"The classroom shouldn't be a space of differentiation regarding who has more and who has less," Sheinbaum said on Monday. (Házel Cardenas/Presidencia)
Sheinbaum’s mañanera in 60 seconds
🎒28 million students head back to class: President Sheinbaum held her Monday mañanera at a Mexico City secondary school as the 2026-27 school year began for 28 million students and over 1.6 million teachers nationwide.
💵Universal scholarship coverage for primary students: Delgado said all public primary school students received the Rita Cetina scholarship — a one-off payment of 2,500 pesos (US $147). He highlighted that it is “the first school year” with full scholarship coverage for public school students. Sheinbaum said the goal is to ensure “nobody leaves school for an economic reason.”
📱National cell phone rules coming for schools: Education Minister Mario Delgado said 565,396 teachers completed a survey on device use at school, with 81% favoring “guidelines and rules” for safe use. Sheinbaum said that national rules will be set at an upcoming meeting of all state education ministers.
Why today’s mañanera matters
Education was the key focus at President Sheinbaum’s Monday morning press conference as the 2026-27 school year starts today.
The new academic year is starting amid an ongoing debate about the use of electronic devices, social media and artificial intelligence tools by Mexican children and teenagers. Earlier this month, Sheinbaum told reporters that she is not in favor of enacting a ban on the use of social media by teenagers under a certain age.
However, she is in favor of regulating, via federal legislation, the use of cell phones in schools. Sheinbam noted on Aug. 17 that cell phone use in classrooms is already banned in half of Mexico’s 32 federal entities.
At today’s mañanera, Education Minister Mario Delgado provided a summary of the results of a survey in which teachers were asked to offer their views about students’ use of phones and other electronic devices at schools.
Delgado also highlighted that the families of public primary school students have received a payment from the government to assist them with educational expenses.
In a nutshell, today’s mañanera — held at a school in Mexico City — was significant as the government sought to show that it is committed to supporting the nation’s children and adolescents on their educational journeys, and protecting them from risks associated with the use of social media and electronic devices.
28 million students return to school
Sheinbaum noted that she was holding her Monday morning press conference at the No. 10 “Artes Gráficas” secondary school in the Mexico City neighborhood of Doctores, located in the Cuauhtémoc borough.
“With a lot of affection, we say hello to all the young people … who are here with us and to the millions of girls, boys and adolescents who are starting classes today,” she said.
President Sheinbaum gave her morning presser among students of the No. 10 “Artes Gráficas” school in Mexico City — a first day of school to remember — where she also presented the “ABC of Emotions,” a new guidebook and educational campaign to help students manage their mental health, identify warning signs and engage responsibly with digital technologies. (Házel Cardenas/Presidencia)
Sheinbaum noted that a total of 28 million students across Mexico are starting the new school year on Monday.
After the president’s opening remarks, Mexico’s national anthem played and students from “Artes Gráficas” performed the Mexican flag ceremony.
Delgado: All public primary school students received a government scholarship
Delgado told reporters that more than 1.6 million teachers across Mexico are also starting the new school year on Monday.
“We’re very happy about this return [to school] because it’s different,” the education minister said, highlighting that all public primary school students received the Rita Cetina government scholarship to assist them with their education expenses.
“Nearly 10 million girls and boys have a scholarship,” Delgado said, referring to public primary school students.
He noted that students at public secondary and high schools also receive government scholarships.
“This is the first school year in which we have universal coverage,” Delgado said.
Delgado: More than 500,000 teachers completed a questionnaire about students’ use of cell phones at school
Delgado told reporters that 565,396 teachers last week completed an online questionnaire about students’ use of cell phones and other electronic devices at school.
He said that 81% of those teachers are in favor of there being “guidelines and rules to guarantee the safe use [of devices] for educational purposes.”
Delgado highlighted that 48% of surveyed teachers said that students’ use of devices, including smartwatches, makes it difficult to maintain their attention in the classroom.
He also noted that almost 40% of surveyed teachers said that “conflicts” between students that began on social media are “transferred” to schools.
Delgado also said that 51% of surveyed teachers are in favor of the establishment of “protocols to attend to situations of risk” related to students’ use of electronic devices and the internet. He said that a majority of teachers are also in favor of schools reaching agreements with parents “so that they also help with this issue regarding access to technology.”
Sheinbaum says teacher and student participation in determining cell phone rules and social media regulation is ‘very important’
After acknowledging that the social media company Meta has to pay “a very significant amount” — US $18 billion — to U.S. states and territories to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram harmed children, Sheinbaum said it is “true” that social media is a source of “messages of hate” and “abuse.” In addition, it “causes addiction,” she said.
Sheinbaum subsequently said that the participation of teachers and students in the consultation process ahead of the formulation of regulations on the use of cell phones in schools and young people’s social media use is “very important.”
“As of now, 81% of teachers agree that cell phones shouldn’t be used during class time and break times,” she said.
At an upcoming meeting of “all education ministers” — i.e. Delgado and the ministers of all 32 federal entities — a national rule regarding cell phone use at schools “will be determined,” the president said.
Sheinbaum: We don’t want anyone to leave school for an economic reason
Near the end of today’s mañanera, Sheinbaum said that the reason for providing scholarships to all public primary students was to ensure that they have “the bare minimum” they need for school — i.e., “uniforms, classroom materials and shoes.”
“That puts … [them] on an equal footing in the classroom,” she said.
“The classroom shouldn’t be a space of differentiation regarding who has more and who has less,” Sheinbaum said.
“… We don’t want anyone to leave school for an economic reason,” she added.
The firearms bust was a joint operation led by the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) and its Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC). (FGR)
Federal agents intercepted three gun-runners just south of the U.S. border, resulting in the seizure of an arsenal of high-powered weapons hidden in two tractor-trailers that had crossed into Mexico from Texas.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch issued a statement early Monday describing the bust of 210 firearms as a joint operation led by the Federal Attorney General’s Office and its Criminal Investigation Agency.
En Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, elementos de la Agencia de Investigación Criminal de la @FGRMexico, en coordinación con @Defensamx, @SEMAR_mx, @SSPCMexico y @GN_MEXICO_, detuvieron a tres personas que transportaban desde Texas, Estados Unidos, un arsenal de alto poder destinado a… pic.twitter.com/DwMLc8goa3
In coordination with members of the Defense Ministry, the Navy, the Security Ministry and the National Guard, the three suspects were detained on the Nuevo Laredo-Monterrey highway near Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, 137 kilometers south of Laredo, Texas.
“This action was the result of intelligence and investigative efforts to identify and dismantle the routes used to illegally introduce weapons into our country,” García Harfuch said.
With the confiscation of the weapons — 195 long guns, 15 short guns and an undisclosed amount of magazines — federal authorities have now seized more than 30,000 firearms since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office on Oct. 1, 2024.
“Shared responsibility demands curbing drug trafficking to the United States, but also stopping, with equal firmness, the flow of weapons from the United States to Mexico,” García Harfuch said.
The exact location of the incident was not publicly stated, but U.S. Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of Joint Task Force-Southern Border, expressed gratitude to his Mexican counterparts.
“We greatly appreciate the support of our Mexican Army partners as we work together to combat this threat to the border region,” he said.
Why would a woman decide to fake a pregnancy and see it through to its ultimate consequences?
This is the central question that Chilean director Maite Alberdi — an Oscar nominee for “The Mole Agent” and “The Eternal Memory” — sets out to answer in “Un Hijo Propio,” or “A Child of My Own,” a Chilean-Mexican coproduction and Alberdi’s first project shot outside her home country.
Recently released on Netflix, “A Child of My Own” chronicles real events that took place in Mexico City in 2009.
The story follows Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza, a young woman who pretends to be pregnant for months and ultimately kidnaps a newborn baby to sustain her lie. It is a crime that still shocks Mexico, and for which Marín served more than 13 years in the Santa Martha Acatitla prison.
Unlike conventional true crime, which often revels in sensationalism, this 96-minute documentary takes a more human and intimate approach. Through a structure that combines reenactments and real testimonies, the film chooses to explore the sociological and psychological causes of the event.
Or, as Alberdi said in an interview with Marie Claire, “I was never interested in making a film focused solely on what happened, but rather in trying to understand the ‘whys’: what personal, family, and social context lies behind their decisions.”
Widely acclaimed by international critics, “A Child of My Own” is already emerging as a strong favorite to represent Mexico at the upcoming Goya and Oscar awards.
If you haven’t added it to your streaming list yet, here are four compelling reasons not to miss it.
A Child of My Own | Official Trailer | Netflix
1. A documentary that surpasses any fiction
The first reason to get hooked on this documentary is its plot: a true story that captivates with its almost unbelievable scope.
The film traces the married life of Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza, also known as Ale, with a sensitive performance by Ana Celeste Montalvo in the dramatized segments, and portrays a young woman whose identity has been completely reduced to her reproductive role. Somewhere between the absurd and the tragic, we witness a farce that defies all logic.
Like many Mexican women, Alejandra always dreamed of a traditional home and a family full of children. With that goal in mind, she marries Arturo Calderón Gamiño (played by Armando Espitia) at a young age, but her plans are thwarted when she suffers several miscarriages.
As if that weren’t enough, she is forced to cope with an increasingly hostile environment, especially since her husband blames her for the losses and rejects the idea of adoption.
Under pressure from her suffocating family and her own desire, Alejandra hides her miscarriage and pretends she’s still expecting a baby. To keep up the charade, she drastically changes her routine: she gains weight to simulate a growing belly, obtains fake ultrasound images at her workplace and organizes her own baby shower.
Against all odds, her scheme seems to finally come to fruition when she meets a pregnant woman willing to give up her newborn, and they reach an informal agreement. But, as is often the case with lies, the situation eventually spirals out of control, and the documentary takes a surprising turn.
Revealing exactly what happens would spoil the key plot twists. What we can tell you is that Alberdi dissects the anatomy of the farce, showing how a lie and a mental health crisis escalate into a serious crime.
One of the documentary’s more striking moments comes from Alejandra, who sums up her tragedy: “I was afraid that [Arturo] would leave me because I hadn’t been able to become a mother, and that I would be singled out and judged. In the end, I was judged for something much worse.”
The protagonist of the film Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza. (Luis Antonio Rojas/Netflix)
2. A narrative structure that breaks the mold
Another reason to watch “A Child of My Own” is its narrative structure: a bold blend of dramatizations and real-life testimonies. Overall, this project differs from Alberdi’s previous works in that it is divided into two distinct sections that play with the viewer’s expectations.
The film begins with the casting call to select the actress who will play Alejandra. From there, the first half unfolds as a traditional fictional drama. Through the use of professional actors and meticulous staging, this section reconstructs the events from the protagonist’s perspective. It’s a practical tool for understanding how social pressure and the trauma of failed pregnancies led her to mental dissociation and the creation of a parallel reality in front of her family.
Among them are Alejandra herself, her husband Arturo, Judge Taissia Cruz Parcero, and Mayra Navarro, the mother of the abducted child. The film’s hybrid nature requires the viewer to confront a woman in crisis before unpacking the structural causes of the problem.
3. Alberdi’s judicious direction
The third reason to watch this documentary is Alberdi’s judicious direction, as she intelligently distances herself from the sensationalism that often plagues the true crime genre. Instead of seeking visual impact or exploiting the scandal, the Chilean filmmaker’s camerawork stands out for its maturity, compassion and respect.
Alberdi masterfully walks a fine line: she films her subject with profound humanity, yet without ever justifying the crime or glossing over the gravity of the theft. The director delivers a well-rounded work that trusts the viewer, demonstrating that documentary film is not meant to condemn, but to help us understand the most complex dimensions of the human condition.
Historically, Latin American society — and especially Mexico — has demanded that women fulfill the maternal role. When a woman does not have children, it is common for those around her to judge her and make her feel incomplete or dysfunctional.
“A Child of My Own” shows the consequences that this cultural mandate can entail. Without resorting to simplistic judgments, the documentary analyzes the reproductive expectations placed on women.
Rather than simply recounting the kidnapping, the film strives to shed light on the cultural forces and the familial and institutional negligence, such as the lack of psychological support following pregnancy loss, that contributed to the crime.
In this case, Alejandra resorts to lying to protect herself from the constant rejection of those around her and from her own sense of failure as a woman and a wife.
“Of course, Alejandra committed a crime; of course, she had to go to prison. But at the same time, she is a victim of the system. She is a victim of her family,” Alberdi told the BBC in an interview.
Undoubtedly, one of the greatest strengths of this film lies in its ability to shake the viewer with pressing questions: Why is a woman’s worth still reduced to her reproductive capacity? And, above all, what are we doing to change this collective reality?
Carolina Alvarado is a Venezuelan journalist who has devoted much of her career to creative writing, university teaching and social work. She has been published in Lady Science, Latina Media, Global Comment, Psiquide, Cinetopic, Get Me Giddy and Reader’s Digest, among others.
Charrería in Mexico is long and storied. Speaking of stories, it's a stranger one than you might think. (File Photo)
Charrería, Mexico’s national sport, is a unique competitive equestrian tradition deeply associated with Mexican identity. Mexico was home to the first cowboys, and the charro suit, since adopted by mariachis, remains one of the most iconic symbols by which Mexico is recognized around the globe.
Unlike popular traditions like Day of the Dead, which have deep roots in Indigenous heritage, charrería is a product of cultural syncretism. It emerged from the combination of European influences and native traditions. However, it also blended European fashion, ranching practices and local ingenuity, creating something distinctly Mexican.
Charrería is Mexico’s national sport. (Gobierno de Mexico)
Of all these influences, two stand out. The fashion preferences of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg and the strong fibers of a plant known as henequén. While seemingly unrelated, these two elements shaped the ranching lifestyle of charrería and the competitive spirit that followed, producing a lasting legacy.
Let’s explore how a plant and an Emperor influenced one of Mexico’s most cherished traditions.
Henequén in Yucatán
“Perhaps the most important single local contribution to charrería is the henequén rope,” Chuy Mora, a third-generation charro in Guadalajara and founder of Entre Charros cultural experiences, told me. “Without henequén ropes, we wouldn’t have charrería as we have it today.”
Henequén is a strong, natural fiber extracted from the leaves of an agave plant native to the Yucatán Peninsula. Known as “ki” in the Mayan language, the native communities used henequén fibers to produce ropes and twine, among other goods.
The ropes used by the natives were stronger and lighter than those traditionally used in Europe, which were mostly made from local plant fibers like hemp and flax. While strong and flexible, they would break easily.
“Although rope had always existed, the materials were very weak, and the result was a weak and thin rope which was very difficult to wield,” Mora said.
Henequén had a profound influence on the charrería. (Gobierno de Mexico)
When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Mexico and discovered the benefits of henequén, they established a large agro-industry around it. During the 19th and 20th centuries, it was exported in large quantities from Yucatán to the United States and Europe, to support commercial goods like sacks, bags and rugs — in addition to cords and ropes.
The effect of henequén on cattle ranching
Just as henequén ropes held ships steady on the high seas and tied down crops in the fields, they also supported the evolution of charrería. The cattle sector, in particular, not only benefited from henequén ropes but changed dramatically because of them.
“Henequén revolutionized cattle management because the rope wouldn’t break when roping an animal,” Mora pointed out. “It also revolutionized the saddle. From being made of straw or leather, they had to add a wooden frame that could withstand the rope tie. It revolutionized livestock farming worldwide.”
The suertes (“chances” or “luck”) charros perform in today’s charrería competitions, which replicate the techniques ranchers traditionally use to manage their cattle, were made possible by henequén. Without it, the skills charros use today to wield ropes wouldn’t exist.
“Thanks to henequén, ranchers developed new skills in handling the rope that were not possible before,” Mora said.
The popularity of henequén eventually decreased after synthetic fibers were invented in the 20th century. But its long-lasting impacts cannot be overstated.
Maximilian’s influence on the charro suit
Maximilian, the short-lived Habsburg Emperor, helped to popularize the charro suit in Mexico. (Public Domain)
Over a century and a half ago, Mexico was ruled by Austrian Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg and his wife Carlota, during a period known as the Second Mexican Empire. Although they reigned for only a short period of time (1864-1867), Maximilian and Carlota left a lasting impact on Mexico’s culture. One of these influences was the charro outfit, significantly shaped by Maximilian’s fashion preferences.
“Maximilian didn’t want to impose European fashion in Mexico,” Mora said. “Rather, he wanted to reach out to the people and project an image of a popular emperor.”
Instead of wearing rigid European uniforms when he toured the country, Maximilian adopted and promoted the dress of Mexican hacendados (landowners), which blended Spanish and local elements.
Until then, the charro attire was practical and more closely tied to the countryside and ranch life. It was the dress workers would wear during fieldwork. Under Maximilian and Carlota, the suit became a prestigious fashion item. So much so that the upper classes began wearing it, too. Thus it soon acquired an air of aristocratic elegance at receptions, parties and parades.
Nearly a century later, during Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema, the image of the charro was deeply cemented in the collective imagination through legendary figures like Jorge Negrete and Pedro Infante. Their performances, often wearing the charro dress inspired by Maximilian, turned charros into a cultural icon. These movie stars embodied a proud, romantic, and distinctly masculine ideal of Mexican identity.
The cultural legacy of mariachis
This ideal traveled the world thanks to the mariachi, who adopted the charro suit early in the 20th century.
Coplas (Remasterizado) - Jorge Negrete y Pedro Infante Full HD
“The mariachi of Justo Villa, made up of four musicians, was originally from Cocula, Jalisco. When Porfirio Díaz visited the hacienda of La Sauceda, he heard them play and took them with him to Mexico City,” Mora explained. “From there, they were sent to a fair in Chicago, and they sent them dressed in charro suits. This was the beginning of their international fame.”
The charro suit remains Mexico’s most emblematic dress. It is made up of a short jacket, fitted trousers with silver buttons, a white cotton shirt, a bow tie, a wide-brimmed sombrero and ankle boots. Depending on the occasion, a charro can choose from three versions. There’s the work suit, the half-gala suit, and the gala suit. However, mariachis always wear the gala suit.
Gabriela Solis is a Mexican lawyer turned full-time writer. She was born and raised in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her lifestyle blog Dunas y Palmeras.
As a preventative to potential illegal immigration, the U.S. has asked Mexico to keep its citizens from looking at the border. (This image was generated using AI tools)
WASHINGTON, District of Columbia — Following high-level security talks in Washington on Thursday, U.S. officials formally requested that the Mexican government enact a nationwide buffer zone preventing its own citizens from coming within line-of-sight distance of the international boundary, foreign ministry sources confirmed.
The request, presented by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Velasco, would require an estimated 12 million residents of border communities to either relocate inland or close their eyes whenever facing north.
Although Mexico would not agree to preventing its citizens from even looking at the border, it did agree to install topes on northern-facing footpaths to make approaching the boundary slightly more inconvenient. (This image was generated using AI tools)
According to delegates familiar with the private meeting, U.S. negotiators expressed concern that the mere physical presence of Mexican citizens on Mexican soil creates an operational hazard for illegal immigration.
“The fundamental issue is proximity,” said a senior U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic protocol. “When a Mexican citizen stands on a sidewalk in Ciudad Juárez and looks across the river, it creates an atmosphere of potential movement. We are simply asking Mexico to manage its geography in a way that aligns with our political preferences.”
Under the proposed bilateral security framework, Mexican authorities would establish a 15-kilometer “Visual Exclusion Zone” along the northern frontier. Municipal planners in Tijuana are reportedly evaluating giant canvas curtains to obscure views of San Diego, while residents of Nogales may soon be required to submit weekly affidavits certifying they have no immediate plans to walk in a northerly direction.
Ministry officials reportedly countered by offering to install topes on northern-pointing footpaths, noting that bilateral cooperation has already yielded historic reductions in cross-border foot traffic.
The diplomatic friction comes despite public statements from both governments praising recent progress on counter-narcotics and security integration. In a post on X following the bilateral summit, Velasco noted that existing security cooperation schemes have “yielded the best results in the region,” though he did not clarify whether those results included the eventual depopulation of northern Mexico.
U.S. officials remain hopeful that a compromise can be reached before the upcoming fiscal quarter, proposing that Mexican citizens wishing to live near the border apply for a special domestic presence permit certifying that their proximity is entirely coincidental.
A Canadian couple has spent decades tracking down the best cenotes in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, which they've written about in a new guidebook. (Jared Rice/Unsplash)
For Canadian forester David Palmer, a deep dive into the history and majesty of Mexico’s crystal-blue cenotes has been a decades-long fascination. Palmer and his wife, Doris Demers, are cenote hunters.
Sometimes, this involves visiting two or three per day, during a month-long visit to the country. Palmer says this challenge has been nothing short of awe-inspiring.
David Palmer has dedicated years to finding Mexico’s greatest cenotes. (Doris Demers)
“I’ve never seen a cenote I didn’t like,” Palmer says. “Our aim was to cover the whole [Yucatán Peninsula], physically and geographically, taking in as many cenotes as we could. We’re at about 140.”
Scattered throughout the Mexican states of Yucatán and Quintana Roo, there are believed to be around 10,000 cenotes. However, only around 250 can be visited. That’s because many of these cenotes are buried underground.
The Yucatán has very few permanent surface-level rivers; many of them are subterranean. Rainwater infiltrates the porous limestone landscapes and makes its way into these cenotes and caves.
The name for the natural sinkholes scattered throughout the Yucatán Peninsula comes from the Maya word tsʼonoʼot, meaning accessible groundwater. They have been regular water supplies and also used for sacrificial purposes throughout Mesoamerican history. Without them, the National Institute of Anthropology and History notes, the growth of Maya civilization would have been very difficult.
A guidebook to Mexico’s cenotes
For Palmer and Demers, their great endeavor to hunt down as many cenotes as they could spawned an idea for an English-language guidebook.
On a chance encounter with a fellow Canadian couple who owned a bookstore in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Palmer said he knew there was an opportunity. The owners told Palmer that, despite growing demand and questions from visitors about an English-language guidebook, they did not have one available for the region’s iconic natural wonders.
“Now that piqued my interest,” Palmer said. “Since we were going around looking at them anyway, we started to keep an account.”
The crystal blue waters of cenote X’Batun in the Yucatán Peninsula. (David Palmer)
He set out to capture their majesty and beauty, one sinkhole at a time. The new book, “A Guide to the Cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula,” is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
“The caverns may remain hidden for centuries until a probing tree root pokes an opening into the ceiling of the cavern, revealing the wondrous world below,” the book reads. “Sometimes, in sinkhole fashion, an entire section of the surface will collapse into this watery underworld.”
Scientists have established that the Sistema Ox Bel Ha, covering vast stretches of the Yucatán Peninsula, is the longest underwater cave system in the world and the second-longest general cave system ever explored, behind the 686-km-long Mammoth Cave National Park system in Kentucky in the U.S.
Their special place in Mexico’s landscape and cultural identity has been brought into focus over the years through investigations into wastewater management and increased urbanization.
Where are the best cenotes?
Nestled between Calle 37 and Calle 39 in the city of Valladolid, you will find Cenote Zaci.
“It’s 50 meters across and 80 meters deep,” Palmer says. “I thought it was gorgeous, absolutely stunning.”
The most iconic cenote of all may be Zaci, occupying an entire city block in downtown Valladolid. “If you can visit only one cenote, this one is stunning.” (David Palmer)
However, when a local hardware store owner heard those comments, she told him that Zaci was nothing when compared to the magnificent Dzitnup.
“(It’s) 10,000 times better,” the owner told Palmer.
Palmer said some locals took their entrance fees and pointed towards the direction of the cenote. The concerning part for Palmer and Demers was that the entrance was a small hole in the ground.
“Down we went, a little bit warily. We’d never been in an underground one before,” Palmer says.
According to the forthcoming guidebook, “A shaft of light from the hole in the ceiling plays over the shimmering mystical water and some of the most spectacular limestone formations in the region are on display. [It’s] the cenote that made cenotes famous in 1995 when National Geographic featured it on its cover.”
Forget your worries at X’Batun and X’ooch
The world-famous tree roots dangling into Cenote X’ooch have been shared around the globe thanks to travel magazines and nature photographers. (David Palmer)
As you snake your way down the 20-meter stone staircase towards Cenote X’Batun, its glassy water has an alluring quality. Located a stone’s throw from San Antonio Mulix and 50 kilometers south of Mérida, there’s a good reason it featured prominently on Palmer’s list.
“It is an open, low-walled oasis where the jungle comes right down to the gorgeous turquoise water, and so does the bird life,” he said.
Within the guidebook, visitors to this cenote are told to keep their eyes peeled for several bird species, including colorful kiskadees, orioles and motmot.
However, Palmer said people need to take care when approaching the water, as there are slippery steps that require attention.
“Once in the water, it is heavenly,” Palmer said.
Meanwhile, Cenote Xooch’s image is one that has been made world-famous through travel magazines and nature photography. The cascading Alamo tree roots fall into the shimmering blue cenote. It’s an image that continues to go viral through travel influencers. Snorkeling is also very popular at this vast circular cenote due to the clarity and depth.
John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for more than 30 years and is the author of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors in Western Mexico.” More of his writing can be found on his website.
Diego Rivera's "La Creación" at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso. (Credit: Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso)
Ten years ago, a team of researchers began investigating the presence of beeswax in Diego Rivera’s famous mural, “La Creación,” alongside other encaustic murals painted in Mexico in the 1920s.
Beeswax was of special interest, as the ingredient was an unusual component in the ancient Greek painting technique that Rivera claimed to have brought back to life.
Now, a decade later, the conclusion is final: There is no wax in “La Creación.”
According to one of the project’s lead researchers, Sandra Zetina Ocaña, the scientific finding is further supported by contemporaneous accounts.
“It’s in the books,” Zetina Ocaña, art historian and conservation scientist specializing in materials and techniques at Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, tells me. She points to younger muralists, like Fernando Leal and Ramón Alva de la Canal, who, in the book “Mexican Mural Renaissance,” recalled that Rivera lied about his fresco technique to promote confusion.
But the story of “La Creación” is much larger than some lie Rivera allegedly peddled to the public.
It is a testament to the exploration of the meaning of materials in Mexican muralism and a reminder of how art and science can work together to reveal new dimensions of the creative process.
The controversial beginning of Rivera’s ‘La Creación’
In the early 1920s, Rivera returned to post-revolutionary Mexico after a decade spent living in Paris.
At the time, Mexico’s secretary of public education, José Vasconcelos, was grappling with the high level of illiteracy among the country’s populace. Eager to galvanize the education of the masses, he hired Rivera to paint a mural in the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso.
The mural, “La Creación,” depicts creation as a spiritual enterprise, showing the birth of humankind with Adam and Eve, as told in the Biblical story of “Genesis,” while also paying tribute to ancient Greek mythology. The cardinal and three theological virtues and the nine muses who inspire creativity are all symbolized with Latin American features, hinting at the philosophical interests of Vasconcelos.
Diego Rivera painting the figure representing “knowledge in “La Creacion.” (Credit: José María Lupercio via INAH)
As models for the muses, Rivera used women emancipated during the cultural movement of post-revolutionary Mexico.
“All the women portrayed are fascinating,” Zetina Ocaña says, adding that they “changed what it meant to be a woman.”
Critics at the time praised Rivera’s playful use of proportions, claiming he “revives monumental painting not only in Mexico, but throughout the world.” Jean Charlot, a French painter who later worked in the U.S. and Mexico, said that Rivera successfully bridged Cubism and large-scale mural painting.
Today, “La Creación” is widely considered the starting point of Mexican muralism.
However, despite the positive reviews, Vasconcelos disliked the mural, arguing that Rivera failed to capture the Mexican spirit.
Rivera himself later conceded that, “despite the effort to express genuine Mexican beauty in the characters, it still resists in its execution and even in its internal meaning, because of overly strong European influences.”
Rivera’s decade-long stay in Europe was not only reflected in the mural’s Byzantine iconography and Cubist style. It extended into his painting technique as well.
Encaustic painting is defined by the cauterization process of a substance that changes when heated, usually with beeswax or other terpenic resins. It was developed by the ancient Greeks and rediscovered during the Renaissance.
Leonardo Da Vinci reportedly tried applying the technique to a wall painting of “The Battle of Anghiari” but ultimately failed and never finished the work.
A 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Egypt, depicting Peter the Apostle. (Credit: Public Domain)
In a dialogue with his fellow artist Juan O’Gorman, later published by the Colegio Nacional, Rivera discussed his use of encaustic painting in “La Creación.”
“It can truly be said that [with ‘La Creación’] true encaustic painting was restored for the first time since the Greco-Roman period,” Rivera told O’Gorman.
According to Rivera, he had mixed beeswax with elemi and copal resins, added it to solvents and pigments, then cauterized the surface of the mural with a blowtorch to obtain a smooth finish. Going one step further, he claimed that he had innovated an encaustic technique unique to Mexico by incorporating the copal resin as a binding material.
Technique as an inseparable part of the image
For the next century, Rivera’s claims about the use of encaustic painting in “La Creación” went largely unchallenged.
That is, until a group of conservators, art historians and chemists at UNAM decided to look a bit deeper and perform a forensic study of the mural, hoping to identify its material aspect.
To understand why, for more than a decade, a team of researchers under the leadership of UNAM’s Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias para la Conservación y la Investigación del Patrimonio Cultural (LANCIC), Nuria Esturau Escofet, an analytical chemist at the Instituto de Química, and Zetina Ocaña investigated traces of beeswax in Rivera’s mural, one must understand the importance of materials in the artistic process.
David Alfaro Siqueiros, considered one of the “three greats of muralism,” wrote in “How to Paint a Mural” that “It must not be forgotten that the materials and tools of production in the visual arts have a generative and determining value, both formally and aesthetically.”
Zetina Ocaña similarly explained that what she finds so compelling about Mexican art in the early- to mid-20th century is its focus on thematic and material reinvention.
Siqueiros, for example, incorporated nitrocellulose paints, originally an industrial lacquer for cars, into his murals. Besides enabling him to paint dynamic colors quickly, the use of industrial materials carried an ideological meaning as well: breaking with elitist artistic traditions and reflecting the technological progress of the time.
Similarly, Pablo Aguilar-Rodríguez, a chemist at UNAM and collaborator on the forensic investigation of “La Creación,” points to the work of Mexican painter and Rivera’s son-in-law, Rafael Coronel.
According to chemical analysis, Coronel used a type of dental filling as a binding material in his mural “Paisaje Abstracto.”
“It is a material that was completely unrelated to that purpose, and at the time the mural was painted, it represented a major technical innovation,” Aguilar-Rodríguez says. “Understanding it from this chemical perspective tells me that Coronel innovated not only in his content, but also in his materials.”
Aguilar-Rodríguez adds, “Being able to understand art from that perspective seems very, very special to me. I don’t think Coronel’s intention could have been understood without this analysis.”
The forensic analysis: Where is the beeswax?
A team of scientists and art historians examined Diego Rivera’s “La Creación” to determine its material composition. (Photo courtesy of Pablo Aguilar Rodriguez)
To understand Rivera’s peculiar technical approach and to test his claims about the use of beeswax and copal in his mural, the research team employed an elaborate process.
Zetina Ocaña meticulously examined the mural to determine which areas were best suited for further chemical analysis. Then she went on to study the samples with optical, digital and Scanning Electron Microscopy to characterize pigments and to identify different layers. Chemists then analyzed the samples with micro FTIR, chromatographic analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to reveal the organic compounds.
Although all the samples showed traces of copal, none revealed the presence of beeswax.
While pursuing his doctorate, Aguilar-Rodríguez had developed a technique in which spectroscopy and microscopy are combined to create chemical maps of paintings, identifying polymers such as acrylics and nitrocellulose or beeswax.
“I was able to identify beeswax very clearly in another work by Diego Rivera, ‘El Matemático,’ so I could use the samples that had already been taken from ‘La Creación’ and analyze them again using this same methodology,” Aguilar-Rodríguez says.
But when analyzing the samples that Zetina Ocaña had sourced from “La Creación,” he, too, failed to back up Rivera’s claims.
‘As an art historian, I could not believe it.’
A team of scientists and art historians examined Diego Rivera’s “La Creación” to determine its material composition. (Photo courtesy of Pablo Aguilar Rodriguez)
The researchers hypothesized that the application of heat during the encaustic procedure might have eliminated any traces of beeswax. To test this, they burned beeswax and copal mock-ups to different degrees. But no matter how much heat they applied to the material, it was always detected in further testing.
Next, they wanted to determine whether the beeswax had potentially degraded and been lost to time. However, after analyzing samples from other encaustic murals of Rivera’s time, they successfully confirmed the presence of beeswax, leaving little doubt about the truth behind “La Creación.”
“No, there isn’t any beeswax,” Aguilar-Rodríguez says. “There never was. It didn’t degrade. It simply wasn’t added in the first place.”
Zetina Ocaña says that every time she met with her team, she left with a headache.
“They would tell me, ‘There’s no wax.’ And I’d say, ‘Really?’ They would look at me and say, ‘There’s no wax, Sandra,’” Zetina Ocaña says. “As an art historian, I could not believe it.”
Beyond the truth: Cultural heritage and the synergy of art and science
The question of whether Rivera used an ancient painting technique goes beyond the question of truth and the meaning of materials in the artistic process.
It is part of a broader dialogue that centers the future of Mexico’s cultural heritage.
Cultural heritage is the conglomerate of artifacts, belief systems and traditions that define a nation’s identity and history. Mexico is particularly rich in its cultural heritage, earning the ninth spot on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
But time takes its toll on physical artifacts, and their conservation is becoming increasingly important.
In another study led by the group, Frida Kahlo’s painting “Dos Fridas” was analyzed to understand the inherent degradation process when frequently transporting the artwork for exhibition.
The white regions painted with zinc oxide proved especially concerning, while lactic acid was found to be a significant culprit behind the artwork’s degradation. The researchers also concluded that cleaning the artwork with water might accelerate the chemical breakdown of the organic compounds.
Likewise, to understand the conservation challenges of Coronel’s “Paisaje Abstracto” and develop a proper treatment, his unknown binding material had to be identified. The dental filling material uncovered during forensic analysis paved the way for an effective conservation strategy.
“Las Dos Fridas” by Frida Kahlo hangs in the Cabinet Room of the Museum of Modern Art. (Credit: INBAL)
‘A historian’s dream’
Dr. María de las Mercedes Sierra Kehoe, an art historian and postgraduate faculty member at Facultad de Estudios Superiores Cuautitlán at UNAM, highlights the beauty of bridging art and science.
Mercedes Sierra Kehoe has served on multidisciplinary research teams that include art historians, conservation specialists and scientists from LANCIC. She was not involved with the forensic analysis of “La Creación”
She and her colleagues analyzed Rivera’s “Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central” using various techniques like X-ray fluorescence, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and reflectance spectroscopy to identify the pigments and materials that make up the mural’s color palette.
“Bringing the humanities and science together has allowed us to discover and recognize elements, processes and projects that would not have been possible to uncover without these instruments,” Mercedes Sierra Kehoe tells me. “It is a historian’s dream.”
Without practical applications, though, scientific discoveries risk losing their salience.
“I always praise the work of my colleagues in conservation,” Mercedes Sierra Kehoe says. “They are heroes without capes, because ultimately they are responsible for ensuring that our historical heritage endures.”
Deliberate deception or something more innocent?
Despite the recent scientific revelations behind “La Creación,” one question remains: Why would Diego Rivera misrepresent the techniques he used in its composition?
“He is a very talented artist, but he is a very erudite artist — an artist who studied a lot, who practiced a lot, who researched a lot,” Zetina Ocaña says. “What is true is that he had painted with wax, because we have a beautiful painting which he presented at an Autumn Salon as an encaustic wax painting.”
According to Zetina Ocaña, Rivera may not have been trying to intentionally dupe the public at all. Rather, it might’ve been a case of timing and the painter merely getting ahead of himself.
“He hadn’t even started painting yet, and they were already publishing an article about him in the newspaper,” Zetina Ocaña explains. “And that’s where he says he’s going to use wax, the encaustic technique.”
Mercedes Sierra Kehoe offers another perspective on Rivera.
“A very important part of Diego Rivera is that we have to understand that he was a great painter who understood the art market — he knew how to sell himself, he knew how to work the media,” she explains. Might he just have wanted to create a buzz about his mural?
Or, maybe, he was simply lying.
Much like a chef who doesn’t want to reveal his secret recipe, or an inventor working on a patent, Zetina Ocaña explains, Rivera was known to have lied about his painting techniques — a deliberate deception to hide his artistic process and “a particular way of making something that is very personal.”
Whatever the reason, Zetina Ocaña says that 10 years on, she’s left with more questions than answers.
“I think that when you ask a research question that is successful as a question, it generates more questions, right?”
She goes on to say, “It became an even greater mystery,” adding, “It is also like a good novel, a good poem — something always remains.”
Zetina Ocaña invokes Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges, who likened the “aesthetic moment” to being left in a conversation that doesn’t end.
“And that is what I feel with this mural: That it is a conversation that opened up, and that we continue to have, and that I believe will give rise to other conversations.”
Katy Alivraz is a contributor to Mexico News Daily.
Challenging yourself to speak Spanish in group settings is also an important step. (Credit: Cande Westh via Unsplash)
The goal of our “From the Archive” series is to revisit popular stories that capture the unique history and culture of life in Mexico. This Sarah DeVries article, for example — originally published in November 2019 — explores the leap of faith required when learning Mexican Spanish.
When I first arrived in Mexico, I had two years of college-level Spanish under my belt. While I was an enthusiastic learner, I was also a very self-conscious speaker, terrified of making embarrassing mistakes and generally sounding like a 2-year-old.
I did, in fact, sound like a 2-year-old at first, as there’s simply no way around being a “baby” when one is first learning. Happily, I survived that stage and now speak at least as well as a know-it-all 13-year-old.
Part of my apprehension with the language was the sense that Mexico’s love-hate relationship with the United States would lead to some situations in which I’d be mocked for my accent or mistakes that I would inevitably make.
After all, most people here know very well how Latinos are treated by certain segments of the U.S. population when they’re on the other side of the border, so I’d imagined that the temptation to dish some out to us collectively would be at least a little irresistible.
For the most part, that didn’t happen. It’s also possible that I simply didn’t realize it was happening, but I think most of us humans have a pretty good sense of when others are laughing at us.
Flicking through phrasebooks and grammar books can also help you acquire a new language. (Credit: Bruno Guerroro via Unsplash)
Once in a while someone will have a longish conversation with me (in Spanish) and then say something like, “So, you don’t speak Spanish, eh?” or they’ll point out that they “could tell right away that I was American because of my accent” which always makes me bristle, as I’m pretty sure my accent is, while definitely existent, not obviously American.
(My Mexican friends may disagree with me on that one; I’d ask them, but the answer might be too painful for me to hear.)
There’s some sting in it, but I do my best to chalk up any unflattering comments about my Spanish to cosmic justice and not take it too personally.
In the part of Mexico where I live, English is not considered an essential skill the same way it is in the north or in tourist areas. Because of this, most foreigners in my area do their best with the language: they take classes, they practice, they work hard to get better.
They understand, above all, that learning the language of your hosts, if you are able, is a matter of respect.
When I traveled to Los Cabos recently to visit a friend, I saw how different things were in a town that depends on tourism from their English-speaking neighbors: I was addressed in English at all times, and if I answered in Spanish it almost seemed to startle people, as if they’d come into contact with a dog that had learned to produce human sounds.
For the most part, Mexicans are charmed when we non-native speakers at least try. They’re patient and encouraging, and try their best to be helpful. Mexico really is an ideal place to learn Spanish, as I can’t imagine another place in which more impromptu and consistent support among the general population would be given.
That said, I know many of my compatriots are shy about learning — and especially about using — the Spanish that they know already. I completely understand: there’s nothing that makes us feel quite as vulnerable as not being able to “prove” that we are smart, complex, discerning individuals.
There’s no way around sounding like a simpleton when we’re on that long uphill trajectory, and simply put, it can be a humiliating experience.
But again: at least attempting to learn the local language, if one is able, is a matter of respect. “Well then, what about all the people in the U.S. that haven’t bothered to learn English? I bet you don’t go around preaching to them about respect, do you?”
The short answer is that no, indeed I do not. Because here’s the difference: most people who go to the U.S. without already speaking English are in survival mode, just trying to make it from one day to the next, often working a dizzying number of hours both to both survive, and likely to send money back home.
Most Americans and Canadians, however, come to Mexico either in vacation or retirement mode. Some, sadly, come because their spouses or loved ones have been deported and they want to keep the family together.
If one is on vacation, of course, learning the language won’t be expected. But if you settle here, an effort must be made.
Find a school, or find a teacher. Find someone to sit and help you practice. Spend time just listening to people with no intention of adding to the conversation. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received for learning a language is literally to pretend to be a baby: listen to the sounds, watch people, let whole social situations piece themselves together and come into focus slowly.
Babies, after all, spend at least a couple of years listening and observing before they try to string together a sentence with more than four words in it.
On my first plane ride into Mexico, my nervousness increased with each sentence given in Spanish by the flight attendants: the more they spoke, the more I realized I wasn’t catching anything at all that they were saying.
Since then, I’ve made about a million mistakes, linguistically embarrassed myself in every way imaginable, and surely sounded much less sophisticated than I imagine myself to be.
But I’ve gained the ability to talk to most people on this side of the world and have developed some of the closest relationships of my lifetime in this language.
Sheinbaum addresses the graduating and incoming classes of the Colegio del Aire air force academy in Zapopan, Jalisco, on Aug. 26. (Gabriel Monroy/Presidencia)
The week of Aug. 24 in Mexico began on awkward footing following a Morena party faux pas in Sinaloa. Rubén Rocha Moya, currently under investigation in the United States for alleged collusion with the Sinaloa Cartel, briefly reclaimed the Sinaloa governorship after months on leave, only to retreat again two days later. Meanwhile, several storm systems dumped rain on most of the country, and an investigation into fuel theft in Tamaulipas turned up a startling menagerie of exotic animals.
Also this week, President Sheinbaum revealed new reforms and a US $6M windfall for Guerrero schools as she prepares to soon give her second annual report to the nation.
Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed.
Sheinbaum weighs in on Rocha’s status in Sinaloa
President Claudia Sheinbaum spent the week fielding questions about the fallout from Rocha Moya’s brief return to the Sinaloa governorship from Aug. 21–23 and the future of Sinaloa’s leadership.
At Monday’s mañanera, as Sonora’s cattle trade with the U.S. reopened, she addressed the episode directly for the first time, saying she learned of Rocha’s Friday return through his social media post and had no prior knowledge of his plans. “I didn’t think it was appropriate, to say the least,” she said, later calling the decision “imprudent.” She credited Rocha’s renewed leave request — approved unanimously by Sinaloa’s Congress that Sunday — as “the best thing for Sinaloa,” and dismissed rumors that former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had encouraged Rocha’s return as “political fiction.”
Sheinbaum extended the same standard to other Morena officials swept up in the same U.S. indictment. Asked on Tuesday about Senator Enrique Inzunza — one of 10 Sinaloa-linked officials accused by U.S. prosecutors of drug trafficking ties, who had signaled he might return to the Senate — she said the same principle applied. “Yesterday I gave my opinion on the case of the governor of Sinaloa, who is now on leave. I feel the same way about all 10 cases under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office,” she said. Inzunza subsequently separated from Morena’s Senate caucus on Wednesday, though he remains in office as senator.
Security forces delivered a string of blows against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) this week. A coordinated operation across Hidalgo, Jalisco and Michoacán from Aug. 21–23 resulted in 20 arrests and the seizure of weapons, drugs and exotic animals tied to the cartel, with authorities raiding 36 properties and confiscating firearms, fentanyl, methamphetamine, 113 vehicles and a drone jammer.
That action followed a separate military-led operation in Michoacán targeting alleged CJNG leader Heraclio “El Tío Lako” Guerrero Martínez last week, which produced roughly a dozen more arrests, including relatives of the suspect. Combined, the two operations brought the week’s tally of alleged CJNG detentions to 32, part of what Security Minister Omar García Harfuch described as an effort to systematically dismantle the group’s operational and financial capacity rather than simply rack up arrests.
Confusion and concern in Mexicali
A U.S. security alert warning of a possible “August 25 threat” in Mexicali created a tense but ultimately murky standoff between caution and normalcy. The alert prompted the U.S. Mission to suspend official travel and activity in the border city, reportedly linked to fears that the crime gang Los Rusos might retaliate after a 120-kilogram fentanyl seizure — roughly 4 million doses — from a property connected to the group.
Mexican officials responded by increasing patrols around public buildings, but as Tuesday came and went without a major incident, the federal security cabinet said it had found no evidence of a specific or imminent threat to the public. Residents described a largely normal day, and the Mexicali-Calexico border crossing remained open throughout, leaving the alert’s basis and its practical necessity still unclear.
Economic data: Record highs alongside warning signs
Trade data added to the good news: July exports hit a record US $81.4 billion, up 43.7% annually, driven by a 134% surge in electrical and electronic equipment shipments tied to U.S. demand for AI and data-center infrastructure inputs. At her Wednesday press conference, Sheinbaum cheered the numbers as proof of a “strong” economy, pointing to record FDI, 60 million people employed and a firm peso, and argued that years of minimum-wage increases had not triggered the inflation or capital flight critics once predicted.
Increasing FDI flows was one of the data points employed by Sheinbaum on Wednesday to back up the strength of Mexico’s economy. (Saúl López/Presidencia)
Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena presented a bill to put environmental justice at the center of Mexican law, proposing reforms to the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection. The initiative would require more forward-looking assessment of major projects, close loopholes that let developers split projects to dodge full environmental review, strengthen restoration and remediation requirements and add specific protections for environmental defenders and Indigenous, Afro-Mexican, rural and urban communities.
Foreign Minister strengthens ties in South Korea and Washington
Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco kept a packed international schedule this week. In Seoul, he met with South Korean officials and executives from Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Posco to promote investment in technology, semiconductors and education, part of groundwork for a 2026–30 bilateral action plan ahead of a planned visit by South Korea’s president. He then traveled to Washington, where he held his first face-to-face meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While both sides publicly stressed cooperation against drug and arms trafficking, Bloomberg reported that Washington privately pressed Mexico to do more to stop its own citizens from crossing into the U.S.
Aura farming battles debut in Mexico
A new social-media-driven trend reached Mexican public squares this week: aura farming battles, in which participants strike poses, dance and reference memes to project confidence and style while crowds judge who accumulates the most “aura.” Events popped up at Mexico City landmarks as well as in Xalapa and Torreón, though at least one Veracruz municipality banned the contests in public parks on administrative grounds.
Sheinbaum also unveiled a constitutional amendment that would bar dual nationals from running for president, governor or Mexico City mayor unless they renounce their other citizenship before registering as candidates. The government argues current constitutional language contains a loophole and that the country’s highest offices should be held only by people with unambiguous national allegiance — a proposal likely to draw scrutiny over its impact on Mexican-born citizens with binational ties.
Mexican athletes shine internationally
Cyclist Isaac del Toro won the Tour of Germany, becoming the first Latin American rider to capture the race, finishing 53 seconds ahead of France’s Louis Barré.
The coming weeks will test whether this week’s political and security cracks widen further. In Sinaloa, the ongoing conflict between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos remains unresolved, complicating the search for a permanent successor. Pressure is also unlikely to ease on other Morena-aligned officials named in the same U.S. indictment, amid broader questions about the party’s exposure to organized crime in states beyond Sinaloa. With Sheinbaum’s second annual report to the nation approaching, how she navigates these overlapping crises could shape both her security narrative and her party’s credibility heading into the fall.
Mexico News Daily
This story contains summaries of original Mexico News Daily articles. The summaries were generated by Claude, then revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.
