In 1916, the Amparo Mining Company had the most successful silver mines in Jalisco and was making money hand over fist. Although it was located pretty much in the middle of nowhere, 65 kilometers due west of Guadalajara near the town of Etzatlan, rumors abound that a bustling community of some 6,000 souls once lived […]
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Will the world really end in 2012? Is the ancient Maya prophecy true? What exactly is supposed to occur on December 21, 2012? Does the Maya calendar really predict a cataclysmic event on that date? People are talking about it, books have been written about it, and some folks — believing it — have contemplated […]
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By an amazing historical coincidence, calendar year 2010 is both a centennial and bicentennial for Mexico. This is great for students, as it’s a mnemonic device to help them remember dates! And as you might well imagine, it leads to 2010 being a great national celebration for Mexico. Every nation needs symbols, traditions and celebrations […]
Continue ReadingWhile data on early Mesoamerican cultures has been deduced primarily from archaeological evidence, historians have utilized the written records of later cultures to produce the final chapters of pre-hispanic Mexico. Having reached a cultural plateau, no significant intellectual or scientific growth was noted among societies of the Post-Classic period. Their tendency instead was to put […]
Continue ReadingBy the 13th century the entire region, then called the Valley of Anahuac, was occupied by assorted rival city-states. Among the last to arrive on the scene was the nomadic tribe of the Mexica (pronounced may-SHEE-ka), more commonly known as the Aztecs, who ended a long migration from their northern homeland, Aztlan, by settling in […]
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It’s easy to enjoy a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Many of the festivities in the U.S. have grown so that now they are generally larger than those in Mexico. Half a million people show up for the annual event in Los Angeles alone. In Mexico, there are parades and parties in places like Puebla and Mexico […]
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The complete Indian history of Mexico has yet to be written. Even with the countless books, articles, and studies that abound today, the history of Mexico is still generally written from the viewpoint of the conquerors, or at least it reflects the attitudes of the more predominant sector of society. Much of the early history […]
Continue ReadingToday, the visible remains of Mexico’s Colonial era are the ornate churches and palacios, either government office buildings or the homes of Colonial officials, still surviving, in the center of Mexico’s larger cities. The palacios have thick walls and portales, broad covered walkways, with wide arches supported by pillars. They shelter sidewalk cafes, vendors of […]
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Never underestimate the power of the pen. We’ve heard that statement all our lives. It is even truer today than ever due to our high-tech computers and Internet. People still use fountain pens filled with indelible ink to sign important documents, but most of us carry a cheap ballpoint pen around with us. Few of […]
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In the 1860s, Mexico was the world’s most important producer of silver. El Bramador doesn’t appear on most Mexican road maps, but it exists in the western Sierra Madre Mountain range in Jalisco. There is an unpaved road from Talpa de Allende, and the drive is about five hours long. We were in Puerto Vallarta, […]
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