Aryna Sabalenka comfortably overcame Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the tournament. (WTA)
Eight of the best women’s tennis players in the world — including 19-year-old U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff of the United States — have gathered in Cancún this week to compete in the Women’s Tennis Association’s year-end tournament.
The WTA Finals, an eight-day event that runs through Sunday, Nov. 5, is offering an enormous US $9 million prize pool, 80% more than last year’s US $5 million – with an undefeated streak by a player being worth up to US $3 million.
The tournament brings together all of the top rated players in womans’ tennis. (WTA/Instagram)
The format for singles players is round-robin with two groups of four. Each player will have three matches, with the top two from each group advancing to the Saturday semifinals. The singles final is set for Sunday.
All of the action, including doubles, will take place in a 4,300-seat temporary, outdoor stadium on the grounds of the Paradisus Cancún hotel. This year marks the 52nd edition of the singles event and the 47th for doubles.
It is the second time in four years the tournament has been held in Mexico, following Guadalajara in 2021 and Fort Worth, Texas, last year.
This year, there will be a new winner, since none of the eight qualified players has won this tournament before.
Maria Sakkari of Greece won the top prize on her last visit to Mexico at the Akron Guadalajara Open. (WTA)
Last year’s champion was No. 6 seed Caroline Garcia, who went 2-1 in her round-robin matches and beat No. 7 seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the final. But this year the 30-year-old Frenchwoman is ranked No. 20, and has failed to qualify for the finals.
The field includes Australian Open champion Sabalenka, 25, of Belarus, currently ranked No. 1 in the world.
The others are No. 2 Iga Świątek, 22, of Poland (French Open champ), No. 3 Gauff (U.S. Open champ), No. 4 Elena Rybakina, 24, of Kazakhstan, No. 5 Jessica Pegula, 29, of the United States, No. 6 Markéta Vondroušová, 24, of the Czech Republic (Wimbledon champ), No. 7 Ons Jabeur, 29, of Tunisia and No. 9 Maria Sakkari, 28, of Greece.
Czech star Karolina Muchova, 27, currently No. 8 in the world, was the eighth qualifier, but she withdrew because of a wrist injury, allowing room for Sakkari. In September, Sakkari won the Akron Guadalajara Open for her first WTA tournament title in four years.
In the round-robin singles matches so far, Sabalenka defeated Sakkari 6-0, 6-1; Swiatek defeated Vondrousova 7-6 (7-3), 6-0; Gauff defeated Jabeur 6-0, 6-1; and Pegula defeated Rybakina 7-5, 6-2.
Strong performance by Mexico's agricultural sector helped ensure good growth in Q3, according to official statistics. (Juan Pablo Zamora/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico’s economy beat expectations in the third quarter, growing 0.9% compared to the previous three-month period and 3.3% in annual terms, according to preliminary data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Tuesday.
It was the eighth consecutive quarter that GDP increased, the longest winning streak since a nine-quarter run of growth between 2013 and 2015.
The secondary sector, including manufacturing and construction, grew 1.4% compared to Q2, and 4.5% annually. (Audi México)
The quarter-over-quarter growth in the July-September period was slightly above the 0.8% forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg and Reuters, while the year-over-year performance was also 0.1 percentage points higher than expected.
INEGI also reported that growth in the first nine months of the year was 3.5% compared to the same period of 2022.
Primary sector led growth in Q3
The primary sector, including agriculture and fishing, grew 3.2% compared to the April-June quarter and 5.3% in annual terms.
The secondary sector, which includes the construction industry, saw 1.4% growth over Q2. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
The GDP of the secondary sector, including manufacturing and construction, expanded 1.4% on a quarter-over-quarter basis and 4.5% compared to the July-September period of 2022.
The tertiary, or services sector, recorded the weakest growth, growing 0.6% compared to Q2 and 2.5% in annual terms.
The secondary sector was the best performer in the first nine months of the year, growing 4%. Tertiary sector GDP accelerated 3.3% compared to the first nine months of 2022, while primary sector growth was 3.2%.
What are analysts saying about the Mexican economy?
“The Mexican economy has been very resilient because the United States has also been very resilient and both economies are interconnected,” said Ernesto Revilla, chief ecnomist for Latin America at Citigroup.
The United States recorded economic growth of 4.9% in the third quarter, according to preliminary date from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Revilla said that the strong third quarter results were “also due to domestic demand, because we are seeing a very strong labor market in Mexico, strong remittances and a probable behavior change on the part of the consumer.”
Fitch Ratings’ Carlos Morales said the growth shows the increased demand caused by nearshoring. (Carlos Morales/Linkedin)
Carlos Morales, director of Latin America Sovereigns at Fitch Ratings, said that the Q3 results “continue to signal the increasing demand for Mexican manufacturing production due to nearshoring effects.”
Jason Tuvey, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, noted that strong Q3 growth in the primary and secondary sectors more than offset lower growth in the tertiary sector.
He said that a slowdown in Mexico “is on the cards” as monetary policy takes a greater toll and weaker growth in the U.S. weighs on the Mexican export sector.
The Bank of Mexico’s key interest rate is currently set at a record high of 11.25%.
The government’s view
The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) said in a statement on Monday that the Mexican economy continued on a “path of sustained growth” in the third quarter of the year “thanks to the strength of employment, the increase in real salaries and the constant increase in internal demand.”
The Mexican government has said that the economy could grow 3.5% this year. (APM Terminals)
Among other points, the SHCP noted that gross fixed capital formation – investment in construction projects and machinery and equipment – reached a record high in July, and that foreign direct investment hit an all-time high of over US $29 billion in the first half of the year.
Deputy Finance Minister Gabriel Yorio said last week that the Mexican economy could grow 3.5% in annual terms in 2023. Such growth would not only be “encouraging” but also above the projections of analysts, he said during an appearance in the Senate.
The newspaper El Financiero reported that the level of consumer spending will be a “determining factor” in the performance of the Mexican economy in the final quarter of the year.
The “Buen Fin” shopping event – the Mexican equivalent of Black Friday – and Christmas shopping in December typically lead to an increase in consumer spending in the final months of the year. The “Buen Fin” event will run for a four-day period starting Nov. 17 and concluding Nov. 20.
Mexico’s Buen Fin sales event is still to come in the next quarter. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
Public investment in large infrastructure projects has helped spur economic growth, and spending will only increase in 2024.
But Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Mexican bank Banco Base, recently warned that the value of construction sector production could “plummet” in 2025 due to a lack of government resources for large infrastructure projects.
That eventuality could weigh on growth, although it could be offset by an increase in private investment, including from foreign companies seeking to nearshore to Mexico.
Mexico City is home to dozens of haunted sites, including the Posada del Sol Hotel, seen here. (Rolloid.net)
Mexico City has no shortage of haunted spots.
While Leigh Thelmadatter has previously provided us with a great list of some of Mexico City’s most famous haunted houses – including “La casa negra”, “La Moira” and “La casa de las brujas” –here are three more sites for intrepid ghost hunters to explore during this spooky season.
La Casa de Tía Toña, hidden deep inside Chapultepec forest, is said to be the site of the murders of several children. (Amino)
La casa de Tía Toña
Hidden deep in Chapultepec Forest section 3, lies “La casa de Tía Toña” (Aunt Toña’s house). Just who exactly Aunt Toña was is unclear, but local legend says she was a woman of great wealth.
As the story goes, Toña lived alone in this enormous forest mansion and adopted a number of orphaned children for company. For several years, these children stole precious jewels and money from the house, driving Toña insane.
One day, she had enough, and beat the orphans to death, before throwing their bodies in a ditch behind the house. Some say that at night, visitors to the house can hear the screams of the children and the sound of Toña’s voice, as she scolds them for their misdeeds.
Callejón del Aguacate
Callejón del Aguacate, where the soldier is said to have killed a child before taking his own life. (Shutterstock)
As one of Mexico City’s oldest neighborhoods, it’s natural that Coyoacán has its share of ghost stories.
Rumor has it that shortly after the end of the Mexican Revolution, a decorated soldier was taking a walk through the leafy suburb to clear his head of everything that he had witnessed while at war.
On his walk, he encountered a young boy who was enthralled by the soldier’s medals. Every time the soldier walked down the street, the child would beg the soldier to play with him. One night, the soldier lost his patience (and his sanity) and killed the boy. Wracked by guilt, the soldier then hanged himself from the avocado tree that gave the alleyway its name.
Today, the street is a popular square, lined with cafés – although some nights, residents have reported hearing the boy asking passers-by to play with him.
Hotel Posada del Sol
The terrifying altar inside room 103. (Rolloid.net)
This hotel in the once-grand Doctoresneighborhood has played host to not one, but two tragedies.
While the hotel’s architect and proprietor Fernando Saldaña is said to have hanged himself in the courtyard of the hotel in the 1940s, it is what happened in Room 103 that is the most interesting.
Inside the Room is an altar, complete with sweets, toys, and a photo of a girl who was found dead inside the hotel. Legend has it that her spirit was trapped inside the hotel, and her ghost has never been able to leave the grounds.
Ghost hunters at the site today beware – it is said that Saldaña still patrols the halls, to guard his hotel against those who would do it harm.
Blonde hair is delicate, so freshen up with a dry shampoo or just warm water and a little conditioner to get the sweat out of it. (Canva)
Wondering how to keep up your blonde hair in Mexico, in a hot climate where there’s continual sunshine and swimming!? We found some of the top stylists in Mexico who shared their tips and advice on what to look for in a stylist and how to optimize the radiance, shine, health and color of your blonde hair, in between trips to the salon.
Can I really get good blonde highlights in Mexico?
The struggle is real! Over the years I’ve spent living in Mexico, I’ve encountered many blondes – both foreign residents or visitors – who insist on getting their hair done ‘back home’. The good news is, apparently that’s changed! Struggle no more.
With all those gorgeous blondes from all over the world now flocking to Mexico, I knew there had to be stylists out there maintaining many-shades-of-blonde hair. Three hairstylists working in CDMX, San Miguel de Allende and Merida weighed in on the importance of a skilled colorist, investing in a few excellent products, optimum maintenance and the absolute necessity of owning a hat.
So let’s get down to blonding business!
Meet three stylists for blondes in Mexico:
Ronit Sabban, aka ‘the blonde whisperer’, runs an independent studio in Polanco, CDMX.
This Washington DC transplant trained in Maryland, taught hairstyling in partnership with RUSK and continues to attend conferences to brush up on current techniques and trends. She’s been in the business of blonding for 30 years, and has clients from the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Europe. “I love color and blondes are my niche”, Ronit tells MND. According to one of her clients, Dr Jesse Schwartz, a dermatologist in Mexico City, she’s “the best hair colorist ever! She uses the highest quality products and is a total treat to spend time with.” She even recommends Ronit to her patients.
Tal Fisher, a stylist from Montreal, runs a home salon in San Miguel de Allende.
Tal has a delightful coming-to-hair story. ”I watched my mother and brother cut hair in the living room and drink tea with their clients afterwards. It’s the only thing I know how to do well”. He studied with Vidal Sassoon in London, the Harvard of hair schools, ‘to learn from the best’. After a career boasting invitations to New York fashion week by the mega brand, Moroccanoil (they sponsor the Oscars and Eurovision) and being the only Canadian to win the Wella ‘TrendVision Award’, he moved to San Miguel, feeling “tired of the rat race and want[ing] a good quality of life”. Every 3 months, he takes off to Merida for a few weeks, where he works at a salon collective, Naty Does Hair. Elle Daily, a Bay Area creative living in Mexico says. “He’s a real artist. My platinum changes tones. I might want punk or I might want pretty, so I trust Tal.”
You have to use the best products, and never skimp! (Canva)
Lawrence Demirjian, moved from the Bay Area and has a home studio in San Miguel de Allende.
With a Vidal Sassoon training in Chicago and 50 years in the business, he also apprenticed with master colorist Leslie Blancard in New York, and perfected his talents at the L’Oreal school in London. He arrived in San Miguel de Allende 18 years ago from the Bay Area and has gained a loyal local following. Susan Stopford, an English woman living in San Miguel has found her favorite hair stylist in Lawrence. “Being new in town, looking for a hairdresser was a game of chance. Lawrence was highly recommended, and rightly so. He gets my highlights just perfect. I need look nowhere else.”
How do I find the right stylist and keep my blonde hair pitch-perfect?
“Check the credentials. Sassoon, L’Oreal etc. Coloring is a skill. Many Mexican hairdressers simply don’t do blonde hair, what with all that fabulous dark hair around. I’ll encourage any woman to bring along pictures, ideas, and make sure she feels free to talk as much as she likes. Women haven’t been taken seriously for so long. I’m a people person and I love making people happy and beautiful.” Demirjian
“Check out their background. A blonde colorist should have years of experience, and preferably should have training from Europe and the US. What bleach and foils do they use? It’s important the stylist doesn’t bleach over already processed hair” Sabban.
“Take the time to find the right stylist for you. I win some, I lose some! I learned the intimate art of hairstyling from my mother. Women have to really trust you. My salon in Montreal was called ‘Espace Carte Blanche’ because I don’t like to ‘tell,’ but help formulate a client’s vision for their hair out of a ‘blank canvas’” Fisher
What are some of the best products for my blonde hair?
“Not all bleaches are created equally! I use Goldwell, a German brand, that has conditioners built into the product. And don’t let a colorist bleach over already colored hair, that’s called overprocessing and will strip hair. After doing a beautiful highlight service, a clear glaze on top will seal in the color and give it an extra kick of shine. Check your stylist can provide this.” Sabban
“Not all bleaches are created equally! (Canva)
“Invest in just a few excellent products that condition and hydrate; no need to fill your cupboards. Stay away from most supermarket products. I use Olaplex No. 6 which improves texture, reverses damage and reduces frizz. Japanese brand Mucota is expensive but even more amazing in its ability to hydrate and protect.” Sabban
“Use a purifying shampoo. I always use one before I work with a client’s color. Maintain this practice at home, at least once a week, to clean out the dust and the elements, and calcium and minerals in water. I use Legiadria’s Shampoo Ultra Purple.” Fisher
“Use a purple or blue shampoo to maintain color, and to neutralize any brassiness. Blondes usually like to be ashy or beigy, and this will maintain the original tone. Again, I recommend Legiadria’s Shampoo Ultra Purple.” Fisher
“Skip the everyday shampoo. Blonde hair is delicate, so freshen up with a dry shampoo or just warm water and a little conditioner to get the sweat out of it. I recommend Moroccanoil Mexico products.” Fisher
“You have to use the best products, and never skimp! I import my favorite shampoo, conditioners and treatments, as I believe it’s the best for blondes. I use Framesi, an Italian brand.” Demirjian
“Use a hair mask once or twice a week. The range I use and recommend is Davines, The Renaissance Circle, The Wake-Up Circle and The Restless Circle.” Fisher
“Use hair oils – I like Latinoil, Chia Oil hair treatment. And a spray protectant for when you’re in the sun.” Demirjian
“Invest in a leave-on product. After wet, apply Olaplex No.3, which will keep working til dry, strengthen your hair and help with the longevity of your color.” Sabban
Top tips for at-home highlights maintenance
“WEAR A HAT! San Miguel de Allende, for instance, is 6,200 ft above sea level. Protect the condition and color of your hair, by either staying out of the sun, or wearing a hat! At the beach and pool, wear a good cap if you can, and update it every 4 or 5 months.” Demirjian
“Come back for a ‘dusting’! A regular tiny trim of the ends, and a root touch up, every 6 weeks, keeps it healthier, shinier and prevents breakage, even if you are growing the hair longer. You should feel like a star and you shouldn’t have to fight with it!” Sabban
“Use a little bit of conditioner. You don’t need a whole load of conditioner in your hair. Just use a little bit and then comb it through, leave, or rinse out after 5 minutes.” Demirjian
“Don’t overuse hair dryers or curling irons. Don’t use hot water. And don’t change your hair color too often or too drastically. And yes, you can bring and use a hair dryer in Mexico, when traveling from the US, you don’t need an adaptor likeother countries – check before travel. Demirjian
“Do your at-home care! Once a week, do treatments. I love Amika products, which are sulfate free, not tested on animals and smell good. One of the single most important things that blondes can do is to invest in a microfiber towel and then air-dry as much as possible once initial moisture is removed.” Sabban
“Use a water softener. The water in Mexico is generally hard. The cheaper electronic devices and shower heads don’t really work. You need a proper system, like reverse osmosis. But if you need to cheat, a little bit of salt in the water will bleach out the minerals. And if you’re traveling, use a shower filter, to keep your blonde hair lively and not washed out.” Fisher
“If your hair has shades of green, crush two aspirins and add it to your shampoo. Regular aspirin contains salicylic acid, the chemical typically used in face washes. When used on the hair, it counteracts the alkalinity of the chlorine to neutralize the green quickly and easily.” MND handy tip, sourced from top Parisian stylist Christophe Robin,
Good news! Yes, you can maintain your blonde in Mexico!
Whether you’re a resident or visitor in Mexico, after a couple of pandemic years of low-maintenance touch ups, full-throttle healthy, vibrant, silky blonde hair is fast becoming a signature for all the eternal sunshine-y seasons here. Now there’s more demand, there are finally some excellent stylists out there specializing in coloring and maintaining your blonde beauty.
Take away these top tips from the top blondists, get to one of their salons if you’re nearby, and relax – knowing you don’t have to rush ‘home’ to the hairdresser but that Mexico now (almost) prefers blondes!
Henrietta Weekes is a writer, editor, actor and narrator. She divides her time between San Miguel de Allende, New York and Oxford, UK.
At least 5,000 migrants set out from Tapachula at 6 a.m. on Monday. (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
A caravan of some 5,000 migrants left the southern city of Tapachula, Chiapas, on Monday, beginning a journey through Mexico that they hope will take them all the way to the northern border and into the United States.
Migrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba made up the bulk of the large group, according to the newspaper La Jornada. They intend to travel to the northern border and seek asylum in the United States, El Universal reported.
A group of Hondurans march northward. The journey is particularly dangerous for migrants. (Gwendolina Duval/X)
The migrants set off from a park in Tapachula at about 6 a.m. and planned to walk about 15 kilometers to the town of Álvaro Obregón. On Tuesday, they hope to get to Huehuetán, the administrative center of the municipality of the same name.
The Mexico-United States border at Matamoros, Tamaulipas, is over 1,600 kilometers from Huehuetán, while Tijuana, Baja California is almost 4,000 kilometers away.
Migrants typically walk, hitch rides on trucks and jump aboard freight trains to achieve their goal of getting to Mexican border cities.
The journey is a dangerous one. Migrants are frequently preyed upon by criminal groups, whose members have been known to forcibly recruit men and rape women. Traveling in a large caravan might make the trip safer, but such groups typically break up as they move through the country.
The caravan, made up of migrants from across Central and Latin America, hopes to reach the United States. (Damián Sánchez/Cuartoscuro)
Countless migrants have been detected by authorities traveling in hot and cramped conditions inside tractor-trailers, while many have been killed in highway accidents. Other migrants have died or sustained serious injuries after falling from freight trains collectively known as La Bestía (the Beast).
Irineo Mújica of the immigration rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders) said that the migrants who departed Tapachula on Monday morning sent a letter to National Migration Institute (INM) director Francisco Garduño to ask for permits that would allow them to travel legally through Mexico to the border. But they didn’t get a response, Mújica said.
He said that the migrants decided to begin their northward journey as there are no jobs in Tapachula and getting documents from the INM and the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) can take as long as a year.
A lot of migrants are forced to live on the streets in Tapachula, Mújica said, explaining that rents and food are both expensive.
A group of migrants gathered in Tapachula to express solidarity with victims of Hurricane Otis in Guerrero on Sunday. (DAMIÁN SÁNCHEZ/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Carlos Eduardo Martínez, a Honduran, told La Jornada he decided to join the migrant caravan because he couldn’t find a job in Tapachula and his appointment with COMAR was three months away.
“I couldn’t keep waiting without money, sleeping on the street, it’s not life,” he said.
“We’re better off making our way up [north] and hoping that the government helps, doesn’t stop us,” Martínez said.
The caravan passed through a migration checkpoint manned by National Guard troops in the community of Viva México “without any restriction,” Milenio reported.
President López Obrador held a summit earlier this month to discuss migration issues with a number of regional partners.(SRE/X)
José Alberto María said he decided to leave Guatemala because he was a victim of extortion while working as an assistant on public buses. He said he was forced to pay around 500 quetzales (about US $64) per week to members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, leaving him with just 200 or 300 quetzales to cover the expenses of his five-person family.
El Universal reported that there are a large number of families, including babies and young children, among the members of the caravan, which was accompanied by police cars and ambulances.
Huge numbers of migrants have traveled through Mexico to the United States over the past year as factors such as crime, poverty and political problems push people out of multiple Central American, South American and Caribbean countries.
President López Obrador hosted a regional migration summit in Chiapas on Oct. 22, after which the governments of 10 countries agreed to draw up “an action plan for development … to attend to the structural causes of irregular migration in the region.”
Calaveritas literarias are short and humorous rhyming poems that describe imaginary situations about a people encountering death. (Canva)
Did you know that in Mexico we write comic poems about death and then we share them with our friends and family for a good laugh?
Yeah, you’re probably thinking there’s something wrong with our sense of humor, but I promise you that these poems are often a loving and cute way of remembering someone who has passed away – except, of course, if you address them to someone in politics!
The calaveritas literarias, which translates to “literary skulls,” are one of the most beloved parts of Day of the Dead. But unlike other customs around Day of the Dead – like the altars for the dead or La Catrina herself– calaveritas literarias are virtually unknown to foreigners.
In today’s article, we’ll explore more about this cherished and humorous tradition and teach you how to write your own calaverita literaria (which will come in handy if you have kids who attend school in Mexico).
What is a calaverita literaria?
Calaveritas literarias are short and humorous rhyming poems that describe imaginary situations about a people encountering death. The subject could be a friend, a family member, or someone in politics, and they may be alive or dead.
If the character is a friend or a loved one, the poem is usually humorous and non-offensive, drawing from their personalities to create a lighthearted and amusing story of their passing.
But if the character is a famous person or a politician, the poem is often used to criticize or satirize them through mockery or irony.
Where does the tradition come from?
According to various sources, the oldest Day of the Dead poem in Mexico was authored by Fray Joaquín Bolaños. The lengthy text is titled “The Portentous Life of Death,” and talks about the bitterness of death in a humorous and entertaining way.
Later, other writers during the Viceroyalty used the Day of the Dead poems to mock the long epitaphs provided to ruling nobles, as an early form of social criticism and mockery. These texts were promptly prohibited, but restored once Mexico gained independence.
In 1913, he published his sketch alongside a Day of the Dead poem dedicated to wealthy Mexican women with European aspirations. In it, Posada made fun of their lifestyle and remarked that despite their supposed airs and graces, death would eventually come for them anyway.
U.S. Congress Librarycalav
The title and first verse of the poem went something like this:
“Those who today are powdered [with makeup] ‘garbanceras,’ will end up as deformed skulls.
“There are beautiful corseted and high-heeled garbanceras,
But they will turn into skulls,
just another one in the bunch.”
Today, these poems are used in Mexican newspapers to mock politicians on Day of the Dead. We are taught to write them at school, where kids are encouraged to read theirs to the class.
What is the structure of a calaverita literaria?
Octasyllabic verses. Usually, these poems are structured as an eight-syllable verse. The stanzas can be four lines or ten lines.
Rhyming verse: The verses can be of two types: A, B, B, A (the last words of the first and last verse sound the same or very similar, as well as those of the two in the middle) and A, B, A, B (which the first and third verses rhyme, as do the second and fourth).
Mention of death: The objective of a calaverita literaria is to present an imaginary situation where the subject encounters death.
According to Mexican writer and poet Óscar de Pablo, death can be referred to as a “calaca [skeleton], grim reaper, bony, skull, catrina or bald, but it always has to be there and always has to take the person to whom the verse is dedicated.”
Personality traits: You must include those character attributes that defined the person subject of the poem.
Humor: They must remind the reader of the inevitable nature of death with humor, love, sweetness, and affection – or with mockery and irony.
Written in the form of an epitaph: An epitaph is a phrase written in memory of a person who has passed away as an inscription on a tombstone.
Surprising ending: You need to consider words that rhyme with defining traits of the subject of the poem and lead the reader to a fantastic ending.
It is important to remember that while Day of the Dead poems may contain irony and mockery, they should not be disrespectful or intended as an offense to the recipient of the poem.
Calaveritas literarias are meant to bring joy and laughter to readers.
Some examples of calaveritas literarias
Every year, newspaper El País releases a collection of calaveritas literarias about Mexico’s major events of the year.
If you’ve written a Day of the Dead poem or verse and would like to share it with us, we encourage you to do so in the comment section.
Issac, Elías, Madahi and Ismael (clockwise from upper left) went missing from their home in Chihuahua on October 28. (FGE Chihuahua)
Four U.S.-born children have disappeared from a town in Chihuahua where they were living with their mother and are now possibly in the United States.
The siblings aged nine to 14 went missing in Lázaro Cárdenas, a town in the municipality of Meoqui, on Saturday, according to the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office (FGE).
All four — three boys and a girl — were born in South Dakota, according to missing person posters published on the FGE Facebook page. Those posters indicated that the youngest child is nine-year-old Elías Gómez Herrera Luis Mendoza and that the three others — Madahi, Ismael and Issac — are 12-year-old triplets.
However, the FGE said in a statement on Monday that Madahi is 13, Ismael is 14, Issac is 12 and Elías is nine. The surname of all four is Gómez Herrera Luis Mendoza.
A message on the missing person posters for each of the four children says that they left their home together and haven’t been seen since. They lived in Lázaro Cárdenas with their mother, who reported their disappearance to the FGE.
“According to people close to one of the adolescents, they may have left of their own volition to return to the United States,” the Attorney General’s Office said.
The FGE said that is is presumed that they left home while their mother was out shopping for food. It said that it had established that the eldest sibling told a person close to him that they planned to go to Oklahoma, “where they are originally from and where their father lives.”
The FGE said it hadn’t ruled out the possibility that the siblings were “being helped by adults” to reach Oklahoma.
Meoqui is in central Chihuahua about 500 kilometers south of the border city of Ciudad Juárez.
The FGE said that it is collaborating with authorities in Mexico and the United States to locate the children.
El Tigre Archaeological Zone in southern Campeche features more than a dozen structures including pyramids, altars and plazas. (INAH)
A circular temple possibly dedicated to the Maya god Kukulcán has been discovered at the El Tigre archaeological site in Campeche, during archaeological rescue work accompanying the Maya Train project.
Speaking at President López Obrador’s Monday morning press conference, the head of the National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH), Diego Prieto Hernández, said that the find was of “great importance.”
The newly found temple appears to be dedicated to the Kukulcán, the Maya snake deity. (INAH)
“This building broadens our knowledge of the late occupation of El Tigre,” he explained. “Circular structures generally correspond to the early Postclassic period between A.D. 1000 and 1200, when the Maya zone had links with other regions of Mesoamerica, in particular with central Mexico, Oaxaca and the Gulf coast.”
These links allowed for religious iconography to spread between the two cultures, including the feathered serpent deity known in the Mexica (Aztec) world as Quetzalcóatl, which was likely adopted by the Mayas as Kukulcán.
A key historical source on the region is the “Paxbolón Maldonado Papers,” a document produced for the Chontal chief Paxbolón Maldonado in 1575-1576. It describes a settlement known as Itzamkanac that featured temples dedicated to the four main divinities of the Postclassic Maya, one of which was Kukulcán.
According to archaeologist Ernesto Vargas Pacheco, who is leading the current excavation, the discovery of a Kukulcán temple at El Tigre would suggest that El Tigre is the Itzamkanac described in the papers — a theory supported by the site’s cited location and other archaeological data.
INAH director Diego Prieto said the temple was a find of “great importance” that would broaden archaeologists’ understanding of the time period.
The newly discovered structure is a circular building with two levels, once crowned by a temple with a flat roof. It is similar to several others in the Yucatán peninsula, in sites such as Edzná, Becán, Uxmal and Chichen Itzá.
In the press conference, Prieto Hernández again praised the Archaeological Zone Improvement Program (Promeza) that accompanies development of the Maya Train, saying that it is allowing Mexico “to recover the glorious past and cultural present of the great Mesoamerican Maya nation.” The excavations in El Tigre are now 87% complete.
In addition, Prieto Hernández expressed solidarity with the regions of Guerrero devastated by Hurricane Otis, and announced that the Historical Museum of Acapulco would be temporarily turned into an operations center to help those affected.
As the number of dead and missing rises, Acapulco and the surrounding areas await restoration of essential services in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The official Hurricane Otis death toll stood at 45 on Monday morning, with an additional 47 people missing five days after the powerful Category 5 hurricane slammed into the Pacific coast at Acapulco, Guerrero.
Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado announced the figures at President López Obrador’s Monday morning press conference, saying that they came from the state Attorney General’s Office.
Search and rescue teams in Acapulco work to recover the bodies of victims. (Cuartoscuro)
“We have the regrettable deaths of 45 people and there are 47 people unaccounted for. This is the preliminary report we have so far,” she said.
The number of confirmed deaths is three fewer than the 48 announced by national Civil Protection authorities on Sunday. The National Civil Protection Coordination reported 43 deaths in Acapulco and five in the neighboring municipality of Coyuca de Benítez.
Guerrero Attorney General Sandra Luz Valdovinos Salmerón explained that the new figure refers to the number of bodies in state-run morgues. She said that three foreigners are among the dead.
A United States woman, a British woman and a Canadian man, all of whom lived in Acapulco, were killed, Valdovinos said.
Government brigades are searching for people reported missing in Acapulco and other affected communities. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/X)
She said that the body of the U.S. woman has been given to her family, adding that “we’re already working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hand over these two [other] bodies to their families.”
It appears inevitable that the death toll will rise significantly in the coming days as more bodies are recovered and officially counted.
Navy Minister Rafael Ojeda said Monday that Otis – which had maximum winds speeds of about 270 km/h when it made landfall – sank at least 29 boats off the Guerrero coast.
Acapulco Bay is full of damaged boats and debris following Hurricane Otis. (Cuartoscuro)
Reuters reported that “dozens of pieces of broken boats dotted the [Acapulco] bay on Sunday, with smashed yachts and dinghies piled up on the shore.”
Alejandro Cortéz told the news agency that he abandoned his yacht when he saw the speed of Hurricane Otis intensifying.
“We ran, we jumped down, and we left the ship all alone,” said the 66-year-old captain, who spoke of seven-meter-high waves.
“And that’s why I’m sitting here now. God gave me that decision,” Cortéz told as he pointed to the sky. He said that some of his fellow workers had shown up alive but others are still missing. “There are many people that still haven’t been found,” he said.
Some 17,000 military and National Guard personnel have been deployed to Acapulco and other affected areas of Guerrero, where they are assisting the cleanup efforts, patrolling the streets and distributing food, water and other humanitarian aid to residents.
NPR reported Friday that in different parts of Acapulco it “saw a large presence of Mexico’s military clearing roads of trees, power lines and mud as well as the country’s national power company attempting to repair downed lines.”
“But NPR did not see any aid in the form of food, water or medical care,” the report added.
Many Acapulco residents complained during the first days after the hurricane hit that they hadn’t received any assistance from authorities, and a large number resorted to looting supermarkets and stores.
In addition, motorists have been attacked and robbed, homes have been pillaged and humanitarian aid has been stolen, according to Reforma.
Residents have resorted to looting warehouses for essential items in some areas. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
The National Guard said in a statement on Friday that it was working with all three levels of government to “implement actions for the reestablishment of public order in the port of Acapulco and in other municipalities of Guerrero affected by the impact of Hurricane Otis.”
The military is now in control of gas stations in Acapulco, where theft was also reported.
Governor Salgado said Monday that 30 brigades are searching in Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez for people reported as missing. She said that 152 such people had been found and were now in contact with their families. Two Swedish nationals are among those who have been located, Salgado said.
The governor also said that cleanup work – which she described as a “titanic task” – is moving ahead quickly.
“The majority of avenues and the [Autopista del Sol] highway are now passable,” she said.
In Acapulco, Otis caused major damage to hotels, stores, restaurants, shopping centers, apartment buildings and houses, toppled electricity transmission towers, destroyed cars and boats and provoked widespread flooding. A United States-based research company estimated the damage at around US $15 billion. Salgado cited the same figure on Monday.
The Pie de la Cuesta freeway was severely damaged during the hurricane. (ROGELIO MORALES/CUARTOSCURO.CO)
Ojeda said Monday morning that there were no tourists left to be evacuated from Acapulco and nearby areas, but humanitarian flights out of the resort city operated by Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobus look set to continue in coming days. The airlines began transporting tourists to Mexico City on Friday, two days after the airport was closed in the wake of damage to the terminal building and control tower caused by Otis.
Deputy Transport Minister Rogelio Jiménez Pons told the El Financiero newspaper that airlines are planning for at least 40 humanitarian flights to evacuate between 3,000 and 5,000 people.
Basic services such as electricity and water supply have not yet been fully reestablished in Acapulco, but power is expected to be back on by Tuesday. The Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry estimates that it will take at least five years to fully rebuild the city.
The president shared a video to his social media on Sunday discussing the latest in Hurricane Otis aftermath. (Lopezobrador.org.mx)
The federal government said Sunday that almost 274,000 homes in Guerrero had been damaged by Otis. That figure is about 20% higher than the total number of houses counted in Acapulco in 2020. Hundreds of hotels and apartment buildings also sustained damage.
In a video message on Sunday, López Obrador pledged that “we’re going to get Acapulco back on its feet, starting with its people.”
He repeated that message at his morning press conference on Monday.
“Yesterday, I flew over Acapulco and we visited the supply centers. We’re making a lot of progress, we’re going to get Acapulco and its people back on their feet. We’re working on that,” the president said.
Quintana Roo's beaches are sargassum-free and ready for vacationers seeking winter sun. (Elizabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)
Mara Lezama Espinosa, the governor of Quintana Roo, has announced that the seasonal arrival of sargassum – a brown seaweed that has amassed on the coasts of Quintana Roo and other parts of the Mexican Caribbean – has come to an end for this year.
During her press conference last Wednesday, Lezama recognized the efforts of all those who contributed to keeping the beaches clean in Quintana Roo, from the federal government to state employees and private companies.
The state employs dedicated cleaning teams to deal with the sargassum that washes up on the shores of Quintana Roo. (Somos Playa del Carmen/Facebook)
She said that Quintana Roo had installed 8,600 meters of barriers to contain sargassum and collected 22,128 tonnes of the seaweed this year. The state has also acquired 4 sweepers, a tractor and 14 amphibious collection belts.
Monitoring of sargassum levels first began in 2018, after the local government declared a state of emergency due to abnormally high levels of seaweed. Experts have linked the prevalence of sargassum to climate change.
While presenting a report from the National Strategy for Sargassum Care, Admiral Abraham Eloy Caballero, said “this ceremony shows how cooperation achieves results in favor of Quintana Roo and our nation,” adding that since 2019, the government, private entities, NGOs, environmentalists, and civil society have collaborated to address the issue.
The scale of the sargassum problem has meant that even the military is now involved in collection efforts. (Mara Lezama/X)
The Quintana Roo Sargassum Monitoring Network forecast in June that there would be low levels of sargassum on the state’s beaches over the summer. Currently, 85% of the beaches in Quintana Roo contain low levels of sargassum with the remaining 15% listed as sargassum-free.
