If Garcetti had been speaking French on a diplomatic mission to Paris, he might have been harangued — or even hanged — for his errors. But Mexicans tend not to be such purists, and they have built up decades of tolerance for visitors from El Norte mangling their mother tongue.

L.A. is a global city and so is our city's economy, which is why I'm in Mexico City right now on my first trade mission as Mayor. I am joined here by representatives of our Port, Airport, and Tourism & Convention Board as well as a business delegation organized by the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce.

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron appears among the odds-on favorites to take home a Best Director Oscar on Sunday for his space thriller “Gravity.” The 52-year-old Mexico City native, Cuaron gained fame for his 2001 film “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” an insightful look at Mexican youth struggling with class, prejudice and sexuality issues.

When it comes to matters of economic disparity and  sense of fair play, Brazil and Mexico score worse than countries in Africa. A survey conducted via mobile phones of people in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Brazil and Mexico by Boston-based Jana shows people from both Latin American countries are more negative on issues related to inequality and taxation.

The arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, the head of the Sinaloa cartel, on Saturday was an event of enormous importance in the Mexican government’s fight against organized crime. Mexican public opinion had long ago decided that this government, and the previous one, were not serious about hunting for Guzmán, preferring the relative stability and lower-violence approach of the Sinaloa cartel to the more militaristic style of other cartels, such as the Zetas.

Many objected when Secretary of State John Kerry referred to Latin America as "the backyard" of the United States last April. While his statement may have been intended as an innocuous comment on geography, the implications of his words represent an all too common attitude about our Southerly neighbors that is not only ignorant, but often inaccurate. 

President Obama arrived in this industrial city today to talk trade with his North American counterparts, reflecting a shift in focus from security, which dominated the agendas of past "Three Amigos" summits. Obama met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss commerce, immigration, energy and security.

TIME magazine's upcoming February 24 issue is drawing heavy criticism from Mexicans online. The cover is of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, but at the center of the backlash is the title and the content of the story. The country's leader is heralded as "Saving Mexico" and that his reforms have "changed the narrative in his narco-stained nation".