Beach tourism hurt by Mexico’s drug troubles

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Fred Burton of the security company Stratfor, about how drug-related violence affects Mexico’s beach resorts. Stratfor has just issued a security report for Mexico during Spring Break season. Download MP3

Travel and Security Risks over Spring Break in Mexico
The World: Mexico coverage

Mexican farmers battle erosion and drought

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Hillside farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico, are experimenting with low-tech, traditional methods to stem erosion and retain water. The efforts are a response to increasing floods and landslides, like those caused by a series of late-summer storms in the region. Shannon Young reports. (Photo: Shannon Young) Download MP3

Oaxaca’s creative musicians

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The prolonged economic slump in the Mexican countryside has emptied some towns of their young adult populations. Preventing mass migration requires alternative income streams to supplement subsistence farming. Some towns make handcrafts or goods for niche markets, but one indigenous village in Oaxaca produces highly-skilled musicians. Shannon Young reports. Download MP3

El Día de los Muertos

The Dead pay a visit in the Geo Quiz this time: Many Mexican families devote today to remembering family and friends who’ve passed away. That’s why we’ve chosen one of Mexico’s 31 states for today’s Geo Quiz.

Geo Answer

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Today is Day of the Dead, and it’s a big holiday in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the answer to today’s Geo Quiz. In recent years, Halloween imagery has been creeping into traditional Day of the Dead celebrations, and some don’t like it. Shannon Young sent us this audio postcard from Oaxaca City.

Geo Quiz archive