Cholera, which is caused by consuming contaminated food or water, can be lethal without proper medical care. Depositphotos
The federal government has advised health care facilities to be on the lookout for cases of cholera due to an outbreak of the disease in Haiti.
Citing the Pan American Health Organization’s report of a cholera outbreak in the Caribbean country, the Health Ministry said Thursday that the government had issued an “epidemiological notice” advising all “health units” to be alert to symptoms of the bacterial disease in people who have recently been in Haiti.
The Pan American Health Organization said Thursday that it was “working closely with Haitian public health authorities and international partners to support the country’s response to the recent cholera outbreak.”
“After more than three years without reported cases, Haiti first confirmed on 2 October two cases of Vibrio cholerae O1. In an update on 5 October, national authorities confirmed 11 cases, including two deaths, and a total 111 cases under investigation in various communes around Port-au-Prince,” it said.
The United Nations said Thursday that seven cholera-related deaths had been confirmed in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
In a statement, the Health Ministry said that Mexico’s national network of public health laboratories has “complete diagnostic capacities” and that the National System of Epidemiological Vigilance is “attentive to the presence of people with symptoms compatible with the disease.”
“Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae,” the ministry added, noting also that it can be lethal if not treated promptly.
The epidemiological notice said that the first cholera case detected in Mexico occurred in rural México state in 1991.
“The cholera epidemic lasted for 10 years, affecting 97% of [Mexico’s] territory,” the notice said, adding that just over 45,000 cases were recorded and that the mortality rate was 1.12 per 100 cases.
There have been additional outbreaks in Mexico over the past decade, including one in 2013 in which almost 200 people were infected — mainly in Hidalgo — but no cholera cases have been detected in the country since 2019.
Whether or not she existed, La Carambada is still a well-known figure among Querétaro residents, who've passed down her story for generations. deposit photos
A country as old as Mexico always has a plethora of legends, some fantastical, some realistic but purely fictional. Then there are some that are probably based in truth, but who can say how much exaggeration and outright fabrication has happened along the way?
The legend of La Carambada — a 19th-century female highwayman who supposedly plagued the roads between Mexico City and Querétaro, robbing travelers of their money and valuables and giving them to the poor — falls somewhere between these last two.
Was she in any way real or pure fiction? Either way, she’s one of Queretaro’s most popular local legends, appearing as a character in multiple local historic tours.
Mariana Álvarez Díaz Barriga, who leads the Querétaro historic tour group Leyendas y Mitos de Quéretaro (legends and myths of Querétaro), said that while her group understands that some elements of the La Carambada story are romanticized, they use her in their tours because “there do exist historic sources that say she existed.”
Actress Marianne Lugo of the tour group Leyendas y Mitos de Querétaro portrays the legendary La Carambada for tourists.
“I consider her to be the most important icon, or legend, in the representations of the histories of Quéretaro of this type,” she said. La Carambada’s story is still popular with queretanos, she said, something Álvarez attributes to her being “a Robin Hood type.”
Local Querétaro historian Delfino D. Leal Vega says, “She was a thief, but only because she gave to those in need by taking from those who owned the most in a perverse and corrupt regime in the Mexico of the late 19th century,” he said.
Among historic sources arguing for her existence is Queretaro’s own official municipal history, which talks about her as real, according to current-day Mexican chronicler Salvador Zúñiga Fuentes. He identifies her as a poor woman named Leonarda Medina. Other versions paint her as a wealthy young woman, once a companion to Mexico’s Empress Carlota, although most academics refute this detail. Further adding to the intrigue around her existence are 1880s U.S. news accounts of La Carambada’s capture.
Rod González, who also conducts historical tours of Querétaro, laughingly says that “every person in Querétaro has a different version of the legend.”
One more fanciful element of La Carambada’s varying legends is that she secretly caused President Benito Juárez’s deadly heart attack in 1872 with poison.
So did she ever exist? How much of the legend is true, if any?
Historian Valentin F. Frias — considered the father of Querétaro history and who lived during La Carambada’s time period — wrote in his book The Legends and Traditions of Querétaro that La Carambada did indeed exist. He identified her as Leonarda Martínez, not Medina, and said she was born in 1842 in the village of La Punta.
In 2018 and 2019, newspapers like the Garbancero Chronicler and Noticias de Querétaro published versions of La Carambada’s story, saying it was the version passed on through generations in Quéretaro. Their versions told how in the late 19th century, gangs of thieves on horseback were common. They frequently stole money and valuables from travelers on the roads around the city, robbed haciendas and stole shipments of gold and silver in transit.
La Carambada supposedly was part of such a gang, made up of people from the Querétaro villages of San Antonio de la Punta — where Leonarda was born — and Santa María Magdalena.
Some versions of the story say Leonarda was a companion to Empress Carlota, wife of Mexico’s Emperor Maximilian I. But it’s one of the legend’s more unlikely details, academics say. Creative Commons
Leonarda knew how to ride bareback, dressed in men’s clothes, handled weapons with ease, and neighbors in La Punta spoke of her having been involved in a gang and stealing from a young age. As La Carambada, she warned victims to comply in a masculine and threatening tone, telling them they were surrounded by her partners in the woods, where she had strategically placed lit corn cobs around the area to look like there were glowing tips of cigarettes. She was also known for lifting her top at the end of her robberies, revealing her gender mockingly to her victims and bragging, “Look who just stole from you.”
According to Álvarez, the female bandit’s sobriquet came from the old expression “Ay caramba.” Whenever Queretaro’s residents heard of another of her bold exploits, they’d utter the phrase.
Many versions also contain romantic elements: a tragic love affair, a revenge plot and political intrigue in which she secretly assassinates Benito Juárez for turning a deaf ear on her pleas to not execute her lover, a soldier with the French occupying forces in Mexico slated for death once Juárez and his government took back Mexico. Leonarda is said to have vowed revenge.
Using her beauty, she supposedly got herself invited to a dinner party in 1872 at the home of Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, then president of the Supreme Court. He ascended to the presidency in 1872 when Juárez died of a heart attack in office.
La Carambada’s capture was reported as fact in 1884 by U.S. newspapers, including The Sunday Critic of Logansport, Indiana.
This version of the legend says Martínez caused that heart attack by placing drops of the slow-acting poison veinteunilla into Juárez’s champagne glass, killing him without a trace 21 days later.
The story of La Carambada also captured the imagination of journalists in the United States. One 1884 article in The Sunday Critic of Logansport, Indiana, reported as fact that “La Carambada, the woman brigand long a terror to travelers in this region, is dead at last, with a bullet in her heart. Her operations extended over many years and was of the most daring description.”
This article painted La Carambada as a femme fatale who would work her way into the good graces of male travelers and lure them outside of town with her in a carriage. She would then shoot them dead. The driver — perhaps paid for his silence — would then drive on to her appointed destination, where she would reunite with her gang. Her trickery was said to have baffled the authorities since drivers always told them that the victims had been robbed and killed by highwaymen but that the lady with them left unharmed.
When she finally came under suspicion, Leonarda decided to change her tactics and lure wealthy landowners to their abduction, having her gang negotiate the ransom while she was far away, targeting her next victim. But this strategy is said to have been her downfall, for she was captured after trying to abduct a wealthy landowner named Don Civelo Velázquez.
A bakery in Querétaro bearing La Carambada’s name is a testament to her continued popularity among locals. mikebimr
She was betrayed by one of her gang members and captured by the authorities. The rest of the gang tried to overtake her captors, but she was killed in the fierce gunfight that commenced. “One of her captors described her as a beautiful woman …. but with a wicked eye and a cruel-looking mouth when in repose,” one account reported.
According to Frias’ history, the end of La Carambada’s notorious career came slung over the back of a mule — presumed dead. She was taken to the hospital for an autopsy, where she was discovered to be alive. However, she’s said to have died shortly after making her confession to the Archbishop of Querétaro.
So while it’s probably nearly impossible to prove whether or not she really existed, La Carambada is proof of the maxim “never underestimate a good story.”
Leal believes it ultimately doesn’t matter whether the story is true.
“It is very important to reserve, value, and recover the collective memory — the myths and legends [of the Mexican people],” he said.
Sheryl Losser is a former public relations executive and professional researcher. She spent 45 years in national politics in the United States. She moved to Mazatlán last year and works part-time doing freelance research and writing.
Residents celebrate the festival Yohualican Kampa To Xolalmej Ilhuitij, in Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, a Magical Town. Sectur
Día de Pueblos Mágicos
Wednesday, Oct. 5, was National Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns) Day, as designated by the Department of Tourism (Sectur). There are 132 cities included in the program — from Aculco, México state to Zozocolco de Hidalgo, Veracruz — which highlights places known for their cultural and historical significance. Some of the more popular destinations include Tepoztlán, Pátzcuaro, Valle de Bravo, Real de Catorce, Mazunte and Sayulita. According to Sectur, the combined population of the Pueblos Mágicos today is 8.5 million people (6.8% of Mexico’s population), and they contain 13% of the registered hotel rooms in the country. From Oct. 11 to 14, the fourth annual Pueblos Mágicos tourism fair will be held in Oaxaca and Sectur has announced plans to add more towns to the list in 2023. To be included, municipalities have to demonstrate they have a “unique natural or cultural attraction,” and submit plans and resources for developing tourism services.
Tulum and CDMX: Hot spots for vegetarians
Looking for somewhere to celebrate International Vegetarian Week (Oct. 3-9)? Get yourself to Mexico City or Tulum, touted as the two cities with the largest number of vegetarian or vegan restaurants in the country. And you won’t be limited to gourmet dining or juice bars — even street stands and markets are offering meat-free dishes in Tulum. According to a 2016 Nielsen survey, 28% of Mexican respondents identified as vegan or vegetarian, the highest number in Latin America.
Pre-Hispanic paintings discovered in convent
Restorer working on Chapel 4 at convent in Tepoztlán. Photo credit: José Morales
During restoration work at a 16th-century convent in Tepoztlán, Morelos, experts found images of feathered headdresses, an axe and shield hidden under layers of dirt and plaster. The wall paintings were found in three open-air chapels and appear to show indigenous imagery. Historians note that in the early days of the Spanish conquest, Catholic churches included these open-air spaces to encourage the participation of indigenous converts, who were accustomed to performing religious ceremonies outdoors. The discovery of these symbols, juxtaposed with Christian imagery, raises questions of the “relation of pre-Hispanic culture with Christianity in the first years following the Spanish invasion” according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
Mexico’s Compañía Nacional de Teatro (National Theater Company) celebrates 50 years
The 56-member company debuted at the first Festival Internacional Cervantino held in 1972 in Guanajuato, and will return to the festival this month, which is also celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. The company, which is based in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City, has staged 238 productions in its history and has performed at 44 international venues. This year, the CNT welcomed its first female artistic director, Aurora Cano, who has acknowledged she faces extraordinary challenges: the theater-going population in Mexico according to a 2022 survey was just 4.7%, and the pandemic had devastating financial effects on the performing arts. Cano says her ambition is diversifying the CNT’s repertoire, “broadening our view, expanding the canon,” since “theater is the forum of social debates, it is the epitome of public art.”
Cozumel to be designated first “city of birds” in Latin America
Island of Cozumel Sectur
Mexico’s largest Caribbean island is receiving the certification from various conservation NGOs, including the American Bird Conservancy, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in recognition of efforts to provide a “safer and more secure community” for birds by promoting bird-watching and conservation. The island has five natural reserves and three endemic bird species; up to 300 other species have been recorded there. The name Cozumel is derived from Mayan ah cuzamil peten, which translates as “island of the swallows.”
Elaborate ofrendas (alters or offerings) for deceased loved ones are just one part of Michoacán's traditional Day of the Dead festivities. Twitter @Michoacan
Authorities in Michoacán are expecting over 300,000 tourists to flock to the state for this year’s Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday on November 1 and 2.
Pátzcuaro, Morelia, Uruapan and the Lake Páztcuaro islands of Janitzio and Yunuén are among the destinations expecting an influx of domestic and foreign tourists.
In addition to elaborate ofrendas (alters or offerings) in cemeteries and other locations, those destinations have other Day of the Dead attractions such as catrina parades featuring women painted as skeletons and Pirekua (an indigenous Purépecha song form) performances.
Michoacán Tourism Minister Roberto Monroy told a press conference that the annual Day of the Dead celebration is an important economic event for the state given the large number of tourists who arrive. He predicted this year’s holiday will generate 250 million pesos (US $12.4 million) in revenue for local businesses.
“We support the Purépecha communities and municipalities with 4.5 million pesos [US $223,000] so that they can buy the necessary articles to carry out the celebration,” he said, adding that the state government also helps coordinate events in different locations.
Monroy said that the 2017 animated film Coco spurred international interest in Michoacán’s Day of the Dead celebrations, with visitors from countries such as Japan, France and Colombia traveling to the state for the holiday in recent years. “Coco is a gift from Disney for Mexico,” he said.
The tourism minister also said that the Day of the Dead experience in Michoacán is unlike that in any other part of the country.
For his part, Pátzcuaro Mayor Julio Arreola said the celebration in the state is “magical and mystical” and noted that many hotels are already booked out.
Mexico’s Day of the Dead tradition is recognized as intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
“As practiced by the indigenous communities of Mexico, el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) commemorates the transitory return to Earth of deceased relatives and loved ones,” the UN agency says on its website.
“… Families facilitate the return of the souls to Earth by laying flower petals, candles and offerings along the path leading from the cemetery to their homes. … The Day of the Dead celebration holds great significance in the life of Mexico’s indigenous communities. The fusion of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Catholic feasts brings together two universes, one marked by indigenous belief systems, the other by worldviews introduced by the Europeans in the 16th century.”
President López Obrador looks on as Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier announces her resignation on Thursday morning. Daniel Augusto Sánchez Moreno / Cuartoscuro.com
Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier has resigned less than two years after taking on the job, telling President López Obrador in a letter that her time to step down had come.
Clouthier, who succeeded Graciela Márquez as economy minister in January 2021, read her resignation letter at the president’s regular news conference on Thursday.
“Dear president, I’d like to take the opportunity with this note to thank you for the great opportunity you’ve given me to walk with you in favor of the fourth transformation,” she said, referring to the profound change López Obrador says he is implementing in Mexico.
“If I can make a comparison with baseball, I was invited to play in the major league, to get to know the country, represent it, play in different positions, sweating profusely in my shirt and never ceasing to do my part in order to score a run for Mexico.”
Clouthier, who managed López Obrador’s 2018 presidential campaign, said that, “as in the game,” one needs to know when it is time to step away. She didn’t cite a specific reason for her resignation, simply saying that her “opportunity to be on the team is over.”
Clouthier – a former federal deputy who was affiliated with the National Action Party for over two decades before joining López Obrador’s Morena party – noted that she had discussed her decision with the president in July and September and said she would now join the porra, or fans of the government and enthusiastically follow her erstwhile “team” while continuing to work for the country as an ordinary citizen.
“I would like to say more but the only thing that comes out of my mouth and heart is thank you,” said the visibly upset outgoing minister.
“Thank you … for allowing me to put my abilities at the service of the country and above all for showing me that when it comes to serving [the people of Mexico] there is no weariness, sickness or barrier that can’t be overcome.”
Creo , esta es opinión mía ya que no he hablado con ella, que el tema de la Guardia Nacional debe haber pesado mucho en su decisión ! Congruencia de Tatiana vs. la incongruencia de López
In addition to the ongoing energy disputes, Tatiana Clouthier’s brother, politician Manuel Clouthier, speculated that recent issues related to the National Guard may have influenced her departure, though he acknowledge he had not discussed the issue with his sister.
Clouthier’s departure comes as the federal government continues to conduct dispute resolution talks with the United States and Canada over concerns about Mexico’s nationalistic energy policies. As economy minister she played a key role in trade talks and in maintaining positive government relations with Mexican business and industry.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that her resignation wouldn’t affect the energy talks with the U.S. and Canada, which have been “productive,” according to the Economy Ministry.
López Obrador said he respected Clouthier’s decision to resign but nevertheless attempted to change her mind. “We insisted that she stay but she’s a woman with convictions … and she’s taken this decision to leave the Economy Ministry,” he said.
“… We’re going to feel her absence but … she’s always going to continue … defending justice and promoting the democratic political development of our country.”
Asked later in his press conference whether Clothier disagreed with the militarization of Mexico during the current government, López Obrador said that wasn’t the case and that the minister was leaving “on the best terms.”
He said Clouthier’s replacement will be announced Friday. The news agency Reuters reported that a person familiar with López Obrador’s thinking said that Raquel Buenrostro, head of the federal tax agency SAT, was being lined up for the job.
For the time being, U.S. and Canada have declined to convene a panel that could impose punitive tariffs on Mexico. Depositphotos
Mexico, the United States and Canada are making progress in their attempt to reach a resolution over a dispute stemming from the Mexican government’s nationalistic energy policies.
The U.S. Trade Representative in July requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Canada promptly did the same, saying that it agreed with the U.S. that Mexico’s energy policies were inconsistent with its USMCA obligations.
Mexican and U.S. officials who spoke with the news agency Reuters on the condition of anonymity said Monday that progress in their discussions meant they would continue beyond October 3 — the date on which a dispute panel could have been requested to hear the case.
The USMCA allows a claim to be taken to a dispute panel 75 days after consultations begin. Mexico risks exposure to punitive tariffs on its exports if a dispute panel is convened and rules in favor of one or both of its North American trade partners.
México continuará con los esfuerzos conjuntos para llegar a una solución mutuamente satisfactoria en el tema de las Consultas al amparo del #TMEC. pic.twitter.com/K4U5098fNa
“Mexico will continue with joint efforts to reach a mutually satisfying solution related to the consultation on the dispute of the #USMCA agreement,” the Economy Ministry wrote on Twitter.
While a dispute panel could still be established, Mexico’s Economy Ministry said on Twitter Monday that the “joint efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory solution” — the ongoing talks — will continue.
“Mexico, the United States and Canada have maintained a productive dialogue since the United States and Canada requested consultations,” it said. “… We share the wish of our partners to continue progressing through dialogue.”
Both the United States and Canada are unhappy about delays faced by private energy sector companies to receive permits. They also disagree with other energy sector policies and laws that favor Mexico’s state-owned energy firms, including the Electricity Industry Law, which gives power generated by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) priority on the national grid over that produced by private and renewable energy companies.
However, tensions have eased in recent weeks as Mexican courts suspended some contentious rules, and on signs that Mexican regulators have begun to address backlogs on permits, Reuters reported, citing industry officials and sources.
Francisco de Rosenzweig, a former deputy trade minister, told the news agency that he believes that the Mexican government “has sought to deal with the requests from the U.S. and Canadian governments with a view to a solution that avoids international arbitration.”
Reuters said its sources cited upcoming midterm elections in the United States, inflation concerns and the probability that Mexico would lose arbitration as reasons why neither side wants to escalate the trade dispute by requesting a panel.
In a separate gas pipeline dispute, the CFE lost an international arbitration case to a Canadian company and had to pay compensation of about US $85 million, Reuters reported Monday.
Regarding the energy dispute, a Mexican government source said that U.S. officials warned that pressure on Mexico will increase if substantial progress toward resolution isn’t made.
Rosanety Barrios, an energy analyst and former Energy Ministry official, said there are a number of unresolved issues even though Mexican regulators have attempted to show their willingness to be more flexible.
She suggested that resolution won’t come anytime soon, telling Reuters that Mexico and the U.S. could “kick the can down the road until the next [Mexican] government” takes office. A new Mexican president will be sworn in in late 2024, while the four-year term of the next U.S. president will commence in January 2025.
The city has put up plywood boards to block the entrance to the alleyway.
An alleyway in Guanajuato city where forbidden love is believed to have once flourished was shut off by municipal authorities Wednesday amid a dispute between people who profit from the arrival of tourists to the location.
The lovestruck pair lived in homes in the alley with balconies that are less than 70 centimeters apart, close enough for them to reach each other over the famously narrow alley and lock lips.
Located in the historic center of Guanajuato city, the callejón is now a popular tourist attraction where many couples recreate the kisses Ana and Carlos shared before the former was stabbed to death by her disapproving father.
The famously narrow “Kissing Alley” in better days. Darren Tierney/Istock
Such reenactments are now on hold after authorities erected plywood barriers at the entrances to the alley. A municipal government notice stuck to the barriers said that a construction project had been suspended as a safety measure, but Guanajuato newspaper Periódico Correo reported that there didn’t appear to be such a project going on in the alleyway.
The newspaper said there is an unresolved conflict between the owners of Ana’s house and the owners of Carlos’ house, in which photographers and tourist guides are also involved. Photographers who take and sell photos of tourists visiting the alley recently came to blows after an argument over prices tourists are charged for their services.
Mayor Alejandro Navarro Saldaña subsequently warned that the alley would be closed off if those at odds with each other couldn’t reach an agreement.
While Periódico Correo reported that risks to safety generated by a construction project didn’t appear to be the reason for the closure of the alley, it did note that a resident said that some buildings have structural damage. Municipal Civil Protection authorities “apparently” suggested the closure while the properties are repaired, the newspaper said.
No han querido poner orden con esos fotógrafos que ya se adueñaron del callejón y no puedes tomarte una foto porqué ellos te forman en SU FILA, TE TOMAN LA FOTO Y TE COBRAN y si no lo haces, no te dejan pasar. 😡😡😡 @GtoCapitalTur@GtoTravelMX@GtoCulturalMX@SeguridadGto
“They haven’t wanted to regulate the photographers who have taken over the alley and you can’t take a photo because they put you in THEIR LINE, THEY TAKE YOUR PHOTO AND THEY CHARGE YOU and if you don’t do it, they don’t let you pass,” one Twitter user commented on a widely-shared video of rival photographers fighting in the “Kissing Alley.”
Other reports, and the mayor’s remarks, indicated that the dispute involving the property owners, photographers and tourists guides was the real reason behind the closure of the iconic alleyway.
The military arrived in the town of San Miguel Totolapan in the state of Guerrero, but no arrests have been made. Cuartoscuro
The mayor of a municipality in the notoriously violent Tierra Caliente region of Guerrero was among 20 people killed in an armed attack on Wednesday.
Guerrero authorities reported Wednesday that 18 people were killed and two others were wounded in an attack on the San Miguel Totolapan city hall, but federal security official Ricardo Mejía said Thursday that the death toll had risen to 20.
Gunmen affiliated with Los Tequileros – a crime gang allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel – are believed to be responsible for the massacre in the small town, part of a region where violence is common and narcos exert significant influence over local politics.
San Miguel Totolapan Mayor Conrado Mendoza Almeda, his father Juan Mendoza Acosta – a former mayor of the same municipality, and other local officials, including police officers, were among those murdered in the attack. The Democratic Revolution Party mayor’s grandfather and brother-in-law – a United States citizen identified as Gustavo Salazar – were also killed.
Mayor Conrado Mendoza Almeda — as well as his father, Juan Mendoza Acosta, a former mayor of the municipality — were among the 20 fatalities. Facebook
Some reports said that Mendoza Acosta – who allegedly colluded with Los Tequileros while mayor – was killed at his home in San Miguel Totolapan rather than at the local government headquarters. Mendoza Almeda was presiding over a meeting when the assailants stormed the town hall and opened fire.
The army, police and the National Guard attended the scene of the crime but no arrests were reported. Guerrero Attorney General Sandra Luz Valdovinos said in a television interview that their arrival was delayed by blockades allegedly set up by the crime group that committed the attack. Her office said that 10 victims had been identified and released a list of their names.
Mejía, a deputy security minister, told President López Obrador’s regular news conference that the massacre occurred “in the context of a criminal dispute” between Los Tequileros and La Familia Michoacana drug cartel.
“A group known as Los Tequileros ruled in that region during a period of time; it was a group mainly dedicated to the trafficking of opium poppies,” he said.
San Miguel Totolapan is in northwest Guerrero, about 65 kilometers north of Iguala. Adapated map/Government of Mexico
Mendoza Alameda is the 18th mayor to be murdered since López Obrador took office in December 2018, according to Etellekt Consultores, which tracks political violence.
In a separate incident, Morelos state Deputy Gabriela Marín was also shot and killed on Wednesday. The deputy, who was gunned down in state capital Cuernavaca, is the eighth state lawmaker to be killed since the president was sworn in almost four years ago.
A cenizo agave grows wild outside the city of Durango. Apaluz
Say the word “mezcal,” and, by far, most people think of Oaxaca. But the obscure state of Durango might just be the Mexican liquor’s next big producer.
Agave spirits can legally be called “mezcal” if they are produced in certain areas of Guerrero, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Durango, Puebla and San Luis Potosí, as well as Oaxaca. The variety of agave species and distillation processes make for mezcal with a wide range of tastes.
Oaxaca dominates primarily because of its long-established tourism industry, which provides name recognition and infrastructure for visiting business and leisure travelers. Durango lacks in both areas, but don’t count on this state’s spirits to stay hidden much longer.
Until very recently, all production and consumption of mezcal in this state was very much a family affair. With agave all around, making mezcal became a common farm chore, with some going a bit beyond to make batches for very local sales.
Juan Matador’s cantina in downtown Durango city is probably the best place to try out Durango mezcal. Juan Matador/Facebook
Primarily consumed at home, children grew up around it not only as libations but also infused with herbs and fruits for medicinal purposes. This tradition meant that vinatas (distilleries)locally commercializing mezcal were not organized in any way. Any mezcal sold in places like Durango city was bought from vinatas by intermediaries.
The idea of commercial mezcal from Durango was pretty much inconceivable until the beginning of this century. The first brands, like Cava Rojas and Lágrimas de Dolores, are only about 15 years old. Even many durangueses today still are not particularly interested in buying a Durango brand; they buy from rural producers they already know.
But the boom in mezcal has had an effect: a number of producers, the government, and others are interested in formalizing at least part of the state’s production for economic reasons. However, there are hurdles related to taxes, quality control and sustainability, which few individual vinatas can take on themselves.
In 2018, a number of the larger vinatas and others formed the Durango Mezcal Cluster (Clúster Mezcales de Durango). Their primary focus is to promote the formalization of mezcal-making in Durango by promoting to new markets those which are already branded and help smaller producers jump the legal and bureaucratic obstacles. Today, they represent the 20 largest producers in the state, as well as another 30 who are in transition.
Durango’s producers are still making mezcal using traditional methods — by cooking agave hearts in an outdoor oven.
Director Olivia Fernández admits the costs of formalization are considerable, but the prices that Durango mezcal can command in the new markets make the effort worthwhile. They have had considerable success. Today, Durango produces 93,000 liters in full compliance with Mexico’s regulations, compared to the 90,000 still produced and sold/consumed informally.
Like with tequila, the most exciting and lucrative markets are foreign. Brands such as 618, Cuero Viejo, Ajal, Izo, and others are now shipped mostly to the United States, but they’re also sent to Japan, Taiwan and Europe.
The distinguishing factor for most Durango mezcal is the use of Agave duranguensis, colloquially known as the Durango agave or the cenizo (ash) agave due to the plant’s color. Its abundance in southern Durango is why most of the state’s mezcal producers are concentrated in municipalities such as Durango, Nombre de Dios, Súchil and El Mezquital.
However, other mezcals are made with other agaves such as Agave angustifolia (maguey de castilla, cacaleño, tepemete), A. asperrima (lamparillo) and A. maximiliana (masparillo). They mostly come from other areas of the state such as the Mapimí/La Laguna region, in the northeastern part of the state, and the Durango-Sinaloa border. Only a few of these are branded, like Ultramundo, made from the lamparillo agave.
Lagrimas de Dolores’s mezcal is grown on a Durango hacienda and distilled on the premises. They have a small store in Durango city where you can sample and buy. Mezcalistas
If Durango mezcal branding is young, mezcal tourism is in its infancy. Nombre de Dios is a Pueblo Mágico in large part due to its association with mezcal. Crowds do come here on weekends to drink and buy the liquor, but the 25 or so producers are in the outlying areas. There are no tours, nor are producers set up to receive casual visitors — yet.
To get your first taste of mezcal in Durango proper, start in the capital, Durango city.
Lágrima de Dolores has a small store on 20 de Novembre street, where you can taste and buy. Nearby is probably the best cantina for the enjoyment of Durango mezcal — Juan Matador. The extremely knowledgeable (and English-speaking!) Ignacio Rodarte, who runs it, refuses to recommend a mezcal without knowing a patron’s particular tastes. The cantina’s ambiance celebrates Durango’s traditional cultures, as well as the former bullfighter who lived in the building.
However, if you are looking for a more modern and youthful vibe, La No 19 on the Constitución tourist corridor also promotes the drinking of mezcal in old and new ways.
Two important Durango mezcal brands — Ajal and Bosscal. Ajal is exclusively exported to Asia.
For those of you unable to make the trip to Durango, finding Durango mezcal gets ever easier. Specialty stores like Mezcalía in Mexico City carry various brands. Several vinatas such as Apaluz, Lágrima de Dolores, Cuero Viejo, Bosscalhave full websites with online stores. More have a presence on Facebook and other social media.
One warning however: Durango mezcal is, almost without exception, far stronger than any tequila and even stronger than its cousins from Oaxaca. Duranguenses tell me quite truthfully that this mezcal is “to be respected,” drunk slowly in sips akin to “kissing” it.
Perhaps one reason to try it now is that it is still made the way it was 100 years ago, with wild agave and traditional techniques. But that is sure not to last. Already the Clúster and others are recognizing the sustainability issue, and other issues, that has plagued tequila and Oaxacan mezcal and are taking preventative measures, such as replanting programs.
But for now, you can easily find Durango mezcal exactly like what Pancho Villa and other revolutionaries drank more than a hundred years ago. Get it while it lasts.
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.
The presidential airplane that AMLO has been trying to sell. The National Defense Ministry says they ruled out using it for commercial flights.
President López Obrador confirmed Tuesday that the federal government is considering the creation of a state-owned commercial airline to be operated by the army.
He told reporters at his regular news conference that it’s “very probable” that the proposed airline will begin operations next year.
“The economic viability analysis is being done. … There are a lot of places that can’t be reached by plane because they’re not served by the current airlines,” López Obrador said. “… There are cities where there were flights before but now there are none,” he added.
The president’s remarks came after the newspaper El Universal reported that the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) was working on the creation of a commercial airline that would operate with a fleet of 10 leased planes. The report was based on information El Universal obtained from the hacking group Guacamaya, which recently infiltrated Sedena’s servers and stole millions of emails.
President López Obrador at the morning press conference on Wednesday
The newspaper also said that Sedena is considering the creation of a state-owned tourism company which would operate three hotels along the Maya Train railroad route as well as two museums and two ecological parks.
The airline and the tourism firm would be managed by the Olmeca-Maya-Mexica Airport, Railroad and Auxiliary Services Group, a public company created by Sedena to operate the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, the Maya Train railroad, the Chetumal and Palenque airports and the as yet unbuilt Tulum airport.
Leaked information showed that the cost of operating the airline would be between 1 billion and 1.8 billion pesos (about US $50-90 million) depending on the type of aircraft that are leased. An impediment to the plan is that a company cannot legally operate an airline and airport at the same time, but information obtained by El Universal suggested that the relevant law could be changed without the need for congressional approval – by presidential decree, in other words.
Sedena reportedly considered using the presidential plane for some commercial flights to be operated by the proposed airline, but ultimately determined that doing so wasn’t commercially viable. The government has been unable to sell the luxuriously-outfitted Boeing 787 Dreamliner that López Obrador refuses to use in keeping with his predilection for austerity.
The president said Tuesday that an earlier study concluded that the army-run airline could be profitable. He stressed that more airlines are needed in Mexico because erstwhile flagship carrier Mexicana – which stopped flying over a decade ago – and Interjet have left the market and Aeromar has reduced its flights.
López Obrador also said that the government would facilitate the entry of any other new airlines that wanted to operate in Mexico as long as they are economically solvent and “responsible.”
He said he would like the new state-owned airline to be called Mexicana, provided there are no legal impediments. Naming the airline Mexicana would be to “return a symbol, an emblem, to the nation,” López Obrador said.
“… We have to see if [the name] is public property, we have to do an investigation, but that would be the best name,” he said.
The creation of an army-operated commercial airline would further increase the responsibilities of the military, upon which the president has relied heavily during his almost four years in office.
The results of a poll posted to Twitter by Pascal Beltrán del Río, director of the Excélsior newspaper, suggested that demand might not be all that high. Over 91% of more than 25,000 respondents said they wouldn’t fly on an army-run commercial carrier.
