Traditional design is to get additional protection from plagiarism under new strategy.
The Ministry of Culture announced an initiative on Monday to step up its protection of indigenous artisans from plagiarism.
Called the Original, the initiative’s first event will provide a forum for around 3,000 artisans and national and international businesses to exhibit and potentially commercialize their work and traditional designs by forming business relationships.
A fashion show runway will allow indigenous models to display creations by master artisans.
The event, scheduled for November 18-21 at the Los Pinos Cultural Center in Mexico City, will also feature conferences and debates on topics including cultural appropriation, collective rights and preservation of cultural heritage. Commercial spaces will remain at the center until December 12.
International fashion houses have a controversial history in Mexico. The federal government and other authorities have accused them of plagiarizing indigenous designs and “improper cultural appropriation” in recent years. Among the implicated designers are Zara, Anthropologie, Patowl, Zimmerman, Isabel Marant, Carolina Herrera, Mango and Pippa Holt.
Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, who announced the initiative, said it was important for there to be direct contact between artisans and businesses. “You can speak to the world head-on … as creators from Mexico or from their communities; or as designers to those creators … not with romanticism, not with paternalism. But with respect, with ethics and with the opportunity for mutual creation,” she said.
Artisan Teresa Lino said the initiative helps her feel proud of her indigenous identity. “It is a great opportunity to publicize the work we do … now I am proud; I am an indigenous woman who fights to maintain my cultural identity and I am not ashamed,” she said.
Artisan Ignacio Netzahualcóyotl considered the announcement to be of historic importance. “Textiles, crafts, everything from native peoples is the art that we learned as children, from our ancestors. Today it is a truly unique, historical event, where the native peoples are embraced, where we no longer feel less,” he said.
Cultural promotor Luz Valdez said she was optimistic the initiative would change the standing of artisans. “This project has been like a ray of light for everyone. I always said, one day we’re all going to go to the spaces that we were told we couldn’t, and I think this is the beginning of that,” she said.
The Culture Ministry also announced that it would propose a legal instrument to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to afford better protection for designs of indigenous communities.
With marijuana plants in hand, Morelos farmers made their case for a license to grow the crop in Tetecala.
Carrying marijuana plants and smoking joints, farmers and pro-legalization activists gathered at the office of the state Health Ministry in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Monday to request a license for the cultivation of marijuana. Their ultimate goal: make Tetecala, located in the western part of the state, the first “marijuana town” in the country.
Farmers in the municipality have traditionally produced sugar cane but they believe marijuana could be more profitable for use in medicine, for recreational use, for fabrics and clothing and to attract tourism.
A Tetecala-based association of farmers and communal landowners delivered a letter to Health Minister Marco Antonio Cantú Cuevas and the head of the State Commission for Health Risks (Coprisem) to request a license for cultivation, but soon learned they were knocking on the wrong doors.
State authorities said granting the licenses comes under the remit of federal authorities.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the association, Alejandro Vello Arellano, explained the benefits of Tetecala being a marijuana town. “We submitted the license application to plant marijuana legally. What we are looking for is to change the direction of our town, to attract trade … but also to attract tourism … [and] benefit more than 20,000 inhabitants,” the sugar cane producer said.
One of the people at the gathering in the Morelos capital tokes up in support of their campaign.
“We are looking for the planting license because it is what we know how to do … there shouldn’t be any middle men. The trade should be directly with the people who process it, sell it, and even export it,” he said.
“Marijuana is being legalized in many parts of the world, and in localities in the United States, which is the main producer … We either adapt to international rules or we fall behind,” he added.
The Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing the recreational use of marijuana on June 28. It had previously declared the prohibition of cannabis unconstitutional in 2018. The use of medicinal marijuana has been legal since 2017.
The June decision stated that to legally obtain marijuana, citizens had to apply for a permit from the Federal Commission for Health Risks (Cofepris), allowing them to hold 28 grams. It also stated that Cofepris permits were required for the cultivation and harvesting of plants.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) directly threatened a prominent journalist and media outlets in a video released Monday morning.
In a video in which a man reads from a script in the name of cartel leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” the cartel took direct aim at Milenio Televisión anchor Azucena Uresti over news coverage of Michoacán.
Surrounded by six heavily armed men with their faces covered, the speaker said, “Azucena Uresti, wherever you are, I’ll get you, and I will make you eat your words, even if they accuse me of femicide, because you do not know me: Rubén Oseguera Cervantes. I am not a debt collector or extortionist, nor am I a kidnapper,” the speaker said.
“As a representative of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation, I address this message directly to Milenio. I am not against freedom of expression, but I am against whoever attacks me directly,” he added, and also pointed threats to news outlets Televisa and El Universal.
The video also accuses rival cartel leaders of being kidnappers and debt collectors and of disguising themselves as self-defense groups. It also alleged that those groups are giving money to the media.
Has de cuenta una mañanera.
El Mencho (el mero Kks del Cartel de Jalisco), dice que no está en contra de la libertad de expresión, sino de quién le tira directamente.
Y amenaza a Azucena Uresti, “aunque lo acusen de femenicido”. @azucenaupic.twitter.com/cG40h3a6Gx
In reaction to the threats, the president’s spokesperson, Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, wrote on Twitter to guarantee protection for journalists. “In the face of threats to the media by the CJNG, the @GobiernoMX will take appropriate measures to protect threatened journalists and media outlets. Democratic freedoms are guaranteed along with the right to information for citizens,” the Tweet read.
The U.S. government names the CJNG as one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. The cartel, originally from Jalisco and Michoacán, is currently engaged in a territorial battle in Aguililla, Michoacán, the birthplace of Oseguera.
Mexico was the most dangerous country in the world to be a journalist in 2020, according to Statista.
On July 12, the federal Interior Ministry said a total of 43 journalists and 68 human rights defenders had been killed since December 1, 2018, the day on which López Obrador was sworn in as president.
Just hours after mayors in the coastal region of Oaxaca announced strict new health measures, other government officials appeared to walk back on the restrictions.
Last Friday, mayors from a number of Oaxaca communities agreed to close beaches and suspend all tourist activities, hoping to slow the wave of coronavirus infections currently hitting the area. They also prohibited the sale of alcohol, banned large group gatherings and limited hotels and restaurants to operating at 35% capacity. The mayors represented the communities of Pochutla, Tonameca, Huatulco, Colotepec, San Miguel del Puerto, Pluma Hidalgo and Tututepec.
But some state and municipal authorities were not happy with the restrictions. After the announcement, they faced push-back from the state tourism board and the Huatulco municipal council announced that beaches would not, in fact, be completely closed. Rather, they would be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., while nightclubs and bars would be shuttered. Hotels and restaurants serving tourists would be limited to 30% capacity.
The state government confirmed there would not be a total closure of the beaches, telling the newspaper El Universal that while it respected the decision of municipal authorities, Friday’s announcement by the mayors had been misinterpreted.
The beaches where access will be limited include those in Puerto Escondido, Zipolite, Puerto Ángel and Salina Cruz, where visitors will be allowed at 35% capacity, and use of face masks will be mandatory. In some areas, mayors have approved fines and even jail time for those found not using face masks in public.
Furthermore, a minivan service between Puerto Escondido and Pochutla will be halted after the region entered the red (maximum alert) rating on the coronavirus risk map on Monday.
According to Oaxaca Health Services, the coast region has 4,021 confirmed Covid cases and 345 people have died since the pandemic began.
Synchronized diving medal winners Alejandra Orozco and Gaby Agúndez.
The Mexican Olympic team brought home four bronze medals and seven fourth-place finishes from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which wrapped up on the weekend.
Medals came in men’s soccer; mixed archery for Alejandra Valencia and Luis Álvarez; the women’s synchronized 10-meter diving for Alejandra Orozco and Gaby Agúndez; and in the women’s weightlifting for Aremi Fuentes.
The tally fell short of the 12 medals predicted by Sport Commission (Conade) head and Athens 1994 Olympic silver medalist Ana Guevara. Expectations were also heightened by the country’s outstanding performance at the 2019 Pan American Games, where it won 136 medals, 37 of them gold.
One hundred and sixty-three athletes participated at the Games, the most in 50 years, with first time appearances in events like softball, where the team came fourth, gymnastics trampoline, rhythmic gymnastics and women’s wrestling. The performance was far from the country’s worst: in Paris 1900, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964 and Atlanta 1996 it only claimed one bronze medal.
Swimming bronze medalist at the 1968 Mexico City Games, María Teresa Ramírez, said the Covid-19 pandemic had made preparation difficult for athletes. “It wasn’t easy for Mexico. The pandemic made everything difficult. When an athlete prepares for a world-class event there are many years at stake. Everything is planned. I talked to a lot of athletes and they tried to maintain a good attitude despite the circumstances. They trained wherever they could … On an emotional level they were affected. I was told there were athletes who felt alone, they trained alone,” she said.
“That’s the way sports are — if you’re not on the podium it looks like you didn’t do the work … it’s cruel,” she added.
The results have also been attributed to organizational issues and a lack of funding. In Mexico there is no ministry of sports unlike in sporting superpowers such as China or the United Kingdom. Instead, Conade reports to the Ministry of Education. The budget changes each year, and varies depending on the administration.
The budget has decreased 51% in the last 10 years in real terms, according to the magazine Expansión. Conade received 2.67 billion pesos this year, equivalent to 0.056% of the national budget. In 2011, it was allocated significantly more at 0.21% of the budget.
The 2012 London Olympic Games saw Mexico’s best performance in history, and it was also the year that Conade was given the highest level of funding.
Wrestling silver medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Daniel Aceves, put the responsibility squarely at the door of government authorities. “It has to be a decision of the executive and legislative branches to attribute greater importance to sports through the national budget,” he said.
León's international hot air balloon festival is one of Guanajuato state's many events and activities that attract tourists each year. Festival Internacional de Globo
With 32 states and 5,800 miles of gorgeous coastline, urbanscapes and quaint colonial towns — in regions that each have their own special cuisine, distinct accents and beautiful biodiversity — Mexico has so many destinations worth visiting, it can be hard to know where to start.
I’ve gotten to know Guanajuato well during my 13 years in the country, and it still has nooks and crannies I have yet to explore. Tourists who head right to the state’s most famous attraction — the city of San Miguel de Allende — miss out on the plethora of places and activities the state has to offer.
By far, one of the state’s biggest and best destinations is Guanajuato city. As you approach, the multicolored facades of the houses creeping up the mountains glitter in the sunshine. A massive system of underground tunnels and stone archways snaking under the city’s streets provide a sense of the long history of this former silver mining center.
A jewel of the Spanish viceregal period, the city’s welcoming urban space beckons tourists to meander through its alleyways that snake through classic architecture. Diego Rivera’s childhood home is here, as is the state’s famous mummy museum (a result of the arid landscape that “mummified” many of the previous inhabitants).
A growing list of excellent boutique hotels and restaurants are flooded with guests each year during the world-famous International Cervantino Festival (FIC), the largest performing arts festival in the Americas.
Bird’s-eye view of the state capital and former mining city of Guanajuato.
In contrast to some of the country’s sleepier destinations, Guanajuato has a vibrant cultural scene due in part to the University of Guanajuato, whose main campus is in the heart of downtown. But it’s also a working city with attractions geared not only toward tourists but also to the almost 200,000 people who live and work here. This is a real draw for foreigners looking to learn Spanish: you can mingle with locals as opposed to heavily touristy destinations where you might end up speaking a lot of English.
The city has several good language schools, including Escuela Mexicana, Escuela Falcon, and La Hacienda Spanish School. The price tag for a few months here (spent in a great neighborhood with all the bells and whistles) is much less than other more touristy locations.
The state has six Pueblos Mágicos, Magical Towns officially recognized by the Mexican government for their cultural and historical significance. Mineral de Pozos, which seemed frozen in time just 10 years ago, is being discovered for its bohemian charm and tranquil ambiance.
The town is smattered with small hotels, boutique shops and a handful of good eateries but retains its small-town charm and easy living. Once inhabited by various nomadic tribes, Mineral de Pozos became a center of mining during the 18th century but closed most of the mines by the mid-1920s. You can still visit some of these crumbling reminders of the town’s glory days on its outskirts, enjoy a relaxing weekend of off-road biking and amble through the town’s narrow streets surrounded by ancient architecture.
Dolores Hidalgo, another Magical Town, is a perfect weekend day trip from nearby San Miguel de Allende or Guanajuato city. You can see the church where Father Miguel Hidalgo first called for Mexico’s independence as well as wander through local pottery shops so famous for their craft that you can now find examples around the world.
In the main square, stop for one of the town’s nieves (ice cream) in a wild range of flavors — think mole or pulque — or sit for a spell under the main plaza’s leafy canopy and watch local breakdancers or mini theatrical performances.
Yuriria, a Magical Town that’s one of the state’s oldest, still has rural surroundings where coyotes roam.
A trip to Dolores Hidalgo is nicely paired with a stop at some of the state’s wineries scattered throughout the Bajío region, where wine grapes were first grown in the New World; Father Hidalgo was rumored to have his own vineyard.
The wine scene here has really just started to blossom in the past decade, so some vineyards are still young and working on perfecting their vintages. However, a few stalwarts — like Cuna de Tierra — have been developing their particular styles (rich, deep reds in Cuna de Tierra’s case) for years and have won fame internationally.
Newcomer Tres Raíces is also making some beautiful wines. Its vineyard and boutique hotel is also idyllic for a few days’ stay. Other vineyards include Dos Buhos, the organic vineyard Viñedos Toyan and Viñedos San Lucas. All four are located on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende.
Other roadtrip-worthy destinations include Yuriria, home to Guanajuato’s first Catholic convent, built in 1550 from volcanic rock. It’s well known for its rebozos, intricately patterned handmade shawls.
Guanajuato’s first official city, Salvatierra, hosts a harvest festival each year in November, a mix of indigenous and Catholic rituals with music, dancing and fireworks. In tiny Jalpa de Canovas, visit the town’s founding hacienda (which once hosted Mexico’s first and only emperor, Maximiliano) and see the gothic-inspired Church of Our Lord of Mercy.
If you are chasing Mexican Independence history, stop in the town of Atotonilco to see the mural-covered chapel where Hidalgo stopped on his independence march and took an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe there to use as his makeshift army’s standard. León, the state’s industrial center, is worth a visit during their annual hot air balloon festival.
Mineral de Pozos’ famous “Jesuit Ovens” — smelting ovens built by Spanish Jesuits to service a mine outside of town.
So much wide-open country means that in most of the towns I mentioned you can sign up for horseback riding, ATV or mountain biking tours. Tourismo Alternativo offers bike tours of Guanajuato city. Want to do it on your own? There are great resources on local bike routes already archived that can save you from traveling by car altogether.
It’s also a great state for camping, although campgrounds vary wildly in terms of services, access and maintained trails. Some areas worth a sleep under the stars include Peña Alta, a protected pine forest north of Dolores Hidalgo; Tierrablanca, where you can sleep in a hammock suspended hundreds of feet above a canyon and Sierra de Lobos, a protected oak forest just outside Guanajuato city with beautiful natural rock monoliths.
Traditional street food and homemade dishes in small family-run comedores are the best way to get a taste of Mexico, and the region has a few specialties to keep an eye out for as you travel; enchiladas mineras is one of the most famous.
A nighttime snack, these are tortillas dipped in a guajillo chile sauce and stuffed with local cheese, shredded lettuce, pickled chiles, carrots and potatoes. Also on the menu is capone de nopales con xoconostle. Popular in the southern part of the state, this is a cactus salad with prickly pear, tomato, onion, garlic and cilantro added. In León, try guacamayas; though named after parrots, they are actually a fried pork skin (chicharrón) sandwich with pickled veggies, salt and lime on top. Finally for dessert, try the state’s charamuscas — figurines made of Mexican cane sugar, called piloncillo.
Whatever you decide to highlight on your map, you are bound to encounter the warm hospitality of Mexico’s cradle of independence and — if you are willing to get off the beaten path — experiences that will stay with you until your next Mexico trip.
ʼCause let’s be honest; you’ll be back.
Outside many of Guanajuato’s towns you can explore on horseback.
Lydia Carey is a regular contributor to Mexico News Daily.
Soldiers patrol an Acapulco beach earlier this year to remind visitors to follow coronavirus precautions.
As of Monday bars and nightclubs are closed for business in Guerrero thanks to new measures that state authorities hope will stem the tide of new coronavirus cases.
In a virtual press conference, state officials announced that beaches will stay open but only from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with only 40% of the usual occupancy permitted. The authorities also asked that beach-goers use face masks.
Parties, camping and live music are suspended but hotels will be allowed to continue operating at 40% capacity. Restaurants will remain open at 50% capacity and alcohol sales will be prohibited after 7 p.m. Cemeteries will be closed and places of worship can only operate at 40% capacity.
“We are looking for the middle ground … we reiterate that the beaches will stay open, but with restrictions,” said Governor Héctor Astudillo. He added that the health measures aim to slow the rising numbers of Covid cases over the next two weeks.
“We are making an energetic call to all who would come to the tourist centers of Acapulco and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. They must know that we have a complicated situation here and they must follow the [health] guidelines,” Astudillo said. “We frequently find that the people ignoring [the guidelines] are the visitors.”
Mexico City is at red (high risk) on the coronavirus stoplight risk map, Astudillo said, meaning that visitors from the capital city could infect Guerrero citizens.
As of Monday, Guerrero is also red on the map. Despite that alert and the rise in cases, Acapulco registered 40% tourist occupancy on Sunday and beaches were brimming with vacationers.
A female vaquita identified as Ana with a calf in 2018. Oscar Ortiz
Three federal ministries announced a new agreement with NGOs Saturday to define cooperative efforts to save the endangered vaquita porpoise.
Although no NGOs were named and the announcement was thin on detail, the Ministries of Environment, Navy and Agriculture said in a joint statement that the accord would bring about improved collaboration in conservation efforts and avoid aggressive acts by people engaged in illegal fishing.
Last December, there was a clash between small fishboats and a vessel operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. A fisherman died after one boat collided with the vessel.
The agreement states that authorities will focus their efforts on inspection and monitoring in a so-called “zero tolerance” zone in the upper Gulf of California, where gillnet fishing had been declared illegal to protect the vaquita. The porpoise is a bycatch in the illegal totoaba fishery, made lucrative by strong demand for that fish’s swim bladder, a delicacy in China that has been referred to as the “cocaine of the sea.”
Like the drug, its trafficking has drawn drug cartels to participate.
While the government will attempt to control illegal fishing, a responsibility it has been unable to carry out successfully in the past, civil society organizations will remove abandoned nets and work to raise awareness about vaquita conservation among fishermen.
The accord comes three weeks after the Mexican government relaxed restrictions in the no-fishing zone, triggering a wave of accusations by conservationists that Mexico was abandoning the vaquita.
The most recent of those came from U.S. actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, who criticized the government on his Twitter account last Thursday. “The vaquita porpoise is the most endangered marine mammal in the world. Yet, the Mexican government has lifted the ban on fishing in its habitat, effectively ensuring that the remaining 10 or so porpoises will die in gillnets.”
DiCaprio signed a memorandum of understanding in 2017 with then president Peña Nieto and businessman Carlos Slim to protect the vaquita, at which time there were still some 30 remaining. The intention was to make a temporary gillnet ban permanent in the Gulf of California.
But like most efforts at saving the mammal nothing was accomplished due to lack of enforcement, the growing involvement of cartels and protests by unhappy fishermen deprived of their ability to make a living.
Despite the fact there may be as few as 10 vaquita remaining, not all conservationists have written off the vaquita as a lost cause.
Environmental writer Andrew Revkin of the Climate School at Columbia University wrote last week he saw four reasons for hope after interviewing a marine scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Barbara Taylor argued that the porpoise has a fighting chance:
The survivors are wily and elusive, she said, with their scars and behavior showing they are aware of the risk nets pose.
The estimated presence of three calves – all fat and healthy in 2019 – showed that the remaining females are prolific breeders.
Recent analysis of the vaquita genome shows they are unlikely to face a genetic bottleneck that sometimes threatens the recovery of deeply depleted species.
Finally, there are other examples of species, including marine mammals, reviving from tiny numbers after devastating slaughter. She cited the northern elephant seal, which was declared extinct in 1884. A tiny population was later discovered on an island off Mexico’s Pacific coast. Now there are 300,000.
Yucatán residents protest the rape and murder of José Eduardo Ravelo in Mérida.
Four Mérida municipal police officers are now in custody for the rape and murder of a young man, according to an announcement by the Yucatán state governor on Saturday.
After police detained José Eduardo Ravelo, 23, on July 21 he was raped and badly beaten, leading to his death on August 3. Ravelo had recently arrived in Mérida from Veracruz, looking for a job.
The day after the attack, his mother said, Ravelo called her and told her what had happened. She traveled to be at his side as he was dying.
“In a video … the attorney general’s lawyer told me that when he was inside [the jail], you can hear screams and no one went to help him,” the victim’s mother told local media outlets.
“In our state there is no place for impunity … there will be justice,” Governor Mauricio Vila said, adding that the family had accepted help from the State Commission for Victim Services.
The murder has triggered protests by Yucatán residents and nonprofit organizations. The demonstrators rallied outside the municipal government building on Sunday.
“The police don’t protect us; they rape us, they kill us!” people chanted.
Some left flowers and candles by the building’s entrance in Ravelo’s memory.
Lawyer Adriana Quintal was one of the people who attended the protest. She said the crime was not an isolated incident.
“This is not an isolated case of violence by the police against citizens, what’s different is it’s the first case where a mother dared to rub it in their faces. In Progreso last year there were various [police murders],” Quintal said.
The federal Interior Ministry (Segob) has announced that the investigation will include an inquiry into whether discrimination based on physical appearance, age or personal identity factored into the attack on Ravelo.
The documentary Comala will compete in the Toronto International Film Festival.
It was only after his father’s death that Monterrey film director Gian Cassini, 34, learned what his father did for a living: he was a drug cartel sicario. The man had often been absent in Cassini’s youth, and now he knew why.
His father was killed during the violent drug-trafficking crackdown by the Felipe Calderón administration, Cassini said.
“At the time I remember it was like … I wanted to keep it in a box, as if it were separate from him. I thought, ‘I don’t need this in my life,’” Cassini said.
But talking with his father’s family and seeing their loss, Cassini became more interested in the dichotomy between the man his family knew and the violent business in which he had been involved and decided to make a documentary about his family’s experience. Now, after nine years of work, the film Comala is debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Initially, I thought I’d make a fictional film, but when I met with my family and saw everything, how the absence of a son, a brother and a father affected them, I was inspired [to make a documentary] … Little by little I convinced them to participate, which is admirable because we all have things we are ashamed of or things we don’t want to confront … in the end, they threw themselves in and were completely honest with me,” Cassini said.
Rather than focusing on sensationalist violence, the film looks at the toll his father’s line of work took on his immediate family. One of the film’s goals, Cassini said, was to spread awareness of the problem of violence, which is often normalized.
“It’s terrifying how we have arrived at the point of normalizing the violence of narco-trafficking. It is something that seems to no longer affect us, and is even celebrated [in popular culture] … It’s worth remembering that … in the midst of all of that, we are still human beings and what is happening affects us,” Cassini said.
The Toronto festival runs from September 9 through 18.
