GWR 2023 High Res Blad PDF Half Page ver - Flipbook - Page 4
2
1
AROUND THE WORLD IN 300 RECORDS
Mexico
1: Yucatán cave systems
Intrepid explorers of the Yucatán Peninsula can
take the plunge into the longest underwater
cave system, the Sistema Sac Actun (“White
Cave System”) and Dos Ojos (“Two Eyes”).
These connected caverns have a combined
total length of 371.95 km (231.12 mi) –
four times that of the Panama Canal.
The caves are accessed through sinkholes
known as cenotes, which the Maya
people believed to be portals to the underworld
and where they deposited sacred objects and
even, it is believed, human sacrifices!
2: Día de los Muertos
Every November, Mexico comes alive for a
colourful and joyous celebration of the dead.
Giant skeletons parade through the streets, and
private altars known as ofrendas are decorated with
photographs and belongings of the deceased. The
largest Day of the Dead altar was organized by
the local government of Hidalgo on 1 Nov 2019 and
covered 1,044.3 m² (11,240 sq ft) – about twice
the size of a basketball court!
It was festooned with a multitude
of offerings, including 600 candy
3
skulls, 1,000 bouquets of flowers
and 1,000 candles.
3: La Quebrada
The death-defying cliff-divers
of La Quebrada (“The Ravine”)
in Acapulco plunge 35 m (115 ft)
into a mere 3.6 m (12 ft) of
water – the highest headfirst dives performed regularly.
A tradition that began with
local fishermen in the 1930s
has grown into one of the
city’s main tourist attractions,
with divers aged 15–70 staging
spectacular shows
several times a
day. The fearless
freefallers made a
notable appearance in
the 1963 Elvis Presley
movie Fun in Acapulco.
Sea’s a crowd
f
Marine Park of
The National
is
a
ul
ns
ni
tán Pe
Mexico’s Yuca
rgest group of
la
e
th
to
e
m
ho
s.
e-size statue
underwater lif ion, a group
ut
ol
The Silent Ev
l
based on loca
of 480 figures
n
so
Ja
of
k
or
w
people, is the
(UK). The
deCaires Taylor
to promote
sculptures help
natural reefs.
the recovery of
4: El Macro Mural Barrio de Palmitas
In 2014–15, an art collective known as the
German Crew spent 14 months painting the city
of Pachuca red… and yellow and blue and pink!
With help from local residents, they decorated
209 walls with a single vibrant artwork – the
most walls covered by a mural. The 20,000-m2
(215,200-sq-ft) painting was part of a government
project designed to unite the community and
rehabilitate the local neighbourhood.
5: Great Pyramid of Cholula
Also known as Tlachihualtepetl (“man-made
mountain”), this vast adobe monolith in the
state of Puebla is the largest pyramid by volume.
Although shorter than the Pyramid of Khufu in
Egypt (see p.154), its
volume is greater by
almost 2 million m3
(7 million cu ft). The
present incarnation was
built by the Olmeca–
Xicalanca people
in 650–800 CE.
It receives
c. 220,000
visitors a year.
At a glance
• Area: 1,964,375 km2
• Population: 130.2 million
• Key Facts: Mexico is the
10th most populous country
in the world, with around
25% of its people living
in or around the capital,
Mexico City. Among its
many natural treasures are
the tallest underwater
stalactite – the 12.8-m
Tunich Ha of the Sistema
Chac Mool cave system
– and the Árbol del Tule
in Oaxaca: a Montezuma
cypress (Taxodium
mucronatum) with a trunk
circumference of c. 36.2 m
– the greatest tree girth.
5
4
Volume:
m3
4.45 million