Fredrick Catherwood’s Lasting Legacy

Fredrick Catherwood’s Lasting Legacy


In  the early 1840’s, two haggard men on mules emerged from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula telling stories of a lost civilization discovered and unknown cities explored, long before the days when Nikon cameras and National Geographic magazine told us of these things. Between the years of 1839-1842, American John Lloyd Stephens...

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Buying on the Beach

Buying on the Beach

Defining Mexico’s Federal Maritime Zone


  Defining and measuring the Federal Maritime Zone The Federal Maritime Zone is legally described as the 20 meter wide strip of land that is transitable and next to the beach (playa mar). Let’s break this down to make sure we are clear on what we are talking about: 1....

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The Secret to Raising Fish

The Secret to Raising Fish

The Holy Trinity of Resonance


Do some boats raise fish better than others? You bet they do, but why? And, how can a 25 foot Mexican panga raise more fish than a “no expenses spared” 45 foot sport fisher? It is all about the Holy Trinity of Resonance, Vibration and the Horsepower to Weight Ratio....

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Wine and Cheese

Wine and Cheese

Breaking with tradition


The theme of an eternal discussion among sommeliers, the pairing of wine and cheese is without a doubt the most difficult.  This despite the fact that both are a result of the blending of yeast and bacteria.  A good cheese can better a low quality wine or a powerful cheese...

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Pacific Coast Pirates


…a 27 year old English Captain by the name of Thomas Cavendish, was bearing down on him with distinctly unfriendly intentions.”   An account of the Manila Galleon and English pirates off the coast of Mexico The Spanish galleon Santa Ana slowly tracked the coast of Baja California in November 1587 under clear skies and favorable sailing conditions. She was four months out of Manila and only days away from dropping anchor at her home port of Acapulco. She carried in her hold an immense fortune in Oriental treasure: gold, pearls, silks from the China, ginger, cloves and cinnamon from the Spice Islands, jewels from Burma, Indian ivory. Lookouts from the Santa Ana spotted distant sails as the overloaded ship passed by Cabo San Lucas. Captain Tomas de Alzola reduced sail and ordered camouflage netting to be hung. Weapons were issued to those among the 160 passengers and crew capable...

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Latest ADIP Articles
Cuisine of Western Mexico

Cuisine of Western Mexico

Colima, Nayarit, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacan, Oaxaca Predictably, the mainstay of the regional cuisine is fish and seafood that is to be had in abundance from the pacific. In addition, the usual Mexican staples of frijoles or beans, corn tortillas, tamales, various fresh, dried or smoked chilies, and poultry and meat are the other staples of...

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Wearable Art, Neckpieces by Arthur Koby

Wearable Art, Neckpieces by Arthur Koby

For those of us lucky enough to be on La Ropa beach at sunset on December 30, we were treated to models dressed like classic Hellenic statues. Each wore one spectacular neckpiece by New York jewellery artist, Arthur Koby. What better setting than sand, sea and last light of day to see this exquisite new...

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4th Annual Guitar Festival announces lineup

4th Annual Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival March 11 – 18, 2007 Announces line-up of Musicians With funds generated from past festivals, ZI-Guitar Fest AC, the governing body of the Zihuatanejo International Guitar Festival was able to buy instruments, textbooks, furniture and pay the annual rent for a school building in central Zihuatanejo for the EMEC....

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Marathoning in Mexico

When you think of participant sports and Mexico, fishing, surfing, scuba diving, swimming, and snorkeling probably top the list. Marathons might not even occur to you, but the country provides increasingly fertile ground for those intrepid souls determined to competitively run a 42.2- kilometer course. Running 26.2 miles is an exhausting, mentally challenging endeavor, but...

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Emilia Castillo & Gigi Mizrahi at GALArt

Rocio Madrazo promotes the art of jewellery as well as traditional art in her gallery  Galart. With enthusiasm she talks about the work of two women she represents. Emilia Castillo is one example of a multimedia artist. Her line of silver jewellery is Mayan- influenced as well as her tableware (hand-hammered salad tossers with copper...

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Letter from the Editor – February 2007

Welcome to Another Day in Paradise. Ahhh February…Not only the month of love, but the month of Mardi Gras and Carnaval. And traditionally that means a time of fun frivolous excess, a time to eat all the meat before the fast of Lent. “A man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat,...

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Zihuatanejo’s Private Animal Shelter on the Move

This unique collection is the creation of Richard and Rebeca Payne who began “collecting and rescuing abandoned stray animals” 20 years ago. The majority of those “had been sick, brutalized, shot, mistreated and traumatized by their previous callous owners,” said Rebecca. Many are also in danger of extinction and are on the Mexican government list...

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A New Community Center at Boca Lagunillas

A New Community Center at Boca Lagunillas

Boca Lagunillas, located some 40 kilometers northwest of Zihuatanejo, is a small, dusty, one street poor village of approximately 150 souls, whose living is derived from basic agriculture: the raising of pigs, cattle, corn, mangoes, coconuts, sorghum (for the animals); and small family-size plots of chiles, tomatoes and vegetables grown for individual needs. Children tend...

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Understanding Closing in Mexico

Understanding Closing in Mexico

It is well known that starting a business or purchasing a property can take a long time, anywhere.  This can be especially true if you are a foreigner and you want to purchase property in the “restricted zone” (the coastal areas) of Mexico. I’ve spoken to many foreigners who were told “by somebody” that they...

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Fashion Week Mexico City

Fashion Week Mexico City

Over 10,000 persons, press, celebrities, designers, models, buyers and ordinary folk – descended on Mexico City’s Hotel Camino Real during the last week of October to witness close to 40 fashion shows. The event, Fashion Week Mexico, has been occurring twice yearly (in October the Spring-Summer collections are presented, in April the Fall-Winter) for the...

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Toward a Brighter Future - Por los niños

Toward a Brighter Future – Por los niños

The 170 impoverished students at the Nueva Creación primary school still attend classes in wood and tarpaper shacks perched on a dangerous cliff face, but their future is beginning to brighten. Ground has been broken for a safe new school on 5,000 square meters of land donated, and cleared, by the city of Zihuatanejo. The...

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Central Mexican Cuisine

Central Mexican Cuisine

Durango, San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, Queretaro, Mexico, Hidalgo and Puebla Corn and its byproducts, along with fresh, dried and smoked chilies of various kinds dominate the cuisines of the central Mexican states. There is also a strong baking tradition that can be traced back to the Spanish as well as to the brief French...

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