Florida Culture for the Week of June 8, 2015 by Josh Garrick

Current – Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Continues to Build 

It’s easy enough to make sure your good time isn’t making someone else’s life tougher if you’re aware of the culture you’re visiting. Don’t limit yourself to the suggestions in this chapter, as ethical considerations should inform all your travel. Volunteering is another way you can make a difference to the places you visit, even if you just help out for a few weeks. 

Texas history does not begin with its declaration of independence from Mexico 1836. Long before this revolt, indigenous people and Hispanic settlers lived in the vast region called New Spain. Spain’s conquest of Mexico in 1519 continued until Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1810. Then, what was known as Tejas to the inhabitants, became part of Mexico.

Spain’s European blood was not only spilled in the bloody conquest of Mexico but mixed with Mexico’s indigenous tribes, resulting in a people called mestizos. Mexicans are inheritors of this extraordinary human fusion.

You know those books - the ones that grab you and don't let go? The ones that teach you about a place, culture, people? Such is the case with a new book written by Eleni Gage, entitled The Ladies of Managua. Eleni is a journalist who writes regularly for publications including Travel+Leisure, The New York Times, T: The New York Times Travel Magazine, Dwell, Elle, Elle Décor, Real Simple, Parade, and The American Scholar.