Passionate pilgrim: The extraordinary life of Alma Reed

by Antoinette May

A Mexican love song called her "La Peregrina"-the Pilgrim-for Alma Reed's adventures as a journalist & explorer drew her round the globe, to the fabled sites of lost civilizations. But her heart remained in the Yucatan, where she would be buried alongside her celebrated murdered lover, the Abraham Lincoln of Mexico. This is the 1st biography to recount her remarkable story-as dramatic & romantic as the chronicles of Isak Dinesen & Beryl Markham. Born in the gold-rush boomtown of San Francisco in 1889, Reed shocked her family by determining to become a writer. In an era when a woman's vocation was marriage, she got a job at the San Francisco Call. It was a "woman's beat"-writing feature stories on the poor under the byline Mrs Goodfellow-but Reed used it to jog the public conscience, forcing the state to spare a Mexican boy & to reform its capital punishment laws.
That campaign won her a tour of Mexico, where she would meet a lifelong friend, the famed muralist Jose Clemente Orozco, & a lifelong love, the Yucatan governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto. In Mexico she also found a new passion-archeology-while breaking the story of the discovery of the Mayan treasures at Chichen Itza for the NY Times. Later, she would cover the excavation of Carthage, the search for the River Styx & other expeditions. She lived her stories-even setting a deep-sea diving record on the quest for the continent of Atlantis. In 1925, the NY Times documented her adventures in a profile calling her "the only archeological reporter in the world." In the years between the world wars, her Greenwich Village apartment, nicknamed The Ashram in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, became one of the most glittering salons, the gathering place for an international mix of artists & intellectuals devoted to the cause of world peace. But Reed longed to return to Mexico & in 1950 finally realized her dream. There she would join in the exploration of Cozumel, the equivalent of Mecca or Jerusalem, sacred to Ixchel, the Mayan goddess. Passionate Pilgrim is a biography as dramatic as fiction, the inspiring account of a life magnificently lived. It should assign Reed her place in the pantheon of 20th-century heroines.

Genres: Biography

298 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1993

Reviews

[Jeaninne Escallier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this gem while reading a journal entry from one of Diego Rivera's mural assistants, Lucienne Bloch. I have the immense pleasure of knowing Lucienne's granddaughter (of the same name). Lucienne Allen features the entries of her grandmother's journal on her Facebook page. Lucienne Bloch mentioned being in the company of Alma Reed while she, her husband, another artist, and the great Jose Clemente Orozco, were guests at an Alma Reed party in the 1930's. Following up on my love of all Mexican artists from the 20th century, I excitedly looked her up.

Alma Reed was a San Francisco journalist at the turn of the 20th century who fell in love with the Mexican culture by way of her local reporting. She broke open a story about a teen immigrant from Mexico who was due to be executed for murder. Her efforts, working through government officials, to change the laws to protect juvenile offenders put her on the map of social reform. Alma's newspaper work sent her to Mexico to report on archeological discoveries where she fell in love with the governor of the Yucatan, a noble man who worked hard for the rights of the Mayan Indians. Her story morphs into fantastic tales of assassinations, archeological finds, cultural breakthroughs, artistic discoveries, and political intrigue.

Without giving away all the juicy bits, suffice it to say, I would put Alma's importance up there with Tina Modotti, Frances Toor, Anita Brenner, and Elena Poniatowska --- great journalists who put the Mexican culture on the world's stage. Antoinette May encapsulates Alma's life with the passion I imagine fueled Alma's personality. Her erudite, yet relatable, style of writing keeps the reader engaged. I enjoyed following Alma's fabulous life as if I were experiencing it with her. I have a special penchant for women who break the glass ceiling of their time. If you feel the same, you won't be disappointed with this biography.

[Laurelle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few women who traveled globe to find herself and the wonders of the ancient world. Fun reading.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Passionate Pilgrim has a fascinating topic: Alma Reed. Reed was a flamboyant journalist who covered the trial of Fatty Arbuckle in the 1920s and wrote articles opposing California’s death penalties for juveniles. Her articles (pen name: Mrs. Goodfellow) won her an invitation to Mexico by the president, where she met and fell in love with Felipe Carrilo Puerto, governor of the Yucatan. Felipe was married but they became engaged anyhow. While Alma was back stateside preparing for the wedding (no divorce is ever mentioned), Felipe is assassinated. Alma goes on to become an internationally famous journalist, focusing on art and archaeology. Later she runs an artsy salon in her New York City apartment and provides patronage/PR for Mexican artists.

May writes perfectly readable prose, unlike Alma’s florid style (no wonder Alma didn’t have more block quotes included). But I don’t know how much of the account to believe. May states that Alma often altered the truth for a better story or to reflect something she wished she said. She invented academic degrees. May includes dialogue between Alma and others and also indicates Alma’s thoughts without documentation (much as an omniscient narrator would). It may make the account more readable, but this is supposed to be BIOGRAPHY. May fails to mention that one of the archaeologists Alma worked with (doing PR and fundraising) has been disparagingly referred to as “the original tomb raider,” and presents the career and grave location for the pirate Jean Lafitte as established fact when apparently it is anything but.

Bottom line: entertaining but not credible. Alma’s time in San Francisco and the Yucatan are the most interesting; Alma following the path of Aeneas had me struggling to keep up.

2.5 stars

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved reading about the history of the yucatan and the life of this extraordinary woman.