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This documentary reconstructs great moments in the history of the city of Queretaro, including: its legendary foundation (1531); economic development in the 17th and 18th centuries, which left behind the priceless imprint of Baroque art; the Queretaro Conspiracy of 1808-10; the city as capital of Mexico during the U.S. invasion of 1847-48; the Fall of the Second Empire; the Constitutional Congress of 1916-17; and last but not least, the culture Queretaro has to offer even today, which one and all are welcome to enjoy.

In 1994, Popocatepetl, the legendary volcano, erupts and showers the ground with its ashes. All eyes are concentrated on the great colossus, from scientists to rural workers, communications workers to politicians, traditional weather men to visual artists. This documentary reminds us of the mythical time 'when the hills were standing up'.

This programs explores the life and music of Agustín Lara, one of Mexico's gifts to the world. The compositions from his intimate collection ''Flaco de Oro'' have remained recorded in popular memory. His melodies and lyrics, his voice and his unforgettable personality reveal the fruits of an extraordinarily gifted man who was completely dedicated to music, to beauty, to the love of women and to pleasure. This is an homage to that great romantic with a pirate's soul.

Through an original narrative, this documentary presents the biography of Antonio López de Santa Anna, a key figure in Mexican political life during the first half of the nineteenth century. Santa Anna led the battle that brought the loss of half of the nation's territory to the United States. His military valor and his charisma did not manage to eclipse the profound damage that he and followers did to the nation.

As a child, Roberto Gómez Bolaños dreamed of being a soccer player or an engineer; acting seemed ridiculous to him. But with the passing of time he discovered his true vocation. First as a writer and then as an actor, he gave life to various characters, including two of the most popular in the history of Mexican television.

Cinco de Mayo: Mexican Glory, a documentary that brings us to the memorable events of that day in 1862, when the Mexican Army, led by Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated on the outskirts of the city of Puebla, the French army, under the command of General Lorencez, considered then the most powerful army in the world. The Battle of Cinco de Mayo marks the beginning of Mexico's prolonged resistance to the invaders, who were ultimately defeated five years later. In the context of an impoverished country, morally weak and immerse in political discord, the triumph of Puebla meant something even more important: the restoration of dignity and the birth of a true national identity. Interviews with recognized experts, conducted in Mexico, the United States and France, together with a remarkable iconography from Mexican and French collections -including unpublished images-, Cinco de Mayo: Mexican Glory, enlightens the importance of the battle, its impact in history, and the significance that its commemoration has acquired for the Mexican-American community.

The Mexican Revolution is one of the major watershed events in the history of contemporary Mexico. The men of the post-revolution began a reconstruction of their smaller homelands, like Don Isidro Fabela with his important work as governor. If it is true that, since then, Mexico state achieved national prominence in almost every field, it is also true that it has run upon hard times, above all due to the unmeasured expansion in the so-called metropolitan zone, problems with contamination, the gradual exhaustion of its natural resources, overpopulation in its urban areas, etc. All of these issues will have to become part of the agenda for Mexico state as it faces the twenty-first century.

Eulalio González Ramírez, better known as ''El Piporro'' (''the pipe player''), expressed an entire cultural universe of northern Mexico through his films. ''El Piporro'' reached the level of an authentic northern legend, becoming an intimate figure in popular Mexican mind.

Shortly after the end of the Revolution, some governors dedicated themselves to creating a new Mexico and to transforming certain customs and traditions that proved to be a heavy historical and social burden for the population. The government of Garrido Canabal spurred on agriculture and livestock farming, founded schools and fought fanaticism with fanaticism. This program contains never before seen footage of a Tabasco unknown to national television, rescuing the images produced by a government obsessed with transforming Mexican society.

This program presents the life and thought of José Vasconcelos. A politician, educator, philosopher, mystic, Vasconcelos unleashed his passions with the same intensity in his intellectual work as he did in his political or work, or even in love. Previously unpublished materials are shown here which illustrate the complexity of the man who marked various generations of Mexicans and who presented a new way of understanding Mexico and its culture.

Muestra la vida y los aportes artisticos de uno de los grandes directores del cine mexicano y actor en México y Estados Unidos.

This program provides a journey through the most representative markets of a megalopolis. After an historic look at some of the types of provisions and the commercialization of supplies and other products in Mexico - Tenochtitlan and in the capital of New Spain, we approach the situation of current markets. We look at those that are in decay, those that survive and those that persist with a renewed impetus; history and decline in the market of La Merced; the rise and the colossal infrastructure of the market of Central de Abasto; the tradition of selling products for witchcraft and herbal remedies in Mercado de Sonora; the intimate antiques of the tianguis (markets) of La Lagunilla, and the iron-clad and extravagant exuberance of tianguis of El Chopo. Take a look, come closer, what will take away with you?.

The Soler brothers created a new style of acting and played roles in hundreds of films. The most famous members of the family (Fernando, Domingo, Andrés) specialized in roles that portrayed authority figures, yet they also acted in comedies and other genres. This documentary looks at the family through the lens of their best and most typical roles.

This film deals with the life and the movies of a ''princess'' who became a Hollywood star and later returned to her home country for a second and illustrious film career. Her discreet but intense personal life (including her love affairs with Orson Welles and Emilio ''the Indian'' Fernández), her ever-growing and varied talent as an actress and her presence in the cultural and political life of Mexico are some of the themes covered in this complex portrayal.

Neither the Bourbon Reforms during colonial times nor the nation's declaration of independence in 1821 made Sonorans feel as if they were Mexican. The state was drawn into the rest of the nation by the railroad and growing demographic shifts during the years of Porfirio Díaz's reign, but the Revolution of 1910 would ultimately be the event that definitively integrated Sonora and its inhabitants into the Mexican nation. Sonora would provide the country with political and military leadership, headed by leaders such as Álvaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles. They would lead Mexicans from devastation to armed struggle, as well as through the nation's first years of economic, moral and political reconstruction.

Even if this affirmation may seem strange to us today, neither the Mexican cowboys, or charros, nor mariachis and tequila had necessarily to become the signs that represented Mexico within and outside of its national borders. Why is the mariachi Mexican and not, for example, the rich tradition of fandango from Huasteca or Vera Cruz? Why tequila and not mezcal from Oaxaca or pulque from the highlands? Why the Creole cowboy and not the northern cow herder or the tzeltal from Chiapas, or even the part-indigenous man from the Yucatan? Charro, mariachi and tequila: local products catapulted to the position of national representatives. They are no doubt richer in their origin than their mediated branding has afforded them. In this program we will witness the motives behind why history and the country's turbulent circumstances decided, at one time, that Jalisco was Mexico.

Salvador Novo was more than just an avant garde writer who pertained to the group The Contemporaries. He was more than a literary figure who passed through all literary genres and left lasting works. He made himself into a character who found out how to threaten the falsely timid of his time as well as the machismo of the post-revolution in order to live in absolute balance with his desires. A friend of powerful people, a companion to many artists, an expert in culinary arts, a non-systematic historian, a chronicler of life, Novo was, above all, provoker and possessor of dazzling talent: poet, essayist, playwright, teacher. He alarmed many due to his conduct which was as intelligent as it was scandalous. Irony was his defense, words his weapon.

The director Luis Alcoriza was one of the many artists exiled from the Spanish Republic who brought his talent to Mexico. Younger than Buñuel, and more bohemian, Alcoriza would create a series of original and innovative films that offered a new and daring direction for Mexican cinema, especially in his masterpiece, Mecánica Nacional (National Mechanic), which broke many taboos and represented an assertion of the rights of the individual.

This program presents the history of the Supreme Court of Justice from the years following Mexico's independence to the present day. It considers the importance that it has had throughout history, especially in the creation of a citizen's guarantee to appeal in the name of his or her constitutional rights. It also considers the changes that the Court has undergone in recent decades as it examines its relationship with the Mexican Constitution, and with the executive and legislative powers that also make up our government. The program also looks at the way in which work is carried out in different courtrooms and how different jobs are carried out by the Court's ministers. Finally, it addresses the importance of constitutional controversies and actions of unconstitutionality that may come to discussion in this tribunal, which also protects individuals through constitutional rights-based appeals and other procedures that guarantee that the rule of law prevails.

Through its more than sixty books, Octavio Paz displayed a fascinating array of works through his eighty-four years of life. Since his high school years he was noted for his passionate poetic voice, which eventually matured and expanded to the field of essay and journalism, where he became one of its most brilliant exponents. Love, eroticism, politics, art, history and literature, among many other topics were explored by the pen of Octavio Paz. With works that go from "The Labyrinth of Solitude" to "In Light of India" Paz's work has been translated into dozens of languages, has been recognized worldwide and is now a essential reference for understanding the modern day Mexico. On the centenary of his birth, the work of Paz remains as current as in its years of publication and is subject to analysis, discussion and reflection, and deserves to be read by new generations. Octavio Paz's legacy lives in his words and the light of his thought shines intensely in the 21st century.

Between March and May 1863, the city of Puebla resisted, for 62 days and nights, the strength of the powerful French army. Humiliated for its defeat a year earlier at the hands of General Zaragoza, the armies of Napoleon III were about to succumb again to the heroic Mexican East Army which together with the people of Puebla gave us one of the most dignifying and dramatic episodes of Mexican history.

Based on an in-depth interview, carried out by the historian Enrique Krauze with the then-president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, this documentary is a revelatory testimony of the personal, professional and political life of a man who had to dodge innumerable obstacles during his presidential term.

This program is review of the state of Jalisco over the course of the twentieth century. The story moves from the years of the Mexican Revolution and the Cristera War up to the current moment. It shows Jalisco as a multi-regional state, populated by a diverse society in which a mosaic of ideas, ways of thinking and living coexist, and yet, it is a place where a unique local character survives. It follows Jalisco's conflicts and its social and political struggles. It examines the development of Jalisco from the rural and provincial state to a modernizing state that projects its image nationally and internationally. It includes a vision of Jalisco's residents who preserve their values but remain open to new modes of thought. It is a state that has developed in every sector due to tolerance, hard work and the commitment of its people.

The third of the big three leading men was born in a needy neighborhood of Mexico City, and his rise to stardom was a quick journey from poverty to wealth. His origins, in comparison to those of Negrete and Infante, made him better equipped to represent the poor Mexican man, with his problems and his temptations. With Solís, singing heroes of the Mexican cinema laid down roots in a city that was less idealized and more real.

This program is a reflection on the boom of Mexican cinema in Hollywood. It examines the different motives that compelled various Mexican film makers to work in the Unided States while considering the reasons that others decided to stay in Mexico. Salma Hayek, Alfonso Arau and other personalities narrate their personal challenges and triumphs in Hollywood.