Noticias de Hoy

David SimmondsThe warnings are dark and ominous. Mass graves, crossfire shootout victims, kidnappings. Don?t Go To Mexico, the headlines SHOUT. It is a very dangerous place, amigo. Gringos should stay home or go to Vegas if you know what?s good for you. You don?t want to be shot, do you?I read the daily drumbeat and wonder what the purpose is. I understand that fear sells, but the ethics of good journalism demand that the whole story be told accurately. I have been traveling Mexico since I was a kid, which was a long time ago (or so says my lying birth certificate). And the Mexico I know so well isn?t the same country I read about. Not even close. Here?s a short story to illustrate my point. I had been to Mexico near the border a number of times, to Ensenada and San Felipe, first with my parents, then with my friends (Hussongs Cantina in Ensenada is still one of the great bars in the world). Then one summer in college I read about this place being discovered way down in Mexico called Puerto Vallarta, and they had just built a paved road to get there from Tepic? prior to that it was dirt and most trekkers arrived by boat or plane. So I called an old high-school buddy who was going to Stanford and we headed south on a road trip in my old VW van from San Diego, armed with a crude map, a case of beer, very little money and four bald tires with no jack. What could possibly go wrong?Much to our na