This is the year my Christmas won't be Made in China. Instead of the usual commercial shiny things we all know and love, I'm aiming for a simpler reminder of what the holiday is all about. Decorations, cards, and gifts will reflect skill, art, and natural materials...
Dedicated news junkies like myself can generally identify trends. But this week the news about Mexico has some of everything—the good, the bad, the hopeful and the bleak. If I was an infographic specialist and did a scatter plot diagram of Mexican news stories, the...
Maria Santos Gorrostieta Salazar, 36, who for nearly 4 years had served as the mayor of Tiquicheo, Michoacan, Mexico until early 2012, was found murdered last Friday. Her body was discovered in a remote area of the state and bore signs of torture.An earlier attack on...
These Mexican words of wisdom were found in Guy A. Zona's book EYES THAT SEE DO NOT GROW OLD, a collection of proverbs from Mexico, Central and South America. He who does not venture has no luck.He who follows his own advice must take the consequences.The clown is...
The little church in Mexico City was decorated for Christmas with 100 red poinsettias. Every pew was filled, many with sleepy but excited children, for a special Christmas Eve midnight mass. Father Richard was leading us in the Prayer of the Faithful when a man...
Just to whet your imagination here's a snippet of CLIFF DIVER, the first Emilia Cruz novel . . . The diver stretched to his full extension then pushed off. His back arched and his arms stretched wide and he looked like a crucifix as he sailed over the rocks. His arms...
Love to find that perfect travel memory? Love authentic handcrafts? Head for Mexico City's markets. Markets inspired much of the atmostphere I wrote into THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY, the romantic thriller and modern Cinderella story. The sights, sounds, and...
Who do I write for? This was a simple question posed to me a couple of months before The Hidden Light of Mexico City was released and it was simple to answer. Me. Well, not just a readership of one! But when I started writing, it was for myself and all my girlfriends...
Reading about Mexico now is a mix of highs and lows. Fiction can't substitute for facts but it can lead us to become interested enough in an issue to find out what is really going on. That is the impact I hope The Hidden Light of Mexico City can have. The press...
THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY is a political thriller, with characters based on many people I met in Mexico City. And a bus. The setting Let me set this up for you. Our house was at the start of the school bus route going home. My children had a 10 minute ride. In...