Sombrero Books

La Ruta de Occidente: Las Ciudades de Toluca y Morelia, a soft cover book by Pablo C. de. Gante (Mexico, D.F.: DAPP, 1939)

Paperback: 95 pages
Publisher: Mexico, D.F.: DAPP (1939)
Language: Spanish

Very hard-to-find early guidebook to Mexico’s Highway 15, one of the country’s most scenic highways. This book has detailed descriptions, accompanied by numerous maps and b/w photos of the section from Mexico City to Morelia, the state capital of Michoacán.

Used. Price US$10.00 (plus shipping; contact us for details)

Juan Rulfo and The South of Jalisco by Wolfgang Vogt (Editorial Agata, 1995).

Extended essay by Dr. Volfgang Vogt, translated by Tony Burton. This book is a detailed look at the work of one of Mexico’s foremost novelists, and its place in the school of regional literature. Includes 32 black & white photos (by Juan Rulfo) and bibliography.

ISBN 968-7310-56-1. Softcover, 81 pages. Dimensions (in inches): 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.25. Price: $10.00 (plus shipping; contact us for options/details)

The southern part of Jalisco, only a few hours’ drive from Lake Chapala, epitomizes many people’s idea of the “real Mexico”. This extended essay on the work of Juan Rulfo, one of Mexico’s most famous novelists, examines how his writing is a superb example of the school of regional literature. Rulfo was also an accomplished photographer and the book includes 32 of his black & white photos and a bibliography.

Related books:

• San Gabriel,  Editorial Agata / Fotoglobo, 2004. This is the area forever associated with famous Mexican novelist Juan Rulfo. Includes numerous color photos of San Gabriel, Piedras Niñas, Jiquilpan, Buenavista, Salsipuedes, Telcampana, Totolimispa and San José.

Related posts:

• Lysander Kemp (1920-1992) (biography of translator of Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo: A Novel of Mexico. Grove/Atlantic, 1959).

A House Far South in Mexico by Elaine Dandh. (Perception Press 2000).

Loosely modeled on the best-selling Year in Provence, this is a blow-by-blow account, from the perspective of the woman of the house, of one couple’s adjustment to moving to Mexico to live.

Softcover, 271 pages. Dimensions (in inches): 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 Price: US$20.00

Synopis:

On one grey November day in New England, knowing nothing at all of what they were getting into, the narrator and her husband, His Himship, moved to Mexico. In their first year they managed to careen around most of the country, from the mountains of Michoacan to the villages of Chiapas.

They took part in fiestas, descended into ancient burial vaults, and bought a silver dagger from a neighbor who may have been a witch but was certainly a dealer in stolen merchandise. Venturing into a culture which they knew nothing about, they tried to teach their maid how to deal with a faithless husband. Meanwhile the two attempted to record the quaint folkways of the mixed lot of American expatriates they had fallen into.

House In The Sun by Dane Chandos (reprint by Tlayacapan Press, 1999)

This is the classic account of how an expatriate Englishman Dane Chandos (the pen name for a two-man writing team) ran an hotel in a Lake Chapala village fifty years ago – “a magical place where anything can happen–and frequently does!”.

Softcover, 246 pages. Dimensions (in inches): 8.3 x 5.45 x 0.6. Price: US$15.00 [plus shipping – contact us for details]

“The house which he was building in Ajijic, on Lake Chapala, south of Guadalajara, is now nearing completion and, at the time of which he writes, is converted to a small inn taking a few paying guests. Here, Dane Chandos unfolds his day-to-day adventures as “Señor of the Inn,” an amateur hotelier who is at the mercy of both his loyal, unpredictable and often maddening servants, and of his equally unpredictable and maddening – though never boring – guests. All this is set forth with tender understanding and captivating wit against the background of the primitive little village which lies “between the lake and the paws of the mountains,” where anything can happen.” (review by Alan Cogan)

House In The Sun has more descriptive details about Mexico than the previous book by Dane Chandos – Village In The Sun  – as the author occasionally takes his guests on sightseeing trips including a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Zapopan, a canoa trip around the lake, and a drive to Uruapan to see the still-erupting volcano at Paricutin.

Related books:

• Village in the Sun
• Candelaria’s Cookbook

All three books “House in the Sun”, “Village in the Sun” and “Candelaria’s Cookbook” are delightful and essential reading for anyone who cares about the spirit of Mexico and its people. The sale of these books helps fund an educational program for young people living in the village of San Antonio Tlayacapan, where the books are set.