Danang, Vietnam, July 2, 20015 – 5 am: A gauzy dawn heralds another sweltering day.  A few children, a tad groggy, emerge from their 6-bed dorm into the arcade girding the courtyard.  Some wield a wispy straw broom, the quintessential Vietnamese tool in a strictly one-handed exercise.  As the sun starts licking the ochre walls, a bell rings signaling everybody …

For many in our little community, Labor Day is synonymous with the Art Fest.  Occupying two blocks of an already gorged with tourists downtown area , the 2-day event was created six years ago by Benito del Aguila in an effort to pull Rosarito out of the economic doldrums.  He and his committee work tirelessly year-round, meeting once a week …

Wanderlust often takes me to far flung places, yet a times, I have the throbbing desire to discover more of the good old US of A.  Recently, while visiting New Orleans, I remembered that Natchez, a mere two hours away, had always pulled at my heart strings.  It did not take long to discover the green line on the map …

Already steeped in Mexican colonial history after a stay in Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, we drove 27 km, away from city hustle and bustle to the iconic town of Dolores Hidalgo.  At 6500 feet altitude, the air was pristine and crisp, and the sky an unnatural blue.  Looking around as we parked in the “Jardin” or central heavily …

For a slice of tucked away, unspoiled rural life of Mexico, look no further than the fishing village of Popotla.  Leaving the hustle and bustle of the free road, you turn in under the dilapidated arch adjacent to the Baja Studios.  Once you reach the end of the dirt road and politely decline offers of parking, as if by magic, …

Every year at this time, I look forward to the ballet folklorico competitions, a part of the 4-day Folklorico and Mariachi Festival at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, the first week of October.  The event is the brainchild of Gil Sperry, aficionado of both genres and indefatigable mover and shaker when it comes to raising funds for the Boys and Girls …

A modern day balladeer, Christopher Spanos  sings of life, love, and social injustice.  Asked about his life journey, Chris will only say that he was born in New York where he learned to play the guitar at a young age, then to LA as an adolescent where there was no shortage of opportunities to jam.  A resident of Tijuana since …