Letter from the Editor - DECEMBER 2006

As we come to the end of 2006, we are reflecting on beginnings as well as endings. This month we look at the Mayans, an advanced civilization of people who were contemplating the stars when most other societies were still digging in the dirt. We feature the Popol Vuh, the Mayan book of creation (here’s a spoiler: The Mayans believed man was created from corn), and this psychedelic cosmic tale has left me wondering. I wonder if magic realism does not indeed have its origins in a much more distant past, I wonder if the beat writers, who did spend time in Mexico --especially William Burroughs, were not taking as much inspiration from Mexican culture as their own, and I wonder why we think this version of how it all began is any more ridiculous than any other?

Keeping in tune with the Maya, our Art feature this month is about Mexican pre-Hispanic art in all its glory. We also continue with all of our fabulous features on Mexican cuisine, places to eat, things to do, where to fish, where to shop and how to travel. Our expanded Z-Scene section throws in a good dose of fun and frolic; and we feature again our newest addition, the Real Estate Guide, chock-full of everything you need to know to buy, to sell or to dream about, property in paradise.

Sometimes fantasy and reality overlap, and often it’s that blend of the super-real and the magical that defines the Mexican experience. Keep squinting through the mist, and you just might be able to find that place in the middle where all things are possible. Until next time,