Sealed off by mountains to both the East and West, and arid, desert-like land to the North, Mexico’s central altoplano, for eons was home to Nahua, Otomi, Huichol, Cora, Tepehua and Coyutec Indians. Only the Chichimecs, who lived in the foothills of the Eastern mountain range were warlike. It was a fertile, peaceful region, never dominated […]
Continue ReadingHistorians dismiss Agustín Itúrbide with a few lines and most Mexicans have never heard of him. He deserves better. Factually, he was the one who cut the chains that bound Mexico in servitude to Spain. Perhaps historians are uneasy with him because he proposed an Empire rather than a Republic. In fairness to him we […]
Continue ReadingAsked to identify Francisco “Pancho” Villa, most people living North of the Rio Grande and even some Mexicans would call him a “bandido” but a careful examination of his career reveals simply a man willing to break the law to further a cause. In many ways, he remains an enigma. Born in San Juan del Rio, Durango, […]
Continue Reading“The evil men do lives after them, the good is often interred with their bones.” These words of Shakespeare may well describe the future of U.S. President Bill Clinton, but in writing about Mexican President Benito Juarez I would paraphrase these words to read, “The good that he did lives after him, the damage was […]
Continue ReadingIt was just about five years ago that my friends started to disappear from the streets of the little Mexican villages on the shores of Lake Chapala where I had retired some three years earlier. At first I thought they were sick or had moved back to the “old country” but then I met a […]
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The dictionary defines the word Caudillo as “a politician backed by a military force” and a study of Mexican history reveals a country that from its very beginning until well into the 20th Century was controlled by men whose had seized power by force rather than through the electoral process. Another definition of Caudillo is “strongman” and in this […]
Continue Reading In many ways, Porfirio Díaz is an enigma. Although he always gave lip service to democracy, during the thirty-five years that he controlled Mexico (1876 – 1911) he rode rough shod over freedom of speech, controlled the press, exiled dissidents and jailed opponents without trials. His first formal education headed him toward the priesthood but […]
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The small town of Nacozari occupies a valley nestled in the foothills of the Western Sierra Madre (Sierra Madre Occidental) in the state of Sonora. A hundred years ago this month, a young locomotive driver had to make a desperate decision: save his own life or try to save the lives of hundreds in his […]
Continue ReadingLa Cucaracha (The Cockroach), one of Mexico’s best known corridos, is a comic, satirical song, with infinite possibilities for creative verses. The typical chorus is: La cucaracha, la cucaracha Ya no puede caminar Porque no tiene, porque le falta Marihuana que fumar. Which translates into English as The cockroach, the cockroach Can not walk anymore Because […]
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Poets have always intrigued me. Sensitive and observant about the world around them, they are an eclectic blend of artist, philosopher and dreamer and are too often underappreciated during their lifetimes. Several years ago, I was rummaging through a box of family photos with my dad, when he showed me an old, yellowing image of […]
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