All year round we enjoy an extraordinary climate, but in spring something magical happens, the blooming of the jacarandas. Discover a little of their history and origin.
There are a little more than 50 registered species, but the one we know is the Jacaranda mimosifolia: blue jacaranda, native to South America. Although it is very "jacarandosa", its name does not come from this last word, its origin comes from the Portuguese word Yacarandá which means fragrant, which is curious since its flower has no scent and is rather known for its showy violet-blue sprouts.
Their presence fills us with good humor, positive vibes and color, not for nothing Nelson Mandela was a fan of them and even mentioned that the most pleasant moments during his trial for treason were the lunches under the shade of the jacaranda trees in the gardens of Pretoria..
This tree is found adorning several metropolises around the world and in our country you can find it in cities like CDMX, Querétaro, Uruapan, Tlaxcala and Guadalajara, but how did it come to adorn our streets? It is not known for sure how it arrived in Mexico, however, there are three versions that we describe below:
The Japanese gardener
It is said that in the 20th century a migrant gardener from Japan, Tatsuguro Matsumoto, set up his business in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, where he cultivated these trees that he brought back from his travels through South America. In this version, Matsumoto was dedicated to decorating gardens in oriental style and popularized jacaranda trees because of their resemblance to cherry trees. It is also said that he later advised Pascual Ortiz Rubio to adopt them in the streets of the city.
The president wanted cherry trees
This story seems to be a bit friendlier, as the jacaranda trees would represent a gift from the Japanese people to the Mexican people. If we put it in context, at the beginning of 1912, Japan gave the U.S. about 3,000 cherry trees for the city of Washington. A year later, Plutarco Elias Calles, on a trip to the U.S. capital, saw its streets full of "pink clouds" and loved it. Upon his return, he asked the president of Mexico at the time, Pascual Ortiz Rubio, to request the same gift from the Japanese government.
However, the Japanese made the Mexican president realize that the cherry trees would not grow due to the climate, but they promised to find the perfect tree to decorate the streets of Mexico City, and that is how, in this version, the jacaranda trees arrived in our country.
The Tree Apostle
It is said that Miguel Angel de Quevedo, known as the Apostle of the Tree and in charge of city lungs such as the Desierto de los Leones and the Coyoacan Nurseries in Mexico City, was responsible for bringing the jacaranda tree to the country, not for decoration but for its wood. Over time he discovered its usefulness for decorating public spaces, since, in theory, it does not damage the structure. In addition, he introduced the species to adorn streets, such as Insurgentes Avenue.
Regardless of the real reason, every year between March and April we can observe this beautiful natural spectacle where the buds bloom and ornament our great city in an incredible way.
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