lomas Over the hills - Margot Lee Shetterly

by

www.insidemex.com

l o m a s Over the hills

the english speaker ’ s guide to living in méxico

april 2007

• Magdaleno Mariche Ramirez, Ciruelo, Oaxaca 2006

Black inMéxico The people of the Costa Chica › 14 Ceci connolly on the

cost of illness › 5 // Renting in the DF: Take 2 › 24

Around Prado Norte

What is your ancestry?

Rumbo a...

Morelia

Jimm Budd takes us on a ramble around MichoacÁn’s capital city

“Scottish ancestry, but Mexican.”

8

Eduardo Hay Bátiz, whose Mexican roots are from Sinaloa.

Perspective

Arts & Culture

“I define myself as Mexican. But I’m not a traditional Mexican.” Denise Dresser challenges Mexico to modernize.

Market Meter

Dive Masters

Moving on up...

12

The Cliff Divers who Helped put Acapulco on the map. 4 INBOX

Editors Letter:

The “Global Whassup!”

5 INVOICES

Ceci Connolly The Cost of Chronic Disease Glimpses Victor Solis

7 NEWS&NOTES The Almanac Semana Santa

xFactor

Mexico’s ethnic and racial diversity

9 INSIDEOUT CloseUp

The Mexico City Metro’s DJ

[  ] InsideMéxico

10-11 INSIDEOUT Diane Anhalt’s childhood as a political exile

Steals and Deals Lingo for Gringos: An historical taxonomy of human relationships

14 COVER Exploring Mexicanidad along the Costa Chica Father Glyn Jeemott describes Mexico Negro’s library project.

22 Taste

The Cava

Lesson 3: It’s time to taste the wine

7

25

Inside MÉxico checks out the high end of Mexico City’s housing market.

“Everyone is from Michoacán.’’ Florentino González Ayala, who is from Tziritzicuaro, Michoacán.

24 REAL ESTATE

CloseUp Patricia Reyes

“English – Ipswitch.”

Spindola Remodels

Barry Kenneth Cooper Barocio,holding grandson Pablo, whose mother is of Italian origin.

26 TRANSITIONS

Health Love chilaquiles?

Make your own and make ‘em healthy. TheFixer Take two on rules for renters in Mexico

Staying in touch Verizon Wireless’ North American Plan

29 FAREWELLS S. Huntington Hobbs III

31 THE BACKPAGE David Taylor on Mexico in the Canadian Press

The Guide

G1

Las Lomas & The Calendar

“Spanish.” Mónica Arzoz, whose grandparents were from Navarra, Spain. April 2007

Entendemos el mercado extranjero en México porque

¡nosotros somos ese mercado!

¿Estás interesado en llegar al mercado angloparlante en México? ¿No hablas inglés y no estás seguro de cómo comunicar tu mensaje?

¡puede ayudarte! Desde el concepto hasta el diseño, nos aseguramos de que nuestros clientes obtengan lo mejor de los anuncios que publican. Xxxxxx 2007

Contacto: [email protected] Teléfono: 55 5574 42 81

InsideMéxico [  ]

• On page 21 of our March issue (Taste, “A Taste of Aguila y Sol”) we incorrectly paired the recipe for “Whimsical Corn Cookies” with a photo of “The Dancing Fish”. We apologize for any culinary inconvenience! • ON PAGE 28 we incorrectly identified the Director General of Grupo Ecos as Gleb Kouruznetsov. His correct name is Gleb Kouznetsov. • Also, we left Quade Hermann off the list of Editorial Contributors.

“Where are you from, morena?”

T

he woman’s hair was curly and thick, her skin nut brown, like mine.

“I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that. So are we all.” James Baldwin

WANT TO BE

WANTED by MailBoxes Etc?

Case file #MBE11427

Name: William Scanlan Occupation: Area Franchisee, Southern Mexico Location: Oaxaca, Oaxaca Weapon of Choice: Bubble Wrap Last Seen: Carefully wrapping and packing artesanias for clients

Mail Boxes Etc. is one of the world´s most well-known and successful franchise brands, and we are expanding rapidly throughout Mexico. If you live in Mexico or are thinking of moving to Mexico, and you’re entrepreneurial, enthusiastic, trustworthy, enjoy challenges and are customer service oriented, MBE would like to give you the opportunity to become part of our franchise network. Apply today to become part of a world class team.

The moment that passed between us, in a little, cement-floored seafood restaurant on the Guerrero coast, was like many I’d experienced: the nod from the South African businessman crossing the Friendship bridge between Thailand and Laos; the wave from the African-American soldier, on vacation with his German wife and kids in Croatia; the smile on the face of the Brazilian bike mechanic when I walked into his store in Naples, Italy. At some point I started calling it the “Global What’s Up”, that moment of recognition between people of African descent, in an unexpected place. But this was slightly different. As much as the woman’s gentle use of the word morena acknowledged our common roots, her question also contained a statement: I am from here. You are not. The histories and realities of people of African descent in much of the Americas (the US, Cuba, Brazil) are well-documented and broadly disseminated; not so with the blacks of the Costa Chica of Oaxaca and Guerrero, whose stories are relatively unknown. As an African-American--part of a culture that is constantly grappling with its history, citizen of a country where analyzing the intersection between race, ethnicity and identity is a national pastime—spending time asking costeños “Where did you come from?” and having the question repeatedly answered by a mix of geographic references, historical half-truths and flat out myth

editor - in - chief [email protected]

Margot Lee Shetterly managing editor

méxico city editor

[  ] InsideMéxico

Quade Hermann editor producer

Luz Montero staff photographer

Editorial Contributors

Diana Anhalt, Jimm Budd, Carlo Cibo, Ceci Connolly, Georgina del Angel, Mario González-Román, Maya Harris, Barbara Kastelein, Sue Ellen Mason, Lorraine Orlandi, Jamie Rosen, David Taylor

Margot Shetterly

Distribution 50, 000 (paper and online)

Aran Shetterly

Catherine Dunn Email: [email protected] [email protected] In Mexico: (55) 5004-1919

was nothing short of perplexing. Every year for eleven years Father Glyn Jeemott (turn to our cover story, page 14) has organized an encuentro, an annual town hall meeting for the black communities on the coast. The 2006 event was attended by about 20 African-Americans, anxious to learn more about this corner of the diaspora, eager to support Father Glyn’s work. While the area residents held seminars in Spanish on protecting the local waters from overfishing and addressing social fragmentation caused by migration to the US, the AfricanAmericans formed a separate group and talked in English about black identity and what resources we might be able to offer the towns. It was another moment of dislocation: with our flat r’s, American struts and expensive clothes, are our eyes any less foreign here than those of any other gringo? How can I expect this community on the Mexican coast to have more in common with me than with their indigenous and mestizo neighbors, with whom they share a language, customs and more than 500 years of history? Local experience matters. And yet there is a link. Common ancestry counts too, as does a legacy of being a minority, of demanding that our respective societies include us in the national vision. This brings us together, despite the fact that my Virginia-born grandmothers cooked collard greens, not nopales. Yo soy americana, I replied to the woman at the restaurant. She smiled and embraced me. I felt both the gratefulness of a well-received guest, and the warmth of finding long-lost family.

NUMBER 5 • april 2007

Emilio Deheza

advertising

creative consultant

[email protected]

art & photography contributors

Alejandro Xolalpa Maya Harris Antonieta Gaxiola Carlos Xolalpa Griselda Juarez

Víctor Solís, Jimm Budd, Barbara Kastelein, Sara Meghan Lee, Alberto Ibañez, Michoacan Secretary of Tourism design

Marcela Méndez Ana Ma. Prado Emilio Deheza diseño public relations [email protected] John Boit, Melwood Global, us

Printed by SPI: Servicios Profesionales de Impresión, S.A.de C.V. Distributed by Servicios de Mensajeria al Detalle

Derechos reservados © Editorial Manda S.A. de C.V., Cordoba 206A #4, Colonia Roma, C.P. 06700, México D.F., México 2007. Se prohíbe la reproducción, total o parcial, del contenido de esta publicación, así como también se prohíbe cualquier utilización pública del contenido, como por ejemplo, actos de distribución, transformación y comunicación pública (incluyendo la in monterrey: Olivia Deheza transmisión pública). Certificado de reservas al uso exclusivo del título: [email protected] 2006-111512075500-102. Certificado de licitud de título y de contenido: en legal counsel Luis Fernando González Nieves trámite. Los artículos aquí contenidos reflejan únicamente la postura de su respectivo autor, y no necesafor Solorzano, Carvajal, riamente la de Editorial Manda S.A. de C.V., por lo que González, Pérez-Correa, s.c. dicha empresa no se responsabiliza por lo afirmado por los respectivos autores aquí publicados.

April 2007

[email protected]

Valuing an ounce of prevention Ceci Connolly

Víctor Solís

by

The Ides of March treated our friends up north harshly—sleet and snow, scandal in the Justice Department and the four-year anniversary of an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq. Can you blame President Bush for slipping south of the border? Yet even in this sunny oasis, we can’t escape some things. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, nothing is certain but death and taxes. But both can be postponed. For all of you Americans having trouble meeting the April 15 tax filing deadline, there’s that fabulous—perfectly legal—loophole called an extension. And the death part? There’s plenty that can be done on that front too. At a recent conference hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, more than 300 doctors, researchers and community leaders laid out an array of simple steps that we should get serious about following. Bottom line: we are what we eat, and drink, and breathe and do. Or don’t do. More and more, if we’re sick, we have mainly ourselves to blame. Oh sure, we’ve all heard this lecture before. Stop smoking, eat five portions of fruits and vegetables each day, get off the couch, take a hike. But to hear the argument in economic terms elevates healthy living to a public policy issue bordering on crisis. In the United States, Mexico and 33 other member nations of the Pan America Health Organization (PAHO), chronic non-communicable diseases are the “greatest cause of premature death” and illness, according to data collected by PAHO. In other words, it’s not exotic killers such as anthrax and ebola, or the common illnesses like AIDS and influenza, that cost the most lives and money. It’s the more mundane –often preventable– diseases such as diabetes, cancer, respiratory illness and heart ailments that take the major toll. “In 2005, an estimated 35 million people worldwide died from chronic diseases; that is double the number of deaths from infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis), maternal and perinatal conditions and nutritional deficiencies combined,” according to an analysis by PAHO. Seventy percent of deaths in the US each year are attributable to chronic disease. In Mexico, the prevalence of hypertension rose from 26 percent in 1993 to 30 percent in 2000. Smoking-related illApril 2007

nesses are the leading cause of “avoidable” death in the Americas. Chronic illnesses also translate into “lost working hours, additional treatment costs and other societal impacts,” says Eduardo Simoes, director of CDC’s Prevention Research Centers Program, “all from completely preventable conditions!” Even the healthiest among us are affected, since taxpayers foot the bill for much of the care. Kidney dialysis is nearly bankrupting several Caribbean nations that failed to tackle a diabetes epidemic when it was in its earlier stage, says James Hospedales, chief of PAHO’s non-communicable disease program. “I call it a wicked, wicked problem,” says Hospedales. “Dialysis is so very expensive for these countries, but politically they can’t afford not to provide it.” Simoes and Hospedales are leading the global charge for a dramatic shift in research and medical spending. “Everywhere in the world, we spend more money per capita on curative care than preventive care,” according to Simoes. Treatments such as coronary bypass surgery or implanting a stent, for example, are extremely expensive procedures, especially compared to the low cost of preventing high blood pressure in the first place, he says. The PAHO report estimates that 40 percent of cancers and 80 percent of all heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes could be prevented. In the US, the direct and indirect costs of diabetes are close to $132 billion—yes that’s billion with a B. Many of those patients receive care through taxpayer-funded programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs. So even if you’re eating your spinach and fish, you’re paying for those hitting the fast food drive-thru. Chronic illness is now such a threat that Hospedales will host the first-ever meeting with Caribbean heads of state on the issue in September. At the heart of his pitch will be data showing that chronic diseases “contribute significantly to the impoverishment of nations.” He’ll be asking the presidents to consider banning smoking in all government buildings, regulating transfats, reducing air pollution and investing much more in prevention. But there’s no need to wait for government action. After asking for that tax extension, go take a walk. Ceci Connolly is a reformed political reporter, on a leave of absence from the Washington Post.

Inside México Listens In “What I can tell you is that they work and pay their taxes to the government. These are people who respect the United States. These are people who have children, who want these children to be educated with respect for the land where they live and for Mexico.” - President Felipe Calderón, speaking of his relatives who work as vegetable pickers in the United States. “It’s virtually cradle to grave. It’s Slimlandia.” George Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, US, speaking about the reach of Carlos Slim’s business empire in Mexico. Fortune reported this month that Slim’s personal fortune has reached $49 billion.

 “Kids are less likely to go searching for drugs in the street. Everyone who comes down here now wants to get their [pain-killer] Vicodin. Kids are still getting that from the drugstore.” -A University of Michigan undergrad, comments on how the war against drug dealers in Acapulco has affected spring break.

“With this law, a history of exclusion comes to an end. Today, the love that before did not dare speak its name has now entered the public spotlight.”  - Journalist Antonio Medina, 38, who tied the knot with Jorge Cerpa, 31, in Mexico City on March 16, the day the new law legalizing same-sex civil unions came into effect. Express yourself: [email protected] InsideMéxico [  ]

SOLCARGO:

Taking legal representation in México to a higher level

Taxco, Guerrero “The Silver City” Population: 52,000 Elevation: 5,089 feet April Average Hi/Lo Temp: 88/63 April Average Precipitation: .32 inches Full Moon: April 2 April 1

April Fool’s Day

Solorzano, Carvajal, González y Pérez-Correa “SOLCARGO” is a highly respected and well connected Mexican law firm with offices in México City and Los Cabos. Solcargo is a comprehensive law firm that can service all of our clients personal and business needs The firm is divided into the following main practice areas:

[  ] InsideMéxico

ww w.solc argo.c om .mx

[email protected]

Carretera Transpeninsular Kilometro 4.5 Local “C” Fracc. El Tezal 23410, Cabo San Lucas Los Cabos, Baja California Sur T.+52 (624) 1043503 F.+52 (624) 1043506

Contact:

Torre Mural Av. Insurgentes Sur 1605 Piso 12, suite 3 San José Insurgentes México D.F. 03900 T.+52(55) 50620050 F.+52(55) 50620051

Luis Fernando González Nieves

• Corporate, Foreign Investment & Finance • Immigration • Intellectual Property-Entertainment Law • Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy • Real Estate, Resort & Hospitality • Enviromental & Land Use • Tax & Administrative Law

Hey! What’s that on your cheek? The other one. It’s still there and it’s kinda gross. Maybe it’s an escamole. No one’s sure how the tradition of playing pranks on April 1 got started. Theories abound. One locates the “jokes-on-you” origin at the 1582 shift from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Some spent three months thinking they were still in last year (duh) and went out to celebrate on April 1. Everyone else laughed at them. In 1983, Boston University professor, Joseph Boshkin announced his discovery that Constantine had allowed a jester to be king for one day. This jester passed the law of the absurd, to be observed on April 1. Dr. Boshkin’s “answer” went to the press… “Gotcha!” he chuckled. What’s your favorite all-time April Fool’s prank? E-mail [email protected] and we’ll print the answers. Find inspiration here: museumofhoaxes. com/hoax/aprilfool.

April 2-10

Passover and the celebration of the Exodus Well if I could I surely would Stand on the rock where Moses stood Pharaoh’s army got drownded… There was no time to let the bread rise when the Israelis were

Semana Santa april 6 Good Friday april 7 Sábado de Gloria april 8 Easter

T

his is Mexico’s most important religious holiday and it’s celebrated in towns, villages, and neighborhoods all over the country. For many Mexicans, it’s a time to relax on the beach, but you can witness the passion in many places, including Taxco, Oaxaca, and San Luis Potosi. Head to Iztapalapa in the south of Mexico City, for one of the most particular – and largest – expressions of Easter fleeing Egypt. The refugees mixed flour and water, baked it, and ate hurriedly. Moses parted the Red Sea, led the Israelites into the desert, and the Children of Israel were born, according to the Torah, as a nation of people who follow God. Observers begin Passover with a ritual meal, or, seder and eat matzoh crackers all week.

April 17

Tax Day! Americans have two more days to live…I mean, pay their taxes. It’s taxes not death this time. The 15th falls on a Sunday. Monday is Patriots day… If you are living abroad, you get an extension to June 15. A perk. But there’s troubling tax news for US expats. The Congress just raised taxes for Americans abroad by about six percent. According to the New York Times, some overseas residents may see their taxes go up by four times. And the increase is retroactive to the beginning of 2006.

April 22

Earth Day Did Al Gore invent Earth Day?

week devotion in the world. There, on Sábado de Gloria, thousands of people from the surrounding neighborhoods reenact the judgment of Christ and then burn Judas in effigy, as millions look on. The actor who plays Christ trains for 6 months to be able to shoulder the 100 kilo cross. If you want to learn more, look for a book put out by the Mexico City government in 1992, Semana Santa en Iztapalapa. No Senator Gaylord Nelson did. It grew out of a five day, eleven state conservation tour that Senator Nelson proposed to President Kennedy in 1963. That tour had little impact. Six years later, Nelson was still looking for a way to get environmental conservation on the national agenda. Inspired by the power of the anti-war movement in the US, he wondered if similar “teachin” and protest energy could gather around environmental issues. At the first Earth Day in 1970, 20 million people demonstrated, far surpassing Senator Nelson’s expectations.

April 30

Día del Niño The Organization of American States created this day in 1952 to bring attention to the basic needs and rights of children. It has been adopted by several Latin American countries, including Mexico, and also by the state of Idaho. One of the basic rights, as outlined by the United Nations in 1959, says that children should always be allowed to cross national borders to be reunited with their parents.

Advertise Buy this space in the next issue! Contact Alejandro Xolalpa Contact Griselda Juarez phone num [email protected]

here 044 55 2519 9591

April 2007

Inside México talks with

Denise Dresser

“Mexican by birth and choice” Denise Dresser was born in Mexico to a Oaxacan mother and an Belgian-American father. Through her teaching and writing she has become one of Mexico’s preeminent public intellectuals and one of its most challenging devotees. Inside México: Do you consider yourself to be Mexican? Denise Dresser: I define myself as Mexican. But I am not a traditional Mexican. I’m more outspoken and combative. What I love about Mexico is the warmth, the social graces, the love of the aesthetic, family traditions, the history, enchiladas suizas, bougianvilleas, the houses of Luis Barrigan. I love the way Mexicans say hello to each other. There’s a long list of what’s wrong [with Mexico] and the book [México: Lo que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber de su patria by Denise Dresser and Jorge Volpi] tells it. But this is still a country under construction. It’s an incipient democracy. IM: Do Mexicans think of you as Mexican? DD: I have been called La Gringa and told that I’m not really a Mexican. Maybe my vantage point is a bit like [Alexis] de Toqueville’s [the French writer and politician who wrote Democracy in America] when he was in the United States. Since I’m something of an outsider, not 100% Mexican, maybe I can see the country more honestly. I was on a political talk show and someone said, “You and your gringa ways.” I got very upset. At the break the person said, “You are running ahead. Wait for Mexico to catch up to you.” I am saying, “Hurry up.” Sometimes I can’t sleep at night when I think of all the

invisible people with their hands out, the 20 million people who live on $2 a day. How do you create change? You yell, demand, push, suggest, and advocate. I can’t be a conformist. I have no intent in being a member of the establishment. IM: Where do other people/countries, and particularly the United States go wrong when they look at Mexico? DD: The US has a problem acknowledging that Mexico is many Mexicos. You have to visit the many Mexicos: Chiapas, Oaxaca, Monterrey with its vibrant, North Americanized entrepreneurial Mexico. The Sierra de Chihuahua. And, the US needs to start thinking of Mexico as a North American country and a partner. If it did this, it would have to take Mexico seriously. The way the European Union did with Spain and Portugal. What I’m alluding to won’t happen in my lifetime. But if the US wants to solve the problems between the countries it has to help Mexico grow. IM: Should entrepreneurship be encouraged in Mexico? DD: It’s a critical task. We are a country of employees. Not of entrepreneurs. There are such bureaucratic hurdles and high costs that many Mexicans would just prefer to go to work for someone. This is one of the projects and causes I support. Being an entrepreneur is about two things: taking risks and solving problems. Mexicans aren’t educated for this. We are educated to conform. To say “yes.”

Denise Dresser is a professor of political science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), where she teaches comparative politics, political economy, and Mexican politics. Educated at Colegio de México and with a PhD from Princeton University, Dresser writes for Reforma and Processo. She has published two bestselling books, Gritos y susurros: experiencias intempestivas de 38 mujeres, and, most recently, with novelist Jorge Volpi, a book of political satire México: lo que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber de su patria.

Sign up for [email protected] April 2007

free

IM: “What is the role of public intellectuals in Mexico?” DD: Public intellectuals exist in Mexico. In the US you can be a pundit, a professor, but not necessarily a public intellectual. That said, I have a very ambivalent view of Mexican intellectuals. The fact that intellectuals are so revered is a problem. It will be better for the country when they are just another group in the society. The reverence with which Mexico underscores its intellectuals is elitist. A country in which there is a broad middle class wouldn’t allow this. They don’t need to be interpreted to themselves. As the media democratizes and there are more choices of information, the preeminence of the elites will begin to fade. IM: Do you have Mexican heroes? DD: People whom I admire? Yes. I’m not going to talk about Madero or Juárez. But the artists and scientists. Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñarritu, Julieta Ferro, Ricardo Legorreta, Elena Poniatowski. These are people who have gone against the grain, who are anti-heros, unorthodox. IM: You have said that your work can feel lonely? What do you mean? DD: If feels lonely when I say things that seem so self evident and they are so controversial to others. There’s a common Mexican phrase – you hear it everywhere – that I condemn. It’s “Por lo menos – At least.” When the bar is set so low, no one feels the need to change anything. How do you create participants? That’s the question. I live in a state of permanent indignation. That’s how things get better in the world. I’m indignant and I don’t accept that “Las cosas son como son. – things are as they are.” IM: As such an outspoken critic, do you ever worry for your safety? DD: I’m not powerful enough to matter. What I worry about is not making a difference, of not leaving a mark. IM: Will you keep being a professor? DD: I will never stop teaching. It’s an essential contribution to creating a more critical citizenry. My work is about the daily construction of Mexico. Of citizenship.

Majority, Minority, and Immigrant Mexico

A

genome study recently revealed that Mexicans are predominantly “Ameroindian.” It also suggests, however, that the population maybe even more diverse than previously realized.

62 indigenous groups are

recognized by the Mexican government

65% of Mexican genes are “ameroindian”

8% of Mexicans speak an indigenous language

1.5% speak Náhuatl 87.7% of indigenous language speakers are bilingual

571,872 indigenous speakers in Oaxaca

482,000 indigenous speakers in Chiapas

58% of genetic base in Sonora is European

22% of genetic base in Guerrero is African

35,089 Africans lived in Mexico in 1646

400,000 Mexicans of Arab ancestry today (mostly Lebanese) 50,000 Jewish Mexicans 35 number of racial groups represented in Mexico’s gene pool

1,000,000 US citizens live in Mexico

150,000 Argentines live in Mexico

home delivery

in the D.F.

1% average annual popula-

tion growth among Mexicans Source: Eluniversal.com.mx, Inegi.gob. mx, Wikipedia.com and Afromexico.com

InsideMéxico [  ]

Morelia combines colonial charm with modern luxuries like golf courses.

Photo: Secretaría de Turismo de Michoacán

MORELIA

Shopping, golfing... Tepic

Querétaro

León

Guadalajara

MORELIA Colima

MICHOACAN

MEXICO CITY

Toluca Cuernavaca

N

by J imm B udd

Pacific Ocean Acapulco

Getting There By air: Aeromar flies from Mexico City to Morelia several times a day.

By bus: ETN offers luxurious bus service hourly from the Observatorio terminal, supposedly completing the trip in four hours. By car: The 180 mile journey should take about the same amount of time over toll roads, traveling via Toluca.

[  ] InsideMéxico

Michoacán’s colonial capital is a perfect weekend getaway o one would think of the San Miguelito in Morelia as a singles bar. It’s a restaurant, gallery, museum and bazaar. Antiques clutter every spare nook and cranny, making it look a lot like the Olde Curiosity Shoppe. But what most captures your attention is the collection of sculptures of Saint Anthony – all of them standing upside down. The faithful, explains Cynthia Martínez, a manager at the San Miguelito, come to pray to the saint and then stand him on his head until their prayer is answered. Men and women alike come; most are looking for a spouse. And many leave behind messages in San Miguelito’s growing stack of guest books. “We have 17,000 entries,” says Cynthia. How many have had their prayers answered? “We know of perhaps a dozen,” she says. “But there undoubtedly are more who have never recounted their success.” Morelia, in case you haven’t heard, is becoming a fashionable weekend haven for those bored with Valle de Bravo, Cuernavaca and San Miguel de Allende. Perhaps

it’s the 27-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus that has made it such a favorite. Golfers must be lining up, for two more courses are under construction with talk of yet another along the shore of nearby Cuitzeo, the second largest natural lake in Mexico. Meanwhile, new hotels are opening in ancient buildings on almost every block in the historic center. Notable is Los Juaninos, across from the Cathedral. It began as the palatial home of the Bishop of Morelia in the viceregal era. If legend is to be believed, public censure of episcopal opulence obliged the lordly cleric to seek more modest quarters. The most famous of the luxury hotels in Morelia, however, is not new at all. Villa Montaña dates back more than half a century. Built by an American, it, along with the Villa San José and the Posada Vista Bella, attracted great numbers of vacationers from the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. Now a new generation of Americans – if baby boomers can be called a new generation – is returning. This swarm of potential customers has fostered a growing community of artists. They gather along the Plaza de las Rosas on Sundays to display their works (Sundays only, because Morelia has banned peddlers from its streets). Collectors more interested in profits than aesthetics peruse and ponder. Many also stop in at the Casa de Artesanías, which features strikingly imaginative crafts and sponsors contests in which artists take innovative approaches to traditional designs. April 2007

Los Juaninos Avenida Morelos Sur 39, Centro, Tel: (443) 312 0036

Photo by: Jimm Budd

reservaciones@hoteljuaninos. com.mx

Lonely hearts looking for a spouse make the pilgrimmage to San Miguelito.

Where to stay

Villa Montaña Patzimba 201, Colonia Vista Bella, Tel: (443) 314 0231 [email protected]

Villa San José Patzimba 77, Colonia Bella Vista, Tel: (443) 324 4545 [email protected]

Hotel De La Soledad Ignacio Zarazo 90, Tel: (443) 312 1888 [email protected] Virrey de Mendoza Avenida Madero Poniente 310, Centro, Tel: (443) 312 0633 [email protected]

Where to dine

San Miguelito Avenida Camelinas (by the Convention Center), Tel: (443) 324 4411 Los Trojes Juan Sebasti‡n Bach 51, Fraccionamiento La Loma, Tel: (443) 314 7344 Los Mirasoles Avenida Poniente 549, Centro, Tel: (443) 317 5777 Emilianos Artilleros de 47 No. 1643, Tel: (443) 315 1035 For information on upcoming events: www.visitmorelia.com

Loving? In the 16 th century, the first Bishop of the area, Vasco de Quiroga, encouraged indigenous Tarascan artisans and urged every village to specialize in one product. Possibly to counteract this coddling of the natives, the church and the viceregal government began importing entire families from Spain to become the new landed gentry. The colonizers moved the capital from Patzcuaro to Morelia, and gave it the grand architecture and aristocratic feel that still dominates the historic center. Nights need not be dull in what was once a conservative city; Morelia now boasts more than its share of discos and antros. There is a year-round roster of festivals and, being a university town, higher-brow diversions for those who prefer the staid and proper. On top of that, there is always the shopping. Visit the Mercado de Dulces, which sells more than candy. Stringed instruments from Paracho – a town famous for its guitars – can be found at Iranpa in the historic center. Copperware from Santa Clara de Cobre is available at Cobre y Arte in the Colonia Electrícistas. Among the better art galleries are Galeria Oñate in the Plazuela Sonterraña in the historic center, and Creadores de Arte en Michoacán in Colonia Vista Bella. And of course, many of the antiques on display back at the San Miguelito are for sale. Though what lures most people there, in addition to the good food, is the chance to petition Saint Anthony for a soulmate. z April 2007

Making Music on the Metro A DJ who grooves on the move by Sue-Ellen Mason/Photo by Luz Montero Meet Gustavo Cid. At first glance, he looks like a typical young urbanite driving to work in the Salto del Agua district of the Centro Histórico. But his job is far from ordinary. Gustavo is a DJ in the Mexico City Metro system. He is one of seven who work in shifts playing the diverse musical repertoire -- from classical symphonies to chill-out electronic and belly-dancing music -- that you hear during your commute. At 31, Gustavo is the youngest DJ in the system (the oldest is 80) and the man behind the subterranean tunes from 11 am to 5:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday. Gustavo shows me the 10,000 song computer database he uses to create his playlists. He and the other DJs also upload new songs that fit the Metro’s guidelines. And what are the guidelines? Thrash metal is out. So is thumping techno. Ranchero stays on the ranch and banda is limited to microbuses. No melancholy heartbreakers or moody goth - we can’t have suicidal riders. Want to hear Daddy Yankee? Go to the Colonia Roma nightclub Bullpen. The guidelines are also explicit about what kind of music may be played at different times of the day. During morning rush hour, a perky rock, swing, funk or jazz riff will get your blood flowing. In the afternoon lull you’ll likely hear Spanish and English rock and pop, or new music by local bands. For the evening rush hour, the goal is to soothe the weary traveler with chill-out, electro, acid jazz, trova, Mexican folklore or world music.

But maybe you’re thinking, “Hey, I don’t hear music in a lot of Metro stations. What’s up with that?!” Many of the speakers have been stolen or vandalized, according to Gustavo. Feisty street sellers smash them when they hear announcements discouraging people from buying their wares, he says. The DJ get song requests, often from taquilleros. Trapped in their claustrophobic booths for 8 hours at a time, some ticket sellers ask for songs all day to alleviate the monotony of their jobs. “Happy Birthday” is commonly requested by and for Metro employees. Hopeful bands stop by the broadcast office to drop off demo tapes. Foreign embassies donate music from their countries. Obsessive passengers call to track down the name of a song Gustavo or one of the other DJ’s has played. All in all, it’s a job Gustavo loves, not only for the opportunity to introduce new music to people who wouldn’t otherwise hear it, but also for the perks of working for the Metro system – medical insurance, free education, subsidized housing, and a cheap cafeteria. And when he’s not spinning tunes to assuage harried Metro riders, Gustavo is known as Cid Project playing his own synth and electro-pop music in clubs like La Capilla and Dada-X. Find out more about Cid Project at www.myspace. com/cidproject Got music you’d like a Metro DJ to play? Bring a copy to the broadcast office in the Salto del Agua station, at Delicias 67. InsideMéxico [  ]

A Gathering of Fugitives Diana Anhalt was eight years old when her parents moved the family to Mexico from New York. Active in many left-wing political organizations, they were fleeing the anticommunist persecution that swept the United States in the 1940’s and 50’s. In Mexico City they joined a rag-tag community of likeminded Americans living in political selfexile. Anhalt tells the story of her family and this community in her book, A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico 1948 – 1965. This is an excerpt:

A story of Americans in political self-exile in Mexico

by D iana A nhalt

“W

hen somebody asks why we’ve moved to Mexico you tell them we’re here on business,” my mother instructed. No other explanation was forthcoming. My parents never discussed their real reasons for moving to Mexico—certainly not with me—and, as I later learned, not with their friends either. But they weren’t the only ones to keep a low profile. Many of the others did too: they varied daily routines, avoided discussing sensitive subjects over the phone and, if they did, used Yiddish or some personalized version of ‘pig Latin.’ Controversial books were rarely left out in the open. My parents kept theirs in a cardboard box on the upper shelf of their closet. In short, they were always on their guard. Discretion was essential: The same FBI that had placed us under surveillance in the States, would continue to do so in Mexico. In addition, the American business community could not help but be aware of our presence. Ironically, many of these expatriates shared our same sense of dislocation at having to adapt to life in a foreign country. But, generally speaking, this would not draw us together. On the contrary. In time, we would discover we had run straight into the arms of the very people we were running away from: white, middle class, conservative Republicans. Although they lived in Mexico, they continued to inhabit their own little Americas, Americas far less diversified than the ones we had fled, bringing with them their gift for turning everything they touched into Everywhere, USA. No matter that we shared a common language and a national identity. Our politics set us apart. Because of our politics, our whereabouts were routinely recorded, our passports withdrawn without notice, and subpoenas delivered to our doorsteps. The local and foreign press publicized our names and political [ 10 ] InsideMéxico

Main photo: Joe Nash, inset photo:

histories, and some of us lost jobs when pressure was placed upon our employers. Deportations, though less common, also occurred along with the occasional detention. Such dangers were real and deprived us of the security planning for the future brings. Indeed, we had little sense of the future, forced as we were to live from one day to the next. At the beginning, those were the things we shared, and sharing gave us the security of belonging. It drew us together defreakifying the ‘I’ and making us part of a ‘we,’ an extended family. What we had in common kept us from standing alone. We could be a part of something, and that masked the pain and isolation. Freaks stand alone, but we didn’t. Ergo, we weren’t freaks. With time, we glanced less at our watches and idled a little longer over a heavily spiced meal, learned to roll our tortillas and our ‘R’s around words like ferrocarril and carretera, to gesture with our hands, and to kiss casual acquaintances on the cheek, to revel in the warmth of Mexico’s people and its climate. We learned to adapt. Time numbed the gnawing sense of unease and diminished—though never completely—our sense of alienation. Mexico City during the ’50s had a decidedly rural flavor, despite its

more than a million and a half inhabitants, who referred to it as a pueblote, a huge town. Cows grazed, chickens pecked, and corn grew in vacant lots just blocks away from the city center; the surrounding mountains and snow capped volcanoes –Ixtacihuatl and Popocatépetl–were visible most of the year, and on Sunday mornings, charros, Mexico’s elegantly clad horsemen, cantered down the Paseo de la Reforma, the wide, tree-lined avenue said to resemble the Champs Elysees. Minor drawbacks, of course, were to be expected: American movies took over a year to arrive; a good malted and shoes in extra large sizes were unavailable; drinking the tap water or eating fruit and vegetables like strawberries, lettuce, grapes and plums was ill-advised; medical and dental care could be careless, and a cloudburst brought the city to a standstill. Such things we took in stride. But reconciling ourselves to widespread poverty, the institutionalized corruption, and the casual disregard for punctuality was more difficult. z

Luz Montero

Captivating and timeless. Paseo de la Reforma today and in a photo from journalist Joe Nash’s 1954 book Paseo de la Reforma, A Guide.

Diana Anhalt is a writer and editor who lives in Mexico City. You can purchase A Gathering of Fugitives through Amazon.com, or download it for free at: www.archer-books.com April 2007

All-occasion prayer altar This altar is ready to handle any prayer request; just light a candle in front of the patron saint. Guadalupe, of course, is all-occasion. $780 pesos El Milagrito Mazatlán 152 – A Col. Condesa 5553 5334 Guadalupe Tote In a flash she appeared! Sequin Guadalupe applied on a natural woven bag is a perfect weekend carry-all. $250 Pesos El Chiribitil Bazaar del Sábado, Plaza San Jacinto Mezzanine, stand 51 & 52 Col. San Angel 5550 0764

Mexicanos, by birth These 17th century terms—just a few of seemingly infinite possibilities—were used to describe Mexicans of mixed descent.

¡Santo Mío! In honor of Semana Santa we went out in search of a few heavenly inspired items. Some are classic, others trendy but all are divine! Photos by Luz Montero

Oversized Guadalupe Watches Let go of time and have a little fun with these hip and colorful Guadalupe-inspired watches. $375 Pesos Distroller Av. De la Paz 58, local 10 Col. San Angel 5550-4955 -or- Periferico Sur 4020 Plaza Santa Teresa 5135 0094

What kinds of

articles do you find most interesting, useful and entertaining?

April 2007

Cross Pendant/Broach Hand crafted cross adorned with semi-precious stones is stately with style. $2,000 Pesos Joyas del Museo by Stefano Tanasesco Morelli Bazaar del Sábado, Plaza San Jacinto 11-91 Col. San Angel 5291 5544 (studio) Easter Candles Traditional Easter candles from the landmark candle shop, Bazar de Velas. $39 - $59 Pesos Bazar de Velas Av. Rio Churubusco 306 Between Division del Norte and Av. Coyoacán Col. Coyoacán 5554 4596

Mestizo: child of white and indigenous persons Zambo: child of indigenous and black persons Mulato: child of black and white persons Castizo: child of mestizo and white persons Calpamulato: child of indigenous and mulato persons Zambo prieto: child of black and zambo persons Morisco: child of mulato and white persons Albino: child of white and morisco persons Salta atrás: child of albino and white persons Chino: child of salta atrás and indigenous persons Source: Institute for the Study of the Americas

Health

TACOS a healthy optio

n

Taking out the bad won’t make you miss out on the good

HOW TO GET THERE By car:

WORTH SEEING Plaza de Armas

Arrive early for a spot around the bandstand and enjoy free concerts from local groups. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 6:30 p.m.

Arena Charros

Av Doctor R Michel 577, San Carlos Tel: 3619.0315Col. See cowboys bust broncs their lassos. Tournament and twirl s, amuzas, music. Sundays escarat noon.

Mercado Libertad (also known as San Juan de Dios Market) Av Javier Mina and Calz. Independencia Have a taco with handmade tortillas in the food fair and swing by the bruja stalls on the third level. Open seven days a week

Plaza de Toros Nuevo Progresso

Pirineos 1930, Col. Monumental An impressive ring for witnessing the grand tradition of bullfighting. Regular schedule from October until spring, otherwise check Ticketmaster for dates.

Plaza de los Mariachis

Close to the intersection of Av Javier Mina and Calz. Independencia Raise a glass in tribute to birthplace of mariachi the music and admire the statues along of the buildings. Plenty the top of for a beer and a serenade. places

Chivas Training Centre (known as Valle Verde)

Watch this year’s hot young players show their stuff. The address isn’t public but this Chivas country-- most taxi drivers will know how to get you there. Training sessions throughout the week, but always the morning of the day before a game. Check www.chivas. com.mx for details. [ 8 ] INSIDEMÉXICO

UNDERSTAND ING RENTAL REQUIREMEN TS IN MEXICO

BY G EO RG INA DEL ÁNGE L P H OTO S BY LUZ MONT

GUADALAJARA E RO

Leave Mexico City via the Toluca highway (57D) and follow the signs. Toll road costs $554 pesos and takes 6 By bus: Near-hourly hours. departures from morning until midnight from Mexico City’s northern bus station. Fare is $410 pesos. Book online www.estrellab lanca.com.mx By air: Daily flights on AeroMexico and Aerolineas Azteca from Mexico City, from USD $196 RT. Fares and booking at www.travelocity.com

One of the double-ed luxuries of eating ged – getting a licuadoin Mexico or a tamal on the street corner, a quesadilla in the market, a taco at the local joint – is forgetting about those nutritional labels nagging us in the supermarthat stalk foreign country, ket. In a it’s all the more tempting to that calories and imagine cholesterol simply don’t count. (Come on – tacos al pastor are Yet living here tiny!) doesn’t mean we’re on permanent vacation from paying attention to what we eat. México’s nutrition Inside columnist steers you toward better choices, without suffering total taco avoidanc e.

A

The Fixer

Fia-what?

Healthy taco suggestions

• Lean meats (chicken, bove all the fish, rebeef) • Legumes (beans) gional dishes that • Any type of fresh • Tortillas de maíz identify each vegetable (tortillas de state that isn’t fried harina – flour – in the country, (flor de calabaza, contain salt the nopales, spinach, taco is like the and fat) etc.) national flag of food, Mexico’s Remember: To common cukeep calories down, linary banner. (a la parrilla or a la plancha) or roasted tortillas de maíz should be grilled Since pre-Hisp (asada) and never anic times fried (frita). the taco has been food of the Mexican a basic people. Conques t-era The body’s ability chronicl ers to create Bernal Díaz healthy cells we make a healthy, del Castillo and maintain balanced and Don Fray a state of well-bei choice? The importan Bernardino ng det thing de Sahagún pends on those is to choose explicitly nara filling with nutrients. rate how the The Mexican high-quality indigen ous corn tortilla’s nutrients, and THE TEXT AND diet consiste high nutrition to remember PHOTOS BY QUADE d of al that everyone HERMANN made from maíz. a tortilla fers our bodies content ofBIGGEST has particula patrol on mountain r needs. In genlots of benthe tor- bikes. tilla the indigenoOn efits;Every eral, an obese it contains hursday night. Plaza taxista untary us is a volcalcium guide, person with people offeringdietary SMALL and de Armas. heaped tips and high blood cholester The vegetabl pale stone of the fiber, sharing with without es, stories a wink beans, adding and a smile. ol should cathedralturkey fat orFeel glows or quail, choose grilled salt (unlike warm orange free to practice TOWN IN your Spanish chapulin flour tortiwhite meats in the with es them. (grassho llas,One like chicken or sun. pper), which even Conversations along setting had a Spanish–Englis do). gusanos fi h sh, dictionary, legumes de the maguey benches just to be sure we MEXICO and grilled vegetable in (worms) the plaza are set talking, tadpoles were about the same to the low,orsweet music of violins How snake meat. thing. one with anemia s. Someto make and trumpets. If you’re Thenathey cowgirl at OFFERS should rolled it up ly Some folks tap a heart, health eat red meat thisyistaco and the definitetheate town at least twice it. for you. The state The differenc a week, and SOMETHING toes, as they listen totheir of Jaliscoeis considthe legumes and between a band play favorites Tortillas, a health ered to beand healthy grilled vegetable thean home in the of the unhealth s y charreria food y taco pregnant woman as well. A is what’s –rodeo FOR colonial–era bandstand. – which inside the torwas decreed Every nutrient tilla. for grilled white should opt watch toddlers Given Mexico’s EVERYONE runOthers nacountles meats, green tional sport inthe tion inside the has a functhrough flocks varieties vegetables and 1880.when s of tacos, of coohuman body, legumes, and ing pigeons, scattering which is why it Every comes red meat once timerodeo features it’s importan to order, how do them into clouds t ten events and to recognize a week. that lift, which ones are in addi❚ Georgina circle the plaza tion todel found in any being Ángel a is ameasure – once, nutritionist given food. vador Zubirán At 4.1 million people, twice – and settle of a cowboy’s National Institute and researcher at the skill, each isof Nutrition Salspecializing again. in nutrition Guadalajara is Mexico’s Over the childrens its own ritualized and the treatment in Mexico City, degenerativ [ 24 ] InsideMéxic e diseases. of chronic and grand ’ desecond largest metropolio lighted laughter pageant. There Any questions? health@insi are many you can demex.com tan areas. Residents hear the rustle of rules for ‘authentic’ of the feathers, charcity, founded on January wings beating the ros, right down 5, to the outair. 1532, are known as fits they wear. It’s the kind of serenity “tapatios”. Shirts, for you don’t often example, must find in the be light– heated chaos of coloured, and the a big Mexican city. buttons made of bone. But that’s the thing about Guadalaja There are experts manages to offer on hand to coach ra. It piring cowboy. a traveler all the the asVisit El Charro, lights you expect urban deon the corner of Juarez and from a city of four Molina with few of the million, They have traditiona in the centro historico. distresses. l outfits, as well Traffic moves effi American–style as more ciently. Shops are boots, buckles and open every plentiful, and hats. You can’t miss it; there’s day. The streets are clean and the sidewalks unclogged a life size plastic the doorway. horse in by ambulantes. Police The closet mariachi can also get outfi tted

Mexico’s Heartland T

D

B Y M AYA H ARRIS

ays, weeks or problems. Many even months of afwithout personal us arrive ter scouring contacts the or a sponsori classifie ng company. ing to realtors ds, talkUnfortunately, and tourwe immiing so-called grants often lose “rooms with a out on our view” you’ve dream rentals finally because we the perfect rental found cannot turn up a fiador. It property and you’re anxious feels a little awkward to end to ask the search and someone you’ve settle in. just met to risk Sound familiar their personal property you know that ? If so, for your sake. the work has only just Lacking a fiador, begun. er may be allowed a rentRenting propert by the y in Mexico is a civil landlord to purchase act, regulated by each anza – bond contract a fistate, and in – from Mexico City an afinanzador (as well as in a – financial most other states) institution specializ rental ed in law includes performance a fianza or a bonds. fiador. This means Fianzas are, essentially, yond the renter’s that belandlord insuranc contract, and security the renter; the e paid by deposit, the renter landlord also a premium (around pays requires a personal guaranty a year’s contract 10% of contract, ) so that committing the institutio a third party n will assume to assume the liability in the obligation of event the lease in the the renter defaults. that event the renter defaults. that Although small property owners often Essentia lly, discourage someone – an individu this option, Phillip al, organization or institutio of Coldwell BankerHendrix n– has to recomvouch for the mends fianzas renter. to landlords because Many landlords they can go ask for a fiador. will first directly to the afianzadora A fiador or guarantor, to recoup lost is a rent owner (individu property of suing someone instead al or com. pany) who co-signs Landlor ds who have with the renter. A had very bad fiador must experiences have real estate have been known registered to ask for in her name. both a fiador This and can be held as property though “if you a fianza, leverage if have a fiathe renter doesn’t dor – there is no pay. Depending on spend the extra need to how money on tract is construc the cona fianza. One or the other ted, owners can legally landshould be enough, sue the ” says fiador directly Patricia Hogan, without first of suing the renter. tional Relocatio Internan Services. Despite the The moral of this tale? If risk incurred, it’s common you are new to Mexico and practice to co-sign need a place for the sake to live, look of a friend: “I for close, property trust the peo-owning ple I’ve done friends while it for, and I’ve you’re never had a ing those apartmen scoutproblem. If I ts. can help friends Happy hunting! simplify ❚ their process, NEXT MONTH: I’m happy to do so” says Cristina Step-by-step advice on Garcia, who has agreed getting a fiador to and acquirdor for numerou be a fiaing a fianza. s friends. However, this Please send comments many new arrivalsis where and questions to: thefixer@in run into sidemex.com Ma r c h 2007

Send an email to

[email protected] to give us feedback on this and any other aspect of Inside México, insidemex.com or The Tip. Thanks!

MARCH 2007

Aran and Margot Shetterly InsideMéxico [ 11 ]

dive Uncovering the history behind an iconic slice of Mexico’s pop culture

T ext and P hotos by B arbara K astelein

O

A stunning display of grace and bravery characterizes each dive.

Iris Alvarez is the youngest girl ever to dive from La Quebrada’s heights.

[ 12 ] InsideMéxico

ver the last forty years, the cliff divers of Acapulco, or Los Clavadistas de La Quebrada, have become a world famous icon of Mexico’s allure. Here in their own country, however, the culture and traditions of the close-knit group of men who take their lives in their hands every day have rarely, if ever, been thought of as a valuable part of Mexico’s heritage. And with the exception of Raúl García Bravo – better known as “Chupetas” – the divers themselves have remained largely anonymous. Don Raúl’s notoriety was due partly to his strong – even overbearing – character, according to his widow and fellow cliff divers. The charismatic Raúl, who died in July 2004, was president of the divers’ association for many years. He took the show on the road to national fairs and international exhibitions, made advertisements for Timex and Johnny Walker, and was on friendly footing with international celebrities such as Frank Sinatra. Rául’s charisma and celebrity served to “open the world to us,” says retired cliff diver Antonio Velazquez, aged 61, but it also obscured the individual achievements of other divers with greater technical or artistic talent. As the “great leader”, Rául provided a unified face of the Acapulco cliff diver – intrepid, picaresque, outspoken, contrary, willful and unpredictable. Raúl arrived in Acapulco from Zihuatanejo as an orphan and his children were not destined to become cliff divers. But many of his contemporaries and the generation of divers who followed them, passed their skills and legacy to their offspring. Ricardo Vega Moreno, for example – four time international champion at La Quebrada – had a son Edgar who at the age of eight was diving from 18 meters (more than half the height of the La Quebrada cliff). Three-time champion Ignacio Sánchez was inspired to become a cliff diver by his older brother Cuauhtémoc. In November, Sánchez’s son Martin won accolades for synchronized diving in the international championship in La Quebrada. April 2007

masters C liff D ivers of A capulco

For more information about this year’s cliff diving show on Día del Niño, phone the Cliff Diver Association Headquarters between 10 and 2pm, Fridays to Saturdays, at (01) 744-483-1400.

Public Service Announcement

Boss calls. Boss You missed the call with Boston?

Boss The time changed on the East Coast last week.

You I was at my desk and the phone never rang!

You

Divers climb 18 meters to the top of the rugged cliff.

Intergenerational ties are important to the diving community. A focus on the next generation has always been part of the community of cliff divers. They frequently hold charitable events with the proceeds going to Acapulco orphanages, and every April on Día del Niño (Children’s Day, April 30) they stage a special show for orphans. The children enjoy brightly-colored cakes and a special performance -- sometimes with the divers April 2007

in costume. One diver, “Don Tacho”, who now helps to train younger divers, lost the use of his eye one Dia del Niño when the synthetic hair of a wig he was wearing whipped into his face during a dive. When I visited La Quebrada in August 2004, I was astonished to see a young girl diving. With her shiny, long black braid and attractive smile, Iris Alvarez was graceful and radiantly pretty. An article I wrote about her for Britain’s The Observer newspaper led to her inclusion in the 2007 Guinness Book of Records. The record lists Iris to be, at the age of 12, the youngest girl, and – slightly misleadingly – the youngest child to dive from the height of 18 meters in La Quebrada. It’s been a great pleasure to uncover and record the stories of Los Clavadistas de La Quebrada, who have kept this breathtaking phenomenon going for so long. In the case of Iris, she exemplifies a family dynasty of divers that could quite fairly be compared to the great Eastern European acrobats and circus performers of yesteryear. She joins her grandfather (“El Cuadro”), her uncle Eligio (“El Cuadrito”), her father Jose Luis (“El Cuchillo”), and a number of male cousins as part of a rich history that has yet to get its due recognition in Mexican popular culture. z Dr. Barbara Kastelein, in association with Los Clavadistas de La Quebrada, is writing a book on the feats and history of the Acapulco cliff divers. Héroes del Pacífico will feature photographs by Rodrigo Vázquez.

“…?”

We suggest you sign up for Inside México’s weekly e-mail. THE TiP will help you avoid awkward situations like the one represented above.  Once a week we’ll recommend something fun, tasty, cool, or interesting.

Sign up now! Send us an e-mail: [email protected] InsideMéxico [ 13 ]

• María de los Angeles carries food home to her family along a road in the Costa Chica (the small coast), a collection of communities along the sea of southern Mexico populated by former slaves for the past 500 years. (Photo by Sarah Meghan Lee)

[ 14 ] InsideMéxico

April 2007

The Complexion of Mexicanidad along the Costa Chica Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? – Paul Gauguin

April 2007

InsideMéxico [ 15 ]

• Laura Bárbara Mayoral Hernandez, 13, laughs with girlfriends before a graduation ceremony from school in Cuajinicuilapa in the Costa Chica on Thursday June 30, 2005. (Photo By Sarah Meghan Lee)

B y A ran S hetterly

Until 1810, there were more Africans living in Mexico than Spaniards.

• Sirvino Soto Salinas casts his fishing net into the sea at El Faro, a small black community along the Costa Chica. Subsistance fishing remains the life blood of the former slave communities. (Photo by Sarah Meghan Lee) April 2007

I

sat in the shade under a palapa and waited for the boat taxi to carry me from the small town of Zapotalito across Lagunas Chacahua to the even smaller town of Chacahua, which sprawls among the mangroves at the edge of Mexico’s Pacific coast. Just off the rickety wooden pier, frigate birds dive-bombed pelicans, hoping to scare a fish loose. The boat came into sight and moments later the whir of the engine reached my ears. About 30 feet from shore the pilot cut the power, lifted the prop, and coasted to the beach. A man hopped out, barefoot, wearing old yellow surf shorts and a t-shirt. A full afro ballooned from beneath his baseball cap. I tossed my backpack into the boat and centered myself on the cross thwart as my chauffer polled us toward deeper water. Turning to look back at Zapotalito, I watched him lower the outboard into murky water. “Where are you from?” I asked. “Cuba.” “Cuba? How did you end up here?” The man laughed. “A slave ship was wrecked off the coast. Some of the slaves made it ashore. We’ve been here ever since.” He pulled the cord, the motor roared, and I held my hat as the boat picked up speed and headed into the lagoon’s labyrinthine channels, leaving me to wonder how a Cuban slave ship had arrived along Mexico’s west coast.

A little known population

Few people, including most Mexicans, realize that a significant black Mexican population lives along Mexico’s “Costa Chica” which runs just east of Acapulco down to Huatulco, in the state of Oaxaca. If one does think of African-Mexicans it tends to be of Veracruz on the country’s Gulf Coast. Mexico’s Caribbean port of call, Veracruz is known for its carnival, Cuban danzón, and a 16th century African freedom fighter named Yanga who established a free black town in the mountains there. And yet, the black population on the west coast is significantly larger, though less well researched or understood due, at least in part, to its geographic isolation. According to American scholar Bobby Vaughn, “While the population of contemporary black Mexicans is very small in Veracruz as compared with the Costa Chica, the discourse on blackness in Veracruz is pervasive.  Veracruz is envisioned in the popular Mexican imagination as a black state, and while this is due in part to the slave legacy in Veracruz, this imagination stems more from a nineteenth century Cuban cultural exchange.” Spanish Mexico’s history as an importer of slaves is often overshadowed by the vast numbers of Africans sold as laborers in the Caribbean, the United States and Brazil. Until 1650, however, there were more African slaves in Mexico than anywhere else in the Americas. More surprising still, Vaughn claims that the population of Spaniards livInsideMéxico [ 17 ]

Retratos bajo el sol – Portraits under the sun

P

hotographer Alberto Ibáñez has been documenting the lives of the people of Mexico’s Costa Chica for nearly two decades. A Mexico City native, Ibáñez has made capturing the faces, places, customs and everyday lives of the African-descended people of Oaxaca and Guerrero his life’s work. “ … The afromestizo community is part of the skin of our country, a face that apperas to be looking to the sea, searching for its origin. That’s why I became part of them and always return to them, that’s why I obeyed my camera’s demands …” Alberto Ibáñez, 2007

Comiendo con perro · Eating with dog Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

ing in Mexico didn’t surpass that of Africans until 1810. This history is studied by only a handful of amateur and professional scholars curious about the part Africans have played in Mexico. Many Mexicans know that the country’s second president, Vincente Guerrero, was of African descent. So too was José María Morelos, the national hero who fought and died for independence from Spain. Even so, the every day reality of what it means to be black along the Costa Chica goes largely unexamined by non-black Mexicans, and by many black Mexicans as well.

Unacknowledged roots As I wandered the paths of Chacahua, I saw people of all shades, from light tan to dark chocolate. I saw straight hair and afros and everything in between. Nearly all, however, even those who could pass as mestizo (the most common term for the mix of indigenous Mexican and Spanish) identified themselves as “moreno” or “negro.” When I asked about the history of the town and its people I was told, “You have to talk to the old timers.” As dusk settled, I spotted an old woman sitting in a chair in her neatly raked dirt yard. Her simple, stick house stood behind her and off to one side a cook fire smoldered. “Where did the people of Chacahua come from?” I asked her. “Well, there was a plane crash in the 1950s,” she said. Was this answer a non-sequitur, or a modern version of the slave ship story?

18 ]] IInside [[ 18 nsideM México éxico 

“But why is your hair like it is?” She reached up and touched the white ends of her afro. “I don’t know why my hair is like this. I am Mexican.”

A matter of consciousness

When Father Glyn Jeemott listens to these stories told by black Mexicans to explain (or not explain) their presence in Mexico, a pained look crosses his face. “It’s not only ignorance,” he says. “They are holding onto a myth that was handed down to them as a way of rationalizing and reshaping the past. The sick joke is that they accept it. But,” and here he concedes a possible subversive quality to the myths, “when a black man shrugs his shoulders, how much is indifference and how much is survival?” Jeemott is from Trinidad. He was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest in 1977. He came to Oaxaca City in the early 1980s and shortly thereafter visited Pinotepa Nacional, a municipal capital in the southwest corner of Oaxaca State. When he saw all the black people living there, he realized that it was where he was meant to minister. “I had to be here,” he says. Padre Glyn, as he is known to his parishioners, was sent to be the parish priest in the tiny, dusty village of Ciruelo. He brought not only his faith, but a belief in pan-African identity and social justice. He has committed the last 22 years of his life to the spiritual needs of his parishioners and to nurturing incipient calls for economic justice in these impoverished, isolated, rural communities. To further these last two objectives, and to

raise general awareness about Mexico’s black population, he created an organization called México Negro or, Black Mexico. The moniker emphasizes the “Africanness” of the people, rather than their blending. “Blackness” it asserts, exists in Mexico. “The question of justice is basic in this. Mexico cannot deny equality and recognition,” he says. He explains that there are no government statistics for the black population, no option to claim this identity in the census (and therefore no way to determine, with any real accuracy, the size of the population). This, he says, is a, “judgment on Africa and ‘Africanness’ that is not being reconciled [with the Mexican identity].” The conventional story of modern Mexico’s founding emphasizes the mix of Spaniards and indigenous Mexicans that forged the “mestizo” identity. Father Jeemott believes that the duality of this myth makes it easier to exclude all those who do not fit the model; to make them invisible, sometimes even to themselves. A wry smile curls the corner of his mouth as he wisecracks about national hero José María Morelos, “[he] can’t take off his bandana because it will show his curly hair.” “The indigenous people of Mexico have said, ‘There is no Mexico without us.’ The blacks haven’t been able to say that.” Jeemott believes that there is an internal cohesion to the indigenous cultures that develops internal leadership. Jeemott hopes México Negro will help create the kind of unity that produces leaders who will continue and extend the work he has started. Every March the organization puts pril 2007 2007 AApril

Serie, Hijos de la mar 01 · From the series Sons of the sea 01 Chacahua, Oaxaca, 2005

Belleza bajo las palmas · Beauty under the palm tree Zapotalito, Oaxaca, 2005

on an encuentro of the pueblos negros. People from the area are invited to celebrate their heritage and to spend three days discussing local problems such as health care, education and garbage collection.

“There is a future” Gerardo Carranza has six brothers and sisters and all of them slipped across the US border to find work. “No me gusta irme de mojado. Nunca. –I don’t want to be a wetback. Not ever–” he says, by way of explaining why at twenty-two he still lives in the town of Huehuetan, Guerrero where he was born. Carranza was accepted to Morehouse College (a historically black college) in Atlanta, Georgia, but it seems the scholarship he received has been rescinded. He says he’s not interested in “awakening that dream” again. Instead Carranza, who is the local president of México Negro, focuses his energy and attention on his small Guerrerense pueblo where he says, “you can see there is a future.” For an outsider the hopeful signs are not easy to identify. The streets are narrow, lined by crumbling stick and mud constructions. An old woman squats in an open door, a small display of old carrots on sale before her. The few modern houses are clearly the fruits of relatives laboring north of the border. In fact, Carranza’s family home is one of the nicest in town. Even so, his parents still work the fields every day. One of the signs of hope Carranza sees is a small arrangement of cinderblocks. The walls stand about four feet high and vines are beginning to crawl over them from the inside. A April pril 2007 2007

“That’s the library,” he says, noting that for about $700 dollars more he could get it finished. Then he would have to fill it with books and computers. It’s a difficult battle, he says. There are no jobs, so the kids don’t see the point in studying. The town’s resources are controlled by the municipal seat, a mestizo town that, according to Gerardo, has no interest in Huehuetan’s future. So he’s trying to organize a sort of secession that would allow his town and a couple of others to form their own municipality and govern themselves. He believes that if Yanga could create an autonomous town for black people in Mexico, why can’t the citizens of Huehuetan do the same? “There are a lot of things this town can do,” says Gerardo. “In ten years, I’ll still be here organizing the people.”

Mexican first Not everyone agrees with Father Glyn’s efforts to develop his parishioners’ identification with their black roots. Some Mexican academics argue that he’s “inventing identity.” What they are suggesting, it seems, is that the “Africanness” of the people is purely historical, and that today everyone is mixed and should identify as Mexican. Near Ciruelo, across the Oaxaca state line in Guerrero, is the town of Cuajinicuilapa. There brothers Eduardo and Jorge Añorve Zapata counter Father Glyn’s pan-African approach, identifying themselves as “afromestizo.” This term, rather than drawing attention first to being black, instead locates

Armonía familiar · Family Harmony Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

“The indigenous people of Mexico have said, ‘There is no Mexico without us.’ The blacks haven’t been able to do that.”

identity in the Mexican “mestizo” model. We are but one more ingredient in the Mexican mix, it asserts. But first, we are Mexican. These critiques of Father Glyn’s approach are, at least in part, a rejection of “foreign” ideas. Even after nearly a quarter of a century in Mexico, he’s still an outsider and his worldview challenges the way some Mexicans – and even some of the Mexicans he hopes to help – see themselves. nsideM México éxico [[ 19 IInside 19 ]]

Pescadora de ilusión · Fishing for illusions Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

Pescador (El piojo) · Fisherman nicknamed El Piojo Chacahua, Oaxaca, 2005

A practical approach Back in Ciruelo, Elena Ruiz has little patience for abstract discussions about identity. There’s a more urgent problem to solve: local employment. A striking, dark-skinned woman with straight hair, Elena grew up in Pinotepa Nacional and experienced her share of discrimination. Her worry now is that without any new local industry many of the black towns might just disappear. There’s a steely determination in her eyes when she says, “This is our country too. We were born here. We feel completely Mexican.” At 52, she has five children, two of whom are working in Los Angeles. Here, as it does all over Mexico, immigration tears at the town’s social fabric. More and more young men and women leave. The money they send back builds nice houses for relatives and introduces flashy US styles, but it does little to create a permanent source of employment. To her mind, there’s no time to wait for government help or recognition. Elena started a sewing workshop with the hope that she and other women could make blouses and purses to sell at the market in Pinotepa. Unfortunately, they have run out of the minimal resources needed to keep the project going. Each year on International Women’s Day Elena organizes a road race for the women of the town. They go out to the highway and run the three kilometers back to the center. It’s almost as if the race is a kind of homecoming. Go out to the road and instead of running away, run back to who you are and where you are from. ❚

20 ]] IInside [[ 20 nsideM México éxico 

Mujer sonriente · Smiling woman Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

The Costa Chica library project By Father Glyn Jeemott he Biblioteca Tercera Raíz, opened in 1997 in El Ciruelo, Costa Chica, Oaxaca is part of a larger effort to break the silence and overcome the invisibility of the black Mexican population. The library organizes a summer school in eight communities, offering workshops in painting, maskmaking, pottery, music, as well as support programs in mathematics and Spanish. Our annual painting contest attracts hundreds of participants. Workshops in painting, mask-making and engraving have been conducted in more than 30 communities. Painting exhibitions have toured throughout the Costa Chica region and beyond. Another library is under

T

Trinidadian Father Glyn Jeemott has lived in Ciruelo for 22 years.

construction in Huehetan, Guerrero. It will join the network of smaller libraries already operating in Corralero, Minitan, El Tamal, Maldonado, and Paso de la Garrocha. Through these libraries we aim to promote the history of Mexico’s black population, to stimulate artistic and cultural production in our communities, and to contribute to the urgent task of building their social and economic potential. Last year at the Meeting of Afro Mexican communities, March was chosen as the time to celebrate our black and African heritage. That decision was taken with the knowledge that it may take years before the black and African heritage of many Mexicans, and of the Mexican nation, will receive official recognition.

For more information about the library project, or Mexico’s black community, contact: Biblioteca Tercera Raíz El Ciruelo 71600 Pinotepa Nacional Oaxaca, MEXICO

Tel: (52) 954 553 0228 [email protected] [email protected] pril 2007 2007 AApril

La última de la artesa · The oldest artesa dancer Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

Costumbres · Customs Chacahua, Oaxaca, 2005

El campesino · The peasant Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

“This is our country photos by Aran Shetterly

too. We were born here. We feel

A April pril 2007 2007

completely

The tradition of the tono

Mexican.”

tradition] that, although not limited to Afro-Mexicans, is central to their ethnic identity and may point to an African origin is the belief in the tono, variously known as the nagual or simply as el animal. The tono can be understood as an animal spirit alter-ego that each individual is assigned at birth. This wild animal is a kindred spirit and roams the surrounding wilderness. Should harm befall this ani-

[A

mal, it’s human counterpart will likewise fall ill. The most common tonos are the bull and the tiger, but almost any animal can be a tono. [The] belief in the tono is embraced by blacks as part of their own traditional culture. –Bobby Vaughn from his 2001 dissertation, Race and Nation: A Study of Blackness in Mexico www.afromexico.com nsideM México éxico [[ 21 IInside 21 ]]

Everyday Wines Good and inexpensive Start spring with a great white wine, with an excellent price-to-quality ratio. Santa Digna

Sauvignon Blanc Bodegas Miguel Torres Chile Valle del RÌo Claro, Chile This wine is made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc grapes and grown in the riberas de Guaiquillo. Floral and refreshing, with fruity body and paladar sedosos, with gran finura. Has hints of exotic fruits like passionfruit. A great pair for seafood and paella. Find it in most supermarkets for about $100 pesos.

winewise LESSON 3

Exquisite

Taste Salty or sweet acidic or bitter

by carlo cibo / photos by luz montero

I

n my previous columns, we have looked at how our enjoyment of a wine is enhanced by its appearance and aroma. Now we have reached the moment of truth: taste. This month we take a look at both the physiological and the aesthetic elements of taste. [ 22 ] InsideMéxico

April 2007

expert

Special Occasion Wines

Luxury Wines This wine can be enjoyed now, or kept for a later date.

Carlo Cibo

This wine, well-structured and elegant, with intense flavors, has a good price-to-quality ratio and makes an excellent gift. At less than $500 pesos, it’s the perfect wine for a special moment.

choice Each month, we’ll bring you a fresh perspective on the wines we drink and why we love them.

T

he physiological dimension of taste refers to how we perceive what we call flavor: Is the wine sweet or salty? Is it acidic or bitter? Aesthetics imply judgment and pose the question: Is the wine good? Drinking wine is a sensual pleasure, in large part passive: we enjoy the sensations of the wine without paying them too much attention. To truly taste a wine, however, is a deliberate and considered act, full of scrutiny, informed by what the wine has to offer and what

Quinta Quietud 2002

Quinta de la Quietud S.L. Tinta de Toro D.O. Toro, España

Jaros 2002

Bodegas y viñedos del Jaro 100% Tinta del País D.O. Ribera del Duero, España

This wine has a rich cherry color. The aroma is intense but balanced, with touches of bilberries, black currants, grass, licorice and even a slightly animal hint. It has a wonderful feel in the mouth, and is fresh, savory, and mediumbodied, with excellent acidity and a very good finish. Buy it in the specialty store Via Gourmet (Plaza Santa Teresa Tel. 5568 3191) at an average price of $600.

The aroma has notes of black fruits, with hints of toasted oak and traces of mineral. In the mouth, this wine is potent, ripe, and oaky. Enjoy with a stew or a roasted lamb shank. Find this wine in specialty stores at an average price of $400 pesos. It’s also on the menu in many restaurants.

the taster is looking for. The objective of this higher level of attention is to broaden our enjoyment. In this sense, wine tasting is no different than any other interest, be it literature or sports, painting or gardening. Going deeper into our pastimes takes us to the point where we know what qualities to look for, and have a context for appreciating their fundamentals and subtleties. We learn to see form and color in painting; our ears pick up melody, harmony and rhythm in music; we anticipate movement

and strategy in sports, and evaluate the geometry and structure of the plants in our garden. And so it is with wine. We notice more characteristics, and take pleasure in the themes and variations of the grape. We share our knowledge with other aficionados and, when we take our next sip and allow the sensations to lap over us, appreciate them much more. When we finally taste the wine, we hope to corroborate the impressions given by the wine’s appearance and smell, and this is one of the

Going deeper into our pastimes takes us to the point where we know what qualities to look for, and have a context for appreciating their fundamentals and subtleties. indicators of a wine’s quality. As with aroma, there is any number of possible flavors, but the four fundamen-

tals are sweet, salty, acidic and bitter, the combination of which determines a wine’s soul. Additionally, we notice the wine’s feel in our mouth, and speak of its corpulence, temperature, astringency, silkiness and length. We experience the interplay between aroma and taste, a connection experts call the “retronasal path”. Next month, we’ll delve deeper into the flavors and textures and sensations that we call taste. Until then, the wines above will appeal to all of the senses. Salud! ❚

a good meal demands a good wine for so many good reasons

oscar wilde 9 col. polanco, méxico, d.f. 52 82 10 66 52 80 1834 [email protected] April 2007

InsideMéxico [ 23 ]

Chilaquiles “light” Eating healthy: a balance between enjoying and nourishing

Part two: practical advice on acquiring fiadores and fianzas

S

by G eo rg i n a del Ángel Cabrera P h oto s by L u z M o n t e ro

S

ome people believe the only way to a healthy diet is through sacrifice, to the point of being afraid to eat food they love. Sound familiar? But it is possible to eat what you want and still stay healthy. When we’re eating the right foods on a regular basis, we can indulge without fear. The key is achieving the right balance. I’m referring to the amount and quality of nutrients in a meal. What we eat every day should be proportioned to be about 60 % carbohydrates, 15 % proteins, and 20 to 25 % lipids, or fats. Each contains important calories, or energy, and has a special function inside the body. Quality refers to the value each nutrient brings to the body. For example, there are two types of fats: vegetable and animal. Vegetable fats, such as those that come from olives, have been shown to have a positive affect on the heart. Animal fat, by contrast, sticks to the arteries, which in turn restricts blood flow – a major risk factor for heart attack. With that in mind, let’s look at how to enjoy a typical– and typically rich–Mexican breakfast dish: chilaquiles. The word “chilaquiles” comes from the Náhuatl word “chilaquilitl,” which means “old broken sombrero”. This refers to the stale maíz tortillas, cut into pieces and fried, at the heart of the dish. According to the traditional recipe, the tortillas are cooked in lard until crunchy then smothered in a red or green salsa sea[ 24 ] InsideMéxico

Fia-how??

Viejo Sombrero Roto “Light” Serves 2 • Tortillas de maíz • 1 kg red tomatoes • 1 medium-sized white onion

• Epazote (washed) • Green or cascabel chile (optional, to taste) • 100 g queso panela • Shredded chicken

The day before: Cut tortillas into small triangles, cover with a paper napkin, and leave out overnight Preparation: Warm a Teflon pan on low heat. When hot, add a handful of the day-old tortilla pieces. Stirring occasionally, heat until they are crunchy like a tostada. Remove from heat and spread on a plate. Salsa: In a heated Teflon pan, combine the tomatoes, onion and

chile. When the vegetables are browned, drop them into a blender. Add a teaspoon of salt, 500 ml of water and blend. Put mixture in a heated pot, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and bring to a boil. Add a branch of epazote, cover and let boil for about 20 minutes. To serve: Cover the pieces of tortilla with queso panela and pour the hot salsa over top. Garnish with shredded chicken, onion slices and a little finely diced epazote.

soned with garlic, epazote and chile. They’re garnished with cream, onion and sometimes chorizo or chicken. You can eat traditional chilaquiles once a week if you have a healthy weight, your cholesterol is under

control and you practice a balanced diet the rest of the week. However, if this isn’t the case, or if you want to eat chilaquiles more frequently, above is a recipe that will let you indulge every day, worry-free. ❚

Georgina del Ángel Cabrera is a nutritionist and researcher at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Nutrition in Mexico City. Her specialty is nutrition in the treatment of chronic and degenerative diseases.

B y M aya H a r r i s

o you’ve arrived in Mexico and through your charm and good luck have managed to snag a property-owning friend who is willing to act as a guarantor for the dream apartment you’ve found. Congratulations, you’ve got a fiador! Renting with a fiador on your side is relatively straightforward. A personal fiador is someone who holds an escritura, or real estate title, and who posts their property as a guaranty that you will not default on the rent. They also agree to assume responsibility for the lease in the event of nonpayment. The legal representative of a sponsoring company or embassy can also act as fiador. A standard rental contract generally includes a line for the renter, landlord and fiador to sign. Sometimes landlords can be convinced to accept a goodfaith signature of a “poder” instead of an actual fiador. Exceptions like these are usually only made for large multinational corporations or embassies. Beyond signing the contract, a fiador will have to provide official identification, a copy of the escritura, and a proof of payment of property taxes (ultimo predial pagado). The landlord will then confirm the title is registered in the public records. Once cleared, the rental contract can be signed. Unfortunately, many rental properties slip out of their hands because a renter can’t find a personal guarantor. Some landlords prefer and only accept fiadores either for safety, ease or because they want to keep the process private and in that way avoid registering the

rental property and paying corresponding taxes. In the event that you can’t produce a fiador, or just don’t feel comfortable asking a new friend to wager personal property, you can purchase a fianza, or bond contract. Fianzas are insurance policies that assume the third party responsibility of a fiador. Contracting a fianza generally requires a 10% premium of the year’s contract. Most major insurance companies and financial institutions sell fianzas. When shopping around for an afianzadora, be wary of small outfits, as many have gained a reputation for taking your money and disappearing. Before accepting the risk, afianzadoras require the rent contract, a formal application, official identification, income and/or bank statements and proof of current residence.* Foreign residents will be asked to provide legal migratory forms. These will be used to assess the applicant along with a credit check. If approved, the afianzadora will bear the responsibility for the rent contract. Some policies also include ‘services’ clauses which take responsibility for utilities, structural damage and legal fees. These extra services often make fianzas more attractive to high-rent landowners. All this can seem a bit overwhelming at the outset, but once you’re settled into your new home you’ll look around, sip your limonada, and realize it was well worth the effort. *Requirements are specific to each insurance company and are not limited to those mentioned. ❚ Please send comments and questions to: [email protected] April 2007

What does

three-quarters of a millon dollars

buy you?

I

BY L o r r a i n e O r l a n d i PHOTOS BY L u z M o n t e ro

f you’re like us, you don’t spend much time hanging out with Mexico City’s uberwealthy. So this month we thought it’d be fun to take a peek behind the walls at how the thin upper crust lives. Cerro de la Escondida 133, Pedregal San Francisco

600m2, 4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, garden, central gas heating, service quarters, six parking spaces, neighbourhood security patrols paid for by residents

800 m2, 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, 2 1/2 baths, gym, squash court, service quarters with bath, 1bedroom apartment, 6 parking spaces, security Right angles are rare in this multistory split-level in a leafy, gated community near Coyoacán’s center. The circa 1980s architecture is a frenzy of pentagonal rooms, tear-drop-shaped skylights, simulated faux-classical columns and smoked mirrors etched with swirling designs. Its sheer size – with squash court, gym and steam baths on the bottom level and an apartment at the back of the garden – helps compensate for this home’s crowded feeling. The living room/dining room features a black lacquered bar and

Bosque de Cerezos, Bosques de las Lomas High ceilings, tall windows and hilltop views add light and space to this conservative but elegant house in the posh Lomas district. A crystal chandelier dominates the marble-

floored entrance foyer, opening into a stately living room with floor-to-ceiling windows and glossy wood floors. The terrace overlooks a wooded ravine and wraps around a corner to a patio and large garden dominated by a 20-year-old pine tree. Off the relatively small kitchen a walk-in pantry has room for an extra fridge. The sunny breakfast room, as big as many formal dining rooms, leads to a grander comedor with a builtin china cabinet. Cedar shelves line the walls of an ample library. A wooden staircase leads down to the bedrooms, one with a glass-enclosed balcony that has been converted to a workout space. The partially enclosed roof has a bathroom and a laundry room. ❚

For more information on these apartments and real estate in Mexico, email [email protected].

free-standing cut-glass panels. The spacious kitchen, with lots of shiny red cabinets, opens to the family room. One level down is a small office, a semi-enclosed conference room and a parquetfloored “party salon” which lets out onto the garden. Bedrooms on the top floor each have bath and dressing rooms, with a jacuzzi in the master suite.

Millet 50, piso 14, Insurgentes Extremadura 380m2, 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, service quarters with bath, 2 terraces, elevator, 1 parking space, valet, security, common rooftop patio The view from this two-story, penthouse-style apartment features glass office towers, antique church steeples and the soaring Popocateptl and Ixtaccihuatl volcanoes. Below, a palette of peaceful greens is splashed with lavender from blooming jacarandas. Half a block from the din of Insurgentes, the apartment tower stands partly inside a lush, sunken green expanse in the city’s urban heart known as Parque Hundido. Inside, the elevator opens into the foyer and April 2007

a small game and bar area. Past a cozy study, a comfortable living room has a faux chimney and glass walls that maximize the dizzying vistas. A large dining room and master bedroom one floor below both have terraces. On the roof a communal entertainment center is under construction. InsideMéxico [ 25 ]

Inside México Talks with

Patricia ReyesSpindola

Eclectic artwork contributes to the house’s good energy.

Reyes Spindola fell in love the minute she saw the house.

High ceilings and walls provide the perfect space for displaying art.

Lined with flowering plants, the roof top is a perfect refuge.

A spiritual home

a pool of tranquility in the heated chaos of the city B y Q uade H ermann P h oto s B y L u z M o n t e ro At Roma Norte’s northern edge, just a few steps off Avenida Chapultepec is a narrow street sheltered by a canopy of green and lined by grand old homes from the early twentieth century. It’s a place where time seems to have stopped, where you can still feel the elegance that once prevailed in the heart of the city. “The neighbours have been here many years,” says Patricia Reyes-Spindola, the award-winning Mexican actress and head of a theatre school. “The couple next door, the teachers, they’ve been here more fifty years. Across the street, forty years. On the other side, fifty years. The one next door, I think sixty years.” At just six years of residence, Reyes-Spindola is the new kid on the block (though she does have some history here; her grandparents lived in Roma). She fell in love with the house almost immediately. “I believe in energygood energy and bad energy. And I believe this house has good energy,” she says, her eyes [ 26 ] InsideMéxico

sparkling. “Can you feel it?” Maybe it’s the stately high ceilings and elegant lines of the collection of mid-century furniture, or the eclectic artwork that fills the walls, or her low sexy purr of a voice, but I think I can. Energy is just one element of Reyes-Spindola’s spirituality, a unique mix of beliefs and traditions. In the foyer I spy a Chinese good luck symbol , and a small dish of grain and maiz, an offering to the gods, says Reyes-Spindola, who will protect everyone in the house from hunger. Then there’s the huge stained-glass angel in the window over the front door. “I love angels. I really believe in their power,” she explains, standing at the foot of the stairs, bathed in multicolored light. “This is made from power colors [bright red, yellow, royal blue] that were chosen to suit the people who live in the house. When I come down the stairs in the morning I see the colors and they fill me with positive energy.” The house has a quirky history that appeals to the dramatic actress in ReyesSpindola. She tells the story with relish as we wander from room to room.

Patricia Reyes-Espindola and her talking parrot, Lola.

“The first owners were Italian and none of their children ever married. One became a nun, and the other two lived here with their parents for their whole lives. The nun survived the rest of the family, and when she died she gave the house to a group of nuns. But they

didn’t have money to keep it up, and so they sold it to a bachelor.” She laughs. “It’s been a house for singles!” We step from the formal dining room into an enclosed courtyard drenched with sunlight and are welcomed by a bright green parrot named Lola.

“Puuuta!” Lola squawks at me, after some prompting. “She only says rude things,” laughs Reyes-Spindola, rewarding the bird with an orange slice. “I’ve tried to teach her to say other things, but she never learns.” *** For a woman whose work demands a lot of creativity, I ask if there’s a part of her home that acts as a muse to her. “Come with me,” she says. We climb three flights of stairs to the new addition, her rooftop studio with an open-air kitchen and large terrace. In contrast to the heavy wood and dark coziness of the lower floors, it is all air, space and light. The terrace is lined with flowering plants. A fountain gurgles cheerfully. Birds sing at top volume in the trees below. “This is my space,” says Reyes-Spindola, her face bright with pleasure. “My spiritual space. I have my plants, my music. I like to take photos, and I can do it here and work on my computer. This is where I relax.” We stand together for a moment enjoying the tranquility of her roof top refuge. “I want to live the rest of my life in this house,” says Reyes-Spindola. And I can certainly see why. ❚ April 2007

Dialing for (fewer) dollars a cellphone plan to call home about By Jamie Rosen

E

very so often you encounter such a good deal that you wonder if the company offering it knows what it’s doing. (And if it doesn’t? Probably best not to write a column about it!) I’ve been wondering this about Verizon’s North America’s Choice Calling Plan. I am not normally a fan of Verizon but in this case I have become an unbridled evangelist. When I started traveling to Mexico I brought my T-Mobile cellphone, which worked fine but is expensive; T-Mobile charges $1.49 a minute to call the US from here. So when I moved here, I got a VOIP home phone to connect to the US. Inevitably, however, there were times when I had to use a cellphone. In those cases, I’d suck it up and talk fast. (If you don’t need a cellphone, there are more affordable options for calling the US and Canada from Mexico, namely VOIP services.) Then a friend told me about Verizon’s North America’s Choice Plan. For roughly what I paid for my old cellphone — rates start April 2007

at $60 USD a month for 450 minutes — Verizon lets you call between the US, Canada, and Mexico. Any direction. From a cellphone. Without surcharges. This seemed (and frankly, still seems) too good to be true. I remember being amazed in the late 1990s when AT&T announced a cellphone plan with no roaming or long-distance charges. Today, such plans are common. But Verizon has taken it one step further, effectively turning Canada and Mexico into the 51st and 52nd states. Apart from the basic cost of airtime minutes, it’s free to call from New York to Oaxaca. Or Oaxaca to New York. I used to shy away from calling Mexico from the US with a cellphone. Now I don’t think twice about it. It’s like calling New Jersey. I feared this service wouldn’t work in many parts of Mexico, but not so. Verizon partnered with Iusacell, which partnered with Unefon, and together they all do a good job of covering the country. So far the only place it hasn’t worked is in Loreto, Baja California Sur. And that’s good, because all calls within Mexico are also included, even long distance

or calls to cellphones, both of which can be expensive. My wife and I often use my New York-based Verizon cellphone to call a friend’s cell in Mexico City because it’s cheaper than using our home phone or her Mexican cellphone. The downside is that you don’t get a local number, so if someone here wants to phone you they’ve got to make an expensive international call (unless they, too, have this Verizon plan). The plan was launched in 2004 and I have not seen it advertised, certainly not in Mexico, which is odd considering that expats are a logical market. I suspect that’s because the service is really intended for occasional travelers to Mexico and not people who live here (phone companies don’t want to cannibalize their lucrative international business). If you want to take advantage of this deal, you’ll need to get the phone from the US. But note: don’t just have a friend send one down to you. It won’t work until it is initialized in its “home” market (a simple matter of dialing *228). A friend of mine made this mistake and ended up offsetting her savings by having to FedEx the phone back and forth to the US. For more information, go to www.verizonwireless. com.❚ InsideMéxico [ 27 ]

Photo by Luz Montero

Re duce

re Mexico City’s big challenge B use B y Q ua d e H e r m a n n

ack in Canada I was a recycler’s recycler. I soaked labels off jars, flattened tin cans, and saved so many plastic containers that every time I opened the cupboard I caused an avalanche. But here? I just throw everything into the trash. And I am not alone. Despite a 2004 law requiring all households in the Distrito Federal to separate organic and inorganic waste, only 3 of 10 people say they do. One quarter of all the solid waste generated in this country comes from Mexico City. No wonder. In the last forty years the population has tripled, while the amount of garbage we produce has multiplied by ten times. Our garbage men, or basuristas as I call them, collect 12,000 tons a day. Of that, only about 3% is recycled. The rest, along with about 6,000 tons a day of industrial waste, ends up in the dump. The government’s no real help. Despite good intentions (stated goal: recycle 80% of the waste in the DF within the decade) there are no penalties for not separating your garbage and the law isn’t enforced. For more information on what to recycle, and how, And to those good citizens who dutifully try go to: www.df.gob.mx/ciudad/residuos/ to recycle? C’mon! We all know what happens. “When the truck arrives, although you have separated your garbage, they break the bags and mix

re cycle

everything together,” says Tonatiuh González, of the Comisión de Aprovechamiento de Bienes of the Legislative Assembly of the Distrito Federal. The problem is the garbage trucks aren’t equipped to deal with separated items. That’s why you’ll see sacks of plastic bottles hanging off the sides, or stacks of paper piled on the top. When they run out of space, the rest just gets crushed in with the garbage. Some basuristas also try to make money on the side by selling recyclable materials, which isn’t a bad thing. But in the process of mixing the garbage to take out what they want, they make some of it, like paper products, un-recyclable. It’s all pretty discouraging to a formerly devoted recycler like me. You can’t help asking yourself, what can I do? The point is to help build a culture of recycling, say local environmentalists. And this begins at home, with our persistence to keep separating garbage and putting it on the curb week after week, even if – for the time being – not all of it ends up where it’s supposed to go. Over time, environmentalists believe, this will encourage the government to upgrade the system, build more recycling facilities, enforce the laws, and make good on their best intentions.

A Whole New Style of For more information:

Retirement Living

EMAIL [email protected]

Altiplano EcoVillage is an environmentallyfriendly desert community, just 40 minutes away from the San Luis Potosi International Airport, top hospitals and all the services of a major capital city.

www.ecoparque.com.mx

breaking

CALL +52 (55) 5235-4753 +52 (55) 5235-4806

[ 28 ] InsideMéxico

ground

• Eco-friendly 100 m2 adobe brick condos • Artist’s studio and 500m2 of terrain • Greenhouse for each condo cluster • Sports facilities, hiking and biking trails • Nestled within a protected ecopark

sum m e r

2 0 0 7 April 2007

Photo courtesy of Carmen Guerra Gesseniues de Hobbs

S. Huntington Hobbs III 1923 - 2006 BY: Catherine Dunn



He went by Hunt – with his wife of 57 years, as a company president and vice-president, and on the tennis court where he racked up numerous trophies.

S

. Huntington Hobbs III died July 10, 2006 in Fairfax, Virginia after having lived in Mexico City for nearly six decades.A North Carolina native, Hunt earned Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He worked in military intelligence in Europe during World War II, and went on to work in Washington, DC,

April 2007

and pre-Castro Cuba. His wife, Carmen, recalled how she and her sister used to write letters to each other in code, a habit since girlhood. Hunt’s intelligence background showed through once when he saw one of the letters and deciphered it immediately. “He had a special talent for translation,” Carmen said. Hunt and Carmen met on a plane from Mérida to Mex-

Hunt, as he was known, had a talent for code breaking. ico City; he was moving to Mexico from Cuba to become president of Burlington Industries, a textile company. Carmen Guerra Gesseniues had grown up in small Baja California town, where she voiced roles on radio soap operas. In Mexico City she worked as an airline stewardess, studied acting, and

later painting. They married in 1948. The couple had three children; S. Huntington Hobbs IV, an accomplished agriculture specialist in Virginia, and twin girls, Mary Carmen Hobbs Guerra of Mexico City and Adriana, who died 10 years ago of Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Hunt was a dedicated businessman, first at Burlington and later as vice-president of Anderson, Clayton & Company, which was acquired by Unilever. Detail-oriented, hands-on and exacting, “the man was a genius,” said Ron Nicholas, who worked for Hunt at Anderson, Clayton. Nicholas said Unilever is renowned for not keeping on foreign executives, “but they kept Hunt on even much longer than the president,” who was also American. “I think that spoke to the knowledge he had.” When he wasn’t at work, Hunt devoted his free time to playing tennis. He coached the Mexican Davis Cup team and won several National Seniors championships. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, US.

InsideMéxico [ 29 ]

Where free

to pick up your of Inside México

copy

At more than 200 points around the country! Or download your digital copy at www.insidemex.com Inside México is proud to welcome its new distribution partner Every month, you can get your FREE copy of Inside México at the following MailBoxes Etc locations: MEXICO CITY

Lomas de Chapultepec Av. Las Palmas No 320 PB Lomas de Vireyes Pedregal Col. Lomas de Vireyes 17-B Bosques de Duraznos Bosques de Duraznos 67 Santa Fé Zentrica Lateral de la Autopista México No 1235 Local 21 Lomas Santa Fe Antonio Dovalí Jaime 75 Edificio Novotel Local 4 A PB Bosques de las Lomas Bosques de Radiatas Nº 22 PB

Puerto Vallarta Loc. 7 y 8 Zona Hotelera No. 2180, Versalles Oaxaca Av. Universidad # 200-B Fracc. Nuestra Señora 68128 Lake Chapala Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec No. 144. San Antonio Tlayacapan Cancún Av.Coba Mza. Lote 1 Loc. 9 y 10 SMza. Plaza Hollywood ALSO IN:

Mexico City: most hotels along Reforma, Embassies, International schools, hotels and restaurants in Condesa, Polanco, Santa Fe and Coyoacan; Monterrey, Riviera

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Maya/Puerto Morelos, Mérida, Guadalajara, Isla Holbox, Cuernavaca, San Miguel

Los Cabos Blvd. de la Marina No. 17, Plaza Bonita, Local 44-E, Zona Centro,

de Allende

email [email protected] to find the location nearest you, or to become a distributor [ 30 ] InsideMéxico

April 2007

Explaining Mexico by

I

David Taylor

Canadians are killed in Mexico and a journalist is faced with the task of translating culture without falling into stereotype

wouldn’t describe myself as a crime reporter. But when you’re a freelancer, you have to wear many hats and lately one of them has been the crime beat.   That has as much to do with where I am from, than with anything else. If you’re a Canadian journalist living in Mexico, the crime story here has been hard to avoid. All the interest back home has been sparked by an unfortunate series of crimes against Canadians.   It began a year ago with the brutal murder and Nancy and Dominic Ianiero in Playa del Carmen. Then in Janurary, Adam DePrisco, coincidentally from the same Toronto-area city as the Ianieros, was run over and killed by a taxi in Acapulco. Friends claim he was beaten senseless in a bar fight before he stumbled in front of the cab. Shortly after that, two more women from Southern Ontario were injured in a drive-by shooting in front of their Acapulco hotel.   The cluster of crimes generated a lot of attention, especially in Toronto, Canada’s media capital.  Add this to the parade of stories about drug violence, President Calderon’s offensive against the cartels and critical reports on Mexico’s justice system by groups like Amnesty International, and you get editors calling to ask if Mexico is spiraling out of control. So how do you explain this place to people at home? Part of the answer is just common sense. Canadians don’t arrive in Mexico with bullseyes on their backs. Every year millions of tourists come here, enjoy their vacation and go home with nothing more serious than a sunburn. The deaths of the Canadians are horrible anomalies, not the rule.   Still, it’s easy to add to the hysteria and say Mexico is heading the way of Colombia

David Taylor is a Canadian journalist on sabbatical living in Mexico City. His work has been published in the Globe and Mail and can be heard regularly on NPR and CBC. Back at home, he is the Parliamentary bureau chief for CBC radio. April 2007

in the 1980s and early 1990s when you’re filing story after story about police being shot, the Public Security Secretary in Tabasco being ambushed, or a member of Congress taking a bullet in Nuevo Laredo. And when it comes to raising the stakes here, don’t blame the journalists; President Calderón has used some pretty strong language. “We have no alternative,” Calderón said on March 16th. “We must act in a decisive manner now or the costs in terms of money and human lives will be much more, and worse still, unrecoverable. We must act now or lose Mexico.” When you have this sort of material to work with, it’s tempting to indulge in the apocalyptic when someone asks you to explain the big picture. But trying to explain the big picture means steering away from easy conclusions. It’s true that Mexicans worry about their safety and security; the President’s crackdown is responding to public demand, and necessity. The drug violence is real, and sometimes shocking in its brutality. It is also true that just as the overwhelming majority of tourists make it home in one piece from a Mexican vacation, average Mexicans live their lives free of the sort of violence that led to the government’s crackdown. The comparison to Columbia remains in the realm of conjecture. The big picture here is of a country in transition, on myriad levels, and that is the sort of truth that does not lend itself to a pithy conclusion at the end of a story or an easy sound bite. One of the things that I have learned in my career is that one story doesn’t sum up a country, just as a single snapshot can never fully describe the person being photographed. The full picture of a place is drawn over time, from different angles, on different subjects, by many people. So the deaths of Canadians here might pique my editors’ interest in Mexico, but it’s my task to make sure the folks back home know there’s much more to this country than bloody headlines.

For when you want your story told right: Melwood Global If you are doing business in Mexico and want to become better known to the people in the United States, you need Melwood Global to handle your information campaign. Melwood Global helps its clients attract the attention of the media to generate positive press coverage. Our clients have included governments, the hotel and hospitality industry, educational organizations and private individuals in over 40 countries. If you want clients, investors or the general public in the United States to pick up a newspaper and read more about you and your business in a positive light, contact us: [email protected] +1 202 468 9413

All queries remain strictly confidential. InsideMéxico [ 31 ]

[ 32 ] InsideMéxico

April 2007

LOM AS r e s ta u r a n t s · S PAS · s h o pp i n g · c h u r c h e s & m o r e ! The Fuente de Petroleos, honoring the nationalization of oil, harkens the arrival to Las Lomas at Reforma and Periferico. One plaque quotes Veracruz governor Miguel Aleman from 1936: “Now, after long, anguished years, we will be able to rescue, in all of its expanse, the soil of the state; and in its depth of richness, our subsoil.”

look for more

Back to School Chef Andrea Blanco’s cooking classes G6 Security Corner How to choose a security company G6 April Calendar Cock fights and poetry at the Feria de San Marcos G5 The Bazaar G7 & G8

Navigating

T

he three main boulevards that run through Las Lomas are Virreyes, Reforma and Palmas. Virreyes, a beautiful mansion-lined road, essentially parallels Reforma from Prado Sur to the intersection of Reforma and Palmas, making it a good alternative route during rush hours and traffic snarls. The Alencastre exit off Periferico is a great connecting road that also skirts traffic [ G1 ] InsideMéxico 

Photo by Luz Montero

Over the hills & through the woods From trendy Palmas to the wilds of Chapultepec, Las Lomas is a beehive of foreign residents

P

zonas conflictivas. It spits you out directly into Chapultepec Park. When Palmas backs up, take the parallel Av. de los Alpes. Around Palmas and Prado Norte valet parking will save you from cruising in circles. Prado Sur and Prado Norte are excellent for strolling, eating and shopping. At the intersection of Monte Líbano and Monte Everest you’ll find a pocket of shops, bakeries and restaurants, plus handy services like a locksmith, plumber and hardware store.

Coming in May Where do you like to go in La Roma? What do you like to do, or eat, or buy when you get there? Email theguide@ insidemex.com.

ass the Fuente de Petroleos and under the pedestrian bridge that arcs over the boulevard, up, gently, into the hills. Grand mansions blend into one mansion and the sun filters down through the purple-flowered jacarandas trees. Ascending Paseo de la Reforma, you are arriving in Las Lomas: exclusive, moneyed, manicured. And, might we add, a bit mysterious. What’s behind all those walls? Here an ambassador’s residence, there a pair of thick, black dogs growling as you trespass the sidewalk in front of their domain. It is, after all, a Reforma palace that plays the home to Marc Anthony’s character in the Mexico City-kidnapping-vengeance thriller Man on Fire. Just last month a headlining narcotics case broke in a Lomas de Chapultepec compound: the over $200 million USD cash haul is said to be the biggest drug bust recovery in history. Lomas is also the home of many foreigners who have chosen to make their lives in this “city of several cities,” as New York native Cynthia Pelini puts it. The mother of twin daughters who attend the American School, she’s worked and lived in Mexico for over 20 years, five of them in Lomas. Whether it’s school-related, kid-related, or church-related, “this is absolutely where the foreign community concentrates more than other parts of town” she says. The Guía Roji agrees. Union Evangelical Church – also the headquarters for the American Benevolent Society and Newcomers Club – is denoted quite simply as “Iglesia Americana.” z April 2007

All prices listed in Mexican pesos Credit cards accepted unless noted Average cost listed per person

1. Bakéa Basque-French Sierra Ventana 700-5 5520 7472, 5282 5856 Reservations recommended Mo-Sa: 1:30 pm-12:30 am Su: closed Average cost: $400 - $500 Try the crostini de caracol y jamón de Guijuelo,– snail and ham – arúgula y vinagreta con piñones in the cozy, charming French-country dining room.

2. Barrio Norte Italian-Uruguayan Prado Norte 340 5520 0557, 5520 0535 Su, Mo: 1:30 - 6 pm Tu - Sa: 1:30 - 11 pm Average cost: $350 Try the Vacío Rioplatense, a steak similar to arrachera, and one of the imported Uruguayan wines. The plates are big enough to share and the rustic-chic setting, candlelit by evening, suits an intimate meal.

3. Blossom Chinese Palmas 890 5202 8443, 5202 2442 Mo-Th: 1 - 11 pm Fr, Sa: 1 - 11:30 pm Su: 1 - 7 pm Try the Beijing duck. The brightly-lit, refined dining room showcases the meal. www.restaurante-blossom.com

4. Cafe Ó Fusion de autor Monte Líbano 245 5520 9227 Mo-Fr: breakfast 7:30 am - 12 pm, lunch 1 - 6 pm, dinner 7 - 11:30 pm Sa: 8 am, same schedule Su: 9 am - 5 pm Average cost: breakfast $130, lunch and dinner $350 - $380 Try the eggs benedict for breakfast and the [ G2 ] InsideMéxico

carpaccio de alcachofa, artichoke, for lunch. The feeling of a swank island get-away; an adjoining store sells the restaurant’s bread and meals.

5. Cinco 5 European-Asian fusion Pedregal 55 5540 1927, 5520 9155 Mo - Fr: 8 am - 8 pm Sa, Su: closed Average cost: $150 - $200 Try the Ravioles Cinco, stuffed with chile poblano, or the pescado balsamico on a bed of risotto. The eye-catching interior design sets the stage for this cafélounge.

6. Guadiana Mexican Palmas 810-101 5520 6685, 5202 2801 Mo: 1:30 - 10 pm, Tu: 1:30 - 11 pm, We - Sa: 1:30 pm - 12 am, Su: 1:30 - 6 pm Average cost: $400 Try the arrachera with guacamole, beans and French fries. A roaring fire, high ceilings and tall windows invite you into a stately but relaxed restaurant-bar.

7. Hunan Chinese Reforma 2210 5596 5011, 5596 4355 Mon - Fri: 1:30 - 11 pm Sat: 1 pm - 12 am Avergae cost: $450 Try the pato pekín, Peking duck, in one of the city’s best Chinese restaurants.

8. El Lago Internacional Lago Mayor, Chapultepec,Section 2 5515 9585, 5515 8307 Mo - Th: 7:30 am - 11 pm Fr - Sa: 7:30 am - 11:45 pm Su: 10 am - 4:30 pm Average cost: breakfast $300 - $400, lunch/ dinner $500 Try the Atún al Hintextle con salsa de frijol, overlooking the lake at one of the most elegant and restaurants in DF. www.lago.com.mx

10. Loma Linda

breakfast all day long in this popular, casual eatery.

Argentine steak house Reforma 1105 5540 1209, 5520 0024 Mo - Su: 1 pm - 12 am Average cost: $350 Try the ribeye vaquero. What started as a dance hall in 1924 became, in 1954, a restaurant with archways and tiled columns throughout.

11. Marentino Fish and seafood Palmas 275-C 5520 1039, 5520 1069 Mo - Sa: 1 pm - 1 or 2 am, Sun: 1 - 5:30 pm Average cost: $450 Try the roasted octopus. Step down into the restaurant and it feels like Cheers, only much classier, with the busy lunchtime clatter and wine selection on display.

12. Meridiem International Lago Mayor, Chapultepec, Section 2 5273 4036, 5273 3599 Mo - Sa: 1 pm - 1 or 2 am, Su: 1 - 5:30 pm Average cost: $450 Try the roasted octopus with lentils www.meridiem.com.mx

13. Naos Comtemporary Mexican de autor Palmas 425-B 5520 5702 Mo: 1:30 - 1 pm, Tu, We: 1:30 - 11:30 pm, Th: 1:30 pm - 12 am, Fr, Sa: 1:30 pm - 12:30 am, Su: 1:30 - 6 pm Average cost: $500 Try the robalo a los tres chiles and the pastelito tibio de chocolate. Even the after-dinner mints are exquisite in this Mónica Patiño creation. The black, white and Tiffany-blue angular dining room projects great atmosphere.

14. Nick San Palmas Sushi & Bar Palmas 100-1 5202 6074, 5202 3559 Reservations recommended We - Su.

18. Salute! Mediterranean

I nside M éxico R ecommends International Monte Libano 265 5202 4594 Mo-Sa: 8 am-11 pm Su: 8 am-6 pm Average cost: breakfast $120 $130, lunch $280 - $350

9. La Lorena Try the scrumptious scones and a pineapple mimosa for breakfast, and a pot pie for lunch. The shabby chic interior, with antique tea cups and ruffled table cloths is designed with grandmother’s house in mind. You can also order cakes, and buy scones and cookies to go from the chefowner-namesake.

Bike tour

55. Cicloestación Drop off an ID and pick up a bike for one hour – for free! – in front of the Sanborn’s on the Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca, an abandoned railroad track now used as a trail. Weekend group tours in Chapultepec cost $100 pesos per person. M - F: 7 am - 5 pm Weekends: 10 am - 3:30 pm Tours: Call Antonio Suárez, 044 55 2428 1488 Ecotourism Info: www.balam.org.mx

Mo-We: 1:30 - 1 pm, ThSa: 1:30 pm - 12 am, Su: 1:30 - 6 pm Average cost: $350 - $400 Try the stone crab roll and huachinango al vapor. Chill out in the loungebar with a fantastic ceiling, get serious at the sushi bar or dine facing the Japanese Zen garden outside.

15. Puntarena Fish and seafood Palmas 275-B 5520 1735, 5520 1723 Mon - Sat: 1 pm - 1 or 2 am, Sun: 1 - 5:30 pm Average cost: $450

Try the atún mantequilla soya. Excellents seafood and wine selection at Marentino’s sister restaurant. www.puntarena.com.mx

16. Restaurante El Cardenal Traditional Mexican Palmas 215 2623 0401, 2623 0402 Reservations recommended Mo - Sa: 8 am - 6:30 pm Su: 9 am - 6:30 pm Average cost: breakfast $150, lunch and dinner $300 Try the fresh baked bread, the huevos ahoga-

Prado Norte 125 5540 3303 Mo, Tu: 1-11 pm, We: 1 pm12 am, Th-Sa: 1 pm-1 am Su: 1-6 pm Average cost: $250 Try the pappardelle al teléfon, a thick pasta with mozzarella, and the flavored martinis. An easy going, open space with colorful murals and rock jamming in the background. www.salute.com.mx

19. Suntory Japanese Montes Urales 535 5202 4711, 5202 6920 Reservations recommended 2 days ahead Mo - Th: 1 pm - 11:30 pm Fr, Sa: 1 pm - 12 am Su: 1 - 9 pm Average cost: $550 - $600 Try a teppanyaki dish, grilled at your table with a view toward the surrounding waterfall-filled gardens.

20. Un Lugar de la Mancha Café-restaurant and bookstore

PHOTOGRAPHY: LUZ MONTERO

Restaurants

dos en frijoles de la olla, and the queso tapado con flores de calabasa. First opened in 1969 in the Centro Histórico, the Palmas site carries the famosisimo torch. www.elcardenal.com.mx

17. Restaurante Finesse Aguiar y Seijas 38-A 5202 9774 Mo - Fr: 8 am - 9 pm Sa: 8 am - 4:30 pm Su: 9 am - 4:30 pm Average cost: $100 - $120 Try the bagel sandwich with salmon and cream cheese. You can order

Prado Norte 205 5202 8048 Mo- Fr: 8 am-10 pm Sa, Su: 9 am-10 pm Average cost: breakfast $110, comida $160 Try the tampiqueña or the vegetarian pita. A bookstore with lots of nooks sits behind the restaurant’s patio seating and dining room. www.lamancha.com.mx Tacos

21. La Onda Barrilaco 420 5520 9146, 5540 2273 www.laonda.com.mx

22. El Farolito Prado Norte 480-A Mo - We: 11 am - 1 am, Th: 11 am - 3 am, Fr, Sa: 11 am - 5 am, Su: 11 am - 12 am April 2007

on

tes

73 de Au 34 ve rni a

7

lac

Cafes

24. Beretta Café & Bistrot Pedregal 17-D 5520 7705, 5202 3426 Credit card minimum $100 pesos Home delivery Quiche, soups, salads and paninis to enjoy at the bar facing the street.

25. Café Emir Prado Norte 365-B 5520 4009 Mo-Fr: 6:30 am-10 pm Sa: 9 am - 10 pm Su: 10 am - 8 pm Home delivery

26. Citio Rico + Natural Prado Norte 460 2623 2203 Mo-Fr: 8 am - 8 pm Sa: 10 am-8 pm Su: 10 am-6 pm Home delivery Salads and smoothies April 2007

or re g C lo s

de

80

Calz. Chivatito

gal

Ped re

as

41 31

50

49 39

44

36

62

os

. Ath Mte

40

9

imalay a

L . Ar mend aiz id or es

Mte. Cda.

LAGO MAYOR

75. La Feria

4

77

76 MUSEO DE HISTORIA NATURAL

MUSEO TECNOLÓGICO

PAPALOTE MUSEO DEL NIÑO

78

ano

. Lib

Mte

o Taur Mte.

. Av

he

ns Co

s

te en uy t i t

79

81

Cda. A. Ahumada 31 Section 3 5520 2863 Board your horse, or bring him, to these stables with obstacle rings and riding trails. No horse rental offered.

Circuito Bosque de Chapultepec Section 2 5230 2121 Ride the old wooden Montaña Rusa and hold on!

76. Museo de Historia Natural Section 3 5515 2222, 5515 6304 www.sma.df.gob. mx/mhn/

s

BOSQUE DE CHAPULTEPEC Section 3

Restaurants

Book Stores

Tacos

Clases

Health & Exercise Supermarket

Cafes

Shopping

Market

Beauty & Spas

Taxis

27. Giornale Caffé

31. La Criolla

Palmas 820, PB 5540 3965, 5540 3434 Mo - Fr: 7 am - 12 am Sa: 8 am - 1 am Su: 8 am - 11 pm www.giornalecaffe.com

Monte Everest 760-D and 770-B 5520 2289, 5520 0672 Mo-Fr: 10 am-8 pm, Sa: 10 am-7 pm, Su: 11 am -3 pm Cheese case, deli meats, wines, Twinings teas, pastas and peanut butter.

28. Starbucks Prado Norte 324 Mo - Fr: 6 am - 10 pm Sa, Su: 8 am - 10 pm Gourmet Stores

29. Anexo Bakéa Sierra Ventana 700-8 5282 5856 Tu - Sa: 11 am - 8:30 pm Su: 11 am - 4 pm Mo: closed Pates, quiche, desserts and wine, opened by the restaurant next door.

30. El Secreto Gourmet Prado Norte 525 5520 8493 Mon - Fri: 10:30 am - 7:30 pm, Sat: 10:30 am - 4:30 pm, Sun: closed Dressings, spices, pastas, jams www.elsecretogourmet. com.mx

Worship Chapultepec

77. Museo Tecnológico Comision Federal de Electricidad Av. Gde del Bosque 1

Circuito Principal Section 2 5516 0964 www.cfe.gob.mx/mutec Have hands-on fun with the history of electricity in this recently redesigned site.

78. Papalote Museo del Niño Section 2 5237 1781, 5237 1781 Tons of stuff for kids to experiment with.

79. Fuente de Tláloc Diego Rivera crafted the bajorrelieve policromado that adorns the fountain.

80. Lago Mayor Featuring a grand fountain, the lake was created during Porfirio Diaz’s park remodeling. Swan Lake ballet is performed here annually, February and March.

81. Lago Menor

68 72

rio servato Av. Ob

32. Le Chocolat Prado Norte 543 5282 4466 Mo - Su: 10 am - 7 pm Su: closed Columbian, Brazilian Belgian and Mexican chocolates, some painted, set in artistic boxes and tins.

33. Los Tulipanes Bakery and cake shop Prado Norte 540 5540 3156 Mo - Sa: 10 am - 8 pm Su: 10 am - 4 pm If it smells like heaven, it must be. You won’t leave without a cake, cookies or the tempting chocolates. The flourless chocolate con almendra was a recent birthday cake hit.

PHOTOGRAPHY: LUZ MONTERO

Prado Norte 391 Su - We: 8 am - 2 am Th - Sa: 8 am - 6 am

PARQUE ROSARIO CASTELLANOS

cu

12

BOSQUE DE CHAPULTEPEC Section 2

Gourmet stores

23. El Lago de Los Cisnes

ojú

8

58

Mte . Ev eres t

pa

Bl vr .

75

CLUB HIPICO DE LA CIUDAD DE MEXICO

Ca .A

de

O’D on

as

Av. Prado Sur

tos

s

Fe rro ca rri l

AUDITORIO NACIONAL

LA FERIA

74

rp a

all os a

59 17 tre

Lo m

ca olu .T v A

Mo nte s

Mt es

Av .M

oc

te.

e

lz.

. Libano

Av. Mo Pa ntes C r qu e v auca ia Re so for ma

.R

ata

Ba ca tet

60

Cda. d eM

Av .M

ra O

67

Lu p

uo

5

Juan

Ca

Av

ma

Av E xpla nada

Tauro Mte . Ev eres t

Refo rma Blanc

o

de la

Monte

Pas eo

el

ra Tar ahu

o iban es te L ey Mon auro irr T e V t s Mon lo e .r d v Bl

24

Alen c

a ay al m i .H Mte

na Sierra Venta

ra d

64

AUDITORIO CAMPO MARTE

y Calz. Molino del Re

er

Sie r

71

s.

a

s eo at lfo Lopez M Ado

Si

M te

la Reform

e. dt P

43

te Mon

s Atho

74. Clúb Hipico de la Ciudad de México

s

ca va na er

1

52 35

a on Le

ur do S Pra

Eli seo

Paseo d e

63

48

a ñig . Zu aG o rcí rer Ga car rto Po x oi n Cr ná s er té H or C

ra er Si

Av.

FUENTE DE PETROLEOS

ig ant

e Si

10

ac ho

Chapultepec

POLANCO

a pist

ia Fr rra

65 29

Av. M

Sie rra Neg ra

66

re Mad ierra Av. S s ineo s Pir onte

oza . end de R de M uez nio nriq Anto yo E . Pa ña Fray Acu n de Jua ez uem V. G

70

LOMAS

s Pa

avos andin

os

57

Ca mp os

lo Cic

nin

m

s le

be

Ca

. Esc Mtes

.A

s

te

vi la

i l tá

M

.Á

s.A te M

3

69

r. M

Mte 55 s. Ur 53 a rilaco 25 a 23 Sierr 21 Bar Pra 20 28 51 do 18 19 61 47 26 2 56 Nt 32 e. a 30 42 rm 33 22 Alpes. fo s e lo 54 e d R Av. a a l evad de ra N Sier eo

n rmo o so . He limp na Mte Mte.O ar i .P ha te e.S M . Mt Fndez Sergio

a el o d 46 se 6 a P 27

B lv

14

Mte.H

as

alm sP

45

Ga mó n

37

16

Av. Volcán

13 15 11

38

te les Ce s. te leda M bo Ar

Lomas

Paseo de la Reforma runs through the middle of the Lomas business district. Bookstores

34. Caza Libros American Benevolent Society Union Church, 201 Reforma 1870 5540 5123 Mo–Fr: 9 am–5 pm Sa: 10 am–1:30 pm Su: closed

A large source for inexpensive, used books in English.

35. Libros, Libros, Libros Monte Ararat 220, Mezzanine 5540 4778, 5202 0825 Mo - Sa: 10 am - 7 pm Su: closed

Travel, fiction, classics, magazines in English. www.libroslibros.com Courses

36. Boutique L.A. Cetto Monte Athos 315 1100 1040, 1100 1045 www.lacetto.com [email protected]

The biggest Baja California wine label offers wine tasting sessions. and courses.

37. Centro de diseño, cine y television Sierra Mojada 415 5201 8870 www.centro.org.mx InsideMéxico [ G3 ]

Organizations

Shopping

38. Aquor Spas Palmas 215-103 5202 5377, 5202 5441 Mo-Fr: 10 am-8 pm Sa: 10 am-3 pm www.aquorspas.com.mx Spa showroom

39. Boutique Amazonas Cda. de Monte Líbano 12-B 5540 4396 Mo - Fr: 11 am - 7 pm Sa: 11 am - 3:30 pm Shawls (Indian and Mexican) and eclectic jewelry designed by the owner.

40. Cusi Cda. de Monte Líbano 8 5520 4947, 5540 2250 Mo – Fr: 10 am – 6 pm Sa: 10 am – 2 pm Upscale floral design for gardens, events and occasions, with touches such as replicas of antique talavera vases.

41. dic & co Monte Everest 740 5520 4834 Mo- Fr: 10 am-7 pm, Su: 10 am-3 pm, Su: closed Shoe store and outlet: Keds, Steve Madden, Sperry Top-Sider.

42. Distroller Prado Norte 525 5540 7025 Mo-Fr: 11 am-7 pm Su: 12-6 pm Jewelry – bracelets, cell phone charms, necklaces – for cool kids. Check out Bistroller, next door, too.

43. dd doris duffour Monte Ararat 9-B 5540 4656, 5520 3470 Mo - Fr: 11 am - 7 pm Sa: 11 am - 3pm Clothing boutique: sequined purses, dresses, shoes; guayaberas for men. Everything is from Vietnam, Cambodia and India. [ G4 ] InsideMéxico

44. Duval Monte Líbano 280 5520 7609, 5520 8014 Mo - Fr: 10 am - 2:30 pm, 4 - 7 pm Sa: 11 am - 3 pm Fancy gifts: fine pens, silver, flatware, place settings, and cuff links.

45. Habitat Design Palmas 215-102 1163 6812 Mo - Su: 11 am - 8 pm Catalogues, design for your space, carrying lines by Adolfo Domínguez and Agatha Ruíz de la Prada.

46. Homestyles Palmas 810 5202 4600 Sa-Th: 10 am - 8:30 pm, Fr: 10 am - 5:30 pm www.homestyles.com.mx Furniture and interior decor.

47. Kasi Prado Norte 427, PA 5540 0177 Mo-Sa: 12-7 pm Su: closed Vintage clothes, shoes, purses.

48. L’Aguja Loca Vosgos 125 5520 2507 Mo-Fr: 10 am-3 pm, 4 6:30 pm, Sa: 11 am - 2 pm Needlework shop offering materials and classes.

49. Lomas Bookshop Cda. de Monte Líbano 10-A, 5520 4086 Papelería with office and schools supplies.

50. Nine West Outlet Cda. De Monte Líbano 4-1 5282 4597, 5520 2407 Mo - Fr: 10 am - 7 pm Sa: 10 am - 5 pm Not exactly outlet prices, but ooohh, the shoes. Nine West and Ann Klein. Beauty/Spas

Beauty and makeup brands include Dior, Lancome, Clinique, Estee Lauder and Chanel. Spa treatments include chocolate and wine massages. www.cosmetika.com

52. Derma Dermatological pharmacy Monte Ararat 220-A1 5202 3699, 5202 3831 Mo - Fr: 9 am - 8 pm Sa: 9 am - 6pm www.derma-fd.com

53. Fussion Estilistas Prado Norte 325 5540 3326 Tu - Sa: 9 am - 7 pm Su: closed Facials, manicures, hair www.fussionestilistas.com

54. Mani e Piedi Nail spa Prado Norte 530, Local A 5520 0751, 5540 1129 Mo - Fr: 9 am - 7 pm Sa: 9 am - 6 pm Hour-long manicures and pedicures that include reflexology massages. Health & Exercise

56. Psicoprofilaxis Center Prado Norte 314-3 5540 5725 Yoga, pilates and belly dancing for moms-to-be. www.psicoprofilaxiscenter. com

57. Sports Clinic Lomas Reforma 155, PB, Local B 5202 7015 Physical therapy and rehabilitation, medical assessment available. www.sportsclinic.com.mx

5277 5875 Mo - Fr: 9 am - 5 pm americansociety2005@ prodigy.net.mx www.amsoc.net Hosts events such as the Networker, the first Monday of every month.

American Benevolent Society Union Church Reforma 1870 5540 5123 Runs Caza Libros (see 34), hosts lunches, supports Americans in need.

Hash House Harriers Bike, ride, run or walk Chapultepec, Section 2 Every Sunday, 10:30 am Meet at Paco’s juice stand, across El Lago restaurant’s parking lot. http://mchhh.com

Mexico City Quilt Guild

Aguiar y Siejas 5 Mo - Su: 7 am - 12 am Home delivery: 1334 0010, 8 am - 8 pm

The piano at Union Church, where the Newcomers Club and the American Benevolent Society have their offices. Worship All services listed are conducted in English.

66. Christ Anglican Episcopal Church Mts. Escandanavios 405 5202 0949 Sun: 8:30 am & 10 am Wed: 7:30 pm

Newcomers Club Union Church Reforma 1870 5520 6912 www.newcomers.org.mx Monthly general meetings, supports charities, runs various activities and committees.

Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary Contact: Bonnie Dillon, 5520 7110

Zona International Contact: Dr. Rosita Roa, 5580 5423

Aguiar y Seijas 123 Open 24-hours

59. Super Gigante

Emergencies

Jewish Conservative Synagogue

Monte Athos 385 5520 6895 044 55 1357 2264 Offers a full schedule of several types of yoga. www.yogacenter.com.mx

Prado Norte 320 5520 0681 Mo-Su: 11 am-8 pm (store), Mo-Sa: 10 am - 6:30 pm (spa)

City area code: 55 Country code: 52

67. Beth Israel Community Center

60. Superama

51. Cosmetika

All telephone numbers are local to Mexico City.

Contact: Virginia Bush, 5294 1078

58. The Yoga Center

Supermarkets

Phone Directory

The American Society of Mexico

PHOTOGRAPHY: LUZ MONTERO

A university, also offers continuing education classes: design, film, jewelry making and photography on a trimester schedule.

Markets

61. Mi Mercado Prado Norte Prado Norte 465 Food stands: Mo - Sa, 9 am - 4 or 5 pm Try the enchiladas verdes and the sopes at Reymond Red. Rest of the market: Mo-Sa, 8 am-7 pm, Su 8 am-4 pm

69. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Sierra Guadarrama 11 5596 4977 Sun: 1 pm

70. Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd

British Embassy: 5242 8500 Consular section and emergencies involving British citizens

Roman Catholic

Calle Bondojitos 248 5515 1993 Sun: 10 am and 12 pm

Monte Athos 375 Mo-Fr: 9 am-6 pm Sa: 9 am-4 pm Su: 10 am-3 pm Small section of grocery counters, larger selection of flowers. Try Flores Anita, which also has a website: www. floresanita.com.

Embassies

71. Our Lady of Lourdes Church

68. Capital City Baptist Church

62. Mi Mercado Monte Athos

Infotur: 5250 0123 Secretary of Tourism’s Tourist Orientation and Information Services Mexico City International Airport: 2482 2424, 2482 2400 www.aicm.com.mx

Australian Embassy: 1101 2200

Av. Castillo de Chapultepec 70 5596 0999 Sun: 10:30 am

Flowers stalls, piñatas and grocery counters.

Tourism

Palmas 1910, 5596 1034 Sun: 10 am, bilingual

Virreyes 140 5540 2642 Fri: 8 pm, Sat: 9:30 am The synagogue requires making an appointment before attending services.

Sur 138 Col. Las Américas 5516 1862 Sun: 9:45 am Bible study, 11 am service www.capitalcitybaptistchurch.com

Ambulances, firefighters and police: 080 Police: 060 Red Cross: 060

72. St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church

73. Union Evangelical Church Reforma 1870 5520 0436 Sun: 11 am

Taxis

63. Sitio 107

Canadian Embassy: 5724 7900 Consular Section: 5724 7900 ext. 3322 Emergencies involving Canadians, country-wide telephone: 01 800 706 2900 French Embassy & Consulate General: 9171 9700 Irish Embassy: 5520 5803 German Embassy: 5283 2200

Pedregal and Reforma 5202 8030

Japanese Embassy: 5211 0028, 5514 4507

64. Sitio 400

New Zealand Embassy: 5283 9460

Prado Sur and Montes Pirineos 5520 3028, 5520 3027

65. Sitio Barrilaco 114 Sierra Ventana, corner of Monte Ararat 5520 6666, 5520 5896

United States Embassy: 5080 2000 Consular services and emergencies April 2007

A PRIL Mexico Set clocks one hour forward

6

Place your bets

Horse races Hipódromo de las Americas 3:30 pm Tickets: Ticketmaster Schedules: www. hipodromo.com.mx Races throughout the month

11Sleeping Beauty

La Bella Durmiente en Castillo de Chapultepec Performed by the National Dance Company Castillo de Chapultepec 8:30 pm Performances throughout April Tickets: Ticketmaster

14

Bazaar del Sábado

Art and artesania Plaza de San Jacinto, Colonia San Ángel Every Saturday Starts at 9 a.m.

15

Hash House Harriers

Bike ride, run or walk … then drink Chapultepec Park, section 2 Every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Meet at Paco’s juice stand, across Del Lago restaurant’s parking lot. http://mchhh.com/

20Make friends

April 2007

Día del

Newcomers Club

April open house & art show Union Church Reforma 1870 5520 6912 9:30 am -12 pm www.newcomers.org.mx

20Fight night Lucha Libre

Arena México 8:30 p.m. every Friday Dr. Lavista 189, between Carmona y Valle and Dr. Lucio, Col. Doctores Tickets: 5588-4922, 5588-1561 www.cmll.com

21Ay, papacito Alejandro Sanz

Niño

Carrera Día del Niño Banamex 2007

April 29. 2007

MACO

Carol Miller,

International contemporary art fair

24

Mexpat

Mingle, drink and be merry

26Newcomers event A talk by psycotherapist Marc I. Ehrlich. For info, email: newcomers@ newcomers.org.mx

Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño Av. México 5843 La Noria, Xochimilco 5555 1221 www.museodoloresolmedo.com

Residencial Palmas Park 515 Lomas de Chapultepec General admission: $70 pesos www.macomexico.com

this 22Walk way Aerosmith Foro Sol, 7 pm Tickets: Ticketmaster

40 years of sculpture

April 25 - 29

Auditorio Nacional 8 pm Tickets: Ticketmaster

Mexico: a time for reflection and growth

US Ambassador’s Residence Only AMSOC

A conceptual art, documentary fashion emphasis depicts themes such as identity and postcolonial memory and questions “typical” depictions of Africa in western media.

Schedule: www.africala. org Runs until April 22

Auditorio Nacional 8 pm Tickets: Ticketmaster

General Assembly

Museo Tamayo Reforma and Gandhi Bosque de Chapultepec Tu – Su: 10 am – 6 pm www.museotamayo.org

1er Festival de Cine Africano in the DF

Famed for his trova cubana music

Society 17American

Snap Judgments:

New Positions in Contemporary African Photography

18“Africala”

8 pm Find out where: www.mexpat.com Last Wednesday of every month

16Silvio Rodriguez

Feb. 14 - May 6

Members Info: 5277 5875, Mon – Fri: 9 am – 5 pm *changed from original March 28 date

Photo courtesy Museo Tamayo

1

Daylight Saving Time Ends

Feria Nacional de San Marcos

World music Main stages: Bosque de Tlalpan, Parque

Oaxaca

San Luis Potosí

Procession of Silence

Semana Santa

Movie night

The mother of all Mexican fairs, this feria has been celebrated for more than 175 years. Events include cock fights, bull fights, rodeo, dance, theater, presentation of the National Poetry Prize and a golf tournament. April 14 - May 13 www.feriadesanmarcos.com/ [email protected]

Festival Ollin Kan 27 2007

March 17 - June 17, 2007

Good Friday April 6, 7 pm Alcala and Garcia Vigil

Aguascalientes

Hipódromo de las Americas 9:10 am Categories for children ages 5 – 14 years old www.asdeporte.com Register until April 26, 2007 Email: omiramontes@ asdeporte.com (55) 5387 0600

Madame Satã ( Brazil, 2002) April 13, 5 pm URSE, Eulalio Gutierrez  1002, Col. Aleman For information on Oaxaca cultural events, email Margie Barclay: [email protected]

Ecológico Loreto, Peña Pobre, Zocalo www.ollinkan.tlalpan. gob.mx/ Runs until May 20

The state capital city offers one of the best Semana Santa celebrations in the country from Good Friday, April 6 to Easter Sunday, April 8. For general information on the area: www.visitasanluispotosi.com/ Cuernavaca

Sor Juana, a la luz de los tiempos Exposition of painting, sculpture, graphic art and recordings in the beautiful

27Rosa Mexicano

Cabaret style show by the singer-actressproducer Lunario del Auditorio

Jardín Borda, once Maximiliano’s vacation home. Sección Benito Juárez del Jardín Borda Av. Morelo 271 Col. Centro Histórico March 23 – April 23 http://arte-cultura-morelos. gob.mx/

Cine Club Brady 6 pm Every Thursday Museo de Robert Brady Netzahualcóyotl 4 Col. Centro

Nacional, 10 pm Tickets: Ticketmaster www.lunario.com.mx All prices listed in Mexican pesos.

For Ticketmaster sales, call 5325 9000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.mx

Got a date? Tell us about it.

Send announcements to [email protected] InsideMéxico [ G5 ]

Smart safety advice from one of Mexico’s leading authorities

by Mario González-Román

Securing your home and business Finding the right company for you Security companies in Mexico City are like dogs – they’re everywhere. In 2004 it was estimated that the security industry in this country is worth a billion dollars. With so many companies vying for the chance to guard your home and business, how can you be sure you’re hiring a reliable and trustworthy service? Word of mouth is a good bet. If your friends or colleagues feel confident with their company, chances are you will too. Ask for a referral. If you have to go cold calling, here are a few things you should know: All security companies in Mexico City must be registered with the local police. There is no bonding system for individuals to prevent people with criminal records from working as security guards, but companies must still provide the police with personal information about all employees. Go to http://portal.ssp.df.gob.mx/Portal/SeguridadPrivada/ where you will find information on almost 200 companies who are either in good standing with the local police or who have been cited, or had their registration cancelled, for wrong doing. The federal government also tracks private security companies and provides information on why some have lost their licenses. Go to www.ssp.gob.mx, click on Servicios in the menu on the left hand side of the page and choose Secretaria de Seguridad Publica. For home and business security in Mexico City, I have worked with and can personally recommend the Mexico City Banking and Industrial Police (PBIDF). It’s a branch of the city police department that can be contracted for private security services. You can contact them for an assessment at 5567 4995 or 5587 7966 ext 3837. If you live outside Mexico City, contact your local police department for information about which security companies they recommend in your area. Mario González-Román is a private security consultant who worked for 28 years as the Foreign Service national Senior Advisor for Security at the US Embassy in Mexico City. His website is www.securitycornermexico.com and he can be reached at [email protected].

Those Teach who can

BY M a rg ot L e e S h e t t e r ly P h oto BY L u z M o n t e ro

F

or eight years, Andrea Blanco has been the creative force behind the exceptional cuisine at Cuernavaca-based La Gaia, a charming establishment in a house formerly owned by famed Mexican entertainer Cantiflas. She also developed the menu at its sister restaurant Villa de la Selva, in the Pacific coast resort town Ixtapa. When Blanco first proposed the idea of offering cooking classes on Mondays at the restaurant—the kitchen’s slowest day—she wasn’t sure what to expect, but they were an immediate hit. The evening classes, from 6 pm to 8 pm, tend to attract professionals, whereas the morning classes, between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm, are attended by well-to-do housewives, a group she calls “The Ladies”. The class was so popular among the ladies, that Blanco soon opened a separate class—at their request—for their housekeepers. “Many of The Ladies hate cooking,” says Blanco, “but the maids like to cook. Sometimes I have to explain more things [to the maids], but they absorb the knowledge much faster.” A member of the young generation of Mexican chefs storming the national and international gastronomic scene, Blanco combines classical training (she studied at the Culinary Institute of America, in New York) with a flair for innovation and a roll-up-your-sleeves practicality. In 2001, she won the Concurso Nacional de Joven Chef Méxicano (an Iron Chef-like competition

The finest Properties The Largest Selection 5 Star Concierge Service

www.AcapulcoLuxuryVillas.com 01.(744)484.10.60 [ G6 ] InsideMéxico

where entrants create entrees on the fly based on ingredients given to them). When she decided that she wanted to learn traditional Italian cooking, she showed up at one of Rome’s most well-known restaurants in her whites and convinced the owner to let her work elbow-to-elbow with the staff. This year she’ll be the guest chef at the Camelback, Arizona restaurant Elements. The curriculum for Blanco’s class Cooking with Chef reflects her practical sensibility. The Class meets once a week six-week course for six weeks. teaches cooking Cuernavaca: Mondays, basics and gives 10:30 am -12:30 pm and an overview of 6-8 pm different dishes Mexico City: Wed & and cuisines, from Thurs, 10:30 am – 12: 30 pm mole to risotto to Cost: $2550 pesos, includes stir fry. Each class covers three reciall ingredients. pes, which students should then Email blancoandrea@ be able to recrehotmail.com to enroll in ate in their own April classes Visit www.gaiarest.com.mx kitchens. “I like and www.villadelaselva.com simple things,” she says. “I don’t for more information on like recipes that Blanco’s restaurants. take two days.” She also offers courses to corporate executives and has developed a line of spices, called Spezia. The spices make it simple to add flavor to a variety of meals and are given as a gift in the corporate courses and sold in the Mexico City restaurant, Café Ó. It’s clear that for the multitalented Blanco, the classes have become another way to indulge her fervor for the kitchen. “I really love teaching,” she says. “I love seeing students pick up ideas. And I learn so much from them as well.”

Andrea Blanco

The best

Deals

The finest Properties 42 Years of Leadership in Acapulco Real Estate.

www.RonLavender.com 01.(744).484.70.00 April 2007

the bazaar

is your marketspace!

Reserve your space for the April issue: Call Alex Xolalpa 044 55 2519 9591

Medicare

in Mexico

Dr. David Warner of the University of Texas at Austin is looking for people to share their experiences and opinions for a Medicare in Mexico survey. To participate, call +1 (512) 471-6277 or email [email protected] For more information on Medicare in Mexico, go to http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~healthp/index.html 

unasletras.com

Tongue Tied? Multilingual Translation Services

Deutsch English Español Specializing in Legal, Migratory, Medical, Bureaucratic, Transactional and Bank Documents Sabine Persicke K. [email protected] References available

70,000* lectores quieren comer, tomar, bailar, ir al cine,

pedir un taxi, comprar libros, visitar un doctor, hacer ejercicio, estudiar español, y gozar la vida dentro de México.

Diles como cuando y donde.

Reserva tu espacio para marzo

Alejandro Xolalpa, Director Comercial [email protected] [email protected]. 5574 4281

*Este número representa la distribución de Inside México más el pass-along. April 2007

InsideMéxico [ G7 ]

the bazaar

is your marketspace!

Reserve your space for the April issue: Call Alex Xolalpa 044 55 2519 9591

car rental Conoce México en libertad con las mejores tarifas

www.alasrentacar.com

• Lisboa N°29, Col. Juárez, México, D.F. 55 35 3983 01 800 874 1435 Lada sin costo • Rojo Gómez s/n Frente a Posada Amor Puerto Morelos Quintana Roo (998)2069102 018005529522

Want your Netflix in Mexico? Specialities: Pediatric Dentistry,

El único lugar que no es de Carlos Slim

Peces y Reses Gourmet Store

Steaks & Wines Extensive selection of fish and seafood

Jalapa 237 Col. Roma Sur 85 96 90 04 55 84 41 44

www.peces-restaurante.com

[ G8 ] InsideMéxico

Orthodontics, Cosmetic Dentistry, Zoom Bleaching Technique

• English Speaking 100% • US Trained, USC dental School, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles • American Board of Pediatric Dentistry • 20 years of experience • State of the art technology

Get an e-box with MailBoxes Etc. Now in Mexico! Call +52 (55) 5004-1919 email [email protected]

Av. de las Palmas 735 - 305, Lomas de chapultepec 52 02 47 25 / 52 02 50 98

April 2007