Detail of one of the recovered Codices of San Andrés Tetepilco. The document, made of amate bark paper, shows the inventory of a church in the colonial town of San Andrés Tetepilco, located in modern-day Mexico City. (INAH)
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has announced the recovery of three codices created by Indigenous scribes between 400 and 450 years ago and containing valuable details about the history of Mexico.
With colorful pictographs and other information, the codices shed light on the story of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Mexica empire upon which modern Mexico City was built.
The codices can be considered a continuation or supplement to the Boturini Codex, which describes the migration of Nahua peoples to central Mexico in the precolonial period. That codex is located in Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology. (Wikimedia Commons)
Because they had remained in the possession of a family for generations, these codices had gone virtually unseen by anyone for ages.
“It is as if a Rembrandt or a Velázquez appeared today,” said María Castañeda de la Paz, a researcher at the Anthropological Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “It’s extraordinary.”
He said it was “a wonder that, after several centuries, new, very interesting and very beautiful materials continue to appear that enrich the national cultural heritage.”
The documents are known as the Codices of San Andrés Tetepilco and can be considered a continuation of the Boturini Codex, which depicts the migration of the Nahua peoples, including those who would become the Mexica (Aztecs) from Aztlán, said to be where the Mexica originated.
The codices were created in the late 1500s and early 1600s by tlacuilos (chronicler scribes) in the town of San Andrés Tetepilco, located in what is now the borough of Iztapalapa in southeastern Mexico City.
“It is as if a Rembrandt or a Velázquez appeared today,” said María Castañeda de la Paz, a researcher at the Anthropological Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. “It’s extraordinary.”
The largest one, the Tira de Tetepilco, tells the history of Tenochtitlán from its founding in the 1300s, providing details about its rulers in pre-Columbian times, the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in 1519 and the colonial period through the arrival of viceroy Juan de Mendoza y Luna in 1603.
Another codex is an inventory of the church of San Andrés Tetilco. It is made of two sheets of amate paper glued together, on which a white layer of lime was applied.
A final codex contains historical and geographic information related to San Andrés Tetepilco itself.
The codices contain paintings from Indigenous traditions as well as texts in Nahuatl and Spanish, written in the Latin alphabet, making it part of the tradition of “mixed” codices.
María Castañeda recalled being invited to a private home in Mexico City some 15 years ago for a first look at the artifacts, which left her breathless.
The family, which wishes to remain anonymous, eventually turned them over to the government, but only after various entities committed to the conservation and preservation of Mexican cultural heritage helped raise 9.5 million pesos (US $566,500) as payment, according to an INAH press release.
INAH described the acquisition as a milestone comparable to the authentication of the Mayan Codex of Mexico six years ago.
These three “new” documents are among some 200 Mesoamerican codices out of approximately 550 that are recognized in the world. Henceforth, the artifacts will remain in the public domain, protected in a vault in the National Library of Anthropology and History in Mexico City.
Over 220,000 Venezuelans entered Mexico irregularly last year. Many have remained in Mexico after frustrated attempts to get into the United States. (Cuartoscuro)
Mexico has reached an agreement with Venezuela to repatriate nationals of the South American nation, Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said Thursday.
There are currently between 4,000 and 5,000 Venezuelan migrants “stranded in Mexico, mostly in the city of Tijuana,” according to a Reuters report, while over 220,000 nationals of the beleaguered country entered Mexico irregularly in 2023, government data shows.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena at a meeting with Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro in October.(SRE/Cuartoscuro)
They are among nationals of various countries who recently fled poverty and violence in their homelands and traveled to Mexico with the hope of entering the United States — via or between official ports of entry.
Speaking at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s morning press conference, Bárcena said that Mexico has reached a so-called “Vuelta a la Patria” (Return to the Homeland) agreement with Venezuela to deport an unspecified number of Venezuelans.
She said that the federal government is also “making deals” with Venezuelan and Mexican companies to provide employment opportunities for the deported migrants. Bárcena said that the government has already reached agreements with Venezuelan beverages company Polar and two Mexican firms with operations in Venezuela, baker Bimbo and Coca-Cola bottler Femsa.
The foreign minister said that the Mexican government will also provide the deportees with a monthly stipend of around US $110 for six months.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena speaks at the president’s morning press conference in Oaxaca on Thursday. (SRE/X)
“We have just signed an agreement with Venezuela, with the President Nicolás Maduro, it’s called Vuelta a la Patria. We’re sending Venezuelans back to their country,” Bárcena said, explaining that Mexico doesn’t have the capacity to accommodate the large number of Venezuelan migrants in the country.
“… There is an incentive for them to return,” she added.
Bárcena said that the government is in the process of making similar agreements with other countries including Colombia and Ecuador.
“This is a project to support the returnees … [so that] they don’t migrate again, so they stay [in their countries of origin],” she said.
Migrants face off with soldiers at the border near Ciudad Juárez. (Cuartoscuro)
Bárcena also said the government has a “pact with 50 Mexican companies” to provide 10,000 jobs to migrants in Mexico. That was apparently a reference to a program launched last month under which companies such as Amazon, Chedraui, Bimbo and Walmart are set to employ migrants.
On Thursday morning, Bárcena also spoke about Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), a controversial immigration law in Texas that briefly went into force on Tuesday before a federal U.S appeals court issued an order that prevented its enforcement.
“It’s a profoundly unconstitutional law,” she said of SB 4, which allows state authorities in Texas to detain undocumented migrants and people suspected of crossing the border illegally.
“The migration issue is a federal one. We’re not going to permit [this] action from Texas,” Bárcena said.
After the law took effect on Tuesday, the Mexican government said it would not accept repatriations of migrants by the state of Texas “under any circumstances” and asserted its “legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States.”
On Thursday, Bárcena said that the government, via its consulates in Texas, is prepared to assist Mexicans who experience any problems as a result of the application of SB 4, whose future enforcement currently hinges on the decision of a federal court in Louisiana.
Mexico's central bank dropped the nation's benchmark interest rate to 11% in response to reductions in inflation. (Cuartoscuro)
The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) voted to cut Mexico’s benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 11% on Thursday, making its first reduction to borrowing costs in over three years.
Four members of Mexico’s central bank’s governing board, including Banxico Governor Victoria Rodríguez, voted in favor of the 25-basis-point cut while one member voted to keep the key rate at a record-high 11.25%.
Inflation has overall eased for Mexicans, with a consistent decline between February and October of last year and another recent drop from 4.88% to 4.40% last month. The central bank wants to lower inflation to 3%. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
The reduction came a year after the board raised the benchmark rate to 11.25%, concluding a 21-month tightening cycle during which a total of 15 hikes — totaling 725 basis points — were made.
In a statement announcing the reduction, Banxico said that its board acknowledged that a “disinflationary process” had commenced in Mexico since the last time the rate was adjusted but also “considered the challenges and risks that prevail.”
Upside risks, the central bank said, include “persistence of core inflation; foreign exchange depreciation;… [and] the intensification of geopolitical conflicts.”
With the cut, Banxico’s “monetary policy stance remains restrictive and will continue being conducive to the convergence of inflation to the 3% target in the forecast horizon,” the central bank said, adding that its board will “thoroughly monitor inflationary pressures, as well as all factors that have an incidence on the foreseen path for inflation and its expectations.”
“In the next monetary policy meetings, [the board] will make its decisions depending on available information,” Banxico added.
Inflation declined for nine consecutive months between February and October last year after hitting almost 8% in January 2023. However, the headline rate rose during three consecutive months between November and January before falling again last month.
The central bank’s decision to cut its benchmark rate on Thursday came after the United States Federal Reserve kept its rate steady at a range of 5.25%-5.5% on Wednesday. The gap between the two rates has therefore narrowed, but there was no major immediate impact on the MXN:USD exchange rate.
The peso — which has benefited from the significant difference between Banxico’s key interest rate and that of the Fed — was trading at 16.74 to the US dollar shortly after 4 p.m. Mexico City time after closing on Wednesday at 16.68.
Parents of the 43 Mexican college students, who have been missing since 2014, at a press conference they gave on March 7. (Cuartoscuro)
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday that he would meet with the parents of the 43 Mexican students who were abducted and presumably killed in the state of Guerrero in 2014, but expressed a preference for dialogue without the presence of lawyers and representatives of human rights organizations.
The parents of the 43 Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College students have been calling for a meeting with the president in recent weeks. Lopez Obrador has met with the missing students’ parents on previous occasions, as recently as last fall.
President López Obrador has accused lawyers and human rights activists of “manipulating” the parents of the Ayotzinapa 43.(Presidente.gob)
“I want to talk to [the parents],” López Obrador said at his Thursday morning press conference in Oaxaca.
Almost 10 years after their sons disappeared, there is still no certainty about what happened to the young men, despite two successive governments’ promises to get to the bottom of the case.
Speaking at his morning press conference, López Obrador said he was waiting for the parents to respond to his offer to speak to them “without the lawyers and without their advisors from the organizations that supposedly defend human rights.”
He said he would still meet with them if they insist on being accompanied by lawyers and human rights representatives, but he made clear that it wasn’t his preference.
The parents of the Ayotzinapa 43 have recently put pressure on the president to meet with them, holding demonstrations in Mexico City this month. Last week, the group met with Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
“They are older, sensible people and I want to give them information that I’m certain their lawyers and advisors haven’t given them,” the president said. “I want them to know what’s been happening with the investigation. They don’t have to end up believing me; the only thing I want is for them to know my point of view.”
There have been countless protests across Mexico since the 43 students disappeared on Sept. 26, 2014, during the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto.
Almost a decade after the tragedy, there is a growing sense that the case won’t be resolved during López Obrador’s six-year term, even though he pledged from the first days of his presidency to conduct a new investigation that would arrive at the “truth” about what happened.
The previous government’s version of events — the so-called “historical truth” — has been widely discredited by both national and international sources. Certain aspects of that version, however, such as the alleged involvement in the crime by the Guerreros Unidos gang and municipal police, do align with the López Obrador administration’s findings.
López Obrador said Thursday that authorities are searching for the missing students “like never” before, and — without offering details — asserted that progress has been made.
Despite what he described as the government’s efforts, the president said there is “a lot of hostility from the lawyers and the human rights organizations,” citing the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Organization of American States.
“There are political interests. … They’re using this regrettable case to gain an advantage, but they’re not going to gain anything at all,” said López Obrador, who took office four years after the Ayotzinapa students disappeared.
“… There are people who don’t really want justice to be served,” he said. “There are people who live off managing conflicts, who profit from human pain,” he said.
Coahuila Governor Manolo Jiménez Salinas with Magna International executives at the investment announcement on March 13. (Manolo Jimenez Salinas/X)
Magna International, a Canadian auto parts manufacturer and one of the largest in North America, will invest US $166 million to build its 11th factory in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. The plant will manufacture electrical and structural parts, such as chassis and platforms, and will create 700 jobs.
Magna International executives said the expansion plans confirm their faith in Coahuila as a sound location for investment, praising the state’s security situation, its skilled labor force, and its proximity to the U.S. market.
The state’s governor, Manolo Jiménez Salinas (left), at a Magna factory in Coahuila. (Manolo Jiménez Salinas/X)
Governor Manolo Jiménez said Magna’s venture demonstrates that Coahuila is open to any company that wishes to invest, and added that his administration takes seriously its duty to create the conditions for job creation.
“We all work to ensure that any business that sets up in Coahuila prospers, and security is a fundamental priority in achieving this,” he said, in a Milenio newspaper report on March 13. “We also prioritize dual education … which produces skilled labor while also promoting dialogue between management and labor unions.”
Dual education is a system that combines apprenticeship and vocational education in a single course of study.
Once in operation, the new Magna plant — to be located in the city of Ramos Arizpe, just 14 kilometers north of the state capital Saltillo — will boost the company’s position as one of the state’s top employers as more than 15,000 people work at its other 10 facilities in Coahuila.
Coahuila, Mexico’s third-largest state, sits across the Rio Bravo from the U.S. state of Texas. In a recent Industrial Development Index produced by Finsa, a Mexican industrial park developer, Coahuila ranked as the third-leading destination for industrial investment in Mexico. The Finsa study highlighted the productive participation in the industrial real estate market these three states have established, their export-oriented manufacturing sectors and their capacity to attract foreign investment.
A self-proclaimed leader in mobility technology, Magna has 32 manufacturing plants and employs more than 30,000 people across Mexico. Fernando Moreno, Magna’s vice president of legal services in Mexico, underscored the leading role Magna plays in the global automotive industry as a major auto parts supplier.
The reservoir is currently only at 28.7% capacity. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
The Valle de Bravo reservoir, located in the getaway destination of the same name southwest of Mexico City, is currently at its lowest level since 2016 according to the National Water Commission (Conagua).
The reservoir — officially called the Miguel Alemán Reservoir — is one of several lakes that form part of the Cutzamala System, the complex inter-basin transfer that supplies the country’s capital with approximately a quarter of its water.
At 28.7% capacity, the situation has prompted residents and service providers in Valle de Bravo to once again call on federal authorities to halt water extraction from the reservoir, at least for a few months.
“It has been weeks since the last rainfall, and the dam is not receiving any water, while large volumes continue to be drawn from it,” the owner of a floating restaurant on the lake told newspaper La Jornada.
According to residents, the water level of the dam is dropping by three to four centimeters daily and is now approximately 19 meters below its average level.
Meanwhile, newspaper Proceso reported that the dam is drying up because Mexico City has failed to fix broken pipes that waste much of its water.
Residents gathered lakeside to protest what they claim is excessive extraction from the reservoir last year. FOTO: CRISANTA ESPINOSA AGUILAR /CUARTOSCURO.COM
“If there are resources, we can begin to repair the leaks, especially in Mexico City,” Claudia Suárez, a Valle de Bravo resident, told Proceso. “Forty percent of the water that comes out of the Cutzamala System is lost in leaks. This is criminal,” she stressed.
In addition to leaks in water pipes, La Jornada reported that residents blame the uncontrolled construction of private dams and cisterns by “suspiciously rich and powerful” new neighbors for at-home use as factors that contribute to the drying up.
However, a local architect who has built many luxury homes in Valle de Bravo and who asked to remain anonymous told Proceso that the private dams are not the problem, since they are small and require little water. Instead, he stressed that the leaks in Mexico City’s pipes are the issue.
Last month, a group of protesters gathered in Mexico City to demand a solution to the Cutzamala System’s water supply problem.
Despite the residents’ call for action, they say that officials from Conagua and the Mexico City government have dismissed their concerns. They state that the capital has agreed to temporarily reduce water supplies to the more than 20 million residents of the Mexico City metropolitan area, claiming that the problem will be resolved in June when seasonal rains resume.
But for Moisés Jaramillo, one of the tourist boat operators around the lake, rainfall will not solve the problem.
“Last year, even when it rained, [the water level] continued to drop,” Jaramillo told Proceso.
Meanwhile, the latest national drought monitor report shows that 58% of Mexican territory suffers from some degree of drought as of March 15. The State of México and Michoacán – where the Cutzamala system is located – report drought in over 90% of their municipalities.
Knowing the culture of a country is an important part of doing business. Don't get caught out when working in Mexico. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
From long lunches to friendly greetings and a deep respect for hierarchy, Mexicans do business differently than people in the United States, Canada or Europe.
Whether you’re an expat working for a company in Mexico or a foreigner doing business in the country, understanding the role that culture plays in shaping the Mexican business landscape is vital.
Shaking hands is a sure-fire way to start any business meeting in Mexico. (Freepik)
To help you familiarize yourself with local business etiquette and ensure success for your business in the country, we have created an insider’s guide to social conduct in the Mexican business world.
Dress code and first impressions
Appearances matter in Mexico. While this is true of any business setting in any country, formal business attire is expected from both men and women in big corporations and law firms.
Men usually wear suits and ties, while women wear business attire and often wear high heels and makeup to work.
When meeting potential business partners in Mexico or attending an interview for a corporate job, we recommend wearing professional attire and avoiding overly casual clothes or athletic shoes.
Black clothing with suitable shoes will always add a professional touch to your outfit. (Victoria Valtierra/Cuartoscuro)
Between women, one kiss on the cheek is a typical greeting. Instead of a handshake, women sometimes rest a hand on each other’s shoulders before kissing on the cheek.
At the end of the meeting, it is not rare for women to shake hands with men and kiss one time on the cheek, depending on how well the interaction went.
In the workplace, male and female employees usually greet each other with a kiss on the cheek when they first meet or say goodbye. However, the cheek-kiss practice declined during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not been resumed by everyone since.
A good handshake is recommended when you meet someone new. (Freepik)
The business day
Business hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m, with a lunch break between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Fridays are commonly known as “casual Fridays,” and businesses usually close between 2 and 5 p.m.
However, business meetings do tend to happen during lunchtime. More on that below.
Punctuality and arranging meetings
Patience is key when doing business in Mexico. Mexicans have a more relaxed sense of time compared to other Northern Hemisphere countries, so it is not unusual for them to arrive up to half an hour late for an arranged meeting, though they will offer apologies. However, punctuality is still important for expats and other foreigners looking to show respect.
In Mexico, it is common practice to cancel business meetings at very short notice, which may be considered inappropriate in countries such as the U.K. or the U.S.
As with many elements of life in Mexico, patience is a virtue. (Unsplash)
When arranging a meeting, you should request and confirm it in writing at least two to four weeks in advance. The confirmation should be sent again a week before the meeting is scheduled and finally confirmed on the day of the meeting itself.
Business lunches
Many business deals are discussed over lunch. Use this setting to build relationships and to discuss matters with more leisure.
Before diving into business, it is common to discuss family, recent events or other social matters. Mexicans value personal relationships, and business meetings are usually more productive once you’ve built those relationships.
Mexican businesspeople and government officials may smoke and drink during business meals. Mexican businessmen are splendid, and it is not unusual for them to offer to pay the bill at the end of a business meeting.
Don’t be surprised if a business lunch extends a couple of hours after 4 p.m. Set aside some time in case this happens. Staying after lunch at a restaurant to discuss social matters or business issues is called “sobremesa,” the same word used to refer to the conversation that traditionally follows a meal.
Negotiations
Mexicans use indirect language in both social and professional contexts, as they consider that being direct may offend the other party. Don’t expect direct answers to direct questions and try to read between the lines.
Don’t be overly aggressive when negotiating, as it is considered rude.
Negotiations in Mexico are often a lengthy process, and deadlines are usually seen as flexible rather than strict. Keep in mind that such behavior is not meant to be disrespectful or an attempt to derail negotiations.
Expect delays when dealing with the government. Private parties are expected to attend to government deadlines, but the reverse is not true. However, courthouse deadlines are always met.
Written communication
‘Saludos cordiales’ are the most formal type of greeting that you should use when signing off formal work emails. (Unsplash)
E-mail is the primary communication method, but WhatsApp is also a common channel for fast responses. E-mail communication should always be conducted in formal language.
When sending an email, always use “Saludos” as a closing expression, followed by your name. If you’re writing to a senior executive and prefer to convey a more formal tone, end with “Saludos cordiales.”
Hierarchy
Social hierarchies are held in high esteem in Mexico. If your counterpart is senior to you, address the other person formally using their official title and surname until an invitation is extended to use a less formal form of address — usually the person’s first name. One invitation of this type refers to a person using the informal pronoun “tú” instead of the formal “usted,” a practice described by the verb “tutear” — literally, “tú-ing.” If your counterpart uses “tú” in addressing you, they will expect you to do likewise immediately.
Because hierarchy is important to Mexicans, it is considered disrespectful not to have an executive on your negotiating team. Try to make sure an executive always attends decision-making meetings.
Gabriela Solis is a Mexican lawyer turned full-time writer. She was born and raised in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her lifestyle blog Dunas y Palmeras.
Whether you love to party or relax in solitude, find a Puerto Vallarta beach club that's a little slice of heaven. (Mantamar)
Puerto Vallarta may appear to be a full-fledged city these days, but at its core, it’s still a laid-back beach town. And with every fantastic beach town comes fantastic beach clubs. Puerto Vallarta is no exception. The beaches that rim the Bay of Banderas are practically humming with one option after the next when it comes to posting up for a day at the beach. Here, tourists and locals alike can kick back on the sand to enjoy a good meal and beautiful Bay of Banderas views.
With so many beach clubs to choose from, it can be difficult to weed out which ones are worth it, particularly when it comes to quality and price. To save you some time, I’ve pulled a few of my favorite beach clubs in Puerto Vallarta, which run the gamut in terms of price and vibe. From the laid-back, local spots to the swanky, luxe destinations, and the ones known for their epic parties, these are the best beach clubs in Puerto Vallarta.
The beaches at the Bay of Banderas are some of the best in Mexico. (Táu Beach Club)
El Solar
Whenever I return to Puerto Vallarta after a long time away (or even a short time away), my first stop is always El Solar. This Cinco de Diciembre neighborhood beach spot is a favorite among locals and visitors in the know for a reason. It’s small and unpretentious, the service is friendly and it is right on the beach. What more do you need from a great local beach club?
What El Solar lacks in fancy amenities it makes up for with toes-in-the-sand chairs, great food and a fun music mix. You won’t find infinity pools or bottle service here — but that’s exactly why its guests are so devoted. Its prime slice of beachfront has both sunbeds and chairs in the sand, as well as a raised deck in the bar area with high-top tables. Tip: The tuna poke and Baja shrimp tacos are two of the best things on the menu.
If you are looking for a more traditional dinner option, neighboring restaurant Barracuda is a dedicated dining space with proper tables, including tables on the beach. It serves the same menu as El Solar, as well. If you go for sunset, you’ll have one of the best views in town.
Note that both El Solar and Barracuda are cash only.
Once the sun goes down, El Solar comes alive with a vibrant atmosphere. (El Solar/Facebook)
Mangos Beach Club
Just down the beach from El Solar is Mangos Beach Club, another one of Puerto Vallarta’s best beach clubs. Yet another local favorite for its low-key, minimum-frills energy, Mangos Beach Club serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a smattering of shoreline tables and lounge chairs.
This Puerto Vallarta beach club has one of the best locations, in the heart of Cinco de Diciembre on a stretch of white, fluffy sand. Guests can also sit at one of the tables in the elevated restaurant section, which has proper tables and chairs. The menu here is beach favorites and comfort food, like chilaquiles, seafood cocktails, grilled shrimp and fish tacos. It’s an easy, comfortable and super convenient beach club for a fun afternoon.
Swell Beach Bar
Amid the chaotic fray of Zona Romantica’s bumping beach bars and clubs, Swell Beach Bar sits tucked away snuggly out of the spotlight. With a prime location directly on Playa Los Muertos, this humble beach spot serves great food and strong drinks with fast service. Guests can grab beachfront chairs or sit tucked back in the sandy, palapa-covered courtyard. No matter where you choose, reservations are strongly recommended during the busy months because of this beach club’s central location.
The food at Swell is good and unpretentious. It’s everything you want from a beach club — burgers and fries, burritos and tacos, nachos, fajitas, salads and ceviche. Drinks are strong and are refreshed often. Guests who love Swell love that when they come back multiple times, the staff take notice. There’s something about being appreciated as a repeat customer that makes you feel like you’ve carved out a section of paradise for yourself.
Swell is a great place for simple, but delicious, food. (Swell Beach Bar PV/Facebook)
Mantamar Beach Club
It’s impossible to mention the Puerto Vallarta beach club scene without talking about Mantamar Beach Club. Arguably the trendiest beach club in town, Mantamar is truly the heart of the beach action in Puerto Vallarta, particularly for the LGBTQ community.
The scene here is all about the party and luxury amenities, from multiple levels of shady Bali beds, to the oceanfront pool and rows of turquoise chairs and umbrellas on the sand. The bar serves supremely strong drinks and fresh, delicious beach food, including some of the best sushi in Puerto Vallarta. Perched at the very tip of Playa Los Muertos, this beach club has one of the best spots of sand in town — and it throws one heck of a party.
From the week-long New Year’s Eve celebrations to the Pride events, and a year-long calendar of DJs and pool parties, Mantamar is always at the center of attention, and a really fun spot to socialize and let loose.
However, considering that this is one of the fancier beach club options in Puerto Vallarta, there is a price to pay, but that can vary depending on whether or not it’s a holiday. A typical day pass costs 500 pesos and includes 200 pesos of consumption from the restaurant. Prices can go up considerably if the club is throwing a party. Cabanas during New Year’s Eve week, for example, were 15,000 pesos to rent.
Mantamar is a Puerto Vallarta institution. (Mantamar)
Táu Beach Club
The vibe gets a little fancier in the Marina section of Puerto Vallarta at Táu Beach Club. This swanky oceanfront playground has chic beach cabanas, beautiful pools and jacuzzis, and an elegant restaurant and bar area.
For guests of adults-only Casa Velas, the beach club is included with the room rate. Visitors who want a day pass will pay a lofty 2,000 pesos per person, but that price includes a credit of 800 pesos for food and drink. The price also includes access to the showers, Bali beds, pool concierge and a private parking area.
You’ll find more tourists here than locals given the price point, unless it’s residents of the expensive condo towers within the Marina. Still, the service is impeccable and the views are hard to beat.
Casitas Maraika
If you’re up for an adventure — and I highly suggest being up for one — consider a trip out to Casitas Maraika. This boho-chic beach escape boasts its own stretch of sun-bleached sand surrounded by thick jungle and wild, untamed coastline.
Hippie chic and hidden away from the public, Casa Maraika is a great choice for a romantic day out. (Casitas Maraika/Instagram)
A collection of palapa-topped bungalows (available for rent) set the scene. These colorful casitas have dreamy views out over the electric-blue colors of the Bay of Banderas and the lush green jungle behind it. Each bungalow has its own name and unique design.
But visitors don’t have to stay overnight to enjoy Casitas Maraika. The bungalows have a central beach club and bar that embodies that hippie-chic vibe, with rustic wooden tables perched atop terraces that flow down to the strip of private beach. Book activities like surf lessons or snorkeling, enjoy yoga or the calendar of live music events. There is even a spa for massages and treatments.
That said, it does take a little extra leg work to get to Casitas Maraika. Visitors can take the water taxi from the fishing village of Boca de Tomatlan to Playa Las Animas and walk from the pier. The other option is to do a beautiful coastal hike. The trailhead starts from Boca de Tomatlan and runs along the jungle-covered mountainside, weaving in and out of one beautiful beach after the next. The trail ends in Las Animas, but not before it passes directly through Casitas Maraika.
Meagan Drillinger is a New York native who has spent the past 15 years traveling around and writing about Mexico. While she’s on the road for assignments most of the time, Puerto Vallarta is her home base. Follow her travels on Instagram at @drillinjourneys or through her blog at drillinjourneys.com.
The Atzlán Parque Urbano's Ferris wheel lights up a view of the city from Chapultepec Park. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
Several years in the making, Mexico’s newest amusement park, Aztlán Parque Urbano, opened its doors on Wednesday in the heart of Mexico City.
The park’s 85-meter high Ferris wheel, its Montaña Jurásica roller coaster and its other attractions are located in the second section of the capital’s massive Chapultepec Park, which includes the Museum of Natural History and the Papalote Children’s Museum.
Mexico City Mayor Martí Batres attended the park’s inauguration Wednesday, marking the first time the site inside Chapultepec Park has been open to the public since 2019. (Victoria Valtierra Ruvalcaba)
Aztlán sits on the site of the old Chapultepec Fair, an amusement park popular from its opening in 1964 until it closed in 2019 following an accident on the Quimera roller coaster.
Portugal-based Mota Engil and Thor Urbana, a Mexican real estate investment and development firm, invested 3.6 billion pesos (US $214.8 million) into the new park, according to the newspaper El País.
The project came into being after a survey of chilangos was carried out to determine how the land should be used after the previous amusement park had its license revoked in 2019. Construction began when current Morena presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum was Mexico City’s mayor.
Originally scheduled to open last August, the new park boasts themed attractions, family-friendly rides and cultural experiences.
The Aztlán 360 Ferris wheel offers panoramic views, while a hand-painted, two-story carousel and bumper cars provide nostalgic fun. Thrill seekers can test their courage on the Montaña Jurásica or a 50-meter-high freefall tower.
The park also incorporates Mexican history and culture into its entertainment options. A 720-degree immersive panorama experience showcases the Mexica worldview and the grandeur of Tenochtitlán, the Mexica capital upon which Mexico City was built.
The park combines wow-factor immersive experiences, a roller coaster and other rides for thrill seekers, but also plenty kid-friendly activities like this ride, named Fury on Wheels. (Aztlán Parque Urbano)
The park also features a virtual-reality haunted house recreating the Hospital de San Pablo, the former name of the Hospital Juárez in the historic downtown and home to one of Mexico’s most famous ghosts, La Planchada. There are traditional fair-style games with prizes and many features for children.
Chapultepec Park is just one of several of the city’s cultural mainstays being given new life this year. Other attractions expected to open in the coming months include the Dolores Olmedo Museum — relocated from Xochimilco in southern Mexico City, its collection contains works by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo — as well as a new location of the Cineteca Nacional.
Admission to Aztlán is free, with single rides costing from 35 to 120 pesos and unlimited passes costing 625 pesos for adults and 350 pesos for children.
Eateries onsite include Señor Burger, serving American classics, and Los Titanes del Taco, offering over 30 varieties of Mexico’s most famous dish. Additional restaurants and franchises will open soon.
The park is accessible via Metro Line 7’s Constituyentes station, with only a short walk to the “floating” causeway that leads to the park’s entrance.
Aztlán Parque Urbano — named after the mythical land where the Mexica and other Nahua peoples are said to have originated — can receive 15,000 visitors per day. It is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday and on Monday during vacation periods and holidays.
Guanajuato state's Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez, center, in the grey suit, sealed the deal with Chinese tire manufacturers Sailun Jinyu Group at their headquarters in Qingdao, China. (Diego Sinhue Rodríguez/X)
Editor’s note: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that total investment in the state of Guanajuato was US $427 million, rather than referring to the company’s investment in the state.
Chinese tire manufacturer Sailun Jinyu Group will invest 7.2 billion pesos (US $427 million) in building a new plant in Irapuato, Guanajuato, according to Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo.
In a March 17 statement on the X social media platform, the governor said the company’s new investment will create 1,400 competitive jobs, including high-level positions.
Gov. Rodríguez, center, has been on a tour of Asia this month, drumming up foreign investment in his state. Here, he met with officials at Japan’s Yusei Holdings, which fabricates precision plastic injection molds. Officials agreed to invest US $83.9 million in the state, Rodríguez said. (Diego Sinhue Rodriguez/X)
The company announced in December plans to open its first North American plant in Guanajuato with an investment amounting to US $240 million, together with Mexico’s largest tire distributor, Tire Direct. The plant was reported to be planned for the city of León and it is unclear whether the tire company will move ahead with construction of two plants, or is dedicating the entire investment to the Irapuato plant.
Sailun operates tire manufacturing plants in the Chinese cities of Qingdao, Dongying and Shenyang and also in Vietnam.
Globally, Sailun distributes its products across more than 180 countries. In 2023, the company, headquartered in Qingdao, became the first Chinese tire maker to join the United Nations Global Compact.
In the León metropolitan area, Sailun competes with global brands such as Michelin and Pirelli. Last month, Pirelli celebrated the manufacturing of their 50-millionth tire, while Michelin celebrated their 10-millionth tire in December 2023.
According to Mexican industry magazine Cluster Industrial, by 2025, the state of Guanajuato will produce more than 16.5 million tires each year, positioning it as Mexico’s leading state in tire production.
