The richest man in the world is one of Mexico's many amazing contradictions. From one point of view, he is a predator, taking unbelievable profits from the poor and poorer. From another perspective, he is a gracious philanthropist who funds charitable causes and thousands of college scholarships. He has provided many, many pairs of reading glasses, 294,755 bicycles to children who live far from their schools and two or three times that many medical operations for poor people with health problems. read more

The San Fernando Cemetery first began operating in 1713. The poor were first buried there, in the section known as the "Panteón chico." Later, aristocrats nudged their way in, and then in 1835 the "Panteón grande" was constructed and it became an all-purpose public bone yard. read more

A timeline showing Presidents from Mexico's Independence in 1822 to the present day. read more

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

In 1985, the Servicio Postal Mexicano, the Mexican Postal Service, released five stamps honoring important heroes of the Mexican Revolution with stamps featuring Francisco Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Madero, and the soldadera, the woman who served (even in battle) at the side of her man. Matching sets were issued in November of 2008 and 2009 to celebrate the forthcoming 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, which we officially celebrate on November 20th, Día de Revolución, the day set by Francisco I. Madero in 1910 for the Revolution to begin. read more

Several years ago, I was rummaging through a box of family photos with my dad, when he showed me an old, yellowing image of his mother from 1908. He told me it was taken in Mexico at the wedding of her cousin, the poet and playwright Manuel Rocha y Chabre. read more

Shooting Script: Door of Fire is a sequence of poems about several "heroes:" Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Leon Trotsky, with bit parts from Trotsky's wife Natalia, actress Paulette Goddard, surrealist Andre Breton and others.We see them — Diego, Frida, Leon — as if we are watching them through a camera lens. Three people driven by obsessions. read more

Emilio Rolando Villazón Mauleón is the world's next great tenor, at least equal to Placido Domingo, but easier on the eyes and with far more dramatic gifts. You don't have to know anything about opera to appreciate Villazón's voice. When you hear him sing, your jaw drops, your eyes glaze over, and the hairs on your arm stand to attention. This, I thought, is a voice for the ages. I felt like Al Capone must have felt the first time he heard the voice of Enrico Caruso. Villazón was born in 1972 in the Mexico City suburb of Fuentes de Satellite. read more

Mexico has many myths but this was a wonderful truth, six military academy cadets, in defiance of Gen. Nicholas Bravo's order to retreat, choosing to fight to the finish. They were lieutenant Juan de la Barrera, 20, Agustin Melgar, Vicente Suarez, Francisco Marquez, Fernando Montes de Oca and Juan Escutia. One by one they were struck down. read more

Did you know the Nobel Prize has been awarded three times to Mexican citizens? read more

In 1916, an intrepid reporter, Guillermo Ojara, was assigned by his paper, El Demócrata, to go south to seek and interview Emiliano Zapata. After harrowing incidents with hundreds of Zapatistas in the mountains, valleys, even The Hill of the Scorpions inhabited by thousands of those deadly creatures, Ojara was finally brought to his subject read more

In 1864 the Archduke Maximilian von Habsburg, accompanied by his ambitious and beautiful wife Charlotte, arrives in Mexico City. Louis Napoleon had previously sent thousands of French troops to the financially and politically unstable country. Even though Mexico is ruled by a democratically elected president, Benito Juárez, Maximilian is installed as Emperor of Mexico. Juárez must go into hiding. read more

This chronological listing of Mexico's famous and infamous historical figures puts you only a click away from reading more about their victories, lives and loves. read more

Upon being informed of Neal Cassady's death, Jack Kerouac replied: "It's just a trick. He's hiding out someplace, like Tangier." read more

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... read more

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 read more

A charwoman-actress once captivated Mexican high society in her alter ego as Don Carlos Balmori. An elaborate tomb in Mexico City's main cemetery, the Panteón Civil de Dolores, is a lasting reminder ... read more

Mexico once tried hard to prevent Americans from migrating to Texas. In recent years, considerable attention has focused on the U.S. government's efforts to stem the flow of Mexicans migrating north o... read more

November 7, 2007, marks the centenary of the death of Jesús García, the "Hero of Nacozari." The small town of Nacozari occupies a valley nestled in the foothills of the Western Sierra Madre (Sierra ... read more