Mexico and ‘The Guinness Book of Records’

In November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing manager of the Guinness Breweries, was retired shooting. He aimed astatine a aureate plover but missed, excusing himself with the information that plovers were the fastest crippled vertebrate successful Europe. No, a person argued, the reddish grouse was faster. Back successful the house, Sir Hugh was amazed helium could not find the reply to their quality successful a notation book, and the thought for “a publication of records” that would lick specified arguments was born. Norris and Ross McWhirter were employed to compile what became “The Guinness Book of Records,” with the archetypal variation coming retired successful August 1955.

A 1000 copies were distributed escaped to pubs crossed Britain and Ireland to beforehand the Guinness brand. The work proved truthful fashionable that the pursuing year, the archetypal commercialized variation was enactment connected sale. It came retired astatine Christmas with a plain greenish screen with the Guinness logo, 198 pages of records, and a fistful of achromatic and achromatic photos. It was a humble commencement to what has go a publishing phenomenon. 

The world’s largest margarita

Tijuana present owns the grounds for the world’s largest margarita. (Turisteando Tijuana)

Mexicans person a peculiar emotion for “The Guinness Book of Records” and assertion astir 217 entries (the fig changes regularly arsenic records are acceptable oregon surpassed). There are nary fiscal rewards for breaking a record, but you person an authoritative certificate, and determination is the imaginable for a batch of escaped publicity. Mexican towns person seen the vantage of this, and galore of the grounds attempts person been arranged by section governments and their tourer boards.  A large illustration is Tijuana’s palmy effort to marque the world’s largest margarita.

In 2024, arsenic Tijuana was approaching its 136th anniversary, Faviola Partida Dunn, the proprietor of Tequila Cachanilla, was looking for a mode to pull planetary attention. Glancing done “The Guinness Book of Records” for a suitable challenge, she recovered (presumedly to her horror) that the grounds for the world’s largest margarita had been acceptable successful the U.S. Not lone would breaking this grounds beryllium large publicity, but it would beryllium 1 implicit the municipality of Tequila. Their confederate rivals mightiness person invented the drink, but galore successful Tijuana felt they had go its spiritual home!

Triumph successful Tijuana

The grounds was not an casual one. It stood astatine 32,176 liters, achieved by Margaritaville successful Las Vegas. That is astir the magnitude of liquid it takes to capable a ample plot swimming pool. The Tijuana situation would request a elephantine container, and it would person to beryllium safe. (You don’t privation to spell into the grounds publication for the highest fig of spectators drowned successful a margarita erstwhile a vessel bursts). If possible, the portion should beryllium disposable arsenic it was poured in, and determination indispensable beryllium an close mode to measurement the volume. Pouring liters of tequila into an bare swimming excavation simply wouldn’t work, being neither melodramatic nor accurately measurable. A custom-designed 40,000-liter vessel with a pumping and organisation strategy was constructed, and successful July 2025, the Tijuana squad broke the grounds by mixing 34,419.4 liters of margarita.

Record-breaking achievements successful Mexico

Mexico has acceptable galore records of this type, including the biggest guacamole (4,972 kilograms, Peribán, Michoacán, 2022), Enchilada (70 meters, Iztapalapa, 2010), and burrito (5,799 kilograms, La Paz, 2010). In August 2025, an effort successful Guadalupe broke 3 records: the largest stir-fry (2.5 metric tons) utilizing the world’s largest cookware (24 feet successful diameter) to nutrient a grounds 13,000 tacos.

Not each Mexican records are food-linked. The state besides claims the largest Mexican people creation (1,095 participants successful Monterrey, 2022) and the largest Mariachi show (1,100 musicians successful Mexico City successful 2024). The Day of the Dead solemnisation inspired a singular grounds successful Veracruz successful November 2023. Seven 100 workers toiled for 24 hours, utilized 1,250 candles, 795 breads, 200 sweetener skulls and countless Cempasúchil flowers, tamales and papel picado to nutrient the world’s biggest Day of the Dead altar. 

Not each the records acceptable successful Mexico person specified an evident nexus to Mexican culture. One of the astir melodramatic events was organized by the History Channel marque History Latinoamérica, and saw 1,674 classical cars thrust done the bosom of Mexico City. Records don’t past forever; that fig was surpassed successful Puerto Rico 3 years later.  Another off-the-beat grounds was acceptable successful 2018 when, with the World Cup astir to footwear disconnected successful Russia, 1,080 participants gathered successful the Zócalo of Mexico City to acceptable a satellite grounds for the astir games of array shot played simultaneously. 

Doctor Who comes to Mexico and conquers

Nearly 500 radical dressed arsenic Doctor Who characters during La Mole Comic Con successful 2016. Yes, that’s a record. (The Guinness Book of Records)

One of the astir improbable records came successful 2016 at the La Mole Comic Con erstwhile an effort was made for the “Largest Gathering of People Dressed arsenic Doctor Who Characters.”  There was sizeable publicity for the event, helped by the information that histrion Peter Capaldi, the “Twelfth Doctor,” would beryllium successful Mexico to observe the section premiere of “Doctor Who,” Season 9. Even so, the programme lone has a fringe pursuing successful Mexico, and it was thing of a astonishment erstwhile 492 fans turned up dressed arsenic Doctor Who, Daleks oregon different assorted monsters.

Not each records are purposely staged to triumph a spot successful the book. When the jetty astatine Municipio de Progreso successful the Yucatán was extended successful July 2023, the purpose was to amended facilities for the 150,000 cruise vessel passengers who get each year. The 8-kilometer operation getting into “The Guinness Book of Records” arsenic the longest jetty successful the satellite was a bonus, not portion of the calculations. The 2021 opening of the 10.5-kilometer enactment successful the Sistema de Transporte Público Cablebús, making it the world’s longest Public Transit Cable Car Route, besides won a spot successful “The Guinness Book of Records.” Similarly, the Baluarte Bridge was concisely listed arsenic the world’s highest cable-stayed bridge when it opened successful 2012, though that grounds has since been lost to China.

Mexican sports stars who person acceptable records

Getting into “The Guinness Book of Records” as an idiosyncratic is possibly much hard than a squad effort, but astatine slightest 3 Mexican sportsmen person made it.  Few radical who are not fans of Pelota volition person heard of José Hamuy, but his 3 satellite titles successful the agelong tribunal crippled Cesta Punta are a satellite grounds for that event. Much much acquainted to sports fans is boxer Ricardo López, whose 21 palmy rubric defenses are the grounds for his weight. And determination is boxer Julio César Chávez, who holds the grounds for satellite rubric bouts. Julio Cesar Chavez had his archetypal rubric combat successful 1984 against Mario Martínez and sixteen years aboriginal fought Kostya Tszyu for his 37th and record-setting satellite rubric fight. 

As we said astatine the beginning, Mexicans person a peculiar narration with “The Guinness Book of Records.” This mightiness beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic the information that staging a satellite grounds effort turns into a large party, and Mexicans emotion to party! No uncertainty much records volition beryllium set, and existing ones broken, and much Mexicans volition find their way into a publication that sets thing of a grounds itself by selling 3 and a fractional cardinal copies each year.

Bob Pateman is a Mexico-based historian, librarian and a life-term hasher. He is exertion of On On Magazine, the planetary past mag of hashing.