[This is a bittersweet time of year. The garden has never been so bountiful, but with a fragility that lets you know that it won't be long. And you know what lies ahead. So do the hummingbirds and the monarchs. A frenzy of feeding is followed by a silent departure. Suddenly ... one day ...... Continue Reading →
Alive in the Flapping of Infinite Orange Wings Monarch butterflies’ epic annual migration from North America to Mexico inspires an anthropologist to reflect on this insect’s precarious life cycles through the lens of “multispecies ethnography.” By GIDEON LASCO 1 NOV 2022 Gideon Lasco is an anthropologist and a physician based in Manila, the Philippines. He obtained his... Continue Reading →
How Filipino Sailors—and Coconuts—Helped Create Mexico’s National Drink by Gideon Lasco Most people see tequila and mezcal as quintessentially Mexican spirits—but recent research has uncovered their unlikely connection with the Philippines. While visiting Oaxaca, Mexico, last year, I joined a mezcal tasting tour. The guide, Antonio, asked participants to introduce ourselves. When I told everyone I... Continue Reading →
It's "Travel Tuesday." One of the casualties of the past few months has been our freedom to travel, especially across international borders. I, however, have just returned from a trip to Mexico with my frequent travel companion, Paul Theroux. From the publisher: "Paul Theroux has spent his life crisscrossing the globe in search of the... Continue Reading →
