BEYOND BORDERS

All nations are to some extent caricatured by lazy stereotypes and headline-grabbing sensationalism by the media. Few, however, get as bad a press as Mexico. You’d never guess, in the slew of lurid stories on drug and gun trafficking, horror-film criminality, Trump’s wall and immigration, that the United Mexican States one of the oldest territories settled by Europeans in the mainland Americas, is the world’s 15th biggest economy, second biggest in Latin America, home to the largest Spanish-speaking population in the Americas – and a powerhouse of literature, the arts, architecture and gastronomy.

Any visitor to Mexico City – perhaps the most misrepresented of all Mexican destinations – is quickly apprised of the fact that life south of the Rio Bravo (its name in Mexico, not Rio Grande) can be pretty wonderful. The range of hotels is perhaps the widest in Latin America, from five-star chains to boutique properties. Gastronomy is world class, as suggested by the fact that six of the top 50 Latin American restaurants, including long-revered eateries Pujol and Quintonil,