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Mexico

It took a 7.1 magnitude earthquake to unveil one of the pyramid’s oldest secrets: an ancient shrine buried about six-and-a-half feet below Tláloc’s main temple

Cool Finds

Earthquake Reveals 12th-Century Temple Hidden Within Aztec Pyramid

The structure, which lay buried beneath two Aztec temples for centuries, is dedicated to the rain god Tláloc

A metal obelisk marked the international border in Ambos Nogales circa 1913. American (left) and Mexican (right) sentries patrolled the line.

History of Now

The Raging Controversy at the Border Began With This Incident 100 Years Ago

In Nogales, Arizona, the United States and Mexico agreed to build walls separating their countries

Aerial view of Guadalajara

How Guadalajara Reinvented Itself as a Technology Hub

Mexico’s second largest city has nimbly transformed into a R&D hotpsot, offering a model for the country’s future

Frida Kahlo, by Guillermo Kahlo, 1932

Expert Says He’s Found New Clues Into Location of Long-Lost Frida Kahlo Painting

‘La Mesa Herida’ was last seen in Poland in 1955

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Oaxaca’s Pre-Hispanic Monte Albán Ruins to Be Restored

World Monuments Fund raised $1 million to help repair 15 structures at the World Heritage Site that were impacted by a 2017 earthquake

A San Quintin kangaroo rat at rest in the field.

Cool Finds

This Kangaroo Rat Was Just Spotted For the First Time in 30 years

A native to Baja California, the San Quintín kangaroo rat hopped back into researchers’ lives last summer

Once Rare Nectar-Feeding Bat Removed From U.S. Endangered Species List

The move is a first for bat species

Open Heritage shows Bagan, an ancient city in Myanmar, before and after the 2016 earthquake.

Check Out the World’s Largest Archive Digitally Preserving At-Risk Heritage Sites

Open Heritage features 27 sites in 18 countries with more locations to be added in the future

CARNE y ARENA, 2017. A user in the experience.

Future of Art

VR Installation of Crossing U.S.-Mexico Border Comes to Nation’s Capital

“Carne y Arena,” by Academy Award-winning Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu, will run in D.C. through August

Colorado State University archeologist Chris Fisher has used the laser mapping technique in Mexico and Honduras.

Laser Mapping Shows Ancient City in Mexico Contained 40,000 Buildings

Researchers used LiDAR scanning to reveal the sprawling metropolis of Angamuco

Cool Finds

World’s Largest Underwater Cave System Discovered in Mexico

The 215-mile sunken freshwater labyrinth is a trove of ancient Maya artifacts

Few realize that the lovable, cotton-candy-pink amphibian is on the edge of extinction.

Future of Conservation

How to Save the Paradoxical Axolotl

Despite being a common pet and beloved cultural icon, the grinning amphibian is nearly extinct in the wild

Most of the T-shirts had in common the image that appeared on Juan Diego’s cloak: the Virgin modestly looking down, her hands folded together in prayer.

A New Way to Show Your Devotion in Mexico City: Wear a T-Shirt

A Smithsonian folklorist makes the pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and discovers an emerging tradition

In this Dec. 21, 2012 file photo, people gather in front of the Kukulkan temple in Chichen Itza, Mexico. Mexican experts said Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 they have discovered what may be the original structure at the pyramid of Kukulkan at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.

Ancient Maya Heritage Comes Alive…With Some Help From Google and the British Museum

Victorian explorer Alfred Maudslay’s images are now available online for all to see

The Codex Quetzalecatzin

Behold the Newly Digitized 400-Year-Old Codex Quetzalecatz

The manuscript dates back to the late 1500s, and was recently acquired by the Library of Congress

New York Seen from the Terrace [Nueva York desde la terraza] by Rufino Tamayo, 1937

A Mexican Painter Changed by the City, Changes Art 

“In New York, I went berserk over painting,” said Rufino Tamayo, whose works are now on view in a new retrospective

Humpback Whales

Trending Today

Mexico Establishes Largest Marine Protected Area in North America

The nation will fully protect 57,000 square miles around the Revillagigedo Islands from fishing and resource extraction

Theatergoers will find Coco to be a powerfully communicated story about the importance of family, community, a sense of belonging, tradition and remembrance.

Did Disney Pixar Get Day of the Dead Celebrations Right in Its Film ‘Coco’?

Smithsonian folklorist Cynthia Vidaurri says: “It’s complicated”

In Valle de Allende, Mexico, a school child carries her homework assignment, an altar for Día de los Angelitos, the first of three days when participants honor and commune with deceased ancestors.

These Dramatic Photos Reveal the Soul Behind the Day of the Dead

New Mexican Photographer Miguel Gandert allows his subjects to narrate their own story

How the Black Decree Led to This Mexican Emperor’s Doom

The French-backed Emperor Ferdinand Maximilian of Mexico was losing the raging civil war. In 1865, this prompted him to issue a savage decree

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