A tale of 2 oreganos: citrus highlights distinguish the Mexican variety from its Mediterranean cousin

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October 30, 2021

Mexican oregano is in the same family as lemon verbena, while Italian oregano is from the mint family.

I’m Italian by heritage; my go-to comfort foods are a simple Margherita pizza or al dente pasta with classic marinara sauce. You could say oregano is an important part of my cooking.

But in the more than 10 years I’ve lived in Mexico, oregano hasn’t been delivering the same peppery, minty punch I’m used to. I thought it was all in my head. Come to find out I wasn’t imagining it at all: Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) and Mediterranean or Italian oregano (Origanum vulgare) are completely different plants, with distinctively different flavor profiles.

Mexican oregano has citrusy undertones and an earthy flavor. If you open a bag of dried Mexican oregano and take a deep whiff with your eyes closed, you can smell the bright lemony highlights. Which makes sense: it’s in the same family as lemon verbena. (Who knew?) Its flavor is the perfect complement to bean dishes, traditional stews like pozole and a host of meat-based recipes. Those citrus notes also balance the heat of chiles in salsas and marinades.

Italian oregano, on the other hand, is from the mint family. Its flavor is sweeter and has a zesty bite that pairs perfectly with Italian and Mediterranean cuisine.

Of course, you can substitute one for the other, but there will be slight flavor differences, which some of us (ahem) will notice. Here in Mexico, the oregano you buy will be Mexican oregano unless labeled otherwise. I’ve put Italian oregano on my list to bring back from my next trip to the States.

Homemade Chorizo

1½ lbs. ground pork
2½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ancho chili powder
3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground coriander seed
Pinch ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or white vinegar
Optional: ¼ tsp. ground achiote (adds red color)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until slightly tacky. Let rest for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Cook as desired. Store in sealed container in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Oaxacan Chicken with Garlic and Oregano

30 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh oregano leaves
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1½ tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
One 3-lb. chicken, cut into 10 pieces
1½ cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 F. Using a food processor or molcajete, process or mash garlic, oregano, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper until coarse and well-mixed but not completely puréed. Rub mixture all over chicken; place skin side down on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce temperature to 375 F. Pour chicken broth onto baking sheet, flip chicken pieces. Bake 45 minutes more or until chicken is cooked through.

Bright lemon, pepper and Mexican oregano beautifully complement the flavor of fresh shrimp.

Sheet-pan Shrimp with Tomatoes, Feta and Oregano

1 clove garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Black pepper
1½ lbs. peeled shrimp
For serving: chopped tomatoes, crumbled feta

Preheat broiler. Position rack close to the heat. Mash garlic with salt until it forms a paste. Add oregano, lemon juice, olive oil and lots of pepper. Rub paste all over shrimp. Spread shrimp out on cookie sheet; broil 2–3 minutes per side. Top with chopped tomatoes and crumbled feta and serve. — www.nyt.com

Chicken Pozole Verde

2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, skin removed
1 lb. tomatillos, husked and washed
1 large onion, chopped
3 jalapeño peppers, seeded, minced
6 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 large handful fresh cilantro
1 (28-ounce) can white hominy, drained and rinsed
For serving: limes, radishes, jalapeños, cilantro, oregano

In a large pot, place chicken, tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, broth, oregano and salt. Cook on high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer; cover partially. Cook 40 minutes until chicken is fall-apart tender. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Set aside.

Using a slotted spoon, place cooked tomatillos, onions and jalapeños in blender or food processor. Add cilantro, about a cup of cooking liquid and purée until smooth. In a large pot, place shredded chicken, puréed veggies and hominy. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Adjust salt as necessary. Serve with fresh lime juice, radishes, jalapenos, cilantro and oregano.

To make in the slow cooker: Place all ingredients except cilantro and hominy in crockpot. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Using a slotted spoon, remove cooked veggies from broth, transfer to blender or food processor. Add cilantro. Process until smooth. Add chicken, blended veggies and hominy to slow cooker. Stir, cover and cook 30 more minutes.

Mexican Garlic Soup with Oregano and Lime

4 Tbsp. olive oil
15 cloves garlic, crushed
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1½ tsp. salt
Pepper to taste
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
Juice from 1–2 limes
For serving: ½ baguette, cut into cubes or rounds, lime wedges

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large pot, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic. Cook until garlic is soft but not colored. Remove from heat. In a bowl, toss bread with half the garlic-infused oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put cubes on a baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly toasted and crisp.

Pour stock into pot with remaining oil and garlic. Simmer on medium heat. Add 1 tsp. salt and chopped oregano. Gradually add eggs, stirring constantly. Simmer and stir until eggs set, roughly 3–5 minutes. Remove from heat; add juice of 1–2 limes. Serve topped with garlic toasted bread cubes and lime wedges.

Grilled Tomatoes with Oregano

4 large ripe red tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, each cut into 4 slivers
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano OR 1 Tbsp. dried
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler to high. Core tomatoes; slice in half. Place tomatoes, cut-side up, in a baking dish. Insert 2 slivers of garlic in each half; sprinkle with chopped oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil about 5 minutes and serve.

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 Instagram at @thejanetblaser.

Clocks change: daylight saving time ends Sunday morning

By

Rose Egelhoff

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October 30, 2021

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Metropolitan Cathedral Monterrey Nuevo Leon — The Metropolitan Cathedral in Monterrey, Nuevo León, and most other places across Mexico will be setting their clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday. deposit photos

Though summer heat persists in some areas of the country, fall has arrived and with it, the end of daylight saving time. On Sunday at 2 a.m. clocks will be set back one hour.

A few states are the exception to the rule. Sonora and Quintana Roo do not observe daylight saving time for economic reasons. And in 33 border municipalities in Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas clocks will change on November 7, in line with the United States.

Daylight saving time in most of Mexico ends every year on the last Sunday of October. It will begin again in six months, on April 3, 2022.

President López Obrador has mused about ending the use of daylight saving time, but Energy Minister Rocío Nahle said last Sunday that only Congress has the power to make that decision. So this year and likely next year, clocks will continue to change with the seasons.

Mexico News Daily

Migrants carry on after rejecting proposals by immigration officials

By

MND Staff

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October 30, 2021

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A lone migrant heads north on a highway in Chiapas.

The leaders of the migrant caravan that left Tapachula, Chiapas, on October 23 have rejected a proposal by immigration officials to provide some of the migrants with visitor cards.

They were also offered transportation to other locations to regularize their immigration status.

National Immigration Institute (INM) personnel met with caravan representatives on Friday in Acacoyagua, the town where the roughly 2,500-strong caravan arrived after walking 3.6 kilometers from Escuintla, where they spent Thursday night.

Two large buses, pickup trucks and National Guard officers were on hand in Acacoyagua, presumably to transport the migrants, journalist Chasper Senn said.

The INM said in a statement that it had offered visitor status to women and children and transportation of the migrants to various states to process applications to regularize their immigration status. Food and shelter had also been offered, it said.

But it remains unclear if all the migrants would be eligible for resettlement in other states. Caravan organizer Luis García Villagrán said those who accepted the INM’s proposal would have been transferred to Querétaro, Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca, Hidalgo or Morelos.

He and fellow organizer Irineo Mújica said the migrants expected to be regularized where they are, rather than being transferred to another state, the news site Infobae reported.

When the migrants assembled, a majority voted with a show of hands and triumphant cries that the caravan should continue.

The INM said in a press release that it was impossible to update the migratory status of those in the caravan in Chiapas. “Operationally it isn’t possible due to the technological resources in the offices.”

“It is necessary to question the responsibility involved in leading migrants on a march in adverse temperature conditions, with a lack of safe spaces to spend the night and physical exhaustion, especially in the presence of pregnant women, … boys and girls,” it added.

The migrants’ trust in authority is low. Many were sent to prison-like detention centers run by the INM when they entered Mexico, some for months. Their migratory applications to the refugee agency COMAR and the INM have largely gone unresolved. When they left Tapachula they were met by National Guard officers in riot gear who tried but failed to block their path.

Moreover, many have left their countries due to their mistrust in corrupt governmental institutions, and had to pay multiple bribes to immigration authorities in the countries they passed through on the way to Mexico.

Some said they were unable to take the INM at its word. “Immigration wants to take us to Tapachula or send us to the country of origin,” said Honduran Lorena Rodríguez, who is traveling with her husband and their baby.

“We’ve sacrificed so much” to get this far, she said.

Others expressed concern that even if they were transferred to another state, the quality of attention from the INM might not improve.

On Friday evening, the convoy walked another 13 kilometers to Ulapa, where they set up camp.

There are fears among the caravan that the INM and National Guard are waiting in large numbers to confront them on the way to Mapastepec, 15 kilometers north.

UPDATE: This story has been updated with a clarification of the proposals offered by the INM.

Mexico News Daily

Back to school in a pandemic: nerve-wracking but necessary

By

Sarah DeVries

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October 30, 2021

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Though being overprotective is tempting, it's a recipe for rebllion and won’t necessarily keep children out of harm’s way. — Though being overprotective is tempting, it's a recipe for rebellion and won’t necessarily keep children out of harm’s way.

As I write this, my child is at her school, in person, for the first time since schools closed over a year and a half ago.

It’s been a very long road. And while she doesn’t seem to have emotionally suffered in big and obvious ways, I’m not sure I’d classify her as doing 100% great either.

In the end, she’s human and living through a situation that is counterintuitive to the most socially dependent species on the planet. Like all of us still hanging around in this long, drawn-out pandemic, there are times when she seems to be languishing just as much as the rest of us.

She’s started biting her nails again. She gets upset about things that before would not have been such a big deal. She forgets to get up to go to the bathroom.

Are these pandemic-induced behaviors or simply the characteristics of a normal seven-year-old? It’s hard to be sure, but I certainly don’t think the pandemic is helping her development.

But there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

First, her particular school is, I believe, the most ideal place for her to be in the city: classes are small — at around seven kids per group — and are mostly outside.

Everyone at the school wears face masks at all times, all of the adult employees are vaccinated and the school strictly insists on weekly reports from families so it can be informed if anyone in the household has come into contact with someone who has COVID.

Online classes have been maintained one day a week so that if the need arises, both the school’s infrastructure and its community behaviors can adapt quickly.

And according to Health Minister López-Gatell, infections among children are down just as much as in the general population, meaning that, at least so far, schools have not been a magnet for COVID infection as many had feared they might.

Thankfully, too, schools here are actually insisting on following health protocols rather than engaging in silly culture wars about face masks like certain states in certain countries I know but will not mention.

I’m now eying the United States’ imminent approval of vaccines for children. FDA approval is, by all accounts, just around the corner … in the United States.

Thankfully, it’s been announced that children will not need to show proof of vaccination to enter the U.S. (because how could they, of course), so while there’s quite a bit to take care of first, I hope to be able to travel there with my daughter so that she can be vaccinated.

If I were sure that vaccines for children were just around the corner here too, I’d simply wait a few months. Renewing my daughter’s expired passports is expensive and time-consuming, and a trip to the U.S. for at least three weeks would also be expensive — all during a time in which, as for many others, extra money is scarce while consumer prices continue to rise.

But especially given how resistant the government seems to be to vaccinating even 12 to 17-year-olds unless they have specific health problems, my hopes aren’t high that vaccines will be made available to young children anytime soon.

Besides, I haven’t been home in two years. I’m ready for a visit!

But back to vaccines. If Mexico wants to ensure that school attendance increases more than the 50% that it’s currently at, then it would behoove them to offer vaccines to children and teens as soon as they’re able to do so.

Many parents are still very nervous, and I understand that. I personally have always felt nervous about my child riding in a car, an activity statistically much more likely to harm her than being around other people in the middle of a pandemic. That doesn’t mean, however, that I refuse to allow her to ride in cars. Life is risky.

Though it’s hard to accept, behaving like the overly safety-conscious dad in Finding Nemo won’t necessarily keep children out of harm’s way — and will likely inspire some major rebellion.

And denying children their right to an education (and the social learning that comes with it), a right clearly specified in both national and international law, will do — and likely has already done — much more harm than good.

Adults are great, but adults cannot meet a child’s social needs by themselves. And while I’d classify all of us various adults around her as objectively awesome parental and caretaking figures, I’m very aware that we’re not all she needs.

So let’s get with it, people. Masks on. Gel in backpacks. Desks spread apart. Vaccinated grown-ups. And as soon as possible, vaccinated children.

Our kids are waiting for us.

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

COVID roundup: All adults have been offered at least one shot, health minister says

By

MND Staff

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October 29, 2021

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Most of Mexico will be in low-risk green on the national coronavirus stoplight map.

All Mexican adults have been offered at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said Friday.

“With great pleasure we report today the conclusion of this important stage and the achievement of the goal we committed to,” he told reporters at President López Obrador’s morning press conference.

Making vaccines available to all Mexicans aged 18 and over was possible thanks to the government’s Correcaminos (Roadrunner) vaccination operation, López-Gatell told reporters in Campeche.

“The largest health crisis the world has faced in the past 100 years … of course required [Mexico’s] largest public health operation … of the last 100 years and that was the Correcaminos vaccination operation,” the coronavirus point man said, highlighting that vaccines reached “literally every corner of the country” and that more than 300,000 people participated in the rollout.

After thanking the president, numerous officials and government departments for the contributions they made, López-Gatell said that 83% of the adult population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. All told, more than 74.4 million Mexicans have received shots, and about four in five adults are fully vaccinated.

AMLO — President López Obrador announced at his Friday press conference Mexico’s “achievement of the goal we committed to” in offering the COVID vaccine to every adult in the country.

López-Gatell described the vaccine rollout as a “complete success,” noting that more Mexicans than expected rolled up their sleeves.

“… Only 62% [of Mexicans] said they would accept the vaccine,” he said, citing data from the 2020 National Health and Nutrition Survey.

“An additional 10% had doubts and the rest, almost 28%, a little more than 28%, said they would reject it. But we’ve now reached 83% and we’re continuing to persuade people to go and get vaccinated,” López-Gatell said.

“… What comes next? The COVID vaccination operation doesn’t stop, … we have to complete the second doses. … We also have to finish vaccinating pregnant women,” he said, adding that young people will also be offered shots when they turn 18.

Although health regulator Cofepris has authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine to inoculate adolescents aged 12 to 17, the government hasn’t offered shots to that age group with the exception of youths who suffer from underlying health problems that make them susceptible to serious disease.

Mexico vaccination brigade member — Deputy Health Minister Hugo López Gatell praised Mexico’s Correcaminos (Roadrunner) vaccination brigade for reaching “literally every corner of the country.”

López-Gatell asserted that Mexico won’t face any shortages of vaccines in the near future, highlighting that the government will receive a total of approximately 250 million purchased or donated vaccines.

“We thank the United States government for generous donations that were made very opportunely,” he said. “Today the goal is accomplished; we’ve vaccinated adults,” the deputy minister reiterated.

In other COVID-19 news:

• A total of 29 states are green on the new coronavirus stoplight map, which will take effect Monday and remain in force until November 14. The only states that are not green are Baja California, which is high risk orange, and Guanajuato and Aguascalientes, which are medium risk yellow.

• Mexico City and México state will remain low risk green on the coronavirus stoplight map, authorities said Friday. Both states went green on October 18.

“For the first time in the entire pandemic we’re going to start a third consecutive week on the green light,” said Mexico City official Eduardo Clark.

He said that the number of COVID patients in Mexico City hospitals declined by 176 over the past week to 682. Clark said that if the downward trend continues at the same rate, the number of hospitalized patients will reach its lowest level since April 2020 at the end of next week. Active case numbers have also declined from about 7,000 a week ago to just under 5,000 currently, he said.

In neighboring México state, all adults aged 30 and over have been offered two vaccine doses and all those aged 18 to 29 have had the opportunity to get at least one shot, Governor Alfredo del Mazo said.

“… This allows us to continue on a good path. México state remains on the green light [level] and this allows us to continue” with the reopening of the economy, he said.

• Morelos Governor Cuauhtémoc Blanco announced Friday that his state will switch to low risk green on Monday.

“This advance is very important but we mustn’t forget that COVID-19 remains among us and we mustn’t drop our guard,” he wrote on Twitter.

It’s the first time since the start of the pandemic that Morelos, currently medium risk yellow, will be green on the federal stoplight map.

• The Health Ministry reported 4,001 new cases and 320 additional COVID-19 deaths on Friday. Mexico’s accumulated tallies are currently 3.8 million and 287,951, respectively. Estimated active cases number 29,125.

Mexico News Daily

Migrants reveal their stories as the caravan enters the jungle in Chiapas

By

MND Staff

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October 29, 2021

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migrants2 — Migrants rest outside the auditorium in Escuintla. Ben Wein

The migrant caravan traveling north through Chiapas moved another 17 kilometers to Escuintla on Thursday. The group, which may include as many as 2,500 people, arrived in the town around midday and planned to continue north Thursday evening, but were hampered by heavy rain. They stayed in the uncovered central park and in an auditorium that was opened by municipal authorities.

The convoy left well before daybreak Thursday morning and quickly became widely dispersed: something that organizers have worked hard to prevent. However, on this stretch there were no immigration checkpoints, which may have alleviated concerns.

The migrants are sleeping poorly — as little as four hours per night — and are eating infrequently. Exhausted, many employed pickup trucks and the back of trailers to hitch a short ride up the highway.

About halfway to Escuintla, the terrain changed from a valley to a more compact, thickly treed, jungle-like environment. The sounds of flowing water, tropical birds and insects accompanied the travelers.

Heavy rain commenced about one hour before their planned departure at 5 p.m. for Acagoyagua, 3.6 kilometers north. Organizer Irineo Mújica said the rain was the obstacle, but rumors in the caravan were that authorities in Acagoyagua had worked to prevent the migrants from setting up camp there.

A Honduran woman hitches a ride. Ben Wein

The multinational group is traveling north for a host of reasons, which are often consistent within nationalities, but generally vary across borders.

Junior, a sports teacher from Juventud Island in Cuba said he left the country in 2019 due to political repression.

“I left Cuba because of the dictatorship. I wasn’t in agreement with the government in my country. I was being watched in the area near my home just for thinking differently,” he said.

He went to South America, before traveling north. In Colombia he and his wife reached the Darién Gap, an inhospitable, dangerous, ungoverned area that leads to Panama.

“The terrain is dangerous, the people are dangerous. There is an indigenous group that assaults people, rapes women and kills people … they demand money and white women, specifically Cuban women and Venezuelan women … we saw seven dead people including a child,” he said.

Alfredo García from Choloma, Honduras, said he was forced to flee due to a threat against him.

Migrants get some ventilation under a media drone. Ben Wein

“I’m from a neighborhood where drugs are sold … my two children are still there with their mother. Two guys arrived at my house recruit me [to a gang]. I asked them for two days to consider it … I left at 4 a.m. the next day,” he explained, while pushing a friend’s child in a stroller.

“They wanted me to sell drugs for them because I know the place well and I was born there … they were starting to move in … [The gang] killed various friends of mine, they killed my cousin … My father had to leave the house because they came back to ask for me,” he added. “I want to go to the United States to help my family to keep moving forward … I’ll work in anything: construction, sweeping up, anything for a better future.”

Nicaraguan brothers Jayson and Francisco pointed to economic strife as their push factor.

“You give a lot of time and you invest a lot of money and it doesn’t get you anywhere,” said Jayson, who worked in photography, film and design.

“You’re always sowing and harvest never comes. You’re always giving, giving, giving, and you never get anything back,” Francisco said.

Numerical information about the caravan varies widely. Sources from an international organization that is monitoring the convoy said it estimated there are 2,000-2,500 migrants, of which at least 22 are pregnant women and at least 500 are under 18 years old. However, organizer Luis García Villagrán said his count recorded 5,000 migrants, more than 1,650 under-18s, and 63 pregnant women.

The National Immigration Institute (INM) said Wednesday it would provide humanitarian cards for pregnant women in the caravan, but medics working for the INM expressed doubt that the women would accept them. They said the cards would probably expand their right to work in southern states, but wouldn’t guarantee freedom of transit.

Mexico News Daily

Much-maligned and misunderstood: more creepy bugs it’s safe to meet

By

John Pint

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October 29, 2021

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Besides being falsely accused of being poisonous and a baby killer, the Jerusalem cricket isn't from Jerusalem either.

In a previous article, I described two inoffensive arachnids: the vinegaroon and the tarantula, both of which you might easily find creeping across your dining room floor if you happen to live in Mexico. Below, I will add a few more harmless creatures I never came across as a boy growing up in Milwaukee. These all may look scary, but the worst they’ll do is leave a bit of a stink behind them.

The tailless whip scorpion

(tendarapo, cancle, araña látigo, limpia casas)

Talk about a totally misnamed creature! This is not a whip scorpion (vinegaroon) without a tail, nor is it a scorpion of any sort.

No, this is a kind of arachnid called an amblypygid, which is completely non-poisonous and — precisely because of this — is extremely timid.

Despite its name, the tailless whip scorpion has no sting and is quite timid.

It’s also nocturnal, so if you ever see one at all, it will most likely be in the beam of your flashlight while wandering about at night in a jungle … or at any time at all inside a cave.

Yes, there is no experience quite like crawling along in a narrow, low cave passage you can barely squeeze through and then glancing upward to discover a huge tendarapo on the ceiling just a few inches above your head. Have no fear, however! If you don’t drop dead from a heart attack the first time, you will soon become completely accustomed to tendarapos because, after bats, they are the most common creature to be seen in Mexican caves.

Now, if you happen to have a tailless whip scorpion living in your house, count yourself lucky. They are not called limpia casas (house cleaners) for nothing. You can be sure your home will be entirely free of cockroaches if you have a tendarapo in residence.

The Jerusalem cricket

(cara de niño, madre de alacrán, niño)

You push your garden tool into the ground to loosen the soil and — horror of horrors! You come up with — a cara de niño (baby face). What should you do?

Mexican folk tales claim that this widely feared creature has the very face of the devil himself painted on its stomach and that its “extremely poisonous” bite may be lethal, especially to babies. Other legends claim it’s really an atomic ant and that if it bites you on the knee, you will never walk again.

None of the above is true. What you found lurking in your garden is not exactly a cricket and definitely not from Jerusalem since it’s native to the Americas.

It is definitely not poisonous, but it does possess some powerful mandibles which it uses to chew on roots and tubers. With these, the Jerusalem cricket could give you a painful bite should you try to hurt it. Because of this, I guess it’s not fair to say this curious-looking creature is totally harmless to human beings — but then again, your dog or cat might also give you a nip if you tried to torture them.

Like the tendarapo, the cara de niño is nocturnal and could grow to a length of five centimeters. Although it is not a proper cricket, it’s a close relative of them and makes an almost inaudible chirp by rubbing its back legs against its abdomen.

If you are curious why this insect is said to be from Jerusalem, so was entomologist David B. Weissman, who followed up on numerous explanations, most of which he found rather unconvincing. Finally he got a believable theory from University of California biologist Richard L. Doutt, who noted that the expression “Jerusalem!” was a popular swear word among kids of the 19th century (maybe like “gee whiz,” which was originally a substitute for the name of Jesus). “Imagine,” says Weissman, “a rural boy in the western United States turning over a rock and in surprise, shouting ‘Jerusalem! What a cricket!’”

A final warning: this creature, greatly feared on ranchos but considered a god by the Hopi, actually does possess a weapon: bother it enough and it will emit a stinky smell.

Earwig

(tijerilla)

Back in the days when we didn’t allow spiders to freely roam our house, we experienced yearly invasions of tijerillas, a name which means “little scissors.” We would find them everywhere. Open a book and an earwig would fall out. Peek into a crack or a slot and there you’d see the caliper-like tail of an earwig sticking out of it. And if you turned on a faucet, it would first regurgitate a few tijerillas along with the water.

That was our situation during some 20 years, and one thing I learned was that the earwig may be annoying, but it is harmless. Folktales, as usual, present a very different picture of this streamlined little insect.

“Many people,” says a National Autonomous University (UNAM) report, “have the belief that if an earwig gets close enough to you, it may decide to enter your ear, cut a hole in your eardrum with its formidable pincers, crawl through your ear canal and lay an egg in your brain.”

In reality, it seems that the dangerous looking pincer tail is mainly used for grooming and holding on to a sex partner. “Yes, it can pinch you if you bother it,” says UNAM, although during my 20 years of knowing them up close, not one has ever bothered to nip me.

Millipede

(milpies)

You may not find this one in your living room, but if you do any hiking at all, you will surely run into them. Since they look something like centipedes with too many legs, you might assume they are poisonous, but, once again, we are dealing with a completely harmless creature: leggy but not lethal.

You may be surprised to learn that millipedes hang out not only in forests and jungles but also in some caves. La Cueva del Altilte has an upper passage that is filled with a gooey mixture of bat guano and water; it’s also hot and steamy up there.

This combination of features appears to be much to the liking of big, light-brown millipedes, hundreds of them. This fact might give you pause while crawling through this passage into the really hot part of the cave if it weren’t for the fact that millipedes represent no danger whatsoever to human beings. Chewing mouth parts they do have but, like the Jerusalem cricket, they dedicate themselves to eating plant material … and, no doubt, to something they find delicious in bat guano.

Millipedes, by the way, have been crawling around this planet for some 400 million years and are among the oldest known land animals. Back then, some of them were over two meters long, yet still quite harmless. A millipede’s main form of defense is to curl up into a tight coil, but, like the Jerusalem cricket, it can also exude a smelly substance to scare off would-be predators.

In case you haven’t come across even one of these creatures, try turning over some big rocks next time you’re walking through the woods. Your caminata may be transformed into an unforgettable experience!

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for 31 years and is the author of A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area and co-author of Outdoors in Western Mexico. More of his writing can be found on his website.

• Do you have any interesting creatures around your house? Send us a photo!

Hundreds of millipedes squirm around in the “guano soup” inside La Cueva del Altilte.

The writer communing with a *tendarapo* in a Colima cave. Two of its legs are extremely long feelers.

New 50-peso bill celebrates foundation of Tenochtitlán

By

MND Staff

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October 29, 2021

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The new banknote celebrates Mexican history with Mexica symbols and an image of a native salamander. Banxico

A new 50-peso bill featuring the Mexica capital of Tenochtitlán on one side and an axolotl on the other is now in circulation.

The Bank of México announced Thursday that the newest member of the new family of banknotes had been released. The central bank had previously issued new 500, 200, 100 and 20-peso bills.

In the foreground of the obverse side of the new, purple-colored polymer 50-peso note is an image of the rear view of the Teocalli of the Sacred War, a stone miniature of a Mexica, or Aztec, temple that was carved on the orders of Moctezuma II, the tlatoani, or ruler, of Tenochtitlán when the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century.

The rear side of the pre-Hispanic monolith, which is on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, features an eagle perched on a nopal, or prickly pear cactus, with an Atl tlachinolli in its beak. An Atl tlachinolli is a Mexica symbol of water and fire, or war.

Below the image of the monolith appear the words: “Foundation of Tenochtitlán, representing the historical period of old Mexico.”

In the background of the obverse side is a representation of Tenochtitlán based on a section of a mural by Diego Rivera, the acclaimed 20th century Mexican artist.

Tenochtitlán, upon which Mexico City was built, means “place where prickly pears abound” in Náhuatl. It was founded by the Mexica people in 1325 on an island located on Lake Texcoco. The legend goes that they decided to build a city on the island because they saw the omen they were seeking there: an eagle devouring a snake while perched on a nopal.

The reverse side of the new 50-peso bill features an axolotl, a species of salamander endemic to the waterways of the Mexico City borough of Xochimilco. In the background are chinampas, or floating gardens, where corn is being grown, ahuejotes, or native willow trees, and a boat on the surface of a Xochimilco canal.

A dragonfly hovers above the axolotl, known in Mexico as an ajolote. Below it appear the words: “Ecosystem of rivers and lakes, with the ajolote and corn in Xochimilco in Mexico City, World Heritage site.”

The new note also features a transparent window in the form of an Ollin, a Mexica symbol representative of movement. In addition, it has a range of other security features that make it difficult to forge, as well as raised text that can help blind and visually impaired people identify it.

Mexico News Daily

Lone gunman shoots, kills veteran journalist in Chiapas

By

MND Staff

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October 29, 2021

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Journalist Fredy López Arévalo was a former Central America correspondent for El Universal and El Financiero. — Journalist Fredy López was a former Central America correspondent for *El Universal* and *El Financiero*.

A veteran journalist was shot and killed in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, on Thursday, becoming the ninth journalist to be murdered in Mexico this year.

A lone gunman shot Fredy López Arévalo, a former Central America correspondent for the newspapers El Universal and El Financiero, at the door of his home at approximately 8:00 p.m. The aggressor subsequently fled on a motorcycle.

The 57-year-old journalist, a Chiapas native who was the editor of a local magazine and a radio presenter before his death, returned to San Cristóbal with his wife and children on Thursday evening after celebrating his mother’s birthday in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

The Chiapas Attorney General’s Office said Friday that police and forensic experts attended the scene of the crime and found the lifeless body of López, who suffered a single gunshot wound.

“The state Attorney General’s Office regrets this reprehensible act and affirms its commitment to continuing with the investigations until the facts are clarified,” it said.

Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandón condemned “the cowardly murder” and pledged that it won’t go unpunished.

“Investigations are underway. My solidarity with his family and friends,” he wrote on Twitter.

López had a long career in journalism, starting as a newspaper reporter in Chiapas at the age of 21. In the late 1980s and early 1990s he covered events in Central America including the first International Conference on Central American Refugees in Guatemala City in 1989 and the defeat of Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas at the 1990 general election in Nicaragua.

López also reported on monumental events in Mexico such as the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and the 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas.

His killing followed the murders earlier this year of the journalists Benjamín Morales Hernández in Sonora, Gustavo Sánchez in Oaxaca, Enrique García in México state, Saúl Tijerina in Coahuila, Abraham Mendoza in Michoacán, Ricardo López in Sonora, Jacinto Romero in Veracruz and Manuel González in Morelos.

At least eight journalists were killed in Mexico last year, which made the country the most dangerous in the world for journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders.

In the first half of 2021, individuals and companies in the Mexican media were victims of 362 acts of aggression, according to the press freedom advocacy organization Article 19.

The federal government has faced criticism for not doing enough to protect journalists from the threat of violence, while President López Obrador has been accused of inciting violence via his frequent attacks on the press.

With reports from El País and El Universal

Hundreds of unidentified bodies, victims of narco wars, exhumed in Coahuila

By

MND Staff

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October 29, 2021

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The forensic cemetery of the Regional Center of Human Identification.

Authorities in Coahuila have exhumed more than 700 bodies since last year as they seek to identify victims of a narco war who were not identified before they were buried in common graves.

Victims of a turf war between Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel, most of them men aged 30 to 40 who were buried more than a decade ago, have been removed from more than 450 graves.

The number of exhumed bodies is expected to rise as authorities dig up more mass graves at cemeteries in the northern border state.

Yeska Garza Ramírez, coordinator-general of the Regional Center of Human Identification, told the newspaper Milenio that authorities are currently undertaking their fifth mass exhumation campaign.

“… We expect to recover at least 750 bodies in the southeast region and the Laguna region,” she said.

The Laguna region is the Comarca Lagunera, a region that extends across southwestern Coahuila and northeastern Durango.

Garza said that authorities will soon begin additional exhumations in other parts of Coahuila, a state where the notoriously violent Zetas cartel had near complete control between 2007 and 2013, according to a 2017 binational report.

Of the more than 700 bodies exhumed since last year, just seven have been identified and handed over to the victims’ families.

The majority are still at the Regional Center of Human Identification, a federal government facility in state capital Saltillo.

Garza said the center has approximately 1,700 DNA samples from members of some 900 families. Those samples are being compared with DNA collected from the remains of exhumed bodies, she said.

The establishment of the identification center, which began operations last year, and authorities’ ongoing attempts to identify victims of violence provide hope to families seeking to find out what happened to their missing loved ones.

“Having the human identification center here in the state with its headquarters in Saltillo is an achievement not of the state nor of the authorities but of the families [of missing people] because we’ve constantly placed pressure [on the government],” said Juan Humberto Morales, member of a Piedras Negras-based collective of family members of missing people.

The exhumed bodies “are our family members,” said Morales, whose father disappeared in Piedras Negras 11 years ago. “We have to give them their name and let them go with their families.”

With reports from Milenio