A Houston Lifestyle Bilingual Blog

Yo Mariana curates the best of Houston and provides her followers with unique recommendations of where to enjoy exciting culinary experiences, drink delicious cocktails, or explore art, theater, and all the fun things our wonderful city has to offer. She also shares her International travel adventures and her personal opinion on the products she loves.

en Español

After a long and deep sigh, I can finally say this surreal school year has come to an end. Unprecedented, weird, unpredictable, challenging, different, and dividing are just a few understated adjectives to describe it, but we did it!

I feel so proud my kids crossed the finish line with a backpack filled with a new set of tools and life skills that will accompany them forever after this pandemic. One of the most important ones will definitely be how adaptable to change they have become. They’ve been like chameleons switching from one protocol to another one; feeling grateful for just being able to learn and share a classroom with their friends, even if that meant they had to wear a face mask and had to stay six feet apart. Something they know their cousins in Mexico and even some friends in other states of the country were not able to have.

Today at the award ceremony, the school principal mentioned that schoolteachers had been frontline workers this past year and I couldn’t agree more. They were warriors that led their tribes by being inspiring examples of patience, gratitude, endurance, and bravery.

I feel so grateful and happy to welcome this summer season healthy and ready to start opening up our world a little bit more, one step at a time. So, cheers to that!

As you may know, I spend most of my summers in Puerto Vallarta and this year it won’t be the exception. One of my favorite activities, besides endless ocean adventures, is to simply gather with the family on the terrace and watch the sunset while having the most amazing conversations.

A conversation is a simple thing we sometimes overlook but can have the incomparable power of letting someone know you care about them and that you’re listening. My favorite conversations happen between generations where my kids get to learn more about their grandparents, aunts, and uncles and their invaluable experiences, funny stories, and points of view.

Kids are listening and our conversations with them matter, and summer is a great time to make space for tough ones as well like mental health, social media safety, say no and respect no, and underage drinking, just to name a few.

As you know, I’ve been a long-time partner with Responsibility.org and one of my favorite things about this organization is how they lead the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promote responsible decision-making regarding alcohol consumption.

So here are some recommendations to drink responsibly this summer:

• Measure your beverage and cocktail ingredients

• Have water and non-alcoholic drink options available

• Offer food to your guests and make sure you also eat or nibble as you host

• Be sure your guests have safe rides home

• Talk to your kids about alcohol and practice ways to say NO to underage drinking

So today I share with all of you a delicious cocktail recipe that will be the perfect companion to enjoy beautiful summer nights while having enriching conversations with your family.

Tapatio Girafa

1 packet Tajín

¼ oz agave syrup

½ oz lemon juice

1-1/2 oz tequila blanco

2 oz Ginger Beer

Ice

Rim half a glass with Tajín if desired. Add all ingredients except ginger beer and Tajín to a mixer with ice. Shake vigorously. Serve in a glass with ice. Finish with Ginger Beer and garnish with a lime wheel.

This amazing recipe was created by Liquor Lab, a virtual beverage class I took a couple of weeks ago thanks to responsibility.org. We enjoyed a live streaming session with a cocktail expert and had fun pretending to be bartenders from the comfort of our home. I highly recommend it!