{"id":174,"date":"2009-07-25T20:17:15","date_gmt":"2009-07-25T19:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewhiterock.co.uk\/?page_id=174"},"modified":"2021-01-11T19:03:36","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T18:03:36","slug":"tequila-oil","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thewhiterock.co.uk\/?page_id=174","title":{"rendered":"Tequila Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"

.<\/p>\n

Tequila Oil: Getting Lost in Mexico<\/strong>,<\/em> is Hugh\u2019s wild memoir about doing just that
\nin Mexico when he was eighteen and, in the words of the Alice Cooper song,
\n“didn\u2019t know what I wanted” (‘Eighteen’). \u00a0Then 30 years later he goes back…<\/p>\n

It was serialised by BBC Radio 4 for Book of the Week <\/strong>and
\nshortlisted for the Dolman Best Travel Book Prize<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\"cover-tequila-oil-by-hugh-thomson\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reviews of
\nTequila Oil <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A thrilling travelogue that rails against the homogenisation of the world.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/span>Traveller<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Delightful, celebratory and honest …. ….In a way it is the first installment of his now-complete trilogy, his Cochineal Red<\/em> and The White Rock<\/em> being two of the finest books on Latin America of recent years.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>Rory Maclean, The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0 [see whole review]<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Thomson\u2019s Mexico is one of beauty, humour and freedom, laced with a tantalising hint of danger.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Wanderlust<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0A beautiful book, full of appreciation and aphorism, an unashamedly personal story. It’s soulful, very funny, thoughtful, with a deep romanticism at its heart. And it takes the reader to places we may not have dreamed of going \u2013 places of geography, the spirit and the emotions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The Independent\u00a0 [see whole review]<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

More reviews<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018Try this tequila oil, Hugito.\u00a0 Just as the alcohol hits your stomach, the chilli will as well<\/strong>
\nand blow it back into your brain.\u00a0 It will take your head off.\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On his first trip to Mexico, Hugh Thomson is told by a stranger he could make money buying
\na car over the Texas border and taking it thousands of miles through the country to sell on the
\nblack market in Central America. What does it matter that he doesn\u2019t have a driving licence?
\nHe is eighteen years old, far from home and with time to kill. It sounds like the most sensible
\nplan in the world.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So throwing himself on the kindness and mercy of the Mexicans he meets or crashes into, he
\nand his beloved Oldsmobile \u201998 career from one crisis to another before meeting their apocalyptic
\ndestiny in the slums of Belize City \u2013 where he returns many years later, older but not necessarily
\nwiser, to complete his original journey.<\/p>\n

His travels reveal a wild off-the-beaten track Mexico, leading him from the badlands of Chihuahua
\nto the jungles of the Yucatan and one of the least understood cultures on the planet, the Maya.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2018Boys,\u2019 said the Texan salesman, \u2018I don\u2019t know where you\u2019re heading, but you\u2019ve got yourself a
\nmighty fine car to do it in.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>And we took it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson \/ Phoenix<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From the Introduction:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

‘Most of the events in this book took place a quarter of a century ago, when Mexico was a wilder and stranger place than it is today, although it still has many pockets of surprise and resistance to the modern world – as does neighbouring Belize, where my original journey ended, or was interrupted, and to which I recently returned for the last section of this story.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Those wanting a travel narrative in which the author is just a shadowy presence who never declares himself should look away now; this is an unashamedly personal story.’<\/p>\n

..<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

see .Hugh’s piece in The Traveller Magazine<\/em>:\u00a0 ‘Mexico City Dreams’<\/a>
\n‘It may seem strange, in a tough, fast city that is so large and has such extremes of wealth and poverty, but I think of Mexico City as a place for dreamers…’<\/em><\/p>\n

and from the Financial Times, ‘Tequila Tales<\/a>‘:<\/p>\n

‘T<\/span>equila used to be a real man\u2019s drink, straight up and raw; the only accompaniments allowed were a pinch of lime and salt. One of PG Wodehouse\u2019s pre-war characters ordered \u201ca shot of that Mexican drink that they call \u2013 no, I\u2019ve forgotten the name, but it lifts the top of your head off\u201d…’<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0with a few additional notes on how and where to Drink Tequila<\/a><\/p>\n

Excess Baggage\u2019 on BBC Radio 4:\u00a0 \u00a0Listen to the programme<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Hugh talks to John McCarthy about travelling to Belize, as at the end of Tequila Oil.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Trivia note<\/strong><\/em> for those who got to the bottom of the page:\u00a0 the photo on book cover is the genuine picture of the Oldsmobile 98 taken in the Chihuahua desert in 1979 towards the start of the\u00a0 journey (note that it’s already lost a hub-cap).\u00a0 And below is picture of author at the time.<\/p>\n

Would you buy a car from this man? I wouldn’t….<\/p>\n

\"hugh<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"Tequila<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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Goodreads reviews for Tequila Oil<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n