Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Don't know much about history? Mexican Street Maps to the Rescue!
I was in San Luís Potosi attending a lecture at the Casa Cultura when it occurred to me that
I could learn a great deal of history, the history that's important to the average Mexican, the
milestones that a Mexican feels in his heart, from street signs.
I had just walked down Calle Marzo 18 (March 18th Street) and curious about that name, I
asked the man seated next to me in the lecture room. He was elderly, well dressed, distin-
guished and courteous in a manner that one rarely finds today. He said, "March 18, 1938,
was when Larzaro Cardenas, President of Mexico expropriated the oil." He explained that
although Mexico was suffering a depression in 1938 and seemed to be in the grips of for-
eign oil companies, the nation responded en mass by donating money, jewels and precious
belonging to pay for the expropriation. “Peasants brought in chickens.”
Even today, Mexicans deeply feel a near-sacred belief about ownership of their oil reserves
and the Mexican national monopoly Pemex. This feeling is surpassed only by the com-
mitment Mexicans attach to Tonatzin, the Virgin of Guadalupe, who is more than an icon.
“Even atheists venerate Guadalupe,” a guide told me, “and her shrine and sanctuary were
respected even by those who shot priests during the Cristeros War.”
Many streets and avenues are named for heroes and commemorate dates. Cinco de Mayo
(May 5), the day the Mexican army defeated the French invaders in the Battle of Puebla, is
a popular street name throughout Mexico.
Doce de Diciembre (December 12) is the day Juan Diego, a convert to Catholicism, who
had a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe, presented proof of this miracle, unrolling his tilma
(cloak) before the Bishop of Mexico and finding the picture of the Virgin which is vener-
ated and on display in Mexico City at the church of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
There is 16 de Septiembe, Independence Day, 22 de Noviembre, the start of the Revolution
that is a virtual holiday in honor of Pancho Villa.
For a snapshot of the important events in Mexico's history, get a city map and look over the
index, or when you're walking, note the streets and avenues that are named for a date. Then
when you visit a cyber café to check your email, take a moment, use a search engine and
type in: Mexico History, the date and the month, and learn while you travel.
