The ancient Indigenous tradition went for hundreds of years without celebration following the conquest, but has been revived. (Cuartoscuro)
From Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, the Purépecha (the Spanish word for p’urhépecha), a group of Indigenous people who live mostly in the northwestern region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, celebrate their new year to thank Mother Earth for her care and kindness throughout the year.
The celebration includes a ritual called the fire walk. Once the new fire is lit, the Purépecha leaders recall their history and offer a message based on their ancestors’ thoughts to give way to the “new time.”
Each year, the fire walk starts in a different community and rotates among twelve Purépecha villages to strengthen their friendship. This year, the ceremony will be held in the town of Erongarícuaro.
During the ceremony, the participants and Purépecha leaders ask Kurhiahueri (the main god of the pre-Hispanic Purépecha people who represented the Sun) for abundance in harvests, as well as divine permission to use fire to cook the food that the earth will provide them.
Although the new fire ceremony has cultural significance and is an essential part of the traditions of Michoacán, it was only revived forty years ago, after centuries of not being celebrated. During the Spanish conquest, the ritual was prohibited after conquistador Nuño de Guzmán killed the last Purépecha ruler Tangaxoan II, on February 14, 1530.
Today this festivity is seen to symbolize the unity and strengthening of the contemporary Purépecha people.
Onilikan's spirits are made in Mazatlán but can be found all over Mexico and also in some stores and bars in the U.S. (Bang Up Productions/Twitter)
There are mangoes aplenty in Mexico, and one small distillery in Mazatlán is putting the mango to good use, producing spirits and liqueurs.
Onilikan — which means “place of liquor” in Nahuatl — is making waves in the international spirits world with its craft liqueurs and spirits. Known as the only mango distillery in the world, they have won seven international awards for their products.
Onilikan was founded in 2011 by a group of five Canadian and Mexican families, but that’s not who owns it now: One of the founders had experience in the distilling industry in Canada, and another from Mexico was a scientist. Although they sourced their ingredients from Sinaloa, they were based in Canada. Their products were well-received and began winning awards — prior to the pandemic, the company distributed throughout Canada and the United States.
The owners eventually moved the company to Mazatlán to be closer to their source of mangoes but realized traveling between Canada and Mexico was too difficult and decided to sell.
In 2022, the company was purchased by a Mexican couple: Ana Paola and her husband, Manuel Castro. Ana had worked for the company since its inception and was already well-versed in the company’s operations and the distilling process.
“All the ingredients we use are natural and are sourced locally,” Ana says as she takes me through a tasting of their products. “We use no artificial flavoring or enhancements. That is one of the ways our products are unique.”
Until recently, the distilling process used a copper German pot still called an Aromat — the only one of its kind in Mexico. In August, they moved to a new location that couldn’t accommodate the Aromat still, so a shiny new copper-and-steel still sits prominently in the foyer ready to be installed.
Paola explains that “there are mango spirits produced by other companies, but they all use artificial flavoring for the mango taste. We use only the mango.”
Onilikan’s owners Ana Paola and Manuel Castro at the tasting bar. The couple bought the company from its previous owners last year. (Sheryl Losser)
The mangoes come from Paola and Castro’s groves and are picked in July and August when they are ripe and plentiful. They are then macerated in 100% blue agave and pressed to remove the pulp from the syrup.
“We use only 100% blue agave in our products,” Ana tells me. “We only have 10 or 12 agave plants right now, so we source the rest from local producers.”
Their other flavors include tangerine, coffee, tamarind and four spicy vodkas — tamarind and chile pepper, jalapeno, habanero, and chipotle. They also produce light and dark rums aged in oak barrels, and a Mexican gin made with an alcoholic base of blue agave, which is distilled three times to neutralize the agave’s flavor.
After the third distillation, they add botanicals of juniper, bay leaf, coriander and orange peel.
Ana opens a large barrel to show me tamarind macerating in alcohol. Grabbing a handful of it, she explains, “When the tamarind is ready, we will press out the alcohol for our tamarind base.” She pours me a sample of their Tamarind Picante vodka, which has a spicy taste.
They also sell a vanilla extract produced at the distillery. They infuse alcohol with vanilla beans in a large pot-bellied bottle sitting in a rack — where it will sit for months until it reaches the right flavor.
In all, Onilikan has 22 flavored spirits and liqueurs. Their two signature products are still the mango aguardiente (moonshine or firewater) and the mango liqueur, both of which have received bronze awards at the San Francisco International Spirits Competition. Their products have received a total of seven international awards, including at competitions in New York and Europe.
Paola and Castro continue to experiment with new flavors, but some don’t meet their high standards. They tried coconut, but Ana tells me, “The coconut oil would separate during the process and float to the top, leaving an oil film on your lips when you drank it.”
The writer’s Onilikan tasting selection, from left to right: Mango Spirits, Licor de Mango, Licor de Café, Tamarind Picante, and Licor de Blue Agave
“We also tried hibiscus, but after fermentation, it would darken to an unappealing color, so we decided not to produce that,” she says. “It took us a year of testing coffee beans from different parts of Mexico for our coffee liqueur.” They finally decided on beans from Chiapas.
She gives me a sip of the coffee liqueur. I comment on the very strong coffee flavor.
“Let me show you how we like to serve it,” she says as she goes to the refrigerator. “Try this. It’s the coffee liqueur with evaporated milk.” I could easily drink a whole glass of this!
She shows me a small booklet of cocktails they’ve compiled, which she says she’s in the process of updating. She gets a lot of ideas from her customers.
For those who like grapefruit juice, there’s the Mango Girl, made with grapefruit juice, mango liqueur and gin, garnished with mint leaves. Martini drinkers, try the Mango FireTini — mango spirits with dry vermouth and olives. Their Mazatlán Cocktailuses their mango liqueur with their blue agave liqueur and a twist of orange peel.
Paola and Castro are very proud of their Mexican heritage, and that pride is reflected throughout their shop. In addition to their vanilla extract, they sell other culinary products produced in Mexico: dried chiles and herbs, moles, salsas, chocolate and even handcrafted kitchen linens.
Even their mango-shaped logo carries their sense of pride. Divided into quadrants featuring the sun, a deer, a palm and, at the bottom, a fish in blue water, it represents Mazatlán. It’s based on an original work of art by a Wixárika (Huichol) artist named Rosendo who uses symbolism from his culture to represent the city.
Onilikan’s promotional material explains the logo: “The sun, the palm, the river and the fish represent the land, a sacred place in the Huichol culture. The deer represents a messenger god called Tamatz Cauyumanwho came to Earth to ensure bountiful harvests.”
Onilikan Licores is located at Avenida Insurgentes 23B in Alameda, by Gran Plaza. They offer free tours and tastings. They can be reached at 669-266-8165 or on their Facebook page. Their products can also be found outside Mazatlán as far away as Monterrey, Culiacán and San Francisco, California.
Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive and professional researcher. She spent 45 years in national politics in the United States. She moved to Mazatlán in 2021 and works part-time doing freelance research and writing.
President López Obrador takes a tour of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport on its inauguration on March 21, 2022.
When United States President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew into Mexico last month for the North American Leaders’ Summit, their official aircraft didn’t touch down at the Mexico City International Airport but rather at the 10-month old Felipe Ángeles International Airport AIFA), located north of the capital’s downtown.
Built by the army on an Air Force base in the México state municipality of Zumpango, AIFA is one of President López Obrador’s pet infrastructure projects, its construction taking place after AMLO canceled the previous federal government’s more grandiose airport following a legally questionable referendum held before he took office in late 2018.
This edition of “Mexico in Numbers” – see the most recent previous one here — provides a numeric rundown on the new airport in Q & A format, looking at a range of relevant figures ranging from its size to the latest passenger numbers.
How far is AIFA from central Mexico City?
By road, AIFA is 44.7 kilometers from Mexico City’s central square, the Zócalo, according to Google Maps.
Expect a journey of about one hour if traffic is flowing well, and two hours or more if roads are gridlocked.
A train link from the Buenavista station in central Mexico City is expected to allow travelers to reach the airport in about 40 minutes, but that project is still under construction.
The size of the Santa Lucía Air Force base on which AIFA was built is 2,331 hectares. The area not occupied by the airport houses air force and army facilities.
How long did it take to build?
AIFA opened on March 21, 2022 – 886 days after AMLO officially inaugurated its construction on October 17, 2019. That’s just over two years and five months, in case you hadn’t already done the math.
Federal Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco told a conference in Spain last month that the airport was built in “record time.”
How much did it cost?
The federal government said in a statement in April 2022 that the total construction cost was 74.53 billion pesos, or just under US $4 billion at the current exchange rate.
However, the newspaper El Universal reported in March last year that just over 104.5 billion pesos had already been spent on the airport, and that an additional 11.45 billion pesos had been allocated to the project for 2022, lifting the total cost to 115.98 billion pesos, or about US $6.2 billion.
How many passenger airlines use the airport?
The main Mexican airlines – Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobús – all operate flights to and from AIFA as do Venezuelan carrier Conviasa, the Dominican Republic’s Arajet and Panama’s Copa Airlines.
Mexico’s Magnicharters also uses AIFA, taking the total number of airlines with services to and from the new airport to seven.
How many runways does AIFA have?
The airport has three runways, but only two are used by commercial airlines. Its main runway is 45 meters wide and 4.5 kilometers long, making it the longest runway in Mexico.
In January, AIFA managed for the first time to make it to the bottom of Mexico’s list of busiest airports for domestic passengers. But when considering total passenger numbers in 2022, AIFA is still a tiny bubble in the middle of the graph.
How many passengers have used AIFA since it opened last March?
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport’s end-of-year report, AIFA had processed a total of 876,000 passengers by the end of 2022.
AIFA director Isidoro Pastor Román said recently that passenger No. 1 million would pass through the airport on the weekend of Jan. 14 and 15.
“We’re handling an average of 8,000 passengers per day. In the coming days, this weekend, we’ll reach one million passengers transported from March to the current date, and we expect to finish the first year of operations with just over 1.3 million passengers,” he said.
What is the airport’s annual passenger capacity?
According to the federal government, AIFA can currently handle 20 million passengers per year. The capacity could increase to as many as 80 million if planned extensions go ahead.
Nuevo León saw more than 47,500 new jobs, partly thanks to the boom in nearshoring. (Wikimedia Commons)
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla is considering opening an assembly plant near the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) north of Mexico City, according to President López Obrador’s communications chief.
Jesús Ramírez told the Reuters news agency on Monday that the company could set up a plant at an industrial park currently being developed about three kilometers from AIFA, located about 50 kilometers north of central Mexico City in México state.
He said the plant would serve as an export hub for Tesla, whose CEO is Elon Musk, the world’s second richest person.
The Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) opened in March of 2022. (Cuartoscuro)
“Tesla is looking at investing in that area to take advantage of AIFA,” Ramírez said, adding that a plant there could operate as a base for Tesla to export via air.
Reuters said the presidential spokesman offered no further details about the company’s plans. Ramírez’s comments to the news agency came after he made similar remarks to the newspaper El Heraldo de México.
“Tesla will invest … [near AIFA] in an assembly plant, to export directly by air,” he told the Mexico City-based paper.
Ramírez told El Heraldo that the company was looking at investing in the T-MexPark, a major industrial park under construction near the new airport, which opened in March 2022.
Another federal official told Reuters that Tesla representatives had visited the site, but didn’t disclose the company’s plans.
Last October, Musk visited Nuevo León, where he met with Governor Samuel García and other state officials, sparking speculation that Tesla would invest in the northern border state. The newspaper Milenio reported in December that Tesla would announce a vehicle plant in Nuevo León in January, but no such announcement was made.
It was unclear whether Tesla was interested in opening plants both near AIFA and in Nuevo León. Reuters said that the company didn’t respond to its request for comment.
Children as young as 10 have been treated for symptoms in Guanajuato city, Mexico City and Monterrey in recent weeks.(Shutterstock)
Primary school students in Guanajuato city are the latest children to fall ill after apparently participating in a dangerous social media “challenge” dubbed “the last one to fall asleep wins.”
Authorities in Guanajuato said that at least 15 students at the Profesora María de Jesús López school became sick Monday after consuming clonazepam, a prescription-only tranquilizer.
The incident came just days after health regulator Cofepris issued a warning about a “dangerous” TikTok “challenge” in which “controlled medicines that induce sleep” are consumed by minors who compete to stay awake in spite of the effects of the drugs.
La venta de clonazepam sin prescripción médica está prohibida.💊⛔️Si detectas puntos de venta donde se comercialice de manera ilegal, denuncia en📞 800 033 5050 y en https://t.co/7bSryqaOzV
The alert came after eight students at a Mexico City middle school and three at a middle school near Monterrey required medical treatment in January due to the consumption of tranquilizers. A similar case was reported at a middle school near Guadalajara last year.
Four of the 15 students who ingested clonazepam in Guanajuato were taken to hospital for treatment. The others were treated at the school by Red Cross, Civil Protection and fire department personnel. Those affected were aged 10 and 11, authorities said.
The Guanajuato municipal government said in a statement that “it’s presumed that the students ingested the medication as part of a challenge that has gone viral on social media.”
On Facebook, Mayor Alejandro Navarro expressed his concern about the incident.
“I ask parents and teachers to closely watch what your children and students are doing, … [including] their use of social media. … I also ask relevant authorities to do what is required to attend to this case and prevent these kinds of occurrences,” he wrote.
Cofepris said in its warning that the improper consumption of tranquilizers such as clonazepam can cause a range of side effects including drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, headache, blurry vision and breathing difficulties.
“If said tranquilizer is combined with certain medications, it can induce coma,” the regulator added.
Cofepris called on parents, guardians and teachers to speak to children about the “serious risks” of consuming controlled substances. It also urged children to “avoid disseminating and participating in challenges that place their lives at risk.”
“In addition, this regulatory agency urges [citizens] to denounce points of sale where clonazepam is sold without a medical prescription,” Cofepris said.
Manufacturing outperformed other sectors in annual performance.
The Mexican economy grew for a second consecutive year in 2022 after the COVID pandemic and associated restrictions caused GDP to fall sharply in 2020.
The national statistics agency INEGI reported Tuesday that GDP expanded 3% in annual, seasonally-adjusted terms last year, a figure just below the International Monetary Fund’s forecast of 3.1% growth.
The figure is based on preliminary growth data for the fourth quarter of 2022 and is thus subject to change when final data is published on Feb. 24.
The economic expansion in 2022 followed 5% growth in 2021 as GDP rebounded from an 8.5% contraction in 2020.
Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, said that the 3% growth recorded last year shows that the economy has fully recovered from the COVID-induced economic crisis.
Alfredo Coutiño, director for Latin America at Moody’s Analytics, said in a note that the Mexican economy “didn’t disappoint in 2022, since it performed better than expected.”
The central bank raised interest rates to record highs in 2022 to rein in high inflation.
The 3% growth occurred against an economic backdrop of persistently high inflation and record-high interest rates as the Bank of México tightened monetary policy in an attempt to put downward pressure on soaring prices.
Nearshoring – the relocation of companies to Mexico to be close to the United States market – benefited the economy in 2022, but growth could have been even higher if the phenomenon was taken advantage of more fully , according to Siller.
Deputy Finance Minister Gabriel Yorio said Monday that consumption and private investment benefited the economy in recent months, and predicted that higher wages and improved labor conditions will aid growth this year.
INEGI’s preliminary data for the fourth quarter of 2022 showed that GDP expanded 0.4% compared to Q3 and 3.6% compared to the final three-month period of 2021. The former figure indicates a slowdown, as quarter-over-quarter growth was 0.9% in Q3.
Nevertheless, GDP has now increased during five consecutive quarters.
The agriculture sector fueled the Q4 growth with a 2% quarter-over-quarter increase in economic activity and a 6.3% increase in annual terms. However, the manufacturing sector outperformed the agriculture and services sectors during the entire year, recording 3.2% annual growth. The agriculture and services sectors expanded 2.8% and 2.7%, respectively.
Agriculture led Q4 growth in 2022, according to INEGI data. (Gob MX)
In view of the latest data, the possibility that stagflation – high inflation, low growth and high unemployment – will afflict the economy has been “practically eliminated,” Janneth Quiroz, deputy director of economic analysis with the Monex financial group, said on Twitter.
A slowdown is predicted in 2023 amid challenging global economic conditions, but Mexico is not expected to go into recession.
The International Monetary Fund on Monday lifted its forecast for 2023 GDP growth in Mexico from 1.2% to 1.7%, while the World Bank is currently predicting a 0.9% expansion “as restrictive monetary conditions, stubbornly high inflation, and softer exports curtail activity.”
The federal government has a more optimistic outlook, predicting 3% growth in 2023.
Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) President Jesús Zambrano, left, at a party meeting in México state on Friday. Seated next to him is former Mexico City mayor and current senator Miguel Ángel Mancera, one of two politicians Zambrano said the PRD would put forward as pre-candidates for the 2024 presidential election. (Photos: Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar)
The leader of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) has declared that the leftist party has two “strong” contenders to represent the opposition coalition at the 2024 presidential election.
PRD president Jesús Zambrano told a press conference Sunday that former Mexico City mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera and ex-governor of Michoacán Silvano Aueroles are interested in representing the Va por México alliance, which announced in mid January that it would field a common candidate at next year’s election.
The coalition is made up of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), the once-omnipotent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the PRD, which President López Obrador represented at the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections.
Despite claims that the PRD has no suitable candidates, “we have two people,” Zambrano said, explaining that both Mancera, mayor of the nation’s capital from 2012–18 and currently the PRD’s leader in the federal Senate, and Aureoles, who completed his six-year governorship in late 2021, were preparing to participate in the process to find a Va por México candidate.
“Silvano Aureoles told me first, and yesterday at the … [PRD meeting in México state] … Senator Miguel Ángel Mancera declared his intention to start mobilizing to seek the candidacy. They’re both strong candidates,” he said.
Zambrano made it clear that the PRD didn’t currently intend to contest the presidential election on its own, despite his anger over an agreement between the PAN and the PRI that will see the first of those two parties run the candidate selection processes for the 2024 presidential and Mexico City mayoral elections.
Former Michoacan governor Silvano Aueroles also attended the PRD meeting on Friday. Zambrano said both Aueroles and Mancera are viable candidates for the Va por México ticket.
The PAN agreed to give the PRI responsibility for choosing Va por México candidates for gubernatorial elections in México state and Coahuila later this year.
“In no way are we threatening a split,” Zambrano said before reiterating his support for a “democratic” selection process.
“In accordance with its democratic origin, the PRD proposes that the … [process to find a Va por México candidate] occur via a democratic, open and inclusive method,” he said.
“The management of electoral processes must be in the hands of civil society, not the political elite,” he said.
The PRD chief added that his party would be forced to “change its alliance strategy” if its Va por México partners are not willing to listen to and respect its views on how the selection process should be run.
“We hope with all sincerity that this doesn’t lead to a split [in the alliance]. We could go out on our own, … but that’s not our ambition,” Zambrano said.
Zona Maco, one of the most important art fairs in Latin America, is opening Feb. 8 in Mexico City. (Mario Jasso / Cuartoscuro.com)
Mexico City Art Week (Semana del Arte) — which runs from Feb. 8 to 12 and is most well-known for the Zona Maco fair — will bring together artists, buyers, dealers, curators and enthusiasts alike to experience and promote Mexican and foreign art through different shows around the city.
Art Week is an opportunity to experience pieces that rarely come into the country, and at the same time, a chance for buyers to purchase a piece directly from an emerging artist without intermediaries. Below is a selection of highlighted events, though there are many more scheduled.
Zona Maco
Zona Maco 2022 drew 57,000 visitors. (Zona Maco)
Recognized as the leading event of its kind in Latin America, the biannual Zona Maco will celebrate its 19th edition at Centro Citibanamex with the participation of over 200 exhibitors.
“This year we have received more applications from galleries compared to last year. For this reason, we think that although we did not grow the fair in square meters, we will have more visitors and return to the numbers of 2020,” said Zona Maco founder Zélika García in an interview with La Lista.
The event drew 57,000 visitors last year according to the event organizers.
For this edition, Zona Maco will present a selection of both Mexican (51%) and foreign (49%) artists from countries that include Austria, Germany, Canada, China, Spain, France, Italy, Romania and Turkey.
For Zona Maco artistic director Juan Canela, one of the things that has consolidated the show through the years is the diversity of pieces on display — from modern art, photography, design and antiques, to cutting-edge contemporary art and NFTs. Canela considers that this variety allows the visitor to take the pulse of the artistic world.
Salón Acme describes itself as an art platform created by artists, for artists, seeking to promote young talent and emerging artists from Mexico and abroad. From Feb. 8-12, the event will hold its tenth edition.
Salón Acme includes an “Open Call” section, which offers international visibility to artists without any cost, as well as “Guest State”, which highlights Mexican artists from various backgrounds, and “Editorial Room,” which presents a selection of publishing houses, books and rare specialty publications.
Salón Acme event in 2022. (Salón Acme Facebook)
Other sections are “La Bodega Acme,” which gives continuity to the work of past exhibitor artists, “Guest Project,” which involves national and international galleries, and “Public Programs,” which offers a series of talks and roundtables related to art.
Visitors can discuss the exhibited pieces with their creators as artists are often on hand, with no galleries involved in the process. For more information visit the Salón Acme site.
BADA 2023
Visitors at BADA art fair in 2022. (BADA Facebook)
The BADA art fair is a platform that allows artists to self-manage and generate their own sales and contacts. The fair includes disciplines from painting and drawing to printmaking, photography, textiles, sculpture, artistic jewelry and tattoos. BADA also hosts fairs in Argentina and Spain.
At the event, 100 established and emerging artists will exhibit their work directly, allowing visitors to view and purchase their works without intermediaries. The BADA concept is: “We bring art closer to people, showing that we can all be collectors.”
The event will take place at Campo Marte and will also include workshops; more information can be found on their website.
The new route was authorized by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) despite a current FAA ban on airlines adding flights to the United States from Mexico's airports. (Photo: Creative Commons)
Starting May 1, Aeroméxico will become the first airline to fly from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) to the United States. The direct flight will connect Mexico City and Houston, Texas, with daily flights onboard an Embraer 190.
“After a regulatory assessment of the current conditions, U.S. and Mexican authorities approved the route, considering that AIFA also serves the metropolitan area of the Valley of Mexico,” Aeroméxico said in a statement, adding that tickets will be available for sale in the next few days.
According to the company, the scheduled flights to Houston from the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) will not be affected by the new flights.
Houston will be the ninth destination Aeroméxico offers from AIFA in addition to Acapulco, Cancún, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mérida, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta and Veracruz.
Aeroméxico’s goal is to expand its connectivity network between Mexico and the United States with 22 routes from AIFA.
The airline obtained authorizations from Mexico and the United States to operate the route, despite Mexico’s loss of its Category 1 air safety rating with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in May 2021. Part of the consequences of being downgraded to Category 2 status was a prohibition against Mexico’s airlines adding new routes to the United States until Category 1 status is restored.
Aeromexico said it will continue to support the FAA’s aeronautical authority in the matter.
AIFA is one of president López Obrador’s flagship projects. It opened on March 21, 2022.
A lone car navigates a snowy highway near La Rumorosa, Baja California. (Twitter @mediosobsonmx)
The fifth winter storm of the season has hit northwestern Mexico, causing heavy snow in Baja California that has shut down highways and forced local schools to close.
The Centinela-La Rumorosa highway, the main route along the U.S. border, was temporarily closed in both directions on Tuesday morning, after heavy snowfall that started on Monday night in the town of La Rumorosa in the municipality of Tecate. Local authorities have set up a temporary shelter and are coordinating with the Red Cross to provide assistance to those who need it.
As of shortly before 11 a.m. local time, the state transportation ministry announced that the Centinela-La Rumorosa highway was open in both directions. The La Rumorosa-Tecate free highway was also open in both directions while the La Rumorosa-Tecate tollway remained closed, the ministry said.
The storm is the result of cold fronts and bands of low pressure interacting across the northwest of the country. This has caused heavy rains and gusty winds of up to 90 km/h in Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Durango, with sleet and snow in the mountainous regions of Baja California.
On Sunday night, the government of Baja California announced school closures in the municipalities of Tijuana, Ensenada, Tecate, Rosarito and San Quintín, in anticipation of the extreme weather conditions.
Local people were also advised to wrap up warm, drive with caution, avoid unnecessary journeys and call 911 in case of emergency.
Meanwhile, another cold front interacting with the subtropical jet stream has brought high winds, heavy rains and fog banks to the northeastern states of Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas.
The National Weather Service (SMN) projects that the storm conditions will continue throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday, with more extreme weather likely during the coming month.
