The storm dumped 80 millimeters per square meter between Friday night and Saturday morning. (X)
Heavy rains on Friday and Saturday claimed the lives of three people and caused severe damage in the state of Querétaro, prompting the mayor of the state capital to declare a state of emergency in three municipalities.
Querétaro city, the capital of the industrial state to the north of Mexico City, was hit hardest, with flooding and destruction primarily impacting the northern and southern areas of the city of 2.4 million people.
Mayor Felipe Fernando Macías said the heaviest rain occurred on Friday night. He said the storm, starting at around 6 p.m., dumped 80 millimeters per square meter overnight, adding that 30 millimeters per square meter is considered dangerous.
Local authorities said more than 2,200 homes were damaged and manufacturing firms were just beginning to evaluate the impact on their facilities.
On Friday, the Querétaro Municipal Civil Protection agency reported the discovery of two bodies, a man and a woman, in the Peñuelas neighborhood of the capital. The victims were apparently swept away by rushing stormwaters.
The hardest hit neighborhoods of Querétaro were Menchaca 1, Carrillo Puerto, Lomas de San Pedrito Peñuelas, San Pedrito Peñuelas I, El Sabino and Peñuelas. (Mauricio Kuri/X)
The state of emergency — declared on Saturday — established a curfew, ordered businesses and factories in affected areas shuttered, restricted public transportation and closed bridges and roads that were damaged by the rain and floodwaters.
The federal government activated an emergency response as well, sending troops from the 17th Military Zone under the command of Brigadier General José Guillermo Lira to the state.
As of Monday, the three levels of government had dispersed 1,400 cleaning kits, 1,500 emergency food parcels and 18,000 sandbags to different neighborhoods in the capital.
Rain remains in the forecast for Querétaro throughout Monday and Tuesday. Residents are urged to report flood damage to the following local number: 442 101 5205, option 1.
The World Fair of 1889 was the moment that Mexico unveiled itself to the world as a major cultural force, in a meticulously planned appearance in Paris. (Public domain)
The event that put the World Fair on the map was London’s Great Exhibition of 1851. Promoted by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, it was held in a giant glass and iron pavilion — the Crystal Palace — in Hyde Park, London. These early exhibitions changed society. Thousands of working-class people bought excursion tickets on the new railways to visit the show, and in doing so changed the nature of tourism. The big profits in the travel industry no longer came from bringing a few lords and ladies to luxury spas. Rather, it was all about getting thousands of factory workers to come to the seaside for their holidays.
It was World Fairs that gave the first demonstrations of the telephone, flushing toilets and the ice cream cone and it was World Fairs that first inspired the mass production of tourist souvenirs.
London’s Crystal Palace exhibit in 1851 helped to put the concept of a World Fair on the map. (Public domain)
Mexico’s first World Fair exhibits
Mexico’s first participation in a World Fair came in 1876. The venue was Philadelphia, and the occasion was the centennial of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, which had been signed in that city. There were over nine million visitors, and among the highlights was the chance to see the torch-bearing arm of the Statue of Liberty, the statue being under construction at the time. Only ten years had passed since the execution of Emperor Maximilian, and Mexico was still seen as a backward and unruly country. A Mexican representative to the U.S., Gabriel Mancera, convinced the Mexican government that participation might help repair the country’s tarnished image. However, Mexico lacked experience with such events, and there were insufficient funds to support a major exhibition. The Mexican impact was therefore minimal, with exhibitions in a small area in the “international”building and some minor representation in the art gallery.
Two years later, an international fair was held in Paris, where the task of promoting Mexico was left to private enterprise. Once again, the Mexican exhibition made little impact. The review magazine, Les Merveilles de l’Exposition de 1878, praised the maps of Messrs. Debray and Co. and the onyx marbles of Messrs. Guttierez, but beyond that, they noted, “We see nothing of interest. Hemp, cigarettes, a small quantity of chemical and pharmaceutical products, goat skins, vanilla and mescal brandy, that is the Mexican exhibition.”
The next decade was largely a time of peace and economic progress under the autocratic rule of Porfirio Díaz, with mining and the building of railroads bringing in foreign investment. As the small Mexican elite mixed with foreign businessmen in the office and the sports club, they started to look to the outside world with more interest. This drove Mexico’s return to international exhibitions. In 1884, Mexico was represented at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, a largely forgotten event staged in New Orleans to commemorate the emergence of the post-Civil War American South. The Mexican presence in New Orleans was an expensive enterprise, with Ramón Ibarrola designing a multicoloured steel-and-iron Moorish-style Mexican Pavilion. This can still be seen today, on the Alameda in Santa María la Ribera.
The World Fair of 1889
Five years later, in 1889, a world exposition was staged in Paris. Costing 46 million francs, it is considered the greatest fair of the century and has left a legacy that stillimpacts the host city, for the centerpiece was none other than the 330-meter Eiffel Tower. Intended to be dismantled after twenty years, the tower remains the iconic symbol of the city today. Although eventually successful, the fair was controversial at the time. The theme was the Republican values of the French Revolution, and although nearly a century had passed since the execution of Louis XVI, a number of countries with monarchies did not officially take part. However, thanks to French diplomatic efforts, their absence was barely noticed. The French Empire stepped up to fill the gap, boycotting countries were still presented by individual companies, Thomas Alva Edison brought his new phonograph, Buffalo Bill brought his Wild West Show and Mexico stole the show with their Mexica-inspired pavilion.
There was little to fault the Mexican organization. A central organizing committee was approved, this made up of a team of high-profile representatives from the various ministries. This grand committee appointed teams to oversee the nine groups that would make up the Mexican exhibition. Fully funded by the government, the team departed for Paris with a budget of 5 million francs (then almost 1.5 million pesos), the largest fund of any nation at the exposition.
Mexican participation in the World Fair of 1889
An illustrated map for the World’s Fair of 1889 in Paris. (Public Domain)
Ramón Fernández, the Minister of Mexico in Paris, was a great supporter of Mexican participation, and work started on the Mexican pavilion. The successful 1884 pavilion in New Orleans had drawn from Mexico’s Spanish culture, which in turn was heavily influenced by Arabic designs. The architectural team for Paris had access to a pre-publication copy of Dr. Peñafiel’s “Monuments of Ancient Mexican Art.” Now, for the first time, there was sufficient knowledge to allow the pavilion to take on a Mexica-like appearance. This temple-like building would cover 2,159 square meters with two side pavilions flanking the main hall, from which an elegant double staircase led to the upper galleries.
Once the project was approved by the Mexican government, negotiations started with the French over the location. A small area had been assigned to the Latin American countries, but this space might have to be shared with the exhibits of some European countries, something Mexico wanted to avoid. After long negotiations, Mexico was granted a rectangular area 70 meters long and 30 meters wide. This was next to Argentina’s exhibit. However, as desired, it was some distance from the European displays.
Mexico’s image portrayed to the world
As the exhibits started to be placed in the pavilion — maps, samples of rocks and minerals, tobacco, hides and skins, building materials, sugars, wines and spirits, plants, flowers and fruits, gold, silver, henequen, coffee, cacao and endless photographs — it started to portray an image of modern Mexico. There was a particularly impressive collection of Mexican textiles, displayed on mannequins that reflected the size and build of the native people of the various Mexican regions. The fact that the Mexican factories producing many of these goods lagged behind Europe and the United States in technology was not hidden, but exploited. It allowed Mexico to be portrayed as an ideal place to invest.
There was also a political side to the exhibition. The Mexican government was anxious to show that it had brought stability to an often turbulent country, and there were photos of new national monuments and buildings, as well as drawings of future projects. Education was an important component of this, and there was a display of educational statistics, issues of major Mexican newspapers and journals, and numerous copies of works from schools.
Perhaps because it was so ambitious, the pavilion wasn’t inaugurated until June 22. However, with the Fair already open, this created a more dramatic spectacle. As the La Marseillaiseand the Mexican national anthem were played by the Mexican 101st battalion orchestra, French President Sadi Carnot, flanked by the directors of the exhibition and Mexican dignitaries, climbed the steps of what was called the “Aztec Palace.” At that very moment, the Eiffel Tower was lit up by fireworks, and the light fountains began their display. It was a delayed but perfect start to the show!
How Mexico fared at the World Fair of 1889
Mexico’s “Aztec Palace” exhibition at the World Fair of 1889 was a rousing success. (Public domain)
By the time the fair closed at the end of October, Mexico had come out with honour. As the Guide Bleu du Figaro et du Petit Journal 1889 summarised, “Mexico has done a great deal, and its exhibition must be ranked among the most remarkable.” It continued, “In the middle of this Street of American Nations, Mexico stands out in a very glorious way for this great country.”
After the success of Paris, we might question why Mexico did not attempt to stage a similar event, if on a smaller scale. There had been proposals in 1878 for a “Mexican-American Fair,” an idea that had resurfaced in 1880. One problem was that Mexico, for all its progress, was still a developing nation. Creating a picture of a vibrant Mexico in a pavilion in Paris or the U.S. was one thing. Inviting the world to come to a city that had its share of problems was quite another.
The story of Mexico at World Fairs continues into modern times. Dubai hosted the most recent global event, Expo 2020, where Mexico, with its cloth-wrapped pavilion and visual efforts, again put on an impressive show. It was a continuation of the legacy that started in Paris 131 years before.
Bob Pateman is a Mexico-based historian, librarian and a life term hasher. He is editor of On On Magazine, the international history magazine of hashing.
All tacos are made to be delicious, but some sound more delicious than others, it turns out. (Jeswin Thomas/Unsplash)
“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare’s Juliet once asked. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” By this, I presume the Bard meant, as expressed through the guise of one of literary history’s most romantic characters, that names are but arbitrary labels we attach to things. They never fundamentally affect the character of what they describe.
For proof of the aptness of this perception, look no further than the taco. There are many varieties of this iconic street food from Mexico, after all, that have terrible-sounding names. Yet they’re still delicious. Would that which we call a taco envenenado, or “poisoned” taco, by any other name taste as good? Naturally, it’s the ingredients and preparations that matter, not the moniker attached.
Indeed, if Romeo had eaten a few tacos envenenados instead of drinking poison, he’d still be alive. So would Juliet. Such an ending would have spoiled the play’s tragic effect, of course. But tacos are anathema to such things as tragedy, despite their often unusual names.
The taco envenenado (poisoned tacos)
Tacos envenenados aren’t poisoned, despite what their name suggests. (Tacos Envenenados Zacatecas)
Tacos envenenados were invented in the state of Zacatecas. According to the most accepted origin story, they were invented by a taquero in the eponymous capital city named Don Lauro, who, circa 1940, placed a playful sign outside his shop at the train station that read: “Si quiere envenenarse, coma tacos.” If you want to be poisoned, eat tacos. It may not seem like the best public relations strategy. Nor was Don Lauro’s occasional claim that his tacos did contain poison. Yet these tasty treats soon became popular, with their fame eventually spreading beyond the borders of Zacatecas.
That’s because the name, as Shakespeare taught us, doesn’t signify. It’s the quality of the thing that counts, and Don Lauro’s tacos were special. It wasn’t just that the corn tortillas were larger than normal, or that beans, chile, chorizo and potatoes were particularly original fillings. Rather, it’s the frying of such ingredients in rendered pork fat (aka lard) that gives tacos envenenados their distinctive taste and golden color, and has caused the original recipe to be passed down for generations.
The taco sudado (sweaty tacos)
Despite their sometimes sweaty appearance, these tacos taste great. (B.jars)
Sudado means sweaty in Spanish. It’s a gross appellation to apply to a taco. Even a historically significant one. Although it’s worth noting that the sweating refers to an aspect of preparation, not perspiration.
However, the historical aspect is important. Mexico’s famed comfort food specialty emerged from the nation’s silver mines during the 18th century. The name taco came from the small charges used to break up ore. The original versions were appropriately called tacos mineros, which featured corn tortillas filled with simple ingredients like refried beans and potatoes and were kept warm in baskets.
Tacos sudados directly evolved from tacos mineros. So, later in the 20th century, did tacos de canasta. But these similar taco styles are not exactly synonymous. As Larousse Cocina clarifies, the corn tortillas for tacos sudados are dipped briefly in hot oil before being filled with ingredients and packed in baskets. This is what gives them the characteristic moisture from which their name derives.
The taco de basura (garbage tacos)
These ingredients didn’t come out of any trash can. (Tacos de Basura)
The basura or “garbage” taco emerged in Querétaro about 20 years ago. This more recent favorite takes its name from the sheer number of ingredients included, which makes it seem as if the cook was trying to toss in all the items he was convinced might go to waste.
Indeed, as the story goes, the taco’s moniker was given by a customer at Los Tacos del Güero, who took a gander at the veritable mountain of ingredients and decided it resembled nothing so much as a garbage pile.
But don’t let the name fool you. Since these ingredients often include a veritable cornucopia of meats — bacon, beef, chorizo, ham, turkey and more — plus potatoes, nopales and boiled egg, the resulting corn tortilla-wrapped tacos are invariably both tasty and filling.
The taco de transmisión (transmission fluid tacos)
This oil didn’t come out of anyone’s car, and the resultant tacos sure taste great. (Tacos Michels Cnop)
There are some common themes in Mexico’s terrible-sounding tacos. One is a connection to mining culture, an element shared by tacos envenenados, tacos sudados, and tacos de transmisión. The latter was born in Parral, Chihuahua, a town notable for being the site of Pancho Villa’s assassination, but which also boasts a rich silver mining heritage.
Another common characteristic is frying, either in hot oil or lard. The taco transmisión, for example, gets its name from the dark, bubbling lard in which both its corn tortilla and beef or pork filling are cooked. In color and consistency, this often recycled oil is a dead ringer for the transmission oil that helps your car seamlessly shift gears.
These savory-tasting tacos are typically served with onion, cilantro, lime and salsa, with locals favoring Parral masters of the subspecialty such as Tacos La 20, Tacos Michel’s, or Tacos del Tec.
The taco de nada (nothing tacos)
Would the line be this long if the tacos were really nothing? (Taquitos de Nada Doña Lupita)
Alternatively known as tacos de nada or tacos de aire, neither descriptor (“nothing” or “air,” respectively) seems to promise much for hungry diners. So why do residents of Hermosillo, Sonora, line up around the block to buy these tacos invented by María Guadalupe del Toro Rodríguez, better known as Doña Lupita, nearly 40 years ago?
The corn tortilla and light potato filling, briefly fried in hot oil until golden brown, certainly offer a distinctive flavor. Particularly when topped with lettuce, cabbage and grated cheese. But what makes these tacos so unique and highly sought after is the salsas, available in both red and green varieties, with secret recipes undoubtedly influenced by Doña Lupita’s childhood in Zamora, Michoacán. All she and her now extended family, who help her serve up to 1,000 tacos a day, will divulge is that the ingredients are all fresh.
So these tacos aren’t exactly nothing, proving Shakespeare’s point. Although their price of 8 pesos apiece is about as close to it as you’re likely to find.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
What connects a working-class town and Mexican soccer fandom? (Sunderland AFC/X)
What do the people of Sunderland, England — a working-class port city along the wind-whipped coast of the North Sea, approximately 8,744 kilometers away from Mexico City — have in common with Mexican soccer fans? Absolutely everything, it turns out.
That’s because Sunderland Association Football Club is suddenly at the center of a bizarre if not lovable trend among Mexico’s passionate fanbase and is, inexplicably, Mexico’s European team of choice this season. Currently, thousands of Mexican fans (many of whom have presumably never been to, or even heard of, the metropolitan borough in the United Kingdom before adopting the team) are flooding the team’s social media channels with declarations of loyalty, support and unwavering zeal — followed by a parade of Mexican flag emojis:
Mexican football fans have, somewhat inexplicably, decided to support Sunderland, a Premier League team, this year. (Social media)
Mexican fans throw their support behind Sunderland AFC
The comments have provoked Sunderland AFC fan accounts into asking Mexican fans if they’re joking or serious. The responses have been equally comical, with countless Mexican fans responding that they’re eternally committed to Sunderland and aren’t going anywhere. One Mexico fan broke the cadence of Spanish with an attempt at English, responding with a grammatically incorrect but heartfelt “is forever mate 🇲🇽.”
It all started as a farce on August 16 when Pasion Celeste, a Cruz Azul fan account on X (formerly Twitter) proposed that Mexican soccer aficionados collectively pick a random team in Europe to fully support: “What do you think if with this start to the European League, all of [Mexico’s] football Twitter grabs an underdog team to support and follow, only for the European club to say, ‘What the hell, why are all of these Mexicans supporting us?’”
So far, it has worked. After voting on relatively unknown teams to choose from, the online assortment of Mexican fans landed on Sunderland — a once historic club that for the past eight years has played in the English lower leagues but has just ascended to the top-flight English Premier League. The message was quickly amplified when a soccer fan account, Somos Analistas, made an official declaration in support of Sunderland, encouraging all of Mexico to back the far-flung, relatively obscure team. The post has since received over two million views, 24,000 re-posts and hundreds of comments pledging Mexican fealty.
Sunderland is staggering under Mexican kit requests
Upon happening, the official Sunderland AFC Instagram account began fielding a mix of requests, questions and steady engagement from Mexican fans. The online team store sold out of most of their jerseys, with Mexican fans asking where they could find more. The spike in Mexican fandom certainly raised curiosity among other fans, as many asked about the connection between Mexico and Sunderland. Mexican fans responded quite facetiously with Spanish comments that translate roughly into “it’s something you’re born with” and “I’ve been a Sunderland fan since the cradle.” Even a few nascent fan accounts like Sunderland Mexico have already sprung up to share Sunderland news in Spanish.
“A bit more awareness of the club around the world is great, and if our club and our history can resonate with more than just the local area, it can only be positive for us and football as a whole,” says lifelong Sunderland fan Sean Mountain. “As a club, we’re likable and already have a massive international fan base. Viva México, cabrones.”
It couldn’t have happened at a better time for Sunderland, who kicked off their triumphant return to the Premier League with a dominant, season-opening win against West Ham United. Prior to this campaign, the Black Cats (or Gatos Negros, as Mexican fans have been calling them) were relegated out of England’s major league circuit for nearly a decade. Sunderland itself isn’t a particularly destination-worthy city in the world of European football, either. What with London, Milan, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Munich, Madrid, Istanbul and various other European epicenters boasting rich traditions and proven excellence. Sunderland lacks the sheer star power of many other European units, too. But that hasn’t stopped Mexican ultras from purchasing jerseys and celebrating the team’s quality players like Swiss captain Granit Xhaka, Spanish striker Eliezer Mayenda, and Mozambican defender Reinildo Mandava.
About a week after the Mexican fans stormed their way into Sunderland’s ranks, the team’s social media director conducted a video with a selection of players on the team in which the players (none of whom speak Spanish) welcomed Mexico and its fans by answering basic questions about Mexico’s history, culture and soccer legacy. The team’s official accounts posted the video with a playful “¡Vamos, Muchachos!”. Shortly after, Sunderland’s fans decided to return the favor to Mexico and randomly picked a team of their own — Nexaca, a first-division team based in Aguascalientes that was recently purchased by Mexican actress Eva Longoria — to support. Perhaps the pick wasn’t as random, since Necaxa coincidentally shares Sunderland’s colors of red and white, but still, it’s the sentiment that counts.
There’s a surreal magic that can transpire on the canvas of a soccer pitch. At times logic-defying, the sport has a way of breeding the irrational, the inexplicable, the fantastic. Though it may not always seem obvious for the casual observer, soccer allows for a border-traversing artistry, a fluid interconnection among those as distant as Mexicans and Brits.
Perhaps nothing sums it all up better than Sunderland AFC themselves, who formally welcomed their Mexican fans on the internet with a blend of Spanish and Mackem vernacular: “¡Hola, Mexico! We’re proud to have your passion with us this season — Ha’way the Lads!”
Alan Chazaro is the author of “This Is Not a Frank Ocean Cover Album,” “Piñata Theory” and “Notes From the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge” (Ghost City Press, 2021). He is a graduate of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program at UC Berkeley and a former Lawrence Ferlinghetti Fellow at the University of San Francisco. His writing can be found in GQ, NPR, The Guardian, L.A. Times and more. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he is currently based in Veracruz.
In other articles, I’ve written about the enthusiasm my work sparks among those around me. Friends and relatives are always suggesting something — a fruit, a vegetable, a recipe — that they consider essential to our gastronomy and worth sharing with you.
But the person who has turned out to be my most unlikely muse is my boyfriend’s nana, Sabina. “Nana” may sound infantilizing — rest assured, he’s perfectly capable of tying his own shoes — but the name has stayed, and so has she. These days, she runs our household with brisk efficiency, cooking and keeping order, all while standing scarcely taller than the kitchen counter. Yet her presence is formidable, the kind of authority you’d expect from a Oaxacan general in civilian disguise. She is not quick to offer affection, and for months I misread her silence as disdain, convinced she had quietly declared me unworthy.
The large, durable tlayuda, a staple of Oaxacan cuisine. (Instagram)
Then one afternoon, she overheard me on the phone with my mother, asking where I might find different varieties of beans for an article and video I was planning on Mexico’s deep relationship with frijoles. When I hung up, Sabina simply asked, “When do you need them?” A week later, she placed in my hands a small stash of beans she had carried from home — the very beans she saves each year to plant again in her own soil.
That was the beginning. Last month, for her town’s fiesta, she prepared a mole and quietly set aside a generous portion for us. More recently, when she returned from Oaxaca, she brought back tlayudas as a souvenir. She asked me, with a rare glint of mischief, if I thought you might be interested in learning about them. Which is how I find myself staring at three oversized tortillas she had been saving with great care for her own family.
Tlayuda. Isn’t that a Mexican pizza?
(Sighs in discomfort) Well, no. Not exactly. If one wants to be orthodox, the comparison is a little crude. But I understand where it comes from.
Strictly speaking, tlayuda refers to the tortilla itself — enormous, durable, designed for sustenance on long journeys. Much as the burrito tortilla evolved in northern Mexico to serve the needs of ranch hands and travelers, the Oaxacan tortilla was engineered to be filling and resilient. The very name suggests strength and endurance.
Etymology, though, is where things get tricky. The common claim is that tlayuda derives from the Nahuatl tlao-li (shelled corn). This, however, is inaccurate. Shelled corn in Nahuatl is tlayolsiuali. Wouldn’ttlaxcalli — the word for tortilla — be a more logical connection? Beyond that, the “ll–y” sound at the heart of tlayuda did not exist in pre-Hispanic languages, which makes the Nahuatl origin dubious at best.
There is another reason to be skeptical. Oaxacans are famously protective of their culture, and with thirteen Indigenous groups in the state — each with its own language, customs, and rivalries — it is hard to imagine them embracing a Nahuatl name for a distinctly Mixtec-Zapotec dish. In Mixtec, tortilla is xita; in Zapotec, eta or gueta. The linguistic puzzle remains unsolved, but Nahuatl seems like the least likely candidate.
A third clue lies in Spanish itself. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the word tlayudo was used as an adjective to describe someone strong, resistant and enduring. “Did you see how tlayudo Juanito is? He trimmed all the trees as if it were nothing.” The term likely derived from talludo, meaning someone mature, even beyond maturity. This, to me, feels like the most elegant fit. The tortilla that resists, that endures.
And so the name carries its own definition: a tough tortilla, meant to be reheated, meant to last. Enormous enough to serve as a complete meal, designed for travel or a long day’s labor. Which brings us back to the dish itself.
The traditional tlayuda
We may never know the precise moment the tlayuda emerged, but its lineage surely stretches back to the early days of nixtamalization, when Indigenous peoples needed food that could travel and was portable, resilient and nourishing. The earliest versions probably included beans, chapulines, quelites, and other endemic plants, each adding both flavor and nutrition.
The later additions of chorizo, cecina, tasajo, and chicken were unmistakably products of the Spanish conquest and the centuries of culinary mestizaje that followed.
By the 1920s and ’30s, novels described the tlayuda as being used like flatbreads elsewhere in the world. Torn apart to act as edible utensils, like pita in the Middle East, naan in India, Greek barley bread, Turkey’s bazlama, the tortillas of the Americas, or Ethiopia’s injera. Around the same time, another description surfaced. It was a large tortilla, reheated in lard, topped with bean paste, chili, cheese or quesillo, and cabbage.
From there, the modern form was inevitable. Today, a proper tlayuda is crisped with lard, spread with beans, layered with cecina and chorizo, crowned with avocado, preferably a green salsa, perhaps a seasonal quelite, chapulines for crunch, and, of course, cheese. It is at once rustic and baroque. A dish that can carry a day’s worth of sustenance.
Oaxaca is the ancestral home of the tlayuda. (Unsplash / Ryan Doyle)
Nutritionally, it might even be one of Mexico’s most complete meals. If that is, one applies moderation to the chorizo and cheese. I can’t provide scientific proof, but I’d wager it tastes 50% better when shared, and 100% better with a cold beer.
And if you’d rather not cook your tlayuda in lard, stay tuned for the video. I’ll share a tip Sabina herself taught me.
Friends, if you don’t happen to live near a shop that sells Oaxacan ingredients and tlayudas, you have only two options. Either book a trip to Oaxaca and eat them fresh at the market, or pray devoutly that a Sabina will one day appear in your life.
María Meléndez is a Mexico City food blogger and influencer.
The Angel of Independence towers above Mexico City's iconic Reforma Avenue. (Carlos Ramírez/Unsplash)
As Mexico heads into the last week of August 2025, the country is balancing economic opportunity with political tension, infrastructural challenges and regional collaboration. Foreign investment is reshaping local industries and President Claudia Sheinbaum’s exchanges with the United States over security policy are increasingly charged. Meanwhile, the country is working to position itself on the global stage with cultural diplomacy and tourism promotion.
Didn’t have time to read every story this week? Here’s what you missed.
Business and economic realignments
Major players pull out while others double down
A leading business story this week was GE Appliances announcing a US $3 billion investment shift to the United States, effectively closing its Mexican operations. CEO Kevin Nolan said the decision is a reflection of new trade dynamics, labor cost considerations and geopolitical factors, including tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump with the goal of luring factories back to the U.S.
Auto exports continue to anchor the economy, and Canada imported more vehicles from Mexico than from the United States in June, a milestone highlighting shifting trade flows within North America. Mexico’s rise to being Canada’s largest auto supplier may be short-lived, analysts warn, as markets adjust to new conditions. Nonetheless, the success of Mexican-made vehicle sales in Canada demonstrating that Mexico’s integration into continental supply chains remains robust despite withdrawals like that of GE Applicances.
Fintech keeps growing at breakneck speed
Meanwhile, Mexico’s domestic financial sector also showed resilience. Nu, the Brazilian fintech giant, reported 52% growth in its credit card accounts, now exceeding 6.6 million holders in Mexico alone. Nearly a quarter of its customer base are first-time account holders, showing that fintech in Mexico remains well-positioned to capture a young, underbanked consumer base.
Politics and relations with the United States
Sheinbaum pushes back against DEA, U.S. rhetoric
President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily morning press conferences — known as mañaneras — dominated Mexico’s political conversation again this week. A string of news stories reflected a tense Mexico-U.S. dynamic:
On Friday, after U.S. DEA Administrator Terry Cole suggested military strikes in Mexico may be used against cartels, Sheinbaum forcefully rejected the notion of “bombing Mexico,” emphasizing Mexico’s strength and indepedence. “No foreign government would dare to violate our sovereignty,” she declared.
The back-and-forth is indicative of bilateral relations entering a more combative phase, with Sheinbaum leaning heavily on nationalist messaging while simultaneously trying to avoid disrupting trade and investment ties.
Opposition voices stir debate
The week also brought sharper criticism from political opponents: Senator Lilly Téllez argued that many Mexicans actually welcome greater U.S. involvement in the fight against cartels, creating a notable contrast with Sheinbaum’s insistence on sovereignty-first strategies. The comment echoed divisions within Mexican society over how to balance sovereignty and security, especially in border states most affected by drug violence.
In the tourism sector, the Ministry of Tourism launched a program to accredit community-based travel experiences, providing formal recognition and professional development opportunities for grassroots tourism initiatives. The move aims to diversify Mexico’s tourism beyond the beach resorts and promote sustainable development in Indigenous and rural communities.
On a more encouraging note, the governments of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala announced the creation of a trinational cultural and nature corridor. This initiative seeks to preserve shared biodiversity and culture, tapping into Maya heritage and regional conservation efforts.
Local life and law enforcement
Several human interest and local law enforcement stories rounded out the week:
The final week of August showed the complex state of affairs in Mexico: The country is simultaneously a frontline for continental trade shifts, a battleground for competing visions of sovereignty and security, and a vibrant cultural actor in both regional and local arenas.
As the country looks toward September and its traditional Independence Day celebrations, Mexico’s narrative is one of contrasts: global player, vulnerable neighbor, cultural leader, and state of unresolved inequality — all at once.
Mexico News Daily
This story contains summaries of original Mexico News Daily articles. The summaries were generated by Perplexity, then revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.
As we come up on nearly 3 years since my wife Tamanna and I purchased MND, we find ourselves taking stock of the business. We believe that our mission statement is more relevant than ever: “To elevate the profile of Mexico as a premier destination for tourists, expats, investors and businesses by providing the most complete and balanced news and information on Mexico.”
We are doing very well on all of our reader metrics: more views, more newsletter subscribers, more paid subscribers (thank you!), and more reader comments. If you are not actively monitoring our comments section, I encourage you to do so as we are increasingly getting high quality discussion and debates going amongst our readers.
As a further check on how we are doing, we recently did some testing on four of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) services: ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity and Google Gemini. We asked each one the simple question of “What is the best source of English language news in Mexico?” In all four cases, the answer was crystal clear: Mexico News Daily. It has taken countless hours of hard work to get that kind of recognition and it makes our entire team swell with pride.
Our team has demonstrated that we are restless and tireless in our quest to get better each and every day. We frequently say that we are just getting started — and we mean it. In just the past year, we have eliminated ads entirely from our site. We have launched and continue to improve MND Local (a lot more coming soon on this front!). We have added MND Tutor to help you with your Spanish and MND Quiz to help you test your news retention of the week. We have created an MND TV Youtube channel — with some surprises coming soon. We continue to add articles that offer perspectives that challenge your thinking. We will increasingly engage with our readers in new and exciting ways.
But as we looked at our progress thus far, we realized that one thing was missing: a bridge to the future. We didn’t have anything focused on the next generation — on children. Our mission to elevate Mexico feels incomplete if we are not also helping inspire and educate the young people who will shape Mexico’s future and its relationship with the world. So after months of speaking with educators, administrators and kids in both Mexico and the United States, we are proud to present to you: MND Kids. Our motivation behind MND Kids is five fold:
Educators and parents have told us how it is increasingly difficult to get kids to read long-form content like books.
Educators told us that there is a dearth of nonfiction content available that is unbiased, apolitical and kid-friendly. They stressed to us how crucial high-quality nonfiction is for literacy programs, as it helps kids build critical thinking skills and connect what they read to the world around them.
We heard that kids are increasingly tuning out of reading the news and relying exclusively on social media to learn about what is going on in the world. They are losing the critical thinking skill of reading news: differentiating fact from opinion and sorting out what is real news versus fake, AI-generated content.
Our team is passionate about the importance of Mexican-American kids in the U.S. having access to relevant, timely, kid-friendly news and information about Mexico. We found ourselves asking: How unfortunate would it be if many of these kids didn’t learn about the good of Mexico until they are much older?
We believe that kids of any background living in the U.S. or Mexico need to have access to high-quality news and information about Mexico. Mexico and the U.S. are inseparable siblings and a shared understanding of each other is more important than ever.
We are just getting started with this new offering. You can see an initial preview of it at mndkids.com. A few things to notice:
1. All articles were originally published in Mexico News Daily.
2. We are selecting 4-5 articles per week and rewriting them for different ages of kids.
3. Each article is customizable — meaning that upon opening each article, you can click on the language that you want to read it in (Spanish or English) and then choose the right reading level. The article then automatically shows the appropriate level of content in the selected language.
4. There are discussion questions for each article (appropriate to the selected level), and we will soon be adding additional components like comprehension questions, key word definitions, etc.
5. The site still has no password protection — so you can go right to the site and check everything out.
We are just getting started on this initiative. We have piloted this product with a bilingual high school in the Chicago area and are in the process of signing up more schools throughout the United States and Mexico. The feedback we have heard from kids, parents, teachers and administrators has been extremely positive and as a result we are accelerating the rollout of this offering.
This initiative is deeply personal for us, and we believe that it resonates with the MND community’s shared values. In the U.S., Latinos represent the largest and fastest-growing segment of the youth population. By providing accessible, engaging news about Mexico, we have a huge opportunity to foster literacy, encourage critical thinking, strengthen cultural ties and empower the next generation of leaders. It is in our collective interest to ensure that young minds have the skills they need to succeed and stay connected to and proud of their heritage.
That being said, we need your help to get MND Kids in front of more people. If you think the schools of your children, grandchildren or friends would benefit from an MND Kids subscription, please let us know by emailing us here: kids@mexiconewsdaily.com.
We will also be offering MND Kids as part of a new “MND Family Subscription” coming soon. Stay tuned …
Thank you for being a subscriber of MND!
Travis Bembenek is the CEO of Mexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.
Los Cabos is a world of two extremes — just how different are they? (Unsplash/John Cafazza)
In Los Cabos, wealth disparity in the form of luxury and poverty coexist, and while they’re not found side by side, you wouldn’t have to drive very far to see examples of each. The luxury is well chronicled, from the upscale coastal resorts that welcome four million tourists annually to the multi-million-dollar second homes with ocean views and access to world-class golf courses.
The poverty, which in its most extreme form includes makeshift settlements without electricity, water, or sewage services, is less chronicled for obvious reasons. It’s hard to look at, and indeed, the poorest neighborhoods of Los Cabos are seldom ever seen by tourists, except perhaps for those who are brought via taxi or private transportation along the toll road from the Los Cabos International Airport to Cabo San Lucas.
Los Cabos may have lower poverty rates than tourist destinations in Mexico like Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, and Mexico City, but it does have a problem.
Where does Los Cabos rank in terms of poverty rates?
Los Cabos is hardly unique in having residents that represent both ends of the economic spectrum. The same could be said for virtually any city or popular tourist destination worldwide. However, the case in Los Cabos is unique and requires some site-specific context. Statistically speaking, for example, it has less poverty than any other major tourist destination in Mexico.
According to 2020 governmental statistics, the rate of moderate poverty is lower in Los Cabos (26.9%) than in Cancún (31.9%), Puerto Vallarta (32.1%), or Mexico City (29.5%). Not coincidentally, perhaps, Los Cabos residents also have the highest monthly salaries among these destinations, according to figures from the first quarter of 2025. Not only that, but Baja California Sur, the state in which Los Cabos is located, now has the lowest poverty rate among working individuals in Mexico.
These working conditions are a big part of the reason Baja California Sur, and Los Cabos in particular, have experienced such a massive population boom in recent decades. Over half the people in the state are originally from someplace else, but were drawn here by opportunities for abundant jobs and good wages, with many of these jobs found in the growing tourism sector.
Nonetheless, inequality exists, as President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed out during her last visit to the area in May. “When I was in Los Cabos, the last time I was campaigning, I said — and I still think so — that this terrible inequality seen in Los Cabos is perhaps seen in few places in the country, and that’s even though Mexico, and particularly during the neoliberal period, grew with this enormous inequality: hotel rooms costing hundreds of dollars, and the workers who work in these hotels barely have access to housing.”
Why affordable housing is such a problem in Los Cabos
Wages aren’t the problem in Los Cabos, as they are some of the highest per month in the nation. It’s housing that is the issue.
President Sheinbaum hit the nail on the head by zeroing in on housing as the main contributor to poverty in Los Cabos. It’s one thing to have a nice job and make a good living in a place with some of the highest average wages in the country, but what does it mean if you can’t find an affordable place to live?
Los Cabos’ astonishing 14.4% annual population growth has predictably led to a massive housing crisis, with an estimated 50,000 workers in the tourism sector unable to find an affordable home. Instead, they typically rent or live with family members, with rents, like prices for houses, skyrocketing in recent years based on the enormous demand.
Given this undeniable need, the president had earmarked Los Cabos to receive 17,400 new homes as part of her nationwide plan to increase affordable housing. Unfortunately, the Los Cabos portion of this plan has already been suspended due to the difficulty in buying land for the project. As you might expect, real estate is expensive in Los Cabos. The most extreme example of this is the 2.3-acre El Cielo 2 oceanfront homesite at Maravilla, which hit the market in 2022, listed at a cool $90 million.
Maravilla is one of the many real estate developments disproportionately targeted at the wealthy, most of whom didn’t live in Los Cabos before their purchase, and are seeking a secondary home rather than a primary residence. As of 2025, for instance, the average home price in the Los Cabos real estate market is now US $727,000, with the majority of these homes found in upscale developments situated along the coast.
However, even buying land in less desirable areas for locals comes at a steep price (2,500 pesos per square meter), one that Mexico’s government found hard to justify.
A look at the percentage of homes built at each price range. Only 5% are categorized as “affordable.”
What extreme poverty looks like in Los Cabos
One of the consequences of the ongoing affordable housing crisis is that there are now thousands of people in Los Cabos living in high-risk areas. These are places like arroyos that are extremely vulnerable in the case of hurricanes, particularly when the homes there are makeshift ones that lack not only proper building materials and permits but also basic services.
How many of these makeshift communities are there? Way too many. There were 144 neighborhoods with “irregular settlements” as of 2023, with the vast majority of them found in either Cabo San Lucas (70) or San José del Cabo (52). The number of people living in these makeshift communities is still uncertain. But it is estimated to be around 20,000, a figure that roughly correlates with the 4.77% of Los Cabos residents believed to be living in extreme poverty.
However, it’s not just those living in the worst conditions who are victims of the housing crisis, as those in more stable neighborhoods are often paying an exorbitant amount of their monthly salaries to cover their rents.
What can be done about the housing problems in Los Cabos?
The ejidos (or communal ownership groups) that the government was negotiating with to buy land for new housing units have a right to seek a fair return for their properties based on the current real estate market, even if it makes finding solutions more difficult. But it’s also fair to say that the need for solutions is becoming increasingly more urgent.
Yes, the tourists who pay a pretty penny to visit Los Cabos and who account for a whopping 38% of the local GDP deserve great service and accommodations. On the other hand, the people who make this place their home, many of whom work in the hospitality industry, deserve something too, which at the very least is not just a decent salary, but an affordable place to live.
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
