Blog Archives

Quietly Quebec: French Canadians in Vermont

I’ve been thinking lately about two seemingly unconnected conversations. The first was with a friend, an immigration lawyer, who said that since Canada passed Law C-3 her business has been overrun with Americans applying for Canadian citizenship (C-3 eliminates the “first-generation limit”). The second conversation was with another friend who is married to a rural-born Quebecer who grew up in a lively farm family.

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Posted in Canada, Québec, Vermont
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The Ghosts of Chapultepec

Mexico City skyline with Chapultepec Castle, center.

Each time we’ve visited Mexico City we’ve moved between different neighborhoods. This trip we settled down in a decidedly affluent section, called Polanco, which borders on Chapultepec Park. The park is a huge, mostly forested space, which occupies an important position in the city.

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Posted in Mexico, Parks
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The Iztapalapa Passion Play: Walking Into 200 Years of History

Iztapalapa

Iztapalapa is one of the poorest and most densely populated areas of the Mexico City, with high levels of marginalization and crime but also intense community organization. I felt that the borough was off limits to me except for one exception: during Holy Week. I guessed that then I would probably be safe visiting because I would be a guest.

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Posted in Mexico
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Skylines and Saints: Mexico City

If you have a choice, please view on a screen large enough that you can read the captions.

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Posted in Architecture, Mexico
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Returning to an old friend: al-Andalus

We first ate at al-Andalus in 2013, on our first visit to Mexico City. A Mexican friend who had moved to Montreal told us it was her favorite restaurant in the city. We took that as a high recommendation and went. We have gone back almost every time since. But with the pandemic there was a big gap,

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Posted in Mexico, Middle East, Travel
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Return to Damascus is my new book of photographs, available for order, that preserves fleeting impressions and the spirit of a place through the lens. Accompanied by brief reflections and memories, the photographs offer a tribute to the place and its people, focusing on enduring character and the subtle interplay of light, architecture, and tradition. Return to Damascus is a quiet celebration of observation and memory, inviting viewers to participate.

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How Many Roads? is a book of photographs by Jonathan Sa'adah, available for order, offering an unglossy but deeply human view of the period from 1968 to 1975 in richly detailed, observant images that have poignant resonance with the present. Ninety-one sepia photographs reproduced with an introduction by Teju Cole, essays by Beth Adams, Hoyt Alverson, and Steven Tozer, and a preface by the photographer.
If you'd like more information, please have a look at this page.
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