About Me

Some stuff about me:

I’m known to some of you as “Kim G, Boston, MA,” the name I’ve been commenting under for a number of years on various Mexico-themed blogs, on Bloomberg News, and on various other sites.

I’m an early 60-something gay man, originally from San Francisco, who moved to Boston in 1995 for career purposes. When there, I live in a 106 year-old house which I bought and renovated in 1997. Since June of 2021 I’ve been mostly living in Roma Sur, Mexico City. In March of 2022, I bought a house which I am currently renovating. I retired from a career in the financial industry in January 2012 and have been suelto ever since. In 2014, I drove my truck from Boston to Mérida, spending three months driving around the country, and blogging my experiences. See the tab above if you are interested in my trip.

In addition to all things Mexican, I have a huge variety of interests. I’m a good cook. I bake my own bread when it’s not too hot out. I have vegan tendencies at home, but eat meat in restaurants, and occasionally grill my own steak. I love food from around the world. I keep up with the news, with a heavy interest in the financial news, economics, and politics. I enjoy photography, and like to travel. I love music of all kinds and play the accordion. My friends say I have a great sense of humor, and I definitely find the world filled with hilarious contradictions and absurd juxtapositions.

My Connection to México:

Since 2005, I’ve probably spent a month per year in Mexico, mostly DF, but “F” (my ex: 2006-2013) and I have traveled around the country quite a bit. Over that time, I’ve become largely fluent in Spanish, which gives me a good insight into the “true” Mexico. In 2016 I lived in Roma Sur, CDMX for nearly a year, before I went back to the States to care for my cancer-stricken mother. After two-and-a-half years of that, then covid, I was only able to return in June 2021, but I’ve been mostly here ever since. In May 2022 I became a residente temporal. The only thing keeping me from making it residente permanente is that I want to hang onto my US-plated car as long as possible.

My first trip to Mexico took place in the late summer of 1986. On my way to university in Houston, I stopped in El Paso and decided to walk across the bridge to Ciudad Juarez. Though a seedy border town, it had not yet developed the serious violence which would come later. And while my trip was brief, I enjoyed it. I bought huaraches and a few bottles of Kahlua, walked around a bit, then headed back over the bridge to El Paso.

After graduation in 1993, a Mexican-American friend and colleague and I decided we’d treat ourselves to a Mexican vacation as a reward for making it through business school. We booked two weeks in the Yucatán, where we spent time in Cancún (not very Mexican in my view), Tulum, a day in Chichén Itzá, and four or five days in Mérida, which was captivating. After that trip, I knew I’d want to return and explore the rest of the country.

I spoke some very rudimentary Spanish at the time, having taken a year or so of Spanish in high school, along with four years of French. I was the only kid in my high school to take two languages, and now wish I had put the energy into Spanish that I had lavished on French. Still, the French helped me learn Spanish, and I’ve since become fluent in Spanish, while pretty much forgetting my French.

In 2005, after a split-up with a lover, I was due to sail on the recently launched Queen Mary II, with a British amiga from Southhampton to New York. Unfortunately she had to cancel at the last minute, so I was left suddenly with vacation time from work, but no plan. What to do?

I decided to go to Mexico City (DF) that June on my own. I attended the City’s Gay Pride. Wow! What a festival! On that trip I walked around and saw as much as I could, and by the end fell in love with Mexico City. That trip began a long string of adventures, which continue to this day. On this blog I’ll write about some of those adventures, and the dramas I found surrounding me south of the border (SOB), where there is LITERALLY never a dull moment.

Why Gringo Suelto?

Suelto is the past participle of the verb soltar, which means to “let go” or “unleash.” Suelto itself can have many meanings. Free or loose is one of them. But it can also mean “unleashed” or set free. For example, un animal suelto, is an animal that may have escaped (like from a zoo or something) or may be merely unleashed like a dog running around a park. Suelto can also mean “on the loose,” like a escaped convict. Soltarse can also mean to come out of one’s shell, or to break free, or cut loose. Freed from a job and financially independent, I am now officially suelto, and I’m going to write about my adventures, past, present and future. Hopefully my life will grow more suelto as I continue this blog.

I’m currently in Boston, but hoping to spend some more time south of the border. I’ll be writing about my adventures there, here and elsewhere, along with the characters I meet.

I look forward to your comments and thoughts.

Kim G
Boston, MA
July 21, 2013

You can contact me at gringosuelto @ the popular mail and internet service that starts with a “Y,” (trying to prevent mechanical spam). But a comment will likely reach me faster. If you want to write something private, send me an e-mail and alert me in a comment so I see your note sooner, since I don’t check the above email every day.