Dirt race lovers rejoice! The 56th Baja 500 is almost here, and competition is stronger than ever. (BFGoodrich)
The Baja California peninsula’s rugged terrain and stark desert landscapes have provided the setting for seven decades of off-road racing, and the Baja 1000 is inarguably the most famous of these races. The legendary event dates back to 1967 and is still the longest continually operated desert race in the world. But the Baja 500, also run under the SCORE International banner, has been around almost as long. It celebrates its 56th race this year, only one less than the Baja 1000.
The green flag symbolizing the start of these iconic competitions typically drops in Ensenada, hence the city’s nickname: the Desert Racing Capital of the World. Forty-nine of the previous Baja 500 races began in Ensenada. So will the 2024 version, which kicks off on June 1 and will feature an estimated 280 racers in 45 classes. Competitors have 20 hours to log an official finish in the 483.06-mile course. Misleadingly, it’s not always 500 miles exactly, as the course can vary from year to year.
While the Baja 500 is considered the junior cousin to the more famous Baja 1000, the race has remained popular well into its sixth decade. (BFGoodrich)
What to know about this year’s race
The BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500 officially happens from May 29 to June 2. The first day, however, is dedicated to technical inspections of participating vehicles and pre-race celebrations on Boulevard Costero in Ensenada. An estimated 50,000 people turn out to see the cars, trucks, motorcycles, quad bikes, UTVs, and other off-road racers. Local vendors and sponsors are also represented on the “Manufacturer’s Midway,” which is free to the public.
The next day, Saturday, June 1, the race begins on Boulevard Costero, with vehicles departing every 30 or 60 seconds, depending on the competition class. Although 20 hours are allotted to finish, the winners in each class will need only about half that time. The course is routed as a loop race, with the finish line also in Ensenada. After the clockwise-running race through a large swath of Baja California, an awards ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. on June 2 in the Cathedral Hall at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. It’s located on Boulevard Costero near the starting line.
The Baja 500 is the second of four races that comprise the SCORE (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) World Desert Championship series. The 37th San Felipe 250 was run in March and the 5th Baja 400 is scheduled for September, followed by the 57th running of the Baja 1000 in November. All are set on the Baja California peninsula.
The history of off-road racing in Baja California
The Baja 500 and Baja 1000 races weren’t originally organized by SCORE but run under the auspices of the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA). Founded in 1966 by Ed Pearlman, Don Francisco and other enthusiasts of the sport, NORRA’s first Baja 1000 was held in 1967, running from Tijuana to La Paz. Francisco, the mapper of the original course, was a veteran of the Carrera Panamericana, the notoriously dangerous highway race that spanned Mexico from north to south before being canceled in 1955. It has since been revived, safely. Francisco’s more rugged off-road Baja 1000 routing and the first Baja 500 in 1969 helped to set the template for Baja-style desert racing while connecting it to a national tradition.
The race takes place across (roughly) 500 miles of Mexican desert. (BFGoodrich)
NORRA, however, was removed as the sponsoring body for these races by the Mexican government in 1972. The Baja Sports Committee organized the Baja 500 in 1973 before SCORE’s long-time owner Sal Fish and promoter and former world land speed record holder Mickey Thompson took over in 1974. The first race on July 26 of that year was won by a Hollywood stuntman named Bobby Ferro, who drove a VW Sandmaster open-wheel race car. But for legal reasons, the race wasn’t referred to as the Baja 500 again until 1991. In the public mind, though, it was never anything else.
The Baja 500 and Baja 1000 races have long fascinated Hollywood movie stars and famous race car drivers. Steve McQueen, James Garner and Paul Newman each tackled the Baja 1000, the latter setting the record for oldest-ever competitor when he was 80. The Baja 500 hasn’t drawn as many actors as the Baja 1000, but it has always been considered a serious test by the pros on the IndyCar and NASCAR circuits. Indianapolis 500 winners Parnelli Jones, Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan also tested themselves in the Baja 500, with the former winning the overall title twice. So, too, did noted Nascar drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Robby Gordon. Gordon was the most successful to do so, winning the Baja 1000 three times and the Baja 500 on four occasions, most recently in 2013. That doubled the record set by father, Bob Gordon, who won the Baja 500 in 1980 and 1987.
The defending champion returns
The headliner for this year’s race is Bryce “Golden Boy” Menzies from Las Vegas. The 36-year-old is the defending SCORE series Trophy Truck title holder — he has 10 career victories in the Trophy Truck division — and the defending 2023 Baja 500 overall champion. He and his Menzies Motorsports Ford Raptor all-wheel drive truck are sure to be favorites again, although the estimated list of 260 entrants also includes racers from around the world, including countries as far-flung as Australia, Indonesia and Japan. Mexico will also be represented, of course, with Tijuana native and Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame member Eric Solorzano among those seeking to dethrone Menzies in 2024.
The course map for this year’s race has been released. So Baja California locals and U.S. visitors who make the 80-mile journey from the border to Ensenada now know where the finish line will be: on Boulevard Costero, in the same place as the starting line.
The Baja 500 course map, showing the ruggest terrain that racers must cross to claim the top prize. (SCORE International)
For those who’d like to monitor the upcoming race online, SCORE International tracks results on its website. Live coverage is also featured on SCORE’s YouTube and Facebook social media platforms, with a recap forthcoming in the monthly SCORE Journal Digital Magazine.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
In 2022, the U.S. State Department reported that 1.6 million U.S. citizens were residing in Mexico, half of whom are retirees. (Unsplash)
Mexico continues to be the preferred country for retirement among United States citizens, as confirmed in an updated 2024 report by Investopedia.
In 2020, more U.S. citizens moved to Mexico than to any other country, and was a top destination for retirees. And in 2022, the U.S. State Department reported that 1.6 million U.S. citizens were residing in Mexico.
Mérida is becoming a popular destination for expats, thanks to its Caribbean weather, its Old World charm and its status as one of Mexico’s safest cities. (Like Where You’re Going)
For many, the main reason behind retiring in Mexico or any other country is affordability — looking for a quality of life that is no longer within reach in the U.S.
“While retirement abroad requires careful planning about visas and taxes, staying in the U.S. could mean managing higher costs of living and expensive health care,” Investopedia said in a March report.
Which countries are U.S. citizens’ favorite destinations abroad?
The other countries rounding out the top 10 choices are as follows:
The United Kingdom: 170,771
Germany: 152,639
Australia: 116,620
Israel: 76,794
South Korea: 68,050
France: 61,668
Japan: 58,340
Spain: 57,112
Cheaper housing and healthcare: big motivators
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that average housing prices in these countries are lower than in the United States, with the exception of Canada.
Mexico also has the cheapest healthcare among the top 10 destinations.
According to the OECD, healthcare in Mexico is 60% cheaper than in the U.S., a fact that is also driving Mexico’s medical tourism industry. In 2023, Mexico ranked as the world’s second most popular country for medical tourism.
U.S. retirees with legal residency in Mexico can sign up for public health insurance through the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) and pay a premium that is much smaller than just about any health insurance premium in the U.S. However, most choose to buy private insurance coverage since many find private healthcare in Mexico to be more affordable than in the U.S.
Medicare doesn’t follow U.S. citizens abroad — but Social Security does in the top 10 countries on the list. And, yes, you can continue to collect your Social Security payments if you’re retired and living in Mexico. The U.S. Social Security Administration sent some 62,000 payments to Mexico as of November 2022, just behind Canada and Japan.
Author Cristina Rivera Garza, who grew up in Mexico and studied at the National Autonomous University, won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Tuesday in the Autobiography and Memoir category for her book "Liliana's Invincible Summer." (Colegio Nacional/Cuartoscuro)
Crafting a rich, genre-bending account of her sister’s 1990 murder at the hands of an abusive ex-boyfriend has earned Mexican writer Cristina Rivera Garza a 2024 Pulitzer Prize, Columbia University has announced.
Rivera Garza’s “Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice” was lauded by the selection committee as a nonfiction work “that mixes memoir, feminist investigative journalism and poetic biography stitched together with a determination born of loss.”
Rivera Garza’s book, “Liliana’s Invincible Summer” was also a 2023 National Book Awards finalist. (Hogarth)
The book’s title in Spanish is “El invencible verano de Liliana.”
Best known for novels such as “Nadie me verá llorar” (“No One Will See Me Cry”), Rivera Garza, 59, won the Pulitzer in the category of memoirs or autobiographies — becoming the first Mexican ever to win a Pulitzer for literature.
Rivera Garza was born in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and lived in several places in Mexico before moving to the United States in 1989. She studied urban sociology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and completed her PhD in Latin American history from the University of Houston. She is currently the M.D. Anderson Professor in Hispanic Studies and the director of the Creative Writing Program in Hispanic Studies at the University of Houston.
Her previous six novels, three collections of short stories, five poetry books and two nonfiction works have collected numerous awards, including the Roger Caillois Award for Latin American Literature in 2013 and the Anna Seghers Prize in 2005.
She is the only author who has won the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize twice — in 2001 for “Nadie me verá llorar” and in 2009 for her novel “La muerte me da,” a work that hasn’t been translated into English.
In July, Rivera Garza was inducted into the Colegio Nacional, Mexico’s honorary society for academics and intellectuals. (Cuartoscuro)
Rivera Garza has also been awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2020. In July, she was inducted into Mexico’s Colegio Nacional, the nation’s most prestigious honorary academic organization.
Her short poetic novel from 2017, “The Iliac Crest,” was included in the recent Mexico News Daily article “Books by Mexican writers to take you out of your comfort zone.” In her novel, Rivera Garza writes about the disappearance of several women and examines gender fluidity and identity.
“Liliana’s Invincible Summer,” which was published in English last year after debuting in Spanish in 2021, recounts in luminous, poetic prose her quest to resolve her sister’s murder 29 years after the fact.
It simultaneously tells the story of a brilliant and bold young woman who, as Rivera Garza writes, “lacked, like ourselves, the language necessary to identify, denounce and fight against sexist violence and intimate partner terrorism.”
The book has been praised for its honesty, beauty and importance. American novelist and essayist Jonathan Lethem wrote in 2018 that Rivera Garza is “one of Mexico’s greatest living writers.”
“We are just barely beginning to catch up to what she has to offer,” Lethem said.
The Pulitzer Prizes were established by Hungarian-American newspaper publisher and journalist Joseph Pulitzer, who left money to Columbia University after his death in 1911. First awarded in 1917, the prizes honor excellence in journalism, literature, drama and music.
“Liliana’s Invincible Summer” was selected over two other finalists in the memoirs/autobiography category: “The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions” by Jonathan Rosen and “The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight” by Andrew Leland.
The winner in the poetry category was “Tripas” by Brandon Som, a collection that examines the complexities of the poet’s dual Mexican and Chinese heritages.
Liliana's Invincible Summer: A Virtual Afternoon with Cristina Rivera Garza
Find out more about Cristina Rivera Garza in this online interview with her from 2023 by Oxford professor, author and The New Yorker critic Merve Emre.
The long steel that Gerdau produces is typically used in construction and manufacturing. (Thusbaudin Ph/Shutterstock)
The Brazilian company Gerdau, the largest producer of long steel in the Americas, could soon be investing up to US $600 million to build a factory in Mexico.
Already the owners of a steel mill in Hidalgo and two others in México state, Gerdau officials confirmed that the company has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis regarding construction of a new plant in Mexico.
If the company decides the project has commercial viability, Gerdau would begin building in 2025. The cost-benefit analysis will be finalized by the year’s end.
Manufacturing industry news site Cluster Industrial reported that the proposed plant would have the capacity to produce 600,000 tonnes of specialty steels per year. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Gerdau CEO Gustavo Werneck said that a steel mill of this size would require an investment of between US $500 million and $600 million.
Gerdau is also reviewing sites for the proposed steel mill. It is likely to be located in central Mexico, near the company’s three other plants.
Werneck told reporters that any new construction would adhere to the company’s sustainability principles, using state-of-the-art technology and its consumption of raw materials to minimize carbon emissions.
Gerdau — which claims to be the biggest recycling company in Latin America and says that 71% of its steel worldwide is produced from scrap metal — has a stated goal of reducing emissions by 0.82 tonnes of carbon per tonne of steel produced by 2031.
If the project goes forward, its production would target Mexico’s domestic market, primarily the auto industry. Werneck said Mexico’s attractiveness is bolstered by the cluster of important automakers in the country.
“Important players in the automotive industry, including current Gerdau customers, are expanding their operations to Mexico, which is becoming one of the most relevant countries in the production of automotive parts,” Werneck wrote in a Friday LinkedIn post.
According to Gerdau Vice President Rafael Japur, the Mexican market consumes 1.2 million tonnes of specialty steels per year, of which 70% is imported.
While the pharmacy has been touted as a solution to Mexico's drug shortages, a freedom of information request by El Universal shows a mere 2.7 prescriptions have been filled per day since it opened in December. (Cuartoscuro)
It opened with significant fanfare in late December, but in its first four months of operation the federal government’s “Well-Being Mega Pharmacy” didn’t even come close to fulfilling the function it was designed to fulfill.
In fact, the facility officially called the Federal Center for the Storage and Distribution of Health Supplies (Cefedis) only dispensed 341 prescriptions between December 29 and April 29, according to the El Universal newspaper, which submitted a freedom of information request to state-owned medical company Birmex, the pharmacy’s operator.
The pharmacy, which AMLO said could be the “largest” in the world, opened in December. (Cuartoscuro)
In other words, the megafarmacia — a warehouse that supplies medications to public hospitals and clinics, and to individual patients directly — filled an average of just 2.7 prescriptions per day in its first four months of operation.
At the inauguration of the pharmacy, located in the México state municipality of Huehuetoca, López Obrador said that the establishment of the facility would allow “everyone to have the medicines they need” wherever they are in the country and no matter whether they are rich or poor.
When he first proposed the creation of “a warehouse with all the medicines of the world in reasonable quantities,” he touted it as a a “definitive way out” of the medication shortages that have plagued his government.
Zoé Robledo, director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), a major health care provider, dismissed the report as “ill-intentioned” and insisted that the mega pharmacy had all the medicines it needs.
Despite that claim, El Universal reported on Tuesday that the facility’s “attempt to solve the shortage of medications in the country” has so far “failed” due to its own “lack of drugs.”
It said that the mega pharmacy didn’t purchase any drugs prior to its inauguration, explaining that its stock was supplied “on loan” by IMSS, the State Workers’ Social Security Institute (ISSSTE) and the universal health scheme known as IMSS-Bienestar.
Protests against medicine shortages have occurred throughout AMLO’s term, and the Well-Being Mega Pharmacy is supposed to help resolve these issues. (Cuartoscuro)
The newspaper said that in its first four months of operation, the mega pharmacy received more than 95,000 telephone calls.
More than 16,000 of those calls were made by people who had previously contacted Cefedis to request a medication. They called again to follow up on their request as they hadn’t received their order. The data supplied to El Universal by Birmex indicates that the vast majority of those people have not yet received the medication they requested.
Cefedis was unable to dispatch medications requested in more than 27,000 calls because the people asking for the drugs either didn’t have a valid prescription or weren’t able to provide their CURP ID number, El Universal said.
Based on the Birmex data, it appears unlikely that the mega pharmacy would have been able to distribute the majority of the medications requested even if those making the requests had prescriptions and/or their CURP numbers.
Of the 341 prescriptions the facility did successfully dispense, 210 were distributed to ISSSTE patients, 129 to IMSS-Bienestar patients and two to IMSS patients.
Birmex said that Cefedis was seeking to fill an additional 1,168 prescriptions by sourcing the requested medications from IMSS, ISSSTE or IMSS-Bienestar.
“The Well-Being Mega Pharmacy is a MEGA-FAILURE, it only dispenses 2.7 prescriptions per day,” Marko Cortés, the national president of the National Action Party, wrote on the X social media platform on Tuesday.
“That’s López Obrador’s Mexico and the health crisis [the federal government] caused. The good news is that [opposition presidential candidate] Xóchitl Gálvez is coming,” he said.
BYD will release its new EV pickup truck next week in Mexico. (TY Lim/Shutterstock)
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has revealed that its new pickup truck will make its global debut in Mexico next week.
The launch of its first-ever pickup truck model — the BYD Shark — will take place on May 14, reported the newspaper El Economista.
Chinese manufacturer BYD was the world’s top electric vehicle manufacturer as of the end of 2023. Pictured: a BYD plant in Hungary. (BYD)
“The BYD Shark will make its debut in Mexico on May 14, ushering in the global era of new energy pickup trucks,” the company said Tuesday on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging website.
The Shark is based on BYD’s own DMO (dual-mode off-road) platform. The new vehicle is a mid-to-large-size model, slightly larger than the Toyota Hilux, a light pickup that Toyota sells globally, although not in the United States.
The expectation is that the Shark model will be aimed primarily at overseas markets and not China’s domestic market, where pickup trucks are subject to more restrictions than passenger car models, according to the website CnEVPost.
In February, BYD announced it would build a factory in Mexico this year. Six states are currently bidding to host the plant, according to El Economista. The western state of Jalisco is said to be among the favorites.
BYD Americas CEO Stella Li said the Mexico plant would build 150,000 vehicles per year for the Mexican market.
BYD is the first carmaker from China to announce its plans to build a plant in Mexico. Though Mexico is an increasingly attractive nearshoring destination for electric vehicle production, plans by Chinese firms to nearshore in Mexico have been complicated by recent pressure from the United States.
Two months after BYD announced its plans to build a factory in Mexico, the Mexican federal government revealed it would not be offering incentives such as tax cuts for Chinese EV makers.
BYD reported lackluster first-quarter sales on April 29. The new energy vehicle maker’s January-March revenue was up 3.97% year-on-year, but down nearly 31% quarter-to-quarter. Net profit was up 10.6% year-on-year, but down 47.3% from Q4 2023.
A burned-out trailer truck remains along a highway in Trancoso, Zacatecas, one of 10 sites in the state where presumed cartel members set vehicles on fire Monday, apparently in response to the arrests of 26 alleged Sinaloa Cartel members Sunday and Monday. (Genaro Natera/Cuartoscuro)
Nine bodies were found dumped on two busy roads in the notoriously violent city of Fresnillo, Zacatecas, on Tuesday morning.
Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza, general secretary of the Zacatecas government, confirmed the discovery in an early-morning post to his Facebook page, noting that “messages directed toward an opposing [criminal] group” were found with the bodies.
Officials take photos of a crime scene in Villanueva, Zacatecas, where armed men forced drivers out of their vehicles to use them in a highway blockade. Villanueva is near San José de Lourdes, a community in the Fresnillo municipality that was the site of a confrontation between authorities and cartel members on Monday that resulted in six arrests. (Genaro Natera/Cuartoscuro)
Members of the Sinaloa Cartel are believed to have abandoned the corpses in Fresnillo. That criminal group — which was targeted in recent security operations — is involved in a turf war in Zacatecas with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The state is located along drug trafficking routes between Pacific coast ports and Mexico’s border with the U.S. state of Texas.
Reyes said that “investigative authorities” had reached the points where the bodies were located. He noted that “the situation is reported as stable, with traffic interruptions.”
In his Facebook post, Reyes also noted that two highway blockades were reported in the early hours of Tuesday. One was in the municipality of Trancoso, located east of Zacatecas city, while the other was in General Pánfilo Natera, located further east of the capital on the border with the state of San Luis Potosí.
Reyes said that security forces were present at both points where presumed criminals had set up fiery blockades. He reported that the situation had been brought under control.
The discovery of the bodies in Fresnillo on Tuesday morning came after the arrest of 26 members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Zacatecas over the past two days. The cartel responded to those detentions by setting vehicles on fire to create highway blockades in 10 Zacatecas municipalities on Monday.
Referring to the murders of nine people and the latest highway blockades, Reyes said that the arrests had “provoked new reactions” from “a criminal group.”
He also said that the state government and “all the institutions that make up the committee for the construction of peace remain firm” in their commitment to “the process of pacification.”
“We ask society to stay calm and consult official sources of information,” Reyes added.
We've all been to Chichen Itzá - but have you checked out these five lesser-known UNESCO World Heritage sites? (Pedro Lastra/Unsplash/INAH/Shutterstock/Querétaro Travel/Gobierno de México)
From pre-Columbian archeological sites to colonial cities and natural wonders, Mexico is ranked seventh for the number of sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. With a whopping 27 cultural sites, six natural sites and two mixed sites, a marvel is always right around the corner in Mexico.
Perhaps you are already familiar with some of these places, like the pre-Hispanic city of Chichen Itzá in Yucatán, the Historical Center in Mexico City or the expat paradise of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato. Perhaps you’re anxious to discover places off the beaten path with fewer tourists but the same historical value.
Querétaro’s Jalpan de Serra, one of several underappreciated UNESCO World Heritage sites in Mexico. (Querétaro Travel/Facebook)
Whether you’re looking for natural sites, cultural destinations or a combination of both natural and cultural significance, here are five lesser-known UNESCO sites in Mexico to satisfy the interests of any travel enthusiast.
1. Tlacotalpan
A river port town 72 km south of the city of Veracruz, Tlacotalpan “is an exceptionally well-preserved Spanish colonial river port,” according to UNESCO.
Preserving its original checkerboard-patterned urban plan, this little colonial town from the 16th century on the banks of the Papaloapan River is the perfect place to experience vernacular Caribbean traditions. Many of the traditional houses adjacent to the river, which feature vivid colors and exuberant decorations, have preserved their original form, scale, adornments, colors and even furniture. Public and private gardens throughout the town also feature ancient trees.
Tlacotalpan is famous for being the birthplace of Mexican singer and composer Agustín Lara, author of renowned Mexican songs like “María Bonita” or “Solamente Una Vez.”
Tlacotalpan offers visitors the chance to experience authentic life in Veracruz. (Shutterstock)
A visit to this jewel of a town should include the Municipal Palace, the Main Park, the San Cristóbal Church and the Agustín Lara Museum. Visitors can also take a boat tour through part of the Papaloapan River for bird watching and visit the historic neighboring town of Alvarado. Companies like Viator offer guided tours in English to both towns.
How to get there? TheVeracruz Bus Station in the city of Veracruz has daily departures to Tlacotalpan on the ADO and TRV lines approximately every 45 minutes.
2. The Great Mural Art of Sierra de San Francisco
Deep in a canyon in the Baja California Peninsula are America’s oldest cave paintings. Dating back to approximately 100 B.C. to A.D. 1300 (between 7,000 and 12,000 years old), their remote location and the region’s dry climate have allowed the paintings to survive in remarkable condition for thousands of years. UNESCO has said this is “one of the most outstanding collections of rock paintings in the world.”
Depicting various human and animal figures, including marine and terrestrial fauna, the Great Murals are attributed to the Cochimí people, who lived relatively isolated from continental influences. The paintings, which number in the hundreds, have red, black, white and yellow colors.
The artists behind these cave paintings, the Indigenous Cochimí people, mysteriously disappeared in the 16th century. (INAH)
Little is known of the Cochimí, who rapidly disappeared after contact with the Jesuit missionaries from Europe in the 16th century.
How to get there? Due to the difficult access to the caves from the nearest towns (San Ignacio and El Vizcaíno), Mexico’s Culture Ministry recommends booking an expedition with a specialized tourist company. The trek on foot or donkey to the caves may take up to five hours from the Santa Teresa Canyon, the only authorized camping site in the area.
3. 16th Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl
At the conjunction of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala states, on the slopes of Mexico’s most active volcano, stand 15 monasteries in an excellent state of conservation. They were built by the first missionaries in the Americas: the Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinians.
Cholula’s Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios is built atop a pre-Hispanic pyramid and provides stunning views of nearby Popocatépetl(Pedro Lastra/Unsplash)
The monasteries are located in different Magic Towns and archeological zones (including famous sites like Tepoztlán and Cholula). These buildings are evidence of an original architectural style created for the purposes of evangelization and as venues for cultural exchange between Europe and the Indigenous communities. These monasteries are particularly special for their innovative architectural features: they feature open spaces and large atriums that did not exist in similar Europe churches.
The influence of this style can be seen across Mexico and beyond its borders in different colonial buildings.
According to UNESCO, the monasteries’ original elements are perfectly preserved, making them a “complete representation of an actual 16th century Monastery.”
How to get there? Since the monasteries are scattered across different places in three states, the Culture Ministry has created a map and guide to the Route of the Monasteries.
4. Pinacate Desert
Pinacate desert, home to the only Erg dunes in North America. (Gobierno de México)
Located in the northern state of Sonora, theEl Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve are part of the four great North American deserts along with the Chihuahuan Desert, the Mojave Desert and the Great Basin Desert.
The natural protected area of the Pinacate Desert is a relatively undisturbed desert that encompasses two landscapes across 714,566 hectares. To the east, it is home to a volcanic area of around 200,000 hectares, boasting extensive black and red lava flows and desert pavement. UNESCO claims that the most visually striking feature is the group of 10 enormous, almost perfectly circular steam blast craters.
To the west is the Gran Altar Desert, North America’s largest field of sand dunes. reaching up to 200 meters high. These dunes are the only Erg dunes (areas with a large accumulation of sand) in North America.
Pinacate Tours organizes different camping experiences in the several areas of the desert.
How to get there? The main access is at kilometer 52 of Highway 8 Puerto Peñasco-Sonoyta, 3.5 hours from the city of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States.
5. Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda of Querétaro
The Franciscan Missions were built between 1750 and 1760 as part of the evangelization of the Spanish colonial period in Querétaro. These missions facilitated the work of Christian missionaries in California, Arizona and Texas.
UNESCO notes that the richly decorated church façades are a clear example of the fusion of cultures between the missionaries and the natives. “They are a testimony of the cultural coexistence between two societies and the natural environment,” it says.
The Franciscan Missions have been remarkably preserved in the mountainous region of the Sierra Gorda. They include the Mission of Santiago de Jalpan, Our Lady of the Light of Tancoyol, San Miguel Concá, Santa María del Agua de Landa and San Francisco de Asís del Valle de Tilaco.
Some church interiors include Indigenous motifs including images of jaguars, eagles and Indigenous peoples themselves.
Promotur Querétaro offers different tours to explore all five missions. This experience can be coupled with a tour of the Historic Center of the city of Querétaro, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
How to get there? The missions are scattered around the state. They are all easily accessible by road. You can follow this guide to explore them at your own pace.
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.
INEGI reported that new car sales in April totaled 112,048 units, a 14.8% increase over the same month a year ago. The performance in April was also the third-best ever for that month, only behind 2016 (118,754) and 2017 (114,938).
This is more good news for the automotive industry which continues to bounce back from the pandemic lows, with last month’s sales total surpassing by 13.9% the 2019 April performance of 98,366 new cars sold.
The overall total of new car sales in 2024 reached 461,800, an improvement of nearly 50,000 over the 412,736 sold during the first four months of 2023. This represents a year-over-year increase of 11.9%.
Leading the way among carmakers in April was Nissan, the market leader in Mexico, with 18,079 light vehicles sold, a 20.3% improvement year-on-year. General Motors followed with 17,325 cars sold (up 18.4%) with Volkswagen and Toyota coming in third and fourth, respectively.
The newspaper El Economista reported that Volkswagen’s car sales (10,522 light VW vehicles sold) rose by 17.1% and Toyota, with 9,785 cars sold, recorded an impressive increase of 35.3%.
Chinese carmaker Chirey suffered a drop in sales in April after strong growth in 2023. (Chirey Río San Joaquin)
Also enjoying a successful month were Kia (more than 8,500 new cars sold, an 11.1% increase) and Mazda (nearly 7,200 new cars sold, a massive 89.6% improvement).
In contrast, a pair of Chinese carmakers saw sales fall in April according to El Economista, which reported that Chirey saw sales drop 31.4% and MG Motors suffered a decline of 21.8% as compared to April 2023. In addition, Fiat posted negative numbers last month, registering an 18.3% drop in sales.
The slump for Chinese carmakers is a bit of a surprise after sales of Chinese cars in Mexico climbed by 63% in 2023, with Chirey enjoying a 350% increase last year after opening its first dealerships in Mexico in 2022.
El Economista pointed out one statistic that might have boosted last month’s performance in car sales. Although Mexico’s annual headline inflation rate rose to 4.63% in April, new cars remained affordable for consumers as prices rose just 1.96% year-over-year.
The Mexican Association of Automobile Distributors has projected that total new car sales in Mexico this year will exceed 1.45 million units. If this target is met, it will represent an increase of nearly 100,000 vehicles over the 1,361,433 light vehicles sold in 2023.
Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros runs Bombera, in Oakland, California, and serves a mouthwatering modernist interpretation of Mexican cuisine. (Bombera)
Love for good Mexican food reaches far beyond Mexico’s borders. A former firehouse in Oakland, California hosts one of the best examples of Mexican food outside of the country’s borders. Bombera, created by Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros, embodies an outstanding example of heritage cuisine.
Speaking to Mexico News Daily, Dominica discussed bringing award-winning Mexican food to the United States, and how her love for the country inspired her to delve into the world of high end cuisine.
A feast of accolades for Bombera’s culinary triumphs
The cuisine of offer at Bombera has earned it a coveted Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. (Bombera)
The San Francisco Chronicle proclaims Bombera as the “Best tacos in the Bay Area.” Eater San Francisco recognized Chef Dominica as one of the “Female Titans of the Bay Area Food Scene”. Besides these prizes, Bombera made even bigger waves when it earned a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide.
The Michelin guide was effusive in its praise of Bombera, writing that; “Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros, whose passion has helped to shape Oakland’s current Mexican restaurant scene, [combines] a locavore pedigree and fine dining chops with a respect for the generational knowledge of heritage cooking. The single best illustration might be a dish of beautifully rendered duck leg confit, paired with a delightfully complex, nutty mole verde, just-right black beans and handmade blue corn tortillas.”
The remarkable career of a Mexican chef born in America
Dominica was born and raised in Los Angeles. She is a second generation Mexican American with family ties to Abasolo, Guanajuato. While working in Mexico City, New York, and Italy, she worked with leading chefs throughout the industry. This global apprenticeship shaped her path with a deep respect for the origins of ingredients and a love for the stories they tell.
Before Bombera, Dominica made her mark with Cosecha Café, which opened in 2010 at Swan’s Market. Her cooking drew crowds for 12 years, winning attention from The James Beard Foundation. Dominica was also named a semifinalist for Best Chef California in 2019.
Dominica Rice-Cisneros was inspired by the traditional cuisine of Mexico, which she describes as an “anchor” to California. (Bombero)
Chef Dominica continued her distinguished career by establishing Bombera. This culinary haven symbolizes a firewoman and protector of the sacred flame of corn. She works with her team and husband, Southwest University history Professor Carlos Solomon. Their dishes celebrate the history and resilience of people who proudly identify as Mexican despite being born in the United States.
The value of terroir
I asked Dominica if the dishes she serves are authentically Mexican or adjusted to American taste, to which she replied: “What is authentically Mexican? Look at albondigas, those did not start in Mexico. Albondigas came from the African style of cooking meat with sweet herbs. The Moors took this style to Spain and the Spaniards took it to Mexico.
The dish that most traces back to my grandmother is a good pot of beans. In her philosophy, if you have that, everything else is going to be fine. She would start every day by washing and cooking a new pot of beans. Refrying yesterday’s beans for breakfast but cooking a new pot for dinner. That’s a real anchor for me.”
The team at Bombera prioritize regional Mexican cuisine, finding the best of every state in the country to serve to diners. (Bombera)
Rice-Cisneros also told me about her struggles, she works hard to source only the best ingredients. “It’s hard for me to make sure that the chiles I am buying are from Mexico, not from anywhere else. The terroir is very real in Mexico, every State has its own sazón.”
“Nobody is trying to homogenize the flavors in Mexico. The U.S. obsesses with making everything taste the same. I want the U.S. to learn from France. They are proud of their many wines and cheeses. This is because the soil changes from the north to the south.” she continues.
Besides praising European regional cuisine, Dominica says that the same overall concept is true in Mexico. “You have tequila blanco from sandy deserts. Then you go to Oaxaca and sense the tropical notes in their mezcal. Including the queso, because the vacas are eating the alfalfa from red clay that is high in minerals.”
“We received a ton of blue corn from Oaxaca last week, literally one ton,” Rice-Cisneros explained. “We work with two companies that specialize in corn from Oaxaca and Tlaxcala. The shipping and freight are very expensive, that is why this is a labor of love. I have vendors that are very precious to me.”
Why California deserves Bombera
I asked Dominica about California’s definition of Mexican.
“Mexico anchors California’s culture,” she replied. “We have this amazing blend known as the mestiza reality. A culture that has been thriving here for over 300 years in harmony. I’m always trying to show that this culture has always been here.”
“Having access to clean and delicious Mexican food is our birthright in California,” Dominica continued. “I want to keep that tradition alive. I grew up in a neighborhood where the señoras would hand-make the tortillas. When I started to see that disappear and everything coming from a bag, it broke my heart. I didn’t want to see that for my community.” It was at that point, Dominica said, that she realized there was no option but to open her own restaurant.
“This industry is a family tradition and a blessing. My immediate family has been working in the food industry in California for over 150 years. We’ve been part of the pizcas, worked in the farms, canneries, and restaurants. We’ve worked in catering, even feeding Charlie Chaplin and the Duchess of York. My little family has done all that.”
If you would like to try Bombera Oakland for yourself, reservations can be made online.
Sandra Gancz Kahan is a Mexican writer and translator based in San Miguel de Allende who specializes in mental health and humanitarian aid. She believes in the power of language to foster compassion and understanding across cultures. She can be reached at: [email protected]
