The Buried Mirror

A five-volume sweeping look at the past and present of Latin America, hosted by Carlos Fuentes. THE VIRGIN AND THE BULL: Best-selling Mexican author Fuentes looks for his forebears in the mix of people that created Latin America: Spanish, Arab, Jewish, Indian, and African. He asks what is unique in their culture that is cause for celebration in the 500th anniversary year of Columbus. His quest takes him from the quayside at Vera Cruz "where the Mediterranean comes to an end in the Caribbean" back to the dark caves of Altamirea, the harsh sunlight of the bullring, and the stamping feet of the flamenco dancer. CONFLICT OF THE GODS: In his lifetime, Fuentes has witnessed the rediscovery of the ancient Aztec temples beneath the central square of modern Mexico City. "So we found out that what we thought was dead was really alive." He retraces the Indian world through their magnificent pyramids and sculptures, a world of precise astronomy and human sacrifice, serenity and violence.