The oppressive heatwave currently sweeping Mexico shows no signs of letting up, scientists warn. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
Scientists and researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) said at a press conference on Wednesday that a fourth heat wave could hit the country as soon as July 1, while the current heat wave sweeping over Mexico may continue for another 10 to 15 days.
According to Dr. Víctor Manuel Torres, a researcher at UNAM’s Institute of Atmosphere Sciences and Climate Change (ICAyCC), meteorological models foresee the possibility of an upcoming heat wave similar in intensity to the one currently bringing temperatures in the 30s and even 40s Celsius (80 to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit) in 30 of Mexico’s 32 states.
July is expected to see a number of cyclones in southeastern Mexico, which could contribute to another heatwave next month. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Meteorological models are already forecasting two cyclones in southeastern Mexico that could precipitate more high temperatures around the beginning of July. They also show zero probability of rain clouds anywhere else, meaning that Mexico’s drought conditions could continue longer than experts anticipated.
A study of weather patterns in Mexico City from 1880 to 2005 shows that the months of April and May are usually the hottest in the capital, followed by March and June. Heat waves usually don’t last longer than three or six days — any heat wave over 10 days is extremely rare, said scientist Graciela Binimelis.
Binimelis added that low levels of soil humidity have also exacerbated the situation, lengthening heat waves and causing “severe and extreme drought.” These extreme conditions have also caused “atypical” widespread forest fires, she said.
She also said that heat waves in the cities tend to be more intense — almost two degrees more than in the countryside — owing to buildings and human activities. This phenomenon is known as the “island of heat.” High temperatures in the cities can also result in increased ozone pollution, she said.
Marcelo Castro Vera is a "rebel" making wines using the ancient technique of fermentation in clay pots in the mountains of Guanajuato . (Photos by Mukasha Dadajonova)
Glasses clink and chatter echoes around the farm as the moon rises over a family gathering in Vergel de la Sierra, San Felipe, Guanajuato. A young Marcelo Castro Vera watches as his family toasts the Sunday night to a close. He enjoys the wine they are drinking, but what fascinates him is not the maroon “juice”, but how it has brought the people around him together.
Thirty years on and the very same landscape where a young Marcelo sat around a table with his family is now the birthplace of one of Mexico’s most exciting natural wines.
Octágono’s selection of natural wines is made using wild fermentation, with no added sugars or yeasts.
Founded in 2016, Octágono is a small winery that is ambitious, rebellious and fiercely honest. It’s located on the grounds of El Nidal, a shipping container hotel Marcelo built on his family’s land, and produces wines that are sharp, punchy and full of energy. Octágono’s wines embody the man behind the brand.
Many have called his process of making natural wine radical. His curiosity and inventive spirit saw him become the first contemporary Mexican winemaker to produce natural wine in buried clay amphora pots as it was made thousands of years ago in ancient Rome.
“The goal is to let the grape express itself with absolutely no human interpretation,” he says. “We use four basic processes executed without any technological intervention or machinery.”
Grapes are picked by hand and then smashed by foot. It’s“messy work and not glamorous,” Marcelo says. Pressing grapes by foot promotes wild fermentation, with no industrial yeast or sugars needed. The gloopy juice is then macerated in buried clay pots and hand-pressed with rustic utensils up to nine months later.
The process followed by Marcelo and his team is an ancient one.
I ask whether his radical reputation is deserved. To me, it seems fueled by a rapidly evolving technological world in which insisting on creating a product without machinery is seen as “alien.”
Marcelo nods with a smile, but he sees himself more as a “rebel.”
“I think radical is too strong,” he says. “We do things differently here, and I believe we’re the first in Mexico to produce natural wine completely by hand. When we first started working on the idea to produce our own wine here, we talked for hours and hours about how we could ensure the product was natural and true to our belief that nature should do the majority of the work.”
“In our region, pottery is one of the most important local crafts,” he continues. “We talked about fermenting our wine in local pots, very similar to how Georgians use kvevris. That’s the path we went down, and I’m delighted about it. We use beautiful clay pots handmade by artisans from San Felipe and Dolores Hidalgo, which has helped bring more attention to another centuries-old craft.”
Octágono uses clay pots handcrafted in San Felipe and Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.
Blending ancient multicultural crafts with grapes grown in the fertile soil of central Mexico produces a collection of distinct natural wines which are undoubtedly Mexican, but infused with classical techniques from Europe.
I ask about his opinion of conventional modern wine in Mexico. A few weeks prior to our conversation, a Mexican white wine was crowned the highest-scoring “international revelation” at the Concours Mondiale de Bruxelles (CMB).
“I don’t drink conventional wine and so I can’t really judge it,” Marcelo says. “To me, it’s dead and boring compared to the energy and life of natural wine. There are thousands of conventional producers all following very similar guidelines on how to produce wine but only a fraction of them are creating natural wine. I don’t like to follow the crowd or be a sheep in anything I do. I’m only happy with my process when I’m going against the grain.”
Marcelo guides guests through a tasting at his popular San Miguel de Allende tasting room.
Much like his wine, Marcelo is unfiltered. It seems to me that someone as punchy and determined as he is, lovingly dubbed the “crazy professor” by friends and family, needs a close team to help guide his creativity. He agrees.
“My wife, Mukasha is the most important person to me and for the business,” he says, “Our small success here is probably more down to her than me! She is smart, ambitious, creative. She also knows exactly when to tell me to keep my feet on the ground and not move in a bad direction.”
A professional photographer, Mukasha Dadajonova was born in Uzbekistan, the main wine-producing country in central Asia. She is also a firm advocate for fermenting wine in clay pots, a millennia-old technique used in nearby Georgia. The couple met while studying hospitality in Switzerland.
Marcelo and Octágono’s sommelier, Celia Morales, make a dynamic duo.
If Mukasha is Octágono’s compass, then Celia Morales steers the ship. As head sommelier, Celia handles the everyday demands of the winery, something all the more vital when you’re producing natural wine manually.
“We’re a small team, but we’re furiously committed to our values and making the wine we want to make,” Morales says. “We’re not people-pleasers but we love bringing people together to try our wine and food.”
Indeed, the brand’s 40-square meter tasting room, Tenerías #2, situated in the heart of cosmopolitan San Miguel de Allende, has become a very popular destination for locals, visitors and expats. Marcelo tells me it’s fully booked almost every day of the week.
Industrialization has no doubt increased efficiency, but at what cost? We’re on the cusp of a new generation of machine-learning, which will dramatically change our everyday working lives. Bucking technological progress may seem rebellious today, but people like Marcelo, Mukasha and Celia are playing a key role in conserving the best of tradition in a competitive, fast-moving world.
Gordon Cole-Schmidt is a public relations specialist and freelance journalist, advising and writing on companies and issues across multi-national communication programs.
One of the Iberdrola plants sold to the government, located in the state of Durango. (Iberdrola)
The federal government has formalized its purchase of 13 power plants from Spanish energy company Iberdrola.
The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) announced Monday that the government had signed an agreement to purchase the plants for approximately US $6 billion.
President Lopez Obrador and Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galán have had their differences in the past over the president’s energy policies. In 2020, Galán threatened to stop Iberdrola from investing any more in Mexico. (Cuartoscuro)
“The contract confirms the terms and conditions of the agreement that the president of the republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, announced on April 4,” the SHCP said.
The ministry noted that the government has purchased 12 combined-cycle plants and one wind plant, with a combined capacity of 8,500 megawatts. The combined-cycle plants are in Baja California, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas, while the wind plant is in Oaxaca.
“The closure of the operation between Iberdrola México and the trust [known as] Mexico Infrastructure Partners [MIP] was carried out through a national investment vehicle with the majority participation of the National Infrastructure Fund of Mexico and with bank financing,” the SHCP said.
“This action provides legal certainty to the objective of the current administration to recover the percentage of electricity generation that allows energy sovereignty to be reestablished,” it said.
The purchase of the Iberdrola facilities has been criticized by some economic think tanks, but the government claims the acquisition will help Mexico to achieve its goal of energy independence. (Iberdrola/Twitter)
At his morning news conference on Thursday, López Obrador reiterated that the purchase of the plants from Iberdrola allows the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to increase its share of Mexico’s electricity generation market to 55%. The CFE’s share of the market before the purchase was just under 40%.
“It’s like a second nationalization of the electricity industry. … We’ve now recovered these plants for the nation,” said López Obrador, who asserts that his government is “rescuing” the CFE after years of neglect.
Iberdrola, which has been a major investor in Mexico’s energy sector, said in a statement that the trust led by MIP had acquired 55% of its “gross-operating profit (EBITDA) in the country, including the associated contracts and more than 410 related jobs.”
The abbreviation EBITDA stands for the economic phrase in English: “Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.”
“Iberdrola will keep 13 plants, all its activity with private customers and its portfolio of renewable projects to continue increasing its wind and solar assets in the country in the coming years,” said the firm, which also noted that Mexico’s Energy Regulatory Commission recently authorized its generation permit for a 105-megawatt wind farm in Guanajuato.
Mexico has seen 20% less rainfall in 2023 than in the same period of 2022, according to the National Water Commission. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico is experiencing historically low levels of rainfall this year, according to the National Water Commission (Conagua).
From Jan. 1 to June 11, the country recorded 20.1% less rainfall than in the same period of 2022, decreasing the level of water stored in the country’s system of reservoirs.
Villa Victoria, one of the three reservoirs that supply water to Mexico City, is currently only at around 30% capacity. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
In its weekly report on the state of the country’s large reservoirs, the Conagua said that the accumulated rainfall in the first half of the year was equivalent to 115.8 millimeters (mm). The average rainfall recorded in the same period between 1991 and 2020 was 144.9 mm, signaling a deficit of 29.1 mm.
Because of the blistering heat wave sweeping over many parts of the country and drought in some regions, Mexico’s major reservoirs reported a drop of 2.5% in water storage levels between June 5 and 11.
Of these 210 reservoirs, only three reported full storage capacity; the majority reported water storage levels below 50%.
Mexico has suffered droughts that have caused diminishing water reserves since 2017. This has had particular impacts on large urban areas such as Monterrey, which made headlines last year when the city reduced running water supply for residents to only six hours per day.
Of Mexico’s 210 major reservoirs, only 37 reported water storage levels above 75% as of June 13. (Conagua)
The storage reservoirs of the Cutzamala System (El Bosque, Valle de Bravo and Villa Victoria), which supplies Mexico City, fell to 48.5% of capacity in March, the lowest levels ever recorded. On June 13, the Conagua reported this level to have dropped down to 34.9%.
President López Obrador’s government has announced investment of over 93 billion pesos on 15 priority water projects nationwide, including dams and aqueducts.
The Conagua, along with other agencies, has warned that the El Niño weather pattern, caused by warm water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, could bring high temperatures and prolonged droughts in Mexico, as well as strong hurricanes in the Atlantic.
As the month of July approaches and the heat is expected to decrease, more rainfall is anticipated across the country.
For Mazatlán resident Janet Blaser, summer's tourism influx brings headaches but also inspiring images of joie de vivre. (Rashide Frias/Cuartoscuro)
Right now, Mazatlán seems poised, waiting. There’s anticipation in the air.
I’ve already had my air conditioners serviced in preparation for regular — dare I say constant — use after sitting dormant through the fall and winter and even a few months of what I guess we’d call spring. Living as close to the coast as I do, the condensers only last about four years max before they’re too rusted on the inside to work.
In tourist towns and beach destinations, we’re waiting for summer vacations too. Snowbirds often mistakenly think everything quiets down once they’ve left and that after Holy Week festivities, there’s nothing to do and no one around.
It’s quite the opposite, though, and once schools are out, families all over Mexico go on vacation, most often to the beach.
They come to Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta, Zihuatanejo and Sayulita — thousands of people filling the beaches and streets, taco stands, souvenir shops, hotels and anything that can be called a “vacation rental.” When I lived in Santa Cruz, California, it was the same thing: summer brought an exodus of folks from the inland cities seeking a day or a week at the beach to relax, unwind and enjoy.
Mazatlán gets so full with tourists in the summertime, the writer shops only early on weekday mornings in order to avoid crowds. (Courtesy of Janet Blaser)
From a resident’s point of view, these places become a kind of zoo, an unwieldy landscape where you must make accommodations just to live your regular life.
I change my schedule and only go to the mercado and grocery stores early on weekday mornings. From Thursday to Sunday, I don’t visit friends at the other end of town; I do errands on foot as much as possible until it gets too hot to do even that.
Traffic becomes unmanageable in many places, and even what are usually “back ways” become cumbersome, with out-of-town drivers on their cell phones trying to find their rental or a restaurant or who-knows-what. Street parking ceases to exist, and the public lots jack up their prices because they can — as do taxis, especially on the weekends.
Another sign of summer: the “gourmet” and imported sections of the big-box grocery stores empty out, and I know the shelves won’t be restocked until sometime in early November. I’ve learned to check expiration dates in the summer months before I buy a box of couscous or that half-gallon of imported organic apple juice.
And the beaches! For me, this may be the most difficult thing: every inch of sand fills up with umbrellas, lounges, coolers and people, people, people. Mountains of trash are piled on the curbs — if we’re lucky. More often, it’s left on the beach to be taken out with the tide that night. If you go for a swim early in the morning — especially on a weekend — detritus from the day before bobs around you in the water, carried away from the shore by ocean currents.
Yet, there are bright spots too. It’s priceless to watch a multigenerational family lead their fully dressed grandma across the sand to step tentatively into the ocean, maybe for the first time in her life, as her grandkids and great-grandkids run and play in the water without a care in the world.
And for every thoughtless person who litters, there’s a responsible somebody quietly picking up trash.
What I see in most of these visitors is a contagious joie de vivre, and for that wake-up call I’m grateful. That, more than anything else, is what makes these hot, humid, too-busy summer months special, turning them into a time of reflection and of looking inward.
It’s a time of simple pleasures, of getting back to basics, realizing again exactly what those are and how fortunate I truly am.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers in Calexico, California. (CBP/Flickr)
Reynosa councilor arrested with cocaine in Texas
A municipal councilor from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, was arrested in the United States on Saturday for possession of what authorities said was around 42 kilograms of cocaine.
Denisse Ahumada Martínez, a National Action Party (PAN) councilor in the northern border city, was detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at a checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas.
Denisse Ahumada was caught with about 42 kilograms of cocaine by border patrol in Falfurrias, Texas. (Twitter)
Packages of “suspected cocaine were discovered in various locations” in Ahumada’s vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
“A field test was conducted on one package which yielded positive for the characteristics of cocaine,” the document said.
Ahumada appeared in a federal court in McAllen, Texas, on Monday and Judge Juan F. Alanis ruled that she must be held in preventive detention as she awaits her next hearing.
According to the complaint, the councilor told authorities she was transporting the drugs to San Antonio. She confessed to having transported narcotics on past occasions as well.
The National Action Party (PAN) denied that Denisse Ahumada was a member and condemned her actions. (Facebook)
The CBP said in a statement on Monday that Rio Grande Valley Sector agents “successfully interdicted two cocaine smuggling events over the weekend.”
In addition to the Falfurrias seizure, about 11 kilograms of cocaine were confiscated at a checkpoint in Sarita, Texas.
Agents used both X-ray technology and police dogs to detect the cocaine, the CBP said, adding that the weight of the confiscated narcotics totaled 117 pounds (53 kg) and that the street value was over US $3.7 million.
The PAN’s Tamaulipas branch said in a statement that Ahumada isn’t a member of their party, even though she represented it after defecting from the Ecological Green Party of Mexico.
“We condemn the alleged criminal acts of which she is accused,” the statement said.
Seizure of totoaba swim bladders second largest in U.S.
CBP said Monday that agents in Nogales, Arizona, had seized 242 pounds (110 kg) of swim bladders of the federally-protected totoaba fish. The swim bladders are considered a delicacy in parts of Asia, especially China, and can also be used in Chinese traditional medicine.
The CBP said that 270 totoaba swim bladders with an estimated value of US $2.7 million were seized on April 13 by agents working at the Mariposa trade facility in Nogales. They were “concealed within a commercial shipment of frozen fish fillets,” the law enforcement agency said.
Nogales CBP officers seized 242lbs of swim bladders of the endangered Totoaba fish concealed within a commercial shipment of frozen fish fillets. CBP officers contacted @USFWS to take possession of the bladders worth an estimated $2.7 million.
“CBP officers contacted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) who took possession of the bladders. Preliminary DNA testing by USFWS indicates that these bladders are the endangered species totoaba macdonaldi endemic to the Gulf of California in Mexico,” CBP said.
“This seizure is thought to be the second largest seizure of its kind in the U.S. and the largest Totoaba seizure in Arizona, to date,” it said.
“… Because the species is federally protected, in both the U.S. and Mexico, it is illegal to take, possess, transport, or sell Totoaba. In addition, the gill-net fishing methods used to catch the Totoaba have resulted in the co-demise of another endangered species in the Gulf of California, the Vaquita porpoise, Phocoena sinus,” CBP said.
“USFWS and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the smuggling attempt of the prohibited item.”
Meth worth more than US $4 million concealed by Brussels sprouts
The CBP said last Thursday that agents in Calexico, California had seized 2,052 pounds (931 kilograms) of methamphetamine in a tractor-trailer transporting Brussels sprouts from Mexico to the United States.
Officers at the Calexico East Cargo Facility – located opposite the Baja California city of Mexicali – discovered a total of 148 packages of meth concealed within the floor and roof of the trailer, the CBP said.
The value of the narcotics, which were confiscated on June 2, was estimated at just over $4.3 million. A 51-year-old male driver who wasn’t identified by name or nationality was detained.
“Smugglers are constantly utilizing innovative methods to conceal narcotics,” said Roque Caza, Calexico Area Port Director.
“By combining officer intuition and utilizing advanced technology, officers were able to make a notable discovery within a shipment of produce. Excellent work by our CBP officers,” he said.
Modelo Especial beer for sale in Atlanta. The brand became the top-selling beer in the U.S. in May, knocking off Bud Light from the No. 1 spot for the first time in more than two decades. (The Toidi/Shutterstock)
Mexico’s Modelo Especial beer became the top-selling brand in the United States in May, with an 8.4% share of U.S. retail sales.
In a four-week period ending June 3, the incumbent, Bud Light, fell off the top spot for the first time in more than two decades after the beer’s owner Anheuser-Busch became embroiled in controversy. Its share of the U.S. retail beer market fell to 7.3%.
Constellation is the licensed brewer and distributor in the U.S. for Grupo Modelo brands, including Corona and Modelo. The diversification of the Modelo brand is seen as key to the success of the beer in the U.S. (@cbrands/Twitter)
U.S. earnings for Modelo Especial beer also grew during the same period by 12.2% over the last month while Bud Light’s earnings fell 24.4%.
Diversification of the Modelo brand under Constellation’s stewardship in the U.S. — it’s licensed by Mexico owners Grupo Modelo to brew and distribute the brand in the U.S. — is also helping the beer to capitalize on the momentum gained by Bud Light’s downfall.
“Modelo Especial appears to be increasing its sales growth each week as we get deeper into summer,” brand analyst Dave Williams told the media company CNN. He added that the Modelo Oro, a new, low-carb version of Modelo Especial, appears to be a success.
The Mexican beer brand is also benefiting from a trend for Mexican alcohol in the U.S., said Williams. Tequila and mezcal have also seen strong sales in recent months, and the “springboard effect” from strong Cinco de Mayo sales had on Mexican drinks in general has also helped.
Mexican alcohol has increased in popularity in the U.S. across the board — that includes spirits such as tequila and mezcal. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
Greg Gallagher, vice president of brand marketing for New York-based Constellation, said that Modelo has been “enjoying an incredible run of success” in recent years and that it’s looking to recreate the success that Modelo traditionally sees with a Hispanic audience in the United States.
“Our growth is in maintaining that core but also bringing in non-Hispanic customers, and we’re having incredible success,” he told CNN.
While some may look to tie Bud Light’s downfall with the brand’s recent controversial advertising campaign — which featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and angered both sides of the political spectrum — the downturn in its sales also reflect wider issues with the Belgian brewer, which also owns Busch Light, Michelob and Natural Light.
Mexican beer brands have seen significant growth in the U.S. market in recent years, according to the Washington Post newspaper, which estimates as much as 80% of U.S. imported beer is from Mexico. Even before the Bud Light campaign, Modelo was on track to become the top-selling beer by 2030, the newspaper said.
If current sales trends continue, Modelo is well-placed to end 2023 as America’s top-selling beer brand for the calendar year.
13,000 visitors are reported to have seen the life-size dinosaur replicas at "Dinos en Los Pinos," which opened Sunday. (Centro Cultural Los Pinos)
The former presidential residence of Los Pinos in Mexico City is currently hosting a dinosaur exhibition to showcase pieces recovered and reconstructed by paleontologists in Mexico.
Entrance is free, and the exhibition will run through October 23.
Some 13,000 people arrived for the exhibition’s first day, including former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who resigned on Monday to focus on his candidacy in Morena’s presidential primary race.
“This is the best inauguration event I’ve ever attended,” Ebrard tweeted alongside a photograph of the ribbon cutting.
The exhibition, titled “Dinos en los Pinos: Dimensiones prehistóricas” (Dinos at Los Pinos: Prehistoric Dimensions), showcases over 50 pieces, including fossils, life-sized skeletons, bones, artwork and paleontological remains of dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus rex and Coahuilaceratops magnahorn and ancient sharks like Aquilolamna milacrae. Many of these pieces belong to the Museo del Desierto (Desert Museum) in Saltillo, Coahuila, which participated in the exhibit design for “Dinos en Los Pinos,” and some were only recently found in northern Mexico.
Realistic and interactive representations of different dinosaurs can also be seen in the center’s green areas, as can other figures modified by Indigenous Wixárika artists. The Wikárika dinosaurs are decorated as alebrijes, a classic form of Mexican folk sculpture, with wings and bright colors.
“Dinos en Los Pinos” will run through late October.
The exhibition is mainly located in Los Pinos’ Miguel Alemán house. Access is through Gate 1 or Gate 5 of the compound. Los Pinos is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This is the second time that the Desert Museum has set up an exhibition of this kind in Mexico City. The first, called “Huellas de la Vida” (Footprints of Life), took place in 2009. It remained on display in the Zócalo for 102 days and broke attendance records, attracting more than 13 million visitors. Coincidentally, it was also inaugurated by Ebrard during his tenure as mayor of Mexico City.
Agua Bendita is a tranquil country retreat near San Miguel de Allende. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
In the market for a venue near historic San Miguel de Allende? Look no further for the location of your next corporate or wellness retreat, family reunion, party or wedding, or film location. Agua Bendita, just minutes away from the UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a slice of magic.
This centuries-old family ranchito has recently been converted into fourexquisitely tasteful modern cottages, surrounded by verdant lawns, lavender beds, freshwater lakes, walkways and bridges, quiet reading nooks, and orchards. The grounds are even graced by the occasional peacock!
Agua Bendita makes a stunning wedding venue. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
Gone are the days of stuffy, windowless conference rooms, the charmless hotel with the long corridors and airport-style dining room. Here, you’ll find the artistic touch of Isabella Castro and Luz Marcela Vera, fourth generation women from a legendary hotelier family, who own and manage the property. You’ll also be greeted and tended to by a staff that exudes personalized care, generosity and warmth. This welcoming family ambience is a key feature of their four hotels in the area.
And don’t worry if you don’t want to lift a finger! Agua Bendita offers a menu created by personal chefs, who will deliver your preferred cuisine, or come and cook in your state-of-the art kitchen. A wedding, festival or fiesta can be catered under a marquee for up to 500 people, and at night, the tree lights reflecting in the surrounding lakes imbue the gardens with romance.
The largest of the four homes on the property is Casa Lago, with fivebedrooms. A stand-out feature is the master bedroom with a wall-sized window overlooking a lake. There is also an ample salon and dining room for 10, and a beautiful library.
The cozy one-bedroom cottage covered in vines is called Casa Gloria, and has a slightly whimsical English charm, complete with a rocking chair, white wood floors and antiques.
Charming cottage “Casa Gloria” on the property. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
All four houses have shaded terraces with gorgeous views over the gardens, and of the mountains in the distance. In total, there are eleven rooms that sleep up to 22.
Ambling between the properties, through box hedge gardens and over bridges, it’s easy to envision film industry “writers rooms”, business execs breakfasting on the patio, or urban escapees lounging on the lawns and enjoying a candlelit soiree under the pink pepper and mezquite trees.
Even the 15-stall bathrooms in the garden are eye-catching and roomy.
“We invited Paloma Padilla and PedroPérezto design the restrooms for caballeros and damas. They’re some of the top fashionable Mexican designers right now, and we love to support emerging artists”, says Marigel Piquent, the director of sales who is on hand for any questions.
Even the restrooms at Agua Bendita are exquisitely designed. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
Grupo Mexico Real’s 45 year-old hotel, complete with bull-ring,Real de Minas de San Miguel de Allende,is still the largest and one of the most popular in the state. Along with the award-winning El Santuario, it’s centrally located in San Miguel.
Their most recent addition is this countryside retreat, Agua Bendita, found near natural hot springs, outside the town of Atotonilco. A three minute walk away, La Gruta offers thermal pools, a restaurant and an enticing tropical grottothat’s best visited early morning before the crowds.
“We grew up here!” says Castro. “It was a working ranch, and the whole area is not only renowned for its healing thermal spring waters, but also for the supposed health benefits of the quartz in the ground. It sounds a little crazy, but my mother genuinely believes people get healthier here, and now we’ve opened the hotel, we joke that our staff seem to be getting younger by the week! Atotonilco has a special place in Mexican history also; it was here Hidalgo gathered his men, and launched the war for independence.”
The beautiful master bedroom overlooking the lake in Casa del Lago. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
A short stroll down the cobbled road takes you to Atononilco’s church, which appears more like a medieval castle. Visitors flock to see its frescoes, as well as to enjoy a stroll through the markets and catch “the best family-run quesadilla stand in San Miguel”, according to acclaimed local chef, Jorge Avendaño.
“We’ve been popular with Mexicans from the big cities all over the country for decades,” continues Castro. “And we’ve adapted and evolved the features, design and amenities over the years, keeping up with the times, and particularly the influx of new visitors from around the world.”
“We realize that people aren’t only coming here for tourism, but for business, retreats and culture. And many people are relocating here from different countries. There’s a lot of younger families and entrepreneurs, who are looking for a sustainable way of life. We created Agua Bendita with the discerning foreigner in mind. It’s like a template for how to live an abundant, healthy and wealthy life here in Mexico!”
Casa del Lago, one of four houses on the property, has 5 bedrooms and a serene view. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
Right next door, you can visit another part of their former family ranchito, Tierra y Amor. A feast for the senses, it’s replete with art installations, private party rooms, cabins, a working flower, fruit and lavender farm, a honey bee sanctuary and the Museo de Miel (honey museum).
“My parents were committed to preserving the beauty of the natural world, and learning how to live happily within it. I think Agua Bendita speaks to that; it’s an upscale version of Tierra y Amor,” Castro tells me.
“It’s definitely a unique spot for weddings, photo shoots, yoga retreats, or a small arts festival. It would be my first choice out of all our hotels for a family reunion that lasts for days, Mexican style!” she laughs. “You will feel secluded and private in this beautiful natural sanctuary, but you’re still close to the city with all its markets, restaurants and culture.”
Agua Bendita makes a romantic setting for a wedding in San Miguel de Allende. (Courtesy/Agua Bendita)
Agua Bendita may not be a “hidden” gem for long, but it will certainly feel like you’ve found the city’s best kept secret.
Perhaps it’s all that quartz and thermal water under our feet?
It was the first time AMLO has met with the autonomous elections oversight body's councilors since taking office in 2018. (Presidencia)
A day after hosting Mexico’s electoral councilors at the National Palace, President López Obrador declared Wednesday that a “new stage” has begun in the federal government’s relationship with the National Electoral Institute (INE).
López Obrador met on Tuesday with all 11 INE councilors, including President Guadalupe Taddei Zavala, who succeeded Lorenzo Córdova in April.
After the meeting, INE President Guadalupe Taddei told reporters that there was respect between the autonomous body and President Lopez Obrador because “it’s a reality that has to happen.” (Galo Cañas Rodrígez/Cuartoscuro)
It was the first time that the president has met with the country’s top electoral officials since taking office in late 2018.
López Obrador was a fierce critic of the INE while it was under Córdova’s leadership, and his government recently approved an electoral reform package that slashed the institute’s funding and diminished its capacity to sanction politicians who violate electoral laws.
Government critics have argued that the reform package – the first part of which was invalidated by the Supreme Court (SCJN) last month and the second part of which was suspended in March — significantly weakens the INE, Mexico’s elections oversight body.
With Taddei rather than Córdova now at the helm, the president’s view of the INE has significantly softened.
AMLO frequently railed publicly against the INE and former INE president Lorenzo Córdova, whose term ended in April, accusing him and the INE’s councilors of being corrupt and elitist. (Graciela López Herrera/Cuartoscuro
At his morning news conference on Wednesday, López Obrador said that he had a “very good” conversation with the INE councilors and that the shared goal of the institute and the government is to “make democracy a reality.”
He said on Tuesday that that he believed there were “excellent conditions” to start a “new stage” in the government’s relationship with the INE, and asserted Wednesday that that stage had begun.
“Yesterday I told the INE people that I’m not going to be telling them what to do — they’re independent, they’re autonomous,” López Obrador said.
“They should just act democratically and not become employees of oligarchs like the INE was before,” he said.
On social media on Tuesday, López Obrador wrote that “democracy must be established in Mexico forever.”
“Never again kratos (power) without demos (people),” he added.
AMLO appears to have softened his rhetoric about the INE since Guadalupe Taddei became its president in April. On Wednesday, he said that the body were no longer made up of “oligarchs.” (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)
Interior Minister Adán Augusto López Hernández, who also attended the talks, said on Twitter that “a new chapter in the country’s democratic life is being written” thanks to the government’s engagement with the INE councilors.
“We’re advancing together in the task of positioning the people at the center of national public life,” he added.
Taddei — who has family links to the federal government and the ruling Morena party — told reporters that the meeting with López Obrador was “highly productive.”
“Respect is requested, respect is given; the respect is from both parties,” the INE president said.
Taddei said a range of issues were discussed at the meeting, including the INE’s budget and its autonomy.
“The budget is being drawn up based on the Austerity Law and following all the budgetary rules that exist,” she said before asserting that the funding will be “exactly what the institute needs.”
The INE released a statement after the meeting in which the councilors “confirmed their commitment to strengthen dialogue and collaboration” with the federal government in the lead-up to the June 2, 2024, national elections. (Mario Jasso/Cuartoscuro)
López Obrador doesn’t need to promise to respect the INE’s autonomy because “it’s a reality that has to happen,” Taddei added.
“That’s an issue that the [INE] complaints commission has to analyze,” she said.
Taddei also said that the INE councilors will attend future meetings with other federal government officials that work in areas such as security and welfare.
Meetings with the government are needed, she said, to establish what can and can’t be done within the electoral landscape that the government sought to modify through its so-called Plan B reform package, only to have the SCJN strike down or suspend its constituent parts.
The electoral councilors’ meeting with López Obrador came less than a year before Mexicans will go to the polls to elect thousands of political representatives across Mexico, including a new president, governors of nine states and federal deputies and senators.
National Action Party Deputy Hector Saúl Tellez criticized the meeting, saying it appeared as if the INE were going to the National Palace to “pay homage” to López Obrador. (Hector Saúl Tellez/Twitter)
In a statement, the INE said that its councilors told López Obrador that over 98 million Mexicans will be eligible to vote next year.
The INE also said that the councilors “confirmed their commitment to strengthen dialogue and collaboration” with the federal government in the lead-up to the June 2, 2024, elections and the official electoral period, which begins in September.
“The federal government requires a strong and solid election organizing body, and the institute, in turn, requires a government that attends to budgetary, security and other issues within its power,” Taddei said at the meeting, according to the statement.
Andrés López Muñoz, a political analyst, asserted that López Obrador’s aim in meeting with the INE councilors is to “bend” them to his will.
“He already has the president of the INE; she’s from his team. Therefore he needs to bend the other councilors [so] that the INE is subordinate to the presidency,” he said.
“… He wants to have complete control over the electoral process,” López added.
Héctor Saúl Téllez Hernández, a National Action Party deputy, said before Tuesday’s meeting that it appeared that the INE councilors were going to “pay homage” to the president at the National Palace.
“We would have liked the meeting to be public, held in a neutral place, and for the president to provide guarantees of respect for democracy in our country,” he said.
