Today is a big day in Mexico. Although it took them 11 more years to finally gain independence, the start of it all was 200 years ago, when Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende started moving a rag-tag army from the towns that are now Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende to Guanajuato, where the first battle raged.

I’m in Guanajuato now and the city is throwing a big party, so this is going to be a short post. Here are two photos from the celebration last night, in a square beside the building where that first battle took place: the Alhondiga.

The photo below is from a very impressive projection light show that was on the side of that building last night. A great time to be in Mexico.

After spending a week in the Puerto Vallarta region in rainy season, after visiting it before in the dry season, the most astounding thing to me was how much the water changes from beach to beach depending on the month. This time of year, it’s raining every day or two for at least an hour, so the silty rivers are bloated and running down the Sierra Madres. Where most of them empty out—in the middle of the bay—this has a major impact on the beaches and the water itself.

I stayed first in the Nuevo Vallarta area, where crews were busy removing limbs and tree trunks that had washed ashore and the water (pictured here) was closer to brown than blue. It’s still a great beach, and not as chocolate brown as in Puerto Vallarta’s center, but certainly not postcard blue.

The next shot is from the beach in front of the Four Seasons Punta Mita and this far up the bay it’s a very different story. The beaches are powdery white, the sea is clear blue, and visibility is good enough to go snorkeling.

That’s kind of expected, but here’s the odd thing: if you go a bit south from Puerto Vallarta to where Garza Blanca Resort is (review coming soon), close to Mismaloya, the water gets clear blue again and the beach is white. See the photo below. There are still a few streams emptying out here, but the water is coming through the jungle (clear) and apparently the currents move toward the middle of the bay and Nuevo Vallarta. So if crystal clear water and a white beach are important to you and it’s the rainy off-season, head to the end of the bay up north or head south.

New whiskey distilleries are opening up in Scotland and production is revving up at existing ones as sales take off in emerging markets. As with everything, China is driving part of this growth, but did you know sales have increased 44% in Brazil and 25% in Mexico? Ay Chihuahua!

That’s according to this story, As world develops a taste, Scotch Whiskies Pour it On.

The big question is, do consumers in these countries suddenly prefer the taste of Scotch over that of rum, pisco, or tequila, or is drinking it just a way to confer status? “Consumers will try to make statements about their success, and whisky is perfect for that,” says Sebastian Concha, global drinks analyst at insight firm Mintel. “This is a big driver across all of the developing world.”

Put on the Prada, pack up the Porche, and grab a bottle of Scotch for a gift.

The one odd stat in that article is that sales to Venezuela are up 73%, to a shipment value of 116 million pounds sterling. That more than $150 million wholesale value. That implies a lot more wealthy people are left in Venezuela that any other stats would indicate. I smell a smuggling ring…

“Who?” That was the response from most Americans when Forbes announced recently that Carlos Slim had passed Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world. The next question was usually, “A Mexican guy?! But…how?”

With a per-capita GDP that’s a fraction of the USA’s it is indeed hard to understand how a Mexican businessman can be worth more than the founder of Microsoft, but there are two good reasons. The first is that Bill Gates has been giving away his fortune almost as fast as he makes it lately, contributing to disease eradication around the world through the Gates Foundation.

The other reason is highlighted in this short article from Latin Trade: It’s Good to Be Slim. It’s hard to see all the details on this chart below, but if you follow the link and click on the original, it blows up larger.

Here’s the kicker: “His family’s net worth, built on investments in 200-plus companies, represents 6 percent of Mexico’s total gross domestic product. Slim makes John Rockefeller, whose fortune at its peak was but 2.5 percent of U.S. GDP, look small time.”

And here’s what Mexican people know all too well: “Whenever Mexicans make a call – or light up a smoke, go out to lunch or drive on a new highway – chances are Slim has a piece of the action.”