs. The art of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Mexico City's famed twice-married couple, is on display all over the city, but for a more unusual glimpse into the life of the former, visit the Museo Anahuacalli in Coyoacan, which houses Rivera's unparalleled collection of pre-Columbian art and artifacts. Gallery enthusiasts can hit up Kurimanzutto, which represents pan-media modern artist Gabriel Orozco and relative newcomer Labor. For local color, CDMX's main square, the Zocalo, is always fun to walk around, and Chapultepec, the city’s Central Park, offers an oasis of green apart from the packed and frenetic streets of Downtown. -- Lauren Rothman, Thrillist contributor

An Aljibe or Underground Water Cistern

The majority of Mexico is not served by pressurized water systems, requiring some ingenuity to regulate the water pressure in your home. 

On our way to Zacatecas two weeks ago, one particular view from our bus gave us a view of the roofs of a housing development. I noticed on every roof was a black, round cylinder called a tinaco. You'll notice that most houses have a tinaco on the roof. I asked a number of expats how the system works. Few could tell me.

Here's how it works. The city delivers water two or three hours a day to each house. In order to have water whenever it is needed, each house has an aljibe or underground water cistern. The aljibe has a float that shuts off intake when it is full. Then a pump sends the water to the tinaco on the roof and it has a float that shuts off intake when full. The system is now pressurized and showers, sinks, water heater, and toilets can draw on the water from the roof. It is gravity fed and that's why we have pressure when we take a shower. If power fails, as it can here, we still have water from the roof.

Sometimes you will see the tinaco on stilts, to give additional force of gravity to an upstairs shower.

Every house has an aljibe. Our house on Umaran had a had a cistern in the guest bedroom. It was just a cover in the floor by the bed. Here on Huertas, our cistern is off the terrace outside the kitchen, near the BBQ.

Medical & Dental Care

I am impressed with the Medical & Dental care here in San Miguel. Women here can have face lifts done by the revered Dr. Barrera and his beautiful doctor assistant for $6600. Included is a pick up and delivery to and from the hospital, four day stay in the hospital, personal home visit by the doctor to remove stitches, and all sorts of hand holding before and after. Compare that to the U.S. at three or four times the price and a one day stay in the hospital.

For me, I had a tooth that was bothering me. Turns out I had developed a cavity under the crown. The dentist examined me, took an x-ray, and sat down with me in his office. I will have to have a root canal and a new crown, he said It would cost me 8,500  pesos. That's about $480 to $500. I would imagine the same thing in the states to be as much as $3,000.

Did I hear medical tourism?

Impossible Trinity

What is the Impossible Trinity?

It’s a theory that says a country cannot have all three of the following at once: an open capital account, a pegged exchange rate, and an independent monetary policy. That’s all there is to it.

You can have one or two of those three conditions, but not all three at once. If you try, you’ll fail. It’s those impending failures that make the Impossible Trinity so useful for predictive analytics.

Jim Rickards, Editor, Currency Wars Alert, says Mexico is experiencing the Impossible Trinity now and predicts a coming devaluation of the Peso.

What can Mexico do to escape the Impossible Trinity?

It has three choices: close the capital account, give up its monetary independence, or devalue the peso. There are no other ways out for Mexico.

It is almost inconceivable that Mexico will close its capital account. Mexico is dependent on U.S. trade and an IMF backstop lending facility. Both the U.S. and the IMF would strongly oppose closing the capital account. Mexico is highly unlikely to move in opposition to its two largest sources of financial support.

As a short-run expedient, Mexico has abandoned its independent monetary policy. The chart below shows how Mexico raised interest rates 0.25% two weeks ago, exactly one day after the Fed raised rates by 0.25%.

If Mexico had not raised its interest rate, capital would have flowed from Mexico to the U.S. in search of higher yields. These capital outflows would have drained Mexican reserves. This rate hike illustrates the constraints imposed by the Impossible Trinity.

Outsourcing its monetary policy to the Fed bought a little time for Mexico, but it’s not a long-term solution. The Fed will likely raise rates next March, and again in June. The Mexican economy is already slowing down because of declining growth in its major trading partners, China and the U.S. Raising interest rates only make the Mexican slowdown worse.

If Mexico will not close its capital account, and cannot raise interest rates to follow the Fed, there’s only one thing left for Mexico to do — devalue the peso. Not only can we see this coming with our IMPACT system, but we have a good sense of the timing.

The Mexican Currency Commission (the official body that sets the Mexican exchange rate to the dollar) will meet later this month to decide on whether to extend the peso support program. The Fed is unlikely to back off its rate hike rhetoric before then, so that’s an opportune time to devalue the peso.

All of this analysis is probabilistic, but none of it is certain. Still, our analytic tools, including the Impossible Trinity and my IMPACT trading system, give us fairly good visibility on a coming peso devaluation. U.S. dollar investors in Mexican stocks will suffer when the peso value of those stocks declines.

The ideal way for investors to play this is to short a major Mexican company with dollar-based securities and weak fundamentals. That way, an investor can be positioned to win on a declining stock and a declining currency.

A Joyous Evening in SMA

Poe

What a night. Last night we dined with the Waddy-Wares at El Correo. Good Guac, margs and lemonada mineral and enchiladas. On the way home, we walked in the setting sun. It was warm and a little windy. Coming down Umaran, I spotted a man with a yellow lab on a leash. The lab had a beautiful face. I stopped to take her picture. Poe was her name and just a sweetheart and loved the attention. She is nine and owned since birth by artist Joaquin Pineiro. He offered me his card and I laughed. He explained, in so many words, how he was devoted to his dog and provided a service. His card shows a painting of his dog Poe.

I laughed at his humor and vowed to visit his gallery Joaquin Pineiro at 20 de Enero 110B, Col. San Antonio.

In the Jardin, the giant lady bowed to tickled children, families spent time with their children, lovers stood in the enwrapped in arms, tourists snapped selfies and group photos all in the evening light while the mariachis played their music. It just puts a smile on my face.

For Sale: #66 Umaran

The owner has put where we live, our rental until April 1, 2016, up for sale. Unless the new owner wants a good renter, we will be moving by April 1, 2016. Here's a link to the ad: http://www.sanmiguel-mgmt.com/for_sale/324.html. It's only listed for $399,000. We will miss the convenience to restaurants, the Jardin, and the easy walks. If you hear of a rental comparable to where we are now, let us know. All I want is 2BD/2BA, terraces with a great view, in or close to the Jardin, a pool would be nice for $1,000 mas o menos a month.

"Live Large - Live Abroad"

Nicholas Kontis, Travel Insider and Founder of World Travel List writes in Huffington Post:

Travel author, blogger and web entrepreneur, Tim Leffel, like myself, has chosen Mexico as his base outside the U.S. Tim and I live fantastic lives living in the land of the mariachis and the home of Tequila.

As Tim points out in his book, A Better Life for Half the Price, you can cut your expenses in half by living abroad, or, as I like to call it, you can be "living large". Imagine if you could keep or make the same salary as in the U.S., Canada, Northern Europe or Australia, but double or more your buying power, you would be spending less, but living a more fulfilling life. Depending on the country you migrate to, your disposable income and lifestyle will change dramatically.

Read More Here

Racing To Save Mexico City's Floating Gardens

From Worldcrunch - top stories from the world's best news sources:

Pelicans glide in arrow formation over the lake at Xochimilco, south of Mexico City, as two elegant herons stand in the water and stare at a boatload of tourists. Extending across 7,500 hectares of canals and gardens, this bucolic landscape displays a range of greens almost unimaginable, all in sharp contrast to the smog and frenzy of the Mexican capital right next door.

The lake is the setting of chinampas, the floating vegetable gardens developed here more than 500 years ago. They are one of the last remaining features of the ancient Aztec capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlán, conquered by Spaniards in 1521.

Five centuries on, this network of waterways and artificial islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is threatened by the city's disorderly expansion and over-exploitation of its water resources. The government of Mexico City has an action plan, financed by France, to save this enormous district of the capital that is also the home of ancestral farming traditions and exceptional biodiversity.

"There is no time to lose," says resident Claudia Zenteno, pointing with clear frustration at plastic bottles, bags and cans floating in the dark, stagnant water outside her house.

Zenteno, a 50-year-old former accountant turned environmentalist, lives by the lake, in a part removed from the piers and boat tours where the water is regularly cleaned for the 1.2 million tourists who visit every year. "We used to have a wonderful view when we arrived here in 1995," she says. "It's a shantytown today."

Read the full article: Racing To Save Mexico City's Floating Gardens

They're Establishing a Presence in San Miguel de Allende.

Top: Telmo Faria (left) and Joe Hargrave; Bottom: Donnie MastertonCarolyn Alburger/Eater SF

San Francisco Eater has an article by Allie Pape  about Tekmo Faria and his plans for San Miguel:

Tacolicious' executive chef and partner, Telmo Faria, has been a part of the restaurant's growth since the beginning, but as of this month, he's departing the burgeoning mini-chain, which has grown to four locations under his watch. According to owner Joe Hargrave, Faria has decided to step down to pursue his longtime dream of opening a Portuguese restaurant (he's a native of the Azores). Hargrave says the split was amicable, and Faria will "always be a part of the Tacolicious family and one of my closest friends." Those looking to check out Faria's next move should hit up his forthcoming Portuguese pop-up at Merigan Sub Shop, to be held on May 24.

To help fill Faria's shoes, Hargrave has joined forces with chef Donnie Masterton, with whom he worked at Rose Pistola and LuLu, among other restaurants. In recent years, Masterton, who's also an alum of Tavern on the Green and Montrachet, has earned acclaim for his upscale The Restaurant, located in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. As part of the new collaboration, Tacolicious will open a small restaurant, the Tacolicious Taco Lab, in San Miguel de Allende, with Masterton as executive chef; it'll be the company's first project outside of both the Bay Area and the U.S.

Hargrave's plan is to have quarterly confabs and tests with Masterton about new menu items, then bring him up to the Bay Area to help institute them at each of Tacolicious' locations. Masterton is already at work on developing new ceviches, gorditas, and panuchos for Tacolicious' upcoming menus.

The Tacolicious Taco Lab won't open until late 2015 (its exact location is also under wraps), but in the meantime, Hargrave will be visiting San Miguel de Allende for next month's Sabores San Miguel, a food festival organized by Masterton and featuring the likes of Carlo Mirarchi and Neal Fraser.

Goodyear Expected to Announce New Factory

A new US $550-million tire factory will be announced tomorrow in Mexico City, Reuters reported this morning.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company said last May it was planning a new consumer tire plant for North America to serve replacement and original equipment markets in North and Latin America. Initial production capacity was to be six million passenger and light truck/SUV tires per year.

The company declined to comment on the report of tomorrow’s announcement, which came from two sources familiar with the plans, Reuters said.

The factory is expected to be built in the state of San Luis Potosí and begin operating in 2017. It would be the company’s first in North America in 25 years, since it opened a factory in Napanee, Canada, in 1990.

Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear has facilities in more than a dozen countries.

Tomorrow’s announcement would be the third in just over one week. Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Company last week announced assembly plants worth $1 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively.

Source: Reuters (en)

Ford to Announce $2.5bn Investment

Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, April 14, 2015

It’s a week for big automotive announcements in Mexico should the “industry sources” and “insiders” have it right. v Today, Reuters reports that Ford Motor Co. is also set to announce two big investments of its own: a US $1.3-billion expansion of its plant in Chihuahua, and $1.2 billion for a transmission plant in Guanajuato.

The expansion of the Chihuahua engine plant, located in the city of the same name, will allow it to build two new diesel engines and likely create 4,000 jobs.

The announcement will be made Friday to celebrate the auto maker’s 90th anniversary in Mexico, and it, too, will be attended by the president, the report said.

Industry figures say Ford is the fourth-largest auto exporter in Mexico, producing 108,000 units that were shipped abroad, mostly to the U.S.

Its last investment here was $3 billion to update the Cuautitlan plant in 2008.

Vonage Introduces the Mexico Freedom Plan

Vonage, a leading provider of communications services for consumers and businesses, has launched the Mexico Freedom plan, providing flexible, easy and affordable communications between the U.S. and Mexico. The Mexico Freedom plan is the only residential calling plan offering unlimited1 calling both to and from Mexico for both landlines and mobile phones, and is available for $29.99 per month (plus taxes and fees) with a one-year agreement.

Staying in touch over the phone can be cost prohibitive for many with friends and family in Mexico. Since the cost of calls from Mexico to the U.S. can be expensive, the burden often falls to those living in the U.S. to call Mexico. The Mexico Freedom plan not only provides unlimited1 calling to address the increasing need and desire to call mobile phones throughout Mexico, it also offers Local Access Numbers in Mexico. Local Access Numbers are phone numbers in Mexico that friends and family can call to reach a Vonage customer, giving them the freedom to call a Vonage customer in U.S. for the price of a local call. taxes and fees) with a one-year agreement.

"We know that a big hurdle for those trying to stay in touch with friends and family in Mexico is the cost to call both to and from the country," said Vanessa Rodriguez, Director, Multicultural Marketing, Vonage. "The new Mexico Freedom plan breaks down these barriers by giving both those in the U.S. the flexibility to call Mexico easily and affordably while at the same time enabling family in Mexico to call Vonage customers in the U.S. for the price of a local call with our Local Access Numbers." taxes and fees) with a one-year agreement.

Customers can also use their home phone plan to make and receive calls on their iPhone® or Android™ smartphones2 anywhere there is a Wi-Fi or data3 connection with the Vonage® Extensions® App. Once installed, calls to a customer's home number will ring on the linked smartphones, ensuring customers never miss a call, can keep their mobile numbers private and can make low-cost international calls from virtually anywhere. With Wi-Fi calling, customers can use Vonage service on mobiles in areas with poor cellular coverage, including their homes. taxes and fees) with a one-year agreement.

In addition to unlimited1 calls to Mexico, the Vonage Mexico Freedom plan provides unlimited1 calling throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Learn more here. taxes and fees) with a one-year agreement.

"The Vonage Mexico Freedom plan provides customers with an inclusive calling experience, with the ability to make and receive calls from their smartphones using their home calling plan and providing local access numbers for friends and family in Mexico to call them in the U.S. for the cost of a local call. No other home phone service provider offers this level of versatility, convenience and value," Rodriguez said. taxes and fees) with a one-year agreement.

1Reasonable Use Policy applies. 2 Up to two mobile phones per line can be linked. 3 Data rates apply.

Vonage residential service (www.vonage.com) for individuals and families, and Vonage Business Solutions service (www.vonagebusiness.com) for small and medium businesses, run over the top of a customer's existing broadband connection. Through Telesphere (www.telesphere.com), Vonage offers service with carrier-grade performance over a private national MPLS broadband network, which is especially well suited to address the needs of larger businesses with multiple offices that require higher service level agreements (SLAs).

Road Trip to San Miguel (2)

We spent the night in Las Vegas. We are now just 30 miles shy of 1,000 miles on the Clampet Mobile since PDXland. We arrived a day earlier than I planned. My schedule had us in LV on the 18th, not the 17th. So now do we spend four nights here before trekking on to Sedona, or four nights in Sedona instead of three? We lean toward the latter.


Did some investigation of the geology of Northern Nevada and found this:

Nevada is unique. Consider the Himalaya region, where two continents are colliding and creating an area of very thick crust. Nevada is the opposite, where a continent is stretching apart and leaving the crust exceptionally thin.

Between the Sierra Nevada to the west in California and the Wasatch Range in Utah to the east, the crust has been extended by some 50 percent over the last 40 million years. In the upper crust, the brittle surface rocks broke into long blocks, while in the hotter, softer lower crust there was more plastic deformation, allowing these blocks to tilt. The upward-tilting parts of the blocks are mountain ranges and the downward-tilting parts are basins. These filled with sediments, topped with dry lake beds and playas in the arid climate.

The mantle responded to the crustal extension by melting and expanding and lifted Nevada into a plateau more than a kilometer high. Volcanism and magma intrusions covered the state deep in lava and ash, also injecting hot fluids in many places to leave metal ores behind. All this, coupled with spectacular rock exposures, makes Nevada a hard-rock geologist's paradise.

Northern Nevada's young volcanic deposits are associated with the Yellowstone hotspot track, running from Washington to Wyoming. Southwestern Nevada is where the most crustal extension is occurring these days, along with recent volcanism. The Walker Lane, a wide zone of tectonic activity, parallels the diagonal border with southern California.

Before this period of extension, Nevada was a convergent zone similar to South America or Kamchatka today with an oceanic plate sweeping in from the west and being subducted. Exotic terranes rode in on this plate and slowly built the land of California. In Nevada, large bodies of rock moved eastward in great thrust sheets on several occasions during Paleozoic and Mesozoic time.

We Dined at Tacos Don Felix

Tonight we had the pleasure of dining with Valerie Tapscott and writer and journalist Monty Dennison at Tacos Don Felix in San Miguel de Allende. People come from afar to dine in the house of Don Felix.

The restaurant that seats 60 is open only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The wait until the weekend is worth it. I had the enchiladas Gloria, named after Don Felix's wife Gloria of over 29 years. The hot plate of four enchiladas was delivered by Lolo sporting a shirt with the name of Karen. All the waiters are related to Don Felix and speak English. The four enchiladas, two of pork and two of chicken, were muy caliente, but the best enchiladas I have ever tasted. Topped with cheese and served with refried beans, pretty tough to beat. I can understand why the restaurant was hopping.

For a real nice story about Don Felix and how he built this successful restaurant turn to "Atencion San Miguel" and the article Monty Dennison wrote about Mr. Taco. Monty was impressed by the values of Don Felix: work hard, learn English, get an education, and serve great food.

The restaurant has grown with Don Felix and climbs up from the street adorned with boveda (ceilings), brick, tile, and parrots. Yes, parrots! Take a moment to watch the babies held in mother's arms experience the joy of the birds that call to the patrons coming up the stairs.

Don Felix estimates he has served over 300,000 tacos since he opened over nine years ago. One visit and you'll see why.

Denver's Olivo Verde!

It is fun to discover a new restaurant and that's what we did tonight. Denver's Olivo Verde! The concept is unique. You are given two slips of paper and a picture book. The first is a Customize Salad menu. The second is Customize Pasta menu. I ordered a small salad and I chose to add croutons, tomato, red onions and parmesan. You can also add eggplant, chicken, fish and mushrooms. The salad came with a dressing of oil and vinegar.

The second menu is a choice of pasta: spaghetti, fettuccine, rotini, penne or a gluten free pasta. Then you choose a sauce of marinara, ragu, or alfredo.  

If you don't know what rotini looks like, the picture book shows pictures of the kinds of pasta offered, I chose spaghetti in a marinara sauce, and meatballs. 

The meals are cooked off to the side of the spare room by Denver the chef. Soon there will be a new location. Too many diners are turned away because of lack of space.

This is seriously good Italian food at a price that lets you enjoy again and again ... all happily done for you by a former Olive Garden chef.

Denver's Olivo Verde
Colonia Aurora #5 cerca IMSS
415-150-0239

So Where is San Miguel

Click on map to enlarge

Everyday Life In Mazatlan by a Happy ExPat

I was wowed when I first visited Mazatlan. My friend Darryl printed up T-shirts that said, "I've fallen in love with Mazatlan." Here's Dave who comments on living in Mazatlan from Retire Abroad! MEXICO:

Hola Barbie,

I have been living in Mazatlan for about 8 months now and I am living in Playa Sur in el centro. The city is very beautiful and has much to offer an American retiree.

The delicious fresh fruit and vegetables at very inexpensive prices are a bonus. I often shop at Fruiteria Emma in the Juarez colonia for amazing prices.

Difficult for me are the lack of some common American foods (grits). As many different ways as they have here for elota (corn) they do not have grits. A giant Sams club and a new Costco across the street from Sams will have many gourmet products and some American foods.

I use satellite radio (Sirius) for stock market, news, sports and NPR. The signal is excellent here. They will merge with XM radio in the next few months for even more options. I brought with me nearly 300 DVDS of US movies as the Mexico DVDS are area 4 (not compatable with US area 1 DVD players).

The local newspaper “Noroeste” is excellent at 8 pesos a copy, but you need to be able to read Mexican. I say Mexican because it is not Spanish. It uses Aztec words like cacahuate (peanut) guajalote (turkey) elote (corn) ejote (green beans) Guadalupe (lupita) achote (savory sauce) guajillo, molcalete, etc. Also the level of slang words is huge and only the locals understand the slang.

Voy a casarme con Angelica en Noviembre en Club Nautica, cerca del Faro (Translated: I will be marrying Angelica in November at Club Nautica by the lighthouse).

Buena suerte amiga!

Sincerely, Dave

Webcam Captures Huge Volcano Eruption in Mexico

A webcam focused on the Colima volcano in Mexico captures an enormous eruption on Wednesday morning

Here's Why You Should Plan a Trip to Mazatlan

Photo: Mazatlan Tourism Board

Christine Delsol, Special to SFGate, updates us on the changes in Mazatlan. Here's an excerpt of her story:

Mazatlan's malecon, the seafront walk tracing its long crescent beach, is one of the world's longest at more than 14 miles. It's a delight all on its own — especially when traveled on one of the open-air pulmonias built on modified VW bodies — but it has the added virtue of being a pathway to restaurants, the city's cliff divers, the aquarium and baseball stadium, and the lighthouse. Baby sea turtles are released along here each year, and it is the official staging ground for Mazatlan's Carnival celebration, a family-oriented version that is counted among the largest in the world as well as the Festival of Lights at the end of November.

This isn't the first time the malecon has gotten a facelift, but this go-round has one of the most eye-catching ever, with a phalanx of tall palm trees, which are lit up at night. It looks more tropical than ever now. New benches also have been installed along the entire length of the malecon. They've also restored the surfaces, which makes it cleaner looking and easier to walk, and installed new benches spanning the length of the boardwalk.

It can't be a coincidence that the malecon's makeover was completed in time for Mazatlan's 117th Carnival celebration, which will be celebrated Feb. 12-17. Right after that, the Spring Cultural Festival has a program of 75 performances of ballet, contemporary, classical and folkloric dance, song, opera, music, literature, film, documentary and theater. The Day of Music, Jose Limon International Dance Festival, Children's Cultural Festival and the Festival of Youth are all under the umbrella of the cultural festival, which runs from March to July. You don't need to look far to find an excuse to head down and have a look at Mazatlan's latest facelift.

The Biggest Lie You've Been Told about Going Offshore

Bob Bauman JD writes at International Living Postcards

Is it un-American to go offshore?

In the United States, government officials and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service have for years done their best to convince people that obtaining a second passport is somehow crooked, even unpatriotic. The media persists with this steady drumbeat of negativity, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the legal and constitutional right of U.S. citizens to hold dual or even multiple citizenships.

Indeed, a second passport—a second citizenship—is one of the most important tools in any sovereign person's personal and financial toolkit.

This idea that it is unpatriotic for otherwise good Americans to have foreign bank accounts, own foreign investments and real estate, and live in foreign lands has long been the unspoken policy of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and other government agencies.

In fact, I even once heard an assistant U.S. Attorney General publicly state to a conference of several hundred lawyers and bankers in Miami that, at the U.S. Department of Justice, whenever an individual had offshore accounts, he or she was assumed to be engaged in something that was probably illegal.

Despite this pressure from the top, attitudes among the public about offshore measures are changing...

It's been slow up to now; that makes sense when you consider human nature, which dictates that most folks prefer to make and save their money in their home country. After all, most people are comfortable with the familiarity of their domestic economy of our home nation, even if the government is near bankrupt as it is in America.

In 2014 the number of Americans with a valid passport hit a record 117,443,735. That's more than double the number a decade earlier, and a huge jump from the number of U.S. passports in the 1980s. Today more than one in three Americans have a valid passport, versus one in 30 back in 1989. (Another 1.4 million Americans living near the Mexican and Canadian borders had "passport cards.")

But most do not realize the ease with which a second passport can be obtained. This is especially true if you have a parent or grandparent who is, or was, a citizen of selected foreign countries including Ireland, Italy, or Poland among others.

There are many good and sufficient practical reasons why aware Americans should "go offshore" financially—simple financial survival first among them.

At a time when the United States government is deeply in debt (over $18 trillion) and the president and his radical allies are promoting wealth redistribution, with major banks still on the brink, prudence dictates offshore planning and activity.

Offshore you can find far greater asset protection, stronger financial privacy, higher returns in carefully selected markets, more diversification of investments and among currencies, increased safety and security, both personal and financial, and deferred taxes on annuities and life insurance.

Unfortunately relatively few Americans are taking advantage of the fruits of global diversification. I think you owe it to yourself and to your family to take advantage of offshore advantages. At the very least, you should hold a portion of your assets offshore—just in case.

So-called "patriotism" does not require us to commit financial suicide when there are reasonable escape exits to better places.

For these good reasons—and for self-interest as well—none of us can afford to be xenophobic in this 21st century.

There's a whole wide world out there—offshore—and you need only recognize that fact and act upon it.

Editor's note: In his bestselling guide to the offshore world, former U.S. congressmen and legal expert, Bob Bauman, tells you much more about how the right offshore strategy could benefit you. He'll share more about how and where you could get a second passport...where the best offshore havens in the world are today...and how going offshore could help to protect your financial freedom and privacy.