Benito is currently living in a public park in Ciudad Juárez in inferior conditions. (Juan Ortega Solis/Cuartoscuro)
Animal lovers in Mexico have been following the saga of Benito the giraffe this week, as he finally appeared to be on the brink of transfer from unsafe living conditions in a Chihuahua public park to a spacious safari park in central Mexico.
However, the 3-year-old male was still at Central Park in Ciudad Juárez as of Thursday morning, after the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) said it had not authorized moving the animal to the Africam Safari park, located in the state of Puebla.
The tiny enclosure is open to the elements, exposing Benito to freezing temperatures. (Salvemos A Benito/X)
While the matter “is something that corresponds to the state government,” President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, he did add at his Wednesday morning press conference that the situation would be investigated. “If support is needed, they can count on us,” he said.
Benito’s home in Ciudad Juárez
When Benito arrived in May of last year, activists immediately went to work. The previous occupant of the space was a giraffe named Modesto, who endured 20 years of harsh living conditions before dying in 2021.
Activists launched a campaign,showing the public how Benito lives alone, suffers from frostbite in the winter and a lack of shade in the summer, and is subject to irregular feeding.
His home is not a zoo with trained staff, but an “ordinary” city park, said animal activist Ana Félix of the Somos su Voz (We are Your Voice) welfare group. She said the park’s veterinarian told her that he never had the necessary resources to care for Modesto.
At 3,000 square meters, the corral area is too small for a giraffe, and it has only two pine trees for an animal that likes to roam and search for food. Benito measures 4 meters, 30 centimeters (14 feet).
Another big problem is cold temperatures and biting winds in the winter. Modesto reportedly lost part of his ears and tail during a cold snap when the mercury dropped to minus-16 Celsius.
Félix said that communication with officials at Africam Safari had increased during December, and that the transfer appeared to be set for this week, with Puebla officials ready to come and collect Benito. Africam even issued a press release saying it would provide “optimal conditions” and place Benito in a group “to promote his socialization.”
Activists hope Benito can be moved to a safari park in the state of Puebla, which has agreed to accept him. (Salvemos A Benito/X)
Profepa says ‘not yet’
However, Profepa took to its social networks to say the transfer was not appropriate and it’s on hold. After an inspection, Profepa said it first wants Central Park in Juárez to fulfill its “unavoidable obligation” to achieve compliance with its operating guidelines.
“It is not enough to request the relocation of the specimen,” Profepa noted.
Frank Camacho, director of Africam Safari, said that his facility of more than 450 species, close to downtown Puebla, is working with federal and state authorities to legally complete the transfer.
Activists are hoping for a positive resolution by the end of this week.
Félix said she’s worried about Benito collapsing from cold temperatures and poor diet before the transfer occurs, and if that happens, she said, “not only one entity will be responsible, there will be two: the state government and Profepa.”
In 2022, Iranian artists Shadi Yousefian and Ardalan Payvar began to spend time in central Mexico, quickly falling in love with the art and the people. In a gesture of extraordinary generosity, they are now donating nearly their entire art collection — over 100 pieces — to Mano Amiga, a Mexican NGO that financially empowers women. The organization provides business and personal finance education, mentoring and interest-free microloans to women who lack access to affordable credit, enabling them to build successful small businesses. This support provides the opportunity to improve their families’ financial prospects and strengthen their communities.
The opportunity to secure a piece of this exclusive collection will take place on Jan. 17 from 5-8 p.m. at Casa Europa in San Miguel de Allende. This unique event offers a chance to invest in the works of up-and-coming Iranian, Mexican and American creators as well as to buy works from more established artists, all priced quite low in an effort to inspire as many donations as possible to the charity.
VIP tickets for first access to the art from 5-6 p.m. are available for 500 pesos. During the VIP hour, guests will enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres generously provided by a renowned local establishment, The Restaurant, and wine will flow freely all evening. Contact Mano Amiga at [email protected] to reserve your VIP tickets.
Entrance is free after 6 p.m., and any pieces still available after the event will remain on display at Casa Europa through the end of January. Interested readers who cannot be in San Miguel on January 17 are encouraged to inquire about participating in the event remotely.
Payvar shared the couple’s motivation:
“In a healthy community, everybody helps each other to the best of their ability. With Mano Amiga, we have found a way to help, with the hope that this will encourage others to contribute as well. Not only through financial support but [also] through education and mentorship, this organization truly empowers female microentrepreneurs, which can have an enormous positive impact on their families’ futures. My wife and I have been interested in finding the best way to help the local community. Through dear friends, we learned about Mano Amiga. We decided that this was the perfect opportunity to get involved and help to the extent of our ability. As the 13th-century Persian Poet, Sa’adi, beautifully put it:
“Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot retain.”
Some pieces in the couple’s collection were created by notable Iranian artists currently living in Iran whereas others were made by exiles living in Europe and the United States. For example, Yousefian and Payvar are donating three works by Reza Abedini, who is often referred to as “the father of Iranian contemporary graphic design.”
Other award-winning artists in the collection include Najva Erfani, an artist and illustrator whose work is influenced by ancient Iranian literature, mythology, art and culture; and Hesam Rahmanian, who has held solo exhibitions in London and Dubai and was a finalist for the MOP CAP prize awarded to emerging Iranian visual artists. Also available are works by ICY and SOT, New York-based street artists whose stencils first became famous in the streets of Tabriz, in northern Iran.
Fairy Cinema by Najva Erfani
“We are artists who love supporting other artists, so we have been collecting art for many years and have also received pieces as gifts from artist friends,” noted Yousefian. “Now it is time for us to give back to a deserving community. We see this event as an open invitation to everyone to support this impactful organization, Mano Amiga—and in appreciation for their support, people will take home a gift, a work of art.”
Siah Mashq by Reza Abedini
Payvar and Yousefian have also begun to collect works from artists based in Mexico. The couple seem to have unerring eyes for emerging talent, as they recently purchased several pieces by young Mexican artists which were subsequently selected for museum shows in both Mexico and the United States.
Among the Mexican artists to be featured at the event are Danilo Filtrof and René Torres, who are currently showing work at the Museo de Arte e Historia de Guanajuato in León; Armando de la Riva, whose painting entitled “Woman” is shown above; and Joaquín Piñeiro, an abstract artist whose beautiful art all Sanmiguelenses will know from his galleries at Fabrica la Aurora. Argentinian artist Lucas Rise and his wife, American artist Giuliana Vastarella, collaborated on a piece to be included in the show alongside works by Cory Swenson, an American portrait artist.
Shadi Yousefian is herself an award-winning artist whose mixed media work addresses universal themes such as loss, dislocation, alienation and reinvention. Her work engages personal and social issues of contemporary life, particularly cultural identity and the immigrant experience.
Her work has been acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and one of her installations is currently on display at the San Diego Museum of Arts. Raised in Iran, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Fine Arts in Photography from San Francisco State University.
Hejran Diptych by Ardalan Payvar
Born in Tehran in 1976, Ardalan Payvar is an artist and musician. At seventeen, he migrated to the United States, where he studied Graphic Design and Fine Arts at Cal Poly University. Ardalan was a member of the Iranian rock band, Kiosk, from 2006 to 2016. In 2009, he and Yousefian co-founded a band named Eendo. Payvar currently works as a music producer for films.
To learn more about this couple and about the important work of Mano Amiga, visit www.manoamigasma.org, www.shadiyousefian.com and www.eendo.com. Yousefian, Payvar and the women of Mano Amiga hope to see you at the event on January 17 from 5-8 p.m. at Casa Europa in San Miguel de Allende.
Ann Marie Jackson is a member of Mano Amiga’s board of directors. Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her novel “The Broken Hummingbird” will be out in October. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.
Indigenous Cucapá leader Aronia Wilson has been found dead. Authorities in the state of Sonora say she was murdered by a member of her inner circle. (Social media)
Aronia Wilson Tambo, governor of the Cucapá Indigenous group in Sonora, was found dead at her home in Pozas de Arvizu, San Luis Río Colorado, the state prosecutor’s office (FGJES) announced on Tuesday.
Wilson, 64, represented around 350 Cucapá people in her community on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the last census carried out in 2020. She was also a city councilor and one of the last surviving native speakers of the Indigenous Cucapá language. According to astatement by the FGJES, a suspect has already been arrested in relation to the murder, which is being treated as a femicide.
The indigenous Cucapá people straddle both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border. (Grupo Etnico Cucapá)
Police reports suggest she died from a blow to the head. Her body was found under items of clothing that had been set on fire, suggesting that her killer had tried to destroy the evidence of the crime.
“The first acts of the investigation rule out that the crime is related to political activity … carried out by the ethnic leader,” the statement said. “The investigation points to her immediate circle.” The FGJES did not clarify how they had reached this conclusion.
The Cucapá community is native to a region of Sonora, Baja California and Arizona that spans the U.S. border, and is often used by organized crime groups as a trafficking corridor for drugs, weapons and migrants. The community has been active in protesting the U.S. border wall, which they say would prevent the free movement of their people through their ancestral lands.
Wilson’s death is also a major blow for the Cucapá language. According to San Luis Río Colorado councilwoman Evangelina Tambo, as of last June, only 27 people still spoke Cucapá, putting it in danger of extinction. Following her murder, Indolenguo, a website specializing in Indigenous languages,released a statement mourning her loss, describing her as “a promoter and defender of culture and language.”
On social networks, representatives of Wilson’s community and Indigenous groups from across Mexico have expressed shock at the murder and demanded justice for her death.
Vehicle production increased 14.2% annually in 2023, while exports increased 15% over 2022. (Volkswagen)
In 2023, Mexico’s auto industry had its most productive year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturing close to 3.8 million light vehicles, according to data from the national statistics agency INEGI.
Vehicle production increased 14.2% in annual terms to just under 3.78 million, the highest number since 2019, when output was 3.81 million units. The year-over-year increase in percentage terms was the largest in 13 years.
Mexico exported just over 3.3 million light vehicles – predominantly to the United States – last year, a significant increase over 2022. (Vitpho/Shutterstock)
Meanwhile, Mexico exported just over 3.3 million light vehicles last year, a 15.2% increase compared to 2022. That was the highest increase in percentage terms in six years, but exports were still 2.5% below the 2019 level.
Which automakers made the most light vehicles in Mexico in 2023?
INEGI data shows that 76.1% of light vehicles manufactured in Mexico last year were light trucks (SUVs and pickups), while 23.9% were smaller cars.
The top five manufacturers were:
General Motors, 722,631 vehicles – a 2.8% decline compared to 2022.
Plants in Toluca, México state; Silao, Guanajuato; San Luis Potosí city; and Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila.
2. Nissan, 615,751 vehicles – a 57.5% increase compared to 2022.
Plants in Cuernavaca, Morelos; and Aguascalientes.
3. Stellantis, 467,542 vehicles – a 12.7% increase compared to 2022.
Plants in Toluca, México state; and Saltillo, Coahuila.
4. Ford, 365,365 vehicles – a 20.4% increase compared to 2022.
Plants in Cuautitlán Izcalli, México state; Hermosillo, Sonora; and Irapuato, Guanajuato.
5. Volkswagen, 349,227 vehicles – a 15.7% increase compared to 2022.
Plants in Puebla; and Silao, Guanajuato.
The automakers that recorded the biggest year-over-year production increases in percentage terms in 2023 were BMW (85.1%); Nissan (57.5%); Mazda (36.7%); Honda (32.4%); and Ford (20.4%).
Electric vehicle production in Mexico
Just over 106,000 vehicles of the 3.78 million vehicles made in Mexico last year were electric vehicles. The former figure is equivalent to just under 3% of the total.
Only two electric vehicle models – the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Chevrolet Blazer EV – are currently made in Mexico, and production only started in late 2023.
Tesla is among the companies that will manufacture in Mexico, as EV production moves south of the border. (Tesla)
Thus, the production of EVs in Mexico should rise in 2024. General Motors is set to begin production of another electric model in Mexico this year, while several other automakers have announced plans to make EVs here.
Industry association chief: production decline in December not part of a trend
Data shows that light vehicle production declined 9.86% annually in December to 215,923 units.
Odracir Barquera, managing director of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association (AMIA), said that the decline is “simply an issue of circumstances” and not part of a trend, explaining that it was due to “reorganizations” at some auto plants. Production is back to normal in January, he said.
Kia, Nissan, BMW, General Motors, Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen are among the automakers that have announced production adjustments at their Mexico plants to introduce new models, including electric vehicles.
The production outlook for 2024
Barquera predicted an annual production increase of around 8.5% this year, which would take total output past 2019 levels.
He said that AMIA is forecasting total light vehicle production of 4.1 million units in 2024, as long as there isn’t “some kind of surprise.”
Production figures for 2023 are predicted to surpass even 2019 levels, some analysts believe. (Wikimedia Commons)
The best December on record for vehicle exports
While auto production declined in December, exports increased 16% in annual terms to reach 282,316.
Barquera said that the export total is the highest for the month of December since records began in 2005. “It is very strong data,” he added.
The automakers that exported the most light vehicles from Mexico last year were, in order, General Motors; Stellantis; Ford; Nissan; and Volkswagen.
The United States, Canada and Germany were the biggest importers of Mexican-made vehicles last year, with 77% of total exports shipped to Mexico’s northern neighbor.
Mexico was the largest exporter to the United States for the first 11 months of 2023, and looks set to dethrone China when annual figures are released later this year. (Shutterstock)
Mexico was the largest exporter of goods to the United States in the first 11 months of 2023, and data to be published later in 2024 will almost certainly show it ousted China from the top spot over the full calendar year for the first time in 16 years.
Data published Tuesday by the United States Census Bureau (USCB) also showed that Mexico was its northern neighbor’s largest trade partner between January and November, with two-way trade of close to US $740 billon. Mexico is set to dislodge Canada as the United States’ largest trade partner in 2023 after Canada claimed the top spot in 2022.
Mexico is likely to displace Canada as the largest trading partner of the United States for 2023, as the economy picked up an impressive head of steam. (Kansas City Southern)
Mexico exported goods worth a record high of $438.98 billion to the U.S. between January and November, a 4.8% increase compared to the same period of 2022, according to USCB data.
Mexico’s export total was well ahead of that of second-ranked China, which sent goods worth $393.13 billion to the U.S. in the first 11 months of last year, an annual decline of 21.2%.
Canada was the third largest exporter of goods to the U.S., sending products worth $387.72 billion to its southern neighbor between January and November, a year-over-year decline of 4%.
Mexico’s exports to the United States – among which are cars, auto parts, computers, oil and agricultural products – rose last year as investment poured into its manufacturing sector as part of the growing nearshoring phenomenon, while China’s exports declined amid its ongoing trade war with the U.S.
Mexico looks set to outstrip China as 2023’s biggest exporter to the United States – thanks in part to Chinese and other foreign direct investment in the country. (Bernd Dittich/Unsplash)
Mexico also benefits from the USMCA free trade agreement with the United States and Canada.
Chinese investment is growing in Mexico, in large part because Mexico gives the world’s second largest economy “a back door” into the United States as it is party to the USMCA, The Economist reported last year.
Mexico and the United States last month struck an agreement to cooperate on foreign investment screening as a measure to better protect the national security of both countries. The plan appeared to be motivated to a large degree by a desire to stop Chinese investment in Mexico that is considered problematic.
A record November
Mexican exports to the U.S. were worth $39.81 billion in November, an 8.1% increase compared to the same month of 2022. The total was the highest ever for Mexican exports to the United States in the month of November.
The year-over-year increase in percentage terms was the highest for Mexico in nine months, after a 9.1% gain was recorded last February.
Agricultural products, such as avocados, are among the most lucrative exports to the U.S. (Juan José Estrada Serafín/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico is still the United States’ top trade partner
Mexico’s imports from the United States were worth $299.4 billion in the first 11 months of 2023, a figure virtually changed from the same period of 2022.
Two-way trade between Mexico and the United States was thus $738.39 billion, a 2.8% increase compared to the January-November period of 2023.
Trade between the two countries accounted for 15.8% of the United States’ exports to and imports from all countries.
Canada ranked as the second largest trade partner of the United States in the first 11 months of last year, while China ranked third. Two-way trade between Mexico and the United States was $25.4 billion higher than that between the U.S. and Canada and $209.45 billion higher than that between the U.S. and China.
In 2022, Mexico was the United States’ second largest trade partner after Canada, but it appears likely it will dethrone its USMCA partner when final 2023 data is published.
Mexico records a healthy trade surplus
Mexico’s surplus with its northern neighbor in the first 11 months of last year was a record high $139.57 billion, a 17% increase compared to the same period of 2022.
Mexico’s trade surplus with the U.S. in November was $13.81 billion.
The ancient metropolis was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. (Unsplash)
As the shadow of the feathered serpent god descends towards the base of the Kukulkán pyramid, a bound prisoner is restrained over the sacrificial altar while the High Priest of Chichén Itzá raises his sharpened obsidian dagger overhead. With his body painted in sacred Maya Blue, the victim knows he will be offered to the rain god, Cháak, who opposes the new warlike serpent cult from Central Mexico that had conquered almost the entirety of the Yucatán Peninsula. When the shadow snake meets its end, so will he.
Hidden by the dense undergrowth of the Yucatán jungle, an ancient metropolis stands as a testimony to one of the most powerful and prosperous pre-Columbian civilizations. It was a place of pilgrimage with rituals involvinghuman sacrifice, but also a place where art, astronomy and trade thrived, influencing lands far beyond those controlled by the Maya. Today, millions of people visit the famous Chichén Itzá archaeological site every year to marvel at its impressive stonepyramids and the mystery they left behind.
The Maya carefully observed the meteorological and astronomical cycles and created an accurate calendar. (chichenitza.com)
Chichén Itzá was abandoned centuries before the Spanish conquest of the Yucatán Peninsula, yet it maintained its prestigious aura and symbolic significance throughout the colonial period. Maya pilgrims continued to conduct ceremonies in honor of the rain god, Cháak, believed to reside in Xilbalbá (the underworld) beneath the SacredCenote of Chichén Itzá.
The site was populated for over a thousand years, during which cycles of prosperity and decline were influenced by political, religious and environmental events. Even today, it remains a Mecca for archaeologists, and adventurers the world over, with historical similarities of exponential prosperity comparable to the height of the Roman Empire.
So what makes Chichén Itzá so special when compared to other ancient cities around the world?
The metropolis was designed with the heavens in mind, tracking the movement of the stars in great detail and forecasting solar and lunar eclipses. The most recognizable structure in the city is the Temple of Kukulkán, also known as El Castillo. The building is positioned against the sun so that a shadow in the form of a serpent gradually crawls down the side of the pyramid during the equinox.
Yet, there is so much more behind the wonders and secrets of Chichén Itzá that archaeologists are still discovering today. For now, here is a glimpse of what we know about the lost city that captured the imagination of people around the globe for over a century:
The Water Witches and the magical cenotes of Chichén Itzá
The name of the city stems from the Itzá people (“magicians of the water”) who settled in the area sometime during the early ninth century. Chichén is taken from the Mayan phrase meaning “at the mouth of the well”, possibly due to the Maya spiritual connection with cenotes. Although little is known about the origins of this influential tribe, it is believed they migrated to Yucatán from the south, possibly from Guatemala or Belize.
Archaeological analyses of the older structures around the site point towards architectural techniques similar to those of the neighboring Puuc region to the south, with intricately carved masks and ornamental designs. Indeed, in its formative years, Chichén Itzá may have been under the influence of another powerful city-state like Yaxunah, which was connected by a sacbe (Maya road). But the new arrivals from the south would eventually see a renaissance ushering in a golden age that would see them construct some of the greatest pyramids in the Maya world.
The treasures of the Serpent Cult
Records taken from hieroglyphics found on the Tenoned Disk at the Caracol (snail) observatory at the site mention the arrival of the Toltecs from central Mexico. The Ancient Aztecs saw them as their cultural and intellectual forefathers who laid the groundwork for their advancedartistic and scientific success. Semi-mythical accounts described the Toltec capital, Tollan, as having buildings made out of solid jade and gold. With the coming of this central Mexican tribe with Mexica features of human sacrifice, bloodletting, and a thirst for war, a new religion spread across the Maya world around the early tenth century, eventually causing unrest and conflict with nonbelievers. It was during this period that Chichén Itzá experienced a building boom, and the serpent cult cemented its dominance, including regular blood sacrifice and self-mutilation for followers.
It was also when the most important pyramid on the site was constructed. El Castillo (The Castle) was built over the existing pyramid structures and became the main ritual site for the new religion that had conquered or assimilated its southern neighbors. Chichén Itzá was named as the cult’s southern capital city.
El Castillo was a temple dedicated to the main figure of the cult that evolved into a religious political movement, the feathered serpent called Kukulkán. Plumed snake sculptures adorn the northern balustrade, while a unique phenomenon occurs during the spring and autumn equinoxes. At this time, the late afternoon sun casts triangular shadows against the northwest balustrade, creating the illusion of Kukulkán gradually crawling down the pyramid. Unbelievably, this amazing astrological precision survives today and the feathered serpent continues to appear on the same dates.
The Exodus
Experts say the Chichén Itzá renaissance under the serpent cult could have been as brief as a few decades or as long as 150 years. However, Paleoclimate data collected in a2018 study indicates an increase in aridity throughout the region, which points to a decline sometime around the eleventh century. According to remnants of ceremonial pottery and other evidence, the inhabitants of Chichén Itzá were deeply concerned with drought and soil fertility, and by 1100 AD, population levels had dropped significantly.
“Chichén Itzá, however, was never completely abandoned or unoccupied,” the study says. “It remained an important place for pilgrims throughout the Late Postclassic and even during the colonial period. Chichén Itzá was an American Mecca. Today, it sees more visitors than ever before.”
The ancient metropolis was voted one of theNew Seven Wonders of the World in 2007 for good reason. Meanwhile, improved technology is revealing secrets hidden underneath the jungle canopy for centuries, challenging mainstream narratives about the scale and influence of the pre-Columbian Maya people. Despite almost 100 years of analysis from global experts, we are unable to fully explain the origins of the Maya, their golden age and their eventual tragic demise. However, while archaeologists struggle to connect the pieces of the Ancient Maya puzzle, the great Maya pyramids of Chichén Itzá continue to fill our minds with spectacle and wonder.
Get comfortable taking Yoga in Spanish with this essential vocabulary. (Dylan Gillis/Unsplash)
The class comes to a seated position on their mat. Everyone closes their eyes, sits up tall, and begins to breathe in unison according to the teacher’s instruction. There is a collective calming, a shedding of the stress from the outside world. Except, of course, for the few foreigners who have no idea what the teacher is saying. What they’re experiencing is quite the opposite.
Taking fitness classes in Spanish is an excellent way to expand your vocabulary and immerse in the culture. (Kike Vega/Unsplash)
“Empezamos en una posición cómoda, sentados, la espalda erecta y los ojos cerrados.”
Anxiety heightens, eyes dart frantically to neighboring students, searching for a hint of what to do.
I’ve been there.
As a 20-year practitioner and instructor of yoga, I’ve taken classes in many tongues and taught plenty of non-English speakers. I realized quickly that when you have a good command of the practice, the language you speak doesn’t matter much. Especially in yoga, which has a unifying language of Sanskrit. Still, there are words and phrases that are essential to understanding what-the-bleep is going on, and that’s what I’m here to show you.
With this list, you will breeze through your vinyasas with no need to contort your head under your knee in an attempt to stare awkwardly at the teacher’s every move. As a bonus, taking any kind of fitness in Spanish will assist in learning all kinds of different words.
This will require you to study and feel out of place at times. That’s part of the process. You chose to live in Mexico and it’s your responsibility to learn the language. There will be days that you understand everything and there will be days that you’ll understand nothing, and that’s okay. Just keep showing up.
Using yoga, my language teacher Pao Arley taught me command form and spatial adverbs. Going to the real-life classes reinforced the knowledge she’d imparted onto me. I can now tell someone to stand up without thinking (Pónte de pie!), I turn left immediately when the GPS tells me to (something I can still barely do in English), and I can now confidently attend fitness classes of any kind, not just yoga.
However, yoga is still my preferred method of movement. The combination of Pao’s lessons and onsite immersion also showed me that the practice in Mexico, as one might expect, has its particularities. A few months ago I attended a Hatha class in Barcelona and when I asked if the instructor could guide me to the tapetes, which means “mat” in Mexico, he promptly walked me to a shelving unit stuffed full of blankets. In addition, I’ve yet to attend a class in Mexico where the sequence hasn’t included forearm stand and crow pose, and most instructors finish the experience with a group chant of ‘TresShantis’.
Before your next yoga class, I invite you to review the following verbs, postures, and phrases. In addition, I suggest knowing basic body parts and Sanskrit names for popular positions. Feel free to try at home with YouTube classes until you’re ready for the real thing.
My best advice is to practice consistently. Along will come a beautiful moment where you’ll simply react to instruction without any need to translate. I don’t know when this moment came for me. All I know is one day, mid-practice, I realized that I understood everything. At no point did I need to sneak a peek at my neighbor for reinforcement. I suddenly felt a rush of endorphins not previously achievable in any fitness classes.
And so, without further ado, empezamos con la clase del vocabulario de yoga.
Verbs to know
Aguantar – hold
Colocar – put
Doblar – fold
Elevar – raise
Empujar – push
Estirar – stretch
Girar – turn
Levantar – lift
Postures to know
Arca – Urdhva Dhanurasana, or Wheel pose
Árbol – Vrksasana, or Tree pose
Cadáver – Savasana, or Corpse pose
Camello – Ustrasana, or Camel pose
Cuervo – Bakasana, or Crow pose
Guerrero uno, dos, y tres – Virabhadrasana l, ll, lll or Warrior poses I, ll, lll
Lagarto – Lizard pose (no Sanskrit term)
Montaña – Tadasana, or Mountain pose
Paloma – Kapotasana, or Pigeon pose
Perro mirando hacia abajo – Adho Mukha Svanasana, or Downward-facing dog pose
Perro mirando hacia arriba – Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, or Upward-facing dog pose
Plancha (Sometimes referred to as “tabla”) – Plank pose
Postura del niño – Blasana, or Child’s pose
Silla – Utkatasana, or Chair pose
Vela – Salamba Sarvangasana, or Shoulder Stand pose
Phrases to know (not all are direct translations)
Ponerse de pie – Stand
Acuéstate boca arriba/abajo – Lay on your back/belly
Cierre/abre los ojos – Close/open your eyes
Gira hacia la derecha/izquierda – Turn toward the right/left
Alarga la espalda – Lengthen your spine
¿Tienes algunas lesiones? – Do you have any injuries?
¿Me prestas un tapete? – Can I rent a mat?
Inhala profundamente y exhala lentamente – Inhale deeply and exhale slowly
Encuentra tu equilibrio – Find your balance
Mantén la atención en el presente – Stay present
Encuentra tu propio ritmo – Find your rhythm
Deja ir cualquier tensión o estrés – Let go of any tension or stress
While I wholly suggest diving headfirst into a Spanish-language class, I understand that there will be times of burnout. Here are a few studios that offer English classes in CDMX:
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.
All three of Mexico's major domestic carriers saw growth in 2023, but Viva Aerobus led the way with more than 20%.(Shutterstock)
Low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus flew nearly 25 million passengers in 2023, experiencing a 20.7% increase and becoming the fastest-growing Mexican airline of the year.
CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua, said in a statement that the airline closed last year with solid demand that is expected to remain positive for the beginning of this year.
Despite Viva Aerobus’ growth, Volaris remains Mexico’s largest airline, having transported 33.4 million passengers last year – 7.9% more than in 2022.
“We are pleased with the demand we experienced during the peak season, which, together with the changes in our network, helped us achieve high single-digit year-over-year growth in total unit revenue,” Volaris boss Enrique Beltranena said. He added that they’re “confident” that the trend will continue during the first quarter of the year.
However, Volaris reported that it flew 4.6% fewer passengers in Dec. 2023 than the same month of 2022.
Meanwhile, Aeroméxico flew 24.7 million passengers in 2023, an increase of 3.3 million passengers – 14% – compared to 2022.
Aeroméxico is the latest Mexican airline to be affected by aircraft issues, with 19 Boeing 737-MAX 9 aircraft currently grounded after a door blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight at 16,000 feet earlier this week. (Aeromexico)
Overall, Volaris, Viva Aerobus, and Aeroméxico carried 83.2 million passengers in Mexico on domestic and international flights in 2023.
Both Aeroméxico and Viva Aerobus were forced to ground a number of aircraft after manufacturing issues with their Pratt & Whitney engines, affecting passenger numbers during the final months of 2023. Zuazua predicts the issues will be fully resolved by 2025.
“We are committed to maintaining safe operations and disciplined capacity deployment,” he said in a statement. “We are working closely with P&W to determine the inspection schedule and impact on our fleet for next year.”
Aeroméxico also grounded its 19 Boeing 737-MAX 9 planes – some 12% of its total fleet – after an incident with an Alaska Airlines flight last week which caused the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to order U.S. carriers to ground and inspect these planes.
The company announced on Monday that these airplanes are now in the final phase of inspection and expects its equipment to return to operation in the coming days.
State forces in Chiapas have denied a battle in a remote village that reportedly left 20 dead, after local residents denounced authorities for their inaction. (Toño Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
After local residents went public with a claim that 20 people died in a Jan. 4 clash between cartel members in Chiapas, state officials replied Tuesday that “there is no record that proves” it.
Media outlets this week carried the residents’ harrowing story, citing a letter and statements from locals, who claimed that a battle between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the rival Sinaloa Cartel had prompted “hundreds of families” to flee to the region.
Violence in the region has spiked as the CJNG and Sinaloa cartels compete for control of drug and people trafficking routes near the Guatemalan border. (Cuartoscuro)
The rival groups are said to be vying for control of human smuggling and drug trafficking routes in the mountains near the Mexico-Guatemala border.
In addition to roadblocks, checkpoints, shootings and the takeover of homes, the letter focused on a Jan. 4 incident in the mining community of Nueva Morelia that left “more than 20 people dead,” including two innocent local residents caught in the crossfire.
The situation in the municipality of Chicomuselo “lasted around seven hours, where the population remained in panic and anxiety, taking cover as best they could to protect their lives,” the letter noted.
Signed “Civil Society of the People of Chicomuselo,” the letter also denounced the lack of response from state and security officials.
A number of government forces, including those from the Army and National Guard, are stationed in the area. (Toño Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
In reply, the Attorney General’s Office (FGE) in Chiapas rejected the citizens’ version of the deadly Jan. 4 incident.
“The personnel who are permanently deployed in the Sierra Mariscal area [which abuts the border with Guatemala] have not reported this confrontation in which 20 people supposedly died, and there is no report of hospital care, either,” PGE said in a statement.
“There was a record on Jan. 5 [of a] murder of a person in the vicinity of the municipal seat of Chicomuselo, but that does not correspond to this event,” the statement added.
PGE also noted “two permanent bases of operations” in the area: a coordinated effort among the National Guard, the state’s Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSP) and the Army, and an operation of “military personnel … in different positions to provide security and tranquility to the population.”
PGE asked people “not to be carried away by biased publications that seek to destabilize or create disquiet among citizens.”
Residents responded by saying they are caught in the middle of a war and are scared for their lives. Many have not sent their children back to school this week out of fear.
“The dead are civilians and the burned cars belong to innocent people,” one person said in the magazine Proceso. “To cause terror among themselves, they have killed innocent people. In [Sonora and nearby El Escobillal] there is not a single inhabited house. All the animals were left loose in the streets. Pigs, dogs, chickens and horses all wander in the streets.”
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a national state of emergency on Tuesday in response to the outbreaks of violence. (Daniel Noboa/X)
The Mexican government has condemned the acts of violence carried out this week by crime groups in Ecuador, where President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in recognition of “an internal armed conflict.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) said in a statement that the federal government “is following with concern the latest developments in Ecuador and the security situation in several areas of the county, which remains delicate.”
🇪🇨#Ecuador– Ecuadorians cheering and clapping for their soldiers in a show of support in the fight against the cartel gang members. pic.twitter.com/XLtNNZNusK
“We strongly condemn the acts of violence carried out by organized crime groups and express our solidarity with the Ecuadorian government and people,” the statement said.
“We support Ecuador’s institutions to ensure the country’s stability and the protection of individuals living in or visiting Ecuador, while adhering to the domestic legal order and respect for human rights.”
There has been a series of violent attacks in the small South American nation this week — at least 30 as of Tuesday — after José Adolfo “Fito” Macías Villamar, leader of the Los Choneros gang, disappeared from a prison in Guayaquil on Sunday. At least eight people had been killed in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, by Tuesday.
Explosions, looting, gunfire and burning vehicles have been reported in Ecuador this week, according to The New York Times. There have “uprisings in several prisons” and another prominent gang leader, Fabricio Colón Pico of Los Lobos, and other prisoners escaped. In addition, four police officers were abducted Monday night, one in national capital Quito and three in the city of Quevedo.
Security forces posted photos of the perpetrators of the attack on the TV station in Guayaquil. (Policía Ecuador/X)
The most dramatic attack — or at least the one that has garnered the most attention — was an assault on a TV station in Guayaquil in which 13 armed men burst in on a newscast on Tuesday and proceeded to make threats and sow panic among employees as the cameras continued to roll, broadcasting the terror to thousands of homes across Ecuador.
Shots were fired, but no one was killed and the perpetrators were arrested by police and would face terrorism charges, according to Ecuadorian authorities.
The motive of the attack wasn’t immediately clear, but one of the aggressors was “heard saying that he wanted to send a message about the consequences of ‘messing with the mafias,'” the New York Times reported.
“But the police moved in before he could be wired up with a microphone,” the newspaper added.
An attack on a TV station, which was broadcasting live at the time, has shocked the world. (Screen Capture)
Before the TV station incident and other acts of violence on Tuesday, Noboa, who has been Ecuador’s president for less than two months, imposed a state of emergency in the country.
On Tuesday afternoon, he announced on social media that he had signed a revised executive decree declaring “the existence of an internal armed conflict” and establishing a “state of exception,” or state of emergency across the country, where violence has increased significantly in recent years.
The state of emergency will last 60 days and allows authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and use to the military to patrol streets and control prisons.
In his decree, Noboa identified 22 “transnational organized crime groups” as “terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors.”
He ordered the armed forces to carry out military operations, “under international humanitarian law and respecting human rights, to neutralize the identified groups.”
In an address on Monday, Noboa said that “the time is over when drug-trafficking convicts, hit men and organized crime dictate to the government what to do.”
In his video address, Noboa said that “we are fighting against terrorist groups that are more than 20,000 people.” (Screen capture)
On Wednesday he said: “We are fighting for national peace. We are fighting against terrorist groups that are more than 20,000 people.”
At least 70 people had been arrested as of Wednesday morning, according to Ecuadorian police.
The head of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces Joint Command said Tuesday that recent attacks were a response to government operations against crime gangs.
“They have unleashed a wave of violence to frighten the population,” Admiral Jaime Vela told reporters.
Links between Ecuadorian gangs and Mexican cartels
Several of the crime groups named in Noboa’s decree have links to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Milenio newspaper reported Wednesday.
Major Mexican drug gangs, particularly the dominant Sinaloa and CJNG cartels, have expanded into Ecuador, where much of the raw material for cocaine is produced. (Cuartoscuro)
“According to the Ecuadorian armed forces, Mexican organized crime groups subcontracted local gangs,” Milenio said.
It said that Los Choneros is affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel, while Los Lobos, Los Lagartos and Los Tiguerones are “armed wings” of the CJNG.
Los Choneros “is believed to have been one of the first Ecuadorean gangs to forge ties with Mexican drug cartels,” The New York Times reported.
Los Choneros, Los Lobos, Los Lagartos and Los Tiguerones “have a strong presence in the streets” of several provinces of Ecuador, “where they control drug dealing, extortion, contraband and executions,” Milenio said.
Christian Zurita, an Ecuadorian journalist who ran as a Movimiento Construye candidate in the 2023 presidential election after the party’s original candidate was assassinated in Quito last August, asserted that the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG are “jointly responsible” for the unprecedented wave of violence currently afflicting Ecuador.
He told the Proceso news magazine that the Mexican cartels supply weapons and cash to their Ecuadorian affiliates.
“Ecuador has become a center of distribution of drugs for the United States and Europe, which makes the [Mexican] cartels very present,” Zurita said.
Many of those displaced by insecurity in Ecuador have headed for Mexico, where they plan to cross the U.S. border to claim asylum. (Graciela Ļópez/Cuartoscuro)
The ex-candidate, who attracted 16% of the vote in the first round of last year’s election to finish third, said that Mexico should collaborate with Ecuador to combat the criminal groups that are active there, but expressed doubt that would occur.
AMLO: No Mexicans affected by the violence in Ecuador
President López Obrador said Wednesday morning that there hadn’t been any reports of Mexicans being affected by the outbreak of violence in Ecuador.
Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena said on the X social media platform that the ministry she heads up is in contact with the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador and that the government is “ready to attend to the Mexican community that requires assistance and/or protection.”
On behalf of the government, López Obrador expressed solidarity with and support for the people and government of Ecuador.
“We wish with all our heart that peace is restored,” he told reporters at his regular news conference.
