On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel

An American writer and his wife find a new home — and a new lease on life — in the charming sixteenth-century hill town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

When Los Angeles novelist Tony Cohan and his artist wife, Masako, visited central Mexico one winter they fell under the spell of a place where the pace of life is leisurely, the cobblestone streets and sun-splashed plazas are enchanting, and the sights and sounds of daily fiestas fill the air. Awakened to needs they didn't know they had, they returned to California, sold their house and cast off for a new life in San Miguel de Allende. On Mexican Time is Cohan's evocatively written memoir of how he and his wife absorb the town's sensual ambiance, eventually find and refurbish a crumbling 250-year-old house, and become entwined in the endless drama of Mexican life. Brimming with mystery, joy, and hilarity, On Mexican Time is a stirring, seductive celebration of another way of life — a tale of Americans who, finding a home in Mexico, find themselves anew.

"A seductive (but never sentimental) journey into a different way of life. Readers, pack your bags." Entertainment Weekly

"Cohan describes life in Mexico as 'intimate, voluptuous, sense-driven,' a phrase that also describes On Mexican Time." Boston Sunday Globe

"On Mexican Time is more than a travelogue, more than a vicarious journey for the reader. It is a gentle reminder to examine our lives and weed out the unnecessary, the chaotic, and the frivolous." Tennessean

"For Tony Cohan, Mexico is a place where the human spirit breathes freely in prolific forms — some sad and funny, some bizarre and touching, all sharply rendered by his alert eye and graceful prose. What a pleasure it is to be guided through this good story of a couple making a life there." Michael Ryan, author of Secret Life

"With breathtaking skill Tony Cohan evokes Mexico's mystical depths and America's thirst for soul. He blurs the line in the sand we call 'the border,' revealing the richness of life we miss by being distant neighbors." Soledad Santiago, author of Streets of Fire

"Like Mexico itself, On Mexican Time is a spectacle of sights, scents, and sounds. Shaped by Cohan's imaginative and vivid prose, colors, aromas, and sounds leap, waft, and resonate from the page." Sandra Benitez, author of A Place Where the Sea Remembers and Bitter Grounds

"A brief escape from the hectic life of Los Angeles to a small Mexican town slowly and inexorably changes novelist Cohan and his artist wife. Cohan is poetic in his descriptions of the vibrancy of life, the serenity of the pace of activity, the simplicity of priorities, and the attentiveness of human relationships in Mexico. Humorous and enviable for the adventure and sheer joy of adopting a new language, culture, and lifestyle." Booklist

An American writer and his wife find a new homeand a new lease on lifein the charming sixteenth-century hill town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

When Los Angeles novelist Tony Cohan and his artist wife, Masako, visited central Mexico one winter they fell under the spell of a place where the pace of life is leisurely, the cobblestone streets and sun-splashed plazas are enchanting, and the sights and sounds of daily fiestas fill the air. Awakened to needs they didnt know they had, they returned to California, sold their house and cast off for a new life in San Miguel de Allende. On Mexican Time is Cohan's evocatively written memoir of how he and his wife absorb the town's sensual ambiance, eventually find and refurbish a crumbling 250-year-old house, and become entwined in the endless drama of Mexican life. Brimming with mystery, joy, and hilarity, On Mexican Time is a stirring, seductive celebration of another way of lifea tale of Americans who, finding a home in Mexico, find themselves anew.

We walk the dimly lit town, along its Moorish walls of roseate hues. In the small, thronged central plaza, we sit on an iron bench gazing up at a quirky dripcastle church, its spires embedded in full complement of stars. Drop it, something whispers. Just let it all go.

When Los Angeles-based novelist Tony Cohan and his artist wife visited friends in central Mexico in 1985, they fell under the spell of an irresistible place where the pace of life is leisurely, the cobblestone streets and bougainvillea-splashed patios are seductive, and the sights and sounds of daily fiestas fill the air. Awakened to needs Cohan didn't know he had, they returned to California, sold their house, and cast off for a new life in San Miguel de Allende. In an alternately humorous and poignant narrative, Cohan recounts how he and his wife absorb the town's sensual ambiance, eventually find and refurbish a crumbling 250-year-old house, and become entwined in the endless drama of Mexican life. From peso devaluations, earthquakes, murders, and water shortages to a jail break and Mexican and gringo friends' births, marriages, and deaths, On Mexican Time captures the indelible characters, little tragedies, and curious incidents of life in a distinctive Mexican town. At the same time the book enfolds readers in the delights of one of the world's most desirable travel destinations.

Tony Cohan is the author of the novels Canary, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Opium, a Literary Guild Selection. His essays, travel writings, and reviews have appeared in books, magazines, and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. His work as a lyricist with pianist and composer Chick Corea and others can be heard on a number of albums. He divides his time between Venice, California, and Mexico.