The complete Indian history of Mexico has yet to be written. Even with the countless books, articles, and studies that abound today, the history of Mexico is still generally written from the viewpoint of the conquerors, or at least it reflects the attitudes of the more predominant sector of society. Much of the early history […]
Continue ReadingToday, the visible remains of Mexico’s Colonial era are the ornate churches and palacios, either government office buildings or the homes of Colonial officials, still surviving, in the center of Mexico’s larger cities. The palacios have thick walls and portales, broad covered walkways, with wide arches supported by pillars. They shelter sidewalk cafes, vendors of […]
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Never underestimate the power of the pen. We’ve heard that statement all our lives. It is even truer today than ever due to our high-tech computers and Internet. People still use fountain pens filled with indelible ink to sign important documents, but most of us carry a cheap ballpoint pen around with us. Few of […]
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In the 1860s, Mexico was the world’s most important producer of silver. El Bramador doesn’t appear on most Mexican road maps, but it exists in the western Sierra Madre Mountain range in Jalisco. There is an unpaved road from Talpa de Allende, and the drive is about five hours long. We were in Puerto Vallarta, […]
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MexConnect readers know by now that March is the month when everybody who can walk, walks to Talpa. It has become a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. The new short-cut through the mountains connecting Mascota to Puerto Vallarta has brought even more frequent visitors to Talpa de Allende. Walkers come […]
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Victoria Cibrian Leon, born March 23, 1916, was the oldest girl in a family of eight children. She only had two brothers; Eziquiel and Primitivo. Toyita, as she was fondly called, never got beyond the first grade of school. When she was six years old, while playing rough and tumbling with neighborhood kids, she fell […]
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Manual Alvarez Bravo was one of the truly great photographers of the twentieth century. His work sprang from a vision born of his time and his culture, but it touched people from every society all over the world. Diego Rivera called his work a profound and discrete poetry. He said it was like those particles […]
Continue ReadingThe following comparative time line provides an orientation to the roots, elements and development of the rich artistic heritage of Mexico. The time line presentation allows for a sense of movement and awareness of events at equivalent times in the western and oriental worlds. 10,000 B.C. […]
Continue ReadingMexico is a country rich in creative expression, and its creative roots go far back into the history of its people. In much of the modern work done today, one can still catch a glimpse of the mysterious energy that permeated all pre-Columbian work. In the state of Veracruz, the Xalapa Anthropological Museum houses a […]
Continue ReadingWhen I first arrived in Mexico City in the early sixties, it was an intellectual’s paradise. Latin-American writers in exile from their native countries had settled there. American artists and intellectuals disenchanted with American politics were putting down roots. Europeans in search of spiritual rejuvenation called the city their home. And poetry flourished. For a […]
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