During the month of June . . .

Table of Contents

ROUTE FROM PHILIPPINES BACK TO MEXICO FINALLY FOUND!

ALGERIAN FORCES TAKE ACAPULCO.

FIRST EUROPEANS VISIT AZTEC CAPITAL

FLOODS THREATEN MEXICO CITY

DOWN WITH MOCTEZUMA!

THE EMPEROR IS EXECUTED! LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!

ROUTE FROM PHILIPPINES BACK TO MEXICO FINALLY FOUND!

June 1, 1565. Andrés de Urdaneta sets sail from the Philippine Islands on what eventually becomes recognized as a landmark voyage in sailing history. His return to New Spain, by sailing across the Pacific Ocean from west to east, is the earliest documented successful voyage in this direction. His achievement opens up the possibility of using Mexican ports such as Acapulco and San Blas for trans-Pacific trade.

1, 1906. A general strike begins at the Cananea Copper Mine in Sonora. Workers demand improved working conditions, an 8-hour day, and salary equality with U.S. workers performing the same jobs. The mining company, Cananea Consolidated Mining Co., replies with force and 10 miners are killed in the fighting which results. The next day, state police, accompanied by U.S. Rangers, arrive to quell the violence. On June 5, the leaders are taken into custody and the strike ends.

2, 1774. By Royal Seal, King Charles III of Spain authorizes the outrageously wealthy Count of Regla, Pedro Romero de Terreros, to start a pawn-shop in Mexico City. This opens its doors in February of the following year and eventually becomes a much- loved national institution, the National Monte de Piedad.

ALGERIAN FORCES TAKE ACAPULCO.

June 3, 1864. An Algerian unit of the French army comes from the port of San Blas (Nayarit state) to attack and capture the port of Acapulco. This is one of the major incidents in the French intervention in Mexico, the pretext for which was the Mexican government’s decision in 1861 to defer payments on its foreign debt. On June 7, Mexican republican forces defeat the French to retake the port.

5, 1878. The legendary revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa is born in San Juan de Río, Durango. He is christened Doroteo Arango Quiñones, but adopts the name Villa and plays a particularly active role in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). After the Revolution, he retires to a ranch near Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, but does not enjoy his retirement for long, dying when his car is struck by a hail of bullets on July 20, 1923.

6, 1555. The city of Sombrerete (today in Zacatecas state) is founded. Sombrerete quickly becomes an important mining center.

6, 1933. Mexico’s first female aviator, María Marcos Cedillo, dies in an accident in San Luis Potosí.

7, 1533. The first Augustine missionaries arrive in the city of Mexico. Many of their monumental early convents, including those at Acolman and Yuriria) still stand today.

8, 1692. A shortage of basic grains leads to a riot in Mexico City in which archives are burned and the Viceregal Palace is stoned.

8, 1816. Manuel Orozco y Berra is born in Mexico City. He becomes a distinguished historian, writer and politician. One of his major contributions is to make the first classification of indigenous languages.

8, 1933. The Mexican Academy of Surgery is founded.

FIRST EUROPEANS VISIT AZTEC CAPITAL

9, 1521. Hernán Cortés and his conquistadors finally reach the Great Temple at the heart of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. For centuries it is assumed that the temple is completely razed by the Spanish in order to build their cathedral and palace. However, in 1978, the foundations of the Great Temple are unearthed during excavations for a new building in downtown Mexico City. Archeologists restore parts of the Great Temple and open the site to the public; artifacts they discover are displayed in an excellent museum on the site.

11, 1594. King Philip II of Spain prohibits his representatives in New Spain from jailing any indigenous person.

11, 1928. Emilio Carranza departs from Mexico City on a non-stop flight to Washington D.C. (USA). Because of bad weather, Carranza is forced to end his flight in North Carolina. On July 12, shortly after taking off for the return flight, Carranza is killed when his plane crashes in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

12, 1869. Colima Volcano erupts, forming a new crater.

FLOODS THREATEN MEXICO CITY

13, 1622. Tremendous floods overwhelm parts of Mexico City. The flooding results from the Spanish Viceroy Mendoza’s efforts to see whether or not a drainage scheme is actually necessary for the city! The city is badly flooded several times more in the next few years. Ironically, one of the city’s biggest problems today is… a lack of water!

15, 1863. A national census reveals that the country has 8,400,000 inhabitants.

16, 1785. The New Spain government agrees to construct Chapultepec Castle and the two towers of the cathedral, in Mexico City.

16, 1962. U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, and his wife, begin an official visit to Mexico for talks with Mexican counterpart, Adolfo Lopez Mateos.

DOWN WITH MOCTEZUMA!

17, 1520. In the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, emperor Moctezuma stands outside his palace to confront an angry mob of Aztec Indians, who are furious that the Spanish have been allowed in their city. They stone their emperor, badly wounding him. He dies on June 29.

18, 1833. Manuel M. González, President of Mexico between 1880 and 1884, is born near Matamoros. Gonzalez distinguished himself on the field of battle in the campaigns against the Americans and the French, and against the conservatives in the Reform War.

18, 1888. Many towns in the Mexican “Bajío”, including Leon, Silao, Irapuato and Celaya, suffer disastrous flooding, after two days of torrential rain.

18, 1939. Alberto Alvarado, the concert violinist of Angela Peralta’a opera company, dies in Durango. In 1893 he played at the International Exhibition in Chicago, Alvarado composed many musical works, including an opera called “Mañana”, much acclaimed in New York.

THE EMPEROR IS EXECUTED! LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC!

19, 1867. Emperor Maximilian is executed by firing squad. Only days later (June 2l), the Republican triumph over Maximilian’s Imperialists is sealed when general Porfirio Diaz (later to become President of Mexico for more than thirty years) takes Mexico City.

19, 1914. Battle of Zacatecas. Pancho Villa’s constitutionalist forces take on Huerta’s federalist forces. The main action occurs a few days later when Villa enters the city in triumph, after killing 5000 defenders and taking 6000 prisoners.

20, 1793. Mexico City’s public transportation system begins with authorization being granted for a system of single-horse carriages for hire.

21, 1823. Jalisco, formerly a Province, is elevated to the status of State. The Jalisco of 1823 is considerably larger than the Jalisco of today, including regions that are today in the states of Nayarit, Colima and Zacatecas.

21, 1876. Antonio López de Santa Anna dies in Mexico City. Santa Anna had been president of Mexico on no fewer than eleven occasions!

21, 1997. The veteran labor leader, Fidel Velázquez, dies at the age of 97. He was Secretary of the CTM (Confederación de Trabajadores de México), one of Mexico’s most powerful unions, from 1941 until his death.

23, 1943. The National Institute of Cardiology is founded.

25, 1530. The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan is officially declared capital of New Spain by King Charles V of Spain.

26, 1950. The first formal television channel – XHTV – begins broadcasting from Mexico City. Mexico was the first Spanish-speaking country, and the fifth in the world, to have regular TV service.

27, 1929. The Government and the Church sign a treaty ending the conflict between them which has intensified since president Elias Calles suspended religious services in 1926. Many other religious restrictions continue to apply in Mexico until the 1990s.

28, 1907. The self-taught painter, Hermenegildo Bustos, dies in Guanajuato. Bustos is best known for his excellent, character-revealing portraits.

• History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – June appeared first on MexConnect.

G. M. Bashford’s Tourist Guide to Mexico was first published exactly seventy years ago in 1954. It was one of a spate of motoring book guides written after World War II as Americans began to hit the open road and drive south in search of sunshine and adventure.

How much has Mexico really changed in the past seventy years? The answer is: in some ways lots, and in other ways almost not at all.

The following extracts from Bashford’s book give the flavor of his anecdotal writing style, and of the subjects which occupied his attention.

Monterrey

“The trademark of the city is the 5,700-foot-high Cerro de la Silla (Saddle Mountain), which rises above the city and is seen from every direction. The thrifty Regiomontanos, as the people of Monterrey are called, tell a story about how the saddle in the mountain was formed. According to the legend, an ambitious mountain climber took an early morning stroll to the summit of what was then a cone-shaped mountain, to watch the sunrise. As he was about to return, a centavo piece fell from his pocket, and before he had finished digging for it, there were two peaks instead of one.”

Mazatlán

After naming five hotels (Belmar, Freeman, Central, Imperial and Morales), Bashford warns that:

“Existing hotels in Mazatlán are hopelessly inadequate. Check on arrival to see if new hotels have been completed.”

For local sightseeing, he explains that:

“Araña, calèches, surries or buggies, as you choose to call them, are for rent with driver at the Hotel Belmar and various other points in the city.”

And, if you think highway 15 is bad today, you should have driven it fifty years ago!

“The road south from Mazatlán is good, except for a few missing bridges. Motorists should be careful not to travel too fast, as some of these detours are unmarked, and may be come upon suddenly.

“About an hour out of Mazatlán the highway enters the state of Nayarit, and shortly afterwards the Acaponeta River is crossed – on a ferry. In case the ferry is not working, there is a ford about a mile upstream which can be crossed in dry weather. Two more rivers, the San Pedro and Santiago, remain to be crossed, both by ferry pending completion of the bridges. If the traffic is heavy, considerable time may be lost at the ferry crossings. At some of the ferries, passenger cars take precedence over trucks, which fact is stated on signs.”

Tequila and Beautiful Women

Bashford seems unsure of the true quality of tequila…

“When thoroughly fermented, it is consumed either straight, or with lemon and salt, taken alternately. A more agreeable possibility (not to be broached in the presence of the local folk) is to combine it with sugar, lemon, etc., in a tequila sour, and drink it as a cocktail. The consensus among all but the most rugged foreigners is that taken straight, as in Jalisco, it leaves much to be desired as a refreshment. If, however, it must be taken straight, the tipo almendrado (with almonds) is best.”

… but very sure about the most beautiful women in Mexico:

“Within Mexico, Guadalajara is famed as the land of the legendary wine, women and song, except that here they are called tequila, Tapatías, and mariachis. The Tapatías, who are always given preference even over the wine and song, are by reputation the most beautiful women of Mexico.”

Lake Chapala

After listing six hotels for Guadalajara – Morales (Calle Corona), Del Parque (Vallarta), Guadalajara (Colón), Fenix (López Cotilla; 25 pesos for a double), Roma (Juárez) and Clemen Courts on the Mexico City highway – Bashford sets off for Chapala.

“Chapala, a quaint town of 5,000 inhabitants located on the north shore of the largest lake in Mexico, is 30 miles south of Guadalajara on a high-speed highway.

“Due to the increasing demands for water on the Lerma River, and the shortage of rainfall in recent years, the level of Lake Chapala has decreased steadily for the past several years. In 1952 it was practically impossible to go boating or swimming on the lake.

“However Chapala is still a charming pueblo, and a better place for rest would be hard to find. There are two good hotels. Villa Monte Carlo is a first-class hotel a mile from town, well managed by Señora Martha Viteri de Morales. Rates are 15 to 45 pesos single, and 40 to 60 pesos double; meals are 20 pesos per person per day. There are four deluxe bungalows. The Hotel Nido, in town, is another good hotel, with rates 15 to 25 pesos single, and 25 to 50 pesos double; meals are 20 pesos per person per day.”

Ajijic just qualifies for a single paragraph.

“Ajijic is a picturesque pueblo a few miles west of Chapala on the lake, not quite so interesting as some stories would have you believe. It recently has become an artists’ colony. Some hand-painted and hand-loomed fabrics are made here by enterprising Americans. Inquire for locations at Posada Ajijic.”

Single paragraphs are also sufficient for Ocotlán and Jocotepec.

“Ocotlán, on the northeast corner of Lake Chapala, is another picturesque pueblo, as yet “undiscovered.” Every day goods are brought in canoes from other pueblos on the lake to trade in the market.”

“Jocotepec is at the western end of Lake Chapala, 40 miles from Guadalajara via the Mexico City Highway. Also may be reached by gravel road from Chapala.”

Puerto Vallarta

Bashford shows considerably more enthusiasm for various side-trips from Guadalajara and Chapala, including Puerto Vallarta,

“the most charming and least-known pueblo in Mexico. It is a fishing village of 4.800 people located on the Pacific Coast due west of Guadalajara. Its charm lies in the fact that until a few years ago it could be reached only be sea. Thus the people have not yet come to regard tourists as a necessary evil, as in some of the more frequented resorts. Here is found complete democracy: even the mayor can be seen sweeping the street in front of his house every morning!

“Although there are no architectural masterpieces in the town, some of the old buildings provide excellent material for good camera shots… There are no shops catering to tourists….”

San Miguel de Allende and Morelia

Elsewhere, Bashford mentions only three hotels in San Miguel de Allende:

“the Posada San Francisco on the zócalo (double 75 to 95 pesos American plan), the Colonial, one block to the west (30 pesos) and the Arias 4 blocks away on Mesones near the market (20 – 30 pesos; main attraction ping-pong).”

Morelia does not do much better. Four hotels are mentioned: “Virrey de Mendoza (Portal Matamoros 16 on the zócalo; 24-44 pesos a double), Valladolid (Portal Hidalgo 241 on the zócalo), Casino (Portal Hidalgo 229 on the zócalo) and Oseguera (Avenida Madero Oriente 24, a block from the zócalo).”

These hotels were far surpassed in Bashford’s estimation by the finest hotel in this region, the Balneario de San José Purúa (which sadly has long been closed). A road branches off highway 15 and leads to:

“San José Purúa, and one of the most spectacular views in Mexico. The pueblo is noted for its radioactive waters, and its fame has spread widely – cars from seven different countries have been seen in town at the same time. (Single 70 pesos, double 110 pesos, American plan).”

Road Conditions

When Bashford’s book was published, the Pan-American highway had still not been completed.

“The Tehuantepec-Tuxtla highway (immigration inspection at Juchitan) is nearly straight, and good time can be made. Two hours’ drive from Tehuantepec is Las Cruces, where a road turns right to Arriaga. This pueblo, on the railroad to Tapachula (Guatemalan point of entry), is the logical point of shipment for motorists who wish to send their cars to that country. It is still impossible to drive all the way, there being no highway connection between Ciudad Cuauhtemoc and the Guatemalan capital. Rail freight is about 300 pesos per car. The trip is scheduled to be made in 10 hours, but often takes as long as 20. There are no Pullman accommodations, and the trip is recommended only to the hardiest of travelers.”

The author frequently found roads that were less than perfect:

“The drive from Mexico City to Acapulco includes the best and the worst roads in Mexico. Two stretches of the new freeway are now open, but beyond Iguala (the southern half of the trip) the road is in a sorry state. Although Acapulco can be reached from Iguala in from 4 to 5 hours, the trip itself is unrewarding.

“Pending completion of the new highway beyond Iguala, 5 hours or more are necessary for the 160-mile trip to Acapulco, depending on the extent of the rains and the ambition of the maintenance crew assigned to the area.”

Acapulco

The resort of Acapulco was thriving:

“The original atmosphere of the old port exists no more. There are now broad paved streets, modern stores, and dozens of hotels, several of them large luxury establishments. The beaches are crowded with people, and it is necessary to look far for the proverbial native sleeping in his hammock beneath his sombrero or lazily drinking coconut milk. There are, of course, compensations for the lost atmosphere: comfortable hotels, lively night clubs, a country club and facilities for all known water sports. And the natural beauty of the place is such that no amount of modern construction could change it.”

San Cristobal de Las Casas

The city of San Cristobal de Las Casas fascinated the author:

“The social organization of the city is the most interesting in Mexico, each trade monopolizing a different section of the city, which has its own name, patron saint, and holidays. The distinct neighborhoods also usually represent a different tribe. For example, the Aztecs who came with Mazariego stayed to found the Barrio (district) Mexicano, and today are dedicated to weaving and dyeing. In the Barrio Cerrillo dwell the blacksmiths, in Barrio Guadalupe the toymakers, in San Ramon the potters, and in Santa Lucia the makers of fireworks! Around the first part of the seventeenth century a group of malcontents from Guatemala came to town and formed their own barrio: Cuxtitali.

“The greatest interest, however, is the market where can be seen Indians from a dozen distinct tribes, each with its own type of dress.”

Curious Attractions and Indian Distances

Tell it like it is! Bashford found an unexpected attraction at the Villa Granados hotel in Tehuacan, Puebla:

“Excellent cuisine. Attentive service by Señorita Amelia. Friendly atmosphere. The antics of Genaro, the gardener, are alone worth the price of the hotel. When he is not aware of an audience, he goes about his chores singing an unending repertoire of canciones rancheros, occasionally dancing with the hose, broom, or dog.”

But don’t ask how far it is…

“To the Mexican Indian, distance is directly related to time, and therefore of no importance. When enquiring distances in the country, be prepared to accept the answer in leagues (leguas). For the uninitiated, a legua is equal to two whoops and a holler, or not quite so far as up yonder.”

Veracruz

Bashford appears to have enjoyed Veracruz, which even then had a population of over 100,000, and tells a charming tale of social one-upmanship:

“In spite of the vicissitudes of the climate, the Veracruzanos are a merry people. Immigration from all over the world has left its mark on the city, and many of the inhabitants are darker or lighter than Mexicans elsewhere, depending on the origin of their forebears. Apart from music, the only fetish of the people is gold teeth. Every small boy dreams of the day when he will be rich enough to have his teeth capped with gold. And, if he is very successful, he will someday be rich enough to have a tooth pulled and a removable replacement made. Then he will stand in the plaza in the evening, listen to other marimbas and, as the fair maidens pass, remove his tooth, polish it, and ceremoniously replace it.”

Oaxaca

One of the most extravagant tales in Bashford tells how one particular cathedral bell in Oaxaca had to be tried for heresy:

“The Holy Office held proper and exhaustive hearings, and having found the bell guilty, condemned it to be struck throughout eternity. Charles V of Spain, in hearty approval of the sentence, hastened to make a gift to Oaxaca of a clock, complete with striking mechanism. Even today the clock may be seen on the cathedral tower, periodically chastising the guilty bell.”

The Yucatan

The Yucatán Peninsula (Cancún) was still undiscovered:

“One of the most fascinating and least visited of the Mexican archeological areas is the Yucatán Peninsula, located two and a half air hours south of New Orleans, and the same distance east of Mexico City. Before the advent of the airways the peninsula was isolated to all but ocean travelers or an occasional unfortunate who fell prey to the passenger agent of the wood-burning train that from time to time made its way there. Because of its geographic isolation from the rest of Mexico, Yucatán has grown up almost independently: historically, economically, and socially it is a nation apart.”

Reference:

• Bashford, G.M. (1954) Tourist Guide to Mexico. McGraw-Hill.

Did You Know Index
Quotations © Copyright 1954 by William L. Bashford, Jr.
Commentary © Copyright 2004 by Tony Burton. All rights reserved.

The post What was Mexico like 70 years ago? appeared first on MexConnect.

In most localities November 1 is set aside for remembrance of deceased infants and children, often referred to as angelitos (little angels). Those who have died as adults are honored November 2.

Mexico's Day of the Dead

These stories are descriptive

• November 2, Day of the Dead
  Mexico honors those gone but not forgotten by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Mexico conjures spirits with picturesque ofrendas
  by Dale Palfrey
• Raising the dead
  November marks one of Mexico’s most lively traditions by Barbara Kastelein
• Los Dias de los Muertos: the Days of the Dead in Mexico
  by Judy King
• Day of the Dead or El Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca
  Beliefs and Celebrations by Maria Diaz
• Mixquic: The Day of the Dead and the Day of All Saints

Readers share their personal experiences

• Mexico’s Día de Muertos celebration: is it dying?
  by Yuri Awanohara
• A Journey With La Calaca
  A Día de los Muertos experience by Bill Begalke
• Day of the Dead: a celebration
  Rituals and traditions can provide a sense of place and timelessness by David McLaughlin
• Celebrating the Days of the Dead
  The heart speaks clearly in Michoacan by Cat Gonzalez
• Day of the Dead in Mexico
  A personal perspective by Cat Gonzalez
• Day of the dead in the cemetery: en el campo santo
  A personal view by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Hanal Pixan, Maya Day of the Dead in Pac Chen, Quintana Roo by Jane Ammeson
• Day of the Dead: death and decoration in Oaxaca
  by Stan Gotlieb
• El Panteon, cemetery in Cuernavaca
  by Maria Elena

• La Llorona: does she seek your children?
  by Maggie Van Ostrand
• Día de Muertos: the dead come to life in Mexican folk art
  by Mary Jane Gagnier Mendoza
• Mexican lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posada: Past and present
  A look at the most famous artist of the dead by Rita Pomade
• Aguascalientes’ Museum of Death welcomes you
  by Diodora Bucur
• Catrina: Skeletons take over the art of Capula, Michoacan
  by Travis Whitehead
• Day of the Dead: the calaveras of Jose Guadalupe Posada

Original short stories

• Burying Eula, a short story
  by Karen Hursh Graber
• Meeting the Bony Woman, a short story
  A fictional encounter by Catrina Farr
• The Sanchez Ghost, a short story
  by Anthony Wright

Book reviews

• The Mexican Day of the Dead and The Skeleton at the Feast
  by Elizabeth Carmichael and Chloe Sayer
  Reviewed by Alan Cogan
• Ghosts of the Palace of Blue Tiles
  by Jorge Fernández Granados
  Translated by John Oliver Simon
  Reviewed by James Tipton

Your own celebration

• Pan de muertos
  Recipe for “Day of the Dead Bread” by Karen Hursh Graber
• Your own celebration of the Day of the Dead
  Creating your own altar for November 1 by Cat Gonzales
• Activities associated with Dia de los Muertos
  Things to do around Guadalajara and Lake Chapala by Dale Hoyt Palfrey

Articles with photo galleries

• Day of the Dead, a Mexican tradition in Santiago Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca
  by Stephen Dyer Wells
• Day of the Dead in Mexican folk art
  by Mary Janer Gagnier Mendoza
• Los Dias de los Muertos: the Days of the Dead in Mexico
  by Judy King

• A journey with La Calaca: a Day of the Dead experience
  by Bill Begalke
• Through the lens: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
  with three Oaxaca picture galleries by Geri Anderson:
  • Cemeteries
  • Street scenes
  • Just for fun
• Hanal Pixan, Maya Day of the Dead in Pac Chen, Quintana Roo
  by Jane Ammeson
• Mexico’s Día de Muertos celebration: is it dying?
  Extraordinary photos of Michoacan by Yuri Awanohara
• Day of the Dead decorations in Mexico
• Day of the Dead: the calaveras of Jose Guadalupe Posada
• Day of the Dead: pictures of Oaxaca
• Day of the Dead in Chiapas, Mexico
  by Craig ‘Cisco’ Dietz
• Day of the Dead: religious manifestations in Chiapas, Mexico
  by Craig ‘Cisco’ Dietz
• Chiapas celebrates the Day of the Dead
  by Craig ‘Cisco’ Dietz
• Day of the Dead in Mexico: altars and ofrendas
  by Roy Dudley

Published or Updated on: May 10, 2021 by Index Page © 2021

The post Mexico’s Day of the Dead – resource page appeared first on MexConnect.

During the month of May…

ACAPULCO IN UNDER NINE HOURS!

WAR IS DECLARED!!

PRESIDENT FINALLY RESIGNS.

DRASTIC WATER SHORTAGES IN AZTEC CAPITAL.

May 1, 1552
A royal decree establishes four schools for natives in the province of Nueva Galicia (now Jalisco): in Guadalajara, Atoyac, Ahuacatlán and Juchipila.

1, 1917
Venustiano Carranza begins his term as President. During his three years in office (until 1920) fighting continues in much of the country – against Villa’s forces, in the north, and Zapata’s forces further south.

3, 1518
The island of Cozumel is “discovered” by Captain Juan de Grijalva. He names the island Santa Cruz island, and disembarks, “taking possession”, on May 5.

3, 1535
Hernán Cortés lands at the site of La Paz, on the Baja California Peninsula. According to some accounts, Cortés, complaining about the heat, exclaimed, in Latin, “Oh, callida fornax“, hence the name “California”.

ACAPULCO IN UNDER NINE HOURS!

3, 1928
A new speed record is set for the drive from Mexico City to Acapulco. Luis G. Armienta, a race-car driver, accompanied by a newspaper reporter, completes the 458-kilometer trip in just 8 hours and 45 minutes. Only some parts of the “highway” were paved at this time.

4, 1904
Agustín Yáñez is born. Yáñez went on to become an educator, lawyer, politician and novelist. He was Governor of Jalisco state between 1953 and 1959. His novels include Al filo del agua (The Eye of the Storm) in 1947 and Las Tierras Flacas in 1962.

5, 1804
The famous explorer, Alexander von Humboldt, traveling through the region, estimates the population of New Spain to be 6 million people.

5, 1862
The Battle of Puebla. The Republican forces of President Benito Juárez defeat the French army, thought at the time to be the best in the world. The defeat caused consternation in Europe.

5, 1990
40 passengers killed when train from Oaxaca to Mexico City derails near Oaxaca city and plunges into dry riverbed.

5, 1998
19 firefighters killed in central Puebla while battling forest fire.

6, 1517
The first Mass on Mexican soil is celebrated at an improvised altar on the shore of Campeche by the sailors accompanying Juan de Grijalva.

8, 1753
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla born on the San Vicente hacienda in Corralejo, near Pénjamo, in the state of Guanajuato. Hidalgo enters the priesthood and on September 15, 1810, while parish priest of Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo), exhorts the people to march on nearby towns. His speech marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence and Hidalgo, killed in 1811, is often labelled the “Father of Mexican Independence”.

9, 1983
More than 30 killed and dozens injured when fireworks and gunpowder explode during fiesta del Día de la Santa Cruz fair in Santa Cruz de Tlapacoya, State of México.

10, 1870
Dr. Angel Iglesias Domínguez, a pioneer of animal vaccination in Mexico, dies in Mexico City. A teacher of medicine, he was a member of the Mexican Commission that went to Europe to invite Maximilian to come to Mexico.

10, 1922
Mothers’ Day is celebrated for the first time in Mexico. The celebration is promoted by Rafael Alducin, the then Editor of the Mexico City daily Excélsior. In the U.S., the first celebration of Mothers’ Day was in 1908.

11, 1535
King Charles V of Spain decrees the founding of three Royal Mints in the New World, including one in New Spain.

WAR IS DECLARED!!

11, 1846
U.S. President James K. Polk officially declares war on Mexico. Skirmishes had broken out in the north a month earlier and U.S. troops were already on Mexican soil.

12, 1908
The musician and composer Melosio Morales dies in Mexico City. Morales composed several symphonies and operas including Romeo y Julieta (1863) and Cleopatra (1891).

13, 1942
A German submarine attacks and sinks the Mexican oil barge “Potrero de Llano” in the Gulf of Mexico. On May 28, having received no satisfactory reply to its complaint over the sinking, Mexico formally declares war on Germany and its allies Japan and Italy.

14, 1983
Miguel Alemán Valdés, president from 1946 to 1952 dies in Mexico City at the age of 79. Foreign investment boomed during his presidency, helping to finance substantial improvements to infrastructure, especially reservoirs and highways.

15, 1847
U.S. General Williams Jenkins Worth, on behalf of General Scott, takes the city of Puebla, securing the city prior to the advance on Mexico City. As a result of this war (referred to by Mexican historians as the American Intervention), the U.S. gained Texas, New Mexico and California.

15, 1918
The first celebration of Teachers’ Day, celebrated annually on this date every year since.

15, 1932
Mexico joins the League of Nations.

15, 1981
In the Volkswagen plant in Puebla, the 20 millionth VW Bug rolls off the production line.

16, 1833
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna becomes president for the first time. He goes on to serve as president no fewer than eleven times during the nineteenth century!

PRESIDENT FINALLY RESIGNS.

With the Revolution breaking out all around him, President Diaz, who has been in power almost continuously for over thirty years, announces to the nation his intention of leaving office. (May 17, 1911) Subsequently, on May 21, Diaz signs the pact of Ciudad Juarez, in which he and his vice-President resign, and his former External Affairs minister, Francisco Leon de la Barra, assumes the interim presidency. Francisco I. Madero, the Revolutionary President, also resigns (complicated times, these!) as part of the deal. The same treaty promises private persons reparations for damages suffered at the hands of revolutionary forces. After a public rally in the zócalo of Mexico City on May 24, protesting the delay in Diaz’s departure from the presidential palace, Diaz formally resigns to his own ministers (May 25) and the following day leaves, with his family, for exile in France.

16, 1946
Several homes destroyed and 28 people injured when a meteorite hits the remote village of Santa Ana, Nuevo León.

17, 2011
X-ray equipment at a checkpoint in Chiapas finds 513 illegal migrants, including 32 women and 4 children, crammed into two trucks bound for the US. 

19, 1816
The Spanish government reconsiders the expulsion of the Jesuits from New Spain (which took place in 1767) and permits them to return.

19, 1969
The country’s highest ever temperature is recorded: 59 degrees C. (in the shade!) in Nazas, Durango.

21, 1534
Juan de Zumárraga receives royal approval to found the first library in the Americas.

21, 1895
Lázaro Cárdenas is born in Jiquilpan, Michoacan, near the south-east corner of Lake Chapala. Cárdenas becomes President in 1934 and during his presidency, which lasts until 1940, nationalizes both the railroads and the oil companies.

23, 1892
The “lnteroceanic Railway” between Mexico City and Veracruz is opened. The original plan (never realized) was to continue the line to link Acapulco to Veracruz via the capital.

24, 1939
Francisco Sarabia breaks the Mexico City-New York flying time record, making the journey, non-stop, in 10 hours, 46 minutes and 5 seconds. He dies two weeks later (June 7) when engine failure causes his plane, “El Conquistador del Cielo” to fall into the Potomac river on his return flight to the U.S.

24, 1993
Shootout between rival drug gangs in parking lot at Guadalajara International Airport kills 2 gunmen, 3 bystanders and Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo and his driver who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

DRASTIC WATER SHORTAGES IN AZTEC CAPITAL.

26, 1521
As Spanish conquistador Cortés’ forces continue their siege of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, they deliberately break the Chapultepec aqueduct (the city’s main fresh water supply) in order to force the Aztecs to surrender.

27, 1937
70 killed and dozens injured when gasoline tanks explode after a mudslide near Tlalpujahua, Michoacan, buries the El Carmen and Somosa mining villages.

28, 1784
Tsunami hits Acapulco following an earthquake; dozens dead.

28, 1864
“Emperor” Maximilian and his wife, Carlotta, arrive in Veracruz (from Europe) to take the reins of the Mexican “Empire”. His reception is so cool that he has to wait another day before disembarking.

30, 1920
Bubonic plague appears in Veracruz. The outbreak is quickly brought under control by the authorities.

30, 1984
One of Mexico’s top investigative journalists, Manuel Buendia, 58 years old, is assassinated in broad daylight in the middle of a tourist zone in Mexico City. Buendia had gained a worldwide reputation for straightforward, honest reporting. No-one has ever been brought to trial for his murder.

• History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

Published or Updated on: April 27, 2020 by Tony Burton © 2008

The post Mexico this month – May appeared first on MexConnect.

During the month of April…

ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE ENCOUNTERS EVER.

ZAPATA MURDERED AFTER MOCK BATTLE

MAXIMILIAN ACCEPTS THE CROWN OF MEXICO

EPIDEMIC KILLS EARLY FEMINIST

MASSACRE AT VERACRUZ AS U.S. TRIES TO INVADE!

ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE ENCOUNTERS EVER.

April 1, 1536.
Pánfilo Narváez’s expedition had been shipwrecked off the Florida coast in 1518. After 18 years of traversing the continent, on foot, four survivors, including Alvaro Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado finally make contact with other Spaniards near the Pacific Ocean in San Miguel de Culiacán.

1, 1895
The signing of the definitive agreement defining the frontier with Guatemala.

2, 1844
The National Library is inaugurated. In 1929, its administration was handed over to the National University, UNAM.

3, 1854
The National Medical School opens its doors.

6, 1857
In Caborca, Sonora, the forces of Lorenzo Rodríguez defeat a group of filibusters led by Henry A. Crabb after six days of fighting. Crabb, who wanted to claim Sonora for himself, is killed, alongside 84 of his followers.

6, 1929
Pianist and composer Carlos J. Meneses dies in Mexico City, at the age of 66. Meneses was the first conductor of a symphony orchestra in Mexico.

9, 1779
The death of the 46th Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, occurs in Mexico City. Bucareli promoted various important scientific commissions studying the country’s natural resources.

9, 1914
Nine U.S. sailors from the battleship Dolphin, berthed off Tampico, come ashore carrying weapons and are detained (for about thirty minutes) by federal authorities. The “Tampico incident” is subsequently used by the U.S. government as a pretext to invade Mexico on April 21 (see below).

ZAPATA MURDERED AFTER MOCK BATTLE

9, 1919.

A federal colonel, Jesús M. Guajardo, manages to convince Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata that he is actually his ally by agreeing to Zapata’s request to attack the plaza of Jonacatepec. Unknown to Zapata, Guajardo agrees with Antonio Ríos Zertuche, the commander of the federal troops protecting the plaza, to stage only a mock battle. The next day (April 10) Zapata accepts an invitation to visit Guajardo’s HQ, the hacienda of San Juan Chinameca, Morelos. Even before the Honor Guard has finished playing the Arrival March, Zapata is shot to death in a hail of bullets.

MAXIMILIAN ACCEPTS THE CROWN OF MEXICO

10, 1864
In Miramar Castle, near Trieste, Maximilian of Hapsburg, Archduke of Austria, is offered the Imperial Crown of Mexico by a commission sent from Mexico City. Maximilian accepts, beginning an ill-fated three years of power before his execution in 1867.

11, 1861
Francisco González Bocanegra, who wrote the words of the Mexican National Anthem in 1854, dies in Mexico City. He was born in the city of San Luis Potosí in 1824. The music to the anthem was composed by Spanish-born Jaime Nunó.

14, 1811
In the War of Independence, an heroic feat of strength and bravery is performed by Juan Valdivia near the city of Zacatecas. He dies in agony after allowing his body to be used as a gun carriage to direct a captured cannon barrel accurately against the hacienda of San Eustaquio.

15, 1535
Hernán Cortés sets sail from Acapulco in charge of three ships to explore the Pacific coast. The Pacific Ocean was known as the Southern Sea at that time. His voyage took him to Baja California and the Sea of Cortés (Gulf of California).

15, 1928
The first fixed route airmail service is inaugurated, linking Mexico City to Tuxpan and Tampico. The company responsible, Compañia Mexicana de Transportación Aérea, is now known as Mexicana.

16, 1838
The Pastry War begins with the blockade of the port of Veracruz by the French navy. The French government demands excessive compensation for damages allegedly suffered during a riot in Mexico City ten years earlier. The Mexican government refuses to pay. In November, the French fleet bombards the port. Eventually the Mexican government capitulates and the French fleet sails off.

EPIDEMIC KILLS EARLY FEMINIST

17, 1695
The revered poetess Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz dies in a typhoid epidemic in Mexico City, at the tragically young age of 43. After learning to read at the age of three and attending University classes at the age of eight, she became one of Mexico’s greatest poets. Historians now regard her as one of the pioneers of the women’s liberation movement, since she was an active participant in discussions (previously dominated by men) concerning theological matters.

17, 1902
Jaime Torres Bodet is born in Mexico City. Torres Bodet becomes a distinguished educator, poet and diplomat, holding the cabinet position of Education Secretary on two occasions and representing Mexico in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.

19, 1940
The first Panamerican Indigenous Congress is held in the city of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Delegates approve the designation of this day each year as Panamerican Indian Day.

20, 1853
General Antonio López de Santa Anna begins his 11th (and final) term of office as President. He resigns two years later.

20, 1970
The construction begins of the planned tourist resort of Cancún, originally Can Cún.

21, 1519
On orders from Diego de Velázquez, Hernán Cortés arrives at the islet of San Juan de Ulúa, where he makes contact with the emissaries of Moctezuma. They give Cortés lavish gifts and request that he returns home. The Spaniards listen politely but hatch their own plans. The next day (April 22) they camp on the mainland, founding the village which would later be known as Villa Rica de la Vera-Cruz.

21, 1836
Texan troops, commanded by General Samuel Houston, take Mexican leader (and president on leave) General López de Santa Anna prisoner. Fearing for his life, Santa Anna orders his troops to retreat. This ends thewar against Texas and the following month (May 14) Santa Anna signs the Velasco treaty, effectively giving the “Republic of Texas” independence.

MASSACRE AT VERACRUZ AS U.S. TRIES TO INVADE!

21, 1914
The U.S., citing the Tampico incident of April 9 and the fact that German munitions are being supplied to Huerta’s forces via the port of Veracruz, tries to invade Mexico. The local people, aided by the cadets from the city’s Naval College, repel the invaders, but only after suffering heavy losses: 193 dead and 600 wounded.

22, 1992
Guadalajara suffered its worst ever disaster. Just after 10.00am, a series of huge explosions, caused by a build-up of hydrocarbons in a section of the city drainage system, tore up 15 kilometers of streets, destroying homes, stores and factories. According to official figures, more than 500 died and 800 were injured. The true figure is likely much  10,000 people were left homeless.

23, 1930
Mexico’s first Pediatric Society is founded in Mexico City.

24, 1985
Dr. Wigberto Jiménez Moreno dies in Mexico City. Jiménez Moreno was a distinguished geographer, historian, anthropologist and archeologist who held various positions in the National Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnology.

25, 1528
King Charles V of Spain awards the title of “city” to Gran Tenochtitlan, known today as Mexico City. Four years to the day later, city status is awarded to Oaxaca.

30, 1863
In Camerón, Veracruz, a French Foreign Legion regiment, facing overwhelming odds, refuses to surrender. The battle, known in France as La Bataille de Camerone, is still commemorated annually in the village of El Camerón

30, 1916
The distinguished doctor and historian, Francisco del Paso y Troncoso, born in Veracruz in 1842, dies in Florence, Italy. Among his published works was a compilation of documents relating to Mexican history in European museums and libraries.

• History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – April appeared first on MexConnect.

During the month of September . . .

7, 1949 MEXICO’S TOP MURALIST DIES.

15, 1810 CALL FROM PULPIT FOR INDEPENDENCE!

17, 1810 – 1000 PESOS FOR THEIR HEADS.

September 1, 1880 Porfirio Diaz’s government awards the concessions for building railroad lines from Mexico City to the U.S. border.

1, 1925 The inauguration of the Bank Of Mexico which will function as a central bank, the only one able to print money. On this precise date, 57 years later, in 1982, President Lopez Portillo announces the nationalization of all banks. (The banks have since been privatized again.)

1, 1969 From this date, Mexicans reaching their eighteenth birthday come of age, and assume voting rights.

3, 1783 Spain and England sign a treaty which allows the English to exploit the timber resources of Belize, formerly a Mexican province. The province is later renamed British Honduras, a name which persists until it gains independence from Britain, when it reverts to “Belize”.

4, 1781 The city of Los Angeles is founded by Felipe de Neve, governor of the Californias.

4, 1884 Francisco J. Mújica is born in Michoacán. Mújica becomes one of the key figures in the Mexican Revolution, and occupies important government posts under President Cárdenas. The town of Jiquilpan, not far from Lake Chapala, has a museum housing a permanent photographic record of both men’s achievements.

4, 1969 Line 1 of Mexico City’s “metro” (the subway) is opened. The line boasts French technology and super-quiet trains.

7, 1949 – MEXICO’S TOP MURALIST DIES.

José Clemente Orozco, the internationally famous mural painter from Guadalajara, dies in Mexico City. First recognized as a great artist in the U.S., he later painted murals in many of Guadalajara’s public buildings, including the Government Palace, the University and the Cabañas orphanage, which later became the Cabañas Cultural Institute. Orozco’s work ranks among the finest ever produced in Mexico.

8, 1546 Deposits of silver ore are discovered in the state of Zacatecas, the first such deposits to be found by the Spanish conquistadors. Coincidentally, two years to the day later, more deposits are found. This discovery leads to the founding of the city of Zacatecas.

8, 1824 The author of the music of Mexico’s national anthem, performed for the first time officially in 1854, is born in Spain. Jaime Nuño Roca lives to the ripe old age of 84.

8, 1847 Mexican forces defend Chapultepec Castle against invading U.S. troops. In the succeeding days, there are numerous acts of heroism, including that of the “Child Heroes” (which some modern day historians believe never took place!) The major battle for the castle begins on the 12th and ends on the 13th when the last remaining cadets throw themselves off the ramparts, rather than surrender.

8, 1862 Death, from typhoid fever, of General Ignacio Zaragoza (born 1829), whose forces, only four months earlier (May 5), had defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla.

9, 1847 The U.S. troops in Mexico City hang 16 Irish soldiers of the Saint Patrick’s Battalion (see August 20th for their story). More captured Irishmen are put to death on the 10th and the 13th of September, 1847.

9, 1850 The American Congress formally admits “Upper California”, as a State of the Union -leaving Mexico only “Lower (Baja) California”.

10, 1824 Colima is formally declared a “city”.

12, 1931 Mexico joins the League of Nations.

14, 1526 The city of Antequera (now known as Oaxaca) is founded by Francisco de Orozco.

15, 1498 Christopher Columbus begins his third voyage to the New World.

15, 1810 – CALL FROM PULPIT FOR INDEPENDENCE!

Father Miguel Hidalgo, and his fellow conspirators, decide to begin an armed uprising aimed at gaining independence from Spain. The days prior to the 15th have been full of intrigue and incident, with the Spanish authorities desperately trying to capture the ring-leaders. In the early morning of the 16th, Hidalgo issues his call to the people, an event commemorated today by the Independence Eve “Grito” (shout) made by the President every 15th of September. The 16th is Mexico’s “Independence Day”, a national holiday.

15, 1882 The Public Education Law makes primary education free and compulsory. Even today, all the primary school textbooks used in public schools are free.

15, 1939 The Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) was founded. During the 1990s, PAN candidates win several state governorships from the PRI party. In 2000, standing for PAN, Vicente Fox became the first opposition candidate to wrest the presidency from the PRI for more than seventy years. Fox’s term of office ends in 2006.

16, 1850 The opening of the first railway in Mexico: 11 kilometers of track between Veracruz and Molino.

16, 1869 President Benito Juárez inaugurates the railroad from Mexico City to Puebla. It takes another four years to finish the Puebla-Veracruz section of the line.

16, 1896 Mexico adopts the decimal system.

17, 1810 – 1000 PESOS FOR THEIR HEADS.

Spanish authorities offer a bounty of 1000 pesos each for the heads of Hidalgo, Allende, Aldama and Abasolo, the leaders of the Mexican Independence movement, which on that same day, installs the first independent government, in San Miguel el Grande (today San Miguel de Allende). The price on each of their heads was soon raised to $2500!

17, 1964 President Lopez Mateos opens the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. Recognized as one of the world’s outstanding museums, the building was designed by Pedro Ramirez Vazquez and is a “must see” for anyone visiting Mexico City for the first time.

19, 1553 The Spanish Crown gives a coat of arms to the city of Valladolid, today known as Morelia. This year (2001), the city will celebrate its 460th anniversary.

19, 1985 A severe earthquake, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, shakes Mexico City and surrounding states. An estimated 20,000 people lose their lives and some 3,000 buildings are damaged.

20, 1870 The National School for the Blind is founded in Mexico City.

21, 1629 Disastrous floods, with the water rising up to 2 meters in some places, cause extensive damage and loss of life in Mexico City.

25, 1493 Christopher Columbus departs from Cadiz, on his second voyage to the New World. Exactly twenty years to the day later, Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean, naming it “the Southern Sea”.

25, 1572 The first Jesuits arrive in New Spain. The Jesuits play a crucial role in the exploration of north-west Mexico, and in the early development of education and colleges.

26, 1949 After exhaustive research, Dr. Eulalia Guzmán discovers the remains of the last Aztec Emperor, Cuauhtemoc, buried in a church in the state of Guerrero.

27, 1821 Mexico formally wins independence from Spain.

27, 1862 Miguel Angel de Quevedo is born in Guadalajara. Quevedo, a road engineer, is a pioneer tree planter, and eventually becomes the Head of the Forestry department in the Agriculture Secretariat. He is sometimes referred to as the “Apostle of the Trees”.

29, 1759 The first completely new volcano to be formed in the Americas in historic times, Jorullo, commences activity. Jorullo is located in the state of Michoacán, very close to the site of the America’s second (and better known) new volcano, Paricutín.

• History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – September appeared first on MexConnect.

During the month of February . . .

SOLD? NORTHERN MEXICO CHANGES HANDS

U.S. FORCES WITHDRAW

NEW MUSICAL SYSTEM

VOLCANO ERUPTS IN FARMER’S FIELD

GREAT TEMPLE UNCOVERED

1, 1867 The Battle of San Jacinto is fought in Zacatecas between Republican forces, commanded by Mariano Escobedo, and the Imperialist forces of Miguel Miramón. The Republicans win, and take about 500 prisoners, including 139 French soldiers and general Miramón.

2, 1530 Hernán Cortés commissions Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán to conquer the “interior”. Guzmán rapidly advances through what are now the states of Michoacán and Jalisco.

SOLD? NORTHERN MEXICO CHANGES HANDS

2, 1848 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed in Mexico City, between Mexico and the U.S., putting an end to the U.S. Intervention. As a result of the treaty, Mexico has to exchange huge territories (2 million square kilometers) in the north (Texas north of the River Bravo/Grande, New Mexico, Upper California) for 15 million pesos.

2, 1859 Mexico’s youngest president ever, Miguel Miramón, just 27 years old, assumes office. On August 13 the following year, he is succeeded by 69-year-old José Ignacio Pavón, the nation’s oldest ever president.

2, 1861 The government of Benito Juárez passes the “Printing Law”, which enshrines the freedom to write and print anything provided it does not infringe respect for privacy, morality and public order.

3, 1814 Mariano Matamoros (born Mexico City August 14, 1770), priest and Independence leader, is executed in Morelia.

3, 1939 By decree of President Lázaro Cárdenas, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is created, Its first director is the archaeologist Alfonso Caso.

4, 1402 Nezahualcóyotl, son of king Ixtlilxóchitl, is born in the city of Texcoco. He ascends to the throne in 1431, reorganizes the kingdom and rebuilds the city. He becomes famous as a poet, philosopher, orator and legislator.

5, 1590 Friar Bernardino de Sahagún (Bernardino Ribeira) dies in Tlatelolco, Mexico City. De Sahagún was a missionary, educator and historian who arrived in New Spain in 1529. He was a strong advocate for Indian rights.

5, 1857 A new Constitution is proclaimed. It takes effect September 16, 1857.

5, 1861 Regulations are published for the nationalization of church property.

5, 1917 A new Constitution is proclaimed, that supersedes that of 1857. It takes effect May 1, 1917 and remains in effect to this day.

U.S. FORCES WITHDRAW

6, 1917 The punitive expedition of U.S. general Pershing crosses the border back into the U.S. after eleven months in Mexico. The original motive for the incursion was to locate and apprehend Francisco (Pancho) Villa in retaliation for Villa’s attack on Columbus on March 9, 1916.

7, 1864 The internationally renowned pianist and composer Ricardo Castro is born in the city of Durango. He becomes director of the National Conservatory prior to his death in Mexico City on November 28, 1907.

7, 1903 Ricardo López Méndez is born in Izamal, Yucatán. He is best remembered for his exquisite poetry, including “Mexico, I believe in you”. Many of his poems are later transformed into popular songs.

8, 1847 The invading forces of the U.S., commanded by General Scott arrive in the port of Veracruz.

8, 1969 A meteorite, estimated to be 4 million years old, older than any previous known meteorite in Mexico, falls on the Valle of Allende in Chihuahua.

10, 1818 The birth in Mexico City of Guillermo Prieto, who becomes a poet, dramatist, and liberal politician. He holds numerous government positions and is a staunch supporter of the Reform Movement. He dies March 2, 1897.

12, 1779 The frigates “Princesa” and “Favorita” set sail from San Blas to explore the northern Pacific coast as far as San Francisco.

14, 1781 Valentín Gómez Farías is born in Guadalajara, Jalisco. A strong supporter of independence, Gómez Farías goes on to become President on five occasions. He dies in Mexico City July 5, 1858.

14, 1831 Vicente Guerrero is executed at Cuilapan, Oaxaca, on the orders of President Anastasio Bustamante.

15, 1775 Miguel Ramos Arizpe is born in Valle de San Nicolás (now called Ramos Arizpe) in Coahuila. Ramos Arizpe becomes a distinguished priest, lawyer, diplomat and politician. Elected Deputy to the Spanish Court in 1810, he defends Mexico’s right to seek independence. He dies a National Hero in Mexico City, April 28, 1843.

15, 1865 The first issue of “The Liberal Party” is published in Mexico City.

NEW MUSICAL SYSTEM

15, 1925 In Mexico City’s Teatro Principal, the world is introduced to the musical novelty of the moment: “El Sonido Trece”, invented by violinist and composer Julián Carrillo Trujillo (born in Ahualulco, San Luis Potosí in 1875). The revolutionary sound is based on a system comprised of smaller divisions than a semitone. Carrillo dies in Mexico City on September 9, 1965.

17, 1519 Hernán Cortés and his crew set foot on the island of Cozumel after crossing the ocean from Cuba.

17, 1877 General Porfirio Díáz regains office as President. After 1884, Díaz remains in power continuously until he is forced out on May 25, 1911, as the Mexican Revolution gets under way.

17, 1907 President Díaz opens the Central Post Office Building in Mexico City, a beautiful building designed by Italian architect Adamo Boari with help from Gonzalo Garita.

18, 1913 On the orders of Victoriano Huerta, Francisco I. Madero and José María Pino Suárez, President and Vice- President respectively, are apprehended and forced to resign.

19, 1862 The Soledad Agreement is signed in Soledad, Veracruz, by representatives of Mexico, France, England and Spain. The agreement recognizes the government of Benito Juárez, and the European powers promise to discuss their foreign debt demands and restrict their troops to Tehuacán, Córdoba and Orizaba. However, the French government subsequently refuses to ratify the agreement and sends its troops into the interior of Mexico.

19, 1880 Álvaro Obregón is born in Navojoa, Sonora. Obregón becomes a distinguished soldier and politician , who becomes President in 1920. Later, shortly after assuming the presidency for a second time, he is assassinated (July 28, 1928) in Mexico City.

20, 1905 Tobacco workers come out on strike in Jalapa, Veracruz. They seek higher wages and shorter working days.

VOLCANO ERUPTS IN FARMER’S FIELD

20, 1943 A brand-new volcano, subsequently called Paricutín, erupts in a farmer’s field in Michoacan. It attracts world-wide attention. In succeeding years of eruption, two villages, Paricutin and San Juan Parangaricutirimícuaro are lost beneath the lava.

21, 1910 The Mexican Red Cross is created. Its first director is Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, a physician from Guanajuato.

23, 1847 The Battle of la Angostura, fought on many fronts between Mexicans and U.S. invaders, comes to an abrupt end. The Battle appears to have been won by the home team, but that night their leader, Santa Anna, inexplicably orders his troops to retreat, leaving the enemy victorious.

24, 1534 The first geographic division of New Spain is established. There are four provinces: México, Michoacán, Coatzacoalcos and the Mixtecas, in addition to the (imprecise) territories of Tabasco and Yucatán.

24, 1561 Puebla receives, by royal assent, its “city” status.

24, 1821 The Plan of Iguala (or of the “Three Guarantees”) is proclaimed in Iguala, Guerrero by generals Vicente Guerrero and Agustín de Iturbide. The plan proclaims the independence of Mexico and has the motto, “Independence, Union and Religion”. One year to the day later, work begins in Mexico City on a new constitution.

24, 1936 One of Mexico’s most powerful trade union groupings, the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM) is founded by Vicente Lombardo Toledano.

GREAT TEMPLE UNCOVERED

24, 1978 During renovations for a building in downtown Mexico City, the ruins are uncovered of the Great Temple, the most important building in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Prior to the discovery, it had been thought that all Aztec constructions had been deliberately obliterated by later colonial buildings.

25, 1732 Tidal waves smash onto the Pacific coast, flooding Acapulco and many other ports, alarming the local populace.

25, 1775 The “Monte de Piedad” (National Pawn Shop) is founded in Mexico City by Pedro Romero de Terreros, the first Count of Regla and one of the richest men in Mexico. It continues to play a vital role in the lives of many citizens to this day.

26, 1854 Porfirio Parra is born in the city of Chihuahua. Parra becomes a distinguished medic, philosopher, novelist and scientist. He dies in Mexico City July 5, 1912.

27, 1882 José Vasconcelos is born in Oaxaca City. He becomes internationally known as an educator, historian and liberal politician and author of many books. He dies in Mexico City June 30, 1959.

28, 1525 Aztec Emperor Cuauhtemoc is executed at Itzancánac, in the modern-day state of Tabasco, on the orders of the leader of the conquistadores, Hernán Cortés. Cuauhtemoc had organized an heroic defense of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.

• History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – February appeared first on MexConnect.

During the month of January . . .

CALIFORNIANS REVOLT

STRIKERS SHOT TO DEATH

MAN TAKES TO THE AIR

MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES SOUTHERN MEXICO

RAILROAD RIVAL TO THE PANAMA CANAL

ARRIVAL OF FIRST JAPANESE AMBASSADOR

NEW CONSTITUTION APPROVED

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: JANUARY

1, 1857 Conservative general Tomás Mejía assaults the British consulate in San Luis Potosí and steals $240,000. The British government subsequently demands that this sum be included in the external debt owed them by President Juárez.

1, 1873 The birth in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, of the Mexican novelist, Mariano Azuela, who won the national literature prize in 1949. Azuela’s single most famous work, still widely read, is “Los de Abajo” (The Underdogs). Azuela dies March 1, 1952, in Mexico City.

1, 1873 The opening of the railroad linking Mexico City to the Gulf coast port of Veracruz.

1, 1994 The start of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) uprising led by “Subcomandante Marcos” in Chiapas.

CALIFORNIANS REVOLT

2, 1838 The people of “Upper California”, especially those in Los Angeles, persist in disobeying Mexican laws, and claim independence from Mexico. They don’t achieve it until 1847.

2, 1863 Lucía Zárate is born in San Carlos, and weighs in at 1.1 kilos. A glandular problem causes him to grow very slowly and he becomes the world’s lightest ever adult, weighing only 2.1 kilos at age 17 and 5.9 kilos at age 20. He dies in 1889, aged 26.

5, 1543 The Spanish priest, Bartolomé de las Casas, arrives in Campeche. During the early colonial period, De las Casas is known as one of the greatest defenders and recorders of Indian traditions and lifestyles.

5, 1864 French troops, under the command of Castagny, capture the city of Guadalajara.

6, 1536 The College of Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco is founded, to provide higher education for the “natives of these lands”. Sixty students begin classes.

6, 1862 The English fleet joins the French fleet in the port of Veracruz. Supported by Spain, the two countries launch a joint intervention as a result of President Juárez’s decision to suspend payments on Mexico’s foreign debt.

STRIKERS SHOT TO DEATH

7, 1907 The strike of Río Blanco, in the state of Veracruz. Textile workers strike after President Díaz rejects their petition for better salaries, shorter hours and improved working conditions. The strike is crushed by brutal force; many men, women and children are massacred.

7, 1986 The death in Mexico City of Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, better known as Juan Rulfo, one of Mexico’s foremost novelists. His two best known works are Pedro Páramo and Llano en Llamas (The Burning Plain).

8, 1824 Francisco González Bocanegra is born in San Luis Potosí. He becomes a distinguished literary figure and the author of the words of the National Anthem. He dies in Mexico City April 11, 1861.

MAN TAKES TO THE AIR

8, 1910 Alberto Braniff pilots the first flight in Mexico. His plane, the “Voisin”, built by Gabriel Voisin in Paris, takes off from the Balbuena plains near Mexico City and flies for 1.5 kilometers, reaching a velocity of 56 kilometers an hour and the dizzy height of 25 meters.

9, 1521 The last Aztec Emperor, Cuauhtémoc, begins his reign. There is no ceremony since the Aztecs are busy trying to fend off the Spanish conquistadors.

11, 1847 The Cahuenga Treaty which gives control of Alta California to the U.S., is signed by Spanish General Andrés Pico, governor of Alta California, and General John C. Fremont. Pico later becomes an American citizen and a California state senator.

11, 1861 Finally victorious in the bloody Three Years (or Reform) War, Benito Juárez enters Mexico City as president, re-establishing federal powers.

11, 1962 The country’s record low temperatures are recorded, in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. At Ciudad Juárez, the mercury drops to -23 degrees C; Ahumada records minus 29 degrees C.

12, 1571 On this black day, King Phillip II of Spain establishes the Inquisition in New Spain, to investigate and punish those with “incorrect” beliefs and customs.

13, 1916 The death in El Paso, Texas, of Victoriano Huerta, who had been responsible for the assassination of Francisco Ignacio Madero and José María Pino Suárez, respectively the national President and Vice-president.

13, 1920 Dr. Eduardo Liceaga dies in Mexico City. Liceaga had fought for the installation of potable water and drainage systems in Mexico City. In 1904, he led the successful campaign to stamp out an outbreak of bubonic plague in Mazatlán. Liceaga also brought the first anti- rabies vaccine into Mexico, after meeting Dr. Louis Pasteur.

14, 1811 The China Boat (also known as the Manila Galleon) arrives in the Pacific coast port of San Blas after its last voyage from Asia to New Spain, now in the throws of the War of Independence.

14, 1831 José Antonio Facio, War Minister in President Bustamante’s government, conspires with Francisco Picaluga to assassinate General Vicente Guerrero. For 50,000 pesos in gold, Picaluga invites Guerrero to a meal aboard his boat, “Colombo”, anchored off Acapulco. Guerrero is taken prisoner and the boat sails for Huatulco, Oaxaca, where Guerrero is handed over for summary trial and (February 14) execution.

14, 1866 The National Music Conservatory is founded.

14, 1916 Venustiano Carranza declares that Francisco Villa, Rafael Castro and Pablo López are outlaws as a consequence of Castro and López raiding a train in Santa Isabel, Chihuahua on January 10, killing 15 people including U.S. miners on their way to Casihuariachic.

MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES SOUTHERN MEXICO

14, 1931 A strong earthquake (6 degrees on the Mercalli intensity scale) rocks much of Mexico for four minutes, with damage reported in numerous states, from Tabasco to Guerrero and from Chiapas to Guanajuato.

16, 1902 A strong earth tremor destroys much of Chilpancingo, the capital city of the state of Guerrero, with heavy loss of life and considerable property damage.

17, 1811 Insurgent forces, led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, lose the decisive battle of Calderón to Royalist troops. Thousands are killed; Hidalgo and other insurgent leaders take flight for northern Mexico but are subsequently captured and executed.

17, 1821 The government of New Spain gives permission to the U.S. citizen Moses Austin, to colonize, with 300 friends and relatives, the territory of Texas. The only requirement is that the families must be of Catholic faith and citizens of a European country.

18, 1911 The U.S. Navy has to abandon its Magdalena Bay base in Baja California Sur, when the base’s permit, originally conceded by President Diáz, expires.

18, 1915 More than 600 people are killed in a train crash near Guadalajara, Jalisco.

18, 1955 Luis Enrique Erro, a renowned novelist, journalist, politician and astronomer, dies in Mexico City, where he had been born January 7, 1897. Erro was the founder, in 1941, of the National Observatory of Tonanzintla, in Puebla.

20, 1523 The city of Colima (now the capital of the state of the same name) is founded.

21, 1656 The city of Querétaro (the capital of the state of the same name) is founded.

21, 1779 Ignacio Allende y Unzaga is born in San Miguel el Grande (today known as San Miguel de Allende) in the state of Guanajuato. Allende becomes one of the leaders of the Independence movement, but is captured and executed in Chihuahua on August 1, 1811.

21, 1876 Rubén M. Campos, a poet, novelist, and composer of folkloric music, is born in Ciudad Manuel Doblado, Guanajuato.

21 1881 Manuel Orozco y Berra (born June 8, 1816) dies in Mexico City. Orozco y Berra was an agricultural engineer, geologist and archaeologist who was president for many years of the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics.

22, 1889 Rafael Alducin is born in San Andrés Chalchicomula, (now known as Ciudad Serdán) in the state of Puebla. In 1917 (March 18), Alducin founds the national daily “Excelsior”. He uses the paper later to promote the idea of “Mother’s Day” (“Día de la Madre”), which is celebrated for the first time in 1922. Alducin dies in Mexico City on March 29, 1924.

23, 1905 Antonio Bribiesca Castellanos is born in Mexico City. A celebrated guitarist, he is considered the true creator of the Mexican six-chord guitar sound.

RAILROAD RIVAL TO THE PANAMA CANAL

23, 1907 President Porfirio Díaz inaugurates the port of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and the railroad line across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, between Salina Cruz and the port of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

23, 1929 The medic, historian, museographer and writer Nicolás León (born December 6, 1859, in Quiroga, Michoacán) dies in Mexico City. León wrote widely on anthropology and history. He authored 344 published works and 75 unpublished works, as well as 9 translations into Spanish.

24, 1774 The expedition led by Junípero Serra sets sail from the port of San Blas towards the Californias.

25, 1553 The Royal University of Mexico (Real Universidad de México) begins to offer courses, in line with a royal decree issued by King Carlos V.

ARRIVAL OF FIRST JAPANESE AMBASSADOR

25, 1614 Rokuemon Hasekura becomes the first Japanese ambassador to the New World and Europe, arriving in Acapulco with 180 countrymen to discuss commercial relations with New Spain and Spain. Parts of Hasekura’s expedition are incorporated into Shusaku Endo’s historical novel “Samurai”.

25, 1868 Juventino Rosas is born in Santa Cruz de Galeana, Guanajuato. Rosas becomes a violin virtuoso and a prolific composer. His single best-known work is the waltz, “Sobre las Olas”. Rosas dies in poverty, at a tragically young age, in Batabanó, Cuba, on July 13, 1894.

26, 1938 The first female doctor in Mexico, Matilde Montoya (born in Mexico City May 14, 1859), dies in her native city. She became a surgeon in 1887 and spent most of her working life in Cuernavaca and Puebla.

28, 1875 Julián Carrillo Trujillo is born in Ahualulco, San Luis Potosí. He becomes an innovative musician, responsible for one of Mexico’s major contributions to the musical world: “sonido 13”.

28, 1934 Gregorio Torres Quintero, educator, writer and historian, born in Colima, dies in Mexico City. Torres Quintero developed the “onomatopoeic method” for teaching, which led to considerable educational progress and remained in use for decades.

NEW CONSTITUTION APPROVED

31, 1917 After 66 regular working sessions, and one extraordinary session lasting three days, the new federal constitution is finally approved by the 184 representatives in Querétaro. The new constitution is promulgated on February 5, which is still celebrated annually by the “Constitution Day” national holiday.

History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – January appeared first on MexConnect.

COUNTRY’S LEADING ARCHITECT DIES IN CHOLERA EPIDEMIC.

During the month of October. . .

MASSACRE IN MEXICO CITY.

DISCONTENT AT PRESIDENT’S REELECTION

GREAT NEW WORLD DISCOVERED!

“DEAR KING, WE NOW CONTROL THE COUNTRY…”

MOTHER ORDERS EMPEROR TO STAY PUT!

U.S. GIVES BACK DISPUTED TERRITORY.

October 1, 1542 The decision is made to refound the city of Guadalajara in its present location, in the valley of Atemajac. Three previous attempts to found the city had not prospered, but the site chosen this time proved more propitious.

2, 1535 The first Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, sails into the port of Veracruz, to assume his post. He continues as Viceroy until 1550.

MASSACRE IN MEXICO CITY.

2, 1968 Only ten days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in the city, a rally in the Plaza of the Three Cultures, Tlatelolco, is brought to a violent end when security forces open fire on students. Hundreds of students are killed and many more are seriously wounded.

• Tlatelolco-Then and Now – resource page with links

2, 1976 Hurricane Liza, with winds up to 210 kilometers an hour, roars across the Baja California peninsula and rips into Mazatlan, causing more than 600 deaths, many of them due to the collapse of an earth dam near La Paz.

3, 1824 The first Federal Constitution of the United States of Mexico is approved by the Congress of the Union. The next day, it becomes law, making Mexico a democratic Republic comprised of nineteen States, four Territories and a Federal District. Present-day Mexico is comprised of thirty-one states and the Federal District.

3, 1865 Emperor Maximilian signs a decree by which enemy soldiers can be shot within twenty-four hours of capture by his imperialist forces. General Bazaine, who first proposed the idea, immediately orders his troops to shoot first and forget about prisoners!

3, 1875 Gerardo Murrillo (who later changes his name to Dr. Atl) is born in Guadalajara. Atl becomes a writer, painter, vulcanologist and indefatigable campaigner for the creation of a “super-city” for the artistic and intellectual elite. He was a leading figure in the Mexican art revolution of the early twentieth century.

DISCONTENT AT PRESIDENT’S REELECTION

4, 1910 General Porfirio Díaz claims to have been reelected President for the period 1910-16, having already been in power, virtually without a break, for thirty years. The resulting public discontent sees Francisco “Pancho” Villa taking up arms in Chihuahua, in support of Madero’s belief that re-election should not be legal. So begins the Mexican Revolution.

4, 1974 The Territory of Southern Baja California is officially declared a State, as of October 8.

6, 1910 Francisco Madero, recently escaped from prison in San Luis Potosí, launches his campaign of “Free Vote – No Reelection”, a slogan still stamped on innumerable government documents even today. The same day (just by coincidence) the National Seismological Service is inaugurated in Mexico City for the study of earthquakes. The next few years see plenty of upheavals, both political and geological…

6, 1972 A terrible train wreck, near Saltillo, results in the deaths of 208 passengers. More than 1,200 are injured.

9, 1870 Because of an epidemic, the capital of the State of Guerrero (which includes the resort port of Acapulco) is relocated from Tixtla to Chilpancingo.

10, 1914 A National Revolutionary Convention is held in Aguascalientes (in the Morelos Theater) at which followers of Madero, Carranza, Villa and Zapata agree to nominate Eulalio Gutiérrez as President.

GREAT NEW WORLD DISCOVERED!

12, 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovers” the New World, landing on the island of Guanahani, which he baptized San Salvador (today Watling Island). This day is still a Mexican National holiday, “Dia de La Raza”.

12, 1921 The first Secretary of Education takes office. José Vasconcelos gains international renown as a dynamic and progressive educator.

12, 1968 The XIX Olympiad opens in Mexico City. One of the outstanding performances at these games was the long-jump by American Bob Beaman of 8.90 meters (29.2 feet), which broke the previous World and Olympic records by an astonishing 2 feet. Beaman’s record will last until 1990. The long-jump is won by American Dick Fosbury, whose distinctive headfirst “Fosbury Flop” method is now widely used.

13, 1527 Pope Clement VII orders the construction of a cathedral in Mexico City. The present cathedral, built very near the former Great Temple, was begun in 1573.

“DEAR KING, WE NOW CONTROL THE COUNTRY…”

15, 1524 From the former Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, Hernán Cortés sends his fourth Letter to King Charles V of Spain, detailing the exploration and conquest of Oaxaca, Tabasco, Michoacán and Colima. He proposes a voyage to explore Baja California and to reach the Strait of Magellan. 173 years to the day later, the town of Loreto, which becomes the capital of the Californias, is founded by Father Juan María de Salvatierra.

16, 1916 A National Military factory is created, for the production of arms. Arms production is placed in the hands of civilians, not soldiers.

17, 1953 Mexican women are accorded the full rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in elections and right to hold elected office.

18, 1586 The English pirate, Sir Francis Drake, captures the Manila Galleon (or China Boat) off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California.

19, 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo, proclaims freedom for slaves and the abolition of the tribute system.

19, 1847 Following an intense bombardment of the port by ships of the American Navy, 600 U.S. Marines capture Guaymas.

20, 1695 Popocatepetl, the volcano just outside Mexico City, erupts for the first time in thirty years. The volcano has renewed activity in recent years, prompting mass evacuations of nearby villages on several occasions.

20, 1820 The U.S. and Mexico sign a treaty by which the Mexican Territory of Florida becomes part of the U.S.

20, 1895 The National Census reveals a total population in the country of 12,570,195 inhabitants. 105 years later, the 2000 census finds a population of 97.5 million.

MOTHER ORDERS EMPEROR TO STAY PUT!

21, 1866 Emperor Maximilian, in Orizaba, Veracruz, is thinking about abandoning his Mexican Empire when he receives a letter from his mother, the Empress Sophia, telling him that he would be unwelcome in Vienna, and would be better advised to defend his “throne” in Mexico.

21, 1918 An outbreak of Spanish influenza hits the city of Monterrey.

22, 1575 The city of Aguascalientes is founded.

22, 1981 The North-South dialogue, convened by Mexican President José López Portillo, is held in Cancún. Twenty-two heads of state attend.

23, 1821 Mexican Independence is proclaimed.

24, 1533 Hernán Cortés arrives in Manzanillo to see his “Southern Ocean” expedition set sail.

25, 1767 The Jesuits, expelled from New Spain, leave for exile from Veracruz harbor. Most of them go to Italy.

U.S. GIVES BACK DISPUTED TERRITORY.

27, 1967 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson hands back 333 hectares of land near El Paso, known as “El Chamizal”, to his Mexican counterpart Gustavo Díaz Ordaz. This land had been in dispute since 1864, after the Rio Bravo (or Rio Grande as the U.S. calls it) changed its course.

28, 1624 A Dutch pirate fleet, waiting at anchor in Acapulco for the arrival of the China Boat, with the intention of capturing it, gets tired of waiting, and sets sail for the East Indies.

28, 1937 The Mexican Anthropology Society is founded. As well as social anthropologists, this society includes ethnologists, linguists and archaeologists.

28, 1821 The Province of Costa Rica, Central America, proclaims its independence from Spain, and its adherence to the Mexican Empire.

30, 1915 The Observatory of Tacubaya (Mexico City) opens a new section dedicated to Geographical and Climatological studies.

31, 1861 The London Convention. The leaders of France, Spain and England sign a treaty for joint intervention in Mexico. They agree to send in their armed forces in order to reclaim the debts that Mexico has with their countries, payments on which were suspended by Benito Juárez on June 17.

History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – October appeared first on MexConnect.

During the month of July . . .

DOWN WITH DICTATORS! NO MORE RE-ELECTION!

MEXICAN NIGHTINGALE DIES – NATION MOURNS

FIRST U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO

DEATH OF A GREAT LEADER.

SPANISH INVASION!

July 1, 1823. At the Congress of the United Provinces of Central America, held in Guatemala City, it is decided that Nicaragua and Guatemala (who had joined Mexico of their own volition on January 5, 1822) should be separate entities. The Province of Chiapas votes in favor of remaining with Mexico.

1, 1968 Disturbances and strikes begin in various colleges and universities in Mexico City. Three months later, security forces open fire on a rally of unarmed students, killing hundreds and wounding many more.

DOWN WITH DICTATORS! NO MORE RE-ELECTION!

2, 1915 Porfirio Diaz (born September 15, 1830) dies in Paris. Diaz was President for more than 30 years, serving a total of 7 terms from 1877-1880 and 1884-1911. His rule ended with the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution. A much decorated General, Diaz had fought against the Americans (1847), the French (1862-4) and the Imperialists (1864-7). The nation’s railroad and highway system were greatly improved by his administration. His critics demanded “No more re-election”. Today, Mexican presidents are not allowed to serve more than one six-year term in office.

3, 1852 The famous engraver and print-maker, José Guadalupe Posada, is born in the city of Aguascalientes. Posada’s popular art, featuring “calaveras” or skeleton figures, influenced Orozco and Rivera. A museum in Aguascalientes commemorates his highly productive life.

3, 1868 Alfonso Herrera is born in Mexico City. He becomes an eminent teacher and natural historian and helps establish the Botanical Gardens in 1922 and the Chapultepec Zoo the following year, both in Mexico City.

4, 1952 The death of famed novelist José Ruben Romero (born 1890 in Cotija de la Paz, Michoacan). Romero worked in a variety of fields including journalism, the diplomatic service, and as university dean. His most famous work is “La vida inútil of Pito Pérez”.

6, 1824 Chihuahua is formally declared a free and sovereign State.

6, 1840 Jose Maria Velasco, the world-famous Mexican landscape painter, is born. Velasco won an award at the 1892 Chicago World Fair. Inspiration for his classical paintings came from the volcanic and valley landscapes of central Mexico. Trivia item: Velasco had 13 sons.

MEXICAN NIGHTINGALE DIES – NATION MOURNS

5, 1845 The birth of Angela Peralta, Mexico’s most famous female Opera singer ever. Known as the “Mexican Nightingale”, she spends several years in Europe and then returns to tour Mexico. She is the opening-night star at several theaters, including the Degollado Theater in Guadalajara in 1883. Her career is cut short when she dies of cholera while in Mazatlan shortly afterwards.

6, 1917 Mexico’s first airmail service is inaugurated, between the mining town of Pachuca and Mexico City. The fifty minute flight carries 534 letters and 61 postcards! Mexico’s first airmail postage stamp is not issued until five years later, in 1922.

9, 1929 The National University is awarded “Autonomous” status by presidential decree. From this date the university is formally known as the U.N.A.M. (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).

10, 1519 Hernan Cortes sends a letter to King Charles V of Spain notifying him of the founding of Villa Rica, Veracruz, the first “new” settlement in Spanish territories in the Americas. Accompanying the letter are various unusual gifts including several aboriginals.

12, 1530 The Government of New Spain passes a law which prohibits native Mexicans from using or owning horses. Legend has it that the first woman to ride a horse had been Eréndira, a niece of the Tarascan Indian Emperor, about ten years earlier.

FIRST U.S. AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO

12, 1825 Joel Poinsett presents his credentials as the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico to President Guadalupe Victoria. Poinsett is better remembered for having introduced the Nochebuena plant (known today as the poinsettia) to the U.S.

12, 1902 Jesús Contreras, famous as a sculptor, dies in Mexico City at the age of 36. Contreras was a prolific worker despite having only one arm. Several of his statues can be seen adorning Avenida Reforma, one of Mexico City’s principal avenues.

13, 1745 Eduardo Tresguerras is born in Celaya. Tresguerras becomes one of the country’s top artists and architects. Examples of his neoclassic chapels, fountains and monuments can be seen in many central Mexican states, including Querétaro and Guanajuato.

13, 1883 José Rosas Moreno dies in León, Guanajuato. Rosas Moreno was an illustrious educator, poet and journalist, widely considered the finest writer of fables Mexico has ever seen. His birthplace was renamed Lagos de Moreno in his honor.

13, 1894 The composer and violinist Juventino Rosas dies in poverty in Cuba. Rosas (born 1868) performed in public from the age of 7 and was a prolific composer whose works included the immortal waltz “Sobre las Olas” (Over the Waves), originally called “Junto al Manantial”, which he sold for just 17 pesos. At the age of 15, he accompanied Angela Peralta on her last tour (see July 5).

15, 1867 President Benito Juárez enters Mexico City in triumph, after fighting the French and defeating the supporters of Maximilian. This signals the start of the Mexican Republic.

16, 1826 The United Kingdom finally recognizes the Independence of Mexico. Independence from Spain had been “achieved” or “granted” (depending on which side of the Atlantic you come from) in 1821.

16, 1944 Mexico’s 201 Air Squadron leaves for training in the U.S. before entering the campaign against the Japanese on April 30, 1945.

DEATH OF A GREAT LEADER.

18, 1872 President Benito Juárez dies while still in office. Considered one of Mexico’s finest ever politicians, Juárez came from a humble background in the state of Oaxaca. He rises through the ranks of state politics to become State Governor and enters the national political arena as Justice Minister in 1855. He becomes national President in 1858. Reelected in 1861, he faces an international diplomatic crisis that same year when he announces a suspension of foreign debt payments. Settlements are reached with England and Spain but France invades Mexico the following year. Subsequently, Juárez leads the fight against Emperor Maximilian and regains the presidency in 1867.

20, 1520 The Spanish Conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortes, enter the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan and begin to destroy the city, house by house.

20, 1923 Francisco “Pancho” Villa dies in Hidalgo de Parral, Chihuahua. He was one of the most formidable figures in the Mexican Revolution. On one occasion in 1916, he even crossed into the U.S. to attack the fort in Columbus, New Mexico, in retaliation for the U.S.’s recognition of Carranza as President.

22, 1800 Manuel Lopez Cotilla is born in Guadalajara. Lopez Cotilla becomes a distinguished politician and educator, and is responsible for developing noteworthy textbooks.

23, 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo makes known to his fellow conspirators (Allende, Aldama, Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Abasolo and others) his plans for starting a rebellion against Spain, designed to result in an independent Mexico.

24, 1888 By decree, the city formerly known as Paso del Norte in Chihuahua is renamed Ciudad Juárez, in honor of Benito Juárez.

SPANISH INVASION!

26, 1829 Spanish expeditionary forces, 4000 strong and led by General Isidro Barradas, land on the coast of Veracruz hoping to reestablish Spanish control over Mexico. They surrender September 11.

27, 1529 Charles V of Spain grants Hernan Cortes the land on which the National Palace stands today, in the center of Mexico City.

27, 1780 Anastasio Bustamante, who became President of Mexico on three occasions during the nineteenth century, is born in Jiquilpan, Michoacan.

28, 1957 A strong earthquake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, rocks Mexico City early in the morning. Some 60 residents lose their lives. A well-known monument on Avenida Reforma, the “Angel of Independence”, falls off its pedestal, crashing onto the road below.

30, 1811 Father Miguel Hidalgo, the leader of the Mexican independence movement, is executed in the city of Chihuahua. Hidalgo began the insurgent movement against the Spanish in the early hours of September 16, 1810. He arrived in Guadalajara in December of that same year, and his proclamation guaranteeing freedom for slaves was the earliest issued anywhere in the western world.

• History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña, published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

The post Mexico this month – July appeared first on MexConnect.