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3 arrests made in murder of artist family in Roma, CDMX

By
Cat Rainsford
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Brothers Jorge and Andrés Tirado.
Brothers Jorge and Andrés Tirado. (Instagram)

Three people have been arrested for the murder of Mexican actor Andrés Tirado, his brother, musician Jorge Tirado, and their uncle José González, who were found dead in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City on Sunday.

Mexico City authorities discovered the three men’s bodies in a house on Medellín Street, in Roma Norte, two days after they were reported missing. Friends of the young artists had been circulating messages on social media since Sunday morning, pleading for help to find them.

“They were found tied hand and foot, with brown tape on their heads,” local journalist Carlos Jiménez reported on Twitter.

Authorities have detained Blanca, 65, along with her daughter and son-in-law. The three suspects in a legal battle with the victims for ownership of the property where they all lived.
Authorities have detained Blanca, 65, along with her daughter and son-in-law. The three suspects in a legal battle with the victims for ownership of the property where both the victims and the suspects all lived. (FGJ)

The brothers’ aunt, Margarita María Ochoa, who was with them when they were last seen driving through Roma on Friday, remains missing.

Authorities have detained a 65-year-old woman, her daughter and her son-in-law in connection to the crime. The three had originally given witness statements to the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, but were arrested after contradictions between their statements aroused suspicions.

Initial investigations revealed that the detainees were in a legal dispute with the murdered men over ownership of the house in Roma where the bodies were found. All six lived in the house, on separate floors, and had claimed titles to it after the previous owner died.

Authorities allege that the detainees allowed armed men to enter the house, who first held the three men prisoner and then murdered them.

“We regret and condemn these events,” Claudia Sheinbaum, head of Mexico City’s government, said on Twitter. “There are people detained and in the course of the morning the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office will be reporting on the advances in this painful homicide.”

Andrés Tirado, 27, was an up-and-coming actor and a graduate of the University Theater Center of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He had performed in various theatrical productions, including “King Kong Cabaret,” “Palinuro en la escalera,” “El arte de la comedia” and “Rentas congeladas,” and starred in the short film “Peña de lobos.” Jorge Tirado, 35, worked in music and was the manager of folk musician Augusto Bracho.

“We express our deepest condolences to family, friends and artistic community for the painful death of these young artists,” the Mexico City System of Theaters said on Twitter.

With reports from Reforma, El Financiero and Univisión

Popocatépetl activity triggers higher level volcanic alert

By
MND Staff
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Popocatépetl activity registered early Monday morning (Government of Morelos)

The Popocatépetl volcano registered intense activity over the weekend and into Monday morning, according to the National Coordination of Civil Protection (CNPC). The CNPC’s monitoring system, the National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred), recorded 12 explosions, 3.3 hours of tremors, and 196 gas or ash emissions within a 24-hour span. 

“In the last 24 hours, through the Popocatépetl volcano monitoring systems, 196 emissions were accompanied by water vapor, volcanic gas, and slight amounts of ash. Also, 199 minutes of low-amplitude and high-frequency tremors were recorded yesterday, along with 12 minor explosions,” Cenapred reported on Sunday. 

Webcams de México recorded the impressive volcanic activity, which can be seen in several videos shared on their Twitter feed.

Webcams de México is a system of stationary cameras in place across the country which capture the beauty of its major cities, tourist towns, and natural areas. However, government officials also frequently use the camera system to monitor natural disasters and the resulting damage. 

Popocatépetl’s rumblings represent a Phase 2 Yellow Alert, which indicates an increase in activity and warns of light to moderate ashfall in surrounding towns, and the possibility of mudslides and pyroclastic flows (made up of lava, ash, and hot gas).

The CNPC warned nearby populations not to approach the volcano, and to be aware of the possibility of mud and debris flows in the case of heavy rain. It also requested that residents close doors and windows, avoid wearing contact lenses, cover water containers and food, and to wear a face mask in the case of respiratory illnesses due to falling ash. A population of 25 million people resides within 100 km of the volcano.

With reports by Milenio and the CNPC

Semi-private jet flights launch from US to Mexico

By
MND Staff
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The new routes are JSX's first venture into international operations.
The new routes are JSX's first venture into international operations. (JSX)

Passengers of semi-private jet company JSX are now able to travel to Los Cabos from the United States.

Besides offering luxury flights within the U.S., JSX now offers a route to Los Cabos from Los Angeles Airport (LAX) and as of Dec. 16, from Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) as well. The two routes are the carrier’s first international services.

Unlike other private carriers, JSX doesn’t require a membership to book a flight. Planes offer first-class-style seating, free drinks and gourmet snacks. Checked baggage is also included, and small pets can fly for free provided they fit in an under-seat carrier.

Since JSX flies out of private jet terminals, passengers go through expedited security checks, avoiding TSA security. That means the boarding process for international passengers bound for Los Cabos takes around 40 minutes.

With rates starting at $599, the LAX round trip to Los Cabos operates on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, while the DAL flights operate on Monday, Friday and Saturday.

More information is available on the JSX webpage.

With reports from Travel and Leisure

Netflix’s ‘Piñata Masters’ brings Mexican art of cartonería to reality TV

By
Leigh Thelmadatter
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Brittani Walker (left) and Rosita Lemus, accomplished Mexican cartoneria artisans on Netflix's "Piñata Masters"
Brittani Walker (left) and Rosita Lemus are both accomplished cartoneria artisans from Guanajuato state chosen to team up in "Piñata Masters." They'd never worked together before and were selected for the show despite not specializing in piñata making. (Photo: Netflix)

Although the piñata is famous, there are still elements about it and the people who make them that are unfamiliar.

Enter the streaming giant Netflix, with the aim of promoting this aspect of Mexican culture, but with a very U.S. twist: a reality-TV competition pitting seven pairs of piñata makers from all over Mexico against each other for a million-peso prize. 

In English, the show is called “Piñata Masters,” debuting on Netflix on December 23. It offers a 1-million-peso prize for the best and most creative piñata making. The Spanish-language version is called “Dale, Dale, Dale” after the first words in the song of encouragement spectators at a party sing when it’s someone’s turn to hit the piñata. 

The piñata is the best-known papier mache object made in Mexico, with makers found everywhere in the country. Although originally developed for the Christmas season, their later association with birthdays has created a huge market spawning piñatas in many sizes, shapes and colors. 

Papier mache artisan Rosita Lemus of Mexico with one of her creations
Lemus is a third-generation cartonería artisan. Her work has won over 70 awards and recognitions. (Photo: Rosita Lemus/Facebook)

The show invited piñata makers from places such as Guadalajara, Mexicali and Michoacán, but one all-female team from the state of Guanajuato — Rosa María Lemus Méndez and Brittani Yari Walker Morales — stand out for several reasons. 

First of all, they were the all-female pairing. Walker says the dynamics of their team was a little different. 

“It was a lot of fun because we didn’t focus so much on the competition but rather how people reacted to our work… and those reactions made me very happy.” 

Secondly, the fact that they both come from Guanajuato, which has unique traditions in working with paper and paste — called cartonería in Mexico — means that they are not born and bred piñata makers: cartoneros (cartonería artisans) can and do make piñatas but do not specialize in them the way piñateros (piñata makers) do. 

More familiar with the making of papier mache skeletal figures, dolls and other toys, as well as giant puppets called mojigangas, the two bring a different sensibility to their work and found themselves needing a little guidance. 

Mojigangas, paper mache larger than life figures in Mexico
Mojigangas, or larger-than-life papier mache dolls, have a long artisan tradition in Guanajuato state, where both women are from. Many artisans here who work with paper-and-paste focus making masks, dolls and skeletal figures instead of piñatas. (Photo: Alba Rebecca/Unsplash)

“It is necessary to understand that there are differences in tradition between piñateros and cartoneros. We both learned a lot from the other maestros…” she says of their competitors on the show.

The two young women have been friends for years and represent the future of papier mache craft in central Mexico. But even they have differences among them: the pair represent two distinct trajectories in the craft — one that preserves traditions handed down for generations and the other that takes them into new directions.

Lemus, who hails from the city of Celaya, is a third-generation cartonera, a descendant of the famous Bernardino Lemus, whose papier mache dolls are known for their fine craftsmanship and decoration. She has won over 70 awards and recognitions for her work.  

Walker, a first-generation craftsperson with “only” seven years experience, is from the nearby city of Salamanca, where both tradition and innovation are welcomed in part because the craft was revived here in just this century. Yet she won the cartonería National Doll Prize in 2017. 

Mexican papier mache artisan Brittani Walker painting a cartonería mask.
Brittani Walker painting a cartonería mask. (Photo: Brittani Walker/Facebook)

Her work, exhibited and sold in many parts of Mexico and in the United States, reflects the reality of life as a Mexican woman. She has a preference for depicting women — from historic figures such as Frida Kahlo or everyday housewives.

The work of a piñatero or cartonero is often solitary, with the craftsperson in control of the process. But for this program, all of the papier mache artists had to modify how they work, negotiating with another creator and meeting the demands of filming the show.  

“It was a little complicated because Rosita and I have very different work styles and approaches to cartonería,” Walker said. But their friendship allowed them to have mutual respect for each other as professionals, she said. 

That respect extended to their relationship with the other teams. 

While it certainly was a competition, with a significant amount of money on the line, Walker and Lemus found support from the piñateros they competed against, who were even willing to give them tips. 

Papier mache doll of Frida Kahlo by Mexican papier mache artisan Brittani Walker
Brittani Walker’s papier mache depiction of Frida Kahlo. Her work won the cartonería National Doll Prize in 2017. (Photo: Brittani Walker/Facebook)

One tip in particular they shared was how to decorate with pieces of colored crepe paper, a standard decoration on piñatas, but cartoneros generally decorate their pieces with paint. 

The show’s filming came after a long casting process, which brought agents to Walker’s door who then recommended she work with Lemus at the Mexico City filming. 

The time pressures were intense, with the filming going on for 16-hour days, with contestants often needing to start and finish pieces in only hours — cartoneros typically require days and even weeks. Add to all that the fact that they had to keep the whole project as secret as possible. 

“Seeing myself in a video that would be aired made me laugh because it seems so strange, especially after a month or so later and remembering what everything was like when we did it,” Walker said. 

But all that effort has already started to pay off. Lemus in particular has gotten a lot of attention from the Guanajuato state press. She says that it proves that nothing is impossible with hard work and belief in oneself.  

Walker called it “an incredible experience” because of Netflix’s global platform with millions of subscribers. “We can promote the concept of cartonería worldwide to places where they know nothing about what can be done with this material,” she said. 

"¡Dale, dale, dale!" | Tráiler oficial | Netflix

Netflix trailer for “Piñata Masters,” which in Spanish is called “Dale, Dale, Dale.” One of the show’s gimmicks is that the piñatas are judged by Mexican kids.

 

“My hope is that the show gives cartonería more visibility in other countries to help its preservation here in Mexico… that people appreciate its magic.”

Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture, in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.

Champagne, anyone?

By
Janet Blaser
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Always serve Champagne well-chilled! A bucket of ice will do the trick.

I set out confidently, list in hand, to get what I needed for a Champagne brunch I was hosting on the weekend. Ingredients for dishes I would prepare, both savory and sweet; a salad (hello farmers’ market!); fresh-squeezed OJ for mimosas; and, of course, Champagne.

But which Champagne? Confronted with bottles from France, the U.S., Mexico and Spain, plus Italian prosecco, I was pretty lost. Did more money necessarily mean better quality? Is prosecco the same as Champagne? What about Spanish cava and Mexican espumosos, from Baja’s Valle de Guadalupe?

I retreated home to my computer — sans Champagne — to figure out what was what. I knew the name Champagne can only refer to sparkling wine produced in a certain part of France, safeguarded by an AOC (Appellation Originale Contractualisée) or Designation of Origin.

It’s an age-old process that’s carefully protected and controlled; the first regulations were established in 1887, but Champagne as we know it has been documented since the early 1500s. Champagne must be labeled with the AOC mark, the name and address of the producer and the town or village where it’s from.

Champagne vineyards in the Reims countryside, France
Champagne vineyards in the Reims countryside in France.

This protected beverage must be made utilizing the méthode Champenoise, a vinification process invented in the northeastern French province of Champagne, about 100 miles east of Paris. Distinguished by a secondary fermentation in the bottle — rather than barrels or tanks — and a double inoculation of yeast, Champagne must use a blend of pinot noir, pinot munier and Chardonnay grapes grown in that province.

Utilizing those three base wines, each vineyard has its own closely guarded formulas and signature blends, or cuvees, drawing on hundreds of specific grape varietals. Like any other wine, the terroir (how much sun, moisture, temperatures, etc.) influences the taste and flavor profile of the grapes and the finished beverage.

Champagnes are aged a minimum of 15 months; the longer the aging, the more flavorful and aromatic it will be. The distinctive metal casing over the large, secure cork traps the fermentation caused by carbon dioxide being produced — what creates those famous bubbles.

Folklore has it that after inventing Champagne, Dom Pérignon invited his fellow friars to taste the new beverage by exclaiming, “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!”

After bottling, Champagne is aged in the chilly air of hundreds of miles of underground caverns and tunnels built into the chalk hills beneath the fabled vineyards and towns of the area, which also served as bomb shelters during the German attacks of WWI. Official estimates say that at any given time, there are 200 million bottles aging below ground, mostly around the historic cities of Reims and Epernay. UNESCO declared the houses, cellars and hillsides of Champagne a World Heritage Site in 2015.

All of this is fascinating, but I still didn’t know which Champagne to buy for my brunch.

Like most things, you get what you pay for. Long-time producers — Ruinart, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon, all founded in the 1700s — have the most experience and thus produce better Champagnes. The oldest still in operation is Gosset, since 1584.

Moët et Chandon Champagne house historic photo
Moët & Chandon is one of France’s oldest Champagne houses, founded in 1743.

Within those brands are many categories and sub-brands, so read labels carefully.

Buy the best you can afford — and then taste conscientiously. Consider doing your own side-by-side tasting, with a few brands and a prosecco or two for good measure.

Champagnes have varying degrees of sweetness; if it’s labeled “brut” (which means “dry, raw, unrefined”) it has less than 15 grams of added sugar per liter; “extra brut” and “brut zéro” will be even drier. Ready to be confused? Champagnes labeled “extra-dry” or “extra-sec” have more sugar — lots more sugar — than bruts.

Experts advise against adding orange juice or anything else to Champagne; if you’re going to do that, they say, use a less expensive sparkling wine. (Oops.) You want the full Champagne experience — which means unadulterated, chilled well and served in tall flutes that keep the bubbles in as long as possible and allow the velvety fragrance to be released slowly and seductively.

Frequently asked questions:

Are Champagne and sparkling wine the same?

Champagne is sparkling wine — but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Italian prosecco, Spanish cava and Mexican espumosos and Freixenet (a Spanish brand that also has vineyards and a winery in Querétaro under the name Freixenet México) are some of the many sparkling wines produced in countries other than France. 

While not the same sophisticated flavor profile or complex hands-on production process as authentic Champagne, they’re delicious nonetheless, and the cost is more digestible: US $15–$20 for prosecco vs. US $40 and up for Champagne.

So what should I buy?

If you want real Champagne, do some research and then buy the best you can afford, considering also the level of dryness or sweetness. The older, popular and reputable French Champagne houses offer a variety of different price points as well as varying degrees of sweetness, flavor, aging and vintage or non-vintage years.

Costco in Mexico carries Veuve Clicquot, a respected French brand; a high-end example would be Moët & Chandon’s premium Dom Pérignon, a vintage Champagne produced only during good to excellent years.

What’s the fastest way to chill Champagne?

Don’t chill it in the freezer; the sudden temperature change can dull the flavor, and those sparkly bubbles too. If possible, refrigerate Champagne at least three hours before serving.

In a hurry? Use the classic bucket-of-ice-water method; adding a little salt to the ice water will further accelerate the chilling process.

How should I open Champagne?

That distinctive and explosive cork-popping is not the best way (although it may be the most fun!) You lose lots of the precious bubbles, which are a good part of the reason you’re drinking Champagne to begin with.

Instead, first remove the foil and wire piece. (If the bottle is wet, wrap a towel around it.) Then simply twist the cork gently but firmly until it opens. Voila!

Can you store an opened bottle of Champagne?

Rumor has it that dropping a raisin into an open bottle of Champagne (or any sparkling wine) just before drinking will revive its effervescence. Why? The raisin acts like a carbon dioxide magnifier, creating more bubbles with what’s left in the bottle. This only works for a few minutes, so drink up!

Janet Blaser is the author of the best-selling book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, featured on CNBC and MarketWatch. She has lived in Mexico since 2006. You can find her on Facebook.

For expats, the holidays can be a reminder of all that’s missing

By
Sarah DeVries
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Lonely at Christmas stock photo
Even those who happily celebrate the cultural differences of Mexico during the rest of the year can find themselves wistful for traditions they grew up that they can't find here. Depositphotos

My first Christmas ever in Mexico was awful. Well, awful to me. 

I’d traveled to my first Mexican boyfriend’s hometown of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, with him for the week, ready for Christmas cheer and new adventures in a city with one of the coolest names I’d ever heard.

The first disappointment was the city itself. Yes, it was on the coast, but the water was too polluted for swimming, Pemex being the main local business. On the other hand, Salma Hayek is from there, and there was a place there with really, really good horchata. But other than that, the city’s charms seemed few and far between.

When my boyfriend and his sister made a big show of how hilarious they thought it was that I’d picked out off-brand cereal at the grocery store, and when his mom made a point of explaining to me that they were “actually white” (a confusing conversation because they were very much not), I began to suspect that things probably wouldn’t work out between us. But, hey, it was Christmas, and I was going to make the best of my very first one without my family, my culture or, I realized, any of the traditions I was used to.

The holiday season in Mexico is a different animal, and both newly arrived and long-term immigrants here often find themselves conflicted about how to handle what, for most, is normally a deeply meaningful time of year. 

We search for a way to do this in a land where some of our own traditions are glaringly absent, and where we’re surrounded by traditions that we did not grow up with. We’re doing this often without much family, in a place where family is king. 

As open and enthusiastic about one’s host country a person might be, it’s a lot harder to maintain that level of enthusiasm during the holidays if we just can’t help but feel that something’s missing.

I’ve been noticing this shared sentiment more often lately as I see questions from other expats coming up in common groups. 

“Who’s going home for Christmas?” 

“Is there literally any alternative to spending Christmas with my husband’s family this year if I just want us to have a small family gathering?” 

“Do you get your kids Christmas presents, or just do presents on Three Kings Day?”

As a result, I decided to talk to different foreigners about their experiences with the holidays here. Below is a summary of what I found:

What are the big differences between the holidays here and in your home country? 

One word: parties. As one person put it, “Holiday work parties are on another level.” 

Indeed, several respondents expressed their surprise about how Christmas seems to be a time for partying with pretty much everyone — often staying up all night on Christmas Eve — whereas the New Year seems to be more family-oriented. 

Someone else expressed that she was initially surprised by the lack of presents at Christmas in her husband’s family, something she noted was probably more common in their particular social class. 

“There’s no emphasis on presents; it’s all about Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) and a huge party … lots of food, lots of drinking, a bonfire outside all night long; they really don’t do presents.”

Yet another expressed her admiration for the sheer quantity of celebration that extended over several weeks: “The pilgrimage for the Lady of Guadalupe, Nochebuena, The Three Kings …” 

Opportunities for true veneration and celebration abound over a long period instead of being distilled into one day like many expats here are used to.

Several others mentioned the decorations: while municipal governments usually “deck the halls” downtown, most people don’t decorate the outsides of their houses with lights for Christmas. But many newcomers I talked to grew up as I did, remembering driving around to look at Christmas lights as a sweet holiday tradition, one that doesn’t make as much sense in Mexico.

For another person, the difference was more personal than cultural. 

“The main difference for me is that my family’s not here.”

What do you miss about your home country? 

Predictably, many listed their own families and family traditions as what they most missed from home. “Mostly the food” was another big theme. As much as we all love Mexican food, it can be tough to let go of the cacophony of recipes that remind us of fond childhood holiday memories.

Surprisingly, a lot of people mentioned missing seeing Christmas lights everywhere, a big deal for me as well, one I didn’t realize was a big deal until I got here.

One person said, a bit sadly, that she missed not feeling “othered.” 

“I’ve been here for over 10 years, and my Mexican extended family still doesn’t treat me like a person; I speak the language, but it’s like they still assume that I don’t know anything and that my ideas [about what to do on the holidays] are not good.”

What makes the difference between having a good or bad holiday season in Mexico? 

On this question, the responses were essentially unanimous: it’s all about having a good support system and a community — be it family or friends — to spend the holidays with. Developing that support system can be a real challenge, but is well worth the effort.

One woman put it perfectly: “If, as an immigrant to Mexico, you’ve managed to connect to a real community and have fellowship with them, then you have arrived.”

So what happened that first Christmas in Coatzacoalcos? We got dressed up on Christmas Eve and went to my boyfriend’s mother’s apartment for a nice meal; I still remember that there’d been extensive debate over where to buy the spaghetti. 

All tuckered out, I was ready to go back to the main house and dream of sugarplum fairies, but instead we went to a nightclub, where my boyfriend insisted that we stay all night.

I managed to do the opposite of impressing him and his friends by falling asleep on a bench as the music throbbed in my ears and then complaining about the risks of us driving home drunk at 7 a.m. 

I slept most of the next day, only waking up for a call from my family in Texas, who wanted to know what I’d gotten for Christmas and hear about the exciting festivities in Mexico. I wanted to cry, but I held it in, not wanting to make them sad — and also embarrassed to admit that the plans I’d made had not been a great choice.

After all that, the dude broke up with me a couple weeks later. 

That sucked, and Christmas had sucked. But I was still a kid then, really, one who hadn’t yet learned about the delicate balance of tamping down expectations enough to be open to new experiences. I also hadn’t yet learned to define, and then verbalize, my own non-negotiables. 

Staying out all night was a surprise non-negotiable — you don’t know what you don’t know, of course.  I made sure in subsequent years that this would not be part my holiday plans. 

Since that first one, most of the rest of my Christmases here have been nice. I’ve pretty much backed off on my expectations of presents, and I make up for it by putting up way too many lights and making everyone listen to Christmas music all the time.

For those of you staying in Mexico right now, happy holidays. And remember: if this isn’t the best time of year for you, that’s all right. Things can always get better, and we can always grow to embrace both old traditions and new.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com

Q.Roo taxi unions protest Uber’s efforts to avoid public transport requirements

By
MND Staff
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"By law, the transport of passengers for economic remuneration is public service," reads a sign held by taxi drivers who protested outside the federal courts in Cancún on Wednesday.
"By law, the transport of passengers for economic remuneration is public service," reads a sign held by taxi drivers who protested outside the federal courts in Cancún on Wednesday. (Elizabeth Ruiz / Cuartoscuro.com)

More than 40,000 taxi drivers from the unions of Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Chetumal demonstrated on Wednesday across Quintana Roo against the possibility of Uber operating in the state without a public transportation concession.

The protests were organized in anticipation of a Wednesday verdict that could have allowed Uber to enter the Quintana Roo market.

But the scheduled court session was pushed to a future date, and taxi drivers ended the protests shortly after the announcement.

“We [taxi drivers] are not against digital platforms entering the state,” said Eleazar Sagrero, the leader  of a group of taxi unions to La Jornada, “but these platforms must comply with the regulations and guidelines of the law.” He added that Cabify, with over half a million units in the state, operates in compliance with local mobility regulations.

Sagrero added that despite the court’s adjournment, the union will continue to get legal advice. “We will keep on fighting to protect our taxi drivers’ work.”

According to Quintana Roo’s mobility law, public transport companies must operate through a state concession — a requirement Uber argues doesn’t apply to the ride-hailing company as it is not a public transport enterprise. Under such an argument, Uber filed an amparo in 2019 (a legal resource to ask the government for protection against human rights violations) saying that the company should be allowed to operate with a business permit, rather than a state concession.

Back in 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) favored Uber when it ruled that its business model is different than those of public transportation companies. The SCJN added that its decision went in line with two previous Constitutional Actions (Acciones de Constitutcionalidad) in Yucatán and Colima, in which the Court ruled that “due to the nature of the service, [Uber] is a private company.”

Users are also in favor of Uber operating in Quintana Roo. After reading support messages in social media, La Jornada reported that users think granting permission to Uber and other app-based brands would force taxi drivers to improve their services and lower their prices.

People interviewed on the streets also agreed, La Jornada reported. For instance, Carmen Cabrera from Tulum, told the newspaper that the local taxi service, in addition to not being good, is expensive. She also said that taxi drivers prefer foreigners over locals — an accusation confirmed by Selma Sánchez, another resident of Tulum.

Selma’s husband, who has a leg prosthesis, told La Jornada that taxi drivers often charge him more when he brings his wheelchair. “Instead of helping me out, they get upset and call me names,” he complained.

Sagrero said that the taxi driver’s reputation cannot be based on the bad customer experience of a few. However, he encouraged users to complain with the corresponding taxi unions when they receive bad service.

Although no date has been set for the next court’s session, unions have warned of a demonstration from Cancún to Tulum if the court rules in favor of Uber operating in the state, reported Milenio.

With reports from La Jornada and Milenio

450 Mexicans currently stranded in Peru

By
Cat Rainsford
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0
Protests in Peru since the arrest of former president Pedro Castillo have left several people dead.
Protests in Peru since the arrest of former president Pedro Castillo have left several people dead. Twitter @JuanfranTorres

More than 450 Mexicans have been left stranded by the political unrest in Peru, according to a statement by the Mexican ambassador to Peru, Pablo Monroy.

In a video uploaded to the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account, Monroy said that more than half of the Mexican citizens in Peru are in the touristic department of Cusco. Many are unable to leave due to the demonstrations that have paralyzed the country since the ousting of president Pedro Castillo last week.

“The demonstrations in several cities of the country continue,” Monroy explained. “Some road blockades are also maintained, so interprovincial transport is suspended in many localities.”

Members of the Atlante Metepec youth soccer team are among the Mexicans stranded due to the political unrest.
Members of the Atlante Metepec youth soccer team are among the Mexicans stranded due to the political unrest. (Courtesy photo)

The five airports of Cusco, Arequipa, Andahuaylas, Juliaca and Ayacucho also remain closed. Monroy assured that the Mexican Embassy is in communication with Peruvian authorities to evacuate Mexican citizens as soon as these airports reopen.

Monroy also gave updates on some well-known cases, including the Atlante Metepec youth football team, who have been stranded in the city of Trujillo since Dec. 12. He assured that the embassy is organizing for the 22 teenagers and six coaching staff to fly to Lima on Sunday night, in order to leave Peru on Monday.

The ambassador urged all Mexicans in Peru to contact the embassy in order to receive assistance.

“It is extremely important that you register in the record we have activated in the embassy, because this way we know where you are and we can communicate with you,” he insisted.

Over recent days, several Mexicans in Peru have told media outlets they feel abandoned by the Mexican government, and worried about how they will pay for ongoing hotel accommodation.

“The Mexican government is not worrying about us. We have absolutely no support,” stranded tourist Luz María Díaz told El Financiero newspaper. “They sent us a form to fill out and be on the waiting list. They already know I’m here, but they’re not doing anything for us.”

In his Friday morning press conference, President López Obrador also responded to questions on the situation of Mexicans in Peru.

“We are waiting for the airports to open and the Foreign Ministry is doing the paperwork to bring back the Mexicans who are in Peru,” he said. “There are tourists who were unable to leave, there is already a whole plan to go looking for them.”

With reports from El Universal, Infobae, El Financiero and La Verdad

News anchor Ciro Gómez Leyva attacked by gunmen

By
Cat Rainsford
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Ciro Gómez Leyva presents the evening news for Imagen, in 2017.
Ciro Gómez Leyva presents the evening news for Imagen, in 2017. (Paola Hidalgo / Grupo Imagen / Cuartoscuro.com)

Mexican journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva, presenter of Imagen Televisión’s nightly news broadcast, was shot at by gunmen as he drove through Mexico City on Thursday night.

The journalist survived the attack thanks to the fact that he was driving an armored vehicle, provided by the television station for the short nightly journey between the studio and his house.

“At 11:10 pm, 200 meters from my house, two people on a motorcycle shot at me, apparently with the clear intention of killing me,” Gómez Leyva said on Twitter. “I was saved by the armor of my truck that I was driving and I have informed the authorities of the matter.”

Así fue el ataque contra el periodista Ciro Gómez Leyva | EL PAÍS

Mexico City Public Security Minister Omar García Harfuch shared what was known about the attackers, including security camera footage, at a Friday press conference.

Despite a sleepless night, Gómez Leyva was back on air Friday morning, conducting interviews and thanking listeners for their support.

The journalist explained on his radio program that Imagen Televisión had put the armored vehicle at his disposal in 2017, after he received a threat in relation to his reporting on Mexico City’s Northern Prison. However, he stated that he has received no more recent threats, and the motive for Thursday’s attack remains unclear.

President López Obrador criticized Gómez Leyva in his Wednesday morning press conference along with two other journalists – Carlos Loret de Mola and Serigo Sarmiento -whom he described as “dishonest”. However on Friday, the president put aside his political differences with Gómez Leyva to send his best wishes to the presenter.

“The most important thing is to express our solidarity, to tell Ciro he is not alone,” he said. “We have our differences, they are notorious, they are in the public domain, we will continue to have them, but it is completely reprehensible that the life of any person is threatened.”

“There were no serious or fatal consequences, and we celebrate that because he is a journalist, a human being, a leader of public opinion, and a harm to a personality like Ciro causes a lot of political instability,” AMLO added.

He went on to emphasize that Mexico City authorities are investigating the incident and have already identified the motorcycle involved.

The attack on Gómez Leyva comes just one week after a press release by the International Federation of Journalists revealed that Mexico remains the deadliest country for journalists outside of war zones. Eleven media professionals have been killed in the country during 2022 so far, just one fewer than in Ukraine.

With reports from El País and El Universal

How to save Mexico’s rivers? Take people kayaking down them

By
John Pint
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kayaking on the Piaxtla River in Sinaloa
Ben Stookesberry takes on a tall waterfall on the Río Piaxtla in Sinaloa on a SierraRios led-trip. The river runs through the deepest canyon in North America, located in Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental. (Photo: Darin McQuoid)

Nonprofit organizations have long known that one of the best ways to get people to care about a cause is to make it real for them. Well, Rocky Contos, director of the nonprofit organization SierraRios, has found a way to make his cause — preserving the world’s rivers — very real to people: he offers them rafting trips down big, Grand Canyon-type rivers in need of conservation in places like Canada, South America, China, Africa, and, yes, Mexico.

Contos founded SierraRios with the purpose of preserving some of the world’s most beautiful rivers by introducing them to the general public. Many of them are in Mexico.

“A lot of these rivers go through beautiful canyons, and they are still clean,” he said. “Some of them are very reputable, and they make for great trips. But unfortunately, many now have dams planned for them.”

Because nobody goes to the rivers, there is little awareness, Contos said.

Sierra Rios nonprofit taking customers rafting down the Usumacinta River in Mexico.
A family enjoying a SierraRios-organized trip down the Usumacinta River. (Photo: SierraRios)

“So one of my goals is to bring more people to these rivers to see what they’re like and hopefully, that will help in the movement for conserving them.”

For example, Contos told me about the San Pedro Mezquital river in Nayarit, where he ran a trip last year, and where the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) plans to build a huge dam.

“The San Pedro is one of the most incredible rivers in Mexico. It’s wild and beautiful and very long,” he said. “About seven years ago, they were moving forward with the dam plan, but there were a lot of protests from the local communities and the Huichol Indians who live in the area, and [so] they put the project on hold.”

It’s still on hold, he said. “But sooner or later, the CFE plans to build it… and it would be devastating.”

Rocky Contos of SierraRios whitewater rafting nonprofit
Rocky Contos’ nonprofit organization SierraRios gives people an up-close-and-personal look at some of the world’s rivers in need of conservation efforts. He leads trips on many Mexican rivers.

Besides offering guided trips down many of the world’s most enthralling rivers, SierraRios raises money to fund river preservation efforts, maps and documents Latin American rivers for outdoor enthusiasts, promotes sustainable river ecotourism development through a program that trains local river guides and aids river protection activism efforts.

Contos was previously known in the outdoor sporting world for having made pioneering kayak descents of numerous Mexican rivers.

“I started paddling in 1990, when I was at [the University of California] Davis,” he said. “At that time, there was a lot of exploration going on, new rivers being opened up by new technology in kayak development, and I could see that the new frontier for whitewater was going to be rivers in Mexico.”

“Other paddlers had explored the area and run some of the rivers, but they had done it in the wintertime, which is the dry season in Mexico,” he said. “When I went there, basically none of the rivers that drain into the Pacific had been run or paddled.

“So I went down pretty much every one of them. I was there for three full summers starting in the year 2000, whenever I could get time off from my studies working towards a PhD in neuroscience.”

Sierra Rios organization kayaking on the Usumacinta River in Mexico
Ancient Montezuma cypresses along the shore of the mighty Usumacinta, which defines part of the border between Mexico and Guatemala. (Photo: SierraRios)

I asked Contos which trip he would recommend most for ordinary folks.

“I think by far the best first river for anyone to do is the Usumacinta, which is the biggest, the most voluminous river in all Mexico and Central America. It runs along the border with Guatemala.

“You’re on the water [for] six days. You get the experience of camping; you get to run some rapids, but nothing too difficult or scary, and you get a marvelous experience because you’re floating through the rainforest, and the jungle is just incredible.”

The rainforest corridor has the highest concentration of howler monkeys in the world, for example. These were the sacred monkeys of the Maya.

kayaking in the Rio Chínapas in Mexican state of Chihuahua
Paddler Josh Anderson exits Tarnation Rapid during the first descent of the Río Chínapas in Mexico’s Copper Canyon in Chihuahua. (Photo: Daniel Anderson)

“And we also stop and camp at two Mayan sites: Yaxchilán and Piedras Negras on the Guatemalan side,” he says. “So the trip has a lot of cool things about it.”

What are you likely to see while rafting down the Usumacinta?

“The howler monkeys and the spider monkeys are really special,” says Contos. “You’re guaranteed to see a lot of those on the trip. You’ll also see scarlet macaws, and you may spot a crocodile in the water sometimes.”

“Of course, there are jaguars here,” he adds. “We may see their tracks in the sand and their markings on the trees, but we never see the actual jaguars. If we have a lot of people into birding, we’ll have a bird guide along to tell us all about them.”

SierraRios-led kayaking group swimming in Usumacinta River in Mexico
A SierrasRios group stops for a swim in the Usumacinta’s pristine waters. (Photo: SierraRios)

Contos has organized the Usumacinta River trip 56 times and personally led it 17 times.

“I never get bored,” he said, “because of the monkeys and Mayan ruins. It’s an incredible place to go, and we take extra security precautions because it is in a border zone. But I know the people around there and everything that goes on, and we’ve never had a problem.”

Because some of the Mexican rivers where he leads trips run through states notorious for criminal activity, I asked Contos if he had ever run into drug traffickers in any of the remote places he’s paddled into.

“Drug traffickers are down there, alright,” he told me, “but they don’t tend to bother tourists on rivers. I’ve met a lot of them when I paddle rivers, especially in the Sierra Madre Occidental. They want to know who you are and what you’re up to, but when they realize you’re there as a tourist paddling the river, they tend to be nice, in fact sometimes very nice. We went down one river last year where the Sinaloa Cartel guys actually gave us beers and food and tried to help us out.”

  • To know more about SierraRios’ various rafting trips in Mexico and around the world, and how to support their efforts in documenting them, check out their website.

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.

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