Latin America's biggest arts and culture festival welcomes artists from over 30 countries to Guanajuato's stages, theaters and galleries for 17 days in October. (festivalcervantino.gob.mx)
This year’s International Cervantino Festival (FIC) in Guanajuato promises an unexpected twist for a performing arts festival: the inclusion of sports. Baseball, flag football and boxing can be enjoyed in addition to the festival’s world-renowned program of arts and culture celebrations.
The reason? The United States is this year’s invited country of honor.
United States Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar attended the inaugural conference for the 51st International Cervantino Festival, where the U.S. is this year’s invited country of honor. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
The 51st “Cervantino” will take over the city of Guanajuato from Oct. 13 to 29. Though a small part of the festival will include athletic clinics and demonstrations, the festival’s marquee offerings will still be the music, dance and theater performances that have put Latin America’s largest cultural festival on the map.
Mariana Aymerich Ordóñez, Mexico’s new general director of Promotion and Cultural Festivals, explained that as the country of honor – following South Korea last year and Cuba in 2021 – the U.S. wanted to provide a sample of activities that are a fundamental part of the American experience.
According to Aymerich, the initial plan was to have a baseball tournament with teams from the U.S., Sonora and Guanajuato, two Mexican states where baseball is big. Sonora is this year’s Mexican state of honor.
Though things didn’t work out in that regard, “a series of [sports] clinics were organized, as well as [two flag football] workshops at the José Aguilar y Maya baseball stadium,” Aymerich said.
One of the sports offerings at this year’s FIC is a two-day clinic for youth basketball players, organized by the Mexico City minor league NBA team Capitanes. (capitanes.mx)
The 69-year-old ballpark happens to provide one of the most picturesque stadium views in all of Mexico, but this story can’t dwell on sports forever.
The real stars of the show at this year’s Cervantino are the international roster of artists that will descend on Guanajuato for 17 days, filling the city’s theaters, concert halls and public squares.
More than 2,800 artists from Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India and 29 other countries will participate.
The opening night show, “Broadway Goes to Hollywood,” is already sold out, as is the closing show with jazz musician Arturo O’Farrill, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and the Son Jarocho Conga Patria Collective, all of whom combined to create the 2023 Grammy-winning Latin jazz album “Fandango at the Wall in New York.”
Guanajuato’s Juárez Theater is the emblematic venue of the Cervantino. (Wikimedia Commons)
Other sold-out shows include a concert by La Santa Cecilia paying tribute to the iconic Mexican singer José Alfredo Jiménez, who died 50 years ago, and concerts by Mexican-American opera singer Arturo Chacón, Sonoran reggae-indie singer Caloncho, the band Orquesta Aragón from Cuba and the Venice Baroque Orchestra from Italy.
Several high-caliber folkloric ballet shows are also sold out.
Tickets remain available for many performances, including a concert by the 18-piece U.S. Army Blues band on Oct. 16 in the gorgeous, 120-year-old Juárez Theater.
In a push to provide more options for young people, an open-air stage in Pasitos park will be set up for aerial shows, street theater from France and a diverse lineup of music genres: hip-hop, pop, rock and the music of Indigenous peoples.
The U.S. Army Blues will play at the Juárez Theater on Monday, Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. (festivalcervantino.gob.mx)
Tickets can now be purchased at convenience stores around the country, as well as online.
By the 1990s women represented 63% of all registered voters. (Segob)
Though there had been earlier stirrings for Mexican women’s right to vote, the immediate spark for suffrage in Mexico was struck by the Revolution of 1910. During the Revolution, women took jobs traditionally held by men; many fought alongside men in the war. The experience of the Revolution catalyzed women’s desire to participate equally in civic society and be a part of post-war efforts to define the future of Mexico. To do so, they would need to obtain full citizenship and the right to vote.
The First Feminist Congress is convened in Mérida, Yucatán
The First Feminist Congress was convened in Mérida, Yucatán, in 1916. (Wikipedia)
In 1916, women were granted permission to convene the First Feminist Congress in Mérida, Yucatán. The historic event was arranged by a well-respected private school teacher, Señora Consuelo Zavata y Castillo. The congress was attended by a total of 620 delegates, both men and women. Yucatán Governor Salvador Alvarado, an advocate for women’s rights, provided leave time for female teachers to attend and supplied them with train tickets and pesos.
What Zavata y Castillo didn’t anticipate was the degree of anti-feminist sentiment by the male delegates. One feminist attendee read a reform proposal written by prominent Mexico City feminist Hermila Galindo for the delegates to consider. The text, called “The woman of the future”, included sex education for women and divorce, which shocked the men. Galindo strongly argued that women must be empowered with an education and supported the proposal which laid the foundation of what would become part of the Constitution of 1917 such as state-sponsored secular education and equal pay.
In the last session of the congress, a proposal was made to modify the Yucatán Constitution to include women’s suffrage – Galindo didn’t feel the proposal went far enough in giving women the right to vote. Salvador Alvarado’s successor, Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto – a revolutionary socialist – remedied that failure by proposing legislation to make women citizens and give them the right to vote in 1922 which was officially recognized in 1923. By 1925, two other states, Chiapas and Tabasco, joined Yucatán by allowing women to vote in party elections.
Women exercise their vote in Yucatán
Once women in Yucatán were given the right to vote, they elected women to office. Three women were elected to the state legislature and one woman to the Mérida City Council. All four were forced to resign their positions because the federal constitution did not allow women to hold office. Three decades of struggle would follow.
Several concerns shaped early opposition to women’s suffrage. Jocelyn Alcott, the author of “Revolutionary Women in Post-revolutionary Mexico”, says that opponents of women’s suffrage felt that “women would support Church-endorsed candidates subverting the anti-clerical regime.” There was also fear that they would abandon their role as mothers and caregivers and opponents felt they had a “superficial view of political issues,” Alcott says.
According to social scientist Victoria Rodriguez, the years “between 1916 – 1934 marked the rise of the women’s movement in Mexico, concerned almost exclusively with gaining the right to vote [nationally].”
Presidential support for suffrage brings hope to the movement
Hemrila Galindo strongly argued that women must be empowered with an education. (Segob)
The election of President Lázaro Cárdenas brought hope to the movement.Cárdenas had advocated for women’s suffrage for years under the premise that it would benefit the nation. In 1937, women challenged the wording of the Constitution concerning citizenship eligibility – the Constitution did not specify men “and women” in granting full citizenship.
Amalía de Castillo Ledón, a columnist for the newspaper Excelsior, became a champion of political rights for Mexican women, organizing the Club Internacional de Mujeres (1932) and the Ateneo Mexicano de Mujeres in 1937 which led the battle for suffrage. Ledón later went on to become the first female member of a presidential cabinet and the first female ambassador serving in five different posts including Ambassador to the United Nations.
María del Refugio García ran for office in Uruapan as a candidate of the Sole Front for Women’s Rights. She won by an overwhelming margin but was not allowed to take her seat due to the wording in the Constitution. In response, she went on a hunger strike for eleven days outside President Cárdenas’ residence in Mexico City. Cárdenas ended her strike by introducing a change to Article 34 of the Constitution to grant full citizenship to women but it failed to get ratified.
Women achieve national suffrage
President Miguel Alemán continued the effort through legislative proposals in 1947 but failed. Upon assuming the presidency in 1953, one of Adolfo Ruíz Cortínes’ first measures was to reform the Constitution to grant women political rights, fulfilling a campaign promise to reform Articles 34 and 115.
Thirty years after women acquired the right to vote in Yucatán, women were finally decreed full citizenship with no restrictions, giving women across Mexico the right to vote and to hold political office. The long struggle took many years and involved many courageous women leaders, but women finally voted in their first federal election in 1955.
Women make steady progress as a political force
Griselda Alvárez Pónce de Leon became the first woman elected governor of a state in Colima. (Segob)
Following the enactment of suffrage, women started claiming seats in local government. Their activism in social and political grass-roots movements sent a strong message to federal authorities that they were a political force to be reckoned with. In the 1970s they became more actively involved in agrarian and labor movements. By 1979, the first woman was elected governor of a state when Griselda Alvárez Pónce de Leon became governor of Colima. In 1982, the first woman, Rosario Ibarra de Piedra ran for president. By the 1990s, women represented 63% of all registered voters.
In 2014, President Enrique Peña Nieto included a quota system to ensure gender parity of candidates put forth by political parties for federal and local legislatures in his electoral reform rules, further increasing the number of women in political office.
Women achieve gender-parity
Today, Mexico has reached gender parity in both chambers of Congress. In the 32 state legislatures, women hold 47% of the legislative seats. Nine of the 32 states have a woman as governor. This year saw Norma Piña become the first female chief justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court. The office of the presidency, however, remained elusive although six women have unsuccessfully run for that position.
Claudia Sheinbaum (left) and Xóchitl Gálvez (right) will represent Morena and the Broad Front for Mexico coalition, respectively, in the 2024 presidential race. (MND)
In 2023, the two major candidates for president are women. Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman mayor of Mexico City, will represent the Morena party and Xóchitl Gálvez, representing the Broad Front for Mexico coalition will be on the ballot next year. Both are engineers in their 60s.
After 100 years of struggle and setbacks, at this point in time, it looks like Mexico will have its first woman president in 2024. Another major step forward for women in Mexico.
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 A[email protected]
President López Obrador at his Monday morning press conference, where he discussed progress on the railway projects.(lopezobrador.org)
The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) will connect with Section 1 of the Maya Train, according to the head of the project, General Óscar David Lozano Águila.
During President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Monday morning press conference, Lozano explained that Section 1 of the Maya Train – from Palenque in Chiapas to Escárcega in Campeche – will be linked to the trans-isthmus freight rail corridor in a strategic commercial partnership.
Seated in the front row, from left to right, are Chiapas Governor Rutilio Escandón, Tabasco Governor Carlos Manuel Merino Campos, General Óscar David Lozano Águila and INAH director Diego Prieto Hernández. (lopezobrador.org)
Both trains will connect at a merchandise exchange terminal in Palenque, expected to begin construction next year.
Construction of an operations yard in Escárcega, Campeche will also begin next year to facilitate the transport of fuel, cement, steel, grains, perishables and vehicles through the railway system, the general reported.
With 185 kilometers of track completed out of the 225 kilometers of Section 1 of the Maya Train, Gen. Lozano also reported an advance of 82% in track construction.
As part of the Maya Train’s complementary projects, he said that 11 of 12 bridges have been built, as well as 174 of 204 pedestrian, vehicular and wildlife crossings.
A map presented at the press conference displays the point of connection between the Interoceanic Railway and the Maya Train. (Gobierno de México)
Finally, João Pedro Parreira, president of Mota-Engil Latin America, the construction company in charge of building Section 1, reported that construction had begun on the Boca del Cerro Bridge, which will cross the Usumacinta River. It is Section 1’s “most important” structural work, according to the office of President López Obrador.
“People in the villages are euphoric,” the president wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic over Mexico’s “waist” — only 137 miles separate the two oceans at the isthmus’s narrowest point — the interoceanic railway will have three lines: Line Z, running from Veracruz to Oaxaca; Line FA running through Veracruz, Chiapas and Tabasco; and Line K, connecting Oaxaca to Chiapas.
The Maya Train and the CIIT are two of López Obrador’s flagship infrastructure projects, along with the Felipe Carrillo International Airport in Tulum, the Dos Bocas Refinery in Tabasco and the Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Mexico City.
Mexico's automotive industry has seen a 16.1% annual increase in value of exports from January to August. (Shutterstock)
A double-digit increase in auto sector exports has fueled strong annual growth in the value of Mexico’s total exports this year.
The value of exports increased 3.8% in annual terms both in August and in the first eight months of the year, according to preliminary data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Wednesday. The value of non-oil exports increased 4.3% last month and 5.8% between January and August.
The value of non-oil exports was up 4.3% in August compared to 2022. (Depositphotos)
Mexico’s total exports were worth US $52.36 billion last month and $391.87 billion between January and August. The manufacturing industry, including the auto sector, contributed the lion’s share of those amounts.
Manufacturing sector exports were worth $47.15 billion last month and $348.95 billion in the first eight months of 2023. Those amounts represent about 90% of the total value of Mexico’s exports in the respective periods. The value of manufacturing exports increased 4.3% annually in August and 6% in the first eight months of the year.
The annual growth in the value of auto exports was even more impressive – 11% last month and 16.1% between January and August.
The value of agriculture exports – which include big earners such as avocados and berries – increased 2.9% in the first eight months of the year to just over $15 billion, while mining sector exports were up 4.9% to $6.35 billion.
The value of Mexican agricultural exports reached US $15 billion in the first eight months of the year. (Shutterstock)
Just over 83% of non-oil export revenue came from the shipment of products to the United States. Mexico was the United States’ largest trade partner in the first six months of the year.
The value of oil exports declined 22% in annual terms between January and August to $21.53 billion, according to INEGI. Mexico is aiming to achieve self-sufficiency for fuel by 2024 and is thus keeping more crude here for processing rather than sending it abroad.
Preliminary data showed that the value of imports to Mexico declined 4.3% in annual terms last month and 0.5% in the first eight months of the year. Imports were worth $53.73 billion in August and $400.48 billion between January and that month, leaving Mexico with trade deficits in both periods.
Mexico’s deficit was $1.37 billion last month, 75.9% lower than that recorded in August last year, while its January-August deficit was $8.6 billion, a 65.2% reduction compared to that for the same period of 2022.
A Pemex oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. (Pemex/Twitter)
The majority of Mexico’s import spending was on intermediate goods, products used as inputs in the production of other goods. The value of imports of intermediate goods was $305.63 billion in the first eight months of the year, a 3.8% decline compared to the same period of 2022.
Imports of consumer goods rose 5.9% to $57.1 billion, while oil imports declined 26.8% to $12.93 billion. Mexico spent $37.74 billion on capital goods such as machinery, tools and heavy equipment in the first eight months of the year, a 22.5% increase compared to 2022.
Nuria and Inés at Estudio Estudio. (Photo: Andrea Belmont)
Mexico City is home to hundreds of architecture firms of all shapes and sizes. For many years, big and multi-generational firms dominated the architectural landscape, but nowadays countless other smaller firms provide a wide variety of approaches, focuses and specialties.
Mexico News Daily interviewed the creators of Estudio Estudio, a small avant-garde architecture firm in Mexico City founded by sisters Inés and Nuria Benítez.
Views of the Red Monkey exhibition at AGO Projects. (Photo: Fernando Etulain)
Nuria and Inés grew up in Mexico City and studied architecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). After their studies, they parted ways to complete their master’s degrees: Inés studied at Harvard Graduate School of Design and Nuria went to the Royal College of Art in London.
Their different journeys found their way back to Mexico City, where they decided to put into practice their similar approaches to design and architecture. Estudio Estudio was born to explore the intersection between architecture, art, research, culture and problem-solving.
Based in La Roma, Estudio Estudio’s work focuses on small-scale projects, such as residential spaces, exhibitions, interior design and other small research projects. The sisters bring an entirely collaborative approach to their work, creating open and considerate relationships with their clients in which they try to “take their ideas in like an incubator,” Nuria and Inés said.
It’s good to have different approaches
“C-Lamp” Estudio Estudio designed in collaboration with Chia-Wei Hung; a multifunctional object consisting of a lamp, a stool, and a side table, that can be clamped to other objects of both interior and exterior environments. (Photo: Estudio Estudio)
Firms in Mexico City that are older and larger, as well as evergreen influences like Luis Barragán, remain important to Mexican architecture and the way architects are taught in their field. “They are pillars of our country’s history and a big part of how we learn to think, define, do and construct architecture,” says Nuria. “Many of us have passed through those firms as part of our professional experiences.” However, as they develop and change professionally, some architects find themselves in need of a different point of view.
As the creators of Estudio Estudiohave moved away from these firms to practice independently, they mention the increasing importance of considering current environmental and social factors in design. Factors like climate crisis, population density and the growth of urban construction impact their work. “It’s also architecture to rethink, recycle structures, redefine existing spaces,” commented Nuria.
The Benítez sisters believe that the new generation of Mexican architects is embracing the notion of collectiveness within their work as they try to consider solutions for increasingly complicated and more nuanced problems. They also try to focus more on the process than the result. “I think our focus is a language on its own: it’s a conceptual focus, sort of like a methodology, on how we do things and not so much what we do,” said Inés, describing Estudio Estudio’s philosophy.
When asked how small architecture firms can contribute to the general landscape of the country, Inés and Nuri agree that more is better. “Everything is a sum of its parts, and the more features it has, in this case, the richer the sum will be. I think the portrait of Mexican architecture is better described if it’s in the hands of many than in the hands of less … each one of us has something to say that can add to the general discourse,” she added.
Understanding Mexico through architecture
From a cultural point of view, architecture has provided Mexico with pillars that have defined a part of the nation’s identity. Archaeological sites, pyramid ruins hidden in cities and centuries-old colonial buildings remain intrinsically linked to what it means to be Mexican. But architecture’s influence doesn’t stop there.
“Architecture, even if we don’t like it or if it isn’t immediately interesting to us, is one of the portraits that I think illustrate a culture the most,” commented Nuria.
Nuria and Inés tell us that the general public often overlooks architecture as merely aesthetics, design and construction. But they invite us to reconsider this notion and reflect on how architecture affects our understanding of space.
“If you, as a foreigner, sit and observe Mexico, you can understand much about our culture,” said Inés. Everlasting construction, traffic and city chaos can reflect the actuality of our political and social economy. On the other hand, street markets can display “our capacity to improvise and to make do with what we’ve got, something that works or serves some purpose,” continued Inés. A “tianguis” (market) for example is a continuing echo of a tradition of outdoor commercial exchange that stretches far back in history.
We know Mexico to be a country abundant in contrasts — modern and ancient, rich and poor, urban and rural — and these can sometimes be difficult to grasp or mesh together. However, as the Benítez sisters remind us, observation can go a long way, and maybe it’s the architecture of it all that can help us understand the cracks in between.
Montserrat Castro Gómez is a freelance writer and translator from Querétaro, México.
The hungry bear ate a table full of tacos before leaving. (Screen capture)
Maybe the Tigres professional soccer team that plays in Monterrey should change its name to the Osos Negros.
After all, interactions with black bearsin the capital and other cities throughout the northern state of Nuevo León have become so frequent in recent years that one newspaper declared, “the inhabitants of the region consider it part of their identity and regionalism.”
Sí, otra vez un #oso sorprende a humanos en #NuevoLeón. Fue en el Parque Ecológico Chipinque, localizado en San Pedro Garza García.
Una mamá y su hijo intentan mantener la calma mientras un oso negro subió a su mesa para comerse sus tacos y enchiladas. pic.twitter.com/wJsud7h7yT
Videos of the sightings often end up on social media, such as the most recent encounter: a black bear cub atop a wooden picnic table, scarfing down tacos and enchiladas from disposable white plates.
During a 90-second video clip, a woman and child remain seated in silence on the picnic table bench while the bear — less than a foot away from them at times, and seemingly sniffing the child — can be heard chewing and swallowing.
The incident occurred at Chipinque Ecological Reserve, near the San Pedro Garza García municipality of Monterrey, and the video went viral, with viewers wondering if the woman was petrified, cool as a cucumber or too afraid to run.
The family was reportedly enjoying their meal near a playground in the nature reserve, about 2 km outside the city, when the animal appeared and jumped on the table.
This is not the first time that park visitors have come face-to-face with the local bear population. (El Universal Estados/X)
Reports put the bear at more than 3 feet tall, and it apparently was hungry, finishing all the food from all three plates.
The incident occurred less than a week after the headline “They are looking for a bear that was seen wandering the streets of Monterrey” appeared in a newspaper.
Citing urban expansion and the search for food and water as the main reasons why the bears have come down from the mountains, the report noted that the wandering bear was spotted near Plaza Mayor in the Satélite neighborhood. Emergency units were sent to search for it.
“It’s two blocks from my house,” said a man who recorded a video of the bear from his car.
Sightings of black bears in Nuevo León have become increasingly frequent in recent years. There have been intrusions into homes, schools and shopping malls, the report said. Earlier this year in Monterrey, one bear walked between cars that were in traffic on a busy street.
Protesters mark the ninth anniversary of the mass kidnapping. Most of the 43 missing students have never been found. (Dassaev Téllez/Cuartoscuro)
On the ninth anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero, the federal government on Tuesday published a report that outlines three “possible reasons” for the abduction of the young men.
The Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College students were allegedly abducted by members of the Guerreros Unidos crime gang in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014, after buses they had commandeered to travel to a protest in Mexico City were stopped by municipal police.
The abduction of 43 students on their way to a Mexico City protest by security forces remains one of the darkest chapters in modern Mexican history. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
It is presumed that the young men were subsequently killed, although the remains of just three of them have been found and identified.
The government on Tuesday published a 34-page document entitled “Ayotzinapa: Narrative of the Events According to the Investigation Carried Out.”
Near the end of the document, the government gave a brief overview of three “possible reasons” behind the abduction of the students.
The government said there may have been “confusion” on the part of Guerreros Unidos members with respect to the “alleged infiltration” of Los Rojos gangsters among the Ayotzinapa students. That “confusion” could have occurred “within the context of” a turf war in the Iguala region between the two crime groups, the government said.
The intention may have been to “teach the students a lesson within the context of threats from [then Iguala] mayor José Luis Abarca and the Guerreros Unidos after protests and damage to the Iguala municipal palace,” the government said. Those protests occurred after the abduction and murder of three “social leaders.”
“Drug trafficking and the possible presence of drugs, weapons or money” on buses commandeered by the students was the third possible reason identified by the government.
The document said that 132 people are currently detained in connection with the case including 41 Guerreros Unidos members, 71 police officers and 14 soldiers.
Three Attorney General’s Office officials including ex-attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam, a former state security minister in Guerrero, the former mayor of Iguala and his wife and ex-president of the DIF family services agency in that city are also behind bars.
Security forces, working in tandem with local cartels, have been blamed for the kidnapping, though the new report suggests organized crime may have “infiltrated” the teaching college. (Alma Lafayet/Cuartoscuro)
None of the 132 suspects has yet been convicted of involvement in the abduction and presumed murder of the students.
The government said that at the time of the students’ disappearance, the Guerreros Unidos “maintained a significant level of penetration and co-option of the authorities in charge of public security and the fight against drug trafficking in the region.”
“This network, which involved authorities of the three levels of government, was, without doubt, a factor that ‘facilitated’ and perpetrated the enforced disappearances of the 43 teaching students,” the report said.
The document cited “an instruction to disappear the students” in messages between Guerreros Unidos leaders and members that were intercepted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
It also said that it had been established via “testimonies” and “the analysis of communications” that students traveling on two buses were handed over to the Guerreros Unidos by police “for their execution and disappearance.”
Former attorney general Jesús Murillo Karam, foreground center, at former president Enrique Peña Nieto’s State of the Union address in 2017. He has since been jailed for his role in the aftermath of the crime. (Diego Simón Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
The government said it was “probable” that the students were separated into at least three groups and taken to “different places for their execution and disappearance in the municipalities of Cocula, Cuetzala del Progreso, Eduardo Neri, Huitzuco, Iguala, San Miguel Totolapan, Taxco, Teloloapan and Tepecoacuilco.”
Citing intercepted text messages, the document said there was evidence that six students were still alive four days after they were abducted. But one Guerreros Unidos member allegedly told another that he would arrange for them to be killed.
The parents of the students were informed of the contents of the report at a meeting with government officials including President López Obrador on Monday. They weren’t satisfied with what they were told.
A lawyer for the parents, Vidulfo Rosales, told reporters that the government had presented a narrative similar to the widely criticized “historical truth” that the previous federal administration led by former president Enrique Peña Nieto put forward as the definitive version of events.
According to the “historical truth,” the students, while traveling on the buses they commandeered, were intercepted by corrupt municipal police who handed them over to members of the Guerreros Unidos crime gang who subsequently killed them, burned their bodies in a dump in the municipality of Cocula and disposed of their remains in a nearby river.
López Obrador on Tuesday acknowledged that the parents of the students “insist that the army isn’t cooperating” with the ongoing investigation into the Ayotzinapa case.
President López Obrador said that the military has handed over “all the information it has” in relation to the case. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
He said he didn’t agree with that view because the army “has handed over all the information it has and has helped a lot to clear up … the terrible Ayotzinapa case.”
López Obrador also said that he didn’t share the point of view expressed by Rosales. He added that the government’s priority is to “find the young men.”
“The information we already have and that which we could soon obtain might lead us to that,” López Obrador said.
“It’s not about blaming [someone] for the sake of blaming. It’s not just, ‘It was the state and it was the army’ and that’s it. No, we’re going to find out the truth about what happened. I’m not going to lie nor are we going to fabricate something that isn’t true. We’re going to act with rectitude, we’re not the same [as previous governments],” he said.
The abduction and presumed murder of the students in 2014 triggered huge protests against the Peña Nieto government at which Mexicans accused the state of involvement in the crime and called for the ex-president to resign.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama called the new airport "a magnificent opportunity to discover the wonders of the Maya World.” (Sedena)
The new Felipe Carrillo International Airport in Tulum is set to begin operations before the end of 2023, and is expected to bring a surge in tourism to the popular Riviera Maya destination.
Mara Lezama Espinosa, governor of Quintana Roo, said the new airport represents a “magnificent opportunity to discover the wonders of the Maya World.”
Tulum is one of Quintana Roo’s most iconic destinations. (Q Roo Government/X)
The new airport will have capacity for 5.5 million passengers per year
Project supervisor Brigadier Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo Suárez estimated that the new airport “will have the capacity to serve 5.5 million passengers and up to 32,000 annual operations.”
According to the Defense Ministry (Sedena), up to 75% of arrivals will be of international origin, and it is expected to become the second busiest airport in the Yucatán Península.
It is located near the center of Tulum
The new airport is located about 25 kilometers southwest of the center of Tulum, making for a short drive to the beach destination. It is 130 kilometers from Cancún, which has the second-busiest airport in the country.
There will be a direct connection to the Maya Train
Tulum airport will be connected to the Maya Train, another of President López Obrador’s flagship projects, via an onsite station. Both projects are run by Sedena as part of its Olmeca-Maya-Mexica company – which also operates Mexico City’s Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA).
Airport construction has advanced quickly, and it is scheduled to open in December
Construction work on the new airport is now at 65% and the government is confident the project will open in December as planned. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
Covering 1,500 hectares, Tulum airport is reportedly 65% complete and is slated to begin operations by December, Governor Lezama said during López Obrador’s most recent visit to the construction site.
She added that construction of the new airport has created over 14,690 jobs.
Aeroméxico, Viva Aerobus and Mexicana will all have flights out of the airport
Low-cost airline Viva Aerobus has announced that it will launch new routes to Tulum from Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Tijuana in December.
Aeroméxico said it will fly to Tulum from the day of its inauguration on Dec. 1. It also added that it would become the first company to fly to the United States from Tulum.
New state-run airline Mexicana will also operate from Tulum airport as a hub and is scheduled to start operations by the end of the year.
"Psilocybin may be giving these individuals the temporary ‘kick start’ they need to break out of their depressive states," says Dr Robin Carhart-Harris. (Artur Kornakov / Unsplash)
In recent years, psilocybin has gained significant attention worldwide for its potential therapeutic applications and profound effects on the brain. Prestigious universities and research centers have been working for years to unravel the mysteries of psilocybin and its impact on the human mind.
What is psilocybin?
Johns Hopkins Medicine describes psilocybin as a compound found in hallucinogenic mushrooms known to cause profound alterations of consciousness and visual and auditory hallucinations. “The molecular structure of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in ‘magic mushrooms,’ allows it to penetrate the central nervous system, and the scientific and medical experts are just beginning to understand its effects on the brain and mind and its potential as therapeutics for mental illnesses,” as reported by the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences department at Johns Hopkins.
In 2016, researchers at this institution made significant strides by discovering that psilocybin, combined with psychological support, reduced existential anxiety and depression in individuals with a potentially life-threatening cancer diagnosis. In 2022, a study showed that this treatment can be effective for up to a year for most patients.
Psilocybin and the brain
When ingested, psilocybin converts into psilocin, which interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain. These interactions result in altered brain activity, leading to the characteristic psychedelic experiences. It disrupts the Default Mode Network, enhances connectivity between brain regions, and triggers visual and auditory hallucinations. Psilocybin can evoke strong emotions, promote neuroplasticity, and lead to long-term personality changes. Its effects vary, and caution is advised, mainly when used for therapeutic purposes. Research on psilocybin’s impact on the brain continues, offering potential insights into mental health treatment.
Psilocybin drastically increases connectivity between brain regions which usually act independently. These connections are functional and long-lasting, creating a highly beneficial state of consciousness. (Beckley Foundation).
Learn about one patient’s journey with psilocybin
Ana, whose name has been changed to protect her privacy, embarked on her first psilocybin micro dosing therapy in San Francisco, United States. Intrigued by the potential benefits, including overcoming depression and anxiety and enhancing creativity, she decided to “open her mind” and try the treatment. Ana’s initial intention was to find inner peace and evaluate the effects of psilocybin on her well-being. She shares that her journey with psilocybin micro-dosing was highly personal. Her treatment spanned 90 days, during which she followed a specific dosage regimen. While individual experiences may vary, Ana emphasizes the importance of clear intentions and focus while consuming psilocybin. It is not unusual for some individuals to initially experience heightened emotions, including sadness and despair, before reaching a positive state.
Ana’s motivations for exploring psilocybin micro dosing extended beyond seeking inner peace. In subsequent treatments in Mexico, she aimed to awaken her creativity for a professional project. The results were gratifying, “with heightened concentration and a surge of creative ideas,” she adds during an interview at Parque México in Mexico City. In another instance, Ana utilized psilocybin to address her depression after discontinuing pharmaceutical medications. “The treatment improved my mood, bringing about a sense of enthusiasm and a reduced desire for caffeine and alcohol, which I consumed all day.”
It is essential to note that the effects of psilocybin on the brain are highly variable and influenced by various factors, including dosage, set and setting (mindset and physical environment), and individual differences. Additionally, psilocybin is not without risks, and its use should always be cautiously approached, preferably under the supervision of trained professionals in a controlled therapeutic setting.
As scientific interest in psilocybin grows, researchers continue to study its effects on the brain to understand better its therapeutic potential and possible applications in treating mental health conditions. The study of psilocybin and its impact on the brain offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex workings of human consciousness. It may hold promise for the future of mental health care.
*This article is part of a series about psilocybin and its uses, both traditional and modern. We will also discuss its legal status worldwide and explore the physical and mental health benefits these mushrooms offer.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal or medical advice. Individuals should always consult with qualified professionals regarding using psilocybin or any other substance for medical purposes, considering their jurisdiction’s applicable laws and regulations.
Camila Sánchez Bolaño is a journalist, feminist, bookseller, lecturer, and cultural promoter. She is the Editor in Chief of Newsweek en Español magazine and is the features editor for Mexico News Daily.
Iztapalapa Mural: The largest muralism project in the World. (Photo: Cultura Iztapalapa)
Mexico City is brimming with things to do. If you find, however, that you’re on a rotation of the same old, here is a list of activities that do not include visiting the Anthropology Museum one more time. It’s a collection of tried and true experiences that I myself, a full time expat in CDMX, have vetted and believe are worth the investment in both time and money. You’ll come out of these experiences feeling more connected to the city’s pulse and more at home in Mexico.
Explore the natural side of Xochimilco
The chinampas are an example of how humans can coexist harmoniously with nature and also participate in the development and diversification of life. (Photo: Arca Tierra)
I recently participated in ArcaTierra’s Sunrise in the Chinampas tour. It was my first time in Xochimilco and certainly not my last. Upon arrival, each guest — there were 70 of us! — was offered a café de olla for the misty boat ride along the floating gardens. We first stopped at an expansive field to watch the sun rise against the mountains. Afterward, we were taken toChinampa del Sol for a tour of its thriving organic farm and a beautiful farm-to-table brunch that can be adapted for both vegetarians and vegans. It’s a special and peaceful way to experience this incredible UNESCO World Heritage site if you’re looking for something other than the usual boozy afternoon “trajinera” ride. Three things you can do to make this experience even more magical and authentic:
Take the tour in winter, when the skies are clear and sunrises are striking. Bundle up, it will be cold.
Book a private experience. An activity like this deserves a more intimate crowd.
Bring cash. I left the farm with a box full of fresh produce grown on the chinampa and plans to sign up for ArcaTierra’s CSA program. My giant box of apples, lettuce, cabbage, peppers, carrots and more cost me 250 pesos.
Immerse yourself in Mexico’s extraordinary food culture and learn to cook Mexican traditional dishes. (Maarten Van Den / Unsplash)
Create traditional Mexican dishes at a local cooking class
The cooking class I took with Aura Cocina Mexicana goes down as not only one of my favorite experiences in Mexico City itself, but one of the most thorough cooking classes I’ve taken anywhere. I chose the Authentic Mexican Cooking class, which included a tour of a local market, a tasting of street food and a visit to a tortilleria to witness the production process of my most beloved Mexican delicacy from scratch. In the school’s delightful kitchen, we helped create a fantastic and colorful four-course meal of tamales, sopes, mole and dessert which was enjoyed with a side of mezcal. It’s family-run, giving the experience a cozy feel that you might not find elsewhere in CDMX, and caters seamlessly to vegetarian and vegan clients.
If you’re like me and you’re after something fancier, the fabulous women behind Ajolote Travel have partnered with the chef at Grana Sabores De Origen to curate personalized culinary experiences. I was fortunate enough to attend an intimate chiles en nogada event in the exquisite, hidden restaurant situated just steps from the Cloister of Sor Juana in the Historic Center. Inside the 16th-century space is an open kitchen where up to 12 participants can comfortably sit, chop and chat. The Ajolote Travel team made sure the mezcal was flowing and the conversation lively, and by the time I left it felt like I had just spent a perfectly immersive afternoon with 11 close friends. With, of course, the added benefit of new cooking skills and even more reason to love my life in Mexico.
Take a tour of a neighborhood you wouldn’t normally visit
The Cablebús cable car transport system has been in operation since July 2021. It currently has two routes. It’s first line saw 78% more ridership than expected. (Photo: Victoria Valtierra Ruvalcaba/Cuartoscuro)
While some may think twice about the idea of a tour in Iztapalapa, the last years in this neighborhood have seen a change for the better. Now home to the longest cable car in Latin America and more street murals than any other city in the world, pulsating Iztapalapa is Mexico City’s largest borough by population.
Fernando Acosta, owner of Warrior Experiences, started leading small group tours of Iztapalapa in 2022 and says his clients are surprised by the area’s strong identity, vibrancy and artistic style. “A lot of very interesting things (are happening) that are worth seeing, especially if you want to see more of Mexico’s capital.” The tour includes a Cablebús ride, a taco tasting in a local market and a visit to a brightly painted airplane turned public library, all of which culminates in a pulque tasting back at your starting point, the Historic Center. It’s a great way to see a side of Mexico City you might never know otherwise.
Invest in a thoughtful mezcal tasting
Mexico City is a mezcal-lovers paradise, with everything from dive bars to posh speakeasies dining. (Roger Ce / Unsplash)
There are endless mezcal-tasting opportunities in and around this thriving metropolis. Still, I have yet to enjoy one as thorough and memorable as the one recommended to me by Ajolote Travel’s Cristina King. The tasting takes place in Salon Rosario, a sexy speakeasy-style private bar specializing in Mexican spirits, whiskey, and gin, on Calle Puebla in Roma Norte. One of the charismatic and knowledgeable bartenders will lead a sampling of six mezcals paired with sweet and salty snacks that pull out each bottle’s subtle flavors. Seeing as six shots of mezcal is nothing to shake a stick at; I’d advise participants to supplement their tasting with a la carte dishes or fill up before arrival. If your style is more hands-on, the bar also offers mixology experiences.
Embrace your inner Frida Khalo at an art class
Learn your preferred technique from scratch – oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, encaustic, tempera, and mixed media techniques. (Unsplash)
Because I can’t seem to shy away from hobbies that contribute exactly zero to my savings account, I signed up almost immediately for art classes upon relocation to Mexico. They’re affordable, fun and meditative. If boosting your Spanish and artistic skills is important to you, I recommend Estudio Roma, where you can take recurring painting classes or sporadic sketch classes, often accompanied by wine. If you want something really artsy, head to Taller de Escultura Victor Gutiérrez, a studio in the Historic Center that offers weekly figure drawing classes amongst original sculptures created by the artist himself.
If all that feels too serious, check out Pintar y Mezcal, a fun and light-hearted painting and sipping experience hosted by lye Yin Dae, a multidisciplinary artist from Philadelphia. I attended an event in June with a few friends and left with my own Virgin Mary masterpiece that is now hanging on my bedroom wall. The attendees were an eclectic mix of locals, expats and visitors, and we had free reign to paint to our hearts’ content in a relaxed atmosphere with good music and plenty of mezcal.
Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.
