The long history of transatlantic movement in the Spanish-speaking world has had a significant impact on present-day concepts of Mexico and the implications of representing Mexico and Latin America more generally in Spain, Europe, and throughout the world. In addition to analyzing texts that have received little to no critical attention, this book examines the connections between contemporary travel, including the local dynamics of encounters and the global circulation of information, and the significant influence of the history of exchange between Spain and Mexico in the construction of existing ideas of place.

To frame the analysis of contemporary travel writing, author Jane Hanley examines key moments in the history of Mexican-Spanish relations, including the origins of narratives regarding Spaniards' sense of Mexico's similarity to and difference from Spain. This history underpins the discussion of the role of Spanish travelers in their encounters with Mexican peoples and places and their reflection on their own role as communicators of cultural meaning and participants in the tourist economy with its impact-both negative and positive-on places.

Jane Hanley is a senior lecturer in Spanish and Latin American studies at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Introduction 1. The Idea of Mexico: Historical and Touristic Narratives Spain as Origin and Mexico as Destination Spain in the Travel Economy and Managing Mexico The Idea of Mexico: Text and Context 2. Memory, Text, and Expectation Vanishing Empires: Francisco Solano in the Postcolonial Present "Un viaje que huye del tópico"? Between the Lost City and the Unchanging Place: Eduardo Jordá from Mallorca to Mexico 3. Violence, Instability, and Danger Alfonso Armada and Corina Arranz's Mobile Frontiers Alfredo Semprún's Viajes desaconsejables: Producing Novelty and Consuming Violence 4. Describing Selves in Worlds Chiapas in Heredero's Chiapas: Colonialities of Perception, Sensory Nature, and Indigenous Subjects Mourelo Following Turner Following the Yaqui in Donde mueren los dioses Historiography in Motion: In the Footsteps of Cabeza de Vaca Conclusion: On Writing a Twenty-First-Century Hispanic Transatlantic Notes References Index