For the bookshelf Juanita Stein

» The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times

by Michelle Obama

In her new memoir, Michelle Obama goes beyond stories of her own life. As its title implies, Ms. Obama shares inspiring ideas about how to stay positive when all around us might be falling apart. Just like the rest of us, she has felt concerned, challenged, and sometimes lost in the constant flux of negative ideas and events that seem to persist more every day. In this follow-up to her immensely popular memoir Becoming, Ms. Obama builds a sort of toolbox for navigating change. Readers will feel as if they are sitting at her kitchen table sharing a frank dialogue about how to build and maintain honest relationships and overcome feelings of self doubt. One of the most inspiring and downto-earth women of our time, once again Michelle Obama engages readers in a way that few others have done by simply having an honest, open conversation about things that pretty much everyone can relate to. With compassion and candor, she describes the strength that comes from community and in the discovery and recognition of our own light. Hardcover, 336 pages, 799 pesos.

» Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

This delightful debut novel features a unique heroine named Elizabeth Zott, a chemist working at a research institute in southern California in the 1960s. She’s in a man’s world where women simply can’t be considered brilliant scientists. When Elizabeth finds herself in the unexpected situation of being a single mother who has to find a new way to make ends meet, she reluctantly takes a job as the host of a TV cooking show titled “Supper at Six” — but, not surprisingly, this is no ordinary cooking show. Elizabeth’s unconventional approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) quickly captures the hearts and minds of its exponentially-growing audience. But gradually, the backlash begins. Because as it happens, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women how to cook. She’s daring them to challenge — and change — the status quo. Laugh-out-loud funny, piercingly observant, and filled with an irresistible cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and captivating as Elizabeth herself. Hardcover, 400 pages, 654 pesos.

The jungle next door

When Michael Kinsey Erb bought his new home in the Las Américas five years ago, it looked like all the others on his block. Today, his property is a bit easier to distinguish from the rest because it is surrounded by a living fence created by a row of chacá trees. Drivers often stop to take photos, and neighbors call it “the jungle,” or “Hobbiton,” if they are Lord of the Rings fans. “Any gardener can source them,” says the Canadian native, who takes his privacy seriously.

“Usually, they go to the jungle and cut limbs, you plant the cuttings, and they take root.” The rear garden is thick with ferns and sometimes flowering plants.

“It’s my pride and joy,” Michael says. “The secret is simple, really. I keep all leaves and cuttings and use them for ground cover. I even add limbs I find on my walks to the store. I clean out the storm drains close to me as well. It is good compost.” In the forests, the chacá is usually seen near another tree called chechén. And oddly enough, the chacá produces nectar to neutralize poisons found in the sap of the chechén. It’s explained in a Mayan legend about two great warriors who were brothers. Kinich was kind and loving, while Tizic was hateful. Both fell in love with Nicte-Ha. They battled to the death to determine who would have her and died in each other’s arms. In the afterlife, the gods granted their wish to return to Earth to see the beautiful maiden again. Tizic was reborn as the chechén while Kinich was reborn as the chacá. And to this day, they both watch over Nicte-Ha, who was reborn as a beautiful white flower.

Seen

La Vida en Coco

The group La Vida en Coco was created in Oaxaca as a response to news about the Pacific Ocean’s island of garbage that’s actually bigger than France. Among their reclaimed objects are coconuts that were collected from the sea and adorned with beautiful plants. Each one is original and fairly breathtaking in its simplicity. Takto Gallery, Calle 35 at Reforma, Mérida, takto.mx; Tseebal Concept Store, Paseo 60, Mérida

Magic trees

It doesn’t take an artist’s eye to see the beauty in what a shop owner did with five trees that Laurel Emery encountered on a sidewalk in Mérida. A metal workshop’s owner painted them a variety of bright candy colors, and their branches now appear to be hands reaching up, or waving to drivers imploring them to stop and shop. “Look what popped up overnight,” says the former Ogilvy & Mather art director. “This is why I love Mérida.” Calle 25 between 18 and 16, Col. Chuminopolis

Esquina Pet Portraits

Is it too much to expect your cherished rescue cat to be immortalized in the style of Mérida’s famous corner plaques? Monica Petrus thinks not. The California artist — now based in Lourdes Industrial — offers Custom Esquina Pet Portraits, 35-by-35 centimeters acrylic on canvas, for 900 pesos, or just under 50 bucks. Without thinking twice, we commissioned one by texting her some photos from the couch. Now our beloved Bello, crooked tail and all, is famous forever. facebook.com/MonicadeHocaba

We sea a challenge

Seeing crab quiche, ceviche and other seafood items on his chalkboard, we challenged the owner of Nomade Gastro-Tienda to make something we’ve been craving — a real New England lobster salad.

Rodrigo Yamir Almonacid

Toledo was game. His corner store — which pre-pandemic was intended to be a restaurant — now is a sort of farm stand/takeaway shop. Give him a day and Rodrigo is happy to venture off the menu. So we sent the Chilean-born chef a traditional recipe a lobster roll, both Maine and Connecticut style. Results were excellent, even with Mexican langostino instead of the big boys from the North Atlantic. At least it satisfied our craving until our next trip to Ogunquit. Also worth trying: the pressure-cooked pulpo (octopus), and the empanadas that fly off his table at the Slow Food Market most Saturday mornings. Nomade Gastro + Tienda, Calle 52 at 43, Centro, Mérida

High note

It didn’t take long for El Bolero to find its piano bar tribe. The friendly and intimate venue filled up quickly with devotees of romantic music and standards. Both pros and amateur performers take to the microphone to belt out lush, heartfelt ballads. Vocal acrobatics abound from beside the stately grand piano that dominates the colorful, softly lit room. Shows feature a range from bossa nova to James Taylor. And what’s refreshing in a youthdriven night scene, the husband-and-wife owners Tania Barrera Mendicuti and Montxo Garcia, keep the atmosphere welcoming for all ages. Calle 45 near 54, Centro, Mérida. facebook.com/elboleropianobar

Mr. Clean

This independent, eco-friendly shop in García Ginerés carries everything from all-purpose cleaners to laundry and dish soap, in refillable containers. Eco Beet’s owner, Alex, opened the environmentally conscious household supplies shop in October 2021 to provide high-quality organic products that reduce any impact on the environment. Handmade soy candles and hand-painted canvas bags are also in stock. Calle 17 190 between 10 and 12, García Ginerés; facebook.com/ecobeetoficial

Light touch

How come our skylights don’t do that? Deborah LaChapelle, a home builder and designer whose color palettes remain unsurpassed, never ceases to surprise us. Here’s a house in San Sebastián that we previously visited (yucatanmagazine.com/deborah-lachapelle) too early in the day to see what the sun does when it’s at just the right angle. Then one late afternoon we were dumbstruck by what we had missed: an amazing light show in the front parlor. For two decades, Deborah has been rescuing old homes, redoing the floors, raising the ceilings, building casitas out back, and making the property unmistakably “d’LaChapelle.” She says skylights’ reputation for leaking and causing complications is undeserved. And with block glass like this, they work magic for those colonial homes that seem to beg for light.

Cochinita kingdom

When we went to interview owner Míriam Peraza Rivero for another story (see page 28), we did a double take the minute we walked through Manjar Blanco’s front door. The famous Yucatecan restaurant had expanded into the old Retorno bakery space next door, more than doubling its footprint and adding a beautiful courtyard in the rear. The new dining room is traditional in style — exposed stone walls, pasta tile, antique furniture — but has a contemporary sheen. The morning we visited, every customer was out back, eating al fresco. Míriam has been dubbed the Queen of Cochinita for holding the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever cochinita pibil, coming in at a whopping 4.5 tons. When TV chef Rick Bayless came to town, one of the first places he visited was Manjar Blanco, and he met with her at the 2017 Chicago food fair, where she represented our corner of Mexico. Calle 47 496, between 58 and 60, Centro, Mérida

Death becomes us

Is Yucatán a natural setting for filming something post-apocalyptic? Apparently. “Little Deaths,” an independent film on the festival circuit, makes use of the Peninsula’s weather-beaten antiquity to tell the story of a dysfunctional millennial couple scraping together a mundane existence after disaster strikes a dying world. The cast features many local actors and extras, and if you look closely, some scenes were shot where our previous cover was photographed. Booked often for weddings, Hacienda Dzbikak is lovely, but in a different context, its moodier side appears. The same goes for a cenote, where a particularly beautiful but haunting scene was filmed.