Did you know? Anglo vs. Mexican sayings
Anglo and Mexican sayings are often subtly different.
For starters, consider your pet cat. In Canada or the U.S., cats are considered to have nine lives; in Mexico, however, cats only have seven ...
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Did you know? Independence battle map is upsidedown
The battle in question is the Battle of Calderon Bridge (Batalla del Puente de Calderon), fought just outside Guadalajara in January 1811 as part of Mexico’s fight for Independence. The decisive batt...
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Did you know? Even "microwaves" are signposted along Mexico's roads
One of Mexico's best kept travel secrets for people driving their own vehicle is the multitude of road signs all beginning with the word "microondas" (literally “microwaves”). Even visitors ...
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Did you know? Oaxaca is the most culturally diverse state in Mexico
The inter-census population count in Mexico in 2005 found that more than one million people in Oaxaca spoke at least one indigenous Indian language. Close behind came the state of Chiapas with about 95...
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Did You Know? Blacks outnumbered Spaniards until after 1810
By common consent, the history of blacks in Mexico is a long one. The first black slave to set foot in Mexico is thought to have been Juan Cortés. He accompanied the conquistadors in 1519. It has been...
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Did You Know? Mathieu de Fossey
Mathieu 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 intrig...
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Did You Know? The World's first aerial bombing: the Battle of Topolobampo, Mexico
In the early years of the twentieth century, the nature of warfare changed dramatically. The deployment of aircraft unleashed a powerful new weapon for warring factions, previously forced to rely only ...
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Did You Know? Consuelo Velázquez and "Bésame mucho".
The song "Bésame mucho" (Kiss me a lot) was written by a young Mexican woman who had never been kissed. This article is a tribute to Consuelo Velázquez, who died January 22, 2005, at the age o...
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Did You Know? Most "bark paper" comes from wild fig trees
Besides being used as a kind of rough paper for records and correspondence, amate was also cut into human or animal forms as part of witchcraft rituals after which it would be buried in front of the pe...
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Did you know? Mexico's ancient astronomers had sophisticated calendars
Several ancient civilizations developed astonishingly accurate calendars. Even so, occasional adjustments were needed to bring the calendar back in line with solar events. Archaeologists studying the s...
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Did You Know? Trade in Mexico's cacti grew in the 1840s
A young Belgian botanist established a business exporting Mexican cacti to Europe back in the 1840s.
Prickly Pear Cactus Flower
Henri Guillaume Galeotti was born on September 10, ...
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Did You Know? Popular children's chorus features cockroaches and pot smoking
La Cucaracha (The Cockroach), one of Mexico's best known corridos, is a comic, satirical song, with infinite possibilities for creative verses. Versions of La Cucaracha have been performed by countless bands and musicians, including Louis Armstrong, Bill Haley & His Comets, Doug Sahm
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Did you know? A plastic island is constructed in Mexico
An entire island has been constructed, not by Bob the Builder, but by Richie the Recycler!
Amazing but true: off the coast of Quintana Roo, Richie Sowa has painstakingly constructed an entire island,...
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Did you know? Mayan architects built world's oldest sound recordings
The Pyramid of Kukulkan, Chichen Itza
Photo by Tony Burton
Modern sound recordings usually involve tiny disks which can hold dozens of tracks, specially designed to be easily portable an...
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Did you know? The first Mexico tourist guide books
Comprehensive guide books to Mexico have existed for more than 120 years.
Modern travelers to Mexico are often hard-pressed to choose their favorite guide. Fodor's, Frommer's, Real Guide, Insight Guid...
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Did you know? Mexico is home to more than fifty hummingbird species
Who hasn’t been amazed by the acrobatic antics of hummingbirds? What stunt flyers! They are able to fly not only forwards, but backwards and even briefly upside-down. They can also hover for extended...
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Did you know? Mexico has many "Est"raordinary railway places
An earlier column, "Microwaves (with a view)", examined the scenic delights to be found by following the "Microondas" road signs that puzzle many first-time visitors. That column probably didn't appeal...
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Did You Know? "Tlacuaches" (opossums )
Tlacuaches (opossums) are short-lived but smarter than most people imagine...
Imagine "a monstrous beast with a snout like a fox, a tail like a marmoset, ears like a bat, hands like a man, and feet li...
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Did You Know? The oldest ballgame in the Americas
Baseball is not the oldest ballgame in the Americas
Forget modern "traditions" like the World Series! Forget soccer, tennis and golf! By far the oldest ballgame in the Americas is the little known ga...
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Did You Know? Archaeologists have found fifteen-hundred-year-old kitchens
Mexican cuisine has been one of the country's most successful cultural exports over the past twenty years or so and most large towns in North America and Europe now boast at least one Mexican restauran...
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Did You Know? Puerto Vallarta in Mexico will become an island and float away
Literary-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 ...
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Did You Know? Three thousand people died in 1833 Guadalajara cholera epidemic
When Mexico braced herself for the imminent arrival of cholera from South America fifteen years ago, many people believed that the disease had never previously been known here. During the nineteenth ce...
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Did You Know? Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in USA than Mexico
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 re...
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Did you know? Dinosaur bones in Mexico
Thousands of dinosaur bones have ben found in northern Mexico.
Bones literally litter the ground. Here's a femur; there's a tibia; vertebrae, ribs, skulls...
Dozens of dinosaurs, including the world'...
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