Completing the Account: The Complex Preparations for the 1926 Central American Games

Abstract

Abstract Originating almost a hundred years ago, the Central American and Caribbean Games, first known simply as the Central American Games, are the oldest continuing regional games recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Despite their long and distinguished lineage, as well as their professed significance, the Central American and Caribbean Games have not received much scholarly attention. Building on the pioneering work of McGehee, this article provides a more complete account of the preparations for the inaugural Central American Games held in Mexico City in 1926 and the forces that made them possible and shaped them. Recently discovered evidence will be used to show how the political fluidity of postrevolutionary Mexico and the workings of the Olympic Movement affected preparations for the novel event.