Mexican flour because of the way it's milled, can be frustrating to work with if you're used to flour in the U.S., Canada or other countries.
Bakers, this column’s for you.
I know you’ve had the same experience as me trying to use the white flour found on Mexico’s grocery shelves to bake and ending up with less-than-satisfactory results. Cakes that rise unevenly, gooey cookies, breads that rise too fast and too much, cutlets that don’t get crisp, soggy, rubbery focaccia. Don’t even get me started on the frustrations of trying to make pizza dough with plain San Antonio or El Rosal harina de trigo.
Chances are you also noticed that Mexican flour has the texture of baby powder — super finely milled — and perhaps were skeptical from the start, as I was. Why was the flour this way? I wondered. And, more importantly — what to do?
I chose to do an end run, turning to Amazon Mexico to find some familiar, high-quality flours from reputable companies like Bob’s Red Mill. But I still wanted to know what was going on with Mexican flour. I’ll try to keep this as simple as possible, so bear with me.
Standard Mexican wheat flour is deliberately milled heavily, resulting in significant “starch damage,” which is exactly what it sounds like. With the kernel starch broken down so much, the flour absorbs more water faster than, say, flour milled in the United States or Canada, where the starch damage can be half as much.
It’s not about the type of wheat (although you’ll find lots of information about hard and winter wheats and protein content, neither of which apply to Mexican flour). Mexican bakers have traditionally preferred this method because baked goods will rise much faster, be airier and absorb liquids quicker than using a flour that forms more gluten. It also allows for bigger batch yields.
One thing Mexican flour is good for — perhaps not surprisingly — is making homemade flour tortillas!
Retail bakers call using this type of flour “no-time doughs.”
The more damaged the starch, the easier it is for yeast to break down the sugars during the rising (fermentation) process. But isn’t that a good thing? No — when a yeast dough rises that fast and is so wet, it can’t form the structure you’re looking for. So you can stop blaming yourself for that last batch of sourdough bread rising all over the counter, or all over the fridge if you tried an overnight rise.
What this flour does work for wonderfully, though, are all those soft, fluffy pan dulce and the best tortillas you’ve ever had.
In northernmost Mexican states like Sonora and Chihuahua and in some parts of Sinaloa, flour tortillas are preferred over corn, but in other parts of the country, they can be hard to find. If you make the effort to look for a tortillería with fresh-made flour tortillas, you won’t be sorry!
We’re not talking the packaged ones — they have all sorts of additives and preservatives to extend their shelf life that also affect flavor and texture — but traditional hecho a mano tortillas de harina.
What about imported Italian “Tipo 00” flour? Here in Mazatlán, the little red-and-white or blue-and-white bags have recently appeared in all the big grocery stores. It may have a higher protein content than standard Mexican flour, but it’s the finest milled flour Italy produces, so you’re going to run into the same issues baking with it.
Mexican flour works great for these quick-rise, airy pan dulce and breads like Bimbo.
It’s great for pasta and for tender Neapolitan-style pizza crust, although you’ll want to use the recipes on the bags which are specifically for this level of milling.
And finally, a few words about bread flour. This high-protein, more coarsely ground flour makes the best breads and pizzas, as it is able to form the gluten and gas bubbles you want, and the yeast absorbs the sugars slower, making for a chewier, more stretchy bread or crust (this is what I order from Amazon Mexico).
Flour Tortillas
Lard — which many of us recoil from — is no different than bacon fat and is what gives tortillas their subtle, luscious flavor. Resting the dough ensures soft, tender tortillas.
2 heaping cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1½ tsp. salt
1¼ tsp. baking powder
Scant ½ cup lard,* melted
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. hot water
* OK to substitute 6 Tbsp. butter or vegetable shortening, melted
By hand or with a mixer, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly add fat in a thin stream, partly incorporating, then slowly drizzle in water. Mix just until dough comes together; knead for about 2 minutes. Dough will be somewhat wet, webby and shiny.
Place dough in plastic bag; rest at room temperature 2 hours.
With floured hands, divide dough into 12 small, smooth balls. Cover with plastic; rest at room temperature 30 minutes more. Meanwhile, heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. On A lightly floured surface, roll each ball into an 8-inch circle.
When drops of water dripped onto the pan immediately sputter and evaporate, it’s hot enough. Gently lay tortillas onto griddle. Cook, rotating, for 20–30 seconds per side until lightly golden in spots.
Stack in a resealable plastic bag or clean dish towel to steam, soften and keep warm. Serve immediately or use to make tacos, quesadillas or burritos, etc. Makes 12 tortillas.
Woman on alebrije float at the Carnival of Santa Marta Acatitlán Iztapalapa. (credit Alejandro Linares Garcia)
Mexico is not the first country you associate with Carnaval celebrations. True, it lacks the famous mega-celebrations of Río de Janeiro, Venice and New Orleans, but carnaval celebrations not only exist here, they have a unique history, perhaps best reflected in Mexico City.
The nation’s capital lacks a city-wide Carnaval — true — but there are many small celebrations in various boroughs. This is the result of both the introduction and repression of Carnaval along with the later phenomenal growth of the city.
Chinelos dancers in full regalia during the Carnaval of Xochimilco in 2022. (Photo: Government of Xochimilco)
The Spanish introduced Carnaval early. It was accepted as it has similarities to Wayeb — a five day period when faces were covered and there were various planting rituals that featured colorful dress. Over time, the various traditions merged to create a wide array of celebrations, which were tolerated by authorities at first.
But one tradition, the mocking of authority and the status quo, would lead to repression.
Restrictions began in 1679 with the banning of clergy costumes, then bans on cross-dressing and the mock executions of authority figures. By 1780, Carnaval was officially banned in the entire territory.
It disappeared from the major cities, but managed to survive in isolated villages, mostly in Morelos, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala. Those held in cities such as Mazatlán, Cozumel and Veracruz are revivals starting in the late 19th century.
Transplanted poblanos from the Huejotzingo area recreate their hometown’s famous Carnaval celebrations in the Peñon de los Baños neighborhood, just north of the airport (Photo: Eduardo Blas/Flickr)
Mexico City today stretches over almost all of the Valley of Mexico, including areas that were farmlands and villages in boroughs like Iztapalapa, Iztacalco, Tlalpan, Milpa Alta and Xochimilco. For many small communities, local Carnavals are one way to maintain a distinct identity after their land was swallowed up in a sea of grey urban blight.
Diego Rodarte, spokesman for the Ministry of Original Peoples, Neighborhoods and Resident Indigenous Communities of Mexico City, says, “They are all important to conserving the identities of these communities.”
“Every borough and every community has elements that are different … and give a unique touch to their Carnavals.”
These events show their colonial roots with a focus on groups of dancers organized into comparsas, who are dressed in colorful costumes. Costume styles vary with names like charros and chinelos, but all are ornate and almost all use masks that imitate upper-class Spanish or other Europeans from Mexican history.
Many of these costumes once existed to mock overlords, but today they are worn out of tradition.
One notable trait of these celebrations is that many are not limited to the few days before Ash Wednesday. Carnaval season can last through Lent, with neighboring communities assigned different dates for their activities. It is estimated that over 200,000 people attend the various events all over the city, but they remain very local events.
Huehueche dancer (left) steers a papier mache bull for a mock fight at the San Juan de Aragón neighborhood Carnaval in 2020 (credit Cuadrilla de Huehuenches)
The largest and best-known of Mexico City’s Carnavals are in the Iztapalapa borough, notably in the neighborhoods of Los Reyes Culhuacán, Santa Cruz Meyehualco, Santa María Aztahuacán, Santa Martha Acatitla, San Lorenzo Tezonco, San Sebastián Tecoloxtitlan, Santiago Acahualtepec and Santa María Tomatlán.
On the day before Ash Wednesday, representatives of these eight communities come together to dance in the borough seat of Iztapalapa. Charros are the traditional dancers here.
In Santa Anita and other locations in the Iztacalco borough, the traditional costume is called the Catrín. Like the Day of the Dead figure of the same name, he is a 19th-century dandy in top hat and tails, but the mask is that of a very-much-living human being.
The largest of the borough of Tlahuac’s celebrations is in San Francisco Tlaltenco, which features the chinelos and charros. The Burning of Judas tradition — typically a separate event elsewhere involving the destruction of an effigy of the biblical figure — is considered part of Carnaval here.
Chinelos also dominate festivities in the boroughs of Milpa Alta and Xochimilco, the latter which fills with over 2,000 dancers from 30 comparsas (squads) who dance for three days in the borough seat.
There are fewer Carnavals in other parts of the city, such as in Cuajimalpa in the west and Santa Isabel Tola in the north. One unusual Carnaval is that of the neighborhood of Peñon de los Baños in the Venustiano Carranza borough.
Catríns are the stars of the show at Iztacalco’s Carnaval celebrations. (Photo: Government of Iztacalco)
This one is a recreation of the famous Carnaval of Huejotzingo, Puebla, established only a few decades ago when many people from there settled in the neighborhood. Their new location means that new elements have been appearing. Dancers in modern masks and costumes based on popular culture appear with the name of chinchinas, or sometimes huehueches. Carnaval queens are crowned, and floats accompany the dancers.
Even giant alebrijes make appearances, undoubtedly influenced by the city’s popular Alebrije Parade in October.
Alcohol and rowdiness still plague Carnavals, even the small traditional ones. Efforts to combat this include events for families and children and sometimes even separate family-friendly Carnavals that often occur in the daytime.
Governments and civic organizations promote food, crafts and other local culture instead of partying. Drinking on the streets is generally prohibited, but enforcement varies.
Both the city and borough governments work to preserve these independent Carnaval celebrations. Xochimilco has directly sponsored activities since 2016. The Mexico City government has no interest in a city-wide revival or recreation but rather works to promote the cultures of the outer boroughs.
Many communities create events for families and small children so that everyone can enjoy the festivities. These two are dressed as charros in the Santa Marta Acatitlán neighborhood but don’t yet have masks! (credit Alejandro Linares Garcia)
The city sponsors an annual Gran Carnaval de México in December as a way to bring comparsas and other civic organizations together and to not compete with the traditional events.
There is no one site listing all the Carnavals and dates, but here are dates for a few Mexico City Carnaval celebrations in various locations.
February 18: in the borough of Cuajimalpa and in the neighborhood of Zapotla.
February 18–19; 24–27: in the original town of Santa María Aztahuacán.
February 17–20: in the original town of Santa Marta Acatitla.
February 26: in the San Francisco Tlaltenco neighborhood. Celebrations also take place on weekends in March and April. Recommended days to visit are March 5 and 12.
March 3–6: in the original town of Santa Cruz Meyehualco.
March 10–13: in the original town of San Sebastian Tecoloxtitlan.
March 11–14: in the Santa Isabel Tola neighborhood.
March 17: in the original town of Santiago Acahualtepec.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
AMLO covered topics from narco culture, to the collapse of Aeromar airlines to his favorite sport at the daily mañaneras this week (Gob MX)
President López Obrador met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in Campeche last weekend and awarded him the Order of the Aztec Eagle – the highest Mexican order bestowed upon foreigners.
After praising Cuba for its “example of resistance” during more than six decades, AMLO this week returned his focus to his own government and the “fourth transformation” he claims it is carrying out in Mexico.
AMLO awarded Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel with the Order of the Aztec Eagle on Feb. 11 (@lopezobrador Twitter)
Monday
“Good morning, cheer up, we’re beginning the week and it will be very good for all of us. We have to have a lot of faith,” AMLO enthused at the opening of his Monday mañanera.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard made an early appearance and announced that Mexico would donate US $6 million in aid to Syria to assist recovery efforts in the wake of last week’s devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake.
National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval subsequently presented a video report that noted that Mexican personnel in Turkey had rescued four people from earthquake rubble and recovered 29 bodies.
Tramo 5 Sur, as the section is called “is unique because more than 60% of the tracks will be elevated … in order to protect the area’s karst ground, cenotes, caverns and subterranean rivers,” Javier May said without mentioning the vast swaths of forest that have been cleared for the project.
The Fonatur chief also said that the project has created 6,500 jobs, most of which have been filled by local workers.
The governor of Quintana Roo – the state in which Tramo 5 Sur is located – was also on hand to extol the virtues of the multi-billion-dollar Maya Train railroad, a pet project of the president.
The “historic investment” is a “reflection of a humanist vision … oriented toward equality,” asserted Mara Lezama, a representative of AMLO’s Morena party.
The project will allow the “tourism success” of Quintana Roo to be “reflected in the wellbeing of [local] families,” she added.
Quintana Roo governor Mara Lezama (Gob MX)
During his Q & A session with reporters, López Obrador said that he expected the sale of Citibanamex to be finalized soon.
Completing the sale is “very important because it will mean providing certainty to workers and customers of this bank,” he said.
AMLO later found an opportunity to continue a recurring, time-honored mañanera tradition – a pause in proceedings for a musical interlude. While contemplating the past and present plight of migrants in the United States, the president asked for the song Latinoamérica by Puerto Rican band Calle 13 to be played because of the message of Latin American solidarity it conveys.
“The Hispanics that honorably work and live in the United States don’t like migrants of the same origin in a broad sense to be mistreated. The [Calle 13] song applies here,” he said.
Tuesday
AMLO noted at the top of his presser that it wasn’t just Valentine’s Day but also the Day of the Telegraphist.
“They were very important people in the towns where there were only telegraphs,” he said.
During a health update, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell reported that authorities were aware of 45 cases across 18 states in which adolescents consumed the prescription-only tranquilizer clonazepam while participating in a social media challenge dubbed “the last one to fall asleep wins.”
Most cases occurred at private homes outside school hours, although media coverage has focused on incidents at schools, he said.
“As a preventative measure, it’s important to highlight the importance of family communication with these young people, … [what’s needed is] open communication about drugs and the risks young people face in general – injuries, accidents, alcohol abuse, unsafe sex, violence by a partner, gender violence, social violence, bullying,” López-Gatell said.
Back at center stage, López Obrador rejected a claim by former ambassador to the United States Martha Bárcena that Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard negotiated the United States “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy behind his back.
“It has no foundation,” the president declared before the foreign minister himself denied the accusation first made by former U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo in his book Never Give an Inch.
Martha Bárcena, former Mexican ambassador to the United States (Cuartoscuro)
“Since she left her post, the former ambassador has dedicated herself to slandering me wherever she can. I would say it’s an obsessive grudge. … What she maintains in the interview with León Krauze … is simply false,” Ebrard said.
“… There was never a decision or action that I took hiding information from the president, I wouldn’t be foreign minister now [if I had done that],” he said.
In response to a subsequent question about a five-year-old boy in Durango who tried to exchange his soccer ball – his only toy – for bread and milk in order to help his mother, AMLO assured that his family would receive government assistance.
“There’s not a municipality in Mexico … where support for girls, boys, campesinos, young people and seniors doesn’t arrive,” he said. “This year 600 billion pesos is being dispersed directly for the benefit of 25 million families.”
Wednesday
Media monitor Ana García Vilchis was back to present her “Who’s who in the lies of the week” segment and introduced a video that took aim at former president Calderón.
“The ex-president Felipe Calderón has used his Twitter account to share fake news and unverified information,” said the video’s narrator.
Among four allegedly misinformed tweets the video exposed was one in which Calderón said that a jaguar escaping from the destruction of jungle due to construction of the Maya Train railroad was run over this week.
“However, the image he shared in his tweet corresponded to an accident that occurred in Mato Grosso, Brazil, in 2016,” the video’s narrator said.
Manuel Bartlett, head of the CFE (Gob MX)
Manuel Bartlett, the octogenarian head of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), subsequently walked a few paces to the mañanera lectern and declared that it was an “unacceptable injustice” that more than 20 millions Mexicans in rural parts of the country are unable to connect to the internet.
However, the current government, via the CFE, launched its own telecommunications service “to take internet to the millions of Mexicans disconnected from information and culture,” said the narrator of a video presented by the veteran official, a former federal minister and governor of Puebla.
“Foods that could be harmful to health shouldn’t be allowed anywhere,” he said, adding that human health must be prioritized over profits.
The United States government, which has expressed “deep concerns” over Mexico’s phaseout of GM corn by 2024, has begun to understand “that we have to act in this way,” López Obrador said.
Among other remarks, the president said that he would prefer that narcocorridos – songs that glorify the lives of drug traffickers – weren’t performed in public, but stopped short of saying they should be banned.
He also said that drama series about drug traffickers (such as the Netflix series Narcos) amount to “an apology for violence.”
“[They show] very beautiful women, handsome, well-dressed men, … [large] houses – like those of [former security minister] García Luna, mansions, latest model cars, jewels, … exotic animals,” AMLO said.
“… But what is there about the harm caused by drugs? … Nothing, very little,” he bemoaned.
He then proceeded to read La calumnia (Slander), a poem by the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío that says that a diamond may be stained by mud but will nevertheless remain a diamond.
AMLO’s implication? That mudslinging directed at him does little to harm his good reputation among a majority of Mexicans.
Thursday
After an introduction from AMLO, Javier May made another appearance and announced that 16,414 hectares of Fonatur land “with high environmental value” had been identified as being suitable for conversion into natural protected areas.
“This will contribute to guaranteeing people their right to a healthy environment and to protecting species in danger of extinction,” the Fonatur chief said.
A Fonatur video showing the proposed lands to be converted to protected areas.
“It will also avoid the excessive exploitation of natural resources, combat real estate corruption and protect public assets.”
Diego Prieto Hernández, head of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, subsequently reported that around 90% of archaeological prospecting work along the route of the under-construction Maya Train railroad had been completed.
Among the discoveries were 481 human skeletons in pre-Hispanic graves, he said.
During his engagement with reporters, President López Obrador declared that the airline Aeromar – which folded this week – was poorly managed.
“It’s one of those cases where the company goes bankrupt but the owners don’t,” he said.
López Obrador said that the government attempted to avoid the collapse of the airline by allowing it to postpone payment of debts owed to authorities including the tax agency SAT.
But “in the end they said, ‘we’re closing, we can’t [continue operating],” he said, adding that the government was attempting to find positions for about 500 newly-unemployed Aeromar workers.
The president then reiterated that a new army-run passenger airline that will operate under the defunct Mexicana brand is likely to begin flying by the end of the year with 10 planes.
In a subsequent (at least partly) tongue-in-cheek remark, the Tabasco-born presidente said that his dedication to fighting the previous federal government’s energy reform that opened up the sector to private and foreign companies was the cause of his heart attack in 2013.
AMLO in the Zócalo leading a protest against energy reform in 2013 (LopezObrador.org.mx)
“We filled the Zócalo twice, three times [to protest] against that reform that privatized oil,” he said, referring to Mexico City’s central square.
AMLO later said that he was considering filing a lawsuit against a lawyer for Genaro García Luna due to his claim at the former security minister’s New York trial that ex Sinaloa Cartel member Jesús Zambada gave him US $7 million for his 2006 presidential campaign.
“I’m seeing if it’s possible to file a lawsuit for moral damage … in the United States,” he said, adding that he could seek $7 million in compensation and give any payout to “families of victims of the [militarized] war” on drug cartels launched by Felipe Calderón shortly after he was sworn in as president in 2006.
“I’m looking at whether [I’ll file the suit] as Andrés Manuel or as the president of Mexico,” López Obrador said.
Friday
In Hermosillo, Sonora, for his last mañanera of the week, AMLO noted that he would subsequently travel to Puerto Peñasco to officially open the first stage of a massive solar farm.
“It’s very important, it’s very good news,” the president said, adding that it will be the largest solar plant in all of Latin America when it’s completely finished.
Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo, López Obrador’s erstwhile security minister, took center stage and noted that it was his former boss’s 24th visit to the northern border state since he took office in late 2018.
“In each visit there is proof of a pledged word, … deeds that confirm the fulfillment of each of the commitments that the president has made with sonorenses,” he said, using the demonym for residents of the state.
AMLO at the solar power plant in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora (Gob MX)
The new solar plant, Durazo said, is a “state-of-the-art facility … that will mark a before and after in the generation … of solar energy, not just in Sonora but at a national level.”
The governor also touted a 10% reduction in homicides in Sonora in 2022 compared to the previous year.
National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval later noted that Sonora was the seventh most violent state in Mexico in terms of both total homicides and per capita murders between December 2018 – the month the current government took office – and the end of 2022.
He also observed that Sonora is the second largest state in Mexico in terms of area (Chihuahua ranks first) and the 18th largest in terms of population (México state ranks first in that category).
During his verbal to and fro with reporters, AMLO asserted that his government is attending to the needs of indigenous communities in a “special way.”
“But in the case of the Yaqui people [in Sonora] I believe the support is even greater because the justice plan for the Yaqui people is comprehensive,” he said.
Sonora governer Alfonso Durazo (left), AMLO, Arizona governor Katie Hobbs (right) and U.S. ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar (far right).
“… Land taken from them after the presidential resolution of general Lázaro Cárdenas is being returned. … We’ve already returned 30,000 hectares,” said López Obrador, a self-styled champion of Mexico’s most marginalized people.
Turning to international affairs, AMLO said he didn’t want to transfer the leadership of the four-nation Pacific Alliance to Peruvian President Dina Boluarte because he considers her government “illegitimate.”
“What happened in Peru” – where former president Pedro Castillo was ousted by the Congress in December – “is extremely serious,” he said, adding that there were no “legal foundations” for his removal and incarceration.
“They don’t respect the will of the people and what there is beneath is a classist, racist attitude because he’s an [indigenous] teacher from the mountains, a humble man,” López Obrador said.
“… I don’t want to legitimize a coup, we can’t do it, that’s contrary to freedoms, contrary to human rights and it’s anti-democratic,” he said.
In a lighter mood at the end of his presser, the president spoke at some length about baseball, his favorite sport.
AMLO with retired Mexican baseball players (@Lopezobrador Twitter)
“The World Baseball Classic is coming up and the Mexican team is very strong with very good players and hopefully we’ll do well. Some games are going to be played close to here in Arizona, in Phoenix I think, it won’t be very far to go,” he told reporters in Hermosillo, before reconsidering his remark and inquiring, “Phoenix is far away, isn’t it?”
This family from Vancouver Island made the move to Mexico in 2021 and couldn't be happier with their decision. (Courtesy)
As a young girl I dreamed of traveling the world and having a family. I also dreamed of living somewhere with a warm breeze and palm trees, but I had no idea how on earth this small town girl, a hairstylist, would ever be able to afford that lifestyle or create it. Over the past 7 years I’ve learned, if you want something bad enough, the “how” shows up, you just have to be willing to work for it.
I’m a 39-year-old entrepreneur, and my husband, Ryan and I have an animated, almost 7-year-old daughter, Isabella. We moved our family from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada in October of 2021 to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Although, at the time, we shocked our family and friends, we knew it was the next right move for us.
This world has changed a lot over the past few years. We knew that to stay true to who we are, how we wanted to raise our family, and to put our mental health and well-being first, it was time to take a break from the life we were living in Canada, and instead choose to create one that served our family better here.
My husband and I were married 10 years ago at the Secret Silversands resort, near Puerto Morelos. We fell in love with Mexico; the culture, the people, the food, the weather and the lifestyle. We have been coming down here to vacation and explore, a couple of times a year, since we met 14 years ago.
At one point, before we had our daughter, we took a couple of months off work and bought an old 1985, 24ft motor home and drove from Vancouver Island down the west coast of Washington, Oregon, California all the way down the Baja peninsula, to just south of Mulegé. That year we had planned to drive to Cabo, but there was a really bad hurricane and it washed out a lot of the roads, so we ended up staying south of Mulegé on Santispac beach (with our solar powered RV) for 2 weeks before driving home. It was that trip that the seed was planted.
One day, this young surfer-looking couple drove up and parked next to us in their camper van. The couple said we are heading to Cabo San Lucas to see if we like it, and if we do we might live there. I was shocked. They were the original digital nomads. I thought we had made it in life, taking 2 months off work to travel?! I didn’t have any friends that had that kind of freedom or flexibility. I owned a salon and wedding business and my husband was managing a rock and roll bar for 18 years.
This encounter was almost 10 years ago. No one at that time was building businesses online. My mind went to work. That night we were sitting around the campfire and Ryan’s dad said to me, Christina, the problem with your business, as successful as you are, is that you are the commodity…and he was right. I had to work 14 hour days for two weeks straight to make that 2 month trip, it was exhausting and my body was a wreck… so was I really as free as I thought I was? That night Ryan and I agreed that we needed to change our lifestyle.
The crazy thing is I didn’t do anything about it for almost 4 years! It wasn’t until I was 7 months pregnant, and an excruciating shoulder injury prevented me from working. I knew I wanted a different lifestyle, but I just didn’t know how to get it. I was exhausted, frustrated at the growing cost of doing business and never being able to clear the balance on my business credit card. What I really wanted to do was to be there for my new baby and that is when I realized that I had to find another way. But then I saw this girl at the beach making 5 figures a month from her phone, while she played with her kids. I knew instantly that I wanted that life. So I learned from her how and I went to work.
What’s interesting is that back then, I didn’t have the experience, education or skill set necessary to build a successful online business, I simply had the drive and determination to learn. I really believe that we control our destiny and are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Over the next few years I built a successful and sustainable online business that gave us options. During COVID, we watched the middle class get destroyed and knew there would be long-term consequences to our economy.
I look back now and see that as the single biggest blessing we had because it gave us the courage to do something different, and we had the income and ability to pick up and move, when many didn’t.
Even though my on-line business was growing at a rapid rate, 2021 proved to be a very difficult year for our family. As we tried to grow our family and give our daughter a sibling, I suffered 2 miscarriages with very little medical support because of COVID. With each one, my postpartum depression got worse. The COVID lockdowns as well as divisiveness within our family, friends and community, weighed heavily on our mental health.
In October 2021, my husband and I decided to pull our (then) 5 year old daughter from school. We had put her in French immersion for her first year in Kindergarten, and with the mask mandates it made it really hard and stressful for her to try and learn another language. A week went by, and my husband proposed that we take that paid work trip to Cabo and we could homeschool our daughter on the beach!
I now realize that this suggested beach adventure was a beautiful and desperate attempt by my husband to try and make me happy, but at the time I couldn’t believe my ears. I almost fell over. We packed up our house in two weeks and agreed we would talk about listing it on Airbnb once we got to Cabo. We booked a vacation rental for a week before and a week after the free company trip, and figured it out, step by step, from there. We thought we would go to Cabo for 3 months and get a balcony view of our lives, then decide what we wanted to do from there. Within a month, we decided that we wanted to stay for 6 months and then we could get our daughter into school for the rest of the year, so she could start learning Spanish. That was the beginning of our new chapter as a family here in Mexico.
All I can say now is that you have to hold on to that vision of your dream because you are the creator of your life. The faster you realize that, the faster you will race to take action and create it.
To read Part 2 of writer Christina Whiteley’s story, click here.
Christina Whiteley, founder of Life Transformed, is a best selling author, speaker and business strategist who leads the 6 Figure Profit Plan Mastermind and hosts corporate retreats where she resides in Cabo San Lucas. She and her husband Ryan, who is a realtor, live for road trips and weekend adventures with their daughter and their dog, Larry.
Txori Director Victor Busteros feeding some of his resident birds.
At the Txori Ornithological Foundation, a nonprofit NGO just 20 kilometers northwest of Guadalajara, there’s generally a lot of squawking going on.
“Here we breed Mexican macaws, parrots and parakeets,” Txori Director Victor Busteros told me, “and we also rehabilitate rescued birds, all with the aim of reintroducing them back into the wild.”
Txori breeds macaws and also helps poached birds like these. (Photo: Victor Busteros)
That dream is finally coming to fruition soon: Txori plans to do its first release of military macaws.
Txori (pronounced “Chori”) is Basque for “bird.” Victor’s father, Cándido Busteros, who started the organization, also gave the organization its name. He was a Spaniard who fled his home country to France during the Spanish Civil War.
“Then the Nazis took control of France, and he escaped to Mexico,” says Victor.
While Cándido Busteros lived in Mexico City upon his arrival here, he eventually took a horseback tour from Guadalajara through the Sierra Occidental.
Spaniard Cándido Busteros came to Mexico and fell in love with the wild guacamayas he saw when he first visited Jalisco during World War II. When he returned in the 1970s and saw they were gone, he started the Txori sanctuary.
“He was utterly amazed at the beauty of those mountains, woods and jungles, but what fascinated him most were the parrots, in particular the guacamayas, which were plentiful in those days,” says Victor.
Cándido returned to Mexico City but never forgot those guacamayas. When he moved to Guadalajara in the 1970s, the first thing he wanted to do was to repeat his ride to Tomatlán.
“Unfortunately,” says Victor, “in those days the government was hell-bent on ‘development,’ convincing the campesinos to burn the woods and plant corn. So, the great flocks of parrots and macaws were all gone.”
As a result, Candido Busteros started a small bird rescue center in his home. It may have been the first Animal Rescue Center of any kind in Guadalajara, but it was exclusively for parrots. In the 1990s, the center, now named Txori, was given legal status.
It was at this point that Busteros decided not only to rescue sick or unwanted birds but also to start raising macaws with the idea of eventually returning them to the wild in places where their populations had dropped drastically.
“Some university ‘experts’ said my father was crazy,” says Victor Busteros, “and that a macaw raised in captivity would never stand a chance in the wild, but my father began to distance himself from these people and started working with ornithologists in Costa Rica and Honduras who were already doing exactly what he had in mind.”
These ornithologists were liberating macaws left and right — even scarlet macaws raised right here in Mexico at the Xcaret resort in Playa del Carmen. People were saying that the birds were surely going to die.
Scarlet macaws raised in captivity have successfully learned to survive in the wild, something many experts said was impossible.
“Instead they survived. It’s been documented!” Victor says. “And, finally, the ‘experts’ in Mexico began to change their minds. So, based on these results, we’re working on our plan for releasing green macaws (Ara militaris) for the first time, and for this species, we will be the pioneers.”
Txori presently has 20 habitation units, 10 of which are for breeding pairs. They also have a bird hospital, incubators, hatchers, a maternity ward with closed-circuit TV, a warehouse, gray-water treatment plant, solar cells, a garden and quarters for the caretakers, some of whom are volunteers.
“Among our other guests, we have 20 green military macaws here,” says Victor. “We have three reproducing couples and, of the 20, nine are ready for release.”
“We feed all our birds a well-balanced diet; we create activities for them and we care for their mental health as well. If parrots are mentally and physically in good shape, it means whoever is raising them is doing a great job,” he said.
Military macaws got their name from zoologist Carl Linnaeus. Their green and red coloring reminded him of the green Prussian army uniform, topped off with a red hat plume.
Txori plans to do its first release of military macaws at Rancho el Mexicano, located north of Guadalajara at the top of the 500-meter-high Santiago River Canyon. The area already has a healthy population of macaws.
It is hoped that the site will become a popular spot for parrot-watching tourism. Two monitoring points will also be set up for parrot-watching and to keep tabs on the released birds.
“Local people are very involved in the project,” says Victor, “and will benefit from it economically.”
Txori ran into serious problems when COVID-19 struck. Its financing came from a trust, which, in turn, depended on the earnings of two businesses in Guadalajara.
Robin Perkins, a.k.a. El Búho, blends the songs of endangered birds with electronic music. His album helped Txori economically survive the pandemic, when their business funders couldn’t support them.
“Because of the pandemic,” says Busteros, “one of the businesses was shut down and the other was severely impacted. So there was suddenly no money, and we were on our own, trying to figure out how to survive.”
Curiously, the aviary was saved by an owl that also happens to be a robin — an English man with whom Victor once worked in Greenpeace and who now lives in France.
The Englishman is Robin Perkins, a musician whose professional name is El Búho (The Owl). El Búho specializes in electronic music that incorporates the rhythms, traditions and melodies of Latin American folk music and the the organic sound of waterfalls, bird songs and crackling leaves.
“The result,” says his webpage, “is a dreamy, deep, melodic journey that entrances as much through headphones as it does on the dance floor.”
Txori’s aviary is located just outside Guadalajara and frequently organizes guided tours, talks and workshops on parrots and macaws. See their email address in the story to schedule a visit.
The sample track linked above features the song of Mexico’s black catbird. You can listen to the entire album on Spotify.
“I have always firmly believed in the power of art and music as a tool for change, to deliver a message and raise awareness,” says Perkins. “My hope is that this project can go some way towards supporting those [organizations] doing an incredible job in preserving birds, their habitats and their songs for the generations to come.”
Victor Busteros talks parrots.
Thanks to El Búho’s help, one of those organizations, Txori, is alive and well and working hard to save some of Mexico’s most lovable endangered birds.
If you’d like to see Txori’s work in person, they welcome visitors, but you must contact them in advance at [email protected].
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.
The country currently has 185 natural protected areas (ANP) over land and sea. (Conanp)
More than 16,000 hectares of land belonging to the National Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur) could be converted into protected nature reserves, President López Obrador said at his Thursday morning press conference.
The president elaborated on an agreement between Fonatur and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) that he first announcedlast week. The agreement would see 16,414 hectares of Fonatur’s properties re-designated as Natural Protected Areas (ANP), following a consultation process.
The natural protected areas of Mexico. Conanp (full size: https://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/media/1/region/images/areas-naturales-protegidas-mx.jpg)
The Director General of Fonatur, Javier May, explained that the affected areas were spread across six states: Baja California (67), Baja California Sur (8,065), Guerrero (982), Oaxaca (5,263), Quintana Roo (116) and Sinaloa (1,922).
May said the move was necessary to protect endemic species from predatory, sometimes corrupt, tourism development and to guarantee the Mexican population free enjoyment of natural spaces.
“For a long time, the areas in Fonatur’s care went from use to abuse and became privileges at the cost of the people,” May said. “Land sales practically put an end to public beaches, and the tourist business advanced without solving the poverty of the people. We do not want more private beaches; we never want a tourist development at the expense of the people’s suffering.”
The head of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), Humberto Peña Fuentes, said the conversion would protect between eight and 15 endangered species, including jaguars, the green macaw and the olive ridley sea turtle.
An olive ridley sea turtle hatchling. (Wikimedia Commons)
“We will establish these ANPs as one of the most effective measures for the biological conservation of ecosystems, many of which are pristine and in which species that are only found in these areas live,” he said.
However, some business leaders expressed alarm at the decision.
“It seems very negative to me,” Eduardo Martínez González, president of the Caribbean Business Coordinating Council, toldLa Jornada Maya newspaper. “Fonatur was designed to generate successful tourist developments and to generate community and obviously wealth for the state.”
He argued that Cancún — a planned tourism project created in 1974 – was a successful example of how well-regulated tourist development can go alongside nature conservation while bringing wealth to an area.
“It is a project that generated surplus value and that resulted in better properties, better taxes for more infrastructure, and obviously there are countless direct and indirect jobs,” he argued. “We have to look for how to replicate these stories.”
Mexico has several such planned tourism projects, in areas including Los Cabos, Huatulco, Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit. It also currently has185 ANPs, covering nearly 91 million hectares of land and sea across the national territory.
Although the ANPs are a key mechanism to protect Mexico’s rich biodiversity, the Conanp has seen its budget slashed during AMLO’s administration and has sometimes struggled to enforce species protection measures within the reserves.
The Conanp now has 180 days to complete the conversion of Fonatur’s territories. The process involves preparing a prior assessment study and carrying out public and expert impact consultations, before the final decree is published in the National Gazette.
Steady remittances from the U.S. and nearshoring have been highlighted as some of the reasons for the currency's appreciation against the U.S. dollar. (Stock image)
In a continuation of the currency’s strong performance this year, the Mexican peso appreciated on Friday to its highest level against the U.S. dollar in almost five years.
The value of one greenback dipped to 18.33 pesos on international markets, according to data from Bloomberg.
The peso hadn’t been so strong since April 19, 2018, when the exchange rate reached 18.06 pesos to one U.S. dollar.
The newspaper El Universal reported that the peso had appreciated 1.69% against the greenback this week and 5.87% since the beginning of 2023.
It cited higher inflows of money from export revenue, remittances and foreign investment as a factor in the strengthening of the peso.
Janneth Quiroz, chief economist with the Monex financial group, said on Twitter on Friday that the Mexican peso had benefited from “improved projections” from the national statistics agency INEGI vis a vis the Mexican economy.
The Bank of México set a record high benchmark rate of 11% earlier this month. (File photo)
Luis Miguel Altamirano, a financial advisor and educator, said on the same social media site that “the main factor that is driving the appreciation of the peso with respect to the dollar is the difference in interest rates between the Bank of México and the Fed in the United States.”
The Bank of México’s benchmark rate is currently set at a record high of 11% as it attempts to combat high inflation, while the Federal Reserve’s official rate is 4.5% to 4.75%.
“Is such a cheap dollar good for the [Mexican] economy?” Altamirano asked in another Twitter post.
“Maybe at the moment yes as Mexico had a trade deficit of US $27 billion at the end of 2022 (it imports more than it exports), and this exchange rate benefits imports as they are cheaper,” he wrote.
“However, there is also the flip side, where credit in Mexico becomes expensive (practically impossible to get a loan [with an interest rate] below 11%), and the revenue from tourism, exports, remittances and foreign direct investment is affected.”
President López Obrador considers the strength of the peso an achievement of his government, claiming that sound economic management has allowed the currency to prosper, although it suffered a sharp drop in value at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, academic and columnist Sergio Negrete Cárdenas wrote in the El Financiero newspaper last month that the president was wrong to take claim for the so-called super peso.
The central bank’s monetary policy, rather than the government’s economic policies, is the main reason behind the strength of the peso, he wrote.
“The central bank is autonomous and its decisions are taken without consulting the president,” Negrete said. “AMLO can’t take credit for them. On the contrary, he has criticized the Bank of México several times for increasing the [key interest] rate so much.”
Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila, a representative of Mexico’s ruling Morena party, expressed a different view on Friday, writing on Twitter that “the Mexican super peso is continuing to gain strength” and that “the economic policy of the federal government is yielding excellent results for the benefit of all.”
Annual government fertilizer distribution to farmers in Santiago Miahuatlan, Puebla. Virtually all fertilizer in Mexico is imported and thus a big expense for farms. The Durango plant is supposed to change that. (Photo: Government of Santiago Miahuatlan)
A Dutch company is investing US $1.5 billion to build a fertilizer plant in Durango that is expected to drastically reduce Mexico’s reliance on foreign imports.
Durango Governor Esteban Villegas Villareal and federal Interior Minister Adán Augusto López announced the investment by fertilizer producer Tarafert earlier this month. The plant, which will be capable of producing approximately 1 million metric tonnes per year of the substance, is slated to begin operations in 2026.
Durango Governor Esteban Villegas and Interior Minister Adan Augusto López at an event in Durango announcing the fertilizer plant. (Photo: Government of Durango)
The ammonia and urea plant will be built in the municipality of Lerdo and could produce enough fertilizer to cover 50% of Mexico’s demand for the substance, Tarafert says on its website.
At a business event in Durango on Thursday, Villegas highlighted that there are currently no fertilizer manufacturers in Mexico and that the cost of the imported product has increased significantly due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Announcing the investment on Feb. 1, Villegas thanked Tarafert “for showing confidence in this government and Durango.”
“I cannot thank the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador enough for its invaluable support,” he added.
Lerdo Mayor Homero Martínez Cabrera, left, said at an event announcing the plant in Durango that he’s excited that the plant will bring good-paying jobs to town. (Photo: Government of Durango)
Thomas Berkvens, director of project development for Tarafert, expressed the company’s “excitement” at having the support of federal and state authorities, according to a Durango government statement.
Villegas said Thursday that construction of the plant will generate 3,000 jobs and that the facility will employ 400–500 people in “very well paid” jobs once it begins operations.
The municipal government of Lerdo will sell treated wastewater to the plant, meaning that it won’t deplete drinking water supplies, according to Gov. Villegas.
Jesús Castrillón Jiménez, Lerdo’s director of economic development, said earlier this month that Tarafert’s plant complies with environmental requirements and posed no threat to the Nazas River, which runs through Durango and Coahuila.
The $1.5 billion investment is a new record for the municipality, located in the Comarca Lagunera region of Durango and Coahuila.
“Tarafert will be the anchor company that will bring five other supply companies [to Lerdo]. They will be the base of the first industrial park … in this municipality, thanks to the intervention of the Caxxor group, which has dedicated itself to the design and construction of the park,” Castrillón said.
He said that one factor that convinced Tarafert to build its plant in Lerdo is the municipality’s proximity to railroad tracks and highways, including the Gómez Palacio-Durango City freeway. Another is the proximity of the El Encino-La Laguna gas pipeline.
At Thursday’s “Invest in La Laguna” business event, Villegas said that several other companies are close to announcing nearshoring investments in Durango.
High productivity and the availability of industrial space and specialized labor are among the reasons why the Comarca Lagunera region is an attractive place to invest, the site says.
Blancarte was a winner in CryptoArt for Impact and Innovation at Bitbasel (@Guilleblancarte Twitter)
Guille Blancarte, an artist from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, has been selected along with over 200 other artists to send her artwork “I Wonder” to the moon.
Blancarte, one of the winners of the CryptoArt for Impact and Innovation at Bitbasel – a platform that helps creators launch their first NFT collection – will be included in the Lunaprise Moon Museum.
The museum will be a payload aboard Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C Lunar Lander, which is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida via a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket in early to mid 2023, according to NASA.
The mission, called IM-1, is NASA’s first return to the lunar surface since 1972.
The museum’s collection is etched onto indestructible nano fiche disks made from pure nickel, an element that can survive the harsh conditions of outer space. The museum will have information about humanity including music by Grammy winners, famous speeches, collectibles from sports stars, works of art from the most famous artists in history, film scripts, NFT collections and more.
The information will be readable on the Lunaprise disk via a microscope, and a replica of the disk will be on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
Promotional image for Lunaprise Moon Museum (BitBasel)
Blancarte’s work of art is an homage to sunsets in her hometown of Mazatlán. According to the artist, it “represents duality, cycles, beginnings and endings, sunrise and sunset.”
She added that her artwork tries to “raise awareness of the profound danger we face if we do not do something now to restore the balance of the ocean,” as she hopes that future generations can enjoy “the sea in all its splendor.”
A series of events are being planned around the IM-1 SpaceX launch, including a post-launch celebration at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez and Interior Minister Adán Augusto López preside over a meeting with governors in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, to formally grant federal security funding to states for 2023. (Rosa Icela Rodríguez/Twitter)
The federal government has set aside almost 9 billion pesos to fund security spending by Mexico’s 32 federal entities in 2023.
At a meeting with state governors in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, on Wednesday, Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said the government will allocate just under 8.8 billion pesos (US $475 million) from the public security fund known as FASP.
The total funding is 10% higher than last year, Rodríguez said at a meeting in Monterrey last week with 10 governors of northern states. The FASP money is allocated to states to address security issues in areas with high levels of crime.
Of the 21 states for which funding has been announced, Jalisco will receive the largest allotment. The western state will get just under 344 million pesos (US $18.5 million) in 2023.
The other states with allotments above 300 million pesos are Chihuahua, Nuevo León, Veracruz and Guanajuato, which has been Mexico’s most violent state in recent years in terms of homicide numbers.
Funding for 11 entities, including Mexico City, México state, Puebla and Querétaro has not yet been announced.
President López Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” strategy promotes investment in social welfare programs as a way to both reduce crime and boost the economy. (Photo: Presidencia)
At the meeting with northern state governors, Rodríguez stressed that security work is a shared responsibility of the three levels of government.
On Wednesday, she said that the federal government has made it a priority to address the root causes of violence. The government’s so-called “hugs, not bullets” security strategy aims to prevent crime via the delivery of social programs that provide work and study opportunities to Mexicans, particularly young people.
“At the same time,” Rodríguez said, “we use intelligence and operational planning to strike decisive blows against [organized] crime.”
One recent example of that work is the arrest in January of Ovidio “El Ratón” Guzmán, son of incarcerated Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and leader of the “Los Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Interior Minister Adán Augusto López declared Wednesday that the battle against organized crime is being won. The incidence of crimes such as kidnappings, home burglaries and vehicle theft has declined significantly, he said at the Tuxtla Gutiérrez meeting.
López noted that homicide numbers have also declined but conceded they haven’t gone down as much as the government would like. There were 30,968 homicides in 2022, according to data presented by Rodríguez last month, a 7.1% decline compared to the previous year.
