Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury, 4th edition By Tony Burton Sombrero Books, 2013 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback For anyone who lives or travels in western Mexico, Tony Burton’s Western Mexico: A Traveler’s Treasury is a “must have.” I own a well travelled copy of the third edition (2001) but I was delighted to see a fourth edition […]
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Cogan’s Reviews The first thing I should say about this book is that it was originally published more than half a century ago, in 1953. I mention that out front just so no reader assumes it is yet another recent travel book about Mexico. However, it’s a good one and it’s easy to see that […]
Continue ReadingThe air is crisp as we head up Highway 45 to celebrate the Day of the Dead, passing through increasingly barren land. Trees, that cover the gentle slopes and crops of russet milo maize, give way to prairie grasses and then nothing except cacti and the hardy shrubs that live in this area of little rainfall […]
Continue ReadingThis morning Nurse Practitioner Silvia Flores Gonzalez is a little tired, having gotten up at 4:00 am to deliver a baby. The young mother knocked on the door of “El Centro de Desarrollo para Mujeres” in Ajijic at 4:00 am, and she only had $30.00 pesos to pay for the delivery. The women’s center serves […]
Continue ReadingI will always be here. I send my spirit every night to guard you. We lie in bed listening to the tympani of rain on the tile roof and burrowing into each other’s warmth. My neighbors weren’t home when Jaime came to visit, so no one saw him. Secrecy wearies me. I fancy the scandal […]
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José María Narváez (1768-1840) is one of Mexico’s forgotten heroes. Captain George Vancouver is usually given the credit for exploring the Georgia Strait and discovering the site of the city that now bears his name, but actually José María Narváez y Gervete was the first European to sail and chart those waters a full year […]
Continue ReadingAfter the Conquest, Spanish settlers introduced numerous Old World species into the New World. The most pernicious introductions were human-borne diseases, which led to the rapid and tragic decimation of the indigenous population. However, most of the introductions were deliberate, made with the intention of increasing the diversity of available food and resources. Among the […]
Continue ReadingMexico, the United Mexican States (in spanish Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is a federal republic situated in North America. It is bounded on the north by the United States; on the east by the U.S., the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea; on the south by Belize and Guatemala; and on the west by the Pacific […]
Continue ReadingThe whirling skirts of a dancer from the Ballet Folklorico at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara fill this month’s cover. The costume belongs to the Jalisco segment of the show, which features traditional dances from all regions of Mexico, now in its 37th consecutive year. Following the Sunday morning spectacle, I spoke with Carlos Ochoa, […]
Continue ReadingOne of my readers asked me to describe a typical day here in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico. Others have asked, “What do you do all day?” So, I am inviting you to spend this day with me in the charming colonial village of Ajijic. Only my screen doors are closed so I can […]
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