The Road to Mexico

Southwest Center Series

by Lawrence J. Taylor

The road between Tucson, Arizona, and Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, runs straight and true. Slicing through miles of rolling desert and faraway blue mountains, it could be just another fast way to get from here to there. But if the traveler has a taste for adventure and time to spare, this road can be a rich and unforgettable ride. Equipped with camera, pen, and a lively curiosity, photographer Maeve Hickey and writer Lawrence J. Taylor set out to capture whatever might come their way on the road to Mexico. They roamed and rambled, they stayed well off the beaten track, and they talked to nearly everyone they met, from wisecracking waitresses to landed gentry to street urchins dressed in rags. Their book brings to life the calf ropers and casinos, the saints and sinners, the mariachis and miracles in a no-man's-land that sometimes seems to belong neither to the United States nor to Mexico. Following the footsteps of earlier travelers-traders, warriors, missionaries, and explorers-these modern pilgrims take a hands-on approach to their journey. Throughout, both writer and photographer convey the sizzle and spice of a land where Indian, Mexican, and Anglo worlds have collided, coexisted, and melted into each other for centuries. Their eye for the hidden telling detail carries the reader straight into the action, and their zest for excitement spurs any traveler to drop everything, grab a bag, and hit the road to Mexico.

178 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Julia M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 really. Not a great book but certainly a very interesting one!

[Boris Glebov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lived in Tucson for several years and absolutely loved that dusty town. The essays in this book describe the place maybe a decade before I moved there - but to me a lot of it rang familiar and true, and it made me miss my adopted hometown. I do wonder if it's the "you had to be there" kind of thing, and it will just seem bleak and monotone to anyone who hasn't spent a lot of time in the Old Pueblo. Perhaps, much like the desert itself - you only start to see its beauty after living in it for a while.