The value of a U.S. dollar hadn't dropped below 19 pesos since February 2020. (Graciela López Herrera / Cuartoscuro.com)
The Mexican peso closed at its strongest level against the U.S. dollar in almost three years on Wednesday, with one greenback buying fewer than 19 pesos for the first time since February 2020.
One U.S. dollar was worth 18.94 pesos at the close of trading, according to data from Mexico’s central bank.
The most recent previous time that the value of a greenback dropped below 19 pesos was February 21, 2020, when it bought 18.91 pesos at the close of that day’s trading.
The rise in the value of the peso on Wednesday came as the dollar weakened ahead of the release of U.S. inflation data on Thursday.
Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, said that the market is anticipating that the data will show inflation has cooled in the U.S., “which means the Federal Reserve won’t have to be so aggressive in the hikes [it makes to interest rates] this year.
Jesús Ramírez Cuevas, President López Obrador’s communications chief, noted on Twitter that the peso had strengthened to below 19 to the dollar.
“In that way the Mexican currency consolidates itself as one of the best [performing] currencies at an international level at the beginning of 2023,” he wrote.
The peso also performed well last year, being just one of four currencies that appreciated against the U.S. dollar, according to a report by the EFE news agency. The others were the Russian ruble, the Brazilian real and the Peruvian sol.
The peso closed at 19.5 to the U.S. dollar at the end of 2022, an improvement of 5% compared to the beginning of the year, Bank of México data showed.
Hay algunos que sufren con las buenas noticias para México, pero con @lopezobrador_ no solo la economía está mejor, también el peso es de las mejores monedas en el mundo. pic.twitter.com/glTY94uH4f
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum celebrated the peso on her Twitter feed as “one of the best currencies in the world.”
High inflation in Mexico last year led the central bank to lift its benchmark rate by 75 basis points on four consecutive occasions prior to a 50 bp hike in December. The rate is currently set at a record-high of 10.5%.
The Bank of México’s tightening of monetary policy and a record-high inflow of remittances were among the factors that propped up the value of the peso in 2022.
Hostal de la Luz, a spiritual and spa retreat built by meditation enthusiast Luis Oscoy, has been in Amatlán, Morelos, for 20 years. (Photo: courtesy)
Perhaps one of the best places I’ve ever found in Mexico to relax got its start 20 years ago with an invitation to breakfast.
One day in the early 2000s, Raul Velasco invited his good friend Luis Oscoy to have breakfast in Tepoztlan, Morelos. Before dining, however, Raul insisted on showing Oscoy around a tiny town next door, brimming with tropical plants and sweeping views of the mountains.
The town was quiet, except for birds chirping and an occasional dog barking in the distance. It seemed the perfect spot for the two men, both deeply entrenched in spiritual practices, to meditate. Oscoy had been meditating since he was just 5 years old and felt an instantaneous connection to the land.
The writer recommends Hostal de la Luz as a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life and get in touch with your spiritual side. (Photo: courtesy)
After a lengthy meditation session, as the men drove a narrow, unpaved road toward Tepoztlan, Oscoy caught sight of a worn piece of paper attached to a tree. Scribbled in childlike handwriting were the words se vende (for sale) and a phone number. Upon arrival at the restaurant, made the call.
The rest, as they say, is history: Oscoy would go on to build Hostal de la Luz, a meditation and yoga retreat center located in the still-tiny town of Amatlán, Morelos (population: 1,312).
This town is said to be the birthplace of the pre-Hispanic god Quetzalcoatl. The landscape is still breathtaking, and the weather is temperate-to-warm all year. But its key attraction is Amatlán’s palpable energy, influencing droves of visitors each year to seek out its spiritual wonders.
Oscoy’s original intention was to build a simple ashram with 2 bare-bones dorms amid what is said to be one of the strongest energy centers on earth. A full-time plastic surgeon in Mexico City, Oscoy ventured to Amatlán on the weekends to lead New Age workshops in his newly minted ashram.
As more and more students came, more and more rooms had to be built to accommodate them. Oscoy soon realized that he needed to expand.
Thanks to several investors, what started as a small school quickly developed into a boutique hotel. He began traveling extensively to deepen his spiritual knowledge, taking regular trips to India, Tibet, parts of the Amazon and Native American reservations, immersing himself in master teachings.
Luis Ortiz, once an attorney, quit law to help his father run the center. (Photo: Courtesy)
He desperately wanted a reliable, trustworthy partner to assist with the expansion and so he asked his son, Luis Ortiz, if he’d be interested in the project.
“In the beginning, it was a complete mission impossible,” Ortiz laughs.
A trained lawyer and dedicated meditator himself since the age of 10, Ortiz quit law to study tourism when his father proposed this hotel partnership of sorts.
“Imagine, a plastic surgeon and a lawyer trying to run a hotel! There was a point where I almost quit.”
But business was exploding, and the father-son duo were determined to find their way. Oscoy was put in charge of the creative, holistic side so Ortiz could organize the business and operations elements.
And thus, the small, modest ashram with two basic dorms has now become a luxury boutique hotel with 41 rooms, a holistic spa, a yoga studio, two temazcals and the only Chartres-style labyrinth in town. It has a human-sized healing gamma chamber and one of the biggest stupas (a Buddhist shrine) in the country.
Luis Oscoy, left, kneeling, during the blessing of the Hostal de la Luz as a Place of Peace by a representative of the Dalai Lama in 2006.
Does it all sound woo-woo? Well, each experience is vetted and approved by an in-house think tank of Western-trained medical doctors, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and NASA employees to ensure some grounding in scientific research.
Needless to say, this hotel is unique. There are no sharp edges anywhere. Each brick used in its construction must measure 11×11 cm. About 90% of its staff are local to Amatlán, giving the experience a comfortable, familial feel.
The sacred, feng shui-inspired philosophy behind Hostal de la Luz is precisely what led the Dalai Lama himself to name it a World Peace Place in 2006.
There are so many curious healing modalities here that one could feasibly stay on the property for days and never feel the urge to leave.
Which is why I often find myself here. I love to escape the hustle and bustle of Mexico City in exchange for clear, starry nights and birdsong at sunrise.
Hostal de la Luz is a place where I recharge with morning yoga, an afternoon temazcal and an evening glass of wine with sweeping views of the mountains.
Hostal de la Luz’s ashram. (Photo: courtesy)
I’m guaranteed to return to the city feeling more creative and energized. If you’re looking for a nature break, consider gifting yourself a little getaway at Hostal de la Luz.
Bethany Platanella is a travel and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. With her company, Active Escapes International, she plans and leads private and small-group active retreats. She loves Mexico’s local markets, Mexican slang, practicing yoga and fresh tortillas. Sign up for her (almost) weekly love letters or follow her Instagram account, @a.e.i.wellness.
Memorial at the Nueva Castilla Motel in Nuevo León to Debanhi Escobar, whose body was found in the motel's cistern in April. Two of the motel's former employees now face charges of giving false statements to authorities. (Gabriela Pérez Montiel/Cuartoscuro)
Two women have been ordered to stand trial on charges related to the case of Debanhi Escobar, an 18-year-old student who was allegedly murdered near Monterrey, Nuevo León, last April.
The law student disappeared almost two weeks earlier after getting out of a taxi on a highway in the same municipality. One autopsy found that she died of asphyxia by suffocation, while another determined that she was sexually assaulted before she was murdered. Yet another determined that the young woman died from a blow to to the head after apparently falling into the motel cistern while still alive.
The women who will stand trial told authorities that there was no video footage of Escobar on the motel premises, but investigators searching the motel and their homes seized cell phones and computers containing footage of Escobedo at the motel. (Photo: social media)
The Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office (FGJE) said Monday that a judge had ordered two former employees of the Nueva Castilla Motel — where Escobar’s body was found — to stand trial on charges of concealment and making false declarations to authorities.
Ana Luisa “N” and Elida Yurith “N” are prohibited from leaving the state of Nuevo León before facing trial and must periodically sign in with authorities, the FGJE said on social media. It added that judicial authorities set a period of three months for prosecutors to prepare their case against the women.
Ana Luisa was a manager at the motel while Elida Yurith worked on the front desk. They came under investigation after initially telling authorities that there was no video footage that showed Escobar on the motel property.
Nuevo León authorities subsequently searched the motel and the women’s homes and seized mobile phones, USB flash drives and a laptop on which videos were found. The news website Infobae reported that the footage could help shed light on Escobar’s apparent femicide.
After a Nuevo León judge ruled on Monday that the two former motel employees must stand trial, Escobar’s father told reporters that he and his wife were “happy” with the decision but expressed disappointment that the wheels of justice hadn’t turned more quickly.
“What is being done should have been done eight months ago, but in some ways it’s a breakthrough,” Mario Escobar said.
The nearly two-week search by authorities for Escobar, fueled by media attention on her case, turned up five girls and women reported missing in Nuevo León, but at least 80 others went missing across Mexico during the same period. (Photo: Nuevo León Attorney General)
The former motel employees will be the first suspects to face trial in connection with the disappearance and death of Debanhi.
The victim’s father said he was confident that authorities will gather more evidence related to his daughter’s case, and that they will identify the perpetrator (or perpetrators) of the alleged femicide and hold them accountable.
“If there are more people who know something, we urge them to … go to the Attorney General’s Office,” Escobar added.
“…The legacy Debanhi leaves us is to not stop in the face of all the injustices. … We’re going to continue fighting so that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Femicides are common in Mexico, but Escobar’s case attracted major attention both in Mexico and abroad, at least partially because of a haunting photo taken by the taxi driver that showed her standing alone next to the highway in the dark.
A crowd gathers around one of Vive Latino's main stages in 2022. (Instagram)
Though Mexico is a destination for touring artists and music festivals from around the world, it also has plenty of its own home-grown talent in the realm of rock, pop and electronic music. Here are a few high profile events planned for the year.
The Riviera Maya has become a hotspot for electronic music in recent decades, so it makes sense that the electronic music industry festival Bartenders, Promoters and Managers (BPM) is in Tulum, Quintana Roo. The festival is famous for choosing beautiful destinations and this year, it is happening at the Cenote Zamná. It’s the first time the festival has been to Mexico since it was hosted in Playa del Carmen in 2017. Though BPM is now wrapping up, two events remain: Black Coffee on Jan. 12 and Core on Jan. 14.
Next, the English rock band Muse will pass through the country with four dates scheduled this month: Jan. 18 (Banorte Stadium in Monterrey), Jan. 20 (Arena V.F.G. just outside of Guadalajara), and Jan. 22 and 23 (Foro Sol in Mexico City).
Muse performs in Guadalajara, in 2013. (Fernando Carranza García / Cuartoscuro.com)
In February, the Argentinian band Babasónicos will introduce its new album “Trinchera Avanzada” with one concert date scheduled only for Mexico City: Feb. 11 at the Palacio de los Deportes.
March will be a busy month with the Ibero-American musical culture festival Vive Latino set to draw many of Latin America and Spain’s most famous bands and artists, as well as other artists from around the world. The festival is scheduled for March 19 and 20 at the Foro Sol in Mexico City. Then the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), another electronic music festival, is happening from March 24 to 26 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, also in Mexico City. Indie rock group The 1975 will perform on March 29 (Arena V.F.G. in Guadalajara) and March 30 (Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City); and finally, the Killers play in Guadalajara on March 30 (Arena V.F.G) and then in Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes on April 1.
Guillermo del Toro took home a Golden Globe for his poignant retelling of the classic children's tale. (Netflix)
Guillermo del Toro is first Latino to win a Golden Globe in the animated feature category
The Golden Globe for best animated film went to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” at the award ceremony on Tuesday. This award made history as the first one granted to a Latino in the animated feature category, and the first time the award category went to a streaming company, in this case Netflix.
Accepting the Golden Globe, Guillermo del Toro said that “animation is cinema” and “animation is not a genre for kids, it’s a medium.”
“Pinocchio” is one of Del Toro’s most personal films and as he said in previous interviews, it took him half of his career to produce. It required more than 1,000 days of filming.
The film is a co-production between the United States, Mexico and France. It was co-directed by Mark Gustafson and is based on the 19th century novel by Carlo Collodi but set in the context of World War II (1939-1945).
The movie is also nominated at the Critics’ Choice Awards, set to take place on Sunday.
Netflix premieres “Ruido”, about a mother searching for her missing daughter
“Ruido” (Noise) is a new film by Mexican director Natalia Beristain, who told The Washington Post she had the idea of making a movie about “that which has no word to name it: the state of pain in which a parent remains when his or her child dies or disappears.”
She said that the first time she had the idea was in 2006 while her mother, actress Julieta Egurrola, played the role of a mother searching for her 10-year-old daughter in the play “Congelados” (Frozen).
“Ruido” highlights the heartbreaking bureaucratic dysfunction faced by the families of the missing. (Netflix)
The film narrates Mexican mother Julia’s search for her daughter (who has been missing for nine months) while delving into the problems faced by the families of the missing in Mexico. The opening scene takes place at the Attorney General Office, when the officers tell Julia that due to a mistake, the tattoo on her daughter’s arm was not registered in her file and thus the body Julia has been called to identify is not her daughter’s.
The film premiered on Netflix on Wednesday.
Top 3 Mexican influencers
Entertainment, travel, makeup, video games and music content creators stood out among Mexico’s most successful content creators of 2022, according to influencer marketing agency Tagger. The agency estimated which influencers had the most real, human accounts following them, excluding bots and other fake accounts.
Originally from the northern city of Mexicali, Baja California, Kimberly Loaiza leads the ranking as the most successful Mexican influencer of 2022. She started her career as a YouTuber and now she is also a singer and a model. On Instagram she has 36.7 million followers. Eight million people follow her on Twitter and she has a whopping 71.6 million followers on TikTok.
With 32.9 million followers on Instagram and 39.8 million followers on YouTube, Luisito Comunica from Puebla came in as the second most successful influencer in México. His channel ranks seventh in the Spanish-speaking world for most subscribers.
YouTuber-turned-model Kimberly Loaiza topped the charts as Mexico’s most-followed influencer. (Facebook / Kimberly Loaiza)
Ranking third is 21-year-old Domelipa, originally from Monterrey, Nuevo León. Her dance moves and beauty advice gained her a following of 2.8 million people on Instagram and close to 63 million people on TikTok. Univision reported she has more likes on her photos than international superstars like Rosalía and Dua Lipa.
President López Obrador poses with U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (LopezObrador.org.mx)
The presidents of Mexico and the United States and the prime minister of Canada made and reaffirmed shared commitments across a range of areas including security and migration during the 10th North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) in Mexico City on Tuesday.
At a press conference following the trilateral talks, President López Obrador described his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “historic event” and offered glowing assessments of both his North American counterparts.
In a joint statement — titled Declaration of North America (DNA) — the governments of the three countries said that the three leaders “are determined to fortify our region’s security, prosperity, sustainability and inclusiveness through commitments across six pillars: 1) diversity, equity, and inclusion; 2) climate change and the environment; 3) competitiveness; 4) migration and development; 5) health; and 6) regional security.”
Among the commitments mentioned in the statement were those to:
Protect civil rights, promote racial justice, expand protections for LGBTQI+ individuals and deliver more equitable outcomes to all.
Take rapid and coordinated measures to tackle the climate crisis and respond to its consequences.
Deepen our regional capacity to attract high quality investment, spur innovation, and strengthen the resilience of our economies.
Forge stronger regional supply chains in order to boost regional competitiveness.
Address the root causes and impacts of irregular migration and forced displacement.
Support countries across the Western Hemisphere to create the conditions to improve quality of life.
Launch an updated North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza to improve prevention, preparedness, agility, and to provide rapid response to health emergencies in North America.
Focus on strategies to bolster our shared continental security against domestic, regional, and global threats, including cyber threats.
Enhance trilateral work to address the use of precursor chemicals in the production of illegal substances in North America and to disrupt drug trafficking.
“The commitments made during this summit are rooted in a shared vision for a more equitable, just, inclusive, resilient, secure, and prosperous North America and a shared responsibility to achieve more equitable outcomes responsive to the needs and aspirations of our citizens,” the statement said.
The two presidents and prime minister offered their own assessments of the trilateral relationship at a joint press conference at the National Palace.
Flanked by Biden and Trudeau, López Obrador said that the meeting of the three leaders, “as good neighbors in an environment of respect to together seek the well-being of our peoples,” was “a historic event in itself.”
He said that the three countries agreed to strengthen their economic and trade relations and would seek to become more self-sufficient — that is, less reliant on imports, especially those from Asia. To that end, the three countries will establish a joint committee, López Obrador said.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, seen here at Tuesday’s reception for the visiting foreign leaders, will represent Mexico on the new trade committee, along with two other officials and a Mexican businessman. (Galo Cañas Rodríguez / Cuartoscuro.com)
The 12-person expert committee — which will include three Mexican cabinet ministers — will “have our complete confidence to motivate, persuade and convince business people, workers and public servants of the three governments about the importance … of joining forces in North America and, moving forward, seeking the union of the entire American continent,” he said.
In opening remarks at bilateral talks with Biden on Monday, López Obrador also advocated greater economic integration of Western Hemisphere nations.
Later in his address on Tuesday, AMLO asserted that the three North American partners must address “the scourge of violence and the migratory phenomenon with a humanitarian focus” and via the provision of “opportunities for well-being.”
“People are good by nature, and it’s the circumstances [they face] that sometimes force some of them to go down a path of anti-social behavior,” he said.
López Obrador thanked Trudeau for his “extraordinary and fraternal” temporary work visa program that has benefited over 25,000 Mexicans, and described the prime minister as “a great ally of Mexico.”
“To President Biden, my sincere gratitude for maintaining a relationship of cooperation with Mexico, a relationship of sincere friendship, of respect for our compatriots who honorably live and work in United States and are not harassed and don’t suffer from raids that unfortunately occurred at other times,” he said.
López Obrador thanked Biden for not continuing construction on the symbolism-laden border wall between their two countries. (Greg Bulla / Unsplash)
“We’ve said it before and I repeat it now: You are the first United States president in a long time that hasn’t built even a meter of wall [on the Mexico-U.S. border] and we’re grateful for that, even though the conservatives don’t like it,” López Obrador said.
He also said he asked Biden to urge the U.S. Congress to regularize the migratory status of millions of undocumented Mexicans who have been living and working in the United States, and “contributing to the development of that great nation,” for years.
The U.S. president spoke first at the joint news conference, and declared that the United States, Mexican and Canadian leaders are “true partners.”
“We’re working together with mutual respect and a genuine like for one another,” Biden said.
At the top of the trilateral agenda, he said, is “keeping North America the most competitive, prosperous and resilient economic region in the world.”
“… The strength of our economic relationship … not only supports good-paying jobs in all of our countries but generates tremendous growth. Now we’re working … to strengthen our cooperation on supply chains and critical minerals so we can continue to accelerate in our efforts to build the technologies of tomorrow right here in North America,” he said.
Biden emphasized that regional migration challenges were already being addressed via the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, signed last year. (Twitter @JustinTrudeau)
Biden, who is facing pressure from U.S. Republicans to do more to combat irregular migration, said that the entire Western Hemisphere “is experiencing unprecedented levels of migration, greater than any time in history,” and noted that a “regional-wide approach to a regional-wide problem” was launched at the 2021 NALS in Washington, D.C.
“The idea grew into the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, which 21 countries ultimately adopted at the Summit of the Americas six months ago,” he said.
“And we’re working together especially with our North American partners to fulfill our commitments under that declaration,” Biden continued. “They include the policies I announced last week to expand safe and legal pathways for immigrants from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti. … We also want to thank you, Mr. President, for stepping up to receive into Mexico those not following the lawful pathways we’ve made available.”
For his part, Trudeau said that the three North American nations “share deep ties as friends and trading partners,” are home to half a billion people and have an “extraordinarily strong innovation ecosystem” as well as a combined GDP that is larger than that of the European Union.
“As leaders we are all committed to driving economic growth that supports the middle class and those working hard to join it. … People remember what happened just a few years ago when the certainty of this partnership was in question,” he said.
“Investors, businesses, workers and citizens all worried about what would happen. When free trade is at risk, that isn’t good for competition in the global market. Thankfully the belief in free and fair trade won the day, we renegotiated and we got an even better [trade] deal. To put it simply, we are, and always will be, stronger together.”
The oft-reported influx of foreigners living in Mexico City neighborhoods like Roma Norte seems obvious at places like Mano Santa, a Mexican-owned mezcal bar that sees foreigners regularly among its clientele. (Mano Santa/Facebook)
Over the past year, there have been articles in many publications (including this one) essentially blaming the presence of foreigners for driving up rents in the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods of Mexico City, pointing to the influx of digital nomads and Airbnb rental units.
In media outlets like the New York Times and Al Jazeera one repeatedly finds a narrative of rich foreigners driving out poor people from homes they’ve been in for decades and/or generations.
But Mexico City is not alone in struggling with the issues of gentrification and the overall lack of space, especially in more desirable neighborhoods. And such narratives don’t take into account that neither the historic center, nor the developments just west of it, Roma, Condesa, Juárez and Polanco, were ever established for the poor or even the middle class.
A former mansion on Zacatecas avenue, dating back to the Roma neighborhood’s elite heyday in the 1920s. It’s now home to the University of Communication. (Photo: Creative Commons)
Mexico City’s historic center was founded by the Spanish colonists, literally on top of Tenochtitlán, as land for the conquerors, with most of the indigenous pushed out. The four aforementioned neighborhoods were established over the past 120 years or so as Mexico’s elite looked to escape the noisy, crowded downtown to places that were more exclusive, modern and fashionable.
All were developments on former haciendas, most of them on some of the vast holdings of the Countess (Condesa) of Miravalle, who is immortalized in the naming of Colonia Condesa.
Roma and Júarez were the earliest, developed in the years before the Mexican Revolution, when both the elite and the government were looking to prove that Mexico could be modern by adopting technologies and styles from Europe.
This can be seen in the sumptuous mansions and street layouts, which broke with the strict grid pattern that dominates most of the city today. Roma and Condesa especially are marked by curved and diagonal streets and wide boulevards with tree-filled islands and large parks.
The Mexican Revolution stopped such construction for over a decade, but when it was over, families of the winning factions sought to move to these fancy neighborhoods to show that they had “made it.”
The creation of these neighborhoods started a trek westwards for Mexico City’s elite, which continues to this day, to the edge of the city proper and beyond.
Neighborhoods like Roma, Condesa and Polanco were created for the wealthy, and vestiges of that legacy remain in European-style curved streets and luxury touches like this park. (Photo: Raul21940/Creative Commons)
All of the older neighborhoods have experienced downturns with redevelopment, but some have seen more change than others: Juárez and northern Roma (known as Roma Norte) have seen significant commercial redevelopment. Condesa has managed to keep most of its original residential feel.
Roma overall remains the textbook example of the ups and downs of this west-central section of the city because it has experienced all of the relevant economic, social and geological forces.
Walking around, it is easy to see the original boulevards and parks as well as over 1,500 now historic landmarks bearing witness to the wealth and fashion of the very early 20th century. (Condesa and Polanco were established afterwards, reflecting the Art Deco and later architectural styles.)
In the 1960s and 1970s, the construction of the first Metro subway line, along with major traffic thoroughfares, brought commercial construction — and large numbers of the working class and street vendors, just the thing that rich families had sought to escape in the old historic center.
The major breaking point was the 1985 earthquake, which hit these neighborhoods hard, especially the historic center and Roma. In the aftermath, many owners sold or rented damaged buildings or even abandoned them altogether.
But as memories of the earthquake faded, gentrification began: slowly in some areas, faster in others. There was heavy criticism beginning in the 2000s over the conversion of old mansions into commercial buildings.
Not all buildings in Roma and Condesa are more than 100 years old. More modern buildings came about because the old historic ones degraded beyond repair or were destroyed by earthquakes. (Photo: Keisers)
Residential redevelopment came a little later, as young upper class Mexican professionals were attracted to homes located in neighborhoods with established personalities.
“These structures cannot be duplicated, and they have a premium,” said Andrés Sañudo of the specialty redevelopment company ReUrbano.
So why do foreigners congregate in Roma and Condesa? One basic reason is the uniqueness of the neighborhoods, which have a familiarity to them. The layout of the streets, the quantity of trees and the lack of hustle and bustle of the rest of the city is attractive to those from similar environments outside Mexico.
Roma and Condesa’s ambience also reflects that it has been the home of foreigners for many decades. European and American writers, intellectuals and artists found their way here, first because of the famous Mexican muralism movement, then because of an influx of refugees from the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Names like Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo helped give Roma its current artistic and cultural reputation. The influx of foreigners brought in ethnic restaurants, alternative houses of worship and ethnic cultural centers.
Both elements give newly arriving foreigners from North America and Europe the sense that they are in a “safe” area, important given Mexico City’s general reputation. Unsurprisingly, these immigrants, like those the world over, look to live in areas that give them some sense of familiarity.
Leonora Carrington’s former home in Roma is being converted into a museum dedicated to the surrealist artist, whose presence in the neighborhood for several decades helped give Roma its current artistic and cultural reputation. (Photo: UAM/Facebook)
Poland-born Edyta Norejko of ForHouse Realty works in Mexico City and concedes that gentrification causes problems that the city should address, but the gentrification process here is driven by economic factors in Mexico City, one being the return of young affluent Mexicans who are attracted to the neighborhoods for many of the same reasons, and who have eschewed the commuter culture of their parents.
For both Mexicans and foreigners, Roma and Condesa will remain prime real estate for the foreseeable future, and will reflect a mix of both local and international influences.
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.
A view of the "Transverberaciones" exhibit by artist Ximena Labra at Ex Teresa Arte Actual museum in CDMX (@Exteresa Twitter)
Chichén Itzá closed as protesters continue to block access
It has been eight days since protesters started blocking road access to Chichén Itzá, Yucatán’s most important archaeological site and the most visited in Mexico.
“We are not against the government or the Maya Train. We are rebelling against the director of Chichén Itzá [Marco Antonio Santos Ramírez] and other members of his team who mistreat us, attack us, destroy our crafts, and prevent us from speaking Mayan,” Xcalacoop commissioner Jeremías Cimé Ciau told EFE news agency.
Xcalacoop is a town in the municipality of Tinum, Yucatán, which has joined the Indigenous communities of Pisté and San Felipe in the blockades. The protesters – whose numbers have reached up to 10,000 according to community leaders – told La Jornada Maya newspaper that no one from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) or the federal government has come forward to seek a solution to the problem.
Demonstrators include ejidatarios (communal land owners), tourist guides and artisans who have threatened to block more roads leading to the archaeological zone and even to the Maya Train, if authorities do not respond to their demands.
INAH has closed all access to the site, EFE news agency reported.
Replicas of Michelangelo’s David and La Pietà arrive at the Soumaya Museum
A certified replica of Michelangelo’s David has arrived at the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City, announced Arturo Elías Ayub, son-in-law of the museum’s owner Carlos Slim, on Twitter.
“Have you seen the Three Kings’ gift from the Carlos Slim Foundation for Mexican culture?” he posted on Saturday. “It’s just arriving from Italy at the Soumaya Museum.”
Así fue la travesía del “David” para llegar de Florencia a Ciudad de México.
Ven a conocer un mármol monumental en @ElMuseoSoumaya de #PlazaCarso.
The replicas of David and La Pietà were sculpted by Italian artisans in Florence who have a history of working with marble since the 19th century. Ayub added that the works are “flawless” just like Michelangelo’s originals, and were sculpted from the same Carrara marble. There are reportedly 30 full-size replicas of David found around the world.
The Soumaya Museum opened in 1994, housing a collection of European and Latin American art, and is named after Carlos Slim’s late wife, Soumaya Domit. It is open every day from 10:20 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and entry is free.
“Sculpture and Time” showcases the ancient art of Oceania, America and Africa
An exhibit called “Sculpture and Time” explores the role that sculptural art played in ancient non-western societies at the National Museum of Anthropology and History (MNA), on display from now until Apr. 23.
The MNA collected a total of 106 pieces for the exhibit, 66 from the collections of the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum in Paris, including statues from Africa and Oceania. The remaining 40 pieces are Mexican: 37 come from the MNA, two from the collection of the Teotihuacán Archaeological Zone, and one from the National Museum of Popular Cultures.
Sculpture and Time exhibit at the National Museum of Anthropology and History (MNA Twitter)
The exhibition is based on the differences between Western European cultures’ sculptural art traditions and that of non-Western societies. In the former, sculpture portrays the individual, while in the latter, it expresses social character and has functions of collective identity.
The exhibit is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entrance is free of charge.
Two new members join the prestigious National College
Two new members of the Mexican honorary academy, the Colegio Nacional (National College), were announced on Jan. 9. Writer Cristina Rivera Garza and scientific researcher Carlos Coello Coello join the institution, established in 1943 and composed of renowned scientists, artists and writers.
This brings the total to 35 members of the academy, of whom only eight are women.According to El País newspaper, the public institution is one of the most prestigious in the Spanish-speaking world and is dedicated to dissemination of work in the sciences, arts and humanities.
Author Cristina Rivera Garza and scientist Carlos Coello Coello (Courtesy image)
Chemist Eusebio Juaristi, current president of the college, said that writer Rivera Garza “will play an essential role to promote contemporary literature.”
Rivera Garza’s recent memoir “Liliana’s Invincible Summer” has won numerous accolades and was just released in English. Juaristi noted that researcher Coello Coello “will be able to promote the understanding and development” of artificial intelligence in the country.
The College’s rules mandate that it have up to 40 Mexican members of “recognized prestige and undoubted competence in their specialty.” Artist Diego Rivera, philosopher Luis Villoro and writer Octavio Paz have been members of the institution, along with many other recognized thinkers in Mexico. The positions are held for life.
“Transverberaciones”: visions of Saint Teresa of Ávila exhibit
“Transverberaciones”, from the Latin term transverberatio referring to the mystical experience in which the heart is pierced by a supernatural fire, is the latest exhibit at the Ex Teresa Arte Actual Museum. The show seeks to provide a contemporary visual, sensory and aural interpretation of the spiritual experiences described by Saint Teresa of Ávila, poet and mystic of the 16th century.
This is the first solo exhibit by Mexican artist Ximena Labra, who created the pieces on exhibit for the museum so that they could be in dialogue with the architecture of the former convent.
Labra’s work presents a transformed space, transverberated through an immersive journey, in which Saint Teresa’s poetry materializes in sculptural, digital, pictorial and sound installations.
Ex Teresa Arte Actual is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday, and “Transverberaciones” runs through Feb. 12. Entrance is free of charge.
The United States-Mexico Binational Program for the Recovery and Conservation of the California condor, uses zoos and national parks in Mexico and the U.S. to bring back the endangered condor, which once roamed from Canada to Mexico, but now is struggling against extinction. (Photo: CONAMP)
In order to protect the California condor from extinction, Mexico City’s San Juan de Aragón Zoo may soon host this prehistoric bird that once lived with mammoths, mastodons and sabre-tooth tigers.
Mexico City’s Environment Ministry (SEDEMA-CDMX) has proposed that the zoo join the United States-Mexico Binational Program for the Recovery and Conservation of the California condor.
Two zoos in Mexico are already part of the program: the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City and the Zacango Ecological Park in the State of México. Since 2007, Mexico City’s zoos have been charged by their charter with the Mexico City government to participate in wildlife conservation efforts.
In March of 2022, this California condor chick became the 10th of its species born in captivity at Mexico City’s Chapultepec Zoo. (SEDEMA-CDMX)
The Chapultepec Zoo currently has two pairs of reproductive condors who have bred 11 condor specimens that are now under the program’s protection of the program.
The Zacango Ecological Park is home to three female condors under professional care which currently contribute to environmental education work so that visitors can learn about the species.
SEDEMA’s General Directorate of Zoos and Wildlife Conservation suggested including the San Juan de Aragón Zoo in the program during a recent bilateral meeting in Mexico City of the program’s officials. The purpose of the meeting was to review the progress the program has made.
“Various strategies were discussed in this meeting to support the conservation of the species, which is in serious danger of extinction,” said Fernando Gual Sill, head of the General Directorate of Zoos and Wildlife Conservation for SEDEMA-Mexico City.
One of the fundamental strategies “is the reproduction of the species in Mexican zoos,” he said.
The first major stage of the wildlife conservation project, managed nationally by the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), has consisted of establishing a wild population of California condors in the San Pedro Mártir Sierra National Park in Baja California.
A California condor at the San Pedro Martir Sierra National Park in Baja California, where about 45 of the birds live in the wild. (Photo: CONANP)
One of the program’s goals is to achieve a self-sustaining population of 150 condors in the Baja California wilderness. Birds have been bred in zoos and then released into the wild in the national park, where their recovery progress is tracked. The avian group there is currently made up of approximately 45 birds, including adults, young and offspring, some of which have been born in the wild.
“Thanks to zoos around the world, and specifically zoos in the United States and Mexico, the California Condor has survived and has avoided extinction,” said Gual.
Gual stressed the importance of having other institutions join the program as “collaboration is vital to effectively promote recovery both in the wild and under professional care at zoos.”
Conditions in Mexico City zoos, however, have been questioned by Mexico’s media outlets. The investigative digital media outlet EMEEQUIS reported in December that 1,318 specimens in the capital’s zoos died between 2019 and 2022. Some of that period occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when zoos in the capital were closed to the public and their total budget was greatly reduced to 57.3 million, according to EMEEQUIS’ report.
In 2019, Gual himself told the newspaper Reforma that about 100 million pesos was needed for rehabilitation work at San Juan Aragón and the Chapultepec Zoo.
EMEEQUIS also reported in December that since Claudia Sheinbaum has taken office as Mexico City’s mayor, zoos in the capital haven’t had comprehensive maintenance plans and have received “aggressive budget cuts” — from a budget of 212.2 million pesos (US $11.1 million) in 2019 to a budget of 104.1 million (US $5.5 million) in 2022.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum tours the San Juan de Aragón Zoo in January 2022 at an event marking the zoo receiving 26.8 million pesos for its rehabilitation. (Claudia Sheinbaum/Twitter)
The San Juan de Aragón Zoo did, however, receive an extra allocation of 26.8 million pesos (US $1.4 million) in January 2022 from Sheinbaum for rehabilitation work.
Soldiers drive past a flipped vehicle in Jesús María, Sinaloa, on Saturday. ( Omar Martínez Noyola / Cuartoscuro.com )
Residents of Jesús María, the town in Sinaloa where cartel leader Ovidio Guzmán was captured last week, protested outside Sinaloa’s Government Palace on Monday, saying that around 140 people have disappeared from their community since Guzmán’s arrest.
An estimated 200 demonstrators arrived at the Government Palace in the state capital of Culiacán in trucks Monday morning, waving placards and shouting slogans. They accused the Mexican army of human rights violations and demanded that the state government address the impact of military presence in their town.
“The children are afraid of seeing soldiers; we don’t want soldiers in the town,” one placard read.
“The government should tell the truth about what the town of Jesús María lived through,” read another.
Protesters broke some of the glass in the doors of the Government Palace, causing the state police to block their access to the building. Sinaloa governor Rubén Rocha Moya agreed to meet with community representatives a few hours later and reportedly promised that he would ask President López Obrador to withdraw military forces from the area.
Jesús María was the epicenter of the operation to capture Guzmán on the morning of Jan. 5, which included a fierce exchange of fire between Mexican military aircraft and gunmen on the ground. Following the operation, Guzmán’s followers terrorized the municipality with armed attacks and blockaded highways around the state for around 12 hours, leaving at least 29 soldiers and cartel members dead.
The army blocked access to Jesús María as searches were conducted, and shut off the town’s electricity, telecommunications and water supply. Although a humanitarian mission was dispatched on Sunday to attend to the community’s needs, residents expressed anger that their town remained occupied by soldiers several days after Guzmán’s capture.
In contrast to the government’s claims that the operation caused no civilian casualties, local people estimate that around 140 people are missing — mostly young men and women between 12 and 35 years of age — and an unspecified number of injuries.
Sinaloa’s Public Security Secretary, Cristóbal Castañeda, confirmed that the state government had received reports of missing people during the humanitarian visit to Jesús María on Sunday, but said the exact number was unknown.
“We don’t really have a number of people not located,” he said. “They are waiting for the complaints to be established; we need to know whom to look for… we know that the Semefo [Forensic Medical Service] has been handing over the bodies of those identified.”
