Former governor of Tamaulipas Tomás Yarrington was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Department of Justice reported on Wednesday.
(Photo: MOISÉS PABLO /ARCHIVO/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Former Tamaulipas governor Tomás Yarrington has been sentenced to nine years in jail in the United States two years after pleading guilty to charges of corruption.
Yarrington, an Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) governor of the northern border state between 1999 and 2004, was imprisoned for “accepting over [US] $3.5 million in illegal bribe money and using it to fraudulently purchase property in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Yarrington, center, seen here in 2005 was convicted of taking bribes in Mexico while he was a PRI governor of Tamaulipas. The court said he laundering the bribes into properties he bought through proxies in the U.S. (Eunice Adorno/Cuartoscuro)
The ex-governor, also the former mayor of Matamoros, was extradited to the United States from Italy in 2018. Yarrington pleaded guilty on March 25, 2021, the statement noted.
“Yarrington accepted bribes from individuals and private companies in Mexico to do business with the state of Tamaulipas while he served as governor,” the DOJ stated.
“Yarrington used the bribery money he received while governor to purchase properties in the United States. He had prestanombres — nominee buyers — purchase property in the United States to hide Yarrington’s ownership of the properties and the illegal bribery money used to purchase them,” it added.
“Yarrington laundered his illegally obtained bribe money in the United States by purchasing beachfront condominiums, large estates, commercial developments, airplanes and luxury vehicles.”
One of the properties Yarrington bought to launder bribe money was in this luxury condominium building in Padre Island, Texas.
The DOJ said that the ex-governor forfeited a condominium in Port Isabel, Texas, as part of his sentence. It also said that Yarrington is expected to be deported once he is released from jail.
According to the DOJ statement, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas noted when handing down the sentence that “as an elected official, Yarrington violated his oath of office, weakening the country of Mexico and promoting criminal activity.”
Hamdani, who became U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas last December, said that the former governor used his position to “wrongfully fill [his] pockets and violate the laws of the United States.”
“Today’s prison sentence … concludes a multi-year, multi-agency international investigation spanning two continents concluding in bringing a corrupt politician to justice,” he said.
After arrested in Italy in 2018, Yarrington was eventually extradited to the U.S., where he was put on trial in Texas in U.S. District Court. (Cuartoscuro)
Rodrick J. Benton, a Houston-based official with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), said that “IRS-Criminal Investigation special agents are experts in following the money in a financial crime, and we found plenty of money to follow that helped to unravel Yarrington’s criminal enterprise.”
FBI official Oliver E. Rich said that the sentencing of the former governor “serves as a powerful reminder to any corrupt official that these activities will not be tolerated.”
Yarrington, who sought unsuccessfully to become the PRI’s presidential candidate for the 2006 election, is among a large group of Mexican governors who have been convicted or formally accused of corruption.
Others include Javier Duarte of Veracruz, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2018, Roberto Borge of Quintana Roo, and César Duarte of Chihuahua. The latter two remain in jail but have not yet faced trial.
Ker Clinic offers holistic, state-of-the-art mental health care in Mexico. (Stock image)
Mental health stigmas persist in Mexico, just as they do in many parts of the world, leaving countless individuals and families without the care they need. From societal to economic pressures to genetic causes and the pressure to conform to the ideal of the perfect family, mental health issues can strike anyone at any time. Stigma arises from a lack of understanding of mental illness due to misinformation or ignorance. However, if there’s one silver lining of COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the opportunity and newfound willingness to talk openly about mental health issues.
The Ker Clinic is at the forefront of breaking this stigma by adopting a novel, holistic state-of-the-art and technology-driven approach to treating mental health. In fact, Mexico is pioneering treatment of mental health by increasing access to mental health care treatments for people all over the globe, thanks to innovation, affordability, and a culture that treats patients like family.
Ker Clinic offers alternative therapies including EMBP, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and ketamine infusion treatment. (Stock image)
Meet Magala Martin, founder of the Ker Clinic, and her husband and CEO Pedro Martin. Their journey to revolutionize mental health care in Mexico began with a personal experience of navigating their son’s autism diagnosis. It was a long and difficult road; the couple even had to mortgage their house three times. But after witnessing the incredible results of alternative treatments on their son’s health in the U.S., they were determined to bring this life-changing technology back to their home country, making it accessible to all at a fraction of the cost.
“By promoting mental wellness and reducing stigma, our mission is to provide innovative and effective treatments for all our patients’ mental health and overall well-being. We’re not simply adding a band-aid to each individual symptom expecting a quick fix!” Pedro said.
Here, in the first of many insightful pieces, they share their unique perspective on breaking the stigma around mental health, the importance of non-invasive, safe alternative treatments in Mexico, and how the Ker Clinic is leading the charge in this movement.
Ker Clinic’s mission is centered around providing personalized and alternative mental health treatments that address the root causes of issues, rather than relying solely on medication. Their multidisciplinary approach includes FDA-approved alternative therapies and treatments such as EMBP, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS or Neuro-ker), and Ketamine Infusion Treatment (Keta-ker), similar to what is offered in the U.S. But what sets them apart is their comprehensive assessment of each individual’s metabolic, physiological and psychological profile, which enables them to provide end-to-end personalized treatment. The clinic’s patient pool includes those suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), depression, anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), insomnia and chronic pain disorders like fibromyalgia.
According to Magala and Pedro, the first crucial step to eliminate the stigma around mental health issues is by ripping away labels and going to the root of the problem. “Labeling someone with a psychiatric diagnosis is like giving them a life sentence without a trial. It’s unfair to reduce a person’s identity and experiences to a single label, and it can have long-lasting negative effects on their mental health and quality of life,” Magala said.
She stresses the importance of not stigmatizing anybody by labeling them with any mental health condition. “Everyone that walks through our doors is treated equally, whether they’re a Special Olympics athlete looking to improve their focus or a 21-year-old university student with autism planning their next adventure. Each individual who walks through our doors is valued and appreciated for who they are.”
Magala shares an inspiring story of how a young patient narrowly avoided a misdiagnosis that could have had serious consequences. “Once during a consultation, a desperate little girl’s mother came to the clinic almost convinced that her 8-year-old daughter was suffering from schizophrenia. After conducting a thorough review, we found that the little girl was simply not sleeping enough. Her lack of sleep caused her to develop tantrums, become easily agitated, and reject any sort of coping mechanism. The doctors decided to begin treatment, and after 10 sessions, the little girl showed significant improvements. After 20 sessions, the little girl was even able to celebrate her birthday happily.”
So, why choose alternative mental health treatments in Mexico? Three simple reasons: cost, care and quality. The warmth and hospitality of Mexican doctors and nurses are unparalleled, creating a welcoming environment for all patients and treating them like extended family. With treatments that are a third to half the cost of other countries, Mexico offers accessible care without compromising on quality. And speaking of quality, the Ker Clinic ensures that patients receive the highest standard of care, backed by U.S.-based quality metrics. Come for the community, stay for the affordable, top-tier care — Mexico’s Ker Clinic is the ideal destination for those seeking alternative mental health treatments.
Next week, we’ll dive deeper into Pedro and Magala’s inspiring journey, from their experience as desperate parents to the founding of Ker Clinic and becoming pioneers in their field. Join us as we explore how they’re helping people improve their well-being not only in Mexico but also around the globe.
Pickleball, invented in 1965, has become the fastest growing sport worldwide and just five member countries away from being approved as an Olympic sport. It's popular in expat enclaves throughout Mexico. (Courtesy of Emmanuel Sánchez)
Expats in Mexico have joined in the latest sports craze sweeping the world: pickleball.
According to the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP), the world governing body of the sport, it has been the fastest-growing sport globally, with growth of 360% since 2019.
Professional pickleball champion Ben Johns is an example of how the sport is a career for some players. (Ben Johns/Twitter)
Founded by three friends — Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum — in Washington state in 1965, its name came from crew races and the thrown-together leftover nonstarters found in the “pickle boat.”
But what exactly is pickleball, and how is it played? The Pickleball USA association defines it as a mix of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It’s played on a badminton-sized or slightly modified basketball or racquetball court, using a paddle and plastic ball with holes. It can be played as singles or doubles and is enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels.
Early countries in the IFP included the U.S., Canada, Spain and India, which came on board in 2012. Since then, it has expanded its footprint to over 70 countries. The IFP’s goal is to reach 75 member countries, the requirement for pickleball to be recognized as an Olympic sport.
Although pickleball is played in Mexico by Mexicans, it has become an especially visible phenomenon here among expats. Ask about playing pickleball on online forums in expat enclaves and you’ll be sure to find someone who can guide you to people playing it.
One of pickleball’s inventors in 1965 was Congressman Joel Pritchard, who was also the lieutenant governor of Washington state from 1989–1997. (Wikimedia Commons)
Why is it so popular with this demographic?
Jeffery Blake, an ambassador for the IFP, moved to Playa del Carmen from Las Vegas a few years ago and was introduced to the game by friends. What started as a small group of five players has now evolved to over 890 members playing in the state-of-the-art Poliforum Sports Complex, with five courts and seven nets operating seven days a week.
“From what I’ve seen, pickleball is popular because it is an exercise component for people 50-plus who are looking for an activity other than just lying on the beach all day during their vacation,” he says.
“It’s a sport that’s easier to play than other racquet sports. Plus, the community of players brings people together because it is very much a social sport. People are talking and laughing between games and socializing and making friends. You can be as competitive as you like or just come out and hit a few balls around,” he added.
Enthusiasts gather after a tournament for a group photo at the Tres Palapas Baja Pickleball Resort in Los Barriles, Baja California Sur.
Thomas Dunker, who moved to Mexico from California three years ago after being displaced by wildfires, picked up his first pickleball paddle while traveling through the Baja Peninsula. After that, Dunker played daily in Puerto Vallarta before settling in Mazatlán.
“In all three cities, I have joined clubs and groups and made many friends,” he said.
In addition, Dunker has noticed that the local Mexicans that are playing tend to be younger than people north of the border, which he appreciates since it allows him another opportunity to integrate better into his adopted country.
Paul and Sally Bland at Tres Palapas Baja Pickleball Resort in Los Barriles, Baja California Sur — known as the birthplace of pickleball in Mexico — have a long-established formula for success, and a big part of that is fostering community among players.
“It’s more than just building a few courts and calling yourself a facility,” says Sally. “Our goal has always been to build a community that offers tourism and economic growth for the Mexican people.”
The resort boasts 10 fully automated boutique courts that run seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In addition, they hostskills and drills exercises, as well as tournaments that offer international attendees big prize money.
“Here, there is a unique and rare opportunity for Mexico for tourism that does not depend on being on a beach,” she said.
Rafael Filippini — CEO and founder of GearBox, which makes the paddles, nets and balls used in the game — agrees that pickleball started in Mexico as an expats’ game, with people from the U.S and Canada bringing it to Mexican cities where they vacationed. Mexicans have embraced the sport too, he said, as have younger generations.
“Baby boomers are introducing the game to their children and grandchildren. And that is opening opportunities for young athletes to advance in other ways through sports scholarships,” Filippini said.
Pickleball even becomes a career for some expats, like Bill Brick of Ajijic, a U.S. citizen who has taught guests at four major resorts in Antigua, the U.S., Panama and Mexico.
“People can make a good living at pickleball,” Brick says, citing the career of 25-year-old athlete Ben Johns in the U.S., frequently cited as the most impressive pickleball player the sport has ever known.
But the best part of pickleball, Brick says, “is that everyone can play and everyone can have a good time.”
Bill Brick representing the sport as a pickleball ambassador in February in Antigua for the International Federation of Pickleball. His hat pays homage to his home in Ajijic. (Bill Brick/Facebook)
In addition to its social aspects, another reason for the popularity of pickleball among Mexico expats is how accessible it is as a sport. Mike Brown, 53, formerly from the U.S., who now lives in Cabo San Lucas with his wife Rhonda, played his first pickleball game in Fort Lauderdale over five years ago. As a 20-year beach volleyball veteran, he says pickleball is physically less demanding.
Karen Bradley, a player from Chapala, Jalisco, was first introduced to the game while visiting friends in Arizona. After seven years of pickleball, she is officially rated as an advanced player.
Bradley says that the allure of pickleball is how much fun it is and how social a game it is, unlike, she says, the tennis culture she was a part of for nearly 50 years previously. But she also mentioned its accessibility to people of all fitness levels, unlike tennis.
“Pickleball is easier on the body, and people who are not fit can manage it,” she said.
“This game is very inclusive,” says Matt PaneGlasser, director of International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association certification in Mexico, as well as the owner of Cabo Pickleball Pros. “You can put a 10-year-old, a middle-aged player and a senior citizen all on the court together, and everyone will have a good time.”
After talking to so many people about it for this story, I decided to experience pickleball firsthand.
I contacted Emmanuel Sánchez of Pickleball México Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. He’s the manager of two of four pickleball courts facilities in the area.
Emmanuel Sánchez with his family, all pickleball players, after a tournament. (Courtesy)
“Pickleball came to Mexico almost 20 years ago,” said Sánchez, a former Mexican singles champion who started playing 11 years ago. “Before that, it was mostly expats. So I was the first Mexican player in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and in all of Mexico.”
In my lessons, I first needed to learn where and where not to stand and then how to count the scores — confusing at first. I then learned how to hold my racquet and serve, which also was more challenging than it should have been for me, a former racquetball player. But after about 20 tries, I could get the ball across fairly consistently.
Sánchez was an encouraging coach, and after all that, it seemed a fairly easy game, although, as Sánchez said, it’s harder to master. Proof of that is how, even with Sánchez as my partner, his daughter on the other side of the net beat us 11-6. Entirely my doing!
Despite the defeat, I must say I can easily see why the game is so addicting. It’s good exercise but not excessively taxing. And while waiting for my lesson to start, I noticed the social aspect that nearly everyone had told me about: lots of smiles and camaraderie. Affordability of the sport, of course, depends on where you play it, but there are some places in Mexico where you can play for 80 pesos for a few hours.
Would I play again? Absolutely!
The writer divides her time between Canada and Zihuatanejo.
In contrast to other Mexico City music festivals, Vive Latino places special focus on Latin American talent. (Twitter/Vive Latino)
The 23rd Vive Latino music festival is set to open in Mexico City this weekend. The festival’s lineup includes international stars like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul Oakenfold, and Alt-J as well as local acts like Carin León and Pesado.
Foro Sol, which also forms the central stadium section of the Hermanos Rodríguez Formula 1 circuit, will be converted into the venue for the festival, which has six stages and will host a range of other events and activities. The festival will take place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th, with thousands expected to join the crowds in the borough of Iztacalco.
In addition to the music on offer, Vive Latino offers a range of other activities and workshops. (@vivelatino/Twitter)
The festival, which first opened in 1998, also boasts events such as traditional lucha libre, standup comedy, a chillout zone, and a “musical village” which will host talks and workshops with producers and other industry professionals.
Unlike many of the other festivals that bring international acts to Mexico City, Vive Latino focuses on Hispanic culture and arts and provides a platform for up-and-coming musicians and creators to introduce their work to a large audience. It has now grown to become one of the largest festivals on the continent.
A key theme of this year’s edition is sustainability and support, with attendees encouraged to donate to a food bank the festival operates for local residents. Vive Latino will also host stalls promoting local businesses as part of its commitment to displaying the best of Mexican and Latin American culture.
General Motors' Silao manufacturing plant, where workers have secured a 10% pay increase, one of the biggest recent raises in Mexico's auto manufacturing sector. (General Motors)
General Motors has agreed to a 10% pay raise for workers at its pickup truck manufacturing facility in Silao, Guanajuato, following negotiations with Mexico’s National Independent Union of Automotive Industry Workers (Sinttia).
The above-inflation salary hike — one of the biggest recent auto worker raises in Mexico auto manufacturing — will go into effect on March 25.
The Silao facility manufactures pickup trucks for the Mexican market. (General Motors)
“The agreement represents a historic achievement, as it overcomes the two-digit barrier that has not been reached in the automotive industry in many years,” Sinttia saidin a statement.
The union added that General Motors had agreed to give additional salary-leveling rewards to some workers with more than 20 years at the company, including a weekly bonus of 5.6% and 15 retirement packages per year.
“[The deal] allows recovery of purchasing power for the workers of GM-Silao as it is above inflation, and gives recognition to the longest-serving workers in the factory,” Sinttia said.
When added to the 8.5% raise and bonuses agreed at the plant last year, the latest deal provides a 26.3% total raise over the last 10 months, the union said. Headline inflation in Mexico currently stands at 7.62%.
Workers at the Silao plant elected Sinttia in February 2022, after ousting their former representatives from the Miguel Trujillo López union, affiliated with the Mexican Workers Confederation (CTM).
At the time, U.S. officials hailed Sinttia’s win as a victory for workers in both Mexico and the U.S. — opening the way for higher pay for Mexican workers and countering a tendency for companies to undercut U.S. wages by moving jobs offshore.
The vote was the first time an independent union had triumphed at the factory, thanks in part to new labor protections afforded under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Historically, Mexico’s labor movement has been dominated by national unions that were criticized for colluding with corporations to suppress wages.
Pay increases are happening across the auto manufacturing sector in Mexico. Over the last six months, independent unions have negotiated pay raises of 9.4% at Audi, 9% at Volkswagen and 9% at Nissan.
Christina Whiteley and her family in Canada. (Courtesy)
I’m writing this in my room at the chalet we’ve rented with family for the week on Mount Washington, Vancouver Island. I can hear all the cousins running around playing, singing songs and sneaking the occasional cookie from the counter. My heart is full every time we get to spend time with family like this.
The hardest thing about living in Mexico is being away from our family. We had been blessed to have our family living close to us in British Columbia over the past few years, which made it even harder when we left.
Visiting family in Canada. (Courtesy)
We flew back to Canada this week for our daughter Izzy’s 7th birthday because she was missing her cousins, and even though our new Christmas traditions on the beach – drinking mimosas, watching the whales breach – seem like a dream, whenever Izzy sees snow, she misses it. When we chose Cabo, it was partly because it’s easily accessible – only a 4 and a half hour direct flight away, or if need be, a long road trip home for a couple of months in the summer.
At first, our family was really upset and worried for us, but over the last year they have seen us thriving in our new life and have truly come to support us. When we go back now to visit, we just pick up where we left off and when they come to visit us, we get to enjoy vacation time with them, which is so special.
Canada has changed a lot over the last few years. People often wonder about their safety in Mexico, but I have to say that I don’t feel entirely safe in Canada anymore either. Homelessness and drug addiction have had an impact on safety in many Canadian cities. When we flew back to Vancouver Island last summer, there was a bank robbery in Victoria the day after we landed there and six police officers were shot.
We took our daughter to Vancouver to see family, and I had to remove her from the restaurant twice because I was uncomfortable with the unpredictable behavior of a couple of people in the area who clearly suffered from mental health issues. I have so much compassion for them, and I know they aren’t getting the support they need, but I am not willing to put my family at risk.
Family from Canada visiting in Cabo. (Courtesy)
When my in-laws (who are in their 70s) came to visit us in Cabo they said, “Wow! We feel safer here than we do in downtown Victoria. We won’t even go down there anymore because random people are being stabbed.” It’s devastating to see what’s happened to the city I fell in love with, the one I lived in as a young adult.
Whenever I’m back in Canada and see how the cost of living keeps going up, I wonder how most people are able to keep going. I remember at one point, while I was running a business, supporting a team of over 2000 people online, and failing at vegetable gardening, I asked my mom how my grandmother had ever managed.
She reminded me that it didn’t used to be this way. We were meant to raise our kids together in a family space with a village around to support us. My dream has always been for our daughter to grow up in an outdoor environment, to be able to test her confidence and expand her imagination, riding bikes with friends and playing games running through the forest like we did. But we can’t raise our kids the way we were raised, because we are raising them in a different world.
We have seen a huge change in Izzy since we moved to Cabo. She is happy, outgoing, engaging, and carefree – like most kids her age should be. She spends more time with us, she is excited to meet new people and chat with them and we love our weekend adventures exploring the Baja and beach days.
Is it hard for our family to live far away while our daughter is so young? Absolutely, but we make up for it. We go the extra mile. We take the extra trip to connect with family. We make extra time and effort to be present and create a special experience for everyone.
These are the times we will look back and remember as we age. I don’t ever want to rush through them and miss out on the little things, because sooner rather than later, they become the big things.
Christina Whiteley, founder of Life Transformed, is a bestselling 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.
Mexico has been facing increasingly severe drought conditions for a number of years. (Shutterstock)
Scarcity, overexploitation, contamination and lack of water access will cause social and economic conflicts if Mexico’s water stress is not addressed in a timely manner, members of the nonprofit Water Advisory Council (CCA) warned on Tuesday.
Mexico is experiencing increasingly serious water shortages after years of poor rainfall, the experts said.
The Cutzamala dam system that supplies Mexico City has dropped to below 50% capacity. (Crisanta Espinosa Aguilar/Cuartoscuro)
Mexico City’s government announced last week that it would reduce water pressure as water reserves in the major Cutzamala reservoir fell below 50%, the lowest level recorded in its history. The Valley of Mexico, which contains around 15% of Mexico’s total population, has seen drought conditions for the last four years.
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said she would create a task force consisting of Mexico City, México state and National Water Commission officials to find ways to improve water efficiency and reduce waste.
Annual rainfall levels in Mexico have fallen from 10,000 cubic meters in 1960 to only 4,000 since 2012. It is now ranked 24th for water stress by the World Resources Institute. Water stress occurs when the demand for water is greater than the available supply
“To guarantee future demand, the Mexican [government] needs to update the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern water management, as well as modernize the country’s hydraulic infrastructure,” stated the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) think tank in a report last month.
Many Mexicans do not have access to running water and must wait for weekly tanker deliveries instead. (Photo: Gabriela Pérez Montiel/Cuartoscuro)
“It is necessary to take into consideration the different technical characteristics — particularly geophysical ones — and challenges that the country currently presents in terms of water, such as the population increase, the growth of the urban sprawl, the evolution of droughts, as well as the variation in the rainfall.”
IMCO also recommended that the government take steps to improve water infrastructure — a topic that has been at the forefront of the recent discussions around Tesla’s investment in Nuevo León. The report also criticized the failure of the government to accurately measure water usage, relying instead on estimations instead of verifiable data.
Mexico is a country that is particularly vulnerable to droughts, with 52% of its territory located in an arid or semi-arid climate. Although droughts are recurring phenomena, they have increased in frequency, intensity and duration over the last decade. Fourteen of Mexico’s 32 states are located in arid or semi-arid areas.
Seventy-one percent of the 8,491 droughts experienced in 2021 were classified as “severe” with another 26% classed as “extreme”. Three percent were “exceptional,” which led to a total scarcity of water in reservoirs, streams and wells.
CCA president Raúl Rodríguez asserted that water is a matter of national security, requiring urgent action in the face of increasing issues in trying to supply populations, as well as uses in the field, industry, and conservation.
Water use in Mexico is dominated by the agricultural sector, which in 2020 was responsible for 76% of all water consumption in the country. A further 9% is used by industry, which is licensed to extract water directly from rivers and aquifers. These figures do not reflect the amount of water that is clandestinely extracted or used in illegal industrial operations.
According to data from the national statistics agency INEGI, 21.3 million Mexicans have no access to running water.
The turquoise blue pigment on Maya artifacts has withstood erosion for over a millennium. (Photos by Mark Viales)
An indigenous sculptor from a small village in Yucatán has recreated the ancient Maya process of extracting blue paint from a native plant via a chemical reaction.
Luis May Ku, 48, saw years of research finally pay off in January, when scientists in Italy and Mexico confirmed that his formula was genuine, making it officially the first time that the world has seen the traditional Maya Blue pigment made in almost two centuries.
Luis May Ku poses with his recreation of an ancient Maya dye known today as Maya Blue.
Perhaps even more impressive is that this happened within the confines of a self-made laboratory.
The ancestral pigment is known for its unique resistance to weathering, allowing it to appear relatively untouched after more than 1,000 years. It was made and used by Mesoamerican cultures during a period extending from about the eighth century until just after the mid-19th century.
Fantastic pre-Columbian murals and pottery fragments discovered around important archaeological sites show evidence the color was considered exclusive to the gods or to those chosen for ritual sacrifice.
Studies show that the Maya often applied the revered pigment when depicting Cháak (the rain god). Pre-Columbian archaeological sites like Chichén Itzá and Bonampak in Chiapas feature murals with it. Maya Blue was even exported to Cuba by the Spanish in the 1860s.
This is where the dye’s trail ran cold, however. Knowledge of the technique for making the dye disappeared during the colonial period. The pigment would not even be remembered again until the 20th century, when mineralogist Herbert E. Merwin reported in 1931 that he’d seen a vibrant, mysterious color — a bright blue with undercurrents of green — in murals at Chichén Itzá.
Over nearly 100 years, archaeologists and scientists, curious about the forgotten pigment, did numerous chemical studies on samples from pre-Hispanic items and eventually determined that Maya Blue was made from Indigo suffruticosa, palygorskite and calcium carbonate, but how it was made remained a mystery.
Then in January, from his home in Dzán, Yucatán, a village of 6,000 people, May received the call from Dr. David Buti at the Institute of Science and Cultural Heritage in Florentino, Italy and Dr. Rodolfo Palomino Merino at the Autonomous University of Puebla, and May’s dream came true.
Both academic institutions had confirmed his samples containing palygorskite, calcium carbonate and indigo had caused an “intercalation between the indigo molecules” — a type of chemical reaction — that resulted in an authentic Maya Blue.
Members of the Dzán community in Yucatan assist in mixing the formula for Maya Blue.
“I was ecstatic because it was the return of a pigment that had not been seen in the world for almost 200 years in its traditional form,” May said. “Maya Blue was used by my ancestors exclusively in ceremonial practices, and even then, it was in limited supply. It was the color of the gods, and only the elite were permitted to use it.”
He traveled from village to village where he lives, looking for the right variety of indigo, called Ch’oj in the Mayan language and añil in Spanish. In the end, what he sought turned out to be right under his nose.
In the back garden of the Cobá, Quintana Roo’s municipal cultural center, where he works as a primary schoolteacher, a curious shrub caught his eye.
“The kids had fashioned it into one of the goalposts for soccer games,” he said. “I asked my dear friend, the caretaker, Don Justino, to please protect it for me as it could be an important part of our cultural heritage.”
Don Justino said he would keep his promise because he always used its leaves to treat severe stomach pain, a traditional medicine passed down from his grandparents. Although he was unaware of its use as a dye, he still surrounded it with fencing to keep it safe for both of them.
“All knowledge of Ch’oj had passed down for generations as a medicinal plant, but its use in Yucatán as a pigment was, seemingly, lost forever,” Luis May said.
“The only memories villagers had of a blue plant involved their grandmothers using it to whiten clothes. Before washing traditional white garb, a particular plant was left in a tub of water overnight and then stirred. The dirty clothes would replace the plants and swirl in the water for a short time,” he explained.
“The key point here was if the clothes were left too long in the mix, they would eventually turn blue. Left for the appropriate time, however, it would merely whiten them.”
This was the clue May needed, and in November 2019, around seven helpers from Cobá mixed his cocktail in a large concrete vat filled with water.
At first, only white foam appeared on the surface of the water. But after an hour, it began to turn blue, which was met with collective cheers. Luis realized, however, that the tone was too pale and that more work was needed to perfect the pigment into an authentic Maya Blue.
“In Cobá, we had extracted the blue tint from the plant, yet the Maya Blue I mixed in my laboratory at home in Dzán was the missing piece,” he said. “I was on my own when it happened. It changed from a pale blue into a vibrant turquoise.”
When he saw the color’s intensity, he said, he knew he had it.
Sculptor Luis May went from village to village searching for the indigo variety used in the ancient recipe.
“I jumped with joy. I repeated the process, and it provided the same tone,” May said. “I experimented with different natural additives. Sometimes I froze them or let them rot before using them. Let’s say I used many techniques that failed before I finally found it.”
May would not reveal the crucial details of how he rediscovered the pigment, preferring to keep it as a family secret. He admitted dismay at a lack of funding to pursue his research from the Mexican government; his sole financial backer has been the British Museum in London.
He claimed he would have shared the recipe with his people had government officials not “used him” for propaganda instead of genuinely supporting his project.
“Photos were taken of me with some scientists, and I was promised my sample would be analyzed in the laboratories at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), something that never happened. The financial aid they told me I deserved, that would spur on my research, also never arrived.”
While the knowledge of how to make Maya Blue may have been lost for centuries, May notes that awareness of the Ch’oj plant never really left the Maya people on the Yucatan Peninsula.
“I have a theory that could perhaps link the modern application of Ch’oj with its use in pre-Hispanic times,” Luis said. “My wife and I are teachers at a bilingual primary school (Maya and Spanish). Sometimes we set exercises regarding Mayan botany, and one day, my wife found an old book that mentioned Ch’oj as a plant used for the treatment of epilepsy.
“According to this old book, once the plant was removed from the water, the afflicted would have their clothes washed in the mixture for a short period, and then put them on, wet and all. The belief was it could clean the body. The concept of purification from the simple touch of the blue color had transcended through time into this book containing treatment for epilepsy.”
“These are memories from an ancient past that have survived until today,” he said.
Despite the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S. sparking financial panic around the world and raising concerns about possible effects on Mexico, analysts reported that banks here remained solid. (Wotancito / Wikimedia Commons).
As financial turmoil shook the United States, Mexican banks had a bad day on the stock market on Monday but are in good health overall, according to analysts and the head of an industry group.
The value of banks listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) dropped Monday in the wake of the recent failures of the California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the New York-based Signature Bank.
Santander México shares suffered the biggest slump, declining 5.38%, while Gentera stocks fell 4.66%. Among the other bank shares that took hits on Monday were those of Banco del Bajio (-3.54%), Banorte (-2.17%), and Banregio (-1.94%).
The newspaper El Economista reported that the collective value of BMV-listed banks declined 16.45 billion pesos (about US $883.7 million).
Jacobo Rodríguez, director of analysis at the investment company Black WallStreet Capital, attributed the fall in the value of bank stocks to “contagion in the mood of investors.”
In other words, U.S. investors’ negative outlook spread south of the border. However, expressing a view shared by other analysts, Rodríguez said that Mexican banks “are not in a bad situation.”
Mexican stocks did not face a significant slump, which analysts here attributed to stricter banking regulations.
Jorge Sánchez Tello, Director of the Applied Research Program at the Foundation of Financial Studies, based at the National Autonomous Technological Institute (ITAM), stated that the Mexican banking system is solid and that the failure of SVB isn’t affecting Mexico because the bank had no business interests in Mexico.
Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis at Banco Base, tweeted that the collapse of SVB wasn’t expected to generate a “contagion effect to the banking system of Mexico.”
“Regulation is stricter in Mexico, which is why contagion to Mexico was avoided during the 2008 financial crisis in the United States,” she added.
Daniel Becker, president of the Association of Mexican Banks, said in a radio interview that local banks are in a strong position.
“Due to regulation and [banks’] capital levels there is no cause for concern in Mexico today,” Becker said. “We have to be attentive … but Mexicans today should be reassured that banks are in a position of strength that doesn’t put their deposits at risk.”
The news outlet Bloomberg Linea reported that Mexican banks have “adequate levels of capitalization and solvency” and noted that the analysts it consulted believe that Mexican banks are in a “solid” position.
In a report published last November, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted that “Mexico has a robust financial system” that “appears resilient to severe macrofinancial shocks.”
For many years, Mexican banks “have maintained high capital and liquidity buffers,” the report stated.
The value of the Mexican peso, whichtraded below 18 to the U.S. dollar in early March, fell about 2.5% on Monday as investors’ appetite for risk assets waned amid the events in the U.S., but the currency recovered some of its losses on Tuesday morning.
In the early afternoon, one dollar was worth about 18.60 pesos, according to currency conversion website xe.com.
The majority of weapons confiscated by authorities in Mexico have been traced back to sales in the U.S. (Shutterstock)
Despite high levels of crime across many areas of the country, most Mexicans are not in favor of relaxing strict gun control laws, a new report by the Chamber of Deputies has revealed.
As part of a wide-ranging government study undertaken in October, almost 70% of those surveyed did not believe that easier access to guns would make their communities safer — with 67% stating that keeping a firearm in the home would make them feel less safe.
Regions such as Ecatepec reported the highest levels of insecurity in the country. (Gzzz/Wikimedia Commons)
Only 30% of respondents felt that carrying a weapon would improve personal safety, with the overwhelming majority stating that they felt a gun would put them further at risk of violence.
This desire to restrict access to guns was strongest in municipalities that had the highest levels of violent crime.
“People are defenseless. [Criminals] arrive at homes and businesses, and they murder women [and] men — Mexicans who can’t defend themselves because there is not a proper control and registry so that they can have access to powerful weapons,” said PRI leader Alejandro Morena last June.
Tunnels such as these are often used to smuggle weapons into Mexico, where they can be sold on the black market. (US Customs and Border Patrol)
Despite the resounding push-back against gun ownership, almost 55% of those surveyed stated that they felt “low” or “no” levels of safety in their communities — especially those in the western and central regions of the country, where cartel violence is often fiercest. This insecurity was most strongly felt by those over 35 years of age.
In regions with the highest levels of violence, just over 50% of respondents said that they had heard or experienced gunfights in the last three years. Official figures also show that 65% of all homicides in the country involved a gun.
Overall, 76% of women and 69% of men said they feared they would be likely to suffer violence at the hands of armed criminals, although only 20% of all respondents had actually been victims of such an attack.
Despite the fact that Mexico has comparatively strict gun ownership laws, firearms often cross the border from the United States, where “lax regulation … and the lack of controls on the Mexican border, create the perfect conditions for the internal market of illicit weapons to grow and continue to grow,” said the report.
The Chamber of Deputies’ findings also suggested that weapons already in Mexico should be bought back from owners and that the number of firearms made available to state security forces should be reduced. However, data from 2019 to 2021 indicate a significant decline in weapons surrendered in government buyback programs compared to the previous three-year period.
The investigation was undertaken by legislator Juanita Guerra Mena, president of the Citizen Security Commission, with assistance from the Center for Social Studies and Public Opinion of the Chamber of Deputies.
