The Mexican earth

by Todd Downing

After extensive excursions in Mexico, Todd Downing came to see Mexican history from the perspective of the land and its native people. A Choctaw Indian himself, he identified with the Indios, and in The Mexican Earth he narrates - within the frame of a travelogue - Mexican history from an indigenous point of view. Along with historical highlights - the Aztecs and the Spanish conquest, the first struggles for liberty and Maximilian's empire, and the revolutions and strife of the early twentieth century - Downing presents the folklore and anecdotes of the people, and of their gods and heroes, that reveal the color, depth, and variety of Mexican life. This second edition includes a new bibliography, an extensive index, and a foreword, in which Wolfgang Hochbruck explores Downing's life and works within the context of Native American writing.