Aztec Sunstone or Aztec Calendar, Mexico
Aztec calendar stone
Related articles and Links: Ancient History of Mexico Mexica/Aztec Calendar Systems - Dale Hoyte Palfrey (detailed explanation of the symbols) Mysteries of the Fifth Sun - Dale...
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Aztec by Gary Jennings
I found this novel to be a total winner. In fact, it just kept on getting better and better and I can’t recommend it highly enough. A couple of people described it as "that gory book" when I mentioned I was reading it. Yes, it’s gory, because it describes a society that was rather big on human sacrifice and a people who were rather beastly to neighboring tribes. But they had worthy things going for them, too. They built a wonderful city and produced great artists and created a viable civilization. My hat is off to Gary Jennings.
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The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
The story is based on an actual event in Mexican history when, in 1926, then President Calles began a persecution of the Roman Catholic Church by burning churches and killing priests and, in general, creating a Godless country. The reason for the persecution was what the government called the Church's greed and debauchery. The campaign was more successful in some states than in others. Tabasco was the most rabid persecutor and the Governor, Tomas Garrido Canabal, actually drove every priest out of the state. Canabal was determined to show that a well-run society was possible without allowing any place for religion. Churches were destroyed and the stones used to pave roads. To protect the populace he also outlawed alcohol and jazz. The importation of saxophones was banned. One follower was so devoted to the cause he carried a business card which explained that he was the personal enemy of God. In some cases a citizen could be severely penalized for saying "Adios" simply because it referred to God.
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The Pastry War: France - Mexico, 1838
It's name is better suited to a Musical Comedy than a conflict between Nations and calls up visions of armies bombarding each other with Éclairs, Fruit Tarts, Napoleons and even Strudel. But on April ...
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Porfirio Diaz, an enigma
In many ways, Porfirio Díaz is an enigma. Although he always gave lip service to democracy, during the thirty-five years that he controlled Mexico (1876 - 1911) he rode rough shod over freedom of spee...
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Los Caudillos, Mexico's masters
The dictionary defines the word Caudillo as "a politician backed by a military force" and a study of Mexican history reveals a country that from its very beginning until well into the 20th Century...
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Soldaderas - Mexican women at war
Long before the first European set foot in what is now Mexico, indigenous women not only followed their male fellow-tribesmen into battle but in many instances took up the arms of those killed or wound...
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Agustin Iturbide, unappreciated unknown
Historians dismiss Agustín Itúrbide with a few lines and most Mexicans have never heard of him. He deserves better. Factually, he was the one who cut the chains that bound Mexico in servitude to Spai...
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Yesterday's Train: A Rail Odyssey through Mexican History by Terry Pindell with Lourdes Ramirez Mallis
Author Pindell and Dr. Lourdes Ramírez Mallis, who served as Pindell's interpreter, collaborator and researcher, set out together on a lengthy train journey covering all of Mexico. I should also add that Terry Pindell has written similar books about train journeys in Canada and the U.S. As they travel, we're treated to dissertations on the various locales as well as a fairly serious coverage of Mexican history and the character of the people.
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Bobby Vaughn's Black Mexico - further reading
This is a list of 17 sources in Spanish and English dealing with black
Mexicans from a variety of perspectives. I chose these few sources from
a large bibliography that I have been compiling sinc...
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Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes and the Fall of Old Mexico by Hugh Thomas
This must surely be one of the great adventure stories of all time – how Hernan Cortés and about 500 conquistadores conquered a settled and established civilization in three short years, from 1519 to 1521. Distinguished scholar and historian Hugh Thomas has made good use of recently discovered archival material in both Spain and Mexico to produce a feast of reading for history buffs. Cortés must have been an incredible leader – as well as being a total bastard.
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Mexico's colonial government, successful failure
Today, the visible remains of Mexico's Colonial era are the ornate churches and palacios, either government office buildings or the homes of Colonial officials, still surviving, in the center of Mexico...
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Mexico by James Michener
The good thing about "Mexico" is that Michener has done enormous research in order to write it.
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South of Yesterday: A True Story by Virginia Downs Miller
"South of Yesterday" is the story of my mother's life as a bride coming to a strange land. The book flows through the charmed life of an American living in Guadalajara in the early nineteen hundreds, into the violence of the Revolution, escape from and return to a much-beloved Mexico. I related never before publicized events of history."
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The Underdogs (Los de Abajo): A Novel of the Mexican Revolution by Mariano Azuela
This novel is described in several places as a classic of modern Hispanic literature and it really is a powerful book. Novelist Mariano Azuela knew what he was writing about, having served as a doctor in Pancho Villa's army and having participated in several key engagements in that conflict.
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Vicente Guerrero: A study in triumph and tragedy (1782–1831)
Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was the second president of Mexico and the first to come from las clases populares (the "popular" classes), which in Spanish is a euphemism for an individual of ...
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Slavery in Mexico
According to the reports of the first Europeans to visit the New World, slavery was almost universal in what is now Mexico and Central America. Theoretically, with the arrival of Europeans, that should...
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Mexico - forgotten World War II ally
Asked to name the Allies in World War II, very few people would include Mexico in the list. Largely ignored by historians, it is time that Mexico's aid to the U. S. and the Allies is brought to the att...
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The Aztecs speak - part 4
The Spanish returned.
With Cuitlahuac, the brother of Moctezuma who had advised against welcoming the Conquistadors, now elected as their king, the Aztecs were confident that any attempted return woul...
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The Aztecs speak - part 3
Quetzalcoatl was coming. Moctezuma had already sent wizards, magicians and seers, to cast spells that would destroy or at least deter the Spaniards from continuing toward his capital. Their failure had...
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Part 2 - the Aztecs speak
Perhaps the most startling thing revealed by the Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico, is that unknowingly, the Conquistadors had invaded the country at a perfect time. Superstition had produ...
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The Aztecs speak - an Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico
An Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico? Preposterous.
It is common knowledge that those manuscripts that escaped destruction by the Conquistadors were gathered up under the direction of the first ...
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Plutarco Elias Calles: Crusader in reverse
(1877–1945) President: 1924-28
Mexico is a land of intense faith. The cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the saints on automobile dashboards, the vast crowds making pilgrimages on...
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Las Pozas: Edward James' fantasy stands tall in a jungle in Mexico
The Surrealist poet, self-styled architect and arts patron Edward James liked to put his ideas into concrete form before they got away
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The indelible imprint of Father Kino (1644 - 1711)
Even by the rigorous standards of the Jesuit order, Father Francisco Eusebio Kino was an overachiever. During the three-century colonial period between the Conquest in 1521 and the end of the Independe...
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