The Great American, I mean Mexican, Chocolate Bar

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 17 2007, 12:41 PM) [snapback]392086[/snapback]</div>

I sure hope they can keep the vile stench of the air out of their chocolate. Monterrey is one of the three most-polluted cities I've ever been in. The others are Mexico City, and Los Angeles in the 1960's. The mountains surrounding Monterrey are so close, that you look very much upwards to see their peaks, yet, close as they are, they often disappear in the smog. And the smells as you walk about the city defy description. Thirty years ago, Monterrey was a little podunk no-account town. Ten years ago, when I lived there, it was the second-greatest industrial center of Mexico, and I believe the third-largest city in the country, after Guadalajara. Its phenominal growth and industrialization is said to have been financed by drug money, in which Raul Salinas, brother of then-president, Carlos Salinas, and his Minister of Ports and Harbors, was deeply involved. For their part, the Salinas brothers were awarded a sort of honorary citizenship in the city of Monterrey. Monterrey is a go-getter's city. It is an extremely friendly city with wonderful food, but it is the filthiest place I've ever seen first-hand, because the greed that motivates the city does not permit spending money on civic cleanliness. The Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies) is based in Monterrey, with 23 campuses nation-wide, and is one of the most respected universities in the country. A diploma there will pretty much guarantee you a job in Mexico. The campus is an oasis of green in an otherwise hideously-ugly city. I always said that Monterrey was the a-hole of Mexico. But that ony applies to the physical city. The people are just about the most friendly you can find anywhere. I gather that northern Mexico generally has that reputation (if you avoid the border towns) but I have no first-hand experience of the region outside the city.

 

I stand by my signature :lol:

 

I consider this good news, because I like Mexican chocolate better than I like U.S. chocolate.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nicos @ Feb 17 2007, 01:54 PM) [snapback]392109[/snapback]</div>

Hey, Nicos: How about including your city in your profile, rather than just "Earth"? I've lived in Monterrey, Queretaro, Guadalajara, and (one month) in the city of Oaxaca. I've also visited Merida, D.F., Cancun (for just a day), Xilitla (a tour with a whole bus-load of Mexicans, a fun trip), and most recently Playa del Carmen.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Feb 17 2007, 04:30 PM) [snapback]392099[/snapback]</div>

Be glad you missed Charleston WV in the '60s

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Feb 17 2007, 04:42 PM) [snapback]392165[/snapback]</div>

Done

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nicos @ Feb 17 2007, 09:17 PM) [snapback]392192[/snapback]</div>

Now can you change it back to "Earth" because we already have too many people from SoCal here.

 

No

P.S. Pommeranians rule

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nicos @ Feb 17 2007, 06:17 PM) [snapback]392192[/snapback]</div>

And here I thought you were in Mexico, from your username and your sig about Vicente Fox. Just goes to show...

 

You say that as if you assume there's nobody from Mexico living in SoCal.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Feb 17 2007, 03:41 PM) [snapback]392086[/snapback]</div>

Whats wrong with this - I think its good news for consumers.