The beachfront Villa Chakté was built by Mexico's tourism authority, but also served as a presidential retreat. (Villa Experience)
A luxury beach house in Cancún, built as a presidential retreat during the mandate of former President Felipe Calderón, is the top prize in this year’s Independence Day raffle, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced on Thursday.
All Mexicans can buy tickets to win the residence (valued at 236 million pesos, according to the government) in a National Lottery, whose results will be drawn during the celebrations for the national holiday in Mexico City’s Zócalo square on Friday night.
President AMLO said all proceeds from the raffle would fund a new hospital in Quintana Roo. (lopezobrador.org.mx)
Other prizes include a VIP box at the Azteca Stadium and 354 million pesos (US $20.7 million) in cash prizes and refunds. The cost of a ticket is 500 pesos (US $29).
“I take the opportunity to summon everyone [to participate]” AMLO said at his morning press conference. The money raised through ticket sales will fund the construction of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto Hospital in Quintana Roo, he explained.
AMLO admitted that he forgot to promote the raffle earlier, but urged all Mexicans to join in. Three million tickets are on sale, and will be available until 5 p.m. tomorrow.
“You buy the number, the ticket, you can win the house and also cooperate and help,” he said. “I forgot to report it because it’s already tomorrow, but look how many [prizes] there are…there’s still time.”
The national lottery drawing will take place on Friday as part of the celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day. (Lotería Nacional/X)
The Villa Chakté Cancún is a luxurious beach-front house, complete with a jacuzzi and is located in one the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods. It is officially owned by the National Fund for Tourism Promotion (Fonatur), but was available for use as a presidential retreat during the mandates of Calderón and his successor, Enrique Peña Nieto.
It was also the source of a scandal that cost the job of Fonatur’s former Cancún director, Raúl Bermúdez, after he was found to have been letting out the property on Airbnb for up to US $600 per night.
Throughout his mandate, AMLO has made a point of distancing himself from the luxurious lifestyles of former presidents, seeking to promote his image as a champion of the people. In 2020, he announced a raffle for a luxury presidential plane bought during Calderón’s mandate, but later clarified that the plane would not, in fact, be the prize. The plane was sold earlier this year to the government of Tajikistan.
Following Friday’s raffle draw, Independence Day celebrations will continue with a concert, including performances by Yahritza y su Estancia, Grupo Frontera, and members of the children’s community group Semilleros Colectivos.
The increase in flights is expected to benefit the new Felipe Ángeles airport in Mexico City, as well as the new Tulum airport set to open by the end of the year. (Carlos Aranda/Unsplash)
The federal government expects airlines to promptly add more than 50 new flights between Mexico and the United States now that the U.S. government has reinstated Mexico’s Category 1 aviation safety rating.
The Felipe Ángeles International Airport, which opened just north of Mexico City in early 2022, and the soon-to-be-completed Tulum Airport in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo are among the airports that look set to benefit from Mexican airlines’ reestablished capacity to add new routes to U.S. destinations.
The Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) opened in March 2022 and is one of President López Obrador’s flagship projects. (Gob MX)
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it had reinstated the top-tier rating Mexico lost in May 2021 when it found Mexican airports weren’t meeting standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations.
“With a return to Category 1 status, Mexico can add new … routes to the U.S., and U.S. airlines can resume marketing and selling tickets with their names and designator codes on Mexican-operated flights,” the Washington D.C.-based agency said.
Later on Thursday, Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Minister Jorge Nuño Lara said in a statement that the recovery of the Category 1 rating will bring “numerous benefits” to both Mexico and the United States.
“There will be more flights between both nations, which will strengthen air connectivity; [greater] competition will be encouraged and the quality of services for travelers will improve,” the statement said, adding that “more competitive” ticket prices are also on the horizon.
The FAA made the official announcement of reinstating Mexico’s Category 1 status on Thursday, after President López Obrador alluded to it last week. (MARIO JASSO/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
“It’s expected that more than 50 new routes from Mexico to the United States will open in the short term, which could represent more than 1 million [additional] passengers each year,” it said.
Nuño said that the reinstatement of the Category 1 rating will also generate “more and better jobs in areas such as tourism, transport and related services.”
“We will get a boost in air cargo transportation, which will give renewed impetus to international trade and logistics in Mexico,” the statement said.
“… The recovery of the Category 1 [rating] is an achievement that sets a new course for the development of aviation in Mexico,” Nuño said.
“… Today Mexico takes off and we enthusiastically wait for a a future with more employment, more investment, more development and more well-being for Mexican families.”
Yagul is one of Oaxaca's most important archaeological sites but is easily overlooked. (Wikimedia Commons)
The ruins of Yagul, a Zapotec city-state, may not be as impressive as those of Monte Albán – few ruins are – but they’re definitely worth a visit. Yagul is only 38 km (24 miles) southeast of Oaxaca City, just off Highway 190. And because it’s not as impressive or famous as some other sites, visitors often find themselves able to wander around the ruins alone.
Yagul is a Zapotec word meaning Old Stick or Old Tree (although one website translates it as Dry Stick or Dry Tree). The site on which it was built was first occupied by hunter-gatherers, who took shelter in nearby caves around 3,000 BC.
Yagul is a Zapotec word meaning Old Stick or Old Tree. (All photos by Joseph Sorrentino)
Yagul was first excavated in the 1950s and 60s by Ignacio Bernal, Lorenzo Gamio and John Paddock. Bernal and Gamio were two Mexican archaeologists whose work focused on excavating sites in the Valley of Oaxaca; Paddock was an American archaeologist who also worked extensively in Oaxaca.
Yagul was built on a small hill with a fortress on top of it. The buildings on the hill’s slopes, including palaces and temples, served as the city’s administrative and religious centers. Houses line the base of the hill.
The oldest buildings that have been excavated date to somewhere around 500 A.D. and the majority of the structures were built during the Postclassic Period, which lasted from 900 to 1521 A.D. Yagul, like the nearby sites of Mitla, Daizú, and Zaachila, arose following the decline in 850 AD of Monte Albán, then the capital city of the Zapotec civilization. Yagul grew into a local power and governing center and maintained its grip on the region until the arrival of the Spanish in 1521. Yagul, with a population of 6,000, was abandoned at that time, and most of its residents moved to nearby Tlacolula.
A common feature of Zapotec cities was that tombs were built under houses. So far, thirty tombs have been discovered at Yagul, and the Triple Tomb should be the first one you visit.
Yagul was built on a small hill leading to a fortress on top. The buildings on the hill’s slopes include palaces, temples and houses.
As the name suggests, the Triple Tomb consists of three tombs – designated 3, 29 and 30 -all looted during the pre-Columbian era. The tombs are open to visitors and are accessed via a short staircase leading to a small, damp room. On either side, tomb 30 is decorated with small carved heads similar to those found on buildings at Mitla, another ruin about 9 kilometers (about 5.5 miles) away from Yagul. Although Yagul was a Zapotec city-state, Bernal and Paddock came to believe Mixtecs built the tombs. This caused a bit of a stir among archaeologists, and the debate over who built them has not yet been settled.
The tombs are very similar to the ones I visited in Zaachila several years ago – with one big exception. I visited right after the Day of the Dead. The tombs at Zaachila had carvings different from those at Yagul, including a bird (possibly an eagle) and a human with either a shield or a turtle’s shell on his back. But the different carvings weren’t the big exception. I noticed some dark spots as I looked more closely at the bird. I leaned in and although I can’t swear to it, they looked an awful lot like dried blood. I cut my visit to those tombs short.
Near the Triple Tomb at Yagul is a large rock carving of a frog, an image associated with water or rain.
Like many pre-Hispanic cities, there’s a pelota court. In fact, Yagul has the largest pelota court – yet to be uncovered – in the Valley of Oaxaca and the second largest in Mesoamerica. Only the court at Chichén Itza, in Yucatán, is more extensive. The ball court is aligned east to west, typical of those constructed during the Middle Classic period (550 to 700 AD). Earlier courts were generally aligned north to south.
Entrance to the Triple Tomb at Yagul.
The Palace of Six Patios is considered the most exclusive residence in Yagul, with its six interconnected patios forming one large quadrangle. The structures were built using stones covered with mud and then painted. These and other buildings were once painted red, although now, at least to my eye, they have faded to yellow.
Patio 1, located in the southern part of Yagul, contains three structures. The large Council Hall is located on the north side and is where the city’s rulers met. The palace is to the west and the area where the city’s rulers lived is to the east. The walls of these structures, like the walls of others at Yagul, were covered with stucco and painted red. Two tombs where several rulers had been buried were discovered near the living areas.
A large rock carving of a frog near the Triple Tomb at Yagul.
Yagul can be explored in about an hour. Since there are two other nearby sites along Highway 190, it’s possible to visit all three in one day. The best idea would be to start at Mitla, the furthest from Oaxaca. Yagul is 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from Mitla and Daizú is 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from Yagul. From there, it’s only about a 30-minute drive to the city of Oaxaca. Bring water, sunscreen, a hat, and comfortable walking shoes if you decide to tackle all three -or even just one.
Yagul is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. There’s a 90-peso entrance fee.
Explore Mexico's Vast Fabric Wonderland with Grupo Parisina: 90 Years of Quality Fabrics, Sewing Supplies, and More! (Volha Flaxeco/Unsplash)
With more than 600 stores throughout Mexico and online sales, Grupo Parisina is the country’s most extensive fabric and hobby chain. If you’ve ever been in one, you’ve experienced the gigantic, somewhat puzzling selection of items and either loved or hated it. Started in Mexico City 90 years ago, in 1933, Grupo Parisina keeps a close eye on its clientele and continually updates and expands its offerings to keep them happy.
Most of Parisina’s business is from fabric (tela), sold both retail and wholesale. There can be hundreds of options at any given store, from delightful seasonal prints and playful children’s designs to nubby 100% cotton manta and elegant dress fabrics suitable for a special occasion or New Year’s soiree. Bear in mind that fabrics appear several months before a holiday or season to allow home seamstresses time to sew their creations. That also means you’ll often find big lines of shoppers—or even crowds—when the date gets close to Mexico’s Dia de la Independencia or the Christmas season.
Parisina Store
Parisina sells everything needed for sewing: buttons, thread, zippers, embroidery supplies, even sewing machines. It also carries many lines of upholstery and curtain fabrics, some of them imported. Through its complete website, you can pay with credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, or PayPal. According to the website, the company ships throughout Mexico via Estafeta, with packages usually arriving within a week.
One of the very best things about Parisina is that if you buy curtain fabric, their crew of local maquiladoras will make the curtains for a small charge. You’ll see samples of curtain styles hanging above the bolts of fabric, and employees will assist you in making your order and getting the right amount of fabric for your windows. (Packaged, ready-made curtains and a big selection of curtain rods are also available.)
While there may not be any Hobby Lobby or JOANN stores in Mexico (yet!), Parisina offers many options for DIYers. Like its U.S. counterpart, shelves are filled with craft supplies of every kind, including beading materials, felt (in squares or by the meter), high-quality artificial flowers and plants, glass vases, and wooden boxes of every size. Also abundant are bolts of beautiful Mexican oilcloth in a wide range of patterns and colors.
Mixed in these aisles are assorted home décor items offering fairly satisfying “retail therapy” if you’re missing the options you’re used to north of the border. I’ve found Parisina to be one of the best places to find well-made, attractive and affordable wood picture frames; the ready-made throw pillows can be helpful either as-is or re-cover, and even some throw rugs are OK. You can also find everything you need for a party, with themed items you won’t find elsewhere.
Parisina sells everything needed for sewing: buttons, thread, zippers, embroidery supplies, even sewing machines. (Pina Messina/Unsplash)
One caveat: Getting fabric cut and paying for it can be pretty bewildering and a lesson in extreme patience, especially if the store is crowded. Unlike the U.S., where you take your bolt of fabric to a central cutting table, have it cut, then take the cloth and receipt to a central cash register, usually by the exit, to pay, at Parisina, there are different (and I would say less efficient) multi-step processes.
Usually, two lines form by a central cutting table area; signs hang from the ceiling instructing customers to make their order at one and pick up their order at the other. If you can, bring the bolt of fabric to the first line; otherwise, when it’s your turn, ask the employee to go with you to get it. They will calculate the cost of the amount of fabric you want, give you a receipt, and put the uncut bolt of fabric in a nearby “corral.” You, the customer, then must pay at the cashier, which is usually hidden in some corner of the store that’s not near the exit. After paying and getting a second receipt, you make your way back to the second line at the cutting table, present your new receipt, and have your fabric cut. Voila! (Bring your own bag as often they do not provide them.)
In other Parisina stores I’ve visited or during the busy holiday season, the process is different but equally confusing. You bring the bolt of fabric to a cutting table, where an employee cuts it and gives you a receipt. They then take your cut fabric to a central pick-up counter elsewhere in the store. Meanwhile, using the first receipt, you pay at a central cashier, which is near the fabric pick-up if you’re lucky. A second receipt will be stapled to the first and off you go to get your already cut and bagged fabric.
Sounds straightforward, you say? Add 12 or more people in each line with specific problems, multiple bolts of fabric, and innumerable questions, and you get more of a realistic picture. It helps to think of it as comedy.
Be that as it may, Parisina offers DIYers a big bang for their proverbial buck—or peso, as the case may be.
For more information: Visit your local Parisina store, although employees may not be familiar with everything offered online at www.laparisina.mx. Don’t see what you’re looking for? Contact Parisina at atencionmayoreo@laparisina.com.mx.
Journalist Jaime Maussan drew global attention after testifying on extraterrestrial activity to the Chamber of Deputies and presenting what he alleged to be the corpses of aliens found in Peru. (Cuartoscuro.com)
A Mexican journalist and self-described ufologist made quite a revelation during testimony in front of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies this week — two specimens that he claimed were the 1,000-year-old corpses of extraterrestrials.
“These are not mummies,” Jaime Maussan said under oath about the two tiny bodies with big heads, long necks and three fingers on each hand. The bodies – which resemble the archetypal depiction of a gray alien – were found in Peru in 2017, Maussan said, adding that carbon dating by Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) showed they died a millennium ago. “We are not alone,” Maussan, 70, intoned.
Jaime Maussan is a fixture of Mexico’s ufologist community, having hosted a television show about the subject since 2005. (Cuartoscuro.com)
The extraordinary testimony heard by lawmakers on Tuesday in Mexico City was Mexico’s first ever hearing on UFOs, which these days are usually termed Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), or FANI in Spanish. Mexico has a high rate of reported UAP sightings, ranking seventh in the world in 2020.
Maussan insisted that the specimens, which were brought into the chambers in two caskets, are not related to any life on Earth. “There is a clear demonstration that we are dealing with non-human specimens that are not related to any other species in our world, and that all possibilities are open for any scientific institution to investigate,” he said.
Similar finds presented by Maussan and others in the past have been dismissed by scientists as ancient Peruvian mummies, mummified children or manipulated mummies. Maussan stated that the two corpses at the hearing are not mummies, but rather “bodies that are intact, complete, that have not been manipulated inside and that have a series of elements that make them truly extraordinary.”
Maussan, who has hosted a television show on UAP since the early 2000s, claimed the alleged aliens had big brains and big eyes that “allowed for a wide stereoscopic vision,” and that they lacked teeth, so they likely only drank and did not chew.
One of the presenters at the hearing discussed the “non-human” specimens. (Screen capture)
The hearing in the Legislative Palace of San Lázaro — at which lawmakers were also shown videos of Mexican pilots struggling to make sense of fast-moving flying objects before them — included experts speaking in support of Maussan. But some who spoke felt Maussan’s claims were an “unsubstantiated stunt” and “a huge step backwards for this issue.”
For example, Ryan Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace (ASA) and a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, was invited to speak. In July, he testified in front of a U.S. Congress subcommittee investigating the existence of UAP.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said he accepted the invitation “hoping to keep up the momentum of government interest in pilot experiences” with UAP. But a day after the hearing, he distanced himself from it.
“Unfortunately, yesterday’s demonstration was a huge step backwards for this issue,” he wrote. “My testimony centered on sharing my experience and the UAP reports I hear from commercial and military aircrew through ASA’s witness program. I will continue to raise awareness of UAP as an urgent matter of aerospace safety, national security, and science, but I am deeply disappointed by this unsubstantiated stunt.”
Maussan was joined by fellow Mexicans, including a Navy surgeon, and foreign ufologists like retired U.S. Navy pilot Ryan Graves. (Jaime Maussan/X)
And then there was José de Jesús Zalce Benítez, director of the Scientific Institute for Health of the Mexican Navy, who said X-rays, 3D reconstruction and DNA analysis had been carried out on the remains.“I can affirm that these bodies have no relation to human beings,” he told the lawmakers.
In light of the hearing, UNAM reissued a statement from 2017 saying the work by its National Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry with Accelerators (LEMA) was only intended to determine the age of the samples. “In no case do we make conclusions about the origin of said samples,” the statement said.
Maussan’s presentation created a whirl of activity on social networks, with backlash and criticism from skeptics. NASA indicated it would discuss the briefing on Thursday.
Executives from Heineken Mexico, Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro (center) and Yucatán Governor Mauricio Vila (second from left) attended the announcement of the 8.7 billion peso investment. (Economia Mexico/X)
Dutch brewer Heineken is to build a new beer production plant in Yucatán, with an investment of 8.7 billion pesos (US $510 million).
Construction is projected to begin in 2024, in the municipality of Kanasín, part of the Mérida metropolitan area. The factory will begin operations in early 2026 and is expected to generate 2,000 jobs, according to Guillaume Duverdier, CEO of Heineken Mexico.
Heineken already operates seven other breweries in Mexico, including this one in Guadalajara. (Heineken Mexico)
Duverdier explained that the plant will initially supply the Mexican domestic market with popular local brands, including Tecate, Sol, Dos Equis, Bohemia, Indio and Carta Blanca, and eventually hopes to export abroad.
He said that the location was chosen to bring the company’s products closer to consumers in southeastern Mexico, responding to the “solid growth potential” of the Mexican market.
It will be the company’s eighth plant in the country – adding to facilities in Orizaba, Monterrey, Tecate, Navojoa, Guadalajara, Toluca and Chihuahua – but the first in the southeast. The company already employs some 18,000 people in Mexico.
Kanasín was selected following a detailed feasibility study that evaluated local economies, security, connectivity and natural resource availability across the country, finding Yucatán to be the ideal location.
Heineken Mexico chief Guillaume Duverdier said the new plant will primarily produce local brands for the Mexican market. (Heineken Mexico)
Heineken is one of several breweries turning their sights towards southern Mexico. In 2020, U.S.-based Constellation Brands was forced to walk away from a US $1.4 billion brewery already under construction in Mexicali and relocate the facility to Veracruz, after farmers in Baja California expressed concerns that the project would exacerbate water shortages in the drought-stricken region.
Heineken inaugurated its most recent Mexican plant five years ago in Meoqui, Chihuahua, with an investment of US $500 million. The company claims that the plant follows strong sustainability principles to minimize water usage, operating under a strict waste reduction policy and using sustainable energy sources.
Despite the relative abundance of water in southeastern Mexico, Heineken says that the new Yucatán plant will follow these same environmental principles, aiming to use just two liters of water per liter of product.
The peso went from 17.6 to the US dollar one week ago, to 17.08 this Thursday afternoon.
What a difference a week can make.
One US dollar was worth 17.6 pesos at the close of trading last Thursday and there was talk that the USD:MXN rate could go to 18 in the short term.
But at 1 p.m. Mexico City time this Thursday, one greenback was trading at 17.08 pesos, a depreciation of 3% in the space of a week.
The peso’s improved position comes after gains against the greenback on four consecutive days this week. According to a Reuters report, the peso has rallied on expectations that the United States Federal Reserve’s monetary policy tightening cycle has come to an end.
Analysts cite the Bank of Mexico’s high benchmark interest rate – currently 11.25% – and the significant difference between that rate and that of the Fed (5.25%-5.5%) as one factor that has benefited the peso this year.
Mexico’s central bank has kept the benchmark interest rate high all year, which is one reason for a stronger peso according to experts. (Archive)
Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings on Wednesday increased its forecast for 2023 economic growth in Mexico to 3.1% from 2.5% in June. The rating agency anticipates that Mexico’s GDP will expand 1.8% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.
As for inflation in Mexico, the annual headline rate has declined every month since February, reaching 4.64% in August, its lowest level since early 2021.
The FAA made the official announcement of reinstating Mexico's Category 1 status on Thursday, after President López Obrador alluded to it last week. (Gobierno de QRO)
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reinstated Mexico’s Category 1 aviation safety rating more than two years after it was downgraded to Category 2.
The FAA announced the decision in a statement on Thursday, noting that it came after “more than two years of close work between the civil aviation authorities in both countries.”
The transportation minister Jorge Nuño Lara (center) received the document restoring Mexico’s Category 1 rating from Andrew Crecelius Villalobos (right) of the U.S. State Department. (AFAC/X)
“With a return to Category 1 status, Mexico can add new service and routes to the U.S., and U.S. airlines can resume marketing and selling tickets with their names and designator codes on Mexican-operated flights,” the Washington D.C.-based agency said.
President López Obrador said last Friday that his government had been informed that the FAA had decided to reinstate the Category 1 rating. He noted that the decision would be formalized this week.
The FAA said that it “provided expertise and resources via technical assistance agreements” to Mexico’s Federal Civil Aviation Agency “to resolve the safety issues that led to the downgrade.”
“The agency sent a team of aviation safety experts multiple times over the last two years to assist with the work,” the FAA said, noting that it downgraded Mexico’s rating in May 2021 after it found that “the country did not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards.”
Interior Minister Luisa Alcalde at the Monday morning press conference. (MARIO JASSO/CUARTOSCURO.COM)
Interior Minister Luisa María Alcalde said Monday that the recovery of the top-tier rating was possible thanks to “various actions” carried out by Mexico including “some legislative changes” and “the order that is being put in place at different airports.”
Mexican airlines’ inability to add new flights to the U.S. over the past two years is one factor that has inhibited growth at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), which opened north of Mexico City in early 2022.
Airlines such as Aeroméxico and Volaris will likely add flights from AIFA to U.S. destinations now that they are able to do so.
If you still haven’t heard about wine in Guanajuato, you aren’t listening. Already home to so many great destinations – Guanajuato City, San Miguel de Allende, Mineral de Pozos – the state now boasts many excellent wineries. Guanajuato’s long history of wine-making means even the Father of Independence, Miguel Hidalgo, had his own vineyard in Dolores in the 18th century. While most of the state’s wineries were built at some point in the last 40 years, there is still lots of history and tradition along the Guanajuato wine route. If you want to go exploring and are at a loss for where to start, here’s a quick list of some of the area’s best small wineries with award-winning vintages.
Cuna de Tierra
Viñedos Cuna de Tierra
This is one of the area’s oldest vineyards and most respected. The winemakers at Cuna de Tierra have provided so much support and have been so influential to other area vineyards you might call them the grandfathers of the region’s wine. Dozens of awards later, Cuna de Tierra is nonetheless very down to earth and the staff and sommeliers are highly approachable, even for the uninitiated.
Located on a gorgeous piece of land outside of Dolores Hidalgo, this vineyard has a great small plates restaurant, a tasting room, and property tours. In addition to their wine, they’ve won awards for the striking architecture of the vineyard, particularly the Torre de Tierra. Standing in the center of their rows of vines, designed by architects Ignacio Urquiza Seoane and Bernardo Quinzaños Oria.
Bodega San Jose Lavista
Producing award-winning bottles, Bodega San Jose Lavista sits just outside of San Miguel de Allende, on the edge of the city’s dam. The vineyard’s Merlot-Malbec Assemblage won a Grand Gold at the 2022 edition of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles’ México Selection, where they also racked up three other gold medals for their 2020 Malbec, 2020 Merlot, and 2019 Malbec.
Hacienda San José La Vista
The property’s grand hacienda is a new construction (2010) that uses traditional building methods and styles in its design, giving it a blend of old and new that many visitors find charming, if not sometimes a tad baroque. The 14 suites spread throughout the property are modern with vintage touches, and the vineyard is a trendy spot for weddings.
Viñedo Los Arcángeles
Owner Ulises Ruiz Mariño, a winemaker himself, is very obviously passionate about his trade. Stop to visit his vineyard outside of Dolores Hidalgo, and the former food engineer will go deep into his process and his philosophy of letting the grapes speak for themselves. Ruiz has won gold and silver medals for his wines at the México Selection Awards and a Grand Gold at the 2021 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.
The winery is bite-sized and lovely, with most of the drinking and dining al fresco at picnic tables under a breezy awning in the center of the property. Stay in one of their eight rustic cabins amid the vines for true immersion.
Viñedo Los Arcángeles
Tres Raíces
Since Tres Raíces opened in 2018, they have quickly won the respect of neighboring vineyards, local wine lovers and the world with their tobacco-laced Cabernets and juicySauvignon Blancs. Their Pinot Noir 2021 won a Grand Gold at the 2023 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and their Tempranillo 2020 a silver in the same contest.
Tres Raíces has one of the classiest wineries on this list, with a full-service luxury boutique hotel on the property, complete with a swimming pool and a selection of suites that feel more like tiny country homes than hotel rooms. With wine tastings, property tours and a meat-heavy menu that reflects the northern Mexico roots of the winery’s owners, Tres Raíces is a delightful day trip from either San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato City, or Dolores Hidalgo.
Viñedo Tres Raíces
Viñedo San Miguel
This sprawling estate is a sister vineyard to the organic Villa Petriolo in Italy, operated by the same owners so that you can find wines from both vineyards in the wine shop on the property. Despite its youth, Viñedo San Miguel has won awards at the Decanter World Wine Awards, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and the México Selection of the Concours Mondial.
Viñedo San Miguel
The winery has dramatic spaces, miles of vines, and a breezy and sophisticated terrace restaurant that provides visitors with 180-degree views of the surrounding landscape. Their kitchen, led by Chef David Quevedo, offers haute versions of traditional Mexican dishes with exactly the kind of wine pairing list you’d expect from an award-winning vineyard.
La Santísima Trinidad
Viñedo Santísima Trinidad
Fields of lavender and rows of grapes greet you as you enter this luxury real estate development and winery, meandering slowly along bucolic dirt roads less than half an hour from San Miguel de Allende. Another young winery making waves, Santísima Trinidad, won a Grand Gold in 2021 at the México Selection of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. The vineyard produces olive oil and lavender products in addition to wine, as well as having a countryside restaurant and tasting room, horseback riding, bike tours and a great boutique hotel for a stay on the property.
Dos Buhos
Viñedo Dos Búhos
Suppose you are looking for a wine experience that’s both delightful and sustainable. In that case, Dos Buhos is one of the area’s only organic wineries and its owners have a mission to consider the local ecology in everything they do. All of the vineyard’s wines are made with spontaneous fermentation and they have several exciting collaborations with other local producers in the works. The vineyard is also stepping up its cuisine. It now offers a gourmet menu that is seasonally centered and focused on local ingredients. They also have a sweeping hacienda-style tasting room and grounds that are a popular location for spring weddings.
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City. She has been published widely both online and in print, writing about Mexico for over a decade. She lives a double life as a local tour guide and is the author of Mexico City Streets: La Roma. Follow her urban adventures on Instagram and see more of her work at www.mexicocitystreets.com.
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García (right) with Tesla CEO Elon Musk when the initial announcement was made in March. (Samuel García/X)
Nuevo León Governor Samuel García said Monday that Tesla and its suppliers will invest US $15 billion in a gigafactory project in the northern border state, an amount triple the figure previously cited by the federal government.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced in March that the electric vehicle manufacturer would build a new gigafactory in Santa Catarina, a municipality just west of Monterrey that borders Coahuila. As of last week, the Austin-based company hadn’t obtained any of the permits it requires to build and operate the facility.
Rendering of the planned Tesla gigafactory in Nuevo León. (Tesla)
Speaking at an event at the La Huasteca park in Santa Catarina, García said that the Tesla factory would be much bigger than originally thought.
“The plant that we announced in March – erase it from the map. It looks like it will be twice as big,” he said.
“Tesla and its suppliers are going to generate US $15 billion of investment in two years,” García said.
“It’s an enormous amount in a very short time,” he added. García didn’t specify whether any of the $15 billion amount would go to the construction of separate facilities operated by Tesla suppliers.
A Tesla factory assembly line. (Tesla)
Tesla itself hasn’t said how much it plans to invest in Nuevo León, which has a short border with Texas in the municipality of Anáhuac.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Martha Delgado said in March that the company would invest more than US $5 billion in the gigafactory and that it would employ up to 6,000 people. An unnamed Reuters source with knowledge of Tesla’s plans said at the same time that total spending could reach $10 billion, a figure that was also cited by Santa Catarina Mayor Jesús Nava.
García said Monday that authorities would be obliged to improve infrastructure in Nuevo León, such as highways and the water system, in response to Tesla’s investment. He also said security would have have to be ramped up.
It is unclear when the gigafactory – which is slated to use recycled water – will begin operations, but it appears unlikely to be finished before late 2026.
