Thursday, October 10, 2024

En Breve: Mexico City tops best food guide, Mayan DNA and MLB comes to the capital

Mexico City and SMA make Food and Wine best cities for food list

Two Mexican cities have made it onto Food and Wine’s list of best international cities for food.

Rooftop in San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is known for its “incredible food offerings” according to Food and Wine, and also for picturesque rooftop dining spots. (Quince/Twitter)

Mexico City took the coveted top spot, with reviewers noting that the city offered “boundary-pushing restaurants to more modest — and seemingly endless amounts of — puestos [street food vendors]; the sheer range of Mexico City’s offerings is part of what makes it so special.”

At No. 9 on the list, San Miguel de Allende, the colonial jewel of Guanajuato state, was praised for “its innovative cuisine, which beautifully meshes local flavors with a variety of global influences.”  

Mexico City beat some global gastronomy hotspots, including Paris, Madrid and San Sebastián, Spain. The rankings reflected voting by Food and Wine readers, who assessed the cities for the quality of restaurants, bars and nightlife.

Tulum Crypto Fest prepares for 2023 event

A Bitcoin logo made of orange segments
The festival aims to promote Web3 development and the digital nomad lifestyle. (Tulum Crypto Fest/Twitter)

The idyllic beaches of Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coast, will play host to the Tulum Crypto Fest in May. 

Between May 4-7, the second edition of the cryptocurrency festival – which focuses on the benefits of adopting digital currency – will see enthusiasts flock to Tulum listen to keynote speakers from across the cryptosphere. 

The festival will also provide a platform for digital nomads to make connections and provide a taste of the nomad lifestyle for those looking to take the first step towards independence from a traditional working lifestyle. 

The event is organized and operated by a diverse group of local businesses seeking to advertise the benefits of working remotely in Tulum.

“Technology has the power to connect all people, and the Tulum Crypto Fest is the perfect platform to materialize this idea in the real world,” Peiman Fazli, cofounder of the event told the U.S. publication Forbes. 

Study detects similarities between ancient and modern Maya

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has revealed that the modern Maya people continue to share much of their DNA with their ancient ancestors.

In a study that began in 2017, German researchers found that while modern Maya are more disease resistant (especially to the effects of salmonella bacteria), bones recovered from the area around Chichén Itzá suggest that there has been significant genetic continuity between the ages.

Laysa Guadalupe Yam Un sits in the room where she quarantined from her family when she came down with Covid. She was able to recover quickly at home, and none of her family members caught the virus. Laysa is a Maya farmer and a beneficiary of the Sembrando Vida program, and lives a few hours outside of the Riviera Maya.
Research in Germany suggests that the modern Maya people have retained much of the same genetics as their ancestors – though with improved disease resistance. (Molly Ferrill)

The Maya, who were the dominant force in much of Central America for over a millennium, were only finally dethroned completely in A.D. 1697, when the Spanish conquered the last independent Maya city of Nojpetén.

It is hoped that these findings will attract further funding to identify more ways in which the ancient Maya civilization lives on.  

Vaivén festival to take place in Morelos

Jardines de Mexico, Morelos
The Jardines de México, which will play host to Vaivén festival this weekend, claim to be the largest floral gardens in the world. (Jardines de Mexico/Facebook)

The Vaivén dance music festival is scheduled to take place in Morelos on April 29–April 30.

The festival, which will see performances from chart successes such as Holland’s Shermanology, U.S. DJ Zhu and Australia’s Rüfüs du Sol, is set in the stunning grounds of the Jardines de México, which claims to be the largest floral gardens in the world. 

Vaivén has been running successfully since 2016 and attracts a host of international dance music talent to the tranquil slopes of the mountains outside Mexico City. 

In between performances, festivalgoers will be able to take part in yoga and meditation workshops and create their own music at hip-hop and karaoke centers. 

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

Major League Baseball comes to Mexico City

Some of the biggest stars in Major League Baseball will meet in Mexico City this weekend, as the San Diego Padres face the San Francisco Giants at the Alfredo Harp Helú stadium.

Sitting third and fourth in the National League West respectively, the Californian sides will take to the diamond in the capital for the first time on Saturday. 

MLB training camp in CDMX
To celebrate playing in Mexico City, the LA Giants have announced partnerships with Mexico City sides to help develop youth talent. Here, former Designated Hitter, Hunter Pence supports local children at a training camp. (MLB)

While the MLB has visited Mexico before, the previous five regular-season games have all taken place in the northern city of Monterrey, Nuevo León. 

Earlier this month, the Giants announced initiatives to help support the game in Mexico, sponsoring two new Liga Maya (Mayan League) teams in Mexico City. Padres announcer Eduardo Ortega, himself a Mexican, also spoke at length today about the importance of Major League Baseball in Mexico. 

Mexico was recently eliminated by the United States in the World Baseball Classic, before going on to finish third. 

With reports from Food and Wine, Forbes, Aristegui, Vaiven, MLB

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