5 Facts of Mexico

The capital of Mexico is Mexico City

Mexico has always fascinated the North with her rich but mysterious history, beautiful beaches, lush forests and jungles and the diversity of its people. Because Mexico is so near, folks in the United States think they know all there is to know about her. But of course, they don't. Here are five things you might not know about Mexico.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

There's a national museum of anthropology at the ruins of Teotihuac'n. These are ruins around in Mexico City and no one knows who built its pyramids, temples and palaces, or who even lived there. Bigger than the modern city of Rome, Teotihuac'n was one of the most powerful cities in Central America. Then, in 700 A.D., it was abandoned. No one knows why. Now there's an Anthropology museum on the site that sheds a bit of light on Teotihuac'n's secrets.

2

Monarch butterflies vacation in Mexico as well as humans. Every autumn millions and millions of monarch butterflies make their way down from Canada to the fir trees of Michoac'n. There are so many of them that they turn the trees orange and black from top to bottom and the visitor can hear the beating of their millions of pairs of wings. A monarch butterfly weighs next to nothing, but there can be so many on a tree that limbs break off.

3

The Cervantes Arts Festival is held in Guanajuato. This arts festival is the destination of many performing artists during the first three weeks in October. Some of them give spontaneous performances in the main square, while students dressed as 16th century troubadours stroll around singing and playing mandolins and guitars.

4

Sugar skulls! In honor of the Day of the Dead people commemorate their deceased loved ones by eating skulls made out of sugar and vegetable dye. El Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated in every town and cemetery in the country around the end of October.

5

JFK and Jackie Kennedy spent at least part of their honeymoon in Acapulco, in a pink house on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Jack allegedly caught a marlin.