Juan Villoro In the ultimate fulfillment of her tireless work, Victoria Prego died on Labor Day. At 75, the Spanish journalist had worked as a correspondent in London, on numerous television forums, and as assistant director of El Mundo. However, her main endeavor was La …
Photo: Cottonbro Studio on Pexels Juan Villoro My generation learned more things in the street than in school. Knowledge was transmitted in the neighborhood convenience store, where we shared refreshments after playing “coladeritas.” For us, that modest space served the function of the agora in Athens. Photo: Susana Paredes on elsoldecuernavaca.com.mx Many years later, my …
Juan Villoro In 2016, during the campaign for the US presidency, I recalled in this space a novel that anticipated Donald Trump’s triumph: It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1935, while Mussolini was invading Ethiopia and Hitler was suspending the civil rights …
Image: on YouTube Charlie Munger – The Architect of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger died on November 28, just 33 days before his 100th birthday. Though born and raised in Omaha, he spent 80% of his life domiciled elsewhere. Consequently, it was not until 1959 when he was 35 that I first met him. In 1962, …
Juan Villoro Prostheses, corrective surgery, and the growing importance of self-perception in defining identity have motivated certain avant-gardists to enter posthuman territory. Trans-species experiences have disproved those who thought that transsexuality was the last physiological frontier. Predictably, some of these innovations have occurred in Barcelona. …
When you request something from December, ask it to bring you gifts that are not sold in stores: an “I like you very much,” a “thank you for existing,” and an “I’m here for you, always.”When you request something from December, ask it to bring …
Cuando le pidas algo a diciembre, pídele que te traiga regalos que no se vendan en las tiendas: un “me gustas mucho”, un “gracias por existir”, un “estoy aquí para ti, siempre”. Cuando le pidas algo a diciembre, pídele que te traiga abrazos apretados, carcajadas …
Juan Villoro Espionage is inseparable from English literature. Daniel Defoe, Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, and, of course, David Cornwell, better known as John Le Carré, were secret agents. The enigmas of loyalty and betrayal fascinate a profession that depends on conceiving and manipulating the lives …
Juan Villoro How tasty are we? Some people lack salt, and others stimulate all the senses. Love is whimsical. No one understood it better than Italo Calvino, whose centenary is celebrated these days. His most fruitful reflections on food and passion occurred precisely in Mexico. …
In this lecture, Steven Pinker, renowned linguist and Harvard Psychology Professor, discusses linguistics as a window to understanding the human brain. How is it that human beings have come to acquire language? Steven Pinker’s introduction to the field includes thoughts on the evolution of spoken …