When the Spanish arrived in Mexico and had contact with the Mexica, the first impressions were recorded in detail. In addition to talking about cities and landscapes, customs were also an important part of the chroniclers’ notes.
One of the details that caught their attention was the extreme cleanliness of the Mexicas; who swept their streets daily, drank drinking water and transported their waste in carts every day. But above all, they were surprised that its inhabitants bathed every day and even Emperor Moctezuma did it twice a day.
That contrasted with the fame of the Spaniards who arrived in Tenochtitlan. Soldiers who went maybe months without a bath. This city was on a large lake that provided clean water to the then huge city, one of the most important in the entire continent.
Today things are different. The huge lake has been reduced to the point of almost disappearing, unlike the population that in the Valley of Mexico is around 20 million inhabitants. Despite that, Mexico has just been considered the country where people bathe most often.
Mexico has about 127 million inhabitants and according to a survey by the Hansgrohe company, 75.3% of Mexican respondents said they bathe daily. It seems that the Mexica tradition persists.
Colombians and Spaniards, who share second place, answered that 71.4% of them bathe daily, and Americans are in sixth place thanks to the fact that those surveyed who bathe daily only make up 57.5% of the total.
At first glance, this may be good news, or at least a fun curiosity. However, and although many Mexican media seem to brag about it (cleaning is objectively good), the reality is that it is enough to see the deterioration of Lake Texcoco, which has almost disappeared, or how many colonies there are in Mexico that do not have access to water, to realize that it is not such a good idea to shower once or twice a day. The water that is wasted if all citizens decide to take one or more daily showers is really worrying, much more than the lack of cleanliness.
Environmental awareness arrives in Mexico in pieces and when it is decided to take care of the air, the water is forgotten, but when looking to take care of the water, everything possible is done to preserve it in any way that does not interfere with its cleaning habits.
Perhaps it is time to turn to other countries where the water crisis forces people to take short baths and not every day. Even the president of the Australian college of dermatologists emphasizes that you should not bathe daily, but only when “it is really necessary”.