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Gods, Gachupines and Gringos: A People's History of Mexico by Richard Grabman Reviewed by James Tipton

Gods, Gachupines and Gringos no more resembles the typical "history of Mexico" book than a rushing river resembles a dried-up arroyo. I was reading the book at the Lake Chapala Society in Ajijic this morning when a couple of buddies joined me. I told them about the book, and read them a few of the passages above as a little sampler. When I finished I looked up. They responded in unison, "Where can I buy a copy?" read more
book-reviews history

Writing about writers: Puerto Vallarta and Jenny McGill by Marvin West

Jenny McGill, author of Drama and Diplomacy in Sultry Puerto Vallarta
Jenny McGill

Jenny is a modest artist. She paints word pictures without fully realizing it.

Drama & Diplomacy in Sultry Puerto Vallarta is an insider view of a hot beach town in a less complicated time. Both are long lost, the simple village and the relative serenity.

The Jenny McGill story is even better than the book. She tells it like it is. If you ask enticing questions, you get exciting answers, about her 35 years in Mexico, about beauty and bandits, about Fourth of July parties and the fake gardener who fleeced her out of $35.

Even better is the tale of...

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author book literature Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

Six degrees of separation: how a Mexican star became a Cajun legend by Maggie Van Ostrand

statue of Evangeline in St. Martinville, Louisiana

Even if you have never wondered what ties Mexico to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I'm going to tell you anyway. It begins with a poem.

Longfellow's epic 1847 poem, "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie," is the story of an Acadian girl, Evangeline Bellefontaine ("Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen summers"), her betrothed, Gabriel Lajeunesse ("a valiant youth, and his face, like the face of the morning"), and their agonizing separation when, in 1755, the British deported Acadians (Cajuns) from Nova Scotia in The Great Expulsion. ("… all your lands, and dwellings, and cattle of all kinds, forfeited be to the crown; and that you yourselves from this province be transported to other lands.") Gabriel was torn from Evangeline's side and crammed onto a ship bound for America, leaving her ashore, silently weeping. But not for long.

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literature

A Michoacan tradition: the needlework artistry of Hermelinda Reyes by Travis Whitehead

Her bold hands coax the thread through white cotton, relinquishing a fragment of the kaleidoscopic hues within her soul to cavort freely across the snowy landscape. The joints of her fingers moving wit... read more
artists crafts Michoacán

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C. M. Mayo Reviewed by James Tipton

  In 1864 the Archduke Maximilian von Habsburg, accompanied by his ambitious and beautiful wife Charlotte, arrives in Mexico City. Louis Napoleon had previously sent thousands of French troops to t... read more
book-reviews famous-people history

Huichol art, a matter of survival: Part Four by Ronald A. Barnett

Huichol art has come a long way since Carl Lumholtz first recorded it in the late 19th century It is moving from a strictly religious function to a commercialized folk art. Some items of Huichol art ar... read more
anthropology art huichol Central Pacific

US postage stamps and Tijuana, Mexico's Seabiscuit connection by Maggie Van Ostrand

Seabiscuit Stamped Envelope (44 cents) © United States Postal Service, 2009
Seabiscuit Stamped Envelope (44 cents)
© United States Postal Service, 2009
In 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression, horse trainer Tom Smith was living out of a stall at Mexico's Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana. Flat broke, Smith shared the stall with Noble Threewit, who trained horses for a friend of Charles Howard. Howard was seeking a trainer for his new horse, Seabiscuit, a seemingly incorrigible Thoroughbred. Seabiscuit looked and behaved "like a train wreck." read more
horsemanship perspectives Tijuana, Baja California

Did You Know? Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in USA than Mexico by Tony Burton

Of the many battles fought on Mexican soil in the nineteenth century, only one— the Battle of Puebla, fought on May 5, 1862— has given rise to a Mexican national holiday. Why this one? The main rea... read more
culture-customs famous-people fiestas-traditions history Puebla

Huichol art, a matter of survival: Part Three by Ronald A. Barnett

Huichol art is even more prolific today than it was during the years 1890 to 1898 when Carl Lumholtz, the Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, first visited the Huichol and recorded their symbolic and ... read more
anthropology art huichol Jalisco Nayarit

Washing Dishes in the Ancient Village / Lavando platos en el antiguo pueblo: A Few Comments Reviewed by James Tipton

Washing Dishes in the Ancient Village / Lavando platos en el antiguo pueblo: Poetry by James Tipton
A little over a year ago, I was searching for a title to pull these short poems together. Enedina stepped out to wash dishes in the cold water of the worn concrete tank immediately behind the house. She greeted that first morning of the new year in her short white dress and white high heeled shoes. read more
book-reviews literature perspectives