INAH experts are working to restore the original colors of the serpent head, which features some of the best-preserved color of any pre-Hispanic sculpture. (LANCIC/UNAM)
Amidst the damage, the 2022 Mexico City earthquake unearthed a remarkable relic of the city’s past: a giant Mexica snake head, now being restored in its original colors by specialists at the National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH).
The 500-year-old stone carving was found buried 4.5 meters under a building in the Historic Center, in the ruins of the Mexica (also known as Aztec) capital of Tenochtitlán, after the 7.6-magnitude quake disturbed the ground above it. It measures 1.8 meters long, 1 meter high and 85 centimeters wide, with an estimated weight of 1.2 tonnes.
The snake head was painted with black, white, red, blue and ochre pigments. (LANCIC/UNAM)
During restoration work, researchers were struck by the colored pigments still covering 80% of the sculpture’s surface, which make it the best-preserved piece of pre-Hispanic color work found on a carving to date.
“The same mixtures of mud and water that covered it for more than half a millennium, also allowed its stucco to be preserved along with traces of ochre, red, blue, black and white,” the INAH explained in a statement.
The restoration has focused on allowing the sculpture to lose its humidity gradually, as rapid drying could damage the delicate colors. For this reason, the snake head is being kept in a sealed humidity chamber, where its dampness can be constantly regulated.
Thanks to these interventions, “it has been possible to stabilize the colors for preservation in almost all the sculpture, which is extremely important, because the colors have helped us to conceive pre-Hispanic art from another perspective,” INAH archaeologist Erika Robles Cortés toldLive Science.
The snake head is being slowly brought to ambient humidity in a special climate-controlled chamber, to prevent damage to the original paint colors. (LANCIC/UNAM)
Meanwhile, a team led by archaeologist Moramay Estrada Vásquez is studying the sculpture to establish its exact age and symbolism.
“It is possible that it dates from the last stage of the city, that is, it may date from the reign of Ahuízotl or the reign of Moctezuma,” Patricia Ledesma Bouchan, director of the Templo Mayor Museum in the Historic Center, told El Universal.
She added that numerous other snake heads have been discovered in the area, reflecting the importance of serpents in Mexica iconography. The Mexica deity Quetzalcoatl is frequently depicted as a snake, although researchers have not yet confirmed that this sculpture represents him.
For now, the sculpture is still closed to the public, as any variation in its microclimate could damage it. But discussions are underway about how best to exhibit it after the stabilization process is complete, possibly as early as next year.
“We are still defining the right place for its exhibition; we must wait to see how the piece reacts and if it will require long-term treatment,” Ledesma said. “In 2024, we may already be able to see it.”
The port of Acapulco has a history going back hundreds of years. After the devastation of Hurricane Otis, we need to support the resort's recovery. (Shutterstock)
Acapulco is a truly magical place. Anyone who has ever been there can tell you stories of that magic.
I first heard of Acapulco as a child. I remember stories of how my uncle Norm, who was a private airplane pilot, would take executives from major U.S. corporations there in the 1970s for a few days of rest and relaxation. The way he described it was fascinating – truly a playground for the rich and famous and the jet set vacation hot spot for many years.
My first direct experience with Acapulco came from a college friend of mine, Pilar, whom I met while studying at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Pilar was from downtown Acapulco, just a few blocks off the main beach. She was a true “costeña” – loved to smile, have fun, enjoy life, and dance the night away. Imagine how that Acapulco girl suffered in Wisconsin winters!
I visited Pilar’s family in Acapulco multiple times over the years when she would be back for the holidays. I remember her mother helping me wash my clothes once by hand on their rooftop. Her mother is a beautiful, wonderful, strong woman – imagine raising your daughter and telling her that success meant that she would never come back again to live in Acapulco. Her father is a local doctor helping the community from a clinic near their home.
Today Pilar lives near Vienna. Her brother lives in Germany. Their parents still both live in that same home just a few blocks from the beach – and as of my writing this, Pilar has still been unable to communicate with them.
Another friend of mine, Angelica, a colleague from my first job, also has an Acapulco connection. Her family had a home there. One time, my wife and I and two friends were visiting Acapulco, and Angelica, though she wasn’t there, insisted that we spend the day on a boat with her family. It was one of those unforgettable days – filled with laughter, swimming, dancing, an amazing sunset, and lots of tequila.
Acapulco is a place where it is impossible to not make incredible memories. A few more of my own include – late nights at “Disco Beach”, seeing the sunrise on back to back mornings after all-night clubbing, seeing the famous Acapulco cliff divers, having New Year’s Eve dinner one year with Pilar’s family, and attending Pilar’s wedding at a mountaintop location with a stunning view of the entire bay. I could go on and on as I guarantee you anyone who has been to Acapulco could.
The port of Acapulco has many centuries of history, and the people of Acapulco have endured tough times. Recent years have not been kind to the area due to drug violence. This devastating hurricane only adds to the pain and suffering that too many families have endured. It will be too easy to forget about this magic of this special place. We can’t do that.
The people and the place that have brought so much joy to so many people need us now more than ever.
Governor Samuel García requested leave from his position to run for president in 2024, but got more than he bargained for when his rivals approved the request. (PRESIDENCIA/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The Nuevo León Congress on Wednesday approved Governor Samuel García’s request to take six months leave and promptly appointed an interim governor, a move García described as “completely illegal.”
García, a 35-year-old Citizens Movement (MC) party governor who took office in October 2021, submitted a request for leave to the state Congress on Monday so that he can focus on his goal of representing MC at the 2024 presidential election.
García’s political rivals in the state congress appointed an interim governor, Arturo Salinas, on Wednesday. (CUARTOSCURO.COM)
National Action Party (PAN) and Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lawmakers — who together occupy 28 of the 42 seats in Nuevo León’s unicameral Congress — had indicated that they would reject any request from García to take leave. But a majority of deputies with those parties voted to approve the governor’s request on Wednesday.
García’s leave will commence Dec. 2 and conclude June 2, 2024, the day of the presidential election. MC is set to name its presidential candidate by early next year.
After approving García’s leave, the state Congress named José Arturo Salinas Garza, president of the Superior Court of Justice of Nuevo León and a former state and federal deputy for the PAN, as interim governor.
Salinas, a longterm PAN member, was sworn in as interim governor on Wednesday, although his six-month tenure won’t commence for another five weeks.
The young political “power couple” of Nuevo León: Governor Samuel García and his wife, Mariana Rodríguez. (Samuel García/Twitter)
García – who said in his letter to Congress that the secretary general of the state government would stand in for him as governor in accordance with an article of the Nuevo León political constitution – said on the X social media site that the designation of Salinas by “the PRIAN” was completely illegal.
PRIAN is a hybrid derogatory acronym for the PRI and the PAN, which were formerly political rivals but are now both part of the Broad Front for Mexico opposition alliance, which also includes the Democratic Revolution Party.
García asserted that his government “won’t place the construction of the new Nuevo León at risk” by leaving the state “in the hands of the old political regime that has already done a lot of damage.”
It was unclear how he would achieve that, although he could ultimately decide to not go on leave. The governor, who has previously pledged to complete his full six-year term, also said on X that “nothing is decided yet” and that he remains focused on Nuevo León.
Citizens Movement leader Dante Delgado called the actions of the PRIAN illegal. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
García – who claims his government is building a “new” Nuevo León by eliminating corruption and attracting record investment, among other measures – said in another post that he would “never” hand over his government to the PRIAN.
The governor appears to be the leading contender to secure the MC nomination, although party leader Dante Delgado said earlier this week that former foreign affairs minister Marcelo Ebrard – who finished second to Claudia Sheinbaum in the ruling Morena party’s candidate selection process – was an “external” option.
Senator Delgado said on X on Thursday that “it’s embarrassing to witness what the PRI and the PAN are capable of doing with the [Nuevo León] legislative power.”
“They illegally ‘appointed’ an interim governor, ‘designated’ an ineligible person and ‘swore him in’ when there is an elected incumbent governor,” he wrote.
“None of what they did is legal or valid. … The only certain thing is that Samuel García is governor of Nuevo León and that Citizens Movement will win the presidency of the republic next year and send the PRIAN to a distant third place,” Degado said.
If García becomes the MC nominee, Mexico’s presidential election will have an on-leave Nuevo León governor as a candidate for a second consecutive time, as Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez Calderón took part in the 2018 contest as an independent.
Disgraced former governor Jaime “El Bronco” Rodríguez, took part in the 2018 election as an independent candidate.(Omar Martinez/Cuartoscuro)
An interesting side note to the current political drama playing out in Nuevo León is that García, a Nuevo León deputy before he became a federal senator in 2018, voted in 2017 against granting leave to Rodríguez to contest the presidential election.
“This Congress isn’t and never will be obliged to give approval to any person in order to compete [in an election] because … he or she has a personal ambition,” he said in the Nuevo León Congress in December 2017.
Enrique Toussaint, a political analyst, was critical of García’s decision to take leave as governor so soon after taking office.
“It’s a little bit irresponsible, in my opinion, to arrive in 2021 and to be already asking for leave in 2023, two years later,” he said.
“I think that Samuel García is more a tiktoker than a leader, someone who is very active on social media, who has a very characteristic way of communicating, very out there, very direct, but I think he is more of a product created by marketing,” Toussaint added.
Director Michel Franco, actors Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard, attend a showing of "Memory" at the Morelia film festival.
The Morelia International Film Festival (FICM) — one of the best in Mexico — has had many star-studded moments in its 21 years, the latest of which was an appearance by two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster on Wednesday night.
The 10-day festival, which continues through Sunday in the Michoacán capital, bestowed Foster with its Artistic Excellence Award for her overall body of work — from her role in “Taxi Driver” at age 12 to her newest film, “Nyad.”
Jodie Foster was the guest of honor as the festival celebrated her long career with a series of retrospectives. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)
The acclaimed actress and director, who will turn 61 on Nov. 9, walked the red carpet and presented a special screening of “The Silence of the Lambs,” the 1991 film in which her portrayal of FBI student Clarice Starling won her an Oscar for best actress.
A permanent, commemorative theater seat with her name on the back was unveiled, and she received an FICM honor that was first given in 2018 to Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, and later to luminaries such as Robert Redford, Claire Denis and Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
On Thursday, she was to receive the lifetime Filmoteca Medal from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and on Friday she is scheduled to take part in a masterclass.
“This work has been an exercise in survival,” she told the audience after a retrospective of her work was shown. The women she has portrayed had to face “the shame, the longing — and they’ve had to survive.”
Eva Longoria was also in attendance at the Morelia film fest this year. (FICM/X)
As she presented “The Silence of the Lambs,” she called it a film that “has stayed in all of our psyches and is still relevant.”
This year’s FICM features more than 100 productions, between shorts and feature films. The lineup includes a number of international films and potential Oscar nominees from around the globe, but the festival’s main focus — to highlight the best in Mexican cinema — has never been forgotten.
There are 11 works in the Michoacana category, 62 titles in the Mexican short films category, 12 in the Mexican documentary category and 11 in the Mexican fiction category — a total of 96 works by Mexican filmmakers.
“Despite the changes in the industry, we always strive to have the best in all areas, whether documentaries, feature films or short films,” Alejandro Ramírez, the FICM president, said in a press release.
Alejandro Ramírez (right), FICM president said the festival strives to promote the best of cinema. (Edgar Negrete/Cuartoscuro)
Celebrities who appeared in person this year included actors Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard and Mexican director Michel Franco from the film “Memory,” a new Mexican-American drama about an alcoholic woman who takes a journey into her past. Sarsgaard won the Volpi Cup in Venice for best actor for his role.
Mexican director Carlos Carrera (“The crime of Padre Amaro”) presented his new film “Confessions,” along with three of its lead actors.
Another top film in the festival is “Radical,” which won the fan favorite award at Sundance earlier this year. In a Mexican border town plagued by neglect, corruption and violence, a frustrated teacher tries a radical new method to break through his students’ apathy and unlock their potential.
The cast and crew of “Confessions”, directed by Carlos Carrera, on the red carpet. (FICM/X)
“The Taste of Christmas,” produced by Veracruz native Salma Hayek, and the partially-filmed-in-Mexico “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” starring Viggo Mortensen of “The Lord of the Rings” fame, were also screened. So was Martin Scorsese’s newly released “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which was presented by its cinematographer, Mexican Rodrigo Prieto.
American director and screenwriter James Ivory was on hand to present his documentary “A Cooler Climate,” and Mexican director Amat Escalante, Spanish actress Ester Exposito and Mexican actor Fernando Bonilla walked the red carpet for their film “Lost in the Night.”
Many of the films can be seen virtually on FilminLatino or over the air on Canal 22.
If you visit Pronatura's observatory in Veracruz, you can see "clouds" of hawks, kites, ospreys, turkey vultures, and many other birds. (Canva)
Every year around five million hawks, eagles, kites and other birds of prey from Canada and the USA quite literally take off for warmer climes to the south – and all of them pass through a long, narrow corridor in the state of Veracruz, between the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Gulf of Mexico.
It took a Mexican organization named Pronatura 32 years to discover and verify this. The group now has find an ideal spot for observing and counting one of the most spectacular annual migrations in the world.
The sky filled with birds. Around five million pass over the observatory every year. (Photo Pronatura)
If you visit Pronatura’s observatory in Veracruz, you can see “clouds” of hawks, kites, ospreys, turkey vultures, and many other birds through most of September, October, and November.
Energetic songbirds
These raptors, of course, are not the only avifauna heading south. Songbirds migrate to and from the same parts of the Americas, but they take more direct routes. Most of them fly straight across the Gulf of Mexico, covering a staggering distance of 800 kilometers in less than 20 hours.
This takes a lot of energy and a lot of wing flapping. Hawks and other raptors prefer a much lazier approach to flying when they can find it, spending most of their time soaring and gliding.
Statistics for 2023 indicate that 1,282,386 broad-winged hawks have been spotted this season. (Photo Manuel Basurto)
As they make their way up and down the continent, raptors are always on the lookout for thermals, columns of warm air that lift them to a height of approximately one kilometer. From here they glide in the direction they want to go until they are around 300 meters off the ground. Now they look for a new thermal and up they go again. This approach keeps them going in the right direction with a minimal loss of energy.
Kettles of rising birds
A column of hot air filled with hundreds of rising birds is called a “kettle” by bird watchers and the best place to see kettles is the Observatorio de Aves Migratorias Dr. Mario Ramos, located in the little town of Chichicaxtle, Veracruz.
Manuel Basurto, an avid bird watcher living in Guadalajara, recently flew to the city of Veracruz where he and his wife rented a car and drove to Chichicaxtle.
The staff of the observatory on August 20, the opening day of this year’s bird-watching season, which will end on November 22.
“The observatory is located 20 or 30 kilometers from the ocean and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,” Basurto told me. “You pay a small fee of 100 pesos and they lend you binoculars and give you a raptor guide, so you have everything you need to see the birds. There are also staff there to tell you which birds are passing through and how to differentiate them. and the fee is valid for the whole day, so you can leave for lunch and come back. By the way, they have people there who speak both Spanish and English.”
The building, Basurto explained to me, has a multi-use room on the first floor, where they give presentations, and the rest of the building is for visitors, except the very top platform, which is only for the official bird counters.
Clicking and shouting
“It was incredible,” said Basurto. “We were looking up at the sky and seeing clouds of birds passing over us and the counters were shouting: ‘500 Mississippis! 200 hundred kestrels! 5,000 broadwings!’”
A Mississippi kite in one of the casuarina trees next to the observatory. Nearly 350,000 of these graceful fliers have been counted this year. (Photo Aurelio Molina)
To reach this level of proficiency, the counters receive a great deal of training. They work at it for three years before being accepted as official counters.
“The migration is not constant,” Basurto went on. “The peak hours are maybe 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. So it may be quiet in the observatory and then suddenly you hear clicking all around you, so you know it’s time to grab your binoculars and look at the sky.
“The counters don’t count just one species. They actually count all the species that are passing. They might have three clickers in one hand and another clicker tied to their belt. And, of course, they know exactly which clicker goes with each species. The whole thing was amazing.”
All the way to Argentina
Kids learning all about birds in an Environmental Education workshop. (Photo Observatorio Mario Ramos)
I asked Basurto where the raptors go after they pass this point in Veracruz.
“Some stay in Mexico,” he said, “and some in Central America. There are two other observation points further south. One is in Costa Rica and one is in Belize. I understand that some broadwing hawks go all the way down to Argentina. Then in the Spring, all of them come back following the same route, but the air currents are warmer, so the birds fly at a much higher altitude and are very difficult to see.”
Flying bird men
The raptor flyway was only identified a few decades ago, but the people of Veracruz believe pre-Colmbian peoples were well aware of it.
The flying birdmen of Papantla, Veracruz. Some believe the ritual was inspired by raptors descending from a column of hot air. (Photo John Pint)
“The ‘Voladores de Papantla’ (flying bird men) imitate these soaring birds,” I was told by the observatory coordinator, Yumei Cabrera. “The pole they are attached to represents the thermal, and the voladores are the migrating raptors.”
Modern awareness of this phenomenon was sparked in 1990 when a group of youths living in Jalapa, Veracruz noticed this migration during their excursions. They started taking notes and keeping track of species and when they appeared.
“In 1991”, Cabrera told me, “they decided it was time to start seriously monitoring the migration. So they carried out experiments in spring and autumn to see what might be the best time to count them and they settled on autumn. Then they looked for the best observation point. They tried many places over several years and finally chose two sites: Cardel and Chichicaxtle, here in Veracruz.”
I learned that the Cardel Observatory is dedicated to scientific research, while the Mario Ramos Observatory in Chichicaxtle leans more toward education, with an audio-visual room and free workshops for local children.
“The best time to come here is from mid-September to mid-October,” Cabrera told me. “I recommend that people plan on staying more than one day. You may be lucky the first day. If not, you are sure to see big numbers the next day.”
No reservation is necessary to visit the observatory, but it is always better to call them in advance (at 296 116 9168) so they can plan ahead. To get there, just input Migratory Bird Observatory Dr. Mario Ramos to Google Maps. It’s less than an hour’s drive from Veracruz City.
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.
The city can give off somewhat of a provincial feel at first. (The Diplomat)
A kind of aging decadence permeates the sultry streets of Mérida. Like many aging beauties that languish under weight of time and humidity, much of this Yucatecan city’s architecture is of another time, in some cases lovingly preserved and in others crumbling delightfully in front of your eyes. But don’t let the heat and history lull you into thinking that this town isn’t bubbling with new projects and youthful energy. Unlike places on the Yucatán peninsula like Tulúm or Cancún, Mérida is a real working city where locals and foreigners alike are investing time and money. If you thought that Mérida was just some southern backwater whose heyday was in the 19th century, think again.
The city can give off somewhat of a provincial feel at first. On weekday nights the residential streets around Mérida’s downtown are pretty sleepy and the high daytime temperatures are a great excuse to sit on one of the city’s lovely little plazas and while away a few hours. But on weekends there is a buzzy scene of food, drink and culture that finally has a local and visiting population that supports it. This is bringing both national and international tourists to a place that has otherwise gone under the radar for years.
While the city has always had a certain draw, it’s undeniable that right now its food and cultural scenes are abuzz with activity. (Unsplash)
Sara de Ruiter and Neil Haapamaki opened The Diplomat ten years ago as a luxurious little retreat for travelers by travelers. This 5-room boutique hotel sits just east of the city center near the Yucatecan food mecca which is the Santiago market. Early in the morning, you will see the line snaking through the market for La Lupita’s – a stand that sells “cochinita pibil” (roasted pork), “lechón” (suckling pig), and “recado negro” (black spice blend), three iconic Yucatecan dishes. Apparently, the Diplomat is a trendsetter because it’s rumored that luxury hotel group Chable is opening an in-town location of their hotel blocks away, set to open next year. If you want to stay closer to downtown, there are dozens of great options, including the Misión de Fray Diego, a relic of 1800s Mérida in all its glory.
These days most of the newest and hippest locales are located just outside of the city’s Centro Histórico, which for much of the city’s modern history has been the area visited by tourists. Now visitors are wandering further afield. Clustered around the Parque La Mejorada is Largarta de Oro, an old-school cantina turned hip bar and listening room; Vana, an all-Mexican wine bar inside a gorgeous 19th-century mansion; and Patio Petanca, an indoor/outdoor bar with bocce ball courts inside the crumbling skeleton of an ancient building whose door is trendily unmarked. During the day you can stop by Pancho Maíz for traditional Mexican “antojitos” (snacks) made with heritage corn from the peninsula. Next door a bee collective offers tastings of regional honey types including honey from the now-famous melipona stingless bees.
While upscale dining options Kuuk and Nectar are the steadfast executors of fine dining in this town, a lot of young chefs are facilitating a new wave of dining and reinventing the traditions of local cuisine. Alex Marcin started Cocina Ramiro in honor of his grandfather and focuses on the traditional dishes he grew up with in their finest presentation (the banana cake is a must). Mohit Bhojwani Buenfil, the chef of the restaurant El Remate has expanded to include a great pizza place, Pizza Neo, and a rooftop hangout, Terraza, where you will find one of the city’s best “aguachiles” and some of its more interesting cocktails. Salon Gallos is another great spot for cocktails with options like the “El Posh”, a frappé with pox liquor, “xtabentun” (an absinthe-like liquor made from honey), sweet lime and cilantro, in an old oat factory that has been converted into a restaurant and movie theater.
Eating and drinking your way through the city could take up all your time, but there are also lots of cultural spaces for breaks in between that should not be overlooked. Several great galleries grace Calle 60, including the Taller Maya, the Nahulli Gallery, and the Soho Gallery for contemporary art. Come during February for the MEL Artists’ Studio tour, when artists around the city open their studios to the public, or arrange a private art and design tour with Yesenia Lope any time of the year. Casa Tho on Paseo de Montejo is a boutique shop that features high-end items by Mexican designers and El Minaret has weekend bazaars that focus on local producers in a gorgeous turn-of-the-century home. Try the Nuup collective or Takto for unique home décor pieces – one of Takto’s founders, Angela Damman has her own separate project converting local henequen and sansevieria fibers into luxury textiles.
For contemporary and modern art try the Centro Cultural La Cúpula. (Instagram)
For museum-goers, La Casa Museo Montes de Molina will let you experience late-19th- to early 20th-century Mérida, but for contemporary and modern art try the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán MACAY-Fernando García Ponce or the Centro Cultural La Cúpula. While the heat often keeps folks indoors, on Sundays, the city shuts down one of the lanes on Paseo de Montejo for cyclists and the local government offers a free historical walking tour to give you the lay of the land.
There are also endless options for day trips from Mérida including going to see the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá, as well as learning how to make cochinita pibil and having a local cenote all to yourself in the town of Yaxunah (home of the famous Amazonas women’s softball team). You can also take a gorgeous drive past ancient sisal haciendas on the way out to Isla Arena and pick up a handwoven hat along the way, or bask in the sun on the beaches of Sisal or Celestun – where you can gawk at the most famous local resident – the young American flamingos that feed there during the winter months.
While the city has always had a certain draw, it’s undeniable that right now its food and cultural scenes are abuzz with activity. For visitors who are tired of the internationalism of some of the nearby beach destinations, Mérida offers a great chance to get to know the Yucatecan culture and cuisine on a deeper level. All this and the city remains affordable and is a great base to explore the entire peninsula if you want to make it an extended stay.
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at www.mexicocitystreets.com.
German auto parts manufacturers Kostal and Brose have both committed to further investment in Querétaro. (Gobierno Querétaro/X)
German auto parts manufacturers Kostal and Brose are both setting up new factories in Querétaro while the state government has announced funding for new electrical infrastructure.
Kostal’s Electro Mobility Mexicana (KEMM) factory began operations this week at a new 20,000-square-meter site in the FINSA III Industrial Park, where it will make charging modules and components for electric vehicles. The 2.1-billion-peso (US $115 million) investment was first announced in December 2022 and will create around 750 jobs.
The new Kostal facility will create around 750 new jobs in the region. (Gobierno Querétaro/X)
Harry Asher, CEO of Kostal Automotive North America, said that the new facility would help serve its customers in North America, responding to the “rapidly growing market” for electric vehicles.
Around 50% of auto parts manufactured in Querétaro will now be focused on electric vehicles, making the state a leader in green technology, said Sustainable Development Minister Marco Antonio Del Prete Tercero.
Kostal opened its first foreign subsidiary in Mexico 50 years ago and has continued to invest in the country ever since. The new plant is its fourth in Mexico and third in Querétaro.
Echoing this vote of confidence in Querétaro’s economy and highly-educated workforce, Brose also announced plans for its fourth factory in the state, specialized in manufacturing vehicle window systems.
Brose is a key supplier for a number of major automakers in North America. (Brose México)
The project is scheduled to begin in 2025 and will create between 600 and 700 jobs, mostly for engineers and other skilled workers. Brose is already the fifth largest employer in Querétaro, employing around 4,500 people across its three existing plants.
In May of this year, Brose announced that it would also expand operations in another of its Querétaro plants, investing around 404 million pesos (US $22.3 million) and creating 110 skilled jobs.
In a speech celebrating the investments, Governor Mauricio Kuri González recognized that one of Querétaro’s biggest challenges is ensuring sufficient energy and water supply, and announced major newinfrastructural initiatives to support the state’s industrial growth.
“In Querétaro, no company is going to stop coming due to lack of energy,” he promised.
A traditional Catrina parade for Hanal Pixán. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
The Yucatán peninsula is home to one of the most unique local variations of Day of the Dead – Hanal Pixán, a Maya celebration distinct from celebrations held in other regions in Mexico.
What is Hanal Pixán?
Hanal Pixán is one of Mexico’s regional variations on Day of the Dead. (Yucatan.travel)
Hanal Pixán is a Maya tradition celebrated exclusively in the Yucatán peninsula. It means “food for the souls” and involves offering traditional foods to the deceased, who are believed to come back to visit their loved ones between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2.
The first day of the celebration is dedicated to remembering children who have passed away, while the second day is dedicated to adults. On the third day, a mass is traditionally held to honor all the deceased.
How are the rituals and traditions distinct from other regions of Mexico?
Unlike the rest of the country, where Day of the Dead is celebrated between Nov. 1 and 2, Yucatecan celebrations start earlier.
The “cleaning of the dead” is a ritual practiced by the Maya for centuries. (MICHAEL BALAM/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
At the end of October, the residents of the town of Pomuch begin with a tradition known as “the cleaning,” an ancient practice that involves cleaning the bones of the dead and is a fusion of Maya traditions and Christian beliefs.
Another difference is where altars are set up. While in other regions of Mexico the altar is set up in cemeteries or in homes, people in the Yucatán place them under trees near the graves of their relatives.
These altars remain through Nov. 1 and 2, and when the souls of the deceased “have received grace,” their relatives eat “mucbipollos” (chicken tamales) and “pibinales,” (grilled corn) and drink atole and “balché” (an alcoholic beverage made of tree bark and honey).
One week after the festivities have ended, people place candles outside their front door to create a row of light to guide the deceased back to the underworld, in a ritual known as “dix.”
Mucbipollos are a traditional Yucatecan chicken tamale often enjoyed during the festivities. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
What events are held to celebrate Hanal Pixán?
El Festival de las Ánimas 2023 (Festival of the Souls) in Mérida takes place from Oct. 24 through Nov. 2. The program includes 30 free activities ranging from photography exhibitions, to guided tours of the General Cemetery, a honey fair, musicals, bike rides, a Maya ball game, and many more.
One highlight will be the Catrinas Parade on Oct. 28, through Paseo Montejo. The march will represent various Mexican art and dance personalities, like renowned Mexican illustrator José Guadalupe Posada, creator of La Catrina.
To close the celebration, the Broadway musical adaptation of “Coco” will take place at 8 p.m. at Parque Las Américas.
The Mexican government has announced it intends to reduce airport use fees, which are among the highest in Latin America. (Anete Lusina/Unsplash)
Mexico is considering reducing airport use fees (TUA) as part of an airport tax shakeup intended to reduce flight prices for consumers.
The Chamber of Deputies voted last week to raise duties on airport operators’ gross revenues from their concessions by between 5-9%. If confirmed by the Senate, the extra income will be put into trusts to strengthen and improve the airport system, managed by the Defense Ministry (Sedena) and the Navy (Semar).
A reduction in the cost of TUAs should allow more people to fly, says Deputy Transport Minister Rogelio Jiménez. (Carlos Aranda/Unsplash)
Responding to concerns that the hike could raise costs for consumers, government officials said the change would be compensated by an 8-12% decrease in airport use fees, which travelers pay to operators as part of the cost of their flight ticket.
Miguel Vallin, head of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) told the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum conference that the government expects the fare restructuring to reduce ticket costs by 9%-12%.
“The increase in duty will be offset by a decrease in the TUAs, so that the costs faced by airport groups do not vary and no cost is passed on to the [ticket] buyers,” Gabriel Yorio, undersecretary of the Finance Ministry (SCHP), told the Senate joint committee.
Mexico’s airport use fees are some of the highest in Latin America, adding up to US $60 to the price of an international flight, and up to US $40 to domestic flights.
TUA fees can add as much as $60 to the cost of an international flight in Mexico. (Another Believer/Wikimedia)
In an interview with Reuters, Deputy Transport Minister Rogelio Jiménez Pons said that the fee reduction should be in place by early next year and is intended to boost air travel in Mexico.
Airport groups reacted with alarm, as shares in some airport operators dropped by as much as 44%. ASUR, which operates nine airports in southeast Mexico, said it was forced to scrap a draft of its development plan after the tax hike was announced. The change could cost airport operators an extra US $118.58 million a year, according to Reuters.
“This represents a reduction in profits for airport groups,” Vallin conceded. “But it’s not as drastic as some want it to seem; rather, it’s a reordering of how rates should be based on growth and users’ ability to pay for the service.”
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has often criticized airlines and airport operators for profiteering. His government is planning to launch a new military-run commercial airline in December,Mexicana de Aviación, which the president claims will offer lower prices than the market rate.
Despite announcing that it will commence operations later this year, Mexicana is yet to officially submit its aircraft for inspection by Mexico’s civil aviation authority. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
However, tickets for the new airline are not yet available to the public, as AFAC has yet to fully approve its operation.
“We can’t talk about a precise date yet because as of Friday we hadn’t received the request to review the aircrafts’ information,” Vallin said. “Once we receive it, we will give it due process to authorize services, but for now we don’t have it.”
At least 27 people are dead and 4 more are missing after Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 storm, slammed into Guerrero, near the resort of Acapulco on Wednesday. Much of the city remains without power. (Cuartoscuro)
The federal government has announced a preliminary death toll from Hurricane Otis a day after the powerful Category 5 storm slammed into the Pacific coast near Acapulco: 27 dead and four others missing.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Thursday morning that the federal government received news of the deaths from the Guerrero government and municipal authorities in Acapulco. She said that the government was awaiting more information on the destruction caused by Otis, which strengthened rapidly on Tuesday to become the most powerful hurricane to have ever hit Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Photos on social media showed the extent of the devastation wrought by Otis. (tsluv/X)
President López Obrador told his morning press conference that one of the victims was an off-duty soldier who died when a wall in his home collapsed on top of him.
“We very much regret the loss of 27 human beings,” he said, without offering any additional details about the 26 others who lost their lives.
“That is what hurts the most, because the material damage can be attended to and we’ll do it with great responsibility,” López Obrador said.
He said that three of the missing are navy marines.
The explosive intensification of #Otis from Tropical Storm to Category 5 Hurricane in only a few hours, followed by a devastating landfall near #Acapulco, Mexico. pic.twitter.com/fA3xtRYpGK
“The people sheltered, protected themselves and that’s why fortunately there weren’t more tragedies, loss of human life,” López Obrador said, although the death toll appeared likely to rise given that the full impact of the hurricane isn’t yet known.
Some 10,000 military and National Guard personnel are assisting the response to the disaster, but on Wednesday they “lacked the tools to clean tonnes of mud and fallen trees from the streets,” the Associated Press reported. More machinery is expected to arrive in Acapulco on Thursday.
Otis – which had maximum wind speeds of 270 km/h shortly after it made landfall – caused extensive and major damage in Acapulco, one of Mexico’s most popular tourism destinations.
In the metropolitan area of Acapulco, an estimated 1 million people have been adversely affected by Hurricane Otis, the newspaper Reforma reported. An additional 400,000 people in other municipalities of Guerrero were also affected, it said.
The extent of the devastation in Acapulco is not yet clear, but photos from the city suggest that the damage has been massive. (Freedom/X)
Hotels, stores, restaurants, apartment buildings and houses were rendered “denuded shells” by the strong winds, Reforma reported.
The newspaper said that roads in the Diamond hotel zone of Acapulco and residential neighborhoods were flooded, with cars, sheet metal, dead animals, trees and billboards floating in the water. Dozens of boats at the Acapulco marina took a severe battering, with many appearing destined for the scrapheap.
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado said Thursday morning that Otis caused damage at 80% of hotels in Acapulco, explaining that the information came from the president of the local hotel association. She said that the state government would provide buses to evacuate tourists stranded in the resort city.
“We want to tell visitors that today we’ll start with 30 or 40 buses outside hotels to carry out the evacuation for free,” Salgado said during a call with federal officials that was broadcast during López Obrador’s press conference.
She described the toll Otis took on Acapulco as “totally devastating.”
Tourists recounted moments of terror as Otis touched down in Acapulco in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The damage to the Hotel Princess, one of Acapulco’s most recognizable landmarks, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Otis. (Cuartoscuro)
“We laid down on the floor, and some between beds. We prayed a lot,” Jacob Sauczuk, who was staying at a beachfront hotel with friends, told the Associated Press.
One of Sauczuk’s friends showed reporters photos of the windowless, shattered rooms in the hotel, AP said.
“It looked as if someone had put clothes, beds and furniture in a blender, leaving a shredded mass,” the news agency said.
Pablo Navarro, an auto parts worker who was staying on the 13th floor of a beachfront hotel, feared for his life, AP reported.
“I took shelter in the bathroom, and thankfully the door held. But there were some rooms where the wind blew out the windows and the doors,” Navarro said.
Widespread looting was reported in Acapulco on Wednesday, with residents getting away with essential items such as food, toilet paper and diapers, but also things such as widescreen televisions and refrigerators. One looter who loaded a shopping cart with diapers, instant noodles and toilet paper explained her motivation.
President López Obrador himself got stuck in mud on the way to visit the disaster zone. The airport remains closed. (Presidencia)
“When is the government ever going to look after the common people?” asked Isabel de la Cruz, who said that the tin roof of her home was blown off by the hurricane.
López Obrador, who made it to Acapulco by road on Wednesday night, said that the Welfare Ministry will carry out a damage census to determine who qualifies for federal funds. Home and business owners will be taken into account, he said.
“We’re going to help with a reconstruction and home improvement program,” López Obrador told reporters.
He also said that federal authorities will meet with hoteliers and business people on Monday with a view to “reestablishing tourism activities in Acapulco as soon as possible.”
The federal Finance Ministry said there was a budget of 35 billion pesos (US $1.9 billion) to respond to the disaster.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday morning, electricity service had only been reestablished for 40% of over 500,000 electricity customers whose power went out.
The military was deployed to restore access to the roadways linking Acapulco with the capital. (Dassaev Téllez/Cuartoscuro)
Winds brought by Otis toppled at least 58 transmission towers, according to authorities. López Obrador claimed that not a single power line was left standing in Acapulco.
Water, telephone and internet services were also affected in Acapulco and other parts of Guerrero. Over 200 patients had to be evacuated out of damaged hospitals, Security Minister Rodríguez said.
The Acapulco airport remained closed on Thursday morning, but Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Minister Jorge Nuño said that authorities were working to reopen it as soon as possible. He said Thursday morning that the terminal building was damaged, but the runways were fine and could receive emergency flights soon. Some tourists were traveling to Zihuatanejo to take flights from that city, located about 230 kilometers northwest of Acapulco.
López Obrador traveled from Mexico City to Acapulco on the Autopista del Sol highway, a journey that took much longer than usual because the road was blocked at several points by water, mud, trees and debris. He had to get out of his vehicle and walk when he encountered one blocked section of road.
Governor Salgado said Thursday that the highway had been cleared and had reopened. Blockages on Wednesday delayed the arrival of emergency personnel and trucks carrying essential supplies to Acapulco.
Heavy rain across Guerrero on Wednesday caused several waterways to overflow, including the Papagayo, Balsas and Truchas rivers. López Obrador said that rain and wind destroyed corn crops on small farms outside Acapulco.
The rapid strengthening of Otis, whose winds more than doubled in strength from 113 km/h to around 260 km/h in just 12 hours, surprised forecasters – and authorities and residents.
University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy told AP that the rapid intensification of the hurricane – which dissipated over mountains on Wednesday afternoon – “was just plain nuts.”
