Demand for gold jewelry in US is good news for Mexican artisans

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June 20, 2022

Just over 15% of Mexico's gold exports in 2021 went to the United States.

Mexican jewelers have a great opportunity to capitalize on growing demand for gold jewelry in the United States, according to the head of one industry association.

Gold jewelry sales in the United States increased 26.1% last year to a record 149.1 tonnes, World Gold Council data shows. U.S. sales in the first quarter of this year totaled 26.4 tonnes, almost matching the record set in the same period of 2021.

The president of the Jalisco Jewelry Chamber told the newspaper Milenio that the increasing demand is good news for Mexican jewelers because the United States is their largest export market.

“Throughout history, the United States has always been our main client, especially for gold and silver jewelry and for the very specialized jewelry that is cowboy jewelry,” Álvaro Azpeitia Covarrubias said.

“This sells a lot, especially in the states near Texas. However, we’re aware that the … [demand for] jewelry, especially gold jewelry, is growing and that gives us the opportunity to attack,” he said.

Economy Ministry data shows that 15.3% of Mexico’s gold exports in 2021 went to the United States, but the figure will likely increase this year due to the high demand for jewelry north of the border. Jewelry sales generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue annually in the United States, but what share Mexico has of that market is unclear.

Azpeitia said that Mexican jewelers’ production and sales are expected to increase 4% in 2022 compared to 2019 due to greater demand abroad.

One way in which Mexican jewelers have sought to increase their sales in the U.S. is by attending the JCK Show – North America’s largest jewelry trade event – which took place in Las Vegas earlier this month. Another way is through use of the Jalisco Jewelry Chamber’s Capital Joya platform, described as a “business to business technological tool that connects potential specialized buyers with the most representative jewelry companies in the jewelry sector in Mexico.”

Jewelry trade shows like JCK in Las Vegas are an important driver of sales, Azpeitia said. JCK

Azpeitia said that most of the 25 jewelry companies with a presence on the site – which was launched last year – are very small or small businesses. Fifteen thousand buyers have used the platform, of which 10% were foreign, he said. The Mexican jewelry sector’s use of technology allows it to be more competitive with gold exporters from other countries, Azpeitia said.

Tapping into the U.S. market for gold jewelry is appealing to Mexican jewelers given that it is much larger than that at home. Mexico’s market was less than one tenth the size of that in the U.S. last year with demand for gold jewelry totaling 12.8 tonnes. Sales increased compared to 2020, but remained 23% below 2019 levels.

Azpeitia said that the loosening of coronavirus restrictions aided the partial recovery because the industry depends on weddings, 15th birthday parties, christenings and other celebrations for part of its revenue. In an August 2021 interview with Mexico Business News, the Jewelry Chamber chief said that jewelry trade shows are also an important driver of sales.

“At the Chamber of Jewelry, we are resuming the exhibitions that were put on hold for more than a year because of the pandemic. These events are very important for us because they generate up to 70% of our members’ annual sales,” Azpeitia said.

He noted that 70% of Mexican jewelry is made in Jalisco and described the state as “a national leader in the production and marketing of jewelry, accounting for up to 70,000 jobs in the sector.”

“…We believe that Jalisco is the national benchmark in this sector,” Azpeitia added. “In Guadalajara alone, we have 15 jewelry centers with 1,500 points of sale.”

With reports from Milenio

AMLO rejects charges of criminal ties; calls them inventions by the opposition

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MND Staff

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June 20, 2022

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'They're not the same,' said president of former security minister García and current minister Rodríguez, implying corruption by the former although he has not been convicted of a crime.

President López Obrador on Monday rejected claims that he has links to organized crime, asserting that his government – unlike its predecessors – doesn’t allow officials to collude with criminals.

Investigative journalist Anabel Hernández and veteran politician Porfirio Muñoz Ledo, among others, have recently claimed that López Obrador and the ruling Morena party are in cahoots with organized crime. The president on Monday didn’t specifically refer to those claims but rather to an unspecified study that linked him to organized crime.

“I was looking at a study the other day … [that said] I had links to organized crime,” he told reporters at his morning press conference. “They can’t prove anything because we have principles, we have ideals and what I consider most important in my life is honesty,” López Obrador said.

He recycled one of his favorite analogies, comparing the process of eliminating government corruption to sweeping a staircase from top to bottom. “And we’re making progress bit by bit, but we still have two years and two or three months left [in government], so we’re going to continue cleaning,” López Obrador said.

Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, who presented a security report at Monday’s press conference, is not the same as Genaro García Luna, he said, referring to former president Felipe Calderón’s allegedly corrupt security minister, who is awaiting trial in the United States.

“The important thing is that collusion is not allowed, authority mustn’t associate with crime, the line has to be well marked, authority is one thing, [organized] crime is another,” López Obrador said. The president subsequently claimed that his adversaries make up claims that there is collusion between his government and organized crime “to attack us.”

He also said that social media users and the “experts of conservatism, the [opposition party] spokespeople” parroted the claim in the study linking him to organized crime. “… It’s possible that this is managed from abroad,” AMLO added.

The president has previously claimed that Mexico was a narco-state during the administration of Calderón, who was in office from 2006 to 2012.

Former Michoacán governor Silvano Aureoles made a similar claim about Morena after the ruling party won elections in several Pacific coast states last year.

“What a coincidence that they won big in … the Pacific corridor. Who let them?” he said in an interview with the Financial Times last July. “It’s terribly dangerous that Morena is becoming a narco party and the president is looking the other way when the most important issue for people is security. … Morena has become the instrument of organized crime,” Aureoles said.

Mexico News Daily

Post-COVID recovery eludes 28 of Mexico’s 54 airports

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MND Staff

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June 20, 2022

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Aeromexico airlines plane — Stats from four regions of Mexico and the government-owned corporation Airports and Auxiliary Services show some airports struggling to recoup traffic numbers.

Though it might seem like air travel is getting back to normal, more than half of Mexico’s 54 major airports had lower passenger traffic between January and May of this year than they did for the same time period in 2019.

Among the 28 airports that have not returned to pre-pandemic levels are Mexico City’s Benito Juárez Airport (AICM), Guadalajara, Monterrey, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa, Manzanillo, Mérida and Cozumel. (Benito Juárez is CDMX’s old airport, as opposed to the new one, Felipe Ángeles International Airport.)

However, some airports have taken an upward turn. Tijuana was the first to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, followed by Cancún, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Huatulco — with some of those even setting new all-time highs for passenger flow.

The figures come from airport operators in four regions of Mexico (the southwest, the central-north, the Pacific and Mexico City) and from the government-owned corporation Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA).

Passengers disembarking a Viva Aerobus plane in Mexico — The collapse of Interjet in 2020 gave Volaris, Aeroméxico and VivaAerobús airlines more passengers, but for airports. it’s represented a loss due to some Interjet routes disappearing.

While an uptick in tourism has helped figures rebound in some areas, “some airports are not driven by the recovery of leisure travel,” said Alejandra Marcos, aviation analyst at Intercam. “Not all airports depend on tourism.”

For example, she said, the Monterrey International Airport relies heavily on business travel. “It depended 50% on business travelers, but all those executive meetings were solved with digital platforms,” she said.

The airports that haven’t rebounded are mostly small or medium-sized, and they’ve been negatively impacted by the airlines’ decision to terminate some routes during the pandemic.

Marcos said the airlines in general have refocused their efforts on “airports with the highest demand, such as those in Tijuana, Cancún and Los Cabos. So we see an uneven recovery.”

Despite all of that, Mexican airlines Volaris, Aeroméxico and VivaAerobús are flying more travelers than before the pandemic, according to Jonathan Félix, an aviation sector analyst at Verum. However, he added, this is because Interjet ceased operations in 2020. “The market was divided between three instead of four,” he said.

Félix said while business travel is down, pleasure travel is on the way back and will only get better during the summer months. Analysts expect that during the next quarter, some lagging airports will exceed pre-pandemic passenger traffic, but there won’t be a full recovery until 2023, El Universal reported.

“They are on the right path,” Félix said. “It is a very resilient sector, despite going through the worst crisis in the history of aviation.”

The list of 28 lagging airports includes Chihuahua, Culiacán, Tampico, Torreón, Veracruz, Villahermosa and Manzanillo, in part because their routes have not been fully replaced since the departure of Interjet.

Guadalajara International Airport received 32,000 fewer passengers between January and May of this year compared to the same period in 2019.

Mérida’s spot on the unenviable list might be surprising to some, given its location near Cancún and other tourist spots. However, the Mérida International Airport depends more on business travel than leisure travel, Félix said.

With reports from El Universal

Newborn suffers injury after cell phones illuminated cesarean during power outage

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MND Staff

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June 20, 2022

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After the error, the baby received medical attention at a different hospital. — After the incident, the baby received medical attention at a different hospital. DepositPhotos

The family of a baby boy fear he could lose his hearing in one ear after it was badly cut during a cesarean section performed at a private hospital under the dim light of cell phones during a power outage in Baja California earlier this month.

Karla Araceli Urizandi Martínez, 19, gave birth to Julián Adriel in the Clinica Internacional de Especialidades (CIE) in Mexicali on June 6. A medical team performed the C-section under the glow of cell phones after the lights went out in the hospital, which didn’t make use of any alternative power source.

According to a Reforma newspaper report, Urizandi’s operation was originally scheduled to commence at 11 a.m. but she wasn’t anesthetized until 12:40 p.m. The power outage began at 12:48 p.m. but the doctor, David Santoyo Alanís, reportedly decided to proceed with the cesarean against the expectant mother’s wishes because she had already been anesthetized.

“I don’t want to be operated on [in the dark], I don’t want to die,” Urizandi told Santoyo, according to Reforma. The doctor subsequently informed her husband that the hospital had its own source of power and that the operating room where the C-section was to take place was illuminated, a claim Reforma described as a lie.

The cesarean was illuminated by the light of cell phones. Twitter @fdiaz2050

The medical team led by Santoyo proceeded with the operation and due to a lack of light, cut the baby’s left ear as well as part of an infantile hemangioma, commonly known as a strawberry mark.

Sonia Martínez Andrade, Urizandi’s mother, told Reforma last week that her grandson was receiving medical treatment at another hospital. Testing will determine whether his sense of hearing has been affected. The whole left side of his head swelled up due to the injury he sustained.

Martínez accused the medical team of negligence, and told Reforma that Santoyo hasn’t accepted responsibility for cutting the baby’s ear. “He told my son-in-law, ‘They cut his ear, it wasn’t me,’” she said.

Martínez also said the doctor left the operating room before her daughter’s abdomen had been sown up. A different doctor tried to reconstruct the baby’s ear, she added.

Urizandi’s family filed a complaint with the Baja California Attorney General’s Office, but no action has yet been taken against members of the medical team or the hospital. The CIE has operated in Mexicali for almost 30 years, having been established in 1993.

While Santoyo and other members of the team that performed the C-section could be sanctioned for medical negligence, the hospital could face consequences – including a large fine and a temporary or permanent closure – for failing to meet minimum infrastructure requirements. Hospitals are required to have alternative sources of power, and to use them in case of a power outage.

With reports from Reforma and El Imparcial

Homicides spiked to 2,833 in May but they were down compared to last year

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MND Staff

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June 20, 2022

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May was the most violent month so far in 2022 with over 2,800 homicides.

Statistics presented by Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez Monday showed that there were 2,833 homicides last month, a 6.8% increase compared to March, which had been the most violent month of the year with 2,653 homicides.

Murders last month increased 10.9% compared to April, although that month had one less day. Compared to May last year, homicides declined by 5.5%.

Rodríguez noted that last month was the least violent May in five years. She also observed that murders declined 7.8% compared to the most violent month on record – July 2018 – when 3,074 homicides were recorded.

murder scene in Mexico — According to federal statistics, 48% of the 12,737 homicides in the first five months of 2022 occurred in just six states.

“We continue to work with a lot of coordination and strategy to control organized crime,” the security minister told President López Obrador’s morning news conference.

Rodríguez also presented data that showed there were 12,737 homicides in the first five months of the year for an average of 84 per day. The graph showed that homicides were down 10.8% compared to the same period of 2021, 13.2% lower than in the first five months of 2020 and 10.4% below the number recorded in the January through May period of 2019.

Another graph showed that 48% of the 12,737 homicides in the first five months of the year occurred in just six states. Guanajuato was the most violent state in the period with 1,292 homicides followed by Michoacán with 1,204; México state with 1,067; Baja California with 1,039; Jalisco with 816; and Sonora with 732.

Yucatán was the least violent state with just 18 homicides between January and May, while Aguascalientes recorded 22 and Campeche registered 31. Of the 32 federal entities, Mexico City was the 16th most violent with 304 homicides.

Guanajuato, which has been Mexico’s most violent state in recent years, recorded a 31.7% increase in homicides between April and May, with the total number of victims rising from 227 to 299. Among the violent incidents in May was an attack on a Celaya hotel and two adjoining bars that claimed 10 lives. Among the criminal groups that operate in Guanajuato are the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, the latter of which began as a fuel theft gang before diversifying into other crimes.

Rodríguez also presented data for a range of other crimes. Among those that declined in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year were drug trafficking, tax crimes, femicide, assault, home burglaries and vehicle theft. Among those that increased were firearms offenses and extortion – a crime that particularly affects business owners.

Mexico News Daily

13 die in transit vehicle crash on Mexico City-Querétaro highway

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MND Staff

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June 20, 2022

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Minibus crash on Mexico City-Queretaro highway — The accident happened in the Polotitlán municipality in México state on Saturday morning.

Thirteen people died and eight more were injured, including at least one minor, on the Mexico City-Querétaro highway on Saturday morning when a transit vehicle crashed into a tree and rolled over, the federal highways agency Capufe and municipal police said.

The minibus veered off the highway near the community of El Ruano in Polotitlán municipality in México state, 160 kilometers north of Toluca. One report said the passengers were on a pilgrimage from Texcoco, México state, to Celaya, Guanajuato.

Some of the passengers were found lying on the road after they were thrown from the vehicle on impact.

At least eight people, two of whom were gravely injured, were taken to the San Juan del Río General Hospital in Querétaro. There was one 16-year-old girl among the injured, but the identities of the two badly wounded people were not confirmed. At least one of the 13 fatalities died in hospital.

The authorities investigating the incident have not ruled out that the driver could have been speeding before the crash.

With reports from El Universal, Aristegui Noticias and NTV Noticias

14,000 boxers break Guinness record with world’s largest boxing lesson

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MND Staff

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June 20, 2022

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Participants were given red, white and green T-shirts and organized to form a Mexican flag. Indeporte CDMX

More than 14,000 boxing enthusiasts came out swinging in Mexico City on Saturday to set the Guinness World Record for the largest ever boxing lesson.

The 14,299 person turnout at Mexico City’s central square, the zócalo, far exceeded the previous Guinness record for the largest boxing lesson, which was set in Russia in 2017 with 3,000 participants. However, it was still below the 19,000 boxers who registered to take part on Saturday.

The crowd formed a Mexican flag after being directed to one of three sections of the zócalo, having received a green, white or red t-shirt prior to the event. A fourth section just off the square was open to people who hadn’t registered.

Just before 8 a.m. more than a dozen Mexican boxing champions and former champions were introduced to the crowd, including the former unified heavyweight champion, Mexican-American Andy Ruiz. Boxing legend Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez promoted the class online, but didn’t make an appearance.

Boxing students in front of the National Palace. — Boxing students at the *zócalo*. Indeporte CDMX

After the national anthem, three champion boxers – Ana María Torres, David Picasso and Mariana Juárez – took the lead for three 10 minute exercises. Budding boxers broke sweat practicing their squats, uppercuts and jabs, among other exercises.

The participants were able to catch their breath at 9:10 a.m., when the class came to a close.

“Here are the future champions and world champions. Go Mexico!” said Torres, referring to some of her 14,000 new boxing students.

“It’s an honor to be with great Mexicans. It has been proven again that a united Mexico can do it … We are going for more championships,” enthused former featherweight and super featherweight world champion Óscar Valdez.

The event’s adjudicators stipulated that the class had to last at least 30 minutes and that all participants had to follow the instructions of the teachers and remain constantly active, without taking a break for more than 20 seconds. The students also had to stay in their assigned position and were prohibited from using their cellphones.

With reports from Excélsior

Good things do come in small packages

By

Janet Blaser

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June 18, 2022

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carmelized shallots — Like caramelized onions? Try using shallots instead for a milder, sweeter flavor with a hint of garlic.

Why use shallots? Aren’t they just the same as onions?

I used to think that way too — until I really started using them. Shallots have a subtler, milder flavor, with just a hint of garlic. When cooked, they caramelize differently and break down more easily and quickly than other onions. Shallots are great on their own or used as a base for sauces and more complex dishes.

Small and round with pinkish papery skins, shallot bulbs have several sections, much like cloves of garlic. (I find them quite cute.) They’ll keep, refrigerated, for several months depending on how fresh they were when you bought them. Look for firm bulbs without a green stem starting to grow. The flesh inside is purply-white like a mini-onion.

While I see shallots (chalotes) in Mazatlan’s larger grocery stores, I don’t know any local person who uses them. Nor have I ever noticed them anywhere on any menu — except at one new-ish Asian restaurant in the historic center. The chef/owner lived, trained and cooked professionally in Thailand — where shallots are an integral part of the cuisine.

Chicken stew with shallots — Shallots are a great base for soups, sauces and stews.

They are a mainstay in Asian gastronomy, including in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, China, India and Nepal. My guess is that the sizable Chinese population in Mazatlán is the reason behind the availability of shallots, but quien sabe?

Shallots can be used in salsas, moles, any soup or stew, salad dressings and salads, as accompaniments to beef, chicken or fish. Plus they feature as the star ingredient in a wide range of recipes. And classic Thai fried shallots (recipe below) transcend any nationality.

Caramelized Shallots

Enjoy as a condiment, on toast or a sandwich, or with steak.

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 lbs. fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact
Salt and pepper
Garnish: fresh parsley

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Slice shallots crosswise into rings. Add to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Turn to low; continue cooking until shallots soften but do not burn, 10–15 minutes.

Top with fresh parsley.

Pickled Shallots

1 cup rice vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
About 18 very small shallots (8 ounces)

In small saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Add shallots; return to boil. Transfer shallots and liquid to bowl or jar; cool. Store, covered, in refrigerator.

Roasted Salsa

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1-3 serrano or jalapeno chiles
1½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Salt
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Heat barbecue grill or comal on medium-high. Place onion, shallot, garlic, tomatoes and chiles on a comal or baking tray on the grill; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Sauté about 15 minutes, stirring, until vegetables are charred and blackened. Remove from heat into a mortar and pestle, adding lime juice a spoon at a time until desired consistency. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Shallot Vinaigrette

1 large shallot, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice
1 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Optional: 1 Tbsp. minced fresh herbs (cilantro, dill, basil, oregano, thyme)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker jar. Add fresh herbs if using. Shake well to combine.

Bet you can’t eat just one of these crispy fried shallots!

One-Pot Chicken with Shallots

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
12-15 whole medium shallots, peeled
2 cups white wine
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tarragon sprigs
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

Pat chicken very dry with paper towels. Sprinkle chicken pieces with flour, salt and pepper.

Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet over medium-high heat. When it foams, cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all sides. Remove from pan; set aside.

Add shallots to pan; sauté in the butter and chicken fat until soft and caramelized, 10–12 minutes. Stir in wine to deglaze the pan. Add mustard and tarragon, then chicken. Cover, turn heat to low; simmer 30 minutes.

Remove lid and cook 15–20 minutes more to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken. Stir in cherry tomatoes and serve.

Crispy Fried Shallots

Save the oil the shallots are cooked in — it will have a subtle spicy flavor

1 pound of shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1½-2 cups vegetable oil
Salt

Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large heatproof bowl or saucepan.

On the stovetop: Combine shallots and oil in medium saucepan or wok. Place over high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until shallots begin to bubble, 2–3 minutes. Continue cooking until shallots turn pale golden brown, 8–10 minutes longer, stirring constantly to ensure even cooking. Working quickly, pour oil and shallots (contents of saucepan) into prepared strainer set over a bowl. (Shallots continue cooking after draining, so don’t let them get too dark.)

In the microwave: Combine shallots and oil in large microwave-safe bowl. Stir with a fork to separate. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir, loosening any shallots clinging to sides. Continue to microwave in 2-minute increments, stirring between each round, until shallots begin turning lightly golden, 6–8 minutes total. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each round, until they’re evenly pale golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.

Working quickly, pour contents of bowl into prepared strainer set over a different bowl. (Shallots continue cooking after draining, so don’t let them get too dark.) Continue with directions below.

Immediately transfer shallots to prepared baking sheet, spreading into an even layer. Season with salt. Allow shallots and oil to cool to room temperature, then transfer to separate airtight containers. Store fried shallots at room temperature; refrigerate shallot oil for later use in other dishes.

Janet Blaser is the author of the best-selling book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, featured on CNBC and MarketWatch. She has lived in Mexico since 2006. You can find her on Facebook.

Who’s really in charge here?

By

Sarah DeVries

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June 18, 2022

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Still from The Squid Game TV series — The highly successful *Squid Game* TV series took a popular conspiracy theory as its premise: that most people's lives are controlled by mysterious cabals.

A couple of weeks ago, keening from the overwhelm of seeing yet another school shooting — along with yet another round of no one actually doing anything to prevent such things in the future — I wrote a new story (it’s on my Patreon account, but I’ve made it public so no need to subscribe).

The premise was this: there is another dimension much like our own world — the same people, places, relationships, etc.— where everything works the way it should.

There, the gods talk to us regularly, justice and fairness reign and our better selves run the show. We’re happy and mostly get what we want, or at least what we need. Half the population doesn’t have to take antidepressants just to function. Everyone knows what they’re meant to do in life, and they’re able to do so.

Suddenly, everyone in this utopic dimension starts to dream about themselves in this one — that is, our dimension; it seems like Hell in comparison.

When they ask the gods what’s going on in our world, the deities remain mysteriously silent, and so the versions of us in the happy dimension try to forget about their dystopic counterparts during their waking hours.

As I imagine is the case for pretty much everyone else in the world, I try hard to make sense of tragedy, pain and disappointment. And boy, it ain’t easy.

This, in my opinion, is why conspiracy theories are so appealing to us. It’s also why I think religion as an institution will never go away despite predictions of its demise for quite a while now: we’re hardwired to think we’re such important creatures that it’s simply impossible that there’s no divine plan for us.

The idea that someone out there is In Charge is comforting. Even if the In Charge entity makes terrible things happen, at least there’s someone to blame, which is its own kind of comfort.

I thought about this when reading Sheryl Losser’s piece on the history of Freemasonry in Mexico. It’s not an organization I know much about; nevertheless, its existence as a “secret society” is fascinating, because it gives at least the illusion that there’s some sort of mastermind group Making Things Happen in society.

There seems to be evidence that many of Mexico’s independence and revolutionary heroes were Freemasons, though — and this is what makes it extra interesting — it’s not something we can know for sure beyond a certain point.

Is there anything more tempting to believe in than the idea that there are certain people out there who’ve learned how to tap into some kind of magical historical power that lets them direct, or at least influence, the course of history — people who are really In Charge at a time where there seem to be precious few actual adults in the room?

It might be scary, but it’s also much more comforting than the belief that random cruelty happens for no reason.

And if we can believe there’s a mastermind group that acts as key players to steer the direction of history in a positive way, it’s not a stretch at all to imagine that there are organizations steering things in a negative way.

In Mexico, of course, the institutions that are hurting us are no mystical secret. The government is (still) openly corrupt in many ways, and narcos openly control large swaths of the country. While these two things may certainly count as conspiracies to gain influence, power and money, they’re certainly not secret ones.

Then there are the theories: AMLO and many of his supporters believe, for example, that there is an organized effort on the part of the media to discredit him, as opposed to the media simply doing their job of reporting the goings-on in the country. There are still people who believe the COVID-19 vaccine is intentional poison and others who’ve always believed that COVID was either made up to throw us into an economic depression (what for?) or to decimate us. (If that were the purpose, they didn’t do a good job of it at all, did they?)

And wasn’t there something about the danger of cell phone towers for a while there? And cell phones themselves?

When good things happen, we tend to find solid reasons for them (usually that we’re very clever or very divinely loved or have worked very hard).

When bad things happen, we look for an actual boogeyman, because it means that there are reasons that those things are happening; if there’s not an obvious reason, then the temptation to build one in our minds and make it real is strong — and dare I say, natural. Randomness and a lack of control under anyone are more terrifying than simply random, dumb luck.

“What kind of dimension is this?” someone in my story might ask.

Well, it’s ours. Often, the reasons why things happen are clear. For the rest, I try to calm myself with this wisdom: Relax. Nothing is under control.

Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com and her Patreon page.

Mexico does the (corn) mash

By

Leigh Thelmadatter

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June 18, 2022

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Cextim Mexican corn whiskey — Cextim Mexican whiskey focuses on using the local variety of corn grown by the Mixtecs in hot, dry southern Puebla.

Now, with so much corn here, you would think that Mexico has a long and widespread history of making some kind of alcohol with it. But this is not so.

There are a number of fermented corn drinks such as Oaxaca’s tejate, with little or no alcohol content. Distillation was introduced by the Spanish, but agave and sugar cane became the favored bases for mash since these produce far more fermentable sugars than Mexico’s starch-heavy corn varieties.

The first record of a corn whiskey in Mexico is from the 1920s, when border communities bootlegged into the United States during Prohibition. After alcohol became legal again, distilleries such as DM in Ciudad Juárez eventually went bankrupt.

The practice of making corn whiskey (written as whisky and güisqui in Spanish) would reemerge only in the past decade or so. The drink’s consumption has grown exponentially in Mexico, with sales second only to tequila, even though most brands are expensive imports.

Abasolo Mexican whiskey — Many Mexican craft whisky makers, like Abasolo, accentuate their use of the nation’s heirloom corn in their marketing.

Creating domestic whiskeys not only holds appeal for the pocketbook but also for national pride. If Japan can make world-class whiskeys, couldn’t Mexico? International alcohol producer Reynald Grattagliano absolutely believes it can.

Mexico’s secret weapon is its corn. Mexico has 64 native varieties of corn to experiment with. This not only makes Mexican whiskeys distinct from foreign ones, says Sierra Norte’s Douglas French, it creates a wide variety of distinct flavors.

Chef and food historian Irad Santacruz Arciniega says that it’s not just a matter of genetics but also the different microenvironments that these corn varieties grow in.

Ninety percent of Mexican whiskeys take advantage of the country’s heirloom varieties. Producers such as Hector Justino Gallegos of El Mestizo José Juan Arteaga de Luna of Juan Montaña firmly believe it is necessary to create something authentically Mexican.

Sierra Norte Mexican whisky — Bottle of Oaxaca’s Sierra Norte whiskey with three of the five types of grains the distillery uses.

Ernesto Vargas and Celeste Mendoza of Cuatro Volcanes go further, saying that producers must have relationships with the communities and cultures of the farmers that provide that grain.

Mexico does not have many legal parameters related to whiskey, but many producers emulate U.S. standards with an eye toward exportation. The grain used must be 80% corn, but some insist on 100%, despite certain difficulties.

For the label añejo (aged), a whiskey needs at least three years in the barrel. Most are reposado with six months to a year. A few are unaged white whiskeys, with the Juan Montaña brand of Aguascalientes even marketing itself as “moonshine.”

Mexico’s whiskey makers have come to the industry via different paths, many diversifying from mezcal production. Others like Tomás Nava of el Gran Tunal has experimented with all kinds of mashes including cactus fruit. Vargas learned whiskey production in the U.S.

Gran Tunal Distillery, San Luis Potosi — Sprouted heirloom corn ready for malting and a copper still at the Gran Tunal (Great Cactus Fruit) Distillery in the city of San Luis Potosí.

The largest and best known of Mexico’s whiskeys is Abasolo, a from the small town of Jilotepec, México state. Its whiskey takes advantage of the local cacahuacintle corn variety, which naturally has enzymes to help convert starches. It is even treated with lime, as if to make tortillas. This whiskey has been internationally ranked and is readily available in Mexico, especially online.

Mexican corn whiskey has caught the attention of major alcohol producers. Revés Distillery was founded by Hans Backoff of the Monte Xanic winery in Baja California. The Koch Group began producing Whisky Prieto and Prieta in 2018. Reynald Grattagliano has established a number of economical whiskey brands in Mexico, most notably Williamson 18. He’s also created the Mexican Whiskey Association.

But most producers remain small, self-financing their efforts, says French, often with a very local or regional distribution area. He began Sierra Norte in the middle of the 2010s because of an agave shortage. Today, he makes five types, each focused on different corn varieties from the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. His main market is foreign, but Sierra Norte whiskeys are available on Amazon and other outlets in Mexico.

One of the major selling points of the Mexican whiskey industry is its socioeconomic benefits for Mexico. The most obvious is that the country has always grown corn, a lot of corn. Grattagiliano sees corn as superior to agave as it is far more sustainable, which requires a lot more fertilizer and takes at least seven years to be usable.

Whiskey provides a new market for the heirloom varieties almost entirely cultivated by small farmers, who cannot compete with corn being imported from abroad. The value added by alcohol production means that whiskey makers can offer better prices to farmers, who then have the ability to preserve more of their traditional corn and lifestyles.

Corn can be grown all over Mexico, but it remains to be seen which varieties hold the most promise.

New brands and distilleries still appear. To date, there are over a dozen producers and even more brands, including Pierde Almas, Maiz Nation and Origen 35 from Oaxaca; Astro from Michoacán; Quinto Legado and Whiskey Lucan from Jalisco; Juan del Campo from Querétaro; and Scar from Sonora in addition to the others mentioned above.

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.