21 marzo, 2019

Spotting jacarandas around CDMX

Spring is here!! And so are Jacarandas!! At Hoteles de barrio we couldn’t be happier so we made a list of the coolest spots around the city to observe this incredible nature decor.

Origin

Jacaranda trees have become a symbol of Mexico by painting their streets violet during the spring. However, its origin is far from our country and it was thanks to two Japanese that this plant painted our urban landscape. The jacarandas are native to Brazil and Paraguay, they arrived in Mexico at the beginning of the 20th century thanks to the Japanese migrants Tasuguro Matsumoto and his son Sanshiro Matsumoto.

The Matsumoto settled in Mexico City and set up a gardening business in Colonia Roma, where they began to grow the jacaranda. After the Mexican Revolution, Tasuguro proposed to President Álvaro Obregón, to plant these trees in the main streets of the capital. Among the first places sheltered by the jacarandas was a long stretch of the Insurgentes Avenue, as well as the parks of Spain and Mexico in Colonia Condesa.

Thanks to their good relationship with the Government of Mexico, during the Second World War, the Matsumoto obtained Mexican nationality and bought the former Hacienda de Temixco in Morelos, where they gave refuge to other Japanese immigrants who were persecuted by the United States and who remained with them and made a living with rice and vegetable crops planted in the hacienda. Today, thanks to the Matsumoto, our country is full of jacarandas that bloom during March and April, causing a spectacle of nature.