The author of the famous poem "The Bells of San Blas" had never ever visited the town. The San Blas that the poem refers to is in the state of Nayarit, on the Pacific coast. Today, it is a small town,... read more

The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.

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From Taxco to Cacaxtla, Oaxaca to Xalapa, Huamantla to the Tuxtlas -- for those who love travel, Mexico offers a virtually endless succession of places to visit, and with sun-splashed beaches, spectacu... read more

Whatever it is, it's been three years in incubation. Over the course of these years I've often mentioned my book, my interviewees, my agent, my excitement and my depression over the labor of my first n... read more

Moralistic, prejudiced, racist, misogynist, manipulative, sexist, daring, exciting, critical, sarcastic and passionate - these are just a few adjectives that commonly describe Mexico's most widely-read... read more

During the late 1970s, the first major Hispanic motion picture, Only Once in a Lifetime, premiered in Texas at the San Antonio Film Festival. The reaction was, according to the city s largest newspaper... read more

For families being relocated to Mexico, also see Moving to/Living A New Time For Mexico , 1996-2006 , by Carlos Fuentes (Marina Castaneda, translator). Publi... read more

Alejandro Grattan's latest novel is a rip-roaring adventure tale which swiftly takes the reader from the bright lights of Hollywood to the mysterious jungles of the Yucatan. The book is filled with int... read more

Spanish is the world's second language. According to many people who do not speak it, Spanish is also a very "easy" language to learn. For example, I recently met a young Danish traveler in northern Me... read more

MUSIC The music of Mexico provides a rich tapestry of rhythm, tone, and variety. Its roots are based on a compelling history of disparate influences. From the music of the Mariachi, the Corri... read more

It never ceases to amaze me the number of American tourists who visit Mexico every year with only a thick paperback mystery novel packed away to indulge in while sunbathing on a beach. Rather than titi... read more

Since 1995, Mexico Connect has featured books about Mexico, new and old. Here are links to the growing list.

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Reference article about Mexico travel and retirement books

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Poetry Jorge Argueta's poetry has been called "epicurean" and "delicious." We are grateful for his permission to include a selection from his book Las Frutas del ... read more

Eula died during the rainy season, when the earth is soft and moist and a grave is easy to dig. Esperanza said that the damp weather was hard on the ancianos, and indeed, in those months, many a house in town bore over its gate the black ribbon which in central Mexico signifies a death in the household.

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One of the rewarding aspects of investigating the history and evolution of Mexico's rich and varied cuisine is the availability of authentic sources. The Spanish chroniclers took painstaking notes on n... read more

In film or fiction, The Pearl is a good story. It is one of those stories so simple that it becomes profound.

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"What can I tell you about Pedro Infante? If you're a Mejicana or Mejicano and don't know who he is, you should be tied to a hot stove with yucca rope and beaten with sharp dry corn husks as you stand in a vat of soggy fideos. If your racial and cultural ethnicity is Other, then it's about time you learned about the most famous of Mexican singers and actors." read more

  Available from the author Life in Mexico observed by someone who is bursting with affection for his new country. I have reviewed a lot of fiction and non-fiction books for Mexico Connect, but I... read more

Many readers of Mexico Connect have discovered these illuminating words by Octavio Paz: "In the United States the word death burns the lips, but the Mexican lives close to it, jokes about it, caresses it, celebrates it, sleeps with it, it is his favorite toy." read more

A strange force descended upon Crecencio, giving him a supernatural power.

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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... read more

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

A tale of haunted guilt set in Mexico City and in the mind of the haunted protagonist, Pablo. . . . Omar gazed at the rifle trained at his chest, and no presentiment crossed his brow. He knew it was Pablo's gun; he had gone pheasant hunting with him and his old man in the past among the gullies of hills of valleys extending to the great volcano of Popocatépetl. . . . read more

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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