Overview
Tony Cohan’s On Mexican Time, his chronicle of discovering a new life in the small Mexican mountain town of San Miguel de Allende, has beguiled readers and become a travel classic. Now, in Mexican Days, point of arrival becomes point of departure as—faced with the invasion of the town by tourists and an entire Hollywood movie crew, a magazine editor’s irresistible invitation, and his own incurable wanderlust—Cohan undertakes a richer, wider exploration of the country he has settled in.
Told with the intimate, sensuous insight and broad sweep that captivated readers of On Mexican Time, Mexican Days is set against a changing world as Cohan encounters surprise and adventure in a Mexico both old and new: among the misty mountains and coastal Caribbean towns of Veracruz; the ruins and resorts of Yucatán; the stirring indigenous world of Chiapas; the markets and galleries of Oaxaca; the teeming labyrinth of Mexico City; the remote Sierra Gorda mountains; the haunted city of Guanajuato; and the evocative Mayan ruins of Palenque. Along the way he encounters expatriates and artists, shady operatives and surrealists, and figures from his past.
More than an immensely pleasurable and entertaining travel narrative by one of the most vivid, compelling travel voices to emerge in recent years, Mexican Days is both a celebration of the joys and revelations to be found in this inexhaustibly interesting country and a searching investigation of the Mexican landscape and the grip it is coming to have in the North American imagination.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
In his 2000 breakthrough nonfiction book, On Mexican Time, novelist Tony Cohan (Canary) typifies life South of the Border as "intimate, voluptuous, sense-driven," adjectives that are equally descriptive of this engaging travelogue. Mexican Days re-creates his day-to-day adventures as he savors the special pleasures of destinations including Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and the Yucatán. Cohan's interests are eclectic: He interacts freely with storekeepers and expatriates; samples local food; and dotes on local history and sun-drenched architecture.Publishers Weekly
Novelist and memoirist Cohan takes on a travel magazine assignment to make "some trips around Mexico... see how the puzzle of old and new fit together [and] write about it." Traveling south from his San Miguel home, he passes through Vera Cruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas into the Yucat n. Readers familiar with the path may enjoy traveling with him; others will long for a minimal map, an organizing principle and some photographs. As Cohan drifts through Mexico, history (e.g., the founding of Tlacotalpan sometime between A.D. 900 and 1200) and contemporary events (e.g., the barricading of mountain roads by Zapatista insurgents) are revealed. Chats with taxistas and shopkeepers, visits with friends and artists, remarks about his own work and casual references to the famous among Mexico's tourist, exile and expatriate population dot the pages (John Huston gets four pages). Cohan's description of the book as "the Mexican postcard I'm always writing home" is accurate; but postcards work best for readers who can fill in the blanks with their own sense of where the writer is coming from. Perhaps readers of Cohan's previous, well-received account (On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel) will be able to do so. (May 2) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Library Journal
This is an essential read for both Mexico aficionados and those contemplating a visit there. For the newcomer, Cohan (On Mexican Time) provides a vivid and beautifully crafted overview of Mexico's diverse culture, history, food, and customs. Those who know Mexico will gain new perspective on familiar tourist attractions and a glimpse into parts of Mexico travelers rarely visit. The author, who has lived and traveled in Mexico for many years (with San Miguel de Allende as his base), takes the reader to locations as diverse as Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Palenque, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Jalapa. He does not contain his displeasure at the changes Mexican locals make to please tourists-at the cheap souvenirs they proffer in place of the fine work of local artisans or the fiestas they stage for visitors (San Miguel de Allende in particular bears the brunt of his criticism). Despite his concerns for its commercialization, Cohan still loves Mexico and its unique local environments and lovely people. His observations are astute, on point, and necessary in the continuing dialog on contemporary Mexico. Recommended for public and university libraries.-Olga B. Wise, Austin, TX Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Still captivated by all things Mexican, gringo travel journalist and soulful memoirist Cohan (Native State, 2003, etc.) conducts a survey of his favorite countryside. The author was at first in a fugue and a funk. Then he was in transit, on a magazine assignment to cover Mexico from the mist-capped mountain districts to the pollution-capped Federal District. Se-or Cohan traveled from his home base in San Miguel de Allende to Oaxaca and Guanajuato, Xalapa and Tlacotalpan, no doubt severely stressing his computer's spell check as he sampled historic sites and restaurants. He made quick visits to gardens in the jungle and old Franciscan missions, then moved on to the Yucatan and Villahermosa, Palenque and the Mayan ruins. He drank the water, ate the tamales and talked the talk. The text is peppered with Spanish words: the author had a refresco under a pirule tree, followed an amigo to the z-calo. Along the way, Cohan pays homage to the Aztecs, sneers at Presidente Vicente Fox, examines the cult of Frida Kahlo and gives a nod to that natural wonder, Salma Hayek. This romantic hombre is ultimately taken with the Mexico beloved by the likes of John Huston and Luis Bu-uel. But Huston and Bu-uel are just ghosts now, and San Miguel and Oaxaca have become disfigured by tourists in T-shirts and shorts. Solipsism on a road trip South of the Border.