¡Viva Mexico!: A Journey Through Food, Fiestas, and Beyond

This is a great table book to learn a little bit more about Mexico's rich culture and traditions and scenery. It is a nice hardcover book with thick pages. I enjoyed flipping through and reading the pages.

I got this book because I like Latin American and Mexican culture, in particular but I truly haven't been immersed in the culture since I took Spanish classes in grade school. This book I think is not only a content packed book, but it managed to stretch that content in digestible ways through color and visuals. While many books seem to either be very good in one or the other, I found this book both very informative intellectually as well as enjoyable to read thanks to the presentation and the images and colors.I have only read about 1/4 of the book but here are some of my takeaways. The book focuses on many facts about Mexico and Mexican culture. It is certainly highly focused on the more traditional aspects of the culture, but not exclusively. There are mentions of modern musical trends for example, or cyber nomads moving to Mexico in the advent of COVID. The book does not shy away from some uncomfortable facts either such as the potential effect of climate change on the country (it mentions this briefly, but I do appreciate that it is mentioned). My only critiques of the book are that the presentation is almost exclusively positive - we all know that there is gang and drug violence in Mexico for example, but this is mostly glossed over in the book. The other critique would be if you're looking for a more modernist take on Mexican culture, this probably isn't the best resource for that though it does at least touch on some aspects of modern culture.Conclusion: Overall, I found the book to be very captivating and something that I could read cover to cover, or skim to certain topics that interest me and feel like I had at least a base line of knowledge on it, which I appreciate. The book does a very good job of presenting a storied and diverse culture and will appeal to those who are intellectually curious as well as those who are more stimulated by visuals. I think it threads the needle quite well and it is in a prominent place on my reading list and my bookshelf. I would highly recommend the book to both students and those looking to enrich their cultural knowledge of our Southern neighbor, or those who admire Mexican culture in general.

Viva Mexico is a modestly sized hard cover book with a fun and colorful design. The book has a wealth of interesting information about Mexico. There is so much information here about all aspects of Mexico's culture, from food, to entertainment, to art, to the people. It's a unique and enjoyable take on a travel book. It's fun and easy to read. You can pick it up and just read what interests you at the moment.All in all.. a great book.

Great book and very informative on the past and present of Mexico. Daughter always wanted to go to Mexico so this has been keeping her informed of the country that we will be visiting in a few months. Lots of eye catching images and pages.

This book is absolutely amazing. As a U.S. born person to immigrant parents from Mexico, this book is such a joy to peruse. It covers so many topics and it's a good trip down memory lane from random things I remember from my parents. Here are some of my favorite sections.Favorite sections- Food- Religious history- Movie/tv history and entertainment- Indigenous stories- Dance styles- Family celebrations- Art- etc.The pages are vibrant. There are a lot of words so you get a good amount of information on the subject but there are also many pictures that bring the words to life. I absolutely love this book. I have learned a lot from it but also remembered a lot from it. It is divided well so you could easily go to the contents page and pick a section to read. It also has great history as well as more contemporary information. I look forward to randomly picking up this book and maybe later sharing it with my kids.