The 1992 Los Angeles riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992.  The unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. This incident had been videotaped and widely shown in television broadcasts. The rioting took place in several areas in the Los...

The Most Massive Trees Being dwarfed by Earth’s most massive tree, the giant sequoia, fills you with wonder. It’s hard to believe that a living thing can be so enormous and old. Also known as Sierra redwoods, the largest of these trees live in California’s rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range. Some of the largest surviving giant sequoia groves can be seen in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks,  and can live to be 3,000 years old! Giant sequoias grow so large because they live a very...

Hundreds of years ago, when the Aztec Empire dominated the Valley of Mexico, it was common practice to subject neighboring towns and to require a mandatory tax.  It was then that the chief of the Tlaxcaltecas, bitter enemies of the Aztecs, weary of this terrible oppression, decided to fight for his people’s freedom. The chief had a daughter named Iztaccihuatl: the most beautiful of all the princesses, who had professed her love for young Popocatepetl, one of her father’s people and the most...

The Linda Vista Hospital was first established in 1904 as the Santa Fe Coastlines Hospital, a prospering healthcare facility dedicated to servicing employees of the Santa Fe Railroad. During the early decades of the 20th century, the hospital flourished as did Los Angeles' surrounding Boyle Heights neighborhood. East LA was slowly transformed into a less affluent area, and the number of violent crimes escalated. Lowered funding at the hospital resulted in less staff to treat the influx of...

Cinco de Mayo is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, during the Franco-Mexican War. led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. While it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations.

Legend has it that the Padre Hotel in Bakersfield, California now hosts shadowy figures that roam the eight-story historic landmark’s hallways — possibly victims from a fire in the 1950s — and what looks like a little girl’s ghostly handprint on a pillar in the lobby won’t go away even when it has been cleaned or painted over

Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Bakersfield is Sharktooth Hill. First documented by William P. Blake in 1853, Sharktooth Hill is one of the most significant Miocene fossil sites in the world  Sharktooth Hill is a middle Miocene marine exposure of the Round Mountain Silt unit of the Temblor Formation. Using magnetic stratigraphy data, the age of this unit is estimated to be around 15.2 and 16 million years old (Prothero et al., 2008).  However, above the bone...

Acapulco, a beach resort town on Mexico's Pacific coast, is set on a large bay backed by high-rises and the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains. Made famous by the jet set in the 1950s and ’60s, it's known for its high-energy nightlife, beaches, and golf. The screen of the Flores theater projected that night the short entitled The passion for billiards. The astonishment of the large audience was almost hypnotic in the face of such a dazzling prodigy. The figures moving with great speed will...

When the rain began drenching the California landscape in December 1861, none of the state’s 500,000 residents could have imagined the devastation that was about to strike the region. Just a few months earlier, the farmers and ranchers of California had been praying for rain to spare their parched land from the two previous decades of exceptionally dry weather. The Great Flood of 1862 began in late November 1861, when early winter storms dropped heavy snow in the higher elevations of Northern...

Flag Day, or ‘Día de la Bandera’ as it’s known in  México, is celebrated on February 24 every year, since it was first established.   To fly the national flag is a sign of pride and patriotism. It is a positive affirmation of loyalty and commitment. It marks out a country that has confidence in itself and is comfortable with its place in the world, its history, and its future. The central emblem is the Mexican coat of arms, based on the Aztec symbol for Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), the...

If you’ve ever wondered how it would be to visit the Yucatan Peninsula and the Riviera Maya, if you are a nature lover and flora and fauna enthusiast, you’ve probably heard about some mystic places called cenotes. A cenote is said to be quite significant to the Mayan people. Whilst cenotes were their main water source, they were also considered to be the entrance to the Xibalba, translated to the underworld, and a place where the Mayan gods would visit, especially Chaac, the Mayan god of...

The Palacio de Lecumberri is a large building, formerly a prison, in the northeast of Mexico City, Mexico, which now houses the General National Archive. Known in popular culture as The Black Palace of Lecumberri, it served as a penitentiary from 1900 to 1976. It was inaugurated by President Porfirio Díaz. The Diary of Lecumberri by Colombian Poet Álvaro Mutis, describes his time thereafter being imprisoned in 1958. The living conditions within the prison were very dangerous due to the...

Yosemite National Park, one of the ecological treasures of the United States, is located in northern California.  The seven square miles (18 sq km) Yosemite Valley is the most popular part of the park.  The park features granite monoliths, waterfalls, streams, and Giant Sequoias. Yosemite National Park offers breathtaking views, incredible rock formations, and the largest waterfall in North America. As one of America’s most beautiful and beloved national parks, it offers an experience of a...

With cheerful red bracts and delicate yellow flowers framed against velvety green leaves, colorful poinsettias are an indisputable symbol of Christmas. In fact, poinsettias are the most commercially important potted plant in the world because of their endearing association with the December holiday season. But how did this warm-weather shrub native to western Mexico become so closely associated with Christmas? The original Nahuatl name for the plant we call “poinsettia” is Cuetlaxóchitl,...

Traditional Mexican handcrafted toys are those made by artisans rather than manufactured in factories. The history of Mexican toys extends as far back as the Mesoamerican era, but many of the toys date to the colonial period. Many of these were introduced as teaching tools by evangelists and were associated with certain festivals and holidays.  These toys vary widely, including el trompo, el bolero, la matatena, las canicas, la lotería, las piñatas, and more—made of many materials, including...

In southern Mexico City, a gritty working-class neighborhood gives way to the famous canals of Xochimilco,  Xochimilco is one of the most popular destinations in Mexico City, principally for the miles of waterways that run through the area, the last remnants of a vast water transport system built by the Aztecs,  which have led to it being dubbed the Venice of Mexico.  To this day, the community is known for its floating plant nurseries and vegetable gardens known as chinampas. Such is the...

The Mexican Revolution was a complex and bloody conflict that arguably spanned two decades, and in which 900,000 people lost their lives.  The Revolution began with a call to arms on 20th November 1910 to overthrow the current ruler and dictator Porfirio Díaz. Díaz was an ambitious president, keen to develop Mexico into an industrial and modernized country. While he worked on implementing a capitalist society building factories, dams, and roads the rural workers and peasants suffered...

November 11 is Veteran's Day in the United States and it is celebrated every November, Veterans Day honors all who have served in the U.S. military. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day and it is an opportunity to publicly commemorate the contributions of living veterans and to show appreciation toward them. For much of the rest of the world and especially in Europe, it is Armistice Day, the day that marks the end of World War I. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th...

A dedication to the deceased Day of the Dead (Dia De  Muertos) has its origins in the pre-Hispanic cultures of Latin America, and it is a Mexican holiday that honors deceased family members, friends, and ancestors. It is a two-day holiday that reunites the living and dead. Families create "ofrendas" (Offerings) to honor their departed family members that have passed. These altars are decorated with bright yellow marigold flowers, photos of the departed, and the favorite foods and drinks of...

Columbus Day celebrations in the United States – meant to honor the legacy of the man credited with “discovering” the New World – are almost as old as the nation itself. The earliest known Columbus Day celebration took place on Oct. 12, 1792, on the 300th anniversary of his landing.  But since the 1990s, a growing number of states have begun to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day – a holiday meant to honor the culture and history of the people living in the Americas both before...

While wildfires are a natural part of California’s landscape, the fire season in California and across the West is starting earlier and ending later each year. Climate change is considered a key driver of this trend. Warmer spring and summer temperatures, reduced snowpack, and earlier spring snowmelt create longer and more intense dry seasons that increase moisture stress on vegetation and make forests more susceptible to severe wildfire. The length of fire season is estimated to have...

Independence Day (Día de la Independencia) is a Mexican holiday to celebrate the “cry of independence” on September 16, 1810, which started a revolt against Spanish rule. Independence Day celebrates the day Miguel Hidalgo is believed to have made the cry of independence (El Grito de la Independencia) in the town of Dolores, in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Hidalgo was one of the nation’s leaders during the War of Independence in Mexico. Mexicans celebrate their...

Twenty years ago, the nation watched transfixed as planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. The events of that day forever transformed the country. Nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the attacks, including the 19 hijackers from Islamic extremist group, al-Qaida. It remains the deadliest foreign attack on U.S. soil.   The Fire Department of New York...

Owls have also long been viewed as harbingers of bad luck and even death. One myth tells us that bad luck will befall anyone who hears an owl hoot three times. Another wild myth claims that owls are the only creatures that can live with ghosts. Since long before the first Halloween, witches have been linked to owls. The Romans and Greeks once believed that witches could actually transform themselves into owls. Believe it or not, some people once actually harbored the notion that an owl...

Bumblebees are going extinct in a time of ‘climate chaos’ Loss of vital pollinators, due in part to temperature extremes and fluctuations, could have dire consequences for ecosystems and agriculture. Bumblebees, among the most important pollinators, are in trouble. Fuzzy and buzzy, they excel at spreading pollen and fertilizing many types of wild flora, as well as crucial agricultural crops like tomatoes, blueberries, and squash. But their numbers are dropping. New research using a massive...