American Airlines will offer daily flights to Veracruz starting June 12. (Shutterstock)
Starting this summer, a new route will offer travelers a direct flight from the United States to the historic port city of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico.
American Airlines will offer daily service to Veracruz International Airport (VER) starting on June 12 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Flights will be on Embraer 175 aircraft, with capacity for 76 passengers.
With this new route, American Airlines will offer service to a total of 28 destinations in Mexico and 110 peak-day flights, the most of any U.S. airline operating in the country.
“We are excited to launch our 28th destination in Mexico, connecting Veracruz to our largest U.S. hub, Dallas-Fort Worth, where customers can access more than 230 destinations around the world,” said Chief Operating Officer for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean José María Giraldo. “Our commitment to Mexico is strong and we are proud to strengthen our footprint in the country, offering more connectivity and travel options for customers than any other U.S. airline.”
In addition to Veracruz, American Airlines has announced direct flights to Mexican cities Tijuana and Tulum in 2024.
American Airlines also plans to add routes to Tulum this year. (Tanja Cotoaga/Unsplash)
Mexico is on track for a record year for air travel and tourism, with both national and international airlines opening new routes to the U.S. since it regained its FAA Category 1 safety rating in September 2023.
In recent months, U.S. airlines Southwest, Frontier and Delta have also announced expanded service to airports including Cancún, Tulum, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos.
Gálvez bicycled through Manhattan on her way to meet with the editorial boards of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. (Xóchitl Gálvez/X)
Presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez met with Mexican migrants and the editorial boards of two major newspapers in New York City on Thursday as she commenced a six-day visit to the United States four months ahead of the June 2 elections.
During a busy day in the Big Apple, the candidate for the Strength and Heart for Mexico opposition alliance also posted a video to social media in which she declared that the allegations that organized crime provided funding for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s unsuccessful 2006 presidential campaign are “extremely serious.”
Gálvez will also visit Washington, D.C. on her U.S. tour. (Xóchitl Gálvez/X)
Gálvez — who trails the ruling Morena party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum by 16 points, according to the results of a recent poll — is in the U.S. to discuss migration, organized crime and economic matters with lawmakers, business leaders, the media, migrant advocates and migrants, among others.
One of her companions on her trip to New York and Washington, D.C. is Ildefonso Guajardo, a federal deputy who served as economy minister in the 2012-18 government led by former president Enrique Peña Nieto.
Gálvez meets with migrants at New York’s largest market
She said the workers she spoke with are very concerned about insecurity in Mexico.
“Those from Puebla, those from Guerrero, tell me they’d love to return to the country,” Gálvez said.
“They send thousands of dollars to their families and I believe it’s important that we work hard as well,” she said.
“This is the 33rd state [of Mexico] and from here I send my regards to all the Mexicans who live in the United States,” Gálvez added.
In another post on the X social media platform, she wrote: “Be certain that I will always walk hand in hand and listen to our beloved migrant brothers and sisters.”
Not all voters go to the voting booths: Mexican citizens in the U.S. also have the option to vote online. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro.com)
The NYT and WSJ open their doors to the presidential hopeful
Gálvez, a former senator whose profile has grown exponentially since she announced her intention to seek the presidency in the middle of last year, met with the editorial boards of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
She didn’t comment on those meetings, but posted a photo that showed her arriving at the New York Times Building on a shared bicycle.
The Times described Gálvez as “an outspoken engineer with Indigenous roots who rose from poverty to become a tech entrepreneur” in an article last September.
She is scheduled to meet with the editorial board of The Washington Post early next week.
The editorial boards of the NYT, WSJ and WaPo will no doubt offer their views on the candidate in the near future.
The day after López Obrador’s 2018 victory, the Times’ editorial board said: “Why he won is not the mystery. Killings are at record levels, corruption scandals are ceaseless and nearly half the population lives in poverty.”
However, his six-year term will go down as the most violent on record in terms of homicides, ensuring that public security will be a hot topic during the 2024 presidential campaign period, which officially starts March 1.
While AMLO has sought to integrate the National Guard into the military, Gálvez has spoken against military involvement in public security. (Carlos Carbajal/Cuartoscuro.com)
A Strength and Heart for Mexico document obtained by the El Universal newspaper last month indicated that a Gálvez-led government would seek to put an end to the military’s involvement in public security.
“An affront to 130 million Mexicans”
Two days after three media outlets published reports that said that people working for López Obrador’s 2006 presidential campaign received between US $2 million and $4 million from drug traffickers, Gálvez asserted in a post to X that it is an “embarrassment for our country” that the nation’s leader is being called a “#NarcoPresidente.”
“Mr. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, it is extremely serious that they’re linking your political career to funding from organized crime,” she said in a video included in the post.
“This report in the international press is not just an affront to you, but also an affront to 130 million Mexicans,” Gálvez said.
“… It’s painful that it’s said in the world that Mexico has a narco-president.”
Gálvez said that López Obrador — who refuted the reports as “completely false” — has a “moral and political obligation” to defend his “personal honor and the honor of Mexico.”
“Your statements and denials in the morning press conference are not enough. Yesterday I asked you and today I insist: file a defamation complaint in United States courts. Your government has successfully sued gun manufacturers in this country. Go to the same team of lawyers to file a complaint. Clean your name and clean the name of Mexico. The respect and honor of the country is at stake,” she said.
Gálvez encouraged the president to file a defamation suit in U.S. courts, like the ongoing suit against American weapons manufacturers that Mexico is currently pursuing the U.S. (Shutterstock)
Gálvez to discuss border security and fentanyl with U.S. lawmakers
Among the candidate’s engagements in Washington will be meetings with U.S. congressional committees, including the United States House Committee on Homeland Security.
Gálvez said her discussions with lawmakers will focus on border security and the fight against fentanyl, key challenges in the bilateral relationship.
She is also scheduled to meet with U.S. government officials and Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS). In her meeting with Almagro, Gálvez is set to stress the importance of having international observers at the June 2 elections, which will be the largest in Mexican history.
According to Gálvez, her main rival for the presidency has rejected invitations to meet with United States lawmakers, but Sheinbaum’s team told the Animal Político news website that is not the case.
The Super Bowl spike in avocado demand is overwhelmingly powered by Mexican avocados, according to the marketing organization Avocados from Mexico. (Yakshi Virmani/Unsplash)
Mexico is expecting to send 138,000 tonnes of avocados to the United States in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, and may still struggle to meet the country’s demand.
According to the Association of Avocado Producers, Packers and Exporters of Mexico (APEAM), 130,000 tonnes of those avocados will be shipped from the state of Michoacán, and 8,000 from Jalisco.
The Super Bowl always drives a spike in demand for avocados, to feed the annual U.S. tradition of serving pizza, wings and guacamole while watching the game. About 96% of the supply comes from Mexico, according to Dallas-based Avocados from Mexico (AFM).
AFM has worked hard to boost this demand, becoming the first produce brand to advertise at the Super Bowl in 2015, and launching nine Super Bowl marketing campaigns since.
This year, the trade organization has teamed up with former NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer to encourage Americans to host Super Bowl parties “made better with plenty of guacamole,” with promotions such as rebates, branded bags and prizes.
However, Mexico is already struggling to meet the growing U.S. demand for the fruit. Mexico’s avocado production increased by 1.9% between 2022 and 2023, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER). Meanwhile, U.S. imports leapt by 12%, according to Statista, topping off a four-year period of 3.7% annual growth.
Avocados from Mexico has invested in eye-catching Super Bowl ads for nearly a decade, like this video still from 2018. (Avocados from Mexico)
This booming demand relative to supply has caused the price of each avocado to reach an average of US $2.13 in the U.S., and is pushing importers to turn to other producing countries in Latin America.
“We have made strategic decisions to vertically integrate our business with our own avocado production in Peru, and we have subsequently developed acreages in other regions such as Guatemala and Colombia to balance our supply throughout the year,” Stephen J. Barnard, president of leading U.S. importer Mission Produce, said in a meeting with analysts.
There are also concerns around the social and environmental impacts of avocado production in Mexico. The crop is so lucrative that it is encouraging deforestation to make way for avocado orchards, and driving extortion of avocado producers by organized crime. Truck drivers transporting the fruits require escorts from state police.
The crop also requires large amounts of water. Water stress caused SADER to adjust its 2024 estimate for Mexican avocado exports to the U.S. from 1.2 to 1.125 million tonnes — down slightly from the record 1.13 million tonnes exported in the 12 months up to June 2023.
The Condesa neighborhood is located in Cuauhtémoc borough, one of the more expensive places to rent in the capital. (Pueblos de México)
According to the annual Worldwide Cost of Living 2023 Survey published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Mexico City ranked alongside cities like Sydney, Seattle and Helsinki — in part because of the rising cost of housing.
Property rental platform Homie.mx reported that Mexico City’s real estate rental prices rose between 10% to 15% in 2023. However, some popular neighborhoods such as Roma or Condesa in the central Cuahutémoc borough have experienced a more dramatic rental price increase of 20% to 30% – mostly due to gentrification.
The Iztapalapa borough was the cheapest for rents, at an average of 10,912 pesos per month. (Cultura Iztapalapa)
Homie.mx CEO Francisco Andragnes said that Mexico City has seen almost 50% less permanent rental housing due to the increasing number of short-term rental accommodations on platforms like Airbnb, and this has pushed prices up.
“This dynamic consolidated in 2023, although it is not very good for Mexican locals,” Melisa Gaitán, director of sales and operations at Homie.mx, told the newspaper El Economista. “Some people who lived in Roma or Condesa have had to move to … neighborhoods with a lower cost [of living],” she said.
Gaitán said that the average cost of renting an apartment in the capital is 15,541 pesos (US $906) regardless of the location, and the most sought-after properties have two bedrooms, a bathroom, and parking space.
Even those looking to move out of the capital are facing a challenge — nearby Querétaro was rated as Latin America’s second-most expensive city in the 2023 EIU survey.
Here are some of the average rental prices for houses and apartments in the most and least expensive boroughs in Mexico City, according to the rental website Inmuebles24. Note that a borough comprises various neighborhoods and the average is a reflection of the rental prices in all the neighborhoods in that borough.
Chart comparing average rental prices in boroughs of Mexico City and México state in December 2022 vs. December 2023. (Inmuebles24)
Most expensive boroughs in Mexico City
Below you will find average monthly rental prices for apartments, based on data from Inmuebles24.
Cuauhtémoc (neighborhoods include Condesa, Roma, Centro)
22,911 pesos (US $1,336)
Miguel Hidalgo (neighborhoods include Polanco, Escandón)
21,326 pesos (US $1,244)
Benito Juárez (neighborhoods include Nápoles, Narvarte, Del Valle)
16,439 pesos (US $959)
Cuajimalpa de Morelos (neighborhoods include Santa Fé)
The Indigenous Mazatec people of Oaxaca’s Sierra Mazateca have been using psilocybin mushrooms in healing rituals for generations. Pre-ritual traditions include only picking them during a full moon, taking lesser-known roads home to avoid bad encounters that could affect the mushrooms’ energy, always eating them in pairs to balance male and female energy and not looking at the mushrooms until it is time to eat them.
These are just a few of the fascinating facts in Michelle Janikian’s book, “Your Psilocybin Mushroom Companion.”
Michelle founded a creative agency with her British partner and is working on her first novel. (Michelle Janikian)
Based in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, the author has been living and writing in Mexico for a decade, having fled to the country from New Jersey for a month after the sudden death of a close friend. “I came to grieve, slow down and recover — and I never left,” she explained.
Janikian arrived in the country with a background in journalism and an interest in psychedelics. The book — a must-read for anyone interested in psilocybin in Mexico — outlines her experiences with cannabis and mushrooms, and the history, culture and use of psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico.
Discovering psychedelic writing in Mexico
“Once I was here, I was looking for remote work, and writing in the cannabis space led to writing in the psychedelic space,” she explained.
Janikian wrote a few big pieces on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics that caught the eye of a small publishing house, Ulysses Press, who got in touch and asked her to write a full-length guide to magic mushrooms.
Life in Mexico allows time and space to be creative
In Mexico, Janikian says, “I really had the time and space to be a writer. It’s hard to be a writer in America. The wages are really low, and the price of living is high, so a big part of my reason for living here for so long is to be a full-time artist and writer.”
She believes that being based in Mexico gave her the time and energy to bring the book to life.
As Janikian started the project, she suffered bouts of imposter syndrome, which she outlines in the book’s preface. “People take this subject seriously, and I felt like I’m just a journalist, not a shaman or a therapist; I’m not an expert. But through the course of it, I did become a subject matter expert, and now — four years after publication — I’m much more comfortable with it all,” she explained.
Janikian believes psilocybin should be accessible
The result is a fun, fascinating and educational read that’s less academic rumination and more like your close (and much more experienced) friend is whispering all the secrets of mushrooms into your ear. It’s full of memorable anecdotes, sensory descriptions and useful information perfect for informing your first — or next — psilocybin experience.
Janikian specifically aimed to make her book accessible since she was turned off by much of the existing literature in the field, which seemed condescending, whether from a medical perspective or a new-age mindset.
“I wrote what I would be looking for if I didn’t know anything about mushrooms, something easy to read, easy to digest and easy to understand while also outlining the power of the mushrooms. But it doesn’t need to be scary. I wanted to demystify it,” she said.
The book got a great reaction, and Janikian got many messages from people thanking her for explaining the complicated topic so well and giving them the confidence to proceed.
Indigenous relationships are an important part of psychedelics in Chiapas
Writing the book afforded her the opportunity to build on relationships with the Indigenous community that she’d already begun as a psychedelic journalist and, as outlined in some of the most memorable parts of the book, she was able to observe many of the Mazatec mushroom traditions firsthand and interview community members about experiences, traditions, beliefs and more.
“I speak Spanish and did everything respectfully. It takes a long time to build those relationships and make those contacts. I didn’t just show up and expect people to talk to me. I developed a rapport with people over the phone, over years, before finally going and staying with my source, who’s now also a good friend, and his family. He was an easy person to talk to because, while he is indigenous Mazatec, he’s also college-educated, a historian. His father was a filmmaker. He had a lot of access to the wider world and could relate easily in ways that not everyone can.”
But, she noted, care needs to be taken with these relationships since there’s a lot of sloppy journalism and exploitation. “I say no to a lot of psychedelic story requests. If they’re asking me for indigenous information, I tell them they should speak to actual indigenous people. They should go there and learn,” she explained.
For a few years after the book came out, she was writing a lot about psychedelics and became an editor for a psychedelic publication, but it didn’t bring her joy. “The psychedelic [writing] space is kinda broken. People want to make money and be famous, but they are basically doing the same thing as everyone else and putting people down. I felt like it was a toxic environment and didn’t suit me.”
Breaking new ground in an endless field
“It does feel like you’re on another plane, a portal somewhere else. It feels so significant. I can understand people saying they have spiritual experiences or speak to God on them. That’s not exactly been my experience, but I can see how it’s possible. It’s endless and fascinating. Even though the psychedelic industry didn’t fascinate me, mushrooms will always be a part of my heart,” Janikian says.
Today, she’s founded a creative agency with her British partner and is working on her first novel. She uses mushrooms maybe once a year as a way to allow her to step back, learn about herself and see things more clearly.
“There is no right or wrong way to do this. People should explore what other people do, which was the point of the book, and then make their own decisions on what would work for them.”
Janikian came to Mexico to grieve but discovered a life here. She built relationships that will last a lifetime and created an informative and respected guide to a unique facet of the country’s culture that continues to demystify psychedelic mushrooms and allow readers to make informed decisions about their use.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal or medical advice. The writer and Mexico News Daily assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content on this site. Individuals should always consult with qualified professionals regarding the use of DMT or any other substance for medical purposes, as well as consider their jurisdiction’s applicable laws and regulations.
Laurel is a nomadic lifestyle journalist whose favorite stories focus on weird and wonderful travel and culture. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vice, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, South China Morning Post, The Culture Trip and more. @laureltuohy, www.laureltuohy.com
Nirvana Hank, the daughter of a controversial Tijuana politican, has attracted the ire of social media users after posting a video with her pet giraffe. (Nirvana Hank/Instagram)
What do you do if you’re the daughter of a filthy rich gambling tycoon? Show off your pet giraffe on social media, of course.
The 22-year-old influencer daughter of Jorge Hank Rhon, owner of the sports betting company Grupo Caliente and a former mayor of Tijuana, hit the headlines this week after she posted a video to TikTok and Instagram featuring a giraffe in the yard of her family’s home.
En unos pocos segundos y sin quererlo Nirvana Hank, hija de Jorge Hank Rohn, muestra nítidamente la podredumbre de la élite mexicana que se enriqueció vía la corrupción.
“I’m Nirvana Hank, of course I don’t have giraffes in the yard of my home,” she says before the video reveals that she indeed does – well, one at least.
In the clip, Hank shows off other parts of her Tijuana home, including a “monkey island.”
The video was a response to one of the countless “trends” that come and go on TikTok.
Nirvana found herself in something akin to purgatory after she posted it for the viewing pleasure of her hundreds of thousands of followers as she came under criticism from many social media users, some of who questioned the legality of keeping wild animals as pets (permits can be obtained if certain requirements are met), and noted that her father has been suspected of trafficking exotic animals.
Hank Rhon was fined US $25,000 in 1991 when authorities in San Diego found a white tiger cub in his car, while he was detained at Mexico City airport in 1995 after ivory and skins of endangered animals were discovered in his luggage.
One social media user questioned how it was possible “that Nirvana Hank has a giraffe and a monkey island at her house when her father is accused of trafficking exotic animals.”
The publication of her video came at a time when there is heightened concern for the wellbeing of giraffes in Mexico as the result of the much-publicized case of Benito, a three-year-old male specimen who was transferred from unsafe living conditions at a public park in Chihuahua to a spacious safari park in Puebla last month.
The organization Salvemos a Benito (Let’s Save Benito) denounced the presence of a giraffe in the Hank family home and accused environmental authorities of failing to uphold their duty to protect wildlife.
Hank Rhon is accused of involvement with organized crime, and has been charged with wildlife trafficking in the past. (Cuartoscuro)
While Nirvana Hank was certainly seeking attention when she uploaded her social media video, the kind she got apparently wasn’t what she was looking for and she consequently decided to remove it from her social media accounts, albeit not before countless copies were made.
The influencer – who describes herself as an “alcoholic, speaker and [horse] rider” on her TikTok and Instagram – is one of 23 (yes 23!) children and step-children of Jorge Hank Rhon, who has been suspected of involvement in criminal activity including drug trafficking.
The ex-mayor, a México state native who also owns the Tijuana Xolos professional soccer club, was the runner-up in the 2021 gubernatorial election in Baja California.
Not long before the election, then Governor Jaime Bonilla accused Hank Rhon of being the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in the northern border state and described him as the biggest criminal Baja California has ever seen.
Mexican pets are now entitled to emergency care free of charge - although regular treatments will still cost money. (Andrew S/Unsplash)
A law to establish public veterinary clinics across Mexico has gone into effect, following its publication in the government’s official gazette last week.
State and local entities have 180 days to comply with the decree, which states that pets be provided with free preventive medical care (such as sterilization) and emergency medical treatment as needed.
Yucatán Governor Mauricio Vila pets dogs at an event to announce the state’s first public veterinary hospital, in 2022. (Mauricio Vila/X)
The law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in late 2023 before being signed into law by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
A section of ecological and environmental laws was modified to promote the well-being of pets — with the building of public veterinary clinics as one of its main tenets (subject to whether or not federal, state and local entities have sufficient funding resources).
States, municipalities and mayors must guarantee free sterilization of pets, along with consultations, deworming, vaccinations and surgeries. The dignified treatment of animals is also part of the law, which states that the clinics must provide medical care and appropriate treatments in case of illness.
In Mexico, 70% percent of households have some type of pet, according to a 2021 survey by the national statistics agency, INEGI.
As homeless dogs have nowhere to go, they often roam the streets, putting them in danger of injury. (Caitlin Ahern)
In total, there are 23 million dogs and cats in Mexico, according to INEGI. However, only 5.4 million of them have homes, INEGI noted, leaving 70% of dogs and cats in Mexico living on the streets.
Emmanuel Pedraza, director of the civil association Defensoría Animal, said that about 500,000 dogs and cats are abandoned in Mexico each year. Many of them are acquired as gifts for Christmas, or other celebrations, he said.
Public veterinary clinics are already operating in some parts of Mexico, such as a veterinary hospital in Mérida, Yucatán, the first of its kind in southeastern Mexico. Free vet clinics began operating in Mexico City in 2023.
Though these clinics do offer some free services, it’s important to note that if your pet requires any special treatment, there will be a cost. Procedures such as deworming and sterilization are considered basic-care services, so they are free.
The new airport in Creel, Chihuahua, has officially received its first flight and is now open to the public. (Gobierno de Chihuahua/X)
A new airport in Creel, in the Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon) region of Chihuahua, is finally receiving flights, 14 years after the project was first announced.
The first flight arrived at the airport from Chihuahua, at 8:41 on Wednesday morning, according to a social media post by the state government. It was crewed by two pilots from the Mexican Airspace Navigation Services (Seneam).
The airport has been under construction for 14 years. (Gobierno de Chihuahua)
“In the last two years, the state government invested 30 million pesos (US $1.75 million) to conclude the work started two decades before,” the Chihuahua government wrote on X. “The opening will benefit Chihuahuan businesses that provide regional transport services, as well as local businesses and tourists.”
The airport will generate 23 direct jobs and 25 indirect jobs for local people, according to administrators.
The project was first announced in 2010, in a location about 3 kilometers from the “Magic Town” of Creel, in the Sierra Tarahumara.
However, it was blocked by a successful injunction from members of the Rarámuri Indigenous group, including residents of the nearby village of Bosques San Elías de Repechique, who said they had not been consulted about the damage the airport would cause to their lands.
The ‘Copper Canyon’ is a popular destination in Chihuahua, with many extreme sporting activities taking place amongst the stunning landscape. (Wikipedia)
The case was finally resolved in April 2016, when the Chihuahua state government agreed to pay the community 65 million pesos (US $3.8 million) in compensation, to be delivered over seven and a half years via a public trust administered by residents.
The airport was expected to open in December 2022 or January 2023, but ended up taking an extra year to complete. Its official inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place in the next few days.
Although the airport was originally hoping toreceive tourist flights from cities around Mexico and the United States, it currently appears to be receiving only light private aircraft and air taxis.
The Copper Canyon region is home to six spectacular canyons, which offer a wide range of adventure activities such as climbing, whitewater rafting and trekking, as well as the world’s third longest cable car.
Prior to the airport’s opening, the most popular way for tourists to reach Creel was via the Chepe Express – a scenic 350 kilometer railroad offering three overnight stops in local towns.
The long awaited Oaxaca-Puerto Escondido highway is finally set to open after almost 15 years of construction. (Gobierno de Mexico)
The long-awaited new highway linking Oaxaca city to the Pacific coast town of Puerto Escondido will be inaugurated on Sunday, more than eight years after it was originally slated to open.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the imminent inauguration of the Oaxaca-Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway at his Tuesday morning press conference.
The new highway will significantly shorten travel times between Oaxaca city and the popular beach resort town of Puerto Escondido. (Gobierno de Mexico)
“It took 15 years that highway [but] finally on Sunday we’re going to inaugurate it,” he said.
“It will be possible to go from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido in two hours, 2 1/2 hours. It’s a great project, it will help the development of that whole area a lot, [benefit] the people of the communities of course and also tourism,” López Obrador said.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) touted the transformative power of the highway in a series of posts on social media.
“Great news for Oaxaca! The conclusion of the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway marks the beginning of a new era in mobility for rural and indigenous communities. They will now be able to access basic services and work opportunities more quickly,” the ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Barranca Larga is located in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca about 70 kilometers from the state capital, while Ventanilla is a community near Puerto Escondido, an increasingly popular tourism destination.
Construction of the 8.2-billion-peso (US $480 million) 104-kilometer-long highway between the two points has faced numerous delays, including ones caused by land disputes and landslides. As part of the project, the existing highway between Oaxaca city and Barranca Larga — Highway 175 — has been upgraded.
In another post on X, SICT said that the “100% completion” of the highway — which will replace the treacherous mountain road Highway 131 — “represents more and better opportunities for Oaxaca families.”
“Oaxaca is about to live a transport transformation,” the ministry said in yet another post that includes a video in which a resident of the town of Juquila speaks about the highway.
Así va quedando la autopista de Oaxaca a Puerto Escondido.
Reduce el tiempo de traslado a la mitad, será gratis por un año y se inaugura el próximo mes, febrero. pic.twitter.com/T4C2oDsG72
“How cool that finally after 10 years they’re going to inaugurate it,” said Jazmín Hernández.
“I think it’s a project that the region has been waiting for for a very long time. It’s a project with a lot of impact,” she said.
For his part, Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Minister Jorge Nuño Lara said that “the Oaxaca-Puerto Escondido highway will mark a turning point in the connectivity of the state.”
Travel time between the capital and the coast will be reduced to 2.5 hours from six or eight hours, he said.
A contract for the highway was originally awarded in 2009 during the presidency of Felipe Calderón.
Five years later, the original concessionaire ceded the rights to the project to another company, while in 2016, the project was about halfway done when it was suspended and passed to the National Infrastructure Fund. A completion target of July 2015 was originally targeted, but delays caused the expected opening date to be revised on numerous occasions.
After the highway opens this Sunday, traveling on it will be free for one year, according to José Luis Chida Pardo, the top SICT official in Oaxaca.
“On the president’s instruction, nothing will be charged the first year in order to promote [the highway] and make it more attractive for people,” he said.
SICT estimates that an average of 4,253 vehicles per day will use the highway, which at certain times over the years seemed unlikely to ever open at all.
Alfonso Caso Andrade, an important Mexican archaeologist, has been honored in today's Google Doodle. (Screen capture)
Today’s Google Doodle honors distinguished Mexican archaeologist and professor Alfonso Caso Andrade, born on this date in 1896.
Caso died at 74 in 1970, leaving behind an invaluable legacy for the understanding of Mexico’s ancient cultures. One of his most notable achievements was the first major excavation of the pre-Columbian city of Monte Albán in Oaxaca.
Caso Andrade was best known for his work in Oaxaca. (UNAM)
The “doodle” is a daily feature by which Google celebrates a person or historical event with an image and a biography. Some doodles are region- or country-specific. Caso’s Doodle shows him holding a book as he stands in front of a shovel, books and ancient artifacts. Behind him is a pyramid and the word “Google” emblazoned on stones, with one of the O’s represented by the cover of Caso’s book.
Caso is one of Mexico’s “Seven Sages,” a group of early 20th-century intellectuals who shared an intense enthusiasm for literature and law. Together they founded the Society of Conferences and Concerts in 1916, aiming to propagate culture among university students in Mexico City.
Other members of the group include Alberto Vásquez del Mercado who went on to become a Supreme Court justice, Manuel Gómez Morín, a founding member of the National Action Party (PAN), and Vicente Lombardo Toledano, founder of the Workers’ University of Mexico.
As a young man, Caso frequently visited pre-Columbian archaeological sites. Although he already had a law degree and had begun teaching university courses, he decided to go back to school and focus on archaeology as a career.
The Zapotec city of Monte Albán is considered one of Mexico’s most important archaeological sites. (Vadim Petrakov/Shutterstock)
His rigorous methods of interpretation earned respect from his fellow faculty, and he quickly became the leading voice in archaeology at what is now the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
As the head of the university’s archaeology department and later the director of its museum, Caso led excavations across the country, including at the ancient Zapotec site of Monte Albán.
In 1932, excavations at Monte Albán unearthed Tomb Seven, one of the richest burial sites ever found. Using the remarkable burial offerings in the tomb, Caso was able to outline a history of Monte Albán dating back to the 900s AD. Writing books about his findings and methodology, he began to focus on the Mixtecs (Ñuu Savi), an Indigenous people of southern Mexico Caso discovered Mixtec sites around the country in Yucuita, Yucuñudahui and Monte Negro. In a major step forward for the field of archaeology, Caso learned to read Mixtec codices.
Caso also served as the first director of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which was established in 1939, and was a member of several U.S. societies, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
For 30 years, he was the director of the National Indigenist Institute, the first Mexican public institution to address Indigenous affairs, which existed from 1948 to 2012. He also served as the rector of UNAM from 1944 to 1945 and was the founding editor of the Mexican Journal of Anthropological Studies and the Bibliographic Bulletin of American Anthropology.
In all his roles, Caso focused on protecting Mexico’s archaeological heritage and took significant steps to safeguard the traditions and history of Indigenous communities.
