Showing results by author "Gustavo Vazquez-Lozano" in All Categories

Jesús de Nazareth fue un maestro judío de origen rural que vivió en el primer tercio del siglo I de nuestra era. Durante una celebración de la Pascua en Jerusalén fue condenado a la pena de muerte - específicamente crucifixión - por la autoridad imperial de Roma, que en ese momento tenía el control de su país. Muchas cosas más podrían decirse de su vida, pero aparte de este pequeño resumen y quizá uno o dos detalles más, sería complicado que todos los académicos estudiosos de la Biblia levantaran su mano en señal de acuerdo.

Although all the titles of the Nag Hammadi library are not known, many people have heard about its most famous components: The Gospel of Thomas - at one time it was discussed whether it should be included in the New Testament - and The Gospel of Philip, which tried to revive the debate around the identity of Mary Magdalene: "Why do you love her more than all of us?" asks a disconcerted Peter to Jesus. Finally, the Nag Hammadi texts have led many scholars to reconsider the rigid canons imposed by the early Church, and the readers to find a more intimate religion that turned upside down many postulates of Christian orthodoxy.

The study of the apocryphal gospels, documents about the life or sayings of Jesus that did not become part of the New Testament, is a popular discipline among scholars that now fills several shelves of any respectable library. However, few consider the question of whether the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, is "complete" and whether in antiquity there were other books besides "Genesis", the "Exodus" or "Judges", with different histories and unknown characters, that were excluded from the canon and got lost in the sands of time.

The Apocrypha of the Bible examines the history of the books excluded from the Bible, the characters and events told by the books, and the discoveries that have influenced Biblical studies in the last few centuries.

¿Sabías que… El 5 de mayo de 1867, Benito Juárez siguió en vivo y en directo la transmisión de la Batalla de Puebla desde el Palacio Nacional. El primer telegrama se recibió a las 9:30 de la mañana. El último, anunciando el desenlace, a las 5:49 de la tarde. Manuel González (1833-1893) era muy mujeriego. Mandó hacer una puerta secreta en el Palacio Nacional por donde metía a sus amantes. En su tiempo ese acceso fue conocido como «El paso de Venus». Francisco I. Madero escribió varios libros sobre espiritismo. Circularon cuando fue presidente, sólo que bajo un seudónimo. ...

El estudio de los evangelios apócrifos - relatos de la vida o dichos de Jesús que no entraron al Nuevo Testamento - es una disciplina popular entre los académicos que llena ya varios estantes de cualquier biblioteca respetable.

This is the story of Santa Muerte, the so-called cult of crisis, a red-hot combo of a kermesse (Mexican carnival), Catholicism and New Age; a hedonist practice but involving bodily sacrifice too. It is an expression of economic, psychological and social forces, bigger than perhaps any of her acolytes suspect. This book looks at the folk saint and the manner in which her cult grew. You will learn about Santa Muerte like never before.

Esta es la historia de la Santa Muerte, culto de crisis; remix de catolicismo, kermesse y New Age; un culto hedonista pero también de sacrificio corporal; reflejo de fuerzas económicas, psicológicas y sociales más amplias de lo que tal vez ninguno de sus acólitos sospecha.

Between 50 and 90 CE, the various writings that comprise the New Testament were written, including the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of Paul, and other letters to more general communities of the early Church. But what is recognized as the 26 books of the New Testament today, in literally hundreds of English translations, actually took several more centuries to be determined as "canonical" by the Church.

A little more than 100 years ago a Mexican peasant named Emiliano Zapata gathered a rural army from the plantations and villages of southern Mexico, seized the lands of the haciendas, and began to distribute them among the peasants of Anenecuilco, his hometown, in the state of Morelos. Outraged and impatient with the ceaseless destitution of the indigenous peoples at the hands of the landowners, he had decided to take justice in his hands.

Mary Magdalene is one of the most talked about figures in modern Christianity, a woman who mainstream media and modern sensibilities can hold with more conviction. The media, press, movie industry, and airport literature have been obsessed with this redhead for more than 100 years, a fascination that reached its climax in the first decade of this century and does not seem likely to end anytime soon. Mary Magdalene is frequently depicted as young and attractive, liberated and intelligent, a symbol of a freer spirituality, and not controlled by a male-dominated church. In the minds of many, she embodies opposition to a system dominated by old men in white cassocks, the "sacred feminine."

Hace poco más de cien años un campesino mexicano llamado Emiliano Zapata reclutó un ejército rural de las plantaciones y pueblos del sur de México, tomó por la fuerza las tierras de los haciendas y comenzó a repartirlas entre los habitantes de Anenecuilco, su pueblo natal en Morelos. Indignado y encolerizado por el despojo que los terratenientes habían venido efectuando durante años contra los pueblos indígenas, había decidido tomar la impartición de la justicia en sus propias manos.

Apart from Jesus, there is no character more vividly presented in the gospels than Peter. To talk of Saint Peter is to talk about a man of action. There is a good reason why he is the apostle with the most mentions in the Gospels, and the most referred to in the New Testament (a total of 195 times). In comparison, John, the next most popular disciple, barely reaches 29 references. It is at decisive moments which require a categorical reaction where the leader of the Twelve shines.

Han pasado casi 150 años de su muerte y todavía se usa una riqueza de apelativos para referirse a Antonio López de Santa Anna, presidente de México en once ocasiones. Hoy, la mayoría de sus compatriotas lo considera el traidor más grande de la historia. No siempre fue así. De hecho, cuando él vivía no hubo político o general más reverenciado, necesario y famoso en México - aunque en intervalos también el más odiado - que el General Santa Anna.

Había una vez, cuando la guerra civil amenazaba separar a Estados Unidos, una monarquía al sur del Río Bravo. El reino se llamaba México. Había un castillo, una princesa y un joven príncipe alto y barbado; era noble e idealista, tenía fuego en el corazón, pero también era débil y crédulo.

The legend of Francisco Villa is full of heroism, tragedy, and romance. It is the story of a poor farmer boy who became a bandit out of necessity, after avenging an injustice on his family; a military genius who flew from an oppressive government to lead the largest revolutionary army in his country's history, and defeated dictatorship to become Mexico's liberator, only to fall again in disgrace when his troops abandoned him or were massacred by the enemy.

La leyenda de Francisco "Pancho" Villa está saturada de heroísmo, tragedia y romanticismo; es la historia de un campesino pobre que se convierte en bandolero por necesidad, por haber vengado una injusticia sobre su familia; la del genio militar que primero huye del gobierno opresor, y después, frente al ejército revolucionario más grande en la historia de su país, lo derrota y se convierte en el liberador de México, sólo para volver a caer en la desgracia cuando sus tropas lo abandonan o son liquidadas por el enemigo.

There are more than one hundred castles in the Americas. Virtually all of them were built between the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries as recreational homes for tycoons, amusement parks or tourist destinations, in republics that had long ago severed their ties with monarchies. Among the plethora of castles in North and South America, only one can be called a true historic castle, where viceroys and monarchs once lived: Chapultepec Castle, in Mexico City. The top of Chapultepec Hill, once a sacred place for the Mexica, occupies an infinitesimal fraction of Mexican territory, but ...

María Magdalena es probablemente la figura más célebre del cristianismo popular, una mujer de nuestro tiempo, la que los medios de comunicación y las sensibilidades modernas pueden abrazar con mayor convicción.

"Ambition is like the balloonist. To some extent, the rise is nice and he does enjoy a splendid view and a vast landscape. But when he rises more, vertigo occurs, the air becomes thin and the risk of a big fall increases." With this parable, the Austrian Archduke Maximilian of Hapsburg inadvertently predicted the destiny to which he would bravely ride, despite the warnings and the sweet talkers. In any case, he followed his heart's mandate. And Charlotte, the princess, was "one of the most cultured and beautiful" in Europe.