Masts and sails back in ship-shape, the Cuauhtémoc has returned to Mexico for the first time since its tragic accident in May. (SEMAR)
The Cuauhtémoc — a training ship for the Mexican Navy that doubles as a vessel of goodwill — has returned to Mexico for the first time since a May crash into the Brooklyn Bridge that killed two naval cadets and left at least 19 others injured.
The tall ship arrived Sunday morning to cheering crowds waving Mexican flags along the pier in Cozumel, Quintana Roo.
🌊⚓ ¡Bienvenido a #Cozumel, Buque Escuela “Cuauhtémoc”!
Con orgullo y alegría recibimos a “El Embajador y Caballero de los Mares”, símbolo de disciplina, honor y amor por México.
Que esta visita inspire a más jóvenes a seguir navegando con valentía y pasión por nuestra patria.… pic.twitter.com/SHJTO9MDCs
Mayor José Luis Chacón Méndez and his wife led the welcoming ceremony for the crew of 167 cadets and three officers who departed from New York’s Pier 86 a month ago to resume their training voyage.
Before departure, it had successfully completed a series of sea tests.
The ship, which has circumnavigated the globe four times, will remain in Cozumel until Nov. 7 for public tours and events, including a parade Wednesday. A farewell ceremony is planned for Friday at the Punta Langosta pier.
Officials said the Cuauhtémoc will then continue its training cruise, calling next at Progreso, Yucatán; Heroica Veracruz, Veracruz; and Acapulco, Guerrero.
The ship is nicknamed “El Caballero de los Mares,” or “The Knight of the Seas.”
Officially known as the ARM Cuauhtémoc, it had been undergoing repairs and inspection in New York for more than five months after striking the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge.
After being docked in New York for five days of public viewing, the ship left Pier 17 on the night of May 17, intending to leave the harbor. But the ship’s three masts, measuring more than 48 meters, hit the base of the bridge, which has a clearance of 41.1 meters.
All three masts collapsed while cadets were standing in ceremonial formation, killing América Yamileth Sánchez Hernández, 20, and Adal Jair Maldonado Marcos, 23.
Other cadets were left dangling, and 19 to 22 others of the 277 on board were injured, according to reports.
Damage to the vessel was estimated at over US $500,000, according to the newspaper El Economista.
Authorities confirmed the vessel was under a New York harbor pilot’s control when its speed unexpectedly increased to nearly 6 knots in reverse, and the tops of its masts struck the bridge.
Mexico’s Naval Ministry (Semar) pledged that the investigation into the crash would be conducted “with total transparency and responsibility.”
At this stage, no definitive cause has been established and no official report has been issued. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in June that the investigation is ongoing.
According to U.S. officials, orders from the harbor pilot were given in English, translated into Spanish and relayed through several crew members — a process under scrutiny.
The 270-crew, 90.5-meter sailing vessel launched in 1982 in Bilbao, Spain. It serves to train cadets of the Heroic Naval Military School in navigation, leadership and teamwork.
On April 6, the ship set sail from Acapulco on a 254-day mission to “exalt the seafaring spirit, strengthen naval education and carry the Mexican people’s message of peace and goodwill to the seas and ports of the world,” according to Semar.
Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo made a name for himself for his hardline stance against organized crime. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro.com)
The mayor of Uruapan, the second largest city in Michoacán and the hub of the state’s lucrative avocado industry, was assassinated on Saturday night during a Day of the Dead event in the city’s main square.
Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, who won the mayorship of Uruapan as an independent candidate and had urged President Claudia Sheinbaum to ramp up the fight against organized crime, was shot at the Festival de las Velas (Festival of Candles) in the center of Uruapan, a city of some 350,000 people that is known for violence.
The brazen murder took place in Uruapan’s main plaza during Day of the Dead festivities. One of the suspected attackers was killed and two others were detained. (Special/Cuartoscuro.com)
Manzo, 40, died from his wounds at the Fray Juan de San Miguel Hospital in Uruapan, Michoacán Attorney General Carlos Torres Piña said in a video message.
The mayor, a former federal deputy for the Morena party who assumed the mayorship of Uruapan in September 2024, was shot seven times, according to officials. Gunshots can be heard ringing out in footage filmed in Uruapan’s plaza principal. Videos also showed paramedics attending to the mayor after he was shot in an attack that triggered chaotic scenes in the crowded square.
Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said that the assailant was shot dead at the scene of the crime and the murder weapon — which had allegedly been used to commit other attacks — was recovered. Two other people were arrested in connection with the attack, in which a Uruapan councilor, Víctor Hugo de la Cruz, was injured.
Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch told a press conference on Sunday that Manzo had had a security detail since last December. Fourteen members of the National Guard as well as trusted municipal police officers were tasked with protecting the mayor, García Harfuch said.
Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo holds up his young son Saturday night shortly before he was felled by gunshots at a Day of the Dead event in his city’s central square. (X)
He said that authorities were interviewing witnesses of the attack and would review security camera footage.
The security minister didn’t cite a motive for the murder, but pledged that “no line of investigation” would be ruled out as authorities seek to get to the bottom of “this cowardly act that took the mayor’s life.”
“… There will be no impunity,” said García Harfuch.
In a social media post on Sunday morning, she wrote:
“Today I convened the security cabinet to guarantee support for Michoacán and ensure that there is no impunity. The territorial commanders of the army and the National Guard were in communication with the mayor and he had federal protection.”
Yesterday in Mexico, narcos murdered the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Carlos Manzo, a critic of Claudia Sheinbaum’s leftist government. pic.twitter.com/vGdNBnZoUt
Two other mayors were killed this year in Michoacán, Mexico’s seventh most violent state in the first nine months of 2025 in terms of total homicides.
Various crime groups operate in the state, including the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Cárteles Unidos, an alliance made up of several organizations. Those two groups use drones and land mines in their fight against authorities and each other. Both have received military training from former Colombian soldiers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Extortion against avocado and lime farmers is a major problem in Michoacán, while the state is home to the Pacific coast port city of Lázaro Cárdenas, where some of the precursor chemicals that Mexican cartels use to make fentanyl illegally enter the country. Methamphetamine is also made at clandestine drug labs in the state.
In October, the president of the Apatzingán Citrus Growers Association in Michoacán, Bernardo Bravo, was murdered.
‘The Mexican Bukele’
The slain mayor was dubbed “The Mexican Bukele” for his hardline stance against organized crime.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is credited with dramatically reducing violence in the Central American nation through his tough anti-gang policies and actions.
Manzo, who was also known as “El del Sombrero” because of his trademark cowboy hat, was known for his strong rhetoric against organized crime groups and his willingness to accompany security forces on operations against them.
His bravery was unquestionable, but the mayor — a father of young children who were also at the Festival de las Velas when he was killed — was not free of fear nor naive about the risks he faced. Manzo, who received various threats from criminal groups, once said he didn’t want to become “another one of those executed,” a reference to the many Mexican mayors who have been murdered.
“… I am very afraid, but I must face it with courage,” the Uruapan native said in an interview in September.
Manzo frequently denounced criminal groups for extorting growers of avocados and limes in Uruapan, a large municipality located west of the state capital Morelia and not far from the border with Jalisco. He even pledged to take “lethal action against local cartels,” The New York Times reported.
While he represented the ruling Morena party as a federal deputy between 2021 and 2024, as an independent mayor Manzo was critical of Sheinbaum and her administration’s efforts to combat organized crime, even though the federal government has been more prepared than its predecessor to face the cartels head-on. He advocated direct and forceful action against criminal groups, and was critical of the federal government’s security strategy, which in large part focuses on strengthening intelligence and investigation practices and addressing the root causes of crime.
“We need greater determination from the president of Mexico,” Manzo said in September.
At a public event in May, he declared that “if someone is opening fire on the civilian population, we are going to take them down.”
“And if that’s a crime, then we’ll defend ourselves in court. Or we’ll pay the price in prison,” the mayor added.
Carlos Manzo pidió apoyo para enfrentar al crimen organizado en Uruapan.
In recent months, he used the national media to issue pleas for additional help from the federal government to combat violence and extortion in Uruapan and other parts of Michoacán. On one occasion, Manzo called on Sheinbaum to deploy federal forces to “clean the mountains of the people who are killing and extorting avocado growers and killing children.”
He said that the municipal police force in Uruapan was unable to match the immense firepower of organized crime groups, but he still instructed Uruapan officers to take up the fight against them, and even accompanied them on dangerous missions — a bulletproof vest strapped to his chest.
“I go out in front heading the operations that have to be done,” Manzo said in a television interview earlier this year.
“I could be at home, scared and hiding under the bed but I go out in front and have been in shootouts where we fight the delinquents,” he said, explaining that “you have to preach by example.”
The Uruapan municipal police had some success in their fight against organized crime during Manzo’s mayorship, seizing firearms and detaining a significant number of suspects, including the alleged local leader of the CJNG, René Belmonte Aguilar, in August.
Now, however, the local police are left without the leader who urged them to fearlessly confront violent criminals, his crime-fighting crusade — and life — cut short by a flurry of bullets that took his life in the main square of Uruapan, even as residents lit candles for their loved ones who departed in years gone by.
The Honda plant in Celaya employs over 4,000 people, according to the Guanajuato state government. (File photo)
Honda was forced to suspend operations at its Celaya automotive plant in Guanajuato state on Tuesday due to a shortage of semiconductors. The plant relies on Nexperia chips manufactured in China, and recent export restrictions have thrown a wrench in their operations.
The Japanese car firm reported that it had implemented production adjustments starting Oct. 27 due to the chips shortage, which led to halting operations at its facility in Mexico’s Bajío region. The company has not set a date to recommence operations.
Export restrictions have disrupted the supply chain for semiconductor chips, an essential component of modern electronics. (Brian Kostiuk/Unsplash)
Honda relies on Nexperia’s semiconductors for its North American car manufacturing operations. The chips shortage has led Honda to reduce the production of vehicles across the continent in recent weeks.
Around 40% of Honda’s global sales are in North America, with its Celaya plant producing 200,000 units a year. The firm manufactures its best-selling model in Mexico, the HR-V SUV, at the facility.
“The situation is constantly changing, and we cannot determine a timeframe at this time. We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact,” the company stated.
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association released a statement earlier in October acknowledging that the situation “could have a serious impact on companies’ global production.”
Nexperia is one of the largest manufacturers of basic chips, such as transistors, globally, providing roughly 40% of the chips to the global automotive sector. The firm, which is owned by Chinese investors, recently reported restrictions on exports by both China and the United States.
The Dutch government took control of Nexperia, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, on Sept. 30, removing its Chinese CEO and citing national security concerns due to the suspended export of chips from China.
Automakers in both North America and Europe feared that the chip shortage could drive up car prices, as was the result of the supply chain disruptions following the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s Commerce Ministry blamed the supply chain chaos on “the Dutch government’s inappropriate interference in the company’s internal affairs.”
Hope for an end to the shortage emerged following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday, when Beijing announced plans to allow some exemptions from the export control to access the chips.
“As a responsible major country, China fully considers the security and stability of domestic and international supply chains,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in its Saturday press statement. “We will comprehensively consider the actual situation of the companies and grant exemptions to eligible exports.”
Though not as large as the Mexico City parade, the Zacatecas Day of the Dead parade drew thousands of spectators Friday night. With Veracruz state as the "guest of honor," this year's parade included marimba music and other Caribbean traditions. (Adolfo Vladimir/Cuartoscuro)
From the National Palace and the streets of Mexico City to rural Oaxaca and a lake island in Michoacán, Mexicans paid respects to their deceased loved ones and honored death with traditional Day of the Dead celebrations over the weekend. The traditional festivities, which take place primarily on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 each year, included home and public altars decked with marigolds, parades and other community events.
Costumed dancers parade alongside giant figures of the Mexica plumed serpent god, Quetzalcóatl, at Mexico City’s annual Day of the Dead parade on Saturday. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
President Claudia Sheinbaum posted a message on X that featured a video describing the Day of the Dead altar on the grounds of the National Palace and included text paying tribute to Mexico’s Indigenous female ancestors.
“The National Palace altar is filled with flowers, colors, song and fire,” Sheinbaum wrote in an online tribute message. “Each marigold petal marks the path of return for those women who sowed life in their passage through the earth.… Our offering is for them: for their strength, their wisdom, and their infinite love. Ancestors of all Mexican women and men.” (Presidencia)
Residents of Soledad Etla, a village of roughly 3,500 people north of Oaxaca city, carried out their traditional “muerteada” (Day of the Dead celebration). Costumed residents accompanied by brass bands paraded through the town’s neighborhoods on Saturday night, dancing until dawn.
Residents of Soledad Etla in Oaxaca danced the night away in Halloween-esque costumes, part of the town’s traditional “muerteada” festivities. (Carolina Jiménez Mariscal/Cuartoscuro)
The tiny island village of Janitzio (population 3,000) sitting in the middle of Lake Patzcuaro in the western state of Michoacán has long been a popular place to experience traditional Day of the Dead rituals that date back to the time of the Purépecha, the Indigenous group native to the state.
Anoche fui a los panteones de Tzintzuntzan, Janitzio y Pacanda. Los familiares pasan la noche junto a sus muertos, entre flores, veladoras, ofrendas y música. Para alguien que creció viendo la muerte con tanta solemnidad, es increíble ver esta otra forma de honrar la vida. pic.twitter.com/NKgFqJwVFw
The lake was illuminated with candles and butterfly-shaped nets, like an aquatic dance symbolizing the return of the souls to the world of the living, as per Purépecha beliefs.
Participants arrived to Janitzio by boat last week carrying items for setting up altars. After a candlelight procession from Patzcuaro on the mainland to the island, families spent Saturday night among the graves in the cemetery.
A Puebla family gathers in a Tlacotepec cemetary to spend the night remembering deceased loved ones. (Mireya Novo/Cuartoscuro)
Families opened their homes to visitors and lit candles in honor of recently deceased loved ones. Visitors strolled past monumental altars dedicated to family members who passed away this year, displaying items their loved ones enjoyed in life. Visitors presented candles to provide light to the family and in return received sweets, liquor and food.
Residents of Malinalco, a designated Pueblo Mágico in México state, opened their homes to visitors to share ornate altars in honor of family members who passed away this year. Visitors bring a candle to light in memory the deceased and receive a candy or small treat in exchange. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
In Mexico City, a new tradition was begun with a Xoloitzcuintle dog parade on Madero Street in the Historic Center. Pre-Columbian peoples believed the hairless dog to be a guardian that helped those who died on their journey to Mictlán (the underworld). Once in the main square, the Xolos posed for photos with onlookers and showed off their best costumes.
A new tradition was perhaps born in Mexico City, where costumed xoloitzcuintle dogs and their owners organized a small parade of their own on Sunday. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)
The NBA rolled into town last weekend, and brought major league basketball with a distinctly Mexican flavor. (Dallas Mavericks/X)
The NBA arena’s hardwood floor featured a Día de Muertos skull. Mariachi music blasted from the auditorium speakers and multiple Dr. Simi mascots wearing NBA jerseys danced among fans in the crowd.
That was the scene this past Saturday when the Detroit Pistons clashed against the Dallas Mavericks at the Arena CDMX for the NBA’s annual friendly in Mexico City. The game — which featured alley-oop dunks and long-distance three-pointers — ended with the Pistons defeating the Mavs, 122-110, but less memorable than the score was the spectacle of it all.
Dallas Mavericks vs Detroit Pistons Full Game Highlights - November 1, 2025 | NBA Season
The festive energy of the NBA’s annual Mexico City game was palpable, with a sellout crowd on a weekend that played host both to the Day of the Dead and Halloween. The NBA’s yearly excursion into the Aztec center is very much a circus — its main act being not only the high-flying athletes themselves, but the actual experience of being in the building and being seen, as it were, at the popular sporting event.
There is a capitalism to it all, of course: Michelob Ultra booths (an official sponsor of the NBA); a photo op with the Emirates-endorsed NBA Cup; official New Era apparel sold especially for this one-night-only event; a WNBA Día de Muertos altar, replete with custom papel picado that spells out the names of the WNBA’s biggest stars. Even the 2026 World Cup mascots were in the building, alongside Mexican celebrities, social media influencers and former NBA players, who each added their own spice to the eclectic swirl.
Admittedly, for someone who grew up in the United States with access to such events, it isn’t particularly life-changing to get your hands on an official NBA jersey. But this game isn’t for sports fans like me. It’s for the Mexican fans who, in many cases, may only be able to attend one NBA game in their lifetime — and this was that game.
And so the level of excitement and joy, among the majority of fans was evident, as many game-goers wore whatever NBA merchandise they already owned, even if those items had no correspondence to the teams or game on the court that evening. That didn’t matter. The annual NBA Mexico Game is about passion, not specifics; it’s for those who perhaps worked an entire week or month or more for this, and, as one local fan told me, made the sacrifices needed in order to have this night of enjoyment.
The NBA delivered on their end of the bargain in terms of entertainment value. In person, the event was all about everything happening outside of the game itself: neon-lit alebrije puppets galloping around, oversized calaca heads glowing in the dark, cempasúchil headwear on performers or catching an “NBA Mexico City 2025” shirt being tossed into the stands — and looking over at your friend to confirm that you did, indeed, catch the shirt. During intermissions, videos played of American players without much knowledge of Latin America raving about street tacos and attempting to speak Spanish.
Roaming the hallways of Arena CDMX was an electric experience, and, for the majority of Mexican fans, a foreign one. It may have seemed gimmicky to someone like me, but the overwhelming number of activities — kids shooting hoops, photo booths, fan centers for each team, just to name a few — was impressive. And the arena was loud. Everyone was engaged. You could feel the “Oh my God, I’m at my first NBA game” exhilaration among children and adults alike.
The Pistons and the Mavericks did battle in the Mexican capital. (NBA)
Even as an NBA fan, I’ll be the first to admit that the league — like any globally profitable product — is a corporate entity. But I am also here to tell you that sports are one of the very few things I’ve found around the world that can bring people together, if only for a moment, despite language barriers or any demographic differences.
So I say, the more the merrier. Keep the NBA coming back to Mexico. Hell, I’d love to see a full-blown franchise here (Canada has had two, so why not its neighbor to the south?). The NBA’s steady growth in Mexico has been obvious in the past five years alone, starting with the NBA’s acquisition of the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico at the end of 2019, who played their first official season in the NBA G League in 2021. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has also constantly brought up Mexico City as a potential destination for a future expansion franchise (along with the more likely Las Vegas and Seattle).
But for now, we have this annual event. It’s fun. It’s different. And it’s imperfect — the internet wasn’t working very well in press row, much to the chagrin of many reporters and photographers behind me, and early in the game, the shot clock stopped functioning, something that I’ve never seen happen inside a U.S. venue. (The clocks were fixed at halftime by a scrambling on-court crew of workers while Mexican dancers performed to deafening music. Mexican surrealism at its finest.)
But in all, it was a Mexican experience disguised as an American sports outing. And in political times like these, I’ll take that as some kind of a win.
Alan Chazaro is the author of “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album,” “Piñata Theory” and “Notes From the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and a former Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His writing can be found in GQ, NPR, The Guardian, L.A. Times and more. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he is currently based in Veracruz.
Mexico produces over 800,000 tons of clothing waste every year, even as millions of citizens lack access to adequate clothing, the Green Party said. (Nick de Partee/Unsplash)
The Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) has introduced a bill to guarantee the right to adequate clothing, raising it to the level of rights such as health, education and housing. The proposal would create a national clothing donation program designed to reduce waste.
The proposal, championed by Congressman Ricardo Astudillo Suárez, recognizes “decent clothing” as a basic need and an essential component of social well-being, especially for individuals in extreme poverty.
Fast fashion has made new clothing cheap and easily available, but according to the Green Party, decent apparel isn’t available to some of the most vulnerable populations in Mexico. (Edgar Negrete Lira/Cuartoscuro)
In the bill’s statement of reasons, Astudillo noted that in Mexico, more than 10 million people live in extreme poverty without access to adequate clothing for certain weather conditions, work, school and more. He highlighted that the lack of appropriate clothing violates dignity and limits the exercise of other fundamental rights such as education, health and mobility.
“Dressing with dignity is not a luxury, it is a basic necessity,” Astudillo said in the bill’s announcement. “In Mexico, millions of people face conditions of poverty that prevent them from accessing clothing suitable for the weather, work, school, or daily life,” the document says.
As part of the initiative, Astudillo proposes amending Mexico’s waste management law to create a national network for collecting and redistributing clothing in good condition.
Dubbed the Solidarity Clothing program, this network would address the negative impacts of the fast fashion industry in Mexico, which according to the PVEM, results in approximately 800,000 tons of clothing being discarded annually. Under this program, Astudillo suggests that wasted garments should be recycled or donated to marginalized communities.
The clothing reuse program would require coordination between state and municipal governments, shopping centers, textile companies and civil society organizations. It also establishes that the Environment Ministry (SEDEMA) must outline technical criteria to ensure hygiene and appropriate final destinations for the collected garments, with priority given to individuals living in poverty, in vulnerable situations, or affected by emergencies.
If approved, the bill would add to the previous environmental achievements of the PVEM associated with the fast fashion industry, albeit at a local level. In June, the Commission for the Preservation of the Environment, Climate Change and Ecological Protection of Congress, approved a proposal for Mexico City’s SEDEMA to create programs for collecting used clothing for recycling and reuse.
“This is about promoting cultural and social change,” Astudillo said. “Clothing must cease to be seen as a disposable consumer good and be considered a right linked to human dignity.”
Mathletes from Oaxaca completed in an international competition in Singapore. (Cynthia Roderick)
After winning numerous math competitions in Mexico, two very capable Oaxacan youths received invitations to participate in an international math competition in Singapore. They were thrilled and honored. But how would they pay for such a trip?
The answer arrived thanks to pizza. Jairo Adair Hernández Acevedo, 19, or Ada, as he prefers to be called, and Zuriel Gómez López, or Zuri, 17, had met at a recent math competition. They were the only Oaxacans invited to participate in the Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge (SIMOC), a renowned competition held annually.
How they got to SIMOC 2025
Getting the funds to travel to Singapore in Asia was a challenge for Oaxaca’s mathletes and others from Mexico. (Cynthia Roderick)
Ada, who lives in San Andrés Huayapam, had worked in a pizza shop there until the beginning of 2025. One of his regular customers happened to be Doug Harmon, who also lives in Huayapam, and the two had become friendly. When the invitation to attend SIMOC arrived, Ada contacted Doug to discuss the competition and his idea to sell raffle tickets. He asked Doug if he and his friends would buy tickets.
Doug, unbeknownst to Ada, is President of the Oaxaca Lending Library Foundation (OLLF), which had recently initiated a scholarship program to help promising young Oaxacans. Doug asked Ada for details about the competition, and after doing some research, he decided that the youths were exactly the type of grant recipients the scholarship program was looking for.
There was just one problem: the scholarship program was relatively new and didn’t yet have sufficient funds. And time, too, was a critical factor, as the competition, scheduled for July 5-8, loomed on the horizon.
Raising money for flights and hotels
Doug looked through his contact list and began calling friends to ask for their financial support. In days, he had raised US $8,000, $6,000 of which paid for the flights and hotels.
At the same time, Ada and Zuri, who live in Espinal, near Juchitán, went to work raising money in their different locations with the help of family and friends. Zuri’s mother and sister baked carrot cakes for bake sales. And the youths received in donations for the raffles, speakers, earbuds and a session with a beautician. Zuri and his friends also conducted general tin-can, can-you-help-us fundraisers. In all, the youths garnered some 20,000 pesos (US $1080). The trip was secured!
“I really couldn’t believe this was happening,” says Zuri. Neither he nor Ada had traveled outside of Mexico, and now they were preparing for a life-changing trip to Singapore.
Traveling to Singapore
169 students from 17 Mexican states completed in the Singapore International Math Olympiad Challenge in 2025. (Cynthia Roderick)
SIMOC sent them a letter suggesting they travel with a group from Morelos, led by Blanca Estela Contreras López. In the end, her uncle, who had worked in the travel business, helped them get the lowest airfares. So indeed, getting to the Olympiad in Singapore did “take a village.”
Some 169 students from 17 Mexican states attended, along with 30 teachers and government officials. Altogether 2,380 students from 37 countries around the world joined the competition. The students competed individually and in groups, where they had to solve complex puzzles as a team. Thanks to donations from Zuri’s aunts, uncles and grandmother, Zuri’s mother, Mayra Liz López Rojas, joined Zuri on the trip.
Zuri earned a bronze medal in his group and an honorable mention for his individual performance. Ada won a silver medal in a tough category designated “Mastermind.”
“The competition was hard,” says Ada. “I met a lot of magnificent students.”
Zuri says he never realized he was good at math until his teacher at COBAO Plantel 02, El Espinal, Genaro Jiménez Jiménez, encouraged him. “He kept telling me, ‘you’re good at math,’ ’’ Zuri says, adding that Jiménez selflessly coached him through numerous competitions leading up to Singapore. He will graduate from high school in 2026.
Ada says he has always found math easy, though he was diagnosed with ADHD when he was young. “I get bored easily,” he says, explaining his restless trait. His mother doubted his math ability until she read the letter inviting him to the Olympiad. “She’s very proud of me,” he says.
Traveling abroad for such a prestigious competition has opened new vistas and opportunities for participants. (Cynthia Roderick)
Ada graduated in 2024 from COBAO 04 Tule, and today, a picture of him hangs on the school’s wall honoring its most outstanding students.
Meeting students from around the world
At the competition in Singapore, the pair most enjoyed meeting students from many different countries, including India, Iran, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand and others. English is the official language in Singapore, and Ada, who has been studying English intensively for the last year, helped some of his new friends communicate.
The youths also found Singapore fascinating. “The city is really, really beautiful,” says Zuri. “Everything is so clean. There’s no crime, and it’s safe to go out at night.”
“There are very few poor people,” Ada says. “And you don’t see any dogs on the streets. We need to take better care of life here in Mexico,” he adds. “We must work on it. If we don’t, life is not secure.”
They both say they learned a lot from the discipline of math and competing. “It was an unforgettable experience,” says Zuri. “I’m going to study and compete again next year. I’ll do better than a bronze.”
The trip “opened my view of life,” says Ada. “Now I know there are a lot of countries I can go to and enjoy.”
New plans for the future
For some of the students, the math competition is a stepping stone on the path to higher education. (Cynthia Roderick)
And their successes have encouraged them to think more about their futures. Zuri wants to study computer science and help educate the youth of Mexico. “My friends don’t know math,” he says. “Math improves your brain; it makes you more logical and rational. If the young go down, society goes down. We need to better educate the youth.”
Ada will be studying biomedical engineering at the Anáhuac University of Oaxaca in the fall. “The trip has restored my dreams,” he says. He hopes in the future to transfer to the Technological Institute of Monterrey, Mexico, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. His goal is to help people recover from serious physical challenges like the loss of a limb.
“If you want to do something in life, you must work for it, leave behind things that are bad for you, and stay focused,” Ada says. “I am really grateful to Doug. If he didn’t help us, we couldn’t go.”
Trim tabs are small surfaces connected to the trailing edge of rudders on a ship. They allow the ship to change course with tiny movements. The Oaxaca Lending Library Foundation (OLLF) Scholarship Program is privileged to have donors who see how their generosity is the trim tab in the lives of students and the future of Oaxaca.
Those interested in the scholarship program, please feel free to contact Karen Wuebbens.
Ms. Roderick’s journalism and fiction have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Maclean’s (Canada), Rambler, Red Cedar Review, MacGuffin and numerous other publications. Awards for her reporting include “Best Regional Reporting” (Associated Press), “Best Article” (National Association for Retarded Citizens) and others. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an MS in Journalism from Boston University.
Hiking the Aguascalientes Trail offers many scenic pleasures. (Matteo Volpi)
Trekking is popular in many countries. In the U.S., the Pacific Crest Trail alone draws nearly a million visitors per year. While Mexico has countless long-distance trails, very few have been developed for sports tourism.
Hikers in Aguascalientes are working to set up a properly signposted and maintained 100-kilometer trail in their state, which they call El Camino de la Asunción. A few days ago, trekkers from Jalisco gave the trail a trial run. Below is a trip report by Matteo Volpi, founder of Volpi Outdoor Gear in Guadalajara.
Flowers, turtles and St. Peter’s palm
Aguascalientes’ answer to the Joshua tree. St. Peter’s palm is perfect for a quick rest with plenty of shade. (Matteo Volpi)
Eleven members of the Guadalajara hiking group, Secta Volcánica, arrived at San José de Gracia the evening of September 12. We camped in Parque Alameda and started hiking the next morning at 6 a.m., joined by seven hikers from Aguascalientes.
Immediately, we entered a green desert with prickly-pear cacti and St. Peter’s palm, a yucca as lovely as a Joshua tree. Everything was blooming, with lots of flowers. For me, it was like a throwback to the Pacific Crest Trail. It was beautiful.
The first thing we came to was La Santa Cruz, a hill with a huge cross on top. You have to climb some stairs to get to the cross. From there, you can see a picturesque canyon in the distance. Here, I was truly impressed by the beauty of Aguascalientes.
In the other direction, you could see a small town where Mexican independence hero Miguel Hidalgo went after he lost the battle of Puente de Calderón … and where they took his army away from him. We saw this on the Independence holiday, very Mexican.
It was just at the right moment. Everything was wonderfully green. We were told it had been years since it rained so much, so it was the very best time to walk this trail.
Then we hiked to the rim of the canyon we had seen and down to the bottom. Well, there were St. Peter’s palms again, with streams flowing everywhere … and there were turtles too. I was impressed.
Yoga, birria and banda
The end of day three: camping at Rancho Ubuntu and bathing in the lake. You could feel the “trail magic.” (Matteo Volpi)
We crossed the canyon and hiked back up to the rim on the opposite side. After trekking 23 kilometers, we arrived at the town of Rincón de Romos, where they just happened to be celebrating their Feria de la Birria.
Here, the local mayor received us in this beautiful park, which has a picturesque pool. And he said, “Bienvenidos! We have some yoga mats here for you, and physiotherapists who will help you do some stretching exercises after your hike.”
“Claro que sí,” we replied. “Let’s do some stretching!” This was looking more and more like a Mexican-style trek, with all the comforts and conveniences that one could ever want.
After all this, we took a shower at a gym a couple of blocks from the park. And then, of course, we went to the main plaza to eat some of that famous birria.
They had set up a big stage where very loud banda music was playing. And there we sat, eating birria and drinking tequila. It seemed too good to be true!
The next morning, we got up at 5 a.m., and I was dead tired, but we had 23 kilometers ahead of us, so we started walking.
Vineyards and prairies
Bovine hikers enjoying the desert, just before arrival at the Santa Cruz Lookout. (Matteo Volpi)
We were now in the Valle de Aguascalientes, a very active farming region. So we went from wild nature on our first day to this agricultural environment on our second. We hiked through vineyards and fields of corn and lettuce. And it was so beautiful!
Finally, we arrived at the observatory and planetarium in the town of Tepezalá, where I slept on the roof, hoping to see some stars, but it was too cloudy. The next morning, we found ourselves walking through prairies, which, in reality, were probably abandoned crop fields.
Suddenly, we had five dogs hiking with us. Unfortunately, several of them had been rolling in something disgusting and smelled really bad. When we came to some railroad tracks, we decided to chase off the dogs. This, we succeeded in doing. But now we found that our trail was flooded.
Bushwhacking our way to Milwaukee
This forced us to start bushwhacking, and we ended up walking through unfriendly weeds that stuck to everyone’s pants like glue — except for me, as I was the only one wearing shorts. But the bushwhacking brought us to three beautiful, abandoned haciendas, where we came upon a huge walnut tree, which was just beautiful.
After 34 kilometers, we arrived at Rancho Ubuntu, which reminded me of a typical desert camping park in the U.S. Here we bathed in a nice little lake, and then I slept like a baby for the rest of the night.
The next morning, we continued hiking and came to a sign saying “Milwaukee: 6 kilometers.” This gives you an idea of what this trek was like: lots of surprises.
“Aguascalientes has everything, even a Milwaukee,” says trekker Matteo Volpi, wearing his trademark ultralight backpack, made in Guadalajara. (Matteo Volpi)
Royal treatment
We eventually found ourselves on paved roads, entering the city of Aguascalientes and walking to the cathedral. The idea was to visit the Virgin of the Assumption, after whom the trail is named.
At a certain point, the streets were closed off due to a parade that took place earlier that day. They kept it closed a little longer just for us, so we marched down the middle of the main avenue all by ourselves. They really gave us the royal treatment!
Once again, it was all very Mexican. I loved this trek!
John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 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.
It's Day of the Dead, when one of Mexico's most iconic traditions goes on full display. Here are some simple rules for enjoying the day. (Lider Empresarial)
As San Miguel de Allende adorns its doorways with iconic sun-hued cempasúchil and purple velvet flowers resembling rooster combs, the town’s hotels will reach capacity with an influx of tourists from Mexico City and the world. Many will experience the mystical allure of Día de Muertos for the first time — including my own toddler twin boys. Born in this town and carrying both Mexican and Burmese American heritage, the pressure is on for me as their foreign-born mother to deliver a memory that is both age-appropriate and resonant with their cultural roots.
But tradition isn’t a stagnant concept, nor is it merely the sum of the material objects that have been gingerly collected and preserved over generations to mark the occasion. To help me sift through what is essential for anyone who can count themselves lucky enough to be part of this year’s Día de Muertos festivities in San Miguel de Allende, I called up Nancy Hoch, the owner of the community hub Geek & Coffee for over a decade. The 39-year-old mother and San Miguel native is proudly descended from a 200-year paternal lineage that is indigenous to this area. Hoch’s father is the President of Costumbres y Tradiciones, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering and maintaining an understanding of the longstanding patrimony of San Miguel de Allende. Each year, they work to bridge the divide between locals and foreigners.
(México Ruta Magica)
Acknowledging the ‘living tradition’
“Our traditions are alive; they never died,” said Hoch. “We are not remembering anything, we’re simply living them. Unlike in say the United States, we’re not remembering something that was lost, we’re living the continuation of our traditions.”
She went on to share that Catrinas, with their extravagant flower crowns and full-length gowns, are a relatively new addition to the Day, emerging over the last hundred years or so. And so, for those wondering about the relevance or “acceptability” of stepping into the parade in elegant dress, adelante, go ahead and strut your stuff. As Hoch explained, “These are living traditions, and our kids have the right to continue building on them as much as our ancestors did.”
It’s also common on Halloween in San Miguel for gringos to gleefully dole out candy in the main square, the Jardín Allende. My own children will be there, hand in hand this year, disguised as Batman and Robin. If anyone is perplexed by these two holidays colliding, and the potential confusion it may cause for our little ones, Hoch says they’re not so different after all.
Centuries ago, during harvest festivals, farmers and their families would ask for piloncillo and other sweets to cook their pumpkins. Still today, you’ll hear the Mexican youth ask, “Dame para mi calaverita,” a hollowed-out Jack-o-Lantern in hand, hoping to carry sweetness into the following year. Hoch said this is as close to Mexican Halloween as it gets (though not to be conflated with Día de Muertos whatsoever).
“You guys can face paint, and we can trick-or-treat. It’s cool,” she laughed. “Have we modified this practice? Yes. Is it also part of our Mexican Indigenous traditions? Also, yes.”
Private vs. public: Respect the difference
Hoch says that Mexicans intentionally mark the occasion in both private and public ways. For instance, the ephemeral artistic carpet ofrendas in Centro, made of sawdust, sand, and earth, are purposefully meant to be seen and shared. But the biggest faux pas and offense a non-Miguelense can make is to go on a tour of a cemetery or the Pantheon on November 2.
Many locals say that these types of tours should be outright banned, and foreigners often struggle to walk the fine line of participation in this liminal time of year and voyeurism. Hoch wants people to heed her primary caution: “Don’t go to cemeteries on November 2 if you don’t have someone buried there. If you do not know them by name or know where that stone is, don’t go.” The day before the nationally recognized Día de Muertos, November 1, is also a particularly tender time. Grieving mothers and fathers spend it honoring children who have died.
Instead, there are plenty of other places to practice quiet contemplation, starting with your own home. If you’re hesitant to build an altar, consider befriending a local and lighting candles with them in their space. Last week, a friend of mine from Mexico City, whose daughter is the same age as my twins, welcomed us into her annual ritual of playing “La Llorona” on repeat, eating pan de muerto, sipping cardamom-spiced hot chocolate, and reciting orations while illuminating the altar for the first time during the month she’ll keep it on display. It dawned on me that, for the first time, I was saying the names of my maternal grandparents out loud to them. Even though my twins hold no personal memories of Eleanor and Edward, seeing her parents honored was comforting to my Burmese mother, as she fully immersed herself in the ways of her host country.
No permission, no picture
(Eneas de Troya/Wikimedia)
In the Instagram era, taking photos is a hot topic in general, especially for protective and concerned parents and families. I was mortified when Nancy told me that last year, a 20-something social media “influencer” removed a photograph her father had put up of one of their departed loved ones to replace it with her own logo for a clickbait shot. Rudely awakened from his silent memorializing, he nearly spat out his tequila — I would have done much worse.
Hoch wanted me to know that the issue isn’t taking photographs so much as it is where, when, and whether or not you’ve requested explicit permission from the people you’re capturing on film. “I have an ofrenda up at Geek & Coffee, and you are welcome to take a picture of it. It’s meant to be shared,” Hoch told me. “But you are not welcome to take photos of my son placing flowers on a grave.” Categorically, photos in any cemetery are off limits. When attending a public event, such as the Día de Muertos parade, it’s worth reminding yourself to always ask permission before capturing the moment, especially if children are in the frame. It’s easy to be swept up in the extravagance, but pause to consider that heartfelt mourning and reflecting on the fragility of life are pulsing all around you. This is part and parcel of honoring the thinning of the veil with reverence and respect for the dead on their sacred day of homecoming.
Not if, but how
Generally, Mexicans are known for being generous and inclusive, particularly with their food, customs, and hospitality. They want to invite us into their vivid, ever-evolving world of dancing skeletons and petal-lined paths, delicately built so the ancestors can find their way home.
And let’s not ignore the elephant in the room about Catrina face painting: In 2023, Guadalajara native Gabriela Solís argued in this same publication that, yes, it is generally acceptable for foreigners to paint their faces (except in certain circumstances; read on for more about the historical context of her conclusion). Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where you come from on Día de Muertos, as we are all marching toward the same eventuality. What lives on or emerges from the inevitably expanding tradition of opening our doors, streets, and hearts to the return of our loved ones’ spirits will be shaped by past, present, and future.
As a culturally complex family, we aren’t religious, but Nancy’s final words will resonate deeply with us throughout the upcoming weekend: “Everybody loves the idea of being remembered. At the end of the day, we all hope somebody’s gonna put our picture up.”
Simone Jacobson is a Burmese American cultural connector, toddler twin mama and writer based in San Miguel de Allende. By day, she is the Content Director for Well Spirit Collective. In all other moments, she strives to raise compassionate children who never lose their curiosity, tenderness and radiant light. Read more by Simone here.
