Laying Mexico Bare

Jeremy Schwartz moved to Mexico City with his wife less than a year ago. He is Cox Newspapers man with his ear to the ground in Mexico City. His blog is published on the Austin newspaper website, www.statesman.com.

I like Jeremy's writing style... it is spare and to the point. He doesn't romanticize or poeticize (is that a word?). He's all about facts, insights and the kinds of things you hear over coffee or a drink. He gives you an idea what is being talked about on the streets of Mexico City.

He also communicates, though seldom overtly, what it is like being a young professional expat in Mexico City.

Today's short blurb was a brief look at a few of the slew of books coming out this week about last year's Presidential election in Mexico. Over the last few months he has covered the President of Mexico's activities, the experience of shopping for shoes in Mexico, rich and poor at the movie theatres and Mexico City rainstorms. And everything in between.

He doesn't write every day, and when he writes something, its interesting and not too long and complicated. A nugget of information for busy minds in a busy world.

About Mexico.

In English.

Luis Barragan

You may have noticed that my postings have slowed down lately. This is partly due to being tremendously busy, but also partly due to running out of good websites to talk about.

So I'm starting a new series. I'll still be highlighting websites about Mexico that are written in English, but I am going to be focusing on famous Mexican people, either living or dead. Just people that I find interesting that call Mexico their home.

I'm starting with Luis Barragan, one of the first Mexicans that I became aware of, strangely. I fell in love with photos of his homes... there was something about a hot pink wall next to an orange wall that just blew my entire conception of space. I loved his willingness to break the boundaries of convention with color. Only later would I realize what a patently Mexican trait that really is.

The main website about this famous architect is offered by his foundation and is available in German, English and Spanish. It features a biography, where I learned that he was born in Guadalajara in 1902 and realized his first project in 1927. He traveled to Europe and the US during his life, but spent most of it in Mexico City. He was awarded the very prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1980 and he died in 1988.

He is known for his very original style, which is both modernistic and distinctly Mexican. He is without a doubt the father of Mexican modern architecture, and is known around the world. He was one of the first architects to use color in his work.

If you are interested in his work, you will enjoy the Foundation's website. One of the best features is in the Visitor's Guide section, where they map out all of his works in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

Another good website for information about this gifted architect is the Pritzker Prize website, which has a comprehensive photo gallery of some of his work, as well as the text of his acceptance speech.

Do you have any famous Mexicans that you are interested in? Let me know... or just visit here regularly to learn more!