Los Pinos

"So it was that we found ourselves back in the enormous parkland that night. We were all wearing black, which was Dominica's idea, but the cloudless night seemed to make us more than visible. It was easy to see the large ornate building glowing in the dark. Lit up both by the moon and the enormous amount of in-ground lighting, there was simply no way that we were going to sneak in unnoticed.

"Why is it called Los Pinos?" I whispered to Dominica as we crouched down in the bushy shadows."


Los Pinos is the official residence and office of the President of Mexico. Located in the Bosque de Chapultepec, the large park in central Mexico City, it became the presidential seat in 1934.

In 1934, President Lázaro Cárdenas was offered use of Rancho la Hormiga (English: The Ant Ranch) as his official residence, which he accepted. He changed its name to "Los Pinos" (The Pines) in honor of the ranch where he met his wife. However, as Bakky found out to his cost, ants still rather like to inhabit Los Pinos.