Yesterday's train

the long version

Yesterday's Train starts from a twisted tree at the shore near Veracruz - where according to local legend Cortes first chained his ships in 1519 - a place where the earth itself seems in protest. From there, Pindell and collaborator Lourdes Ramirez Mallis travel to the stunning extremes of Mexico's landscape while casting back through its past. From ancient Toltec myth and Aztec ritual to the recent crisis in Chiapas and the halls of Mexico City power, they explore the strange contradictions of Mexico's character. In Yesterday's Train, Terry Pindell brings us an odyssey through the most troubled part of the continent, witnessing for a year the roots of Mexico's current civil upheaval. And as always, he accomplishes much more than a journey, traveling straight to the restive heart of a land and its people.