Cultural Travel

Editor’s note: During the next few weeks, we’re going to be doing things a bit differently here as Ana and I concentrate in meeting the deadline for the forthcoming SpanglishBaby book. We hope you bear with us. Because we’ve been around for almost three years (wow! when did that happen?), we’ll be sharing some classic posts from when it all got started. This post was originally published on February 6, 2009. It’s 2:30 in the madrugada and the rooster won’t stop crowing. IRead More ...

My family and I are having a blast spending  the holidays in El Salvador, but there is one huge thing I wished I was back in Los Angeles for: Reyes Magos or Three Kings Day. Why? Because it´s the first time ever that the Disneyland Resort will observe Three Kings Day as part of their celebration of holidays. This, in my book, is huge and says so much about Disneyland´s commitment to embrace Latino families and the traditions we cherish.Read More ...

I will take a wild guess that many of our readers are part of the 10.4 million tourists estimated to be visiting Mexico during the last two weeks of 2011, as recently announced by Mexico´s Secretary of Tourism Gloria Guevara Manzo. According to a press release by Marca País-Imágen de México: The Mexican newspaper Excelsior reported that 10.4 million national and international visitors will vacation in Mexican tourist destinations between December 16, 2011 and January 2, 2012. This statistic representsRead More ...

I wanted to write this days ago, but time has been flying by so quickly during our stay in El Salvador. Well, quickly and not, since the days here feel longer because of the slower overall pace and the lackadaisical “la vida es playa” attitude with which life is lived here. Christmas was all we wanted it to be: familia, amigos, warmth and great comida. My sister’s husband–mi cuñado–has a very, very large family; he has 10 uncles and auntsRead More ...

Camila, my husband and I are spending the holidays in El Salvador. One of the highlights of the trip so far was getting to celebrate mi abuelita´s 89th birthday and getting to snap this first picture of four generations of Martinez girls. My abuelita is really the one who set the stage for my bicultural upbringing since she was, in part, responsible for getting my dad the job in Houston which forced the newly married Salvadoran couple (mi mami yRead More ...

It´s been a little over a year since the last time we came to El Salvador. That time Camila celebrated her third birthday with her familia Salvadoreña. She also spent three weeks completely immersed in a Spanish-only preschool during the weekdays. Her Spanish was flowing beautifully since it was the language she heard the most since she was born. Aside from strengthening her Spanish skills and connecting a need to it, the bonds she made with her cousins, abuelita andRead More ...

If I had to choose only one time of the year to visit the Disneyland Resorts, it would be during the Holidays. Both of the parks (Disneyland and California Adventure), the hotels and even Downtown Disney just exude even more magic and completely embody the merry spirit of the holidays. Not only are the streets, the building facades and the characters trimmed with the best holiday decor and costumes, but also many of our favorite rides and shows–like “It’s aRead More ...

Every year during the Autum season, Mexico is host to one of the most impressive and mysterious wonders our natural world has to offer: the southern migration of millions of Monach butterflies (mariposas Monarcas) from Canada to the central regions of Mexico. This migration is such a wonder and a spectacle that the UNESCO has designated Mexico’s Santuario de la Mariposa Monarca a World Heritage Site–one of the 31 sites in Mexico, which boasts the most World Heritage sites inRead More ...