Mexican Days: Journeys into the Heart of Mexico

by Tony Cohan

Tony Cohan’s On Mexican Time , his chronicle of discovering a new life in the small Mexican mountain town of San Miguel de Allende, has beguiled readers and become a travel classic. Now, in Mexican Days , point of arrival becomes point of departure as—faced with the invasion of the town by tourists and an entire Hollywood movie crew, a magazine editor’s irresistible invitation, and his own incurable wanderlust—Cohan undertakes a richer, wider exploration of the country he has settled in.
Told with the intimate, sensuous insight and broad sweep that captivated readers of On Mexican Time , Mexican Days is set against a changing world as Cohan encounters surprise and adventure in a Mexico both old and among the misty mountains and coastal Caribbean towns of Veracruz; the ruins and resorts of Yucatán; the stirring indigenous world of Chiapas; the markets and galleries of Oaxaca; the teeming labyrinth of Mexico City; the remote Sierra Gorda mountains; the haunted city of Guanajuato; and the evocative Mayan ruins of Palenque. Along the way he encounters expatriates and artists, shady operatives and surrealists, and figures from his past.
More than an immensely pleasurable and entertaining travel narrative by one of the most vivid, compelling travel voices to emerge in recent years, Mexican Days is both a celebration of the joys and revelations to be found in this inexhaustibly interesting country and a searching investigation of the Mexican landscape and the grip it is coming to have in the North American imagination.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, The Americas

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Tony Cohan grew up in Manhattan and Los Angeles, where at the age of fourteen he made his debut as a jazz musician. After attending Stanford and the University of California he spent two years in Europe and North Africa, performing with jazz artists Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell and blind Catalan pianist Tete Monteliu. Returning to San Francisco, he worked briefly at the University of California Press before moving to Kyoto, Japan for two years to teach and write. Back in California, he wrote an unpublished first novel (and a published erotic novel) and worked as a studio musician with Lowell George, Ry Cooder, and others. During the 1970s he designed media campaigns for musical artists including Van Morrison, Pink Floyd, and Prince. In 1975 he founded the long-running independent press Acrobat Books, publishing nonfiction books in the arts. His 1981 novel Canary (Doubleday) was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, his 1984 novel Opium (Simon and Schuster) a Literary Guild selection. His bestselling travel narrative On Mexican Time (Random House, 2001) was followed by an autobiographical memoir, Native State (Random House, 2003), a Los Angeles Times Notable Book of the Year, and a second travel narrative, Mexican Days (Random House, 2007). His collaborations as lyricist with pianist and composer Chick Corea include the jazz classic High Wire. His essays, stories, articles, songs and reviews have appeared in a variety of media worldwide. His most recent novel is Valparaíso.

Reviews

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mexican Days: Journeys into the Heart of Mexico was another delightful book by Tony Cohan about the diverse culture and charm unique to this historic country with such a vibrant and rich history and culture. This author captured my heart with his first book On Mexican Time, when he wrote of his experiences in discovering a new life in the lovely mountain town, San Miguel de Allende, an enchanting book. Now Tony Cohan is back exploring smaller mountain towns in Mexico for a piece that he was commissioned to do for a magazine. In undertaking this rich exploration of the many remote areas and culture-rich fabric of the country, he realizes the scope and richness of the country of Mexico as he ponders where and how to begin his exploration.

"In Mexico I took the stance of a pilgrim, inviting correctives to the limitations of the culture I came from, revelations offered me here as boons.

"Where to begin a piece on Mexico? There was nothing monolithic about the country except its great temples and pyramids. Few countries offered more diversity in food, dress, customs, culture, landscape--from Carribean to Pacific Coasts, mountains to desert to jungle, modern cities to ancient villages. Beneath this thin patina of chain stores and cybercafes, a layered culture stretched back twenty thousand years, maybe more."

This book opens not long after the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center with the aftereffects reverberating throughout the world. Finding his beloved neighborhood in San Miguel de Allende beseiged with the shooting of a movie upsetting the peacefulness he was craving, he decided that this was the opportune time to begin his travels. His exploration takes him from the remote Sierra Gorda mountains as he takes in all of the five missions built by the Franciscan monk Junipero Serra coming to the region in 1750 to save souls, the largest and his first being Santiago de Jalpan. He also explored the labyrinth of neighborhoods in Mexico City, the capital city of the country as he met with expatriates and artists alike. Of my favorite parts was the evocative Mayan ruins of Palenque as he explored the ruins of the Yucatan. But an exploration of Mexico would be incomplete before taking in the beautiful and majestic mystic mountains and coastal Caribbean towns. And then there was that indiginous region of the Chiapas with all of the underlying unrest. This was a powerful book in that twenty years later, it is still in flux as is the world. But in my world, Mexico has always been an integral part of our travel, albeit a little curtailed with the political unrest and COVID, but I am looking forward to traveling there soon. And San Miguel de Allende still on my bucket list as is Mexico City. Gracias Senor Tony!

"Mexico had always found money for the arts when so much else in the land was scarcity. In this city, founded upon an invasion, where the ancestral Mexica peered up and present through ruins, a passionate connection to poetry and art survived."

"As the plane settled onto the airstrip and glided to a halt before the little windsock airport. I recalled an earlier visit to Oaxaca ten years ago. I'd know I was pounding a well-worn artists' and wanders' trail: D.H. Lawrence, Graham Greene, and Malcom Lowry had written of it earlier, of course."

"No day in Mexico goes uncommemorated--a favored saint, a patriotic occasion, just about anything warrants a fiesta or procession."

[Christine Zibas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you think you know Mexico, I guarantee there is magic to be discovered in this book. I find myself at the end of reading Mexican Days: Journeys into the Heart of Mexico by Tony Cohan with a slip of paper filled with notes of things to look up on the Internet or read more about. Every chapter of Tony Cohan's book seems to pique a new interest, whether it's son jaracho music, ancient Mayan temple lore, or prominent Mexican artists and dreamers like Francisco Toledo and Edward James. Your list will probably be different than mine, there's just so much packed into this nonfiction book.

Cohan is a California transplant to Mexico, making a home in San Miguel de Allende, a town rich in Mexican history and art located north of Mexico City. Author Tony Cohan brings an inbuilt sensibility and encyclopedic knowledge of the richness of Mexican history and cultural diversity. Yet we, as readers, are never overwhelmed with information, merely teased. Cohan is a travel writer, who's published his adventures in major US newspapers and travel magazines like Conde Nast Traveler. Despite his vocation, the book feels like going on a journey with a friend. His explorations of Mexico are colored with stories of gathering with friends, balancing career drives with marriage, and the impact of current political events.

He travels the countryside off the beaten pathway of normal tourist routes. Yes, he covers Oaxaca and Chichen Itza, but more often his stories focus on smaller Mexican towns less familiar to Americans--places like Xilitla or Tlacotalpan or Guanajuato. His focus is on local fiestas and events, historical significance, a feel for the style of dress and living in an area, far less on hotels and cuisine and "destinations." He somehow is able to capture the magic and mystery of places, letting his readers inside his vision and thoughts and feelings. Cohan never gets bogged down, but instead keeps the story lively and on the move.

Travel writing is a unique skill and the handful of successful writers (like Paul Theroux or Frances Mayes) are far outnumbered by those who fail miserably to capture the traveler's imagination and curiosity. Discovering Tony Cohan's writing has been a rare treat for me, and I think you will feel the same once you've read one of his books. Mexican Days has opened a new door for me into Mexico, and I can't wait to learn more.

[Scot · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty good read. I say pretty good because the writing is a bit too flowery and over the top for me. There are just way too many words for the points being made. That said, the author's most famous work, On Mexican Time, is one of the reads that got me thinking about moving to Mexico. This one has me thinking about exploring Mexico, seeing more of the interior, the older cities and cultural centers. If you're interested in visiting Mexico as a tourist, I highly recommend it. As a way to keep myself occupied on a Sunday afternoon, not my favorite.

[BLD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well-written.

[Jeaninne Escallier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Americans who love Mexico. It is my last and final goal in this life to be an ambassador for Mexico in all of my travels and writings about this land built on ancient civilizations. Tony Cohen, a resident of San Miguel De Allende, does a brilliant job of bringing us close to the magic and beauty that is Mexico. He writes as if he were painting pictures of a vast country with a myriad of juxtapositions in the most dramatic of ways, comparing mountain, ocean and desert regions with respect to climate, history, traditions and people. Having traveled in many of the same places, I could put myself in his shoes and whisper, "Yes, yes, yes." I especially appreciated his connections with various artists, writers, actors and film makers- those people who have put Mexico on the worldwide continuum of magical places. I didn't give Tony the full five stars because of the little he wrote about Frida Kahlo, my muse, he didn't get a few facts correct, which surprised me because his writing is so well researched. Frida died in July of 1954, not 1953. And, Diego Rivera was never married to Dolores Olmedo. If you want to fall in love with Mexico, you might start with this book.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as his other book, which I read a few weeks ago, but still well written and engaging. Kind of strange to read a book by a white american who is mad that too many other rich white americans are moving into his town in Mexico, gentrifying everything (ironic a bit?). Other than that glaring undertone to the story, I found it enjoyable and just what i expected.

[Mark Barr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trifle self-serving at times, but this guy can tell a story. Plus, I find it pathetically exciting to see places I've visited show up in the book.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to On Mexican Time, here Cohen travels around Mexico. Some good journey stories but not as good as the first book.

[J.D. Steens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good writing - fast pace, interesting. Favorite tidbits follow:

Of his long-residence in San Miguel de Allende, and seeing new arrivals: “Touristas, I thought, with all the ingrained snobbism of the long-term residente who’d arrived in an earlier, better time, a gilded era unreadable to these parvenus, interlopers, latecomers….”

“In Mexico all manner of exiles, emigres, and expatriates have found shelter - from Trotsky to Fidel…from the Shah of Iran to Howard Hughes. Ex-revolutionaries, deposed dictators, old Nazis and anarchists grow old together on plaza benches in baggy pants, feeding the pigeons….”

“If gradually the country comes under the rule of civil law, Mexico still plays to North America as its collective unconscious, its Dionysian Other: land of salsa and sabor, fiestas and revelry, ghosts and gore. A country riddled with bullet holes and beauty.”

“El Che, as he is known in the Spanish-speaking world….”

“The small, gifted Zapotec and Mixtec geomancers [diviners of Earth signs] who’d raised the operatic stone edifices of Monte Alban, Mitla, and Yagul - and who still made up more than half of Oaxaca City’s four hundred thousand people….”

“Salma Hayek, lately of San Miguel de Allende, replete with Frida’s patented, run-on eyebrows, faint mustache, and signature dress….”

“Passionate, idealistic Americans - musicologists, anthropologists, writers, filmmakers - aroused and disgusted by two world wars, armed with notebooks, recording devices and a sincere interest in the people and cultures of the world, setting out to build bridges among tribes and nations. If we could but understand each other better, surely we could turn swords into plowshares! The United Nations Charter. The Declaration of Human Rights. The Peace Corps. Freedom Riders. I thought of the writers and filmmakers who had gone out then too: Alan Watts and Gary Snyder to Japan…Allen Ginsberg to India….they went not to convert but to be converted: to sit patiently at the feet of a rough field hand with a guitar, or an indigenous storyteller, or a guru; to listen, watch, record, take notes. Cultural voyagers, seeking a path away from conflict and misunderstanding, seeking revelation in cultures not their own.” (p. 175)

“...linguists began unraveling the inscriptions [of Mayan texts], discovering that the message in the glyphs was neither metaphysical nor religious, as most leading scholars had staked their careers upon asserting, but an elaborate dated record of successions of kings and dynasties. The Maya, it emerged, were a deeply religious, stratified, warlike culture, rooted in mathematics and astronomy.”

Of Chichen Itza: “El Castillo, the monumental central pyramid and calendar in stone, with its 365 stairs and plumed serpent tracking the equinoxes, was a swarming human termitarium. The enigmatic, reclining statue of Chac Mool, the Mayan rain god, was obscured by visitors taking snapshots. Hordes roamed the ball courts where once, among fantastical inscriptions of fertility worship, the game was played to the death.”

“Palenque, for all its idyllic beauty, must have been a terrifying civilization to live in: human sacrifice, bloodletting, penis-piercing, ballgames to the death. Until the recent work of linguists like Knorosov allowed us to read their texts, generations of scholars had imagined these great builders, writers and calendar makers to be more concerned with poetry and metaphysics - not the litany of kings, dynasties, and warfare the decipherments have revealed.” p.p. 220-221

[Pete Dematteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

much better than his first book, or perhaps i've just changed. i lived as an expat in mexico city and lasted 2 years. i wished that i could have lived in one of the mountain towns such as taxco or pachuca, but i missed new york city too much. it also helps being affluent if one is an expat, which is what i was then, but no longer am. i admire his seemingly utter hatred or at least mixed feelings about mexico city, which i consider to be a hellhole with some of the most standoffish people whom i've ever met, although there are definate exceptions. whilst i never read a negative comment about mexico in this book's entirety, with the possible exception of mexico city, mr. coban is quick to criticize the bolivia's airlines and its political structure when he travels there and becomes instantly unsettled, instead of his old malleable self. i loved his discription of the Chiapas and the rustic hotel where his friends from manhattan stayed, only to endure a hurricane. i also wish he had been far less sugarcoated and had learned to adopt a new pattern to his writing so that he might resemble the novelist kathy klarreich's MADAME DREAD, being daring enough to include any negatives involved in his being an expat. i also feel that he should have mentioned ways in which he was serving the needy in mexico, if, in fact he was even doing so, via volunteering, etc. This would have downplayed his seemingly immense self-absorption. the more obsessed with appearing to be modest only resulted in Mr. Coban's appearing to be obsessed and worshipful of eccentrics and/or pedants.even though i detected a profund and perhaps self-induced isolation, mr. cohan's affluence and the flexibility that it provides made me deeply envious of his plight, as a gent with a heart-condition who now lives in a rent stablized apartment in a rust-belt town the edge of new york city.
anyhow, mr. cohan is an adventurer and i would welcome any of his new books which hit the market with great enthusiasm and intrigue, indeed!

[David Rudin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be better than to explore hidden jewels of natural and cultural splendor in mysterious Mexico? And to do it with a writer who is a sharp observer of people and places?
Cohan picks up where he left off with On Mexican Time, but this time he’s exploring well outside the bounds of San Miguel de Allende. From Guanajuato to Oaxaca, the Sierra Gorda, Xilitla, Xalapa, Xico, the Yucatan, Chiapas and the list goes on. This book quickly went from interesting travelogue to outline for my future travels! Though I would say it is just as interesting to armchair travelers.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

In preparation for a trip to Mexico in the next few months, I picked up this book from the library about a man's travels through the heart of Mexico in the early 2000s. I found the book a little dated, knowing that many of the gems and experiences of his travels may no longer be available in the same way. But, I could certainly relate to the sense of wanderlust that propelled him forward as well as the desire to discover the undiscovered without being overwhelmed by other tourists.

[Tom Romig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine, engaging writing about Mexican history, culture, and, in particular, people by a wonderfully perceptive author. His honest and incisive reflections on relationships, wanderlust, and many other topics are woven into his story of travels around the country he loves, making the work feel much like a novel.

[Shobhit Dalal · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite travel memoirs! The author- Tony Cohan - describes the journey through Mexico in its raw form. It will make you want to go through that journey and if you’ve already been there, it’ll take you on a nostalgia.
It is a very well written book on a travel through one of the most wonderful countries.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical account of Mr. Cohan's journeys through some remote areas in Mexico. As always with Mr. Cohan, the research is meticulous, and he has a gift for making historical facts fascinating. Mexican Days is at times amusing, at times poignant. I recommend it highly.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A view of some of the places that we visited while in Mexico and I learned more information about SAN Miguel de Allende and other places and some of the more scenic and historic areas plus tidbits about the author's life in Mexico.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn't a huge fan of the author's America-bashing: Mexico and the US can both be great places to live and travel. I enjoyed this book overall though, and loved the way the author captured the romantic, literary, historic sides of Mexico.

[Qhenn Manns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not find this flowery nor over-written, as stated by others. Read Berlinski’s “Tour of the Calculus” if you need to see how writing can kill a wonderful subject. This was a nice tale showing us a little bit more of Mexico than others have.

[Charlotte Atún · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t believe that an author could make Mexico boring, but Mr. Cohan has achieved this feat. The book was dreary, dry, hollow, like a long, fidgety retelling of a self-imposed forced march. Very disappointing after the joyful, soulful “On Mexican Time”.

[Cat Gaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evocative and urgent, even 20 years after 9-11 changed the way we deal with borders, plus a dose of expat realness and the meaning of home and roam. I found myself googling literally every place and person.

[Hannah Avery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because I love Mexico! I didn't like it quite as much as his first book though.

[xtian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it made me feel like a traveler.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed his writing style. Nice armchair travel read in enchanting Mexico.

[Linda H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book as a followup to Cohan's On Mexican time. I enjoyed the previous book much more than this one.

[ashman.toronto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Cohan is that expat friend of yours who will give you a great story telling about his life living in the heart of Mexico. It's from the heart and amicable as he introduces to a few people he encounters that makes Mexico very interesting.

Needless to say, it's one of the best travel memoirs I have read.

[Jrobertus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mexican Days is by the author of On Mexican Tine, which I enjoyed more. Here he is hired to see what is going on in a resurging Mexico and so leaves his digs in San Miguel and travels to a number of sites in south Mexico, for a fiesta near Vera Cruz, a rebuilt resort in the mountains, the ruins of Palenque and so on. He knows a lot of artists and stays with many of them. He is a very florid writer and this lends color to his descriptions of places and atmosphere. I think he does tend to overwork it however, in his internal monolog about the nature of travel and self-reflection.

[L. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Cohan is a thoughtful traveler and elegant writer. In this book, he shares discoveries and history from the parts of Mexico sparsely visited by American & European tourists. He makes a frequent point to remind readers Mexico's history is a good 18,000 years older than the United States -- offering a rich history of conquest, reconstruction, and development with stop-and-start modernization.

Don't wait too long before visiting the places in the Heart of Mexico Cohan features in this travel book. He cautions readers that Americans have a habit of pouring into districts such as Oaxaca, Chiapas, the Mayan ruins of Palenque, and imposing themselves on both the indigenous people and the historic landscapes -- and whitewashing away the local flavor and arts.

Go before they're over run.

[Lyn Fuchs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you prefer to wander around Mexico with a horny drunken clown or a literary cosmopolitan? Would you prefer to meet narcos and hookers or journalists and artists? If the former appeals, my book Fresh Wind & Strange Fire will be out soon. If the latter entices, you need not wait. Tony Cohan's book Mexican Days is kind of like my work - but with some class.

Exhibiting a large vocabulary rather than a huge phallus, Tony treks a route similar to mine, including Mexico City, Tlacotalpan, Oaxaca, San Cristobal, and Palenque. (I wasn't following him. Sent my book to the publisher before reading his. If I stalk anyone around Mexico, it's gonna be Salma Hayek.)

Mexican Days jumps a bit chronologically. Stories lead to flashbacks based on mental links, much as actual memories often do. Some literary critics may dislike such visible cleavage (sudden unexplained flashback to Salma Hayek) in the flow of the narrative. However, this gives a meandering feel not unlike real travel or the casual telling of travel tales.

Mexican Days relates some of the wisdom that Americans frequently acquire on journeying into Mexico then contrasting it with their own homeland. Consider this quotation: "In Mexico, your raptures are your own, not prepackaged or branded. The same when things go badly: you're left to your own devices. Nobody to sue, point the accusing finger at; nobody to hold accountable but yourself. I'm comfortable with that view, with its implication that you are, in the deepest sense, responsible for what befalls you."

Mexico offers all the good things in life, plus just enough violence to keep the wimps out. (I have suggested this slogan to the tourism department but haven't heard back.) Newcomers to surreal Mexico sometimes feel vulnerable, but long-term residents usually feel empowered. Life in Mexico provides less safety helmets, but more wind in your hair. If you want to spice up your life and get to know the freewheeling existence Mexicans relish, either Fresh Wind & Strange Fire or Mexican Days will give you a cool introduction.

[Kris Holland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the author's first book, On Mexican Time, & assumed this one would be a good read, as well. It wasn't. The author comes off as very pretentious; I really don't care about all the important people he knows throughout Mexico, and don't care for the attitude.

Cohan writes about how San Miguel de Allende has changed, and is now populated with gringos & tourists, but he himself IS very much a part of this problem. The author just had a very condescending tone for much of the book & I was very disappointed in the writing. I love the descriptions of the culture and small towns he visits, but it seems these are few and far between; most of the book seems to follow his rambling thoughts about his life as a traveler, who he knows & where he has been. Wish he had stuck more to telling us about Mexico, instead of himself.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cohan has a profitable wanderlust - profitable because he writes it for a living, profitable for his readers because he takes us on a peripatetic journey through much of Mexico, the real Mexico, even the "real" Cancun before it became the new Florida. Along the way he traipses after such characters as Frida Kahlo, John Huston, and local people just as interesting. I was somewhat put off by all the Mexican place names and phrases; but that's my fault, not Cohan's, as I would stop to attempt the proper pronunciation. Quite a chore, when my only acquaintance with Spanish was a long ago friendship with a visiting student.

Incidentally: Cohan was meeting up with a film crew making a documentary about the lost Mayan language. It so happened I had taped that very film from PBS. So I stopped my reading to watch it.