This essay is the final installment of a trilogy that was published in Mañana magazine by the Portuguese art critic Antonio Rodríguez, who was researching the history in the illustrated press by means of which words and images go in tandem. In this essay he discusses a forerunner of illustrated magazines in the form of the Mercurio volante [Flying Mercury] (1772) that was published by Dr. Josef Ignacio Bartolache. This publication opened the door to the subsequent success of illustrated magazines by introducing the concept of printed material that would last for a week, as distinct from the day-to-day concept of the regular daily newspaper. Rodríguez travels back in time to inform the reader, and does so with great attention to detail although he sometimes leaps from one period to another. His goal is to explain the developments that led to the golden age of illustrated magazines during the 1940s. Rodríguez finds that, 79 years before the publication of the Mercurio volante, whose name is a clear reference to the Messenger of the Gods, there was another publication of the same name published by Sigüenza y Góngora; this one, however, was not a periodical as such, but rather one that circulated material by "installments." Rodríguez explains that the first publication to be considered a newspaper was the Gaceta de México y Noticias de la Nueva España [Mexican Gazette and News of New Spain] published by Father Castorena in 1722. This same name was used 17 years later by another presbyter, though in both instances the publication was not the same as Bartolache’s Mercurio volante. Father José Antonio Alzate’s magazines, published in 1788, brought innovations to newspapers and weeklies, which began to publish essays on the history of New Spain. There were also supplements and feature stories on matters of interest, such as the ruins of Xochicalco or the cochineal (which was serialized over eight issues) in the Gaceta de Literatura [Literature Gazette], all of which were illustrated with a variety of prints. This publication was, according to Rodríguez, the inspiration for Mañana magazine in terms of the layout of news, articles, essays, and information, as well as an index of native works. He believes that the Gaceta de Literatura was a key link in the historical chain of journalism that led to what became the magazine. Rodríguez is also interested in the lithographed magazines that began to print images created by two Italians, Linati and Galli, and a Cuban, José María Heredia, in 1826. Rodríguez goes on to list the publications that were popular with readers in the nineteenth century, such as El Mosaico Mexicano [Mexican Mosaic], El Semanario de las Señoritas [Young Ladies’ Weekly], El Museo Mexicano [Mexican Museum], La ilustración Mexicana [Mexican Illustration], and La Cruz [The Cross], among others. He considers these, like those published by Cumplido, to be representative of the typography, illustrations, and lithography of the period. In the main part of his article, Rodríguez provides a list of modern illustrated magazines; he begins with Reyes Espíndola’s El Mundo [The World] and goes on to mention La Revista Moderna de México [Modern Magazine of Mexico], Revista Azul [Blue Magazine], La Semana Ilustrada [Illustrated Weekly], El multicolor [Multicolor], and those that were published during the revolutionary period. He quickly reviews the magazines published after the revolution that introduced changes of form or style. He notes that Hoy magazine introduced a new form of dynamic, daring journalism that was critical of the system and even of the president who had demanded freedom of the press, Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-40). Rodríguez focuses on José Pagés Llergo and Regino Hernández Llergo and discusses both journalists as he acknowledges the fifth anniversary of Mañana magazine. In this article, Antonio Rodríguez provides a panoramic view of some of the most significant history of the illustrated press in Mexico.