Correos de México, the national mail service, has joined several other countries in pausing postal delivery to the U.S. (Luis Carbayo/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s national mail service, Correos de México, has temporarily suspended postal and package shipments to the United States starting Aug. 27, after the U.S. eliminated an import tax exemption for packages under US $800.
The elimination of the U.S. tax exemption, known as the “de minimis” exception, is applicable not only to Mexico but to all foreign countries — meaning U.S. consumers will face new charges for shopping on sites like Shein, Temu and possibly Amazon. Starting Aug. 29, the U.S. will charge taxes on all packages received from anywhere in the world, regardless of the value of the goods.
A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer inspects a package. Customs duties for small packages will range from 10%-50% of their value, with a flat-rate option available in some cases. (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol)
This means new procedures must be established for reporting, collecting and remitting customs duties. In the meantime, it’s unclear who will pay the tax, and how — leading Mexico and other countries to temporarily suspend delivery of packages to the U.S.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign affairs released a statement saying that the suspension is temporary “while the new operational processes are established,” aligning with similar suspensions in countries like Germany, France and Austria.
The “de minimis” exemption allowed billions of dollars of low-value goods into the U.S. without paying tariffs. In May, President Donald Trump eliminated the exemption for goods from China. According to Trump, the loophole had been used to “evade tariffs and funnel deadly synthetic opioids as well as other unsafe or below-market products that harm American workers and businesses into the United States.”
Packages entering the U.S. will face tariffs ranging from 10%-50% depending on the country of origin. A flat option of US $80-$200 per package will be available to some carriers for the next six months. The measure could be particularly complicated for packages from Mexico, since the U.S. has no across-the-board tariff rate for its southern neighbor. Instead, Mexican shipments face a patchwork of tariffs ranging from zero for USMCA-compliant goods up to 50% depending on the product.
How will the new policy affect Mexican businesses?
Increased prices: Every Mexican package sent to the U.S. will be subject to taxes, regardless of its value, which will increase the cost of products and reduce profit margins.
Less supply and variety: Product availability will be reduced on platforms such as Amazon Mexico and Mercado Libre, which small business use to export products to the U.S.
Stricter controls: U.S. customs will strengthen surveillance to ensure the correct tariff classification of all types of goods, from clothing to pet toys. Many small businesses in Mexico could struggle to navigate the new expenses or complex customs procedures.
A Zihuatanejo charity is working tirelessly to ensure that Indigenous workers in the region are able to read, write and receive school supplies to help them succeed. (All photos by Lisa B. Martin)
Summer vacation in Mexico means millions of the country’s residents flock to popular beaches. Including those in Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa, Guerrero, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
But summer at the beach isn’t a vacation for dozens of local families, many of them single-mother households. Instead, local vendors sell everything from sombreros and hammocks to handmade necklacesand toys. Their children, aged 5 to 17, work alongside them.
The majority of families that Libros Para Niños helps are from Mexico’s Indigenous communities.
During this time of year, vendors travel from remote mountain cities and villages in Guerrero, like Chilpancingo and Chilapa, to sell gum, snacks, handicrafts and other wares. Others arrive from Mexico City and Michoacán. For many, each day is a challenge to earn money for food, simple lodgings and eventually, bus fare back home. Many of these seasonal migrants speak an Indigenous language such as Nahuatl or Mixtec as their mother tongue.
In mid-July, Marta, age 28, traveled over 1,000 miles on a two-day bus trip from her village two states away in Chiapas. Her boys, Dylan, age 5, and Edward, age 8, walk long hours with her in the hot sun every day as she works to sell the embroidered clothing and woven bracelets she has made. They rent a simple room with no kitchen, no refrigerator and no AC. Tzotzil is their native language. Children like these are now my students. I’m a volunteer street teacher.
Literacy, language diversity and access to education for all
According to the 2020 census by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 6.1% of Mexico’s population aged three years and over are registered as speaking an Indigenous language. Nahuatl continues to be the most widely spoken, with 22.5% of Indigenous language speakers, followed by Mayan (10.6%). Many of these Indigenous people live in poverty.
As a career writer and educator, I have had a 25-year relationship with Zihuatanejo and Mexico. I first came to Zihuatanejo from Boston, Massachusetts, for a yoga retreat vacation in February 1999. I kept coming back. Not only for the beautiful beaches, fresh seafood and vibrant local culture, but because I took a photo of small children selling gum and wondered: “Why aren’t these children in school?”
My curiosity led me to meet a pioneering educator, Marina Sánchez Hernández, who had begun a rustic school for about 90 local working Indigenous children. Others began to help Marina, raising money, doing repairs, bringing in school supplies, and creating awareness to help achieve her dream of a permanent, multilingual Netza School.
Lisa Martin, handing out supplies to children of market workers.
At the time, I was a member of Rotary International. So I wrote several significant grants to help the Netza School become a reality. Today, the six-language Netza School is celebrating 30 years and serves over 400 students. It teaches not just in the national language of Spanish, but also in Nahuatl, Mixtec, Amuzgo, Tlapanec, and some English. Marina’s vision of access to education for all has become a reality. Not only that, but a second multilingual primary school modeled after the Netza School is now serving over 325 children daily.
Literacy, learning kits and backpacks change lives now
In December 2024, I launched Libros Para Niños-ZIH (LPN-ZIH) as a simple community outreach project. We hand out books, pencils and complete learning kits, plus personal hygiene supplies like toothbrushes, toothpaste and hand sanitizer to any child or family in need. Since its inception, LPN-ZIH has assisted over 150 children and families.
I also have a handful of women whom I am teaching to read and write in Spanish. By giving them basic instruction and learning materials, they can study and practice along with their children. (Yes, we learn some English, too).
LPN-ZIH’s current campaign, Project Mochila, has a summer goal of providing 100 quality new backpacks filled with books, learning aids and essential school supplies for working children like Dylan and Edward. Books and school supplies are expensive in Mexico, but essential if learning is to take place.
I help children like Evan, age 4, in our Mercado Municipal and Jade, age 3, recover from cell phone addiction and prepare for kindergarten by providing them and their parents with an alternative. Books, crayons, basic skills booklets, and learning aids that they can keep and use daily at home or in their places of business. When kindergarten time comes, these children are prepared mentally and emotionally and have a quality backpack with the necessary supplies to succeed in school.
Some of the beneficiaries of the Libros Para Niños scheme.
I follow up with periodic visits and conversations with my market and beach children to see how they are progressing. I offer a mini lesson of 15 to 20 minutes, feed them more books, and sometimes ice cream. First books for young mothers and parents are also offered. I encourage them to use books and traditional learning aids with their children. Not cellphones, which can negatively impact cognitive and social-emotional development, including delays in language acquisition, memory, attention and problem-solving skills. Blue light emissions can also disrupt a child’s natural sleep cycle.
The cost of going back to school
The New York Times recently reported that in the U.S., parents of children in kindergarten to high school spend an average of $144 on basic back-to-school supplies. Add new clothing, sports equipment and books, and that total jumps as high as $850 per child.
In Libros Para Niños-ZIH’s current backpack project, a new, fully loaded backpack for a particular child costs US $40 or 750 pesos. We follow up with the children and families to keep them motivated and engaged and give them more books and supplies, as needed.
Literacy creates social inclusion. More hours spent learning and in school increase the chances of success in later life. As a career educator in North America and an activist in education for all in Mexico, I have witnessed the evidence. Children who I met 20 years ago as chicleros have been able to complete high school or university and are dedicated parents, accountants, teachers, nurses, doctors and engineers. Becoming skilled, life-long learners and having respect for their language and economic diversity has made all the difference.
You can help. LPN-ZIH welcomes donations of books and school supplies if you plan to visit Zihuatanejo, and financial contributions that help us acquire backpacks, books, learning aids and personal hygiene items. We work year-round, but our summer goal is one hundred backpacks by August 20, 2025. Obtain information or donate by contacting me directly.
Lisa B. Martin is an award-winning international advocate for global literacy, an author, and a multilingual educator. Her forthcoming memoir, THE ZIHUA DIARIES, chronicles her 25 years of journeys into Mexico, engaging with its rich cultural diversity and its people. She also hosts weekly ZIHUAwriters meetings and organizes creativity, writing and cultural retreats for personal transformation.
Scenes from “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova,” the 39th Godzilla movie since the 1954 Japanese original, were shot last weekend along Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma between the Diana and Angel of Independence monuments, and outside the Palace of Fine Arts. (Screenshot)
There were some absolutely terrifying scenes in the heart of Mexico City over the weekend — people in a panic dodging stalled cars as they ran like mad down one of the capital’s biggest streets.
But it was only a movie.
Scenes were being shot in the Mexican capital for the new Godzilla film, “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova,” which is expected to hit theaters in March 2027.
The sixth Godzilla film to be fully produced by a Hollywood studio — and the 39th Godzilla movie overall, dating back to the 1954 Japanese original — is a sequel to the 2024 blockbuster “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”
Mexico City isn’t the only shooting location. Scenes will also be shot in London, Utah and several Australian cities.
But the closure of a portion of the major thoroughfare Paseo de la Reforma on Saturday led to the images of pandemonium.
Afterward, videos flooded TikTok and X and other social media, showing crowds of extras running and screaming, racing away from an unseen threat as if they were in fear for their lives.
Though some bystanders were at first unsure if they were witnessing an actual catastrophe, it was all fictional, of course. Neither Godzilla nor Kong — or even a fake, movie version of either — was actually invading the capital.
Extras followed orders: run, don’t look back. Some left vehicles at odd angles to heighten the chaos, and sirens sounded as the cameras rolled. It looked like a city-wide evacuation.
The production team thanked locals for their patience, and crews made sure everything was under control. The city had issued an official announcement beforehand about the street closures and the filming.
The movie is being produced by Legendary Pictures and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Grant Sputore, an Australian in his early 40s known for his 2019 sci-fi thriller “I Am Mother,” is directing.
The cast includes Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Stevens, Sam Neill, Matthew Modine and Delroy Lindo, though no stars were on site in CDMX.
Ex-Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada's guilty plea in a U.S. court on Monday has been a focus of the president's daily pressers this week. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
With Security Minister Omar García Harfuch in attendance, security issues were a key focus of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Wednesday morning press conference.
Here is a recap of the president’s Aug. 27 mañanera.
García Harfuch: Certain factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are ‘weakened,’ but organization has ‘several heads’
Sheinbaum referred the question to García Harfuch.
“No, no,” García Harfuch said, dismissing any possibility of declaring the extinction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a major criminal organization that ships large quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl, to the United States.
“The Sinaloa Cartel has never had a [single] leader as such,” the security minister continued.
“In other words, it has always had several leaders. It’s a cartel that has several branches, let’s say. One of those was [led by] Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, another by ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, then [there are] the sons of ‘El Chapo; ‘El Guano,’ who is also a brother of ‘El Chapo’; [and] another [faction] of ‘El Chapo’ Isidro,” García Harfuch said.
“Certain factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are weakened,” Omar García Harfuch said on Wednesday, but “there are still cells and very important criminal leaders that have to be arrested” for the cartel to dissolve. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
“… The cartel can’t be [considered] finished because there are several heads of this [group] that was once [a more unified] Sinaloa Cartel,” he said.
“There are still cells and very important criminal leaders that have to be arrested,” García Harfuch said.
Asked whether the Sinaloa Cartel was at least weakened, the security minister responded:
“Certain factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are weakened.”
Sheinbaum: Money linked to ‘El Mayo’ that is seized in Mexico should benefit the Mexican people
A reporter noted that Zambada has committed to forfeit US $15 billion to the U.S. government, and asked Sheinbaum whether her government will allow U.S. authorities to seize accounts and assets linked to the cartel leader in Mexico.
The president first said that there is no guarantee that Zambada will hand over such a large amount of money to the U.S. government.
She subsequently said that “there is coordination” between Mexico’s Finance Ministry and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, suggesting that the two entities could work together to seize money and assets linked to Zambada.
Sheinbaum said that if there is a “seizure of resources” in Mexico and that money is transferred to the United States, her government “would have to ask” for it to be returned to Mexico “for the benefit of the people.”
She said that the money would be “distributed for the people, for the most modest people.”
García Harfuch: No evidence of an alliance between Los Chapitos and CJNG
A reporter asked whether the government had any information about an alleged alliance between Los Chapitos and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)
The New York Times reported on June 30 that a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel “led by sons of the drug lord known as El Chapo” had “allied with an old and powerful adversary, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to four people familiar with the matter.”
García Harfuch said that there was no evidence of such an alliance.
He said that narco-banners had appeared in Sinaloa with messages indicating that CJNG members were in the state and helping to strengthen Los Chapitos.
However, “everything indicates” that Los Chapitos themselves created the banners to make people believe “there was this alliance,” García Harfuch said.
He said that there has been “no arrest that confirms there is an alliance” between Los Chapitos and the CJNG.
Sheinbaum: ‘We don’t establish collusive relationships with anyone’
A reporter asked the president whether her government had any information about police, military personnel and politicians receiving bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, as Zambada said occurred during his leadership of the criminal group.
Sheinbaum once again referred the question to García Harfuch, who acknowledged that there have been arrests of municipal and state police officers who were allegedly on the take.
“To this time, we haven’t had any military person or marine [who was found to be] involved in this kind [of illicit activity],” the security minister said.
García Harfuch also said that the government had no information about public officials or politicians receiving payments from the Sinaloa Cartel.
“If there is any investigation, as always, it will be reported with complete transparency. We will conduct the investigation and arrest whoever we have to arrest,” he said.
Sheinbaum chimed in to declare that, “We don’t establish collusive relationships with anyone.”
She said that if any “person, politician or public official” is suspected of having links to criminal groups, they will be investigated.
“But we don’t have, at this time, any proof against any public servant or member of the army or navy. And if any evidence were to be found, all of us who are part of the Security Cabinet will not cover up for anyone,” Sheinbaum said.
The Taiwanese global leader in contract electronics manufacturing is looking to expand its production of artificial intelligence servers in Mexico. (Shutterstock)
Taiwanese technology company Hon Hai, known globally as Foxconn, has announced a US $168 million investment in Mexico as it expands production of its servers for artificial intelligence.
According to the Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News, Foxconn’s investment in the country aims to meet demand by increasing Foxconn Industrial Internet’s (FII) production capacity at its plant in Jalisco state, where it has already begun manufacturing artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
“Demand is incredibly high,” Ting said at the company’s annual tech day in Taipei, alongside Nvidia’s vice president of AI and robotics, Deepu Talla.
The AI server sector accounts for 32% of Foxconn’s sales.
Foxconn’s investment in Mexico is not an isolated move. It follows a similar investment made in August 2024, when the Taiwanese firm funneled US $241.2 million into its Mexican subsidiary, and in February of this year, when the company acquired a 421,600-square-meter property in Jalisco.
With this financial boost, Mexico could position itself as a key player in advanced technology manufacturing at a time when U.S. technology companies are seeking safer alternatives closer to their primary markets.
“The growing presence of Taiwanese companies in Mexico is part of a process that will change the country’s industrial structure over the next 10 years,” Francisco Cervantes, president of the Business Coordinating Council, said.
Like other technology companies, Foxconn has benefited in recent months from optimism about the future of AI, becoming one of the leading manufacturers of Nvidia’s GB200 servers. The company’s spending comes amid a significant influx of funding from multinational companies in data centers, semiconductor facilities and power supply.
According to estimates from the Swiss financial services firm UBS, companies will invest US $375 billion globally in 2025 on AI infrastructure.
Founded in 1974, the Foxconn Group is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer. It has made the manufacturing of servers for AI one of its top priorities and expects sales of these devices to exceed 1 trillion Taiwan dollars (approximately US $32.77 billion) this year, which would represent 50% of its total server business.
Combined, Cutzamala’s principal dams — Valle de Bravo, El Bosque and Villa Victoria — are 27% fuller than a year ago. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
The Cutzamala System — the chief source of water for the Valley of Mexico — is now operating at 70.7% capacity, its highest storage level since 2020, Mexico’s National Water Commission (Conagua) reported on Tuesday.
The rise in the water levels is the result of recent heavy summer rains, according to Citlali Peraza Camacho, the director of the Valley of Mexico Water Basin Authority (OCAVM).
“In 2020, storage was 63.38%,” Peraza said. “As of today, we have the highest storage level [since then].”
The system is one of the largest and most important water infrastructures in Mexico, using a network of canals, pipelines, tunnels, dams, reservoirs, treatment plants and storage tanks to supply water to the Mexico City metropolitan area, including the capitial of México state, Toluca. It is some four times larger than the secondary Lerma System.
Combined, Cutzamala’s principal dams — Valle de Bravo, El Bosque and Villa Victoria — are 27% fuller than a year ago. From that time through May of this year water levels fell sharply due to drought, leading to widespread water service cuts in the Valley of Mexico.
But after falling to 48.9% in May, the Cutzamala system recovered to 56% capacity following historic rainfall in central Mexico and continued to rise to today’s five-year high.
The Villa Victoria Dam currently has 117 million cubic meters of water stored, or 63% of its capacity, while El Bosque Dam has 124 million cubic meters, or 61.7% of capacity, and the Valle de Bravo Dam stands at 310 million cubic meters, or 78.8%, according to Peraza.
Between August 18 and 24, the average flow from the Cutzamala system to Mexico City and México state was 10.7 cubic meters per second.
While the higher water levels help the OCAVM better plan the region’s water distribution over the coming months, they do not fully remove the threat of water scarcity. The Cutzamala’s level is still below the historical average, and the weather can change rapidly, with rainfall expected to decrease in the coming months.
Conagua stresses, therefore, that water must continue to be used carefully. It recommends reducing unnecessary consumption and adopting sustainable habits to help avoid shortages.
The Mexican government has argued that a tariff on Mexican steel is unfair and unjustified, given that Mexico runs a deficit with the United States on the trade of the metal. (Unsplash)
Mexican steel exports to the United States declined sharply in the first half of 2025, hit hard by U.S. tariffs that increased the cost of importing the alloy into the world’s largest economy.
Official U.S. data shows that the value of the steel and steel products Mexico sent to the U.S. between January and June was US $4.59 billion, an annual decline of 16.6%.
Mexico’s share of the U.S. market for steel imports also declined, falling to 12.3% in the first half of 2025 from 13.4% in the same period of last year. Despite the decline, Mexico remained the third-largest steel exporter to the U.S., behind Canada and China.
In February, when signing a proclamation restoring section 232 (national security) tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports regardless of where they come from, U.S. President Donald Trump said that “our nation requires steel and aluminum to be made in America, not in foreign lands.”
The Mexican government has been attempting to negotiate a deal with the Trump administration to eliminate or at least reduce the tariffs that currently apply to steel and aluminum exports. However, no agreement has been reached.
U.S. tariffs also currently apply to vehicles made in Mexico and goods not covered by the USMCA free trade pact.
Mexico’s steel exports to US have declined in recent years
U.S. data compiled by the newspaper El Economista shows that the value of Mexico’s steel exports to the United States was US $7.1 billion in the first half of 2022, an increase of 58.8% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Mexican steel exports to the U.S. declined in the first six months of subsequent years, falling 15.3% to $6.01 billion in the first half of 2023, and an additional 8.3% to $5.51 billion in the first half of 2024.
The implementation of the U.S. tariffs this year caused the rate of decline to increase to 16.6%.
Mexico recorded deficit with US on steel trade
The Mexican government has argued that a tariff on Mexican steel is unfair and unjustified, given that Mexico runs a deficit with the United States on the trade of the metal.
Mexico imported U.S. steel and steel products worth $6.73 billion in the first six months of 2025, leaving it with a $2.14 billion deficit with its northern neighbor on the trade of the metal.
A protester said on Sunday that their group has found more than 40 kilometers of beach littered with space debris, much of it with SpaceX labels on it. (BocasBrain/X)
Environmental activists protesting in Gulf of Mexico waters off the coast of Tamaulipas state against Elon Musk’s rocket launches in south Texas allege that foreign helicopters tried to intimidate them on Monday, putting their lives in danger.
Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX, which had a Starship flight test scheduled for Sunday, has been threatened with a lawsuit by the Mexican government which claims that wreckage from exploding rockets is killing wildlife.
Multiple test launches have ended in explosions, causing debris to rain down on both countries and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sunday’s launch plans prompted the protest led by the Mexican NGO Conibio Global, which champions conservation and protecting biodiversity. Also taking part were Selva Tenek, Iván Rescata and local fishermen.
The activists notified Mexico’s Naval Ministry of their plans, as required by law.
On Sunday evening, small boatloads of activists, one flying a flag calling for the defense of sea turtles, motored in Mexican waters between Playa Bagdad and the mouth of the Rio Grande.
The group staged protests on Sunday and Monday before foreign helicopters threatened their mission. (BocasBrain/X)
The protesters took note of the presence of dolphins and the plethora of seafowl, including brown pelicans, royal terns and a variety of gulls, sandpipers and white ibis.
Two helicopters and a U.S. Coast Guard ship were in the vicinity while U.S. Border Patrol officers manned the northern shore of the Rio Grande. The protest ended without incident, and the launch was scrapped due to “an issue with ground systems.”
Monday’s protest prompted a more aggressive response, however. The boaters were harassed by two low-flying helicopters, their downdrafts causing dangerous waves.
“It was essentially an attack, our lives were at risk,” said Jesús Elías Ibarra, president of Conibio Global.
According to the newspaper El Sol de Tampico, one of the helicopters is registered in Brownsville, Texas, to the Bank of Utah Trustee, suggesting that it had been flying illegally above Mexican waters.
Ibarra defended his group’s protest on Sunday, describing it as part of an eight-year effort to protect the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, which almost exclusively nest on the beaches of Tamaulipas, just south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
“There was an explosion in May, and … we found more than 40 kilometers of beach littered with space debris, much of it with SpaceX labels on it,” Ibarra said. “We also found tanks that are part of the propulsion system or the booster’s fire-fighting system.”
A June blast at Starbase lobbed wreckage across the Rio Grande and into Mexico, the first Starship mishap to send debris directly onto Mexican land. However, parts of the rockets have been washing up on the country’s beaches for the past several years.
Deep in the heart of the Nevada desert lies a Wixárika sculpture of an axolotl. Why? (Axolotl)
In the sweltering Nevada desert, amid a sprawling temporary city of more than 75,000 people, the Burning Man festival has once again transformed a beautiful but inhospitable landscape into a pulsating arena of creativity, community, and radical self-expression. And increasingly, it is Mexican artists who are at the heart of this global gathering — bringing monumental visions that merge tradition, technology and deep cultural storytelling.
In 2025, that growing presence reached a new peak with the unveiling of “Kauyumari Ceremonial Center” an enormous deer sculpture created by 50 Mexican artists, including 18 Indigenous Wixárika artists and local artists from Torreón, Coahuila. This years’ offering has been designed by Mexican multidisciplinary artist Leyla Brashka under the auspices of the Mexico-based Burning Man collective ¡AXOLOTL!. Rising 6.5 meters high and equally wide, Kauyumari is beyond an artwork, a ceremonial space for peyote ceremonies to be held which will be donated to the Wixárika culture embodying Indigenous symbolism and contemporary festival culture in a single, awe-inspiring installation.
Burning man is famed for it’s monumental sculptures, many of which are burned at the end of the festival. (Ridgewood)
“Kauyumari is not only a sculpture,” said Brigham Golden co-founder of ¡AXOLOTL! “It’s a vessel for ancient wisdom, a meeting place between the ritual practices of Mexico’s Indigenous communities and the transformative spirit of Burning Man.”
A city built on ideals
Burning Man is often misunderstood as simply an art festival or music gathering. In reality, it’s a self-built city that comes alive for just one week each year in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Founded in 1986 as a small beach gathering, it has grown into one of the world’s most celebrated creative events. Its core is guided by 10 principles — from radical inclusion and self-reliance, to communal effort, gifting and leaving no trace.
During that week, participants construct Black Rock City, complete with restaurants, clinics, workshops, airstrips, even a post office all operating by volunteers in a non commodified evening where everything is shared — or “gifted”. But perhaps its most defining feature is art: massive, interactive works designed to be touched, climbed, burned or experienced collectively.
It is here that Mexican collectives like La Calaca, Mayan Warrior, Maxa and AXOLOTL have found their voice, introducing installations that bridge heritage with innovation.
The Mexican influence at Burning Man has been steadily growing for a decade. The Mayan Warrior art car — an electronic music powerhouse and mobile light installation — helped establish Mexico’s reputation as a creative force on the playa. La Calaca and Maxa brought monumental fire-driven and sculptural artworks.
AXOLOTL, named after the storied Mexican amphibian often known as the “walking fish,” has become one of Burning Man’s most recognizable mobile installations. Its vibrant art car, shaped like a massive glowing axolotl, has embodied the whimsical, surreal qualities that define desert nights.
But with kauyumari, the collective has shifted from whimsical to spiritual, offering what participants describe as one of the most profound creations of Burning Man 2025.
The Deer Spirit
For the Wixárika people, who live primarily in the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico, the deer is not just a symbol — it is sacred. Known as maxa, the deer occupies a central role in ceremonial life, representing a messenger between humans and the divine. It is also tied to the peyote cactus, a plant regarded as a portal to spiritual knowledge.
Kauyumari channels this spiritual role. The immense deer, painstakingly assembled and hand-embellished by artisans over the course of a year, contains an inner chamber where festival participants can gather, reflect or even perform ceremonies in conversation with the art. Decorated in the Wixárika tradition of intricate bead and yarn patterns, the sculpture is bathed at night in luminous light, transforming into a shrine within the desert expanse.
“This is more than an artwork to admire,” said Leyla Brashka who spearheaded the design. “It is a prayer and a teaching, expressed in monumental form. By bringing kauyumari to Burning Man, we are inviting thousands to encounter the living traditions of Mexico’s Indigenous communities.”
In a festival where giant robots, interactive LED temples and fire-shooting dragons roam the dunes, kauyumari offers something different. Its very presence highlights how art at Burning Man has evolved: no longer just a playground of radical experimentation, but also a platform where ancient traditions find fresh expression.
Scholars of contemporary art point to Burning Man as one of the largest living museums in the world — though without walls or tickets. And in that open-air, ephemeral museum, Mexico’s contributions have become among the most celebrated.
“Artists from Mexico have reshaped the visual language of Burning Man. What makes works like kauyumari powerful is how they bring Indigenous aesthetics into conversation with global audiences in ways that are profoundly respectful and deeply moving.
After the burn
Although each Burning Man installation by tradition is temporary — many destroyed, burned or dismantled at the festival’s end — collectives increasingly work to preserve their most impactful works. Discussions are already underway to bring kauyumari back to Mexico after the festival, where it could continue its role as a ceremonial and artistic gathering space.
In that sense, the work embodies another principle of Burning Man: continuity. What is born in Black Rock City does not end when the desert empties but instead reverberates outward, reshaping culture across borders.
Looking ahead
With collectives like AXOLOTL and visionaries like Leyla collaborating with Indigenous communities, Mexico’s presence at Burning Man shows no signs of slowing. Even as the festival continues to draw participants from more than 70 countries, Mexican artists are establishing themselves as leaders at the intersection of spectacle, heritage and technology.
As the glowing deer of kauyumari casts its light across Black Rock City this year, it reminds participants that art is not only something to marvel at but also to learn from. In the desert, the future of festival art is converging with the wisdom of ancestral traditions.
And at the vanguard of that convergence are the Mexican artists reimagining what Burning Man — and monumental art itself — can be.
The celebration stretched into the early morning hours. Confetti rained down as Isela cut her cake, surrounded by new friends and supporters. (Screen capture)
A Mexican teen’s disappointing quinceañera was transformed into a viral celebration on Saturday after social media helped rally thousands to her side.
About six weeks ago, Isela Anahí Santiago Morales was expecting a joyful quinceañera — the traditional coming-of-age celebration marking a girl’s 15th birthday — in Axtla de Terrazas, her hometown of about 32,000 in the north-central state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Instead, she found herself nearly alone after friends and guests failed to appear.
“My dad said we couldn’t let the food go to waste, so he posted on Facebook that we had enough left for 40 people,” said Isela, who lives with her parents and sister in a modest wooden house with a tin roof.
Her mother, of Nahua heritage, and her father earn a living by collecting garbage; the family had saved up to host a small party on July 9, which unfortunately fizzled (with no explanation why).
Her father’s heartfelt post shortly thereafter changed everything.
Soon, word spread. Strangers, businesses and city officials offered to help. Donations poured in. The municipal soccer stadium, which has stands that can seat about 800, was secured for a second party.
The viral spark came when a local photographer offered a free shoot, followed by DJ and event organizer Jerónimo Rosales, who pledged to provide music.
Isela celebra sus XV años en San Luis Potosí con vestido rosa y auto clásico - Las Noticias
This past Saturday, hundreds flooded the field for the celebration. Rain fell, but the numbers (150 to 200 were originally expected) continued to grow until there were about 2,000 revelers.
Police managed crowds as guests arrived from across Mexico and even Texas.
“It became national news,” said Sarai Rosales, 44, who came from Dallas some 900 miles away. “When we saw it on TV at home, we got excited and decided to come … I thought the rain would put people off, but here we are.”
A dozen local bands played for free, fireworks lit the night and, in the end, assistance was received from 70 padrinos — which translates to “godparents,” but for quinceañeras means close family members or friends who help pay for certain items (the cake, the dress, etc.) or offer their services as photographers, musicians, etc.
Isela, who wore a billowy pink dress, asked for donations of toys for vulnerable children instead of gifts for herself.
Traditional foods like the regionally popular zacahuil (a large tamale made with chicken or pork) were served throughout the marathon 12-hour event. The state government financed the headline musical act, and local politicians gave speeches from the stage.
Customs were honored, as well. For example, Isela danced a waltz with her father, and he presented her with her last doll — a tradition marking the end of childhood.
And then there were the surprises. Isela received the paperwork for a 90-square-meter plot of land in town, a scholarship and an all-expenses-paid trip as gifts. The teen burst into tears reading the letter about the land.
The celebration stretched into the early morning hours. Confetti rained down as Isela cut her cake, surrounded by new friends and supporters.
“We only knew her from social media, but we saw what was being organized and decided to join,” said Yolanda Castro, a 37-year-old homemaker who came with her husband from a nearby town.
“Thank you to everyone who is here, joining me,” Isela told the cheering crowd. “I hope you have a good time, that you enjoy it, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
