Did You Know? Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in USA than Mexico Tony Burton

Of the many battles fought on Mexican soil in the nineteenth century, only one — the Battle of Puebla, fought on May 5, 1862 — has given rise to a Mexican national holiday.

Why this one? The main reason is that the Battle of Puebla marks Mexico's only major military success since independence from Spain in 1821.

On May 9, 1862, President Benito Juarez declared that the Cinco de Mayo, the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, was to be a national holiday. In the U.S., the Cinco de Mayo has been transformed into a much more popular cultural event. read more

Did you know? The Green Revolution began in Mexico Tony Burton

Did you know? The first scientific account of Lake Chapala comes from 1839 Tony Burton

Did you know? Los Mochis and Topolobampo are both examples of "new towns". Tony Burton

Did you know? Cuautla, Mexico, has the world's oldest railway station building. Tony Burton

Did you know? The Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey originated in Mexico. Tony Burton

Strange but true; the bird now so closely associated with many festive meals is a direct descendant of the wild turkeys still found in many parts of Mexico. How is it possible that a Mexican bird acquired the name turkey? read more

Did you know? 19th century Mexico map maker first sailor through the Georgia Strait, Canada Tony Burton

Did you know? Many common garden flowers originated in Mexico. Tony Burton

Did you know? Mexico has more World Heritage sites than any other country in the Americas. Tony Burton

Did you know? Mexico has 36 Magic Towns. Tony Burton

Did you know? Mexico was once the world's major source of pearls. Tony Burton

Did you know? An early Jules Verne story was set in Mexico. Tony Burton

Did you know? Sheep and environmental damage in Mexico Tony Burton

Did You Know? Blacks outnumbered Spaniards until after 1810 Tony Burton

Did You Know? Mathieu de Fossey Tony Burton

Did You Know? The World's first aerial bombing: the Battle of Topolobampo, Mexico Tony Burton

Did You Know? Trade in Mexico's cacti grew in the 1840s Tony Burton

Did You Know? The oldest ballgame in the Americas Tony Burton

Did You Know? Puerto Vallarta in Mexico will become an island and float away Tony Burton

Did You Know? Three thousand people died in 1833 Guadalajara cholera epidemic Tony Burton

Did You Know? A fungus from Mexico and the Irish potato famine Tony Burton

Did you know? Mexico's Domesday Book Tony Burton

Did You Know? Bouncing balls and Mexican ingenuity Tony Burton

Did You Know? Mexico yachtsman won the first round-the-world yacht race Tony Burton

Did you know? Mexico City's charwoman-businessman: Conchita Jurado Tony Burton

Tony Burton

British-born Tony Burton has graduate degrees from the universities of Cambridge and London. After three years of teaching in the West Indies, he moved to Mexico in 1979, subsequently accepting Mexican citizenship. For more than a decade, he directed Odisea Mexico, a non-profit that organized academic fieldwork, principally in the earth sciences (geography, ecology, biology), for high-school and college groups, and specialist ecotourist excursions for adults. He now divides his time between writing and working as an  educational consultant, specializing in geography. He served as chief examiner for geography for the International Baccalaureate Organization from 2003 to 2009.

Until its demise in 2006, Tony edited the worldwide subscription newsletter "Lloyd Mexican Economic Report".  He has translated works on Paricutin Volcano, Juan Rulfo and Lake Chapala and has authored hundreds of original travel and ecotourist articles and several academic articles on fieldwork techniques and methodology, published in both English and Spanish. He is the only person ever to have won ARETUR's "Best of Mexico" travel writing competition on three separate occasions.

His books include Islands in the Sun: St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla (Government of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, 1977); "West Mexico: A Traveller's Treasury" (Editorial Agata, Guadalajara, Mexico, 1993); Lake Chapala Through the Ages — an anthology of travellers' tales (Sombrero Books, 2008). He co-authored, with Dr. Richard Rhoda, the groundbreaking "Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico (Sombrero Books, 2010).

For many years Tony lived in Jocotepec, a small town on the shores of Lake Chapala, with his Canadian wife Gwen, who ran a hearing-aid program for hearing impaired students. They moved to Canada when their two children were young, and currently reside on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

See all articles by Tony