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62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You even need this book to know what is going on in Iowa, March 16, 2007
This review is from: The People's Guide to Mexico (Paperback)
I have been in many places in Mexico, most often traveling alone. I've gone into the Tapo bus station in Mexico City and chosen my destination based on what bus was leaving soonest (Chiapas). I've eaten in Maya, Zapotec, Totonac, and Mixe village kitchens. One Holy Thursday I happened into a Mixe curing ceremony (which included a turkey sacrifice) on the peak of a remote mountain, then joined the indigenous speaking curandera, her client, and the client's mother in a drink of pulque afterwards. I've traveled by every class of bus, top to bottom, day and night. In every case, I have always had a sense of what was happening culturally thanks to Carl and Lorena's book, The People's Guide to Mexico. It is the only book I know of that could prepare one for Mexico. When the men are slaughtering a pig behind the house, while women are kneading masa and washing banana leaves to make tamales for a fiesta; from banana trees to eating cactus paddles; during impromptu living room sing-alongs; or drinking homemade capolin wine; you will not be unprepared. With Carl's illustrated discussion of Mexican hand signals, his introduction to Mexican cooking, and references to Mexican music you will be an insider.
None of my adventures duplicates any of Carl's accounts. Like the best kind of education, Carl and Lorena teach one how to understand Mexican culture in order to use the understanding in new or unusual circumstances, of which Mexico has an endless supply.
Even if you have a Mexican spouse, you need this book. The truth is that one even needs this book to understand what is going on in Postville, Iowa these days.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saludos y Bravo!, December 3, 2006
This review is from: The People's Guide to Mexico (Paperback)
Seriously Folks, No One Does It Better
IMAGINE traveling through one of the most diverse, unexpected, richly "other worldly", impossibly deliciously colorful ancient lands over a period of decades, meeting countless interesting people, tasting the exquisite complexity of the subtle, nuanced and flavorful true Mexican food, being swept away by the powerful Mexican culture, history, customs and all from the comfort of your own reading chair.
Carl and Lorena do just that in this, their 13th revised and updated edition as they share a life-long love relationship with Mexico and its people. You are served an insider's vision and experience of Mexico that is authoritative, practical, adventurous, beyond helpful, exciting and above all else, REAL. No superficial tourist hype or rigid travel itinerary, "The People's Guide To Mexico" is rather a vicarious total immersion experience that has earned them a huge and loyal following. I have six previous editions of this work and have shared countless copies with friends over the last 30 years...THIS BOOK IS THAT GOOD!
[...]
I recall laying in a sleeping bag in a tent in 1981 after a day of trout fishing on the Cache Le Poudre River in Colorado with my father reading out loud for hours many of the human, delightful and sometimes HYSTERICAL, anecdotes from this book. He too had traveled in Mexico extensively and appreciated PGM's eye and voice and the gentle, deft sometimes wry imagery Carl's writing evokes.
Also check out their other excellent titles: "The People's Guide to Backpacking, Boating & Camping in Mexico", "The People's Guide to RV Camping in Mexico", "The Tour Express Insider's Guide to Mexico", "The On & Off the Road Cookbook".
So forget every cliché you have heard about our neighbor to the south and discover why they say, ""WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE!!"
Bravo, Carl & Lorena y que le vaya bien!
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122 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Utopian Manifesto, June 30, 2007
This review is from: The People's Guide to Mexico (Paperback)
Having traveled around Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Baja by bus, camioneta, bicycle, and foot, I was amused by the authors' insight.
But Mexico is DANGEROUS, and this book wishfully and flatly denies it. I and other Mexiphiles that I traveled/consorted with are survivors of violent muggings. One, a Mexican-American who went to Mexico City for back surgery, was kidnapped (and miraculously, released alive after three harrowing days). YMMV. Thugs know you're unarmed and carrying what to them is serious cash, or that you are a woman with no recourse.
This book has a strong following among those who have yet to meet with danger. There is just no getting through to these industrial-strength deniers. I stayed with some in an expat colony (read "trailer park") in south Baja. They vaunt this book for telling it like it is but they rarely venture beyond their fortified perimeter.
For a realistic, balanced perspective, at least glance at the country info sheet for Mexico on the State Department's travel site. Try The Daughters of Juarez for insight about the police, if you don't have enough of your own already. Google for "CNN kidnappings."
And Mexico is no longer as cheap as the authors pretend: Mexico's economy has reached the trillion-dollar mark due to trade opening up via customs unions such as NAFTA. Prices are generally rising because more of the people are prosperous and are spending more. Some were left behind, and here's hoping you don't encounter any of those at gunpoint. (In Guadalajara, expect high U.S. prices on everything.)
This is good for exploring backpackers (as opposed to vacationers who just stay put in a pricey resort), but more caution and funds are needed than the authors let on.
UPDATE: In the latest edition, they open their chapter on safety by stating that personal crime stories outlive actual conditions by years. Then they "prove" that the U.S. is more dangerous than Mexico by quoting books published in 1908 and 1931! Hypocrisy.
There is an undercurrent of anti-Americanism throughout. No surprise, I guess, considering the title.
An example of the carefully-crafted sentences in the safety chapter: "In fact, statistics show that you are more likely to be the victim of violent crime while in the United States than in Mexico." But "in fact" they don't cite any statistics. They don't even name their source(s). They don't explain that violent crimes commonly go unreported in Mexico for a variety of reasons and ergo aren't reflected in any statistics. I asked a priest why they didn't report a robbery of the rectory ("Please don't say anything!"). They didn't want the newspaper advertising them as a lucrative target. A woman who tries to report an assault is humiliated in front of male officers and/or a waiting room full of people who are there to report other crimes. Many locals dismiss the notion of reporting a crime to the police as futile; even if they report it, it doesn't get entered and tracked in a computer system. Statistics are often scrubbed when reported to higher-ups to make it appear that everything's fine.
I would cite more but the guidelines limit what one can quote in these reviews. But read between the lines in that safety chapter for some ominous pearls (just one more quote): "Whenever a situation gets uncomfortable, weird, or alarming, don't hesitate to leave." That's good, actionable advice because it's often not too late to leave. Read that chapter critically.
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