The Xochimilco Canals · Gardens on the Water

In Aztec times Xochimilco was a stretch of man-made farmland on water: floating islands built from reeds and mud, growing flowers and vegetables, with a network of canals running through the whole city.

Today it is a place for boating and for listening to bands, and by day it is full of brightly painted boats. At night the locals tell a different story: a woman weeps at the water’s edge, her voice follows the boats, and anyone who follows hears their own name.

The boatmen do not treat this as a joke. They say not to row out into the deep channels alone at midnight.

Folklore / Mexico City · Mexico / Time immemorial