The Pearl: a novella by John Steinbeck

Available from Amazon Books: Paperback That first film version of The Pearl (1948) was directed by the prominent Mexican director, Emilio Fernández. It won the Ariel – the Mexican Academy Award – for best picture, and Gabriel Figueroa won the Golden Globe for best cinematography; the director, Emilio Fernández, was nominated for a Golden Lion award at the […]

Continue Reading
Inscription on the statue of Evangeline. © TexasEscapes.com

Six degrees of separation: how a Mexican star became a Cajun legend

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 […]

Continue Reading
Mariachis perform at a gala held at the Hacienda of Nogueras, Comala, Colima.

Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo – Universal artist from Colima

In the half-light I enter the ‘horno’ or oven room. A base of reds frames the pre-Hispanic pieces in the Museum of Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo. It is easy to imagine the fiery origin of the land and the fire that formed the ancient ceramics. Outside, the Volcano of Fire smokes above the countryside. And so I meet […]

Continue Reading

Leyendas e historias de Oaxaca: un hombre llamado Crecencio

Según cuentan las personas que viven en Teotitlán del Valle, Crecencio llegó a vivir a Teotitlán como un mozo* que ayudaba a criar ganado y animales domesticados en esta comunidad. Pasaron los años y el arduo trabajo de esa época obligaba a las personas a recolectar cáscaras de los árboles para curtir la piel. En […]

Continue Reading

Mexico Travel Books and Retirement / Living Guides

Clicking on the book title will take you to more about the book at amazon.com People’s Guide to Mexico: Wherever you go… There You Are Carl Franz, Lorena Havens, Steve Rogers A different type of guidebook — anecdotal, instructive, personal and very informative/educational. It is written from a narrative or story telling point of view. […]

Continue Reading
title

Mexico, a Traveler’s Literary Companion

Cogan’s Reviews Mexico, a Traveler’s Literary Companion by C. M. Mayo I’ve reviewed over a hundred books for MexConnect. These have covered the gamut of topics, all related to this country – fiction, travel, history, living in Mexico, moving to Mexico, biographies, city profiles and a few volumes difficult to categorize. I thought I had […]

Continue Reading
Tribute Page from the Codex Mendoza

Homer and the Aztec muse in Mexican literature

It seems that one can never take anything for granted in the academic world, at least because there is always someone somewhere waiting to contradict everything that has been said previously. This is especially true of revisionist history. Of course new evidence and different ways of interpreting the “facts” of history may justify revising standard […]

Continue Reading