100 Fun Facts About Mexico

Mexico co-hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the United States and which other country?

Canada co-hosted the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and the United States; it was Mexico's third time hosting, after 1970 and 1986.

Which Mexican food is made from mashed avocados, lime juice, and seasonings?

Guacamole takes its name from the Nahuatl āhuacamōlli, literally 'avocado sauce', from āhuacatl (avocado) and mōlli (sauce).

Which language is Mexico's de facto national language, spoken by over 90% of the population?

The constitution names no official language, partly out of respect for the indigenous communities, yet the country is the largest Spanish-speaking nation in the world.

Which ancient civilization built the pyramid of Chichén Itzá in Mexico?

The Maya built Chichén Itzá, a large city of the Terminal Classic period that became the focal point of the northern lowlands; its main pyramid is known as El Castillo.

What Mexican holiday celebrates the memory of deceased loved ones with altars and marigolds?

Día de los Muertos, held on November 1 and 2, features sugar-skull calaveras, cempasúchil marigolds and ofrendas laden with the departed's favourite foods and drinks.

Which traditional Mexican drink is made by fermenting, not distilling, maguey sap?

Pulque is made by fermenting aguamiel, the sap tapped from the heart of the maguey (agave) plant; it is milky and lightly alcoholic, unlike distilled mezcal.

Which body of water forms the country's eastern maritime boundary along Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Tabasco?

The Gulf of Mexico washes Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Tabasco; the Caribbean Sea touches only Quintana Roo in the southeast, and the Gulf of California lies on the Pacific side.

Tacos al pastor descend from the shawarma of Lebanese immigrants to Puebla; what meat is shaved from their rotating trompo?

Al pastor is marinated pork, though it descends from lamb shawarma brought by Lebanese immigrants; the name means 'shepherd style', from asado al pastor.

Which Mexican artist is famous for her self-portraits and unibrow?

Frida Kahlo painted about 55 self-portraits, famously with her joined eyebrows; The Two Fridas (1939) and Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) are among the best known.

How many states does Mexico have?

Mexico has 31 states plus Mexico City, a federal entity rather than a state, giving 32 entities; the newest states, Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo, were created in 1974.

What is the name of the traditional Mexican sauce made with chocolate and chili peppers?

Mole, above all mole poblano from Puebla, blends dried chiles, spices, nuts and a little chocolate; the name comes from the Nahuatl mōlli, meaning sauce.

Which Mexican luchador, famous for his silver mask, was buried wearing it in 1984?

El Santo (Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta) wore his silver mask in more than 50 films from 1958 to 1982 and was buried in it in February 1984 after one of Mexico's largest funerals.

What year did Mexico gain independence from Spain?

Mexico won independence in 1821: the war began with the Cry of Dolores in 1810, the Treaty of Córdoba was signed in August 1821, and the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City on September 27.

What are cenotes?

Cenotes are water-filled sinkholes formed where limestone collapses to expose the groundwater; the Yucatán Peninsula has thousands of them, many ringing the buried Chicxulub impact crater.

Which Mexican muralist painted the famous Detroit Industry murals?

Diego Rivera (1886-1957) painted the Detroit Industry murals (1932-33) at the Detroit Institute of Arts, depicting workers at the Ford Motor Company. He was one of Mexico's "Big Three" muralists.

What does Cinco de Mayo actually commemorate?

Cinco de Mayo marks the 1862 Battle of Puebla, where General Ignacio Zaragoza's army beat a larger French force on May 5; a year later France won a second battle there and took the capital. Independence Day is September 16.

Which Mexican peninsula is home to popular resort cities like Cancún and Playa del Carmen?

The Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico is home to resort cities like Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, as well as numerous Maya ruins and cenotes.

What is a quinceañera?

It often opens with a religious ceremony before a party of food, music and dancing; historically girls spent the preceding years learning cooking and weaving from older women.

Which country borders Mexico to the south?

Guatemala and Belize border Mexico to the south. Guatemala shares a longer border with Mexico along the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.

What music features trumpets, violins and guitars played by musicians in wide-brimmed sombreros?

Mariachi arose in western Mexico, notably Jalisco, by the 18th century; the trumpet and the charro suit were 20th-century additions, and UNESCO inscribed mariachi as intangible cultural heritage in 2011.

Which Spanish conquistador led the expedition that conquered the Aztec Empire?

Hernán Cortés took the Aztec capital in August 1521 with a force swollen by indigenous allies and helped by disease; he was later made 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca.

What is the name of the active volcano near Mexico City that is the second-highest peak in Mexico?

Popocatépetl, roughly 5,400 m high, straddles Puebla, Morelos and the State of Mexico and has erupted repeatedly since 1994; in legend it is a warrior mourning his beloved Iztaccíhuatl.

Which Mexican author wrote the 1950 essay collection The Labyrinth of Solitude?

Octavio Paz (1914-1998) wrote 'The Labyrinth of Solitude' (1950), a landmark essay on Mexican identity. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990.

What was the name of the Aztec capital built on an island in Lake Texcoco?

Its founding date is uncertain; 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 so the city could celebrate a 600th anniversary.

Mexico is the world's largest producer of which precious metal?

In 2014 it mined 5,000 tonnes, 18.7% of world output; between 1500 and 1800 Mexico, Bolivia and Peru together supplied 85% of the world's silver.

For playing Frida Kahlo in the 2002 biopic Frida, who became the first Mexican woman nominated for the Best Actress Oscar?

Salma Hayek produced Frida as well as starring in it, courting the painter's estate administrator Dolores Olmedo for the rights; the role made her the first Mexican Best Actress nominee.

Which Mexican spirit, unlike mezcal, may be made only from the blue variety of its source plant?

Tequila must be made from blue Weber agave, whereas mezcal may use dozens of agave species; the spirit is named after the town of Tequila, whose red volcanic soils suit the blue plant.

Which sport is most popular in Mexico by both viewership and participation?

Football (soccer) is Mexico's most popular sport; Liga MX's Club América and Chivas de Guadalajara are the biggest clubs, and the national team, El Tri, won Olympic gold at London 2012.

What animal is depicted on the Mexican coat of arms, sitting on a cactus while eating a snake?

A golden eagle perched on a prickly-pear cactus devouring a snake: the Mexica legend said this sign would mark where to found their capital, and the Codex Mendoza shows the eagle without a snake.

The peninsula from Mexicali to Cabo San Lucas is divided into which two states?

Baja California (capital Mexicali) and Baja California Sur (capital La Paz) share the 1,247 km peninsula; the south was a federal territory until it became a state in 1974.

Which priest is known as the 'Father of Mexican Independence' for his 1810 Grito de Dolores?

Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued the famous 'Grito de Dolores' on September 16, 1810, rallying Mexicans to revolt against Spanish rule. September 16 is now Mexico's Independence Day.

What is the highest mountain in Mexico?

Pico de Orizaba, also called Citlaltépetl ('star mountain' in Nahuatl), rises 5,636 m on the Puebla–Veracruz border; it is North America's highest volcano and third-highest peak after Denali and Mount Logan.

What endangered species of porpoise is found only in the northern Gulf of California?

The vaquita, a small porpoise endemic to the upper Gulf of California, is the world's rarest marine mammal; its numbers collapsed through bycatch in illegal gillnets set for totoaba, whose swim bladders fetch high prices in China.

Which Mexican president ruled over 30 years before the 1910 revolution overthrew him?

Porfirio Díaz held power from 1876 to 1911, the Porfiriato; after Madero's forces beat the Federal Army he resigned under the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez in May 1911 and died in Paris in 1915.

What Mexican dish is masa filled with meat or cheese and wrapped in a corn husk?

Tamales are masa wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed; they were a portable food in Aztec and Maya times, and the name comes from the Nahuatl tamalli.

What is the name of the ancient city near Mexico City known for its massive Pyramid of the Sun?

Teotihuacan, about 50 km northeast of Mexico City, peaked around 450 CE with well over 100,000 inhabitants; its Pyramid of the Sun, roughly 65 m high, and Pyramid of the Moon line the Avenue of the Dead.

The town that gives its name to Mexico's best-known agave spirit is in which state?

The town of Tequila lies in Jalisco, about 65 km northwest of Guadalajara; the spirit's appellation of origin covers all of Jalisco plus parts of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.

What is the currency of Mexico?

The Mexican peso, the most traded currency in Latin America, is divided into 100 centavos; its '$' sign, like the US dollar's, descends from the Spanish dollar, the peso de ocho.

Which Morelos revolutionary fought for agrarian reform under the slogan 'Tierra y Libertad'?

Emiliano Zapata, born in Anenecuilco, Morelos, led the Liberation Army of the South and issued the 1911 Plan de Ayala demanding land for the villages; he was ambushed and killed in 1919.

The Copper Canyon railway El Chepe runs from Chihuahua to which Pacific-coast city?

El Chepe, the Chihuahua–Pacific railway, runs about 670 km from Chihuahua to Los Mochis in Sinaloa, crossing the Copper Canyon over 37 bridges and through 86 tunnels; it opened in 1961.

Which Mexican dog breed, usually hairless, takes its name from the Aztec god of fire and lightning?

The Xoloitzcuintli, or xolo, is named for Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lightning, plus itzcuintli, dog; it comes in hairless and coated varieties and was buried with owners to guide souls to the underworld.

Which European ruler used Juárez's 1861 debt moratorium as a pretext to install Maximilian as emperor?

Napoleon III kept French troops in Mexico after Britain and Spain quit the 1862 debt-collection expedition; once he withdrew them in 1866–67, Maximilian's empire collapsed and he was shot at Querétaro in June 1867.

Which UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mexico City features floating gardens built by the Aztecs?

Xochimilco's trajineras ply roughly 170 km of canals between the chinampas, artificial islands the Aztecs built for farming; UNESCO listed it together with the historic centre of Mexico City in 1987.

Which Mexican celebration runs nine nights from December 16, ending on Christmas Eve?

Las Posadas ('the inns') run December 16–24, nine nights for Mary's nine-month pregnancy; the custom traces to 1586, when Friar Diego de Soria obtained papal permission for the misas de aguinaldo.

Which Mexican state shares a border with Belize?

Quintana Roo is the only Mexican state bordering Belize, along the Río Hondo; it became a state in 1974 and its capital is Chetumal, on the frontier.

What is the name of the ring-shaped bread eaten on January 6 in Mexico, with a tiny figurine hidden inside?

Rosca de Reyes is eaten on Día de Reyes, January 6; the hidden figurine represents the Christ Child, and whoever finds it must provide tamales on Candlemas, February 2.

The monarch butterfly overwintering reserve lies on the border of the State of Mexico and which other state?

The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve straddles Michoacán and the State of Mexico about 100 km northwest of the capital; its oyamel fir forests host most of the eastern monarch population each winter, and UNESCO listed it in 2008.

Which ancient Maya city in Chiapas is famous for its elaborate palace and the Temple of the Inscriptions?

Palenque is a Maya archaeological site in Chiapas known for its elegant architecture. The Temple of the Inscriptions contains the tomb of the ruler K'inich Janaab Pakal, discovered in 1952.

Which Puebla dish of stuffed poblanos in walnut sauce shows the flag's colours?

Chiles en nogada pair stuffed poblanos with a white walnut (nogal) sauce and red pomegranate seeds over the green chiles; the dish is tied to Independence Day in September, pomegranate season.

Which Mexican boxer won his first 87 professional fights before a 1993 draw with Pernell Whitaker?

Julio César Chávez was 87-0 before the September 1993 draw with Whitaker; his first defeat came against Frankie Randall in January 1994, and he held world titles at super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight.

A Mexican jumping bean jumps because it contains what?

The bean jumps because the larva of a small moth, Cydia saltitans, lives inside and twitches when warmed; the 'bean' is a seed-pod segment of a spurge shrub, not a legume at all.

The Caesar salad was invented on 4 July 1924 in which Mexican border city?

Caesar Cardini ran a restaurant in Tijuana for Americans dodging Prohibition and, the story goes, improvised the salad when a Fourth of July rush in 1924 emptied his kitchen.

Which Mexican breed is the smallest recognised dog breed in the world?

The Chihuahua, typically under 3 kg, is the world's smallest recognised dog breed; it is named after the Mexican state of Chihuahua, the country's largest by area.

Built on a drained lakebed, Mexico City continues to sink by roughly how much every year?

Parts of Mexico City sink around 50 centimetres a year as the clay of the drained lakebed compacts under groundwater over-pumping; a 2021 study concluded the subsidence can no longer be stopped.

What sits atop the Great Pyramid of Cholula near Puebla, the world's largest pyramid by volume?

The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, a Catholic church the Spanish built in the 16th century, crowns the overgrown mound; Guinness rates the pyramid's volume at over 4.45 million cubic metres, more than Giza's Great Pyramid.

What did recluse Julián Santana Barrera hang across his Xochimilco chinampa for decades?

Julián Santana Barrera hung hundreds of dolls he held to be haunted across his chinampa over some 50 years to appease a drowned girl's spirit; since his death in 2001 the Island of the Dolls draws dark tourists.

Cuexcomate in Puebla, billed as 'the smallest volcano in the world', is really what?

Cuexcomate is a 13-metre sinter cone left by an inactive geyser, linked to an eruption of Popocatépetl around 1064; a spiral staircase lets visitors climb down inside it.

Chapulines, a popular Oaxacan snack toasted with lime, garlic and chili, take their name from the Nahuatl for what creatures?

Chapulines are grasshoppers, toasted on a comal, the same griddle used for tortillas; the word comes from the Nahuatl chapolin.

Mexican engineer Guillermo González Camarena patented an early field-sequential system in 1940 for what?

Colour television: González Camarena patented his Trichromatic Field Sequential System in Mexico in 1940 (US patent 1942), and his station XHGC Canal 5 made Mexico's first colour broadcast in 1963.

What did chemist Luis Miramontes first synthesise at Syntex in Mexico City on 15 October 1951?

He was 26 and working under Carl Djerassi, who is often called 'Father of the Pill' despite Miramontes doing the synthesis.

In Papantla's Danza de los Voladores, four men launch on ropes from a pole roughly how tall?

The pole is roughly 30 metres tall; four voladores spin down on ropes in 13 circuits each, 52 in all, the Mesoamerican calendar cycle, while a fifth plays flute and drum on top. UNESCO listed the ritual in 2009.

Which vegetable do Oaxacan artisans carve into elaborate scenes every 23 December?

Radishes: Oaxaca's Noche de Rábanos on 23 December began when market farmers carved them to catch shoppers' eyes; oversized roots are now grown specially and carved into nativity scenes and figures.

Who became the first president of the First Mexican Republic in 1824?

Guadalupe Victoria, born José Miguel Fernández y Félix, took office in October 1824 and was the first Mexican president to complete a full term; Iturbide had briefly reigned as emperor before him.

Benito Juárez, Mexico's first Indigenous president, belonged to which people?

Juárez was a Zapotec, the first Indigenous president of Mexico and the first democratically elected Indigenous president in the postcolonial Americas. He was orphaned at three.

For how many years had the PRI ruled when it lost the 2000 presidential election to Vicente Fox?

The PRI and its predecessors had held the presidency for 71 years, since 1929, when Vicente Fox of the PAN won in July 2000; the PAN kept it in 2006 with Felipe Calderón.

Which was Mexico's earliest complex civilisation, flourishing on the Gulf Coast from around 1500 BC?

The Olmec flourished on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz and Tabasco from about 1500 BC, with centres at San Lorenzo and La Venta; their colossal basalt heads are their best-known legacy.

Which UNAM-trained chemist became the first Mexican to win a science Nobel, sharing the 1995 chemistry prize for work on ozone?

Mario J. Molina shared the 1995 Nobel with Paul Crutzen and F. Sherwood Rowland for showing how CFCs destroy ozone, the first science Nobel for a Mexican citizen.

Where does Mexico rank among the world's countries by total area, at about 1.97 million km²?

Mexico's 1.97 million km² make it the world's 13th-largest country, behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of Indonesia; it is the third-largest in Latin America after Brazil and Argentina.

Which Mexican state contains the Lacandon Jungle and the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve?

Chiapas holds the Lacandon Jungle, Mexico's largest tropical rainforest, and its Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, created in 1978, a refuge for jaguars, scarlet macaws and howler monkeys.

In its frequency range, Mexico's Gran Telescopio Milimétrico is the world's largest what?

The Gran Telescopio Milimétrico on Sierra Negra, Puebla, has a 50-metre dish at about 4,600 m altitude, the world's largest single-aperture telescope for millimetre wavelengths; it joined the Event Horizon Telescope that imaged a black hole in 2019.

Which Mexican salamander, able to regrow limbs and even parts of its brain, clings on in the wild only in Xochimilco's canals?

The axolotl's genome is ten times the size of ours: its 32-billion-base-pair sequence, published in 2018, was the largest animal genome sequenced at the time.

Which Mexican magnate, who built his fortune on Telmex and América Movil, topped the Forbes world's-richest list from 2010 to 2013?

Carlos Slim topped the Forbes list of the world's richest from 2010 to 2013; his Grupo Carso bought Telmex in the 1990 privatisation, and América Movil grew into Latin America's largest mobile carrier.

Which Mexican director won back-to-back Best Director Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant?

Only John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz had managed consecutive wins before him; his breakout was the Mexico City drama Amores perros in 2000.

Which former head of Mexico City's government was sworn in on 1 October 2024 as Mexico's first woman president?

Claudia Sheinbaum was also the first person of Jewish heritage to hold the office; the Morena politician governed Mexico City from 2018 to 2023 before taking office on 1 October 2024.

Mexican horchata is usually made from which grain?

Mexican horchata swapped tiger nuts for rice, blended with cinnamon and sugar and sometimes milk, and is served as an agua fresca.

Which Mexico City stadium, where Maradona scored his 'Hand of God' goal, was the first to host two World Cup finals?

Estadio Azteca staged Brazil's 4-1 win over Italy in 1970 and Argentina's 3-2 over West Germany in 1986, plus Maradona's 'Hand of God' quarter-final against England.

What did pre-Hispanic Mesoamericans commonly use as money?

Cacao beans served as currency across Mesoamerica: Aztec tribute lists count them by the load, and a turkey reportedly cost about 100 beans; the same beans made a bitter, spiced ceremonial drink.

The La Quebrada divers plunge from cliffs up to 41 metres high in which resort?

La Quebrada's clavadistas have dived at Acapulco since 1934, leaping from ledges as high as 41 m into a narrow inlet only a few metres deep and timing each jump to the incoming swell.

Which Mexican became the first Latin American to win the Best Director Oscar, for Gravity?

Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for Gravity at the 2014 ceremony and again for Roma in 2019, when he also took Best Cinematography; his production company, Esperanto Filmoj, is named after the language.

Which exiled Soviet revolutionary was assassinated in Mexico City in 1940?

Leon Trotsky had lived in Coyoacán since 1937; Stalinist agent Ramón Mercader struck him with an ice axe on 20 August 1940, three months after a machine-gun raid led by the muralist Siqueiros failed in May.

Which 17th-century Mexican poet was nicknamed 'The Tenth Muse'?

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz entered the convent of San Jerónimo in 1669 largely to keep studying; her poems and the 1691 Respuesta a Sor Filotea defended women's right to learn before church pressure silenced her.

Emperor Maximilian lived in, and the Niños Héroes died defending, which Mexico City landmark?

Chapultepec Castle housed Emperor Maximilian and Carlota from 1864 to 1867; on 13 September 1847 the Niños Héroes, six military-academy cadets, died defending it against US forces. It now holds the National Museum of History.

What is Mexico's largest body of fresh water?

Lake Chapala, on the Jalisco–Michoacán border, covers about 1,100 km² and is Mexico's largest freshwater lake; fed by the Río Lerma, it supplies much of Guadalajara's drinking water.

What do Mexicans call the river that Americans know as the Rio Grande?

'Bravo' here means furious or wild; the full name is Río Bravo del Norte, and the river forms over 2,000 km of the border.

Which Mexican leader gave his own amputated leg a burial with full military honours?

The leg was lost to French fire during the 1838 Pastry War. When he later fell from power, a mob dug it up and dragged it through the streets of the capital.

Which Mexican comedian, whom Charlie Chaplin called the best alive, won a Golden Globe for Around the World in 80 Days?

Cantinflas rambled so memorably that Spanish gained the verb 'cantinflear', added to the Real Academia's dictionary in 1992. He co-starred with David Niven in Around the World in 80 Days.

Mexico City sits at roughly what altitude above sea level?

Mexico City sits at 2,240 m (7,350 ft) on the high Central Plateau; at the 1968 Olympics the thin air helped sprinters and jumpers while lowland distance runners struggled.

Ringing the bell Hidalgo used in 1810, Mexico's president shouts the Grito every 15 September from the balcony of which building?

The National Palace balcony in Mexico City is where the president re-enacts the cry, rings Hidalgo's bell, names the independence heroes and ends with three shouts of '¡Viva México!'.

Which president nationalised Mexico's oil industry and founded Pemex in 1938?

Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated the foreign oil companies on 18 March 1938 and created Pemex; he also redistributed haciendas as collectively held ejidos, notably in the cotton-growing La Laguna region and Yucatán's henequen fields.

Pancho Villa's 1916 cross-border raid, which triggered a US punitive expedition, hit which town?

Several hundred Villistas attacked Columbus, New Mexico, on 9 March 1916, killing 18 Americans; General Pershing's punitive expedition then spent almost a year chasing Villa through Chihuahua without catching him.

The asteroid that carved the Chicxulub crater 66 million years ago was roughly how wide?

The impactor was roughly 10 kilometres wide; the crater it left beneath the Yucatán coast near Chicxulub is about 180 km across and buried under a kilometre of younger rock, and the impact is blamed for ending the dinosaurs.

In which year did Volkswagen's Puebla plant build the very last original Beetle?

The final Type 1 rolled off the Puebla line on 30 July 2003, after 21,529,464 had been built worldwide; the 'Última Edición' came in Aquarius Blue and Harvest Moon Beige.

The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo forced Mexico to give up about what share of its land?

Mexico ceded about 55 percent of its territory, some 1.36 million km² that became California, Nevada, Utah and most of Arizona, plus parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming; the Gadsden Purchase added more in 1853.

Why were most of the famous mummies of Guanajuato dug up in the first place?

Cemetery workers began exhuming unpaid niches in 1865 and found bodies naturally preserved with skin, hair and clothing intact; the practice lasted until 1958.

Which indigenous people, famed for long-distance running, inhabit Mexico's Copper Canyon?

The Rarámuri, whom Spanish colonists called Tarahumara, number around 70,000; many move seasonally between the cool highlands in summer and the canyon floors in winter, and their name is popularly glossed as 'foot-runners'.

In which Mexico City square did soldiers open fire on student protesters on 2 October 1968?

The Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco, named for its Aztec ruins, colonial church and modern housing blocks, saw the massacre ten days before the 1968 Olympics opened in the city.

Rodolfo Neri Vela became the first Mexican in space in 1985 aboard which space shuttle?

Neri Vela flew on Atlantis as a payload specialist on STS-61-B in November 1985, deploying the Morelos 2 satellite, which made him the second Latin American in orbit after Cuba's Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez.

Alfonso García Robles won the 1982 Nobel Peace Prize for a treaty making Latin America what?

The 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco made Latin America and the Caribbean the first nuclear-weapon-free zone in an inhabited region; García Robles shared the 1982 prize with Sweden's Alva Myrdal.

The Cave of the Crystals, with selenite crystals over 11 metres long, lies beneath which mine?

The chamber lies 300 metres down in the Naica lead-silver mine in Chihuahua; the largest crystal measured about 11.4 m long and 12 tonnes, and once pumping stopped in 2015 the cavern refilled with water.

Hugo Sánchez, the Real Madrid striker whose 38 goals in 1989-90 tied a La Liga record, won how many Pichichi top-scorer trophies?

Five Pichichis: Hugo Sánchez was La Liga's top scorer five times, and his 38 goals in 1989-90 matched Telmo Zarra's 1951 single-season record and won the European Golden Boot.