The nation's capital ranked just below No. 1 Valencia, Spain, and No. 2 Dubai. (Luis Domínguez/Unsplash)
After Valencia, Spain, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Mexico City is the third best city in which to work and live as an expat, according to the results of the latest 2022 InterNations survey on expat cities around the world.
Close to 12,000 respondents participated in the annual Expat Insider survey, which InterNations – one of the leading networks for expats – has organized since 2014.
InterNations surveyed 11,970 expats living in 181 countries and territories, representing 177 nationalities. Only 50 cities met the sample size requirement of at least 50 respondents per destination.
Covering every aspect of expat life – from living to working abroad to finances, social life and perception of safety – the survey revealed that expats gave Mexico City high marks for its affordability and the friendliness of its people. For this reason, it moved up five spots from its No. 8 ranking in 2021 to this year’s No. 3.
Pouring drinks at Gin Gin restaurant and bar: Mexico’s capital got high marks from expats for nightlife, financial viability and friendliness. (Gin Gin)
In InterNations’ Ease of Settling in Index, Mexico City ranked No. 1, with more than 80% of expats saying they felt at home and welcomed. Close to 90% of respondents described locals as friendly, with 69% (vs. 42% globally) saying it’s easy to make local friends.
The capital was also No. 1 for the city with the best nightlife, culture and culinary variety and topped the list on the Personal Financial Index: eighty-seven percent of expats said their disposable household income is enough or more than enough to lead a comfortable life there.
Expats in Mexico City are also reasonably happy with their career prospects in Mexico City, as it came in eighth in the career opportunities for expatriates category.
On the other hand, respondents rated the city last globally (50th) when it came to their impression that the government supports environmental protection policies. It was also 41st in the Environment and Climate category, with expats feeling disappointed on that front.
The capital was also high on the list of cities where expats aren’t satisfied with their personal safety. Mexico City came in third in that category, about four times the global average (9%), InterNations said.
The fire, which took place near the western tip of Holbox, was fueled by the organic material traditionally used for structures in the area. (Twitter)
A large fire on the Quintana Roo island of Holbox injured one person and damaged scores of rooms at two hotels on Monday night.
A gas tank explosion triggered the blaze on the small island located off the northern coast of mainland Quintana Roo.
The fire, which broke out at approximately 10 p.m. local time, destroyed at least 60 rooms at the Casa Las Tortugas and Posada Mawimbi hotels and also damaged a restaurant, according to a report by news website Expansión Política.
Casa Las Tortugas was completely destroyed, the newspaper El Financiero reported.
The hotel Casa Las Tortugas was completely destroyed. (Casa Las Tortutgas/Facebook)
The beachfront hotels are located near the western tip of Holbox, a popular tourist destination reached by ferry from the village of Chiquilá. The fire spread quickly because of the organic material – wood and palm leaves – with which they were built.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama said on Twitter late Monday that a young person was injured by the fire, but not seriously.
“The Quintana Roo government has made all resources available to attend to the situation. The fire is being controlled, the fire is being extinguished,” she wrote just before midnight local time.
Seguimos en el recuento de los daños del incendio suscitado en #Holbox, nuestro compromiso es ayudar a l@s ciudadan@s y turistas a recuperar sus pertenencias y brindar atención a quienes perdieron sus documentos. pic.twitter.com/LEGHSydCsy
According to Expansíon Política, Holbox residents used buckets of water to help bring the blaze under control because it took some time for firefighters and Civil Protection personnel to reach the island from the mainland.
Lezama, who visited the island on Tuesday morning, said on Twitter that the three levels of government, the business community and society in general will work together to build a fire station on Holbox.
“We acknowledge the volunteers and authorities that managed to extinguish the fire here in Holbox,” the governor said in another post.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama arrived the next day to view the damage and confer with fire officials. (Mara Lezama/Twitter)
“We’re supporting tourists to recover their documents and taking stock of the material damage,” she added.
The Hernán Córtes-authored letter, was stolen sometime from Mexico's national archives between 2010 and 2017. (Mexican Consul General/Twitter)
On Monday, the United States returned to Mexico a 16th-century manuscript handwritten by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés after it was looted from the country’s national archive to be illegally auctioned.
The manuscript, which the digital news site La Lista reported was a letter from Cortés to the manager of his mines, Pedro de Castilleja, had been stored together with other colonial records at the national archive, but sometime between 2010 and 2017, the artifact was stolen from the archive, cut from its binding and smuggled into the United States.
It was consigned to a New York-based auction house prior to being intercepted and seized by the New York State Attorney’s office.
“This case demonstrates the lengths to which traffickers and looters will go to steal these priceless pieces of cultural and historical heritage,” said New York State Attorney General D.A. Bragg.
Mexico’s Consul General in New York Jorge Islas, center, formally received the document in a ceremony attended by Homeland Security Special Agent Thomas Acocella, left.
The historic artifact was returned by the New York State Attorney to the Consul General of Mexico in New York, Jorge Islas López, during a repatriation ceremony.
“The return of this letter signed by Hernán Cortés contributes to a series of important historical document repatriations that the Consulate General of Mexico in New York has been able to conduct thanks to the joint efforts of these authorities”, said the Mexican Consul, who also said the document dated to circa 1539.
The letter is the 17th object stolen from Mexico’s national archive that the New York State’s Attorney Office has recovered. Earlier this year, it also returned a colonial period Reglamento. In 2021, it gave back 15 documents connected to Cortés and his associates that had also been stolen from the archives and smuggled into New York County. Just last week, a document signed by Cortés from 1527 was recovered by FBI Boston. This artifact is also thought to have been stolen from Mexico’s national archives some time prior to 1993.
While nothing has been stated officially, Grupo México is widely seen as the main contender to buy the Citigroup-owned Mexican bank.
The field of potential buyers of Citibanamex has narrowed to two after the Carlos Slim-owned financial company Inbursa pulled out of the contest last week.
Banca Mifel, a Mexican bank, and Grupo México, a conglomerate owned by billionaire businessman Germán Larrea, are still vying to buy Citigroup’s Mexican retail bank — Mexico’s fourth largest bank by assets with a market share of 11.9%, according to the news agency Reuters.
Mifel has found investors including Apollo Global Management and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to fund its bid, Reuters reported Sunday, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Apollo is a New York-based private equity firm while ADIA is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates.
One source told Reuters that more investors could back Mifel’s bid to buy Citibanamex (also known as Banamex), although it already has sufficient funding to support its proposal. Both sources said that Mifel and Grupo México are conducting additional due diligence on the bank, which was acquired by Citigroup in 2001.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg news agency reported Monday that a group of investors led by Mifel and backed by Apollo are in talks with banks for about US $2 billion of financing for their bid to buy Banamex.
Citigroup, a U.S.-owned corporation, announced in January it would sell Banamex, and President López Obrador subsequently said he wanted the bank to be “Mexicanized.”
Reuters reported that acquiring Banamex would “transform” Mifel as its current market share is less than 1%, according to the National Banking and Securities Commission.
Its capacity to be competitive in the contest to buy the bank had been questioned by some analysts due to the immense wealth of Larrea, who has mining, transport, infrastructure and entertainment interests, and Slim, Mexico’s richest person and owner of the Grupo Carso conglomerate.
While Grupo México could still outbid Mifel, Grupo Financiero Inbursa said in a filing to the Mexican Stock Exchange last and Wednesday that it would no longer pursue the acquisition.
“Following submission of a non-binding proposal for the businesses in question, the parties mutually agreed that Inbursa will not be continuing to the next stages of the process,” it said.
According to Bloomberg, “market watchers had seen Slim as a long shot to pay top dollar, given his history of disciplined transactions.”
An offer by Spanish bank Santander was rejected in July, while Mexico’s Banorte left the race in October.
Citigroup, which intends to purchase Deutsche Bank’s Mexican banking license to maintain its corporate investment and private banking presence in Mexico, said last Wednesday that it was in “active dialogue with potential buyers” and remained “committed to pursuing a path that maximizes value for our stakeholders.”
Pablo Riveroll, a fund manager at Schroder Investment Management Ltd in London, told Bloomberg that the decline in the number of bidders increases the chances that Citigroup will receive low-ball offers for Banamex.
If the offers are disappointing, “either Banamex gets sold relatively cheaply, because Citi has to sell and they already decided that, or they decide to cancel the sale,” he said.
Tamaulipas state security forces established checkpoints on roadways around Nuevo Laredo in response to the shootings. Facebook / Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Tamaulipas
An outbreak of gun violence in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, forced schools, public transport and the United States Consulate to suspend operations on Monday morning.
In a post to Facebook shortly after 6 a.m. Central Time, Mayor Carmen Lilia Canturosas reported “a risk situation at different points of the city” due to gunfire that reportedly began at around 4 a.m. Shots can be heard ringing out in several videos posted to social media.
President López Obrador told his regular news conference that the violence followed the arrest of an organized crime leader, who was subsequently transferred to Mexico City. There were no reports of injuries or deaths due to the violence, in which the military reportedly clashed with cartel members.
The detained suspect is reportedly a leader of the Northeast Cartel, which operates in Tamaulipas and the neighboring state of Nuevo León. López Obrador said there is evidence that he is responsible for “other violent incidents in the area.”
Classes are cancelled and public transport is suspended following heavy gunfire across Nuevo Laredo. The US Consulate issued a security alert saying the violence is related to an attempted arrest of a criminal leader.
Canturosas initially said that education authorities decided that schools wouldn’t open until 9 a.m., but subsequently said that primary and middle school classes had been suspended for the day “to take care of the safety of the student community and all teaching personnel.”
A local transport association reported early Monday that bus service had been suspended, but service had been restored on several routes by midmorning.
The U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo said on Twitter just after 6 a.m. that there was an “emergency situation” in the border city opposite Laredo, Texas, “following an arrest operation.”
“Reports of gunfire in multiple locations in the city. Shelter in place and standby for further information,” it said.
The consulate said in another post that it would contact people with appointments on Monday to reschedule them. It said at 9.20 a.m. that “the situation has begun to normalize” but added that “it is recommended to continue to shelter in place and standby for further information.”
The Nuevo Laredo mayor posted a similar message to Facebook. Mexican cartels frequently respond to the arrest of leaders with violence and narco-blockades, a tactic that can hinder ongoing security operations and even pressure authorities to release recently detained suspects.
The consulate announced the shelter in place order had been lifted around 1:30 p.m. local time.
Ovidio Guzmán López, son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was released shortly after he was arrested in Culiacán, Sinaloa, in October 2019 when the Sinaloa Cartel responded to his detention with a wave of attacks that terrorized residents of the northern city.
Dense crowds of supporters greet President López Obrador as he arrives at the Zócalo in Mexico City on Sunday. Edgar Negrete Lira / Cuartoscuro.com
Citizens from across the country took to the streets of Mexico City on Sunday to demonstrate their support for the federal government and President López Obrador just days before he celebrates the fourth anniversary of his six-year term.
Around 1.2 million people joined the president in marching from the Angel of Independence on Reforma Avenue to the capital’s central square, the Zócalo, according to Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, one of numerous high-ranking officials — and a few presidential hopefuls — who completed the four-kilometer trek.
“Something historic occurred today in Mexico City — the march for four years of the transformation with the President Andrés Manuel López Obrador,” Sheinbaum said in a message posted to social media Sunday evening.
“I’ve just received the report from the Ministry of Citizen Security, there was no problem, not even one window was broken, and about 1.2 million people from the 31 states of the republic and Mexico City marched,” she said.
Some reports cited significantly lower attendance figures, such as tens or hundreds of thousands.
In any case, huge numbers of people were bused into the capital from around the country for the event, which was dubbed a contramarcha, or counter-march, because it took place two weeks after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the government’s proposed electoral reform, legislation that would replace the National Electoral Institute and state-based electoral authorities with one centralized body.
Critics say the reform is designed to give the president and the party he founded — the National Regeneration Movement, or Morena — more control over the nation’s electoral authorities and system. The proposed legislation is one of numerous points of contention between supporters and detractors of the president, who has maintained a majority approval rating throughout his presidency even as he governs a nation of increasingly polarized citizens.
López Obrador initially called for people to come out in defense of the proposed reform, but said last week that the march wasn’t “about the electoral reform,” and instead enumerated 16 reasons why citizens should demonstrate their support for the “Fourth Transformation” of Mexico that he says his administration is implementing.
Massive crowds bearing the pink and white colors of the electoral institute also packed the city center on Nov. 13 in protest of proposed changes to the electoral system. Twitter @JTrianaT
Morenistas, as supporters and members of the ruling Morena party are known, various unions and other citizens’ groups heeded his advice by organizing road trips to the capital and finding people to fill some 1,800 buses, according to a Reforma newspaper report.
“In many cases the transportation was provided by local governments or politicians who wanted to be well thought of inside the ruling party,” the Associated Press reported.
Although many people undertook long, tiring journeys to get to the capital, a festive mood prevailed as the marchers swarmed down Reforma Avenue and into the historic center of Mexico City, with music, singing and chants of “Es un honor estar con Obrador” (“It’s an honor to be with Obrador”) adding to the atmosphere.
Supporters swamped the president, making it difficult at times for him to make any progress toward the Zócalo, which he finally reached five hours after setting off from the Angel of Independence shortly after 9 a.m.
“The president is from a humble background. He’s done a lot of social programs,” Teresa Magana, who traveled to the capital from AMLO’s home state of Tabasco, told the Reuters news agency.
“We want him to continue” as president, she added, even though the Mexican constitution precludes presidents from serving more than one six-year term.
Clara Jusidman, founder of a democracy, development and human rights-focused NGO, told the Associated Press that many people felt compelled to participate in the march because they benefit from the government’s welfare programs.
During an address in the Zócalo on Sunday afternoon, López Obrador reiterated his commitment to leaving office after six years, declaring that he and members of his government are maderistas, adherents of the revolutionary and former president Francisco I. Madero, who championed the “Effective suffrage, no re-election” maxim.
Ríos de gente consciente que la transformación es obra de un pueblo y no de un solo hombre; multitudes de sueños y convicciones caminando sobre Reforma y el Zócalo. Acompañando al hombre que ha cambiado a México y le ha dado un rostro humano y democrático #4AnosDeLaTransformacionpic.twitter.com/PhHKqAgAYd
A presidential spokesperson shared drone footage of the march on Twitter.
In an almost 100-minute speech to mark “four years of transformation” — AMLO took office on Dec. 1, 2018 — the president outlined “110 actions and achievements of this government,” among which he said were the implementation of various programs to support the nation’s neediest people, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, sound management of public finances including via austerity measures, investment in infrastructure, the creation of the National Guard, protection of the environment, the reduction of crime (although homicides reached a new record high in 2019) and the termination of “luxuries in the federal government.”
“Friends, politics is, among other things, thought and action, and even though deeds are the most important thing, it’s also important to define, in theoretical terms, the model of government we’re putting into practice,” López Obrador told government supporters who packed into the central square located opposite the National Palace, the seat of executive power.
“My proposal would be to call it Mexican humanism, because we have to look for a distinctive feature,” he said.
“… Nourished by universal ideas, the essence of our project comes from our millenary cultural greatness and our exceptional and fertile political history,” López Obrador said.
“… We maintain that progress without justice is a backward step. Our thesis is that economic growth isn’t enough, but that justice is essential. In the new economic, moral and social policy we’ve implemented from the start of our government, the technocratic obsession of measuring everything in terms of growth indicators that don’t necessarily reflect social realities has been discarded,” he said.
“We believe that the most important thing is not quantitative but qualitative. In other words, the equitable distribution of income and wealth. The ultimate aim of a state is to create the conditions so that people can live happily and free of misery and fear,” López Obrador said.
“On the other hand, … banishing corruption and privileges is fundamental in order to allocate all [the money] … saved to benefit the majority of the people and specifically, the poorest and most marginalized,” he added before concluding his address with three customary cries of “¡Viva México!”
At his march to support the government on Sunday in Mexico City, the president announced he wants to raise the minimum wage by about 20%. Presidencia
President López Obrador has announced plans for another increase in Mexico’s national minimum wage in 2023, which he expects to be around 20%.
AMLO made the announcement during a speech at Mexico City’s zócalo on Sunday, in which he presented the achievements of his fourth year in office during a rally to support the government.
“In a few more days, the increase in the minimum wage for next year will be announced; I want it to be agreed unanimously between the workers, business sectors and the government,” he said.
Discussions about the proposal have been taking place in the National Minimum Wage Commission (Conasami) since Thursday.
The current minimum wage is 172.87 pesos (US $8.95) per day across most of the country, and 260.34 pesos (US $13.47) in the Free Trade Zone on the U.S. border. The business sector has proposed an increase of 15%, while the unions propose an increase of 25%.
At his march to support the government on Sunday in Mexico City, the president announced he wants to raise the minimum wage by about 20%. Presidencia
“I want it to be around 20%,” AMLO explained in his speech, “because that way, we would reach the end of our government with an increase of 100% in real terms throughout the national territory.”
Raising the national minimum wage by 15.6% per year was one of AMLO’s key policy commitments when he took office in 2018. At the time, it stood at 88.36 pesos per day – one of the lower wages in the Americas.
AMLO has mostly stuck to his campaign pledge, raising the minimum wage by 16.2% in 2019; 20% in 2020; 15% in 2021; and 22% in 2022. He also introduced a higher daily rate in 43 municipalities that make up the Northern Border Free Zone, aiming to improve the local economy and dissuade would-be migrants from leaving the country.
“[The minimum wage] went from 88 pesos to 172 pesos, an increase of 62% in real terms,” AMLO emphasized in his speech. “On the border, it has more than doubled. Never seen in 40 years.”
The real-term increase experienced by Mexico’s lowest-paid workers has been limited by rising inflation: core inflation reached its highest level in two decades in October, at 8.42%. Headline inflation is currently 8.14% in annual terms, according to INEGI, the nation’s statistics agency.
According to the newspaper Expansión, some economists estimate that Mexico will end the year at 8.5% inflation.
Mexico’s economic authorities are debating whether to raise interest rates to curb price rises, at the risk of slowing Mexico’s economic growth. The Bank of Mexico has already raised the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points four consecutive times since June — most recently on November 10, putting the rate at 10%.
In his speech, AMLO insisted that Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would close 2022 at around 3.5% growth and continue this trend over the next two years. However, economic analysts propose a more conservative estimate of 2.7%, following a slowdown of industrial activity in the third quarter.
Héctor Bonilla speaks at an event in 2013. Francisco Rodríguez / Cuartoscuro.com
Highly acclaimed in Mexico and Latin American, the Mexican actor Héctor Bonilla died on Friday of kidney cancer at age 83. The Ministry of Culture has recognized him as one of the best actors the country has produced in recent decades.
“He died at home, peacefully, without pain and surrounded by his closest circle,” his youngest son, Fernando Bonilla, shared on social media.
Born on March 14, 1939, in Tetela de Ocampo, Puebla, Bonilla studied at the National School of Theater of Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL). His first acting debut was in the movie “Jóvenes y Bellas” (“The Young and Beautiful Ones”). Several other films and theater productions followed during the 1960s and ‘70s.
But it wasn’t until 1989 that he got international recognition with the movie “Rojo Amanecer” (“Red Sunrise”). In the film, he plays the role of a father of two university students who participated in Mexico’s student movement of 1968.
A portrait of actor Héctor Bonilla taken in the 1970s. Cineteca Nacional de México
In 2003, he made his directorial debut with the feature film “Mónica y el profesor,” starring his son Sergio Bonilla.
Other film credits include “Patsy, mi amor” (1969), “Yo amo, tu amas, nosotros” (1974), “La leyenda de la máscara” (1990), “El bulto” (1992), “Serpientes y escaleras” (1992), “Ámbar” (1994) and “Crónica de un desayuno” (2000).
Finally, in 2016 he starred as Don Servando in the popular comedy film “Un padre no tan padre” (“A not-so-great father”) and later reprised his character for the sequel “Una Navidad no tan padre 2″ (“A not-so-great Christmas”), which was his last film.
In 2019, INBAL recognized him with the Remarkable Trajectories of the Arts in Mexico award for having participated in more than 140 productions over his 50-year career in theater, film and television. That same year he also received the Golden Ariel, the highest award given to an individual in the Mexican film industry by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences.
In an epitaph Bonilla wrote for himself several years prior to his death, and that his family shared with the news, he said: “Se acabó la función, no estén chingando. El que me vio, me vio. No queda nada,” meaning, “The show is over, no BS. He who saw me, saw me. Nothing’s left.”
One thing the writer is grateful for about living in Mexico is that it's given her daughter a better life than she probably would have had in the U.S. UNICEF
It’s Thanksgiving once again! And once again, I’ve gathered with my hodgepodge of family and family-like people for a Mexican Thanksgiving celebration.
This year is extra special, as my sister came to spend the holiday with us. It’s our first one together in over 20 years, and even though we’re in Mexico without all the original ingredients, I think we did a pretty good job at recreating some our mom’s old recipes.
My partner, my child, my best friend and a handful of fellow Mexican and foreigner friends joined us to make for a lovely meal that, hours later, I’m still stuffed from.
Though the roots of Thanksgiving are questionable at best, it’s still one of my favorite holidays, a time to celebrate our bountiful gifts and to bask in the glow of the people we’ve convinced to hang out with us, either once in a while or all of the time.
And though it’s a bit cliché, I like writing an annual “what I’m thankful for” article, the Mexico News Daily version, of course, with a focus on México lindo y querido.
Family near and far. This month, I’ve been able to see more of my U.S. family than usual: I spent the first two weeks helping my dad move to another house, and this week, my sister came for both Thanksgiving and my daughter’s birthday — apparently eager to not miss out on a single potluck, my kid was born on Thanksgiving 2013). Mercifully, most of my family is still in Texas, so a three-hour plane ride will usually do it. I’m happy we can get to each other easily.I also recently celebrated two and a half years with my partner, who along with my daughter always makes this place feel like home. He’s been a good sport about all things Thanksgiving: sitting through a screening of “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles;” helping to prepare food and the house; and being present for hours and hours of food and conversation with more than 10 people even though he’s an extra-introverted introvert.
Good local friends. Especially when you’re a first-generation immigrant, you have to get creative when it comes to forming a group of friends and family-like people around you. In Mexico, it’s all about the family. Though members of a family might not always like each other, they tend to be unflinchingly loyal, there for each other in ways they’re not accustomed to being for friends. So what happens when you don’t have your family here? Well, things can get a little lonely, especially if you’re a woman (I’ve seen many lone men be rather easily “adopted” into families. I have several theories, but not for this particular article). Part of the trick, I’ve found, is to find other “orphans” — Mexicans and foreigners alike who live far away from their own families. It’s a situation that few seem to understand unless they’ve gone through it themselves, so it’s important to find at least a few people you can count on. I have found these people and am so grateful to have done so!
Chivalry and educación (manners). Being in the U.S. always makes me appreciate the politeness of Mexicans. It’s not that people back home aren’t, it’s just that Mexicans are so extreme in their politeness that they’re just really hard to beat.It’s not just about opening doors. If I’m seen struggling with something heavy, here someone will inevitably rush to help me. If someone sees you coming, they politely step aside, making sure you can pass by on the safer side. If I’ve gone to someone’s house, I’ll always be offered something to eat and drink. Extreme measures are taken to ensure my comfort, and the sweet way Mexicans say “in your house” when they’re talking about their house (everyone knows that phrase “mi casa es tu casa,” right?) melts my heart every time.
Safety. I know this one probably seems like a strange point. And it’s true; Mexico’s record on safety is not stellar. So what is it that makes me feel safe here? My own city is crowded enough that there are usually at least a handful of people in any given space but rarely so crowded that people become one annoying lump, easy to ignore. While I, of course, take reasonable precautions, I also take comfort in the idea (perhaps erroneously, I’ll admit) that if something were to happen, the people around me would come to my aid. And as scary as narco boogeymen are, I’ve noticed myself feeling much more nervous in public in the U.S., knowing that any random doofus with a real or imagined vendetta or hero complex can be walking around with a semiautomatic weapon.
Ease of movement. I don’t have a car. I want a car, but I don’t need a car the way I would were I living in the United States; the house I’m currently renting is close to downtown and to bus stops. I can walk most places I need to go and get a bus or a taxi to most others. While getting my kid to and from school can be a little inconvenient, for the most part, my movements aren’t restricted by not owning an expensive piece of machinery.
A great place to raise my kid. Mexico — at least my little corner of it — has been good for my child — likely better than the U.S. would have been. As a whole, Mexicans like children, and they are welcomed and accommodated virtually everywhere. Kids and parents alike are mostly spared the exasperated sighs and dirty looks of strangers when children are not being literal angels — and let me tell you: it’s a relief.
This is, of course, a short list (articles can’t go on forever, but I certainly could fill up several pages more). Feel free to add more in the comments! And wherever you happened to be this week, I hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday.
Sarah DeVries is a writer and translator based in Xalapa, Veracruz. She can be reached through her website, sdevrieswritingandtranslating.com
Different than regular macaroons, these add cornflakes and pecans for more crunch and flavor.
I know a lot of you don’t bake anymore (or never have) but for those of us who do, this is the start of our busiest season. We’ve been stockpiling butter and pecans, flours and spices for a while now, and visions of sugarplums (and other assorted cookies!) are definitely dancing in our heads.
Baking is a science; when a recipe says to, for example, “chill the dough for two hours,” it behooves you to do just that. Besides making a sticky dough easier to work with, chilling before baking yields a cookie that will hold its shape better.
Don’t eyeball your ingredients — you want to measure exactly the correct amounts of both wet and dry ingredients. A pinch too much or too little baking powder will make a big difference! My mom showed me how to use the flat side of a butter knife to level off dry ingredients for accurate measuring, and I still do that to this day.
You also don’t want to overmix the ingredients; when a recipe says “gently fold in,” that’s what it means. Overbeating or overworking the dough will change the formulation, causing problems like cookies that rise and then collapse or overspread while baking. And always, always whisk dry ingredients together thoroughly before combining with the creamed butter and sugar or eggs, which are often added alternating with each other.
When making cookies, measure carefully and follow recipes precisely to get the results you’re aiming for.
Oven temperature is crucial; I struggle with my oven, which doesn’t hold high temperatures or, really, any temperatures very well. (So frustrating!) If you don’t already have one, an inexpensive oven thermometer can be a godsend and give you a true reading of what’s going on in there. Speaking of temperature, if a recipe says to use room temperature eggs or butter, take the time to do so. Those ingredients will combine better and emulsify into the dough if they’re not straight out of the cold refrigerator. And in order for eggs to fluff up and add volume to the dough, they need to be at room temperature.
I always encourage you to use the best ingredients you can afford, and in baking, this advice still holds. For the best flavors, use “good” butter — i.e., real, most likely imported — high-quality dark cocoa and fresh, active baking powder and baking soda.
Chocolate chip, Snickerdoodles, “Mexican wedding cookies” and oatmeal cookies (crisp and crunchy or soft and chewy) are all perennial favorites, and I’ll leave it to you to find those classic recipes online. I’ve included recipes here for other big-batch cookies. These recipes yield enough cookies to give as gifts, whether to friends, neighbors or whomever you want to share a little holiday cheer with. And don’t worry; none of them require special equipment or ingredients. Provecho!
Vanilla Wafers
¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. cold water
1 cup flour
½ cup cornstarch
¼ tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). No need to grease the pans. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg, vanilla and water; beat well. In another bowl, mix flour, cornstarch and salt; add to butter mixture and combine well.
Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls about 1½ inches apart onto cookie sheets. Bake about 8 minutes, until edges are lightly golden. Remove from oven and carefully transfer to racks to cool. Yields about 80 cookies.
Refrigerator Spice Cookies
This dough can be kept 2–3 weeks in the refrigerator and baked as needed. If need be, substitute pumpkin pie spice for the individual ones listed here.
½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup grated piloncillo or brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water
1½ cups flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. powdered ginger
Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans, ½ cup chopped dates
Cream butter and sugar; add egg and water. Beat until light and fluffy. In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Add to butter mixture; beat till combined. Stir in dates and nuts, if using.
On a lightly floured worksurface, shape dough into a roll or rolls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment or plastic wrap and chill until firm.
You can never have enough of these classic vanilla wafers!
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 F (175 C) and grease cookie sheets. With a thin, sharp knife, cut dough into rounds about 1/3-inch thick. Place 1 inch apart on pans. Bake about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Cool on racks. Yields 50 cookies.
Cornflake Macaroons
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
4 egg whites
1-1/3 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
3 cups cornflakes
Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy; mix in vanilla. Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff and glossy. Fold in pecans, coconut and cornflakes. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake at 325 F (165 C) about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove immediately from baking sheets; cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container. Yields 48 cookies.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
1 cup cocoa
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
½ cup vegetable or coconut oil or a combo
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup or more confectioners’ sugar
Mix cocoa, sugar and oil. Beat in eggs one at a time; add vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; fold into cocoa mixture. Mixture will be sticky. Cover and chill for 2 or more hours.
Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C). Line cookie sheets with parchment. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then roll in confectioners’ sugar. Place on pans about 1 inch apart. Bake 10–12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Yields about 60 cookies.
