Gay pageant winner tortured and assassinated in Veracruz

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July 25, 2018

Roll out the barrels, it's grape harvest time. — Roll out the barrels, grape harvest time is coming.

Mexico’s wine-producing regions are gearing up for celebrations to mark the beginning of the annual grape harvest season, giving wine-lovers a great excuse to check out the source of their favorites.

Vineyards in Aguascalientes, Baja California, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Zacatecas will all hold events during their annual harvest, known in Spanish as la vendimia.

Concerts, festivals, dinners, bullfights, wine tastings and guided tours of vineyards are some of the events that will be on offer.

In Aguascalientes, the festivities kick off this weekend with Fiesta de la Vendimia 2018, in which three local vineyards will participate.

The event will be held at Hacienda San Luis de Letras, 17 kilometers north of the state capital in the municipality of Pabellón de Arteaga.

Attendees will be able to tour the vineyard, see the winemaking process in action and sample local red and white wines.

In Baja California, home to Mexico’s most famous wine region — Valle de Guadalupe — L.A. Cetto and Bodegas de Santo Tomás will hold vendimia events on August 11 and 18 respectively.

Both will feature wine tastings, food and music but the former event costs a hefty 6,100 pesos (US $326) to enter while the latter is free.

Mexico and the Americas’ oldest vineyard, Casa Madero in Coahuila’s Parras Valley, will hold its famous harvest event on August 9.

As usual the celebration will start with a religious ceremony followed by a traditional dance and will conclude with a dinner featuring dishes prepared by acclaimed chef Geoffroy Maillard. Dinner courses will be paired with local wines.

Another vendimia event will be held in Coahuila at the Rivero González winery on August 18.

In Chihuahua, Vinos Encinillas will hold a harvest party in the middle of next month while in Guanajuato, one of the most anticipated vendimia events of the Bajío region will be held at the Cuna de Tierra winery in Dolores Hidalgo.

The latter celebration will take place on August 25 and features a dinner with matched food and wine. A table for 10 costs 22,000 pesos (US $1,200).

Vineyards in Querétaro, especially well known for their sparkling wines, will also join in the harvest celebrations.

Finca Sala Vivé by Freixenet México will hold a three-day event from August 3 to 5 featuring live music, food and, of course, plenty of wine. Entrance is a more reasonable 400 pesos (US $21).

Finally, Zacatecas is not missing out on the fun either.

Located just a 25-minute drive away from the state capital, the Tierra Adentro winery will hold its annual vendimia party on August 25.

The event will feature wine tastings paired to a degustation menu and tours of the vineyard and wine-making facilities.

The state’s symphony orchestra will be on hand to entertain guests and is slated to play a tribute to British rock band Queen.

To quaffers and teetotalers alike: happy vendimia, have fun, stay safe and salud!

Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)

Treasure trove of Mayan cave paintings discovered in Yucatán

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July 25, 2018

Cave paintings discovered in Yucatán. — Cave paintings called an important find.

A team of archaeologists has discovered a treasure trove of Mayan cave paintings in Yucatán, which likely make the cavern the most significant of its kind in the state.

Led by Sergio Grosjean Abimerhi, the team found the cave at a depth of 12 meters in jungle located in the east of Yucatán.

The paintings are on a rock that is approximately 15 meters wide by five meters high.

“It’s not the only cave with paintings in Yucatán but it is the most important because they have many elements: birds, mammals, a cross, geometric figures, human forms and among those that of a warrior as well as [prints made with] the front and back of hands,” Grosjean said.

The director of the Mexican Institute of Ecology, Science and Culture — a non-governmental organization that conducts environmental and cultural investigations — said that like cave paintings found in other parts of Yucatán, the newly discovered artwork “shows the high degree of evolution of the Mayan culture.”

Grosjean explained that the colors of the paintings are derived from a wide range of natural pigments and other materials such as red earth, which is known in the local Mayan language as k’ankab.

He added that neither the age of the paintings nor their exact significance has yet been determined but stressed “they’re the most important we have seen.”

In the coming days the team Grosjean leads will return to the cave with archeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to carry out further identification work.

“At the moment, we can’t reveal the exact location [of the cave] because unfortunately in Yucatán, the looters and vandals are one step ahead of us,” Grosjean said.

However, if permission is granted by authorities, the site could open to the public in the future and create employment for local residents, he explained.

“It can’t remain hidden . . . It should be opened [to the public] with all the security regulations that a place with so much cultural value must have,” the archaeologist said before he fired a broadside at Mexican authorities.

“Yucatán is rich culturally speaking, but unfortunately there is no interest from the three levels of government. They don’t value or respect the sacred Mayan sites, they’ve turned some of them into balnearios [water parks],” Grosjean said, referring to cenotes or sinkholes, which Mayans considered to be entrances to the underworld.

The archaeologist also lamented that foreign organizations and media outlets, such as National Geographic with which he has collaborated, are often more interested in promoting new discoveries than their Mexican counterparts.

“Sometimes there is no interest [in Mexico], not even in the media. They don’t realize that these places are world heritage [sites], Grosjean said.

He said he was confident that Yucatán could become the world’s underworld mecca, which would create thousands of jobs and encourage putting an end to water pollution, but added that the new government that assumes office later this year would have to be on board.

“I hope that the new authorities have the same vision and take advantage of the potential and cultural wealth of Yucatán . . .”

Source: EFE (sp)

Pinturas rupestres en cuevas de Yucatán

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Ecoshell has been converting corncobs into plastic alternative for 10 years

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July 25, 2018

Ecoshell's plant in the state of México.

Although little has been done to encourage green alternatives and consumers prefer cheaper and well-known non-biodegradable options, a México state-based firm has been successfully producing corncob-based plastics for a decade.

Ecoshell was born in a classroom while founder Carlos Camacho was completing the fourth semester of his industrial engineering course.

“Corn has properties that are very similar to those of plastic, and we found that it was a product that could compete in cost and quality and offer a sustainable alternative to plastic,” the entrepreneur told the newspaper El Financiero.

Camacho’s process crushes corncobs and mixes them with a starch-based biopolymer. The resulting substance is melted down and small pellets are obtained. These can be used to fabricate bags, cups and many other bioplastic-based products and utensils.

The resulting eco-friendly products are also microwave-safe. Depending on how they are disposed of, they can last between 90 and 240 days.

One of Ecoshell’s first clients was Walmart, which currently purchases 300 boxes of its product every week. Other clients are supermarkets Chedraui and Superama, chain drug stores Farmacias San Pablo, restaurants including Olive Garden and Wings and hotel chains One Fiesta Americana and Mayan Palace.

To keep up with demand Ecoshell requires 2,000 tonnes of corncobs per month, which are transformed into 10 to 15 million products in the firm’s México state factory.

Ecoshell’s strongest market is domestic: it operates nine distribution centers and 18 warehouses throughout the country. The company also exports to the United States, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Chile, and is preparing to enter the European market.

“If one compares, foam plastic is cheap and has been in the market for a long time; people are used to it and it’s not easy for them to opt for an ecological product. Biodegradable products make up 2% of the disposable utensil market,” said Camacho.

The government has fallen behind, he said, and there are no incentives for environmentally-friendly products. On the other hand, Querétaro, Veracruz and recently Guadalajara have made more advances, he added.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Science council to create research center out of white elephant in Tlaxcala

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July 25, 2018

Plaza Bicentenario, from white elephant to research and innovation center. — Plaza Bicentenario in the city of Tlaxcala.

An ambitious cultural project in Tlaxcala that was abandoned in a quarrel between two governors will get a new lease on life.

The National Council for Science and Technology (Conacyt) has come to the rescue, while at the same time breathing new life into the state’s education, science and industry sectors.

The 400-million-peso (US $34 million at the time) Plaza Bicentenario was a project of National Action Party Governor Héctor Ortíz, whose term ran from 2005 until 2011. But after Institutional Revolutionary Party candidate Mariano González succeeded him as governor, the project was all but abandoned.

The last time the 10,000-square-meter complex of theaters, exhibition halls and amphitheaters was used was for Ortíz’s final report as governor in 2011.

In the intervening years the white edifice has fallen prey to the elements and vandalism.

Conacyt said the facility will become the Tlaxcala State Center for Technological Research and Innovation, or Citlax for short.

The cultural facilities are to be modified to house top scientific infrastructure and encourage a collaborative relationship with several industrial firms in the central Mexico state.

Conacyt will operate five research centers in a collaborative effort that will benefit science, technology and innovation.

One of the goals of Citlax is to consolidate Tlaxcala’s human resources and link them with the automotive, chemical and textile industries.

Governor Marco Mena said Citlax will propel education by allowing top researchers from around the country to interact with teachers and students from Tlaxcala.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Four robbery suspects lynched in Tabasco

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Tony Richards

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July 25, 2018

Signs such as this have appeared in several communities to warn criminals they will be lynched if caught.

Four men were lynched yesterday in Tabasco, presumably for stealing a motorcycle.

Police were alerted to the incident after receiving a call that three bodies had been found hanging from a tree in Arroyo Hondo, Macuspana.

A fourth body was found on a road near the scene of the hanging. The man of about 40 appeared to have been dragged for some distance along the road and beaten. The other three men were aged between 16 and 30.

The state government issued a statement reminding the public that everyone has a right to be judged and sentenced by a competent authority, and that those who take justice into their own hands by lynching are responsible for intentional homicide and must answer to the charge.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Driller accuses government of collusion with Pemex over contract corruption

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July 25, 2018

A Mexican oilfield services company has accused the federal government of using the Attorney General’s office (PGR) to intimidate and destroy it through a criminal investigation.

In an open letter published in The New York Times, Oro Negro charged that an embezzlement probe against it was launched in retaliation for refusing to pay bribes to the state oil company Pemex in order to obtain contracts.

The company said the accusation that it embezzled funds it received from private investors which it should have used to pay bondholders — as charged by the PGR — is “frivolous, lacks foundation and is a manifestation of the permanent campaign [of the government of] Mexico to harass, persecute and destroy Oro Negro.”

The company claimed that Pemex conspired with bondholders to cancel its contracts for oil platforms it operated so that the latter could take over the rigs and negotiate their own agreements with the state-owned company.

Signed by a lawyer for the company and American and European shareholders, the letter also said that Oro Negro has recordings of high-ranking former Pemex officials in which they admit that their company was seeking to destroy Oro Negro because it refused to pay bribes.

In turn, Pemex said in a statement yesterday that Oro Negro’s claims are unfounded and that any recordings should be submitted to authorities so that their authenticity can be assessed.

It also questioned why the information hadn’t been made public earlier.

Pemex refuted Oro Negro’s claim that it had been “destroyed” because it had been locked out of the oil exploration market for refusing to pay bribes.

“The facts refute that version [of events] because in 2016 and 2017 Pemex offered the same terms to Oro Negro as it did to many other suppliers of oil platforms,” the statement said.

“. . . The other companies accepted the terms set by Pemex while Oro Negro decided not to . . . Pemex denies any discrimination against Oro Negro.”

The statement also said that “Pemex will continue to defend itself from the unfounded claims against it and against the Mexican government . . . because in good faith and within its legal rights, it sought to renegotiate its contracts with Oro Negro . . . after the slowing down of the petroleum market.”

Oro Negro, the state oil company said, “took the unilateral decision to reject Pemex’s terms and decided to initiate the process to declare itself bankrupt.”

In addition, it said that “Pemex is of the firm belief that Oro Negro is deploying a strategy in international media to compensate for a series of strategic errors that said company has committed and because of the deficiencies in its legal case against Pemex.”

Oro Negro initiated legal action against Pemex last month for the unfair and unlawful treatment it alleges it received and, according to the public letter, United States shareholders are seeking at least US $700 million in damages while European shareholders are claiming US $300 million in compensation.

“Mexico frequently shows no respect for the rule of law and uses all its organs, including agencies responsible for enforcing the law, at its discretion and to destroy those who refuse to participate in corruption,” the letter charged.

The state oil company said it will defend itself in Mexican and international courts “with full confidence that the result of the legal process will be favorable to it.”

Source: Animal Político (sp), Milenio (sp), El Economista (sp), Forbes (sp)

Late diagnosis of violin spider bite could cost baby his toes

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July 25, 2018

Doctors in Nayarit believe they have saved a 10-month-old baby’s leg after he was bitten by a violin spider.

Kevin Cataño was bitten last weekend in Acaponeta but his condition was not diagnosed until a discoloration of the skin appeared on several parts of his body, which was later diagnosed as necrosis.

At that point doctors at a clinic in Acaponeta began to suspect a spider bite and transferred the child to a hospital in Tepic. As he was being admitted, the boy suffered a seizure and cardiac arrest.

When it was determined that the bite was that of a violin spider doctors sought help from the the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks (Cofepris) to obtain the necessary antidote, which was donated by the pharmaceutical laboratory Silanes.

The boy’s condition started to improve following administration of the antidote and despite an early assessment that the boy’s left leg would have to be amputated, physicians say the limb has been saved.

The only current risk is that he will lose his toes.

Medical staff have done more than treat Kevin for the bite.

Doctor Daniel Balderas said several of his colleagues have not only given their time but the money to pay for the medicine needed in their patient’s treatment.

He said the antidote had been sought in both Mexico and the United States but proved hard to find.

“. . . nobody had it, it’s not being produced. We were told that a synthetic antidote is in development, but for the time being hospitals . . . will have to resort to an alternative corticoid and dapsone-based treatment.”

The violin spider is also known as the brown recluse spider.

Source: El Universal (sp)

People and pelicans suffer under Baja California heat wave

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July 25, 2018

A hot day in Baja California. — Hot weather in Baja California.

A sweltering heat wave in Baja California has cost the lives of seven people and temperatures are expected to remain above 30 C for the foreseeable future.

Three migrating pelicans also succumbed to the heat.

According to the state Health Secretariat, six people died of heat stroke in the capital city of Mexicali, while another died of heat exhaustion in Tecate.

Most of victims had been under direct sunlight at a time when the thermometers reached 38 C.

“With these deaths we have reached last year’s total of deaths caused by heat,” said a health official.

Hot weather has sent 29 people to hospital for heat-related illnesses: 15 suffered heat stroke, 13 suffered heat exhaustion and one person was admitted with severe sunburn.

The intense heat wave has sent the temperature dangerously close to 50 C in Mexicali, and not even a migrant bird species has had a respite.

Yesterday, 10 pelicans migrating south from the Salton Sea in California were beaten by the heat before they made it to the Sea of Cortés.

The 911 emergency line received reports of pelicans lying on the streets, triggering a deployment of federal environmental officials.

The birds were found dehydrated, and three had died. The remaining seven were transported to a local zoo were they are expected to recover fully.

Health and Civil Protection authorities throughout the state have warned the public to stay indoors as much as possible as a preventive measure.

Temperatures are expected to remain high but well below 40 C: highs around 32 C are expected around the state. Still, authorities warn people to remain hydrated and avoid performing exhausting exercises.

Source: Milenio (sp), La Jornada (sp)

New stock exchange begins trading, breaking a 43-year monopoly

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July 25, 2018