Morelia, Michoacan: Historic Center

Morelia is the capital of the state of Michoacan, Mexico. It is Michoacan’s largest city and features an abundance of beautiful colonial architecture. It is the birthplace of José María Morelos y Pavón (1765), a hero of the Mexican independence movement. The city, which was called Valladolid from 1545 to 1828, Continue Reading →

Toniná Chiapas Pyramid

Toniná Chiapas: I just came across an article stating that recent excavations (undertaken since 2010 by INAH, the Mexican National Institute of Archaeology and History) confirm that the “Acropolis” of Toniná, Chiapas, comprises one off the largest pyramids in Mesoamerica.  See the article link below.  The pyramidal structure measures 74 Continue Reading →

5 Day Trips in Zihuatanejo Mexico

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico Zihuatanejo Bay and the beaches in and around it are awesomely beautiful, but when you want a bit of a change, there are plenty of day trips to see different aspects of our tropical paradise. Exploratory day trips out of Zihuatanejo 1 Explore the Xihuacan Museum and Soledad de Continue Reading →

Mexican Codices: Tovar Codex of Juan de Tovar

Searching through the digital libraries that are currently available on-line can render some wonderful finds. Here are a couple of illustrations from the Tovar Codex, attributed to Mexican Jesuit priest Juan de Tovar, from the John Carter Brown library online. Many more illustrations are included in the JCB Archive of Early American Continue Reading →

Orchids of Mexico

Orchids grow in warm, humid climates and are found largely in the tropical areas of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Their unusual, long-lasting blossoms and often heady scents have inspired curiosity and wonder over the ages. A handsome volume titled “The Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala,” written by James Bateman, Continue Reading →

Sarsaparilla Root Beverage

Sarsaparilla: an old-fashioned beverage made from the root of a tropical vine. Sarsaparilla is a climbing plant native to tropical America; Mexico, Honduras, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Jamaica are important sarsaparilla-producing countries. According to Medicinal Plants of Tropical and Subtropical Regions, a book that is found on-line in the Continue Reading →

Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

The Monte Alban archaeological site is perched spectacularly on a mountaintop high above the valleys that surround Oaxaca City in Central Mexico. Visiting Monte Alban near the end of the rainy season, we were surrounded by hills and valleys wreathed in green. The slight overcast of the skies that morphed Continue Reading →

Independence Day in Mexico

Dia de la Independencia y el Grito de Dolores Mexico’s Independence Day is one of the country’s main patriotic holidays or Fiestas Patrias. It falls officially on September 16 and commemorates the throwing off of the yoke of Spanish rule. The celebration of the event begins on the evening of Continue Reading →

Chiapas Mexico Nature Sites

Many of the wetlands and jungles of Mexico’s state of Chiapas are designated protected areas for a great variety of flora and fauna native to Mexico and Central America. These regions, rife with archaeological treasures and impressive natural landscapes and resources, offer unparalleled opportunities for responsible adventure and eco-touristic activities. Continue Reading →

National Monuments and Historic Sites in Mexico

The INAH, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico was founded in 1939 under the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas with the goal of preserving, investigating, and disseminating knowledge of the country’s rich heritage. Part of its task has been the restoration, conservation, and cataloging of the national archaeological, historical, Continue Reading →

Chinelos and Tlayacapan, Morelos, Mexico

Tlayacapan, Morelos, is one of Mexico’s “Pueblos Mágicos” or Magic Villages, a distinction awarded by the Mexican Ministry of Tourism to locations in Mexico that meet special cultural, natural, and historical criteria. Tlayacapan, Morelos Located in the hills beyond Tepoztlán in the state of Morelos, Mexico,the village of Tlayacapan is Continue Reading →