The Madonna and the Serpent

Story by Lawrence H. Freeman

I happened to mention to someone that I was writing an article about the myths of Quetzalcoatl and the Virgin of Guadalupe.  My Mexican friend became immediately incensed. “Myths? He yelped. Myths? Are you one of those people who don’t believe in the Bible?”.

Bible? I thought as my jaw dropped open. What has the Virgin of Guadalupe have to do with the Bible? Instead, both the Virgin and the legend of Quetzalcoatl have to do with the effect of euro-centrism on the Mexican culture.

Beginning with the landing of Cortez in 1519, alien Catholicism, with a white god and a white panoply of saints had been forcibly impressed on a confused people with a deeply religious background.

In 1531, Juan Diego made a pilgrimage to……. click here for the rest of the story.

 

 

 

 

The Importance of Mexico Home & Condo Insurance

The Importance of Mexico Home & Condo Insurance

You would be surprised that many new home & condo buyers in Mexico neglect to insure their investment the day they take possession of their most valuable asset in Mexico. When purchasing a home or condo in Mexico Insuring your investment is just as important in Mexico as it is in the United States or Canada. The same exposures and more exist in Mexico as they do in any other part of the world.

Insuring your property in Mexico should be part of your budget when planning to invest in Mexico. Securing the insurance for your home or condo in Mexico is not as difficult as it used to be even 5 years ago. Policies can now be found written in English or at least provided in English as a courtesy translation. Insuring your property will mitigate your out of pocket exposure in the event of an unforeseen loss that causes damage to your home or condo in Mexico.

Purchasing Mexico Home & Condo insurance can be frustrating if you are not working with an experienced insurance agency that is licensed and has the knowledge of this constantly changing marketplace. Most carriers in Mexico provide catastrophic perils such as Hurricane, Tsunami, Flood and Earthquake, just to name a few. These insurance companies that will write catastrophic coverage in Mexico will have different underwriting guidelines and requirements that must be met in order for them to accept coverage.

All Mexico Insurance carriers have different appetites for the type of business they want to underwrite. These are some of the underwriting requirements from various companies.

1) Is your Property Location More or Less than 550 Yards from ANY body of water?

2) Are ALL the openings of your Home or Condo equipped with professionally made Storm Shutters approved by Miami Dade or an accepted Florida Building Code?

3) Is your Property Replacement Value More or Less than $500,000 USD?

When researching what insurance agency to work with that will assist in writing your Mexico Home or Condo Insurance policy, be sure you find an insurance agent that understands the changing Mexico insurance environment, be sure to ask the right questions and most importantly be sure that your insurance agent is asking you all the right questions about your property. If your property is not properly written on the insurance policy and you have a loss then your insurance carrier can deny your claim.

West Coast Mexico Insurance provides a personal approach to data collecting from their clients. They have created an online Mexico Home & Condo insurance application that asks all the right questions, so your property is insured correctly. Mexico home insurance that looks and feels like a US home policy written in English with clear deductible options and competitive pricing.

For most individuals we are talking about their most valuable asset in Mexico, which is why making sure you are Protected from the Unexpected is West Coast Mexico Insurance’s number one Priority.

This article is brought to you by our affiliate West Coast México Insurance 

“Protecting Clients Assets & Health in Mexico since 2004!”

Contact Jason Wagner for more information @ Jason@InsureMeWC.com

A Quick Visit to Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico – I’ll Be Back!

Nearly a decade ago I was told of a place with perfect weather and a community that was said to be the largest accumulation of American expats in the world.  For many years since I have been flying in and out of Guadalajara confined by a time schedule that never allowed me to take the short trip south to visit this destination.  But last week’s trip was different and after saying goodbye to my group at the Guadalajara International Airport I drove thirty minutes south and ended up on the north shore of Mexico’s largest lake, Chapala.

 

Read more at http://mexico-visitor.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-quick-visit-to-lake-chapala-jalisco.html

The famous Cinco de Mayo forts of Puebla

Many people know of Cinco de Mayo, but most don’t know why they are celebrating other than having a margarita or tequila shot. In fact, most people outside of Mexico think Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day, it’s not……. read more at http://mexico-visitor.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-famous-cinco-de-mayo-fort-of-puebla.html

A visit to the dentist in Rocky Point, Sonora

On recent trip to Mexico I had the good fortune of being introduced to Dra. Angela Acuna at Rocky Smiles Health Center just outside of Puerto Penasco (also known as Rocky Point) on the very north end of the Sea of Cortez. It wasn’t my first trip to a Mexican dentist and it won’t be my last. In fact I plan to travel the short five hour drive from San Diego to that little slice of desert paradise whenever any future dental work is needed. It was without a doubt the most unique and pleasant experience I have ever had at a dentist and for once in my life I look forward to the follow up work that my mouth needs.

This dental experience was unique in the fact that finding the place of business wasn’t so much difficult but when I did drive up on Dra. Angela’s facility it was as if I was walking into a home. The walk from the dirt road goes through a gate then instantly you are calmed by clean white walls, flowers and succulents that decorate and perfectly adorn the entrance. Once inside there is a waiting room and a front desk but you may still think you are in somebody’s home. I have a tendency to let anxiety creep into my brain when just the thought of going to a dentist is imminent but from the street to the front desk all anxiety was dismantled, it was as if I was going to visit a friend that was there to look at my teeth, a friend I had never met.
Now don’t get me wrong, Rocky Smiles is an extremely professional operation and Dra. Angela’s many dental certificates and awards hang in frames neatly on the wall but the place is just so calming. This place is a far cry from the structured minimalist, stainless steel facilities in the US, and I liked it.
I had arrived a little early and while I waited I met a very nice woman from Arizona. She and her husband were retired and vacationed in Rocky Point often for the last 20 years. Fifteen years ago the husband had broken a tooth here on a Saturday and by Sunday the gentleman a permanent crown. A crown that had been manufactured in Dr. Angela’s lab which is conveniently located on the property. A decade and a half later that crown is still in place and they praise the work, returning again and again in full boycott of US dentists and the exorbitant prices of which they demand.
I was there for a teeth cleaning and to take inventory as to what ten years of dental neglect had in store for me. I won’t go into the long list of what was needed but I will say that when it was all added up, nearly twelve items, it was two thirds the cost of what I would expect to pay in San Diego. In fact it would be cheaper and faster to set myself up in a luxury resort on the outskirts of town for a week and have it all taken care of recovering daily in the desert sun, lounging on the beach or near a vanishing edge pool. Of course this is the future plan.
It took about 20 minutes for my teeth cleaning and the procedure was painless and efficient and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the entire experience. When she was finished I almost expected an offer to join her and her family for dinner. Well I didn’t get an offer for dinner but I did get an offer to return and have some or all of my dental needs handled all under one roof any day of the week.

If you or anyone you know are looking for dental work I couldn’t recommend more highly the services of Dra. Angela Acuna, her staff and her pleasant Rocky Smiles facility.
For more information and to check out all the extremely positive praise Dra Angela receives, connect via email at dra_angelaar@hotmail.com or to this link http://mexicodental.co/rocky-smiles-health-center

About the writer: Lencho is a freelance travel adventure writer with a genuine love and curiosity of the world with a particular affinity for Latin American cultures, people, food, wild spaces, urban places and a seeker of human smiles and laughter. Look for his posts from time to time. Lencho.MexicoVisitor@gmail.com