Shut up Vicentito!

If you thought Vicente Fox was out of the picture for good, sparing Mexicans –and the rest of the world– from his infamous “foxisms,” think again: During a press conference Monday night in Los Angeles, Mexico’s former president invited Latin Americans to escape from the perfect dictatorships, quoting “Colombia’s Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas-Llosa.”

Of course most people know that 1) Mario Vargas-Llosa has never won a Nobel Prize, 2) He was born in Peru and later adopted the Spanish citizenship and 3) his famous phrase about the “perfect dictatorship” was a reference to Mexico, not Latin America. But what’s most surprising is Fox’s ability to say the wrong things, at the wrong time, and in front of the wrong crowds.

One can only admire his efforts for quoting literary figures. How can we forget that time when he quoted famed writer “José Luis Borgués?”

Other jewels from our former president:

Change will not come from above, it will come from below, from the small and medium size businesspeople.

Comes y te vas.

Said to Fidel Castro when inviting him to the Summit of Monterrey

Gracias mi rey.

Fox reply when King Juan Carlos of Spain called to congratulate him after winning the 2000 elections

Se sienten ñáñaras.

when asked by an 11-year old girl how he felt about being President.

Y yo por qué?

When asked his opinion about a legal conflict between Televisa and TV Azteca

And one of my personal favorites:

Pemex is like the Virgin of Guadalupe, they are symbols for Mexicans that must be handled with care

Globalization has never tasted better

Move over Taco Bell. Mexican food (and I mean real Mexican food) is coming to China. And thank God is going to taste like the real thing.

This weekend, one of my favorite taquerias, El Fogoncito, announced it opened its first restaurant in China, which will be followed by the gradual openning of 25 more, making it the first real taqueria in the country. Quoted by The Associated Press on Friday, Sergio Rosas, operating manager for El Fogoncito, said the company was investing US$1 million to have five restaurants in Beijing by next year, in time for the 2008 Olympics.

By the way, besides working on its expansion, El Fogoncito might want to hire a gringo to proofread its English-language site, which greets visitors with a warm “Wellcome”.

Language matters aside, it’s great to know that finally, the Chinese will know what a good taco is all about. Buen Provecho

Mi Casa es tu Casa


My grandmother used to say that la ociosidad es la madre de todos los vicios (Idleness is the mother of all vices.) While no one can ever dispute that, I would like to add a modern twist to her very wise insight: “Unemployment is the mother of all blogs.” (Of course, there’s also my friend Diego who says: “Idleness is the vice of all mothers,” but that’s a whole other story.)

Now that you’ve read this far, I might as well let you know who I am: I am a bilingual, not-yet-acculturated Mexican journalist and editor specialized in media, marketing and advertising. I’ve lived in a bunch of places, including Singapore, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Paris, Santiago de Chile and New York City.

In my most recent position, I was the founding editor of Marketing y Medios, an English-language trade publication devoted to explaining the Hispanic market to a non-Spanish speaking audience of executives and marketers. I left that company in December of 2006, following its sale to a new owner.

Prior to my wonderful two and a half years there, I was responsible for creating and launching the Spanish-language edition of The Wall Street Journal, as well as coordinating and editing their Spanish-language Web edition at americas.wjs.com. Before joining the Wall Street Journal, I had worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers and magazines in Mexico, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Los Angeles.

And last but not least, I’d like to add that before graduating with a BA in Journalism at the Escuela de Periodismo Carlos Septien Garcia, in Mexico City, I completed my high-school education at the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore.

Throughout my career, I have developed extensive experience and industry contacts in journalism, marketing, and advertising. I am fluent in English, Spanish and French and have promised myself to take up Mandarin some time soon. You never know.

So bienvenido a mi blog. Welcome to my blog. Mi casa es tu casa or, as my friend Carlitos suggests I’d say, Mi Blog es tu Blog.