New Money Commemorates 2010
Commemorating the centenary of the Revolution and the bicentennial of the Independence of Mexico there are new banknotes of 100 and 200 pesos. The Bank of Mexico Governor, Guillermo Ortiz, said that the new paper money will have the dual mission of serving as circulating money and collectors’ items. To reinforce the latter, he made...
Ruta 2010
If you have travelled the roads of Mexico recently, it is likely you have encountered signs that say, RUTA 2010… What does it mean? In 2010, Mexico will be celebrating the bicentenary of their National Independence and the centenary of the Mexican Revolution. To celebrate this, the Government has chosen six historical routes to commemorate...
A Brief History of Independence & Revolution
The Mexican Revolution of 1910, remains one of a kind in 100 years of social uprising and anti-colonial struggle… The year 2010, marks the 200-year anniversary of the beginning of Mexico’s fight for Independence from Spain and the 100-year anniversary of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, making it a very big year to celebrate,...
The Mexican National Anthem
The Sunday night national radio hour in Mexico is not an exciting affair. A bit like NPR’s This American Life (minus the forced quirkiness), the weekly program gives government broadcasters a chance to clue listeners in to, for instance, a new health program in some state far, far away. Not surprisingly, most Mexicans tune out....
The Four Generals of the revolution
The Mexican Revolution, although taking place in the second decade of the twentieth century, is still very much alive in the minds of Mexicans. The bloody civil war pitted the rich against the poor, the clergy against the faithless, and the landowners against the landless. When all was said and done, one million Mexicans had...
The Incredible Trajectory of Benito Juarez
Scour the annals of Mexican history, from Independence through the present day, and you will find no man more admired than Benito Juarez. The 19th-century president is almost universally beloved by his forebears, with only those unaware of him withholding their veneration. A full-blooded Indian from humble origins, Juarez dedicated his career to modernizing Mexico,...
Quetzalcoatl – The Feathered Serpent God of the Aztecs
When you think of Mexican mythology, you might not think of flying dragons, but nevertheless in Mexico’s pre-Hispanic recollections there exists a mythical god who was symbolized as a flying dragon, or also called, a feathered serpent, or the Quetzal-like flying snake. In the native Nahuatl Aztec tongue, the name was Quetzalcoatl, also known in...
Aztec Mythology
The Aztec empire, which once dominated what is now Central Mexico, fell to the Spanish conquistadors in 1521. Yet, to this day we are constantly reminded of Mexico’s Aztec past in many ways. Among the most visible examples are the replicas of the Aztec Sun Stone (commonly known as the Aztec calendar) and other works...
The Popol Vuh and the Mayan Creation Myth
The Popol Vuh is the name given to one of the Sacred Books of the Ancient Maya. Originally written in Quiché by one or several indigenous people shortly after the Spanish Conquest (sometime in the middle of the 16th century), it was later found by the Spanish priest Francisco Ximénez who translated it into Spanish....
Mayan Facts
The Mayans first appeared in Southern Mexico, Central and South America around 7000 BC and by 250 AD they had reached great heights as an intellectual, artistic, and cultural civilization. And during the years between 250 AD and 900 AD they made many advances in math, science, architecture, writing and astronomy that were not to...
Frida’s Father
Despite the sufferings of ill health, Guillermo Kahlo made pictures that remain a legacy to Mexican art and culture. Like daughter, like father… Mexican artist Frida Kahlo shared many things with her father; she had his dark eyes and his powerful intellect, and the inspired restiveness of the one was common to the other. Both...
Cock Fighting – 5,000 Years of Mean Chickens
…Alexander the Great would stage cock fights the night before battle to rile up his troops… Cock fighting is possibly the world’s oldest spectator sport. There is some speculation about its exact origins and age, from as old as 6,000 years to as new as 1,000 years old, cock fighting has been around for...
