Ancient Maya city of Muyil an overlooked jewel near Tulum

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March 17, 2023

The Castle structure at the ancient Maya ruins of Muyil — The site’s most important building, The Castle, measures around 17 meters tall. Two offerings with a large number of ornamental items were found here. (Photos by Thilini Wijesinhe)

Looking for a unique outing around Tulum? Visit the Muyil ruins, where you can also float along a nearby ancient canal with breathtaking surroundings.

Located around 25 kilometers from Tulum, Muyil is an ancient Maya city located in the Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve — a UNESCO heritage site. It has fewer visitors than the more famous archaeological sites in the Yucatán peninsula. We visited the site from Valladolid, less than two hours away.

The city’s original name is not known. It has been called Muyil and Chunyaxché since the colonial era, which are the names of two lagoons in the area. Muyil means “place of the rabbit,” and Chunyaxché means “ceiba log” in Mayan. Ceiba, also popularly known as the “tree of life,” was a sacred tree in ancient Maya culture. The biosphere reserve’s name, Sian Ka’an, means “entrance to the sky.”

Muyil is considered the most important among over 20 settlements within the biosphere reserve. Its history dates back over two millennia. According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the settlement was a small village around 300 B.C. and became an important city by about A.D. 250.

The city was involved in trade and also had connections with Maya cities like Cobá, Chichén Itzá, and Mayapán. Although Muyil was occupied when the Spanish arrived, its population declined quickly in the early 16th century. INAH found no evidence of the site’s occupation from the beginning of the Spanish conquest to the mid-19th century, when Maya rebels occupied the area from 1847 to the early 20th century during Yucatán’s Caste War.

The site has two sections, Muyil A and Muyil B, although only the former is open to visitors. There are fewer excavated buildings here than at many famous sites, so you can see them in a couple of hours. During our visit, most structures were cordoned off to visitors.

Entrance Plaza at the ancient Maya ruins of Muyil — The Entrance Plaza has several pyramidal structures with temples on them. (Thilini Wijesinhe)

Once you enter the site, you’ll walk into the Entrance Plaza (a.k.a the Entrance Group), with a group of buildings, including several pyramidal structures with temples on them. This plaza shows some of the site’s oldest civic and religious architecture. Civic events and cult-based ceremonies are thought to have taken place here.

An interesting building in this section is a temple with traces of mural paintings. The plaza also has platforms that once had residences built with perishable materials.

Next, you can walk up to the site’s most important structure, the Castle, measuring around 17 meters tall with a beautiful crowning temple. Make time to check out the features of this impressive building from different sides. Two offerings with a large number of ornamental items, including those with jade and shells, were found on an altar here.

Archaeologists have also identified two building phases within this structure, as well as elements representing the architectural style of Petén, a region in Guatemala. It will remind you of the structures in Tikal (Guatemala), if you have visited them.

The circular tower-like structure on top is a unique architectural element. The flat stones on its exterior are believed to represent the protruding thorns of a ceiba tree.

Path to watchtower at ancient Maya ruins of Muyil — Visitors can take a walk in nature and enjoy magnificent views from a wooden watchtower. (Thilini Wijesinhe)

Another notable building is the Pink Palace (or Temple 8). It is part of a complex of buildings, including temples, altars, and an oratory, separated by a low wall.

Archaeologists have identified two building phases here. It has remains of stucco and traces of paint. The Pink Palace is considered the center of the site’s community life.

After seeing the buildings, take the path through some beautiful jungle to a wooden watchtower. Along the way, there are signs highlighting interesting spots. The watchtower offers magnificent views across the greenery and lagoons. On a sunny day, you can see the beautiful blue shades of the water.

Temple 8 structure at the Maya ruins of Muyil — Muyil’s Temple 8, known as the Pink Palace, is considered to have been the city’s center of civic and religious life. (Thilini Wijesinhe)

The climb is steep, so take good care. It may not suit all visitors.

If you’re up for some light adventure, you can take a boat from the nearby lagoon to enjoy the river float, in which you float along an ancient canal for around 30–45 minutes. The boat will take you to a spot near another ancient structure by the canals called Xlapak. You can check this out before getting into the clear and refreshing water.

The canals flow through mangroves and breathtaking scenery. The best part is that the current gently pushes you along, so you can relax amid the tranquil surroundings. Your boat captain will show you how to wear a life jacket in a unique way to get a somewhat seated position in the water.

ancient Maya canal near ruins of Muyil — You can float along an ancient Maya canal with breathtaking scenery. The current gently pushes you along. (Thilini Wijesinhe)

We did the river float first and visited the ruins after since fewer visitors wait for boats early in the morning. You can also book a tour in advance.

If you have extra time after your trip to Muyil, visit the Tulum ruins, less than 45 minutes away.

Thilini Wijesinhe, a financial professional turned writer and entrepreneur, moved to Mexico in 2019 from Australia. She writes from Mérida, Yucatán. Her website can be found at https://momentsing.com/

Gray whale population on the rise in Baja California Sur

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MND Staff

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March 17, 2023

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A grey whale swims off the coast of BCS — Gray whale populations in El Vizcaíno whale sanctuary have grown by more than 20% in the past year. (Daniela Martínez Pérez Vargas)

Gray whale numbers have risen dramatically in Baja California Sur, say Mexican conservation agencies.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) revealed that a recent census of the whales — taken from December 2022 to mid-February 2023 — has revealed a total of 1,364 in the El Vizcaíno Biosphere, located in Mulegé, Baja California Sur.

Tourist boats near a gray whale in BCS — Whale watching has become a major draw for Baja California Sur in recent years. (Daniela Martínez Pérez Vargas)

Overall, numbers increased by 238 from the 2021-2022 census — a rise of more than 20%.

In the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, 1,246 whales were counted, with another 118 spotted in San Ignacio. Of the whales counted, 491 were newborn calves, providing researchers with hope for the future.

Authorities believe that this increase in whale numbers is the result of 68 years of strong protections from commercial fishing. These protections have helped to remove gray whales from the endangered list.

El Vizcaíno, which was declared a national reserve in 1988, is a major breeding ground for many of the world’s gray whales and has become a hotspot for ecotourism in Mexico, especially around breeding season. The 36,000 hectares form one of the most important whale habitats in the world.

Gray whales will swim to El Vizcaíno from Alaska to take advantage of the shallow waters and plentiful food available during the early months of the year.

The gray whale is currently listed as needing “special protection” by the Mexican government.

With reports by El País

Tequila is only one part of the story in this biodiverse Jalisco area

By

John Pint

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March 17, 2023

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La Toma Valley, in Tequila, Jalisco. — La Toma Valley, located within the municipality of Tequila, Jalisco.

There are two things you may not know about the Municipality of Tequila.

First, it is home to a great volcano, nearly 3,000 meters high, the most important landmark in the vicinity of Guadalajara.

Tequila Volcano in Jalisco, Mexico — Tequila Volcano, which last erupted 200,000 years ago, produced vast amounts of obsidian, which greatly affected the development of central Jalisco.

Secondly, the very same municipality also encompasses a canyon 570 meters deep called La Toma Valley, featuring tropical foliage and picturesque waterfalls.

Tequila Volcano and La Toma Canyon are only 14 kilometers apart, with the town of Tequila in between. From the bottom of the canyon to the peak of the volcano is a vertical distance of over 2,000 meters.

The highest point in Tequila is the tip of La Tetilla (The Nipple), a needle-like spine, or volcanic plug, that rises from the volcano’s crater. Here, at 2,920 meters (9580 feet) above sea level, you need to bring along a jacket, even on the hottest day of the summer. Believe it or not, it’s actually too high for pines and most other trees. So what you find at the very peak could be called “accidental bonsais:” stunted trees that can only grow as high as a bush.

This is the situation at the spine, which rises 50 meters above the crater rim. People with rock-climbing skills can reach the top of this plug and will be treated to a curious view. At first sight, it appears that this volcano is almost entirely surrounded by lakes, but a closer look with binoculars proves that the lakes are actually great fields of Weber azul, the blue agave, from which Tequila’s most famous export is distilled.

Plug of Tequila VColacno — The plug of Tequila Volcano rises from the crater to a height of 2,920 meters. (Sergio Vidal)

Although vegetation is sparse on La Tetilla, conditions are quite different inside the crater around it. Unlike many volcanic craters whose ashy slopes are barren of life, the interior of Tequila’s is what I would call glamorous: filled with beautiful pines and oaks and carpeted by high bunchgrass, which gently waves in the breeze, just as beautiful in the dry season as in the rains.

In fact, a walk along the 700-meter-long path crossing the crater is among the most picturesque of some one hundred hikes I’ve described in Western Mexico over the past 40 years. Here you may spot a small white Govenia orchid that grows not in tree branches but on the ground, often right next to the path.

Or you may come upon a delicate mountain violet or butterwort, a carnivorous plant which traps tiny insects on its sticky broad leaves that lie flat on the ground around the stem.

On the trail through the crater of Tequila Volcano.

You can easily reach the top of the volcano from the town of Tequila — if you have a high-clearance vehicle — thanks to a 16 kilometer cobblestone road which winds its way up to the microwave antennas perched on the crater rim. When you reach a locked gate near the top, you must park and here is where your hike begins.

First, you walk up the cobblestone road for 1.6 kilometers to the trail head of the path through the crater. On the way, you’ll pass a perennial spring of delicious cold water. If it’s the rainy season, you may be enveloped in clouds of fog that whisk across the mountain, one after the other. For more info and directions, see Beat the heat in crater of the Tequila Volcano.

The volcano lies on the south side of Tequila, while at the northern edge of the city you find a steep cliff with a Machu-Picchu style trail winding its way down the canyon to three incredible cascades known as Los Azules.

Los Azules falls in Jalisco, Mexico — You can swim in clean, cool water at the bottom of fall number two of Los Azules, just a 30-minute walk from Tequila.

These waterfalls measure 60, 40 and 70 meters, and at the bottom of the second and third drop, there are spectacular pools that you’d only expect to see in a tropical paradise or in a Hollywood movie. The water is neither hot nor cold but just the right temperature for bathing, and because it comes from natural springs — not runoff — it is perfectly clean and unpolluted.

The trail leading down to the second pool, which is the most picturesque, is steep and rough, but if you are in good shape, it’s well worth the effort. The easiest way to reach the pool without getting lost is with the help of a local person. Just tell anyone in Tequila that you want to go to Los Azules, and you will very quickly have your pick of guides. Do this on a weekday, and you will probably have the whole place to yourself — and the friendly blue and red dragonflies that will no doubt come to see who is visiting their paradise today.

Only 1.2 kilometers from Los Azules, there is another wonderful waterfall known as La Toma, which has been turned into a balneario, (water park) offering a magnificent view of the spectacular valley, the upper half nearly covered with tequila agaves and the deeper parts filled with lush tropical vegetation.

The balneario is only a 12-minute drive from Tequila, and you can easily find your way there by asking Google Maps to take you to La Toma, Tequila, Jalisco.

Would you like to get closer to that lush, tropical vegetation? Just drive 1.2 kilometers below Balneario La Toma to the shrine of Santo Toribio, patron saint of migrants, who was shot to death in this valley in 1928 during the Cristero War.

Tequila govenia orchid — Look for this orchid, the Tequila govenia, growing on the ground alongside the trail through the crater of Tequila Volcano.

Here you’ll find what’s left of Toribio’s secret hideout next to a large, elegant church built in his honor, surrounded by palm trees and exuberant foliage. Here the moisture-laden air is thick with butterflies and the piercing calls of exotic birds.

The locals grow mangoes, papayas and chirimoyas (custard apples), as well as curious, untranslatable fruits like mameyes and bomb-shaped bonetes.

While wiping the sweat from your brow, you may want to cast your eyes southward, where you just might spot the cold, barren, wind-swept peak of Tequila Volcano, 13 kilometers away.

Google Maps says you could drive there from the church of Santo Toribio in a mere 80 minutes — and along the way experience the unique biodiversity bonanza of ever-amazing Tequila, Jalisco.

The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.

AMLO proposes banning medical use of fentanyl in Mexico

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MND Staff

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March 17, 2023

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Medical fentanyl available in the United Kingdom — The proposal to prohibit fentanyl - which is widely used in medical pain management - comes as Mexico is under pressure to control the flow of illegal narcotics into the U.S. (Hameln)

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed the possibility of banning the medicinal use of fentanyl, saying he will ask Mexican doctors and scientists to analyze whether other strong pain relievers could be used in its place.

López Obrador had much to say this week about the powerful synthetic opioid blamed for fueling a surge of drug overdose deaths in the United States and creating tensions between Mexico and its northern neighbor.

Fentanyl pills — The Mexican military has seized fentanyl pills disguised as other forms of medication. (SEDENA/Cuartoscuro)

At his Wednesday morning press conference, the president stated that if his administration manages to ban fentanyl in medical settings, he will request that the U.S. do the same.

He also assured that his administration is currently doing more work against fentanyl than the United States, where he alleged the drug is distributed with impunity and there are no known seizures or arrests of those responsible.

Yet, he added, U.S. legislators and authorities find it easy to unjustifiably blame Mexico.

López Obrador also argued that young people in the U.S. resort to drugs because of the disintegration of families and moral values — and that the U.S. should address young people’s feelings of unhappiness, abandonment and dissatisfaction like Mexico does.

In his Thursday morning press conference, he pushed back against U.S. criticism of his record of cracking down on fentanyl trafficking by saying Mexico is not responsible for most of the fentanyl that enters the U.S.

Last month Anne Milgram, head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) told a congressional hearing on drug trafficking that Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and rival Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) were responsible for the “vast majority of fentanyl that is coming into the United States.”

“I maintain that more fentanyl reaches the United States and Canada directly than reaches Mexico,” countered López Obrador.

A white CBP truck patrol the US-Mexico border — The entry of fentanyl into the U.S. from Mexico has become a thorny diplomatic issue in recent weeks. (CBP/Flickr)

The 69-year-old president, whose term is set to end Sept. 30, 2024, said Mexican officials had explained to him that only blue fentanyl pills turned up in Mexico.

“Over in the United States, they’ve got all colors and flavors,” he said.

U.S. authorities have reported that illegal fentanyl is produced in secret Mexican labs using Chinese precursor chemicals and that most of it is pressed into counterfeit pills made to look like medications such as Xanax, oxycodone or Percocet.

Some Republican lawmakers want the U.S. to designate Mexican drug gangs as terrorist organizations and to use the U.S. military to fight them. López Obrador has vigorously rejected such suggestions, arguing that his government has seized more illegal fentanyl than “ever before.”

“We are not going to be their servants,” he said of the U.S. and its calls to crack down on the cartels. “We were elected by the people of Mexico to protect Mexicans.”

He said the DEA “has proved it can’t handle” the problem.

CBP Graphic — Total narcotics seized in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, which includes 12,494 pounds of fentanyl. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said those in the U.S. calling for tougher measures were “ungrateful” for Mexico’s efforts. He and López Obrador said Mexican diplomats north of the border would begin a public education campaign in the U.S. to highlight Mexico’s interdiction efforts.

However, there have been only scattered and isolated reports of medicinal fentanyl making it onto the illegal market.

López Obrador said other analgesics besides fentanyl were the norm in medicine before and could be used again if considered effective.

If doctors and scientists see his proposal as viable, he will commit to combating all the illegal entry of fentanyl into Mexico, he added.

A day after the proposed ban, one prominent Mexican doctor dismissed it as impractical because there are certain patients who respond favorably only to fentanyl.

“There are patients who can only be controlled with this medication and, in fact, fentanyl is very commonly used within the field of anesthesia and intensive care,” said Dr Luz Adriana Templos Esteban, head of the Palliative Care and Clinic Division of the Pain at the Gea González Hospital of the Ministry of Health.

Templos said the recreational use of fentanyl — when dosage is not carefully controlled — is very dangerous and addictive, but is non-fatal in medical use. Rather, “it helps patients [with] their surgeries” and helps “to treat severe pain,” she said.

She also noted that if authorities want to approve replacing fentanyl with morphine, oxymorphone, oxycodone or hydromorphone, they should address the shortages of these types of medications that exist globally.

With reports from El Economista, El Sol de México, Reuters and Associated Press

Young men killed by soldiers in Nuevo Laredo were unarmed, feds say

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MND Staff

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March 17, 2023

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A grey-bearded, light-skinned man with glasses speaks at a podium. — As deputy minister of human rights, population and migration for the Interior Ministry, Alejandro Encinas is Mexico's top human rights official. (Presidencia)

Five young men allegedly killed by soldiers in Tamaulipas last month were unarmed and weren’t involved in a confrontation with the army, Deputy Interior Minister Alejandro Encinas said Wednesday.

The men, one of whom was reportedly a United States citizen, were killed when their vehicle came under fire in the border city of Nuevo Laredo in the early hours of Feb. 26. A sixth man was wounded.

Four soldiers were detained and ordered to stand trial in connection with the killings.

Encinas, Deputy Interior Minister for Human Rights, Population and Migration, said the slain men were victims of murder.

“We have to wait for the investigation the National Human Rights Commission was asked to do, … [but] it wasn’t a confrontation with the young men. Regardless of who they were, they were executed,” he told reporters Wednesday after an appearance in the lower house of Congress.

“We’ll wait for the conclusion of the investigation to see what happened; clearly there is evidence to prove that the young men weren’t armed and there wasn’t a confrontation,” Encinas added.

Soldiers in uniform walk near several camo vehicles in a cordoned-off area of the street, with residents in everyday clothing at the edges of the area. — After the shooting, Nuevo Laredo residents confronted the soldiers involved. (Comité de Derechos Humanos Nuevo Laredo)

His assertions contradict the version of events offered by the army shortly after the incident occurred. The Ministry of National Defense said the soldiers fired their weapons after they heard gunshots and saw a pick up truck without license plates and with its lights off traveling at high speed.

The men who were killed, reported to be returning home from a night on the town when they came under attack, have been identified as Gustavo Pérez Beriles, Wilberto Mata Estrada, Jonathan Aguilar Sánchez, Alejandro Trujillo Rocha and Gustavo Ángel Suárez Castillo.

Numerous media reports have identified Suárez, who lived in San Antonio, Texas, as a U.S. citizen.

A seventh man who was inexplicably unharmed said that the soldiers fired at his friends at point-blank range after their pickup truck was rammed by an army vehicle.

“I got on my knees telling them we weren’t criminals, but they ignored what I told them,” said Alejandro Pérez, brother of one of victims.

Encinas acknowledged that soldiers “all have rights” but added that those who commit crimes must face consequences. He said that the superiors of the troops involved in the Feb. 26 incident should also be investigated to establish their role in the incident.

Nuevo Laredo residents, including relatives of the victims, journalists and human rights defenders, confronted soldiers hours after the incident to denounce their abuse of authority.

Scuffles ensued and soldiers fired their weapons into the air in an attempt to repel the citizens.

At least 40 people in an urban setting. Many wear dark green and are waving Mexican flags or carrying hand-written signs. — Protesters gathered in Mexico City on Sunday to show support for the soldiers accused of murder. (Andrea Murcia / Cuartoscuro.com)

Days after the killings, President López Obrador said the young men were “presumed sicarios,” or cartel hit men, an assertion that appears to have been debunked given the apparent evidence they were unarmed. Despite that claim, the president made it clear that he didn’t approve of “the execution of anyone.”

López Obrador has sought to differentiate his government from its predecessors, making repeated assertions that the military no longer commits human rights abuses such as torture and extrajudicial killings. However, human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have challenged his claims.

López Obrador on Wednesday stressed that the detained soldiers would be treated fairly.

“We always act in accordance with the law and justice. Have confidence that if your relatives are innocent and didn’t commit any crime, they will be attended to, listened to and released if they are in jail. We don’t fabricate crimes,” he said in a message directed to the soldiers’ families.

Protests were held in numerous cities last Sunday to call for the release of the four detained soldiers, who are under investigation by both military and civilian authorities.

López Obrador said that the attendees have the right to demonstrate but stressed that his government wouldn’t act in response to their “pressure.”

With reports from El Financiero, El País, Aristegui Noticias and Infobae

Italian energy company discovers oil field in Gulf of Mexico

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MND Staff

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March 17, 2023

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A Eni oil rig in the Mediterranean sea. — Eni is one of the 7 largest oil companies in the world, known as "supermajors". (Cipiota/Wikimedia)

Italian energy company Eni has announced the discovery of an oil field off the coast of southeastern Mexico that could contain 200 million barrels of crude.

The oil “supermajor” said Friday that the new discovery was in a mid-deep water section of the Cuenca Salina in the Sureste Basin, located in the Gulf of Mexico.

Eni oil company office in Milan — Eni announced the new find on Friday morning. (Eni.com)

“According to preliminary estimates, the new finding may contain around 200 million barrels of oil in place,” Eni said in a statement.

The Italian multinational has a 45% stake in the exploration block where the field is located, while British firm Capricorn Energy has a 30% share. Mexico’s Citla Energy has the remaining 25% stake.

Eni said the new discovery is located approximately 65 kilometers off the coast and 25 to 30 km from other fields it has found.

The company has been present in Mexico since 2006 and established its wholly-owned subsidiary Eni México in 2015.

“Currently Eni holds rights in eight exploration and production blocks (six as the operator), all located in the Sureste Basin in the Gulf of Mexico” it said.

After ending a 75-year state monopoly in the energy sector, the previous federal government held a series of oil and gas auctions at which foreign and private companies bought exploration and exploitation rights.

No auctions have been held since President López Obrador – a fierce critic of the 2014 energy reform – took office in late 2018. On Thursday he said that 110 contracts were issued to foreign and Mexican companies, but oil production hasn’t met expectations.

“They calculated that we were going to have extraction of about 3 million barrels per day … [but] their production doesn’t exceed 50,000 barrels,” López Obrador said.

On Saturday, the President will lead an event in Mexico City’s central square to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the nationalization of Mexico’s oil industry.

His government has sought to reassert Mexico’s energy sovereignty by implementing policies that favor the state-owned oil company Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission over foreign and private firms.

Mexico News Daily

Mercado Libre to invest US $1.6B in Mexico this year

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MND Staff

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March 17, 2023

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A package at a Mercado Libre line — Mercado Libre has announced an additional US $1.6B investment into Mexico to help develop payment systems and marketing. (@ML_Mexico/Twitter)

Latin America’s leading e-commerce company, Mercado Libre, announced on Thursday that it will invest US $1.6 billion in Mexico, the company’s second-largest market.

The investment is set to be the largest amount the e-commerce and financial services titan has made in Mexico, and comes after a US $1.5 billion investment in 2022.

Mercado Pago provides banking services for much of Mexico's informal economy. — Mercado Pago provides banking services for much of Mexico’s informal economy. (@MercadoPagoMex/Twitter)

The new funding will look to strengthen its logistics and marketing divisions as well as its fintech and e-commerce market development, head of Mercado Libre for Mexico David Geisen said in a statement.

The investment seeks to consolidate the company’s offers and strategies to attract and retain more users while showing “the commitment that Mercado Libre has for Mexico,” he added.

Mexicans also seem to be committed to Mercado Libre. According to Geisen, the Uruguay-based e-commerce platform was ranked as the number one most visited website in the country at the end of 2022.

Pedro Rivas, CEO of Mercado Pago, said that the investment will promote greater financial inclusion through the platform and expand the scope of credits to final consumers and small and medium-sized companies that need working capital to grow.

Mercado Libre warehouse workers on the job. — Distribution is a key area of growth for the company this year. (@ML_Mexico/Twitter)

“We are making a very strong commitment to Mexico,” Rivas said.

According to figures from the Mexican Online Sales Association (AMVO), e-commerce in Mexico quadrupled its volume in the last four years. Mercado Libre has seen even greater success with a 600% increase in the same period, Geisen emphasized.

Mercado Libre said that the company is doing well financially. At a regional level, Mercado Pago registered more than 210 transactions per second. The app is now among the top four most used financial services apps in the country, below only banking applications, according to Mercado Libre.

Rivas also said that the company is ready for Mexicans to use the platform as the “day-to-day financial app to solve their needs through a card, receiving remittances, making transfers and personal loans, among other solutions.”

Mercado Pago has become the largest online payment platform in Mexico, where many people and informal businesses still do not have access to traditional banking.

On the topic of whether Mercado Pago would create a “super-app”, Geisen noted the company already has two and highlighted new features that the e-commerce platform will have. These include short videos or streams to help users discover new content and to promote products in collaboration with major influencers and content creators.

With reports from Expansión and Forbes

Who says she can’t? Women in mezcal industry buck male tradition

By

Anna Bruce

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March 16, 2023

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From left to right: Graciela Ángeles, Sandra Ortiz Brena, and Silvia Mezcaloteca Philion, founders of Mujer Agave — From left to right: Graciela Ángeles, Sandra Ortiz Brena, and Silvia Philion are all in the agave industry as either mezcaleras or owners of bars specializing in agave liquors. Together, they formed Mujer Agave, a Oaxaca organization that supports and promotes women in the industry. (Anna Bruce)

Having documented the world of agave spirits for the last decade, I have seen some significant shifts and developments. A highlight is the growing confidence and presence of women in the industry.

In December, Oaxaca city hosted a new kind of mezcal festival, called Mujer Agave — an event in which women in the agave spirits industry came together to share their work, experience and passion.

Woman tending to agave plant — Women have always been involved in producing and selling Mexico’s agave spirits, but typically in the background. Recently, that’s been changing. (Anna Bruce)

The three women running it — Sandra Ortiz Brena, Silvia Philion and mezcalera Graciela Ángeles — have forged a path for other women working with mezcal: Ortiz and Philion run two of the best-known bars in Oaxaca, InSitu and Mezcaloteca respectively. Ángeles carries the torch for the prestigious brand Real Minero. She is often described as a woman leading the way in the agave spirits industry.

Ángeles’ strength and skills have won her fame from the earliest days of the international mezcal “boom.” Other mezcaleras whose names are always at the tip of the tongue when discussing “women in mezcal” in Mexico include Reyna Sánchez and Berta Vásquez.

These women have been bold, making a name for themselves in a predominantly masculine field. Until recently, however, it felt like they were the exception to the rule, a novelty rather than people in an accepted position of equality.

Fortunately, in the last few years, more and more women are finding their place in the mezcal industry, running bars and brands and heading production.

Traditional Oaxacan mezcal maker Bertha Vasquez — Berta Vásquez is a mezcalera from a generation where women were involved in palenques alongside male family members but rarely acknowledged. (Anna Bruce)

During my earliest visits to palenques (mezcal distilleries), the men were front and center — called mezcaleros. Often their spouses — equally involved in managing production — did not claim a title beyond “the mezcalero’s wife.”

This is something that up-and-coming mezcalera Jessica Hernández is keen to change.

I first met Hernández at a mezcal event where she was representing her families’ product, Espina Dorada (Golden Spine). Since then, I visited their palenque many times, learning more about her respect for her ancestors, her experience in the industry and her vision for the future.

“I like working with this distillate because it is more than a drink; it is history, a culture and tradition that my predecessors have transmitted to me, and I would like to preserve their legacy and essence.”

Reverence for the women in her history is evident as you arrive at the Espina Dorada palenque. From the road, you can see a stunning mural of a healer on the side of the distillery, representing Hernández’s female ancestors that worked with the medicinal properties of mezcal.

Hernández is a fourth-generation mezcal producer of Zapotec descent. She was raised on a palenque in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, nicknamed “World Capital of Mezcal.”

Mezcal maker Jessica Hernandez, left, with her mother, right — Jessica Hernández and her mother Soledad, who she says has been a major influence on her becoming a fourth-generation mezcal maker. (Anna Bruce)

“I played among agave, learning about maguey care [the cousin to blue agave that’s used to make pulque], techniques, mezcal and pulque production,” she said. “Thanks to the tradition of my ancestors and ancestral techniques, today I produce my own batches of mezcal.”

Eventually, Hernández’s family moved from this agave-centric community to the highway by San Francisco Lachigoló, much closer to Oaxaca city, so that Hernández and her siblings could be closer to schools. Hernández , currently pursuing a master’s degree in business administration, is the first woman in her family with a university degree.

“Absolutely everything I have studied, and am studying, is for my family business. It allows me to reduce costs and improve the administration of our mezcal.”

The focus on higher education is just one of the ways in which her parents supported Hernández. However, they also encouraged her to learn about the family’s traditions and its work on the palenque.

“When I was little, I helped my parents in whatever way I could. It’s a tough job, so at that time, I only guided the horse or stoked the fire, but little by little, I became more fully involved in this trade.”

She remembers how involved her mother and grandmother always were in production. Now each member of the family has their own role in making a batch, such as setting the oven or watching over distillation.

Berta Vasquez: How Berta came to be a Maestra Mezcalera

In an interview subtitled in English, Berta Vásquez discusses how she came to run her husband’s mezcal business only after he died, leaving her with four children.

For each batch, one person takes the lead and responsibility for the overall production, and they are the one who signs the final bottles.

“I make three or two batches per year. The rest… belong to my parents, and I help them however I can.”

Although Hernández’s family are now supportive of her endeavors, things were not always a smooth ride. She had to overcome certain societal expectations in a local culture where sons were the ones expected to carry on the family mezcal business.

“I have always been very rebellious,” she says. “I was not the longed-for eldest son of the culture… but I have always liked playing that role. I was the girl who, if they did not take her to the countryside, hid in the truck to be able to go.”

One of the traditions passed down through her family is that a unique batch of mezcal is made for each of the family’s newborns, saved for years until it’s drunk on their wedding day. Hernández, who’s unmarried, chose a different path. She says she wants to create her own milestone moment in which she’ll share that mezcal made for her as a newborn.

It has taken many years for mezcaleras to deconstruct ideas about the role of women in the tradition. Although they’ve made progress, Hernández says there is still much for which women haven’t been acknowledged.

Mezcalota mezcal bar in Oaxaca — Philon, second from right, at her mezcal bar, Mezcalota, standing next to actress Eva Longoria. Mezcalota will be featured on Episode 3 of the CNN documentary series “Searching for Mexico,” starring Longoria. It premieres March 26. (Mezcalota/Facebook)

“The part played by women has always been important,” she said, explaining that women have always taught the next generations the art of cultivating and making mezcal….”

Women are finally finding their own space in all branches of the agave spirits industry, says Hernández, who wants to follow in her ancestors’ footsteps and teach others to make mezcal.

“Each of our bottles represent the history and essence of whoever produces it, paying tribute to our ancestors,” she said.

Every time I visit Hernández, she’s working on a new project, developing her family’s work with agave. As well as making new areas for visitors to enjoy their product, she’s building a space to share details of their past, including the tradition of medicinal practices.

She also has ambitious ideas to export the family’s product internationally. On this year’s International Women’s Day, she participated in a panel of mezcaleras, including previously mentioned icons of the industry, Reyna Sánchez and Berta Vásquez.

The world of agave spirits owes much to these iconic women who have forged the way for platforms like Mujer Agave. It feels like the dialogue is finally reaching a point where there will be inclusivity for women working with mezcal, rather than just a few famous exceptions.

Undoubtedly, Jessica will be a leader among this new wave of mezcaleras who open the door to a future where women in the industry become the rule.

Anna Bruce is an award-winning British photojournalist based in Oaxaca, Mexico. Just some of the media outlets she has worked with include Vice, The Financial Times, Time Out, Huffington Post, The Times of London, the BBC and Sony TV. Find out more about her work at her website or visit her on social media on Instagram or on Facebook.

Zona Maco 2023: Foreigners flocking to Mexico City art scene

By

Marko Ayling

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March 16, 2023

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Zelika Gárcia and Juan Canela — Zona Maco founder Zélika García and artistic director Juan Canela. (Zona Maco)

Zona Maco has evolved from the upstart of Mexico City’s art scene into the largest art fair in Latin America, and one of the most important in the world. Last month the fair celebrated its 19th anniversary with a cosmopolitan flair that confirmed its rightful place on the world stage – and the changing face of the Mexican capital.

Since its founding in 2004 by Mexican art historian Zélika García, Maco (from “México Arte Contemporáneo”) has always had global ambitions. When it started, the Mexican contemporary art scene was at a pivotal juncture; collecting was less common and some of today’s leading galleries were just coming onto the scene.

Visitors to Salón Acme in Mexico City — Visitors at Salón Acme gallery in Mexico City during this year’s Art Week. (Marko Ayling)

Zona Maco – which now includes design, antiques and photography – has since spawned Art Week, a citywide celebration hosted every February alongside the event that includes other art fairs like BADA in Campo Marte, the Feria Material in Expo Reforma and Salón Acme in Proyecto Público Prim in Juárez.

“In the last decade, Zona Maco has become the flagship art fair of Latin America,” says Antea Martín, part of the curation team at Haab, a co-working space and art venue in Condesa.

Maco was the last “normal” event in 2020 before COVID-19 shut down the city. The event was canceled in 2021, and returned in February of 2022 as Mexico City was coming out of lockdowns, and witnessing a rise in popularity with foreign remote workers.

“During the pandemic, the art market came to a standstill,” says Antea. “But with the increase in tourism and digital nomads, Mexico City has become a very important international hub and this year we saw more foreigners – both serious collectors and more casual art lovers.”

By the time the 2023 edition opened its doors, Mexico City had become the darling of the global post-pandemic zeitgeist, brimming with foreign visitors and new permanent residents. Zona Maco highlighted this foreign presence – both in the audience, and those contributing to the fair’s cosmopolitanism.

“This year’s atmosphere was more international and diverse,” says Andrea Romero, a visual artist who had a solo show in Salón Acme this year. This year, Zona Maco hosted 210 exhibitors from 26 countries – 49% of the exhibiting artists were foreign.

“This can definitely have a positive impact on the art market,” she said, noting that she had sold pieces to clients from Brazil, Ecuador, and beyond. “This is going to shake up the established markets as new buyers create change.”

The Zona Maco fair was held in the Centro Citibanamex in Miguel Hidalgo, but much of the action was in the unofficial gallery openings, parties, and pop-ups taking place across the city alongside Art Week. From Colonia Roma to Coyoacán, Centro to Santa María la Ribera, the streets of Mexico City were abuzz with conversations in dozens of languages. Zona Maco is now on the map for globetrotting art lovers.

Zona Maco 2022 drew 57,000 visitors and this year, the number reached 77,000 according to organizers. (Zona Maco)

But does the presence of foreigners alter the essence of Art Week, or enrich it?

“It’s a different community that’s coming now,” says Cara Araneta, a Mexico City resident from San Diego who explained to me the changes she has seen over the last four years. “My friends in the U.S. didn’t even used to know what Maco was – now they are talking about going to ‘pre-Maco’ in Guadalajara.”

Cara says the city’s rising popularity has overlapped with an increase in art tourism that has made cities like Miami come alive during events like Art Basel. For many casual art fans, Zona Maco is yet another reason to visit a city at the top of many bucket lists. But even though Maco isn’t as big as other art fairs, Cara says that is actually part of the appeal.

“The art world is much more accessible here,” says Cara. “You can’t just show up to events in Art Basel or Salone in Milan. But in Mexico City, you can.”

This increase in awareness cuts both ways. Since the pandemic, foreign remote workers have flocked to Mexico City’s most charming colonias. Rising rents have led many to worry that this foreign influx could price out locals and alter the city’s social fabric.

“Zona Maco’s popularity brings Mexico City and Latin American art to the forefront,” says Cara. “But on the other hand, it’s becoming more about tourism, with spaces dedicated to that. And prices follow suit.”

A case in point was Salón Acme, the event space adjacent to Taberna Prim in the trendy Juárez neighborhood. Weekend day passes were $350 pesos and the hip young crowd seemed to be checking out each other as much as the art on the walls. With the Soho House social club set to open nearby later this year, the chic, cosmopolitan crowd felt like a taste of the gentrification sure to follow.

Some of the most vulnerable to this gentrification are the artists who make the city’s art scene so vibrant. Priced out of Roma, Condesa, and Juarez, some artists even whisper about leaving the city entirely. But there are many foreign artists eager to tap into the city for inspiration and contribute to the vibrant scene in ways they can’t back home.

I spoke with Barry Silver, a 59-year-old yogi-turned-artist from New York who came to Mexico from Venice Beach during the pandemic after feeling “a deep mystical connection to Mexico in my own personal mythology.” He first went to Oaxaca to work with a local printer on a series of collage books. But when he visited Zona Maco in 2022 to debut his latest work – a bespoke tarot deck – he felt called to stay in Mexico City in pursuit of his art. A year later, Barry was participating in Art Week himself, serving hot tea from his self-designed pop-up chai stand at Haab Project’s Zona Maco event in Condesa.

Artist Barry Silver — New York artist Barry Silver (Courtesy)

“As an artist, it’s actually kind of rare to meet with your audience on-site,” says Barry, who drew tarot cards for passers-by while displaying the original 25-year-old cut-and-paste journals he created over 12 years of travels through India and Asia.

“There’s such a magic in Mexican culture,” he adds. “Art and creation are so tied into the culture that you can get inspired and tap into the stream that exists here.”

Of course, artists aren’t the only foreigners setting up shop in Mexico City. There has been an explosion of gallery openings in recent years, many of them foreign-owned or operated. Big names include L.A. gallery Morán Morán’s new space in Polanco and Mariane Ibrahim’s third gallery (her other two are located in Paris and Chicago). But many younger and less established gallerists are also finding opportunities to build something in Mexico.

Graeme Luey transplanted his #Hashtag Gallery to Mexico after 10 years in Toronto. COVID-19 lockdowns in Canada drastically curtailed the options for the award-winning gallery, and after a trip to Mérida in January 2021, Luey felt inspired to relocate. After building a 700+ member WhatsApp group, Luey is trying to bring people from online chats into real-life spaces, where his team supports emerging artists with a place to showcase their work or partake in workshops.

How these new galleries will help local artists is less clear. The concurrent arrival of foreign artists, galleries, and tourists risks creating cultural bubbles detached from the vibrant artistic traditions that make Mexico so culturally rich.

One thing is certain – the art market is red-hot. Visitors want souvenirs and recent arrivals need to decorate their homes. Galleries in the trendiest neighborhoods have seen foreign sales increase dramatically, with work priced in dollars – or even bitcoin.

While the problems that come with digital nomad migration seem to stem from a lack of regulation, Zona Maco is an example of the opposite – a meticulous curation of Mexico’s best art, design, and photography presented proudly to the world. And as more foreign artists flock to Mexico for inspiration, perhaps the fair’s mission of highlighting emerging local talent is precisely what is needed.

Marko Ayling is a life-long traveler and the creator and host of Vagabrothers, one of the most trusted and popular travel shows on YouTube, with 1M+ subscribers worldwide. He now writes “The Missive” on Substack, a weekly dispatch of travel tales, reading recommendations, and curated cultural recommendations.

US issues spring break travel alert for Mexico

By

MND Staff

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March 16, 2023

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Spring break vacationers parrty on a beach. — Although most Americans who visit Mexico travel safely, the U.S. Embassy noted in a recent travel alert aimed at spring break vacationers that tourists here on spring break have been victims of crime and adulterated substances. (Photo: Depositphotos

The United States government has warned spring break vacationers in Mexico to be aware of a range of dangers including crime, drugs, and unregulated alcohol.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico issued a travel alert this week aimed at the thousands of U.S. citizens who come here during the annual holiday period.

“While the vast majority travel safely,” the embassy said, it advised that visitors should consider risk factors when planning their trips and while in Mexico.

The travel alert noted that crime, including violent crime, “can occur anywhere in Mexico” and specifically advised U.S. citizens to “exercise increased caution in the downtown areas of popular spring break locations, including Cancún, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum, especially after dark.”

Those three beach destinations are all located in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, a spring break hotspot.

The embassy also stated that “U.S. citizens have become seriously ill or died in Mexico after using synthetic drugs or adulterated prescription pills” and warned that “unregulated alcohol may be contaminated.”

Bar and nightclub zone of Cancun, Mexico — The U.S. has also warned spring breakers to “exercise increased caution” in downtown areas of spring break destinations, like the bar and nightclub zone of Cancún. (Elisabeth Ruiz/Cuartoscuro)

“U.S. citizens have reported losing consciousness or becoming injured after consuming alcohol that was possibly tainted,” the travel alert stated.

The embassy also warned that counterfeit medication is common in Mexico and may contain dangerous ingredients. It also noted that U.S. citizens have been victims of rape and sexual assault here.

In addition, the travel alert mentioned “strong undercurrents and rip tides” at some beaches, advised that “all guns and even small amounts of ammunition are illegal in Mexico,” and warned of the risk of arrest for “drunk and disorderly behavior.”

The alert also included a list of “actions to take,” among which was advice to read the State Department’s Mexico Travel Advisory, “drink responsibly and always watch your drink,” and “obey Mexican law and remember Mexican laws may differ from U.S. laws.” The Mexico Travel Advisory also advises U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to six specific Mexican states.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) went even further with its advice, “urging Texans to avoid traveling to Mexico during spring break … due to the ongoing violence throughout that country.”

“Drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat to anyone who crosses into Mexico right now,” DPS Director Steven McCraw was quoted as saying in the DPS’s press release

“We have a duty to inform the public about safety, travel risks and threats. Based on the volatile nature of cartel activity and the violence we are seeing there, we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time,” McCraw said.

Visitors enjoy the beach in Playa del Carmen.

McCraw’s remarks late last week came shortly after two of four U.S. citizens who were abducted in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, were found dead. Matamoros is located across the border from Brownsville, Texas, which itself is close to South Padre Island, a resort town popular with spring break vacationers.

Despite the U.S. government’s travel alert, tens of thousands of young Americans are predicted to spend time in Mexico during spring break, a period spanning several weeks in March and early April.

Authorities in Quintana Roo predict that around 30,000 spring breakers will descend on Cancún, while the Los Cabos municipality, on the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula in Baja California Sur, is expecting an influx of over 40,000 foreign students.

The State Department advises U.S. citizens to “exercise increased caution” in both states.

Mexico News Daily