Mexico made its Winter game debut at the 1928 Winter Olympics hosted in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It sent a five-man bobsleigh team to compete, which finished a 11th among 23 teams. It was not a bad result, but Mexico did not return to the Winter Games for 56 years until the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

Some may argue that Mexico is a warm country but not a typical tropical country. Then the precise answer to the question would be Philippines. In 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan, Philippines sent two alpine skiers (Ben Nanasca and Juan Cipriano) to compete. Out of 73 entrants, Ben placed 42nd in the giant slalom event while Juan did not finish.