An 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 […]
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If there is one state that can be considered quintessentially Mexican, it is Jalisco. Home of mariachis, tequila, famous regional dances and equally well-known culinary specialties, Jalisco is at the heart of the country’s culture and contributes significantly to its cuisine. Located in Western Mexico, bordering on the Pacific Ocean to the west, and surrounded […]
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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November 2 is “El Dia de los Muertos” (the Day of the Dead) and Jose Guadalupe Posada, or “Don Lupe” as he was known to his friends, a poor but prolific printmaker, will come alive once again in the hearts and minds of the Mexican people. Gallery: The calaveras of José Guadalupe Posada No Day of […]
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Arts of Mexico Gallery – The Big Three Mexico in 1910 was a country in despair. Foreign domination had been replaced by the tyranny of President Porfirio Diaz. Two-thirds of the people lived in abject poverty and slavery was growing at a faster rate than in the days of the Conquistadores. On Independence Day in […]
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In 1887, Eulogio Gregorio Clemente Gillow y Zavalza (1841-1922) was appointed Bishop of Antequera (Oaxaca). Four years later, he became the first Archbishop of Antequera. Named after a town in Spain, Antequera is the Catholic archdiocese of Mexico which includes the city of Oaxaca. Archbishop Gillow had a somewhat curious background. He was the only […]
Continue ReadingMathieu de Fossey was born in France in 1805, and educated in Dijon. Politically disillusioned following the end of the reign of King Charles X in 1830, Fossey responded enthusiastically to an intriguing pamphlet he read publicising the challenges and opportunities for French settlers in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. At that time, most Europeans […]
Continue ReadingDuring the Mexican dry season, a peculiar and very distinctive leafless tree often attracts attention because it appears to have large balls of fluffy cotton-wool attached to the ends of its branches. These kapok or silk-cotton trees belong to the Bombax family, Bombacaceae, which includes many fascinating, handsome and much admired trees. They played a […]
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