Original CDMX pueblo has fought for centuries to keep its traditions
There are really two Meyehualcos — the modern section of Mexico City’s Iztapalapa borough and the old original pueblo that struggles to survive.
The name Meyehualco comes from the Indigenous Nahuatl language, meaning “place of the maguey plants.” It reflects the community’s rural, agricultural heritage but also a long history of domination.
The Tampico Affair: how Mexico saw the 1914 US invasion
So while visiting Tampico recently, a tour guide brought up “The Tampico Affair.” As a U.S. citizen, I smiled sheepishly, but he good-naturedly responded, “That was a long time ago.”
A 16th-century bishop’s ‘utopia’ led to Michoacán’s artisan tradition
If you spend any time in the Lake Pátzcuaro area, you will undoubtedly come across the name Vasco de Quiroga. Almost venerated here, he carries the Indigenous title of tata, literally “father,” but the word is infused with meaning from the area’s spiritual and political past.
Democracy or monarchy? 19th-century Mexico struggled for identity
Benito Juárez is the only individual to have a federal holiday in Mexico. But he is not the father of his country like George Washington, so why?
Juárez’s time was a few decades post-Independence, during a century filled with coups d’etat, flamboyant personalities and foreign invasions. His secular sainthood comes from a lifetime of struggle and establishing the ideals that would shape modern Mexico — even if they’re not always followed.
Mexico’s history — and perhaps its future — is written in silver
For all the hype about “Aztec gold” in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, Mexico’s classic measure of wealth has been silver — and it may be its future.
Prized equally on both sides of the Atlantic, Tenochtitlán overlords demanded the metal as tribute from places like Taxco, Guerrero, long before the Spanish arrived.
John Wayne slept here: Durango’s hidden Hollywood history
Few things said “Americana” in the mid-20th century like John Wayne strutting into an Old West saloon and challenging the bad guys.
But would it surprise you to find out that more than a few Westerns, then and now, have been filmed in the Mexican state of Durango?
In fighting globalism, the Zapatas brought the world to Chiapas
For those of us 50 and older, it seems like yesterday — the masked, charismatic Subcomandante Marcos taking the world by storm to demand justice for a jungle people threatened by globalization and “the new world order.”
Pancho Villa: the man who attacked the United States and got away with it
He was the only Latin American to execute a military raid on the United States.
Best known as Pancho Villa, the Mexican Revolution general was born Doroteo Arango in 1878 in Durango. His life of violence and flight began early, after killing an hacienda owner who had assaulted his sister.
Independence Day primer: Who was Miguel Hidalgo?
“Father of the country” is not a concept unique to the United States. Many countries have figures honored with that title, and in Mexico, that man is Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
Remembering S19, the devastating 2017 earthquake that changed Mexico City lives
No stranger to dark humor, Mexico City residents have dubbed September as “earthquake season” because three of the most recent destructive earthquakes have occurred during this month. This article is about one of them.
Almost as many legends surround Zacatecas’ House of 100 Doors
There is a small community outside of Guadalupe, Zacatecas, with the odd name of Tacoaleche, and no, the name has nothing to do with tacos. The name refers to a unit of milk, as it was once common for hacienda owners to pay workers with food rather than money.
Once considered radical, Benito Juárez now a national hero
Believe it or not, of all Mexico’s federal holidays, only one is dedicated to a prominent Mexican historical figure: that historical figure is former president Benito Juárez and his holiday is coming up this Monday on March 21.
Primer: Constitution Day celebrates anniversary of foundational document
Even after 18 years in Mexico, I sometimes get caught off guard by Mexico’s holidays, finding out about it only because I went to a bank or government office and found it closed.
Just so you know, they will be closed on Monday, February 7 for Constitution Day.
Doctor, lawyer, filibuster: William Walker’s short-lived Mexican republics
This month marks the anniversary of William Walker’s ill-fated 19th-century attempt to establish his own country in the northwest of Mexico.
Walker, a United States physician, lawyer and journalist, was also what was then called a “filibuster” — someone looking to conquer lands in the Americas in the years between the Mexican-American War and the Civil War in the United States. At one point, he briefly controlled parts of Sonora and Baja California.
When revolution came to Cuernavaca, the British hotelier saw it all
She had the most fashionable hotel in all of Cuernavaca in the early 1900s, but then lost it all in a whirlwind of violence, running for her life.
Mexican Revolution 101: why is November 20 such an important date?
Like that of the Mexican War of Independence, the history of the Mexican Revolution can look like a confusing series of armed struggles — few major battles but lots of fighting. However, it is important to understand the basics of what happened in this period of history to understand the Mexico of today.
More than 50 years later, Mexicans refuse to forget the Tlatelolco Massacre
They say that Mexicans have long memories. I am reminded of this idea at this time of year because that’s when the historic center, only a couple of kilometers from my apartment, becomes something of a fortress.
Mexico’s War of Independence 101: A quick overview for newbie expats
So Mexican Independence Day is coming up, and if you’re not Mexican you probably wonder: why do the festivities start the night before?
Well, Mexicans’ love of partying may be part of the reason but not the main one. It has to do with how independence from Spain was achieved.
The miners who brought British culture to Mexico
No, Pachuca and Real del Monte were not founded or conquered by the British, but these foreigners made such an indelible mark here that “being British” has become part of these towns’ identities.
I admit it: I got completely captivated by this story about Cuauhtémoc’s final resting place, prompting a visit to Ixcateopan, an isolated town near Taxco, Guerrero. I later wrote about it in Wikipedia using municipality publications.
Only later, after an online scolding by a Mexican Wikipedian, did I look at the story more critically and found that its authenticity is unclear.
If you are like me, one of the first things you noticed about driving in Mexico (after blinking green lights) is that there are certain street names that keep getting repeated. In fact, if you see street names such as (Benito) Juárez, (Miguel) Hidalgo, 16 de septiembre, (Francisco I.) Madero and Reforma closely together, chances are you are in the historic center.
Is ‘Mexico’ a country? A state? A city? An identity? The answer is “yes”
We foreigners know Mexico sort of from the “outside in” … the country which has a capital of the same name. But that is both simplistic and inaccurate.
A century after the Revolution’s end, the Adelitas still await real recognition
March is Women’s History Month, so let’s begin with what may be the only group of women from Mexico’s past that foreigners know, at least from photographs.
The term Adelitas (“little Adeles”) is used in Mexico today to refer to women who participated in the Mexican Revolution, battling government forces.