The San Diego Padres hit 22 runs in during two games against the San Francisco Giants in Mexico City, becoming the first Major League team to win in the capital. (Reddit)
The San Diego Padres swept the San Francisco Giants aside in a two-game Mexico City series.
Held in the high altitude of the Mexican capital – almost 2,250 meters above sea level – the Padres ran wild, taking the opening game in a 16–11 extravaganza as the teams hit a total of 11 home runs between them — with back-to-back homers for both the Padres and the Giants.
The Alfredo Harp Helú stadium saw almost 20,000 fans pack in to witness Major League Baseball in the capital. Here, Fernando Tatis Jr. takes a selfie with the crowd. (San Diego Padres)
Despite a slow start to the 2023 season, the Padres turned on the class in Mexico City as they celebrated in front of the almost 20,000-strong crowd, who created a carnival atmosphere as Major League Baseball lit up the Alfredo Harp Helú stadium for the first time.
“For moments, it felt like more than just a game; it felt more like a parade,” Padres manager Bob Melvin told ESPN. Both teams wore special jerseys to commemorate the opening game of the series. San Francisco’s jerseys had “Los Gigantes” emblazoned on them.
Even team celebrations had a Mexican flair, with Padres batters celebrating every home run in a traditional mariachi sombrero. They also broke open a giant Buzz Lightyear piñata to celebrate their victory.
The Giants’ Brandon Crawford hit a 482-foot home run — the longest by a Giants player in the post-2015 Statcast era. Meanwhile, during Saturday night’s slugfest, the Padres’ 42-year-old Nelson Cruz became the oldest player in franchise history to hit a home run.
The Giants also unveiled a special Mexican jersey, emblazoned with the word “Gigantes.” (San Francisco Giants)
While Sunday’s game was a slightly calmer affair, at 6-4, the Padres fought back from four runs down to seize the initiative in the 8th inning thanks to a two-run double by Padres first baseman Matt Carpenter, who hit a fly ball into center field that eluded Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski — who suffered a pulled hamstring after making a heroic sprint infield and a final dive to reach it but ultimately saw the ball pop out of his glove.
Victory in Mexico means the Padres return to San Diego with a Standard score of .511.With reporting by MLB, Yahoo!Sports and ESPN
Ker Clinic offers holistic, state-of-the-art mental health care in Mexico. (Stock image)
Meet Magala Martínez and Pedro Martin, the inspiring couple behind Ker Clinic in Mexico. Driven by their own journey to find effective treatment for their son’s autism, they founded a clinic that offers personalized and comprehensive mental health care with FDA-approved alternative therapies.
They now have clinics in Monterrey, Mexico City, and Panama (in partnership with Johns Hopkins University) as well as partnerships with other prominent clinics in Tulum and Miami.But their mission goes beyond just treating patients – they strive to change the conversation around mental health in Mexico and shatter the harmful stigma. In this interview, we begin with a personal story that led to this mission.
Magala and Pedro began their journey to founding the Ker Clinic through their own son’s mental health struggles. (Courtesy)
Can you describe your journey to finding the right treatment for your son’s autism?
Magala: It was a journey filled with both hope and uncertainty. I was in New York desperately seeking effective treatment for our son, Andrés. It was there that we started an experimental treatment called the PK protocol that involved doing infusions of vitamins and supplements to alleviate neurotoxicity and hence, help reduce inflammation in the brain. While it provided temporary relief, we knew we needed to find a more permanent solution. That’s when Dr Patricia Kane suggested the only place she knew of that was providing such treatment – the Newport Beach clinic and their personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) protocol. So, we had no choice, we went there.
What happened next when you arrived at the Newport Beach clinic?
Magala: I took Andrés to visit Dr. Yi Jin, the director of the Brain Treatment Center in Newport Beach. He was using TMS which had been approved by the FDA in 2008 for drug-resistant major depression but he was experimenting and customizing it to treat a wide range of neurological disorders, including autism, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s. He called it “non-invasive” neuromodulation, and I was intrigued. We were so impressed by this doctor who recognized the downsides and side effects of psychiatric drugs on his patients and was passionate about finding relief for his patients in a more humane way.
Magala and Pedro eventually ended up at a clinic in California to help treat their son. (Stock image)
At first my husband Pedro was hesitant, but once I told him that within just two days of the treatment, Andrés had slept for 12 hours straight, after not sleeping through the night in years, it took him about 30 seconds to get on board! I felt so relieved to have found a solution for my son’s condition. We stayed there for just under a year and it was worth every moment to see our son’s progress and newfound sense of peace.
How did your family cope with your son’s autism diagnosis, and what impact did his treatment have on your relationships and daily life?
Pedro: Dealing with my son’s mental health struggles wasn’t easy – it was a rollercoaster ride that took a toll on our entire family. We couldn’t do the things we used to love, and we faced some really tough moments. It destroyed the harmony in our family, and it was emotionally draining for all of us. Our other children were studying for their degrees in Boston, and it was difficult for them to come and help. But after remortgaging our house three times and a year and a half of treatment, we’ve come out the other side with a high-functioning son, who plays golf with us, studies, travels, and can socialize with everyone. He even works with us at our clinic in Mexico City. It’s been a tough journey, but we’re proud of how far we’ve come.
What inspired you to found the Ker Clinic?
Magala: As a mother of an autistic child, I experienced the harmful stigma around mental health issues in Mexico firsthand. It was unjust to label someone’s identity and experiences with a single diagnosis, and we had to lead by example and create positive change. That’s why I founded Ker Clinic, and with Pedro as our CEO, we’re welcoming anyone who needs help with open arms.
Working together as a couple can be challenging. What’s it like for you both and what do you enjoy about it?
Magala: We share the same passion and goal of helping people, and that’s what keeps us going. We complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Pedro is great at growing the concept and bringing new ideas, while I‘m more focused on running the clinic smoothly.
Pedro: The decision to start the Ker Clinic wasn’t really a decision at all, but rather a necessary step that Magala took to help our family, friends, and others in need of quality mental health care. My wife inspires me everyday in everything she does.
What sets your clinic apart from others in Mexico when it comes to treating mental illness?
Pedro: In the U.S., it can be difficult to find mental health treatment that integrates nutrition, psychology and technology, a holistic approach that is both personalized and affordable. Our own experience with our son taught us that to improve his quality of life, we needed to take an integrative approach to his treatment, and not just depend on intermittent treatment provided by technology. Therefore, at Ker Clinic, we take a holistic approach by assessing each patient’s metabolic, physiological, and psychological profile. By getting to the root cause of the disease, we can provide effective and cost-effective treatments for our patients.
Magala: At Ker Clinic, we pride ourselves on the warmth and hospitality of our doctors and nurses, which has led to many of our patients becoming like family to us. This is also a very unique part of our Mexican culture. Our culture is innately a very caring and kind culture. All of our patients become a part of our extended family and continue to stay in touch with us, often celebrating birthdays together. I am very proud of that because I know from my personal experience how much the whole family suffers when one family member is not well. We are able to offer these services at nearly one-third the cost of comparable treatment in the U.S., without compromising quality.
Please join us next time where we’ll dive deeper into the technology and services the Ker Clinic offers. If you are interested in learning more, visit the Ker Clinic website.
The planned site, which may see investment of up to US$ 1 billion, will aim to help Foton EV models such as the Aumark S3 sell to Mexican and U.S. markets. (China Trucks)
Chinese auto manufacturer Foton is planning to build a second plant in Mexico, which will allow it to manufacture electric vehicles in the country, the company said.
The Beijing-based company specializes in heavy-duty electric vehicle (EV) production, primarily trucks, buses and pickups, alongside traditional gas-powered models for the haulage and construction markets.
Foton currently operates a facility in Jalisco but is looking to open a second plant to support plans to nearshore in Mexico, including for their EV business. (Foton)
The company opened a facility in Jalisco in 2017 but is looking to expand operations as part of the nearshoring boom that has attracted a significant number of Asian manufacturers to Mexico. Heavy manufacturers from across the world are attracted by the low-cost, high-quality production facilities here, as well as proximity to the important United States market.
Foton currently imports electric vehicles to Mexico directly from China but says that the planned facility will provide the company with the ability to manufacture EVs within the country. It is not yet known where the new site will be located, although the states of Jalisco and Aguascalientes are understood to be under consideration, according to Bloomberg.
While the total investment cost is also still undecided, Roberto Talavera, EV director for Foton, predicted it will be around US $1 billion.
The plant would also allow Foton to export vehicles to the U.S., said Talavera. Foton also anticipates that it will sell 3,000 EVs in Mexico by 2025. The company hopes that EV sales in Mexico will account for 10% of all new car sales in 2024.
Foton currently provides buses for the Metrorrey public transport network in Monterrey, Nuevo León. (Foton)
Foton currently provides construction equipment to Mexican companies, including ICA and Cemex, as well as buses for the Metrorrey public transportation network in Nuevo León.
In addition to the new manufacturing plant, Bloomberg also recently reported that Foton is preparing to partner with the Chinese EV battery manufacturing company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), the world’s largest producer of EV batteries. That company is also in the business of recycling, refurbishing and repurposing EV batteries.
While CATL has not confirmed Bloomberg’s reports, the industry publication Automotive News, citing anonymous sources, reported in July that CATL was looking at potential EV battery manufacturing sites in northern Mexico — including in Ciudad Juárez and Saltillo, Coahuila.
If the Foton-CATL partnership were to go through, it would likely give Foton the lead in Mexico as the technical support, repair, and recycling service for CATL batteries in the country, as part of a new “battery-as-a-service” venture allowing Foton users to exchange batteries in their vehicles.
Peréz topped the podium ahead of his teammate, reigning world champion Max Verstappen, and Monegasque Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. (Sergio Perez/Twitter)
Mexican racer Sergio “Checo” Pérez won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, taking his second victory of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Victory on the streets of Baku marked a successful end to a dominant weekend for Guadalajara-born Pérez, who also took victory in the 17-lap short-form “sprint” event on Saturday.
The Mexican driver scored a victory in the sprint feature and in the main race this weekend, bringing him to within 6 points of the championship lead. (Sergio Perez/Twitter)
Success in both races gave the Mexican 33 out of a maximum of 34 points. Pérez is the first driver to score multiple wins in Azerbaijan, a track that has been part of the championship since 2017.
In Saturday’s sprint, Pérez started third but quickly took the lead from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as his Red Bull Racing teammate, two-time world champion Max Verstappen, made contact with Mercedes’ driver George Russell.
In the full race on Sunday, Pérez led home Verstappen and Leclerc, after taking the lead during a safety-car period, which allowed the Mexican to pull off a quicker-than-average pit stop. Pérez also capitalized on a mistake by Alfa Tauri rookie Nyck de Vries, who brought out a safety car on lap 10 as race leader Verstappen had taken a pit stop for new tires, dropping the Dutchman behind.
The end of the race, however, was marred by an incident in which Alpine driver Esteban Ocon came perilously close to colliding with a crowd of people in the pit lane, after officials mistakenly closed the pit lane with one lap remaining.
By winning this weekend, Peréz becomes the first driver to score multiple victories at the Baku City street circuit — a challenging street race through the historic center of the Azeri capital. (Sergio Pérez/Twitter)
As a result of the 1–2 finish, Red Bull Racing have assumed a dominant 93-point lead in the constructors’ championship, having won all four opening races of the 2023 season. There are 19 rounds remaining.
It is Pérez’s second victory this season, having also taken the checkered flag in Saudi Arabia in March. He currently sits second in the drivers’ championship with 87 points, 6 behind leader and teammate Verstappen, who has 93.
President López Obrador unveiled the program in his Monday press conference, alongside members of the Financiera para el Bienestar. (Moisés Pablo/Cuartoscuro)
A new alliance between government agency Finance for Well-being (Finabien) and the banking app Broxel will make it easier for Mexicans in the United States to send remittances to relatives at home, including the ability to send money directly via cell phone.
The program will be run by the government agency Finance for Well-being (Finabien) – formerly Telecomm. It will allow Mexicans in the U.S. to open dollar accounts using only Mexican identification papers, such as a national identity card or driving license.
The Finabien program is designed to make sending remittances easier for migrant workers in the United States, many of whom lack the paperwork to open traditional bank accounts. (Finabien)
Migrant workers will then be able to get a Finabien Mexico card, allowing them to instantly transfer remittances to their families in Mexico via their cell phones.
“With this card, a digital bank account is opened for them in the United States,” explained Finabien director Rocío Mejía Flores, at President López Obrador’s Monday morning press conference.
“This is a great advance for many of our compatriots there, who suffer a lot of banking marginalization, as they don’t have sufficient [identity] documents.”
Users will also be able to open an account in Mexican pesos on the same card, making it easier for them to pay for services in Mexico.
Remittances to Mexico come largely from the U.S. and are the country’s second-largest source of income from abroad. (Depositphotos.com)
The cards will initially be available at Mexican consulates in the U.S. and will later be made available for home order via an online application. Families in Mexico will be able to get the cards at any of the 1,700 Finabien branches across the country.
The commission for the service will be US $3.99 for a transfer of up to US $2,500, Mejía said, compared to an average of US $14 with other services.
Remittances accounted for US $58.5 billion in foreign exchange for the Mexican economy in 2022 alone. Finabien is already active in this market, capturing US $2.3 billion last year through its collaboration with the government’s Banco del Bienestar (Bank of Well-being), which announced in March that it would exit the remittance market.
However, the new program will differ from the Banco del Bienestar because it is entirely digital, allowing people to access money even in remote rural communities with no bank branches.
He asserted that his illness wasn’t serious, but rumors about his health – fueled by a report in a Mérida newspaper that he had fainted after an apparent heart attack – proliferated nevertheless.
The president’s absence due to a COVID-19 infection – and a brief fainting episode – fueled speculation about the seriousness of his condition. (Moisés Pablo Nava/Cuartoscuro)
Speculation only increased early in the week when Monday, and then Tuesday, passed without a direct message from the president, even as his colleagues, including Health Minister Jorge Alcocer, repeatedly assured reporters – and the Mexican people – that he had COVID-19 but was otherwise in good health.
AMLO finally dispelled the rumors on Wednesday, emerging from isolation to record a video message in which he declared he was fine, but admitted that he briefly fainted while attending a meeting in Mérida last Sunday.
By Friday he was back in front of reporters for the government’s fifth and final press conference of the week.
For the second time in as many years, the president’s fellow tabasqueño and close confidante, Interior Minister Adán Augusto López Hernández, took the reins of the mañaneras, standing in for his convalescent superior from Monday to Thursday.
Interior Minister Adán Augusto López filled in for the president from Monday through Thursday. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)
The former governor of Tabasco has aspirations to replace López Obrador on a full-time basis, a goal that might have become slightly more obtainable given the increased prominence he gained by stepping in for Mexico’s preeminent political participant this week.
Monday
“As you well know, the president of the republic reported yesterday that he had tested positive for COVID,” López Hernández said at the beginning of the first press conference of the week.
AMLO is isolating and receiving medical care and is expected to return to his mañaneras in two or three days, the interior minister said.
Responding to reporters’ questions later in the presser, López Hernández specified that López Obrador was recovering at the National Palace – within which he has an apartment – and explained that he began experiencing cold-like symptoms on Saturday night.
“There was no emergency transfer [from Mérida to Mexico City], there was no fainting episode,” said the former governor, rejecting a report published Sunday by the Diario de Yucatán.
Questioned about the newspaper’s assertion that the president suffered a heart attack or “cardiac complication,” López Hernández responded:
“No, … nothing like that [happened]. That is what [his detractors] would like, but he’s in good health. He said it himself yesterday, he’s 100% fine in terms of cardiac health.”
Questions about AMLO and his health dominated reporters’ engagement with the interior minister, but López Hernández also responded to queries related to a few other issues.
A migrant caravan is protesting asylum laws left Tapachula for Mexico City on Sunday. (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
Asked about Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos’ recent request to the federal government to stop the flow of migrants to the north of the country, he stressed that Mexico is a “country of asylum” with its “doors open” to those fleeing adverse situations in their home nations.
Although hundreds of thousands of migrants have been detained and deported since López Obrador took office in late 2018, the federal government seeks to “guarantee” migrants’ “free passage” through Mexico, López Hernández said.
He noted that a new migrant caravan left Tapachula, Chiapas, on Sunday, and said that federal and state authorities were providing its members with all the “care” they need as they move through the country.
The interior minister also weighed in on the case involving United States company Vulcan Materials, whose marine terminal near Playa del Carmen was occupied by federal and state forces in March due to its alleged failure to comply with an injunction ordering it to allow the building materials company Cemex to use the facility.
“I understand that … [Vulcan subsidiary Sac-Tun] unilaterally decided to suspend Cemex’s activities at the port,” he said.
“… I understand that there is now an agreement … and operations have resumed,” López Hernández said before railing against Vulcan for what he called its “irrational looting” and “irrational exploitation” of the Quintana Roo coast through its extraction of gravel at a quarry that authorities shut down last year.
Earlier in the press conference, the head of the National Tourism Promotion Fund reported that tracks along 94 kilometers of the 234-kilometer-long Escárcega-Calkiní section of the Maya Train railroad have been laid.
Section 2 of the railroad – the entirety of which is slated to open in December – passes through six municipalities in Campeche and has two intermediate stations, one near the archeological site of Edzná and the other in Campeche city, Javier May said.
Numerous other officials provided updates on various government programs, including the Youths Building the Future apprenticeship scheme.
“Today 231,789 young people are in training,” said Deputy Labor Minister Marath Baruch Bolaños López.
“… This program is aimed at young people who don’t study or work and supports their … [transition] … to employment through workplace training for which they receive the minimum salary of 6,310 pesos [about US $350] per month,” he said, adding that the government has invested just over 4 billion pesos in the scheme so far this year.
Tuesday
AMLO’s health was also high on the agenda at the government’s second mañanera of the week.
Health Minister Jorge Alcocer reported early in the presser that the president had mild COVID-19 symptoms, but was in good health overall. López Obrador’s symptoms include inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, fever and fatigue, he said, adding that his treatment consists of taking paracetamol, staying hydrated and resting.
“He will be discharged in a few days,” Alcocer said, making an apparent reference to when AMLO was expected to come out of isolation at his National Palace residence.
Health Minister Jorge Alcocer told reporters that President López Obrador experienced inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, fever and fatigue. (Photos by Galo Cañas Rodríiguez/Cuartoscuro)
A reporter noted later in the presser that there is a pervasive “idea” that the president is ill with something other than COVID and asked the interior minister why AMLO hadn’t posted a video to social media to counteract the rumors.
“Of course there are voices that feed off disinformation,” López Hernández said.
“As one of the most read books, or possibly the most read book in the history of humanity says, they are the ones whose souls are rotten. There is nothing to hide; from the beginning we’ve said what the situation is and that the president is recovering,” he said.
López Hernández, who gave up the governorship of Tabasco to succeed Olga Sánchez Cordero as interior minister in 2021, later expressed his support for the Supreme Court’s ruling that the governing body of the National Institute for Transparency (INAI) cannot convene with just four commissioners.
Justice Loretta Ortiz’s ruling was “issued in accordance with the law,” he said.
The interior minister denied that the government was pleased to see the INAI inoperative – as leaked audio indicated – and stressed that it was up to the Senate to appoint additional commissioners so that its governing body can convene.
“The most important” aspect of the legislation, López Hernández said, is that “the human right to water” takes precedence over mining.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, who spoke about the risks associated with using electronic smoking devices early in the press conference, returned to center stage late in the mañanera to respond to a question about a new law that bans the addition of trans fats to processed food and beverages.
Health regulator Cofepris will carry our inspections of food and beverage manufacturers in order to enforce the ban, said López-Gatell, who is best known as Mexico’s COVID czar.
Puebla Governor Sergio Salomón Céspedes was invited to speak after a brief introduction from López Hernández, and proceeded to offer a lofty description of the weekday morning press conference, over which AMLO began presiding two days after he was sworn in as president.
“The mañanera will always be remembered as the maximum exercise of openness and transparency that a government has had with Mexicans,” said the Morena party governor, who replaced Miguel Barbosa after his death last December.
“… President Andrés Manuel López Obrador: know that in Puebla we are always attentive to your health as well as the directives you give for the transformation and prosperity of our country. We wish you a quick recovery, we know we will have [you as] president for a long time yet,” Céspedes said.
Governor of Puebla, Sergio Salomón Céspdes, at the morning press conference. (Sergio Salomón Céspedes/Twitter)
“… A lot of us would like to have your energy, but especially your conviction and consistency. Mr. President, you are a great example,” he added.
In her “Who’s Who in the Lies of the Week segment,” Ana García Vilchis highlighted the responses of the Russian Embassy in Mexico to two allegedly spurious newspaper reports.
“Look, this is a gem,” she said, referring to a tweet the embassy published in response to a report by Reforma that said that “United States authorities suspect that Tajikistan, the country to which Mexico sold the presidential plane [last week], could serve as a bridge to get various products to Russia, including aerospace components [whose sale] to Moscow was prohibited after its invasion of Ukraine.”
The Russian Embassy said it didn’t understand how the sale of the presidential plane was related to “banned products” reaching Russia, but added that “thanks to Reforma we can now imagine what components will fly to Russia.”
A photoshopped image showing a variety of items in the plane’s presidential bedroom was included in the tweet.
“The banned components in Russia – we hope [they are] not … – are tacos, esquites, tequila, the delicious avocado and other things of national interest,” García said. “We hope they eat tacos and esquites in Russia.”
The government’s media monitor also drew attention to a tweet in which the Russian Embassy rejected an El Universal column that claimed that it was Russia, rather than Tajikistan, that bought the presidential plane.
“The Russian Embassy responded with a lot of humor, [saying] ‘another surrealist story was published in El Universal,'” García said.
“The embassy says, ‘thanks to ‘the reputable international sources’ we found out that the plane wasn’t bought by … [the] unknown [country] Tajikistan but by Russia,” she said before continuing to read the tweet. “‘The West will do anything to manipulate public opinion.'”
The Interior Minister and Ana García Vilchis at the Wednesday press conference. (Gob MX)
Responding to a reporter’s question, López Hernández said that the postponement of a regional anti-inflation summit in Cancún that was scheduled for early May had nothing to do with AMLO’s COVID infection, even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly said that the decision was taken after finding out about the president’s positive test result.
“As I said a moment ago, we believe, and the doctors maintain, that the president will resume his normal activities … before the weekend,” the interior minister said.
He asserted later in the press conference that the head of the National Immigration Institute (INM), Francisco Garduño, wouldn’t be distracted from his job despite facing a criminal charge related to a detention center fire in Ciudad Juárez that claimed the lives of 40 migrants.
Garduño, who was formally charged on Tuesday, will “probably” fulfill his requirement to periodically sign in with authorities in Ciudad Juárez while he is on official INM business in Chihuahua, López Hernández said.
In response to another question, the interior minister played down the proposal to incorporate the National Institute of Health for Well-Being (Insabi)– a government department created in 2020 that was tasked with providing medical services to millions of Mexicans without insurance – into the Mexican Social Security Institute.
“The most important thing is that universal, free health care is guaranteed for all Mexicans,” he said a day after a bill that seeks to disband Insabi passed the lower house of Congress with the support of the ruling Morena party and its allies.
Thursday
It was a two-man show on Thursday with the general director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) accompanying the interior minister during a 100-minute mañanera at the national palace.
Diego Prieto, an anthropologist who has been at the helm of the INAH since 2017, told reporters at the beginning of the presser that “very significant” discoveries have been made along the route of the Maya Train railroad, including the finding of a rare stone sculpture of the Mayan god K’awiil, a deity linked to power, abundance and prosperity.
The three-dimensional depiction of the Mayan god K’awiil, uncovered during an archaeological dig on Section 7 of the Maya Train route. (INAH)
Along Section 7 of the railroad – which will link Chetumal, Quintana Roo, to Escárcega, Campeche – pre-Hispanic structures and platforms have been found “at practically every step,” Prieto said.
“… We’ve had to come up with imaginative and painstaking engineering solutions to save … these archaeological structures,” he said, adding that many of the ancient edifices could be restored so that Maya Train passengers can enjoy their splendor from the comfort of their seats.
López Hernández relived the INAH chief at the mañanera lectern and got straight down to responding to the questions of the day.
The “campaign of hate” directed at the president as he recovered from COVID is regrettable, he said, referring to unfounded claims that López Obrador suffered a heart attack or stroke.
“As we’ve said since Monday … and as he made known on Sunday, the president, fortunately, is fine,” the interior minister said.
“… The way in which some media outlets, pseudo-journalists and pseudo-columnists respond to dark interests is truly miserable,” López Hernández said.
Asked whether he believed that some people really want AMLO to die, he responded:
“What they have written and what they have said is there for Mexicans to make up their own minds.”
López Hernández later took a leaf out of AMLO’s book and launched an attack on Felipe Calderón when asked about the former president’s meeting in Lima earlier this week with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, whose government has been described as “spurious” by López Obrador.
On his fourth day helming the daily press conferences, López lambasted “pseudo-journalists” for questioning President López Obrador’s health status. (Gob MX)
“Mexicans know that if anything has characterized Felipe Calderón it has been his selling-out to foreign interests,” the interior minister said.
“If I remember correctly, he ended up as an employee of a Spanish energy company, I think it’s called Iberdrola,” he said, adding that any sense of nationalism Calderón might have wasn’t on display when he “stole the presidency” in a hotly contested 2006 election in which López Obrador was his main rival.
Among other remarks, López Hernández stressed that the government’s position with regard to the Ciudad Juárez detention center fire is that justice must prevail. There must be no impunity for those found to be responsible for the deaths of the migrants, he said.
Shortly afterwards, the interior minister thanked reporters for their time and in AMLO-esque fashion disclosed his breakfast menu, announcing that he would chow down on small tamales called chanchamitos.
Friday
“I’m very happy to be here with you again,” AMLO said upon his return to his mañanera after a week-long absence.
“Firstly, I’d like to wholeheartedly thank the people of Mexico for their support, their solidarity. … I’m thinking about almost all Mexicans, who expressed concern about my COVID infection. There were displays of affection, a lot of blessings, good wishes, prayer chains, a lot of solidarity,” he said.
“… People became concerned because there was sensationalism, yellow journalism and bad faith,” López Obrador said, adding that he had recovered and was determined to continue the “transformation” of Mexico for the good of “our beloved people.”
In his opening monologue, AMLO also outlined a range of ways in which his government has cut costs, highlighting that the military institution that was formerly tasked with protecting the president of the day – the Estado Mayor Presidencial – was disbanded, overseas trade offices were closed, public trusts were abolished and salaries for high-ranking officials were reduced.
The president returned to his daily morning press conference on Friday. (Gob MX)
In the past, the federal government “guzzled the entire budget itself,” López Obrador bemoaned. “It was an enormous apparatus, an extremely expensive, onerous, golden bureaucracy. The people weren’t given anything,” he said.
The head of the state-owned development bank Banobras later reported that there were 93 expressions of interest related to purchasing the presidential plane before the US $92 million sale to the government of Tajikistan was completed.
Jorge Mendoza Sánchez noted that the plane – which was purchased in 2012 for $217 million – was scheduled to leave Mexico on Friday afternoon, a departure that went ahead as planned.
“The sale was carried out through the Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People,” the Banobras chief said, adding that the sale price matched the commercial value of the aircraft as determined by the Institute of Administration and Evaluation of National Assets.
Mendoza also sought to dispel any doubts about the purchaser, noting that Tajikistan is a member of international intergovernmental organizations including the United Nations and the C5+1 group, a “diplomatic platform” through which the United States engages with the governments of five Central Asian countries.
During his engagement with reporters, López Obrador noted that in light of his most recent bout of COVID, doctors advised him to drink a lot of water and not overexert himself.
“It’s very good to be drinking water, water and water, hydrating the body. … I’m going to rest, I have time [to do so], but I [also] have a mission to carry out; there’s not long to go [in my six-year term] … about a year and five months, but as I work double [the hours of a regular worker], it means I have two years and 10 months left. So I have to keep going, consolidate the welfare programs,” he said.
AMLO later repeated his assertion that the INAI – which remains out of action after a vote in the Senate on Thursday failed to attract the support required for the appointment of a new commissioner – is “useless” and was created to “simulate” that corruption was being tackled.
“When has there been more corruption in Mexico? In the period that the institute has been [in operation], excluding our own [time in office],” he said.
Senator Xóchitl Gálvez points to a banner protesting inaction over the appointment of new INAI commissioners, which has hobbled the transparency agency. (SEDEMA/Cuartoscuro)
The president said he would like to see the transparency agency disbanded and its duties taken over by the Federal Auditor’s Office. One billion pesos a year would be saved, he said, explaining that “waste, superfluous expenses and privileges” would come to an end.
Toward the end of his sole mañanera appearance of the week, López Obrador once again took aim at one of his chief antagonists in the Mexican press, Carlos Loret de Mola, as well as television journalists and news anchors in general.
Loret de Mola, who has exposed alleged corruption within the current government, “is a journalist at the service of the magnates,” he said.
“There is a more precise word, but it’s very strong and I don’t want to use it. [Such journalists] are paid very well … to always pounce on those who oppose corruption,” AMLO said.
“… In the case of television, … they read – they’re not capable of improvising, they have the so-called teleprompter, and so it appears that they’re improvising, but they’re not – they’re reading, they’re newsreaders,” he said.
After proving over a period of three hours that he hadn’t lost his penchant or flair for pugnacious oratory during his enforced absence from public life, the three-time COVID survivor told reporters he was off to eat something for breakfast to ensure he didn’t suffer another váguido, the word he used to describe his brief fainting spell last Sunday.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
What kind of Mexico could we see if every child had the rights and resources needed to reach their full potential? (Illustration by Angy Márquez)
Here’s one thing you’ll never hear me say: “Oh, I just love children!”
I love my own kid with my whole being, of course: she’s my heart. And I love other kids too, ones that I know individually and care for.
But I’m not a “kid person” in the same way that I’m not a “cat person.” They’re cute, and, yes, they can be adorably funny. They can melt your heart. They can also be really annoying and pretty darned inconsiderate, and often downright unhinged. They’re humans, after all, and ones who haven’t yet received all the proper training.
When I first came to Mexico, I was amazed at what I interpreted to be a great lack of discipline among children. Truth be told, I still kind of am.
Children demand things, often not politely, and here, people mostly oblige with a smile. When kids misbehave, the In-Charge Adult might say weakly a few times, “Hey, stop that” before giving up, not levering the consequences that I personally think such behavior deserves. Things that I find intolerable — children screaming at the top of their lungs makes me feel irrationally angry — seem to go unnoticed by most adults.
“They’re just kids,” people tell me with a weirded-out expression, as if to say, “What’s your deal?”
Now that I’m a mother myself, I’m not so quick to judge; I know how utterly exhausting and difficult it can be to be in charge of a tiny person’s life, especially in that toddler stage when they spend a couple of years obliviously and cheerfully trying to kill themselves like they were an immortal cartoon character.
At least Mexico (or Mexican families) seems to understand more than my home country (the U.S.) that raising kids is a team effort. Perhaps that’s where parents’ more relaxed attitude comes from: when pressure is more evenly distributed, everyone can relax a little more.
For the most part, the buck still stops with the mom. But for the lucky ones, there’s an army of relatives behind her to help with little ones’ educación, and some helpful government programs and policies to boot.
So why all this talk about kids?
Why, for Children’s Day, of course — it’s on Sunday!
When I first heard about Children’s Day way back when, I’m pretty sure I just stared dumbfounded for a few seconds. Children’s Day? Isn’t every dayChildren’s Day around here?
All joking aside, the celebration of Children’s Day in Mexico has been around for 99 years. Instituted by Education Secretary José Vasconcelos in 1924, its purpose was to put a spotlight on the human rights of children.
Since then, Children’s Day has been celebrated each year in Mexico with all manner of events, parties and parades for our little ones. Children often receive gifts on this day, and I know plenty of adults who not-so-subtly hint that they’re “big kids,” also deserving of gifts. One of my and my daughter’s activities this year will be getting free Children’s Day ice cream from a pizza shop down the street!
A few decades after Mexico instituted the holiday, the United Nations followed suit, declaring November 20 International Children’s Day as that was the date in 1959 that the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of the Child was published (Mexico signed it in 1990). In it are things like children’s rights to safety, to education, to protection from harm and to grow up in conditions of “freedom and dignity.”
I might feel a little grouchy about kids’ shenanigans sometimes, but I believe passionately in respecting their human rights.
Unfortunately, we’ve got a long way to go before that respect is a reality globally, and that includes Mexico. For all its cheerfulness about children, we’ve collectively failed to ensure a great many of their rights for the most vulnerable, as too many live in poverty with few opportunities and resources to truly help them grow into their full potential.
That said, Mexico is doing a lot more than many other countries, at least officially. While I have plenty of gripes about President López Obrador (after having been very excited about his election), I admire him for strengthening and expanding the country’s social programs aimed at the poor. While plenty of people have called into question his personal motivations, I honestly don’t care if the reasons are more cynical than altruistic; I just care about people getting the help and support that they need.
Much of this support comes by way of cash payments. If anything, I’d like for those to go further and see a universal basic income instituted — here and everywhere else (a pipe dream, I know). Not all problems can be solved by putting money into the hands of mothers, but quite a lot of them sure can be.
Big money also going into capably run institutions — rather than into the pockets of those inside the rooms when the plans are made — would also solve a lot of problems. More schools, more hospitals and more well-paid and well-trained workers to staff them could ensure everyone’s rights outlined in both the Mexican Constitution and the Declaration of Human Rights are respected.
Unfortunately, especially rural areas are filled with half-finished projects. Public schools may lack basic services, and unfinished hospitals dot the landscape, the money for them having “mysteriously” dried up. It would almost be funny in its obviousness if it didn’t have such devastating consequences.
Strengthening the rule of law is another area in which Mexico and, indeed, the rest of the world could ensure the rights of its youngest citizens. No laws, after all, mean anything if there’s no functioning justice system to back them up.
As you can see, I’ve got quite a wish list. Children grow up, and they inherit what we’ve created. They keep it going, consciously or not, and thus bequeath their world to the ones who come after.
Now is the time to show them what taking care of each other really looks like.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sarahedevries.substack.com
You won’t be able to stop eating these crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside avocado fries.
Every year since 2004, the U.S. nonprofit Environmental Working Group comes out with a list of what they call the “Dirty Dozen” — the fruits and vegetables shown to have the highest amounts of harmful pesticides present at the time of purchase by the consumer. That list is one of the reasons I don’t ever eat strawberries unless I know the grower, and also why I choose farmers’ markets whenever possible.
What I didn’t know, though, is that EWG also releases a “Clean Fifteen” list of the fruits and veggies with the least amount of pesticide residues on them. And while pesticides were present in small amounts in some of the produce categories, the percentages are nothing like the worst offenders in the “Dirty Dozen” list.
In reality, the results are a mixed bag. Should we feel OK about the fact that “samples from the top six produce items on the list didn’t test positive for more than three pesticides?” Or that “almost 65% of Clean Fifteen fruit and vegetable samples had no detectable pesticide residues?”Uhhhh, yes?
Not to be ignored is the fact that these tests were done in the U.S. To be sure, much of the commercial and mainstream organic produce sold there comes from Mexico — where pesticide use is much more loosely regulated — but these lists are still a worthwhile barometer of what’s going on out there in the fields and orchards.
The lists are results of tests run on more than 46,000 fruit and vegetable samples. You can read the full report in EWG’s 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, but here are this year’s winners and losers and a few recipes to keep you on track and a bit more pesticide-free.
The best and most reliable way to ensure your produce is pesticide-free is to eat organic, especially if you can buy direct from the farmer at a local farmers’ market. That’s not always possible, of course. A mistake many people make in Mexico is assuming that vendors at their local mercado are the actual growers and that the produce is organic. Ninety-nine times out of 100, that’s not the case, though; they’re middle-men selling commercially grown produce.
The best way to avoid pesticide-laden produce is to buy directly from a farmer you trust at your local farmers’ market, like these vendors at Mazatlán’s weekly Mercado Orgánico.
2023’s “Clean Fifteen”
Avocados and sweet corn are the stars of this year’s “Clean Fifteen” list, with less than 2% of the samples exhibiting any measurable pesticides:
On the other side of the spectrum are the “Dirty Dozen” —fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residues. Kale, collard and mustard greens and peppers of all varieties had the most, but every crop on this list had residues of at least 10 different pesticides.
2023’s “Dirty Dozen”
Strawberries
Spinach
Kale, collard and mustard greens
Peaches
Pears
Nectarines
Apples
Grapes
Bell and hot peppers
Cherries
Blueberries
Green beans
Homemade onion dip is a gazillion times better than using a powdered mix.
Want to try using the Clean 15 as your eating guide? Here are a couple of easy recipes to get you started:
Crispy Avocado Fries
1 cup panko
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Tajín (optional)
½ -1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large egg
3 medium ripe but firm avocados
Optional: Chipotle mayonnaise, ranch dressing, hot sauce, etc. for serving
In a medium bowl, lightly crush the panko with your hands until it is sandy in texture. Stir in Tajín (if using), salt and garlic powder. Drizzle in olive oil and mix well. In another small bowl, lightly beat egg.
Halve and pit avocados. Lay them, flat side down, on a clean work surface; gently pull the peel back and discard. Slice each avocado lengthwise into 8 pieces.
Working with one slice at a time, dip avocado in the beaten egg to coat. Lift and allow excess to drip off. Transfer to the panko mixture and gently toss to coat well. Transfer to a platter; repeat with remaining slices.
To make in the oven: Preheat to 425 F (220 C). Bake avocado fries on rimmed baking sheet for 18 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crisp and golden brown.
To make in an air fryer: Preheat to 350 F (175 C) on air-fry setting. Place 8 avocado slices into the air fryer basket and cook, flipping halfway through, until the fries are crisp and golden brown all over, 8 minutes.
Repeat with remaining avocado slices. Serve immediately, with dipping sauces if desired.
Sour Cream and Onion Dip
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 medium yellow onions
2 shallots
Salt and pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 cup full-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, finely grated
Olive oil, for drizzling
¼ cup finely chopped chives
Thinly slice onions and shallots. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and shallots to pan; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions are softened and turning golden brown, 15–20 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and continue cooking, stirring often so onions don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until onions are deep golden brown and reduced by about half, another 45 minutes. (Resist the urge to turn up the heat to make them caramelize faster.)
Transfer onions and shallots to a cutting board, and finely chop. Place in a large bowl; add sour cream, yogurt, lemon juice and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil, season with pepper and sprinkle with chives.
Tequisquiapan, Querétaro, is easy to reach and has all the features Pueblos Mágicos are known for: historic architecture, quaint locales and a sleepy pace perfect for strolling. (Leigh Thelmadatter)
Over 30 of Mexico’s 132 Pueblos Mágicos are within three hours driving distance of the sprawling urban monster that is Mexico City.
It’s a contradiction born of history and economics. Most of Mexico’s development has been centered in this high mountain plateau. The Pueblos Mágicos program has been spectacularly successful in showcasing their wonderful charms, enticing people to spend holidays in places beyond the beaches.
Quite possibly Amealco, Querétaro’s most famous doll maker, Genoveva Pérez Pascual at the annual doll fair held every November. (Alejandro Linares García)
Mexico City is, by far, the largest domestic source of potential tourists, not only because of affluence, but also because capitalinos look to escape the capital’s noise and infamous smog, says Fernando Mendoza, an independent consultant and former president of the National Coordination of Pueblos Mágicos Committees.
These 30 pueblos near Mexico City demonstrate the wide variety of natural and cultural environments in and around the Valley of Mexico. They’re also a testament to the resilience of local cultures in the face of Mexico City’s often overbearing presence.
Most articles about Pueblos Mágicos in the Mexico City area list certain towns time and again. Although by no means the only pueblos worth visiting, they should be on your shortlist if you have limited time.
Best known to foreigners is Taxco, Guerrero. It has the colonial-period architecture centered on a church and plaza which nearly define Pueblos Mágicos in central Mexico. But it is also famous for silversmithing, an industry reignited by American William Spatling in the 1920s.
In the Pueblo Mágico of Taxco, Guerrero, you’ll find masterful works in silver — everything from jewelry to artistic sculpture like this sculpture by Ezequiel Tapia Bahena. (Alejandro Linares García)
Tepoztlán, Morelos, not only attracts many Mexico City residents on weekends, but it has an established foreign resident population. Its attractions include spring-like weather, craggy mountains and a New Age vibe that comes in part from being known as the birthplace of the Mesoamerican god Quetzalcoatl.
Tequisquiapan in Querétaro has also become popular with foreigners, in part because of its semi-arid climate and easy access to points north, including the U.S. border. It and neighboring Bernal are also in the state’s wine country, second only to Baja in importance.
Just north of Pachuca, Hidalgo, three Pueblos Mágicos, Real del Monte, Huasca de Ocampo and Mineral el Chico, attract weekenders looking to spend time in cabins in cool forests. The area is also known for a history of British mining in the 19th century, which left its mark on its architecture and the Mexican version of the Cornish pasty.
Valle de Bravo in México state has been popular with Mexico City weekenders for decades. Its main attraction is its lake (really a reservoir) surrounded by high forest. In addition to being the entrance into monarch butterfly territory, it has golf courses, boating and paragliding.
Panorama of Tepoztlán, Morelos, showing the mountains surrounding this quiet community that, these days, has a sizeable foreign resident population. (eurimaco/Wikimedia Commons)
OK, so maybe you have seen these and wonder what’s next.
Puebla’s Sierra Norte has a number of Pueblos Mágicos, some of which are within weekend distance of the capital. The best-known of these is Cuetzatlán, which is not only famous for its indigenous textiles but also has a strong Danza de Voladores tradition, including all-female troupes.
Malinalco, México state, has been regionally popular for quite some time. Nestled in a box canyon, it has maintained its rural nature despite being very close to Mexico City and Toluca. Its main attractions are its many quaint houses and the Cerro de los Ídolos archeological site.
Similar to Tepoztlán but less crowded is neighboring Tlayacapan in Morelos. It’s home to dozens of chapels, built over Mesoamerican ritual sites. When I first visited more than 15 years ago, locals were surprised to see a foreigner interested in the nearly-forgotten structures, but that has changed.
The México state-Michoacán border is monarch butterfly country, and several Pueblos Mágicos look to attract these tourists.
Tlalpujahua, Angangeo (Michoacán) and El Oro (State of México) have town centers that reflect their mining heritage. In addition, Tlalpujahua is Mexico’s “Christmas town.”
Artisans at work decorating ornaments in Tlalpujahua. Michoacán, one of Mexico’s “Christmas towns,” where Mexicans buy their holiday decorations.
All Pueblos Mágicos have at least one unique feature that’s the reason for their inclusion. For the town of San Juan Teotihuacán in México state and Cholula in Puebla, it’s their archeological sites. Ixtapan de la Sal, Tecozautla and others have thermal and fresh-water springs. In the case of Amealco, Querétaro, it is its famous “María” doll.
But proximity to Mexico City does not guarantee a successful Pueblo Mágico. Sometimes road conditions and traffic are an issue.
For those towns closest to the capital, like Tepotzotlán and Metepec in México state, the urban sprawl surrounds their historic centers. Those pueblos that are less than two hours away, says Mendoza, often became day trips, meaning that they miss out on hotel and restaurant income but the tourism still creates significant costs in municipal services such as police and sanitation.
Successful Pueblos Mágicos also have to contend with the environmental impact of all these visitors. Water usage skyrockets during peak tourism periods, Mendoza says, not only because of the extra people, but also because vacationers are not as conscientious about its use as they might be at home.
Finally, Pueblo Mágico status often brings pressure to develop. Visitors look for a certain level of services and entertainment in their tourism destination, and accommodating new businesses change the atmosphere. Second homes begin appearing, often without sufficient regulation. Most are built by Mexican weekenders, but Pueblos Mágicos have also attracted foreigners looking for alternative places to live.
These issues are the trade-offs for economic development. It does not mean that you should not make the effort to visit, just be conscientious when you do.
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.
Christina Whiteley's young daughter has adapted well to the change from Canada to Mexico, including at school. (Courtesy)
Moving to another country and exploring new cultures can be an adventure, but it can also be stressful, especially when you have kids. When we moved to Mexico, we were worried about how our daughter Isabella would adapt to life here,without speaking Spanish, and leaving her friends behind in Canada.
Izzy started daycare when she was almost three years old, not because we wanted her to, but because she wanted to be around other kids. She went to a private school for preschool and pre-kindergarten that we absolutely loved, but they didn’t offer a language program. So we moved her to a public school with a French immersion program.Two months into that program, in the middle of the pandemic, we decided to pull her from school as we were not happy with the school policies or curriculum.
As parents, Christina and her husband were concerned at first about how their daughter Izzy would adapt to the move to Mexico from Canada. (Courtesy)
Izzy’s curriculum was not just focused on learning basic reading, writing and math. We felt our neighborhood schools were raising children to be followers of political agendas instead of teaching critical thinking, problem solving and leadership skills.
The Covid-19 mitigation policies for kids at that young age were confusing, which added anxiety, frustration and division in her classroom, although I know policy makers and teachers alike were doing their best at the time.
My child is at a very impressionable age and the next few years of her life are formative ones that will determine her morals, values, and decision-making skills, laying the foundation for the rest of her life. Knowing that life is hard either way, we wanted her to have a choice in her future and be excited about working towards it. We decided to do things differently and as a result, we also faced adversity.
When we first arrived in Mexico we took a few months to decompress. Izzy was only in kindergarten after all, and we spent a lot of time reading with her and working on homeschooling workbooks.
Christina values the educational opportunities she has found in Mexico for daughter Izzy. (Courtesy)
I considered homeschooling her, and even hired an online coach to help me, but there were two issues with that. I have a strong-willed child, she wants to learn when she wants to learn – this was very difficult because I run two online businesses and needed to keep a schedule – and she is a very social kid, so she needed to be around other children.
We tried for a couple of months, and inevitably I started seeking other solutions. She told me she missed her friends in Canada and we needed to prioritize building a support circle for her. At the time we found a private teaching pod – which it appears is quite common down here for immigrants. There is a small classroom – usually run out of someone’s garage (turned into a classroom) – with five to 15 kids of the same age, who have private teachers come in and teach all subjects in English and Spanish.
Izzy loved that group and even had swimming lessons, art, and kickboxing as extra-curricular activities there. However, she also was interested in music and sports so we decided to put her in a private school. We found a school that is bilingual and an accredited academic institution that offers an IB (International Baccalaureate) program.
These accreditations are accepted into top universities globally. Not only that, but after less than six months, her Spanish comprehension has been developing rapidly. We were most impressed with the small class sizes, with an average of 18 kids, so she receives a lot of one-on-one attention.
Izzy has enjoyed more extracurricular activities living in Mexico. (Courtesy)
What I also love about her school is the diversity. There are children from all over the world there, as well as many local kids who earn scholarships to attend. Some of her best friends don’t speak any English. We noticed that from the moment we got here – differences in language or background didn’t matter, they all just played and laughed together. Our kids don’t need diversity training, they need to be allowed to be kids. Our compassion and love for others as parents set the example.
The cost of her private tuition per year is approximately US $5000, which is a fraction of the price of a private education in Canada. This has allowed us to spend more on extracurricular activities like gymnastics, hip hop and horseback riding. All different types of dances, martial arts, sports and music are also available here.
I know this experience of immersion will have a measurable impact on Isabella’s life and give her more opportunities in her later years. This is only one of the three international schools in the area. Alternately, you can also have access to public schools, with residency, if your children are fluent in Spanish. There is also a small homeschooling community in Cabo, and they are growing each year.
It has been heartwarming and comforting to watch her grow and become more confident speaking Spanish, and patiently help other kids with English when asked. The anxiety she had before is no longer present and she looks forward to going to school and often asks for play dates on the weekends. She has developed her own group of friends, and she continues to play with any of the kids she randomly meets on the beach.
As parents, we value this definition of inclusivity, and this whole experience of broadening horizons for our daughter.
Christina Whiteley, founder of Life Transformed, is a bestselling author, speaker and business strategist who leads the 6 Figure Profit Plan Mastermind and hosts corporate retreats where she resides in Cabo San Lucas. She and her husband Ryan, who is a realtor, live for road trips and weekend adventures with their daughter and their dog, Larry. You can also join her private Facebook group here.
