Alvin Starkman's Page

Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B.

Driving in Oaxaca, Mexico, became a little more difficult in September / October, 2009. That’s when federal, state and municipal governments actually began enforcing the law, at least in the City of Oaxaca and in parts of the central valleys. Until then rules of the road for driving in Oaxaca were on the books, but not enforced; or if enforced at all it was on a very sporadic basis.

As of autumn, 2009, the authorities have been out in full force in a concerted campa… Continue

Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.

At first blush David Hornick appears to be the most unlikely candidate to be spear-heading a housing development in the state of Oaxaca, one of the southernmost and poorest states in Mexico; his Spanish is sparse to be generous, until earlier this year he had never ventured to this part of the country, he’s never designed or built a home, and he’s lived virtually all his life in Schenectady, New York, leading a more or less typical, middle-class Jewish existence.

But… Continue

Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.

We usually think of weddings and baptisms as rites of passage we attend on separate occasions. But November 27, 2008, marked the celebration of both in San Lorenzo Albarradas: the nuptials of a couple in their early twenties, and the baptism of their three-year-old daughter. What resulted was a melding of highly organized custom characterized by extremes of indulging, giving, and all-out merriment.

San Lorenzo Albarradas (“San Lorenzo”) is a village with about 1,900… Continue

A Taste of Oaxaca, Mexico in Toronto, Canada with Chef Pilar Cabrera Arroyo

The sun-drenched valley city of Oaxaca, in the Mexican state of the same name, is considered by many to be the country’s culinary capital. Apart from being the land of seven moles (pron. moh-leh), Oaxaca also boasts an impressive gastronomic repertoire long admired by the rest of Mexico and gastronomes the world over. Working within the state’s rich and proud culinary heritage is one of Oaxaca City’s brightest lights in… Continue

CASA MACHAYA OAXACA BED & BREAKFAST is unique among Oaxaca bed and breakfast accommodations in that we rent an entire spacious level of our modern yet traditionally styled Mexican home to only one set of guests at a time…a couple, family or individual (second rental unit available upon request). Completely private and with your own separate entrance, you’ll enjoy all amenities:

• fully equipped eat-in kitchen;
• landscaped patio with comfy lawn chairs, stone hand-hewn table and four chairs,… Continue