In the current edition of Guinness, the Mexican responsible for most records is Sergio Rodriguez Villarreal from the northern state of Nuevo León. He specializes in creating giant Christmas figures and holds five records at the moment for the “biggest” ornaments which are (respectively) an angel, silver bauble, bell, candle and wreath. Rodriguez first designs […]
Continue ReadingThe earliest human inhabitants of the Lake Chapala area were probably nomadic tribes of Indians who had settled on the shores and islands of the lake, catching fish, extracting salt, and trying to herd wild game towards the water’s edge so that it would get bogged down in the mud. By the time the Spanish […]
Continue ReadingOne of the Mexican Tourism Secretariat’s flagship programs in recent years has been its Magic Towns designation. This is a program after my own heart, and one that was long overdue when it was finally begun in 2001. Mexico’s Magic Towns (Pueblos Mágicos) range from tiny, almost undiscovered villages on the coast to sizeable inland […]
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In the early 1960s, Ajijic was gaining something of a reputation as a hang-out for ‘bohemians’ and later for hippies. Historian and MexConnect author Jim Tuck once described 1965 in Ajijic as “The Year of the Purge” when “resident hippies were unceremoniously escorted to the city limits”. In Tuck’s words, “Those who remained were serious […]
Continue ReadingWith more than 30,000 native flowering plants to choose from, who would have thought that the humble dahlia would become Mexico’s national flower? The earliest known description of the dahlia (known to the Aztecs as acocoxóchitl) comes from the Franciscan friar, Bernardino de Sahagún, who arrived in New Spain in 1529. The Aztec name is believed […]
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Both the name and the coat-of-arms of San Luis Potosi recall the tremendous importance of mining to Mexico’s economy. Called Potosí in emulation of the mines of that name high in the Bolivian Andes, the city’s coat-of-arms, awarded in 1656, has its patron saint standing atop a hill in which are three mine shafts. Left […]
Continue ReadingI’ve often been asked, “Where’s the center of Mexico?”, and I’ve always deliberately fudged my reply, but is there a simple answer to this question? Well, perhaps not surprisingly, there isn’t! Several locations lay claim to being the center, but it’s all a question of definition. Does center mean “the point where the minimum distance […]
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Believe it or not, there is a village in Mexico with the unlikely name of Honey. Honey. This hardly sounds like a Mexican word and certainly lacks any Nahuatl or Spanish roots. Yet, in the state of Puebla there is a small village named Honey. I admit that when I first heard of the village, […]
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The Cuexcomate volcano, in a suburb of the city of Puebla, is generally considered to be the world’s smallest volcano. Weighing in at an estimated 40 metric tons, it stands just 13 meters (43 feet) tall, with a reach (diameter) of 23 meters (75 feet). The name Cuexcomate derives from the Nahuatl Cuexcomac which means […]
Continue ReadingLiterary-minded travel writers describing Puerto Vallarta as an “island of tourist delights” probably don’t realize that their words are closer to the truth than they might imagine. At present, Puerto Vallarta has plenty of tourist facilities but is certainly not an island. The Pacific Ocean may swish against Vallarta’s beaches on one side, but there […]
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