Don Goyo's Grumbles: Inside the Mind of Mexico's Restless Volcano
For 30 years, Popocatépetl (aka Don Goyo) has been erupting, baffling scientists who've studied it since before its 1994 reactivation. From mapping hazards to analyzing ash, their research has spanned decades, even involving a presidential briefing.
Imagine a colossal, smoking beast perched on the Mexican horizon, huffing and puffing for three decades straight. That’s Popocatépetl, or "Don Goyo" to the locals—a volcano with the temperament of a caffeinated rock star. It’s been thirty years since it threw its first modern tantrum on December 21, 1994, and the saga of monitoring this volcanic prima donna has been as explosive as the mountain itself.
Popocatépetl, with its snow-capped peaks and fiery innards, isn’t just a geological marvel. It’s a reminder that nature doesn’t care one jot for human schedules, politics, or comfort zones. And yet, for the past thirty years, a team of determined scientists has been doing their best to keep up with Don Goyo’s antics. Led by researchers Ana Lillian Martin del Pozzo, Carlos Valdés González, and Claus Siebe from the UNAM Institute of Geophysics, these brave souls have turned volcano-watching into a fine art. Think of them as the paparazzi of the pyroclastic.
