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Temple of the Feathered Serpent
After the explosive volcanic eruption of Mt. Popocatépetl located deep southern Mexico, people hurriedly raced for refuge to escape the ash cloud plumed across their skies. When having traveled so far…
Televisa Chapultepec
The Televisa Chapultepec Edificio de Servicios is a major example of the growing modernism within Mexico and the intricacy of art in Mexico City. Originally founded as Telesistema Mexicano in 1955,…
Tacos Al Pastor: A Mexican Dish
Tacos Al Pastor are widely popular throughout Mexico as well as other countries, such as the United States. This dish typically consists of shaved spit-roasted pork, pineapple, onion, and cilantro all…
Statute of Bartholomew de las Casas
Bartholomew de las Casas was born in Seville, Spain in 1474. He was the son of a merchant. He came from a farming and mercantilist background. This would prove crucial in his later years, while…
St. IIdephonsus Cathedral of Merida
Churches and cathedrals hold much more meaning than just their well known purpose as a place of worship. The enormous size and strategic location of theses cathedrals in a colonial city made strength…
Spearthrower Owl - Teotihuacan
Warrior, outsider, ruler, and legend. These are a few of the words used to describe the infamous “Spearthrower Owl.”
The Spearthrower Owl or “Atlatl Cauac” is the name of a figure that appears in…
Shells in Mesoamerica
Tulum was one set of ruins found in the Yucatan Peninsula. It was also the only Mayan city built on a coast around the late classic era (200CE-1000CE). Their daily routines included activities…
Secretariat of Public Education
The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) building is located near the center of Mexico City. It is rich with public history, including a series of murals from the famous Diego Rivera such as…
San Juan Chamula
San Juan Chamula is an autonomous Indian village inhabited by Tzotzil Mayan Indians. It is located in the highlands of Chiapas, a state with a historic reputation for political rebellion. The church…
San Gabriel Convento in Cholula
Built in 1520 by the Spanish, San Gabriel Convento in Cholula is known for being the oldest religious temple in the Americas. This temple was built on the ruins of a previous temple honored to…
San Diego’s “Opportunity Exposition”
As visitors entered the gates of the 1915 Panama-California Exposition in San Diego, they heard “the deep notes of the outdoor organ, the trill of the birds in the tall trees, the cooing of doves in…
San Cristóbal de las Casas
San Cristóbal de las Casas during colonial times has been largely described as in Thomas Benjamins’ A Time of Reconquest: History, the Maya Revival, and the Zapatista Rebellion in Chiapas, a “small…
Religious Architecture in the Yucatán
It is a hot, sweltering day in Mani, a town that resides deep in the heart of the Yucatán. Crowds of indigenous Maya are entranced by the curious sounds of bells ringing as they proceed to their local…
Ramón Valdiosera, A Life
When watching films like “Coco” or seeing displays of Mexican art, a pink tone stands out; this pink tone composed of purplish tones, similar to the color fuchsia, has ties to Ozuluama, Veracruz,…
Pyramid of the Moon
The Pyramid of the Moon is located in the ancient city of Teotihuacan some thirty miles northeast of Mexico City. Although smaller than the site's famous Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon…
Pulquerias in Mexico City
Pulque is a mildly alcoholic beverage made from agave sap, which is then fermented until it acquires a certain level of viscosity. The tradition of making pulque is a millennia-old cultural phenomenon…
Pre-Columbian Midwifery Practices
Throughout history and across all cultures women have arguably held the most significant role in society: motherhood. This role has required every culture group to create medical practices, as well as…
Postal Palace
A postal service in Mexico existed before the Spanish arrival, expanded through colonization, and endures in modern society. The natives of Mesoamerica created their postal service with men who were…
Parque Lincoln
If one were to find themselves strolling through the parks of Mexico City, they might be surprised to run into a statue of United States President Abraham Lincoln in Mexico City’s aptly named, Parque…
Oswald in Mexico
On November 22, 1963, a Dallas police officer arrested Lee Harvey Oswald in connection to the public assassination of President John F. Kennedy that had taken place less than two hours before. Two…
Ocelots in South Texas
The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is about the size of a bobcat but holds many characteristics of its more famous cousin, the jaguar, (Pathera onca). This spotted yellow- furred cat prowls in the…
Obsidian from Teotihuacan
Obsidian was one of the most important materials distributed in Mesoamerica. Teotihuacan controlled the trade in this valuable commodity from the dawn of the common-era to 600 CE. In Mesoamerica,…
Oaxaca's Guelaguetza Festival
In the Zapotec language, the word “guelaguetza” means mutual cooperation, which is based on the idea of reciprocity–“today for you, tomorrow for me” (Bonfil Batalla, 1996, p. 30). The Guelaguetza…
Not Ready to Play Ball: Mexico's Muted Embrace of the Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition of 1937
“An international celebration of peace and good will in the Americas,” reads an advertisement announcing the harmonious theme of the Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition of 1937…
Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco
Mexico is one of the most ecologically diverse countries today. However, Mexico is also one of the most rapidly deforesting nations in the world as well. Some historians argue that the colonial…
National Institute of Anthropology
The federal government oversees all archaeological sites and most of the museums in Mexico. The Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (otherwise known as INAH) is charged with maintaining and…
Nation Building in Mexico
During the summer of 2018, I participated in a month-long study-abroad experience in Mexico. My group from Sam Houston State University traveled more than 1,500 miles from Cancún and Merida, to…
Murals at Palenque's White House
The Sak Nuk Naah, or “White Skin House,” in Palenque, is built on an artificial terrace that is part of the Palace complex. The Palace represented both a residential place, as documented by the…
Mural of the Drinkers
Drinking was a large part of the Mesoamerican culture. Not only used as an enjoyable pastime, the Maya would drink to get closer to their gods and to communicate with them. The Mural of the Drinkers,…
Monte Albán: Batres and Caso
Monte Albán has existed for thousands of years. It was known to the natives as Danibaan, or “Sacred Mountain.” It received its new alias from being named after 17th century Spanish nobleman Don…