On a balmy summer evening in August 1940, a young man gained admittance to the study of Leon Trotsky’s heavily guarded house near Mexico City. He asked Trotsky to read something he had written. While Trotsky was poring over his article, the visitor removed an alpine climbing axe from his overcoat and sank it into […]
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I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of the Communist Party (although I did subscribe to the Daily World during the wild and woolly Sixties), but a visit to Leon Trotsky´s house in Coyoacán has affected me beyond all my expectations. It reminded me of my youth when I imagined, however […]
Continue ReadingIn the second half of the 18th century both the Russians and the British began to penetrate into the Alaskan peninsula, an area considered a Spanish possession as Spain was credited with “discovering” the American continent. Spain soon sent orders to “New Spain”, Mexico, to go and reassert its possession of this part of the […]
Continue ReadingMexico once tried hard to prevent Americans from migrating to Texas. In recent years, considerable attention has focused on the U.S. government’s efforts to stem the flow of Mexicans migrating north of the border in search of jobs. But there was a time in history when the boot was, so to speak, very much on […]
Continue ReadingLate last year (2001) the Mexican Congress decided to get off their behinds and bring about a badly needed tax reform. Not liking what President Fox proposed, they waited until the very last days of of the year to seriously discuss and pass new laws. Unfortunately, there is general agreement among tax and constitutional attorneys, […]
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By an amazing historical coincidence, calendar year 2010 is both a centennial and bicentennial for Mexico. This is great for students, as it’s a mnemonic device to help them remember dates! And as you might well imagine, it leads to 2010 being a great national celebration for Mexico. Every nation needs symbols, traditions and celebrations […]
Continue ReadingIn Talpa de Allende, there is a neighborhood girl who calls me her quasi-godmother. We have studied English together for the past few summers, but I find her attention span jumping about like a monkey. We decided we would study “Cooking in the Gringa Kitchen” this summer. I am not Karen Hursh Graber or Diana […]
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Available from Amazon Books: Paperback or Kindle The United States and Mexico struggled through volatile years of suffering and carnage to become unified nations. Michael Hogan’s thoroughly researched and passionately written Abraham Lincoln and Mexico is a thought-provoking read that covers part of that struggle from 1822, when Americans settlers first arrived on Mexican territory, to 1867, when […]
Continue ReadingThe election that brought Miguel de la Madrid’s successor to power was clearly fraudulent. On July 6, 1988, when the first results began to arrive at the interior ministry’s office on Avenida Bucareli, a shockingly high proportion was marked for the main opposition candidate. He was Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas, son of former President Lázaro Cárdenas, the […]
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Tlatelolco Square in Mexico City, D. F. (now Plaza of the Three Cultures) holds a special place in the history of Mexico, and in the hearts and minds of her people. Today, most people remember it for the student massacre that occurred on October 2, 1968. However the bloody history of this place began hundreds […]
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