Tomato tariff takes effect, threatening Mexican exports and jobs

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July 14, 2025

tomato tariff mexico — The revived tomato tariff could increase prices of Mexican tomatoes by around 10% for U.S. consumers, resulting in a 5% decrease in demand. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)

A 17% tariff on most fresh tomato imports from Mexico to the United States was expected to go into effect on Monday as the decades-old Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) comes to an end.

The TSA had allowed Mexican producers to export tomatoes to the U.S. without paying antidumping duties. Dumping is the practice of selling cheap exports into a foreign market to undercut homegrown products.

tomatoes and a sign — Mexican imports were exempt from a 20.91% tariff (“arancel” in Spanish) until the U.S. decided to reimpose it as of July 14.(Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)

Mexican tomato exporters had previously agreed to set minimum prices to maintain the deal. However, the U.S. Department of Commerce decided not to revive the agreement during an April meeting with the Department of Agriculture.

“With the termination of this agreement, Commerce will institute an antidumping duty order on July 14, 2025, resulting in duties of 20.91% on most imports of tomatoes from Mexico,” Commerce said in an April 14 press release.

“The current agreement has failed to protect U.S. tomato growers from unfairly priced Mexican imports,” the press release reads.

Though slightly below the originally proposed tariff of 21%, the 17% tax is expected to have an immediate effect on consumer prices and consumption in the U.S., as well as on Mexican exports and jobs in the sector.

As of May 2025, field-grown tomatoes cost U.S. consumers around US $3.75 per kilogram, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Consumer prices are expected to increase by around 10% and demand could fall by 5% owing to the new tariff, Arizona State University professor Timothy Richards told CNN.

In the Mexican border state of Sinaloa, between 200,000 and 400,000 laborers work on tomato fields, according to the state government.

While Mexico enjoys year-round crops, tomato-producing regions in the U.S. are seasonal, with Florida growing tomatoes between October and June, and California from May to November.

The revived tariff’s impact on Mexico

“Mexico represents 61% of the total U.S. fresh tomato supply, almost double the domestic production capacity (…) it would require between 16,996 and 101,171 additional hectares of production to compensate for the lack of Mexican tomatoes,” American Action Forum trade policy analyst Jacob Jensen was reported saying by the newspaper Milenio.

The U.S. is Mexico’s top tomato export market, with a 93% share, representing an annual value of over US $2 billion.

“They can’t replace us because there aren’t many other countries that produce this quantity of excellent tomatoes at a very reasonable price,” Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegué said in April.

Some companies, such as Heinz, which uses only domestically produced tomatoes for its ketchup products sold in the U.S., will avoid the tariff.

Nevertheless, several sectoral experts, such as María Antonieta Barrón, an agribusiness specialist, believe the tariff will increase the price of Mexican products and reduce their competitiveness in the U.S. market.

With reports from Animal Politico, Milenio and CNN

Editor’s note: The article previously listed the new tariff on tomatoes to be 20.91%, based on information available at the time of publishing. The article has been updated to indicate that the new tariff rate is 17%, as confirmed by U.S. officials on July 14.

Mexicans’ opinion of the United States has soured drastically since Trump took office

By

MND Staff

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July 14, 2025

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Street protest with US flags — Trump's policies and actions have not been popular with Mexicans on either side of the border. (Shutterstock)

Mexicans’ opinion of the United States has plummeted since Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president began in January, according to a Pew Research Center survey published on Friday.

Pew found that 69% of Mexicans surveyed in February and March held an unfavorable view of the U.S., while just 29% had a favorable opinion. That varies significantly from Joe Biden’s last year as U.S. president, when 61% of Mexicans saw the U.S. favorably and 33% saw it unfavorably.

Mexico’s 32 percentage-point drop in favorable views of the U.S. is the steepest decline observed in any of the 24 countries Pew surveyed this year.

Most Mexican adults (91%) said they had little to no confidence in Trump to do the right thing regarding world affairs, compared to 60% of Mexican respondents [regarding Biden] in 2024.

The survey showed that Mexicans lacked confidence in Trump’s immigration policy, with 87% stating they had little or no confidence in his handling of the issue, a higher proportion than any other country surveyed this year.

As part of the survey, Pew asked whether the governments of the U.S. and Mexico were doing a good or bad job “dealing with the large number of people seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico.”

With Trump back in office, people in Mexico view the U.S. much more negativelyhttps://t.co/H4Y0qpDOrd

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) July 11, 2025

In response, 68% of Mexican respondents said the U.S. government was doing a bad job or a very bad job, a big leap over the 52% of Mexicans who thought the U.S. was doing a bad or very bad job in 2024.

By contrast, 68% of Mexican respondents said the Mexican government was doing a good job, compared to 60% last year.

Globally, the US breaks even

Across the 24 countries surveyed by Pew, 49% of respondents held a favorable overall view of the U.S., while 49% held an unfavorable view.

The U.S. was viewed most positively by Israel, with 83% of respondents seeing it favorably. The least positive assessment was given by Sweden, with 79% of respondents holding a negative view of the country.

In most countries surveyed, adults under 35 held a more positive opinion of the U.S. than those aged 50 and above. Meanwhile, respondents who placed themselves on the ideological right tended to rate the U.S. more favorably than those on the left.

Around half or more of those surveyed in most European countries, plus Australia, Mexico and Canada, viewed democracy in the U.S. as functioning poorly. A third of respondents from Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Sweden went further, saying U.S. democracy was working very poorly.

The majority of respondents across all countries agreed that there are strong partisan conflicts in the United States.

Mexico News Daily

Baja heats up as the Los Cabos Tennis Open begins

By

Chris Sands

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July 14, 2025

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A male tennis player, Andrey Rublev, with a blue headband and wristbands clenches his fist and shouts in triumph on the court, holding his tennis racket in his other hand. — Russian player Andrey Rublev will be the top-seeded competitor at this year's Los Cabos Tennis Open, which starts Monday. (ABN AMRO Open)

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) sponsors over 60 tournaments around the globe each year. However, only two take place in Mexico: the Abierto Mexicano (The Mexican Open) — an ATP 500 series event held in Acapulco — and the Abierto Los Cabos.

The latter — better known as the Los Cabos Tennis Open — is an ATP 250 competition staged annually at the Cabo Sports Complex. The tournament opens Monday and runs until July 19.

An expansive view of an outdoor tennis stadium at dusk. The hard court is illuminated by bright overhead lights, appearing beige with a dark blue playing area. The stands, filled with rows of empty seats, rise up on either side. A vibrant sunset with hues of pink, purple, and blue fills the sky above distant hills. — The tournament, as always, will be held at the Cabo Sports Complex in Baja California Sur. (Los Cabos Open)

In 2024, these two tournaments — whose series numbers reflect their respective prestige, prizes and available ranking points — took place back-to-back on the ATP schedule in February and March. This was so that the Los Cabos Tennis Open could serve as a lead-in for the Mexican Open, a symbolic gesture that reflected the importance of the latter to Acapulco as the city recovered from the devastation wrought by Category 5 Hurricane Otis in October 2023.

But this year, the ATP dictated that the Los Cabos Tennis Open would return to its traditional summertime calendar slot on the tour.

This means that not only will 32 of the world’s best men’s singles players and 16 of the best doubles players be battling each other for a share of the US $873,000 in prize money, they’ll be battling the intense seasonal heat, with temperatures this week predicted to stay at around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with up to 50% humidity.

What the Open means to Los Cabos

The Los Cabos Tennis Open is one of two premier spectator sporting events in the area. The PGA World Wide Technology Championship, held in November, is the other.

Yes, Los Cabos is famed for sport fishing too. But it’s not as though one can watch fishing tournaments live, since boats range as far as 50 miles from the coast and spectators are not welcome aboard. You can watch the fish being weighed, but that’s not exactly an activity brimming with athleticism or sustained action. The same could be said of golf, although it’s certainly interesting to see how top players perform from an up-close perspective.

No, in Los Cabos, the ATP event is the only one that offers real action, which is why it’s a highlight of the summer sporting season, even for those like myself who typically choose to watch it on television in air-conditioned comfort.

A wide shot of a blue outdoor tennis court during a match, with a player in white serving on the left. The stadium seating, predominantly white with some pink accents, is visible behind the court, largely empty but with a few spectators. Advertising banners in pink line the court, and a chair umpire sits at the net. The sky is bright and clear. — The open has grown exponentially since its beginnings in 2016, when it was held at specially built courts at the K-12 Delmar International School in Cabo San Lucas. (Los Cabos Guide)

The Los Cabos Tennis Open’s history

When the tournament first premiered in 2016 at the Delmar International School, it seemed something of an oddity: Los Cabos is a resort destination, and although some of its luxury properties do feature tennis courts, it didn’t seem as if vacationers could support a big-time tennis tournament. Nor did natives seem likely to, given the relatively high prices for tickets and the fact that few local youngsters then played the sport.

Over time, though, an appreciation for tennis has bloomed in Los Cabos, due in part to family-friendly initiatives like this year’s Kids Nite by Disney, an event in which children can interact with tournament players.

Attendance, too, has grown steadily, despite the 2020 open being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 iteration having no spectators. In 2022, 25,000 people attended the weeklong Los Cabos Open. In 2023, that figure increased to 30,000. By 2024, attendance had grown to 34,000, and the tournament generated an economic impact of over $6 million. This year, the numbers should be even higher.

The level of tennis, meanwhile, has been high from the start. Past champions of the event have included Ivo Karlović, Sam Querrey, Fabio Fognini, Diego Schwartzman and Daniil Medvédev, the 2021 US Open winner and the world’s number-one-ranked player when he captured the Los Cabos Tennis Open trophy in 2022.

Which players are participating in the Los Cabos Tennis Open this year?

Unlike the Mexican Open, which features both top men and women, the Los Cabos Tennis Open is solely a men’s event, as the list of former winners indicates. No, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the winners of the last six Grand Slam singles titles, will not be participating this year. Nor will Novak Djokovic, the winner of a men’s record 24 Grand Slam singles trophies.

However, the open will, as always, welcome many highly ranked men’s players. This year, the roster of 32 singles competitors includes some ranked among the world’s top 50 players: Russian Andrey Rublev (No. 14) — the tournament’s top seed and a 17-time ATP tour-level winner — Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina of Spain (No. 28) and Denis Shapovalov of Canada (No. 31).

Also competing is 20-year-old Mérida native Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez (No. 219), who garnered excitement at February’s Mexican Open in Acapulco when he made history by being the first Mexican player in decades to win a main draw match. He was ultimately knocked out in the quarterfinals by Davidovich-Fokina.

Top-50 players Lorenzo Musetti of Italy (No. 7) and Australian Jordan Thompson (No. 37), the latter who was last year’s champion, were scheduled to compete at this week’s tournament but withdrew, Musetti due to a leg injury.

A male tennis player lies on his back on the court, covering his face with his hands in apparent emotion, after a match. Spectators are visible in the stands behind him standing up to applaud or take photos. — Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez garnered excitement after winning a grueling three-hour victory against Aleksandar Vukic at the Mexican Open in February, making him the first Mexican to win an ATP main draw match since 1996. (Mextenis)

How to enjoy the action live or on television

Prices for 2025’s Los Cabos Tennis Open start at 1,075 to 1,280 pesos (US $57–$68) for individual tickets and climb to 11,715 to 12,890 pesos (US $625–$688) for the three-day weekend series covering the quarterfinals, semis and finals. Full-week passes for all six days of live festivities are even more.

As it has since 2021, the tournament will take place at the Cabo Sports Complex, home to five hard courts, including a stadium court that can accommodate up to 3,500 spectators. The complex is located across from Solaz Resort Los Cabos at kilometer 18.5 of the Carretera Transpeninsular.

For those unable to attend, television coverage of the tournament will be available courtesy of ESPN and Disney+.

Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.

Copa Airlines to connect Los Cabos with 20+ Latin American cities via Panama hub

By

MND Staff

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July 14, 2025

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airplane in the air — Copa's new route from Los Cabos to its hub in Panama City will be the first-ever nonstop flight between those two destinations. (Adrián Ávila/Unsplash)

Copa Airlines, Panama’s flagship carrier, announced it will launch the first-ever direct flight between Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, and Central America via its hub in Panama City, a move expected to vastly increase visitor access to the peninsula resort mecca by non-U.S. and non-Mexican tourists.

The flights will begin Dec. 4, 2025 with three frequencies, on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. They will depart from Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in Panama at 9:09 a.m. local time and arrive at Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), operated with a Boeing 737-800. The return flights leave SJD at 1:33 p.m., and arrive at PTY at 8:30 p.m. local time.

Volaremos a 1️⃣ nuevo destino y reiniciamos operaciones en 2️⃣ rutas ✈️

🆕 Los Cabos, México – A partir del 4 de diciembre de 2025 (lun, jue, sáb) 🇲🇽

🔁 Santiago de los Caballeros, República Dominicana – A partir del 15 de enero de 2026 (lun, jue, sáb) 🇩🇴

🔁 Salvador, Brasil – A… pic.twitter.com/39y7GtNCaS

— Copa Airlines (@CopaAirlines) July 3, 2025

Though the new route is to Panama City only, PTY is a global hub — what Copa Airlines calls the “Hub of the Americas” — and therefore facilitates connections to more than 20 destinations in Central and South America, boosting tourism. That’s because the new connection with Los Cabos eliminates the need for stopovers in Mexico City or the United States, allowing for a more efficient and direct experience for Latin American travelers.

Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines, noted that the news operation is part of the airline’s network expansion, strengthening continental connectivity. “We continue to consolidate the Hub of the Americas as Latin America’s main connection center, driving new opportunities for economic development in the markets where we operate,” Heilbron said.

Copa Airlines also announced it will revive routes to Brazil and the Dominican Republic next year.

The northwestern resort city will be the carrier’s fifth destination in Mexico (the others are Monterrey, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Cancún). The new route is estimated to bring an annual flow to Los Cabos of more than 25,000 tourists from Central and South America.

Rodrigo Esponda, General Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Trust, noted that this air route is the result of efforts between Los Cabos and Copa Airlines officials

“This achievement is the result of more than nine years of constant work and collaboration with Copa Airlines,” he said. “For the first time, we are directly opening our doors to the Latin American market, which will be key to continuing to increase tourist arrivals from the region.”

Meanwhile, the Baja California Sur Ministry of Tourism (Setue) said the route seeks to diversify tourism markets and strengthen local economic development. Setue added that the sustained growth in visitors from Central and South America since 2020 positions Los Cabos as an emerging destination in the region.

With reports from Reporte Lobby and Pasillo Turístico

Sacred Wixárika route added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List

By

MND Staff

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July 14, 2025

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A route through 20 sites sacred to Mexico’s Wixárika people was recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, becoming the first such recognition for a living Indigenous tradition in Latin America.

Known as the Wixárika Route through Sacred Sites to Wirikuta or Tatehuarí Huajuyé (The Path of Our Grandfather Fire), the route is a network of paths that stretches over 500 kilometers across five states in north-central Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Durango and San Luis Potosí. Beginning in the Sierra los Huicholes, the route leads to Wirikuta in the Chihuahuan Desert, with additional sacred sites in Nayarit and Durango.

Crossing 500 kilometers of ancestral territory, the Ruta Wixárika (Wixárika Route) is one of the few pre-Columbian routes still in use in the Americas. (INAH)

“This recognition is of the utmost importance for Mexico because it is the first time in all of Latin America that a cultural expression linked to a living and active Indigenous tradition has received this international recognition,” Mexico’s Minister of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, said.

UNESCO highlighted the route as one of the most representative pre-Columbian routes still in use in the Americas.

In a statement, the culture agency recognized it as “an exceptional testimony to the persistence of the cultural traditions of the Wixárika people and an outstanding example of the interrelationship between culture and the natural environment.”

Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said the universal value of the route lies in its connection to sacred sites and key elements of the Wixárika tradition, including fire, rain, the cultivation of corn and peyote, the golden eagle, the wolf and the deer.

The Wixárika Route extends from the western edge of the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Chihuahuan Desert in San Luis Potosí. (INAH)

The route’s inscription on UNESCO’s list requires the creation of a management unit and the implementation of a Comprehensive Plan for Management, Conservation and Safeguarding, with direct participation from the Wixárika Regional Council and Indigenous communities.

Preserving the natural conditions of the route allows the Wixárika people to continue their rituals, which include leaving offerings for health, the fruits of nature and the well-being of their people, at various sites along the path.

Francisco Vidargas, head of the World Heritage Directorate of INAH, noted that some stretches are situated on private properties where the owners permit the Wixárika to pass through and perform their ceremonies, such as at Cerro Gordo in Durango.

However, in an interview with the newspaper El Economista, Totupica Candelario Robles mentioned that the presence of mining companies and peyote tourism along the route has created problems for the Wixárika.

“Our people hope that this registry will be one more tool for the protection of our sacred territories that will allow us to eradicate the extractive and agro-industrial threats that harm our territories and culture,” the Wixárika Regional Council said in a statement.

With reports from La Jornada and El Economista

MND Deep Dive: Gentrification and protest in Mexico City

By

MND Plus

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July 13, 2025

4

Hundreds of people protested gentrification in Mexico City’s Condesa and Roma neighborhoods last week, largely singling out Americans. Protesters cited anger over rising rents and the displacement of Mexicans, which they attribute to an influx of foreign residents, many earning U.S. dollar salaries and using platforms like Airbnb for short-term rentals. Slogans such as “Free us from American gentrification,” “You’re not an expat, you’re an invader,” and “Dispossession comes disguised as Airbnb” were displayed. C

hants of “fuera gringos” and “gringos, go home” also rang out. Resentment was also fueled by perceptions that some foreigners do not assimilate, learn Spanish, or significantly contribute to local tax collection, underscoring economic inequality where Mexicans struggle to afford housing in desirable areas.

MND Deep Dive Podcast | Gentrification and protest in Mexico City

Watch this video on YouTube

While many demonstrations were peaceful, a smaller group engaged in acts of vandalism and violence, damaging businesses, defacing monuments, and attacking individuals. The Mexico City government, led by Mayor Clara Brugada, issued a statement denouncing gentrification and affirming a commitment to “the right to decent housing” through public policies.

This week, our subscriber-exclusive podcast takes a look at the protests, the reasons behind them and whether or not protestors are right to blame digital nomads for the cost of living crisis in Mexico City.

This podcast was produced using AI tools. All information collected and discussed in this episode was investigated, written, and edited by human journalists. Compiled from Mexico News Daily articles by Peter Davies and Sarah DeVries. Edited by Chris Havler-Barrett and Caitlin Cooper. Podcast produced by Chris Havler-Barrett.

‘The angels brought us’: Couple’s book documents 3 decades of living in San Miguel de Allende

By

Lydia Carey

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July 13, 2025

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Close-up of a historic church in San Miguel de Allende, showcasing its distinctive orange and yellow colors, ornate facade, and bell tower, with a cypress tree in the foreground. — Steven and Cathi House's new large format photography book, "San Miguel de Allende: "The Soul of Mexico," collects images of the picturesque city the couple took over 35 years. (Photos courtesy of Schiffer Publishing)

The amber glow of the San Miguel de Allende streetlights hitting the cobblestones often lingers in the minds of its visitors long after they have left. The ancient tiled domes of its churches, the ornate black and white suits of the mariachis in the central plaza, and the colorful skirts of the giant mojiganga puppets that wander the downtown are all common visions of this quaint, colonial town in Central Mexico.

But mental snapshots fade with time, and many desire the ability to peruse those images now and again, even if absent from San Miguel. The new large-format photography book, “San Miguel de Allende: The Soul of Mexico,” offers San Miguel fans just such an opportunity.

Cathi and Steven House, the authors of the San Miguel de Allende photography book, smile in front of a stone wall. Steven has a beard and long dark hair, and Cathi has long gray hair and is wearing a colorful beaded necklace. — Steven and Cathi House fell in love with San Miguel de Allende the way many who move there do: They stumbled across a house there for sale.

Published by U.S.-based Schiffer Publishing, the book is a love letter to the Bajío city from Cathi and Steven House, two architects whose 35-year love affair with San Miguel is demonstrated in the warm and heartrending images they have photographed over the decades, unaware that one day they would combine their photographic archives into this homage to their part-time home.

When the Houses first came to San Miguel in 1990, they were pulled in by the city’s beauty and color. They had plans to move elsewhere but were shown a crumbling ruin of a house on Calzada de la Presa that they simply could not walk away from.

“When we stepped inside, we had that kind of overwhelming sensation that the angels had brought us to that spot,” says Cathi House. “Even after all the times we’ve tried to talk about it, [it’s hard to describe] what we felt, we just knew that we were home in a way that we really had not experienced yet in our life.”

The Houses built their home on that very spot, a quiet retreat from what they call their chaotic life in San Francisco. As time went on, they found themselves more and more interwoven into the local community and pulled to make San Miguel their part-time residence. When their home won a major architectural award, people started to reach out with requests to build other homes and Cathi put together “a construction team of some of the best people I have ever met.” As they sank deeper into their life in San Miguel, they started to capture its visual landscape through the lens of their cameras.

The new book, divided into eight sections of color photos and ink drawings, presents the architecture, gardens, homes, crafts and artisans of a town that has grown into a thriving artist community since the founding of the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes and the Instituto Allende art schools in the early part of the 20th century.

Portraits of everyday residents — the time-etched faces of old women wrapped in rebozos, a young girl in her turquoise quiceañera dress, the giggling smiles of children — are almost exclusively taken by Steven, who Cathi says has a particular talent for making his subjects feel comfortable:

A smiling traditional Mexican dancer wearing an elaborate headdress of vibrant blue, orange, and green feathers, with a matching embroidered vest and yellow feathered shoulders. — The Houses got to know their adopted city by photographing the architecture and taking shots of residents they happened to meet.

“Steven is tall, so he will come up to whoever [he wants to photograph] and immediately get not just down on his knees, but crouch even further. So he’s not this huge looming figure and he’ll just start talking to them in whatever language can be mustered. He’ll ask about everything — their children and the work they used to do or whatever, whatever topics seem appropriate as he engages with them.”

“And he always knows how to tell any little old lady, no matter how toothless or haggard or scraggly she might be, that she is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen and make her believe it.”

“And this, this engagement that I watch with him, this dance that he does as a prelude to taking the photograph, is really beautiful. And it makes everyone relax and [makes them] happy and conversant and feeling like they know him now in a way. And so then, when he asks if it’s possible to take a photograph, they are so excited. And it’s been beautiful to watch over the years.”

Anyone who knows these two architects will recognize their other photography books, “Villages of West Africa: An Intimate Journey Across Time” and “Mediterranean Villages: An Architectural Journey,” but this is possibly the most intimate project they have ever worked on, an ode to a town that has become integral to the fabric of their lives.

Each year the Houses host young architecture students in San Miguel in a summer program, the Center for Architecture, Sustainability and Art (CASA), to “teach them how to design from their soul,” says Cathi. Throughout the book, readers will find these students’ stunning line drawings of San Miguel scenes, from the iconic central cathedral to the facades of homes down hidden neighborhood streets.

“They are drawing by hand, talking, touching, feeling, learning, understanding. [We want them to ask themselves], ‘How do you actually let in what you’re seeing into your heart in a way that it can transform, not only who you are, but transform what comes out into your next project or some other project 50 years down the line?’”

A close-up portrait of an elderly Mexican woman with warm, crinkled eyes and a gentle smile, wearing a blue and white striped rebozo over a red and checkered blouse, against a rustic wooden door. — The Houses hope their book will encourage others to find out more about the reality of life in Mexico.

With text by Cathi and photos by both Cathi and Steven, the two artists hope their book will invoke in longtime visitors a warm remembrance of a favorite place, and encourage anyone who has never been — or who has only ever experienced Mexico through the lens of the U.S. media — to come and see the country’s incredible beauty for themselves.

“We wanted some kind of vehicle that we could say to the people of Mexico — and to the people of San Miguel especially — how much we love them and how grateful we are that the twists and turns of life brought us there in the first place,” says Cathi, “and what an honor and a pleasure it has been for us to live there and work with them all these years.”

Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of “Mexico City Streets: La Roma.” Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at mexicocitystreets.com.

Inside Jalisco’s billion-dollar hotel boom

By

Meagan Drillinger

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July 13, 2025

7

a4ea12931c990e242201612729ffac49 — Jalisco is receiving billions of dollars of investment to kick start luxury developments across the state. Here are some of the most exciting. (Inspired Pencil)

There’s a transformation unfolding in Jalisco, and it’s happening at the pace of a luxury check-in. With more than US $1 billion in new hotel investments slated between now and 2028, Mexico’s central Pacific state is turning into one of its fastest-growing hospitality hubs.

The new developments span 38 hotels across Puerto Vallarta, the Guadalajara metro area, Costalegre, and the state’s mountain and lake towns, collectively adding 4,578 rooms to Jalisco’s hotel inventory. Already the second most robust state for hotel offerings in Mexico (after Quintana Roo), Jalisco is positioning itself as the Pacific Coast powerhouse of tourism.

What makes Jalisco’s growth particularly compelling is its range. The hotel projects are scattered across the state, from the capital city streets of Guadalajara to the quiet pine forests of Tapalpa, and from Puerto Vallarta’s beaches to the quiet corners of Costalegre.

Tezcalame

Costalegre, the quiet, in-the-know region that runs along the Pacific shoreline between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo, is set to receive an ambitious luxury project. Situated in the municipality of Tomatlán, about 73 kilometers south of Puerto Vallarta and 79 kilometers north of Costa Careyes, Tezcalame is a 451-hectare master-planned community bringing another wave of high-end coastal living.

Anchored by a resort from Chablé Hotels, known for its wellness, design, and luxury accommodations. The US $230-million investment of Tezcalame will also feature a second international brand and a reserved oceanfront parcel earmarked for a future five-star property.

Beyond its resort components, Tezcalame will have five distinct enclaves offering estate lots for custom-designed villas. Residents will have access to a beach club and boutique beachfront homes. A golf course is also in the works, as are tourism board-backed boating routes that will run from Puerto Vallarta to Punta Perula to Barra de Navidad, according to Miguel Andres Hernandez Arteaga, undersecretary of tourism for the state of Jalisco.

Guadalajara

Inland, Guadalajara continues to evolve as a destination for business, tech, culture, and lifestyle travel. The state capital is receiving a sizable chunk of the hotel boom. InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) will open seven new properties across the metro area, with a total investment of US $165 million. These are expected to range from urban business hotels to more lifestyle-oriented brands. Melia is investing an additional $45 million in its brand-new ME by Meliá hotel.

Hiton and Marriott are also doubling down in Guadalajara with $90 million and $65 million in investments, respectively, spread across four hotels each. The expansion of these global brands shows growing visitor numbers, but also Guadalajara’s increasing role as a commercial and convention center in Mexico.

Suites Lineup, investing $20 million, is targeting long-stay travelers with apartment-style accommodations, indicating Guadalajara is becoming attractive to digital nomads and extended-stay business professionals.

World Hotels is putting $13 million into a luxury property in the city, too.

Boutique Hotels in the Mountains and Lakes

Not all of Jalisco’s hotel growth is about international chains or beach resorts. Several investments are heading into the state’s interior, particularly its Pueblos Magic’s and nature-based getaways.

Tapalpa, tucked in the forested highlands, is welcoming two boutique hotels from Prada Collection with a US $8 million investment. Serenzzo Tapalpa is contributing another $2 million to a stylish, locally inspired retreat. These mountain destinations have long been weekend escapes for Guadalajara residents, but increased investment is helping them become destinations in their own right.

San Juan Cosalá, on the north shore of Lake Chapala, is another area gaining attention. Known for its thermal waters and small lake town aesthetic, it will soon be home to Shaalam, a wellness-oriented boutique hotel with a $6 million price tag. The development reflects the growing appeal of spa and retreat tourism around Mexico’s largest lake.

Meanwhile, eight independent hotels across the state have pledged a combined $100 million in investment. These will likely expand offerings in smaller towns and off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Infrastructure and Momentum

These hotel investments are part of a broader push to elevate Jalisco’s role in Mexico’s tourism economy. The Puerto Vallarta International Airport, already one of the busiest in the country, is undergoing major expansion, with a new terminal set to boost both domestic and international capacity. This, combined with growing air connectivity to Guadalajara and the budding airport in Costalegre, positions the state for continued tourism growth from North America and beyond.

With 11 million visitors in the first four months of 2025, according to the tourism board, Jalisco is on pace for another big year. The state currently has 2,821 hotels and more than 83,000 rooms. By 2030, the goal is to surpass 90,000.

Much of this development is driven by big-picture momentum. With Guadalajara set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the state is bracing for a wave of international visitors. Twelve of the 38 new hotels are scheduled to open before the tournament.

Meagan Drillinger is a New York native who has spent the past 15 years traveling around and writing about Mexico. While she’s on the road for assignments most of the time, Puerto Vallarta is her home base. Follow her travels on Instagram at @drillinjourneys or through her blog at drillinjourneys.com.

Where to Travel in Mexico 2025 Guide: Road trippers

By

Nellie Huang

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July 13, 2025

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Cenote Suytun, Yucatán — Mexico has no shortage of road trip options, with some truly mind blowing destinations along the way. (All photos by Nellie Huang)

The wind is whipping through my open window, the horizon stretches for miles into the far distance, my favorite tune is blasting through the car stereo and there’s no one on the road except for our trusty red Volkswagen Beetle.

Road trips are my favorite way to travel — there’s an undeniable magic to the open road that always gives me a free and untethered feeling, punctuated with unscripted moments and spontaneous detours in between.

Mexico — with its soaring mountains, sun-drenched coastlines, vast deserts and lush jungles — is tailor-made for road trips. In the past four years of living in Mexico, I’ve been fortunate enough to crisscross many of its states behind the wheel, from the twisting roads of the Sierra Madre to the jungle paths of the Yucatán Peninsula and the desert highways in Baja California. Each journey has not only shown me Mexico’s beauty but also given me a deeper understanding of its incredible diversity.

With that, I bring you another installment of Where to Travel in Mexico 2025, a series that uncovers prime locations across Mexico tailored for specific travel styles, whether you’re a digital nomad, family traveler or beach lover. For a travel writer who loves the sense of discovery around every bend, putting together this installment has been plenty of fun. I’ve mapped out five exceptional routes that promise stunning scenery and exciting adventures. So buckle up — it’s time to hit the road!

Yucatan Peninsula: For first-time visitors

From my own experience living along the Caribbean coast for two years, I can safely say this is, hands down, the best route for those who are new to Mexico. The all-encompassing loop route is a highlight reel of the best sights in the Yucatan Peninsula, from ancient ruins and colonial towns to the natural sinkholes called cenotes and sugary-sand beaches with calm, spearmint water. Driving Highway 307, which runs parallel to the Caribbean, is straightforward, but the real joy comes from the detours.

Spend a few days kicking back on the beaches of Cancún, then head west to the historical town of Valladolid. Explore Chichén Itzá, Mexico’s best-preserved archaeological site, before cooling off in the cerulean freshwaters of Cenote Saamal and Cenote Suytun. Continue west to the charismatic yellow town of Izamal and eventually you’ll reach the food haven of Mérida, where I’ve had some of my best meals in Mexico. Drive back to the coast to swim or kayak in the crystal-clear waters of Laguna Bacalar. Then it’s time to head north to Tulum, where you can float along the ancient canals of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve or hop over to Cozumel island to dive the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s second largest.

Tip: Set aside two to three weeks for this road trip — the key is to take things slow and not rush it. The federal highway has quite a few military checkpoints; remain calm and stay in your car.

Baja California: For the outdoorsy type

Snaking into the Sea of Cortez like a serpent, Baja California is a peninsula blessed with some of Mexico’s wildest and most rugged landscapes. Here, the cacti-studded desert meets the ocean, and craggy mountains frame wide, sweeping beaches. For me, part of what makes driving Baja California so incredible is the surprising quality of the roads, which are some of the smoothest and safest I’ve driven in Mexico.

The Transpeninsular Highway, also called Highway 1, zigzags its way through the entire peninsula, connecting the picturesque vineyards and mission towns in the north with the coastal towns and wildlife-rich marine reserves of the south. The grand traverse — starting from Tijuana all the way to Los Cabos in the southern tip — is a rite of passage, particularly for Americans who live right across the border.

Start your epic journey with wine-tasting in Valle de Guadalupe, don’t forget to snap some shots in Cataviña Desert before stopping for fish tacos in Ensenada. Continue to the historic towns of San Ignacio and Loreto, before making a detour to Magdalena Bay to encounter some grey whales. Then, go swimming with whale sharks or snorkeling with sea lions off La Paz. Just before reaching Los Cabos, stop at the boho town of Todos Santos, where you can wander its art galleries and also release baby turtles.

Tip: To complete the whole journey, you’ll need at least three weeks. But if you can’t swing it, simply focus on the northern desert section — Tijuana to Guerrero Negro — or just the southern stretch from Loreto to Los Cabos if you’re more of a beach person.

Oaxaca: For brave souls

If there’s one road trip in Mexico that I find myself daydreaming about, it’s the spectacular journey from the foodie paradise of Oaxaca city down to the state’s untamed Pacific coastline. Separated from the city by the rugged Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, the Oaxaca coast is dramatic, largely undeveloped and studded with golden strands, surf towns and fishing villages.

A new 104 km superhighway now connects the city with the coast, reducing the drive to just 2.5 hours each way. But if, like me, you enjoy the adventure that comes with epic mountain roads, take the long detour on the curvy Highway 175 that climbs into the mountains. Featuring endless twists and turns, It’s not for the faint of heart, but you’ll feel the air change and watch the landscapes shift from agave fields to colossal mountains covered in pine forests.

Leaving the buzz of Oaxaca city behind, make a stop in Miahuatlán, where you can sample mezcal in small, family-run palenques, or mezcal distilleries. Then start the climb into the mountains and stop for the night in one of the wooden A-frame cabins that dot San José del Pacífico, a mountain town renowned for its magic mushrooms. From there, the route snakes down to the coast, where you can explore the scenic bays of Huatulco by boat, watch sunsets at the nudist beach in Zipolite, visit the Mexican Turtle Center in Mazunte or challenge yourself to some big-wave surfing in Puerto Escondido.

Tip: This epic road trip requires 10 days to two weeks. Be sure to set aside at least five days in the culture colossus of Oaxaca city. Look out for the ubiquitous potholes and unmarked speed bumps!

Central highlands: For culture vultures

For those seeking to take a deep dive into Mexican culture, this road trip will unpeel Mexico’s layered history and indigenous heritage. The loop route takes you from Mexico City through the central highlands and into the heart of Michoacán, a region steeped in Purépecha culture.

It’s designed for travelers who are curious about ancient civilizations and who delight in discovering artisan traditions and ancestral cuisine. I highly recommend timing your road trip to coincide with Día de Muertos, where locals honor their deceased loved ones with overnight cemetery vigils and the towns are blanketed in cempasuchil (marigold), candles and incense.

Leave Mexico City behind and make your first stop at Querétaro to admire its impeccably preserved historic center and the majestic arches of its aqueduct. From there, get lost in charming San Miguel de Allende — one of the highlights of Mexico for many and the reason we chose to live here — popping into art galleries, artisan boutiques and rooftop terraces perfect for watching the sunset.

Then traipse the steep streets and subterranean tunnels of Guanajuato before looping south to Michoacán and its state capital, Morelia, a colonial masterpiece in its own right. End your trip with a bang at Lake Pátzcuaro, wandering the colonial enclave of Pátzcuaro, taking a boat to the island of Janitzio and exploring the archaeological site of Tzintzuntzan, the ancient capital of the Purépecha Empire.

Tip: Plan at least three weeks for the entire road trip, or cut it in half by ending the trip in Guanajuato. Roads in this region are not the best, so always opt for toll roads.

Pacific coast: For cosmopolitan travelers

Serving up a cocktail of experiences, this road trip is a fantastic match for travelers who love variety. Driving this route, we felt like we’d crossed borders and lived a range of experiences on one single journey. You’ll get to soak in the vibrant city life, sample everything from hearty birria to fresh-off-the-boat aguachile and artisanal tequila, kick back at the sun-kissed beaches and get lost in historic towns with plenty of stories to tell.

The drive starts in Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara, the birthplace of mariachi music, charrería traditions and a plethora of classic Mexican dishes. Take Highway 15 to Tequila, a small town with a big place in Mexican culture, and take a tour of the distilleries and agave plantations. Driving further west, you’ll reach the duo beach towns of San Pancho and Sayulita, with exciting outdoor activities like turtle releases and surfing. On your way to Puerto Vallarta, stop at the attractive Punta Mita peninsula for some of the best seafood in western Mexico.

Be sure to make a detour to the Marietas Islands, where you can swim to a hidden beach nestled inside a crater-like formation. Further north along the coast, make a pitstop at the islet of Mexcaltitlán, a fishing village said to be the ancestral homeland of the Mexicas (Aztecs). The route ends in Mazatlán, the pearl of Sinaloa, where you can spend days wandering its beautifully restored historic quarter.

Tip: Plan to spend at least 10 days on this drive. Check the current security situation in Sinaloa before traveling to the state.

What’s right for each type of traveler?

We’ve put together a table summarizing which destination would suit travelers based on their experience in Mexico.

Beginner travelers are those with limited international experience; maybe this is their first trip to Mexico. Ideal for first-timers who prefer margaritas with training wheels. These travelers stick to well-trodden paths, mastering “¿Dónde está el baño?” while clutching a phrasebook. They thrive in destinations where guacamole arrives with optional spice and the hotel staff speak Google Translate.

Intermediate travelers are those with some international experience who can handle moderate language barriers and cultural differences. Ready to trade resorts for real-deal experiences, these travelers navigate cobblestone streets without face-planting. They’ve graduated to ordering “tres tacos al pastor” without pointing and can haggle for a sombrero in Oaxaca’s markets… but still overpay by 20%.

Advanced travelers are those with extensive experience navigating complex destinations independently. These wanderers treat Mexico like a choose-your-own-adventure novel written in Spanglish. They’ve adopted a street dog named Churro, debate the merits of different artisanal mezcals and know which mercado stall has the best tamales oaxaqueños.

Nellie Huang is a professional travel writer and author based in San Miguel de Allende with her family. She has contributed to BBC Travel, CNN, International Business Times, and National Geographic, and co-authored Lonely Planet’s 2025 Mexico guide. Read about her adventures worldwide on wildjunket.com and follow her updates on Instagram @wildjunket.

Artist Jaime Colín’s new exhibit creates beauty from environmental destruction

By

Ann Marie Jackson

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July 13, 2025

0

Black and white photo of artist Jaime Colín, a man with short dark hair, smiling and looking directly at the camera. He is crouched inside a large circular opening, with a staircase visible behind him and natural light illuminating a tree-like structure outside the opening. — Jaime Colín’s new exhibition, “Geological Spiral: Archives of a Transformed Landscape,” is currently on display at the San Miguel Art Loft in San Miguel de Allende. (Jaime Colín)

The concept of the Anthropocene era — a new geological period coined to document humanity’s impact on Earth — is the subject of recent drawings, paintings and digital graphs by award-winning Mexican visual artist Jaime Colín.

In this series of artworks, Colín, based in Cuernavaca, uses satellite imagery and cartography to produce works that demonstrate the devastation wrought by open-pit mining while creating art of great beauty, a paradox that his fans find both entrancing and thought-provoking.

An acrylic painting titled "Paisaje devastado (cerro devastado), 2023" by Jaime Colín. The artwork depicts an aerial view of a large, terraced open-pit mine with reddish-brown earth tones. Swirling lines define the contours of the mine and the surrounding landscape, with a dark green forested area at the top and a textured blue sky above. — “Paisaje devastado (cerro devastado),” an acrylic painting on medium-density fiberboard (MDF), depicts open-pit mining’s impact on the land. (Jaime Colín)

Colín’s new exhibition, “Geological Spiral: Archives of a Transformed Landscape,” is currently on display at the San Miguel Art Loft in San Miguel de Allende.

Art that documents a transformed landscape

At the exhibition’s opening, gallery owner Debra Broussard discussed how Colín explores the impact upon the land of both natural forces like volcanos and the human-wrought destruction of strip mining.

“While the volcano is a vital pulse of geodynamics,” she noted, “an open-pit mine is a human scar in its most voracious form. Jaime’s body of work does not explicitly seek to condemn or idealize but to explore that point of tension where the landscape reveals its fragility, its power and its capacity for regeneration. To look at these landscapes is to look at the ways we inhabit the Earth, transform it and perhaps repair it.”

Colín further explained that the Anthropocene era has been defined by scientists as beginning in the 1950s, at the time of the first atomic explosions.

“They call it the great acceleration,” he said. “In some of my work, I have compared the craters left by volcanic eruptions with those created by atomic explosions… While I typically cannot know what a viewer takes from my work, I hope to plant seeds, to stimulate dialogue.”

A mixed-media sculpture titled "El cinturón de oro, 2021" by Jaime Colín. The artwork features a meandering, multi-layered form with bright neon yellow-green interior surfaces and orange-red edges. It is elevated on slender metal legs and has several clamps or vises attached to its sides, resembling a topographical model or a stylized outline of a landmass. — Colín mixes nature and the synthetic in “El cinturón de oro,” (2021), which combines wood, varnish, gold leaf, plastic and metal. (Jaime Colín)

Human contradictions

Much of Colín’s work subtly explores the contradiction between our horror at the environmental degradation of mining and our reliance on the products and modern conveniences that come from it — our complicity. But Colín is quick to clarify that he does not consider himself an activist.

“I’m not an activist, nor am I a journalist,” he said. “Those on the front lines risk their lives — a number of young activists from the communities surrounding open-pit mines in various parts of the country have been killed — while I work safely and comfortably in a studio.”

Exhibition guests expressed their appreciation for the subtlety of Colín’s work.

“Jaime’s art is so beautiful,” said one attendee. “I really love and respect what he’s doing. His sensibility reaches more people, I think, precisely because it’s not so in-your-face.”

Broussard agreed.

“I find it interesting how his work explores this extractive process, but he makes these spirals of the excavations appear beautiful. It’s this wild conflict, perhaps making us uncomfortable — in a good way.”

A childhood spent among mines

Colín’s fascination with the impact of mining on the environment stems from his childhood. Colín grew up in the 1980s in Santa Fe — which is now one of the wealthiest areas of Mexico City — when it was still a village. Open-pit mines were excavated there, and his father worked as a miner. The family lived in simple housing between the mines and huge garbage dumps. With a child’s innocence, he thought it normal to hike through the dump to get to school. He and his siblings even played in the mines.

Eventually, the government resettled the community in another place, with little compensation, only for Santa Fe to be developed into the expensive neighborhood that it is today. Ironically, some of those expensive homes now have to be propped up on stilts because they’re sinking into the landfill ground where Colín once played.

An acrylic painting titled "Espectro minero I, 2021" by Jaime Colín. The artwork features an abstract, three-dimensional form with undulating layers of vibrant colors, including red, teal, and luminous yellow, against a solid black background. The concentric lines within each colored section suggest contours or topography. — In “Espectro minero I,” from 2021, Colín is likely using the duality of the Spanish word “espectro,” which can mean “spectrum” but can also mean “ghost” to imply mining’s long-term consequences on the earth. (Jaime Colín)

Colín earned a bachelor’s degree in visual arts at the Morelense Center for the Arts and a master’s degree in visual arts and design from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The two-time winner of competitive federal grants, he has also been invited to exhibit at the Mexico City annual art fair Zona Maco as an emerging artist. He now teaches at the Morelense Center for the Arts.

Viewing the exhibit

Colín’s work may be viewed at the San Miguel Art Loft. To learn more, visit www.sanmiguelartloft.com or contact Debra Broussard at [email protected] to schedule a private viewing. The artist may also be contacted directly through his Instagram account @jaisme_colin.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning novel “The Broken Hummingbird,” which is set in San Miguel de Allende, came out in October 2023. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.