Dancing Alone in Mexico

by Butler, Ron

• ISBN13: 9780816520237
• ISBN10: 0816520232
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arizona Pr

Summary

Can a man have a love affair with a foreign land?Ron Butler never dreamed Mexico would capture his heart and his soul. But when his ex-wife moved to Guadalajara with their children in the wake of divorce, he found himself crisscrossing the country, seduced by its charms and moved by its rhythms and its melodies. Like the diver of an old Mexican legend who lives beneath the sea seeking the best pearl, Butler lost himself in Mexico and found the hidden treasures of every tiny hamlet and big metropolis. He writes about the endangered monarch butterflies of El Rosario, the street bands of Zacatecas, and the mummies of Guanajuato. He takes a magical night ferry ride from Mazatlan and a train excursion into Copper Canyon--a chasm four times larger than the Grand Canyon--in Mexico's most mysterious mountains. He goes off the beaten path in such tourist havens as Acapulco and Cancun. And he walks in the footsteps of movie stars and artists who too have been enamored of Mexico. Poking into the nooks and crannies of Mexico, Butler indulges in tasty Mexican specialties at both the finest restaurants and out-of-the-way street stands. He finds the best tequila in the town named Tequila, the world's most delicious cup of coffee in Veracruz, the sweetest dulcein Morelia, and the best mole--a Mayan chile and chocolate sauce embellished by nuns anxious to please a visiting Spanish viceroy--in Puebla. Sharing his considerable knowledge of art, Butler also uncovers the best of Mexico's museums and advises shoppers about folk crafts. Informative and helpful as the best travel guide, Dancing Alone in Mexicowill help even seasoned travelers to get the most out of their trips to Mexico. Casual and lively as the best travel memoir, the book will also delight the armchair traveler with south-of-the-border stories and adventures that come only to those who dance not alone but with an entire land.

Table of Contents

Part I The Breakup	1	(14)
Part 2 Traveling Mexico through Sunlight and Shadow	15	(136)
Nogales	17	(5)
Magdalena de Kino	22	(4)
Guaymas	26	(4)
Mazatlan	30	(4)
Night Ferry to La Paz	34	(5)
Los Cabos	39	(3)
Copper Canyon	42	(7)
Monterrey	49	(5)
Zacatecas	54	(6)
Mummies of Guanajuato	60	(4)
Morelia	64	(6)
Ruben Morales: Portraits from Morelia's Plaza	70	(4)
El Rosario: Where Butterflies Are Free	74	(3)
Mexico City	77	(11)
The Day of the Dead	88	(7)
Mexican Art	95	(5)
Cuernavaca	100	(5)
Oaxaca: On the Trail of D. H. Lawrence	105	(5)
Shopping Notes	110	(2)
Veracruz: City of Music	112	(2)
Agustin Lara	114	(3)
Coffee Break	117	(4)
Places by the Sea	121	(1)
Playa Blanca's Club Med	122	(3)
Acapulco	125	(4)
Puerto Vallarta	129	(5)
Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo	134	(3)
The Yucatan Peninsula	137	(1)
Merida: Hunting for a Turkey Made of Straw	138	(5)
Cancun	143	(5)
Chiapas	148	(3)
Part 3 Loose Pages from a Writer's Portfolio	151	(52)
Frida and Diego: A Love Story	153	(13)
Portrait of Lupe Marin	166	(3)
Mexican Food: You Are What You Eat	169	(6)
Tequila	175	(4)
Hussong's Cantina	179	(2)
Shopping for Silver	181	(4)
Cantinflas Remembered	185	(6)
The Eyes of the Matador	191	(5)
The Last American Matador	196	(7)
Epilogue	203