As a boy, my father and I would walk onto the Berkeley pier with our crab traps. Within two hours we caught all the dungeness crab we needed for a family feast. For fresh oysters we went to Tamales Bay in Marrin County. The Oakland Estuary provided all the clams we needed and the entire coastline was brimming with Abalone. We shot our venison in the Oakland hills and pheasant was down the street in the rice fields of bordering San Leandro.

All of that pristine beauty and bounty that was the Bay Area of the 1950′s was gone by the end of the 1960′s. Almost anyone of that era can speak of similar hometown deterioration resulting from growth.

It was a strong need to return to a less polluted and crowded world that brought me to live in Ensenada in the early 1980′s. The environment here is also deteriorating from over exploitation and growth. The destruction of our environment is an inescapable worldwide reality. However, comparing Esnsenada’s relative growth and “progress” to the Ensenada Bay Area, I rolled the clock back 20 years by moving here. I’m real glad I made the move.

In addition to the environmental causes for moving, there was another need for me to turn the clock back culturally as well as environmentally. A cultural, perhaps even spiritual, identification with Mexico. The first language I heard as an infant was Spanish. I would lay in the featherbed at my grandmother’s house and before drifting off to sleep, I listened to the rhythms and melodies of the speech coming from the large kitchen where my mother, grandmother and aunts sat gossiping. I didn’t care about, and paid no attention to, the content of their conversations. I only heard the soothing and beautiful rhapsody that is the Spanish tongue. Here in Ensenada, I overhear groups of women conversing and it is often like listening to a cosmic chant. It moves me like music and transports me back to the comfort and security of my childhood. I need to hear and speak Spanish. To abandon my beloved mother tongue, as I did during high school and University years, is to abandon my soul.

We are who we are and it is inescapable. Growing up in 65% Afro American Oakland, I was immersed, at an early age, in Black culture. I love the music and to this day the majority of my heroes are Jazz and Blues artists. I am a Black Music freak who has studied the music’s history and maintain an expansive discography that transcends seven decades of the music. The slang, the attitude, the humor and the rhythm of black speech were an integral part of my youth. Frequently, during my lifetime, I wished I were black. I speak fluent eubonics and I dance as good as any as my black podners.

I am not black! Despite accusations to the contrary. My heritage, genes language, religion, food preferences and latin music, establish who I am . Another pinche Perez. Perez, Garcia and Martinez are as Spanish as Smith and Jones are Anglo and that is who I am. Another common, garden variety, Perez.

In Mexico, I feel at home. More at home than in my beloved Oakland. I am reminded daily of my cultural values. Here I work to live not live to work. I carry no credit cards, and after fourteen years of living here, I only recently opened a checking account. A checking account I use more like a savings account because I pay my bills in cash and in person. That is the way rent, telephone and utilities are paid in Mexico and those are the only bills I have. My way of living is on a cash basis, just like my folks, who never had a credit account or cheking account. These simplified ways of being are very Hispanic and the norm in Mexico rather than the exception when compared with the United States.

Here in Mexico, children are innocent. In the U.S. children seemingly become adults at age six. In Mexico, children know their grand parents and interact with them daily. In this country, three or four generations living together is a common familial unit. There are so many aspects of living in Mexico that take me back to simpler times in the Bay Area. To those that think this information age is the best of times, I don’t agree. I am glad to have been born in 1940. I believe the quality of life has diminished with the deterioration of the environment and of the family.

There are also more practical reasons for living in Ensenada. Economics I have already discussed in other chapters and articles. In addition to economics, the proximity to the San Diego border (80 miles) makes it relatively easy to dart back across the border to enjoy the fruits of the goood ol US of A. What I mostly miss, living in Mexico, are live presentations of Jazz and Blues music. Fortunately, San Diego has grown up to be a good town for the MUSIC. I can satisfy my Jazz Jones by traveling two hours to San Diego.

Another JONES I can satisfy is my love for Asian and Italian cuisine. Here again, internationally cosmopolitan San Diego fills the bill with a variety of fine restaurants.

Vacation San Felipe or Cabo San Lucas?

I feel incredibly blessed to live and work in Northern Baja. Ironic, because most of my clients are U.S. citizens investing in Baja Sur (South). The Baja Peninsula is divided into two Mexican states, Baja California and Baja California Sur (baja norte and baja sur). The most popular areas in “el sur”, includes: Los Cabos, Mulege, Loreto and La Paz. The allure is generally warmer air and water temperatures.

Distance is also a factor. Baja Sur is considered a “destination vacation” while Ensenada and San Felipe are considered border towns. Too close to Southern California and Nevada to be fully appreciated.

Buying retirement house in baja or vacation property is very personal, therefore, a most subjective decision. Often, I research and buy property for U.S investors in remote areas of the Southern peninsula that, for me personally, don’t merit the trip once you get there.

My clients, however, are more than happy with their investment location. They love these locales; for a variety of reasons, that evoke passionate dedication. The reasons they most frequently cite are: fishing, sailing, diving, the environment (pristine or not so pristine), the Mexicano friends who have become like extended family, isolation and privacy or the opposite, a social life with other Americans in the area.

For me, Baja California (Norte) is ideal. Ensenada’s abundance of surf breaks satisfies my surfing needs. The beautiful rocky coastline and Todos Santos island, at the entrance to Ensenada Bay, are ideal for kayaking: beautiful vistas, lagoons, sea lions, seals, rooster fish, migrating whales and a huge variety of sea birds.

My mountain bike “jones” and trail running are satisfied by lots of “single track” through canyons and atop mountains that form my backyard. Everyday I climb these trails. Sharing their rugged beauty with roadrunners, quail, rabbits and snakes. Tough, steep canyons provide a healthy workout and a payoff of beautiful ocean vistas upon reaching ridge tops.

The weather in Ensenada is ideal, not too hot and never too cold. Like San Diego: If you don’t like the weather, stick around for 9 months and it might change (a little bit). When it does “turn chilly” it is only a two and one half hour drive to San Felipe and the winter warm temps typical to the Sea of Cortez. For folks on the Sea of Cortez, the summer weather (norte & sur) can become suffocating hot. Mexicali and San Felipe residents escape to Ensenada in the summer.

Last month, I spent two long weekends in San Felipe, including thanksgiving. The air temperatures were in the high 70′s, at times reaching the low 80′s. Water temps were in the 70′s. What a treat to jog down miles of white sand beach and then dip into a relatively warm sea of Cortez for an invigorating swim. A great way to start a warm November day in San Felipe.

I never tire of the drive between Ensenada and San Felipe. The mountain passes, with oak lined canyons are dotted with aspen like trees and sage that turn golden this time of year. The desert, between the two northern seas, is incredibly beautiful. Cactus and sage surround rocky peaks that soar upward from the desert floor to heights of more than 5,000 feet. A constantly changing topography and floral landscape, makes the two and one half hour drive seem much shorter.

Ensenada, a port city of 400,000 folks, has a variety of very good restaurants, night clubs, movie houses, and cultural events. We enjoy and celebrate that we are a city that feels like a village. A culturally diverse port, Ensenada can boast about its fine winemaking, internationally varied cuisine and thriving arts community.

Germans, Russians, Spanish, French, Chinese, Lebanese, English and Japanese Mexicanos make up Ensenada’s melting pot. Names like: Eduardo Smith, Miquel Pavlov, Nico Saad, Jaime Chew and Marcos Fisher are almost as common as the surnames Gonzalez and Perez. Their ancestors came in the early to mid 1900′s to fish, farm or provide a variety of hard goods for the fast growing port.

The most obvious difference to me, between northern Baja and Baja Sur, are land prices. Land purchased, in the less costly areas of Baja Sur, are generally double those in Baja norte. In Los Cabos, land prices are often ten times the price of a comparable property in the north.

I understand why many gringos would prefer the southern half of the peninsula to Ensenada, but why isn’t San Felipe as popular as pueblos to the South? I prefer going to San Felipe as opposed to Cabo San Lucas. San Felipe is less developed and more Mexicano “kick back” population 20,000. The environment is more pristine in San Felipe, the fishing is great and the water, air temps and miles of white sand beaches are comparable Los Cabos.

San Felipe is a tranquil fishing village with hotel rooms from $25 dollars with ocean views. Comparable rooms without a view in Cabo San Lucas cost $75 a night. What is up with that? San Felipe, famous for its shrimp, has wonderfully fresh (same day catch) seafood, and nobody is hustling you to buy a time share.

True, San Felipe does not have an “all night crazy” Cabo Wobble nightclub or high rise hotels blocking the view of lands end. However, it has unencumbered views of the Sea and a panga lined malecon (boardwalk) that invites evening strolls with unobtrusive norteno musicians. Minstrels who are content serenading dolphins if the tourists ain’t supporting their muisical offerings. They just play for themselves and anybody else that wants to listen if the tourists are too few or too cheap.

The beauty of a Northern Baja vacation is that you can have the best of several worlds. A half hour drive from the border lies Rosarito. There you can frolic in a nocturnal Cabo San Lucas type ambiance of debauchery. Drive another hour South of Rosarito and enjoy all that Ensenada has to offer.

Next stop, San Felipe for a hassle free Mexican vacation at its best. The police are not shaking down tourists and realtors stay in their offices awaiting customers. Cabo San Lucas is in your face gringolandia but apparently that’s what most gringos want. A place with sunny beaches, margaritas and a lot of other yahoo gringos yahooing it up.

Cabo San Lucas devotees (including my daughter, who vacations in Cabo annually), please write and explain all this to me cause I am dumbfounded. I am also a little on the frugal side. Having more fun at one third the cost fits my criteria for a great holiday just fine, “tank yo very mucho”. Born and raised in the port city of Oakland, I have always loved port cites. Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Diego or Ensenada – Pacific Coast cities are beautiful and exciting. The Pacific coastline has always been an integral part of my life. I must continue, into old age, to play in her sometimes frigid waves: Kayak, boogie, windsurf, surfboard or just plain body surfing. It is more than play, it is a spiritual connection that I could never sever.

The border VS the interior VS the south as retirement options

Mexican border town are more similar to U.S. border towns than they are to Chiapas on the Guatemala border

For as long as I have lived in Mexico I have been hell bent on understanding this country that remains to me, as I said in the book’s introduction, an “enigma wrapped in a mystery”. Moving to Baja California was a first step at understanding and assimilating into Mexico. Close to the border, Baja California has adopted much of Southern California’s culture. A frontier culture that mixes: language, styles of dress, music and a perspective that is influenced by both Mexican and U.S. values. Although influenced by cross border experiences, “Fronteriza” is a distinct culture, neither Mexican nor American. This synergy of influences is producing new and unique music, theatre, literature and art. I enjoy and can relate to this Fronteriza culture having been raised in a hybrid Hispanic, Philippine and Afro American neighborhood in Oakland California.

Baja California is culturally easy for U.S. folks, especially Southern Californians whose parents brought them here as children to fish, surf or just enjoy the “kick back” Baja, beach oriented lifestyle. However, to experience traditional Mexico and its cultural diversity you must travel the interior of the country. To really appreciate the mystery of Mexico, her spiritual magic and her three thousand year history, travel to Chiapas. It is on Mexico’s Southeast coast at the center of the region called Mundo Maya (Mayan World) which includes the surrounding Mexican states of Tabasco, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatan. Mundo Maya also includes the surrounding nations of: Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador.

Chiapas is the most distant Mexican state from Baja California, located at the Mexico&Guatemala border. As an American you owe it to yourself to make the pilgrimage. I say pilgrimage because it is the cradle of our continent’s civilization and home to Northamerica’s last remaining rain forest, whose preservation is vital to the health of our Continent.

Baja California is one of the last places on earth where Abalone still survive off her Pacific Coast. The Sea of Cortez is the only inland sea that is surrounded by the territory of a single nation. It is home to a multitude of endangered sea life including the protected 300 pound Totuaba, considered by game fisherman to be the most precious and exciting of catches. Baja’s beauty is made up of mostly pristine: desert, mountains and beaches. Similarly, Chiapas is mostly pristine wilderness. It is home to 26 endangered species of animals. Her jungles and rain forest are populated by: Jaguar, Puma, Crocodile, Armadillo, Tucan, Parrot, Monkey, Wild Boar and White Tail Deer, to name just a few. Chiapas has the largest concentration of animal species in the world. A visit to the Tuxla (capital city) Zoo and Game Preserve is an incredible journey into a small slice of an exquisite Northamerican wilderness that contains 65% of Mexico’s birds, and 1200 species of butterflies. This preserve is an important legacy to all the citizens of this continent.

The Mexican government has invested heavily in museums and parks in Chiapas in order to maintain and beautifully present the well preserved Olmec and Mayan heritage. An American heritage that most U.S. citizens know little about. History courses in U.S. public schools reflect a Euro focus that I believe warps our self identity as Americans. Our education is replete with information on Greek and Roman civilizations that existed half way round the world. Yet hardly a mention is made in our nation’s schools about Canadian or Mexican ancestral history. What’s up with this? These countries are our Northamerican neighbors. We share, and are mutually responsible for, this piece of the planet.

I interviewed a U.S. archeologist who was in the Chiapas region on an expedition focused on the Olmec civilization, predecessors of the Mayans. The Florida State University archeologist explained to me that she completed a course on ancient Northamerican cultures in preparation for her work in Mayan country. She recounted to me the erroneous and ridiculous words of her U.S. trained professor that now obsessively echos in her mind: “The Olmecs were not so much a civilazation but more an artistic lifestyle”. This ignorance was espoused by a graduate studies professor about an incredibly advanced society that knew, before anyone else in recorded history, that the world was round and revolved around the sun.

The Olmecs and the Mayans had written languages. They were: astronomers, physicians, engineers, artists and architects who built elaborate cities. The graduate professor’s historically bankrupt conclusions are a sad commentary of how poorly our education system has failed us regarding American continental history. A trip to Palenque, Chiapas is mind blowing: ruins thousands of years old are remarkably preserved, including the plaster artwork that adorn the walls of 66 foot high pyramids and huge buildings that are spread out over miles of jungle and clearings. A hike through Palenque’s ruins is a combination ecological, archaelogical, ethnological and historic passage unlike any travel adventure I have experienced. One is transported back thousands of years in this pristine and uncompromised jungle. The abundance of flora is amazing with 1,000 species of plants identified in one square mile. Animals and humans are still living where time and progress have made little or no impact. Even Palenque’s ancient underground aqueducts still function today.

Both Baja Californa and Chiapas have indigenous populations in Mexico. The difference is that Baja California’s five tribes are almost extinct with only 1200 survivors. They are generally not visible to visitors, living in remote locations away from the major cities and tourist zones. Chiapas, by comparison, has 750,000 indigenous inhabitants, one third of the state’s total population, and they are visible everywhere you travel. The impressivly high quality museums of Chiapas beautifully display artifacts that depict the lifestyles of these ancient people: style of dress, language, superb art, agricultural methods, and ceremonial traditions.

Once outside the museums, on the streets of the pueblos and in the surrounding jungle, you see the same facial features in the descendants of the Mayan and Olmec cultures. They still speak and read Mayan dialects, wear the same traditional clothing, create the same wonderful art and handcrafts and practice the same farming science of their ancestors . The whole state of Chiapas is a living, breathing museum of ancient cultures.

Ceremonial and religious customs are still very Mayan but mixed with Catholicism. The Chamula tribe, for example , allows only the Catholic sacrament of Baptism. From then on the priests and bishops are not allowed, not even to perform mass. The Chamula religious and ceremonial traditions are very Mayan with just a hint of Catholicism. To visit their church, any time of the day – everyday, is as exotic an experience as witnessing a voodoo ceremony.

Chiapas is an incredibly beautiful region: huge waterfalls, raging rivers, heavily forested mountains, pristine beaches, 15th century colonial towns, modern cities, living ethnology, handcrafts, heritage, art, music, dance, folklore, wonderful and exotic foods and beverages, animal and plant life and some of the worlds most important museums and archaeological sites. The economics of visiting there is another big plus with five star hotels at $50.00 and delicious regional dishes in the $5.00 range. Despite all of these extraordinary travel assets Northamerican tourists are profoundly scarce. This I find true in most of my travels through the colonial cities and remote regions of Mexico. Ironically, French, English and German travelers, armed with history books, are everywhere in Chiapas and the other “unknown to Gringos” locations in Mexico. Ninety percent of all U.S. tourists to Mexico visit: Cancun, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta where it is so Americanized they learn and experience almost nothing of what is truly Mexico.

As fellow custodians of this continent, all Americans owe it to themselves to visit Chiapas. To experience our last remaining rain forest, 15th century colonial towns that rival Europe, and the ancient civilzations of our forebearers. Despite political turmoil, that fills the world news, travelers are safer than they would be visiting a major U.S. city. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic I believe I am a changed person for having visited Chiapas – I have a clearer historical perspective, a renewed sense of environmental responsibility and a deeper appreciation of what it is to be an American.

THE BORDER REGION AIN’T MEXICO AND AMEN TO THAT

When people in the provinces of this country, Baja California is especially provincial, say they are going to Mexico they mean the interior of the country. Going to Mexico means the center of the country’s power and it’s surrounding states: Guanajuato, Morelos, Puebla, and Jalisco.

As a Califoniano, Oakland and Ensenada, I ask myself why anyone would want to travel to Mexico City? You don’t know whether your cab driver is a real cabbie or a violent thief who will rob and possibly hurt or kill you. The air is unbreathable and the traffic unbearable.

A client of mine is a Daimler Benz owned Mexican company called Temic. My work with them requires me to fly to Mexico City once a month. Luckily, it is not necessary for me to use cabs. My client provides a chauffeur who receives me on each visit and returns me to the airport on departure in Mexico City.

My work takes me to their plant, located an hour and one half from the Mexico City Airport, in the state of Morelos. The plant is located in a beautiful agricultural area in the municipality of Cuatla; a half hour south of Cuernavaca.

The state of Morelos, finds itself in a political mess as I write this. The governor just resigned and there is still talk of indicting him for corruption and other criminal activities. The last straw for Morelos citizenry was the discovery that the “elite” kidnapping investigating unit (hand picked by the gov) was responsible for a number of kidnappings. Morelos leads the nation in kidnappings with 360 last year. The cop/kidnappers were caught disposing the body of one of their kidnapping victims of Morelos.

I visited Cuernavaca , the capital of Morelos, for the first time in 1977 and it was a beautiful pueblo (little town) with jungle like hillsides: full of flowers, butterflies and the scent of lush flora. Today it is a grimy city with traffic problems caused by too many cars on narrow cobble stoned streets. Streets not designed for the magnitudes that fill this pueblo turned city.

Please don’t get me wrong I like going to Morelos, but I’m so glad I live in Ensenada. One very important reason I like going to Morelos is the chorizo. The crap that we call chorizo here in Baja Califonia and most of California is not what I grew up on. In Morelos my grandmother’s chorizo and morsilla (blood sausage) is in abundant supply. Chorizo, by my criteria, should not fall apart when you fry it up. True chorizo remains an in tact sausage that you cut with a knife and fork; seeing and smelling those fine, spicy juices explode as you cut into that plump motha. DAMN! Makes me hungry thinkin about it.

Morelos is culturally more traditional Mexico when compared to Baja California. Food preparation in Baja California, for example, is not high quality Mexican Cuisine. In the state of Morelos, Mexican cooking is an art form. The variety of dishes and sauces is vast, exotic and prepared with exceptional pride and caring. Holidays, fiestas and religious practices are more tradition bound and integrated into community life in “Mexico” as opposed to Baja California. Morelos is an interesting change for me from Baja California so I do enjoy my visits. A great place to visit but.

The political and social climate in the state of Morelos is also quite distinct when compared to Baja California. In Morelos, for example, the unions are very strong and often create major problems for large employers. In Baja California the unions are a joke, neither employees nor employers pay much attention to them. Most maquiladoras (foreign owned assembly operations) are non union shops in Baja California. Tijuana leads the nation in the number of maquiladoras; twelve hundred of the nations 2,000 maquiladoras are in Tijuana Baja California.

Union bosses, close proximity to Mexico City style corruption and a traditional acceptance of a government that does not represent the people’s interests has created modern day Cuernava. Once the Mecca for Mexico’s great artists it is now a bustling, “dog eat dog” city, bursting at the seams and hell bent on repeating the awful disaster that is Mexico City.

Cuernavaca and the rest of Morelos is still a popular weekend getaway for stressed out Chilangos (Mexico City residents). Only an hour away , via a very modern toll road, Cuernava is at least a little slower and less crowded than the Districto Federal.

Lots of tradition and great food has Morelos. No surf, sand, desert, wide open spaces, clean air or that layed back Baja California feeling. Baja California must also be lauded for a state government that works hard to protect the interests and rights of its citizens. Where abuse of authority is the exception rather than the rule. Gracias a Dios, I do live in Baja.

The Bite is Alive and Well in Mexico

“LA MORDIDA”, translation “the bite” is the term used for a bribe in this country. It is the traditional and customary way of getting things done. The bureaucrat who does your bidding takes a bite out of the cost of completing your objective. Mexican reformers are trying to change this condition with little success. It is so institutionalized that it could take decades before the situation changes appreciably. Bribing a cop, a judge or a permit agent is not the exclusive domain of Mexico. News stories about bribery scandals in the United States are not uncommon but in Mexico it is a way of life instead of an aberration in the system.

Payoffs in the U.S. are usually in the form of political favors, exchanged for campaign contributions. In Mexico it is endemic to almost all agencies of government: Treasury, immigration, customs, commerce commissions, police, judges, planning departments and even lawyers who will “throw” your case to your opponent in a law suit. It is a customary way of doing business in Mexico and most Mexicanos treat it with a shrug of the shoulders. They complain about it but accept it stoically as a way of life.

Prior to President Salinas De Gortari, Mexican customs was a joke. Everybody knew that if you wanted to bring contraband across the border it wasn’t a question of whether you could get away with it but how much of a bribe would be necessary. I can remember how we applauded the new president (Gortari) for his courage and cunning in attacking the customs department by training 3000 new agents in secret and then replacing all of the “old guard” in one day with his cadre of newly trained recruits; sporting new uniforms to underscore what we thought was the beginning of a new day. Today, it is back to business as usual at the border. It requires a little more discretion, and perhaps a heftier payoff, but the result is the same: if you want to bring something across the border without paying the normal duty it can be accomplished.

It should also be noted that the “great reformer” Gortari, along with his brother Raul, turned out to be the biggest recipients of graft in the history of Mexico. There is overwhelmingly evidence that Raul took huge payoffs from drug cartels (80 million dollars in Swiss Accounts traced to drug moneys). No one believes that Raul did this without the president’s knowledge. Here again, Mexicanos treat national injustice with fatalistic acceptance: Carlos Salinas De Gortari lives in self imposed exile and protected by Mexico’s historical tradition of allowing former presidents to be left alone no matter how big the rip off.

Privatization of the banks and other government entities was applauded by free enterprise enthusiasts around the world during the Salinas regime. I was also a big supporter of what we then called Salinastroica, comparing it to the downfall of Communism. We now know that privatizing federal assets mostly benefited the president’s wealthy friends and associates who were awarded the nation’s treasures.

When I first began representing foreign investment clients in Mexico I thought: “man what a convenient tool this mordida”. I even included the cost of payoffs in my fees, having prearranged the bite amount with corresponding officials. When a new bureaucrat took over a permit agency I would invite the new player to breakfast and strike a deal as to how much he would receive from each of my transactions.

That is correct folks, I was a bribing machine and acted in a cavalier manner. A friend of mine, who also thought this was a pretty cool way of doing business, called it “Pay as you go public service”. The rationale was that government officials were paid so poorly and the tax rate so low that mordida was a sensible and expedient way of equalizing the bureaucrats income. It all seemed very harmless and expeditious in contrast to the U.S. where we often jump through ridiculous hoops, endure long delays and unreasonable costs in order to obtain approval for a transaction.

I believed, when leaving the U.S., that there were too many restrictions in my homeland, too many prohibitions in the name of the public good. The saying I liked in my adopted country is: “In Mexico anything is possible”. After fifteen years of doing business in Mexico I no longer look at Mordida as convenience. I now see it for what it really is: part and parcel to a greater evil that robs Mexicanos and foreign investors of their basic human rights to freedom and justice. I must admit to my good friend Michael Bircumshaw, the editor of the formerly mentioned fine newspaper, that I was wrong. Regular readers of Michael’s jounal know he has always stood firmly against the paying of Mordida. He has written and published numerous articles condemning it.

What has turned me around are the instances of injustice that have victimized my clients and friends. Here are just a couple of recent examples: Last year a client of mine bought a home in an exclusive Ensenada subdivision whose primary asset is an unobstructed view of the Pacific. The subdivision developer had guarantees by the city of Ensenada and the law that no one homeowner could obstruct the view of another homeowner. This guarantee was in the form of a contract with the city; to defer all rights of construction plans to prior approval by the homeowner’s design committee. The law “protected” the homeowners because the subdivision rules and regulations were published in the “Periodico Official”, the state’s legal publication, which in effect makes it law.

The city of Ensenada broke the law by granting a building permit to my client’s neighbor, whose building plans obliterated their view, despite a rejection of those plans by the homeowner’s design committee. When I appealed this decision to the city attorney he agreed that the city was breaking the law but that he did not wish to place the law above his working relationship with another city official, in this case, the Planning Department Director of Ensenada. I was appalled when he told me it was in my best interests and that of the litigating attorney to take the case to trial since we would make more money representing the client. He also indicated that our client would obviously win the case because the law was clearly broken. When I pointed out to the city attorney that my client would suffer economically and that it was his obligation, as counsel for Ensenada, to uphold the law he simply gave me a vacant look without responding to me verbally.

Last month, an Ensenada doctor friend, was treating a retired Navy Seal who died alone in his apartment. When last visited by the doctor the deceased had $1,200 in cash and was wearing his Navy Seal ring. The police were called when neighbors were concerned about the man’s non response to knocks on his door. When the doctor, on behalf of the deceased’s family, went to the police station of Ensenada to recover his personal belongings, the police denied having anything. The doctor protested profusely; declaring he knew the dead man’s belongings, including cash, were recovered by the cops. The police also refused to divulge the name of the police officer who found the body. In anger the doctor accused the department of theft and lying to cover it up. The next day my doctor friend was visited, at his medical office, by a policeman who refused to divulge his name and warned the doctor that he should just leave the incident alone.

There are more notable abuses of the law and authority that have made international news: The 1998 assassination of 40 pro Zapatista indigenous in Chiapas, mostly women and children. They were gunned down by a paramilitary unit, supported by the town’s mayor and leadership, who used these goons to keep the Indians in line. Also in 1998, the state of Morelos’ citizens called for the resignation of the governor whose personally selected police unit, formed to investigate kidnappings, were found to be the leaders of the kidnapping ring. Morelos leads the nation in kidnappings with 360 victims in 1997.

In Chiapas, the Chamula Indians obligate their tribesmen to be members of the ruling PRI party. Anyone in the tribe who prefers membership in a different party or even criticizes the PRI is ostracized and driven from their tribal lands. The PRI maintains this loyalty by providing the Chamulas with the Coca Cola franchise for the region. Big time mordida.

I no longer pay mordida to Mexican officialdom. I love this country and its people too much to contribute, even in the smallest way, to a system of impunity for the law. Impunity that has led to a social and political milieu that contributes to abuse, suffering and loss. Loss of rights, freedom and, as in the recent Chiapas incident, the loss of life. If your traveling in Mexico and a cop stops you for an alleged traffic violation offer to accompany him to the police station to pay the ticket. Most often he will not want to spend the time and let you go. If you do pay the fine it will most likely be considerably less than the bribe. You will be honoring the law and honoring the freedom of Mexicanos.

Mexican commerce has been isolated from the technological advances that occurred in Mexico. In the rest of the industrialized world, in the first eighty years of this century. Mexico did not open its domestic market to global competition until the early 1980′s. Until then, prohibitively high tariffs on imports allowed the Mexican businessman to sell low quality goods to a captured market without caring too much about operational efficiency or marketing strategies. Cheap wages also supported a blasé attitude toward technology and efficiency. “Just add more cheap labor” was the traditional solution to greater productivity. In brief, the Mexican businessman was protected from the need to modernize in order to compete. As a result, Mexico has a lot of entrepreneurial catching up to do in today’s global marketplace. I continue to be impressed and surprised with how quickly this nation’s business community has adapted to the rapid transfer from domestic monopolization to highly competitive international trade.

I caution folks about impulsively starting a small business in México. If you are considering a small, retail or service related business, my advice is don’t. Unless you have a product to manufacture or purchase for export your chances for success in Mexico are probably not very good. The business climate for maquiladoras (foreign owned manufacturing) is excellent due to cheaper production costs in Mexico. The average factory worker, on the U.S. side of the border, makes $1,600 dlls a month. The Mexicano Maquiladora worker makes $400.00 dlls a month. Profit margins in manufacturing or brokering products for export justify the extra hassles of doing business in Mexico.

For most retail or service oriented businesses the red tape and anti gringo bureaucrats are not worth the small profit margins. Consider how tough it is to succeed in a small, U.S. based business. It is tough enough when you understand the laws, language and culture. Now, imagine how rough it is to deal in a foreign
country and language, with different laws, a difficult to understand “non-system” and three times more bureaucrats in Mexico to get in your way than the stateside system. Call me for a free consultation and I will be happy to elaborate on why you would probably fail in a small, foreign owned, Mexican business. If you are suffering from RAPTURE OF BAJA you will most likely proceed against my advice but at least you will be forewarned.

Now lets talk about something that makes sense: living in Mexico as a retiree or residing close enough to the border to commute to work in the states. A third possibility, occurring with greater frequency, is running a global market business from your beach home in Mexico via fax, phone and modem. What kind of lifestyle can you enjoy and at what cost?

Cost of medical care in Mexico

I have researched, for a series of articles on medical care, the cost and quality of that medical care in comparison to the United States. What I learned is that medical insurance in mexico, prescription drugs, surgeries and dental procedures are one third the cost of comparable services in the U.S. . The reasons are: the lower income of medical service consumers, government cost controls on medicine, the scarcity of malpractice litigation in Mexico and the average earnings of health care professionals: medical doctors earn an average of $1,000.00 a month and nurses $500.00 monthly.

The quality of care I have received from my physician, other specialists and dentists in Mexico have been outstanding. I would not trade my “house calling” physician and state of the art dentist for any professional north of the border. Medical training and practices in Mexico are of the highest standards if your physician or hospital is offering services in the private medical sector. The socialized medical care, at the clinic level, leaves much to be desired. However, for major surgeries, this system also offers world class specialists and care.

Cost of food in Mexico

I can buy a kilo (2+lbs.) of fresh shrimp for $16.00 dlls. We regularly eat lunch in a family restaurant, serving comida corrida (meal of the day), for thirty five pesos or $3.50 dlls. Tortillerias sell freshly made tortillas for 90 cents a kilo. Fresh rolls (birotes), that rival those made in Paris or San Francisco, cost 25 cents each and can be found in bakeries all over Mexico. Mexican desert pastries, that will satisfy any gourmet family’s sweet tooth-about $2.00 a bag. Along with savings on our food bill we have the added advantage of buying affordable abalone, lobster, mussels and clams fresh from local fishermen. In addition, door to door vendors offer wonderful selections of home made cheeses, deserts and olives. The olives are not the tasteless variety sold in U.S. supermarkets that are flavor extracted by a lye based, quick curing method. These olives are slowly cured in water filled clay crocks and taste the way olives should taste.

Transport and travel

Gasoline prices are higher in México but the real savings are in automotive repairs, particularly body shops with labor costs about 80-90% less than garages north of the border. General mechanics typically charge about 1/3 of what mechanics demand in the states. Taxi cabs “de ruta”, which means they pick up multiple passengers over a constant route, will cost you about 55 cents to go from one end of town to the other. There is virtually no waiting for these cabs, given the enormous number that maintain a constant flow throughout all Mexican cities. Buses in Mexico, which have improved dramatically, in quality and comfort over the past five years, cost about 20% of what bus fares cost in the U.S.; the number of routes and bus departures are significantly greater than in the states.

Hotels are a real bargain in Mexico. My wife and I choose modest rooms that rarely cost more than $40.00 and most frequently are in the $30.00 range. These are not elegant rooms but always offer a clean environment with good mattresses and bed springs. Some freinds recently traveled Mexico in a motor home and found that the combined costs for the gas guzzler and hookup fees were costlier than staying in hotel rooms. As mentioned earlier, restaurants and entertainment are also significantly less expensive in México. A first run U.S. film with Spanish subtitles, for example, costs two dollars.

Affordable decadence

When asked about my religion I sometimes jokingly respond that I am an Orthodox Hedonist. Decadence is expensive in the states. Some comparisons: Premium dark roasted coffee (Starbuck quality) that I buy direct from the local roaster is $4.50 a pound. I also enjoy premium dark beers, good cabernet sauvignon, Spanish brandy and hand rolled 100% tobacco leaf cigars from the gulf port of Veracruz. My cigars that I pay 65 cents a piece for cost three to five dollars in the states. My Spanish brandy I buy for $6.00 a fifth in the duty free store and my Bohemia or Negra Modelo beer (selling for $7.00 a six pack in the U.S.) is priced at $4.50 here in Ensenada.

Hired help in Mexico

My secretary is paid two hundred dollars a week and my house servant who: cooks, cleans, washes and irons clothes is paid eighty five dollars a week. It is affordable help and greatly enhances our enjoyment of additional free time.

I don’t live in Mexico to save money. I live in this country because my quality of life is better. However, a major contribution to that quality of life is that I can afford a little decadence and am able to avoid household chores that I neither like nor am good at performing. Viva Mexico and Viva the good life!.

On a Fixed Income in México You Need Not Eat PET FOOD.

As mentioned above housing and medical costs in Mexico, are a third of those in the United States. Recently, I was reminded, by an expatriate friend, how this economic advantage translates into quality of life benefits.

At age 57 I am quickly approaching the receipt of Social Security benefits. Damn. How time flies. My friend at age 62 has preceeded me in qualifying for Social Security payments and his comments, regarding same, struck a responsive chord in me: “If I were living in the U. S., on Social Security benefits alone”, I would be eating dog food like so many older American. Here in México, I have a damned decent life style on $ 1000.00 a month.

My friend owns a home in Ensenada. A 2,000 square foot abode with a great view of the city and bay, He pays approximately $150.00 a year for property taxes. The same home in the States would cost him thousands of dollars a year. Property taxes force many seniors in the U. S. to be uprooted from a home they have enjoyed for decades before retirement.

A market survey I recently conducted for a client, Travelers Investment Corporation, further underscores the economic advantages of México for U S. citizens. Travelers Investment Corporation (T. I. C.) provides loans for elective medical procedures: cosmetic surgery, Radial Keratomy, dental implants and other services not covered by medical insurance.

T. I. C. makes these loans very accesible to patients via physicians, hospitals, clinics and dentists. The medical provider informs the patient about T. I. C. loans and offers assistance in completing a simple one page application that is faxed to T. I. C.. Within 24 hours of receiving the loan application the patient is accepted or told that a qualified cosigner is required.

Assuming T. I. C. approves the loan, the service provider is paid directly to perform the procedure. Everyone wins: the patient is treated, the provider gets paid and T. I. C. receives a fair interest rate.

T. I. C. asked us to verify what they believed was a burgeoning market of U. S. citizens, traveling to México for quality medical care at a savings of 50 to 70 percent of what they would pay in the U. S. I was amazed at our survey results. Medical and dental specialists in Ensenada, on average, estimate that U. S. patients represent 30% of their total practice and 50% of those U.S. residents are Hispanics.

As already stated, I am very impressed with the quality of medical and dental care I receive in Ensenada. I believe that care to be superior to the services I received when living in Northern California. Also, I enjoy substancial medical insurance savings. My medical premiums are $ 55.00 dollars a month for full coverage with a small deductible and I have my choice of of providers. An HMO, without the choice advantage, would cost me three times more in California.

My decision to live in Baja Mexico, again repeating myself, has more to do with cultural considerations than economic reasoning. However, my quality of life owes a lot to economics.

A large tourism sector for Baja California are the thousands of U.S. citizens who travel here every month to take advantage of elective surgeries and or medical treatments at savings of up to 75%. U.S. and Canadian citizens, who live in Baja California, quickly learn that they can receive better medical and dental care from private practicioers here compared to what they received when living in the States. House calls, twenty four hour emergency care and a doctor who spends time explaining treatment options often shocks foreign patients accustomed to indifferent and “too busy to talk” practitioners at home.

Medical and dental specialists in Ensenada report that an average of 30% of their patients are U.S. citizens; retirees, living in Ensenada, or folks that travel to Mexico from north of the border. At least one half of those U.S. patients are Hispanic.

Another benefit of being treated in Mexico is that some very effective medical modalities exist here but are not approved for use in the United States. RK surgery in Mexico for many folks who have extremely bad eyesight is not available in the United States because of a special laser not yet approved by the FDA but available in Mexico and Canada. Last year, an RK surgeon in Tijuana performed four million dollars worth of RK on U.S. patients referred to him by Scripps, UCSD hospitals and leading eye surgeons in San Diego unable to provide the surgery necessary.

The problem for patients who want to take advantage of the benefits of being treated in Mexico is that they do not know where to go for a decent referral.
The best resource for quality medical care are the retirees in the region of Mexico you are interested in. Talk with them and you will soon hear a list of names repeated. Talk to those profesionnals; if you feel comfortable with them ask them to refer you to other specialists who are bi lingual. Mexican surgeons are famous throughout.

Ensenada , Baja, Mexico, 2005

Mexico leads the world of nations in the number of U.S. expatriots living here. I’m a twenty year resident of Ensenada , a Pacific beach community just 80 miles South of the border. It is estimated that 20,000 U.S. citizens live here, mostly retirees.

Baja California is a narrow Penninsula that offers an incredibly diverse climate and landscape. A two and one half hour drive, from the Pacific coastline’s crashing waves takes you to the flat Sea of Cortez on the eastern coastline. San Felipe’s air and water temperatures are 10 to 20 degrees warmer than Ensenada year round.

Aside from climate differences, Ensenada is a bustling port city of 450,000 residents. San Felipe is a sleepy shrimp fishing village with a population of 17000. The short drive between these two coasts is over some of the most beautiful desert imaginable. The 110 mile trip includes three passes at 4,000 ft. elevations.

The list of reasons given for retiring here are: lower cost of living, a higher quality of life style when compared to the U.S., a slower pace, greater tranquility, a more pristine environment, proximity to the border (family and medical services), high speed internet access, quality medical and dental care, good fishing and surfing, less terror threat, lower violent crime rate and finally the love of Mexican culture and her people.

Economic reasons to retire in Mexico are the mostly frequently heard motives for moving here. However, it is usually expressed in terms of improved lifestyle and environment: “My beach home, in Baja, cost me $200,000. A comparable home, North of the border, on a more crowded beach, would cost over two million. I could not afford the property taxes on a U.S. beach house. My property tax bill in Mexico is $100 per year”.

Other economic benefits living in Mexico usually relate to the lower cost of Mexican labor. The minimum wage is $5.75 per day. Car repairs, medical and dental bills, home maintenance and servants are a fraction of what these services cost in the states. Most retirees and middle class Mexicanos can afford to pay a cleaning person. Sixty to one hundred dollars per week to clean, cook and wash clothes. At the hundred dollar level, child care is included.

A night on the town: dinner, drinks and dancing, for my wife and I, rarely costs more than $60.00. First run, Hollywood movies at our state of the art Cineplex are $2.50 a ticket.

Whether it be downtown parking for a dollar instead of $7.00 in San Diego , a dollar cigar instead of $6.00, or 10% tips instead of the 20% expected by stateside waiters, it all adds up. A less expensive and more enjoyable lifestyle because we can afford these little extras of life´s pleasures.

We spent our vacation this summer in Northern California . A modest five day stay for two that cost us $2,000. We could not find a decent hotel for less than $80.00 a night and dinner tabs approached the same. We stay in decent hotels in Baja for $25-40.00 with dinner costing $35.00. We decided that next year we will vacation in Baja. We can afford a U.S. vacation but at Baja prices we can do more and stay longer.

Five years ago Baja California began experiencing a huge number of Italian vacationers in August. The number has increased to the point where almost every vacation spot has a number of Italian families visibly present. The reason is economic. August is when the schools in Italy are closed for summer vacation. They can family-vacation in pristine Baja instead of overpopulated and contaminated European beach resorts for a lot less money (including airfare and rental cars).

Retirement safety and security

In the past, stateside retirees in Baja had to run the risk of: losing their retirement property to discriminatory foreign investment laws. Since NAFTA and friendlier foreign investment legislation, foreign born retirees in Mexico can feel secure in their investment if the coastal property they are purchasing is eligible for a living trust and is title insurable.

Title insurance, issued by U.S. title companies: Fidelity, First American or Stewart Title, is available throughout Mexico. These policies are issued in the United States and subject to U.S. courts for enforcement. Affordable Financing has also become available to foreigners in Mexico , using Mexican property as collateral. Seller financing is the most common way to purchase in Mexico .

Most retirees are very concerned about the quality of medical services in Mexico. My twenty year personal experience and those of my retired friends, is that our medical and dental care has surpassed the care we received in the states. An office visit costs thirty five dollars and dental procedures are 50 to 70 percent less than the same North of the border. Most U.S. major medical plans

Will pay the hospital and doctor costs. Either direct payment or at the very least reimbursed to the patient.

Hospitals, clinics and professional offices are state of the art on both Baja coasts. In addition to very well trained physicians, surgeons and dentists, the culture is very prone to personalizing patient care. I have the home phone numbers of my physicians and dentist. They do make house calls. Hell, my vet makes house calls to care for my three dogs and a cat.

Immigration is very friendly in Baja for documenting retirees. The permit is called a FM-3 Rentista. It is renewable on an annual basis at a cost of $150 dollars. The only requirement is that you must demonstrate retirement income that is equal to $1,000 a month for a single person and $1,500 dollars monthly for a retired couple. It is important to obtain and maintain current this visa. It is a way of guaranteeing your rights-that you have legal status in Mexico .

My moving to Ensenada in 1985 was the best move of my life. However, as a Spanish speaking Latino, the transition to the Mexican culture was relatively easy. Mexico is not for everybody, especially type A gringos. Manñana does not mean tomorrow but sometime in the future. And one of Mexico´s favorite pastimes is telling you what you want to hear. This phenomenon is called la cortesia; don´t tell the truth if it is distasteful to the other person. (see US Mexico Cultural Distinctions)

The other piece of advice I always give to foreigners in Mexico is do not go into business. Mexico is not a business friendly country. It is tough enough for Mexican entrepreneurs who understand the language and culture. It is very difficult for the English speaking businessman who does not know the laws, culture and business practices that are so distinctively Mexican. For help in moving to Mexico, visit our website www.mexicomatters.info and also the website of www.Baja-relocation.com

I find myself bitching about Mexico to my Mexican wife and friends. Damn, there are no decent Chinese restaurants and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with the largest Chinese communities in the United States. There are even fewer alternative Asian food options –none. How I long for those exotic flavors of Thailand, Vietnam and The Philipines. And forget about Italian restaurants. I grew up with Italian friends who owned five star eateries in San Francisco’s North Beach. I ate the best Italian food in those friend’s homes. The opportunity to listen to live Jazz and Blues is extremely limited in Mexico. Growing up in Oakland, there was soulful music everywhere. And speaking of Soul music, there ain’t any Soul Food restaurants in Baja either.

In addition to “my joneses” for food and music, Mexicans piss me off. The bureaucracy and the Mexican’s nature to ignore rational argument is frustrating at best. Obstinate behavior in a world that begs for creativity, flexibility and greater efficiency. All of these things, and more, agitate me into thinking lately about moving back to the good ole U.S. of America.

But then I turned on the news from San Diego and heard beach reports for this past 4th of July weekend. That’s right, the celebration of our independence from those onerous English Kings, on an especially hot 4th of July. Like most San Diegans, I would head for the beaches, with the following rules: no dogs, no smoking, no drinking, and no furniture other than your beach chair and no reserving spaces for your friends. These are the rules for all of San Diego’s beaches. Here in Mexico, you would have to put up with folks: smoking, with dogs, a wide arrangement of furniture, definitely drinking, potentially on horseback or maybe even driving on the beach.

The U.S. is still a great country – home of the free- if you work hard and get rich. My dad frequently took me to major league sports events in San Francisco and Oakland on a laborer’s salary. Today, only the very wealthy can afford an NBA finals ticket starting at $1,000.00 each. I cannot afford to take my son to a Padres baseball game in San Diego. The day would cost me a hundred and fifty dollars – for me that represents one thousand five hundred pesos. Forget about it. Then there is the cost of gasoline at $4.80 a gallon instead of the $2.50 I pay in Mexico. But that is because we don’t have the “free enterprise” oil companies.

In Mexico the nation’s vital resources are owned by the state. This is not good ole, Yankee competitive, free enterprise. Free market capitalism in the states provides competitive pricing, does it not? The consumer therefore wins, right? In Mexico, the repression is an autocratic limit on our freedom to get screwed. In the U.S., you are paying 15 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity to the free enterprise-guaranteed profitability- power companies. We pay five cents a kilowatt hour to the onerous governmental enterprise the “Federal Confederation of Electricity”. Sounds socialist and we know how dangerous socialism is.

Without the champions of free enterprise, Washington drug company lobbyists, U.S. citizens would not have the advantage of paying for all that research and development the freeloading third world takes advantage of. What patriotic American would accept Mexico’s repressive price controls on medicine. These ominous price controls force U.S. companies to sell their products in Mexico at a fraction of what they charge in the states. I’m surprised they don’t pull out of this government controlled, socialist marketplace.

Democrats are pushing for “socialized” medicine because forty million American “near do wells” can’t pay for health Insurance. While Mexican doctors and hospitals suffer from a government’s insistence that all Mexican citizens have a right to health care. Medical Practitioners must attend the sick whether they have money or not. This restricts the liberty of Mexican doctors to afford country club memberships. And, to add insult to injury, they must respond to “spoiled sick people” who expect house calls.

In the U.S., we cherish our “first amendment rights” of expression. And we must surely insist on our right to “in depth” news reporting about Britney Spear’s latest episode. How could our commander and chief have sold us on the noble Iraq war if the “free market” press community did not “fall in line”? Like good patriots, our respected press corp. listened attentively to their media mogul bosses.

Media folks are realists. They know we could not continue to be the world’s leading “military-industrial complex” without maintaining patriotic devotion in their reporting. Being the 5th column of government, they are obliged to promote our international goals of spreading freedom via the power to “shock and awe”. Having military occupants in seventy countries around the world requires positive reporting; so we are seen as freedom fighters and not imperialists.

I will never understand Mexico and Mexicans. But I do understand that I can afford to live here. And, unfortunately, no longer in my beloved Bay Area. But damn, I sure miss all those freedoms I use to enjoy as a yank. How about ya’all?

Jose Amate Perez is the founder of Mexicomatters, a foreign investment consulting firm, you can contact Jose at 619 819 9369 or in Mexico 646 1766759 www.mexicomatters.info

“Why Ensenada?” Is the question I asked myself in the late 1980’s, when I began writing about moving from my home in “very hip” Berkeley, California to live full time in Ensenada. And now, 26 years later, a lot has changed. It is no longer the quiet village I found upon my arrival.

There were very few electric typewriters, much less the existence of computers back then. The clack of manual typewriters and the tearing of carbon paper were the most familiar Ensenada office sounds in the mid 80’s. My old IBM PC, I used only as a word processor, marveled my friends and colleagues.

A mule driven wagon brought fruits and vegetables to neighborhood streets. My favorite Cabernet – Cavas Val Mar, was delivered to my home by the vintner, Fernando Martain, at $50.00 a case. That same Cabernet now costs $25 a bottle. Freshly caught lobster, at ridiculously low prices, was offered by fishermen who knocked on my door.

Now everyone is wired to the internet. It has replaced T.V. as the gathering place of young “Ensenadenses”. Whether on the home laptop or at the internet café. Youtube and Myspace occupies our young, including my 16 year old. COSTCO, Walmart and Home Depot now cover once open fields adjoining the beautiful white sand beaches of Ensenada. Traffic and parking problems began surfacing only four years ago. The city is no longer a mix of urban and rural. It has been fully urbanized and “I dig it”. Ensenada has grown up nicely for my: port city – urban tastes.

Chilangos (natives of Mexico City), Cachanilla (Mexicali natives), Asians, Europeans and Gringos (Gabachos) have migrated here, in ever increasing numbers. They have brought new vitality and energy to Ensenada. It is more diverse and the results are, in my opinion, an improvement and augmentation in: music, food, art, literature, dance and dialogue. And with all of its new found sophistication (sushi and hip hop), it is still a village.

I walk down the street, enter a restaurant, store, office or bar and folks still greet me by my name. Like neighbors and old friends we poke fun of each other and ourselves – Like “playin the dozens” on a street corner in my native Oakland. Except “we be trash talkin” in Spanglish. Waiters, bartenders, merchants’ professionals, politicians and bureaucrats take time out for me. Recounting when and where we first met.

There is warmth to the folks, in this Pearl of the Pacific that is missing in most urban centers. An acceptance for people based on who they are. Not their: occupation, age, skin color, automobile or clothes. I was blessed growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, the bastion of free America. And equally blessed living out my “very hip” senior years in Ensenada.

Why hip you ask? Cause Ensenada, like me, is hip. Check out the new Bella’s Arte, state art museum. It is located on Costero Blvd adjoining, to the South, Riviera del Pacifica. It is filled with genius. The art museum property also houses a large performing arts theatre. Presenting world class performances at prices the average Ensenada family can afford.
New restaurants have changed the dining landscape in Ensenada, with more high cuisine alternatives from the interior and Southern regions of Mexico (see the Ensenada gourmet) . A wonderful supper club called “El Bodegon del Arte” (The warehouse of art) combines great food, live music and art in a funky bohemian environment. Also found on the website. Minors are welcome.

And of course, Ensenada has the Valle de Guadalupe wine country; which I describe as Napa – Sonoma 50 years ago. I’m old enough to make that comparison. The valley boasts a total of 80 wineries including artisan “home made” wines. A wine lover’s paradise, without the commercial trappings of Northern wineries.

In Ensenada you actually meet the winemakers. Our annual wine festival runs the entire month of August, with internationally acclaimed artists performing in vineyards, under the stars, on balmy Ensenada Valley nights. Enhancing the experience – of course, great local wine and food. Over a hundred thousand visitors, from all over the globe came to celebrate the righteous grape this past year.

I love the fact that I can go to Hussong’s Cantina and hear great live mariachi, move three doors down to Mango Mango for Cuban Son and Salsa. Then cross the street to Las Palmas for Banda de Sinaloa music. Six blocks East, some great Jazz or Latin Jazz. And cap the night off at any one of many bistros featuring soft guitar accompanied balladeers.
I am proud of the city that for nine years has presented an International jazz festival, the last weekend in September that is free to the public. Grateful, that my piano studying teen has the best of musical influences and teachers who are friends of mine.

I am humbled that mi amigo, Rommel Arvizu, owner of XS 92.9 fm, let’s me satisfy my “Jones” for presenting African originated music on the radio. America’s only indigenous, classical art form – Jazz, Blues, and all its derivatives: Sunday nights at 8:30 pm.

I am supported by “Ensenadenses” who are excited about my bringing Oakland style Blues to Ensenada for a Jazz and Blues Festival. Ensenada Jazz is a world class ensemble led by Maestro Sixto Rosas. They will be sharing the bill with The Delta Wires of Oakland, voted the best band in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ensenada jazz is incredibly generous to me. They committed to performing without asking how much they would receive: “Pay us what you think is fair”.

Contrary to press reports, I feel safe in Baja California and especially Ensenada. I don’t worry about my wife or my son’s safety on our streets. I am proud of our police leadership and city officials who do not tolerate “shake downs”. Nor do they tolerate bad behavior in public. I have lived in the East, West and Midwestern United States. Emergency response time in Ensenada is the best I have known.

If I need to escape the “hustle and bustle” of newly urbananized Ensenada, I seek refuge at my beach house. It is Located on the Punta Banda Penninsula, 30 minutes South of downtown. Estuary, white sand beach, thermal springs, mountains, an island and a wide array of migrating birds helps me do serious (as the Hawaiians say) “chillaxin”.

I’m going to take poetic license on a tune by an old Oakland R&B group – “Tower of Power” ya’all. And say: “Is it hip? Ensenada is more than hip – It’s hipper than hip”.

We, at Mexicomatters, have recently been pleased to make the acquantance of Lic. Luis Miranda, co founder of a wonderful website called www.boomersabroad.com

I congratulate everyone associated with boomers abroad: a great way to communicate with es-pats throughout Latina America and educate wannabe ex-pats. This is reprinted from the boomersabroad webpage.

Boomers Abroad, Niche portal, Online Community and Social Network was founded in direct response to hundreds of conversations with retiring baby boomers who were seeking out a new life, exciting destinations, a better weather and a dream home. At Boomer Abroad Online Community we strive to fill the information gap and educate and update Baby Boomers on the news, trends and opportunities in Latin America”.
Baby Boomers from the USA and Canada are actively looking for information and for means to better understand how they can move abroad, live abroad, travel abroad, invest abroad or retire abroad. Particularly Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions where baby boomers have shown more interest.

The number of Americans and Canadians living abroad, approximatley 7 Million, which is twice the population of Chicago and greater than that of 33 U.S. States, has steadily grown over the past decade and it is expected to more than double within the next 10 years.

There is also a strong upward trend in the number of Americans and Canadians traveling abroad for healthcare. According to Modern Healthcare, there were 750,000 Americans who traveled abroad for healthcare in 2007 and this number is predicted to increase 700% to 6 million by 2010.

In the next 20 years, 100 million baby boomers, from the USA and Canada, are going to retire. The first wave of baby boomers turned 60 in 2006 and their life is changing for them now. Five million baby boomers turn age 60 each year, Ten Thousand per day, Seven per minute, and scores of them are purchasing property abroad as vacation homes or investment homes. Naturally, many of them are auditioning these homes for potential primary retirement residences.

Boomers Abrod is the One Stop Shop portal and social network for baby boomers looking forward to travel abroad, live abroad, retire abroad, and of course also for those already living abroad. Boomers Abroad is the connector between those that want to live abroad and those that already live abroad. So the members of the Community that are looking forward to live abroad can ask questions to those that journeyed ahead of them. In this interactive and fun manner Baby Boomers can find information that no portal will be able to offer. You can compare Countries. You can compare Cities within a country and neighborhoods within a City.

Members can create their own profiles, join groups of those who share their same particular interests, create their own groups, make friends, upload photos and videos, post blogs, make questions, answer questions, etc. Our goal is to provide an open platform of information and Collaboration through our online community and social network. The online community model makes perfect sense for this need because there are thousands of questions and it is impossible to upload in a portal all the content and the information from all the different destinations. That could be also very boring. Baby Boomers enjoy interaction and this is what is all about. Interactivity and collaboration. We believe that this is a unique opportunity for us all. There is no substitute for hands on experience and we understand the proven power of collaboration. Common wisdom is the result. We also love transparency and because every brain is a different world, with the online community you can make your own conlusions after speaking with many persons.

Education is the Key. The education process is individual. No body will wake one morning and say “I’m going to Costa Rica today to retire”. The truth is that it is a gradual process that takes, normally, a lot of time. It is a process that normally includes: seminars, trips to different destinations, hundreds of inofrmation requests about many different issues, hundreds of conversations with friends, experts and ideally with expatriates also.

At Boomers Abroad Online Community and Social Network, leading industry experts and many of those that have journeyed ahead will share their personal experiene and knowledge in a great variety of areas like: top destinations, community highlights, attractions, real estate, mortgages, using your IRA to buy real estate or start a new business, finance and lending, health care and insurance, taxation, immigration, legal issues, title insurance, relocation process, lifestyle, things to do, etc.

At Boomers Abroad we want to hear from You. We want to know about the process you went through to find and select the country and the final destination. Why you chose the country you did and the destination you did. The pros and cons of living in your host country. Things you didn’t expect to experience, and experiences you expected that didn’t happen. What you had to do to move from your home country to your host country. Helpful information on visas, finding and buying property, work, starting or buying a Business. Dealing with a new language and culture. Successes and failures, and what you’d do differently now that you’ve been through it. Day-to-day life in your host country. Tips on adapting to the new culture and its people. Cost of living. Dealing with new foods, banks, government agencies, transportation, and so on. Anything else you can think of that will help someone looking for a new country or considering your host country. Photographs, Videos.

Share with us locally focused articles that include: “Best” guides to restaurants, services, venues, stores and more. Insider tips and local “secrets”. “Did you know?” info that locals may take for granted, but is helpful to visitors and newcomers. Holiday guides to the best local shops, gifts and charities. Timely events and happenings of all kinds, from sports to music. Profiles of local people and places.

Boomers Abroad Online Community and Social Network bring together members from many different nationalities and professional backgrounds. We are excited about our online community and social network, we are excited for the collaboratioin opportunities and for the many great opportunities to make friends, learn, help, share personal knowledge and experience, give back, etc.

Boomers Abroad prides itself on a commitment to the highest standards of ethics in everything we do. Boomers Abroad Team respects and values individual and institutional differences in opinion, philosophy, and beliefs. We therefore expect that all our members do the same. Thank You.