In 1981, while working as New Mexico State Historian, Stanley M. Hordes began to hear stories of Hispanos who lit candles on Friday night and abstained from eating pork. Puzzling over the matter, Hordes realized that these practices might very well have been passed down through the centuries from early crypto-Jewish settlers in New Spain. After extensive research and hundreds of interviews, Hordes concluded that there was, in New Mexico and the Southwest, a Sephardic legacy derived from the converso community of Spanish Jews. In To the End of the Earth, Hordes explores the remarkable story of crypto-Jews and the tenuous preservation of Jewish rituals and traditions in Mexico and New Mexico over the past five hundred years. He follows the crypto-Jews from their Jewish origins in medieval Spain and Portugal to their efforts to escape persecution by migrating to the New World and settling in the far reaches of the northern Mexican frontier. Drawing on individual biographies (including those of colonial officials accused of secretly practicing Judaism), family histories, Inquisition records, letters, and other primary sources, Hordes provides a richly detailed account of the economic, social and religious lives of crypto-Jews during the colonial period and after the annexation of New Mexico by the United States in 1846. While the American government offered more religious freedom than had the Spanish colonial rulers, cultural assimilation into Anglo-American society weakened many elements of the crypto-Jewish tradition. Hordes concludes with a discussion of the reemergence of crypto-Jewish culture and the reclamation of Jewish ancestry within the Hispano community in the late twentieth century. He examines the publicity surrounding the rediscovery of the crypto-Jewish community and explores the challenges inherent in a study that attempts to reconstruct the history of a people who tried to leave no documentary record.

How colonial mapping traditions were combined with practices of nineteenth-century visual culture in the first maps of independent Mexico, particularly in those created by the respected cartographer Antonio Garc&ía Cubas.

From time immemorial, Mexico's legendary beauty has been matched by intense historical drama. Mayan mythmakers, Aztec emperors, Spanish conquistadors, Yankee and French invaders, dictators and peasant revolutionaries are still vivid influences on Mexico's present. In this stunning collection of essays, first published in Britain in 1997, Carlos Fuentes examines mexico as it faces a new time. Torn between tradition and modernity, impatient with an exhausted political system but unsure how and with what to replace it, Mexicans are struggling to make the transition from authoritarian to democratic politics. Fuentes' bold and timely study discusses the origins and nature of the unforeseen events that have transformed Mexico's politics and scoiety: the 1994 rebellion in Chiapas, the subsequent rash of assassinations, the break between Presidents Salinas and Zedillo, and continual traumas for democratic self-rule.

Houses of Mexico delves into the roots of the bold yet elegant Mexican style, illustrated with many photographs from Spain and Portugal reflecting the Moorish influence. In addition to extensive coverage of the architecture of the houses, the book shows other spatial and decorative elements, including iron gates and grilles that give an atmosphere of seclusion; stairways that seem to grow out of the walls without any support; and old paintings, combs, ceramics, and character figures used in festivals, as well as ancient pre-Columbian figurines.

The tenth anniversary edition of The Oxford History of Mexico tells the fascinating story of Mexico as it has evolved from the reign of the Aztecs through the twenty-first century. Available for the first time in paperback, this magnificent volume covers the nation's history in a series of essays written by an international team of scholars. Essays have been revised to reflect events of the past decade, recent discoveries, and the newest advances in scholarship, while a new introduction discusses such issues as immigration from Mexico to the United States and the democratization implied by the defeat of the official party in the 2000 and 2006 presidential elections. Newly released to commemorate the bicentennial of the Mexican War of Independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, this updated and redesigned volume offers an affordable, accessible, and compelling account of Mexico through the ages.

Masterly....The complexities of Mexico's ancient cultures are perceptively presented and interpreted.--Library Journal

Discover what it’s like to grow up in Mexico with this fascinating, nonfiction Level 2 Ready-to-Read, part of a new series all about kids just like you in countries around the world! ¡Hola! My name is Rosa, and I’m a kid just like you living in Mexico. Mexico is a country filled with beautiful art, incredible ancient ruins, and gorgeous beaches, rainforests, and deserts! Have you ever wondered what Mexico is like? Come along with me to find out! Each book in our new Living in… series is narrated by a kid growing up in their home country and is filled with fresh, modern illustrations as well as loads of history, geography, and cultural goodies that fit perfectly into Common Core standards. Join kids from all over the world on a globe-trotting adventure with the Living in… series—sure to be a hit with children, parents, educators, and librarians alike!