QUAKERS KIDNAPPED!

Honoring 50 years of friendship BY ALEX MANDA/Special to The Miami Herald El Universal Miércoles 23 de agosto de 2006 They don´t exactly say it, but Bridget Moix and Nick Wright seem to feel that Lonely Planet and other backpacker guidebooks have kidnapped their guest house. Casa de los Amigos is a light-filled, Luis Barragán-built, three-story house in central Mexico City that was once home to painter José Clemente Orozco. It is nice to be popular and appreciated, but that was never the main point. "It found its way into the guidebooks in the mid-80s," says Wright. "That was a real sea change for the house. It was on the map as a cool, inexpensive place to stay in one of the biggest cities in Latin America. It then became a struggle to maintain the original mission while keeping this wonderful, thriving guest house going at the same time." Quakers have been working on various kinds of peace-oriented missions in the house for 50 years, but in the last 10 years the guests have been the bulk of their activity. The house´s 50-year anniversary is an opportunity to get back to its roots, according to Moix, the interim executive director of the Casa de los Amigos. "We are seeking a process of jubilee renewal for the casa - returning to the original mission. The guest house is a tool, a means for. improving international understanding and working for peace." THE CASA IS FOR ME. FOR THEE, THE OXFORD HOTEL ACROSS THE STREET IS PREFECTLY FINE