As the number of dead and missing rises, Acapulco and the surrounding areas await restoration of essential services in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The official Hurricane Otis death toll stood at 45 on Monday morning, with an additional 47 people missing five days after the powerful Category 5 hurricane slammed into the Pacific coast at Acapulco, Guerrero.
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado announced the figures at President López Obrador’s Monday morning press conference, saying that they came from the state Attorney General’s Office.
Search and rescue teams in Acapulco work to recover the bodies of victims. (Cuartoscuro)
“We have the regrettable deaths of 45 people and there are 47 people unaccounted for. This is the preliminary report we have so far,” she said.
The number of confirmed deaths is three fewer than the 48 announced by national Civil Protection authorities on Sunday. The National Civil Protection Coordination reported 43 deaths in Acapulco and five in the neighboring municipality of Coyuca de Benítez.
Guerrero Attorney General Sandra Luz Valdovinos Salmerón explained that the new figure refers to the number of bodies in state-run morgues. She said that three foreigners are among the dead.
A United States woman, a British woman and a Canadian man, all of whom lived in Acapulco, were killed, Valdovinos said.
Government brigades are searching for people reported missing in Acapulco and other affected communities. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/X)
She said that the body of the U.S. woman has been given to her family, adding that “we’re already working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hand over these two [other] bodies to their families.”
It appears inevitable that the death toll will rise significantly in the coming days as more bodies are recovered and officially counted.
Navy Minister Rafael Ojeda said Monday that Otis – which had maximum winds speeds of about 270 km/h when it made landfall – sank at least 29 boats off the Guerrero coast.
Acapulco Bay is full of damaged boats and debris following Hurricane Otis. (Cuartoscuro)
Reuters reported that “dozens of pieces of broken boats dotted the [Acapulco] bay on Sunday, with smashed yachts and dinghies piled up on the shore.”
Alejandro Cortéz told the news agency that he abandoned his yacht when he saw the speed of Hurricane Otis intensifying.
“We ran, we jumped down, and we left the ship all alone,” said the 66-year-old captain, who spoke of seven-meter-high waves.
“And that’s why I’m sitting here now. God gave me that decision,” Cortéz told as he pointed to the sky. He said that some of his fellow workers had shown up alive but others are still missing. “There are many people that still haven’t been found,” he said.
Some 17,000 military and National Guard personnel have been deployed to Acapulco and other affected areas of Guerrero, where they are assisting the cleanup efforts, patrolling the streets and distributing food, water and other humanitarian aid to residents.
NPR reported Friday that in different parts of Acapulco it “saw a large presence of Mexico’s military clearing roads of trees, power lines and mud as well as the country’s national power company attempting to repair downed lines.”
“But NPR did not see any aid in the form of food, water or medical care,” the report added.
Many Acapulco residents complained during the first days after the hurricane hit that they hadn’t received any assistance from authorities, and a large number resorted to looting supermarkets and stores.
In addition, motorists have been attacked and robbed, homes have been pillaged and humanitarian aid has been stolen, according to Reforma.
Residents have resorted to looting warehouses for essential items in some areas. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The National Guard said in a statement on Friday that it was working with all three levels of government to “implement actions for the reestablishment of public order in the port of Acapulco and in other municipalities of Guerrero affected by the impact of Hurricane Otis.”
The military is now in control of gas stations in Acapulco, where theft was also reported.
Governor Salgado said Monday that 30 brigades are searching in Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez for people reported as missing. She said that 152 such people had been found and were now in contact with their families. Two Swedish nationals are among those who have been located, Salgado said.
The governor also said that cleanup work – which she described as a “titanic task” – is moving ahead quickly.
“The majority of avenues and the [Autopista del Sol] highway are now passable,” she said.
In Acapulco, Otis caused major damage to hotels, stores, restaurants, shopping centers, apartment buildings and houses, toppled electricity transmission towers, destroyed cars and boats and provoked widespread flooding. A United States-based research company estimated the damage at around US $15 billion. Salgado cited the same figure on Monday.
The Pie de la Cuesta freeway was severely damaged during the hurricane. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.CO)
Ojeda said Monday morning that there were no tourists left to be evacuated from Acapulco and nearby areas, but humanitarian flights out of the resort city operated by Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobus look set to continue in coming days. The airlines began transporting tourists to Mexico City on Friday, two days after the airport was closed in the wake of damage to the terminal building and control tower caused by Otis.
Deputy Transport Minister Rogelio Jiménez Pons told the El Financiero newspaper that airlines are planning for at least 40 humanitarian flights to evacuate between 3,000 and 5,000 people.
Basic services such as electricity and water supply have not yet been fully reestablished in Acapulco, but power is expected to be back on by Tuesday. The Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry estimates that it will take at least five years to fully rebuild the city.
The president shared a video to his social media on Sunday discussing the latest in Hurricane Otis aftermath. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
The federal government said Sunday that almost 274,000 homes in Guerrero had been damaged by Otis. That figure is about 20% higher than the total number of houses counted in Acapulco in 2020. Hundreds of hotels and apartment buildings also sustained damage.
In a video message on Sunday, López Obrador pledged that “we’re going to get Acapulco back on its feet, starting with its people.”
He repeated that message at his morning press conference on Monday.
“Yesterday, I flew over Acapulco and we visited the supply centers. We’re making a lot of progress, we’re going to get Acapulco and its people back on their feet. We’re working on that,” the president said.
Quintana Roo's beaches are sargassum-free and ready for vacationers seeking winter sun. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Mara Lezama Espinosa, the governor of Quintana Roo, has announced that the seasonal arrival of sargassum – a brown seaweed that has amassed on the coasts of Quintana Roo and other parts of the Mexican Caribbean – has come to an end for this year.
During her press conference last Wednesday, Lezama recognized the efforts of all those who contributed to keeping the beaches clean in Quintana Roo, from the federal government to state employees and private companies.
The state employs dedicated cleaning teams to deal with the sargassum that washes up on the shores of Quintana Roo. (Somos Playa del Carmen/Facebook)
She said that Quintana Roo had installed 8,600 meters of barriers to contain sargassum and collected 22,128 tonnes of the seaweed this year. The state has also acquired 4 sweepers, a tractor and 14 amphibious collection belts.
Monitoring of sargassum levels first began in 2018, after the local government declared a state of emergency due to abnormally high levels of seaweed. Experts have linked the prevalence of sargassum to climate change.
While presenting a report from the National Strategy for Sargassum Care, Admiral Abraham Eloy Caballero, said “this ceremony shows how cooperation achieves results in favor of Quintana Roo and our nation,” adding that since 2019, the government, private entities, NGOs, environmentalists, and civil society have collaborated to address the issue.
The scale of the sargassum problem has meant that even the military is now involved in collection efforts. (Mara Lezama/X)
The Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network forecast in June that there would be low levels of sargassum on the state’s beaches over the summer. Currently, 85% of the beaches in Quintana Roo contain low levels of sargassum with the remaining 15% listed as sargassum-free.
The new routes will offer another way for tourists to reach popular Caribbean resort destinations. (Roberto Nickson/Unsplash)
Spirit Airlines will be the first U.S. ultra-low-cost carrier to offer nonstop flights to the new Tulum airport beginning in spring 2024. Delta Airlines was the first U.S. airline to announce daily nonstop flights to the new airport, which will also launch next March.
“Tulum is an increasingly popular choice for leisure travelers, and our direct flights from Florida will make a getaway to Mexico’s enchanting coastline more accessible than ever, just in time for spring break,” the airline’s Vice President of Network Planning John Kirby said.
The new Tulum International Airport is scheduled to open in December of this year. (Sedena)
Which US cities will Spirit Airlines connect with Tulum?
Spirit Airlines will offer flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Spirit considers Florida a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean and said that “the new [Tulum] service adds a one-stop option to guests traveling from 53 cities across the US.”
What will be the flight frequency?
Once approved, Spirit will offer daily flights from both airports.
Spirit will offer travelers the chance to fly directly to Tulum from Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. (Forsaken Films/Unsplash)
How much will tickets cost?
To celebrate its announcement, the airline is providing special one-way fares for travelers heading to Tulum for just US $149, including taxes and fees.
Spirit has said that these fares are available for travel between April 10 and May 21 next year, but a 21-day advance purchase is necessary.
When will flights launch?
The new service will begin on March 28, 2024.
The new routes to Tulum bring the airline’s international service out of Fort Lauderdale to 26 destinations, and from Orlando to 11.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's week was dominated by a natural disaster when Hurricane Otis descended on Acapulco as a Category 5 storm on Wednesday morning. (LopezObrador.org.mx)
The biggest news in Mexico this week was undoubtedly Hurricane Otis, which devastated Acapulco after making landfall as a powerful Category 5 storm early Wednesday morning.
In addition to traveling to the resort city to see the damage with his own eyes, President López Obrador presided over another five morning press conferences, or mañaneras, where he responded to questions about the hurricane and spoke about a range of other issues.
Hurricane Otis pummeled Acapulco on Wednesday. (DASSAEV TÉLLEZ ADAME/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
AMLO to press Biden to hold talks with Cuba
At his Monday press conference, López Obrador said he would lobby United States President Joe Biden to open dialogue with Cuba when he sees him at the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in San Francisco next month.
Speaking a day after the governments of 10 countries agreed at a regional migration summit in Chiapas to propose “comprehensive dialogue about their bilateral relations” to the U.S. and Cuban governments, AMLO said that the aim of the talks would be to “resolve outstanding issues” between the two countries, “especially everything related to the blockade on Cuba, which very much affects the [Cuban] people.”
The United States has maintained an embargo against Cuba for more than six decades.
President López Obrador with the leaders of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Honduras. (Presidencia de la República)
“Regardless of the differences [between the U.S. and Cuba] … that exist for political and ideological reasons, this measure of cutting off a country inflicts a lot of harm on human beings and is a flagrant violation of human rights because it prevents those who live in Cuba from being able to have food supplies … and from being able to purchase oil, fuel and other goods,” López Obrador said.
“So it’s important for dialogue to be reopened. It was possible in the time of president Obama, he even visited Havana and sanctions were removed. However, economic and commercial exchange is now closed and there is no bilateral dialogue,” AMLO said, adding that he hoped talks for “fundamentally humanitarian reasons” could be held as soon as possible.
A pro-woman president?
Asked later on Monday about the National Electoral Institute’s (subsequently confirmed) plan to oblige political parties to nominate women in at least five of nine gubernatorial elections to be held next year, López Obrador expressed support for the idea.
The president at an event with female members of his cabinet, and former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, celebrating International Women’s Day this year. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
“I’m pro-woman,” declared the president, who told reporters last year that he gets up at 5 a.m. every day to prevent violence against women.
He added that he was “always” in favor of “giving more preference to women.”
AMLO, who hopes that a woman – Claudia Sheinbaum – will succeed him as president next year, has maintained a cabinet of men and women in roughly equal numbers throughout his presidency, but former interior minister Olga Sánchez asserted in 2020 that there was “considerable” misogyny in the federal security cabinet, a remark she later revised.
While he regularly expresses his support for women and emphasizes the importance of women’s issues, López Obrador has been criticized for not doing enough to combat gender-based violence, and has even been accused of having a woman problem.
The president, however, has described claims that his administration is anti-women as a “vile manipulation” of reality.
Monday morsel
The Tulum airport will open Dec. 1 and the maiden flight of the new state-owned airline Mexicana will take off from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport on Nov. 30, AMLO said near the conclusion of the presser.
Homework for Supreme Court justices
On Tuesday morning, after once again railing against the high salaries and privileges of Supreme Court justices, López Obrador came up with 10 questions for the ministers of Mexico’s highest court.
Norma Piña is the chief justice of the Supreme Court and a target of López Obrador’s criticism. (SUPREMA CORTE DE JUSTICIA DE LA NACIÓN/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Why do you earn 700,000 pesos a month?
Why aren’t judges, magistrates or Supreme Court justices ever punished for corruption?
Why did you “agree to, promote and support” the desafuero (stripping of immunity from prosecution) of the current president when he (I) was Mexico City mayor?
Why, instead of punishing white-collar criminals, do you release them and return stolen goods to them?
Asked about the murders on Monday of 12 police officers and a municipal security secretary in Guerrero, López Obrador conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.
“What happened in Coyuca de Benítez is very regrettable, it was practically an ambush on police. I send a sincere, affectionate hug to the families of the police officers. It hurts a lot when a human being loses his or her life, whether it’s a police officer or any person,” he said.
“But we’re attending to [the situation], there is now a National Guard deployment of about 300 troops [to Coyuca de Benítez],” AMLO said.
The president got a COVID-19 booster and influenza vaccine on Tuesday. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
Among Mexico’s 32 federal entities, Guerrero has recorded the second highest number of police murders in 2023 with 34, according to Causa en Común, a Mexico City-based non-government organization that tracks killings of officers.
Tuesday tidbit
At the end of the press conference, a nurse rolled up the president’s left sleeve and administered COVID-19 and influenza vaccines. “It’s better to prevent, much better. … The vaccines are very safe and they help,” AMLO said just before he got his shots.
Ethical social mobility
“I’m in favor of social mobility,” AMLO declared during his Wednesday press conference.
“What is social mobility? It’s the child of a campesino, a laborer, a shopkeeper, a professional, being able to climb the social ladder with work, with study, in accordance with the law,” he said before asserting that the opportunity to move from one social class was “destroyed” by neoliberal policies implemented by previous governments.
The president discussed his views on social mobility at the Wednesday morning press conference. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
“… We want millions of Mexicans to come out of poverty and … we’re working on that, but we want them to be part of a middle class with values, with human principles, not classist, not cunning, because sometimes [those who who move to a higher social class] are even worse than those who inherited fortunes, they become enemies of their own people, their own class,” López Obrador said.
A bright future for Sonora
“Sonora has a lot of future, it’s currently growing and it’s going to grow more,” AMLO said later on Wednesday. “I believe that the development of Sonora for new generations is guaranteed. And I’m going to speak about five or six factors.”
AMLO with the Sonora governor, Alfonso Durazo, in February. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
The “hard-working” and “entrepreneurial” people of Sonora, the presence of lithium in the state and the construction of a solar plant and other energy projects there are all advantages, López Obrador said.
In addition, a permit has been issued for a gas liquefaction plant in Puerto Libertad and Sonora borders Arizona and Arizona is a “production center for semiconductors,” he said, adding that the port of Guaymas is “very important.”
“With all the industrial reconversion, one of the most in demand mining resources will be copper because the entire automotive industry will need three to five times more copper than what is currently used,” he said. “And where’s the copper?”
Wednesday wisdom
“Who produces wealth?” AMLO questioned at one point in the presser. “Only those who invest capital? No, workers do as well and sometimes that isn’t taken into account.”
A “totally devastating” hurricane and an enjoyable (albeit muddy) walk
AMLO said that an off-duty soldier was among the dead and that three navy marines were missing.
President López Obrador himself got stuck in mud on the way to visit the disaster zone on Wednesday. (Presidencia)
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado joined the press conference by phone and declared that Otis “has been totally devastating for our port,” where hotels, stores, restaurants, apartment buildings and houses were rendered “denuded shells” by the almost 300 km/h winds, according to one report.
Near the end of a press conference dominated by information about the situation in Guerrero, López Obrador recounted a story from his overland journey to Acapulco on Wednesday to inspect the damage caused by the hurricane.
He noted that he was forced to abandon the vehicle he was traveling when it reached a blocked section of the Autopista del Sol, the highway that links Acapulco to central Mexico.
“We got stuck yesterday and we walked. I really enjoyed it because I hadn’t walked for a long time, I had a problem with my heel and the doctor told me that I’d be able to walk a kilometer in five or 10 days because it hurts a lot. Those of you who have had this [problem] know what I’m talking about,” AMLO said.
“But yesterday I walked about three, four or five kilometers after we got stuck and my heel was fine, it held up without problem. And then … on the other side there was a mining company truck and they gave me a ride … to Acapulco,” he said.
A “relationship of respect” with a presidential aspirant
Toward the end of the Thursday presser, a reporter asked the president about Nuevo León Governor Samuel García’s decision to take leave to seek to compete in the 2024 presidential election as a candidate for the Citizens Movement party.
“I support Samuel because he’s the governor of Nuevo León. In addition, we’ve had a good relationship of respect, even though … the origins of our organizations are different,” López Obrador said.
“In government we’ve acted in a coordinated way and I can’t say more than that. The political-electoral part [of public life] no longer corresponds to me, I just always wish the best for Samuel,” he said.
AMLO said on Wednesday that he and Nuevo León Governor Samuel García have had a “good relationship of respect.” (Cuartoscuro)
García’s inclusion in the presidential contest could split the anti-Morena vote, benefiting the ruling party candidate – and López Obrador protégé – Claudia Sheinbaum.
Thursday trivia
At one point in the presser, AMLO mentioned Manuel González Flores – Mexican president from 1880 to 1884 – describing him as a “buddy of Porfirio [Díaz]” and clarifying that he was born in Tamaulipas, not in Spain like “his critics said.”
“We were lucky, nature, the Creator, protected us”
Early in the Friday presser, National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval reported that the Hurricane Otis death toll remained at 27, with four other people still missing.
The president discusses damage caused by Hurricane Otis. (ROGELIO MORALES /CUARTOSCURO.COM)
López Obrador later said that the total number of deaths “shouldn’t be so significant,” but added that the loss of even one life is “regrettable.”
“I believe that we were lucky, nature, the Creator, protected us, even with the fury of the hurricane,” he said.
“… Everything indicates that … there weren’t so many [deaths] in the face of such a strong, such a powerful phenomenon – a Category 5 hurricane that didn’t come in through an unpopulated area, it entered via the [Acapulco] bay, where 800,000 or 1 million people live,” AMLO said.
“Yes, there is a lot of material damage but fortunately we’re not recording much loss of human life,” he said.
Asked whether authorities gave adequate advance notice to Guerrero residents and tourists, López Obrador first noted that the hurricane was an “extraordinary phenomenon” whose rapid strengthening was unprecedented. He then told reporters that he had been monitoring the situation and posted a message to X, formerly Twitter, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday warning that Otis was forecast to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane between Acapulco and Técpan de Galeana between 4 and 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The hurricane slammed into the Pacific coast at Acapulco at 12:25 a.m., according to the United States National Hurricane Center.
The military was deployed to restore access to the roadways linking Acapulco with the capital. (Dassaev Téllez/Cuartoscuro)
AMLO concluded that residents and tourists did receive sufficient warning, and said they took shelter as best as they could.
He also said that Guerrero authorities did all they could to prepare for the arrival of the hurricane and to warn residents of the danger.
López Obrador told reporters that loud speaker messages were broadcast in Acapulco prior to Otis making landfall and asserted that “there were no people in the street” when the hurricane arrived. “That helped a lot,” he said.
Relations with Spain remain “on pause”
Former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard and Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares supposedly relaunched the relationship between Mexico and Spain last December almost a year after López Obrador declared a “pause” in bilateral ties due to what he described as a lack of respect from the European nation.
But AMLO told a Spanish reporter on Friday that he hadn’t yet pressed play, confirming that the relationship remained “on pause” even as the Mexican Embassy in Madrid continues to operate and despite two Mexican Air Force planes using the Spanish capital’s airport to evacuate Mexicans from Israel earlier this month.
Mexican citizens evacuated from Israel were welcomed in Madrid by the Mexican ambassador to Spain. (SRE/X)
“With all due respect, do you know that the Spanish dominated Mexico for three centuries and a king never visited us during those three centuries? … It was utter contempt and just imagine how much Mexico, so-called New Spain, contributed to the crown,” he said.
López Obrador said that Mexico has a “very good relationship with the Spanish people,” but doesn’t like “the arrogance of the current representatives of the monarchy.”
He wrote to the king of Spain (and Pope Francis) in 2019 asking “that they make an account of the injustices and apologize to the indigenous peoples [of Mexico] for the violations of what are now known as human rights.”
“We’re all going to work for the rehabilitation, the reconstruction of Acapulco,” López Obrador said. “… We won’t leave Acapulco until … normality returns.”
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
Archeologists estimate from remains that popcorn may have been consumed in Mesoamerica more than 6,000 years ago. (Unsplash)
“Momochtli,” the Nahuatl word for popcorn (called “palomitas de maíz” in Spanish), has been consumed in Mexico for centuries. Archaeologists estimate that popcorn may have been consumed in Mesoamerica more than 6,000 years ago. Corn cultivation in the region dates to the beginning of agriculture – 9,000 years ago.
Fifty-nine different strains of corn are native to Mexico, but only seven are used to make popcorn: Chapalote, Palomero Tolugueno, Nal Tel, Exploder, Palomero from Chihuahua, Palomero from Jalisco and Puebla Palomero, a sub-breed from the Central Transvolcanic Knot.
The Spanish encounter popcorn being made by the Aztec
The Spanish first encountered popcorn when they invaded Mexico.Spanish chronicler Friar Bernardino de Sahagún first detailed the discovery in “General History of Things in Mexico”. The Aztecs would throw the corn kernels directly into the fire or on a hot griddle (“comal”) until they popped, bursting into the shape of a flower.
According to Sahagún, popcorn was also used in religious celebrations and festivals, with garlands of popcorn used as ornamentation for altars and statues. He witnessed women wearing wreaths of toasted corn on their heads instead of flowers as they danced the “popcorn dance” at a festival in honor of Tezcatlipoca, God of the night. He also described the festivals of Opochtli, a deity of fishermen, where the Mexica used popcorn in their ceremonies, writing that it was “a type of corn that when roasted bursts and reveals the kernel and becomes a very white flower, they [the Mexica] said that these were hailstones, which are attributed to the water gods.” In some regions, popcorn was said to represent stars.
The Maya myth of Dziú
According to Maya myth, Dziú – a bird with multi-colored feathers with chestnut brown eyes – was just a normal bird when Yuum Chaac, the god of water and agriculture noticed that a drought was causing the land to lose its fertility. Alarmed, he called all the birds together proclaiming an emergency. He would have to burn the crops so that the ash would fertilize the soil. The god of fire, Kak would start the blaze, but they would need to collect all the varieties of seeds to replant the crops. Dziú arrived early and diligently collected more seeds than any other bird, finally resting in the shade, with Yuum Chaac’s permission.
The next morning Yuum Chaac realized the fire was endangering the place the workers had readied for sowing new crops. Yuum Chaac sent out another emergency call to the birds for help. When Dziú arrived, he observed the situation from a tree branch – watching with amazement as the corn kernels popped into white flowers – and threw himself into the fire to save as many corn kernels as he could. When he finished, exhausted, his eyes had turned red and his feathers were burned.
To honor this act of bravery, the other birds promised always to protect the descendants of the Dziú. Yuum Chaac honored Dziú by decreeing that his descendants would always have red eyes and wingtips the color of ash to remind the other birds of their promise.
Today, his descendants are the birds now known as the red-eyed thrush.
The Great Depression popularized popcorn in the United States
Popcorn became forever linked with movie theaters in the United States during the Great Depression (1923 – 1933) as a cheap snack to munch on while watching silent cinema, which gave them temporary respite from their sorrows. Bags of popcorn were sold from popcorn carts outside the door at first but when theater owners realized how much money the vendors were earning, they installed their own popcorn machines inside the theater. The addition of butter and salt made it a very popular and enduring snack for moviegoers.
For those who forego salt and butter, lime, chili, cheese, and caramel can be added. Popcorn can also be prepared using olive and avocado oils for added flavor and nutrition.
Popcorn is a very nutritional treat
According to the Cleveland Clinic, natural popcorn (with no salt or butter) is very healthy. It contains a high level of antioxidants – even higher than some fruits and vegetables – and contributes to better circulation and reduction of certain diseases like cancer.
Popcorn is loaded with fiber, which is critical to the proper functioning of the digestive system and can reduce the possibility of contracting heart disease or diabetes. Additionally, popcorn is rich in vitamins and minerals such as B-complex, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, and Copper.
Caramel corn may also have originated in Mexico. (Unsplash)
Caramel corn is also said to come from Mexico
Caramel corn may also have originated in Mexico. Centuries ago, some Mexican communities roasted popcorn kernels on a comal and then sweetened it with maguey honey, creating a sweet treat.
In Chiapas, “puxinú” is still prepared from popcorn mixed with local piloncillo honey which is then shaped into squares. This beloved snack can still be found in markets, sweet stands, or being sold out of baskets by vendors walking through neighborhoods, especially during the festival of San Sebastian on January 20. Puxinú is most popular in Chiapas – especially in Tuxtla Gutierrez and Chiapa de Corzo.
The most beautiful ear of corn is the Gema de Cristal grown in Tehuacán and has kernels that shine like precious gems.
Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive, researcher, writer, and editor. She has been writing professionally for 35 years. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing. She can be reached at AuthorSherylLosser@gmail.com
Love Oaxaca but can´t spend the whole year there? Friends of Oaxaca Folk Art (FOFA) offers a unique way to get involved in the life of a traditional craftsperson from the comfort of your home. (Freepik)
Oaxaca is one of the most important living repositories of Mexican traditional handcrafts. You can find families who weave, embroider, mold clay, carve wood, and more. But it is a challenge to keep this alive in the 21st century, now that younger generations have more lucrative options. Tourism, to be honest, is the only reason why handcrafts remain economically viable at all, but reaching the market effectively is a challenge for many craftspeople. Tourists from abroad are often some of the best customers as many come from countries that have lost their craft traditions to industrialization.
If Oaxaca is to maintain this vital aspect of its culture, it must support younger generations and convince them that they have a future in working with their hands.
Alejandra Maudet, Chair of the FOFA Tutoring Program (courtesy FOFA)
Friends of Oaxacan Folk Art is a U.S.-based non-profit that seeks to do just this. Working with local authorities such as the well-respected State Museum of Folk Art of Oaxaca (MEAPO), they sponsor programs based on the needs of the small family businesses that still produce the vast majority of traditional handmade goods.
Perhaps one surprising offering is classes in English. This is not some hegemony but rather practical – the ability to dominate this language can be highly profitable and otherwise rewarding for the artisan. First, purchasing an authentic craft is not just buying a pretty souvenir. It is about taking home a piece of the culture and of the artisan. To fully appreciate this, the buyer needs to know something about the object, how it is made and who made it.
Most foreign tourists will not have the Spanish to take in such stories, but most can speak English (as a native or not). Yes, this helps artisans get better prices, but program coordinator Alejandra Maudet says the ability to talk about the pieces is also personally satisfying to the artisans. “They love to talk about their crafts… how great-grandpa started this and the processes in the making. Without English, they cannot connect with a large percentage of those tourists who come out to their workshops in the villages.”
A second benefit is that English opens up e-commerce opportunities. Many of the younger artisans are Internet-savvy but need to make their presence bilingual. It also gives them a distinct advantage in reaching possible foreign business partners, says writer, Latin American researcher, and tutor Randy B. Hecht.
Backstrap weaver Wilmer Levi Sosa Méndez (courtesy FOFA)
Started only recently, FOFA calls the program an “English tutoring program,” focusing on pairing English-speaking volunteers with individual artisans. FOFA provides materials such as lessons and specialized vocabulary, but the goal is always that the artisans can share what is so special about what they produce. Everything is done online.
Alejandra Maudt is the Mexican-Argentine coordinating the program from her home in Reno, Nevada. She first got involved because her husband is a folk art aficionado, and when in Oaxaca, they attended one of FOFA’s artisan competitions. Impressed with what they saw, the two began interviewing artisans for the organization. With a background in education and curriculum development, she volunteered to help tutor, but FOFA offered her the coordination job. She provides tutors with support online in Zoom meetings and the creation of teaching materials.
Feedback from participating artisans indicates that the program is reaching its stated goals. All appreciate their increased ability to communicate with the foreigners that come into their shops in ways that were just not possible before. The beneficiaries include wood carver Marco Antonio López Guzmán (tutored by Barbara Harman), ceramicist Iriana Berenice Pérez Velasco (tutored by Robert Crane), weaver Wilmer Levi Sosa Méndez (tutored by Randy B. Hecht), and ceramicist Jennifer Teresa García López (tutored by Liz Alspach).
But the artisans are not the only ones who benefit. The tutors do, too. Hecht says that she and Sosa Méndez clicked not only as students and teachers but as people. Although their four-month commitment was up last May, both continue with sessions mostly because they enjoy them. She says that tutoring him challenges her, making her “think on the fly,” but “when he gets something, I could see it in his facial expression, which is so satisfying.”
When we think of buying Mexican handicrafts, we usually think of vendors on the street or in markets like this one in Santo Tomas Jalieza. It is far better for both collector and artisan to deal directly with noted creators. Breaking the language barrier is one strategy for this.
The most significant benefit to tutors is a chance to get to know someone from Oaxaca in a way that being a tourist never can… and not even needing to travel to do it. The one-on-one allows both tutor and student to form relationships that have blossomed into friendships. More than a few pairs have continued contact after classes end, including invitations to visit and meet the family. Tutors have also gone beyond classes, helping their students craft applications and more to apply for consideration with foreign entities that promote handcrafts worldwide.
So, do you want to be a tutor? The good news is that you don’t need training as a teacher or know anything about Oaxaca. Alejandra and FOFA provide all materials as well as ongoing support. What is required is a desire to connect with someone from a culture different from your own and a bit of patience, both with the student’s ability to communicate and, perhaps more importantly, Oaxaca’s slowly improving Internet connectivity. Hecht says to anyone considering this that “…it is a wonderful way to connect with somebody you wouldn’t have had the opportunity, especially if you do not leave [your home country). It is a kind of travel without leaving home.”
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.
Mexico's Sergio "Checo" Pérez is hoping for a strong home race after a disappointing season with Red Bull Racing. (Sergio Perez/X)
Formula One auto racing is returning to Mexico City this weekend, and all eyes will be on Mexican driver Sergio “Checo” Pérez as he seeks to secure second place in the overall standings as the 2023 season begins to wind down.
The World Drivers Championship has already been wrapped up by Pérez’s dominant Red Bull Racing teammate, Max Verstappen, who is looking to beat his own world record by winning more than 15 races this season.
A poor showing at Austin at the United States Grand Prix, saw Checo demoted to 9th place for track limit violations. (Sergio Perez/X)
But a victory on his home turf could do a world of good for Pérez.
First off, the 33-year-old native of Guadalajara has never won the Mexico City Grand Prix. His best finishes were third places in 2021 and 2022. Moreover, Pérez has been suffering a six-month slump that allowed seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain to challenge him for second place with four races left on the calendar.
Pérez finished third in the overall standings last year and would like to do one better this year, if only to offset what has been an underwhelming season.
Pérez won in Saudi Arabia in March and in Azerbaijan in April — starting off strong and sparking talk he’d be involved in the title chase. But he hasn’t been a winner in 14 races since then, and is constantly facing criticism that he can’t keep up with Red Bull teammate Verstappen.
Checo’s last race victory was in April, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. (Sergio Perez/X)
The Dutch driver has been the sport’s world champion for three straight years, and has 50 victories (including in Mexico City last year) since joining F1 in 2015. By comparison, Pérez has only six wins since he joined in 2011.
This has led to speculation about Pérez potentially retiring, or splitting from Red Bull. Formula One uses a competition structure of 10 teams, with two drivers per team, and Verstappen and Pérez have been teammates since 2021 — during which time the former has 40 wins and the latter only five.
Pérez’s six-career F1 wins are the most ever for a Mexican driver, and Pérez was instrumental in securing F1’s return to Mexico City in 2015 after 23 years. His photo has been all over Mexico City this week, from billboards to TV commercials to ads for car insurance and breakfast oats. There’s even a special “Checo Menu” at McDonalds.
After last week’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, where a track violation dropped his fourth-place finish to ninth place, Pérez assured fans that the stop in Mexico City would be “my most important weekend” of the season.
120,000 fans are expected to pack into the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez for Sunday’s race. (Formula One/X)
“I am massively looking forward to my home grand prix,” he said.
The 24th Mexico City Grand Prix will be held over 71 laps of the 4.3-km Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez in the CDMX borough of Iztacalco. The race will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday, and officials estimate 120,000 people will be in attendance.
Three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday and the qualifying session from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday are also expected to draw big crowds.
That’s good news for Pérez. He could certainly use some love right now.
Basic Spanish to make your own tamales. (Sunset Magazine)
Surrounding the Día de Muertos celebrations in San Miguel de Allende, we were invited to cook some tamales for the first time and it was an amazing experience. They were actually easier to make than I thought!
We began by gathering the essential ingredients. First, we mixed lard (manteca) into the masa, the dough that forms the heart of the tamale. We kneaded the dough until it reached a velvety smoothness, a crucial step in achieving the perfect tamale texture. Then came the delightful additions: sugar (azúcar), raisins (pasas), nuts (nueces), cinnamon (canela), and a touch of milk (leche).
Tamales can be either salty or sweet, filled with chicken, cheese, pork, raisins, or nuts. For our maiden tamale-making venture, we chose the sweet route — nosotros decidimos hacer la versión dulce.
Once the dough had been perfected, we carefully spread it onto corn husks to finally wrap them up and put them in the steamer for about an hour and a half.
Tamales not only are a delicious treat, but they were also a nourishing food on the go for the Mexica, Inca, and Maya tribes to take into battle. Plus, they are incredibly affordable, making them a beloved choice for family gatherings, festive occasions, and everyday indulgences. They are very cheap and delicious! ¡Son súper baratos, y súper ricos!
Paulina Gerez is a translator-interpreter, content creator, and founder of Crack The Code, a series of online courses focused on languages. Through her social media, she helps people see learning a language from another perspective through her fun experiences. Instagram:paulinagerezm / Tiktok:paugerez3 / YT:paulina gerez
The aerospace industry in Mexico is young, but already employs over 60,000 people across the country. (Safran México)
Economic activity in Mexico has rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, benefiting the manufacturing sector due to opportunities created by the disruption of supply chains, including in the aerospace sector.
The aerospace sector is one of the youngest industries in Mexico. It has been around for roughly 18 years and in that time it has managed to employ around 60,000 workers to date and export US 8 billion of goods in 2022, a significant advance in the recovery of this industry, which was affected by pandemic restrictions that left practically 50% of the global fleet grounded.
Mexico has been characterized as an attractive country for the development of this industry due to the quality of its workforce, but that is not all. The industry success has been such that in recent years it has attracted engineering, design, development and research projects of large global firms.
Carlos Robles, president of the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (FEMIA), a nonprofit organization that represents at a national and international level the main aerospace companies established in the country, one of the main catalysts of this industry was Bombardier, which, upon its arrival in 2006, began to develop an entire strategy around supply and talent to support its operation.
“They developed between 10 and 12 suppliers at the time, which meant that upon the arrival of another OEM [original equipment manufacturer] or Tier 1 [direct supplier for OEM] company they already found suppliers in Mexico. This was like a snowball that began to generate inertia and attracted attention to the country as a potential market for global companies due to the benefit of logistics costs and the efficiency of the Mexican workforce,” Robles explained.
Along with the development of this industry, the Aeronautical University in Querétaro (UNAQ) was created and in other educational institutions in the country, from universities and technical schools, specialized engineering programs in the aerospace sector were developed.
Over time, the snowball effect translated into a greater number of companies, investment, a greater volume of production, the generation of new jobs and a position in the global market as the 12th largest exporter. The objective of FEMIA is to position Mexico within the top 10 worldwide and introduce companies to the space sector.
“The products made in Mexico are of high added value and complexity… Of the most complicated component [sic] that an airplane can have, such as turbine parts, doors —in structural terms —are in Mexico; from electronics, avionics, composite materials, machined parts and it is done with very good quality,” Robles said.
This, in addition to cost reduction through efficiency, innovation in continuous process improvement, logistics costs, and the availability of qualified personnel, are the main assets that make Mexico a strong player in the market and attractive in the face of readjustment of supply chains after the pandemic.
“We see a growing number of companies interested in settling in the country,” Robles said. He explained that nearshoring in the aerospace sector has been observed in three different areas. The first area includes companies seeking to establish themselves in the country. Another encompasses those companies seeking to increase their operating capacity or implement new processes in their plants in Mexico, such as Bombardier, which seeks to increase the manufacturing of aerospace parts, and Safran, which plans to invest in different plants it has in Mexico.
The final area includes firms that do not have a presence in Mexico but seek to locate or develop supplies in the country.
In this way, at FEMIA, Robles added, they are looking for a way to accelerate these types of processes so that they are consolidated faster.
“There is a clear interest in this macro trend of nearshoring, which is having a positive effect on the industry,” he added.
In Mexico there are just over 360 companies active in the aerospace sector, but when will there be a Mexican plane? Currently, there is a 100% Mexican aircraft in production. This is the Halcón II, which is manufactured by the company Horizontec in the state of Guanajuato. This aircraft is a two-seat light sport aircraft (LSA) that can be used by flight schools, security or recreational purposes.
And just as Horizontec designs, develops and manufactures light aircraft, it would not be surprising to see a fully Mexican commercial aircraft manufacturing company emerge in the future.
Aeroméxico was the first airline to successfully operate evacuation flights from the stricken city of Acapulco. (Cuartoscuro)
Flights are leaving Acapulco for the first time since Hurricane Otis slammed into the Pacific coast resort city early Wednesday.
An Aeroméxico flight departed the Acapulco International Airport on Friday morning, transporting stranded tourists to Mexico City.
Footage release earlier this week showed Acapulco’s air traffic control tower as damaged and inoperative. (SICT)
Operations were suspended at the airport on Wednesday after Otis damaged its terminal building and control power and knocked out power and communication services.
Ricardo Dueñas, CEO of the Centro Norte Airport Group, which operates Acapulco airport, confirmed the resumption of operations on Friday morning.
“This morning we began an air bridge between Acapulco and Mexico City. We’ve already gotten the first group of stranded passengers out safely,” he said.
“Rescue operations will continue throughout the day,” Dueñas added.
#AvisoImportante Seguimos operando vuelos de ayuda humanitaria para los afectados de #Otis. Si requieres traslado desde Acapulco a la CDMX, comunícate a nuestro Call Center 55 5133 4000, marca * y con gusto te atenderemos. pic.twitter.com/4SCE9U1R7z
Aeroméxico said on the X social media site just after midday that it was operating “humanitarian aid flights” for people affected by Hurricane Otis.
“If you need transport from Acapulco to Mexico City, get in touch with our call center on 55 5133 4000, press * and we’ll happily look after you,” the airline said.
Aéroméxico emphasized that its flights out of Acapulco are humanitarian rather than commercial and noted that its priority is to offer transport to pregnant women, children, people who are sick or disabled and the elderly.
Authorities have shared images of the extensive damage to Acapulco airport. (Gobierno de México)
Commercial flights into Acapulco airport are not expected to resume before next Tuesday at the earliest.
The Mexican military is also establishing an air bridge between Mexico City and Acapulco.
Two Air Force planes carrying supplies will operate between the Santa Lucía Air Force Base – located at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport north of the capital – and the Pie de la Cuesta Air Force Base, located just north of Acapulco.
The military will distribute provisions to families in Acapulco, where there is a shortage of many goods due to the looting of stores and supermarkets during the past two days. Emergency aid is also reaching the city by road.
Early photos from Acapulco airport showed extensive damage to parked aircraft as well as terminal and air traffic control facilities. (Aviation Mex/X)
The armed forces are also involved in cleanup efforts in Acapulco and other parts of Guerrero affected by Otis, the most powerful hurricane to have ever made landfall on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The newspaper Reforma reported Friday morning that water service and electricity supply hadn’t been reestablished in large parts of the municipality of Acapulco. It also said there is a lack of gasoline in the city and that the public transport system is “paralyzed.”
“We’re isolated, without food, without electricity or water. No one has passed by our homes yet, we need water,” a resident of the Postal neighborhood told Reforma.
People seeking to leave what has been described as an “apocalyptic” situation in Acapulco initially had few options, with the airport closed and the Autopista del Sol highway to central Mexico blocked in many sections.
Some tourists reportedly traveled north to fly out of the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport, while on Thursday others boarded Mexico City-bound buses provided by the state government.
With the Autopista del Sol having reopened, buses departed Acapulco and arrived in Mexico City some 13 hours later, according to Foro TV. The journey took much longer than usual due to damage on the highway.
