Exploring Colonial Mexico©Exploring Colonial Mexico©Visitors to our web site may be interested in these recent books by friends, colleagues and fellow aficionados:
THE COCOM CODEX
This recent novel by Nelson Reed, author of The Caste War of Yucatan, is a thriller. The author draws on his encyclopedic knowledge of Yucatan, its history, people and language, to craft a most entertaining read, especially enjoyable for those having some familiarity with Yucatan and the Maya.
The story deals with the adventures and machinations involved in the discovery of a previously unknown, prehispanic Maya codex in Yucatan. Art dealers, college professors, Mexican officials and, of course, the indigenous Maya of Yucatan feature in the story, which moves right along, with numerous twists and turns, involving greed, sex and several murders. At the end, everything is tied up tidily in favor of the good guys.
The book also exposes the vast, lucrative and illegal international network of art trafficking that flourishes through the unscrupulous purloining of ancient objects and artifacts from Mexico.
Despite the disproportionate number of typos in this edition, we highly recommend this POD book to all with an interest in Yucatan and the Maya. Available from iUniverse books.
MUSEUM OF THE MISSING
In this entertaining as well as beautifully illustrated book, Canadian author Simon Houpt outlines the history of the lucrative and ever burgeoning world of international art theft. He names notorious historical figures as well as the shady, often colorful, characters that operate in the illicit trade today.
He recounts many of the most notorious heists of famous paintings and documents the inside story of the successful recoveries of some stolen art works. The latter part of the book is devoted to a chilling gallery of still missing masterpieces.
This timely book
will, we hope, raise public and official consciousness about the
current global epidemic of art theft. Available
through Amazon.
MEXICO: A Travelers Literary Companion
Mexico has long been the top travel destination for Americans. But until now, there has not been such a panoramic vision of Mexico offered by some of Mexico's finest contemporary writers of fiction and literary prose. Here are writings, many translated for the first time, that bring you to the people of the beaches, the deserts, jungles, snow-capped mountains, and megacities. The voices are rich and diverse, the stories enthralling and strange. These writings shatter stereotypes as they provide a rollicking journey from the Pacific to the Gulf, from Yucatan to the U.S.-Mexico border, from humble ranches to a fabulous mountaintop castle.
Contributors include rising stars as well as many of Mexico's best-known literary writers, including Carlos Fuentes, Angeles Mastretta, Laura Esquival, Alberto Ruy Sanchez, Ilan Stavans, and Juan Villoro.
C.M. Mayo is founding editor of Tameme, one of the most prestigious publishers of Spanish/English literary translation. She is the author of the widely lauded travel memoir, Miraculous Air: Journey of a Thousand Miles through Baja California, the Other Mexico, and Sky Over El Nido, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.
SPIRIT OF CHIAPAS
After many years of dedicated research, Virginia and Robert Guess have brought out their handsomely illustrated new book, Spirit of Chiapas, a fascinating study of the unique roof crosses of Chiapas.
This account details the history and stylistic variety of this little known folk art tradition. It also includes a full description and analysis of the noted Frans Blom collection of crosses, as well as a street by street guide to the roof crosses of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, the old colonial capital.
This timely book - the only published study of this unique folk art - not only authoritatively documents this dying tradition but, the authors hope, may lead to its authentic revival.
Available through Amazon.com
Yucatán aficionados may be interested in Yucatán Passages, a new, large format photo essay by Robert Hansen, which features evocative black and whitepictures of life and the landscape in Yucatán and southern Mexico, including Mayan and colonial monuments, haciendas and, of course, the Maya themselves.
City, Temple, Stage (The University of Notre Dame Press. November 2004.) is a new study by Jaime Lara of Yale, that reinterprets the art, architecture, and liturgy created for the conversion of Aztecs and other native peoples of central Mexico by European Franciscan missionaries in the mid-sixteenth century.
Lara contends that the design of missionary centers, or so-called "fortress monasteries," can only be understood against the backdrop of the eschatological concerns of the age and the missionary techniques of the mendicant friars. Lara argues that these architectural constructions are quasi-theatrical sets for elaborate educational and liturgical events that served as rehearsals for the last age of world history.
Available
through Amazon.com
Las Misiones Antiguas
For many years researcher Edward Vernon has dedicated himself to exploring and documenting the old missions, or Las Misiones Antiguas, of Baja California, crisscrossing the back country in search of these sometimes elusive and often ruinous monuments.
This handsome new English language volume is the result. Featuring more than 300 previously unpublished photographs - many in color, and 80 historical pictures, numerous old and new maps, mission plans as well as unique computer reconstructions of earlier buildings, Ed Vernon's beautifully produced work breaks new ground in presenting the colonial missions of Baja California. With its detailed description and historical background of every Baja mission, this comprehensive, fully indexed handbook is an indispensable resource for the traveler and researcher alike.
available through UNM PRess and Amazon.
WESTERN MEXICO: A
Traveller's Treasury (Third
Edition)
From San Blas on the Pacific coast to the celebrated Monarch butterfly refuge in the high Sierra of Michoacan, this guidebook describes all the natural wonders of Western Mexico.
British born Tony Burton, a long time resident of Mexico and award winning travel writer and naturalist, gives you his unique insights into this scenic and culturally rich area of lakes and mountains, colonial towns and Indian villages.
The author takes you to all of his favorite places along the less traveled roads of the region, revealing their history, ecology and archaeology, as well as their arts, crafts and folklore. Charmingly illustrated by artist Mark Eager, Tony's guide is easy to read and packed with suggestions for the traveler, complete with helpful maps and itineraries. Full bibliography and index. Available through this web site.
Spanish speaking readers may be interested in the new Spanish edition of Tony Burton's Western Mexico; A Travellers Treasury. Now available in Canada from Sombrero Books.
We also have several out-of-print books for those readers interested in the Maya