• DEATH Local authorities will limit the amount of alcohol permitted aboard boats in Mexico City’s fabled waterways of Xochimilco after a young man’s fell and drowned during a birthday celebration on Sunday; authorities will also ban portable speakers and will only allow live music groups.
• HISTORY Since the beginning of the 20th century, Xochimilco is one of the most famous touristic areas in Mexico City, well known because of its series of canals -the vestiges of a pre-Columbian system of lakes- full with ‘gondola-esque’ boats and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
• PARADISE LOST Long an inspiration for painters like Diego Rivera and a frequently used location for Mexican movies in the mid-20th century, Xochimilco has long lost its bucolic image and scientists have alerted of the threat urbanization and excessive tourism for the remaining canal ecosystem.
• BY THE NUMBERS Just after its historic center and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Xochimilco’s canals are one of the most visited attractions in Mexico City with an estimate of 2 million tourists arriving every year despite the complaints of noise, water pollution and alcohol abuse.
