Did you ever go Christmas caroling, wrapped up against the cold, on a snowy night? Bring back memories of red, runny noses and your warm breath making clouds in front of your face? There usually was a cup of hot chocolate waiting for you somewhere along the way. Mexican children have their nine days of […]
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October 7 is considered the birthday of Nuestra Señora del Rosario (the Virgin of Talpa). We don’t ask who chose that date, but it’s time for celebrating in Talpa, as is almost any day. I’ll bet half the people in this town are named Rosario, especially if they were born anytime near the Virgin’s natal […]
Continue ReadingWhen I first arrived in Mexico City in the early sixties, it was an intellectual’s paradise. Latin-American writers in exile from their native countries had settled there. American artists and intellectuals disenchanted with American politics were putting down roots. Europeans in search of spiritual rejuvenation called the city their home. And poetry flourished. For a […]
Continue ReadingThis past February I had the pleasure of attending the first concert of the 2005 season given by the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra. It was the first time I had heard the orchestra, and I was impressed by the caliber of its musicians and the breadth of its repertoire. It seemed remarkable that this relatively small […]
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(Part 1) The coming of the Spaniards in 1519 drastically altered the political and religious life of pre-Hispanic America. Cortes, with the help of his mercenaries and priests, decimated the ruling elite and wiped out the existing theocracy, but try as they might, they could not destroy the people’s love and need for ritual. The […]
Continue ReadingThe Republic of Mexico is a very large country, boasting a total area of almost 1,978,000 square kilometers (760,000 square miles) and a population of 103,400,165 (July 2002 estimate). With its central government located in Mexico City, Mexico has a national culture, held together by the Spanish language, which is the primary means of communication […]
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Drawn by the intrigue of all-night vigils in cemeteries and life-size skeletons propped jauntily in shop windows, tourists flock to Oaxaca and other points in Mexico for Day of the Dead. During the last week in October, voyeurs come to observe and to photograph the “picturesque” practices of “quaint” indigenous Mexicans. The idea of reunions […]
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The only thing that is definitely known about Subcomandante Marcos, the ski-masked mystery man who leads the Zapatista rebels in the jungles of Chiapas, is that he is an intellectual. Conflicting sources who assure us that they know the true identity of the man behind the mask have variously identified him as a disillusioned government […]
Continue ReadingIt is entirely correct to think of the Aztec legend Quetzalcoatl in three contexts — as historical personality, as divinity and as literary subject. In the first incarnation he is a 10th century priest-king; in the second a deity associated with progress and humanity; in the third an object of intense interest to both ancient […]
Continue ReadingDoing Business in Mexico I’ve discussed cultural differences and clarity in Mexico’s business world. But dealing with Mexican realities is not the only challenge faced by U.S. executives on Mexican assignments. Inevitably, as reported by many corporate leaders I’ve interviewed, U.S. executives in Mexico must also cope with the headquarters challenge. Perhaps the two most repeated […]
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