Society, Politics and Culture
Tom Barry (ed), Mexico: A Country Guide (LAB/Resource Center). A comprehensive account of contemporary Mexico: Barry and ten other contributors impart their expertise to make this the best single-volume survey on the issues facing Mexico in the 1990s. Rick Bayless , Mexican Kitchen (Scribner/Absolute). Aimed at the ambitious chef, this weighty tome has over 150 recipes but no photos. The country's gastronomic heritage is explored in detail with a special focus on the myriad types of chile that form the heart of Mexican cuisine. Dan La Botz , Democracy in Mexico (South End Press, US). Examines the political landscape of modern Mexico and puts it into historical context by equating the rise of civil society and political consciousness with the major defining events of recent decades - the 1968 student massacre, the 1985 earthquake, and the 1994 Zapatista uprising amongst others. Harry Browne , For Richer, For Poorer (LAB/Resource Center). A readable analysis of the background to NAFTA and the effects of and prospects for closer economic integration between the US and Mexico. Miguel Covarrubias , Mexico South (KPI). The people and popular culture of Veracruz and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec by the well-known Mexican artist and anthropologist. A good read, well illustrated. Augusta Dwyer , On The Line (LAB). A painstakingly detailed account of conditions on the US/Mexico border, where many of the most environmentally damaging factories on the continent poison lands and people on both sides of the frontier. The "line" is the only place in the world where the rich north directly borders the poorer south, and Dwyer documents the consequences of this economic discrepancy in case studies of maquila workers, legal and illegal immigrants and both victims and members of the US Border Patrol. Clare Ferguson , Flavours of Mexico (Ryland, Peters & Small). All the classics are here: tortillas, enchiladas, empanadas, flautas and tamales, along with party food suggestions and a few vegetarian recipes. A colourful and straightforward cookbook that will inspire you to keep feasting on Mexican cuisine once back home. Judith Adler Hellman , Mexican Lives (The New Press, US). A compilation of interviews with fifteen Mexicans on the eve of the signing of NAFTA, offering a poignant insight into how ordinary people, rich and poor alike, cope with everyday life on the brink of enormous political and social change, with the voices of the interviewees themselves speaking so clearly that their personalities and emotions stand out from the pages. Underlying all the accounts is the reality of institutional corruption, which affects every sector of society but falls heaviest on the poor. Worth reading by anyone who wants to understand what modern Mexico is like behind the headlines. Haydeii Herrera , Frida (Bloomsbury). This mesmerizing biography of Frida Kahlo brings to life a woman of extreme magnetism and originality. Starting with her childhood in Mexico City, the account goes on to describe the crippling accident she had as a teenager that left her unable to have children, her tempestuous marriage to Diego Rivera and the various men with whom she had affairs including, most notoriously, Leon Trotsky. The book contains numerous colour panels of her paintings. Oscar Lewis , The Children of Sanchez (Random House). These oral histories of a working-class family in the Mexico City of the 1940s are regarded as a seminal work in modern anthropology. The book is totally gripping, though, and doesn't read in the least like an anthropological text. Lewis' other works, including Pedro Martinez (Vintage, o/p/Penguin, o/p), A Death in the Sanchez Family (Vintage, US, o/p) and Five Families (Basic), use the same first-person narrative technique. All are highly recommended. Patrick Marnham , Dreaming with His Eyes Open: A Life of Diego Rivera (Bloomsbury). A gripping account of the extraordinary life of the great Mexican muralist in which truths are revealed and myths are unravelled. Octavio Paz , The Labyrinth of Solitude (Penguin/Grove). An acclaimed series of philosophical essays exploring the social and political state of modern Mexico. Paz, who died in 1998, won the Nobel prize for literature in 1990 and was universally regarded as the country's leading poet. Elena Poniatowska , various works. A pioneer in the field of testimonial literature and one of Mexico's best-known essayists and journalists. In Here's to you Jesusa (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Poniatowska turns her attentions on her cleaning lady. Jesusa's story of her marriage, involvement in the Revolution and postwar period include her views on life, love and society. Narrated in the first person, the text is compelling, lively and at times ribald: Jesusa herself is now a celebrity on the literary circuit. Other works available in English include Massacre in Mexico (University of Missouri), a collage of testimonies of those present at the 1968 massacre of students in Tlatelolco; Dear Diego (Pantheon, US, o/p); and Tinisima (Farrar, Straus & Giroux/Penguin, US). Gregory G. Reck , In the Shadow of Tlaloc (Penguin/Waveland, o/p). Reck attempts a similar style to that of Oscar Lewis in his study of a Mexican village, and the effects on it of encroaching modernity. Often seems to stray over the border into sentimentality and even fiction, but interesting nonetheless. Alan Riding , Mexico: Inside the Volcano (IB Tauris, UK). In-depth analysis of modern Mexico by the British correspondent for the New York Times . Enlightening, though gloomy. John Ross , Rebellion from the Roots (Common Courage Press). A fascinating early account of the buildup to and first months of the 1994 Zapatista rebellion, and still the definitive book on the subject. Ross's reporting style provides a really detailed and informative background, showing the uprising was no surprise to the Mexican army. He's also the author of Mexico in Focus (LAB/Interlink), a short but authoritative guide to modern Mexican society, politics and culture - worth reading before a visit. Guiomar Rovira , Women of Maize (LAB). Rovira, a Mexican journalist, witnessed the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas on New Year's Day 1994. This book, which interweaves narrative, history and the personal recollections of numerous women involved in the rebellion, provides an extraordinary insight into the lives of indigenous people. The women interviewed reflect on how their previously traditional lifestyles were transformed when they joined up with the Zapatista National Liberation Army and gained access to education and other opportunities they'd never even dreamt of. Chloe Sayer , The Arts and Crafts of Mexico (Thames & Hudson /Chronicle). Sayer is the author of numerous books on Mexican arts, crafts and associated subjects, all of them worth reading. The Skeleton at the Feast (University of Texas), written with Elizabeth Carmichael, is a wonderful, superbly illustrated insight into attitudes to death and the dead in Mexico. Joel Simon , Endangered Mexico (Sierra Club). Eloquent and compelling study documenting the environmental crisis facing Mexico at the end of the twentieth century. Accurate and very moving, it's essential reading for those wanting to know how and why the crisis exists - and why no one can offer solutions. David Rains Wallace , The Monkey's Bridge (Sierra Club). When the Panama Bridge formed between North and South America, three million years ago, plants and animals surged back and forth across it in an evolutionary intermingling that created one of the world's richest natural environments. This engaging account of Central Amercia's role as an evolutionary link between the two continents cleverly interweaves natural history, human history, travel writing and personal reflection. Mariana Yampolsky , The Traditional Architecture of Mexico (Thames & Hudson). The enormous range of Mexico's architectural styles, from thatched peasant huts and vast haciendas to exuberant Baroque churches and solid, yet graceful public buildings is encompassed in this inspired book. While most of Mariana Yampolsky's superb photographs are in black-and-white, a chapter on the use of colour emphasizes its importance in every area of life; the text by Chloe Sayer raises it above the level of the average coffee-table book. (For guides to ecclesiastical architecture in Mexico see Richard Perry).
My Birthday giftAlex Arvizu says "If you happen to come to the Yucatan Peninsula you must visit both Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy.
Isla Mujeres is a great place to relax and enjoy a laid back atmosphere.
Isla Contoy, an unhabited island north of Isla Mujeres, will take you back to the days when the first settlers arrived and found these amazing virgin islands. The feeling is equal to none." Tour Mayan Pyramids On Line (Video + Stills)David Mundstock says "My film "Mayavision” features the major Mayan cities of Copan, Tikal, Chichen Itza, and Uxmal in both Central America and Mexico. It also includes Mexico City, with the Virgin of Guadalupe and the temples of Teotihuacán. The film begins in Honduras, Belize, and Guatemala.
“Mayavision” can be seen on the web, if you have a high speed internet connection.
This is a free, non-commercial, streaming video on the Windows Media Player. No ads and no strings attached. I sell absolutely nothing.
With any modem you can view the new gallery of Mayan Pyramid still pictures.
The video can be watched and stills viewed by asking a search engine for:
Intrepid Berkeley Explorer
There are over 30 of my other free, amateur travel videos on-line including trips to China, Russia, Antarctica, Italy, the UK, Japan, Australia, Bali, Africa, Greece, and Turkey; see lions, whales, elephants, or penguins.
The Intrepid Berkeley Explorer" what not to dojosie says "don't let mexican people see you translation book because the will think taht you are an idiot! don't look like you have money you are likely to get robbed and what ever you do don't wear a sombrero!!" !GO MEXICO GO!sarahid says " don't be mean to a mexican, because they going to thick you are idiot<, and be respecful every timr whith others, mexicans don't care if you wear a hat is ok." New hostel in townEnsenada Backpacker says "There is a new hostel in Ensenada Baja California Mexico
www.ensenadabackpacker.com"
Your Tip for Mexico
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