During the 2003 Colima earthquake in Mexico, colorful lights were seen in the skies for the duration of the quake, a phenomenon known as earthquake lights. These luminous displays, captured on camera, added to the growing body of evidence for this rare but documented occurrence. The lights were observed by numerous witnesses and studied by scientists.

The Colima earthquake lights were noted by Mexican poets and writers, who incorporated the imagery of luminous seismic events into their works. The motif of earthquake lights appears in Latin American poetry as a symbol of the earth's hidden energies and the fragility of human structures, as seen in the works of Octavio Paz and others.