Smoke billows from a fire on a Pemex oil platform Sunday.
Five people are dead and two people are missing after a fire Sunday aboard a Pemex offshore platform in Campeche Bay. Another six people were injured and one worker suffered from nervous shock.
Five of the workers were Pemex employees and eight were employed by Pemex contractors.
The fire started at 3:10 p.m. on the platform, part of a gas processing center located in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field. It was brought under control at 4:30 p.m., Pemex said in a press release.
Reuters reported Monday that the natural gas valves on the platform were closed to extinguish the fire, shutting off gas supply to neighbouring oil fields. That triggered a decline in the availability of natural gas, which in turn caused crude output to plummet from 719,000 barrels a day to 275,000 early Monday, Reuters said, based on a company document it had seen.
Natural gas is reinjected into oil reservoirs to increase pressure and force the flow of oil.
It is the second fire at a Pemex installation in Campeche Bay since July, when natural gas leaked from an underwater pipeline and rose to the surface, where it caught fire.
A conservation area in the Bacalar region of southern Quintana Roo is under threat by a 950-home residential development, claim local citizens who have filed a complaint against the project.
Arrivée Lagon Bacalar will include condominiums, a commercial area and 400 lots for residential construction in Buenavista, a community on the shores of Lake Bacalar, also known as the lake of seven colors.
The development is being promoted online as an eco-residential project with “minimal environmental impact” but its eco-friendly credentials have been called into question even before construction begins because four hectares of forest have been cleared for the construction of roads.
The project is to be built in a conservation area that was “suddenly eliminated” from federal Environment Ministry (Semarnat) records, according to a report by the newspaper Milenio.
Residents first noticed last November that workers with the real estate development company Depi del Caribe were falling trees and removing other vegetation on a property that adjoins the Condominios La Fe residential estate, which was built 20 years ago next to 135 hectares of land that was designated as a conservation area.
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The clearing of jungle prompted some residents of that estate, and others, to file a complaint with the federal environmental protection agency Profepa against the developer, as well as people promoting the development on its behalf.
“Through the [Condominios La Fe] supervisory council we filed a complaint with Profepa … for the clearing [of jungle] for 10-meter-wide roads,” members of a Bacalar conservation group said.
“They argued that [the roads] already existed but that’s not the case. … Profepa determined that the affected area was [only] four hectares … but that interrupts the entire biological corridor …”
They said Profepa imposed a fine of just 100,000 pesos (US $4,900) against two people for the infraction.
The environmental protection agency has not moved to stop construction of the project, in which vacant lots are being offered for pre-sale at prices starting at 1.2 million pesos (US $58,700), and doesn’t show any intention of doing so.
When the Condominios La Fe residents were preparing their complaint they discovered that the two-decades-old adjoining conservation area had disappeared from Semarnat records “without any explanation,” Milenio said.
The project is located near the route of the Maya Train.
The newspaper said it was told by Semarnat that protection of the conservation area was “definitively revoked” in April 2012 “but didn’t provide more information about the reasons for the revocation.”
The annulment occurred even though a 2001 Semarnat resolution said that protection and conservation of natural resources in the area where Arrivée Lagon Bacalar is to be built are irrevocable.
Although the revocation removes one barrier to the building of the residential project, the complainants argue that its construction would violate Quintana Roo environmental regulations, under which the shores of Lake Bacalar are incompatible with additional human settlements, hotels and other infrastructure. State government policies are designed to protect the Bacalar area – which is growing in popularity as a tourism destination but has not (yet) been overrun with visitors – and maintain low population density levels.
Residents of Condominios La Fe are angry at the failure of federal authorities to intervene but determined to continue their fight.
“The company doesn’t have permission to go ahead with its development let alone deforest the jungle,” said Nicolás Uribe, one of the residents.
“If nobody protects the jungle, if the authorities are not interested in the biodiversity and fauna, we’ll defend it because Bacalar is a very delicate ecosystem.”
Eight people are dead after Hurricane Grace moved over the coast of Veracruz 20 kilometers north of Tecolutla shortly after midnight Friday as a Category 3 hurricane.
Grace made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 205 kmh and gusts to 240.
The state government said Saturday afternoon that seven people died in Xalapa as a result of landslides in the early hours of the morning. Six of the dead were children.
Another fatality occurred in Poza Rica.
The areas worst hit were in Tecolutla and Poza Rica, Governor Cuitláhuac García told a press conference Saturday afternoon.
Deja 'Grace' destrozos en Veracruz
However, it was unclear how extensive the damage was because areas that took the brunt of hurricane remained cut off.
A man who was able to get word out about the damage said in Poza Rica “everything was destroyed.”
“Water storage tanks went flying, falling to the ground and breaking apart; [there are] fallen billboards, walls, all the electricity wires … are on the ground, broken windows; everything is a mess here, it hit extremely hard and I imagine that in Tecolutla and Zamora and that area it’s the same or worse.”
The Noticias RTV news agency reported highways are blocked and the town’s restaurant zone was completely destroyed.
The National Meteorological Service said Saturday morning that Grace had been downgraded to Category 2 as it made its way westward through Tulancingo, Hidalgo. At 8:04 a.m. CDT it was downgraded to Category 1, becoming a tropical storm some three hours later as it passed near Mexico City.
By 4:00 p.m. the storm had dissipated, although the U.S. National Hurricane Center said its remnants will likely move into the eastern north Pacific by Sunday afternoon and could develop into a new tropical cyclone next week.
Soldiers arrive to the aid of a vehicle stranded on a flooded road in Veracruz.
But the effects of the hurricane will continue in the form of heavy rain in many states. The National Water Commission warned Saturday afternoon that torrential rains were forecast in Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Puebla, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz.
AMLO speaks at his Monday morning press conference.
In Mexico, everyone gets a nickname. President López Obrador is famously known by the moniker AMLO, but he has earned many others through the decades. Mysteriously, the first was El Molido (the minced). He was later known as El Americano (the American); La Piedra (the Rock); El Comandante (the Commander), but perhaps most infamously as El Peje (after the common Tabascan fish, the pejelagarto.)
Whether a rock, an American or a fish, Mexico’s oldest ever president delivered his morning conferences this week in his trademark style.
Monday
For the first time in over a month, AMLO woke to the week in his own home, the National Palace.
However, foreign shores were on his mind. Haiti had suffered an earthquake two days earlier and the death count was rising: “We decided to lend support … and forget about borders, we need to apply … the principle of universal fraternity: abandon selfishness, individualism,” he said.
The head of Civil Protection, Laura Velázquez Alzúa, detailed that three planes of aid had been sent to the Caribbean country.
Would the president recommend that incoming governors — most of whom are from his affiliated party Morena party — conduct audits of their predecessors’ administrations?
“Yes, yes, I would recommend it … But it is only a recommendation, because we don’t have that authority,” he replied. Later, he stepped up his proposals for the National Electoral Institute and the Electoral Tribunal, calling for a total clean-out: “Yes, complete change, categorical renewal,” he insisted.
Old battles resurfaced: August 13 was the 500th anniversary of the fall of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, to the Conquistadors.
“How was it justified for a long time, to this day, that they could invade us? Because they came to civilize us, because the native peoples were barbarians, they ate human flesh, they believed in idols, they had religions dominated by the devil,” said the president, before recommending two books to better understand the period: Enrique Semo’s La Conquista and Pedro Salmerón’s La batalla por Tenochtitlán.
Tuesday
Speakers wait their turn at Tuesday’s press conference.
As is customary, the COVID-19 report kicked off Tuesday. Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said the third wave would be on the downturn within 15 days. He added that 61% of adults had received a first dose, and that of the people who had died from COVID-19 in 2021, 95.5% had not been vaccinated.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed that he would be in Washington D.C. on September 9 along with other ministers to talk all things economics with the U.S.
Back to school: on August 12 the education minister had delivered a 10-point plan for pupils returning to class. Parents, a journalist posed, were unhappy about an obligatory signed letter.
Don’t bring it, the president replied: “It’s not obligatory … do you think it was me that wanted the letter? No, it was a decision from below. If they’d have asked me I would have said no.”
However, AMLO detected a lack of mettle among parents: “We all take risks. Imagine if we didn’t go out because we could get sick, bad air affects us and gives us flu or pneumonia … No, no, we’re going to go out, we’re going to go out and face reality.”
“That,” concluded the president after two hours and 36 minutes, “was a very long conference. OK, see you later.”
Wednesday
Truth-sayer Ana Elizabeth García Vilchis exposed the media lies of the week. A letter putting the return to classes in doubt was a fabrication; children’s wards at hospitals were not full; people without access to healthcare had not risen by 12%.
“Let’s begin” declared the president, and lined up the journalists: “Two, three, four, five, six, the lady there.”
A journalist touched on an old feud. Brenda Lozano, a critic of AMLO, had been appointed cultural attaché of the Mexican Embassy in Spain. Had the president been informed of the decision?
“No, no, no,” he replied, and argued that it was down to the dominance of a political ideology: “It’s like two parties, which I don’t want to mention [Institutional Revolutionary Party and National Action Party], they appeared to be different … it’s like the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola,” he said.
Later in the conference, the president reflected on the golden days of Mexican railways. “You could go from here [Mexico City] to Mérida by train … I used to travel to Palenque by train. Here in Buenavista we took the train at eight at night and at eight at night the next day I was in Palenque, 24 hours.”
With a focus on the return to classes, the UNICEF representative to Mexico, Luis Fernando Carrera Castro, a Guatemalan, joined the conference, and offered something of a gibe to his larger northern neighbor. “I’ve just come from another great country, Indonesia, a country of 270 million inhabitants, so I’m very happy to be in a small city like Mexico City.” Carrera added that on their return to classes children should be made to feel safe, protected and loved.
Alejandro Encinas, human rights deputy minister, doled out some worrying data. Between March and June familial violence against children had reached historic highs.
Questioned on electoral reform, the president took the discussion back to 2006, when he said he was cheated out of the presidency by the victor Vicente Fox: “And he [Fox] used the whole apparatus of the state to carry out the fraud, to consummate the fraud. He became a real traitor to democracy.”
Later in the conference, AMLO lamented attacks by the press, including coverage of a photo of him getting a trim in his office, offering a pun in the process. “Álvaro cuts my hair, he is the only one who has taken my hair for more than 20 years,” he said: in Mexican Spanish, to take one’s hair is to fool them. “Hairdressers, stylists, are first class people,” he added.
Friday
Hurricane Grace had continued on its westerly path, and was now on the fringes of Veracruz, but no deaths had been reported, Civil Protection head Laura Velázquez Alzúa confirmed. She added that three more planes of aid were headed to Haiti.
On the appointment of an anti-AMLO cultural attaché to Spain, the president signaled a change of heart. “I am going to propose to [Foreign Minister] Marcelo [Ebrard] that the person who represents us in the cultural field be an indigenous woman … So, we’re going to change that.”
A journalist took the conference to a sober place. Once again, a member of the press had met a brutal end: 60-year-old radio presenter Jacinto Romero Flores had been assassinated in Veracruz on Thursday. AMLO conceded that it was time to review the strategy for the protection of journalists.
As for the weekend, it was time for the president to rest his weary legs. It was to be feet up for a couple of days in his spiritual home. “I’ve got to go … I am going to Palenque, I am going to write for two days … I also need to see the trees and listen to the birds and the macaws, I need it, I need it.”
Pachuca’s British-style clock tower built in the early 1900s to celebrate the centennial of Mexico’s independence and its British heritage. Diego Delso/Wikimedia Commons
No, Pachuca and Real del Monte were not founded or conquered by the British, but these foreigners made such an indelible mark here that “being British” has become part of these towns’ identities.
These neighboring communities are located about three hours north of Mexico City. This region in Hidalgo state has a long history of mining, starting with green obsidian soon after the first humans arrived, through the Mesoamerican period.
This mining abruptly stopped with the Conquest simply because the Spanish had no interest in it. But the discovery of silver in the 1550s caught their attention. By 1560, Pachuca’s population had tripled, putting the area on par with mining communities in Taxco and Zacatecas.
Pachuca and Real del Monte (officially known as Mineral del Monte) would remain important for three centuries, although mining had its ups and downs. One principal reason for this was the exhaustion of accessible ore, given the technology of the time.
Colonial-era mining depended almost entirely on human and animal muscle, and by the War of Independence, these had taken all the ore they could. The new country of Mexico needed to restart mining but did not have modern equipment, so they convinced a group of British investors to form the Caballeros Aventureros de Real del Monte y Pachuca company and bring the technology across the Atlantic.
English-style house in the historic center of Pachuca. Rube HM/Wikimedia Commons
The first ships carrying steam-powered machinery and 15 Cornish miners arrived at the port of Veracruz in 1824, but the machinery was so heavy and roads so bad that it took almost two years to get to the high mountains of Hidalgo.
The miners felt right at home in the area’s cold and damp climate, and by 1827, there were 3,500 Cornish miners and family members. Despite their numbers, they kept themselves mostly separate, establishing communities such as Straffon, Oliver, Noble, Rule and Ludlow with their own schools, (Protestant) churches and stores.
The British company dominated mining in the state of Hidalgo until 1849 when it went bankrupt. The Mexican-American War was part of the reason, but the reality was that despite the impressive amount of silver, the Caballeros Aventureros never really recovered their astronomical initial investment.
The mine owners were forced to sell to a Mexican enterprise but managed to win a stipulation that their Cornish miners could remain working if they wanted. Most decided to return to England, but some remained as they had strong business and family ties.
The Mexican company found the profits that the British never managed to realize. Pachuca and Real del Monte became extremely important mining centers for the rest of the century, and a target during the Mexican Revolution.
This war disrupted operations yet again, and the Mexicans sold to an American company. The Americans dominated mining in Mexico much like the British had before, but they never had the same cultural impact.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visit Real del Monte in 2014.
In 1965, with mines once again non-viable, the company fell into the hands of the Mexican government which pretty much meant the end of operations. It would be decades before Pachuca’s economy recovered by shifting to industry, and Real del Monte’s to tourism.
Today, Pachuca is the capital of the state of Hidalgo, its educational and cultural center and one of its most economically diverse. Real del Monte has become a Pueblo Mágico, or Magical Town, promoted for weekend excursions. The forest areas around both places are filled with second homes and cabins for Mexico City residents looking for a quick getaway.
Both places are worthy of visiting as their architecture is a testament to their shared history. The colonial past is best seen in Pachuca, especially at the Caja Real (Royal Vault), a fortress to safeguard the 20% share that the Spanish crown demanded from all mines.
However, Pachuca’s most distinguished architectural landmark is a 40-meter-tall, white volcanic-stone clock tower in the main square. Built between 1904 and 1910 for the centennial of Mexico’s independence, its style pays homage to the area’s British heritage as well as to Mexican history. The clockwork is a replica of that made for London’s Big Ben, made in the same Austrian factory.
It’s not the only British legacy. The Mina La Dificultad in Pachuca, today a mining history museum, was built in the British industrial style. In both Pachuca and Real del Monte, there are houses that would be right at home on the other side of the Atlantic, as well as Methodist and Anglican churches. Real del Monte is home to a noted British cemetery.
Perhaps the most important cultural contribution of Cornish miners to Mexico as a whole is the introduction of football, or soccer. They began playing it soon after their arrival in Pachuca, with formal teams established by the end of the 1830s and the city’s first professional club in 1901. Today, Mexico is one of the more soccer-addicted countries in the world.
Cornish immigrants that came to the region to work the mines were the source of the regional food known as “pastes” — the locals’ take on British pasties. Alejandra Mendoza Santillan/Wikimedia Commons
Lesser-known is a culinary contribution: the paste (PAH-steh). It is the Mexican take on the Cornish pasty, the food miners brought with them deep underground for the midday meal. The crust of these hand pies has not changed much, but the cooks in Pachuca and Real del Monte have taken quite a few liberties with the fillings.
Savory ones vary, almost always with chile pepper of some kind, and there are even sweet fillings. Their popularity has grown regionally outside of Hidalgo, especially in intercity bus stations in central Mexico because they are cheap and easy to take along for the ride.
Today, you will not hear English spoken in either town, and any signs in the language are created for tourists. But there are a number of prominent families with English last names and some others that can trace their lineage back to the European miners. And the appearance of lighter skin, hair and eyes in some people here indicates the descendants of those Cornish miners who came to Pachuca and Real del Monte.
Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico 18 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019). Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily.
Contrary to what you may think — and what I thought too — all pumpkin seeds are not the same. In fact, those white-hulled pumpkin seeds inside your Halloween jack-o’-lantern, or sold in bins as snacks in mercados everywhere? Not pepitas, which is what you’re looking for if you want to make mole, pipián verde or any number of other classic Mexican dishes.
So while we may (wrongly) call them both “pumpkin seeds” in English, the truth is that pepitas only come from one kind of squash and don’t need to be hulled; they’re just their small, oblong green selves all along.
Could you take the time to shell the interior seeds from “regular” white pumpkin seeds, and would they taste kind of the same? Yes. But why? Just buy the correct pepitas.
Pepitas have been used as a food source for a long time; coming from squash — one of the “three sisters,” the indigenous cornerstones of companion planting — that’s not really a surprise.
Evidence of cultivated squash goes back about 8,000 years, several thousands years earlier than even beans and maize, the other two “sisters.”
A delicious Mexican alternative to basil pesto is Pepita-Cilantro Pesto.
Pepitas are rich in nutrients and micronutrients. Dried and roasted, they’re high in polyunsaturated fats, contain 30% protein and are a good source of Vitamin E, zinc, magnesium and calcium.
Pipián is the name used for dishes made from pepitas. Other moles use pine nuts, almonds, sesame seeds or peanuts, each of which lends a distinctive flavor and texture to the mole.
All are made with the same pre-Columbian method of browning the seeds to release their natural oils and grinding them into a flavor-filled paste that’s then added to the usually complex mixture of spices, vegetables, broths and seasonings.
Pipián Verde
There’s also a pipián rojo recipe, but it’s too complicated and lengthy to include here.
½ large white onion
4 garlic cloves
2 serrano chiles
1 lb. tomatillos, husks removed
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
½ cup toasted pepitas
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. caldo de pollo (chicken bouillon)
2 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Classic Pipián Verde goes great on chicken.
In large skillet or a comal over medium heat, place onion, garlic, serranos and tomatillos. Drizzle lightly with oil and cook, turning as needed, until skins blacken in spots, 15–20 minutes.
In a blender, process grilled veggies, ¼ cup pepitas, cilantro, oregano, bouillon, chicken broth, salt and pepper until smooth. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Pour in the blended pipián sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Cook, partially covered, 20 minutes.
Serve over chicken with rice.
Pipián de Puebla Tradicional
10 tomatillos, husks removed
6 serrano peppers
1⅓ cups pepitas, raw
4 garlic cloves
½ chocolate tablet (1.7 oz)
½ tsp. cumin
3 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp. butter or lard
1 tsp. salt
In a skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter/lard. Add pepitas; sauté, stirring, 2–3 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to blender. Add tomatillos, peppers, garlic, cumin, stock and 1 tsp. salt. Blend well; set aside.
In a saucepan over medium heat melt remaining tablespoon of butter/lard. Add tomatillo mixture from blender, then crumble in the chocolate. Stir well and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly until chocolate dissolves. Reduce to low heat; cook about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and color brightens. Serve with chicken or turkey.
Classic Mole Verde
Serve this tangy, herbal and spicy sauce with poached or pan-cooked chicken breasts, fish, shrimp or grilled vegetables.
½ cup raw pepitas
½ pound tomatillos, husked and coarsely chopped
½ jalapeño (or more to taste), roughly chopped
3 romaine lettuce leaves, torn into pieces
¼ small white onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, halved
¼ cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
1½ cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. canola, coconut or olive oil
Salt
Heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat; add pepitas. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they’ve puffed and popped and smell toasty. (Note: If they get darker than golden, they’ll taste bitter!) Transfer to a bowl; cool.
Place cooled pepitas in blender. Add tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro and ½ cup of stock. Process until smooth, stirring if needed.
Heat oil in the Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a bit of pepita mixture; if it sizzles, add the rest. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, 8–10 minutes. (It will splutter, so be careful.)
Add remaining stock, bring to simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring, until sauce is thick and creamy, 15–20 minutes.
Season to taste with salt. For a silkier sauce, blend again in batches.
Pipián Salsa
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup roasted pepitas
2 canned chipotle peppers
¼ cup fresh cilantro
½ onion, diced
One (14.5 oz. can) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
Change up your regular chip dip with this Pipián Salsa.In food processor or blender, mix garlic, pepitas, chipotle peppers, cilantro and onion until minced. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin and lime juice. Puree until desired smooth or chunky consistency. Store refrigerated up to a week.
Pepita-Cilantro Pesto
1 cup packed fresh cilantro
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup roasted pepitas
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 clove garlic
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt
Optional: ground Parmesan cheese to taste
Blend cilantro, oil, pepitas, lime juice, garlic, cayenne and ½ tsp. salt until mostly smooth. Add Parmesan, if using, and blend well.
It’s August! August is my birthday month. For the first few years of my schooling, it represented pool parties and the last sweet sips of summer before the school year officially began.
For the past couple of years, however, August has been markedly tenser for reasons I don’t need to restate. As the new delta variant continues to spread without yet an end in sight, the new school year looms large ahead of us with a host of problems and unknowns.
Problems include:
The permanent closings of many private schools in every state which, in the absence of government funds, did not survive. This means that fewer schools are available to accommodate a growing population of children needing a school, not to mention the plenty of personal space within said school needed for safety reasons;
Vandalized, abandoned schools that do not have the funds to replace needed materials and are not ready to receive students;
Public schools that were quite crowded before the pandemic, with their abilities to accommodate an influx of ex-private school students unspecified (I’m not optimistic);
Many children who have simply left the school system.
Then, the big unknowns:
When and how the delta variant will peter out;
The extent to which children will suffer if and when they contract the delta variant;
If teachers and school personnel who don’t accept the vaccine will be allowed to work;
When vaccines for children will become available and whether or not students will be obliged to get them (as they are with other vaccines) in order to be in the classroom;
At what point we’ll have enough space across public and private schools to accommodate children safely: other countries have shown how to do it, and a big piece of the puzzle is keeping them a certain amount of distance away from each other in ventilated areas. Does our current physical infrastructure make that possible?
The president, after not having set forth much of a plan regarding education during the past year and a half, has now said that “there are no risks” and has set August 30 as the day that all students should return to school. Though he’s cited a UNICEF study as evidence for the harm done to children by not being in school, I hesitate to get behind the effort at this particular moment in the pandemic, when cases have been increasing exponentially, mostly in younger unvaccinated people.
It’s also hard to cut through the noise when emotions are so high. Some of those high emotions are directed by the president himself, who insists that messages to be cautious about school openings are part of a “media conspiracy orchestrated by the opposition” — which is not the solid argument he thinks it is.
Apparently, neither do approximately 58% of other people, according to El Financiero. But whether we feel sure about it or not, there are people that need childcare so that they can work; there are children that need a place to go to learn and to interact with others in a socially safe environment. I do not criticize anyone for sending their children to school or daycare because being able to do that is a built-in necessity of our modern society that few have the privilege to live without.
And if we want to keep advancing as a country, we can’t simply fail to educate our children indefinitely. Even the most privileged children have missed out on the benefits of schooling during this past year and half; even consistent online schooling in a beautiful house with parental support is not good enough.
But I would argue that, for those who are able, we should at least wait until this delta surge runs its course. Perhaps in the meantime we could focus on getting our schools’ physical infrastructure in place for when they do go back.
While I tend to roll my eyes at the many messages from panicked parents in WhatsApp groups equating the idea of sending one’s children back to school with being selfish and not caring if kids die, all those problems and unknowns I listed above have stopped me on the track I was hiking down for most of the previous year.
I feel unsure, and my gut now tells me to wait until things have calmed down at least a bit; promises from the president that “nothing bad will happen at all,” which is not something anyone can promise, make me even more nervous.
We’re still taking forever to vaccinate, and plenty of people are also refusing the vaccine. I wrote about that last week and received quite a few negative emails in response.
(If that was you, by the way, I don’t respond to emails calling me an idiot for “falling for CDC lies.” And to the guy who wrote me a 4,000-word thesis — thank you, but I’m a single mom with about five low-paid, strung-together gigs just trying to survive month to month; I just don’t have time to write a counter-thesis).
One guy — they were all guys, actually; they usually are — even told me that he’d never get the vaccine, even if Covid-19 were “100% lethal” because he was … against tyranny?
Whatever the reasons, and however valid or invalid they are, it’s clear to me that we’re not going to have enough people willingly participate in vaccination to get the herd immunity that would get us through this.
The pandemic is raging. It’s targeting younger people faster. Vaccines are being distributed much too slowly to a high-density population in the cultural habit of standing very close to one another at all times, and a sizable portion of the population is refusing to do their part.
I guess it’s time to hunker down for a little longer, people. After all this, what’s a little more misery?
The superhero Supergrillo was one of the costumed candidates for vaccination in Xochimilco this week.
An additional 21,897 confirmed coronavirus cases were added to Mexico’s accumulated tally on Friday as the the delta variant-driven third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge.
Mexico’s case total now stands at just under 3.2 million, while the official COVID-19 death toll rose to 252,080 on Friday with 761 additional fatalities.
The Health Ministry reported 348,856 new infections in the first 20 days of August for a daily average of 17,443 cases. That figure is 64% higher than the daily average in July and 23% above the average in January, which was the worst completed month of the pandemic in terms of both cases and deaths.
There are currently 152,130 estimated active cases across Mexico, according to Health Ministry data.
There have been 11,174 reported COVID-19 deaths so far this month for an average of 559 fatalities per day. That figure is 121% higher than the daily average in July but 47% lower than the average in January. The reduction in deaths compared to the peak of the second wave of the pandemic when very few people were vaccinated is evidence that vaccines are doing their job and preventing severe disease and death in most cases.
The coronavirus stoplight map that’s in effect beginning Monday.
• There are seven red light maximum risk states on the coronavirus stoplight map that will take effect Monday and remain valid through September 5. They are Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Colima, Guerrero, Puebla, Hidalgo and Tabasco.
• Mexico City and México state will remain high risk orange on the map next week, authorities said on Friday. The adjoining entities easily have the highest coronavirus case tallies and COVID-19 death tolls in the country. The capital has recorded more than 860,000 confirmed cases and over 47,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, while confirmed infections in México state number more than 320,000 and deaths are approaching 30,000.
There are 15 other orange states: Sonora, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Morelos, Campeche and Quintana Roo.
Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato and Yucatán are all medium risk yellow, while Chiapas remains the sole low risk green state.
• In Mexico City, 88% of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine, city official Eduardo Clark said Friday. Just under half of all adults in the capital – the country’s coronavirus epicenter since the start of the pandemic – are fully vaccinated.
Clark said there are currently 3,207 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Mexico City, a reduction of 147 compared to a week ago.
• Tamaulipas recorded its worst day of the pandemic in terms of new case numbers on Wednesday with 717 confirmed infections. The daily case tally was almost 14% higher than the previous record of 630 cases set last Friday.
The northern border state added an additional 538 confirmed cases to its accumulated tally on Thursday. That total stands at just over 81,000 while Tamaulipas has recorded more than 5,800 COVID-19 deaths, according to federal data.
In light of the recent rise in infections in the northern border state, Health Minister Gloria Medina Gamboa urged Tamaulipas residents to get vaccinated, stay at home as much as possible and follow all virus mitigation measures.
She said Wednesday that 56% of beds set aside for coronavirus patients were occupied, up from 52% a day earlier. A total of 786 COVID patients have been hospitalized in Tamaulipas during the third wave of the pandemic, 712 of whom were not vaccinated, the health minister said.
Coronavirus cases and deaths in Mexico as reported by day. milenio
• More than 80% of general care hospital beds are occupied in COVID-19 wards in Tlaxcala and Puebla. Federal data shows that the rate in the former state is 85.5% and just over 80% in the latter. Five other states have rates above 70%. They are Hidalgo, Veracruz, Durango, San Luis Potosí and Colima.
At 85%, Colima has the highest occupancy rate for beds with ventilators. Tlaxcala and Mexico City rank second and third, respectively, with rates of just above 70%.
• The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions reported that the average cost of hospital treatment for COVID-19 patients aged 10 to 19 has increased to almost 176,000 pesos (about US $8,600) from 174,638 pesos two weeks ago. Data from numerous countries shows that children are more likely to be infected with the highly contagious delta strain of the virus than other variants.
• Mexico has granted emergency use authorization to the COVID vaccine made by the United States pharmaceutical company Moderna. Health regulator Cofepris issued the approval on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter that the United States will send 1.75 million doses of the mRNA vaccine to Mexico this weekend and another consignment of the same number of shots in a month.
There are now eight COVID vaccines authorized for use in Mexico. They are the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinovac, CanSino, Covaxin, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna shots.
• Several young people dressed as fictional characters including Pikachu, Batman, Wonder Woman and Winnie-the-Pooh before venturing out to get vaccinated on Thursday in the Mexico City borough of Xochimilco. The chance to win prizes such as books and pajamas encouraged some vaccine candidates to don the colorful suits, but one man said he did so to help him overcome his fear of needles.
“I like Pikachu and [dressing up as the Pokemón character] gives me courage because I don’t like needles,” a 24-year-old chef told the EFE news agency.
Artist Anibal Delgado with one of his painted mattresses.
If you’re an abstract art lover and you’re going to be in Guadalajara in the next couple of months, you might want to take advantage of two art exhibits that opened this month that are offering the public a rare opportunity to view the best work of aspiring artists in Mexico who express themselves through this medium. One is a collection of several abstract artists from all over Mexico, while the other is by a single artist.
One of the exhibits, “Primer Encuentro de Arte Abstract de Pequeño Formato” (The First Gathering of Small-Format Abstract Art), is at the Center for the Study and Diffusion of Non-Figurative Art (CIANF) in Pinar de la Venta, Jalisco. The show is the brainchild of the CIANF’s owners, José de Jesús “Pepe” Olivares and Rosalia Zepeda.
“We challenged abstract artists in Jalisco and all over Mexico to send us an example of their best work, but confined to within a medium measuring 30 centimeters by 30 centimeters: a footprint of their art, you could call it,” Olivares said.
“The response has been wonderful,” Zepeda said. “All the works you see here were created especially for this exhibit. We have 70 ‘footprints’ on display, offering the public a unique opportunity to peruse today’s abstract art scene in Mexico within the confines of three small rooms.”
I was impressed at how enticing the schema was. I could not take three steps without some obra (artwork) grabbing my attention, then obliging me to take a closer look and finally seducing me.
“X-1” by Dadu Magaanya was made with splattered hot tar and is on exhibit at the Center for the Study and Diffusion of Non-Figurative Art in greater Guadalajara.
While most of the works were acrylics on canvas, there were also watercolors, pourings, collages and some outstanding three-dimensional pieces, along with a delightful stained-glass window — only 30 by 30 centimeters, of course.
The work X-1 by Dadu Magaaña, a graphic designer who lives in Guadalajara, was principally made using hot tar splattered on the canvas. It appears that the artist also employed layers of tar diluted with solvent.
Luz II by María del Consuelo Bucio is from the artist’s collection Luz de la Vida, (The Light of Life).
“This painting,” Pepe Olivera explained,”… is an example of a pouring combined with acrylic painting. The canvas was laid down flat, and a mixture of paint, oil and water was poured on it. Later, after it dried, the artist used black acrylic paint as a kind of mask covering everything but the areas she wanted to be visible.”
CIANF, by the way, is more than an art gallery. It’s also an art school for children and adults, a library and a venue for art-related presentations and discussions. Located in the community of Pinar de La Venta, it’s about eight kilometers west of Guadalajara.
This collection of paintings will be on display throughout August, September and October.
“Luz II” by Maria del Consuelo Bucio, is on exhibit at Center for the Study and Diffusion of Non-Figurative Art through October.
The Center is located at 98 Paseo de las Primaveras, in Pinar de la Venta, Jalisco. It is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Interested parties should call 333-616-6242 in advance of their visit.
To reach the center, ask Google Maps to take you to CIANF, Pinar de la Venta, Jalisco. In front of the gallery’s gate, you will see a telephone pole clearly marked with a big red number nine.
This is an important landmark because house numbers on this street are hopelessly jumbled.
The other exhibit, “De Cuando la Tierra era Plana y los Diamantes Brillan” (From When the Earth was Flat and Diamonds Sparkle),” is on display atHospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara.
The Hospicio Cabañas, a hospital founded in 1791 in Guadalajara and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is exhibiting this collection of abstract works by Anibal Delgado, a native of Guadalajara who also spent many years living in Mexico City.
The exhibit features more than 50 pieces of his abstract art.
A visitor contemplates one of Aníbal Delgado’s paintings on plywood at the Hospicio Cabañas Museum in Guadalajara.
Delgado’s work has appeared in more than 60 shows in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, the United States and, of course, in many parts of Mexico. In 2007, he received the a scholarship from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, founded by abstract expressionist artist Lee Krasner.
Delgado told me that he grew up interested in sports, not art or culture. “But then, one day, when I was in my 20s, I was handed a few books of abstract art by some friends studying architecture,” he said. “I took one look at them and I was hooked. They knocked me off my feet!
“I guess what I want to say is that I was completely beguiled by abstract art. And all this happened 50 years ago. Yes, it was around 1970 when I discovered that it was possible to become a painter and then starve to death because of it.”
Delgado has experimented with painting on different surfaces, even mattresses, and most of his works on display at Hospicio Cabañas are painted on ordinary plywood. “For me, art is fun,” he said.
In an attempt to understand and appreciate Delgado’s work, I asked Olivares, who is also an abstract art teacher, to comment on three of Delgado’s paintings now on display.
His responses follow:
“Vertical Orange” by Anibal Delgado.
Regarding Vertical Orange: “This is painted on a sheet of plywood,” he said. “Here we have red and yellow along with orange, which is what you get if you mix the first two colors. So there is color harmony here.”
“Then we have a patch of white and a patch of black,” he continued. “I feel that these give the chispa (spark) to this work and act as a catalyst. He’s playing with very few elements here, but I feel he is placing them with great care. It wouldn’t work if these two spots weren’t located where they are, and the orange section wouldn’t work if you moved it up higher. All the parts are in just the right places.”
Aníbal’s work is really original and doesn’t follow any tradition, said Olivares.
“Basically, he is having fun. He plays with colors, often bright primary colors like those you see in a country fiesta. Aníbal says, ‘No me importa si es arte abstracta; a mi lo que quiero es disfrutar la fiesta’ [I don’t care whether this is abstract art or not, all I want is to enjoy the fiesta]. This helps you understand Aníbal’s work.
“It’s sort of saying, ‘We have only two options in life: disfrutarla o sufrir: Enjoy it or suffer.’”
Of Dancing Colors, he said, “The colors are dancing across this piece of plywood where the texture shows through. This painting traps you. A poet might write something very beautiful about it.”
“Dancing Colors” by Anibal Delgado.
Regarding the piece Maybe a Light Bulb, he had questions:
“What is this?” he asked, “a light bulb? A globe? A fishbowl with a cover? Whatever it is, I like it. It grabs me.”
Delgado’s works will be on display at at the museum until November 28.
To get there, ask Google Maps to take you to Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara.
The official address is C. Cabañas 8, Las Fresas, 44360 Guadalajara, Jalisco.
But the truth is, you will probably have the best results by getting yourself to Guadalajara and then using what I call the “Mexnet” method.
“Maybe a Light Bulb” by Anibal Delgado is on exhibit with more than 50 other pieces of his art at Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara.
In other words, just keep asking people, “Dónde está el Hospicio Cabañas?”
It almost always works!
The writer has lived near Guadalajara, Jalisco, for 31 years and is the author of A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area and co-author of Outdoors in Western Mexico. More of his writing can be found on his website.
“Chorreado” is a stained-glass window by artist Ricardo Barajas on display at the CIANF.
Rosalía Zepeda, co-founder of the CIANF, with a few of the 70 recent works by some of Mexico’s best abstract artists, on display at the center through October.
“Maybe a Light Bulb” by Anibal Delgado is on exhibit with more than 50 other pieces of his art at Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara.
“Engalanada,” a three-dimensional work by Lucero González Navarro on display at the CIANF.
The CIANF’s Pepe Olivares with two of his paintings, left, and one by María de Lourdes Ramírez Rodríguez, right.
Visitors with paintings by Aníbal Delgado at the Hospicio Cabañas Museum. The exhibit runs until November 28.
One in four students fears catching Covid at school.
A clear majority of students are ready to ditch their electronic devices, dust off their textbooks and return to the classroom, a new survey indicates.
Among almost 38,000 primary, middle and high school students across Mexico surveyed by the Mexico City Human Rights Commission (CDHCM), seven out of 10 want to return to in-person classes. Only two out of 10 said they would prefer to continue studying at home while one in 10 was unsure about his or her preference.
Schools across Mexico closed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and most haven’t reopened since. However, after almost 1 1/2 years of online and television learning, students will have the option to voluntarily return to the classroom for the start of the new school year on August 30.
The CDHCM survey – the results of which were presented by commission president Nashieli Ramírez Hernández at President López Obrador’s morning press conference on Thursday – asked students what made them happy about the upcoming, albeit voluntary, return to in-person classes.
Almost half of those polled – 48% – cited the opportunity to be with friends, while 37% said that it was easier to understand what they were being taught in the classroom. More than one in five showed signs of cabin fever, saying they would be happy to return to school just to get out of the house.
López Obrador has been a fierce advocate for the forthcoming return to the classroom, particularly stressing the importance of social interaction between students. In-person classes will recommence in August regardless of “rain, thunder or lightning,” he said in late July, using one of his oft-repeated catchphrases.
While most students are keen to once again sit in the classroom with their peers, the return to school is far from an anxiety-free proposition.
The CDHCM survey found that half of respondents are worried that their fellow school-goers won’t wear face masks, while 25% said they feared they would catch the virus at school and get sick. Almost one in five students said they were anxious about not being able to give their friends a hug, while almost three in 10 feared that their schools would close again if an outbreak occurs, sending them back to lonely learning at home.
Ramírez said that listening to students’ views about a government decision that directly affects them, and taking them into account, was an “obligation of families, society and the state.”
She noted that a previous CDHCM survey found that almost 60% of students thought the closure of schools would last just two months or a little more. But the closure dragged on and on as Mexico endured one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world. For an eight-year-old student, the duration of the closure represents about 20% of his or her life, Ramírez remarked.
The government’s decision to forge ahead with its decision to reopen schools comes as Mexico records soaring coronavirus case numbers as a delta-variant-fueled third wave of the pandemic gains a foothold across much of the country.
