Mention liberation theology and images that immediately come to mind are those of 1960s-style antiwar, anti-establishment priests like the Berrigan brothers or, more recently, Bishop Samuel Ruiz García and his obvious sympathy with the downtrodden Indians and Zapatista rebels in Chiapas. Liberation theology didn’t begin with the Berrigan brothers or Bishop Ruiz. As far back as […]
Continue ReadingThe world’s first patent for a color TV was granted to a young Mexican inventor. Guillermo González Camarena was just 23 years old in 1940 when he submitted his application in Mexico for a US Patent. He was granted Patent No. 2,296,019 protecting his development of an “improved chromoscopic adapter” using the “Trichromatic” system for […]
Continue ReadingThe most extensive documentation for the native historical tradition in Mesoamerica comes from the Valley of Mexico and surrounding area. This is hardly surprising, for the main thrust of the Spanish Conquest was aimed at the Aztec empire and its capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. Other conquests followed in the Petén and Guatemala, but the spectacular Conquest […]
Continue ReadingAn Aztec account of the Conquest of Mexico? Preposterous. It is common knowledge that those manuscripts that escaped destruction by the Conquistadors were gathered up under the direction of the first Archbishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumarrga, and reduced to ashes. In ” The Conquest of Mexico,” which remains the classic account of the event in […]
Continue ReadingBased on the ‘Mystery of the Maya’ OVERVIEW B.C. 1000-1000 Olmec 1800-900 Early Preclassic Maya 900-300 Middle Preclassic Maya 300 B.C. – A.D. 250 Late Preclassic Maya A.D. 250-600 Early Classic Maya 600-900 Late Classic Maya 900-1500 Post Classic Maya 1521-1821 Colonial period 1821- today Independent Mexico DETAILED TIME-LINE B.C. 11,000 The first hunter-gatherers settle […]
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Many cities worldwide have famous downtown squares, or plazas. Notable examples include London’s Trafalgar Square, Moscow’s Red Square and Beijing’s Tienanmen Square, among many others. Such a plaza is an essential part of a city’s history and identity. Consequently, it is a major draw for tourists. Mexico City’s principal plaza, called the Zócalo, fills such […]
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The spectacular images in these photo galleries show the Huichol people at home (taken by Robert Otey) and of Robert Otey’s collection of beaded jaguar heads and other artwork.
Continue ReadingNo sooner had the Spanish conquistadores vanquished the Aztec Empire militarily, than the spiritual conquest of Indian Mexico began. The Spaniards were devoutly Roman Catholic. It should be remembered that Spain’s rise to power came as a direct result of regaining the Iberian peninsula from Moslem rule. In return for having driven out the Moors, the Pope […]
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On the night of September 15, 1910, the special envoys stood on the illuminated balconies of the National Palace and watched the fiesta of all fiestas on the Mexican civil calendar: the grito de independencia, the “cry of independence.” One hundred years earlier (less a few hours) at dawn on Sunday, September 1810 — while […]
Continue ReadingNative Mexican Americans first settled along what used to be the shores of shallow lake Texcoco, present day Mexico City, in 1500 BC. By the early 1300s AD, the Aztecs established roots on an Island in this lake which later became the capital of the Aztec Empire: the City of Tenochtitlan. In 1521 the Spanish […]
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