As you may know, Mexicans have a great sense of humor, and when they laugh about something, they not only laugh, but they often finish the funny moment with an expression that you sure wanna know because you’ll hear it regularly. So, how to say that something was funny without the typical, haha, or jaja for that matter?
Imagine you’re hanging with your friends, and you catch wind of a joke that hits right. That’s when you drop the classic “¡Qué risa!” which is like saying, “what a laugh!” Now, if what you heard was not just funny but had a touch of brilliance, you’d throw in a cool “buenísimo.” It’s like giving a virtual high-five to the genius behind the humor. Mexicans love to emphasize the fact that they are having a great time in the conversation. Additionally, qué risa is commonly used to fill up an awkward silence after a big laughter, as if the person was reminiscing about that funny moment and thinking out loud just to start a new conversation.
Then there’s “qué divertido,” the go-to phrase for anything that brings a smile. It’s like saying, “That was a blast!” Whether it’s a cheeky comment or a hilarious situation playing out, this phrase is your golden ticket to acknowledging the good vibes.
Now, when you’re spinning a yarn about some crazy, laugh-out-loud moment from the past, you drop the bomb with “estuvo de risa” or “estuvo súper chistoso.” If the person that you are telling the anecdote about did something extraordinary, we use the expression “se la voló” or if that person is you “me la volé.” In Mexico, this is a colloquial way of saying that someone did something extraordinary, amazing, or unexpected. In this context, “volarse” is used as a metaphor to describe something that was done exceptionally or out of the ordinary. In other words, it could be interpreted as praise or recognition for a noteworthy action, almost like saying “You nailed it!.”
These phrases are not just words; they are invitations to join the fun. Even if you are not the person telling the story, you can show you are engaged in the conversation by saying any of them. So get ready to roll with them next time you find yourself having a ball with your fun Mexican friends.
Paulina Gerez is a translator-interpreter, content creator, and founder of Crack The Code, a series of online courses focused on languages. Through her social media, she helps people see learning a language from another perspective through her fun experiences. Instagram:paulinagerezm / Tiktok:paugerez3 / YT:paulina gerez
Ganfeng Lithium, a Chinese company, had acquired land in Sonora's lithium reserve via acquisition of Bacanora Lithium. (SQM)
The federal government has reportedly confirmed its decision to cancel lithium mining concessions held by a Chinese company for a project in Sonora.
Reuters reported that Ganfeng Lithium said Thursday that the Economy Ministry has maintained cancellations of certain mining concessions held by its subsidiaries.
Mexico is estimated to hold around 3% of total global lithium reserves. The mineral is a key ingredient in the production of batteries. (Alexander Schimmeck/Unsplash)
Ganfeng told its investors in August that it had been advised by Mexico’s General Directorate of Mines that it had failed to meet minimum investment requirements between 2017 and 2021 and nine concessions it held for its Sonora lithium project had been canceled as a result.
However, President López Obrador – whose government nationalized lithium last year –subsequently said that the cancellation of the concessions was still under consideration.
Reuters cited a statement from Ganfeng, in which the company said it would file for international arbitration in response to the decision to cancel its concessions.
He said that Bacanora, which was acquired by Ganfeng in 2021, has spent tens of million of dollars in Sonora over the past 12 years, adding that when initial mining law changes were made, the belief was that existing concessions would be respected.
“And then obviously, … we were informed that the government would be canceling the licenses,” Secker said.
“… We will maintain all our legal rights to defend this … [given] that we have spent many tens of millions. We’ve exceeded all the requirements for spending on the licenses. We’ve built a pilot plant; we have a design for a project that will produce 35,000 tonnes a year of lithium carbonate. It would be one of the largest plants in the world,” Secker said.
He told Reuters earlier this month that the Sonora lithium project couldn’t proceed until issues with the Mexican government were resolved, adding that there was no clear timetable for that to occur.
Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro at the signing of the nationalization decree last year. (Presidencia/Cuartoscuro)
“Construction work for Ganfeng’s [US] $800 million production plant has not started, which had already made a 2023 production start target unreachable even without the government challenge,” Reuters reported.
Secker reiterated that Bacanora/Ganfeng has “exceeded the minimum spend required” to hold onto the concessions.
He told El País that Ganfeng is open to forming a joint venture with Mexican authorities to carry out the project in Sonora, where the potential lithium reserves are in clay deposits that are technically difficult and expensive to mine.
“Ganfeng has the money to do this. It’s got the technology, and it has the people to develop this project without any assistance from the government. However, we have had discussions with the government over the last few years and, and we’re happy to work with the government. We just need to sort out their apparent attempt to cancel the licenses,” Secker said in late October.
Bacanora CEO Peter Secker said owners Ganfeng are able to complete the project if licenses are restored by the Mexican government. (Bacanora Lithium)
“It would be silly for the government not to work with Ganfeng to develop a strategy,” he told Reuters.
The Finance Ministry has estimated that lithium reserves in Sonora – where Mexico’s largest potential deposits are located – could be worth as much as US $600 billion. There are smaller deposits in other states including Baja California, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.
According to the Bacanora website, the company owns ten mining concessions covering approximately 100,000 hectares in the northeast of Sonora. It is estimated that there is some 8.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate in the area for which the company received 50-year concessions in 2011.
Lithium is highly sought after because it is a key component of lithium-ion batteries used for green energy storage and can thus play an important role in the transition to clean energy.
Reuters reported that “battery production and recycling plants are set to be part of a larger project” in Sonora, slated to be developed after lithium production begins.
Secker said that construction of the lithium production plant will take 18 months, but when that project will be able to commence – if ever – is unclear.
Timeshare owners in Mexico are being targeted by scammers linked to the CJNG cartel. (Merritt Thomas/Unsplash)
The United States government has again clamped down on cartel-backed operators of a fraud scheme in Mexico that targets owners of timeshare properties in Puerto Vallarta and elsewhere.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) noted in a press release Thursdaythat it has sanctioned three Mexican individuals and 13 Mexican companies that “are linked, directly or indirectly, to timeshare fraud led by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).”
Individuals and businesses affected by the latest round of OFAC sanctions. (U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control)
The action was coordinated with the FBI and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), along with the Mexican government’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF).
“The CJNG cartel, a leading trafficker of narcotics like illicit fentanyl into the United States, generates substantial revenue for its multi-faceted criminal enterprise through its timeshare fraud network,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the Thursday press release.
“CJNG uses extreme violence and intimidation to control the timeshare network, which often targets elder U.S. citizens and can defraud victims of their life savings.”
The majority of victims of the fraudulent companies, were owners of timeshare properties in Puerto Vallarta, the U.S. Treasury Department said. (Photo: Juliana Arjes/Unsplash)
According to OFAC, the Mexicans sanctioned Thursday are Teresa de Jesús Alvarado Rubio, who has been linked to this fraud scheme for 15 years; Manuel Alejandro Foubert Cadena, involved for seven years; and Gabriela Del Villar Contreras, a lawyer linked to the collection of payments.
Most of the 13 sanctioned companies are linked to real estate businesses, OFAC said. These include Assis Realty and Vacation Club, Grupo Minera Barro Pacifico and International Realty & Maintenance.
The FBI said that in 2022 its Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 600 complaints about Mexican timeshare scammers, with victims losing nearly US $40 million, according to an article in the Louisville Courier Journal.
The fraudsters use three basic steps, OFAC noted:
First, they call or send an email to someone who owns a timeshare and claim to have interested buyers ready with a purchase offer. They pretend to be a sales representative for a timeshare resale company.
If the unexpected offer is accepted, the scammer then asks the victim for up-front payments, allegedly to facilitate or expedite the sale, ensuring that the money will be refunded at the end.
Promised services are never carried out and, often, additional payments are sought — after which the timeshare owners begin to realize they have been scammed.
Later, victims are contacted by a “timeshare scam recovery company” that promises assistance in recuperating money lost in the first scam.
This CJNG’s thievery is part of a “diversification of criminal activities,” Nathan Jones, an expert in drug policy and Mexican studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston, said in the Courier Journal.
“These cartels and organized crime in Mexico are just getting into so many more sidelines,” he said, adding that the illegalities “look a lot more like classic mafia activities that we oftentimes saw in the United States.”
Residents of Acapulco are working hard to restore their city, although the tourism industry faces a major loss this Christmas - traditionally the most lucrative time of the year for businesses in the area. (Carlos Carbajal/Cuartoscuro)
Over a month after Category 5 Hurricane Otis hit Acapulco, Guerrero, residents are facing a challenging holiday season, traditionally the busiest tourism period of the year.
Reports by magazine Proceso show mud and debris still littering the streets of the Pacific resort town, where residents have already collected more than 200,000 tonnes of waste. Much of the city still lacks running water, and some business leaders believe the reconstruction of the local economy could extend until 2025.
The work to repair the city has begun, though it will take years to fully restore the city according to some estimates. (Rogelio Morales/Cuartoscuro)
Local business owners have shown remarkable resilience, with some bars and restaurantstentatively reopening as soon as 12 days after the disaster. However, with around80% of the city’s hotels damaged, residents fear for their livelihoods in the tourism-dependent city.
“Acapulco lives on only three seasons: December, which is the biggest for us, Holy Week (Easter vacation) and a little bit of summer,” said Jesús Zamora, president of Infrastructure of the region’s Tourism Advisory Council. “December is the most anticipated and we are not going to get back up [in time].”
The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) estimates that insurance claims have been made on at least 1,983 commercial assets, with damages totaling around 7.5 billion pesos (US $431 million). AMIS has also received 4,607 home insurance claims between Acapulco and neighboring Coyuca, amounting to 6.3 billion pesos (US $363 million) of damages. The group estimates there could be as many as 16,000 damaged insured properties in Acapulco alone.
This would make Hurricane Otis “seventh in the [nation’s] top ten major events affecting the insurance industry [for claims],” according to AMIS general director, Norma Alicia Rosas Rodríguez.
President López Obrador said efforts were ongoing to find 31 people believed to have been lost at sea during the hurricane. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Even this is only a fraction of the hurricane’s toll, given that only 22% of homes have voluntary or mortgage-linked insurance across Mexico, and Guerrero’s figure is below the national average. The Mexican government has calculated that 274,000 homes were affected by Otis.
In the morning press conference following his seventh visit to Acapulco since the disaster, President López Obrador announced that 32,000 transfers of 8,000 pesos (US $460) had been delivered to local families to support the cleanup operation. He said these deliveries would continue over the coming days, reaching a total of 250,000 families.
“We are returning to normality, little by little,” he said, stressing that Acapulco’s water supply is gradually being repaired, and electricity supply is now 100% – although usage is only 68% of its previous levels, given that the city’s hotel sector remains closed.
AMLO also insisted that the search continues for 31 people still missing, after families protested that authorities seemed to havegiven up on finding their loved ones. While theofficial death toll of Hurricane Otis is 50 people, local news agencies have claimed that the actual figure could be up to seven times higher.
A smoke bomb was set off in the state Congress on Wednesday. (Social media video screenshot)
In scenes some compared to the 2021 attack on the United States Capitol building, a group of more than 100 Citizens Movement (MC) party supporters stormed the Nuevo León state Congress on Wednesday, but they couldn’t stop lawmakers from naming an interim governor with ties to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Video footage shows the mob forcing their way through a locked door before making their way to the floor of Congress, where lawmakers were discussing the appointment of an interim governor to replace Samuel García while he is on leave to campaign for the presidency on an MC ticket.
Guardadas las proporciones entre la Presidencia de Estados Unidos y la gubernatura de Nuevo León, esto recuerda mucho el asalto al Capitolio pic.twitter.com/3FkEquGdoX
In Monterrey on Wednesday, there were scuffles on the floor of Congress and a smoke bomb detonated amid the commotion. Chanting in unison, the MC supporters asserted that lawmakers with the PRI and the National Action Party (PAN) were corrupt.
The Reforma newspaper reported that they were irked because only PRI and PAN supporters had been allowed into the Congress gallery to observe the proceedings.
However, the main cause of their anger was that the PRI and the PAN conspired to use their numbers in the Nuevo León Congress to appoint an interim governor sympathetic to their political agenda, rather than a person who would provide continuity to the MC government García has led since taking office in October 2021.
Samuel García took leave of his post as governor to launch a campaign for 2024, but returned as governor on Tuesday until Saturday. (Samuel García/X)
The Federal Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) acknowledged that the Congress has the power to name an interim governor, but ruled that it must appoint an MC representative.
The MC nominated four possible interim governors, according to García, but PRI and PAN lawmakers voted to appoint Luis Enrique Orozco, who stepped down as deputy attorney general in Nuevo León to assume the position.
It was the second time that PRI and PAN deputies appointed a replacement for García as they named José Arturo Salinas Garza, president of the Superior Court of Justice of Nuevo León, as interim governor in October, but the TEPJF subsequently ruled he was ineligible.
The session during which Wednesday’s vote took place was able to proceed as some 100 police officers moved into the Congress building to restore peace after the disruption caused by the MC supporters. There were no reports of any arrests of the men and women who overran the Congress.
The interim governor was sworn in by PAN and PRI party lawmakers on Wednesday. (Cuartoscuro)
Orozco, who was comptroller in the 2015-18 Monterrey municipal government led by PRI mayor Adrián de la Garza, was sworn in as interim governor on Wednesday night, although his tenure won’t officially commence until Saturday, provided MC doesn’t successfully challenge his appointment.
Senator Dante Delgado, the MC national leader, said on the X social media platform that “what the PRI and the PAN did today in the Nuevo León Congress is an act of democratic regression and an assault on legality.”
“They’re trying to derail a legitimate [political] project, endorsed by the majority of Nuevo León residents, and we’re not going to allow it. Their only aim is to generate a crisis in order to remove our presidential candidate from the contest,” he wrote.
Delgado – who attempted to reach an agreement with the PRI and the PAN for the appointment of a mutually acceptable replacement for García – asserted that Orozco is “ineligible” to be interim governor and “of proven ineptitude.”
“We’re not going to allow the old political powerbrokers to impose as interim governor – with vandalistic, illegal and anti-democratic acts – an individual who arrived at the legislative chamber surrounded by armed people,” he said, claiming that Orozco’s aim was to “send a message of intimidation and violence to the people of Nuevo León.”
After he was sworn in, the soon-to-be interim governor told reporters that “it’s time to think of the well-being of all Nuevo León citizens.”
Dante Delgado, the Citizens Movement party president. (Andrea Murcia/Cuartoscuro)
“The current situation demands the best of us. We must return to this state the governability that our beloved Nuevo León deserves,” Orozco said.
He also said he would seek dialogue with García, although it appears unlikely that the governor will be willing to speak with him.
García – who vacated his position as governor for just over a week before reassuming it on Tuesday – said on X on Thursday that “the real danger” for Mexico is the PRIAN, 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 (FAM) opposition alliance, which also includes the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).
“Yesterday they arrived [to Congress] with armed people to impose an illegal governor on Nuevo León,” García wrote.
In the same post, the 35-year-old presidential pre-candidate for the MC responded to a claim from businessman and FAM supporter Claudio X. González that he is a “danger” to Mexico.
The results of a recent poll conducted for the El Universal newspaper showed that Claudia Sheinbaum had 48% support, while 24% of respondents nominated Xóchitl Gálvez as their preferred choice, and just 8% opted for García.
The Utopía Estrella project in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa has taken a coveted sustainability prize. (Holcim Foundation)
The Utopía Estrella Iztapalapa project in Mexico City has been recognized by the Holcim Awards 2023 for being one of the world’s top sustainable architecture projects.
With a total prize pool of US $1 million, only five projects – out of 2,380 entrants globally – won a Holcim Awards Gold prize for their outstanding contribution to sustainable development.
The new site will integrate water processing facilities with a public park. (Holcim Foundation)
Utopía Estrella, which won in the Latin America category, is a project that aims to revitalize a former landfill site providing sports, cultural, social, and ecological education facilities for around 230,000 of the Iztapalapa borough’s 1.8 million residents.
Designed by Cano | Vera Arquitectura in Mexico City, Utopía Estrella will become “the most important social infrastructure of the area” to help the transformation of Iztapalapa, Mexico City’s largest and one of its poorest boroughs, which has a population density of 16,000 inhabitants per square kilometer.
The are 12 other Utopía centers in the borough, which have been built during the term of Clara Brugada (the Morena party candidate for Mexico City mayor in 2024), each aiming to provide cultural and leisure opportunities for Iztapalapa residents. The Utopía Ship opened in April this year, providing a new aquarium and IT facilities. The Utopía Plane, a converted Boeing 737 airliner, has served as a library since opening in 2020.
Utopía Estrella, which started construction in January 2023, emphasizes the importance of water treatment and environmental regeneration while addressing the water challenges that Mexico City faces due to lack of infrastructure, population demands, and pollution.
The new cultural centers offer activities for residents in the capital’s most populous borough. The Utopía Ship opened in April this year. (Claudia Sheinbaum/Twitter)
“The jury panel was profoundly impressed by this design project, which undertakes a remarkable regeneration intervention in a challenging neighborhood in Mexico City,” Holcin said in a statement, adding that it stood out “for its genuine commitment to achieving a positive impact on the community.”
The complete list of winners includes projects in China, Spain, Ghana and Canada.
Holcim, a global provider of low-carbon building solutions, started the awards in 2003 to support the global movement for sustainable design and construction.
Cancún is one of the Mexican destinations that will have additional routes to the U.S. (Cuartoscuro)
Airlines servicing Puerto Vallarta, Cancún and Mexico City have announced new direct flights to cities in the United States and Canada.
Flights to Puerto Vallarta
Kicking off on Dec. 14, Alaska Airlines will operate four weekly flights between Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and Las Vegas, Nevada, with a total of 1,216 seats available per month.
Shortly after, on Dec. 16, two additional routes operated by other airlines will begin service to the sunny Pacific destination.
The first, served by Westjet Airlines, will operate from Prince George, the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada. It will have a weekly frequency offering 760 seats per month.
The second route will depart from Ontario, California, and will be operated by New Pacific Airlines with a frequency of three flights per week.
Aeroméxico will connect Mexico City and Raleigh-Durham starting in July 2024. (Christian Coquet/Unsplash)
Departing from Midway International Airport – a smaller airport in the Chicago area – the route is available daily until at least late February.
In addition to Chicago Midway, Frontier offers seasonal direct flights to Cancún from 13 other U.S. airports.
Flights to Mexico City
Aeroméxico has also announced its latest U.S. destination.
Starting July 1, Aeromexico Connect will operate daily non-stop flights between Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina and Mexico City International Airport. for this type of aircraft.
Mexico City is Raleigh Durham’s third-largest unserved international point-to-point market.
The route is operated under Aeroméxico and Delta Air Line’s Joint Cooperation Agreement, which offers an extensive network of flights.
Casa Cima, Calle Alba, San Miguel de Allende, 2023
Half of Oscar Martinez Heredia’s face is rendered in exquisite detail, but the other half seems to melt from the page, vitality leaking from one eye and the corner of the mouth. The head is flung back at a severe angle, and the unmelted eye radiates fear. Meanwhile, one of Zoë Siegel’s vivid eyes looks right at you, the gaze piercing, direct, and steadfast, while precisely cut wedges of her skin curl back, revealing—what exactly? That is for the viewer to determine.
Both of these mesmerizing works of art and many more are viewable now in their creators’ spectacular home. For the first time, artist and architectural designer Siegel and her husband, artist and musician Martinez, are opening to the public by appointment their unique house, which Zoë designed and built as her masterpiece. Guests can visit both artists’ studios and view many additional artworks displayed throughout the airy, spacious home in San Miguel de Allende.
Zoë Siegel, Eye Web, Cut photo, 2022
The couple’s origin story
As a young woman, Zoë had a fantasy that someone would fall in love with her art before falling in love with her. In San Miguel, it came true.
Zoë had been living in New York City, where she was born. During graduate school, she and her brother renovated an apartment in Chelsea. Her brother learned to do electrical wiring, and Zoë taught herself plumbing. Her brother decided right then to become an architect. Zoë, however, said, “No, that was great, but I’m an artist.”
Then came Sept. 11, 2001. “My parents suggested I take a break from New York to live for six months in the house they had recently built in San Miguel,” Siegel said. “I said no, I don’t see myself living in Mexico. I don’t speak the language. I’m certainly not staying six months!” Nonetheless, she took her parents’ suggestion, and their light-filled art studio convinced her to linger.
Oscar Martinez Heredia, Self Portrait, Mixed Media on Paper, 2019
Zoë arranged to show her art at Bellas Artes. While setting up, she had to leave the room, her work strewn on the floor. Oscar wandered in. Impressed by the art, he was eager to meet the artist and became enamored of her — and Zoë was delighted to meet the handsome artist she had previously seen around town. Two years later, they married.
Architectural design: Zoë Siegel to complete her 19th custom house in San Miguel
“At a very young age, I began drawing and designing my own house,” Siegel said. “I always knew that I would one day build it. Also, my parents had had a good experience building their house here, and I had my success with the New York apartment under my belt.”
Zoë bought an empty lot in San Miguel, then gave her design, prepared on graph paper and vellum, to a builder. The resulting home was beautiful, so she designed, built, and sold another house, and then another and another. House #19, Casa Cima, is nearly completed. It happens to be situated next door to Zoë and Oscar’s home, sharing the same gorgeous views. It is for sale and available for viewing upon request.
Oscar Martinez Heredia, Series A 5, Mixed Media on Paper, 2019
Zoë retained many design elements from her first house in all those that followed. She also adopted regional Mexican elements, including vaulted boveda ceilings, tejamanil beamed ceilings, and cantera stone. “My aesthetic is woven into the fabric of all my houses,” she explained. “I create voluminous, loft-like spaces with fabulous natural light. Repeated stone columns and arches, with elegant metalwork, is another signature. Yet every house has a distinct personality and style.”
Oscar Martínez Heredia: Combining passions for art and music
Martínez, meanwhile, is known for his deeply expressive portraits.
“I am fascinated by the enormous variety of information in the human face,” he said. “ … Analyzing, studying, feeling, and meditating through the process of looking and translating into marks, strokes, stains on a page are my passions.” He often depicts open and vulnerable faces, particularly in his self-portraits, making them uniquely powerful. “Self-portraits give me the opportunity to paint exaggerated expressions and extreme angles.” The shapes and features of his contorted faces offer surprise and drama.
Casa Cima, Calle Alba, San Miguel de Allende, 2023
In 2015, Oscar collaborated with filmmaker Lorenzo Shapiro on an award-winning short animated film titled “Oscar” that incorporated 350 of his self-portraits. The film appeared at film festivals around the world, including the Festival de Cannes, NYC Independent Film Festival, New Renaissance Film Festival in Holland, and the Khorshid Film Festival in Iran.
The film also features Oscar’s original music. He plays multiple instruments, including piano, guitar, percussion, cello, and ukulele, in a wide variety of musical styles. Oscar is fascinated by the potential for combining his two passions by creating visual art while making music. Recent pieces were created by dipping drumsticks in paint and drumming while painting.
“Oscar uses every medium imaginable for two-dimensional works, and he works three-dimensionally as well,” Zoë noted. “He has mastered a wide range of diverse styles, from expressionism to total abstraction to photorealism. Beyond that, he is blending art and music excitingly.”
As Oscar put it, “Why focus on only one thing in life?”
The art of Zoë Siegel: angst and humor
Zoë Siegel, Nosey Hug, paper and wire mask, 2022
“When I came to San Miguel, I had the mindset that I was moving back to New York, so I made a conscious decision to work light,” Zoë explained. In New York, she had sculpted with plaster, wood, and chicken wire, but in San Miguel, she began to work with paper and wire in order to ship her work affordably. “Also, in the studio in my parents’ San Miguel home, I felt lighter. Their house is on a hill with an incredible view. I felt a bit like I was flying there, and my new airy way of working grew organically from that. The space where I work is very important.”
Currently, Zoë continues to work with paper and wire, constructing her whimsical, exciting “fascinators,” which are meant to be worn as well as hung on a wall as art. Recently, she also began creating pieces featuring photographs of her own body that are cut and manipulated in ways that both delight the viewer and plumb deep emotions. Zoë will give a talk about her work entitled Angst and Humor on Jan. -10 at San Miguel’s Biblioteca Publica.
“There is whimsy, humor, and lightness, and people even laugh out loud at some of my creations, which I love. But another aspect is dark, reflecting the fear in our world. When we listen to the news, if it’s not climate change, it’s Trump or war or Roe v. Wade overturned. All that anxiety and angst comes through, and in my art, I’ve always used my body.”
Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader based in San Miguel de Allende who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her award-winning new novel, The Broken Hummingbird, is available on Amazon, Apple Books, and Google Play, as well as in bookstores in the U.S. and San Miguel. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.
The cartel leader was arrested on Wednesday in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. (Screenshot from social media video)
An alleged cartel leader linked to the murder of three businessmen this year was arrested in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, on Wednesday.
César Alejandro Silva Delgado, identified as the Northeast Cartel’s plaza chief in Nuevo Laredo and the main instigator of violence in the city, was detained early Wednesday by soldiers and National Guard personnel and subsequently flown to Mexico City on an Air Force plane.
The authorities confiscated a gold-plated AK-47, a handgund and ammunition, as well as fentanyl pills. (Sedena)
Reports say Silva, known as “El Tartas,” was in possession of two firearms, weapons paraphernalia and at least 2,000 fentanyl pills when he was arrested.
He is accused of a range of crimes including homicide, the trafficking of drugs, weapons and people, extortion, fuel theft, kidnapping and money laundering.
Silva allegedly ordered the murder in June of José Luis Palos Morales, who headed up a Nuevo Laredo association of gas station owners. He is also believed to be linked to the murders of two other businessmen earlier this month
In addition, Silva is accused of ordering attacks on the army that resulted in injuries and loss of life.
Shortly after his arrest on Wednesday morning, the United States Consulate in Nuevo Laredo said on social media platform X that it was “receiving reports of increased government of Mexico activity in Nuevo Laredo” and that “out of an abundance of caution” it had instructed U.S. government employees in the city to shelter in place.
The consulate reported in the early afternoon that the shelter in place order for its employees had been lifted. Cartels commonly respond to the arrest of high-ranking members with violence, but there were no reports of incidents in Nuevo Laredo on Wednesday.
The criminal group is said to be in an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), led by the elusiveNemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.
Feeling the cold bite of winter? Ready to book that beach retreat you promised yourself? Whether you’re solo, a couple, a family, or a group of friends, these two retreats offer a stunning range of experiences in breathtaking beach locations.
Are you looking for the best wellness retreats on the beach that Mexico offers?
Mexico is brimming with natural beauty, beaches, and sunshine, not to mention the glorious food and the country’s history of traditional healing practices. No wonder it’s a popular place for wellness tourism and retreats – and there’s a gazillion of them! We went in search of Mexico’s most beautiful beach locations, seeking what’s out there on the retreat scene, from the affordable to luxury.
The many therapies and experiences available to you – from yoga, fitness, meditation, nutrition, curated Indigenous healing experiences, forest bathing, sound healing, temazcals, chakra and crystal therapies, cacao and plant medicine ceremonies and even puppy yoga – deserve their own series of articles.
But let’s begin our series onMexico’s best wellness retreats with two outstanding, top-tier and very different beach retreats where you can whet your appetite for your winter wellness getaway plans to escape the year’s coldest months.
Want the gold star in luxury? One&Only Mandarina in Nayarit is an out-of-this-world retreat.
One&Only Mandarina, Nayarit. (Mandarina)
Why should I come?
If nothing else, then for the spa. A spiritual consultation can lead to a bespoke multi-sensory wellness experience for you, with a menu of practitioners to choose from. Or just pick and choose and curate your own healing and pampering experience.
Six treatment rooms, built within a volcanic rock garden – all inspired by ancient rites and pre-Columbian culture – offer treatments and immersive wellness ceremonies. From a long and tantalizing list, you can choose between a traditional temazcal ceremony, breathwork, meditation, astrological readings, sound healing, ayurvedic treatments, a tarot and oracle ceremony, massages and steam and jungle hot stone treatments.
For families with children, the in-house biologist provides tours of the world of insects and butterflies. Other curated journeys include Mexican cooking classes, fishing, diving and snorkeling, horseback riding, jungle forest bathing and guided tours to beautiful local sites. Unsurprisingly, this hotel retreat and spa was ranked eighth in the 2023 edition of the World’s 50 Best Hotels awards.
Where will I be?
Right on the Pacific, up the coast from Puerto Vallarta with the coastal mountains of the Sierra de Vallejo at your back. You’ll be greeted by a private car at the Puerto Vallarta airport and the secluded retreat center is just less than an hour away.
One&Only Mandarina, Nayarit. (Mandarina)
Give me the tour
105 villas are set amidst treetops and perched on coastal cliffs, and each boasts a private plunge pool, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, al fresco dining areas, outdoor bathing facilities, and around-the-clock butler service. Guests can choose between four restaurants; Carao, the most upscale of the eateries, is helmed by award-winning chef Enrique Olvera of Mexico City’s Pujol. A complimentary beach shuttle ferries you to an on-site beach club, which offers cabanas, sun loungers and umbrellas.
Affordability
Prices range from US $1,400 per night for a 2-person treehouse, to US $28,000 per night for a villa for ten. This is luxury pricing, and you can understand why. Curate your wellness vacation with add-on treatments and experiences to suit your wallet.
Any other special features?
Mandarina places special focus on sustainability and preservation of the Riviera Nayarit’s biodiverse environment. The villas, treatment rooms and communal spaces are designed around sustainable principles and low energy consumption. The entire resort runs on renewable solar energy.
Verdict
Jaw-droppingly breathtaking and the ultimate in curated wellness experiences in Mexico.
Want to restore and renew as 2024 approaches? Amansala inTulumoffers yoga, fitness, community and wellness treatments.
Bikini Bootcamp Fitness Retreat in Tulum, Mexico. (Amansala)
Why should I come?
Amansala’s Bikini Bootcampretreat is a hot favorite, even with celebs like Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore. Billing itself as a “perfect mind, body and spirit overhaul in Tulum,” this 6 day retreat offers beach walks, creative journaling, yoga, fitness, dancing, boxing, pilates and healthy and delicious foods. Their program is about giving yourself the time and the treat of connecting with yourself, nature and like-minded travelers, being as communal or private as you like, whatever fitness level you’re at.
The resort is perfect for couples, an escape with the girls, or a solo retreat. Their Restore and Renew retreat offers a complete program to unwind and rest with mindfulness and movement techniques, healthy food, detox and self-care practices and pampering with spa and massage treatments. Group rates for bachelorette getaways and birthdays are popular with sophisticated girl groups from places like the United States and Canada looking for health, healing and some Mexican magic.
Where will I be?
In Tulum, right on the beachfront. The two properties, Grande and Chica, are situated between cabins, communal areas, palapas and restaurants,surrounded by lush, tropical vegetation. You’ll be very close to some of Mexico’s most ancient Maya ruins, cenotes and charming towns, which you can visit on excursions you’re able to book as part of your retreat package.
Give me the tour
Amansala is Sanskrit for “peaceful waters.” All rooms are beautifully styled with a bohemian, eco-chic feel. With a light and airy beach vibe, the white sands seem to flow into the wood interior spaces: workout studios, yoga shalas, two restaurants and relaxation areas. There’s plenty of space to be private, but Amansala’s communal spaces foster gatherings with friends and family. In line with their philosophy of eating “from the earth to your plate,” the dining room offers food that ranges from paleo to keto to vegan and uses local ingredients like avocado, jicama, pumpkin seeds, chia and chaya.
Affordability
Mid-range pricing. Ranging from a beachfront King bedroom at US $725 per night to a 3-bedroom share at US $415 per night. These prices represent an all-inclusive package for the Bikini Bootcamp retreat.
Any other special features?
Created by U.S. expat Melissa Perlman, who started a pop-up retreat hotel 20 years ago as Casa Magna and turned it into Tulum’s most iconic hotel. Don’t be put off by the word bootcamp. Breathwork, Tulum’s only cold plunge therapy, meditation, journaling, beach strolls, massages and spa treatments are also on offer also. Your dog is welcome – that gets my vote – and you can give the gift of a retreat voucher to loved ones. Yes, please!
Verdict
We loved their compelling claim that guests will “return home with a glow that will last long after your tan fades” – and the proof is in the pudding: returning fans make this their special annual destination for a rejuvenating wellness experience, making it something of a hip social scene without the hard partying.
This winter, the world is full of a few more woes. With the speed and stress of modern life, Mexico’s coasts offer multifaceted wellness escapes to renew the mind, body and spirit. We’ll be exploring more of those escapes in further articles.
As someone currently wintering in England, the Riviera Nayarit or a slice of the original magic of Tulum are calling my name – and probably yours too.
Henrietta Weekes is a writer, editor, actor and narrator. She divides her time between San Miguel de Allende, New York and Oxford, UK.
