Back in 2014 my book on the leader of Mexico’s 1910 Revolution, Francisco I. Madero, came out and, shortly thereafter, its Spanish translation was formally presented at the Centro de Estudios de Historia de México (CEHM) in Mexico City. I am very honored that the CEHM has asked me back to give a lecture (in Spanish) on the topic of Madero and Spiritism this March 10th at 12 PM Mexico City time (that would be the same as 12 PM USA Central Time). In these times of the pandemic it will be virtual, via the Mexican equivalent of Zoom. Of note, the CEHM has in its archives Francisco I. Madero’s personal library, which has many rare esoteric texts, some of which I will be discussing in my talk. If this piques your interest, zap me an email and I should be able to get you the link for the virtual event.
This video (below) gives a flavor of some of what I will be discussing.
My book, Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution is my book-length essay of creative nonfiction about my translation, plus my translation— the first—of Madero’s secret book, the 1911 Manual espírita, or Spiritist Manual. Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution is also available in Spanish translation (an excellent one by a writer I much admire, Agustín Cadena) as Odisea metafísica hacia la Revolución Mexicana, together with a complete transcript of Madero’s 1911 Manual espírita.
My scholarly paper about my research, with a little forest of footnotes, “Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book,” was published in the Journal of Big Bend Studies in 2017.
You can also find Jeffrey Mishlove’s interview with me about the book on his YouTube channel, New Thinking Allowed. There is also a Biographers International Newsletter “Interview with C.M. Mayo: Strange Spark of the Mexican Revolution“; a podcast of my talk for the Center for US-Mexican Studies at the University of California San Diego; Greg Kaminsky of Occult of Personality’s podcast interview (this being the most focused on the occult); and finally, you can also listen in to Daniel Chacón’s “Words on a Wire” Podcast Interview with Yours Truly About Francisco I. Madero’s Secret Book.
This finds me still working on the podcast about Sanderson, Texas, that podcast series, “Marfa Mondays,” being apropos of my book in-progress on Far West Texas. During the Mexican Revolution some crucial battles and incidents took place on the US-Mexico border, so the ever-charismatic and unusual Don Francisco will make an appearance in this book as well.
P.S. Next Monday’s post will be the fourth-Monday-of-the-month Q & A with another writer.
Reading Mexico:
Recommendations for a Book Club of Extra-Curious
& Adventurous English-Language Readers
Cartridges and Postcards from the US-Mexico Border of Yore
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My new book is Meteor