Literary Tourism: Mexico Archives

The Murmur of Bees

by Sofía Segovia

A small Mexican town is forever changed when an abandoned baby is discovered under a bridge, disfigured and covered in a protective swarm of bees. His adoptive parents Francisco and Beatriz love Simonopio and also view him with wonder for he’s gifted with foresight. A gift that, along with his ever present bees, will protect the family as the country goes through the Mexican Revolution and the Spanish Flu of 1918. This is bestselling Mexican author Segovia’s first novel to be translated into English, beautifully translated by Simon Bruni.

Children of the Land: A Memoir

by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

A timely memoir about displacement and uncertainty, prize-winning poet Castillo shares his experience growing up undocumented in the US. He was 5 when his family crossed the US border from Tepechitlán, Mexico and 15 when his father was deported. He was finally able to get his green card when he was 26. Castillo gives an unflinching account of his family’s encounters with a draconian system in their quest for a safer, better life and the ripple effect these unforgiving policies had on them all. (Heads up for sensitive readers: this deals with child abuse and domestic violence.)

Silver Nitrate

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A 2023 Summer Reading Guide selection: Movies cast magic spells in this unique and darkly humorous thriller set in 1990s Mexico City. Montserrat and Tristán are childhood friends who once bonded over classic horror films. Now, nearing forty, she’s an under-appreciated disabled sound engineer and he’s a washed-up telenovela star. When they cross paths with a legendary director, he persuades the two to help him complete an unfinished horror film from the 30s, the script for which was written by a Nazi occultist. The director claims that bad luck has plagued everyone who worked on the film, but completing it will break the curse and bring their trio prosperity. But instead of luck, their interference unleashes something dark and deadly in Mexico City. Surprising, sharp, and smart.

Caramelo

by Sandra Cisneros

Every summer, Lala Reyes’ entire extended family drives from Chicago to visit her paternal grandparents in Mexico City. She begins to tell the story of Awful Grandmother's life, starting with the rebozos her family manufactured and the prize design Caramelo, with frequent interjections and corrections from her grandmother. A sprawling multigenerational family story with plenty of lies, secrets, and warmth.

The Hacienda

by Isabel Cañas

Cañas’s debut supernatural gothic suspense novel explores colonialism, Catholicism, and women’s agency through the eyes of Beatriz following the Mexican War of Independence. In need of protection after the execution of her father, she accepts a proposal from Don Rodolfo Solórzano, ignoring the rumors about his deceased first wife and focusing on the home Hacienda San Isidro will provide. Until she starts seeing gruesome specters and no one believes her. Desperate for answers, she seeks aid from Padre Andrés, a handsome young priest and witch, who agrees to exorcise the house of its demons. An eerie and atmospheric tale.

Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent into Darkness

by Alfredo Corchado

When Mexican American journalist Corchado received word that he was the Zetas cartel’s next target due to his reporting on the Mexican drug war, he decided to investigate the threat, rather than flee the country. While his family lived in the US, he returned to Mexico in 1994, hoping to bring about accountability and change. He traces the country’s history, corruption, and elections while trying to evade the threat on his life in this gripping blend of memoir and investigative journalism.

More Than You’ll Ever Know

by Katie Gutierrez

Gutierrez’s debut mystery follows author Cassie as she stumbles across the story of Lore Rivera, whose marriage to two men at the same time led to tragedy. Lore agrees to talk with Cassie and shares how her job as an international banker facilitated her double life until the day her husband Andres left their home in Mexico City and surprised her by visiting her in Laredo, TX where he discovered her other husband Fabian. Fabian killed Andres that night and was sentenced to prison. But what is the truth behind those events and what will it illuminate about Cassie’s own family tragedy? Content warnings apply.

The Hummingbird’s Daughter

by Luis Alberto Urrea

Urrea based this historical novel on his great-aunt’s life. Teresita is the sixteen year old illegitimate daughter of a wealthy rancher as civil war brews in 1889 Mexico. She dreams that she died and then realizes she really did die and has returned with the power to heal. Becoming the Saint of Cabora is only the start of her trials and tribulations as indigenous pilgrims make their way to the ranch to seek her aid and blessing.

Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies

by Laura Esquivel

Set in turn-of-the-century Mexico, Laura Esquivel imbues her novel with magical realism to great effect. As the youngest daughter, Tita De Garza is forbidden to marry as she must care for her mother until she dies. When she and Pedro fall in love, he marries her sister so they can at least be near each other. If that sounds like a recipe for torture, you're right. As the family deals with one tragedy after another, Tita pours her emotions into her cooking as she preserves their recipes, causing everyone who eats the food to react in different ways. It will have you yearning for Tita and Pedro to somehow find a way back to one another.

Literary Tourism: Mexico

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summer reading starts May 16th