Challenges aplenty for Mexico’s children, says country’s new UNICEF chief

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August 19, 2022

Mexico's UNICEF head, Luis Fernando Carrera Castro, — Mexico's new UNICEF head Luis Fernando Carrera Castro took the position Wednesday.

Mexico’s newly installed UNICEF head has wasted no time in highlighting the nation’s colossal challenges regarding children’s welfare after being named to the position Wednesday.

Challenges include the education of minors aged six to 18, poor nutrition, childhood obesity, and the fact that some 40% of Mexico’s children live in poverty, Guatemala native Luis Fernando Carrera Castro told the newspaper El Universal.

“There are several challenges, but those are the priorities,” he said.

Carrera had much to say in particular about Mexico’s challenges ahead in education, pointing to a UNESCO study in March that addressed Mexican K-12 students losing two years of learning due to the pandemic.

children doing distance learning — With schools closed due to the pandemic, K-12 students lost two years of education, according to Carrera. UNICEF

“Mexico is among the few [countries] where schools remained completely closed for more than 250 days. On Aug. 30, 2021, the Ministry of Education reopened schools, 18 months after closures,” the report said.

“In the framework of the pandemic and the closure of schools that occurred globally, it caused an enormous loss of learning, which mainly affected girls and boys who were entering the educational system in 2020 or 2021,” Carrera told El Universal.

“There will be a generation lost due to educational backwardness,” he also said.

“We must work so that basic education students, whether in rural or urban areas, can receive special attention in the recovery period, which can take up to two years, approximately,” he said.

“Girls, boys and adolescents need to go to school,” he said this week when Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard formally received him. “They need the opportunities for social contact that the school environment offers and they also need, particularly in the current context, measures to prevent and mitigate risks linked to illness and other threats to their physical and emotional well-being.”

Mexico poverty — Poverty may have increased as much as 7% during the pandemic, the new head of UNICEF in Mexico said.

“Avoiding [a] lag in learning, school dropout and other risks associated with lack of schooling is a national duty toward our children and adolescents, as well as an investment in the future of Mexico,” he added. “Let’s work together, all of us, to make it possible,” he said.

Carrera is also raising concerns about the pandemic’s effects on the nutrition of Mexico’s youth. Millions are plagued by poor nutrition, which in many cases leads to childhood obesity, a problem that has increased over the past two years with a dropoff in the availability of quality food.

“There is evidence that childhood obesity increased during the pandemic,” Carrera said. “Although it is a problem that existed before, it is currently more serious, so priority attention must be given to it, and that means working with educational centers that provide food, with industries that work with and distribute products for girls and boys and work hard on the issue of strengthening food quality.”

“We are talking about reducing the consumption of products that are basically processed or ultra-processed, which are the ones that do the most damage, and sugary drinks or high-calorie foods,” he added.

Carrera said that nutritional problems are just one of the many effects of poverty. And poverty, he added, “unfortunately, is stagnant in the case of Mexico” and “may have increased up to 7%” during the pandemic.

According to El Universal, 40% of Mexico’s children live in poverty, if it’s defined as not having at least one basic need not met, such as running water, decent housing or health care. If it’s based on a socioeconomic level, the newspaper said, “we are probably talking about 30% to 35% of the country’s child and adolescent population.”

“Today, the relative wealth divided by the total population of Mexico would give us a per capita income [US $8,000, according to El Universal] very similar to that of the United Kingdom in 1985,” Carrera told the newspaper. “If one looks at the social indicators at that time for children [in the U.K.], there was a significant difference from Mexico. There was much less poverty, better learning and not so much childhood obesity.”

For these reasons, he added, the problem of inequity in Mexico is immense and does not allow a large percentage of children and adolescents to fully enjoy their rights. “For some, there is too much, and for others there is little,” he said.

UNICEF, which was founded in 1946 and promotes the rights and well-being of children and adolescents in more than 190 countries, has been in Mexico for 65 years. Last month, it opened a new office in Mexicali, Baja California.

With reports from El Universal

She’s walked 16,526 kilometers and is still going strong

By

John Pint

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August 19, 2022

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Zelzin Aketzalli has completely hiked the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Only 525 other people in the world have done so.

The most famous long hiking trail in the United States is the 4,270- kilometer Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which stretches from the borders of Mexico to that of Canada, passing through California, Oregon and Washington. People who hike this trail all in one go, end to end, and other ultra-long trails like it, are called thru-hikers.

Few have managed to completely hike the PCT, and fewer still have thru-hiked the entire Continental Divide Trail (4,873 kilometers) and the Appalachian Trail (3,540 kilometers), as well. Those few who achieve this feat are awarded the Triple Crown of Hiking by the American Long-Distance Hiking Association-West.

Only 525 people worldwide have done this. And among that select group, there is only one Mexican: Zelzin Aketzalli.

For my column this week, I’m letting her tell her story, in her own words, translated into English.

Zelzin Aketzalli Tripe Crown of Long-Distance Hiking Award winner — The American Long-Distance Hiking Association-West gives out the Triple Crown of Hiking Award. Zelzin Aketzalli

I’m from Mexico City, and I lived there almost all my life. I grew up in Iztapalapa, one of the most dangerous barrios, and the most heavily populated, so my family was anything but rich. And I knew the rough life on the street: I lived in the ‘hood, where you could never get away from drugs, alcohol and crime.

The biggest help I got in childhood was from my father; he taught me to love sports. From [when I was] little, he took me out to swim, to run, to box, to appreciate good sportsmanship. He taught me to take training and competition seriously, to understand the meaning of commitment. All this has stuck with me throughout my life.

At the age of 11, I decided I wanted to be an engineer, to study at the National Polytechnic Institute, a very good school of engineering. I had no money to finance my dreams, so I started working in a tianguis (neighborhood market), helping people put up their stands, hauling around heavy metal poles. That’s how I earned money to buy things like clothes, tennis shoes or a skateboard.

In the tianguis, I did work usually done by a man. I think this experience marked my character. People would make fun of me, but I learned how to stick to my guns.

At 18, I helped a friend organize the first mountain bike team at the Polytechnic Institute. We won several medals. It was all men except for me.

This represented a real challenge for me because they would race down hills really fast. I would do my best to keep up with them until I decided that I would have to train on my own to really know my own skills and my limits. So I began to go off on my own, cycling in the mountains. At first, I was unsure of myself. There were no established mountain bike trails in Mexico at that time, so I had to pay strict attention to details: I needed to remember a particular rock or a certain tree to make sure I was still on the right trail.

I trained for competition, eventually entering a national series of eight races all over the country. I came in third.

All this time, I was studying to be a communications engineer. When the day of my graduation came, I was 23 years old and had been promised a job at a TV channel. To celebrate our graduation, my compañeros planned to party at the beach, but I decided I would do something different, something I wasn’t used to: I would ride my bicycle from Mexico City all the way to Patagonia.

To train for this, I decided to cycle to Veracruz, over 200 kilometers away. I did it, but when I arrived there, my whole body hurt. I thought: “It will probably take me two years to get to Patagonia. Is this how I’m going to feel every night? This is not for me!”

So I started looking for something else to put my energy into. By chance just then, along came two cyclists from California who told me all about the Pacific Crest Trail.

I just couldn’t believe such a thing existed: a cross-country sendero (trail), 4,270 kilometers long, where you could test your abilities and nobody would bother you! Well, I researched it and made up my mind right on the spot: I was going to do it!

This was in November 2016, and by February 2017, I had my visa. By April, I was on the trail, covering 40 to 50 kilometers per day. But back when I had been investigating it, I discovered that I would have to deal with snow — and I had never even seen snow in all my life!

So before heading for the United States, I sought out an old friend whom I had known back when I worked in the tianguis. He loved climbing and had hiked the eight highest mountains in Mexico.

I asked him, “Do you know the route for climbing Iztaccihuatl? And he said, “Sí, vámonos!”

Now, I had always been afraid of heights, even at the top of a Ferris wheel. But I was hoping I’d have no problems like that on top of mountains.

However, when we reached the most difficult part of Iztaccihuatl, La Rodilla, [located] at 5,000 meters altitude, I was panicked. “I’d rather just die here,” I told my friend.

A scenic view along the Pacific Crest Trail. “This,” Aketzalli says, “is the trail that turned my life upside down … in the best way possible.” Zelzin Aketzalli

“Don’t worry,” he replied, “we’re almost there.”

And, finally, I did it: I reached the peak.

Well, I had gone to Iztaccihuatl to get used to snow, but there was no snow up there at all! Sad to say, our volcanoes are drying up here in Mexico.

In April 2017, I started out on the PCT using the trail name Quetzal. I didn’t have the right kind of shoes or backpack; in fact, I had bought almost all my gear in the tianguis in Mexico! Still, my aim was to do it as a thru-hike, all in one go. So I didn’t dawdle around. I actually covered 40 to 50 kilometers per day.

I was on the Pacific Crest Trail for 153 days, and at the end, I knew that this was the sport for me. It changed my life, it changed my whole way of thinking and believing; I fell in love with it!

The year I did it was one in which they had the most snow in that part of the U.S., but I wasn’t worried because I didn’t know anything about snow. I was curious.

At that time, I didn’t know a word of English — nothing! One of my objectives on the trail was to learn the language by trying to talk to everyone I met.

We Mexicans are very friendly, and we also love to talk. So I carried a little notebook where I would get people to write expressions I wanted to remember. I got plenty of practice because I met only four Latinos doing the Pacific Crest Trail, that’s all.

Everyone else was from France, Japan, Germany, England or wherever, and they were all surprised to meet a Mexican trying to do a thru-hike on this trail — and not just a Mexican, but a Mexican woman!

Eventually, I reached the Sierra Nevada of California, the PCT’s most difficult part. Here, everyone was talking about snow conditions, and they were all turning back, but because I didn’t understand English then, I didn’t know I was supposed to stop — so I just kept going! I learned how to use my crampons and ice axe by trial and error.

And 153 days after I started, I finished the trail. Then I did the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, a grand total of 12,674 kilometers.

Zelzin Aketzalli has so far hiked a grand total of 16,526 kilometers. Her new challenge, she says, is to establish the sport of long-distance hiking here.

You can keep up with Aketzalli’s current adventures on her website, or follow her on Instagram.

John Pint has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, since 1985. His most recent book is Outdoors in Western Mexico, Volume Three. More of his writing can be found on his blog.

Son of Celaya, Guanajuato, mayor killed in hail of gunfire

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Lydia Carey

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August 18, 2022

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The son of a Guanajuato mayor is the latest victim of an organized crime killing after gunmen opened fire on a vehicle Wednesday in Celaya.

Guillermo Mendoza Suárez, 47, was killed when he returned to his vehicle after stopping at a pharmacy in El Zapote. Once he was inside his car, sicarios surrounded him and rained gunfire from both sides. Authorities said later the vehicle was hit 19 times by high-caliber rounds. The assailants fled on motorcycles.

Owner of an asphalt company in Celaya, Mendoza was the son of Mayor Javier Mendoza Márquez, who signed an agreement Monday to increase security in the city and receive federal help in the training and equipping of local police.

The murder comes a week after an outbreak of violence in the state that included attacks on Oxxo convenience stores, blocking highways and setting vehicles on fire, allegedly by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel after the arrest of high-ranking members.

“I condemn this cowardly and terrible criminal act,” said Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez via social media, “and I call on the state Attorney General’s Office to immediately begin an investigation into this crime. I reiterate my commitment to citizens to continue fighting for peace in Celaya and the rest of the state in coordination with the municipal, state and federal governments.”

With reports from Reforma and El País

Man accused of killing two Red Cross rescue dogs could get 18 years in jail

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Lydia Carey

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August 18, 2022

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Athos and Tango, the dogs that were killed with poison last year.

For the first time in Mexico’s history, a trial has been held for animal abuse after two Red Cross rescue dogs were fed poisoned sausages and subsequently died. The trial, which began Tuesday, included testimony from over 30 witnesses, including members of the national Red Cross and Querétaro’s Civil Protection agency.

The man accused of killing the dogs will be sentenced Friday and could be jailed for up to 18 years. The incident, which took place in June last year in Querétaro, was announced at the time by the Red Cross on a Facebook page dedicated to Athos. “There is no exact way to describe our pain, we have lost an unconditional partner, a specialist who dedicated his life to serving without ever asking for anything in return.”

Athos and Tango were the two dogs trained and cared for by members of the Red Cross, in particular two brothers, Isaac and Edgar Martínez, who testified at the trial. Athos, a border collie, rescued seven people trapped under rubble during the Sept. 19, 2017 earthquake that devastated parts of Mexico City and Oaxaca. He also took part in the rescue of a family of eight in Guatemala during the eruption of a volcano in 2018.

Tango, a terrier, was an emotional support animal that worked with families and children suffering from trauma and other mental disorders, as well as members of the Red Cross team themselves whose work can be emotionally taxing.

Athos rescued earthquake victims in 2017.

While a trial for the mistreatment of animals is unheard of, there is a growing movement in Mexico to protect and defend the lives of animals and prevent their abuse. Activists held signs outside the courtroom in support of justice for Athos and Tango and to encourage the public to respect animals.

According to the Animal Mistreatment Atlas, 60,000 animals die due to violence each year and only .01% of their killers are punished. Of the 2,511 cases opened between 2019 and 2020, there were only 155 people detained.

With reports from Reforma and Reporte Indigo

4-kilometer sawdust carpet in Tlaxcala sets new world record

By

Lydia Carey

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August 18, 2022

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One section of Huamantla's record-breaking carpet.

After two years without the town’s signature event, Huamantla, Tlaxcala, celebrated the Virgin of Charity festival once again on August 14 and 15 and broke a Guinness record in the process.

A celebration that some believe dates back to the indigenous veneration of Xochiquetzalli, the goddess of flowers and fertility, the festival is a tapestry of color now dedicated to the Catholic Virgin of Charity.

Artisans in the city spend all night (and in some cases days or weeks) creating intricate designs with colored sawdust, seeds, flower petals, and sand that carpet the city’s streets in anticipation of the miles-long procession that begins at the end of midnight Mass on August 14. The festival is called La Noche que Nadie Duerme or the Night When No One Sleeps because residents and visitors are up all night following the statue of the virgin carried above these colorful designs in a procession that takes over nine hours to complete.

The parade stops at various temples throughout the city, until the virgin is returned to her sanctuary in the early hours of the morning. This year the city broke the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest sawdust carpet, nearly 4 kilometers long and created by 240 artisans with 80 tonnes of colored sawdust. The record was previously held by Guatemala city with a carpet just over 2 kilometers long.

The carpet contains some complex and intricate designs.

Visitors come from around the country and the world to witness the massive work of collective art in Tlaxcala. The designs incorporate flowers, religious motifs, geometric shapes, and some intricate images of the virgin herself. Some of the most complex designs are created in the atrium of the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity where the statue of the virgin resides for most of the year. These designs often take months to create.

Much like mandalias, the artistic creations disappear under the feet of devotees walking in the procession. Families in Huamantla have been creating this art for generations, and the work has become a deep tradition in this part of Tlaxcala.

The return of the festival after two years of a pandemic-induced cancelation is not only lifting the spirits of locals but also helping the local economy, in particular those who depend on the tourism it brings and growers of dahlias, flowers which are used for decorations during the festival. Last year the growers lost millions of pesos due to the cancelation of the event.

With reports from El Universal and El Sol de México, SDP Noticias

September fairs and festivals: fitness fun, intellectual intrigue and independence parties

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MND Staff

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August 18, 2022

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The Santa Lucía International Festival is the biggest cultural event in Nuevo León. It is scheduled to begin September 18.

With temperatures cooling and schools reopening, it may feel like the summer is coming to a close. Luckily, the festival season in Mexico is a year-round affair, meaning there is plenty to enjoy and learn in September. It’s also the month of the Independence Day holidays, which are arguably the country’s most revered festivity, honoring the start of the Revolution when on September 15, 1810, the priest Miguel Hidalgo ordered the church bells to be rung and — as the story goes — inspired the masses with the cry: “Long live Mexico!”

• Mariachi and Horsemanship Festival, Guadalajara, Jalisco (Now-September 4)

A music genre close to the hearts of many Mexicans is celebrated in the state where it originated. Large sombreros and smart suited performers can be expected as the International Meeting of Mariachi and Horsemanship celebrates its 29th year in Guadalajara with the opening night at Plaza de las Américas on August 25 at 6:30 p.m. The horsemanship competition is on August 27 from 11 a.m. at Lienzo Charro, also known as “Los 3 Potrillos.” Most of the concerts are at the Degollado Theater with tickets from 1,140-3,540 pesos (US $57-$178).

• Fresnillo Festival, Fresnillo, Zacatecas (Now-September 16)

The annual festival known as Fenafre will be back in the second largest city in Zacatecas, Fresnillo. The events will take place in Lagunilla Park to celebrate 466 years since the city’s foundation. The beauty pageant is leading the build up and Fresnillo’s beauty queen is likely to feature heavily during the festival, which will see Banda music from El Recodo and from Bronco.

• HAY Arts and Science Festival, Querétaro city (August 31-September 4)

The HAY festival returns to Querétaro city, offering plenty of food for thought for the intellectually curious. Writers, journalists, classical musicians, political commentators, scientists and more descend on the city in central Mexico for a few days of vivid conversation and debate. Tickets can be bought on the website, most events costing 20 pesos ($1). There is a strong international showing, including the Nigerian writer and 1986 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature Oluwole Soyinka.

• Mexican Short Film Festival, Mexico City (September 1-30)

The 16th edition of the International Festival of Mexican Short Films, the biggest shorts festival in Latin America, will take place all over Mexico city in 16 boroughs, including at the National Cineteca in Benito Juárez, the National Autonomous University (UNAM) Cultural Center in Coyoacán and Cinemex Reforma in the city center, among other venues. More information on venues can be found here and it’s recommended to go directly to venues to find out more information on screenings.

• Torreón Festival, Torreón, Coahuila (September 2-October 2)

Torreón’s annual festival is back and is seeking to dazzle the Coahuila public with bright lights and spectacular shows. The festival aims to provide modern entertainment, with impressive, adrenaline provoking fairground rides, a dancing on ice theatrical performance, an opening concert from international DJ Steve Aoki and later from the Mexican cult rock group Molotov. Concert tickets start at 250 pesos ($12.50) and can be bought here.

• Veracruz Triathlon, Veracruz city (September 3)

Sweat, struggle and a sense of achievement are guaranteed at the Veracruz Triathlon at Boca del Río, in the south of Veracruz city. Athletes can choose between a range of events, the longest being a 1,500 meter swim, a 40 kilometer cycle ride and a 10 kilometer run, as well as shorter “Sprint” races. To register go to “Crea tu cuenta” and fill in the form with your details here or download the “AsDeporte Oficial” application. Participation costs US $132 for foreigners.

• Zacatecas Festival, Zacatecas city (September 3-18)

Zacatecas Festival is back for two weeks in September, in a city where northern culture is celebrated. Banda and Norteño music dominate the line up, with circuit favorites Christian Nodal, Julión Álvarez and well loved Mexican-U.S. outfit Los Tigres del Norte. Access to the funfair, where many of the concerts will take place, is free. Tickets for concerts at the Palenque start at 620 pesos ($31) and can be bought here.

The Veracruz triathlon — The Veracruz Triathlon runs September 3 in Boca del Río.

• Book Proposal Masterclass from the San Miguel Literary Sala, online (September 13-November 15)

Budding non-fiction writers shouldn’t miss the Bang Out Your Book Proposal six-part masterclass with literary agent Anna Knutson Geller, who has 20 years in the industry. The course will help to clarify a book’s hook, audience and market category and groups of 4-6 students will learn why some book proposals succeed and others fail, and to ultimately have a book proposal ready at the end of the course.

An application must be submitted to participate and the course costs US $1,800. More information can be found at the San Miguel Literary Sala website. Classes are from 7-9 p.m. on September 13, 20; October 13, 20 and November 8, 15.

• Independence Day Holidays, Dolores de Hidalgo, Guanajuato (September 15-17)

“Viva México” will resound around Mexico in mid-September, and nowhere louder than in Dolores de Hidalgo, where priest Miguel Hidalgo made the mythical cry to kick start the Revolution. There still isn’t much information about this year’s event in Dolores de Hidalgo, but there will be concerts, a funfair and plenty of tricolor flags. Little planning is needed as a festive atmosphere is assured. Guaranteed, the whole crowd will come together to respond to the names of revolutionary heroes with the cry “¡Viva!” (“Long may they live!”) followed by repeated shouts of “¡Viva México!” (“Long live Mexico!”)

• SCORE 400 off-road racing, Ensenada, Baja California (September 17)

Cars, motorcycles, quad bikes and other four-wheelers line up to race through the desert terrain of Baja California. In the third of four race weekends, competitors will look to complete the 640-kilometer circuit fastest, with separate contests for different types of vehicles. The races are on September 17 and awards are presented on September 18.

• Xplor Bravest Obstacle Course Race, near Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo (September 18)

A novel race is set to take place in at the Xplor Park nature park, where some exciting hurdles are thrown in the way of racers. The obstacle course race is 5.5 kilometers long and promises spectacular natural scenery and will surprise runners with 40 obstacles including caverns and a lot of water. Tickets to take part cost 1,440 pesos (US $72) and can be found here.

• Santa Lucía Festival, Monterrey, Nuevo León (September 18-November 6)

Santa Lucía returns to Monterrey for the state’s biggest cultural event. The program hasn’t been released for this year yet, but the 2021 edition was a colorful blend of tradition and avant garde performance, including theater, dance, classical music, lectures and more. Keep an eye on the website for announcements about tickets.

• Rosarito, San Diego-Ensenada Bike Race, California-Baja California (September 24)

One race track awaits cyclists with a thirst for travel: the Rosarito-Ensenada Cycle Course goes from the U.S. to Baja California. The course is 82.5 kilometers of paved road and the first 35 kilometers straddle the ocean.

Five star tours is offering transportation from San Diego and assistance through the day from $79. U.S. citizens and non-Mexicans can sign up here for $55. Mexicans sign up here, tickets from 850 pesos ($42).

• León Marathon, León, Guanajuato (September 25)

A 42 kilometer marathon with a flat course is approaching for the fit and ready in Guanajuato’s biggest city. Participation costs 550 pesos ($28) and budding runners can sign up here. Shorter races are also available, at 5 kilometer, 10 kilometer and 21 kilometer distances.

• Ironman Triathlon, Cozumel, Quintana Roo (September 25)

There’s another event on for the fitness hungry in Quintana Roo and this one’s on a Caribbean island. Ironman 70.3 on Cozumel island involves a 1.9 kilometer swim, a 90 kilometer bike ride along coastal paths and a 21 kilometer run. Athletes can register for US $400 and will have a perfect place to relax on the beach after some hard exercise.

• Fiestas del Sol, Mexicali, Baja California (September 28-October 16)

Baja California has another reason to celebrate with the Fiestas del Sol (“Sun Celebrations”) in Mexicali. The festival will offer concerts for 50 pesos (US $2.50), including a tribute to Luis Miguel, banda acts and some stand up comedy. It will also see a classic car show parade with vehicles central to chicano culture. Concerts at the palenque stadium include Bronco and norteño accordion supremo Ramón Ayala, starting at 450 pesos (US $22.50). Tickets can be found here.

Mexico News Daily

Every Mexican’s faithful companion: the tamal

By

Carmen Rioja

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August 18, 2022

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A quintessential example of deep gastronomy throughout Mexico, tamales — those steamed lumps of corn dough wrapped in leaves that can be plain or contain any variety of fillings and sauces — are undoubtedly one of the most traditional dishes in Mexico, if not the most.

If you are not a connoisseur of tamales, you cannot call yourself Mexican. But oh, how to eat them without getting fat.

The tamal is every Mexican’s faithful companion: at six in the morning, sometimes even at dawn, you’ll already find a lady or gentleman selling tamales at a crossroads or on a sidewalk outside one’s local market.

Long before the stores open, the vendors are outside, waiting for the early-morning passersby with a huge pot, from which a cloud of steam is released every time the lid is opened. Inside this pot are several dozen tamales wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves (the latter are Oaxacan-style tamales), looking at us mysteriously from the mist.

In some you can see – sprouting from the center of the leaves – an exuberant filling that’s barely visible: red, green or sometimes yellow or black mole. Each tamal is unique in flavor and can represent a whole cosmogony in itself.

tamales vendor in Mexico City — A common sight across Mexico: a tamales street vendor with a classic giant stockpot full of a variety of the traditional dish.

Not even the most adventurous families could possibly know and try all the tamale recipes that are part of Mexico’s vast gastronomic wealth. The National Institute of Anthropology and History has recorded more than 400 recipes; multiply that by nearly 2,000 varieties of tamales influenced by regions and family customs.

Tamales are indispensable at posadas and every important Mexican get-together. They are associated with birthdays, baptisms, weddings and especially the Day of the Dead and funerals. The biggest party associated with tamales, however, is the celebration in honor of Candelaria (Candlemas), which takes place in February.

For me, tamales represent the past. They are the connection with my ancestors — strong women who broke the corn with their arms and lovingly wrapped morsels that can be held in one hand — and can raise the dead.

Tamales date back to pre-Hispanic culture. They are sacred food in festivities and offerings to the gods; they appear in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic study of the Mexica people by Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagún. He described tamales when he wrote that “the Mexica used the meat of turkeys, flamingos, frogs, axolotls, rabbits and fish as stuffing for corn husks.”

An image of an Aztec woman holding tamales in the Codex Borbonicus, written around the time of the conquest.

One of the famous murals at the Mayan ruins of Calakmul in Campeche that depict life in the ancient city shows a lady offering tamales.

My aunts always made tamales for Christmas, especially pork, mutton, chicken, beans and beef. One Christmas, we even had deer tamales because my uncle had run into one on the road.

I don’t know what I would do without tamales, and that’s why I can’t live outside of Mexico: I would probably become bitter and dysfunctional.

My city, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato — like many cities and towns in Mexico — has several places to find great tamales: there are ladies selling exquisite ones in front of the local livestock association every morning. But you’d best arrive before 9 a.m. because their two pots of tamales easily run out.

President Lopez Obrador eating tamales — President López Obrador eating tamales on the Candelaria (Candlemas) holiday in February. Presidencia

The nuns at the La Purísima Concepción convent will make you tamales in bulk for your event. At a truck stop on the Calzada de La Luz, there are delicious but spicy ones available. Or, if I care to eat sitting down on a Sunday with the family, we can visit the Café de La Parroquia downtown.

We have a saying in Mexico: para todo mal un tamal, para todo bien también. For all the evil, a tamal, and for all the good too.

¡Buen provecho!

Carmen Rioja is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Atención San Miguel in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato.

This article originally appeared in Atención San Miguel. It is reprinted with permission and with minor adaptations.

Electricity commission launches mobile phone, internet service

By

MND Staff

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August 18, 2022

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The Federal Electricity Commission promises national connectivity

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has launched its own mobile telephone and internet service, with plans starting at just 30 pesos.

“Keep your number and join the new mobile telephone [service] of the people of Mexico,” the CFE urges potential customers on a website that describes and promotes the service.

Via a subsidiary called CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos (CFE Telecommunications and Internet for Everyone), the state-owned utility is offering a range of plans. The cheapest is a three-day, 30-peso (US$1.50) plan that comes with 4 gigabytes of mobile internet, 250 minutes of call time and 125 text messages.

There are also 15 and 30-day plans that cost between 100 and 300 pesos (US $5 to $15). A 300-peso monthly plan includes 40 GB of internet, 1,500 minutes of call time and 1,000 text message. Half-year and full-year plans are also available, with prices ranging from 400 to 2,100 pesos (US $20 to $105).

The new mobile service is supported by the 4.5G network operated by Altán Redes, a state-owned company.

“Our network covers the necessity of connectivity at a national level, reducing the digital divide between [connected and] disconnected communities and taking quality communications to every corner of the country,” the CFE said, billing the service as one “without obligatory plans.”

The website for the new service also has a “points of sale” map detailing the locations where a CFE SIM card can be acquired.

“Get to know our prepaid packages and join the one that’s best for you,” the CFE said. “Welcome to the network of the people of Mexico!”

The newspaper El Financiero published an article about the new service under a headline that warned Carlos Slim – the owner of Mexico’s dominant wireless telecommunications company – to “watch out.”

With reports from El Financiero

Jala, Nayarit, maintains its status as world’s longest corn cob capital

By

Lydia Carey

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August 17, 2022

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corn competition — Officials proclaim a winner in the competition to grow exceptionally long ears of corn.

For several decades the town of Jala, Nayarit, has been the official home of the world’s longest corn cob, presented each year at the town’s Corn Festival in August.

The town sits at the foot of the Ceboroco volcano whose last eruption at the end of the 1800s left a layer of mineral-rich soil and ash on the ground believed to be one of the secrets of the region’s incredibly long ears of corn. This special variety is known not only for its length but its flour-like consistency and taste. The corn is slow to mature and each massive stalk only produces a single cob a season.

In 2017 the record for the longest corn cob was 48.5 centimeters (a little over 19 inches), which beat the 2016 best of 45 centimeters and the 2015 record of 44 centimeters. Twenty-nine local farmers participated in the Corn Festival this year and the winners were José Manuel Gómez Rodríguez and José Carmen Gómez Rodríguez both with 43 centimeter-long cobs, and Leni Elías Franques with a corn cob 41 centimeters long.

The production of this unique heritage corn is seen as being under threat by many organizations and scientists due to the loss of genetic diversity and the replacement of this ancient variety with more “modern” seeds. Researchers say this corn can only be planted and harvested by hand and are working with local farmers to develop a germplasm bank that preserves the corn’s genetic material for generations to come.

Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero, who attended the event, thanked local farmers for continuing the tradition of growing a unique variety of corn which he called extraordinary, acknowledging its fame throughout Mexico and the world. The federal agriculture minister, who joined the governor at the festival, has been touring the state with him, evaluating corn and bean production, giving away seeds, encouraging hygiene standards in animal production, and giving away pesticides for the spring harvest.

With reports from Gourmet Journal

Chinese company to build modular capsule homes in Nuevo León

By

MND Staff

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August 17, 2022

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vessel modular home — One of the models of the modular homes that will be built in Pesquería.

Issued with a promise of 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs, there was an announcement Wednesday that a Chinese company is going to open a plant in Nuevo León to construct modular houses.

The announcement was made on the social media networks of Simón Levy, a former deputy minister in Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism and the vice president of operations for Vessel México. Vessel will invest US $300 million in the project, according to Levy, and is a brand of the Chinese company Weisu, according to the newspaper El Financiero.

“I want to share that we have made the decision that the first Vessel plant in Mexico will be in Nuevo León,” Levy wrote, adding that it will be in the municipality of Pesquería, 33 kilometers from the state capital of Monterrey. “It will be an investment of more than $300 million to transform housing in our country.”

He said the first stage of the project would generate about 2,000 jobs, and in a second phase, the number could reach 3,000. He also said Mérida, Yucatán, was first considered as the site for the plant, but Nuevo León proved to be a better option due to the availability of labor and local suppliers.

Vessel builds high-end, sustainable capsule houses that can be used in the hotel, lodging and housing industry. From its website: “From peaks to jungles, tidal flats to desert lands, [s]cenic spots have become a new tourist interest. The significance of establishing Vessel is to break through the restrictions of various complex terrains, develop ecologically, and use intelligent ecological cabins. Vessel provides tourists the appeal of ‘living in the scenery.’”

Beyond tourism, the units can be used as single-family homes or in the agro-industrial sector.

Some features of the units include walls that capture solar energy, biometric access, floor-to-ceiling windows, air conditioning, automatic curtains and built-in 5G WiFi. “Biometric access” is something that allows for entry by fingerprint or iris identification rather than a key, card key or code.

No announcement was made on what models will be built in Pesquería, but the Vessel website shows two Model V units like the one Levy showcased in his post. One that lists a capacity of two to four people measures roughly 31 feet by 11 feet for a total of 337 square feet; another with an occupancy of two is 21 feet by 10 feet for 210 square feet. Both list a height of just over 10 feet.

The units come prebuilt, for the most part, and the Vessel website says installation can be completed in two hours as there’s “no need for on-site construction and decoration.”

Vessel is aiming to start operations in Mexico at the end of 2023, with its first houses ready for sale in 2024. Vessel has expanded to countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru and Brazil this year. Vessel already manufactures and markets in China, Hawaii, Japan and other places, according to the newspaper Reforma.

With reports from Reforma and El Financiero