Jacarnadá Trees are Blooming in Mexico!
It’s spring and the beautiful Jacarnadá trees are blooming in Mexico! Their bluish-purple flowers grace the streets and gardens in the cooler climates throughout the country, but especially in Mexico City. The Jacarandá tree was a gift from a Japanese immigrant and is an enduring symbol of international friendship.
Tatsugoro Matsumoto, a Japanese Immigrant Planted the Trees
Tatsugoro Matsumoto, an imperial gardener from Tokyo, was one of the first Japanese immigrants to arrive in Mexico, just one year before the first mass emigration of Japanese pioneers to Chiapas in the year 1897.
Tatsugoro Matsumoto was an imperial gardener from Tokyo, Japan who came to Mexico in 1896.
Matsumoto first came to Latin America at the invitation of the government of Peru where he was commissioned to design gardens for the country. He worked in Peru for several years and then the government of Japan asked him to come to Mexico.
When Matsumoto arrived in Mexico City, “Colonia Roma” was at its height and was one of the most elegant neighborhoods in the city. Matsumoto began by designing and caring for the gardens of these elegant residences. He was more than a gardener; he was a landscape architect.
He gained a lot of fame from his incredible work. He was so famous that then Mexican President Porfirio Diaz asked him to take charge of the floral arrangements for the presidential residence and the forest surrounding the historic Chapultepec Castle.
Tatsugoro Matsumoto oversaw the design of the forest and gardens at the historic Chapultepec Castle* in Mexico City.
In 1910, President Diaz invited several governments, including Japan to Mexico’s independence celebration. The Japanese delegation in Mexico sponsored an important exhibition of Japanese products in the “Crystal Palace” which is now known as the Chopo Museum. At the palace, Matsumoto set up a garden with a small artificial lake that was inaugurated by President Diaz himself and the Japanese diplomatic delegation.
In 1910, a Japanese delegation sponsored an important exhibition of Japanese products in the “Crystal Palace” in Mexico City where Matsumoto set up a garden and an artificial lake.
Later, in 1920, Mexican President Álvaro Obregón (1920-1924) commissioned Matsumoto to plant jacaranda trees in the main avenues of Mexico City. Matsumoto had introduced the tree from Brazil. The weather conditions were adequate in Mexico City for the tree to bloom at the beginning of spring.
The Jacarandá tree grew successfully in Mexico and was widely reproduced throughout Mexico City. It is now considered a native flower. People can enjoy the magic of the Jacaranda in the spring months of March and April. Matsumoto never returned to Japan. He stayed and worked in Mexico City until 1955, the year he died at 94 years of age.
Enjoy the magic of the Jacarandá in this video.
Source: Jacaranda Para Mis Amig@s Del Mundo DJ Kikito, Enrique Cesario. Published on 11 Apr 2016 on YouTube.
References: Televisa Noticicieros, “La historia de la llegada de las Jacarandas a México,” 2 de marzo de 2017. https://noticieros.televisa.com/historia/como-llegaron-jacarandas-ciudad-mexico/
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To learn more about the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, read: Imagine-Mexico.com/Mexico Honors its Young Patriots on September 13th –The Story of the Niños Heroes (Boy Heroes)