According to the Health Ministry, breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women in Mexico, with "approximately" one death every hour on average. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
In the context of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, President Claudia Sheinbaum told her Tuesday morning press conference that her government will make a “very significant investment” in a multifaceted program called the “Universal Care Model for Breast Cancer.”
Health Minister David Kershenobich outlined the scheme.
Early in the mañanera, Mexico’s Civil Protection chief Laura Velázquez gave a brief update on the floods that have devastated large swaths of the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí and Querétaro this month.
Health minister outlines 8-billion-peso breast cancer program
He said that women aged over 40 are most at risk, and highlighted that 25.5 million women in Mexico fall into that category.
“That’s why the Universal Care Model for Breast Cancer has been designed,” Kershenobich said.
During his presentation, the health minister said that the government will carry out an educational campaign that alerts “the population in general,” and especially women, to risk factors for developing breast cancer, including obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking.
He emphasized the importance of the early detection of breast cancer and noted that a separate campaign will encourage women to conduct breast self-exams.
Health Minister David Kershenobich said on Tuesday that the federal government will purchase 1,000 mammography systems and 1,000 ultrasound machines between 2026 and 2027. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Kershenobich also said that the government will carry out a campaign encouraging women aged 40 and over to have a mammogram every two years.
“Currently, we have 656 mammography systems in 640 hospitals that treat breast cancer. It is necessary to increase this resource in order to provide care to all women who meet the criteria I just mentioned a few moments ago. To this end, one thousand new mammography systems and one thousand new ultrasound machines will be acquired,” he said.
Among other initiatives associated with the Universal Care Model for Breast Cancer, Kershenobich said that “32 hospital units,” where oncological care for women will be provided, will be built, one in each state of the country.
The total outlay on the government’s breast cancer initiative will be around 8 billion pesos (US $434 million), according to Sheinbaum.
“It’s a very significant investment; it [represents] a before and after in breast cancer care and the objective is to reduce deaths,” she said.
More than 100 communities still cut off due to flooding
Laura Velázquez reported that 112 communities in three flood-affected states remain isolated.
The Civil Protection chief said that 74 of those communities are in Hidalgo, 31 are in Veracruz and seven are in Puebla.
Although dozens of air bridges have been established, Velázquez said that authorities had been unable to reach 10 flood-affected communities in Hidalgo.
“Today we’ll be arriving in these 10 towns,” she said.
The flood-related death toll is currently 76, according to the government’s flood data website. An additional 31 people are classified as missing.
The Maya ruins at Chichén Itzá are one of the top three archaeological sites contributing to the rise in visitors so far this year. (Martin Zetina/ Cuartoscuro)
The number of visitors to Mexico’s archaeological sites and museums has risen above pre-pandemic levels, Tourism Minister Josefina Rodríguez Zamora reported Sunday.
Attendance at Mexico’s archaeological sites and museums rose to 14.6 million between January and August 2025, reflecting a greater interest in or awareness of the country’s cultural heritage.
The rise in museum visitors has been even more impressive than at archaeological sites, the number increasing this year by a full 17.6% over 2024, thanks in large part to Mexico City’s National Anthropology Museum shown here, the most popular museum among national and foreign tourists alike. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s museums attracted 7.7 million visitors in this period, marking a 17.6% rise over the same period in 2024 and a 3.9% increase compared to 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic began. This figure consisted of 89% domestic and 11% foreign visitors.
Meanwhile, 6.9 million people visited Mexico’s archaeological sites between January and August, with 64% national and 36% foreign visitors. This marks a 4% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
The most visited sites were the Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán Peninsula, with 1.5 million visitors; the Teotihuacán pyramids in México state, with 1.2 million; and the Tulum ruins on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, with 790,000 visitors. Together, visitors to these sites represented 51% of the national total.
“The increase in visits to museums and archaeological sites reflects the interest of national and international tourists in learning about and appreciating our cultural heritage,” Rodríguez Zamora said in Sunday’s press release, “which in turn drives local economic development and contributes to the generation of shared prosperity.”
According to information from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Mexico’s most-visited museums so far this year have been the National Museum of Anthropology, the National Museum of History and the Templo Mayor Museum, all of which are in Mexico City.
“Mexico’s historical and cultural wealth is one of our greatest tourist attractions,” said Rodríguez Zamora. “Each museum and archaeological site tells a part of our history and allows us to showcase Mexico’s greatness to the world, thus strengthening the arrival of more visitors and the development of cultural tourism in the country.”
Shortly before his murder, Bernardo Bravo had warned President Sheinbaum that the growers were in crisis and needed help. (Social Media)
Hours after the murder of Bernardo Bravo, leader of the Apatzingán (Michoacán) Citrus Growers Association (ACVA), federal authorities announced the arrest of a man accused of extorting the lime growers Bravo was fighting to protect.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch issued a statement on social media early Tuesday announcing that the detainee is allegedly a member of the crime gang collecting extortion fees from lime producers and avocado growers in the region.
Lime producers in Michoacán and their workers live under constant threat of extortion or physical harm, often requiring protection from the National Guard. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The suspect was identified as Rigoberto “N,” aka “El Pantano” (“The Swamp”).
García Harfuch said the arrest was the result of an operation carried out in conjunction with the Defense Ministry, the National Security Cabinet, the Michoacán governor’s office and the state Attorney General’s Office.
The suspect is allegedly the operational chief of the extortionists known as “Los Blancos de Troya,” described as allies of “Los Viagras” — a drug trafficking crime family — and the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Though “El Pantano” has not been charged with the murder, he is suspected of playing a role in Bravo’s death.
“The investigation will continue until all those responsible are found,” García Harfuch said.
Bravo had been organizing local lime growers to resist the extortion scheme that has long plagued producers in the region. On Oct. 16, Bravo issued a video announcing that the ACVA was preparing to take action at Monday’s Tianguis Limonero (Lime Market) in Apatzingán by preventing “intermediaries” sent by crime gangs from setting prices for the farmers’ limes.
Days earlier, Bravo had rejected orders issued by the extortionists that limes only be harvested on specific days (so as to facilitate control) before leading a protest march from the tianguis to downtown Apatzingán.
On Oct. 14, Bravo called on President Claudia Sheinbaum and the federal government for help.
“We strongly, firmly and respectfully ask the president to recognize that the agricultural sector is in crisis, and … we need funds to continue working,” he said.
Six days later, Bravo’s tortured body was found in the front seat of his pick-up truck, killed by a bullet to the back of his head.
On Tuesday morning, Sheinbaum promised justice, saying her entire security cabinet was working with local authorities to investigate the murder.
State and federal authorities have been battling cartels in the Tierra Caliente (Hot Country) of Michoacán for years. Last year, five lime-packing houses went on strike to protest the lack of security.
Even recent arrests have not deterred the cartels.
In February, Gerardo “N,” alias “La Silla” — the leader of Los Blancos de Troya — was captured in Apatzingán. In addition to extortion charges, “La Silla” is accused of murdering two agents of the Federal Attorney General’s Office.
Earlier this year, Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla inaugurated a military barracks that cost 13 million pesos (US $705,500) in an effort to clamp down on criminal gangs operating in the Tierra Caliente.
However, a month later, at least 30 lime farmers temporarily shuttered operations after receiving threats from cartels.
The median estimate of 33 economists polled by Reuters this month is that Mexico's economy will record annual growth of 0.5% this year and 1.3% in 2026. (Daniel Yáñez/Cuartoscuro)
The Mexican economy contracted 0.6% in annual terms in September, according to preliminary data from the national statistics agency INEGI.
Reported by INEGI on Tuesday morning in its “Timely Indicator of Economic Activity” report, the contraction in September follows a preliminary data reading of a 0.6% year-over-year decline in August. Final data for August will be published this Wednesday.
If confirmed by final data, an annual economic contraction in the third quarter of 2025 — as appears inevitable — would be the Mexican economy’s first year-over-year decline for any quarter since Q1 of 2021, according to Banco Base’s director of economic analysis, Gabriela Siller.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Siller said that INEGI’s data indicates that the Mexican economy grew 0.5% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period of last year.
Weak activity in secondary sector
INEGI’s preliminary data shows that secondary sector activity declined 3% in annual seasonally adjusted terms in September. INEGI estimates that the sector’s output declined 2.7% annually in August, while a 2.8% contraction was reported for July.
In better news, INEGI’s preliminary data shows that the tertiary sector grew 0.8% annually in September and 0.4% in August, after expanding 0.4% in July.
INEGI didn’t publish preliminary data relating to the primary sector in September and August. That sector, which includes agricultural, forestry and fishing activities, contracted 12.2% annually in July.
Economy almost stagnant on a month-over-month basis
INEGI also published preliminary data on Tuesday that showed that the Mexican economy grew just 0.1% in September compared to the previous month. INEGI estimates that sequential growth was 0.1% in August as well.
In July, the economy contracted 0.9% compared to June.
The outlook for the Mexican economy
Mexico’s Finance Ministry is forecasting growth of between 0.5% and 1.5% this year, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are predicting expansions within that range.
The median estimate of 33 economists polled by Reuters this month is that Mexico’s economy will record annual growth of 0.5% this year and 1.3% in 2026.
Reuters reported that “key drivers” of the forecasts for the Mexican economy in 2026 are “hopes for a successful renegotiation of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico (USMCA) trade deal and an expected short-term boost from the soccer World Cup to be hosted in the three countries” next year.
“Still, already implemented U.S. levies and the threat of more tariffs globally will continue limiting Mexico’s economy while trade negotiations drag on, particularly in most affected sectors like the automotive industry,” the news agency wrote.
Affectionately known as “sea puppies” for their dog-like eyes and playfulness, the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) inhabits nine islands and archipelagos off the Baja Peninsula and parts of the coast. (Unsplash)
Pacific harbor seals — the playful, whiskered charmers found along the West Coast from southern Alaska to Baja California — are vanishing at an alarming rate from their southernmost range, new research shows.
A study found a 61.2% population decline on the Baja California Peninsula over a six-year period, with researchers recording a drop from 7,380 individuals in 2016 to 2,863 by 2022.
The study was led by the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), a public research institute in Baja California founded by the federal government in 1973.
The Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC) and the University of the Americas Puebla (UDLAP) also contributed.
“This is a decline by colony as well as across the entire area,” said María Guadalupe Ruiz Mar, a doctoral student at CICESE. She noted that colonies have collapsed from 44 in 2009 to just four sites this year, as revealed by aerial surveys conducted from April to June.
The species, though not listed as endangered, currently has special protection under Mexican official standard NOM-059, which is currently under review.
“It would be a good time to reconsider their conservation status,” said Gisela Heckel Dziendzielewski, a CICESE researcher and director of the study. “Their disappearance is a clear sign that the marine and terrestrial ecosystem is under pressure. Protecting their habitat also means protecting the health of the ocean.”
“If food availability is low, seals don’t have the energy reserves necessary to increase the number of pups,” Ruiz Mar added. “If the female isn’t well-fed and doesn’t have enough fat reserves, she won’t carry a pregnancy to term or be able to breastfeed successfully.”
Affectionately known as “sea puppies” for their dog-like eyes and playfulness, the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) inhabits nine islands and archipelagos off the Baja Peninsula and parts of the coast.
Curious Harbor Seal Kisses GoPro 🎬 Jordan Manning #Shorts #Seal
They are not to be confused with the much larger elephant seal, and specifically one named Panchito — a rugged individualist who once again in 2025 traveled thousands of kilometers from his chilly home waters in the Southern Hemisphere to “summer” in Baja California.
Pacific harbor seals prefer nearshore coastal environments, especially subtidal and intertidal zones, bays, and estuaries. They frequently hang out on rocky shores, mudflats, sandbars and occasionally glacial ice for rest, molting and pupping.
“Seals are very sensitive to disturbance,” Ruiz Mar said. “We believe the presence of people and vehicles during [rock quarrying] causes them to persistently flee into the water and abandon the sites where they rest and breed.”
The former president and first lady of Mexico (R) with former president of Chile Sebastián Piñera, in 2011. (Rodolfo Angulo/Cuartoscuro)
Former Mexican president Felipe Calderón Hinojosa indicated on Monday that he is thinking about making some kind of political comeback more than a decade after completing his six-year term.
Former president Felipe Calderón poses for a photo along with PAN leaders Jorge Romero Herrera and Kenia López at a recent legislative report given by Deputy Margarita Zavala. (@PaulinaRubioFdz/X)
The 63-year-old ex-president said that he was interested in finding out what “exactly” the PAN relaunch consists of, and how the “relaunch process” will be carried out, “before making a personal decision that might involve returning to active politics, or not.”
Journalist Azucena Uresti put it to Calderón that he wanted to see “the results” of the PAN relaunch before deciding whether he would “actively return to the PAN,” or “let’s say politics.”
“To politics in general,” Calderón said, adding that he didn’t know whether he would return to the PAN, a conservative party that is currently the main opposition to the Morena party and its allies.
The ex-president quit the PAN in 2018, saying at the time that it had ceased to be “an instrument of citizen participation for the construction of a better Mexico” and that it had abandoned its “fundamental principles.”
In 2020, Calderón asserted that the México Libre (Free Mexico) political movement he co-founded with his wife, Margarita Zavala, would become the sole alternative to Morena.
Zavala, who launched an independent bid for the presidency in 2018, has been a federal deputy for the PAN since 2021. Calderón could potentially seek to enter the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate sometime in the future. Mexico’s next federal elections, at which the Chamber of Deputies will be renewed, will be held in 2027. Deputies, senators and a new president will all be elected in 2030.
Morena party leadership is critical of the former president’s militarized campaign against the country’s drug cartels, which led to a rise in civilian deaths, disappearances and torture. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
A return to the presidency is out of the question for Calderón as the Mexican Constitution prohibits presidents from serving more than one six-year term.
The Michoacán native, who narrowly defeated Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the 2006 presidential election, is a controversial figure in Mexican politics. He is perhaps best remembered for launching a militarized war on drug cartels shortly after he took office in late 2006.
López Obrador, who claimed that he was the rightful victor of the 2006 election, blamed Calderón for the high levels of violence that plagued Mexico during his 2018-24 presidency.
President Claudia Sheinbaum is also a fierce critic of Calderón, a former secretary general and president of the PAN, and energy minister for a period during the 2000-2006 presidency of Vicente Fox.
Since leaving the presidency in 2012, Calderón has worked in academia, in the private sector, and as a keynote speaker. In contrast to his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto, and López Obrador since he left the presidency, Calderón is regularly active on social media, where he comments on a range of Mexican and international issues.
The PAN relaunch
The National Action Party, founded shortly after World War II began in 1939, relaunched itself as a “more open, democratic and citizen-focused” party at an event in Mexico City on Saturday.
PAN national president Jorge Romero Herrera asserted that the party will be the “most open” in Mexico, with candidates selected via primary processes.
According to a statement issued by the PAN, the party’s relaunch is based on three central tenets:
Redefinition of the “causes” of the party, “reviving panista pride and empathy with the people.”
Reform of the PAN’s statutes in order to commence a new “stage of participation, transparency and democracy” in the party.
A refresh of the party’s “visual identity, with a revamped logo that reflects modernity, approachability and pride in its history.”
The PAN held a march in Mexico City to relaunch the party on Saturday. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
“The alliance that will most define our destiny is the one we will have with citizen leaders,” he said.
“… We want [the] National Action [Party] to be a vehicle for citizens that allows all Mexicans to decide who the best candidates are,” Romero said.
The PAN contested the 2021 and 2024 federal elections as part of an alliance that also included the PRI and the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.
The PRD lost its registration as a national-level political party after its poor showing at the 2024 elections. The influence of both the PRI and the PAN in national politics has been greatly diminished since the emergence of Morena as Mexico’s dominant political force in 2018, the year in which López Obrador won the presidency and the party he founded seized control of both houses of Congress.
Calderón: PAN is ‘on the right track’
Calderón said on Monday that he believed that the PAN is now “on the right track,” premising his view on “what was said or what was promised” by the party at its relaunch event.
He stressed the importance of the party fulfilling its promises.
Calderón said that “openness” to citizens — i.e., giving ordinary Mexicans a say in the management of the PAN and the selection of candidates — has been “the most important demand” regarding the political party. Openness to citizens is the party’s “most important need,” he added.
While offering a positive overall assessment of the PAN’s relaunch, Calderón was not enthused by the party’s decision to terminate its political alliances.
“Alliances have advantages and disadvantages. I think that the PAN shouldn’t break the relationship it finally managed to build with the PRI, with MC [the Citizens Movement party], with other parties,” he said.
“There are good people and very bad people in the parties, in all of them,” Calderón said.
The ex-president didn’t attend the PAN’s relaunch event in Mexico City on Saturday, but on Monday, he was in the audience when his wife and other PAN deputies presented reports on their work as members of Mexico’s lower house.
As of Oct. 20, the death toll stands at 76, with 31 individuals still reported missing across Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo. (Carlos Nava/Cuartoscuro)
Japan sent humanitarian aid to Mexico following the severe flood that has affected five states and left at least 76 dead and dozens missing.
“Today, the Japanese government has decided to send emergency aid to Mexico to support the victims of the floods that affected five states,” Japan’s ambassador to Mexico, Kozo Honsei, said Tuesday. “I hope the people find relief and recover soon. Mexico and Japan are friends in adversity,” he added.
According to an official statement from the Japanese government, the decision responds to a specific request from the Mexican government. The aid package, provided through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, includes sanitary supplies that are intended for the communities hardest hit by torrential rains and flooding.
In addition to granting emergency aid, Japan has expressed its support at a diplomatic level. On Oct. 16, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya sent a message of solidarity to his Mexican counterpart, Juan Ramón De La Fuente. Iwaya expressed his regret over the emergency situation, saying it caused him “great sadness to hear the news that many precious lives had been lost due to the floods.”
This is not the first time Japan has sent aid to Mexico in response to a natural disaster. In November 2007, the Japanese government sent aid for flooding in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas.
The torrential rains and flooding that affected the states of Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí between Oct. 6 and 11 left a catastrophic scenario. According to official numbers, as of Oct. 20, the death toll stands at 76 with 31 individuals still reported missing.
Veracruz has the highest number of fatalities, totaling 34, with 18 people still unaccounted for. Hidalgo has reported 22 deaths and 8 individuals missing, followed by Puebla with 19 deaths and 5 missing. Querétaro recorded one death due to flooding.
Federal authorities are continuing their rescue and evacuation efforts as they conduct a census of the damage.
Team Pera Loca launches a gold paper balloon into the afternoon sky. (Ivy Ge)
The street leading to Ajijic’s soccer field is already alive when I arrive. Smoke rises from food stalls where chorizo and bistec sizzle on flat-top grills. The brassy blast of banda music carries through loudspeakers, mixing with bursts of laughter and children’s squeals. And across the grass, local teams, each in their own matching T-shirts, scramble through last-minute fixes as they coax their delicate paper balloons into shape for the impending event.
A festival of fragility and resilience
Ajijic’s Balloon Regatta (Regata de Globos) began in the late 1950s when locals sent delicate paper balloons skyward as a prelude to Mexico’s Independence Day celebrations. Over the years, 13 teams formed, each made up of family members, neighbors and friends, all eager to outshine the others with daring designs and the sheer size of their creations.
Team El Rosario steadies a giant green star balloon before launch, after weeks spent cutting and pasting each strip of colored paper by hand to create the intricate design. (Ivy Ge)
Today, the event, which is free to attend, draws several thousand spectators each September to this Jalisco lakeside town.
Each balloon is crafted by hand — thin tissue paper sheets glued edge to edge, reinforced with a wooden ring, then fitted with a small diesel-soaked torch that heats the air inside for lift. A small balloon may take three hours to assemble. The largest demand weeks of late-night work.
Some balloons carry sponsorship banners, others bear sentimental messages ranging from “Lupe, would you marry me?” to “Goodbye, Paco. My heart always remembers you.”
Team Pera Loca: Three generations, one mission
In one corner of the field, one of these teams, Team Pera Loca (Crazy Pear), huddles around a golden triangle balloon with black tassels, a seam torn open along one side. Perched on a chair, Ricardo Orozco, 63, pinches the gap shut. He has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than thirty years, but each September, he returns to Ajijic to help out his childhood team.
“This is life,” he tells me. “Where else do you see three generations making something so beautiful together?”
The team’s co-lead, Daniel Palma, 65, a local artist who runs Gecko Gallery Art Studio, has been building balloons since childhood.
A vendor weaves through the crowd with bright balloons as families gather for Ajijic’s Regata de Globos. (Ivy Ge)
“The creative process brings the entire family together,” he says, pointing at the small globos scattered across the grass. “The kids see us making balloons, and they want to be a part of it. They’ll make great art one day.”
When one balloon bursts into flames, no one sulks. They simply move on. Team Pera Loca plans to send seventeen balloons skyward before nightfall, each as vibrant and inventive as the last.
Triumphs and mishaps
Each balloon launch carries risk. A sudden gust can rip the paper apart, and a stray spark can reduce it to ash in seconds. Yet the uncertainty is part of the allure. For families in Ajijic, every balloon that rises feels like a celebration of resilience, of what hands and hearts can build together.
Team Sí Lupita readies the largest paper balloon this year. A 20-foot-tall yellow cartoon baby chick, its lashes painted long and black, teeters skyward to a chorus of cheers, only for its head to rip loose and tumble away. Groans ripple through the crowd. Nearby, a cactus balloon with googly eyes catches fire before clearing the ground. Spectators gasp, phones raised to capture the drama.
But there are also triumphs. Team El Rosario’s giant green-and-yellow star orb that took three weeks to make lurches upright, then soars smoothly into the sky. Its makers leap and shout with pride. The crowd roars its approval.
In these moments, the boundaries between locals, the numerous expats living in Ajijic and visitors from around Mexico blur. Strangers cheer as one, swept into the shared thrill of lift and flame.
A town in transition
A team launches a gold balloon during the Regata de Globos in Ajijic. (Ivy Ge)
Ajijic is best known as a haven for retirees from the U.S. and Canada, drawn by lake views and year-round sun. But the influx of foreigners with stronger currencies has driven up rents and property prices, pushing many local families out of town. Even so, the regatta endures.
These days, teams rely on sponsorships from local businesses to cover material costs while donations collected at the festival help fund next year’s launches. For many families, the globos are less about competition than community. Each balloon is an affirmation of belonging, a fragile way of holding fast to tradition despite the pressures of change.
As the sky darkens, Team Pera Loca launches its next balloon. It is a red cylindrical lantern glued from dozens of paper panels. The crowd hushes as the team’s flame takes hold. Slowly, the lantern wobbles, then rights itself. A cheer erupts as it steadies and rises.
I follow its glowing body against the evening sky — fragile, flickering yet resolute. This whimsical festival reaches beyond spectacle. It reminds us that beauty is brief, yet resilience can carry us higher than we ever expect.
Ivy Ge writes about identity, resilience, and reinvention in essays, novels, and screenplays. She holds degrees in business, engineering, and pharmacy. See more at ivyge.com.
The French indie-pop band Phoenix puts on a rocking show, and they're just one of the alt-rock veterans coming to Guadalajara in October and November. (David Carballar/Unsplash)
While Guadalajara is known for its rich cultural heritage and the birthplace of mariachi music, far less recognized is its vibrant alternative music scene.
After a difficult patch that saw the Corona Capital GDL festival go on hiatus, the closure of Guanamor Teatro Studio for renovations and a management change and construction issues delaying the brand-new Guadalajara Arena’s opening, things are finally getting back on track (musically speaking) for La Perla Tapatía.
This fall, Guadalajara’s live music calendar is jam-packed. Here are four events that diehard alt-rock/indie music fans should have on their radar.
Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Anemone (Glastonbury 2025)
Indie rock veterans The Brian Jonestown Massacre performing at the U.K.’s Glastonbury Festival in June.
I first became a fan of Brian Jonestown Massacre after watching “Dig!,” the critically acclaimed (and totally loco) 2004 documentary chronicling the love/hate relationship between BJM and rival band, the Dandy Warhols.
Formed by Anton Newcombe in San Francisco back in the early 1990s, BJM never achieved big stardom, but it developed an intensely loyal following. The band’s lush, ethereal sound harkens back to 1960s psychedelic-rock and blues (think early Rolling Stones) with a twist all their own.
If new to the band, check out the instantly captivating “Straight Up and Down” — best known as the theme from HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” — or the bluesy “Anemone,” which was featured in a 2021 documentary about chef Anthony Bourdain.
At a live BJM show, the wildcard is always Newcombe himself — a man equal parts musical savant and mercurial diva. If I may use a tired cliché, their shows are like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get. And that’s part of the fun.
Brian Jonestown Massacre performs at C4 Concert House in Guadalajara on October 23. Tickets are available at TicketNow.
Morrissey
Morrissey Mexico 2018 Everyday Is Like Sunday - First of the Gang to Die
Morrissey plays to excited fans at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City in 2018.
Lead singer and lyricist of the seminal 1980s band The Smiths, Steven Patrick Morrissey is headed to Guadalajara in early November.
Mexicans (and especially Mexican Americans) have long adored Morrissey. Some speculate that the intense connection stems from his writing’s similarity to Mexican ranchera music, which also embraces themes of alienation and longing.
But I don’t think you have to dig that deep to explain Morrissey’s appeal in Mexico. This handsome devil with a slick pompadour, enchanting voice and dark, melancholy lyrics seems quintessentially Latin. Add to it his brooding persona and witty observations that evoke a modern-day Oscar Wilde, and his cult-like following is no surprise.
For his part, Morrissey loves Mexico back, having once declared onstage, “I wish I was born Mexican, but it’s too late for that now.”
Lately, Morrissey’s diva-like antics and penchant for cancelling concerts has rubbed some the wrong way. It leaves me feeling like holding a ticket to a Morrissey concert is a bit of a gamble. But once you’ve seen Morrissey live, I’m guessing you’ll roll the dice again.
Morrissey performs (hopefully) at Telmex Auditorium in Zapopan on November 4. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.
Corona Capital Guadalajara 2025
Keane onstage in Rio de Janeiro. The band is headlining a Corona Capital Festival satellite concert in Guadalajara in November. (Instagram)
Corona Capital returns to Guadalajara this fall as an “extension” of the annual 3-day music festival in CDMX. Following a two-year hiatus in Jalisco’s capital, the 2025 edition moves to the campus of UAG in Zapopan for one day only.
The lineup features three talented European bands that hit it big in the early 2000s. Set to headline the event is Keane, the British alt-rock quartet.
More than 20 years after the release of its multiplatinum debut album Hopes and Fears, Keane is still known for its gorgeous, piano-driven melodies and Tom Chaplin’s rich falsetto vocals. Through sincerity and musicianship, they’re one of those rare bands with no need for flashy stagecraft or gimmicks to connect with fans.
Also on the bill is Grammy-winning, French synth-pop darlings Phoenix, making their first trip to Guadalajara since headlining Corona Capital back in 2019. Rounding out the lineup is Britpop duo The Kooks, who are touring in support of their new album “Never/Know.”
Corona Capital rolls into Estadio 3 de Marzo on the campus of Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (in Zapopan) on November 6. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.
The Echoes Festival
Foster The People - Lost in space | Pa'l Norte 2025 ( Paradise state of mind Tour, Monterrey )
Headlining the Echoes Festival will be Foster the People, seen here performing at the P’al Norte Festival in Monterrey this year in April.
Returning to Guadalajara for its third edition, the Echoes Festival is the city’s only homegrown indie music festival. The lineup announced thus far includes alt-rock, electronic and jazz musical acts, along with art and culinary offerings.
Headlining the event is Los Angeles-based Foster the People. With an upbeat, danceable music catalog spanning nearly 15 years, FTP is a festival-circuit mainstay.
Composer and lead singer Mark Foster honed his craft as a jingle writer and D.J. before breaking through with Foster The People back in 2010. Even those who don’t follow the band will likely recognize the irresistible “Pumped Up Kicks,” which Foster initially released as a free download on his website before he landed a record deal.
Additional acts on the bill include Cuco, Two Feet, Puma Blue, and Disco Bahia.
This year’s Echoes Festival takes place in Tesistown, a grassy, open-air venue far removed from Guadalajara’s typical urban chaos (but reachable via mass transit). The event’s previous location is now an IKEA store, sigh.
Echoes Festival is happening in La Cuchilla, Jalisco (about 1 hour northwest of Guadalajara Centro) on November 29.General admission and VIP tickets are available at Fever.
After discovering that life in Mexico was a lot more fun than working in corporate America, Dawn Stoner moved to Guadalajara in 2022, where she lives with her husband, two cats and Tapatío rescue dog. Her blog livewellmexico.comhelps expats live their best life south of the border.
Sheinbaum criticized the PAN for the timing of its relaunch on Saturday as thousands of Mexicans face the arduous task of rebuilding after flooding destroyed parts of central Mexico. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
As was the case at every mañanera last week, Mexico’s ongoing flood disaster was the central focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s press conference on Monday morning.
The death toll associated with flooding in Veracruz, Hidalgo, Puebla and Querétaro currently stands at 76, with an additional 27 people classified as missing.
Beyond the floods, reporters on Monday morning asked Sheinbaum about the relaunch of a previously powerful political party and the result of Bolivia’s presidential election.
Sheinbaum criticizes political party relaunch as flood disaster continues
“Can a party be rebuilt through marketing?” the reporter asked.
Sheinbaum didn’t immediately respond to the question, choosing instead to criticize the PAN for the timing of its relaunch.
“I would rather say that there was very little sensitivity [with the choice of] the day they did it, right?” she said.
“… There are tens of thousands of families affected [by the floods], with problems, and in the midst of that a political party relaunch is carried out. They could have waited 15 days, don’t you think? Until the emergency … was over,” Sheinbaum said.
The PAN organized a march in Mexico City to relaunch the party on Saturday. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The fact that the PAN went ahead with its relaunch — which includes a new logo and a new slogan (Homeland, Family, Freedom) — in Mexico City on Saturday “speaks to their vision and their lack of sensitivity and love for the people,” the president said.
Continuing her criticism of the PAN’s relaunch, Sheinbaum said that “the same people” are still involved with the party. It is currently Mexico’s main opposition party in the federal Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, both of which are dominated by the Morena party and its allies.
The conservative PAN was last in government at the federal level during the presidency of Felipe Calderón from 2006 to 2012. Sheinbaum, like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador — who narrowly lost the 2006 presidential election to Calderón — is a fierce critic of Calderón, blaming him for a range of problems the country suffers today, especially violence.
Sheinbaum emphasizes the importance of unity in politics
A reporter asked the president about the results of the presidential election in Bolivia, noting that “the left” will no longer hold the presidency in the South American nation.
President-elect of Bolivia Rodrigo Paz Pereira. (Facebook)
Sheinbaum said that “from the perspective of the progressive movements in Latin America, it’s a shame that [the left] split there in Bolivia.”
Two leftist candidates contested the first round of the presidential election. One finished in fourth place with 8.5% of the vote while the other attracted support of just over 3% to place sixth in an eight-candidate field.
Sheinbaum stressed that “for our movement” — i.e. the “Fourth transformation” political movement led by the Morena party — “unity is very important.”
“Sometimes that is played down, but speaking politically about the transformation movement, it’s very important to remain united because when you split that’s when you lose strength with the people,” she said.
