Stories: Mexico

Stories connected to Mexico.

Growing up without the usual makeover.The axolotl reaches maturity while retaining external gills and an aquatic lifestyle, a form of neoteny.
A cactus in a coffee can became a 44-year mystery.A cactus found in a coffee can on a Mexican hotel windowsill was documented in 1952. The plant died, and its…
A light touch can make a new cactus cutting.One subspecies of the Mexican thimble cactus readily sheds its offsets. A cactus grower described it breaking…
Forty-five streets renamed. Residents took signs down.In 2024, officials in Tultitlán, Mexico, renamed 45 streets after projects and phrases linked to a former pre…
Dragon Ball Super ended. Fans across Latin America watched together.Public screenings of the 2018 Dragon Ball Super finale drew crowds across Latin America, including stadiums t…
It sprawls across its neighbours. So a grower hangs it through a pot's base.In cultivation, the Mexican cactus Mammillaria matudae tends to grow beyond its pot and over other plants. Ca…
They found a new cactus together. One friend's name stayed on it.American horticulturist Bob Foster and his friend Charlie Glass made 15 plant-hunting trips to Mexico between…
It flowers, fruits and grows readily. That may be why snobs overlook it.Mammillaria prolifera is a familiar, easy-to-grow cactus that can bear flowers and fruit at once. It has intr…
Emos and anti-emos clashed. A singing group helped end the fight.In March 2008, rival groups confronted each other at a Mexico City traffic circle. Police separated them, but…
Two grandsons shared their grandfathers' names—and formed the same kind of duo.The Mexican norteño duo Carlos y José formed in 1968. In 2015, grandsons Juan Carlos Tierranegra and José Edw…
No reservations, cash only, four shared tables—and a Michelin star.Mexico City's Expendio de Maíz has no fixed menu. Cooks ask about diners' preferences and serve maize-based d…
The artist built a strange creature—and wrote a fake scholarly report about it.In 1959, Remedios Varo made Homo rodans from discarded animal bones: an imagined human precursor with a wheel…
A corn disease can become a fillingCorn smut is a fungal disease that produces swollen growths on maize. In Mexico these are eaten as huitlacoch…
Mexican caviar can mean ant larvaeEscamoles are the edible larvae and pupae of particular ants, eaten in Mexico. They are sometimes nicknamed M…
She could choose the open air even when a bed was availableBotanical collector Ynes Mexia preferred sleeping outdoors even when indoor accommodation or a bed was availa…
The apparent kiss is a territorial confrontationMale sarcastic fringeheads display their large, brightly colored mouths in territorial encounters. Rivals can…
Patolli used marked beans as diceMesoamerican patolli used black beans as dice. A hole on one side exposed a white mark, so a toss produced ma…
This cricket-like insect drums with its abdomenJerusalem crickets are neither true crickets nor native to Jerusalem. During courtship, they beat their abdom…
The lizard runs across water, brieflyBasilisks of Central and South America can run across water for short distances. Flaps between their toes enl…
The red lips are not petalsPalicourea elata grows in Central and South American rainforests. Its conspicuous red, lip-shaped structures…
A lanternfly that does not glowFulgora laternaria lives in tropical forests of Mexico, Central America and South America. Its head has a pea…
A moth larva takes on a snake-like faceThe moth Hemeroplanes triptolemus occurs in Central America and beyond. Its caterpillar can expand the front…
The rainbow grasshopper cannot flyNorth America’s rainbow grasshopper has striking red, yellow and pale-green markings against a largely black…
Dry weather changes this plant’s shapeSelaginella lepidophylla grows in the Chihuahuan Desert of the United States and Mexico. As it dries, its ste…
A festival’s name also evokes exchanging helpAt Oaxaca’s Guelaguetza in Mexico, Indigenous communities present regional dress, dance and music. Its name c…