MEXICO
Artist Credit: Watercolor by Sue Siskin: Zocalo, Oaxaca, Mexico
Something happens to me when I am in Mexico. I relax. My mind seems sharper. Most of all, I’m happy. The people and ambiance of this beautiful country have inspired the stories and other posts in this section.
It’s All About The Corn
[Click on BLUE links for sources and more information] sin maíz no hay país—without corn, there is no country Americans love Mexican food. We consume nachos, tacos, burritos, tortas, enchiladas, tamales and anything resembling Mexican in enormous...
Oaxaca’s Amazing Graphic Arts Studios
[Click BLUE links for sources and more information] I started to make graffiti when I was 15. Later, I went to a college of art where I combined fine arts with street art. In 2006, there was a strong social and political movement in my state (Oaxaca) and...
Wind Lightning Thunder Rain
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6 I love watching the weather move in. At its simplest,...
Short Fiction – Seduction
Graham made all the arrangements. I was busy with a project. I didn’t even have time for a cursory review let alone the usual detailed preparation we generally put in. B was a famous writer. I knew he was eclectic and lived in Oaxaca. Eclectic isn’t quite...
Short Fiction – The Argument
No one remembers how it started. It was some silly little thing like the color of the water at Las Canteras. He said it was green. She said it was blue. Something like that. Things now were totally out of control. She insulted his mother. He called her sister a...
Short Fiction: The Dust Gatherers
The dust whispers into town like fog the difference being that fog bubbles are hollow and wet while dust bubbles are solid and dry. The houses are painted in bright colors so that people can find their way. The red houses lead to restaurants, the green...
Short Fiction: Green Leaves, Muted Flowers, Darkness
He feels as if he’s being watched. He looks up from the book to scan his surroundings. He sees nothing but green leaves, muted flowers, darkness. He listens. He hears only the singing of the grasshoppers, chapulines as they are called in the markets in Oaxaca....
Gerardo Navarro Gómez: Art in the Slow Lane
[Click on BLUE links for sources and information] I want to sleep in the country, by the river, to retrieve the dreams of my youth. Gerardo Navarro Gómez The story of the life to date of the Zapotec, Oaxacan, Mexican artist Gerardo Navarro Gómez...
Guest Post: A Saint in the Compost by Montgomery Howard
[Click on BLUE links for sources and information] Two years ago Think in the Morning wrote about Monty and Pilar (Huertos Bi Nisa): Some Traditional Markets of Oaxaca. Since then their Saturday market location has moved from outside Casa de las...
Ayotnizapa, Tlatelolco, Kent State and More: Massacres as Public Policy
[Click on BLUE links for sources and information] 43 students disappeared from Ayotnizapa College in Iguala, Mexico on September 26, 2014. To date the case has not been solved. In June of this year an investigative commission for truth and justice...
Volver (To Return)
[Click on BLUE links for sources and information] Back in Oaxaca. A ghost. The mother in the quirky movie Volver (To Return) or is it the other way around, Juan Preciado in Pedro Páramo? I’ve left something undone. No idea what that might be but I’ll...
Short Fiction – Travelling to Oaxaca Ending
Travelling to Oaxaca is a short story in five parts. The earlier parts can be found here: Part I Part II Part III Part IV The world is beautiful and outside there is no salvation. Albert Camus At my age I have to avoid repeating myself. I think I told...