FOREWORD BY LINDA ELLERBEE "Tales" is an anthology of essays about Talpa de Allende, and other mountain villages in the western Sierra Madre of Mexico. It is about people places, and happenings. It is about the miraculous healings of a tiny 400 year old virgin. It takes you on a riotous tour of rural ares of the state of Jalisco. it tells stories about who donates their hair for this Virgins wig, Do Talpa's horses sometimes wear panty hose? What is a pajareta? Is agave liquor really explosive? The culmination of the book comes with "The Woman in The Trunk." It begins with the discovery in the Talpa cemetery of an old tomb. The author was out walking one morning in front of the cemetery when she saw a herd of longhorn cattle trotting toward her. In order to avoid the cattle she quickly crawled through the barbed wire fence surrounding the property. There she encountered the old tomb containing the remains of three bodies that had been interred in the late 1800s. On careful examination she found the names of a Latin woman, and two German men. Who were they, and what were they doing sharing a grave site enclosed by an ornate wrought iron fence, abd a very large single tombstone? Born and raised in Mississippi, Jenny was a born story teller. Her endless curiosity led her to discover the history and customs of Talpa where she and her husband lived for eighteen years. Join the author in a fascinating tour of rural Jalisco as she describes her many friends and neighbors. Local stories, lore, and even recipes fill the pages of this unique book!