April 2021

Editor’s Page By Victoria A. Schmidt   My father worked in the insurance industry for his entire working life. He loved working in insurance because it offered financial protection for people when they needed it most. However, by the time he was about to retire, he hated what the insurance industry had become. Full disclosure: […]

Poco a Poco gives thanks to everyone who has provided caring and even lifesaving support to the indigenous people of San Pedro Itzican and surrounds. The COVID Emergency   When we first heard about the pandemic, over a year ago, we held our collective breath imagining what would happen if COVID hit the villages we

Mexican Grace This is a regular feature column inspired stories that manifest “Mexican Grace.”  This is a regular feature column inspired stories that manifest “Mexican Grace.”  El Ojo is looking for more anecdotes that relate the many encounters, initiated by expats or locals, that exemplify the special forms of mutual giving and receiving that define the Mexican

The Truth About Pancho Villa By Herbert W. Piekow   History is the relating of indisputable facts, these facts are usually subject to the interpretation of the researcher or writer. Ancient history is usually in the viewpoint of the victor, while more current history, such as WWII is subject to personal viewpoint of the historian,

Vexations and Conundrums By Katina Pontikes Confounded By Covid Etiquette Manners were always drilled into me as a child.  As I became older and entered the business world, I realized that courteous behavior became an unspoken attribute that bought far more points than the effort extended.  Most people were not giving this subject a second

Be Nice to Your Body By Margaret Porter   Last year, an early bout with a “mysterious flu” and subsequent worldwide quarantine found me sleeping 16 hours a day to pass the time, and lolling around with a favorite cocktail otherwise. My mother once called me the laziest child she ever saw, which injured my

Verdant View Welcome to Verdant View, your monthly column for everything “green” at Lakeside. In this monthly addition to El Ojo Del Lago publication, I will take you through Lakeside’s three cyclical seasons, highlighting gardening topics such as: What grows where and when Cutter ants; Love ‘em or Leave ‘em Native Plants of the area

Ramblings From The Ranch By Carolyn Drummond-Hay Life after Mexico   Straying down my Mexican memory lane to the moment in 2016 when I visited The Ranch and asked Syd which dogs had been there the longest. She pointed to a white blur, saying he’s been here 5 years. Syd tried to interest me in

The Miracle Monarchs Of Michoacan By Neil McKinnon   I shiver involuntarily in the warm sun as the spirits of millions of dead Aztec warriors silently surround me and tease my face with the gentle brush of their passing. In the quiet mountain glade only a faint murmur hints at their descent—a brief, near imperceptible,

Venustiano Carranza By David Ellison   Venustiano Carranza, a wealthy landowner, was the most conservative of revolutionaries after Porfirio Díaz’ long regime. Nonetheless, he would inadvertently enable a constitutional transformation that not even his liberal allies-turned-opponents could have imagined.  Carranza was tall, impressive, even imposing, but lacked both humor and charm. Still, he believed that