"Come back! We just want your autograph!" (This image was generated using AI tools)
All stories in El Jalapeño are satire and not real news.
MEXICO CITY — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stationed outside Estadio Azteca this week acknowledged that they are operating entirely outside U.S. legal jurisdiction, adding that they don’t really see why that should be a problem.
“We go where the work is,” said Agent Tom Pruitt, who flew to Mexico City on Tuesday on what ICE described in a press release as “an operational deployment” and Mexican authorities described as “absolutely not authorized and please leave.”
“You know, Bob this is exactly how Fox News makes San Diego look on TV.” (This image generated using AI tools)
The Mexican government issued three formal diplomatic protests, all of which ICE said it would “take under advisement.” The U.S. State Department said it was “looking into the matter.”
Agents reported detaining eleven individuals outside the stadium before the Mexican National Guard intervened and explained, at some length, how countries work.
“They made some interesting points,” Pruitt conceded, “but we did get eleven.”
The White House defended the operation, saying that sovereignty is “a globalist concept” and that ICE agents had acted “with tremendous courage and very good instincts.”
All eleven detainees were released by Mexican authorities. Nine are Mexican citizens. One is German. The final detainee was a Texan man who had overstayed his Mexican tourist visa.
ICE has requested funding for a permanent Mexico City field office.
Namaste! International Yoga Day is just around the corner, and Mexico City is getting ready to open its third eye. (Sofía Rueda/Bodai Yoga)
When I lived at an ashram in 2023, my teacher, Ram Jain, invited my peers and me to return to normal life, seeking the same silence we had cultivated during the weeks we shared. The challenge became much greater when, after living in theDutch countryside for over a month, I had to return to myever-colorful Mexico City.
However, now yoga is coming to the city, too. CDMX-dwellers will have an opportunity to reconnect with their inner silence this Sunday, June 21, as part of the celebrations for International Yoga Day 2026. With free mass classes, sound healing sessions and events focused on deep breathing, will Mexico City finally open her third eye this year? We’ll find out.
A chilly morning breeze plus freshly squeezed juice — sounds like a plan, right? (Elizabeth Kuri/Ojo de Agua)
In the meantime, we bring you a digest of the best events to experience International Yoga Day 2026 in Mexico City — curated with love, from adevoted yoga practitioner to the MND readership.
Morning walk across Condesa
Kick off your day with a wonderful stroll across Avenida Ámsterdam, the ever-beautiful main circuit inColonia Condesa. Framed by lush jacaranda trees — which by now are notin full bloom, but still beautiful — this Sunday morning walk can feel somewhat chilly, as Mexico City typically wakes up to a mild temperature in summer.
You can start your walk at the iconic Citlaltépetl roundabout, right in front of the Ojo de Agua restaurant in La Condesa. If you want an energy boost, head to the takeout window and order their Purify juice, made with grapefruit, parsley and nopal. I promise: It’s a breakfast classic.
Location: Citlaltépetl 23C, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc
Cost: Depends on the juice you order.
Wake up to a wonderful chai tea
As you continue walking through the Ámsterdam median, you’ll witness how the neighborhood awakens: the cafes start to open, the yoga studios unroll their mats and everything seems to become festive.
As you approach the intersection of Ámsterdam and Ozuluama, you will find the iconic Farmacia Internacional on the opposite corner. If you’re not so much into nopal juice and more daring combinations, you can’t miss trying their chai tea.
Try to arrive early (around 9 a.m.), as there’s usually a line to get in on weekends. I recommend ordering takeout at their lovely window overlooking the tree-lined Nuevo León street.
Location: Nuevo León 120, Condesa, Cuauhtémoc Cost: 75 pesos for a cozy chai latte. You can check the menuhere.
Mindfulness at Parque México
You don’t have to come into a headstand to celebrate International Yoga Day in Mexico City. Originally, the practice was contemplative, nothing more. (Gobierno de la CDMX)
Believe it or not, Mexico City still has places where you can enjoy a well-deserved forest bath (more like a pseudo-forest bath, but you get the idea). Parque México is among the favorite spots for cultivating that contemplative state: If you focus your attention solely on the trees and the subtle movement of the branches in the wind, you might just get a taste of the mindfulness we’re seeking today.
You can sit in the iconicForo Lindbergh in Parque México, just watching dogs and birds go by, children playing and people enjoying their Sunday morning. While it’s true that all these stimuli might seem distracting, there’s something about observing them that brings you calm. Even more so if you still have your juice or chai tea in hand, sipping it slowly while watching other people’s lives unfold.
Location: Parque México, Av. México s/n, Hipódromo, Cuauhtémoc Cost: Absolutely free of charge!
Mass class at the Monumento a la Revolución
Now, let’s move on to the main event organized by Mexico City. In Plaza de la República, at the foot of the Monument to the Revolution, thousands of yogis will gather to breathe in unison. Hosted by the Embassy of India in Mexico, this massive event has become an International Yoga Day classic in Mexico City.
Last year, roughly 4,000 people joined the mass class to breathe in unison. Join the Gurudev Tagore Indian Cultural Centre and Embassy of India alongside the Government of Mexico City for the 12th International Day of Yoga under the global theme “Yoga for Healthy Aging.” Remember to bring your mat with you, sunblock and a nice, cold bottle of water.
Date: June 21, 9 a.m. Location: Monumento a la Revolución. Plaza de la República s/n, Tabacalera, Cuauhtémoc Cost: Free of charge!
Vinyasa + Soundhealing
If the idea of a massive class under the blazing sun doesn’t appeal to you, we have the perfect alternative. Don’t miss out on a flowy/stretchy asana practice, and join teacher María K. Vilchis for this Vinyasa class. At the end of the physical practice, sound therapist Paulina Hidalgo will close the class with a profound sound bath session using quartz crystal bowls.
After the class, you might reconnect with that inner silence that, amidst the traffic, the heat of the asphalt and the sheer weariness that Mexico City brings, we often forget is there. Sometimes, all it takes is closing your eyes.
Date: June 21, 11:30 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Location: Bodai Yoga Roma, Salamanca 34, Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc Cost: 333 pesos. You can borrow a mat free of charge!
The most controversial goal ever scored: Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. (Public Domain)
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona was brilliant and flawed and is sadly no longer with us. But he is still remembered around the world for his unique skills on the soccer field and his oversized character off it. As time passes, his faults — and he certainly had faults — are forgotten, and we miss him more and more. That is particularly true with the Spanish-speaking people of America, who see Maradona as above all the poor boy from the barrios who made good.
While every country he visited claimed a little of Maradona, we might be forgiven for believing that Mexico held a special place in his heart. Certainly, the two most memorable moments of his football career took place on the hallowed grass of Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, during the 1986 World Cup when he was Argentina’s national team captain: “The Hand of God” goal and, four minutes later, “The Goal of the Century.”
These moments are immortalized in statues and plaques around the Azteca Stadium, and as World Cup fever takes over Mexico and the 40th anniversary of that great day approaches on Monday, it seems appropriate to honor the man and the deeds.
The birth of a legend
If ever a man owned a World Cup, it was Diego Maradona in Mexico in 1986, when, in the course of leading Argentina to glory, he scored two of the most famous goals in soccer history. (Chalo Gallardo/Unsplash)
Diego Armando Maradona was born in the Buenos Aires suburb of Lanús to a working-class family. He was a true child sports prodigy on the junior Cebollitas team that went 141 games undefeated. He made his professional debut for the Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors’ first division team when he was 10 days short of his 16th birthday, becoming the youngest player to ever appear in the league. A few months later, he was playing for Argentina, but for all his talent, manager César Luis Menotti left Maradona out of the national team that won the World Cup on home soil in 1978.
Maradona had his moment on the world stage the following year in the World Youth Championships in Japan. He scored six goals, won the player of the tournament award and dominated every game as Argentina took another international trophy.
The 1982 World Cup in Spain was an underwhelming experience for both Argentina and Maradona. The holders went out rather tamely in the second round. It seemed that Maradona, for all his brilliance, could be subdued by big men shadowing him around the pitch and using muscle and violence to counteract his genius. The players departed from Spain expecting to meet up again in four years in Colombia.
Maradona’s career leading up to the 1986 World Cup
Colombia had originally been chosen as hosts way back in June 1974, although President Julio César Turbay Ayala was lukewarm to the idea of his nation staging a global event of this scale. Now, the tournament had been expanded to 24 teams, which had been fine for Spain, but would be a serious challenge for Colombia.
Colombia’s former president Julio César Turbay Ayala. (Bettman/Getty Images)
In November 1982, Colombia bowed out of hosting, and the 1986 World Cup was suddenly up for grabs. Mexico, the United States and Canada all submitted bids early in 1983, but the five-person special FIFA committee announced that only the Mexican bid had met FIFA’s criteria. On May 20, 1983, the committee announced Mexico’s successful 1986 World Cup bid, making Mexico the first nation to stage the tournament on two separate occasions.
For Maradona, the four years between World Cups had not been his happiest period in life. He had moved to FC Barcelona, which expected his unique skills to lift them out of the shadow of Real Madrid. The brutal treatment Maradona had faced in the 1982 World Cup continued: Most famously, Andoni Goikoetxea, “the Butcher of Bilbao,” broke his ankle, putting Maradona out of the game for three months.
The statistics show both the frustration and the potential of this period. Over two seasons, Maradona was only fit for 38 league games, yet he still scored 22 goals.
In July 1984, Maradona moved on again, to what seemed at the time the most unsuitable of places: He went to Italy to play for SSC Napoli. It seemed like a move designed to fail. Instead, the city and the player fell in love with one another.
‘The Hand of God’
In September 1985, Mexico was struck by a devastating earthquake, but the stadiums escaped any serious damage, and the World Cup plans went ahead. Our story now fast-tracks to June 22 and the tournament quarterfinals, with 114,580 spectators filling Azteca Stadium.
Argentina had been looking better and better as the tournament progressed. On June 22, they came up against an English national team that had scraped through to this stage by the skin of its teeth.
¡La mano de D10s! El Azteca fue testigo del gol que hizo ETERNO a Maradona | TUDN
The English manager, Bobby Robson, was highly respected but not adventurous, and his most talented players were on the bench. The midfield was packed with players who could be trusted to do a simple job well; it was a team picked to avoid defeat, rather than one that hoped to win. There was also an element of political tension between the two nations, with the 1982 Falklands War still fresh in everyone’s minds.
Divine inspiration
For 50 minutes, Argentina pressed forward, and Maradona was everywhere. He launched a run from the halfway line, he skipped around a player, he flicked the ball with his heel to change the direction of the game.
Then, in the 51st minute, Peter Shilton, considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world, came out to punch the ball away, but Maradona got there first. Despite being only 1.65 meters tall, he outleaped Shilton and guided the ball into the net. Goal!
The English players protested furiously. At first, many in the stadium, as well as those watching at home, saw nothing wrong, but as the cameras showed the incident from different angles, it became clear that Maradona had knocked the ball into the net with his hand.
Maradona did nothing to appease the English. The opening goal was, he famously joked, “the hand of God.” This just confirmed to many Europeans the poor sportsmanship they felt lay at the heart of the Latin American game.
‘The Goal of the Century’
Many years before, England’s World Cup hero, Geoff Hurst, had been interviewed on British television after he had also used his hand to guide the ball into the net. Should he have owned up to the referee, the commentator asked. Hurst laughed and pointed out that each season, he’d had perfectly good goals disallowed. If the decision occasionally went his way, then he would say thank you and accept it.
Many Argentina fans saw it along these same lines: How many times had the English pulled, tugged and hacked Maradona to the ground? If the referee had made a mistake, perhaps that just brought a little justice into the game?
The English players were stunned. Set up to defend, they now had to attack and were are off-balance. Four minutes later, Maradona scored again. If the first goal has been one of the most controversial in the history of the sport, this second is the most celebrated: A 60-meter dash that takes Maradona past six challengers and ends with the ball in the net — 11 seconds of athletic skill that defy description and can only be watched and wondered at.
Maradona Goal of the Century - Víctor Hugo Morales commentary - Argentina-England 2-1 1986
More of Maradona in Mexico
The Maradona story continued. He was at the peak of his skills and took Naples to their first-ever league title. But such a passionate love affair could not last, particularly as his personal problems increased.
It was widely known, for example, that he used cocaine, missing training sessions and being absent from games because of it. Then, in 1990, he helped Argentina beat Italy in the World Cup, and the Italian love affair was truly over.
The story of Maradona and Mexico wasn’t finished, though: In March 2002, by which time he had turned 40, Maradona played in the farewell testimonial for Carlos Hermosillo. He was on the pitch for 20 minutes and won a penalty, but, as the 5-5 scoreline suggested, it was hardly a competitive match.
He returned in 2006 with a group of former Argentina stars who put on the ‘Showbol’ indoor football spectacle in Mexico City and Monterrey. It was more circus than sport, but the crowd turned up just to be able to say that they had seen Maradona.
Nor was his love of Mexico limited to the football pitch. He was a fan of the actor Roberto Gómez Bolaños — aka “Chespirito” — and his legendary street orphan character, “El Chavo del Ocho.” Mexican singer-songwriter Marco Antonio Solis was another passion, and Maradona joined him on stage at Luna Park in Buenos Aires to sing “Si no te hubieras ido.” (If You Hadn’t Left).
The goals live on forever
Incredibly, in September 2018, Maradona was appointed head coach of Dorados de Sinaloa. The greatest player in the world was managing a team in the Mexican second division. Yet it worked.
It became, as in Naples, a love affair between the man and the community. Neither was it just a publicity stunt. Maradona worked hard, twice guiding the team to the playoffs, where they twice missed promotion to Mexico’s top football league, Liga MX. When he left after 10 months, it was due to declining health, and respect was openly displayed by both parties.
There would be one more job in football, a spell managing Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata back in his native Argentina, but the great man’s health was clearly failing. He died at age 60 in 2020, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to his wake and funeral procession in Buenos Aires. “The Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century,” however, live on in the memories of all who witnessed them.
Bob Patemanlived in Mexico for six years. He is a librarian and teacher with a Master’s Degree in History.
On the rugged coast of Sonora lies sleepy San Carlos, the gateway to a world of wonder.
San Carlos is for you if you like: Quiet beaches, rugged mountains, swimming with cows
The first thing that will strike you about San Carlos is that it’s quiet. It’s a town with everything you’d want from Mexico’s glorious Pacific coastline, tucked away in the Gulf of California.
The Sonora beach town is not a destination of big crowds or big gestures, and that is part of its appeal: Midweek, you can still find long, quiet stretches of sand; calm, swimmable water for snorkeling and paddleboarding; and dark, starry nights that remind visitors this is a town framed by both desert and sea. For travelers willing to rent a car, slow down and let the days fall into a simple rhythm of beaches, viewpoints and small-town routines, this corner of Sonora offers a version of Mexico’s coast that feels approachable yet slightly off the well-worn track.
San Carlos works as a counterpoint to Mexico’s bigger beach hubs: a place where access through Hermosillo, a small inventory of rooms and rentals, and a marina-focused economy naturally cap the scale of tourism without sacrificing clear water, good seafood or time on the sea. Instead of promenades packed with bars and beach clubs, you get a quieter rhythm of boat trips, diving and early-evening malecón strolls, with visitors planning around seasons, opting for the milder shoulder months between summer heat and cooler winters rather than worrying about how to escape the crowds.
If you’re headed to the beach for the first time, veteran Mexico News Daily reporter Gaby Solís took a look at where to swim, what to do and the best food in town.
Sometimes, humans get a humbling reminder of who’s really in charge when a Sonoran sandstorm rears up out of the desert and rolls toward the Gulf of California like a moving mountain, swallowing condos, marinas and palm trees in a wall of dust. One minute it’s all blue sky and sunset cocktails; the next, the horizon disappears, the wind roars and you find yourself watching nature redraw the scene in sepia tones while you wait it out indoors.
For travelers, storms like this aren’t about drama or damage stats so much as perspective: In a place where cactus and tide line meet, your role is to step back and witness the show when it arrives. Come for the sailing and beach walks, but leave room in your San Carlos story for moments when the desert reminds the resort who was here first.
In 2019, just steps from the high-rise condos and palapa bars of San Carlos’ Playa Blanca, even the local livestock got in on beach life, as a viral webcam clip showed a lone cow ambling the shoreline and wading into the Gulf of California like any sunburned tourist in search of a cool-down. For visitors today, it’s a quirky snapshot of everyday Sonora that still rings true, in a town where beach days unfold at a leisurely pace and the line between postcard-perfect resort and working cattle country remains charmingly thin.
It’s exactly the kind of unscripted, low-key moment that captures San Carlos’ appeal: relaxed, a little rough around the edges and never taking itself too seriously, even when the internet briefly points its cameras this way.
Just 15 minutes across the bay from San Carlos, Guaymas comes across as a working port with a long memory, where desert and sea meet in a compact city shaped by Indigenous communities, Spanish colonization, pearl fishing, foreign incursions and Mexico’s early naval history. Walk the malecón and nearby plazas and you move past landmarks like El Pescador and the Plaza de los Tres Presidentes, reminders that this harbor has produced national figures as well as generations of fishermen.
Give it time and Guaymas also shows a quieter side: bays, estuaries and mangroves on the edge of town, views across to Teta Kawi and San Carlos, and everyday routines that still revolve more around the port than tourism. For visitors already familiar with Sonora’s beaches, it offers a grounded counterpoint — a place to connect the region’s landscape, history and contemporary life in one small, very local-feeling city.
Just 250 kilometers east of San Carlos, travelers can swap beach chairs for the backroads of Sonora’s Sierra foothills, where the Northern Jaguar Reserve shelters some of the last wild jaguars along Mexico’s northern border. Base yourself in nearby ranch country, then join local conservation groups to see camera traps, birdlife, and “jaguar-friendly” cattle operations in action, for an easygoing, soft-adventure day that’s as appealing to curious nature lovers as it is to retired road-trippers.
A visit here isn’t about guaranteed big-cat sightings so much as stepping into a working landscape where ranchers, biologists and schoolkids are learning to live with predators again, trading old myths for trailcam images and practical coexistence. Travelers who come with patience and a light footprint are rewarded with expansive canyon views, star-filled nights and the rare satisfaction of knowing their tourism pesos help keep one of North America’s most elusive animals on the map.
San Carlos, Where the Desert Meets the Sea / Sub English
How to get there
By air
Hermosillo: Less than two hours from San Carlos, Hermosillo International Airport connects the city with the entire region. Flights to all northern Mexican airports, plus Mexico City (both AICM and AIFA), Guadalajara, Cancún and Guadalajara mean getting here from almost anywhere in Mexico is extremely simple. For U.S. travelers, Hermosillo boasts a direct connection to Phoenix Sky Harbor, opening up ease of access from north of the border too.
Los Mochis: Los Mochis serves domestic routes from most major Mexico hubs, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, San Jose del Cabo and Tijuana. For travelers in the region, it also serves several smaller airports, including La Paz, Creel, Mexicali and Chihuahua. Located 400 km (248 miles) from San Carlos, it is a five-hour scenic coastal drive.
By road
It is recommended to avoid driving at night in northern Mexico, although driving on toll roads and highways during daylight hours is considered safe.
Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point): 549 km (341 miles), roughly a six-hour drive.
Nogales, Arizona: 424km (263 miles), roughly a five-hour drive.
Lukeville, Arizona: 572km (355 miles), roughly a six-and-a-half-hour drive.
Thousands of fans gathered at Mexico City's Angel of Independence to celebrate the Mexican national team's 1-0 victory over South Korea on Thursday. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
The tournament now reaches a historic milestone: on Saturday, June 20, Tunisia and Japan face off in Monterrey in what FIFA has confirmed is the global showpiece’s 1,000th match played. Meanwhile, back in the corridors of power, U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s remarks about reserving the right to military action in Mexico kept diplomats and analysts on edge all week long.
Didn’t have time to catch this week’s top stories? Here’s what you missed.
Homicides in May were at their lowest in 11 years
On Tuesday, National Public Security System chief Marcela Figueroa presented preliminary data showing an average of 47.3 homicides per day across Mexico in May — a 27.6% drop compared to May 2025 and the lowest monthly figure recorded since President Sheinbaum took office in October 2024. Officials also noted it was the least violent May since 2015.
The picture across the full January-May 2026 period was similarly encouraging: an average of 50.4 homicides per day, down 29.8% year-on-year, with murders declining in 28 of Mexico’s 32 states. San Luis Potosí led the way with an 81% reduction. Guanajuato remained the most violent state with 668 homicides — 8.8% of the national total — followed by Baja California, Chihuahua and Sinaloa. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch added that authorities have arrested more than 56,000 people for high-impact crimes, dismantled 2,407 drug laboratories and seized 419 tonnes of narcotics since Sheinbaum took office, along with nearly 1,500 extortion-related arrests since last July.
Vance doubles down on military threat
The week’s most charged diplomatic moment came when a clip from U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s interview with N+ Univision’s Ilia Calderón was released Wednesday.
Asked directly whether the U.S. would respect President Sheinbaum’s “red line” against military operations on Mexican soil, Vance declined to commit: “We would take military action if we feel like we have to to protect our people. We don’t want to do that unless we’re working with the government of Mexico, but we have to reserve the right.” The remarks came the same day President Trump, speaking at the G7 Summit in France, declared that the U.S. would now shift its cartel focus from sea operations to land — and repeated his description of Mexico as a country where “the cartels run” things, though he called Sheinbaum “a very good woman.”
¿Qué tan posible es una invasión de Estados Unidos a México para atacar al crimen organizado? JD Vance le responde a Ilia Calderón en una entrevista especial.
Puedes ver la entrevista completa en ViX y nuestro canal de YouTube. Cada domingo estrenamos episodio de “Esta Semana”,… pic.twitter.com/cM4Ov3hh2Z
Adding a further wrinkle, U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson posted on X that the United States has in fact transferred 313 wanted criminals to Mexico since Trump’s return to the White House — directly contradicting the Mexican Foreign Ministry’s May assertion that not a single one of Mexico’s 269 extradition requests had been honored. It remains unclear whether any of the 313 cases cited by Johnson overlap with Mexico’s formal extradition list, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry has not confirmed the figures. Sheinbaum, for her part, told Thursday’s press conference that Trump is “not well-informed” and reaffirmed her confidence that Mexico’s security results would forestall any unilateral U.S. action.
Sheinbaum to meet next week with the King of Spain
That investment ambition is being backed by concrete financial muscle. Spanish banking giant BBVA this week unveiled its “Smartshoring Mexico” initiative — a new service designed to help Spanish companies establish and scale operations in the Mexican market, with services ranging from preferential foreign-currency accounts to connections with local legal, tax and accounting firms. In 2025 alone, BBVA supported more than 3,400 Spanish companies expanding into Mexico, where the bank counts more than 30 million customers and holds a 25% share of the loan market.
Mexico slips in global competitiveness ranking
Switzerland’s Institute for Management Development (IMD) released its annual World Competitiveness Yearbook this week, and Mexico fell seven places to 62nd among 70 nations — a 12-spot decline since 2019.
The country posted declines across all four IMD pillars: economic performance (now 41st), business efficiency (57th), government efficiency (67th) and infrastructure (64th). The IMD attributed the slide primarily to institutional inefficiency, judicial uncertainty and a deterioration in public finances. Mexico’s strongest suit remains its labor market — ranked 12th globally — but that advantage is increasingly offset by governance deficiencies. Mexico now trails Chile (43rd), Argentina (58th), Colombia (59th) and Peru (60th) among Latin American nations.
On the eve of their national team’s World Cup opener, a multitude of enthusiastic Colombian fans turned the area around the Angel of Independence into a sea of yellow. (Galo Cañas/Cuartoscuro)
World Cup numbers: Big on spirit, mixed on receipts
The tournament’s economic scorecard for Mexico is still to be determined. Hotel occupancy across Mexico’s three host cities is reportedly short of projections, with Mexico City hovering around 65%, Monterrey at roughly 60% and Guadalajara at barely 50% — far below the 80% benchmark the industry had targeted. The Mexican Employers’ Confederation cited structural problems including traffic congestion, transport saturation and overdependence on informal employment as factors dampening the anticipated windfall from 5.5 million expected visitors and a government-projected 60-billion-peso economic boost.
Mexico City did, however, bank an estimated $70 million boost during the first World Cup weekend, driven heavily by food, drink and entertainment spending. Indeed, the fan experience on the streets has been anything but muted. On Tuesday, thousands of Colombian fans descended on the Paseo de la Reforma and turned the Angel of Independence into a sea of yellow ahead of Colombia’s opener against Uzbekistan at the Azteca. ESPN estimated close to 10,000 fans gathered at El Ángel, with one Colombian visitor summing up the mood: “We’ve found ourselves in an incredible country. Wherever we go, we feel the love from Mexicans to Colombians.”
One security incident cut through the festive atmosphere: Mexico’s military shot down a drone that was flying over the South Korean national soccer team, raising concerns about security protocols around visiting squads. Authorities confirmed the drone was neutralized without injury to any players or staff, and an investigation was opened.
Ancient Maya Calendar unearthed in Campeche
On the cultural front, archaeologists announced a remarkable discovery this week: an ancient monument in Campeche bearing the region’s oldest known Maya calendar date, pushing back the documented record of Maya calendrical inscription in the area and shedding new light on the civilization’s early astronomical and ritual practices.
Researchers said the find adds a significant piece to the ongoing effort to understand how the Classic Maya civilization developed across the Yucatán Peninsula.
MND’s inaugural healthcare survey: A resounding thumbs-up from foreign patients
The headline finding: 92.9% of respondents rated the quality of private healthcare they received in Mexico as “excellent” or “good,” with 63.1% saying it was superior to healthcare in their home country. More than 82% found it cheaper than back home, and 95.6% described access as “very easy” or “easy.” The most commonly used services were dental care (83.5% of respondents), blood work (82.5%) and general practitioner consultations (76.6%). The single most common answer to what would improve the experience? “Nothing — I am genuinely satisfied,” cited by 35.7% of respondents.
🥐 Mexico City’s beloved Panadería Rosetta in Roma Norte won a coveted Paris-based pastry award, cementing its status as one of Latin America’s finest bakeries.
🚴 Mexican cycling star Isaac del Toro notched another win ahead of his Tour de France debut, raising hopes for a historic Mexican performance at cycling’s greatest race.
This story contains summaries of original Mexico News Daily articles. The summaries were generated by Claude, then revised and fact-checked by a Mexico News Daily staff editor.
Construction on a new border wall near Big Bend National Park in West Texas could begin this summer ... although communication has been slow to filter to residents in West Texas. (Marfa Public Radio/Instagram)
A needle and thread are pulled carefully through a fabric tortilla warmer, ripped and knotted by the skillful fingers of a local woman of Boquillas, a small Mexican town overlooking the Rio Grande and the site of the nation’s only legal border crossing with the U.S. The embroidery reads No al muro (“No to the wall”), a message started in the first Trump administration.
On March 17, 2026, the Presidio Municipal Development District, a political subdivision of the state of Texas, wrote to a handful of federal agencies — U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District and International Boundary and Water Commission — expressing concerns and demanding answers about a newly approved state project.
The wall was signed off on earlier this year by then Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. (Marfa Public Radio/Instagram)
A contractor had called in to some county officials about a new state project. Residents were rightly confused.
It is a well-known fact that President Donald Trump is an avid fan of wall-building, so it brings little surprise but great pain to many that a new barricade is set to sprout out of the rural outcrops of Texas’ Big Bend National Park.
The proposed steel-bollard border wall in Big Bend
Announced March 5 by the Department of Homeland Security, the US $2.45 billion barrier wall is rumored to be a 30-foot steel-bollard structure, decked out with fiber optic cables, surveillance cameras and the like, and with 12-foot-wide maintenance roads and 24-foot-wide patrol roads.
A CBP map showing the combined existing and planned stretches of the U.S.’ southwest border wall. The area of the Big Bend project is denoted by the light-green markings. (CBP)
It includes US $960.4 million given to Barnard Construction Co. for the corridor that includes Presidio. It was also reported that Fisher Sand and Gravel, a Trump-allied contractor with a history of environmental violations, would receive a US $1.2 billion contract to build 70 to 80 miles of wall from Presidio County’s Ruidosa to Colorado Canyon.
A lot is at stake for the 4,000 residents of El Presidio, particularly regarding how the proposed border barrier construction will affect the levee, which is the sole protection against flooding in the area and stands at no small cost.
The Presidio Valley Flood Control System, operated by the International Boundary and Water Commission, consists of 15 miles of engineered levee running parallel to the Rio Grande. The system was extensively rebuilt following severe flooding in 2008 that destroyed hundreds of homes and triggered a federal disaster declaration. In the aftermath, the federal government allocated more than US $14 million for recovery, and the levee system now has an estimated replacement value approaching US $100 million.
As a result of blatant neglect from the federal agency, the community is in the dark over what exactly is being built, and when, which poses serious threats to transportation, economic assets and sheer safety.
No communication with affected communities
John Kennedy, executive director of the Presidio Municipal Development District, asserted: “This isn’t about being for or against a border wall (but about) whether the federal government can build major infrastructure in a floodplain, on top of a treaty-mandated levee, without telling the community it’s supposed to protect or the agencies responsible for the infrastructure already there.”
Had a hard engineering assessment been made? Has the U.S. Army Corps given engineering support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)? How would the 30-foot bollard barrier affect the integrity of the levee? What about the Presidio-Ojinaga International Rail Crossing? And is there a flood-risk assessment? (The crossing, on the South Orient Rail Line, is one of only eight international crossings in the nation, and was specifically rebuilt in alignment with the new levee after the destruction of the flood almost 20 years prior.)
In addition to questioning whether they could expect any healthy community communication or stakeholder consultation by Customs and Border Protection, these were some of the many questions posed by the Presidio Development District.
How the wall project came about
The DHS approved the wall’s construction in early 2026, signed off by then Secretary Kristi Noem, who called the Big Bend sector “an area of high illegal entry where illegal aliens regularly attempt to enter the United States and smuggle illicit drugs.”
Over two dozen environmental and historic protection laws were bypassed to fast-track the border wall, so little is known about how it might affect native flora and fauna. (National Parks Service)
Nonprofits such as the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Ruidosa Church have filed lawsuits in El Paso, Texas, against DHS on the basis that its waiving of environmental laws is a violation of the Constitution, specifically a neglect of the major question doctrine, mandating congressional approval for such high-impact projects, and the power legally granted to it by Congress. The Texas Civil Rights Project has filed complaints over the withholding of public records regarding the construction agenda.
Why exactly DHS feels that a new wall is necessary is up for debate. The Big Bend area celebrates a craggy and changeable terrain of mountain ranges, canyons and desert, offering natural inhibitors to cross-border movement. Local sheriffs have reportedly expressed concern over the economic and environmental impacts such a construction could have and say technological surveillance, such as advanced aerial systems, could be more effective in these low-traffic rural areas.
It’s not just residents of El Presidio who have expressed concern. A member of the Center for Biological Diversity likened the project to that of the border wall built in Arizona, which resulted in the destruction of precious natural and cultural sites by federal contractors.
Bipartisan backlash has come in full force, from local businesses, grassroots activists, sheriffs, environmentalists and community members, including the community coalition No Big Bend Wall in West Texas.
Presidio is also home to La Junta de los Ríos: the convergence of the Rio Grande and Rio Conchos. Millennia of Native American history in the soils and riparian environment are threatened by the construction; both the Archaeological and Historical Preservation Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act were among the laws waived by DHS. The El Polvo archaeological site would also be damaged.
Because the budget for the wall has already been approved, it’s set to go up, even as West Texas residents protest. (Marfa Public Radio/Instagram)
Threats to wildlife
Local wildlife is at risk of being cut off by the wall, including the bobcats and foxes that stalk the scrubs, the many stout javelina that trot by night along the desert floor and the 30 or 40 black bears that have only started recolonizing the area in the last few decades after hunting and habitat loss caused populations to drop significantly. Ecosystems will suffer from mobility loss and building byproducts.
Ranch and tourism-based economies would also be impacted due to the border wall being planned to cut off the river. Ecotourism is particularly critical to the health of the local economy, with more than 561,000 visitors generating US $57 million in 2024, drawn by gushing green-tinted rapids, vast swaths of desert flora and burnt apricot sunsets over the bronzed limestone cliffs. Tour and hiking guides, stable owners and hospitality workers will all be affected.
What happens next?
Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were reported in Presidio County last week for discussion with landowners, many of whom have been handed “Right of Entry for Survey and Site Assessment” documents, but information past that is disquietingly nebulous.
The Presidio Municipal Development District is anxious to find out the planned construction timeline, from land acquisition to physical development, having been given no warning whatsoever. Legal transparency seems to be as clear as the view of the other side of the wall will be, and apparently, landowners who don’t cooperate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection will face harsh penalties by the Department of Justice.
What will go ahead and when is still unconfirmed, but what we do know for now is that Trump’s newest wall is facing fervent bipartisan opposition, offering little benefit to humans and wildlife of the Big Bend alike.
Arguably, this is just a further physical enactment of the Trump administration’s MAGA electoral strategy, which fetishizes exclusivity and celebrates a separation of the “national” and the “immigrant.”
Time will tell if U.S. and Mexican residents will successfully fight back. Until then, “No al muro.”
Writer Sarah DeVries only spoke English with her daughter, despite raising her in Mexico. That's because the Spanish was the easy part. (Stephen Andrews/Unsplash)
It wasn’t until my daughter reached kindergarten that she realized that the ability to speak English was something other people thought was cool.
“Bye, Mommy! Have a good day, Mommy! I’ll see you in the afternoon, Mommy!” she’d shout for all to hear as she walked toward her classroom. She seemed to relish the head turns from the parents and the open-mouthed stares of her classmates. I mean, it’s not every day that being different makes you cooler (as opposed to simply weirder).
Raising a bilingual child is rewarding and kind of cool, but there are some things parents should know first. (Note Thanun/Unsplash)
At home, it has always been natural for her to use one language with me and another language with her father and anyone else who happened to be around. Her “mother tongue” has mostly been exactly that: the language she speaks with her mother. The rest of her world, except when we travel to the United States or have visitors from there, is in Spanish.
Today, we’re going to take some time away from all the news of the day and focus instead on a question I get quite a lot: how did you teach your kid English?
I, of course, haven’t sat down to “teach” her as I would kids in a classroom; that’s not how native language acquisition works.
But before I came to Mexico, I’d always figured that being a foreigner in a foreign country and having kids there would pretty much do it; not so, I’ve found! However, it’s not as complicated as it seems if you follow a few simple rules:
Only speak to your child in your native language — especially if you’re the foreigner
This is by far the most important item on the list. In fact, you could do only this and you and your kids would probably be golden.
This seems simple, but I’ve observed many native English-speaking parents in Mexico — mostly fathers, for some reason — speak to their children primarily in (not very good) Spanish. I have some theories on why men, especially, do this, but that could be an entirely different article. For now, we’ll just stick with the do this, not this instructions.
Anyway! Insisting on this point (and you must insist for this to work) means that if they want to talk to you, they’ll have to do it in your language. All the time. Or at least … 99% of the time?
It’s possible, even likely, that you’ll meet some resistance from your child at some point. After all, speaking in one language with everybody instead of two with different sets of people is easier.
In my daughter’s case, she tried to insist for about two days when she was two years old that I speak in Spanish, since she obviously knew I spoke it. She’d ask me for things in Spanish and get mad when I responded, “You have to speak to Mommy in English, sweetie.”
She eventually did, and all has been well since then. In fact, on the off occasion that I say something in Spanish to her, she looks at me strangely and says, “Why are you speaking Spanish?”
One last note here: don’t feel guilty about insisting your kids speak to you in your language. Being a permanent foreigner and second-language speaker in nearly every aspect of your life is hard. You deserve to have at least one person in your immediate family with whom you can speak in your own language.
Watch movies, listen to music and read books in the foreign language on a regular basis
As many foreign-language course clients will tell you, media won’t do the job for you entirely. However, just like in one’s native language, hearing different dialects and accents of a language in different formats is enriching and entertaining and can help with grammar, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, collocations and pronunciation — all those things that people spend years in English-language classes to learn.
Exposure to the foreign language through books and movies is important when raising a bilingual child. (Robo Wunderkind/Unsplash)
When my little one was younger, I would simply turn on shows and movies for her in English and choose books in English to read to her. Now that she’s older, she prefers a mix, and I mostly oblige since it’s simply a matter of preference: “Hercules” is better in Spanish (apparently), and “Sing” is best in English.
Most of the children’s books we have are in English, but if she wants one in Spanish, I’ll read it to her and let her marvel at her mother’s foreign accent in a language in which her own pronunciation is flawless.
Visit your native country with your child whenever you can so that they are forced to use the language with people besides you
My daughter was 18-months-old the first time we visited the United States. For the first day, she was very shy about speaking English with anyone but me; after all, she’d never really done it before!
In the end, she was motivated by pie; my mom had made one and my daughter wanted a piece of it. When I refused to ask for some on her behalf, she finally got up the nerve to do it herself. The rest is history!
What if you can’t travel back frequently to your native country with your child? The next best thing is having other native speakers of the foreign language speak with your child as much as possible — I mean, if you like them and want to spend time with them, of course.
Don’t be alarmed if your child takes longer than others to start speaking
When babies realize there is more than one language being spoken by the important people around them, they pay close attention. And in most bilingual households, they pay close attention for a considerably longer time than kids in monolingual homes do.
In my case, my daughter surprised me and started speaking in phrases and sentences in both languages at about the same rate as her Spanish-speaking peers did. I was not expecting it, and aside from the belief that all parents have that my child is obviously a genius, I figured that she just really, really, wanted to start communicating.
Is my daughter’s English as good as that of a 7-year-old child who has grown up in the United States? Honestly, I don’t know; I don’t know any other gringo kids, here or at home, to compare her to. Those of you out there with experience raising bilingual kids, what have you noticed? I’d be curious to hear other people’s stories.
She doesn’t have an accent in either language, though, and when she says something in English that’s adorably wrong and that has very obviously been translated from either Spanish grammar or slang vocabulary, I say, “Oh, in English you say this. Can you say that for me?”
The Angel of Independence monument, high above Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. (Shutterstock)
Since day 1 of our acquisition of MND, our team has worked hard to get better every day at bringing you more great insights and perspectives on Mexico. In fact, in many of our messages to subscribers, we close with the line, “We are just getting started.” And we really mean it. We really do want our subscribers to feel that MND is their trusted partner in helping them get “more smarter” about Mexico. (Sorry for the tacky humor — I just think that is a funny expression.)
As our readers often point out, there is a real lack of quality, unbiased news and information about the country (at least, as unbiased as possible). With that feedback in mind, over the past year or so, our team has launched a series of new content types to help our readers learn more about the country so they can make better decisions about living, vacationing or doing business in Mexico.
As we have expanded the variety of content we offer, we heard feedback from our readers that this new content wasn’t easy to find. It didn’t really have a natural “home” in any of our existing sections.
How to find MND Intelligence on a mobile phone interface.
As a result, we recently launched a new section called “MND Intelligence.” You can find it in our menu bar at the top of our website on your laptop. On your mobile phone, find it by clicking on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) on our site, in the top left part of the home page.
You can find all different types of new content series in the MND Intelligence section. For example:
1. MND Tutor — Weekly articles to help you practice and improve your Spanish with real MND news stories. MND Tutor has levels for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners. When I was learning Spanish many moons ago, I personally found that reading news articles was an extremely effective way to learn basic, relevant grammar. Here is a recent example: MND Tutor | Cerveza.
2. MND Quiz — A weekly quiz of the top stories of the week in Mexico. Our team takes stories from MND from the week and creates a quick, easy, fun quiz. Its a great way to test how much you know about current events in Mexico. Compete with your friends with the loser buying a cafe or cerveza! Here is a recent example: May 30th News Quiz of the Week.
3. Mexico in Numbers — Sometimes, the best way to tell a story is with numbers and charts. Our team takes different topics each week and presents them through a visual storytelling format in this series for people interested in facts and figures. Impress family and friends with interesting data about Mexico! Here is a recent example: Mexico in Numbers: Mexican beer, from coronitas to caguamones.
4. MND Economy Index — There seem to be conflicting signs everywhere on how the Mexican economy is doing. Our team uses 20 different monthly economic indicators to prepare one easy-to-read article each month to help you assess the most important statistics. The latest one is coming out next week, but here is last month’s: The MND Economy Index™ for March 2026.
5. MND Peso Index — Is the Mexican peso too strong right now? Do you think it will devalue anytime soon? Those are too very common questions many of us ask. We have created a monthly MND Peso Index based on The Economist magazine’s long-running Big Mac Index. Each month, we compare a basket of products both in Mexico and the United States to help provide an indicator of where the Mexican peso “should” be trading right now. Here is the most recent one: The MND Peso Index™ for May 2026.
6. MND Sheinbaum Index — How is President Sheinbaum doing? If you ask this question to your friends, you will likely get a very wide variety of strong opinions. But if you ask for some reasons behind the strong opinions, you will often not get a very detailed answer. This monthly index was created to arm you with real data and facts behind Sheinbaum’s performance to help you move beyond personality and really measure her performance. The most recent example is here: The MND Sheinbaum Index™: Sheinbaum scores 60.0 for April 2026.
7. MND Expat Safety Perceptions Survey — Perhaps the most common question we hear is, “Is Mexico safe?” Our team at MND went beyond the government statistics for Mexicans nationwide to create a survey that specifically asks foreigners who were living in Mexico what their actual safety perceptions are. The results are great to share with inquiring family and friends. We will be doing this survey quarterly. Here is the most recent one: Survey results: How safe is Mexico according to its foreign residents?
8. MND Mexico Healthcare Experience Survey — Many times, it is the question of healthcare that most holds back foreigners from spending more time in Mexico. There is often significant anxiety, not to mention a lot of questions, around the quality, accessibility and cost of private healthcare in the country. To help shed more light on these questions, the team at MND has created the Mexico Healthcare Experience Survey, in which we ask foreigners who have actually used the private healthcare system in Mexico. The results will likely put you at ease with many of your concerns. Check out the results of our first survey, published earlier this week, here: The results of our inaugural MND Mexico Healthcare Experience Survey™.
As you can see from the above, our team has been exceptionally busy working to bring you new types of content and information to make you much more well-informed about Mexico. We are just getting started on this initiative, so let us know your feedback and if you have any suggestions to get better or for new types of content!
Thank you.
Travis Bembenek is the CEO ofMexico News Daily and has been living, working or playing in Mexico for nearly 30 years.
Pastelería Ideal is one of several culinary pilgrimage spots in Mexico City, and is renowned for its delicious pastries. (Pastelería Ideal)
Whether it’s your first time or your 100th time, if you are coming to Mexico City for the World Cup, you are probably stoked to eat. An epicenter of food, this city has a little bit of everything — from high-priced tasting menus to 10-cent street tacos.
Almost every day, a new restaurant opens. But the city’s food scene also has deep roots nourished and maintained by hundreds of traditional restaurants and cantinas — places with a lot of ambiance and heart. If you want to eat well plus dig deeper into the history of Mexico City and its food, here are a few places to try.
Mexico City has an abundance of excellent eating and drinking establishments to satisfy visitors, including some must-try options. (Mexico News Daily)
In the 1950s, Margarita Lugo de Castillo started making guisados (stew-like dishes) and selling them in her neighborhood’s daily outdoor market. Her husband was working in the U.S., sending her dollars that she was having a tough time exchanging, and Margarita needed a way to feed her family. By the time her husband returned, not only was her food famous in the neighborhood, but she had quite a few unexchanged dollars squirreled away. This was the birth of Fonda Margarita. Open at 5 a.m. and closed by noon, a more traditional breakfast spot would be tough to find. The chilaquiles, beef in pasilla chile sauce and pork in green sauce are all crowd favorites.
In the dim light of this tiny cantina can be glimpsed a slice of Mexico’s indelible past. Cantina culture — where politicians made deals, the elite greased the wheels of power and the working class found relief from long days and backbreaking work — is a time-worn tradition in the city. Tio Pepe’s, circa 1878, is by far one of the oldest of its kind. A long, undulating wooden bar sits in front of a multicolor Hennessy mirror behind the bar, and patrons tuck into cozy booths along the outside wall. A cantina is made for straightforward, simple drinks: Ordering a rum and Coke, a bull (rum, lime and beer) or even a sipping tequila will help you to blend in with the pros.
Ermilia Galván Sánchez started selling tamales at a bus stop in Roma Sur in the 1960s — wafts of scented steam billowing out of her giant metal steamer and atole nearby to accompany her sweet and savory tamales. Her tamales became so famous that she opened her own tiny shop down the street, now managed by the third generation of tamal makers in her family. They sell wild (and delicious) combinations that you won’t find elsewhere —rajas with corn and queso de canasta or pork with green olives and spicy tomato sauce or roasted crickets with stringy quesillo cheese. It’s open only in the morning, so you have to get there early if you want the best selection.
Doña Emi has been famous for its tamales since the 1960s, including filling combinations you won’t find anywhere else. (Doña Emi Tamales)
Housed inside the remnants of a 16th-century Franciscan convent, the flagship location of Pastelería Ideal is open every day by 5 a.m. and is a pilgrimage site if you love Mexican pastries. Classic conchas, orejas and pasta seca (similar to shortbread cookies) sit alongside elaborately decorated cakes, gelatin cakes with fruit suspended within their jiggling bodies and a selection of savory little sandwiches and empanadas. It’s a place that will awe you with the sheer quantities of baked goods, but look smart; the serious pastry shoppers here have no time for gawkers!
Pastelería Ideal is heaven for lovers of baked goods. Just don’t get in the way of the serious shoppers. (Pastelería Ideal)
Founded in 1863 as a social club for Spanish elites, the Casino Español moved to its current location at the beginning of the 20th century. The building, designed by architect Emilio González del Campo, oozes with Baroque, Neoclassical and Spanish Plateresco flourishes. The restaurant on the second floor is a throwback to an era of formal Sunday dinners with family, where waiters wear tailored shirts and vests and always have a cloth napkin draped over their forearm to catch a drop of wine should it deign to fall. Classic Spanish dishes — think paella, tortilla espanolas and bacalao (salted cod) — can be enjoyed alongside Spanish wine.
Architect Emilio González del Campo is responsible for the grandly elegant entrance to El Casino Español, renowned for its Spanish food and wine. (El Casino Español)
Another survivor of Porfirio-era Mexico, this cantina opened in the 1870s, originally as a dry goods store where you could also get a quick drink. Once a more rural part of the city, La Jalisciense is located close to the stadium where the World Cup games are held and historically was one of the last stops on the way to places further south like Cuernavaca. In classic cantina style, drinks here are accompanied with snacks from the kitchen for free, including their famous torta sandwiches, of which the bacalao is a favorite. This haunt has had its fair share of famous patrons, including Carlos Monsiváis, Angélica Rivera, Renato Leduc and Armando Jimenez. Why not add your name to the list?
In the first half of the 20th century, the city’s historic center experienced an influx of Chinese immigrants. Jesús Chew’s father was part of that wave and took over Cafe Allende from a fellow Chinese compatriot in 1957. It would eventually be left in Jesús’ hands when his father went back to China, and is now managed by the family’s most recent generation. Over the years, the menu has shed the more traditional Chinese dishes they once served, and now you’ll find all manner of Mexican specialities like loaded chilaquiles or razor-thin bistec. As the surrounding city has changed, Cafe Allende is one of the few cafe chinos (Chinese cafes) that remain to tell the story of these hardworking immigrants and their influence on the capital’s cuisine.
Owned by the same family since 1957, Cafe Allende is one of many eateries in Mexico City whose history is part of the allure for visitors. (Cafe Allende)
Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based in Mexico City. She has published extensively both online and in print, sharing her insights 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 mexicocitystreets.com.
