Mexico News Daily launches campaign to help artisans sell online

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April 10, 2021

Chihuahua ceramic artist Tati Eleno Ortiz López at a previous edition of the Feria in Chalapa, Jalisco.

For anyone depending on Mexico’s tourism sector, the pandemic has meant hard times. Among those most deeply impacted are the country’s many traditional artisans — basket-makers, weavers, painters and many more.

On Friday, Mexico News Daily launched a campaign to support folk artists as they seek to survive “the new normal.” Ten percent of the newspaper’s subscription sales revenue will be donated to the Feria Maestros del Arte, a non-profit organization based in Chapala, Jalisco, that is helping artisans around the country sell their goods online.

The Artisans Online campaign invites readers to join in by purchasing a one-year subscription for US $29.99, of which $3 will be donated to help develop online sales. Mexico News Daily will also publish a series of stories featuring innovative and traditional artisans, to raise their profile and celebrate their work, as part of the campaign.

The Feria Maestros del Arte began promoting artisans’ work in 2002 with an annual show in Chapala. The event brings together 85 artisans in a forum that gives the public the opportunity to see and purchase the work of some of Mexico’s best folk artists.

According to the Feria’s Facebook page, the group was created in order to provide a venue for artisans to sell their work.

Artist Rogelio de la Cruz of San Agustín Oapan, Guerrero.

“The indigenous folk art of Mexico is in danger of disappearing if artists cannot find outlets to sell their work … for many, the sales they make at the Feria are the largest portion of their yearly income,” the Feria says.

An army of volunteers operates the fair, to which artists pay no fees fees or a percentage of sales. They are hosted by local families and assisted with their transportation costs.

Two such artists are Rodrigo de la Cruz Cabrera and his father, Don Estaban de la Cruz Miranda, from San Agustín Oapan, Guerrero. After exhibiting and selling at the 2017 and 2018 fairs, they participated in a national exhibition in 2019 and were invited to accompany Mexico’s national ceramics school to the Jingdezhen International Studio in China, according to Feria founder Marianne Carlson.

“Esteban and Rodrigo have won several national awards. However, because they live in an isolated community in the state of Guerrero that has suffered from conflict in the past, it has not been easy for this family to sell their work. Bringing them to the public’s attention at the Feria and through publicity surrounding his two-month trip to China, Rodrigo’s acclaim as a master artisan has boosted interest in their work even higher,” Carlson said. “This is just one success story of artisans who have been recognized at Feria Maestros del Arte and gone on to greater prominence in the folk art world.”

Due to the pandemic, the Feria canceled the 2021 art festival. Instead, it is hosting a series of smaller events run by volunteers, without the artisans present. All money collected goes directly to the artisans, including reimbursement for the cost of shipping their goods. More information can be found on the Feria Maestros del Arte Facebook page.

Some artisans have seen profits from products like embroidered face masks. Online sales have kept some afloat, but many continue to struggle. Even after some markets opened up, economic activity and tourism continue to be sluggish. One group that has had success in online sales is the weavers of the mountains of Zongolica, a remote area where traditional weavers have banded together to sell at the regional and national level. These weavers are featured in the first of Mexico News Daily’s Artisan Spotlight stories by culture writer Leigh Thelmadatter.

To help more artisans survive and thrive economically, the Feria is moving toward digital promotion of featured artisans. Carlson said Covid-19 has made her a believer in digital media and in the importance of online platforms for the artisans to continue selling their work. “Our new website will include e-commerce for all Feria artisans who want us to continue helping them to sell.”

Mexico News Daily

Tangled lines create anxious moments for Papantla Flyers

By

Rose Egelhoff

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April 10, 2021

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Flyers cling to the pole in Papantla, Veracruz.

The Papantla Flyers are famous for the the Aztec ritual they perform, flying from ropes at the top of a 100-foot pole, accompanied by a flute and drums.

But this week, the spectacle, held in Papantla, Veracruz, almost turned to tragedy when a tangled rope caused all four dancers to crash into the steel pole, further tangling the lines.

Onlookers watched in horror as the tangled dancers clung to the pole, trying not to fall.

One dancer, Adolfo San Martín García, said the ritual began like any other. But when the dancers launched from the top of the spire, one rope caught on a corner of the wooden frame to which they were tied, throwing all the dancers off balance and causing the mishap.

Thanks to quick thinking from the leader, a disaster was avoided. The ropes were untangled enough to allow the dancers to climb down to the ground and safety.

Source: Noreste (sp)

Feminist group identifies 26 candidates accused of sexual abuse, harassment

By

Rose Egelhoff

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April 10, 2021

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Six of the candidates for whom 'wanted posters' were published.

The feminist collective Brujas del Mar has published the names and faces of 26 candidates and aspiring candidates from all political parties who have been accused of violence against women, sexual assault, rape or child pornography.

They also identified 10 legislators and other current government officials who have been accused of one or more of the crimes.

The posts on social media were published in the form of wanted posters, with the names and images of the accused as well as their positions and party affiliations.

Among them was Isaac Pérez Esparza, a Green Party candidate in Veracruz for federal deputy, who was accused of rape and sexual abuse. Pérez withdraw his candidacy on Thursday, the day after the posters were published, claiming he was the victim of “a dirty war.”

“It doesn’t seem fair what they’re doing to me, anonymously and in a cowardly way” and insisted he had never harmed anyone.

Also on the list is Gabriel Cuadri, a National Action Party candidate running for deputy, and a former presidential candidate. He has been accused of assault by multiple students at the Iberoamerican University.

At least one candidate on the list has faced consequences for his alleged crime. Humberto Santos Ramírez, who sought to be a local representative in Oaxaca, was denied the chance to run by his party, Morena, after he was accused of creating a WhatsApp group for sharing photos of naked indigenous women. He has denied the accusation.

Addressing nine political parties and movements in its social media post, Brujas del Mar wrote: “Around here the feminists are doing the job of investigating your candidates. Here are your representatives.”

None of the allegations has been heard in court.

Source: Reforma (sp)

US Consulate issues travel alert for Mexicali, western Sonora

By

Rose Egelhoff

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April 10, 2021

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A frame from a video released last week by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana has issued a security alert warning travelers to take extra precautions in Mexicali, the Valley of Mexicali, and the western part of the state of Sonora, citing a heightened risk of violence between rival cartel factions.

The alert, issued Friday, also warned members of the embassy community to avoid Mexicali until further notice.

The area is caught in the midst of a territorial dispute between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). At the beginning of April, the CJNG released messages threatening increased violence in Baja California.

A video circulated on social media April 1 showed more than a dozen hooded individuals with various large-caliber weapons and bulletproof vests bearing the CJNG initials.

“This announcement is to inform the general population of Baja California that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is present in their state and to let them know that the deaths that have been occurring are due to internal corruption within the police forces at every level of the government,” said a speaker in the video. The speaker went on to name the federal, state and municipal police forces as well as various security and investigative units of government.

The next day, the CJNG torched the vehicle of an official from the state Attorney General’s Office in Tecate, in reprisal for a police operation that led to various arrests. On April 8 in Tijuana, the cartel burned two vehicles belonging to the federal Attorney General’s Office.

Sources: Infobae (sp)

For 8 states, Covid stoplight will be green: Nuevo León, Oaxaca rated low risk

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MND Staff

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April 10, 2021

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There's more green and yellow on the new stoplight map.

Mexico will have eight green light low risk states during the next two weeks after the federal Health Ministry presented an updated coronavirus stoplight map on Friday.

Nuevo León and Oaxaca will switch to green on Monday, joining Campeche, Chiapas, Coahuila, Nayarit, Tamaulipas and Veracruz.

In Campeche, which was the first state in the country to turn green, all primary and middle school teachers have been vaccinated against Covid-19 with a view to resuming in-person classes soon.

Jalisco switched to green two weeks ago but will regress to medium risk yellow on Monday due to the Health Ministry’s assessment that the coronavirus situation has worsened.

There are 19 yellow light states on the updated map, an increase of one compared to the map currently in effect.

Coronavirus cases and deaths in Mexico as reported by day. milenio

Puebla, Hidalgo and Querétaro will switch from high risk orange to yellow on Monday, joining Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Durango, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Colima, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Guerrero, Morelos, Tabasco and Quintana Roo.

The number of orange states declines to five on the new map from seven on the one currently in force.

Mexico City, México state, Chihuahua and Yucatán are already orange and will remain that color for the next two weeks while Baja California Sur, which received a large number of tourists during the Easter vacation period, will switch from yellow.

For the fourth consecutive fortnight there will be no red light maximum risk states between April 12 and 25.

Each stoplight color, determined by the Health Ministry using 10 different indicators including case numbers and hospital occupancy levels, is accompanied by recommended restrictions to slow the spread of the virus but it is ultimately up to state governments to decide on their own restrictions.

Presenting the map at Friday night’s coronavirus press briefing, Health Ministry Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía said the intensity of Mexico’s pandemic has been on the wane for 10 weeks but warned citizens to continue observing virus mitigation measures. He noted that the risk of infection could be higher now due to the likely spread of the virus at gatherings during the Easter holidays.

“If mobility increases [again] as was seen over the Easter weekend in the 32 states, we can expect an increase in the case load,” Alomía said.

Hospitalizations and Covid-19 deaths have also declined recently – the latter fell 36% in March compared to February and 46% compared to January – but the Health Ministry continues to report hundreds of fatalities on a daily basis.

The official death toll increased by 874 on Friday – the highest daily total in more than a month – to 207,020, while the accumulated case tally rose 5,045 to 2.27 million.

Just under 11 million vaccine doses had been administered in Mexico by Friday night, according to Health Ministry data. Mexico is currently in the second of five stages of the national vaccination plan, which includes the inoculation of seniors as well as non-frontline health workers. Frontline health workers were vaccinated in stage 1.

Citing the delay in the delivery of Pfizer vaccines earlier this year, the federal government this week modified its Covid-19 vaccination schedule, pushing back by one month the start date of stages 3,4 and 5 of the vaccination plan.

Source: Infobae (sp)

Journalist who published video of migrant’s murder accuses cops of robbery

By

MND Staff

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April 9, 2021

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The inside of Canul's home after a break-in on Sunday.

A journalist who disseminated videos of the alleged murder by police of Salvadoran migrant Victoria Salazar in Tulum, Quintana Roo, last month has accused the same municipal police force of burglarizing his home.

Francisco Canul told the newspaper El Universal that he returned to his Tulum home on Sunday after a trip to Yucatán and found the front door open. The inside of the home was a complete mess, clothes were strewn on the floor and furniture and furnishings were damaged, he said.

“I called the 911 emergency number, and they [the police] took 1 1/2 hours to arrive. A specialist from the state Attorney General’s Office never arrived to attest to what happened. Three computers and three external hard disks were stolen,” said Canul, who runs the online news service Noti Tulum and reports for other outlets.

“… I believe, … I intuit — I’ll dare to say it — that it was the police. … There was a boot print on the door, of the kind they use. No one else uses boots in Tulum,” he said.

The journalist, a 26-year veteran of the media industry, attributed the home invasion and robbery to a police vendetta because he has been critical of the municipal force in his reporting.

However, if the police did indeed burglarize Canul’s home, the obvious motive is his dissemination of the shocking footage of a police officer kneeling on the back of Salazar, whose death was found to have been caused by a spinal fracture.

The journalist said that a person who filmed the alleged police murder on March 27 gave him videos of the incident, which went viral after he posted them online.

“A person passed me the material. He/she said: ‘take them [the videos], they’re yours, don’t involve me.’ So I disseminated them, I didn’t even put a watermark on them,” Canul said.

The journalist has filed a formal complaint in relation to the burglary of his home, while the press freedom advocacy organization Article 19 said that the invasion and robbery are “of great concern” and would have an “inhibiting effect on those who exercise their right to freedom of expression and access to information.”

It described the crime as retaliation for Canul’s journalistic work and the exercise of his right to freedom of speech.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Nahua weaver group doesn’t just preserve dying skills, it’s changing lives

By

Leigh Thelmadatter

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April 9, 2021

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Purple wool rebozo, handwoven and dyed with traditional natural pigments.

It might not seem logical for a group of women specializing in the same kind of handcraft to promote and sell together. After all, isn’t each the other’s competitor? Ah, but there are other factors to consider.

The Nahua women of the Sierra de Zongolica live only 100 kilometers from Xalapa, Veracruz, but it takes several hours by car to get there over winding mountain roads. This isolation has allowed the people of this area to conserve much of their language and way of life.

Veracruz is associated with the oppressive heat and humidity of its long coastline, but the Zongolica region is part of an equally long chain of high mountains that separate the state from Puebla and Oaxaca. The air here is significantly colder, and humidity from the gulf frequently transforms into fog and cold rain.

The Nahua people here have raised sheep since the colonial period, producing wool that is highly prized. Zongolica women combine this wool with weaving techniques from time immemorial. Much of their dyeing is still done using local plant and mineral pigments, but one hallmark of local garments here is the color gray, the natural color of a breed of sheep rarely raised in other parts of Mexico. They make traditional clothing such as rebozos, sarapes, jorongos (like a thick pullover), skirts, and blankets. They also weave cotton for garments such as the frilly, white blouses that women wear.

Until the late 20th century, just about all weaving was done for local use, but despite the values placed on tradition here, the making and wearing of traditional clothing had been dying out.

Striped rebozos are traditional for Zongolica women, but these bright colors are an innovation.

Then, in 1992, a group of women decided to work together to conserve and revive textile skills in order to produce goods to sell. Although the people here grow and raise what they need to survive, they still need to earn some money for things such as school supplies and electricity.

Banding together was not an easy undertaking. Most of the women who still had the requisite skills live in almost inaccessible villages away from the “main” town of Zongolica. But perhaps even more problematic was one downside to traditional life: the low social status of women.

Women are traditionally shut out of decisions related to economics, politics and religion. For those middle-aged and older, it is not unusual to find women who speak little or no Spanish and who have little to no schooling. And, unfortunately, according to anthropologist Miguel Ángel Sosme Campos, domestic violence isn’t exactly uncommon.

The women’s initial efforts to commercialize their handcrafts were opposed by husbands and authorities, especially since it meant women leaving their homes to travel to markets. But some persevered with the support of family members willing to think outside the box.

Their weavings began to sell farther afield, getting noticed by state authorities. This led to the involvement of Sosme, who arrived as a student to research the region, working with a program of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

His work was published in the book Tejedoras de esperanza, Empoderamiento de los grupos artesanales de la sierra de Zongolica (Weavers of Hope: Empowering Artisan Groups in the Sierra de Zongolica), the first academic documentation of these Nahua women and their lives.

Example of an innovative product the Nahua women of Sierra de Zongolica, Veracruz, have produced for the general market. — Example of an innovative item produced for the general market.

It was followed by the minidocumentary Tlakimilolli: voces del telar (Tlakimilolli: Voices Of The Loom), which has been screened in the United States, Europe and South America.

But Sosme did not stop there. For the past eight years, he has been the weavers’ main interlocutor, nationally and internationally. He has even brought their work to the attention of international organizations such as the Los Amigos de Arte Popular in the United States.

This success prompted local and state authorities to establish the Regional Festival and Competition of Zongolica Textile Arts.

The success of the past eight years can be seen in both the handcrafts and the women who make them. Weaving and dyeing techniques have been rescued, documented and taught to younger generations.

Most of the garments made are traditional, but contact with the wider world has meant new products as well such as scarves, backpacks, costume jewelry and dolls.

The income from the weaving means higher social status for Nahua women, often bringing more money than can be earned from crops. It also means that they become the faces of their communities as they travel to Xalapa, the port of Veracruz, other parts of Mexico and even abroad.

Like so many other artisans, their sales have dropped because of the loss of cultural events. But their collaboration with institutions has allowed them to set up and run a Facebook page.

According to Sosme, Internet sales have been a lifeline, allowing the women to survive the pandemic even though their physical isolation from the rest of Mexico means that almost no one has gotten ill.

They accept orders from Mexico and abroad with payments through Mexican bank deposits, Western Union and Paypal.

This is the first in a series of stories highlighting Mexican artisans by Mexico News Daily culture writer Leigh Thelmadatter.

Cancún airport arrivals reach 1.57 million, highest since February 2020

By

MND Staff

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April 9, 2021

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Arrivals at Cancún airport hit their highest level since February 2020 last month, even as the suspension of Canadian airlines’ flights to Mexico remained in effect.

A total of 1.57 million air travelers flew into the resort city’s airport in March, according to its operator, ASUR. Just under 56% of that number arrived on international flights while just over 44% flew in from other cities in Mexico.

Incoming passenger traffic hadn’t been so high since 2.17 million people flew into Cancún in February last year – before the World Health Organization had declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.

International arrivals have now outnumbered domestic arrivals during four consecutive months, even though flights from Canada — Mexico’s second-largest source country for tourists after the United States – to Mexico were suspended on January 31 and won’t resume until early May.

The airport’s high numbers have also occurred despite many countries, including the United States and Canada, requiring incoming travelers to present a negative Covid-19 test result.

ASUR said in a statement that the Easter vacation period helped increase incoming flights in March. Holy Week began this year on March 28 and ran through April 4.

Analysts at the Mexican bank Banorte said in a note that March arrivals at airports operated by ASUR, which includes facilities in several other cities such as Mérida, Hautulco and Veracruz, exceeded expectations.

They predicted that international air arrivals will increase further in coming months due to the fast rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the United States. Almost 152,000 flights are scheduled between the United States and Mexico in the seven-month period between the end of March and the end of October, a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2019.

Cancún will be the most popular destination this summer, according to data also showing that 11 of the 13 airlines that fly between Mexico and the United States will provide services to and from the airport in the Caribbean coast city. All told, there will be direct services between Cancún and 40 airports in the United States, among which Los Angeles International Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International will have the most connections.

Air Canada, one of four Canadian airlines that agreed to the Canadian government’s request to temporarily suspend flights to Mexico and other sun destinations, will resume services to the country in early May.

According to the company’s website, flights from Toronto to Mexico City will resume on May 3 with three services per week. Twice-weekly flights from Vancouver to the Mexican capital will resume on May 6, while twice-weekly services between Montreal and Mexico City will begin again on May 10.

The newspaper El Independiente reported that Air Canada was planning to resume flights to Los Cabos in early May, but that destination doesn’t currently appear on the airline’s upcoming routes schedule.

The resumption of some flights to Mexico from Canada is welcome news for the Mexican tourism industry, which had its worst year in living memory in 2020. Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco said that the three-month suspension of flights could cost the sector US $782 million in lost revenue.

The Tourism Ministry predicted in January that international tourist numbers would increase 33.7% in 2021 compared to last year in a best-case scenario, but even if that upturn is achieved tourism would still be well below 2019 levels.

Now, however, the summer schedule for flights between the United States and Mexico, the rapid vaccine rollout in the U.S. and the upcoming return of Canadian tourists give cause for optimism that the recovery could exceed that prediction.

Source: El Universal (sp), El Independiente (sp), The Canadian Press (en)

The tale of ‘The Third Guadalajara,’ located in the middle of nowhere

By

John Pint

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April 9, 2021

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Salvador Mayorga takes in the view from Rancho el Mexicano.

The northern limits of the city of Guadalajara are clearly defined by the beautiful but nauseatingly smelly and polluted Santiago River, which flows through the dramatic Barranca de Oblatos canyon and its sheer walls that are 500 meters deep.

What lies on the other side of that challenging chasm?

“To some, it may look bleak over here,” says ranchero Salvador Mayorga, “but in reality, the ecosystem is fascinating. This is the habitat of wild boars, pumas, armadillos, black iguanas, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, parakeets and an infinite variety of invertebrates.”

It’s also the perfect place to view the Barranca in all its glory, as I discovered when I camped out at Mayorga’s Rancho el Mexicano, which features no electricity and no internet, and — although it is located only four kilometers from the busy streets of Mexico’s second-largest city — still feels pretty close to the middle of nowhere.

Well, I happened to be visiting Rancho el Mexicano with archaeologist Francisco Sánchez, and when I mentioned the loneliness of our surroundings, he turned to me.

Map locating the monument to the third Guadalajara.

“Would you believe that this desolate mesa we are on was once chosen by the Spaniards as a great spot to found the city of Guadalajara? Not far from here there’s a monument marking the place, and I know right where it is.”

Naturally, my friend Rodrigo and I prevailed upon the archaeologist to show us the historic spot. As we drove along, Francisco explained that the first attempt to found Guadalajara was in Nochistlán in Zacatecas in the year 1532, but there wasn’t enough water and that plan was scuttled.

Next they tried Tonalá, but Nuño de Guzmán, the Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator for New Spain, chased them away, saying he wanted that land for himself. Then they decided upon the spot we were heading for, called Tlacotán, located 17 kilometers northeast of today’s Guadalajara Zoo.

Francisco stopped the car. “We’re here. The monument is just a few steps away.”

Well, this place looked even more solitary than Rancho el Mexicano, and I couldn’t see a monument anywhere. However, Rodrigo and I followed Francisco on a winding path through the bush until we came to a barbed-wire fence.

Now, as has been proven again and again, all good adventures in Mexico start with a step over, under or through a barbed-wire fence … and this was no exception. On the other side of the fence was a row of trees, and then we saw it: a great slab looming above us like the monolith in 2001, A Space Odyssey. All around it was nothing but cornfields as far as the eye could see. A big engraving stated that this was the place where the village of Guadalajara was founded in 1535 and where it was declared a city by royal decree in 1539.

Archaeologist Francisco Sánchez, right, relates the story of the third Guadalajara.

“But there’s nothing here! Where are the ruins?” we asked our guide, who assured us that back in those days there were houses, a cathedral and a big plaza shaded by a tall zapote tree.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“What happened was Tenamaztle, leader of los indígenas Caxcanes, who according to the records of the Spaniards appeared on top of those distant hills on September 27, 1541, with 15,000 men, all of them infuriated by the Spaniards’ custom of enslaving native peoples.

Pedro Plascencia, who happened to be out in that direction collecting firewood, saw them coming down the hills in great waves, but the Spaniards had foreseen the possibility of a big attack and had reinforced one of their houses, erecting towers and walls around it and sealing up all the doors but two in order to protect their little city.

And then they were attacked by thousands of Caxcanes, most of them naked and painted red from head to foot, their skulls shaved except for a ponytail. Some of them wore clothing or armor taken from dead Spaniards, but their only weapons were bows and arrows.

“For four hours the Spaniards fought back with their guns, crossbows and cannons. When it was all over, they say 15,000 Caxcanes lay dead with rivers of blood everywhere, but only two Spaniards had been killed.

“So Cristóbal de Oñate, governor of the city, ordered that the corpses be thrown over the cliffside into the Río Verde Canyon to prevent an epidemic, but all the bodies lying more than two kilometers from the city were left in place as proof of what had happened and a warning to any other native people that might want to attack them.”

The following day, the archaeologist told us, the Spaniards celebrated a Mass, giving thanks for the miracle they claimed had occurred during the battle. They said a man dressed all in white and riding a white horse had appeared in the middle of the fighting, holding a cross in his right hand and a sword in the other. “It was San Miguel,” they said, “and he is the one who killed most of the Indians.”

Statue of Doña Beatriz Hernández, by sculptor Ignacio Garibay. A plaque describes her as “fiery, fearless and outspoken.”

Saint Michael, however, was not the only hero in that battle. A group of 10 soldiers was in charge of defending one of the doors in the homemade fortress when a huge and powerful Caxcán suddenly burst in, so big that no one dared go even near him.

“In the room,” said Francisco, “was Doña Beatriz Hernández. She was dressed in armor with a machete in her belt. Pulling it out, Beatriz walked right up to the warrior and slashed at his throat. The huge man crashed to the ground, and Beatriz finished him off. This was the moment she got her reputation for being feisty and brave and not letting anyone tell her what to do.”

The next day, all the women and children left Tlacotán with an escort and followed the Camino Real to Tonalá, a journey of at least eight hours. A certain number of Spaniards stayed on, waiting for the arrival of the Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, with thousands of friendly indígenas who would finish off the rebellious ones.

From Tonalá, soldiers explored the Valle de Atemajac to find a better place to reestablish Guadalajara, and a meeting took place near the present Degollado Theater.

There was much disagreement, and to end it, Cristóbal de Oñate pulled out his knife and drove it into a tree, declaring that this would be the location of the new Guadalajara, in the name of the king. Still, the arguing continued until Doña Beatriz stood up and said, “El rey es mi gallo [I stand by the king — a quote from Don Quijote], and we are staying here for better or for worse!”

“You heard the lady,” said Oñate, and that ended the discussion. And that’s why you’ll find a prominent statue of Beatriz in the very center of Guadalajara, at the southeast corner of the Teatro Degollado.

The lonely monument to Guadalajara’s third incarnation stands tall on a wind-swept plain 17 kilometers northeast of the modern city.

Should you ever find yourself wandering about the barren mesa north of this city, with nothing much to do, you can easily visit the monument to the third incarnation of Guadalajara by asking Google Maps to take you to “QRRV+GR Trejos, Jalisco.” Don’t let the pandemic stop you: I’m sure it won’t be crowded.

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.

View of the Oblatos Canyon and the Santiago River.

Today nothing remains of the third Guadalajara with its cathedral and plaza. — Today nothing remains of the third Guadalajara and its cathedral and plaza.

Morena lawmakers want animal rights enshrined in constitution

By

MND Staff

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April 9, 2021

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Deputy Lorenia Iveth Valles has introduced the draft constitutional reform.

The ruling Morena party is seeking to enshrine the rights of animals in the constitution on the grounds that they, like humans, are able to perceive and feel things.

A draft constitutional reform put forward by Deputy Lorenia Iveth Valles Sampedro proposes that the state consider animals as “sentient beings” with rights.

The state, therefore, “will adopt the necessary provisions to guarantee their protection, well-being, decent and respectful treatment [and] responsible guardianship and promote a culture of care [for animals],” the proposed reform states.

If the proposal passes Congress, governments at the federal, state and municipal level would have to enact laws that protect animals’ rights and well-being.

Valles, who represents an electoral district in Hermosillo, Sonora, also presented in the lower house of Congress a draft constitutional reform that would oblige the state to establish veterinary hospitals for domestic animals.

“With this initiative, we’re not seeking to make a heap of regulations … but rather establish the base through which the state will really look out for the protection of domestic animals or pets,” the proposal states.

In emphasizing the need to ensure animals’ access to veterinary medicine, the draft reform notes that the poor health of an animal can affect its owner’s well-being. It also notes that some diseases can be transmitted from animals to humans.

“… [The obligation] to attend to the health of domestic animals or pets must be expressed in the constitution,” the proposal states.

Such a reform requires the support of at least two-thirds of lawmakers to pass Congress. Morena and its allies have a slim two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies but only have a simple majority in the Senate.

The makeup of the lower house will change later this year as all 500 seats are up for grabs at elections on June 6.

Source: El Universal (sp)