Though some solar panels have been mounted, plenty of open space remains above the Central de Abastos in Mexico City. (Gobierno de CDMX)
A solar power project under construction at Mexico City’s main wholesale market will be finished by the middle of the year, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said Sunday.
An 18-megawatt solar plant is currently being built on the rooftops of the Central de Abasto, located in the capital’s eastern Iztapalapa borough.
During a visit to the market to inspect the project on Sunday, Sheinbaum said that the plant will be fully operational by June or July.
A 1-megawatt section of the plant is expected to begin operations in the first week of February, while an additional eight megawatts are slated to come online in April.
Once completed, the 600-million-peso (US $31.8 million) plant will have the capacity to supply the market with about 30% of the electricity it consumes. The federal Energy Ministry contributed 500 million pesos to the project, while the Mexico City government provided the other 100 million pesos.
On Twitter, Sheinbaum wrote that the project would help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen Mexico’s “energy sovereignty.”
“Ciudad Solar,” or Solar City, the mayor said, is the largest photovoltaic power plant of its kind in the world.
Over 30,000 Chinese-made solar panels will eventually be installed on the rooftops of the Central de Abasto, which covers an area equivalent to the size of some 400 football fields.
Fadlala Akabani, Mexico City’s minister of economic development, said that vendors in the sprawling market will see their electricity costs go down as the project progresses.
“All the Central de Abasto tenants will benefit, firstly with their [electricity] payments for common areas and secondly … their own bills [will go down],” he said.
A 16-year-old boy hoping to enter the U.S. approaches the barricades on the border between Chihuahua and Texas. (Cuartoscuro.com)
Migrants who crossed the Mexico-United States border between official ports of entry were stopped by U.S. authorities on over 250,000 occasions in December, an increase of over 40% compared to the same month of 2021.
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported Friday that there were 251,487 “encounters” along the southwest land border last month, a 40.3% increase compared to December 2021 and a 7% spike compared to November.
The figure — which includes migrants stopped on more than one occasion in December — is the highest for any month since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January 2021.
CBP said that the number of unique individuals encountered along the border in December was 216,162, an 11% increase compared to November.
The agency said that “the large number of individuals fleeing failing communist regimes in Nicaragua and Cuba” contributed to the surge in illegal border crossings in December.
CBP encounters with Cubans increased more than fivefold on an annual basis to almost 43,000, while Nicaraguans were stopped on over 35,000 occasions in December, an increase of over 100% compared to a year earlier.
The surge in the arrival of Cubans and Nicaraguans came just before the Biden administration announced measures on Jan. 5 to deter their illegal entry to the United States.
CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said that the number of Venezuelans unlawfully crossing the border declined significantly in late 2022, and “early data suggests the expanded measures for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans are having a similar impact.”
“… Importantly, we are continuing to see a shifting migration pattern, with individuals from Mexico and northern Central America accounting for just 24% of unique encounters in December, a significant drop from the 42% they represented a year ago, as more migrants arrived from countries like Cuba and Nicaragua,” he said.
The U.S. president, President López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a number of commitments to address the issue after meeting at the North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City earlier this month, among which was to tackle the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement.
A group of Venezuelan migrants camped in Ciudad Juárez in December, waiting for news on whether the U.S. immigration protocol Title 42 would be lifted. (Cuartoscuro.com)
Many migrants who attempt to enter the U.S. illegally first cross Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala. They then undertake a perilous journey through Mexico, traveling on foot, in cramped conditions in tractor-trailers and/or on a freight train colloquially known as “The Beast.“
Among the measures Mexico has taken to stem the flow of migrants through the country is the deployment of the National Guard and National Immigration Institute agents.
The federal government has also extended its “Youth Building the Future” apprenticeship scheme and the the “Sowing Life” reforestation/employment program to Central American countries as part of efforts to deter northward migration.
But with ongoing problems in Central America as well as in countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Peru, migrants have continued to illegally cross the Mexico-United States border in large numbers.
U.S. border officials apprehended migrants a record 2.2 million times in U.S. fiscal year 2022, which ended in September, while over 700,000 encounters were recorded in the first three months of FY 2023.
In Michoacán, Governor Alfredo Ramírez symbolically kicked off the first of several avocado shipments from his state intended to meet the guacamole cravings of millions of Super Bowl viewers. (APEAM)
Mexican producers will send up to 130,000 tonnes of avocado to the United States for the 57th edition of the Super Bowl, the Michoacán-based Association of Avocado Exporters Producers and Packers of Mexico (APEAM) reported on Wednesday.
Michoacán, Mexico’s biggest avocado producer has already sent its first shipment with a total weight of 64,101 tonnes. Although avocados are scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in February, shipment starts four weeks ahead.
The Super Bowl is the time of year when more avocados are consumed in the U.S. In 2022, Mexico supplied about 92% of U.S. avocado imports. On average, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Mexico supplies its northern neighbor with 1.02 million tonnes of avocados annually.
Symbolically, from the APEAM facilities in Uruapan, Michoacán, governor Alfredo Ramírez gave what he called “the initial kick” to the first shipment of avocados promoted by Avocados From México (AFM), the main avocados export brand for North America.
Ramírez literally kicked off the Super Bowl avocado season for his state by doing a mock football-styled “kickoff” on a miniature football field with a specially made football with the brand’s logo.
“This kickoff symbolizes that the industry always thinks about its final market, its consumer,” Ramírez said, referring to the U.S. market. “… There’s no other avocado in the world with this quality.”
The brand hopes to send more than 100,000 tonnes of avocados to U.S. consumers, enough to fill 30 million football helmets of guacamole, said AFM officials.
Mexican producers export 1.68 million tonnes of avocados per year worldwide — to 34 countries around the world; only Michoacán and Jalisco, however, are currently allowed to export avocados to the U.S.
Michoacán was the only state licensed to send avocados until July 2022, when the USDA certified Jalisco avocados for U.S. import. President of the Jalisco Avocado Export Association Javier Medina Villanueva said that it took them 10 years to get certified, as U.S. agricultural inspectors must verify that Mexican avocados don’t bring diseases or pests harmful to U.S. orchards.
At the time, APEAM head José Luis Gallardo said that he doesn’t see Jalisco, or any other Mexican states asking for U.S. export certification, as competition.
“Today is a day of joy for everyone, knowing that Jalisco is here, but it is going to be happier when the State of Mexico comes, when Nayarit, Colima, Puebla, Morelos come,” Gallardo said of the other states.
Mexico’s agriculture department said it is working to get certified.
President López Obrador covered topics ranging from the new anti-smoking law to his meeting with Canadian business representatives. (Gob MX)
After a trip to Oaxaca on the weekend, President López Obrador returned to Mexico City to begin the third working week of the new year.
The Maya Train railroad project, the controversial new anti-smoking law, “El Chapo” Guzmán’s request to return to Mexico, the 80th anniversary of the Mexican Social Security Institute and the upcoming trial of former security minister Genaro García Luna were among the issues that occupied the minds of Mexico’s 65th president and his colleagues at this week’s morning press conferences, or mañaneras.
Monday
Interior Minister Adán Augusto López spoke about a 35-year-old university thesis plagiarism scandal involving Supreme Court Justice Yasmín Esquivel before ceding the lectern to Javier May Rodríguez, the official in charge of the ambitious Maya Train railroad project, which will link cities and towns in five southeastern states.
“There are 339 days to go until we inaugurate the project in December 2023,” said May, general director of the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur)
Prior to that declaration, the Fonatur chief provided an update on construction of Section 1 of the project, a 226-kilometer stretch between Palenque, Chiapas, and Escárcega, Campeche.
Director of Fonatur, Javier May, gives an update on Maya Train progress on Monday (Gob MX)
“Along Section 1, 575 complementary projects are being built: 12 bridges that will cross rivers and streams, four viaducts, 383 drainage projects and 176 vehicular, pedestrian and wildlife bridges. All this … will allow the passage of the train with complete safety … [while] conserving the connectivity and everyday activities of the population. Ecosystems will be protected as well,” May said.
The governors of Chiapas and Tabasco later took the stage to express their support for the railroad, one of AMLO’s pet infrastructure projects.
“Tabasco residents and [residents of] the south-southeast of Mexico are excited and grateful for the benefits and prosperity this great Maya Train project will bring,” gushed Tabasco Governor Carlos Merino.
“We’re grateful to President Biden because he’s the only [president] for many years who hasn’t built walls on the border. … That’s not the way to resolve the migration problem, we have to attend to the causes. … We’ve already said it many times – people don’t abandon their towns for pleasure, they do it out of necessity and President Biden understands that,” he said.
“No,” López Obrador said. “… The fundamental thing is to attend to the causes [of crime] and that won’t change because we believe that human beings … are not bad by nature.”
Tuesday
In a pandemic update, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell reported that COVID cases have been on the rise for 12 consecutive weeks.
However, “the positive news,” the coronavirus czar said, is that COVID hospitalizations and deaths have only risen slightly in the same period.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez later provided a report on homicide statistics for 2022, presenting data that showed that murders declined 7.1% compared to the previous year, but still remained above 30,000.
Public security minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez reviews 2022 homicide data at the Tuesday press conference. (Gob MX)
“We have to do everything that helps to prevent diseases. And it’s proven that tobacco affects [people’s] health so the measures being taken are helping a good purpose. Of course, those in the tobacco business … might not agree.”
The president also took a question on a recent InterNation’s survey that found that Mexico City was the third best city in the world for expats.
The president said Mexico City “fascinates” young foreigners. Depositphotos
“Thousands of foreigners have come to live in Mexico City in recent years, especially from the United States, young people,” López Obrador said, wading into a controversial issue.
“It’s a city that fascinates them, a safe city. … Mexico City has fewer homicides than other large cities of the world,” he said.
Wednesday
After a presser intro from AMLO, government spokesperson Ana Elizabeth García Vilchis presented her “Who’s who in the lies of the week” segment, during which she took aim at a favorite target – the Reforma newspaper.
Citing a report on last week’s North American Leaders’ Summit published under the headline “AMLO, Biden and Trudeau avoid conflicts; prioritize photos,” García asserted that the newspaper didn’t bother to find out that “bilateral and trilateral meetings were carried out” and “outstanding issues were dealt with.”
“…Reforma doesn’t accept that the dialogue between the three countries occurred in an environment of respect and willingness to work in a coordinated way for the benefit of the three countries,” she added.
The president fired the starting gun on reporters’ questions and was promptly asked about the imminent trial in the United States of Genaro García Luna, a former federal security minister accused of colluding with the Sinaloa Cartel.
“It’s important to … [follow] this trial so that these things don’t happen again, because we’re speaking about a high-ranking public official,” López Obrador said.
AMLO noted that García Luna worked in different law enforcement agencies before becoming “very close to president [Felipe] Calderón” and obtaining a lot of power while public security minister between 2006 and 2012.
Garcá Luna speaks with then-president Felipe Calderón. Archive / Cuartoscuro.com
He also said that the former cabinet minister had relationships with high-ranking U.S. officials.
“That’s why the trial is very important; [to find out] how involved were the agents or authorities of the United States.”
Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma, “sent the request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs … and the person in charge of North America [affairs] is already looking at this issue, we’re going to review it,” López Obrador said.
Answering another question, AMLO noted that 125 Canadian mining companies operate in Mexico and declared that most are doing the right thing in terms of looking after the environment.
“Fortunately the majority of Canadian mining companies are helping us to not destroy territory, to look after the environment,” said López Obrador, who has boasted that his government hasn’t granted a single new mining concession since it took office in late 2018.
Canadian mining companies pay the highest mining sector wages in Mexico and help the communities in which they operate, and state governments, more than other mining firms, the president added.
Thursday
AMLO appeared at his press conference on Thursday and announced the staging of an “extremely important commemoration” to mark the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMMS), a major public healthcare provider.
Director Zoé Robledo spoke of the challenges the institute has faced over the years.
For 80 years, IMSS “has been here with all its glory and all its determination filling pages [of history with] hope and pride, but also overcoming difficult times – earthquakes, hurricanes, economic crises, disinvestment, attempts at privatization, the gale of neoliberalism and also the pandemic. But … [IMSS] has always come through, evoking the eagle that represents and identifies us,” he said.
Nurses at an event marking the 80th anniversary of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) (Edgar Negrete Lira / Cuartoscuro.com)
López Obrador later expressed his appreciation of IMSS workers, declaring that their work during the “difficult times” of the pandemic mustn’t be forgotten.
“They were heroes, heroines – the IMSS nurses, doctors and workers who helped save lives, who placed their lives at risk to save the lives of others,” the president said.
He closed his mañanera with one of his favorite recurring segments: a presentation on his popularity in comparison to other world leaders.
“[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, from India, is still beating us, he’s a phenomenon, 76% approval and 20% disapproval,” López Obrador said as he displayed the latest data from polling company Morning Consult.
“We’re maintaining second place, 66% [approval and] 28% [disapproval]. That’s why I say there’s no [political] polarization [in Mexico], there’s politicization,” he said.
“… We’re doing well. And thank you very much to the people for your support, we’re never going to betray you,” AMLO remarked.
Friday
The Antiguo Palacio de Ayuntamiento – the Mexico City Town Hall – was the venue for the president’s final presser for the week.
“We’re very happy to be … [here] in this jewel of colonial architecture, seat of the Mexico City government. … Not all the [government] security meetings and press conferences are held in the National Palace, we go out to the states and we’re going to continue doing it,” AMLO said.
After praising Claudia Sheinbaum as an “intelligent, hard-working and honest” woman, López Obrador ceded the spotlight to the Mexico City mayor, who presented a security report.
“At this time we have an average of 2.3 homicides per day,” Sheinbaum said before highlighting that the per-capita murder rate in Mexico City in 2022 was lower than those of numerous other Western Hemisphere cities including St. Louis, Baltimore, Chicago, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Medellín.
After resuming center stage, López Obrador aired three “hypotheses” about the accusations faced by former security minister Genaro García Luna, and former president Felipe Calderón’s knowledge – or lack thereof – of his ex-colleague’s alleged collusion with criminals.
“One is that García Luna is innocent. … That’s a possibility,” AMLO said of the former security minister, who will go on trial in the United States next week.
“… The second [hypothesis] is that he was involved [in criminal activity] and Calderón had no knowledge. We don’t rule that out,” he said.
“… The third is that … García Luna committed crimes and … Calderón knew [about it],” López Obrador said, referencing a claim the former president has denied.
“It’s something that concerns us a lot … because it’s … a serious case,” he said.
“[The case] has a political connotation and it’s a matter of the state. That’s why I gave the instruction for a thorough investigation. … There is already information about the characteristics of the group [that allegedly committed the crime] … and we’re trying to get to the masterminds. … Who gave the order? And who gave the money? Because all of this is done for a fee,” López Obrador said.
Before his press conference drew to a close, the 69-year-old president noted he would once again spend the weekend in the southeast of the country to inspect progress on the Maya Train.
“We have to inaugurate the Maya Train in December. That’s why I’ll be there every 15 days, looking not just at the Maya Train … [but also] other projects we have to supervise.”
Making your own apple cider vinegar is easy as can be!
Seems like apple cider vinegar (ACV) — the unfiltered, organic Bragg brand — can now be found all over Mexico. Here in Mazatlán, it’s on the shelves of big-box stores and small natural food shops and also available through Amazon México.
Is everyone interested in probiotics, which ACV is naturally full of? Perhaps. But more likely this newfound popularity is due to its reputation as a weight-loss aid.
For what it’s worth, the Mayo Clinic says there’s not much evidence supporting that claim, although it has been proven beneficial for a healthy gut and digestive system. At the same time, lots of alternative health practitioners and sites say otherwise.
Anecdotally, I know people who swear by the effectiveness of taking a tablespoon of ACV in water once or twice a day for curbing appetite, burning fat and general digestive health. You’ll have to decide for yourself. Any way you look at it though, it’s is a wonderful thing to have in both the sweet and savory kitchen.
It adds flavor and depth to all sorts of foods: marinades, glazes, salad dressings, potato, pasta and three-bean salads, roasted veggies, smoothies and certain desserts — most notably Vinegar Pie, an old recipe that became famous during the Great Depression.
ACV is tart, tangy and sweet at the same time, a perfected creation that does justice to its humble origins of apple cider meeting the miracle of fermentation.
Vinegar Pie uses apple cider vinegar for a tart-sweet flavor combo that some compare to key lime pie.
Apple cider vinegar is exactly what it says it is: fermented apple cider (“cider” meaning fresh-squeezed, unpasteurized apple juice). Naturally occurring yeasts digest the sugars in the apple juice and turn it into alcohol; then other bacteria break the alcohol down into acetic acid, the main component of vinegar.
It’s those bacteria that contain nutrients, enzymes and the all-important probiotics, and that’s also what forms the “mother,” a gelatinous stringy blob floating in the liquid that can be used to start subsequent batches. (Commercial ACV will have the mother removed, although particles will remain.)
A word about the difference between apple cider vinegar and kombucha: both are fermented and contain gut-friendly probiotics, but there the similarities end.
ACV is much more acidic, while kombucha also contains proteins, can be made in a variety of flavors with different teas or fruit juices as starters and is used as a beverage, not a vinegar.
With a bit of patience, you can easily make your own apple cider vinegar. If you don’t have access to fresh, unpasteurized apple cider, you’ll be making what’s called “Apple Scraps Vinegar” — almost but not quite the same. (Recipe below.)
“Apple Scraps” Vinegar
2 cups chopped apples, with peels and cores
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 cups filtered water
Place apple pieces in clean, sterilized 1-quart glass jar. (A Mason jar works great.) Mix sugar with water until dissolved, then pour into jar with apple scraps.
Cover jar with swatch of cotton cloth or coffee filter. Secure with a rubber band.
Let sit in a cool, dark place (like inside a kitchen cupboard or closet) for 2–3 weeks, stirring occasionally and making sure apple pieces are fully submerged. (Important: If the apples are exposed to air, they can grow mold, and your batch will be bad.)
After 2–3 weeks, strain out the apple pieces. Pour vinegar liquid back into jar and leave for another 3 weeks; the longer it sits at this point the more acidic it will get. If a vinegar “mother” forms, save it. (See above.)
When done, the vinegar should taste bright and “vinegary” but not sour or musty.
Pretty and delicious, this Hibiscus Fizz owes its tang to apple cider vinegar.
Hibiscus Fizz
¼ cup strong hibiscus tea, chilled
1 Tbsp. agave nectar or honey
1 Tbsp. ACV
Soda water, to taste
Slice of grapefruit or lemon for garnish
Combine hibiscus tea, agave/honey and vinegar in a large rocks glass. Fill with ice and top with soda water. Garnish with a citrus slice.
Barbacoa-Style Shredded Beef
1 (3 lb.) beef chuck roast, cut in 6-8 chunks
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ cup beef broth
¼ cup ACV
¼ cup fresh lime juice
4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. ground cloves
3 large bay leaves
Season beef chunks thoroughly with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook beef until browned. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Mix broth, vinegar, lime juice, chipotle, garlic, cumin, oregano and cloves together. Season with salt and pepper; pour over beef in slow cooker. Stir in bay leaves. Cook on low setting until beef is fork-tender, 8–10 hours. Discard bay leaves.
Remove beef from cooker and shred using two forks. Return meat to slow cooker, stir to coat with sauce. Let marinate at least 10 minutes before serving inside tacos or as an entrée.
Apple-Glazed Sweet Potatoes
6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
½ cup apple cider/unfiltered apple juice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. ACV
1 Tbsp. grated dark piloncillo/dark brown sugar
Salt
Cut sweet potatoes into 2-inch chunks. Whisk together cider, oil, vinegar and sugar; toss with potatoes.
Place potatoes and liquid in a large shallow roasting pan. Roast in a 375 F (190 C) oven, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned on edges and soft inside, 45–60 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
Apple cider vinegar is the secret to making the tastiest pickled cabbage.
BBQ Sauce
2/3 cup ketchup
½ cup ACV
¼ cup brown sugar/grated piloncillo
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp black pepper
Optional: 1-2 tsp. smoked paprika
Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat 5–7 minutes. Refrigerate.
Pickled Cabbage
4 cups shredded purple or green cabbage (about ½ medium head)
1¼ cups water
1¼ cups ACV
1½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
12 black peppercorns
Optional: Pinch red pepper flakes, diced jalapenos or bell peppers, 1-2 tsp. caraway or mustard seeds. Substitute 1 cup shredded carrots for equal amount of cabbage if desired.
Slice cabbage into thin shreds; set aside in a large bowl. Bring water to a boil over high heat; remove from heat, add vinegar, salt and sugar and optional ingredients if using. Pour the hot brine over the cabbage.
Divide brined cabbage between two (1-pint) jars, layering evenly with garlic slices, coriander seeds and peppercorns. Place lids on jars; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. For best flavor, refrigerate 24–48 hours. Store in fridge for up to seven days.
When vegetable farmer Carlos Quintanilla, right, couldn't get state agricultural authorities to support him in develop winemaking in his impoverished part of San Luis Potosí, undaunted he hired experts like oenologist Matías Utrero, left, to help him create Cava Quintanilla. (Photo: Cava Quintanilla)
A new industry almost always starts because someone was willing to pursue an idea despite being told it is impossible. For wine in the Altiplano region of San Luis Potosí, that someone is Carlos Quintanilla.
Born in the poor state of Guerrero, Quintanilla is a farmer from a farming family. In the mid-1970s, he and his family moved to San Luis to work in greenhouses producing vegetables for export.
With a lot of hard work and savings, they managed to purchase land and establish Rancho Sureño, then made it a major producer and exporter of tomatoes and bell peppers to the United States. Today, Carlos is the owner of the family business. He may be soft-spoken, but he is both hardworking and ambitious.
On a trip to France in 2010, he noticed that some wine areas there had environments very similar to that of his rancho. He wondered if he, too, could grow grapes back home in San Luis Potosí’s Moctezuma Valley, a very rural area just west of the state capital.
On what he calls “an impulsive decision,” he imported a number of French vines in 2011, planting them on 20 hectares as an experiment. He knew nothing about winemaking, but the vines did “extremely well,” he said.
Quintanilla may not have been aware of it at the time, but the Altiplano has a number of advantages for both the growing of grapes as well as the making of wine: the Altiplano is in a transition zone that links the central Mexican Bajío, the Chihuahuan Desert and the northern Sierra Madre Oriental.
Cava Quintanilla has had success in attracting visitors to its vendimias (grape harvest festivals) even though San Luis Potosí isn’t exactly a tourist destination. (Photo: Cava Quintanilla)
This area is filled with microclimates whose qualities are determined by altitude and wind patterns that bring moisture (or not) from the Gulf of Mexico.
Rancho Sureño has the hot days and cool nights that grapes crave. The Altiplano’s volcanic and other soils also give the wines produced here unique qualities.
Quintanilla’s Argentina-born oenologist Matias Utrero is fascinated by the promise of Altiplano vineyards.
“This area has a unique balance between heat and humidity, especially compared to Baja California and the Bajío of central Mexico. This balance harmonizes the acidity and alcohol content to produce a truly superior product.”
Encouraged, Quintanilla approached state agricultural authorities to get support to develop winemaking in his impoverished part of the state. “But they could not see the potential in it,” says Quintanilla, “and would not listen to my proposals.”
This is curious because fellow San Luis vineyard Viña Cordelia began making a sweet wine called mistela in the 1950s, primarily because its founder was a refugee from the Spanish Civil War. But this wine was never significantly commercialized.
The grapes grow extremely well here because of hot days and cool nights. (Photo: Cava Quintanilla)
Quintanilla persevered using his own resources, hiring wine experts from Mexico and abroad to develop both vineyards and winemaking of Cava Quintanilla. The grapes and the resulting wines were doing so well that the timetable for market introduction was stepped up to 2016, and the vintages quickly garnered attention.
The different microclimates means that the Altiplano can produce classics like cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay but also produces lesser-known varieties such as gewürztraminer and cabernet franc.
Cava Quintanilla is by far the largest winery in the state, growing 14 varieties of grapes (three whites, 11 reds and a rosé) on 120 hectares, producing 150,000 bottles per year. A number of vintages have won awards in Mexico and abroad, including two chosen to compete in the 2019 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles México Selection, and two won gold medals at Global Wine 2022, ranking these wines as equals to those produced by Mexican powerhouses Casa Madero, Friexenet and various labels from Baja California.
But the Altiplano’s wine future is highly promising: in addition to its unique growing conditions, there is a growing demand for wine both in Mexico and abroad, more than what Mexico overall can produce. In Quintanilla’s wake, other successful wineries have come along and are quickly making waves too, most notably, Pozo de Luna, which has won accolades from the México Selection and other wine competitions.
SLP has logistical advantages too, since it’s located between Mexico City and the Texas border, and on roads that connect the northern interior with the important port of Tampico.
Quintanilla understands the huge potential that wine grapes have for his impoverished area of the state and hopes that the industry will help stem the tide of residents migrating northward. But he also understands the importance of diversification — the hectares of tomatoes and bell peppers are not going anywhere, he says.
The Laberinto series of wines are named after a labyrinth meditation space on the premises. (Photo: Cava Quintanilla)
Furthermore, the wine industry in Mexico runs almost as much on tourism as it does on selling product, and here is where San Luis wine may face its biggest challenge: the niche population of dedicated wine aficionadas will generally be fine with learning about an unknown wine region if the product is superior, says Utrero, but average tourists may not.
San Luis, because of its northerly location, is often mistaken as “cowboy country,” and not really conducive for wine tourism. Add to that the fact that northern Mexico overall has precious little tourism infrastructure.
However, Cava Quintanilla has had success with vendimias (grape harvest events) for over five years, with growing attendance from places like Texas, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Mexico City. For those of us who make runs to the Texas border, the winery is not far from the highways that connect central Mexico to Laredo.
Cava Quintanilla’s tourism services are still a work in progress. For now, the restaurant is operating only part-time, so you need a reservation in advance and a minimum of 10 people in your group. Lodging will be available in the future.
If you just want to buy a bottle of wine, they have a store in San Luis Potosí city on Avenida Venustiano Carranza and a store on their website.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
The new federal ban on outdoor smoking is a good step forward, but its effects on public health are somewhat diminished when government entities like Pemex turn Mexico into one big cigarette, the writer points out. (Illustration: Angy Márquez)
Well, it’s finally happened. Smokers have nowhere else to go.
Okay, this isn’t technically true. Under Mexico’s new federal outdoor smoking ban that went into effect this week, they can still smoke at home, and they can very likely still smoke in places where both poorly-paid waiters and struggling business owners will be loath to negatively engage and/or chase off the few customers they have left (I’ve seen it).
But technically, officially, smoking is out. While I’m nowhere near heartbroken about it — cigarette smoke triggers an immediate headache in me, and I can’t stand the way the smell absorbs into my hair and clothes — I feel for those stragglers still addicted to nicotine.
And while I’ve not taken a single puff in my own life, I do know a thing or two about addiction. Who among us doesn’t? More on that below.
Growing up, nobody in my immediate family smoked (or drank, for that matter). Cigarette smoke was a smell I associated with the carnival, and to this day the distant smell of it takes me back to wandering among the rides and food stands with my parents.
When I was a teenager, my mom met and later married my second dad, Richard, a lovely man who happened to be a heavy smoker (and, in a great twist of irony, a respiratory therapist). He’s since quit, but I have clear memories of him leaving each meal as soon as the last bite was scooped up from the plate so he could step outside for a smoke.
By the time I graduated high school in 1999, smoking was already becoming less common among young people, and only those who were clearly “troubled” seemed to have any proclivity for lighting up.
When I came to Mexico a few years later, I was surprised to see that quite a lot of people still smoked — even seemingly well-adjusted people my age! Cigarettes were ubiquitous in bars and clubs, and many people, especially in Xalapa, would tell me that something about the cold, rainy weather made them crave a dry, glowing cigarette, even with the disgustingly graphic health effects displayed on the cartons.
Since then, times have changed quite a lot. After banning smoking in most places several years earlier, including bars and restaurants, Mexico has now banned cigarettes basically everywhere. You (officially) can’t smoke in public places like parks or the beach and are now essentially restricted to private residences.
Not only that, but cigarettes can no longer be advertised or displayed in stores (though they can still be sold), meaning that Mexico now has one of the strictest anti-smoking laws in the world.
While I feel for those currently still addicted to nicotine, I think it was a brave decision. It’s not very often that the country takes steps in favor of general health that could adversely affect the tourism industry. Though those who already smoke might be in for some suffering, fewer people than ever will start in the first place, and eventually cigarettes will be about as prevalent as horse-drawn carriages.
But what about our other addictions? Mexico seems to be at least trying to make a dent in our consumption of harmful foods and drinks, now listing warnings on labels about excess fat, sugar and calories and about adverse health effects. It is so far unclear if those efforts have curbed anyone’s behavior as Mexico is still rather high up on the list of global obesity rates.
Will laws against the sale of these food products eventually be passed as well? Sugar is certainly addictive, after all, and plenty of people would argue that our collective rate of obesity is a public health emergency. Of course, eating a cupcake doesn’t cause contaminated air to waft over to the people in your vicinity.
We’re all, with few exceptions, addicted to our phones and the apps on them as well, which is its own kind of emergency. If you can imagine not having the option of unlocking it for a peek at what’s going on in the online world every time you’re bored or want a distraction from something dull, painful, and/or seemingly unbearable, then you might realize how painful withdrawal is.
My point is, let’s take a moment of silence and empathy for those still addicted to nicotine before briefly pivoting over to some of our collective addictions.
Because while cigarettes will soon be a thing of the past, the government having determined (rightly) that no one deserves to be forced to breathe that stuff in, we’ve recently discovered that Mexico is still basically one big cigarette on an environmental level: with news of the amount of hydrocarbon released into the environment by the state oil company Pemex, small-scale effects on air quality continue to be replaced by large-scale effects.
This is another kind of addiction (apparently the company says that the technology to capture natural gas byproducts of the oil refining process is too expensive).
I don’t understand the power that the national energy companies have in Mexico, but, at least under AMLO, it won’t be going away. They can do what they want and, on a national level, their well-being is considered all-important — apparently at the expense of public health.
Well, one addiction at a time, I suppose. We’ve mostly collectively kicked the cigarette habit, and that’s a good thing. But when it comes to kicking the oil habit, Mexico is the very image of the archetypal smoking and pregnant mother of the 1960s. I hope that public health crisis is next on the list of things to deal with.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com
Beachgoers lounge in Playa del Carmen, in December. (Elizabeth Ruiz / Cuartoscuro.com)
Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco reported that from January to November 2022, a total of 18.4 million international tourists arrived in Mexico by air — 8.4% more than the figures registered in 2019.
Torruco also shared that the United States, Canada and Colombia sent the most international tourists to Mexico adding up to 13.9 million travelers. These numbers represent an increase of 43.6% compared to 2021.
Of the tourists that entered Mexico by air, more than 14 million arrived at the airports in Mexico’s main tourist destinations: Cancún International Airport, Mexico City International Airport and Los Cabos International Airport.
However, Torruco’s announcement didn’t tell the whole story. While international travelers arriving by air in 2022 surpassed those registered in 2021 by 51.7%, the total number of international tourists entering Mexico — by air, sea and land — hasn’t yet reached pre-pandemic figures, since tourists entering by land or sea are not accounted for in the statistics that he announced.
According to the national statistics center, INEGI, between January and November 2022, a total of 58 million international visitors entered the country — a figure still far from the 88 million visitors Mexico registered in 2019 before the pandemic.
However, the country has continued a positive trend in the recovery of the tourism industry and is part of a small group of countries that have received more international tourists than those registered in 2021.
A Volaris airplane flies over Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. (Depositphotos)
According to the first edition of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Barometer on World Tourism 2023, international tourism to Mexico has increased by 13%. It was only surpassed by Romania, with reported growth of 25% and Turkey, with an increase of 40%. In 2022, the UNWTO also reported that Mexico ranked 29th in international tourism spending.
The UNWTO is a United Nations specialized agency, which is an international organization that coordinates its work with the United Nations. Other examples of UN specialized agencies are the World Health Organization and the International Monetary Fund.
While the total number of international tourists may not have yet reached pre-pandemic numbers, according to INEGI figures for January through November, the inflow of tourist money did surpass pre-pandemic numbers: revenue for the period was US $23.4 billion, an increase of US $3.3 billion from before the pandemic.
The financial recovery comes sooner than expected: forecasts had estimated that a full recovery in tourist expenditure wouldn’t come until the end of 2024.
The uptick in international tourist expenditures has been buoyed by two key factors, according to El Financiero: visitors have been spending more over the course of longer trips, and travel itself has become more expensive.
In the same way, the average spending of international travelers increased during the January to November period by 38.5% compared to 2019. Those numbers also exceeded the data gathered from January to November of 2021 by 23%.
Finally, during November 2022 alone, international tourists spent US $2.4 billion, a figure that surpassed the $2.1 billion spent in the same month of 2021 and greatly exceeds the $857 million spent in November 2020.
In its annual comparison, the country registered an increase of 16.9% in the foreign currency influx from international travelers, boosting a key industry for the recovery of the Mexican economy.
Head of the Tourism Research and Competitiveness Center of the Anáhuac University (Cicatur) Francisco Madrid told El Financiero that the increase in tourism income also shows the importance of the air sector, which has performed well over the past year.
Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said that the UNWTO foresees a “good year” for the tourism industry. (Photo: United Nations)
Globally, the UNWTO foresees a “good year” for the tourism industry “while still facing various challenges, such as the economic situation and the continuing geopolitical uncertainty,” UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said in the report.
View of Monterrey from the top of Chipinque Park. (Photo: Bakpak Revista de Aventura)
The city of Monterrey, one of Mexico’s largest, is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range, surrounded by soaring peaks, knife-blade ridges and countless hiking trails. It’s no misnomer that the city’s name means “King of the Mountains” in Spanish.
As for the “king” of Monterrey’s hiking clubs, I’d say that honor goes to an organization known as the La Comunidad Bakpak, which sprang into existence, along with the first publication of Bakpak Revista de Aventura (Bakpak Magazine), in 2005.
I asked the leader of Bakpak Community, Alejandro González, to describe five great hiking destinations that people could reach from his hometown.
Cartographer, publisher and outdoor enthusiast Alejandro González with one of his maps, folded origami style.
“I’ll do better than that,” he replied with a smile. “I’ll tell you about five excellent hikes you can do without leaving Monterrey’s city limits.”
Cerro de la Silla (Saddle Mountain)
“This is probably the favorite hike of the people of Monterrey,” said González, “and the Cerro de la Silla is definitely the iconic symbol of the city. People like to hike up to The Saddle in the morning or in the evening along a trail called La Brecha de la Virgen (Trail of the Virgin), and you will in fact find several little shrines [to her] along the way.”
I learned that Saddle Mountain has two famous landmarks. The first is called El Teleférico. It was a 3.3-kilometer cable car system inaugurated in 1961 and closed in 1964 after two tragic accidents.
“A hike from the city streets up to this point would be suitable for beginners and might take one hour,” González said. “From here, you can see just about all of Monterrey. This is also a great place to enjoy a magnificent sunset over the town, should you decide to do the hike in the late afternoon.”
From the Teleférico, the trail goes on to the second landmark of Saddle Mountain: the summit, which is another impressive lookout point from which you have a 360-degree view of the city.
The dramatic limestone mountains of La Huasteca Eco Park. (Photo: Zanna Van Dijk)
This part of the hike, says González, is for experienced people, and you may need another 90 minutes to hoof it from the Teleférico to the peak.
Chipinque Ecological Park
This is a luxuriant pine and oak forest that was developed into a recreational area by private companies. The result is one of Mexico’s most beautiful and best-organized parks, with over 60 kilometers of trails. It’s set up very much like the national parks in the United States, complete with rangers.
Chipinque is, first of all, a nature reserve. It is especially famous for its great variety of butterflies, but here you will find everything from white-tailed deer and gray foxes to pumas and even black bears. If you are lucky, you might also glimpse the Mexican coati, an omnivorous member of the raccoon family.
As for birds, in Chipinque you can see wild turkeys, mountain pygmy owls, red-tailed hawks and blue-capped motmots.
According to González, among Comunidad Bakpak’s most popular activities in Monterrey is their Night Trail Run under the Autumn Moon, which they organize in Chipinque Park.
Monterrey’s Chipinque Ecological Park is a favorite haunt of birdwatchers.
“This is directed at helping people experience nature through their five senses, to gain new awareness,” he said.
Because El Chipinque is located 15 kilometers from downtown Monterrey, people can do either day or night hikes, soak up the good vibrations and then go back home to sleep in their beds.
La Huasteca Ecopark
La Huasteca is a municipal park whose entrance is located only 20 minutes from downtown Monterrey. This is a massive canyon with long, thin, high limestone mountains running along both sides like giant knife blades: a sight that boggles the mind.
The park is a paradise for rock and mountain climbers, with nearly 400 bolted routes.
“La Huasteca is a place of silence and solitude,” González said. “In this park, you have lots of choices both for climbing and for hiking — in fact, even for trekking. Here you can go walking for 80 kilometers, if you want to!”
El Potrero Chico, one of the world’s premier big-wall sport climbing destinations, is just a one-hour drive from downtown Monterrey. (Photo: Marriott Bonvoy)
El Santiago
This is a Pueblo Mágico (Magical Town) located inside the city limits of Monterrey, just a 20-minute drive from downtown. From Santiago, you can visit a lovely waterfall called Cola de Caballo.
It’s a 40-minute walk from town to waterfall, but note that you’ll be walking through a very touristy area.
If you’re more in the market for high adventure, note that Santiago just happens to be the portal to several gorgeous canyons: San Cristóbal, Chipitín, Matacanes and Hidrofobia
These attract canyoneers from all over the world but require great technical skill and lots of experience.
“Whether you hike to the waterfall or rappel down a canyon,” says González, “you are bound to work up an appetite, and Santiago just happens to have lots of great places to eat. Here you can experience the cuisine of northern Mexico. For example, machaca — in Santiago, you will find the original, the real thing.”
While hiking along the Río Ramos you can take a dip in its crystalline waters, in the shade of venerable Montezuma cypresses. (Photo: Bakpak Revista de Aventura)
El Río Ramos
“This is a forest of sabinos, or Montezuma cypresses, along a river,” says González. “The walk takes you to the town of Cozumelito, and along the way we find turquoise blue pools of water. Here you can swim in perfectly clean water and you could hike for as many as 16 kilometers.”
González recommends reaching Río Ramos very early in the morning — especially in the summer — “when you will find the water crystal-clear and you can hear the birds singing.”
If you’re heading for Monterrey and want to experience nature while you’re there, you can contact the Bakpak Community through their website or their Facebook page.
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.
An unfinished stretch of the much-anticipated highway from Oaxaca city to Puerto Escondido. (Twitter @lopezobrador_)
The completion of a new highway in the state of Oaxaca — from the inland city of Oaxaca to the state’s beachside tourist areas on the Pacific Coast — is being held up by residents of two communities who have set up a blockade.
“There are 15 km left to finish this work, however, an old agrarian conflict between Sola de Vega and San Vicente Coatlán is at stake,” President López Obrador tweeted earlier this week. “We made a good proposal to the towns,” he added.
In his morning press conference on Monday, the president said that a dialogue is being held with representatives of the two highlands communities, and that he had met personally with both sides a day earlier.
“If there is no agreement in a month, we will make a new route — a bypass,” he said.
The project has been fraught with problems for some 20 years, especially since the original contract was awarded in 2009. Five years later, that concessionaire ceded the rights to the project to another company; then in 2016, the project was about halfway done when it suspended and passed to the National Infrastructure Fund (Fonadin).
The project is a two-lane highway measuring 12 meters wide, stretching roughly 102 kilometers (64 miles) and supplanting what for years has been a treacherous mountain road, Highway 131. It is said that the new highway will slash travel time from the capital city of Oaxaca to the coastal destinations of Bahías de Huatulco and Puerto Escondido from 6 to 8 hours down to 2 to 3 hours.
The 26-kilometer segment from Barranca Larga in the mountains to Ventanilla on the coast is what is holding things up. Ventanilla is where the highway will hit the coast — 17 kilometers from Puerto Escondido, 58 kilometers from Mazunte and 100 kilometers to Santa María Huatulco.
The “agrarian conflict between two localities” (San Vicente Coatlán and Villa Sola de Vega) “dates back 47 years and prevents work from continuing on [that] stretch,” according to Infobae.
On its official website in July 2022, the federal government’s National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) posted a statement about the conflict — a territorial dispute that has displaced some families and has previously left dead bodies in its wake.
The INPI statement noted that the peace process had experienced “advances” after a mandate by AMLO had brought Indigenous leaders to the bargaining table with municipal, state and federal representatives.
“Dialogue and conciliation are the way to achieve lasting peace,” it stated.
Residents of the communities gathered to listen to the president speak about the government’s proposed solution to the dispute, on Jan. 15. (Twitter @lopezobrador_)
The dispute revolves around land, the INPI statement said, noting that the local leaders had pledged to maintain peace and de-escalate the conflict zone while continuing talks.
The statement also pointed out that Adelfo Regino Montes, the INPI’s general director, spoke of a presidential proposal to provide financial compensation if the communities can halt their dispute.
In speaking about the conflict this week, AMLO recalled two famous phrases: “Nothing by force, everything by reason and law,” by Oaxacan-born Benito Juárez (Mexico’s president from 1858 to 1872) and “a problem that is avoided explodes” by the late Jesús Reyes Heroles (a prominent Mexican politician, jurist and academic in the 1960s through 1980s).
Overall, the highway is 87.5% complete, Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz said after he and other government officials completed a tour of the Barranca Larga–Ventanilla section earlier this month. The full highway consists of 10 bridges, three tunnels and two toll booths, and is expected to be used by 4,253 vehicles per day.
The toll plaza at Barranca Larga was only 38% complete at the time of the governor’s tour. The plaza will include a National Guard base, a solar farm, an administration building and a control center.
On a recent airing of his television show “Jueves de Gozona,” Governor Jara said he anticipates the highway being completed within six months and that he will work with the groups that have shown resistance to its construction.
