Catemaco: City of Witches

When the volcano became dormant, after blowing itself apart, it left a crater. In the crater formed a lake. Fish-eating baboons populated the jungle around the lake. A city grew upon the shore; its people drawn by the plentiful fishing.



Cattle ranches and farmland ate into the jungle, but not too much. The lush foliage still spreads, wide and dense, upon the remaining volcanic peaks. Mel Gibson chose it as a filming location for some of the scenes in 'Apocalypto'; Sean Connery used it as a backdrop for 'Medicine Man'. The Mexican government protect it, as part of the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve. UNESCO declared it a world heritage site. Out on the lake, there are islands where the macaque monkeys roam free; survivors of research labs. This is Catemaco and the city belongs to the witches.



There are always brujos in Catemaco. The High Council of Witches and Wizards resides there. Pilgrims, primarily from Mexico but increasingly from around the world, come here for healing, workshops or magical protection. The city has charms, in every sense of the word. Then, during the first Thursday and Friday in March, the city fills with magical practitioners of every hue. This is the Congreso Internacional de Brujos (International Gathering of Witches) and, during this festival, the sleepy city truly comes alive.

The fiesta erupts in parades, music and dancing. Healers, psychics, therapists and Pagan vendors line the shore. Everywhere the fine food, for which Catemaco is nationally famous, is on offer in abundance. The streets are filled with priests and priestesses in their finery. Olmec head-dresses rise, in full plumage, above the throng. This is a celebration, as much as a get-together.

The Annual Gathering of Witches is a light-hearted affair. You don't have to be a witch to be there. In fact, ordinary tourists are the ones filling the hotels and guesthouses, drawn by the party atmosphere and the wonderful sights on offer. A tarot reading here, an amulet there and participation in a cleansing ceremony are usually as far as the average visitor tends to go. For the real Pagans though, this is an opportunity to meet up with like-minded people, sharing knowledge and joining together for rituals. On the whole, it's both fun and empowering.



Catemaco has always been steeped in the mystical. It was once the stronghold of the Olmec people. Local legend has it that Catemaco was once the sacred center for the Olmec, hence its Pagan credentials start there. The festivals and practises now are simply a continuation of ways that have been here for 3,000 years. Colossal Stone Heads have been found in nearby San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán.

The area is also home to several tribes of Hungaros/Rromaní (gypsies). These people will be in Catemaco for the gathering, plying their traditional wares and services.


For more information about the witches of Catemaco, plus photographs, film and stories, please visit Catemaco Brujos.

Royal Tomb Found at Teotihuacan

This is a great month in Mexican archaeology! First there was the discovery of a Maya tomb in El Zotz and now a second great find, this time in Teotihuacan. Like El Zotz, it could well be a monarch's tomb that has just been uncovered in Mexico. It might also solve an historical mystery.

The presense of a tunnel had long been suspected at Teotihuacan. In 2003, heavy rainfall caused a section of the ground to sink, right in front of the Temple of Quetzacoatl. However, it took until last year to raise the funds and assemble a team of world-class archaeologists to investigate the site. Last month, after eight months of digging, they finally reached the roof of the tunnel. What they found next astounded everyone.

The Teotihuacan Archaeological Zone lies just 50 kilometers (31 miles) north-east of Mexico City. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Teotihuacan translates as 'City of the Gods'; but that was a later moniker, given to it by the Aztecs, who found the majestic ruins in the 1300s. It is still an impressive area now, with little imagination needed to picture the city in its heyday.



No-one knows for sure who did live there. The Nahua, Otomi or Totonac tribes are all strong contenders. Teotihuacan was built around 200 BCE and was abandoned in the 7th or 8th centuries CE. The population, of approximately 200,000 people at its height, left behind a wealth of architecture, there are also plentiful murals depicting the myths, legends, gods and meteorology of the day. Not to mention lots of ceramics and other physical evidence of the inhabitants of this once great city.

Some of those mysteries may be about to be solved with this week's announcement from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH - Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia). Using cameras lowered through the roof of the tunnel, archaeologists were able to glimpse one large chamber, with two smaller ones branching away. This is in addition to the tunnel itself which, in a scene reminiscent of an Indiana Jones plot, had been sealed with huge rocks hurled into it.

Speculation is rife that this is the last resting place of whomever ruled Teotihuacan. Sergio Gomez, one of the archaeologists working at the site, has spoken of the thousands of jade items, precious stones, shells and pottery seen in the chambers. There are also ceramics, which are of a style never encountered before. He concluded, "There is a high possibility that in this place, in the central chamber, we can find the remains of those who ruled Teotihuacan."



However it will be two months, at least, before the excavation team make it into the chambers themselves. No-one wants to damage the site any more than is necessary to access it, so progress is undertaken painstakingly, at a snail's pace.

It's a case of watch this space, but, in the meantime, enjoy the pictures provided by INAH.

World Heritage Status for Two Mexican Sites

UNESCO today announced that it has inscribed World Heritage status on two Mexican sites. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro and the prehistoric caves of Yagul and Mitla, in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, were both honored.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is as international a concern as its name implies. The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee met in Brasilia, Brazil, to consider the applications of 39 sites dotted around the globe. Six were added to the World Heritage List, while a seventh received an extension. The list is formed of those places which are deemed to represent humankind's 'cultural and natural heritage', with 'outstanding universal value'.

Mexico already had 25 cultural and 4 natural sites inscribed on this list. These can be explored on-line at the UNESCO World Heritage site. The two new additions boost our number to 27 cultural sites.

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (The Royal Road of the Interior Land) is a long-distance trade route that stretches from Mexico City to Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico, USA. It is 2560 kilometers (1600 miles) long. The American section of it has been on the US National Historic Trail list since 2000.



UNESCO's statement read:

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was the Royal Inland Road, also known as the Silver Route. The inscribed property consists of 55 sites and five existing World Heritage sites lying along a 1400 km section of this 2600 km route, that extends north from Mexico City to Texas and New Mexico, United States of America.

The route was actively used as a trade route for 300 years, from the mid-16th to the 19th centuries, mainly for transporting silver extracted from the mines of Zacatecas, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí, and mercury imported from Europe.

Although it is a route that was motivated and consolidated by the mining industry, it also fostered the creation of social, cultural and religious links in particular between Spanish and Amerindian cultures.

UNESCO press release: 'World Heritage Committee inscribes three new cultural sites, three natural sites and one extension on World Heritage List'

There is a virtual tour of the trail on the American Bureau of Land Management site. However, it should be noted that, for some, the road actually extends as far as Veracruz. John Todd has written all about that on his site.

El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro is a very scenic route to travel along. It would take several days to thoroughly enjoy its views and the wayside attractions. A good place to start might be the National Museum of Viceroyalty, in Mexico City, where the 'Plata. Forjando México' (Silver. Forging Mexico) runs until October 2010. This exhibition shows the historic silverware that was such a mainstay of those using the trail. Other major urban stops along the way are Zacatecas, Durango, Parral and Chihuahua, before crossing into America.

Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla

There are around 100 caves and rock shelters in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, around Yagul and Mitla, which contain evidence of pre-historic human habitation. Many contain cave paintings, ceramics or stone tools dating to around 8000 BCE. The site has been on Mexico's Lista Indicativa de México since 1998.



UNESCO's statement read:

This property lies on the northern slopes of the Tlacolula valley in subtropical central Oaxaca and consists of two pre-Hispanic archaeological complexes and a series of pre-historic caves and rock shelters. Some of these shelters provide archaeological and rock-art evidence for the progress of nomadic hunter-gathers to incipient farmers.

Ten thousand-year-old Cucurbitaceae seeds in one cave, Guilá Naquitz, are considered to be the earliest known evidence of domesticated plants in the continent, while corn cob fragments from the same cave are said to be the earliest documented evidence for the domestication of maize.

The cultural landscape of the Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla demonstrates the link between man and nature that gave origin to the domestication of plants in North America, thus allowing the rise of Mesoamerican civilizations.

UNESCO press release: 'World Heritage Committee inscribes three new cultural sites, three natural sites and one extension on World Heritage List'

Entrance to the vicinity of the caves is free, as it is maintained by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History). Nearby are the ruins of a later settlement, where the Zapotec founded their great city, in Yagul, around 500 BCE. The nearest modern city is Tlacolula de Matamoros.