In 2024, Mexico News Daily once again covered plenty of “hard news” and “bad news” stories.
As we have done since MND was founded more than 10 years ago, we also reported numerous stories that made us laugh, brought a smile to our faces, warmed our hearts and even left us scratching our heads in bewilderment.
Now, as we approach the end of the year, it’s time to look back at the amusing, uplifting, inspirational, heartening, gratifying, strange, surreal and “only in Mexico” stories MND published this year.
We continue today with a compilation of articles we published between April and June.
Click here to read our Q1 compilation, and look out for our “México Magico” compendiums for the last two quarters of the year in the coming days!
México Mágico: A look back at MND’s weird and wonderful stories in the second quarter of 2024
Early in the second quarter of 2025, millions of people in Mexico (and the United States and Canada) were mesmerized when a total solar eclipse caused skies to darken in various parts of the country on April 8. We published this photo essay of the captivating event.
Later in the month, we reported on a recently divorced couple who decided to celebrate their divorce in an unusual way — by having a few drinks, not apart, but TOGETHER in a cantina in Mérida.
Just as they were celebrating their newfound freedom (or divorced togetherness), a scary (or is that scaly?) situation was unfolding in a pool at a beachfront development in Zihuatanejo — a two-meter-long had crocodile dived in to cool off. Civil Protection had to be called to coax the croc out of the pool.
The croc in Zihua wasn’t the only animal trying to beat the April heat. In Mérida, animals at the city zoo were chowing down on popsicles, with different flavors on offer for different species.
In early May, we took a virtual trip to México state, where an unusual burro (donkey) festival takes place every year in the municipality of Otumba. This year, 14 donkeys dressed up in elaborate costumes (Santa Claus donkey, Shakira donkey etc.) and participated in different activities.
I once ate donkey hotpot in China (a whole other story), but I’d much prefer a taco from Mexico City taquería El Califa de León, which was awarded a coveted Michelin Star in May, becoming the first Mexican taquería to receive the honor from the legendary international dining guide.
Tacos were also in the news in the United States in May when a judge in Indiana ruled that “tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches,” a decision that allowed a taco restaurant to open in a Fort Wayne shopping plaza.
Mexico City Jedi schools teach chilangos the art of the lightsaber
Later in the second quarter of the year, we published yet more out-of-the-ordinary stories, including ones about:
- Fishermen catching a three-meter-long oarfish in the Gulf of California.
- Tesla mezcal — perhaps a good drink for those seeking to drown their sorrows due to the possibility that Elon Musk’s company won’t go ahead with plans to build a gigafactory in Mexico.
- The discovery in México state of a 10,500-year-old human skull.
- Mexico City’s Jedi Knight Academy.
In the second quarter of the year, MND also published feature stories about the crazy world of Mexico City’s Red Bull Soap Box derby and Mexicans’ love affair with singer Luis Miguel.
We hope you enjoyed reading our quirkier stories this year, and perhaps found a few here that you missed. We’re already looking forward to another year of weird, wonderful and distinctively Mexican stories in 2025!
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
