If you’re on a quest to understand Mexican humor – or at least to find the best Mexican memes to share with your friends – we’ve got you covered! Here’s this week’s curated collection with a translation, background, any relevance to current events, and hopefully, a good chuckle.
Meme translation: “When the game is loading and you see your reflection in the television.”
What does it meme? I don’t know about you all, but the combination of the colder weather and often sad world news has me spending a lot of time inside staring at the TV, where it’s easy to forget what you should be doing for an episode or six.
This particular meme is for people playing video games, but I see a similar image when the following episode is loading! Maybe it’s time to get up and do something!
Meme translation: “December begins.” “The fish right away:” (And yes, that’s a Bacardi bottle and a can of Modelo beer.)
What does it meme? This is a reference to a popular Christmas carol in Spanish, Los Peces en el Rio. The second part of the chorus goes, “Beben y beben y vuelven a beber; los peces en el río por ver a Dios nacer.” (In English: They drink and they drink, and they drink again; the fish in the river will soon see God as he is born.)
I’ve never really understood the song – do fish “drink” water? And how does drinking water help them see the Baby Jesus? – but it’s a popular one that most people learn as kids, and it’s sweet. Anyway! “To drink,” in Spanish, just like in English, can mean to drink alcohol, and “in the river” (en el río) can double as “by the river.” Looks like these fish have found a nice loophole in the lyrics!
Meme translation: “My ex when they tell their version of the story.”
What does it meme? I’ve hinted before in a few articles that Mexicans can fall a bit on the dramatic side when it comes to the ending of relationships: to hear people tell it, every woman is “crazy,” “lazy,” and possibly secretly abusive, and every man is a cheater and a player who only wants some kind of cross between a mother/servant and a friend with benefits.
Judging from the way my ex’s current partner refuses to look or smile at me, I’m guessing that according to him, I’m about as unstable and neglectful as they come. Alas, I might not ever know!
Meme translation: “Today we’ll be making origami with your victim paper (role).”
What does it meme? The reason this works as a joke is because of the word papel, which can mean both “paper” and “role” in Spanish. Easy enough to remember, right? So, who is this person? Why, it’s the beloved Cositas (which means “little things”), famous for teaching children crafts – like origami! – on her TV show. She was on during the times of Barney, that big purple dinosaur, and was (from what I understand – I was never a kid in Mexico) about as popular. This clever blow, coming from Señorita Cositas? Burn.
Meme translation: “I hereby inaugurate the message: ‘We need to get together before the end of the year.’”
What does it meme? If you’re a busy señora like me, you’re probably struggling to find the time to hang out with anyone not in your immediate family or work circle right now. But it’s already December, so if suddenly, you realize you haven’t seen your good friends in the past few months, now’s the time. And with so many holiday events just around the corner, surely you’ll find the time, right? Riiiiiight.
These messages have already started to arrive in my own chats with friends, with a tentative posada date of December 15th. Will we? Won’t we? So much could happen: extended work assignments, sick kids, sick us…only time will tell.
Meme translation: “What I imagine when people say ‘magical town.’”
What does it meme? Mexico’s“magical towns” has been a wildly successful government program that gears funds towards lovely smaller communities that people might not otherwise hear about, in order to showcase their charm and attract both local and international tourism. “Magical towns” is a great name if you ask me, and when I hear it, I think more about the magical realism literary style than actual magic going on there. Even so, a cow flying through the air is quality entertainment, so I had to include this one!
Meme translation: “Trees during Christmas.” “The birds in their nests.”
What does it meme? I’ve seen several versions of this meme – oddly, only in Spanish – and it cracks me up every time. In my city, we’ve got a lot of birds, and I’ll admit…we don’t often stop to ask ourselves if the lights bother them when they’re sleeping! Incidentally, a friend of mine has surely been looking exactly like this guy for the past few nights: her neighbors put up flashing Christmas lights that they never turn off, and they’re those bright LED lights that I always say should be illegal.
Why doesn’t she go and ask them to turn them off after a certain time? I asked. But alas, no one ever thinks that directly confronting someone, even kindly and openly, is a good idea around here.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com.
Jack Anderson’s Casa del So(u)l home and boutique hotel overlooking the Paquimé archeological site. (Courtesy)
A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Camille Turok de Flores, to get a glimpse of what it is like to be the only “gringa” in a rural community in Guanajuato. I covered her story here.
Women Surviving Rural Mexico, her Facebook group, is an important resource for its 160 or so members. Many of whom are married to people who returned to Mexico from the United States, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
And while love plays a part in many stories of foreigners living in places they might never have considered otherwise, there are some who have found their destinies off the beaten path.
For retirees like Patricia Bruton and John Davis, who are both married to Mexicans, their Mexican partners were certainly part of the equation; more importantly, though, they built lives more satisfactory than what they had back home. For Bruton, that means a charming house in Acaxochitlán, Hidalgo, with space for her many dogs, along with apple and pear trees. Unable to really “retire,” Davis and his wife busy themselves in Matanzas, Jalisco, creating businesses to help employ people in her hometown. Although Davis says they work more hours than they did in the U.S., their life now is far more satisfying than their former corporate ones.
In Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Jack Anderson found the place to experiment with earth and adobe construction under the principles of community-minded architecture. Here he built his home and the Pueblo del Soul boutique hotel right on the border of the Paquimé archeological site, which informs much of the complex’s design. Interestingly, despite the proximity to the border and Pueblo Mágico status “I am surprised that I am the only gringo here.” Anderson says.
But perhaps the most unusual case of living on her own terms is that of Kelly Roske, who says she lives “A pretty wild and exploratory life on almost no money.” At the moment she lives in the tiny village of Singayta, Nayarit, among “little brick houses with leaky sheet metal roofs, dogs and chickens.”
Kelly Roske’s home in Nayarit. Even this is a bit too “urban” for her, looking to move further up the local mountain in the near future.
Her extremely frugal lifestyle began by raising children off a small survivors’ pension in Maui, but it became a chosen lifestyle. She has lived in various places in the U.S. and Mexico, learning to live off the land and odd jobs in order “not to be tied down.” That resourcefulness got her a gig on the Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid.” Today, she is working to move out of Singayta to a more remote spot in the nearby mountains.
One curious thing is that to find your “little isolated community,” you don’t need to go all that remote. Megan L. is the only foreigner in El Moral outside of San Martín Texmelucan in Puebla, just off the highway that connects Puebla and Mexico City. Go about a half hour away even from large enclaves like Chapala or Ajijic and you can find towns where life has not changed all that much despite locals having foreigners as neighbors.
The proliferating number of Pueblos Mágicos has had one unintended effect: since being on the list means that the community is more open to outsiders, foreigners are looking at them as alternatives for living in.
Not for everyone
It would be wrong to paint living as the only foreigner in a small town as idyllic. Like everything else in life, there are trade-offs to be considered.
The first is that even with online resources, you’re still an isolated outsider – at least to some extent. That’s something that is reinforced every time you go outside to do something simple like buy bread. Learning Spanish is a must for all residents, and your social options are even more restricted without it. Even if you speak Spanish, you may deal with people with no experience hearing their language in a foreign accent and can be uncomfortable with it. Some newcomers online have expressed hurt by the Mexican tendency to call people by some physical or demographic attribute, like “güero” (white) or gringo, as doing so is taboo in many of our societies. Even with conscious knowledge that no offense is intended, not everyone make the emotional adjustment.
Kelly Roske lives a very frugal and rustic lifestyle out of choice. Her aim is to be as free as possible and most possessions get in the way of that, according to her.
There is the stereotype that rural people are more honest and friendly than their urban counterparts. However true this may or may not be, it would never be wise to blindly trust those who know the legal and cultural landscape far more than you. Joyce Barnett found this out the hard way in her small Colonia Morelos outside of San Miguel de Allende, taken advantage of by builders and even parents who send their children to a small school she set up during the pandemic. Despite this, she still admires the very poor people among whom she lives for their resourcefulness and determination.
This is one main reason why foreigners the world over form enclaves. Those who do not have a support system of foreigners make one with a select circle of locals. This is often done through marriage, but all of the respondents took some steps to involve themselves in the community in some way, to be a bit more than just the “gringo” in the neighborhood.
The advantage of Mexican support is that your people know how things work; the downside is that they may not accommodate your quirks as much as you might like. Not long after I interviewed Ellen Sharp on her work with monarch butterflies, she separated from her husband of over seven years, no longer able to navigate his family’s dynamics or the local community politics.
Younger people are moving to Mexico in greater numbers, often bringing children with them or having them here. The question of their education is usually answered with “private school.” English teacher Melissa, who lives outside of Huajuapan, Oaxaca, does not necessarily agree with this solution. In more rural areas, private schools may not be better than public ones. The answer is to be proactive in your children’s education. Homeschooling, entirely or in part, is one option along with picking and choosing from what public schools and community cultural programs have to offer.
If there is one lesson that binds all these stories – and many more – it’s that to succeed, you need to build relationships with the Mexican community surrounding you. That’s true everywhere to some extent, but it’s crucial when you’re in a culturally immersive environment. Although not everyone can live so disconnected from their home culture, those who have succeeded also noted one other thing: their experiences in their little towns have enriched their lives.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
In any language, the most basic toast is to good health. (Unsplash)
Along with the holidays come yearly etiquette “situations” we might not usually encounter. Drink toasting is one of those, and while etiquette norms have relaxed over time, it’s still helpful to know what’s expected in more formal situations.
The long history of drink toasting begins in 6th Century Greece, where it was a way to praise the Gods and ask for health and prosperity. That’s not so different from what we do now in a multitude of languages and countries.
Ever wondered why it’s called toasting? In 17th-century Europe, adding a crouton or a tiny piece of burnt toast to one’s glass of wine was thought to improve the taste of low-quality wine. The practice also became a popular party snack. Hopefully, the wine you’re serving today is up to par, and this part of the tradition won’t be necessary.
In any language, the most basic toast is to good health; Germans, Swiss, and Austrians say Prost; in France and Belgium, folks exclaim Santé!; in Danish lands, Skoal; and in Italy, Salute! or Cin Cin! and Mexico is no different.
As in other Spanish-speaking countries, a toast of Salud! (Good health!) is offered at the start of a meal or event. Traditionally, only men in Mexico lead toasts, but that custom is changing with the times.
Drink Toasting Do’s and Don’ts
Let the host lead the first toast of the evening once all guests are seated and have had their glasses filled. After that, anyone can lead another toast, waiting until dessert is served. Unless it is a small group at a dinner table, the host stands while the group remains seated. Etiquette expert Emily Post suggests something simple like, “Here’s to good cheer, health, and happiness for us all.”
Be prepared. If you are the host or family member expected to give the toast, plan what you are going to say and practice a little. A toast should be short, positive, and coming from the heart, conveying the appropriate message for the gathering without disrupting the party. A touch of humor is OK, but don’t embarrass the honoree. Always stand when leading a toast.
Tapping the side of your glass with a knife to begin a toast isn’t necessary. Instead, stand and lift your glass to get the attention of the assembled folks. Ahead of time, ask friends or family to help you quiet the room when they see you stand with your glass raised.
Empty glass? While not the best scenario, it happens. Instead of creating a disturbance by frantically looking for a refill, just raise your empty glass and pretend to take a sip. Next time, think ahead! Not a fan of alcohol? Juice, water, or a non-alcoholic beverage are all acceptable for toasting.
The tradition of clinking glasses originates from the idea that clinking would drive away evil spirits. (If that seems important, then by all means go ahead!) But it’s not necessary or required to stretch across the table to clink everyone’s glass; clink to the left, clink to the right, smile as you sweep your eyes around the table, and you’re done.
If the toast is in your honor, it’s not proper etiquette to drink to yourself or even raise your glass. Instead, acknowledge the toast and everyone’s subsequent sips with a smile, a nod, and eye contact. When everyone has put their glasses back on the table, that’s your cue to take a sip, rise, and thank whoever offered the toast. A short reciprocal toast can be made, but is not expected or required.
Toasting the host is the perfect way to show appreciation for a wonderful evening. Etiquette experts recommend something simple like “To Brad, a true friend, great host, and terrific cook,” or “Thank you for including all of us in such a fun and festive New Year’s Eve party. You went out of your way to make this evening special. Here’s to Judy, a lovely and gracious host.”
Can a dry region like Querétaro sustainably handle the water demands of data centers? (Shutterstock)
Water is an issue that concerns just about everyone these days – and with good reason. Hardly a week goes by that we don’t hear about the impact of too much or too little water somewhere on the planet.
Here in Mexico, many of us feel an even closer connection to the water scarcity issue especially given the drought that much of the country is facing this year.
Since a lot of Mexico’s territory regularly struggles with water scarcity, and the population is growing and using more water, and significant nearshoring investment is bringing more manufacturing, does this mean we are moving towards a water crisis? Not necessarily.
As I have written about previously, industry increasingly has the tools and technology available to them to drastically reduce their facilities’ water footprint. Long gone are the days of blatant water waste and violations, and most businesses I have seen are actually proactively investing in ways to help their facilities use significantly less water.
Just recently, I heard of a new water technology that gives me even more hope. A former colleague and friend of mine from London called me a few days ago to excitedly share an inspiring water-saving case study her company just completed in Mexico.
Here’s the story.
Querétaro is a fast-growing city and state in a very dry part of Mexico. Due to Querétaro’s strategic central location, lack of earthquakes and hurricanes, and well-educated population, many companies are choosing to locate new data centers in the city.
The problem is data centers use lots of water to cool down their equipment. What sounds like a worsening water problem might actually be solved by Microsoft, one of the companies who is building a massive data center in Querétaro.
Microsoft has committed to becoming water-positive by the year 2030, and taken an extremely creative and proactive approach to not just reducing its water impact in the city, but rather have a positive impact on water usage.
Here’s how. One of the largest losses of water is actually not in the use of it at the final facility, but rather from water leaks occurring in pipes as the water moves from the source to the facility. It is estimated that between 30-40% of all water in Mexico is lost or wasted from leaks in water pipes!
Microsoft is using a technology from my friend’s company, FIDO AI to proactively invest in finding and fixing the water leaks in over 350 km of pipes throughout the city of Querétaro. The new technology from FIDO AI actually “listens” to the water pipes and, using AI tools, identifies and ranks the size of the leaks throughout the network. This precision tool allows for extremely accurate detection and ultimately fixing of the water leaks.
As Microsoft pays for the FIDO AI technology to be implemented throughout Querétaro, Microsoft expects to actually have a net positive impact in its water usage in the city – how cool is that?!
This is a great example of how – with the right incentives and motivation from governments and consumers – industry can actually be a very important part of the solution to our planet’s water issues.
It’s important we don’t look at water problems from a “fixed pie perspective” or we will fail to incentivize and encourage investments like those from Microsoft that actually will help “expand the pie” by helping recover water currently being lost.
What an exciting innovation by FIDO AI and proactive strategic deployment by Microsoft. Kudos to both companies and let’s hope they inspire many others!
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for over 27 years.
Go on an inward journey in these amazing retreats. (Unsplash)
Friends in London, New York and Chicago have been imploring me to find them a cleansing and revitalizing retreat in Mexico, post-holidays and pre-2024. I guess burnout, a real thing in our modern era, doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.
Mexico’s wealth of retreat centers has expanded considerably since the pandemic, creating a niche for foreigners who want to open up wellness businesses in paradise – any entrepreneur’s dream! Some new rejuvenating health retreats offer ever-higher standards, settings and services.
MND sourced three retreats focused on your optimum health, from the most luxurious to the most affordable, in Cancún, San Miguel de Allende and Baja California. Explore what fits for you as we head into 2024.
SHA Wellness Clinic, Mexico – optimum wellness treatments at a world-class luxury health center
Where Is It?
SHA Wellness Clinic is located 30 minutes from Cancún International Airport, which has daily international connections from the United States, Canada and Europe. The spa is set amidst a lush, tropical landscape, with a white sand beachfront that also houses acenote, a freshwater pool that the Mayans believe has healing properties.
Following the success of SHA wellness brand’s clinic in Spain – voted the world’s best wellness clinic at the World Spa Awards 2023 – SHA Mexico will open in January. The Cancún clinic offers four different state-of-the-art integrative healing and health programs, informed by both scientific and holistic medicine.
SHA helps you curate your own personal health program within the four they offer, according to your health goals for mind, body and spirit: a detox and cleanse, treatments for longevity, recovery from stress and tools for leadership, or a preventive program for cognitive and physical revitalization.
Their programs are all created with the goal of optimum health: good nutrition, “well-aging,” holistic and integrative medicine, cognitive stimulation therapy, advanced preventive diagnostics, and personalized physical fitness. They call it the ‘SHA Method,” which is applied within their “healthy living academy.”
Give me the tour
Overlooking the Caribbean, over one hundred suites and rooms, each with a plunge pool, are designed to evoke a sleek, minimalist sense of serenity by Mexican architect Sordo Madaleno and interior designer Alejandro Escudero. Infinity pools, zen gardens, tropical spaces, and treatment rooms with views over the mangroves create a breathtaking “wellness universe.” SHA boasts over one hundred treatment and medical consultation rooms, a high-tech fitness center and the SHAmadi Restaurant.
Affordability
This is cutting-edge health and wellness in a luxurious setting.
Accommodations range from their two-story, three-bedroom Royal Suite for US $4,750 to a double occupancy room at US $675. In addition, you need to book at least one health program in order to stay.
Their health programs run from 4 days, for around US $3,000, to their 7-day “well-aging” program, which costs around US $8,000. Their 7-day leadership program (think high-powered execs) is valued at US $6,500.
Any other special features?
Tour the nearby large coral reef and marine ecosystem.
SHA offers the latest health technology, like scientific electromagnetic field mapping, far infrared heat with pulsating magnetic waves and dermo-aesthetic medicine.
They also have a theater, a fine arts complex – and even a heliport dock for those who need to arrive clandestinely!
MND Verdict:
With such a high-caliber menu of health treatments and experts in this paradise beach spot, it’s no wonder you’re also offered a daily personal assistant. Probably unbeatable if you want to go “all-out.”
Sagrada Holistic Ranch, San Miguel de Allende – wellness experiences at a boho-chic location set high up in the mountains
Where Is It?
Sagrada Holistic Ranch is located 20 minutes outside the World Heritage city of San Miguel de Allende, nestled inside a beautiful mountain range at the foot of an extinct volcano, overlooking the Rio Laja Valley. 1.5 hours from León (BJX) airport or 3.5 hours from Mexico City International (AICM) airport.
Why Should I Come?
Sagrada Holistic Ranch, San Miguel de Allende. (Sagrada Holistic Ranch)
Sagrada translates to sacred, and historically, the site has a special healing significance – as well as a 300-year-old botanical garden. A young, hip crew of health practitioners and yoga and meditation instructors from the United States and Mexico have created a bohemian, rustic but stylish and comfortable retreat center.
Sagrada Holistic offers personal and group retreats focusing on alternative medicine, yoga, meditation and mindfulness, cleansing and de-stressing, as well as Restore Your Soul and Return to Radiance, two retreats specifically for health practitioners looking to go deeper with their practices.
Healing offerings include a crystal-embellished massage room, an ancient lava infrared sauna, traditional Mexican temazcal ceremonies, a cold plunge pool, mountain pathway walks and forest bathing, a trending Japanese wellness practice known by the name ofShinrin-Yoku, or “taking in the forest atmosphere.”,
Other offerings include Tai Chi and Qigong, massages, reflexology, chiropractic, acupuncture and plant-based cooking classes. Horseback riding, nature hikes, and tours to local pyramids, hot springs, and the city of San Miguel are also offered.
Give me the tour
With the vibe of an ancient hacienda tucked away in a mountain, far away from modern life, Sagrada offers eight charming and spacious suites that accommodate from two to six people.
Recently refurbished and re-envisioned, the gardens, dining and communal areas and outdoor spaces have the touch of an artist’s eye and a homely feel, with breathtaking views overlooking the valley. The center serves authentic regional cuisine, along with plant-based or vegetarian options, and will tailor menus to guests’ desires.
Affordability
Rates include breakfast, use of the sauna, the sacred bath and meditation teepees, as well as a bonfire and tour of the mountain. Rates for the casita that sleeps 6 are around US $600, whereas the double bedroom comes in at around US $300. A 6-night Return to Radiance retreat with yoga teacher Heather Smith runs at USD $2,800. All other therapies and activities are add-ons.
You can reserve retreat spaces and your choice of accommodation through WeTravel. A US $800 non-refundable deposit holds your place and final payment is due 45 days before the start of your retreat. Flexible payment plans are available.
Any other special features?
Sagrada Holistic hosts heart-opening cacao ceremonies, sound baths, bonfires for night gatherings and deep energy clearings and emotional release ceremonies, for those looking for deeper healing. My favorite feature is their invitation to befriend the donkeys they provide sanctuary for.
MND Verdict:
These guys have figured out a delicious menu of treatments, tours and sacred Mexican ceremonies in a setting that is both jaw-dropping and serene. A slice of rustic heaven on earth.
Baja Cleanse, Cabo – detoxify and cleanse in an intimate, natural beach setting
Where Is It?
On the coast between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz. Fly to Cabo San Lucas International airport and the Baja Cleanse car will drive you one hour north to the remote location.
Why Should I Come?
Baja Cleanse, Cabo. (Baja Cleanse)
Baja Cleanse is a simple, natural escape, away from the built-up tourist areas and without the luxury bells and whistles.
They offer a custom-designed, all-inclusive and personalized retreat, and only host a maximum of 6 guests at once. Ideal for an intimate solo or couples getaway, and for those that are “peopled out” and looking for a total detoxification and cleanse – or a complete body reset!
Baja Cleanse claims to level out blood sugar and pH by employing a one-day fast, followed by a raw, Ayurvedic diet featuring local native cuisine.
In addition to yoga, meditation and massage, along with expert nutritional guidance with tools to take away, Baja Cleanse offers some more intense cleansing treatments such as: gallbladder flushes, probiotic implants, ion cleanse detoxes, microbe soil soaks, lymphatic cleansing and liver rescues, coffee enemas, and heavy metals/pesticide detoxes, amongst others.
The retreat host, Tanja, is a certified nutritionist, life coach and massage therapist.
Victor, a shamanic healer, offers ancient sacred ceremony work, with sound and herbal medicines.
Give me the tour
Charming and simple studios and 1 or 2-bedroom casitas are available, in an unspoilt area of rugged beauty close to the beach. There are horses, goats, donkeys and dogs wandering freely but never invading the retreat area.
Affordability
A 7-day retreat for one person costs approximately US $3,000, increasing to US $5000 for a 14-day stay. Prices are flexible, as each retreat is carefully planned and custom-designed based on each guest’s needs.
Cancellations made within 30 days of the retreat will only recoup 50% of the retreat price.
Any other special features?
A metabolic flush with nitric oxide (sounds interesting!) and personal astrological charts are available. For some serious healing, Baja Cleanse offers a ‘spiritual sound bath with Bufo,’ a trending Mexican healing practice using the extract from a Sonoran desert toad. For the more active guest, Baja Cleanse offers kayaking, snorkeling and paddle boarding, whale shark tours, biking, horseback riding, and trips to waterfalls and hot springs!
MND Verdict:
Tanja’s reviews backed up her dual missions of helping other people “become more of a conscious eater instead of a habit eater,” and to detoxify the mind, body and spirit. Expect soulful, natural charm for those with a serious cleansing mission.
From the more affordable to the upscale, there are some real slices of paradise out there in Mexico’s retreat universe. These tantalizing menus of revitalizing techniques offer the latest in health technology, or a chance to experience Mexico’s ancient healing practices.
One thing’s for sure, the locations alone are a world away from the big city in winter – and whatever your fancy – a stint at one of these retreats will likely set you up for a potent and productive 2024!
Henrietta Weekes is a writer, editor, actor and narrator. She divides her time between San Miguel de Allende, New York and Oxford, UK.
Archaeologist Rodrigo Esparza with a pecked cross at Presa de la Luz, Jalisco. Moving a stone from pit to pit made it possible to keep track of the days. (Photo John Pint)
Accompanying Dr. Peter Jiménez on an archaeological tour in November, I thought he was going to tell us about the Lake Chapala petroglyphs. Instead, he gave us a new perspective on pre-Columbian globalization, demonstrating how very similar the ancient people of Mesoamerica were to us.
Thanks to him, a mystery that had long enticed my curiosity was no longer a mystery.
A Guachimontón during the equinox. For 400 years these were highly popular for ceremonies, fiestas and dancing. And then the Guachimontones were abandoned. (Photo John Pint)
From my very first days in Western Mexico in 1985, I’ve been fascinated by the Guachimontones, the “circular pyramids” built by the Teuchtitlán culture starting as far back as 200 B.C. Their ruins, which in some cases are remarkably well preserved, can be found in more than 50 locations across Jalisco and neighboring states.
The Guachimontones were ceremonial centers where huge crowds gathered to hear about their traditions, celebrate festivals, dance to music and watch ball games. You can find more about them in my book “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” or in Mexico News Daily.
But then there was the mystery…
Disappearing people
Participants in an archaeological excursion head for a petroglyph site above Lake Chapala. (Photo John Pint)
In the past, archaeologists had told me that at some point all the activities around the Guachimontones stopped and the people of the round pyramids had disappeared. By the year A.D. 700, it seemed, there were no longer any traces of them.
These beliefs were dramatically disproved in 2008 when excavations were carried out on the site of what is now the Phil Weigand Interactive Museum at Teuchitlán.“Everywhere we dug,” archaeologist Rodrigo Esparza told me, “we found artifacts proving that Teuchitlán had never been abandoned.”
How was this possible? Those people were still there, but they had clearly forsaken their beloved monuments and customs. Why?
Great civilizations that didn’t vanish
Petroglyphs in the area of Poncitlán, Jalisco. These engravings are typically prayers or petitions either for rain or for sun. (Photo John Pint)
Under the shade of a tall pine tree, near a collection of rocks covered in petroglyphs, Peter Jiménez provided us listeners with clues as to why the builders of the round pyramids had changed their behavior – and perhaps as to why other great civilizations of the past had not really vanished at all.
All those petroglyphs, it seems, had only two main themes: sun and water, the two themes most important to anyone trying to grow corn.
Archaeologist Peter Jiménez, far right, discusses globalization and changes of custom during an excursion organized by Senderos de México. (Photo John Pint.)
Three cycles were of paramount importance back in those days, Peter told us: the solar cycle, the corn cycle and the ritual cycle. If a culture’s elite could accurately predict the solar cycle, then the corn cycle would be a success. Everyone would be happy, and the elite could rest on their laurels.
If you could predict the summer solstice and the winter solstice, then you could predict the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rains. Likewise, when the harvest was coming and you needed those rains to stop, you could predict their end.
Distribution of pecked crosses around Mexico shows the influence of Teotihuacán on other areas. (Image Peter Jiménez)
Pecked crosses to keep track of days
Nearly 400 miles west of Teuchtitlán, the elite of Teotihuacán, it seems, had worked out a way of counting the days. They had developed what is called the pecked cross, a design laid out on a horizontal surface of many small pits forming a cross inside two concentric circles. Among other things, it served as a way to read and keep track of the 260-day calendar.
Metal bells, perhaps from West Mexico, show the face of Tlaloc, a god who controlled rain and made the land fertile. (Photo: Invaluable.com)
Teotihuacán’s rulers shared their knowledge with the elite of other areas. Pecked crosses began to appear in various parts of western Mexico – and that wasn’t all. Looking very carefully, archaeologists in this area begin to find clay earspools with the seal of Tlaloc, the storm god associated with Teotihuacán.
“They are very small,” Jiménez told us. “These plugs are so small that no one noticed them for a long time. Now we find them in Cuitzeo, in the center of Jalisco, and even down in Colima and the south of Zacatecas. But the point is: this kind of earspool does not exist in Teotihuacán!”
Clay earspools, 2.5 cm wide, carry the image of Tlaloc, made with a mold. (Photo Justin Kerr)
What we are seeing, says Jiménez, is “the beginning of an institution which unites the elite in an information network, a prestige network. They are markers saying ‘I have a position in a global cosmovision.’”
Jiménez had been talking about the Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, but now he moved to the Early Postclassic, A.D. 900 to 1200. “Even as far away as southern New Mexico,” said the archaeologist, “we find representations of Tlaloc painted on pots. Now, those people, at the same time, were working turquoise. So between 1000 and 1200, we’re talking about a real boom of globalization in Mesoamerica, especially with respect to trade in cacao and lead-based ceramics.”
“Trade from Chiapas and Guatemala via the coast goes to Chichén Itzá, then Chichén Itzá sends it to Tula and Tula will distribute it to all its allies.”
Imported cocoa in an imported bowl
Archaeologist Peter Jiménez, discusses ancient globalization with participants at the Café Scientifique, organized by ITESO University, Guadalajara.
As a result, says Jiménez, “A campesino in Tula has access to cacao and the jicara (gourd) he drinks it from is imported from Chiapas. Those jicaras, by the way, traveled across the west, all the way to the Pacific coast… and we are talking about bulk quantities.
“While a campesino in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, enjoys a cup of cocoa, turquoise from New Mexico is traveling down the coast and arriving in Chichén Itzá. And copper bells made in Michoacán end up both in New Mexico and in Chichén Itzá. This is globalization.”
High above the shore of Lake Chapala, I got an inkling as to why the people of the Teuchitlán Tradition gave up that tradition, leading archaeologists to believe they had vanished. In reality, somewhere between A.D. 400 and 700, they succumbed to the lure of new gadgets, new fads, new ideas and new awarenesses, shucking off old beliefs and old customs. In other words, they were doing then what we are doing now and have always been doing: out with the hoop skirts, carriages, wigs and typewriters and in with the smartphones. They were just like us!
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area and co-author of Outdoors in Western Mexico. More of his writing can be found on his website.
Covid goes out to surf in the sea off a Veracruz beach
Covid – much nicer than the disease of the same name – is a mixed breed female dog, but best known now as an avid surfer. The golden-coated canine made quite a splash this week, surfing her way into various newspaper and television reports.
The Milenio newspaper reported that Covid, just a few months old at the time, was abandoned (or forgotten) by a group of tourists who visited the Villa del Mar beach during the pandemic to have a few drinks.
“They left her, abandoned and tied up, but there are people with a good heart like [beach palapa owner] Reyna, who adopted her,” Luis Silvestre Osorio, who works at the palapa, told news website e-consulta.
“She was a little thing, a baby, and … [she was left tied up for] three or four hours in the sun until [Reyna] told us to take her to the palapa,” he said.
Soon after, she was given her memorable name. Now a healthy three-year-old, Covid hits the waves every day with Luis, her surfing coach.
She has an “adventurous spirit,” Silvestre told local broadcaster RTV, adding that she gets stressed if she doesn’t go into the sea for a swim, or a surf, every day.
Covid’s owner is Reyna, but the true “queen” (reina in Spanish) of Villa del Mar beach is Covid, reported RTV.
Officials announced the approval of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in December. (Mat Napo/Unsplash)
COVID-19 vaccines should soon be available for sale in Mexican pharmacies — but getting a shot probably won’t come cheap.
Health regulator Cofepris announced Thursday that it had authorized the “health registration” of Moderna (Spikevax monovalent XBB 1.5) and Pfizer (Comirnaty Omicron XBB 1.5) vaccines, which it found “complied with requirements of quality, safety and effectiveness.”
As a result, the two vaccines can now be sold in Mexico.
However, “the supply of these vaccines must be under medical supervision and mustn’t be applied indiscriminately as they can represent risks to health,” Cofepris said.
The authorization of the sale of the two vaccines comes almost three years after the first shots were administered in Mexico.
Rafael Gual, general director of the National Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry, said in an interview that laboratories in Mexico will be able to import Moderna and Pfizer vaccines once the “definitive health registration” has been issued and they have obtained the appropriate importation permits.
Only pharmacies with authorization, trained personnel and the right infrastructure will be able to sell the vaccines. (Ed Us/Unsplash)
“If everything goes well” the vaccines could start coming into the country in January or February, he said.
Only pharmacies that have permits to sell controlled medications will be able to stock the vaccines, Gual said.
Antonio Pascual, president of the National Association of Pharmacies, said that only 35% of pharmacies in Mexico will be able to sell COVID-19 vaccines.
“You have to have authorization for vaccines, trained personnel and infrastructure,” he said.
“There has to be a special cold chain, because [with] vaccines it’s not just about putting them in the fridge,” Pascual said.
Pfizer, a United States company, and its German partner BioNTech set the list price for their COVID-19 vaccine at US $120 per dose in September. Moderna, also a U.S. company, set the list price for its vaccine at $129 per dose.
Deputy Health Minister Ruy López Riadura said in October that a COVID-19 shot could cost up to 5,000 pesos, or almost US $290 at the current exchange rate, in Mexico.
However, TV Azteca reported that it is estimated that the cost of a shot will be similar to other countries, including the U.S., meaning that doses could retail for just over 2,000 pesos.
Guadalajara native Peso Pluma (pictured) and the regional Mexican music group Eslabón Armado are the force behind Rolling Stone's 2023 song of the year, "Ella Baila Sola." (@LaDobleP / Instagram)
A song by a controversial but hugely popular Mexican singer who once projected a giant image of “El Chapo” during one of his concerts has been chosen as the best song of 2023 by Rolling Stone.
“Ella Baila Sola” by Jalisco native Peso Pluma snagged the magazine’s top spot to cap a year that included the 24-year-old artist appearing on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and former President Barack Obama putting a different Peso Pluma song, “La Bebe,” on his 2023 summer playlist.
Peso Pluma and Pedro Tovar of Eslabón Armado, in the music video for “Ella Baila Sola.” (YouTube)
Recorded in collaboration with Billboard Latin Music Award winners Eslabón Armado, a group based in California, “Ella Baila Sola” went viral on TikTok, rose to No. 1 on Spotify’s global playlist and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 — marking the first time a regional Mexican song made it into the top 10. (Regional Mexican music is a blanket term covering corridos, norteñas, mariachi and ranchera.)
The Rolling Stone accolade came last week, followed by the Los Angeles Times placing it No. 2 in its top 100.
Featuring silky rhythms and Peso Pluma’s gritty, raspy vocals, the song is about a man’s desire to get together with a sexy mystery girl who dances alone.
“The first strums of a prickly requinto [little guitar] clear the way for a burst of chugging charchetas [alto horns] and trombone that give the song a rich, rounded sound that hooks into the listener immediately,” Rolling Stone wrote.
Peso Pluma on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in April. (@ahoraentiendomx / X)
“Ella Baila Sola” is an excellent example of a somewhat new wave of Mexican music called sad sierreños: traditional ballads that are tinged with sadness, often blending acoustic guitars with contemporary sounds, such as an electric bass. Spotify jumped on the trend by creating a “Sad Sierreño” playlist.
In general, however, Peso Pluma’s music falls into the category of corridos tumbados, songs that fuse the sharp, urban lyrics of reggaetón and hip-hop with the instrumentation and melodies of traditional Mexican music.
The songs often reference drugs and glorify cartels and criminal kingpins. Peso Pluma, who wears his hair in a mullet style, often dresses like a gang member and carries props such as guns and faux packs of cocaine. This new genre is related to narcocorridos, or “drug ballads.”
Music industry insider Camilo Lara told the New York Times that artists like Peso Pluma “are striking a nerve” in Mexico by tapping into “the relationship with violence, the relationship with the street, with politics, with what’s happening with fashion.”
Peso Pluma and Raúl Vega dress in combat gear and brandish high-calibre weapons in the video for “El Belicón.” (YouTube)
Although many Mexicans aren’t comfortable with this style — as indicated in the recent New York Times article, “The World Loves Corridos Tumbados. In Mexico, It’s Complicated” — Lara said, “It’s the most exciting moment in Mexican music in 20 or 30 years.”
Rolling Stone added, “As música Mexicana scaled new heights [in 2023], the cultural phenomenon became impossible to ignore,” and Axios had a recent story headlined, “Behind Mexican regional music’s global explosion.”
Peso Pluma’s real name is Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija and he is the son of a Lebanese Mexican father from Guadalajara and a mother from the cartel-stronghold city of Culiacán, where he spent part of his childhood. He also went to middle school in San Antonio, Texas for two years, and lived in New York and Los Angeles in his teens.
His spontaneous personality, heartfelt comments in interviews and sick dance moves have helped make him a star.
He recorded his first studio album in 2020, but became widely known last year after his song “El Belicón” racked up 10 million YouTube views in three days. (Bélico means war-like, so a belicón is an aggressive, likely heavily-armed man.)
Several of his concerts in Mexico this year were canceled over death threats, including one in Tijuana, where officials went so far as to ban corridos tumbados in all public spaces. There, banners threatening Peso Pluma’s life used the signature “CJNG” in reference to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
By the way, Peso Pluma means “featherweight” in Spanish, an allusion to boxers who are less than 126 pounds.
Finance Secretary Rogelio Ramírez de la O and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announce plans to establish a bilateral working group on foreign investment review. (Janet Yellen/X)
Mexico and the United States have agreed to cooperate on foreign investment screening as a measure to better protect the national security of both countries.
The plan, set out in a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) signed in Mexico City on Thursday, appears to be motivated to a large degree by a desire to stop problematic Chinese investment in Mexico, although United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said that her investment screening talks with Mexican Finance Minister Rogelio Ramírez de la O were “not just China-focused.”
Ramírez and Yellen also discussed “efforts to combat fentanyl and illicit finance” on Thursday, Yellen said on Twitter. (Janet Yellen/X)
Yellen and Ramírez signed the MOI “to affirm the importance of foreign investment screening in protecting national security and express their desire to establish a bilateral working group for regular exchanges of information about how investment screening can best protect national security,” the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a statement.
“The MOI recognizes the importance of the U.S.-Mexico economic relationship, the benefits of maintaining an open investment climate, and the critical role of effective investment review mechanisms in addressing national security risks that can arise from certain foreign investment, particularly in certain technologies, critical infrastructure, and sensitive data.”
Yellen told a press conference that cooperation with Mexico will allow a revision of potential foreign investment to take place that is similar to that carried out by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which includes officials from 16 U.S. departments and agencies.
“Like our own investment screening regime, CFIUS, increased engagement with Mexico will help maintain an open investment climate while monitoring and addressing security risks, making both our countries safer,” she said.
Though Chinese investment is Mexico is growing, the U.S. remains a more important trade partner. Pictured: President López Obrador meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November. (Andrés Manuel López Obrador/X)
Reuters reported that “CFIUS’ increased scrutiny in recent years has sharply reduced Chinese investment in the United States.”
But Yellen, after noting that her investment screening talks with Mexico were “not just China-focused,” said that the United States didn’t have a problem with the East Asian nation investing in Mexico to supply the U.S. as long as its investments were able to pass national security screenings and complied with new U.S. rules on electric vehicle batteries.
“If Chinese involvement triggered those rules, which are meant to avoid undue dependence on China, then that’s a no,” she said.
China didn’t appear among the top 10 foreign investors in Mexico in the first nine months of 2023, but it ranks second behind the U.S. for the combined value of investment announcements made between January and November. The more than US $12 billion in investments announced by China this year is expected to flow into Mexico in the next two to three years.
Cross-border payment systems
Yellen said Thursday that U.S. and Mexican officials had met earlier in the day “to discuss cross-border payments, including the possibility of more deeply integrating our payments systems.”
Integrating cross-border payment systems could make money transfer services like Western Union more difficult to access for bad actors. (Archive)
“I see real potential here and welcome further exploration of the possibility of interlinkage and other ways to improve connectivity between the U.S. and Mexican payment systems,” she said.
The secretary said that possible deeper integration of U.S. and Mexican payment systems (such as the Bank of Mexico’s SPEI system) was “not about China.”
The finance minister also said that Mexico and the United States agreed to “strengthen the exchange of confidential information and intelligence about the two financial systems, with the aim of strengthening the fight against drug trafficking, … corruption and money laundering.”
Greater economic integration
Yellen said that the U.S. and Mexican economies are already “deeply intertwined,” but asserted that greater integration is possible.
“Yesterday, I met with Mexican private sector leaders to hear firsthand about the opportunities they see for greater integration,” she said.
“… The United States continues to pursue what I’ve called friendshoring: seeking to strengthen our economic resilience through diversifying our supply chains across a wide range of trusted allies and partners. Mexico has a natural advantage, given its proximity and the frequent interaction between American and Mexican businesses that create jobs on both sides of our shared border,” Yellen said.
She also said that “greater coordination on financial and regulatory policy can further increase trade and investment and the benefits they bring.”
Yellen met with the president on Thursday. (Andrés Manuel López Obrador/X)
A brief statement issued by the Department of the Treasury after that meeting said that they discussed “key aspects of the U.S.-Mexico economic relationship, including how both countries can take advantage of stronger economic integration.”
López Obrador said on social media that his meeting with Yellen was “very productive and pleasant.”
In the same post, he said that “the policy of good neighborliness between the people and governments of Mexico and the United States is a reality,” adding that the bilateral relationship covers “all aspects, from friendship to cooperation in economic and financial affairs.”
