Mexican and Chinese firms have taken the lead in industrial real estate in Monterrey, according to a new report from CBRE. (Real Estate Market Mexico)
Mexican companies lead the way in occupying industrial real estate in Monterrey, Nuevo León, according to an October report by real estate services firm CBRE.
By the end of Q3, the report states, domestic companies accounted for 38% of industrial space demand in Monterrey, followed by Chinese firms at 23% and U.S. companies at 19%.
Nuevo León, home to industrial city Monterrey, boasts the highest employment rate in Mexico this year. (Daniel Escobedo)
The industry that reported the largest growth in occupation of industrial space was the manufacturing sector at 38%, followed by the logistics and transportation sector at 33% and the automotive sector at 28%.
“The logistics and transportation sector had significant growth, going from 18% to 33% of the industrial demand in Monterrey. This increase was due to the expansion of Mexican companies in this industry,” CBRE’s analysis said.
Between July and September, Monterrey saw a net acquisition of 431,000 square meters, an increase derived from pre-leased and custom-built properties, also known as build-to-suit projects. This led to a total of 1.3 million square meters acquired this year by the end of the third quarter – the highest figure ever recorded in one year.
CBRE added that during Q3, the total area of leased spaces acquired stood at 350,000 square meters. Compared to previous quarters, most of this acquisition came from leasing existing properties, which represented 68% of the total leased space. Build-to-suit properties accounted for 16% of that space.
Saltillo, Coahuila was highlighted as the most likely metropolitan area to receive foreign companies by the Bank of Mexico. (Sachavir/Wikimedia)
Overall, industrial inventory in Monterrey closed at 13.8 million square meters, an annual increase of 13.5%. With 1.2 million square meters currently under construction and 700,000 in the planning stage – all of which are expected to commence construction in the next few months – the industry reports ongoing growth.
“This level of industrial activity has kept the vacancy or availability rate at its lowest historical levels, which has also allowed the continuous increase in starting rental prices within all the city’s sub-markets,” the report explained, adding that Monterrey’s vacancy rate closed at 1.4%, continuing a downward trend that began in 2021.
In its most recent report on regional economies, the Bank of Mexico identified Monterrey as the second most likely metropolitan area to receive relocating foreign companies, behind only Saltillo, Coahuila.
The nearshoring-driven arrival and expansion of transnational companies to Monterrey has also boosted Nuevo León’s employment rate.
According to the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), more than 80,000 new jobs had been created in Nuevo León by late August, a figure that represents 12.9% of all new jobs in the country.
Already exceeding its 2022 total, these numbers make Nuevo León the state with the highest employment rate in Mexico.
If an individual is said to give you a plane, it means he’s ignoring you. (Freepik)
When we hit the road in English, we are not actually striking the pavement, but we are on the road again. When we catch a red-eye, there is only a chance that eye reddening may occur: we’re merely boarding a flight that travels through the night.
In the same way, Mexican Spanish uses certain transportation idioms and sayings that may have meanings far beyond the words’ face value. Do you have the travel bug? Then come with us as we delve into some common Mexican expressions.
1. Darle el avión
Literal meaning: to give (someone) the plane.
If a wealthy benefactor were to gift you a plane, you would be elated. However, in Mexican Spanish, you won’t be so pleased. That’s because if an individual is said to give you a plane, it means he’s telling you to get lost or, at the very least, is ignoring you.
“Traté de explicarle a mi jefe por qué no puedo trabajar los sábados, pero solo me dio el avión.”
“I tried to explain to my boss why I can’t work Saturdays, but all he did was give me a deaf ear.”
2. Írsele el avión
Literal meaning: to have an airplane get away from you
Ever missed your flight? What a drag! Something akin happens when we are busily relating an event to a colleague and suddenly lose our train of thought. It turns out that Mexicans don’t lose their train; they miss their planes! Use this phrase to explain away your next brain fart.
“¿Qué estaba diciendo? Se me fue el avión.”
“What was I saying? I lost my train of thought.”
3. Cajón
This is the Mexican Spanish word of choice for a parking space. (Freepik)
Literal meaning: a big box
One day in my workplace a supervisor called and announced that I had been assigned a “cajón.” Since “caja” in Spanish means box, I imagined that I had received a big box of something. As it turns out, this is the Mexican Spanish word of choice for a parking space. So even though you may have to think outside the box, please, by all means, park inside your box.
“A usted se le ha asignado el cajón #65.”
“You have been assigned parking space #65.”
4. Camellón
Literal meaning: the big camel
The median strip is a narrow swath of land that divides two or more lanes of traffic. Imagine that you could slice the entire boulevard and look at it transversally from pavement level. What would you see? The medium strip would appear as a large hump in the middle in comparison to the lanes on either side. Originally a name for the ridge of earth between furrows in a garden, some clever wit applied it to these barriers the term has stuck. Lesson? Drive safely—and watch out for those camels!
“Tras una discusión con su novia, el joven chocó contra el camellón.”
“After a fight with his girlfriend, the young man crashed into the median strip.”
5. Chapopote
Literal meaning: a perfumed paste (from Nahuatl)
Meet the local word for asphalt, a departure from the standard Spanish “asfalto”. Note the following quote from the Mexican newspaper El Universal:
“La carretera está … perdida entre grandes tramos de terracería y retazos de chapopote.”
“The highway is … lost between swaths of dirt roads and remnants of asphalt.”
6. Claxon
Score another genericide. Genericide? That’s what legal experts call it when a brand name becomes generic. For example, Band-aid began as a brand name, but its usage became so common that any adhesive bandage is now called Band-aid, regardless of the brand. In this case, the Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Company of Newark, New Jersey bought the rights to an early horn that made an “awooga” sound, now associated with antique vehicles. The brand name Klaxon was chosen from a Greek word meaning “I shriek.” In modern Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, although the dictionary may say “bocina,” any vehicle horn is called a claxon.
“En una fiesta de graduación virtual, todos se subieron a sus coches y dieron la vuelta al barrio tocando el claxon.”
“At a virtual graduation party, they all got in their cars and started going around the neighborhood honking their horns.”
7. Combi
Mexicans refer to any public minibus, regardless of brand, as a “combi”. (Autobuses y camiones FB)
Literal meaning: combination
In the early ʻ50s Volkswagen introduced its iconic Type 2 van, or Kombi. Its removable seats made the vehicle a combination that proved massively successful and was quickly embraced by the hippie movement. In Mexico, the vehicles were put into service as mass transit. To this day, Mexicans refer to any public minibus, regardless of brand, as a “combi.”
“¿Dónde puedo agarrar la combi a Indios Verdes?”
“Where can I catch the minibus to Indios Verdes?”
8. Mueble
Literal meaning: furniture
Our Mexican host drove us to a gas station near Piedras Negras, Coahuila where we were going to join another friend of ours. Parking and turning off the motor, the driver turned to me and asked: “¿No sabes qué mueble trae?” Since word-for-word that means, Do you know what furniture she’s coming in?” I was inclined to respond: “I dunno. A love sofa maybe”. Lesson? Remember that in northern Mexico any vehicle is a “mueble.”
“¿No sabes qué mueble trae?”
“Do you know what kind of vehicle she’s driving?”
9. Pulmonía
Literal meaning: pneumonia
Staying healthy is a priority now more than ever. No one in their right mind would mess with pneumonia. If you visit the lovely port city of Mazatlán, though, you might think otherwise. There, golf carts have been outfitted as public taxis and are known by the moniker of “pulmonías.” But don’t fret. When these novelty vehicles began to carry passengers, envious taxi drivers spread the rumor that riding in them would expose you to pneumonia. The false claim wasn’t lost on the public, who have proudly embraced these touristy taxis and their contagious name. Today’s Mazatlán even boasts a monument to the “pulmonía.”
“¿Cuánto cuesta viajar en una pulmonía en Mazatlán?”
“How much does it cost for a ride on the golf-cart taxis in Mazatlán?”
10. Hecho la mocha
Literal meaning: turned into something cut off
During the heyday of the railroad, a practical need arose in the rail yards in order to service the trains. The large locomotives had a difficult time maneuvering in the narrow spaces. The solution? Smaller engines were brought in. These units garnered the nickname “mocha,” from the verb “mochar” – to cut off or shorten – because they appeared clipped in comparison to the full-size engines. These little guys were not only more agile but gave birth to this swift idiom.
“Cuando a mi abuelo le dio el infarto, mis papás y yo tuvimos que irnos hechos la mocha.”
“When my grandpa had a heart attack, my parents and I had to leavein a hurry.”
So there you have it! Consider this sampler part of your linguistic passport as you travel around the country. Practice these new terms liberally. Just make sure you don’t lose your train of thought.
Lee Jamison has lived and worked in Latin America for more than 25 years and is a resident of Mexico. He operates the site insiderspanish.com and is the author of the book My Burning Tongue: Mexican Spanish available in paperback and Kindle formats at amazon.com. He has also written guides on the Spanish spoken in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The city of Monterrey, Nuevo León, has achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest Day of the Dead altar, as part of the ongoing Santa Lucía festival.
The altar, which is officially named “Monumental Altar: A tribute to Mexican tradition” measures 1,212 square meters, and is located on the city’s Paseo Santa Lucía, in Monterrey’s central Fundidora Park.
The altar, which measures more than 1,200 square meters, was certified as the largest by the Guinness team. (Samuel García/X)
The enormous altar is a blend of traditional design and modern technology, adorned with bottles of mezcal, sugar skulls and effigies of xoloitzcuintle dogs, as well as video mapping technology that projects f giant skulls onto the altar.
The altar is also the stage for a new musical from Monterrey composer Viviana Barrera, featuring songs representative of Mexican culture. With titles like “La Llorona,” “Canción Mixteca” and “Zandunga” – a form of Mexican waltz – the production seeks to underscore the connection between ancient and modern Mexico.
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García celebrated the record on social media.
“Nuevo León has the Guinness Record for the world’s largest Day of the Dead altar. Unstoppable!” he posted.
The Monterrey altar beat out last year’s record holder, located in the state of Hidalgo. (Samuel García/X)
Many major Mexican cities set up so-called “mega ofrendas,” though few come close to the size of Monterrey’s record-holder. Last year’s record-holder was a 1,044 square meter altar in the state of Hidalgo.
Monterrey’s triumph may be short-lived: the city of Xalapa, Veracruz has unveiled a 1,567 square meter mega ofrenda of its own, although it is yet to be certified as an official world record.
The Monterrey altar will remain on public display until Sunday.
The Mexican peso has strengthened against the US dollar this week, after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to hold its funds rate steady. (Cuartoscuro)
It’s Day of the Dead, but there’s life in the Mexican peso yet.
The peso has strengthened every day this week and reached 17.54 to the US dollar at midday on Thursday.
The Bank of Mexico has maintained high interest rates this year which has contributed to the peso’s strength against the US dollar. (MOISÉS PABLO/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The USD:MXN exchange rate at 9:30 a.m. Mexico City time was 17.62, according to Bloomberg. That’s a difference of exactly 1 peso compared to the best position it has reached this year – 16.62 on July 28.
Compared to its position at the close of markets last Friday, the peso has strengthened 49 centavos or 2.8% against the greenback.
The currency closed just above 18 to the dollar on Tuesday, but appreciated to 17.76 by the end of trading on Wednesday after the United States Federal Reserve held its funds rate steady at a range of 5.25%-5.5%.
Analysts cite the broad gap between the Bank of Mexico’s benchmark interest rate – currently 11.25% – and that of the Fed as one factor that has helped the peso appreciate this year after it started the year at about 19.5 to the greenback.
The Bank of Mexico, which has maintained its key rate at 11.25% since raising it to that level in late March, will hold its next monetary policy meeting on Nov. 9.
Its board has repeatedly said that it will be necessary to maintain the benchmark rate at its current level for “an extended period” in order to achieve “an orderly and sustained convergence of headline inflation to the 3% target.”
Annual headline inflation was 4.27% in the first half of October. The figure for the entire month of October hasn’t yet been published.
The crash killed all four crew members on board. (Cuartoscuro)
Four crew members of an air ambulance were killed in a crash in Morelos on Wednesday, state authorities said.
A light plane came down in the municipality of Temixco in the early afternoon, according to a statement posted to social media by the Morelos Civil Protection agency (CEPCM).
The site of an air ambulance crash in Morelos. (Screen captures)
Citing preliminary information, it said that four crew members were killed. The news magazine Proceso reported that the victims were three men and one woman.
The accident occurred near the Cuernavaca airport, which is located in Temixco. Photos posted to social media by the CEPCM showed smoke rising from a scrubby hill near other hills covered with trees.
The agency didn’t mention the cause of the accident, but said that the state Attorney General’s Office is investigating. Civil Protection personnel, soldiers, National Guard officers and police responded to the crash.
Proceso said that the aircraft – reportedly a Learjet 35 – may have been approaching the Cuernavaca airport to land.
The aviation news website Transponder 1200 reported that witnesses suggested that excess speed may have been a factor in the accident.
This is the first time the annual yoga event will be held outside of Mexico City. (Joshua Wilson/Unsplash)
Cancún will host the National Yoga Conference, for the first time from Nov. 10-12.
“Oftentimes when you think of Cancun, you think of partying, but it is time to think about well-being and ways to improve your health,” Ana Paula Domínguez, founder of the Mexican Yoga Institute, told reporters on Tuesday.
The 2023 National Yoga Conference has ditched Mexico City for the sunny beaches of Cancún. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
The event will include a variety of activities, and this is the first time in the event’s 20-year history that it will be held outside of Mexico City.
“We really wanted to stop having the event in Mexico City. Thanks to my partner Fernando de Olmo, we approached the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council and shared our idea. They liked it and decided to support us in doing this event,” Domínguez said.
Free activities like meditation sessions and live music will be hosted at the Malecón Tajamán, while yoga activities for more experienced practitioners will have a cost, and will be hosted at the Westin Resort & Spa.
Tickets are available to local residents at a discounted rate.
This year’s event boasts a packed lineup of practitioners and speakers. (Mexican Yoga Institute)
Attendees must bring their own yoga mats and bottles of water.
Organizers expect some 3,000 attendees over the course of the weekend, including international visitors from the United States, mainly from Texas and Miami.
According to Domínguez, Cancún has seen a rise in the opening of yoga centers, driven by awareness of promoting physical and mental health. She estimates the city now has at least 50 yoga centers.
For more information about tickets and the event’s full program, check the event website.
Michelle Ravel has successfully escaped the Gaza strip into Egypt, the government has announced. (Screen Capture)
Among the hundreds of foreign passport holders allowed to leave the war-torn Gaza Strip and cross into Egypt on Wednesday was a Mexican woman named Michelle Ravel, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE).
Ravel was not a hostage held by Hamas, but is a Mexican doctor who was in Gaza when Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war that is now in its fourth week.
Hundreds of foreign nationals – including Mexicans – are unable to leave Gaza in the wake of the Israeli invasion. (Times of Gaza/X)
President López Obrador interrupted his daily press conference Wednesday morning to tell reporters that he was just handed a note marked as “urgent”.
“I would like to inform you that Michelle Ravel has advised us that she has left Gaza [through the Rafa crossing] and is on her way to Cairo,” López Obrador said.
The note was from Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, who later confirmed Ravel’s entry into Egypt and said that she and her ministry are tracking Ravel’s progress in conjunction with officials at the Mexican Embassy in Egypt.
Another Mexican health professional trapped in Gaza, Bárbara Lango, is yet to cross into Egypt, though officials remain hopeful. The member of Doctors Without Borders was reportedly with her husband in Gaza when the war began.
Mexican doctor Bárbara Lango is thought to remain trapped in Gaza. (Bárbara Lango/Facebook)
“Right now, [officials] are in a meeting to obtain information about when Bárbara Lango will be included” on the list of people allowed to leave, López Obrador said.
Like Ravel, Lango is not a hostage, but Mexican citizens Orión Hernández – whose German-Israeli girlfriend Shani Louk, also taken hostage by Hamas, was confirmed dead on Tuesday – and Ilana Gritzewsky are apparently among the 240 or so people who are still in the hands of the militant group. Bárcena has said the Foreign Affairs Ministry is working to negotiate the Mexicans’ freedom.
On Wednesday, the Rafah crossing, on the Gaza-Egypt border opened for the first time since the war began on Oct. 7, thanks to an agreement between Egypt, Gaza and Israel mediated by Qatar.
According to news reports, approximately 335 foreigners and 76 injured Palestinians left Gaza throughout the day Wednesday.
The project would allow New Fortress Energy to produce and export LNG and had been granted both Mexican and U.S. permits earlier this year. (New Fortress Energy)
A United States company may have to reapply for an export permit for its liquefied natural gas (LNP) hub off the coast of Tamaulipas, a requirement that could delay the project.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wrote to New Fortress Energy (NFE), advising the company that if any part of its Altamira floating LNP project is located onshore in Mexico, it will have to resubmit an application for an export permit.
New Fortress had originally signed a deal to export so-called ‘fast LNG’ from the Altamira terminal near the Tamaulipas coast. (Pemex)
In its letter, the DOE noted that a caption for a picture included in an Oct. 16 company update filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said there was a plan to install a liquefaction train on land.
“To ensure that DOE has the most updated information concerning NFE Altamira’s project, DOE is requesting clarification about the project site and design. We also note that, if the project site and design have been modified such that FLNG2 will be located onshore in Mexico instead of offshore, NFE Altamira is required under DOE’s regulations to amend the application and request an amendment of its FTA [free trade agreement] order … to reflect this material change,” the Oct. 30 letter said.
Reuters reported that the Altamira project was originally designed with two facilities – Fast LNG1 on converted oil platforms and Fast LNG2 (or FLNG2) on three fixed platforms.
The news agency submitted a request for comment to NFE, but didn’t immediately receive a response.
A rendering of the proposed modular design of the new hub, which would allow NFE to refine and export the LNG much more quickly than traditional methods. (NFE)
NFE received export permits from both the Mexican Ministry of Energy (SENER) and the DOE earlier in the year.
The US $1.3 billion Altamira hub – set to be Mexico’s first producing and exporting LNG facility – was expected to commence shipping gas this month. However, a requirement to apply to the DOE for a new export permit could delay the project.
In June, SENER issued a permit allowing NFE to export up to 7.8 million tonnes of LNG through April 2028.
Wes Edens, NFE’s founder and CEO, said at the time that the permit was “the final piece to the puzzle for launching our first Fast LNG [project] in Altamira.”
The company had reportedly also received a permit to operate a pipeline until 2028. (NFE)
“Fast LNG” is a term coined by NFE that refers to more rapid refining and distribution of LNG.
The company’s current DOE permit allows it to supply LNG to Mexico and other countries that have free trade agreements with the United States. A decision has not yet been made on NFE’s application for a non-FTA export permit.
The company reached an agreement with Mexican authorities that gave the Federal Electricity Commission a 10% stake in the Altamira project, with a contract lasting 15 years. The contract is estimated to be worth US $5.7 billion in revenues.
“Mexico, in association with New Fortress, will become an exporter of liquefied natural gas for the first time in history, making it available to the market and thus contributing to the energy security of the country and the world,” the CFE said in a video in June.
The state of Sinaloa, which has long been a hotspot of cartel violence, has banned cartel and crime-themed costumes. (Isabel Mateos/Cuartoscuro)
The northern state of Sinaloa continues to enforce its ban on cartel-themed Halloween costumes, such as dressing up as infamous drug lords.
Outlawed costumes include those depicting cartel leaders, like Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, or his son Ovidio, execution victims and outfits that include replica firearms. People who decorate their houses as killing sites or hang mock bodies from trees, as well as those who use their cars to simulate kidnappings, will also be charged under the laws.
Police will patrol 18 municipalities, and issue fines to those breaking the costume restrictions. (SSP Sinaloa/X)
Sinaloa’s Secretary of Public Protection asked those dressing up for Halloween to “avoid justifying criminals and to behave civilly.”
Those found guilty of wearing indecent costumes face a fine of between 1,037 pesos (US $58) to 15,561 pesos (US $870). Under the Federal Penal Code, those who glorify violence may also receive a community service sentence of up to 180 days.
The state is home to the notorious Sinaloa Cartel and has been plagued by organized crime and violence for decades. Public security officials will patrol 18 municipalities in their search for partygoers who may flout the ban on cartel-themed costumes.
Last year saw 47 people arrested for indecent Halloween costumes in the cities of Culiacán, Los Mochis and Mazatlán. A further 40 vehicle owners were fined for pretending to transport kidnapping victims.
Mesoamericans believed that sharing their harvest with their ancestors ensured that the cycle would continue, just like Day of the Dead. (Cuartoscuro)
Not so long ago, many Anglos would be repulsed by the whole idea of treating death as anything but something to be ignored at all costs. Acceptance of Day of the Dead in much of the United States – and depictions of it in movies like “Spectre” and “Coco” – have changed that.
However, having only a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Not long ago, a tour guide friend of mine came across two young foreign tourists in full “La Catrina” face paint heading to a Michoacán cemetery on Day of the Dead. She tried to talk them out of going like that, but the girls were determined to “experience Day of the Dead to the fullest.” They returned embarrassed. “We should have listened to you,” they told her.
Day of the Dead is a beloved celebration with many local and regional variations. Their common thread is the belief it is possible to get in touch with loved ones who have passed on. (patzcuaromagictours.mx)
This issue was not that the girls were wearing La Catrina paint, but that they didn’t know where and when to enjoy it.
The origins of Day of the Dead
The holiday is commonly believed to have its origins in the ancient agricultural communities of Mesoamerica. In cultivating the land, Indigenous cultures developed an intimate understanding of the life cycle of crops and the natural forces that guide them. Just as plants died in winter to be reborn in the spring, Mesoamerican peoples believed, so did human beings, and sharing their harvest with their ancestors was a way of ensuring that the cycle would continue. During colonization, Indigenous survivors of the Spanish conquest syncretized their traditions with European ones and kept them alive secretly.
Today, Day of the Dead is a beloved celebration with many local and regional variations. Their common thread is the belief it is possible to get in touch with loved ones who have passed on, most often in the form of food offerings left for them on altars. Families gather in cemeteries by their loved ones’ graves to spend time with the deceased when they return to the world as well.
The evolution of a “secular” Day of the Dead
The images of happy skeletons enjoying life is a relatively recent but still very Mexican innovation. Their creation is credited to 19th-century cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada, who used them in his newspaper work to make political and social statements.
Diego Rivera and other post-Revolution artists adopted them as seen in the mural Dream of a Sunday Afternoon at Alameda Central Park. From there, La Catrina and stylized skeletons organically became an integral part of Day of the Dead.
Public events for the holiday grew in the 20th century, with Mexican films portraying traditional observances as an expression of identity. This is why Lake Pátzcuaro’s celebrations are famous. La Catrina and the company’s connection with both the Mexican Revolution and Rivera made them a natural for events sponsored by local, state and even federal governments. Day of the Dead exists in the north of the country because in the seventies the Education Ministry introduced it there as a way to counter gringo Halloween.
The holiday is commonly believed to have its origins in the ancient agricultural communities of Mesoamerica. (patzcuaromagictours.mx)
Today, there are essentially two types of Day of Day observances: one rooted in tradition, the other a fun way to be Mexican. While they overlap, the two are not interchangeable.
Desire to conserve the “intimate” Day of the Dead
By the end of the 20th century, long before James Bond or Disney’s help, Day of the Dead became established as big business in Mexico. In the lead-up to last year’s Day of the Dead, the Tourism Ministry predicted spending of 37.7 million pesos. Despite new international interest in the holiday, most of that tourism is still domestic, with only a quarter of Day of the Dead travelers coming from abroad.
Commercialization of the holiday has been butting up against traditional family-oriented observances, especially in places where cemeteries are still located in the center of communities, like in San Andrés Mixquic on the edge of Mexico City. Tour operators like Jonás of Coyo Tours in Mexico City blame local officials for not doing more to conserve the intimate character of cemetery traditions. When you’re in the cemetery surrounded by tourists taking selfies, it’s easy to see his point.
The problem is less pronounced in places like the Yucatán Peninsula, where tourism is focused on the beach rather than culture. There, tourists have relatively little interest in local traditions, says 25-year tour veteran Bernardo Gallo. Those interested in Day of the Dead generally head over to the Xcaret resort for La Catrina-themed activities.
Overcrowding and commercialization have long been problems on Lake Pátzcaro, but no one dares try to limit the number of visitors to Pátzcuaro and Janitzio Island. However, guides Jaime Hernández Balderas and Jen Bjarnasen say that smaller, lesser-known lake communities have taken steps to limit cemetery tourism in favor of local residents, moves that both guides support.
Advice for foreigners during Day of the Dead celebrations
So, how should you experience Day of the Dead to the fullest? Fortunately, there’s no single right answer. If you want to have a good time with dancing skeletons, Mexico has got you covered. If you want to learn about and honor ancient traditions, Mexico has memorable experiences for you as well.
The trick is to know the local culture and environment, and the best way to do that is to take your cues from locals. Otherwise, you risk a faux pas equivalent to wearing an elf costume at a Christmas midnight mass.
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.
