In November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of the Guinness Breweries, was out shooting. He aimed at a golden plover but missed, excusing himself with the fact that plovers were the fastest game bird in Europe. No, a friend argued, the red grouse was faster. Back in the house, Sir Hugh was surprised he could not find the answer to their dispute in a reference book, and the idea for “a book of records” that would solve such arguments was born. Norris and Ross McWhirter were employed to compile what became “The Guinness Book of Records,” with the first edition coming out in August 1955.
A thousand copies were distributed free to pubs across Britain and Ireland to promote the Guinness brand. The publication proved so popular that the following year, the first commercial edition was put on sale. It came out at Christmas with a plain green cover with the Guinness logo, 198 pages of records, and a handful of black and white photos. It was a humble start to what has become a publishing phenomenon.
The world’s largest margarita
Mexicans have a special love for “The Guinness Book of Records” and claim around 217 entries (the number changes regularly as records are set or surpassed). There are no financial rewards for breaking a record, but you receive an official certificate, and there is the potential for a lot of free publicity. Mexican towns have seen the advantage of this, and many of the record attempts have been arranged by local governments and their tourist boards. A great example is Tijuana’s successful attempt to make the world’s largest margarita.
In 2024, as Tijuana was approaching its 136th anniversary, Faviola Partida Dunn, the owner of Tequila Cachanilla, was looking for a way to attract international attention. Glancing through “The Guinness Book of Records” for a suitable challenge, she found (presumedly to her horror) that the record for the world’s largest margarita had been set in the U.S. Not only would breaking this record be great publicity, but it would be one over the town of Tequila. Their southern rivals might have invented the drink, but many in Tijuana felt they had become its spiritual home!
Triumph in Tijuana
The record was not an easy one. It stood at 32,176 liters, achieved by Margaritaville in Las Vegas. That is about the amount of liquid it takes to fill a large garden swimming pool. The Tijuana challenge would need a giant container, and it would have to be safe. (You don’t want to go into the record book for the highest number of spectators drowned in a margarita when a tank bursts). If possible, the drink should be visible as it was poured in, and there must be an accurate way to measure the volume. Pouring liters of tequila into an empty swimming pool simply wouldn’t work, being neither dramatic nor accurately measurable. A custom-designed 40,000-liter tank with a pumping and distribution system was constructed, and in July 2025, the Tijuana team broke the record by mixing 34,419.4 liters of margarita.
Record-breaking achievements in Mexico
Mexico has set numerous records of this type, including the biggest guacamole (4,972 kilograms, Peribán, Michoacán, 2022), Enchilada (70 meters, Iztapalapa, 2010), and burrito (5,799 kilograms, La Paz, 2010). In August 2025, an effort in Guadalupe broke three records: the largest stir-fry (2.5 metric tons) using the world’s largest pan (24 feet in diameter) to produce a record 13,000 tacos.
Not all Mexican records are food-linked. The country also claims the largest Mexican folk dance (1,095 participants in Monterrey, 2022) and the largest Mariachi performance (1,100 musicians in Mexico City in 2024). The Day of the Dead celebration inspired a remarkable record in Veracruz in November 2023. Seven hundred workers toiled for 24 hours, used 1,250 candles, 795 breads, 200 sugar skulls and countless Cempasúchil flowers, tamales and papel picado to produce the world’s biggest Day of the Dead altar.
Not all the records set in Mexico have such an obvious link to Mexican culture. One of the most dramatic events was organized by the History Channel brand History Latinoamérica, and saw 1,674 classic cars drive through the heart of Mexico City. Records don’t last forever; that number was surpassed in Puerto Rico three years later. Another off-the-beat record was set in 2018 when, with the World Cup about to kick off in Russia, 1,080 participants gathered in the Zócalo of Mexico City to set a world record for the most games of table football played simultaneously.
Doctor Who comes to Mexico and conquers
One of the most unlikely records came in 2016 at the La Mole Comic Con when an attempt was made for the “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Doctor Who Characters.” There was considerable publicity for the event, helped by the fact that actor Peter Capaldi, the “Twelfth Doctor,” would be in Mexico to celebrate the local premiere of “Doctor Who,” Season 9. Even so, the program only has a fringe following in Mexico, and it was something of a surprise when 492 fans turned up dressed as Doctor Who, Daleks or other assorted monsters.
Not all records are purposely staged to win a place in the book. When the jetty at Municipio de Progreso in the Yucatán was extended in July 2023, the aim was to improve facilities for the 150,000 cruise ship passengers who arrive every year. The 8-kilometer construction getting into “The Guinness Book of Records” as the longest jetty in the world was a bonus, not part of the calculations. The 2021 opening of the 10.5-kilometer line in the Sistema de Transporte Público Cablebús, making it the world’s longest Public Transit Cable Car Route, also won a place in “The Guinness Book of Records.” Similarly, the Baluarte Bridge was briefly listed as the world’s highest cable-stayed bridge when it opened in 2012, although that record has since been lost to China.
Mexican sports stars who have set records
Getting into “The Guinness Book of Records” as an individual is perhaps more difficult than a team effort, but at least three Mexican sportsmen have made it. Few people who are not fans of Pelota will have heard of José Hamuy, but his three world titles in the long court game Cesta Punta are a world record for that event. Much more familiar to sports fans is boxer Ricardo López, whose 21 successful title defenses are the record for his weight. And there is boxer Julio César Chávez, who holds the record for world title bouts. Julio Cesar Chavez had his first title fight in 1984 against Mario Martínez and sixteen years later fought Kostya Tszyu for his 37th and record-setting world title fight.
As we said at the beginning, Mexicans have a special relationship with “The Guinness Book of Records.” This might be as simple as the fact that staging a world record attempt turns into a big party, and Mexicans love to party! No doubt more records will be set, and existing ones broken, and more Mexicans will find their way into a book that sets something of a record itself by selling three and a half million copies every year.
Bob Pateman is a Mexico-based historian, librarian and a life-term hasher. He is editor of On On Magazine, the international history magazine of hashing.
