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Aurora Martínez

Aurora Martínez

An editorial intern at Smithsonian magazine, Aurora is a bilingual journalist from Nicaragua. She is pursuing a master’s degree at CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

1964 Chevy Impala lowrider, “Gypsy Rose”

How Lowrider Culture Turned Custom Cars Into Colorful, Stunning Works of Art

A Smithsonian traveling exhibition maps the family ties and ingenuity behind lowriders—from post-World War II Chicano pride on boulevards to global car shows

“We cannot be indifferent on any occasion that appears nearly to affect the peace and happiness of our country,” wrote the resolution’s 51 signees. Their words were republished in newspapers across the Thirteen Colonies and beyond.

To Protest British Taxes, Men Dumped Tea Into Boston Harbor. With the Edenton Tea Party, Colonial Women Took a Different Approach

In 1774, 51 North Carolinian women led by Penelope Barker signed a resolution supporting the boycott of British goods

Archaeologists excavating the El Mirador cave in northern Spain have found physical evidence of prehistoric cannibalism.

Bones Found in Spanish Cave Suggest This Neolithic Group Butchered and Cannibalized a Rival Community

The 5,700-year-old remains exhibit signs of human consumption, including bite marks and traces of cutting, cremation and boiling

The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project (MLPP) was launched in 2023 to preserve around 20 Mayan languages, including Qʼeqchiʼ, Kʼicheʼ and Kaqchikel.

Millions of Maya Still Call Mesoamerica Home. This Groundbreaking Initiative Ushers the Rich Tapestry of Mayan Languages Into the Digital Age

The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project promotes tools designed by and for Indigenous communities, like online glossaries and special phone keyboards

To pinpoint the likely location of Sac Balam, archaeologists plugged data from historical records into a predictive model built with ArcGIS Pro.

Archaeologists in Mexico Discover Long-Lost City Inhabited by Maya Rebels Who Resisted the Spanish Conquest

After Spanish troops seized their capital, the Lacandon Ch’ol established a new settlement called Sac Balam, or the “Land of the White Jaguar”

A river otter 

From Playful Otters to Pint-Size Owls, These Eight Awesome Animals Call the Chesapeake Bay Home

Blue crabs, bluebirds, beetles and many more creatures can be spotted in and around the bay—and scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center are paying attention

Researchers found a 4,000-year-old handprint on the bottom of a "soul house," a clay funerary object popular during Egypt's Middle Kingdom period.

See a Stunningly Well-Preserved, 4,000-Year-Old Handprint Left Behind by an Ancient Egyptian Potter

The find “takes you directly to the moment when the object was made,” says curator Helen Strudwick

This flint arrowhead was found embedded in a human rib at the Roc de les Orenetes site in northeastern Spain.

An Archer Shot This Bronze Age Human in the Back. 4,000 Years Later, the Arrow Is Still Embedded in the Victim’s Rib Bone

The attack took place during a period of conflict between groups living in the Pyrenees mountains in modern-day Spain

Archaeologists found the battlefield on private land a few miles away from Fort Ligonier in Pennsylvania.

Archaeologists Discover Site Where George Washington Stopped a Friendly Fire Incident by Blocking Muskets With His Sword

In 1758, during the French and Indian War, the future president saved lives by stepping into the middle of a deadly skirmish in Pennsylvania

Mattel collaborated with leading diabetes organization Breakthrough T1D to design the first Barbie doll with Type 1 diabetes.

Meet the First Barbie With Type 1 Diabetes. Her Colorful Accessories Showcase the Tools People Use to Treat the Chronic Disease

The new doll boasts a pink continuous glucose monitor to track blood sugar levels and a pink insulin pump

The Smithsonian’s own Etch A Sketch, acquired in 2011, is displayed as a cultural artifact—a symbol of a toy that has shaped generations.

How the Etch A Sketch Etched Itself Into Pop Culture

Sixty-five years after it first hit store shelves, the iconic, red-framed drawing toy continues to enchant kids, artists, and collectors alike

"Mysteries From the Deep: Exploring Underwater Archaeology" features interactive experiences, 3D models and excavated artifacts.

How Underwater Archaeology Brings Secrets to the Surface, From Lost Shipwrecks to Submerged Cities

An immersive new exhibition at the Intrepid Museum in New York City spotlights the science and technology behind the discipline

Archaeologist Geórgea Layla Holanda examines a funerary urn found beneath a tree in the Brazilian Amazon.

Fishermen in the Brazilian Amazon Discover Enormous Funerary Urns Beneath a Toppled Tree

The ceramic vessels contained the bones of pre-Columbian Indigenous people, as well as fish, frog and turtle remains

Foster + Partners, the firm selected to design the memorial, plans to build a bridge with a reinforced glass balustrade inspired by the tiara the queen wore on her wedding day.

A New Memorial Will Honor Elizabeth II With a Bridge Inspired by Her Diamond-Studded Wedding Tiara

A British architecture firm has been selected to design the queen’s memorial in London, which will include a translucent bridge that evokes her wedding tiara’s delicate silhouette

This portrait of Ferdinando de’ Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany (center), by Anton Domenico Gabbiani, was damaged after a visitor tripped while posing for a photo with the artwork.

Museumgoer Posing for Photo Stumbles Into Portrait of Medici Prince, Damaging the Historic Painting

The incident at the Uffizi Galleries is the latest in a series of tourist-related accidents at museums around the world. Now, the Florentine cultural institution plans to start limiting selfies

These gold coins, known as cobs, date to 1707, the year before the San José sank.

These Gold Coins May Solve the Mystery of the ‘World’s Richest Shipwreck,’ Confirming Its Identity as a Legendary 18th-Century Galleon

Minted in Peru in 1707, the money bolsters the evidence that the wreck is the Spanish ship “San José,” which sank off the Colombian coast in 1708 with treasure worth billions on board

A marble sarcophagus depicting a drinking contest between Hercules and Dionysus

Ancient Sarcophagus Unearthed in Israel Portrays an Epic Drinking Contest Between the God Dionysus and the Mythical Hero Hercules

Archaeologists say the marble coffin is the first of its kind found in the region. The story it depicts is more often seen in mosaics