April 2022 Newsletter

Life in Mexico

It’s Easter, and that means Manzanillo goes nuts.

Every year, about 100,000 Chilangos make the annual pilgrimage from Mexico City to our sunbaked shores in order to bathe in the restorative waters of the Pacific Ocean.

They also bathe in gallons of tequila to restore the spirits.

Manzanillo begins preparations well in advance of their arrival. The road through Miramar beach is closed to prevent tourists from denting bumpers.

Every Oxxo and Kiosko stocks a trailer of beer in the parking lot.

To deter drunk driving, the police place car wrecks (complete with ketchup-splattered dummies), on prominent traffic routes.

The churches probably decorate with Easter eggs, but I’ve never met anyone who actually went to one.

Most expats wisely flee, but for those of us who stay, Felices Pascuas!

Movie Review

CODA

Streaming on Amazon Prime

The winner of Best Picture at the Oscars caught everyone by surprise – I personally thought Power of the Dog was a shoe-in.

But it turns out that the feel-good movie about a deaf family won enough hearts to boost it into victory.

The acronym CODA stands for child of deaf adults. Ruby, the only hearing person in a deaf family, dreams about graduating from high school and attending college. But the family fishing business needs her help to keep afloat.

Her father Frank (played by Troy Kostur, winner of Best Actor), and mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin, the first deaf actor to win an Oscar), need Ruby to act as an interpreter between them and the world of the hearing.

Ruby, meanwhile, is inspired by choir teacher Bernardo (played very flamboyantly by Mexican comedian Eugenio Derbez), who introduces her to the opportunities that her naturally-talented voice offers.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but most of all, you’ll enjoy the warm-hearted tale of a family striving to succeed against all odds. I highly recommend CODA!

My latest historical novel now available on Amazon!

“A real page-turner!”

Amazon five-star review

The year is 1944. Paris has been under German occupation for four years. The French Resistance knows that an Allied invasion is imminent.

Veronique Grenelle is growing up in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood, scrambling to feed herself and her family.

The Resistance recruits the vivacious young woman to befriend Lieutenant Gunther von Clause, an aide-de-camp to the German Army’s Military Governor. She gradually gains his trust and affection.

James Gallagher, a lieutenant in the US Army’s Military Intelligence unit, frequently parachutes behind enemy lines to deliver funds and instructions to the Resistance. He meets and befriends Veronique, who falls madly in love with the dashing American officer.

D-Day approaches, and Veronique finds herself in a bind; should she pursue her heart or her duty? In the end, her decision will not only determine the fate of Paris, it will reverberate down through her family for generations to come.

Recipe: Fish & Chips

Fish & chips have a bad rep as greasy junk food. But if you make them yourself, you can use healthy ingredients that are low in unsaturated fats and loaded with high-quality protein!

We go to the fish shop in Santiago to get Dorado caught that morning, but La Comer also has an excellent selection of white fish.

Ingredients

1 lb of white fish

2 large potatoes, unpeeled.

1-2 cups of virgin olive oil

1 egg

1 cup of Panko or bread crumbs

Salt to taste

Instructions

Cut the potatoes into fries roughly the thickness of your pinky finger. Place on paper towels for half an hour to soak up moisture.

Cut the fish into pieces approximately 1-in thick and 5-in long. Dip in beaten egg and coat with Panko.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large frying pan until it begins to smoke slightly.

Carefully add the chips and let them cook for five minutes before flipping over and cooking for another five. You’ll know when they’re done when they take on a light brown hue and get crispy. Scoop out with a slotted spoon into a bowl lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Add the fish to the oil. Cook for two minutes, then turn over and cook for another two minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon into a bowl lined with a paper towel.

Serve with ketchup and fish sauce. Enjoy!

Book Review

The Diamond Eye

By Kate Quinn

Quinn is the author of several excellent World War II historical novels, including The Rose Code and The Huntress. Her tales are gripping sagas of women fighting to defeat the Nazis, risking their lives and the people they love.

The Diamond Eye is based on the true story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko (Mila), a shy history student from Kyiv in the Ukraine who becomes a soldier in the Soviet Army after the Germans invade. High Command soon recognizes her natural gift with rifles, and she is assigned sniper duties, eventually killing over 300 enemy soldiers.

When the Soviet Union goes looking for assistance from the United States, Mila is sent with an official delegation to Washington to meet President Roosevelt. She becomes entangled in an assassination plot, however, and her skills are put to the test in an effort to thwart the killer.

As in all her books, the author supplies exciting, non-stop narrative that makes it a great page-turner. I highly recommend The Diamond Eye!