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The Epicurus of Mexico City

JL;DR SUMMARY Daniel Goldin, a pivotal figure in Mexico's literary world, has dedicated his career to fostering reading culture in a nation with low per capita book readership. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish DiasporaReading CultureLiterary InfluenceMexican Jewish CommunityDaniel GoldinBiblioteca VasconcelosA La Orilla Del VientoFondo De Cultura EconómicaJardín LacPublic Libraries

Places mentioned

Mexico City, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
"I even met the author on a book tour organized by Goldin in Mexico City; he had a picture of Willy hanging from one of his walls."
Argentina
"After a couple of years in Ashkelon, a relative who lived in Mexico offered to pay for Goldins mother and father to move to Mexico City."
Ashkelon, Southern District, Israel
"After a couple of years in Ashkelon, a relative who lived in Mexico offered to pay for Goldins mother and father to move to Mexico City."
Barcelona, Spain
"After visiting New York, he took off to Barcelona, Spain, where he met Roberto Bolao, who later became one of the most influential novelists in the Spanish-speaking world."
San Francisco, California, United States
"After finishing high school and a gap year in Israel, Goldin took off to San Francisco in 1978 with a backpack full of books."
New York, United States
"Under the influence of Jack Kerouac, he then decided to hitchhike across the United States. After visiting New York, he took off to Barcelona, Spain, where he met Roberto Bolao, who later became one of the most influential novelists in the Spanish-speaking world."
Chiapas, Mexico
"It dealt with the differences between Christian and Indian cultures in Latin America, and in particular in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas."

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Retrieved 2026-04-30 05:32:40 UTC
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