Riding off the Edge of the Map
Do you remember that best seller several decades ago, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, in which author Robert Pirsig details (but gets lost in digressions) a motorcycle trip from Wisconsin to California?
David Bryen's new book, Riding off the Edge of the Map, is a much better book, detailing (and reflecting upon) a far more fascinating motorcycle trip — through Mexico's Copper Canyon.
What began as a pleasure trip metamorphosed into something else: "The highway had deteriorated from asphalt to terror..."
Aguascalientes style chicken with fruit sauce: Pollo de Aguascalientes
This chicken with fruit sauce is considered one of the most typical dishes of Aguascalientes, traditionally served at the San Marcos Fair and sometimes called "Pollo de San Marcos." The 20th century Me...
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The Battle of Casas Grandes: My grandfather's memories of the Mexican Revolution
Curious coming to Mexico's Mormon Colonia Juarez
Miles and other Mormon pioneers made something out of almost nothing and the small towns are is still there in the Chihuahua desert, not far from the Piedras Verdes River, on the flat ground near the Sierra Madre Occidental.
Colonia Juarez is 15 or 20 kilometers southwest of Casas Grandes. read more
Reborn in the temazcal: A traditional native Mexican American purification ceremony
We sit in darkness, on an earthen floor. Hot vapor condenses and drips down my skin as I hug my knees against my chest and breathe lightly to cool the scalding vapor before it reaches my lungs. The bea...
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Mexican cheese and guava flan: Flan de queso y guayaba
Guavas, being so plentiful in Aguascalientes, are used in several desserts. A common combination in Mexico is ate, a paste made with guava, quince, pears or other fruit, and cream cheese, served toge...
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The state of Zacatecas, Mexico - resource page
Zacatecas - a place to return to!
Millions of Americans today look to the Mexican state of Zacatecas as their ancestral homeland. In this section, we focus on the fascinating state of Zacatecas, which...
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Puente de Ojuela in Durango: a 19th century suspension bridge from Mexico's mining heyday
In a single second, excitement, awe, terror, and fascination passed through my mind, as I began the walk across Mapimi Municipality's Ojuela Bridge, in the Chihuahuan Desert, of eastern Durango, Mexico...
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Sotol: another drink from the New World's oldest wine producing region in Mexico
Indian on the high desert: "When poor Mexicans have no money for beer or liquor they say, 'There is always sotol.'"
Driving to the Hacienda de Perote
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Persian qanats in Western Mexico
Three thousand years ago engineers in Persia devised an ingenious solution to one of mankind's most serious problems in areas without rivers and lakes: how to get water from point A, where it abounds, ...
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Crossing with the Virgin: Stories from the Migrant Trail
This is the story of some of those courageous people from Mexico and Central America, and it is also the story of some equally courageous people from the United States... read more
Paradise Valley
Inspired by actual events, several Amish families — finding new state laws impossible to live under because they undermined their faith and way of life — set off in 1922 to begin a new life in Mexico. read more
Mexican Spanish style beef and vegetable stew: Chambarete español
Although classified under "soups," this is really a stew, served as a main course. A reflection of the European heritage of Aguascalientes, it is similar to the Spanish caldo gallego, which is also m...
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Discovering Clues to the Legacy of a Mexican Poet: Manuel Rocha y Chabre
Several years ago, I was rummaging through a box of family photos with my dad, when he showed me an old, yellowing image of his mother from 1908. He told me it was taken in Mexico at the wedding of her cousin, the poet and playwright Manuel Rocha y Chabre.
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Tamazunchale: natural beauty, a slow-paced lifestyle, and Mexico's native peoples
Have you ever found a place in Mexico that mirrors your own life? For me, it's Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosí.
"Every bend of the road reveals a more stunning mountain panorama," gushed Nicki, a first...
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San Marcos fair: an opportunity to visit colonial Aguascalientes
Preparations are in full swing in Aguascalientes for the traditional Feria Nacional de San Marcos, a three-week spring fiesta the city of natural hot springs is best known for.
About seven million rev...
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December guava fair in Calvillo, Aguascalientes
When I first saw guava fruit I mistook it for lemon.
It happened on my first trip to Aguascalientes during the summer rainy season when a tree — its branches loaded with tiny round yellow fruit in t...
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