Embarcadero Nuevo Nativitas Xochimilco

About this audio guide

This guide to the Nuevo Nativitas boat launch in Xochimilco follows the wild axolotl through these canals, from Aztec-era abundance to a recent count of just thirty-six, and the university researchers racing to keep it alive with underwater breeding cages. You'll hear the Aztec legend that cast the axolotl as the god Xolotl in hiding, and about the chinampas, garden islands built from stacked mud and reeds over a thousand years ago, drifting past your boat. Listen for the boatman's pole striking the canal bed as you glide by.