Mexico Wanted Cherry Blossoms, Got Jacarandas

The trees with purple flowers blooming and adorning the city before the springs are the jacarandas.
There are many stories on how they were introduced to Mexico, but the one we like best is this one:
In early March, Japan is covered by “pink clouds” from the sakuras or cherry blossoms. As a gesture of friendship between the USA and Japan, the Mayor of Tokyo sent 3,000 cherry blossom trees to Washington D.C. in 1912.
In 1927, the President of Mexico, Plutarco Elías Calles, went to Washington D.C. and saw the flowers; he asked the Mayor of Tokyo to send Mexico some Cherry trees, however experts explained to him that the Mexican soil was not humid enough for that tree to thrive. Instead they offered the “yacarandá”, a tree native to Brazil. And that’s how the Jacarandas you see on the streets got here in San Miguel.