Dear Rolly, You have been a bright light for many thousands of people over the years and on February 25th, 2015, your light dimmed on this plane and began to shine brightly in the next. For myself, I am sad. I am sad that even though we talked on the telephone sometimes and exchanged emails and […]
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In the early years of the twentieth century, the nature of warfare changed dramatically. The deployment of aircraft unleashed a powerful new weapon for warring factions, previously forced to rely only on their land and sea forces. The earliest attempt to incorporate air power into fighting is thought to have been when an Italian pilot […]
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In a magazine interview, I was asked who had the most beautiful face of all time. I unhesitatingly answered, “Dolores Del Rio.” Not Garbo, Dietrich, or Elizabeth Taylor can compare with Dolores Del Rio. Though only five foot three inches in height, Dolores del Rio appeared to be tall on cinema screens all over the […]
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During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the American people, desperately in need of relief from fears about the future, turned for escape to movie stars Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers for champagne and chiffon, horseracing icon, Seabiscuit, for inspiration and heart, and heavyweight boxer, Joe Louis, for action and grace. Similarly, Americans in 2006, […]
Continue ReadingMario Mareno Reyes was the sixth son of 15 children, who became a world-wide cinema super star, was married to the same woman for more than 30 years, and made enormous financial contributions to the Mexican poor. You may not think you know of him, but you do. He was known as Cantinflas. There are […]
Continue ReadingJust when you think you know everything about the golden age of movies, along comes still more information to snap you back to reality. You may not have ever heard of him yourself, but one of the most famous people in the history of Mexican cinema was Emilio Fernández Romo, fondly nicknamed “El Indio.” It’s […]
Continue ReadingAlong with many other expatriates living in Mexico, we occasionally hear of a famous one who lives, or once lived, among us. We know that Helen Hayes, Erich Fromm and Maurice Evans lived in Cuernavaca, and Tennessee Williams, D. H. Lawrence and Somerset Maugham lived in Ajijic. Just a few years ago, I had Christmas […]
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I don’t know anything about opera, and accidentally once proved it to my date at a screening of Franco Zeffirelli’s film of La Traviata. Halfway through the movie, I whispered, “What a rip off. All they did was copy the plot of Garbo’s movie, Camille.” How did I know that the Verdi opera, based on Dumas’ 1848 novel, […]
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In 1916, an intrepid reporter, Guillermo Ojara, was assigned by his paper, El Demócrata, to go south to seek and interview Emiliano Zapata. After harrowing incidents with hundreds of Zapatistas in the mountains, valleys, even The Hill of the Scorpions inhabited by thousands of those deadly creatures, Ojara was finally brought to his subject. It is interesting […]
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It all began on Monday morning, one day before Constitution Day, in the Jardin, the local square, of San Miguel de Allende. My wife constantly reminds me that I am obsessive, and she is right. I feel that the only way to live is to have a question before you that needs answering. My current […]
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