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It was without a doubt a special tribute, which also coincided with Flag Day.
On February 24, 1975, a crowd gathered in the Zócalo of the capital of Mexico to receive Queen Elizabeth II, who that day began with her husband, Prince Felipe, the first official visit of a British monarch to that country. .
To celebrate it there were flowers, music, songs, applause, pompoms, gymnasts. And bold artistic bets.
In one of them, a group of young people managed to make an animation in which they observed Charlie Chaplin and Cantinflas -the emblematic comedians of both countries- run towards each other until they shake hands and finally embrace.
Then they formed the phrase: “United by friendship” (“United by friendship”). Also other prayers, in English and Spanish, such as “Long life Isabel II” and “Viva México”.
“The affection that was shown to him was very evident. There was a demonstration of joy and goodwill to send a message to the sovereign that she was very welcome in Mexico,” César Lajud, a Mexican professor of Economics at the Nebrija University in Madrid, who was present on the occasion, tells BBC Mundo. .
The newspapers covered the unprecedented trip in detail.
This is how the newspaper El Universal reported the dinner of honor that Elizabeth II offered at the British embassy in Mexico in honor of President Luis Echeverría and his wife, María Ester Zuno, on February 25.
“With her exquisite skills as a hostess, she served tender chicks stuffed with pâté as the main course, garnished with artichoke hearts. A musical ensemble performed music by European and American authors, as well as an arrangement of ‘La Cucaracha’”.
“I remember the detail of ‘La Cucaracha’…. I understand that listening to it was very pleasant for the visitors”, recalls Lajud.
“It is a song historically linked to the Mexican Revolution, which has been adapted to the culture of the country, and has become a benchmark when you want to brighten up any moment,” he says.
Renew ties
The queen’s visit marked the 150th anniversary of a major trade and shipping agreement between Britain and Mexico, signed in 1825.
Until 1945, the United Kingdom had been the main trading partner of much of Latin America.
But with its leading role in the fight against the Nazis during World War II and since most of its colonies were in Asia and Africa, it began to pay less attention to Latin America.
The situation would change in the 1970s.
And it is that before its image very overshadowed by the weight of the United States, “United Kingdom wanted to say: we are going to come back”, Professor Harim Gutiérrez, from the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico, explains to BBC Mundo.
In this context, “the queen’s visit was a good opportunity to improve relations with Mexico and other Latin American countries and to promote the image of the United Kingdom in the region,” says the expert.
A Mexico that was projected
As the 20th century progressed, Mexican governments had realized “the need to broaden their international horizons” so as not to restrict themselves solely to relations with Washington, their main trading partner.
According to Gutiérrez, until then no president had had such an active foreign policy as Luis Echeverría (1970-1976).
Between March 29 and April 24, 1973, the president visited Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, the then Soviet Union, and China. And when he passed through England he was invited with his wife to Windsor Castle to a private dinner with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
It was on that tour that Echeverría invited heads of state to visit his country.
And, of course, Queen Elizabeth II was one of them.
“As far as I remember, it was only the third time that a foreign monarch visited Mexico,” says Gutiérrez.
The first was the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, in 1954, and the second was Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, in 1964.
“But due to the economic and cultural preponderance that the United Kingdom has had, aroused much more interest in the Mexican population the visit of Queen Elizabeth than the previous ones”, comments the expert.
Prince Felipe had already visited Mexico, in the 1960s, on a trip considered unofficial.
“Somehow there was already a precedent that the British royals were going to be well received.”
The role of the PRI
“Something that was striking for the queen is that she said that only in India had she been received by larger crowds than in Mexico,” recalls Gutiérrez.
According to the expert, many of the events were organized by the government.
“The ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, was an organization that had a great deal of skill and experience in mobilize their supporters”, which was not only reflected in the electoral elections, but in other types of activities, explains Gutiérrez.
“Many of these people gladly went to the events called by the government, because they were like a popular festival, it did not cost them money, they gave them transportation, some snacks and, well, Queen Elizabeth II did not come to Mexico every day” , indicates.
“They were contingents of unions, workers, peasant organizations, neighbors, athletes, students, who could also do shows like forming, with colored cardboard, signs and even animations.”
“In the Zócalo, for example, they made a gallery and hundreds of people made drawings in honor of the queen.”
And a giant composition of the faces of the sovereign and the president and of the flags of both countries, with the word “Friendship” in the middle of both leaders.
a cultural journey
Elizabeth II and her husband entered Mexico through Cozumel aboard the royal yacht Britannia. From there they flew to Mexico City.
In addition to the capital, he visited other places.
“The queen said that she had learned about the Mayan culture in books and that she was very excited to be able to visit the place and see it with her own eyes,” recalls Gutiérrez.
was in the Archaeological zone of Monte Albanone of the most important cities in Mesoamerica, located 8 kilometers from the city of Oaxaca de Juárez, and in Yucatan he inaugurated the La Reina Zoological Park in Tizimín, which was named in his honor.
In addition, she walked through markets and attended art and craft exhibitions organized exclusively for her, received many gifts and took advantage of the occasion to buy ceramics, blankets, tablecloths.
“It was also something very notorious in the press at the time, that a lady broke the (security) fence and gave her a shawl and that the queen wore it for the rest of that day.”
And taking advantage of the queen’s visit, the Mexican government promoted the idea that Mexico was a safe place to visit and an attractive tourist destination.
“So if the queen was well received and the international press covered the most attractive places she visited, such as Guanajuato, Yucatan and Oaxaca, there was a very reasonable chance that it would help promote foreign tourism in the country, starting with the British and the European”, says Gutiérrez.
“If he went to craft markets, he visited the archaeological zones, he went to the popular markets, they gave him typical food, tlacoyos, tortillas and other typical dishesthen it also became another promotion for the country”, he affirms.
The song of the King
According to the chronicle made by the newspaper El Universal, on February 27 the queen ate overheated while music by Agustín Lara played, ‘medleys’ of Mexican songs” performed on the organ.
“Pedro Vargas, ‘The Continental Tenor’, made his appearance and after singing ‘Solamente una vez’, he continued with ‘Noches de ronda’ and received applause from everyone. As she passed before the queen, she bowed to him and she smiled at him.”
The monarch also visited the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, “the most famous historic building in Guanajuato,” says Gutiérrez.
The queen and her husband were in Mexico until March 1.
Before leaving, the monarch highlighted “charm and kindness” of the Mexicans.
“Our deep thanks to everyone who planned and organized our visit with such meticulousness and imagination,” said Isabel.
A different second visit
The queen returned in 1983. “Going back cemented the relationship between her country and Mexico,” says Lajud.
“In 1983, given that the economic situation in Mexico was much more pressing than in 1975, the queen’s visit did not have as much popular repercussion,” says Gutiérrez.
“The mood of the country was not festive because the previous year there had been a very strong economic crisis caused by the drop in oil prices.”
It was, according to the expert, a more discreet visitalthough thousands of people came out to greet her with joy in the different locations where she went.
“I can also venture to say that that moment (the visit) served to improve relations between Mexico and the United Kingdom”, after the Malvinas/Falklands war in 1982, when Mexico supported the Argentine demand for the islands.
Lajud agrees: “In some way, he tried to soften and improve the presence of Great Britain in Latin America”.
In addition, Gutiérrez explains, unlike in the 1970s, the leftist opposition, “although still a minority, already had greater public visibility.”
And from an anti-imperialist, republican and anti-monarchist position, protested against Queen Elizabeth’s visit “and they even officially asked the Mexican government not to receive it.”
Although somewhat different, both visits made history in Mexico and left a mark on the queen.
In March 2015, in a speech she offered on the occasion of the visit to the United Kingdom by the then president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, the monarch said:
“Prince Philip and I have fond memories of our visits to Mexico in 1975 and 1983, and we are also very pleased that just a few months ago the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall enjoyed an unforgettable visit to their country.”
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
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