VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain

by Edward Stanton

When the American ministers of hate demonized Mexico and the coronavirus struck Spain, Edward Stanton sat down to write a homage to these countries that he knows as well as his own. The result is VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain, the first travel memoir to portray the two most populous Spanish-speaking countries in one volume, written with the perspective of an American and the knowledge of an insider.
A wayward descendant of Mexico’s national hero, a femme fatale who recites poems in cantinas, a Tunisian prostitute in Barcelona, a Spanish psychiatrist who fights brave bulls, the wise owner of the world’s oldest restaurant. They are just a handful of the characters portrayed in this vibrant travel memoir. VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain explores subjects as diverse as the art of blasphemy, the cult of the Virgin Mary, superstition and witchcraft, the bordellos of Mexico, Spain’s paradise of drink and food, the bullfight and the running of bulls in Pamplona, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Every chapter of this book depicts a different person or place, which combined create a cross section of the most populous Spanish-speaking countries in the New and Old World.
VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain is a passage from childhood to adolescence and maturity, a tribute to nature and the open road, an exaltation of love, food and wine, a journey from the tender, mortal flesh to the luminous world of the spirit.

250 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2021

About the author

Edward Stanton was born in Colorado, raised in California and has lived in Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Spain. He's author of fourteen books, some of which have been translated and published in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. Road of Stars to Santiago, the story of his 500-mile walk on the ancient pilgrimage route to Compostela, was called one of the best books on the subject by The New York Times. On the dust cover of this work, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Michener said, “Edward Stanton recounts his adventures with stylish conviction.” His novel Wide as the Wind won the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Young Adult Fiction and three other international prizes. His travel memoir VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain won the Grand Prize (Bronze) for Best Travel Writing, 15th Annual Solas Awards, and was a finalist for the 2021 Best Book Awards for Travel Literature. Stanton has also published short fiction, poems and translations in dozens of magazines and journals in the U.S. and abroad. He has been a Fulbright scholar and has lectured in many countries throughout the Americas and Europe. Stanton has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Education and the Spanish Ministry of Culture. He was named Distinguished Alumni Lecturer at UCLA. His second novel, Frail Blood—a political and erotic thriller set in the aftermath of Argentina's bloody civil war--was released on April 22, 2025, the 40th anniversary of the trial of the Juntas, at a time when "the forces of reaction, violence and oppression are rising in the New World and the Old" (Fernando Operé).

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain by Edward Stanton is a travel memoir. It is nonfiction, which I do not read a lot. As a Book Reviewer, I was asked to read and review this book. I agreed to read and review it because I have never been to either Spain or Mexico but have always wanted to go because I studied the Spanish language in high school and love the language and all that I learned about Spain from my teacher.

VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain begins with Edward in Mexico in his teen years and as the book continues, he ages and travels to Spain as well. Edward shares about some of the many people he met in his travels — people who impacted his life. His descriptions of these people and the experiences he had in these places are very colorful. The details of his experiences paint pictures in the reader’s mind and bring the people and places to life.

I especially liked the second half of the book and found his stories of the running of the bulls and the bullfights exciting.

There was just one thing that made the book a challenge to read, and that is that the author jumps from first person, to second person, to third person narration a lot, sometimes in the same sentence.

If you enjoy stories about people in other places, you will want to read this book, as long as you can overlook the changing narration. For me, the stories, especially in the second half of the book were worth reading. I have always enjoyed learning about the lives and cultures of people in other countries.

I give this book 4 stars.

[Amy Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting adventure

Stanton pens a grand story in VIDAS: Deep in Mexico and Spain. I haven't read anything from this author before, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were interesting and fit in the culture of both Mexico and Spain. It's an adventure where an American who knows the perspective of the culture, can blend in. It's a unique travel memoir, that is not only a journey, but a life transformation. The characters are intriguing, and the culture is explored through food, love and wine, and travelling. It was an enjoyable journey. It's a great story to follow and try to figure out what will happen next. I look forward to reading many more stories by this author. This book is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

[vvb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vignettes with male perspective experiences in these countries. It gets into some nooks and crannies of some cities and includes a sprinkling of b/w photos.