But beyond silver shopping, the town offers a wide variety of cultural attractions that exist thanks to mining. From one of Mexico’s most famous churches — built with silver money — to a hidden pre-Columbian silver mine and a City of Light award, here are 5 surprising things you didn’t know about Mexico’s most famous silver town.

Taxco was one of the 18th century’s biggest silver producers

Sitting atop steep hills and surrounded by dramatic cliffs, Taxco — whose official name is Taxco de Alarcón — was founded in 1529. But it wasn’t the first Taxco: the Indigenous town of that name, now called Taxco el Viejo, lies south of the city we know today. In 1521, Hernán Cortés sent an expedition to find tin ore.  Due to the geology of the region, deposits of silver abounded in the area, and a few years later the Spanish set up the mining camp that would soon become the city of Taxco. 

Under the Spanish, mining in Taxco began around 1524, making it one of the oldest European mining centers in the Americas. However, its true mining heyday happened in the 18th century, after Spanish businessman José de la Borda inherited a mine from his brother Francisco and found the San Ignacio vein. 

De la Borda, who would be described by Spanish King Carlos III as “the most intelligent person known in this Kingdom in mines and in the machinery for their excavation,” made one of the largest fortunes in New Spain with silver mining. 

With his wealth, he built a paved road across the mountains to Mexico City, gave money to the Catholic church and built several buildings for the local community, including the town’s icon: the Parish of Santa Prisca — which leads us to our next interesting fact.

The Church of Santa Prisca was funded entirely by a silver miner

The church of Santa Prisca was built by de la Borda as a way of thanking God for his mining fortune. With its two pink stone towers, wide dome and intricate finishes, Santa Prisca — named after the town’s patron saint — is one of Mexico’s most beautiful churches and an exquisite example of the Mexican baroque style. 

Standing 94.5 meters in height, it was actually Mexico’s tallest building until 1808.

In addition to its magnificent interior and stunning light-pink façade, the church is noteworthy for having been built in just seven years,  between 1751 and 1758 — a record speed for the time. 

Funded entirely by de la Borda, several well-known Mexican artists of the 18th century contributed to the church’s interior decoration, including Cayetano de Sigüenza, Isidoro Vicente de Balbás, José de Alba and Miguel Cabrera. Due to its “great artistic value,” UNESCO included Santa Prisca on Mexico’s tentative list for World Heritage inscription in 2001. 

Taxco’s silver heyday was revived by a U.S. designer

After Borda’s bonanza times, Taxco remained relatively unknown to the world until artist William Spratling revived the town’s old silver glory. 

An assistant professor of architecture at Tulane University, Spratling spent his summers lecturing on colonial architecture in Mexico City and touring the country in his free time. In 1925, he decided to settle down in Taxco to work on his novel, “Little Mexico.” 

Intrigued by the silver trinkets and stones that Taxco locals sold, Spratling began designing his own jewelry inspired by Aztec motifs and Mexican designs. In 1931, he hired local silversmiths and founded his workshop. In no time, his works gained international recognition and many Hollywood celebrities of the time wore his designs.  

To inspire local artists, Spratling began an apprentice program. Notable students who founded their own shops included Antonio Pineda, Margot de Taxco and Hector Aguilar. 

Dubbed “the Father of Modern Mexican Jewelry,” Spratling turned the world’s attention to Taxco and its silversmiths, who to this day have remained relevant and recognized worldwide.  

In 2015, archeologists found a hidden pre-Hispanic mine

If you thought finding hidden treasure underground only happens in fairy tales, think again. 

In 2013, during renovation work at Taxco’s Posada de la Misión hotel, construction workers lowering a floor discovered an underground pit that, after further excavation, led them to the entrance of a mine with deposits of silver, gold and quartz. 

Upon exploration, National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) archeologists found that the work that had been done in the mine was superficial and rudimentary, using tools that predated the colonial era. Among these instruments were deer horns, stones and baskets to collect the minerals.

Based on this evidence, historians have suggested that the mine was pre-Columbian,  exploited by the Indigenous Chontal of Guerrero — not to be confused with the Chontal Maya — in the 1400s. When the Spanish arrived, the Chontal closed it and kept it hidden. According to experts, they only exploited 2% of the mine. But since it is now below a hotel, the mine is safe from further exploitation.  

The mine opened to visitors in 2015. Entrance costs 180 pesos per person and includes a walking tour inside the mine, a pre-Hispanic cultural show, parking and a drink in the Posada de la Misión hotel.

Taxco holds the title of City of Light

Due to the number of international tourists that travel to Taxco for silver shopping, the town decided to elevate its already charming cobbled streets, red tile roofs and colonial buildings with architectural light. 

In 2019, Taxco gained international recognition as a City of Light, thanks to the town’s light plan. The accolade is granted by the Lighting Urban Community International (LUCI) association, which brings together cities across the world, committed to using light as a tool for sustainable development. 

Taxco’s Lighting Master Plan, completed in 2012, uses light as a common thread to seamlessly integrate streets and alleys with churches, architectural features and public spaces. It has encouraged more social gatherings and recreational activities and has helped extend the use of city space at night.

This title is shared with other cities like Geneva, Bruges, Turin and Toulouse, among hundreds of others worldwide. Taxco and Medellín, Colombia are the only cities in the Americas to have received the honor.

Gabriela Solis is a Mexican lawyer turned full-time writer. She was born and raised in Guadalajara and covers business, culture, lifestyle and travel for Mexico News Daily. You can follow her lifestyle blog Dunas y Palmeras.

The post 5 things you probably didn’t know about Mexico’s ‘Silver Capital’ appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The film festival will kick off with the two-hour documentary “Esta ambición desmedida” (“This Excessive Ambition”), which chronicles 33-year-old Spanish rapper C. Tangana’s creative process behind his 2021 album “El Madrileño” (“The Man From Madrid”) and the challenges of creating a subsequent tour worthy of his newfound global superstar status.

Directed by Santos Bacana, Cris Trenas and Rogelio González of Spain, the 2023 film will screen at the FICG’s opening gala on June 7 at the Telmex Auditorium in Zapopan, Jalisco. 

The rapper is expected to attend, according to festival officials.

Closing night of the Guadalajara festival will feature “Kinds of Kindness” — an absurdist dark comedy by six-time Oscar-nominated Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Jesse Plemons. Premiering in Mexico and the U.S. on June 21, it received a Palme D’Or (the top prize) nomination at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the audience gave it a four-minute standing ovation.

Several awards will be presented at this year’s FICG.

Mexican actor Diego Luna will receive the Mayahuel Award for Mexican Cinema for his career and contributions to national cinema. A former Mexican telenovela child actor, Luna broke through to the big screen in the internationally acclaimed 2001 film “Y tu mamá también.” He’s lately known for portraying Cassian Andor in the Star Wars films “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and “Andor.“ Luna is also known for playing drug kingpin Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo in the Netflix series “Narcos: Mexico.”

Spanish producer Enrique Cerezo, president of the soccer club Atlético de Madrid, will be honored with the inaugural FICG Industry Award. Alex de la Iglesia, a prolific Spanish filmmaker, will receive the Mayahuel International Award. 

The Guadalajara film festival’s connections to Spain are not by chance. This year’s guest of honor is the community of Madrid, Spain, and a core program of the festival will be highlighting films from that region.

Activism in cinema will also be recognized at the festival:

• Mexican actress Ángeles Cruz will be awarded the Maguey Prize for her dedication to LGBTQ+ rights.
• Chilean actor Alfredo Castro will be presented with the Mayahuel Ibero-American Award.
• The Spanish filmmaking duo Los Javis, known for their work promoting LGBTQ+ equality, will receive the Maguey Award for their career.

The festival will screen over 200 films, including Mexican and Ibero-American productions in fiction, documentary and animation. There will also be films exploring environmental and LGBTQ+ themes. FICG officials said they are hoping to exceed 50,000 attendees.

The FICG Cineteca in Zapopan will serve as the main venue, with additional screenings at the Telmex Auditorium, the Museum of the Arts, the Diana Theater and the Carlos Fuentes Bookstore.

In conjunction with the film festival, the Guadalajara Museum of Arts will host a “Nazarín” photo exhibit from June 6 to August 4. “Nazarín” is a provocative 1959 film made in Mexico by acclaimed Spanish director Luis Buñuel with the Mexican cinematographer Manuel Álvarez Bravo.

For a full program guide, schedules and prices, visit the festival website.

With reports from El Universal, Guadalajara Secreta, El Informador, Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, El Debate and La-Lista

The post 39th Guadalajara International Film Festival will celebrate Spanish film appeared first on Mexico News Daily

“For over three decades,” Riojas-Nolasco explained, “I worked as a pianist, vocal coach, and assistant conductor in some of the most important opera houses around the world, mostly in Europe. In those elite venues, I played 30 to 35 operas a year, often with daily performances.”

Riojas-Nolasco’s international experience in the preparation and perfection of artists in the operatic field is certainly extensive. He has performed in nearly 30 countries, including at such venues as the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia and the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall in the United States, and collaborated with many of the greatest singers and conductors in the world, such as Plácido Domingo, Javier Camarena, Rolando Villazón, Roberto Alagna, José Carreras, Neil Schikof, Francisco Araiza, Ramón Vargas, Edita Gruberova, Elina Garança, Cecilia Bartoli, Mirella Freni, and Renata Scotto.

In 2014, Ramón Vargas, the famed Mexican tenor, was named director of the Opera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Vargas invited Riojas-Nolasco to come home to Mexico to develop the Fine Arts Opera Studio there.

“Of course I said yes,” explained Riojas-Nolasco. “For five years, I was the director and primary coach. It was a very successful program: my students won 14 international prizes.”

In 2022, Riojas-Nolasco felt inspired to move to San Miguel de Allende to launch his own studio. “Some of my students came with me,” he noted. “Olymar Salinas, for example, an incredible young tenor, has been studying with me for almost seven years now, since he was 18 years old, and he’s doing very well.”

Salinas himself explained: “Many young singers are looking for a place like Operísima México to train in voice, movement, languages, and more, to build our repertoires and gain experience. In my case, performing in Europe and the United States has been invaluable.”

The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the careers of many young singers. “In the moment when they should have started to do something important, their careers were blocked by the pandemic,” said Riojas-Nolasco. “I want to help these talented young people succeed now, to make up for lost time.”

When Riojas-Nolasco arrived in San Miguel de Allende, “The first institution to throw open their doors to us was Casa Europa. We performed five complete operas there, and I used a rotating cast to give all my students a chance to perform. They rotated between soloist and choir positions. It is important to me that young singers gain experience performing complete operas in order to be hired at leading opera houses. The directors need to see proof of the stamina and vocal maturity to finish a three-hour opera.”

Two of the maestro’s students, Salinas and Karla Pineda, went to the finals for the Vienna Opera last year, a huge honor for any young singer in the world. Salinas also made it to the semifinals for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, an impressive accomplishment.

“For me, as a Costa Rican singer, joining Operísima México has been an incredible experience,” Pineda explained. “I have learned so much from our amazing maestro and gained access to important competitions and auditions in Europe as well as here in the Americas. I am so thankful.”

The next phase for Operísima México is one of institutional development. The organization is in the process of obtaining official nonprofit status, at which point donations will become tax-deductible. Riojas-Nolasco credits Jack Kelly, executive director, for his exhaustive fundraising efforts. For example, Kelly organized a private event at beautiful Casa Proserpina in San Miguel de Allende to raise funds for Salinas and Pineda’s travel to Vienna and New York.

Riojas-Nolasco acknowledges that fundraising goals will remain significant for the foreseeable future. “As our studio grows, I hope to hire a variety of specialists. Right now, I am the director, pianist, acting coach, and language teacher. I speak German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English.”

“Eventually,” he continued, “we intend to have our own physical space, our own performing arts center. We have been welcomed at venues throughout San Miguel de Allende, such as Casa Europa, Villa Puccini MusikHaus, and now Foro Obraje, but it will be wonderful to have our own permanent venue, as well as dedicated housing and living stipends for the students — the kind of benefits my students in Mexico City received. We want them to be able to focus entirely on their music and not have to work other jobs to survive. Currently, kind donors are paying the rent for a house for five of the girls. We are so grateful for every bit of support we receive along the way.”

Operísima México is proud to offer residents of San Miguel the opportunity to enjoy opera throughout the year. Not only will the group perform a number of complete operas every year, but they also plan to offer an evening of opera highlights every other Thursday, beginning in July. Riojas-Nolasco hopes “Thursday night at the Opera” will become a regular part of many Sanmigelenses’ routines.

Further, he noted, “We are delighted by the growing opera community in San Miguel de Allende and proud to be part of it. For example, some of our students have participated, quite successfully, in competitions sponsored by Opera de San Miguel and the San Miguel MetOpera Trust.”

Operísima México will next present “Opera Scenes, Program 2” featuring works by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, Strauss, Gounod, Mozart, and Donizetti at Arthur Murray San Miguel on May 31 and June 1 at 7:00. Tickets are available online for MXN$500 and at the El Petit Four café. 

Currently, the best way to connect with Maestro Rogelio Riojas-Nolasco to support this exciting new opera studio in San Miguel de Allende is through the group’s Facebook page.

Based in San Miguel de Allende, Ann Marie Jackson is a writer and NGO leader who previously worked for the U.S. Department of State. Her novel “The Broken Hummingbird” will be out in October. Ann Marie can be reached through her website, annmariejacksonauthor.com.

The post Operísima México launches in San Miguel de Allende appeared first on Mexico News Daily

In the residential part of Cuauhtémoc borough, you’ll encounter some of the city’s best sushi and ramen restaurants, not to mention a ryokan hotel that is all but hidden by a lively Spanish tapas bar next door. The area is unofficially known as Mexico City’s Little Tokyo District thanks to Edo Kobayashi, the Tijuana-born founder of Nippon hits like Rokai and Tokyo Music Bar. But wait a minute – Japan? Tijuana? Mexico City?

To make it make sense, we need to take it back to 1609, when the Spanish galleon San Francisco was making its way from Manila (the Philippines was part of New Spain at the time) to Acapulco.

The vessel was likely carrying silks and spices in exchange for silver and other precious medals, but it wrecked off the coast of Japan. The crew was rescued by Japanese fishermen, and a few months later, they sailed again to Acapulco, but this time on a Japanese ship with representatives from the land of the rising sun. This marked the moment of “first contact” between the two nations.

With the 19th century came Mexico’s independence and the Meiji Restoration in Japan, a tumultuous time when centuries of societal structure was reconfigured to make way for more Western-style policies. This led to the first wave of Japanese immigrants to Mexico in Chiapas in 1897.

Over the years, Japanese communities in Mexico flourished and by the 1920s they expanded north to regions like Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa. There are records indicating that approximately 1,000 Japanese nationals resided in Mexico City at this time. 

There are at least 10,000 Japanese living in Mexico today, the majority working in the auto industry and residing in Querétaro, Guanajuato, and León. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Marie Sato, deputy director of Mexico City’s Fundación de Japón en México and Japan native. I noted her excellent command of Spanish and asked about her experience learning the language. She explained to me that vocal similarities in pronunciation has made articulation quite easy.

Mexicans too seem to find the Japanese language intriguing — according to Ana Solis, Activities Coordinator at the foundation, their free online language classes have more Mexicans enrolled than any other nationality worldwide.

On a more personal note, I recently took advantage of the direct flight from Mexico’s Benito Juárez International Airport to Narita International in Tokyo. Mexico is always on my mind and it’s hard to shut off my internal comparison mechanism.

While exploring different parts of Japan, I was pleasantly surprised by a few noteworthy similarities:

1. Rich and distinctive cuisines. Different ingredients, equally ancient, same reverence. There is so much love and pride behind their cuisines, it’s hard to ignore the similarity.
2. Wrestling. Professional wrestling in Japan is a big deal. In the 1970s, Mexican Lucha Libre fighter Mil Mascaras debuted in the island nation. The Japanese were so taken by his acrobatic combat style and mask that wrestlers began traveling to Mexico to train in the Lucharesu style. Soon after came Tiger Mask, the popular comic book character that lived the life of a masked wrestling superhero. In 2003, pro wrestler The Great Sasuke was elected as an Iwate Prefectural Assembly legislator and often donned his mask along with a suit and tie to legislative sessions.
3. Public displays of devotion. Shinto and ancient Mesoamerican religions revere many gods and devotees are at liberty to practice elements from multiple religions. Each country is brimming with unexpected altars or other small areas of worship on the street or in parks.
4. Ancient grains. Corn in Mexico and rice in Japan are much more than just a source of calories. These grains have shaped each country’s cultural identity, harboring deep historical significance. 
5. Work ethic. According to the World Economic Forum, Mexicans work more hours per year than any other country. The Japanese are also known to abide by a “live to work, not work to live” mentality — to the point of fatally overworking themselves. Both Mexicans and Japanese see work as virtue, and staying late is seen as a gesture of loyalty and commitment.
6. Family as a pillar of society. In both Mexico and Japan, family comes before all else. Japan’s official registry regards the household to be the basic unit of society (koseki), rather than the individual. This is similar to Mexican society, where parents, siblings and elders are seen as contributing greatly to one’s identity, and whose needs are often prioritized before those of the individual.

Bethany Platanella is a travel planner and lifestyle writer based in Mexico City. She lives for the dopamine hit that comes directly after booking a plane ticket, exploring local markets, practicing yoga and munching on fresh tortillas. Sign up to receive her Sunday Love Letters to your inbox, peruse her blog, or follow her on Instagram.

This article is part of Mexico News Daily’s “Japan in Focus” series. Read the other articles from the series here. 

The post What do Mexico and Japan have in common? appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), a federal agency, has accused the city of Guanajuato of causing damage to one of the historic 19th-century mummified corpses, which is displayed in the Guanajuato Mummy Museum. 

Following a complaint, INAH was made aware of damage to one of the Guanajuato mummies while it was being moved during museum renovations. The mummy’s right arm reportedly fell off. 

While some media outlets reported that additional mummies had been damaged, neither INAH nor museum officials confirmed those stories.

Last week, INAH sent experts to the museum to document the damage and investigate what permits were obtained and what procedures were followed during the museum renovations.

On Monday, the institute issued a statement declaring that the museum’s mummy collection was being handled improperly and that “far from applying proper corrective and conservation strategies, the actions carried out caused damages.”

INAH criticized the museum proprietors for their alleged “lack of knowledge about proper protocols and the lack of training of personnel in charge of carrying out these tasks.” It also accused museum officials of ignoring an agreement to consult with the agency’s experts before beginning renovations. 

The Associated Press characterized the dispute as “a turf battle between the INAH, which believes it has jurisdiction over the Guanajuato mummies because it says they are ‘national patrimony,’ and the city of Guanajuato, which considers them a tourist attraction.”

INAH has demanded that it be given oversight of the renovation project while promising to work in conjunction with municipal authorities. The institute warned that ignoring INAH proposals could result in permanent damage, if not complete destruction, of the historic artifacts.

Last year, INAH expressed concerns about an exhibition of six of the Guanajuato mummies at a Mexico City tourism fair, arguing that the 190-year-old corpses might have posed a public health risk because one of them appeared to have fungal growth, raising concerns about whether the glass display cases they were in were airtight.

On that occasion, INAH also said that museum officials had not consulted them about the transfer and handling of the mummies.

With reports from the Associated Press, La Jornada and La-Lista

The post INAH accuses Guanajuato museum of mistreating its mummies appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Today, 50 years after the first episodes were shown on Mexican television, anime has become an important part of Mexican culture. Anime streaming giant Crunchyroll estimates Mexico to be its fourth largest market worldwide. The country was an early adopter of the art form and has developed an intense cultural obsession that continues to this day.

How did anime first come to Mexico?

While Mexico and Japan have diplomatic ties dating back centuries, the story behind how anime first arrived in Mexico is rather simple. In the 1970s, then Televisa president Emilio Azcárraga Milmo bought the rights to show Japanese cartoons in Mexico because it was the cheapest option. With no domestic animation industry and the cost of importing cartoons from giants Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbera eye-wateringly high, Milmo looked across the Pacific for content.

These early titles included classic Japanese series such as Astroboy, Kimba the White Lion and Mazinger Z. The imported cartoons proved extremely popular, and Mexican interest in anime grew. 

Fast forward a decade to the 1980s and toy giant Bandai decided to take a chance on this new Mexican market. Fresh off the success of exporting “Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac” to the Spanish market, Bandai hoped to reproduce this success in Latin America. They exported action figures and merchandise from Europe to Mexico, offering TV Azteca the chance to air the series for free, as long as they agreed to run commercials for the new toys alongside. This was a riotous success. 

Mexico’s undisputed champion: Dragon Ball Z

The rush to show the best anime was now on. TV Azteca offered classic series like Sailor Moon, while Televisa imported Ranma ½ — but the biggest hit of all was Dragon Ball Z. The classic show arrived in 1996, and quickly became Mexico’s anime of choice. Thanks to a Latin American Spanish dub, it was possible for audiences across Mexico to enjoy the show without the need for subtitles, which further enhanced its popularity. There have been suggestions that Dragon Ball Z is more popular in Mexico than in its native Japan. Regardless of whether that is true, Dragon Ball, and its subsequent spin-off series, have become one of the most ubiquitous elements of Mexican popular culture today.

It is hard to overstate the subsequent effect that Dragon Ball has had. Taquerías, microbuses and street stalls across the country are bedecked in merchandise to this day. Popular images from the show have become memes. Characters’ catchphrases are used in conversation. When creator Akira Toriyama died earlier this year, there were rumors that warring cartels had ceased hostilities to honor the legendary animator (which turned out to be false). However, large crowds did gather to perform signature “spirit bomb” moves from the show in Toriyama’s honor. 

When the show ended in 2018, the city of Ciudad Juárez attempted to broadcast the finale to a gathering of 15,000 people. The event caused a diplomatic spat between Mexico and Japan after animation studio Toei — and the Japanese Embassy in Mexico — denounced the events for copyright infringement. Fortunately, Mayor Armando Cabada stepped in and reached an agreement with Toei, and the day was saved. 

While globally, Dragon Ball Z has been superseded by smash hits like Pokémon, Naruto, Bleach and One Piece, Akira Toriyama’s classic series remains etched in the national psyche. 

How Mexico has influenced anime

Mexico’s infatuation with Japanese culture is not just a one-way street. There are several anime series that either feature or take place in Mexico. 

• Netflix’s Seis Manos is set in 1970s Mexico and follows the story of a group of martial artists who take on the cartel in the fictional town of San Simon. The series also stars voice acting from veteran Danny Trejo. 
• El Cazador de la Bruja, the story of two girls traveling south to Peru to avenge a murder, primarily takes place in Mexico. The Japanese-made series is considered a homage to Mexican culture, with several songs about tacos. While there is no Spanish language dub, El Cazador de la Bruja is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
• A story of pre-Columbian Mexico, Onyx Equinox follows the story of Izel and her sister Nelli, who are tasked by the gods to save the city from falling into the underworld. The show is a Crunchyroll exclusive.

With shows of all types continuing to be smash hits with audiences, it is unlikely Mexico will tire of this popular Japanese cultural export any time soon.

By Mexico News Daily writer Chris Havler-Barrett

This article is part of Mexico News Daily’s “Japan in Focus” series. Read the other articles from the series here. 

The post How Mexico fell in love with Japanese anime appeared first on Mexico News Daily

Sobremesa is a cultural tradition ingrained in Mexican culture. The word is derived from the Spanish words “sobre” (over) and “mesa” (table). 

When you get together for a meal in Mexico, the experience is rarely limited to just eating. We stay at the table and engage in meaningful conversation, sharing life updates long after dessert. This after-meal moment can stretch for hours and is devoted to strengthening social bonds.

The rich history of sobremesa

Historically, it’s not hard to find antecedents to the sobremesa tradition. In the ancient world, Roman emperors and guests indulged in lavish banquets, after which, reclining on their divans, they were entertained by acrobats, actors and poets.

During the Renaissance, bourgeois etiquette escalated among the great families of Italy, including the Medicis and the Sforzas. This era saw Leonardo Da Vinci captivate guests after dinner by presenting his intricate machine models and works of art. 

During the French Revolution and the opulent reign of the Napoleonic Empire, sobremesa emerged as a core aspect of gatherings. Aristocrats showed their lavish lifestyle and sophistication by hanging out long after the meals.

The ritual as it is practiced in Mexico originated in Spain in response to heavy three-course meals and hot weather, especially in the south of Spain, where there would be little incentive to end a comida quickly and go back outside. As it would be wildly inappropriate to have a siesta right at the table, sobremesa became a delightful alternative to allow for healthy digestion.   

The wellness benefits of this tradition

Apart from its cultural significance, sobremesa appears to offer health benefits. Taking time to relax before and after a meal has been linked to improved digestion and overall well-being. By allowing the body to properly digest food in a relaxed state, sobremesa promotes better nutrient absorption and reduces the likelihood of digestive discomfort.

Sharing stories, laughter and insights with loved ones can uplift spirits and nourish the soul.

Watch your manners in Mexico

Mexicans think it’s rude to mention difficult topics during a meal. Conversation while eating is mostly about the food and praising the cook. However, after the meal, acceptable topics are nearly unlimited. Sobremesa conversations can range from lighthearted banter to deep thoughts. As you may know though, once tummies are full, people can talk about anything.

This after-meal ritual is such a barometer of cordiality in Mexico that if you want to paint a picture of high tensions, all you have to say is, “We didn’t even stay for the sobremesa.” 

Although it can go on longer on the weekends, the sobremesa can be the weightiest part of a business meal. It starts once the eating is done and the plates have been cleared. Deep conversations are reserved for after eating because in Mexico, speaking with your mouth full is reprehensible. 

By the way, if you tend to talk while chewing, don’t be surprised if your guests suddenly leave.  

Sobremesa etiquette at restaurants

When you go to a restaurant and find a waiting line, you’ll probably get a strange look if you ask for an estimated waiting time. That’s because there’s no way to predict how long guests will stay and chat at their table once they’ve finished their meal. 

Other cultures may think it’s rude to keep people waiting for their table, but a Mexican will find it rude to get up and leave as soon as they’re done with the food. 

The art of lingering 

So, dear amigos, remember this when dining out in Mexico: if your plates are quickly cleared, the waiter is inviting you to stay and enjoy your sobremesa. Waiters will bring you the check only when you are ready to leave.

This fast-paced world is calling us to slow down and savor the moment. Sobremesa is considered one of the barometers of joy in our culture. Whenever there is a chance, let’s practice the healthy habit of staying at the table, relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

Sandra Gancz Kahan is a Mexican writer and translator based in San Miguel de Allende who specializes in mental health and humanitarian aid. She believes in the power of language to foster compassion and understanding across cultures. She can be reached at: sandragancz@gmail.com 

The post The etiquette of the sobremesa, Mexico’s after dinner artform appeared first on Mexico News Daily

“Les Distractions de Dagobert,” painted two years after Carrington settled in the capital, sold at Sotheby’s in New York last Wednesday to the Argentine businessman Eduardo Costantini, founder of the Buenos Aires Museum of Latin American Art (Malba).

With this sale, Carrington broke her own record, which had stood at US $3.3 million in 2022. “Les Distractions de Dagobert” itself was actually sold 30 years ago for less than US $500,000.

Back then, Constantini was outbid. 

The painting “is one of the most admired works in the history of Surrealism and an unparalleled masterpiece of Latin American art,” Constantini said after the sale, adding that this time, he wouldn’t let the piece get away.

“I said, ‘This time, I can’t fail again,'” Constantini said in a video about the sale produced by Sotheby’s. 

“Les Distractions de Dagobert” is widely considered an icon of its author’s surreal world. Julian Dawes, Sotheby’s head of impressionist and modern art in New York, called it “the definitive masterpiece of Leonora Carrington’s long and storied career, bearing all the hallmarks of the artist at her absolute height.”

The work’s title references Dagobert, a Merovingian monarch who ruled the Kingdom of the Franks in the early 7th century. On the canvas, Carrington captures a tapestry of vignettes ranging from extinct volcanoes, lakes of fire and aquascapes to hybrid creatures and mysterious rituals, in a composition that represents the four elements.

Eduardo Constantini, who bought the painting after being outbid on it at auction 30 years ago, speaks about his love of “Les Distractions de Dagobert,” by Leonora Carrington in a video produced by Sotheby’s.

According to Sotheby’s, the imagery draws from the Irish mythology that Carrington learned about as a child, as well as the Kabbalah and Indigenous Mexican cosmology. The painting’s technique “is a testament to Carrington’s technical brilliance,” the auction house added.

For Anna Di Stasi, senior vice president and head of Latin American art at Sotheby’s, “Les Distractions de Dagobert” is “an achievement only possible in 1940s Mexico.” 

Born in Lancashire, England in 1917, Carrington joined upon arriving in Mexico a community of “exiled” and native Surrealists. These figures included Spanish painter Remedios Varo, the Austrian artist Wolfgang Paalen, French poet and artist Alice Rahon and Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Carrington’s son Gabriel Weisz Carrington, who is a professor of comparative literature at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, (UNAM) said that her work “developed a very personal interpretation of Surrealism, influenced by motherhood.” 

This historic auction comes as part of increased interest in female artists associated with the Surrealist movement — a path led by Kahlo. In 2021, Kahlo’s painting “Diego y yo” sold for the historic sum of US $34.9 million at Sotheby’s in New York. This was the highest price ever fetched by a work by a Latin American artist, and the second highest price achieved at auction for a female artist.

Breaking another record, Carrington is now the most valuable UK-born female artist. According to Sotheby’s, the value of her pieces now surpass works from her fellow Surrealists Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst — the latter of whom she was once romantically involved with.

With reports from El País and The Guardian

The post Leonora Carrington, British-Mexican artist, makes history at auction appeared first on Mexico News Daily

The significant discovery appears to support the theory that ancient Maya beekeeping and honey production were practiced not only in the northern part of modern-day Quintana Roo — something which researchers have long known — but also in the southern part.

The discovery of the three limestone jobón lids, plus other artifacts of Maya daily life not related to beekeeping, was made in an area of southern Quintana Roo encompassed by Bacalar and Felipe Carillo, southern Quintana Roo municipalities along the Maya Train’s Section 6, the Tulum-Chetumal route.

The discovered jobón lids — also known colloquially as panuchos — are round and measure between 20 and 25 centimeters long. They are believed to belong to the Mayan Postclassic Period (A.D. 950–1539), a time during which the peninsula was the central hub of Melipona honey production.

“Only one of the lids is in a good state of conservation,” Carlos Fidel Martínez said in a statement published by INAH, but “the other two [lids] have a high degree of erosion.”

The jobón — a hollow log in which an active hive of melipona bees is housed, according to Maya beekeeping tradition — is still used today by Indigenous Maya on the Yucatán Peninsula. In traditional Maya beekeeping today, lids like the ones discovered by INAH are also still used to plug the opening of a jobón.

According to Martínez, excavators initially thought that they had bumped into a wall. However, upon discovering the lids, they realized that they had discovered the vestiges of a meliponary, an apiary dedicated to cultivating Melipona beecheii — the Maya’s “sacred bee.”

Melipona honey was important to the ancient Maya in the Yucatán Peninsula: they used it for ceremonial purposes, as food and as a trade commodity. 

In addition to the lids, archaeologists unearthed other artifacts made of ceramics, stone and flint, including a cajete, or vase, with red and orange decorations. They also found two limestone metates that are 40 centimeters and 50 centimeters long, an ax, a hammer and a star-shaped shell bead. 

The area where archaeologists found the beekeeping tools and the other artifacts is referred to by INAH as Frente 5, archaeologist Raquel Liliana Hernández Estrada said — an area inhabited by ancient Maya communities that did not belong to the elite.  

“Most likely, we are in the presence of housing complexes from cities peripheral to ceremonial sites such as the Chacchoben Archaeological Zone and the Los Limones site,” Hernández said.

Since the construction of the Maya Train began in 2021, archaeologists have remarked that the discoveries made along the route could be considered Mexico’s “greatest archaeological treasure” in recent decades.

Mexico News Daily 

The post Archaeologists find ancient Maya beekeeping tools on Maya Train route appeared first on Mexico News Daily

During his 84 years of life, he positioned himself at the center of political, cultural and intellectual discourse during different historical events of social change for the world. Paz sought to pinpoint and describe the essential values of modern society, like democracy and peace. Most of all, his legacy leaves us a profound reflection of what it means to be an intellectual and an activist, and the importance that lies in combining them both. 

Early life and education

Octavio was born amid the Mexican Revolution, a war that took his father away from home. Octavio and his mother moved into his grandparents’ house in Mixcoac, then one of the municipalities that made up Mexico City. The area left a profound effect on him, and Paz is memorialized in the neighborhood’s metro station.

The young Octavio was raised mostly by his mother and grandfather. His grandfather Irineo had been a writer and had spent much of his life writing political manifestos against Santa Ana and Benito Juárez’s government. 

Political and intellectual discussions were common in Octavio’s house while growing up. As a result, he became involved in them from a very young age, inspired by his father and grandfather’s aspirations to make Mexico a better country and a better place to live. However, he also fell in love with his grandfather’s personal library and realized early on that his “destiny was not an active life, but one of words,” he told Canal Once in 1993. 

In 1930, he started high school at the prestigious San Ildefonso school, where he was introduced to an intellectual world that immediately resonated with him. Many celebrated poets and writers had studied there as well, some of whom became his teachers. There, Paz began to get involved in different publications and started writing poetry. 

In an interview with Canal Once in 1993, he said that a lot of his friends believed in fascism, and the majority in communism. “Although I was never part of the communist party, I was violently inclined towards the left,” he said. During those years, he became very involved in social and political activism, which landed him in jail multiple times. 

Following in his father’s footsteps, Octavio Paz started studying law after graduating from high school. There, he met his future wife Elena Garro. Garro, who later became a renowned writer and one of the voices of Mexican classical literature in her own right, was a dancer and choreographer at the time. They married when Paz was just 23 years old. In 1939, Elena gave birth to their only daughter, Elena Paz Garro. It is said Paz never had a good relationship with his daughter, possibly due to the nature of his own relationship with his father — quiet, absent, and cold. The couple split in 1959.

He abandoned his studies at law school just one class shy of graduating. 

Octavio Paz as a diplomat

Because his literary legacy was so impactful, many people forget that Paz was a diplomat for twenty-five years of his life. In 1943, when he received a Guggenheim scholarship and moved to the United States, he began working at the Mexican consulate in San Francisco. He lived there for two years, where he discovered some of the poets that most inspired his work, such as Robert Frost and E.E. Cummings. 

After San Francisco, he was relocated to Paris to serve as third Secretary of the Embassy in France. In Paris, he became part of a network of world-renowned philosophers that included the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. 

Paz also served as the Mexican Ambassador to both India and Japan, as well as consul for two countries that had no diplomatic relationship with Mexico before his arrival: Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. 

After the tragedy of the Tlatelolco Massacre in 1968, Paz’s disappointment in the government led him to resign as an Ambassador, an act which turned him into a political enemy and forced him to move to England. 

The Labyrinth of Solitude and what it means to be Mexican

Diplomats in Paz’s time were poorly paid, and so he lacked the financial freedom to visit Mexico. This, he told Canal Once, forced him to think about Mexico differently. “There were many perspectives to be had: Mexico was not only an everchanging and complex country, but there were also different ways to look at it. One of those was to look at it from afar.”

This reflection led to the coming together of his most important work. For many years, Paz had published essays on the nature of Mexican culture and “Mexicanism” in different literary magazines, which were the seed of what ultimately became the acclaimed Labyrinth of Solitude in 1950.

In that same interview, he mentioned that maybe one of the reasons why he became obsessed with Mexican identity was his time at school. He went to primary school partly in the United States — where they made fun of him for not speaking good English and being a foreigner — and partly in Mexico, where they teased him for being a “gringo.” 

After the political chaos caused by the Tlatelolco massacre, President Echeverria wished to normalize relations between the government and prominent Mexican intellectuals, who had largely dissented (although notably, these did not include ex-wife Elena Garro). He welcomed Paz back to the country, and made the Labyrinth of Solitude mandatory reading in public high schools, some twenty years after its publication. 

Octavio Paz’s Legacy

Apart from the Labyrinth of Solitude, Paz had an enormous body of work. Mostly poetry and essays, these paint a vivid picture of not only his personal life, but also the historical and cultural context that changed and affected the world while he was alive. Aside from an immense gift to Mexican literature, they provide us with insight on how to make sense of social and political change at the crossroads of revolution, intellect, and art. 

Finally, Paz attempted to describe the nature, culture, and characteristics of what it means to be Mexican in a tangible way. How effectively the resulting literature did that is subjective, but he gifted us with something priceless: the certainty that ours is an identity so special and complex that it deserves its own dictionary. 

Montserrat Castro Gómez is a freelance writer and translator from Querétaro, México.

The post How Mexico’s greatest author defined a country from afar appeared first on Mexico News Daily