This project, besides my coming to the lab and doing some work from time to time, owes much to the effort of many, that either helped me, pushed me or supported me in one way or another before, during and after the stay in Guadalajara. Many thanks to them all.
First of all, thank you to Jean-Marc Boucher, at ENST de Bretagne, for accepting me into this project. I sure hope he will not be disappointed in the work achieved during the project. I also wish to thank los doctores Arturo Veloz y Deni Torres Román for the welcome at the Cinvestav, the friendly support, and for making material considerations so much easier for me.
My fellow co-workers also deserve their fair share of acknowledgement: Fernando Villavicencio, for all the interesting insights on the Mexican way of life—table dance not being the least of all—, Miguel Angel Alonso Arévalo, for letting me discover the not-so-subtle taste of beef’s virility, Javier, Alex, Chuy, Edgar and Verdin at the lab for the Mexican—and Mayan—vocabulary lessons, the nights at the pool and the unforgettable concert at la Concha Acústica.
I also need to thank Lydie and Delphine at ECOS-Nord for their strong and very welcome support and help in obtaining the Mexican visa, as well as an anonymous lady at the Mexican Consulate for allowing the bending of the—otherwise extremely impractical—opening times of the Consulate.
Maria and Manuel de Manjarrez deserve all my affection for the warm welcome at their home during our four months stay and for giving me the feeling of being at home ten thousand kilometres away from it.
Finally, I’d like to thank my Bebbe for the good times always.