l o m a s Over by

the english speaker’s www.insidemex.com 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...

“Scottish ancestry, but Morelia Mexican.” Eduardo Hay Bátiz, whose Jimm Budd takes us on a ramble Mexican roots are from Sinaloa. around MichoacÁn’s capital city 8 Perspective “I define myself as Mexican. But I’m not a traditional Mexican.” Denise Dresser challenges 7 Arts to modernize. & Culture Market Meter Dive “Everyone is from Moving Michoacán.’’ Masters Florentino González The on up... 25 Ayala, who is from Cliff Inside MÉxico Tziritzicuaro, Michoacán. Divers 12 checks out who the high end Helped put of Mexico City’s housing on the map. market.

4 INBOX 10-11 inSIDEOUT 24 REAL ESTATE Editors Letter: Diane Anhalt’s childhood CloseUp Patricia Reyes The “Global Whassup!” as a political exile Spindola Remodels “English – Ipswitch.” Steals and Deals 5 INVOICES Barry Kenneth Cooper Lingo for Gringos: 26 TRANSITIONS Barocio,holding Ceci Connolly An historical taxonomy of Health Love chilaquiles? grandson Pablo, whose mother The Cost of Chronic Disease human relationships Make your own and make is of Italian origin. Glimpses Victor Solis ‘em healthy. 14 COVER TheFixer Take two on 7 NEWS&NOTES Exploring Mexicanidad along rules for renters in Mexico The Almanac the Costa Chica Staying in touch Semana Santa Father Glyn Jeemott Verizon Wireless’ North xFactor describes Mexico Negro’s American Plan library project. Mexico’s ethnic and racial diversity 29 FAREWELLS G1 22 Taste S. Huntington Hobbs III The Guide 9 INSIDEOUT The Cava CloseUp Lesson 3: It’s time to taste 31 THE BACKPAGE Las Lomas the wine “Spanish.” The Metro’s DJ David Taylor on Mexico in & The Calendar the Canadian Press Mónica Arzoz, whose grand- parents were from Navarra, Spain.

[  ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Entendemos el mercado extranjero en México porque ¡nosotros somos ese mercado!

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Contacto: [email protected] Teléfono: 55 5574 42 81 Xxxxxx 2007 InsideMéxico [  ] • On page 21 of our March issue (Taste, “A Taste of Agu- ila y Sol”) we incorrectly paired the recipe for “Whimsical Corn Cookies” with a photo of “The Dancing Fish”. “Where are you from, We apologize for any culinary inconvenience! • ON PAGE 28 we incorrectly identified theD irector General of Grupo Ecos as Gleb Kouruznetsov. His morena?” correct name is Gleb Kouznetsov. • Also, we left Quade Hermann off the list of Editorial he woman’s hair was curly and Contributors. thick, her skin nut brown, like Tmine. “I am what time, circumstance, history, was nothing short of perplexing. have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more Every year for eleven years Father Glyn Jeemott than that. So are we all.” (turn to our cover story, page 14) has organized an James Baldwin encuentro, an annual town hall meeting for the black communities on the coast. The 2006 event The moment that passed between us, in a little, was attended by about 20 African-Americans, cement-floored seafood restaurant on the Guer- anxious to learn more about this corner of the di- rero coast, was like many I’d experienced: the aspora, eager to support Father Glyn’s work. nod from the South African businessman cross- While the area residents held seminars in ing the Friendship bridge between Thailand and Spanish on protecting the local waters from Laos; the wave from the African-American sol- overfishing and addressing social fragmenta- dier, on vacation with his German wife and kids tion caused by migration to the US, the African- in Croatia; the smile on the face of the Brazilian Americans formed a separate group and talked in bike mechanic when I walked into his store in English about black identity and what resources Naples, Italy. At some point I started calling it we might be able to offer the towns. the “Global What’s Up”, that moment of recog- It was another moment of dislocation: with nition between people of African descent, in an our flat r’s, American struts and expensive unexpected place. clothes, are our eyes any less foreign here than But this was slightly different. As much as the those of any other gringo? How can I expect this WANT TO BE woman’s gentle use of the word morena acknowl- community on the Mexican coast to have more edged our common roots, her question also con- in common with me than with their indigenous WANTED tained a statement: I am from here. You are not. and mestizo neighbors, with whom they share a by MailBoxes Etc? The histories and realities of people of African language, customs and more than 500 years of descent in much of the Americas (the US, Cuba, history? Local experience matters. Case file #MBE11427 Brazil) are well-documented and broadly dis- And yet there is a link. Common ancestry counts Name: William Scanlan seminated; not so with the blacks of the Costa too, as does a legacy of being a minority, of demand- Occupation: Area Franchisee, Southern Mexico Chica of Oaxaca and , whose stories are ing that our respective societies include us in the Location: Oaxaca, Oaxaca relatively unknown. national vision. This brings us together, despite the Weapon of Choice: Bubble Wrap As an African-American--part of a culture that fact that my Virginia-born grandmothers cooked Last Seen: Carefully wrapping is constantly grappling with its history, citizen collard greens, not nopales. and packing artesanias for clients of a country where analyzing the intersection Yo soy americana, I replied to the woman at the Mail Boxes Etc. is one of the world´s between race, ethnicity and identity is a national restaurant. She smiled and embraced me. I felt most well-known and successful fran- pastime—spending time asking costeños “Where both the gratefulness of a well-received guest, and chise brands, and we are expanding did you come from?” and having the question the warmth of finding long-lost family. rapidly throughout Mexico. repeatedly answered by a mix of geographic ref- If you live in Mexico or are thinking of erences, historical half-truths and flat out myth Margot Shetterly moving to Mexico, and you’re entrepre- neurial, enthusiastic, trustworthy, enjoy challenges and are customer service oriented, MBE would like to give you Distribution 50, 000 (paper and online) the opportunity to become part of our A ran Shetterly franchise network. editor-in-chief Printed by SPI: Servicios [email protected] Profesionales de Impresión, S.A. de C.V. NUMBER 5 • april 2007 Apply today to become part of a world Margot Lee Shetterly Distributed by Servicios de Mensajeria al Detalle class team. managing editor Emilio Deheza advertising creative consultant [email protected] Derechos reservados © Editorial Manda S.A. de C.V., Catherine Dunn art & photography Alejandro Xolalpa Cordoba 206A #4, , C.P. 06700, México méxico city editor contributors Maya Harris D.F., México 2007. Se prohíbe la reproducción, total Email: Quade Hermann Víctor Solís, Jimm Budd, Antonieta Gaxiola o parcial, del contenido de esta publicación, así como editor producer Barbara Kastelein, Sara Carlos Xolalpa también se prohíbe cualquier utilización pública del [email protected] contenido, como por ejemplo, actos de distribución, Luz Montero Meghan Lee, Alberto Griselda Juarez [email protected] Ibañez, Michoacan transformación y comunicación pública (incluyendo la staff photographer In Mexico: Secretary of Tourism in monterrey: Olivia Deheza transmisión pública). (55) 5004-1919 Editorial Contributors [email protected] Certificado de reservas al uso exclusivo del título: 04- Diana Anhalt, Jimm Budd, design 2006-111512075500-102. Marcela Méndez Carlo Cibo, Ceci Connolly, Certificado de licitud de título y de contenido: en Ana Ma. Prado legal counsel Georgina del Angel, Mario Luis Fernando González Nieves trámite. Los artículos aquí contenidos reflejan única- Emilio Deheza diseño González-Román, Maya Har- for Solorzano, Carvajal, mente la postura de su respectivo autor, y no necesa- ris, Barbara Kastelein, Sue El- public relations González, Pérez-Correa, s.c. riamente la de Editorial Manda S.A. de C.V., por lo que len Mason, Lorraine Orlandi, [email protected] dicha empresa no se responsabiliza por lo afirmado por Jamie Rosen, David Taylor John Boit, Melwood Global, us los respectivos autores aquí publicados.

[  ] InsideMéxico April 2007 [email protected] Víctor Solís Valuing an ounce of prevention by Ceci Connolly The Ides of March treated our friends up nesses are the leading cause of “avoid- north harshly—sleet and snow, scandal in able” death in the Americas. the Justice Department and the four-year Chronic illnesses also translate into anniversary of an increasingly unpopular “lost working hours, additional treatment war in Iraq. Can you blame President costs and other societal impacts,” says Bush for slipping south of the border? Eduardo Simoes, director of CDC’s Pre- Yet even in this sunny oasis, we can’t vention Research Centers Program, “all escape some things. In the words of Ben- from completely preventable conditions!” jamin Franklin, nothing is certain but Even the healthiest among us are af- death and taxes. fected, since taxpayers foot the bill for But both can be postponed. For all of much of the care. Kidney dialysis is you Americans having trouble meeting nearly bankrupting several Caribbean the April 15 tax filing deadline, there’s nations that failed to tackle a diabetes that fabulous—perfectly legal—loophole epidemic when it was in its earlier stage, called an extension. says James Hospedales, chief of PAHO’s And the death part? There’s plenty non-communicable disease program. that can be done on that front too. At a “I call it a wicked, wicked problem,” recent conference hosted by the Centers says Hospedales. “Dialysis is so very ex- for Disease Control and Prevention in At- pensive for these countries, but politically lanta, more than 300 doctors, researchers they can’t afford not to provide it.” and community leaders laid out an array Simoes and Hospedales are leading of simple steps that we should get serious the global charge for a dramatic shift in about following. research and medical spending. Bottom line: we are what we eat, and “Everywhere in the world, we spend drink, and breathe and do. Or don’t do. more money per capita on curative care More and more, if we’re sick, we have than preventive care,” according to Simoes. Inside México Listens In mainly ourselves to blame. Oh sure, Treatments such as coronary bypass sur- we’ve all heard this lecture before. Stop gery or implanting a stent, for example, are smoking, eat five portions of fruits and extremely expensive procedures, especially “What I can tell you is that they work and vegetables each day, get off the couch, compared to the low cost of preventing high pay their taxes to the government. These are take a hike. blood pressure in the first place, he says. people who respect the . These But to hear the argument in economic The PAHO report estimates that 40 are people who have children, who want these terms elevates healthy living to a public percent of cancers and 80 percent of all children to be educated with respect for the policy issue bordering on crisis. In the heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabe- land where they live and for Mexico.” United States, Mexico and 33 other mem- tes could be prevented. In the US, the - President Felipe Calderón, speaking of his relatives who work as ber nations of the Pan America Health direct and indirect costs of diabetes are vegetable pickers in the United States. Organization (PAHO), chronic non-com- close to $132 billion—yes that’s billion municable diseases are the “greatest with a B. cause of premature death” and illness, Many of those patients receive care “It’s virtually cradle to “Kids are less likely to go according to data collected by PAHO. through taxpayer-funded programs such grave. It’s Slimlandia.” searching for drugs in the In other words, it’s not exotic killers as Medicare, Medicaid and the Depart- George Grayson, a Mexico street. Everyone who comes such as anthrax and ebola, or the com- ment of Veterans Affairs. So even if you’re expert at the College of down here now wants to get mon illnesses like AIDS and influenza, eating your spinach and fish, you’re paying William and Mary in Vir- their [pain-killer] Vicodin. that cost the most lives and money. It’s for those hitting the fast food drive-thru. ginia, US, speaking about Kids are still getting that the more mundane –often preventable– Chronic illness is now such a threat the reach of Carlos Slim’s from the drugstore.” diseases such as diabetes, cancer, respi- that Hospedales will host the first-ever business empire in Mexico. -A University of Michigan under- ratory illness and heart ailments that meeting with Caribbean heads of state Fortune reported this grad, comments on how the war take the major toll. on the issue in September. At the heart of month that Slim’s personal against drug dealers in Acapulco “In 2005, an estimated 35 million people his pitch will be data showing that chronic fortune has reached $49 has affected spring break. worldwide died from chronic diseases; that diseases “contribute significantly to the billion. is double the number of deaths from in- impoverishment of nations.” He’ll be ask- fectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS, ing the presidents to consider banning malaria and tuberculosis), maternal and smoking in all government buildings, reg- “With this law, a history of exclusion comes to an end. perinatal conditions and nutritional defi- ulating transfats, reducing air pollution Today, the love that before did not dare speak its name ciencies combined,” according to an analy- and investing much more in prevention. has now entered the public spotlight.” sis by PAHO. Seventy percent of deaths But there’s no need to wait for govern- - Journalist Antonio Medina, 38, who tied the knot with Jorge in the US each year are attributable to ment action. After asking for that tax Cerpa, 31, in Mexico City on March 16, the day the new law chronic disease. extension, go take a walk. legalizing same-sex civil unions came into effect. In Mexico, the prevalence of hyper- tension rose from 26 percent in 1993 to Ceci Connolly is a reformed political reporter, 30 percent in 2000. Smoking-related ill- on a leave of absence from the Washington Post. Express yourself: [email protected]

April 2007 InsideMéxico [  ] SOLCARGO: Taking legal representation , Semana Santa Guerrero april 6 Good Friday in México “The Silver City” april 7 Sábado de Gloria Population: 52,000 april 8 Easter to a higher level Elevation: 5,089 feet April Average Hi/Lo his is Mexico’s most week devotion in the world. Temp: 88/63 Timportant religious There, on Sábado de Gloria, holiday and it’s celebrated in thousands of people from the April Average Precipita- towns, villages, and neighbor- surrounding neighborhoods tion: .32 inches hoods all over the country. For reenact the judgment of Christ Full Moon: April 2 many Mexicans, it’s a time to and then burn Judas in effigy, relax on the beach, but you as millions look on. The actor April 1 can witness the passion in who plays Christ trains for 6 many places, including Taxco, months to be able to shoulder April Fool’s Day Oaxaca, and San Luis Potosi. the 100 kilo cross. If you want Hey! What’s that on your Head to in the to learn more, look for a book cheek? The other one. It’s south of Mexico City, for one put out by the Mexico City still there and it’s kinda gross. of the most particular – and government in 1992, Semana Maybe it’s an escamole. largest – expressions of Easter Santa en Iztapalapa. No one’s sure how the tradition of playing pranks on April 1 got Solorzano, Carvajal, González y started. Theories abound. One fleeing Egypt.T he refugees No Senator Gaylord Nelson did. Pérez-Correa “SOLCARGO” is a locates the “jokes-on-you” mixed flour and water, baked It grew out of a five day, eleven highly respected and well origin at the 1582 shift from the it, and ate hurriedly. Moses state conservation tour that Julian to the Gregorian calendar. parted the Red Sea, led the Senator Nelson proposed to connected Mexican law firm Some spent three months think- Israelites into the desert, and President Kennedy in 1963. That with offices in México City ing they were still in last year the Children of Israel were born, tour had little impact. Six years and Los Cabos. (duh) and went out to celebrate according to the Torah, as a na- later, Nelson was still looking for on April 1. Everyone else laughed tion of people who follow God. a way to get environmental con- at them. In 1983, Boston Univer- Observers begin Passover with servation on the national agenda. Solcargo is a comprehensive law sity professor, Joseph Boshkin a ritual meal, or, seder and eat Inspired by the power of the firm that can service all of our announced his discovery that matzoh crackers all week. anti-war movement in the US, Constantine had allowed a jester he wondered if similar “teach- clients personal and business to be king for one day. This jester April 17 in” and protest energy could needs The firm is divided into the passed the law of the absurd, gather around environmental following main practice areas: to be observed on April 1. Dr. Tax Day! issues. At the first EarthD ay in Boshkin’s “answer” went to the Americans have two more days 1970, 20 million people demon- • Corporate, Foreign Investment press… “Gotcha!” he chuckled. to live…I mean, pay their taxes. strated, far surpassing Senator & Finance What’s your favorite all-time It’s taxes not death this time. Nelson’s expectations. April Fool’s prank? E-mail The 15th falls on a Sunday. • Immigration [email protected] and we’ll Monday is Patriots day… If you April 30 • Intellectual Property-Entertainment print the answers. Find inspira- are living abroad, you get an Law tion here: museumofhoaxes. extension to June 15. A perk. But Día del Niño • Litigation & Dispute Resolution, com/hoax/aprilfool. there’s troubling tax news for US The Organization of American Bankruptcy expats. The Congress just raised States created this day in 1952 April 2-10 taxes for Americans abroad by to bring attention to the basic • Real Estate, Resort & Hospitality about six percent. According needs and rights of children. It • Enviromental & Land Use Passover and the to the New York Times, some has been adopted by sev- • Tax & Administrative Law celebration of the overseas residents may see their eral Latin American countries, Exodus taxes go up by four times. And including Mexico, and also by the increase is retroactive to the the state of Idaho. One of the Well if I could I surely would beginning of 2006. basic rights, as outlined by the Torre Mural Stand on the rock where Moses United Nations in 1959, says Av. Insurgentes Sur 1605 stood April 22 that children should always Piso 12, suite 3 Pharaoh’s army got drownded… be allowed to cross national San José Insurgentes There was no time to let the Earth Day borders to be reunited with México D.F. 03900 bread rise when the Israelis were Did Al Gore invent Earth Day? their parents.

T.+52(55) 50620050 Contact: F.+52(55) 50620051

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Inside México talks with Denise Dresser Minority, and Immigrant “Mexican by birth and choice” Mexico Denise Dresser was born in Mexico to a IM: “What is the role of public intellec- genome study tuals in Mexico?” A recently revealed Oaxacan mother and an Belgian-Ameri- DD: Public intellectuals exist in Mex- that Mexicans are can father. Through her teaching and ico. In the US you can be a pundit, a predominantly “Am- professor, but not necessarily a public writing she has become one of Mexico’s intellectual. eroindian.” It also preeminent public intellectuals and one That said, I have a very ambivalent suggests, however, view of Mexican intellectuals. The fact that the population of its most challenging devotees. that intellectuals are so revered is a maybe even more problem. It will be better for the country diverse than previously Inside México: Do you consider your- invisible people with their hands out, the when they are just another group in the self to be Mexican? 20 million people who live on $2 a day. society. The reverence with which Mexico realized. Denise Dresser: I define myself as How do you create change? You yell, underscores its intellectuals is elitist. A 62 indigenous groups are Mexican. But I am not a traditional demand, push, suggest, and advocate. country in which there is a broad middle recognized by the Mexican Mexican. I’m more outspoken and I can’t be a conformist. I have no intent class wouldn’t allow this. They don’t need government combative. in being a member of the establishment. to be interpreted to themselves. What I love about Mexico is the IM: Where do other people/countries, As the media democratizes and there 65% of Mexican genes are warmth, the social graces, the love of the and particularly the United States go are more choices of information, the pre- “ameroindian” aesthetic, family traditions, the history, wrong when they look at Mexico? eminence of the elites will begin to fade. enchiladas suizas, bougianvilleas, the DD: The US has a problem acknowledg- IM: Do you have Mexican heroes? 8% of Mexicans speak an houses of Luis Barrigan. I love the way ing that Mexico is many Mexicos. You DD: People whom I admire? Yes. I’m not indigenous language Mexicans say hello to each other. have to visit the many Mexicos: Chiapas, going to talk about Madero or Juárez. There’s a long list of what’s wrong Oaxaca, Monterrey with its vibrant, But the artists and scientists. Alfonso 1.5% speak Náhuatl [with Mexico] and the book [México: Lo North Americanized entrepreneurial Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñarritu, que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber Mexico. The Sierra de Chihuahua. Julieta Ferro, Ricardo Legorreta, Ele- 87.7% of indigenous lan- de su patria by Denise Dresser and And, the US needs to start thinking na Poniatowski. These are people who guage speakers are bilingual Jorge Volpi] tells it. of Mexico as a North American country have gone against the grain, who are But this is still a country under con- and a partner. If it did this, it would anti-heros, unorthodox. 571,872 indigenous struction. It’s an incipient democracy. have to take Mexico seriously. The way IM: You have said that your work can speakers in Oaxaca IM: Do Mexicans think of you as Mexi- the European Union did with Spain and feel lonely? What do you mean? can? Portugal. What I’m alluding to won’t DD: If feels lonely when I say things 482,000 indigenous DD: I have been called La Gringa and happen in my lifetime. But if the US that seem so self evident and they are speakers in Chiapas told that I’m not really a Mexican. wants to solve the problems between the so controversial to others. of genetic base in Maybe my vantage point is a bit like countries it has to help Mexico grow. There’s a common Mexican phrase – 58% Sonora is European [Alexis] de Toqueville’s [the French IM: Should entrepreneurship be encour- you hear it everywhere – that I condemn. writer and politician who wrote Democ- aged in Mexico? It’s “Por lo menos – At least.” When the 22% of genetic base in racy in America] when he was in the DD: It’s a critical task. We are a coun- bar is set so low, no one feels the need Guerrero is African United States. Since I’m something of try of employees. Not of entrepreneurs. to change anything. How do you create an outsider, not 100% Mexican, maybe There are such bureaucratic hurdles participants? That’s the question. 35,089 Africans lived in I can see the country more honestly. and high costs that many Mexicans I live in a state of permanent indig- Mexico in 1646 I was on a political talk show and would just prefer to go to work for nation. That’s how things get better in someone said, “You and your gringa someone. This is one of the projects the world. I’m indignant and I don’t 400,000 Mexicans of ways.” I got very upset. At the break the and causes I support. accept that “Las cosas son como son. Arab ancestry today (mostly person said, “You are running ahead. Being an entrepreneur is about two – things are as they are.” Lebanese) Wait for Mexico to catch up to you.” things: taking risks and solving problems. IM: As such an outspoken critic, do you I am saying, “Hurry up.” Sometimes I Mexicans aren’t educated for this. We are ever worry for your safety? 50,000 Jewish Mexicans can’t sleep at night when I think of all the educated to conform. To say “yes.” DD: I’m not powerful enough to mat- ter. What I worry about is not making 35 number of racial groups a difference, of not leaving a mark. Denise Dresser is a professor of political science at the Instituto Tecnológico represented in Mexico’s Autónomo de México (ITAM), where she teaches comparative politics, political economy, IM: Will you keep being a professor? gene pool and Mexican politics. Educated at Colegio de México and with a PhD from Princeton Univer- DD: I will never stop teaching. It’s sity, Dresser writes for Reforma and Processo. She has published two bestselling books, Gritos y an essential contribution to creating 1,000,000 US citizens susurros: experiencias intempestivas de 38 mujeres, and, most recently, with novelist Jorge Volpi, a a more critical citizenry. My work is live in Mexico book of political satire México: lo que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber de su patria. about the daily construction of Mexico. Of citizenship. 150,000 Argentines live in Mexico

1% average annual popula- Sign up for home delivery tion growth among Mexicans [email protected] Source: Eluniversal.com.mx, Inegi.gob. in the D.F. mx, Wikipedia.com and Afromexico.com April 2007 free InsideMéxico [  ] MORELIA

Morelia combines colonial charm with modern luxuries like golf courses. Photo: Secretaría de Michoacán de Turismo Shopping, golfing...

Tepic Michoacán’s colonial it’s the 27-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus that Querétaro Guadalajara León has made it such a favorite. Golfers must be lining up, for capital is a perfect two more courses are under construction with talk of yet MEXICO MORELIA CITY weekend getaway another along the shore of nearby Cuitzeo, the second Colima Toluca largest natural lake in Mexico. MICHOACAN Meanwhile, new hotels are opening in ancient build- Pacific Ocean by Jimm Budd ings on almost every block in the historic center. Notable o one would think of the San Miguelito in is Los Juaninos, across from the Cathedral. It began as Acapulco Morelia as a singles bar. It’s a restaurant, the palatial home of the Bishop of Morelia in the vice- gallery, museum and bazaar. Antiques clut- regal era. If legend is to be believed, public censure of Getting There ter every spare nook and cranny, making it episcopal opulence obliged the lordly cleric to seek more By air: Aeromar flies from look a lot like the Olde Curiosity Shoppe. modest quarters. NBut what most captures your attention is the collection The most famous of the luxury hotels in Morelia, how- Mexico City to Morelia several times a day. of sculptures of Saint Anthony – all of them standing ever, is not new at all. Villa Montaña dates back more than upside down. half a century. Built by an American, it, along with the By bus: ETN offers luxurious The faithful, explains Cynthia Martínez, a manager Villa San José and the Posada Vista Bella, attracted great bus service hourly from the at the San Miguelito, come to pray to the saint and numbers of vacationers from the United States in the 1950s Observatorio terminal, sup- then stand him on his head until their prayer is an- and 1960s. Now a new generation of Americans – if baby posedly completing the trip swered. Men and women alike come; most are looking boomers can be called a new generation – is returning. in four hours. for a spouse. And many leave behind messages in San This swarm of potential customers has fostered a By car: The 180 mile journey Miguelito’s growing stack of guest books. “We have growing community of artists. They gather along the should take about the same 17,000 entries,” says Cynthia. How many have had their Plaza de las Rosas on Sundays to display their works amount of time over toll prayers answered? “We know of perhaps a dozen,” she (Sundays only, because Morelia has banned peddlers roads, traveling via Toluca. says. “But there undoubtedly are more who have never from its streets). Collectors more interested in profits recounted their success.” than aesthetics peruse and ponder. Many also stop in at Morelia, in case you haven’t heard, is becoming a the Casa de Artesanías, which features strikingly imagi- fashionable weekend haven for those bored with Valle de native crafts and sponsors contests in which artists take Bravo, Cuernavaca and San Miguel de Allende. Perhaps innovative approaches to traditional designs.

[  ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Los Juaninos Avenida Morelos Sur 39, Centro, Tel: (443) 312 0036 reservaciones@hoteljuaninos. com.mx 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

Photo by: Jimm Budd Convention Center), Tel: Lonely hearts look- (443) 324 4411 ing for a spouse make Los Trojes the pilgrimmage to San Juan Sebasti‡n Bach 51, Frac- Miguelito. cionamiento La Loma, Tel: (443) 314 7344 Where to stay Villa Montaña Los Mirasoles Patzimba 201, Colonia Vista Avenida Poniente 549, Cen- Bella, Tel: (443) 314 0231 tro, Tel: (443) 317 5777 [email protected] Emilianos Artilleros de 47 No. 1643, Tel: Villa San José (443) 315 1035 Patzimba 77, Colonia Bella Vista, Tel: (443) 324 4545 For information on upcoming Making Music [email protected] events: www.visitmorelia.com on the Metro A DJ who grooves on the move

by Sue-Ellen Mason/Photo by Luz Montero But maybe you’re thinking, “Hey, I don’t hear music in a lot of Metro stations. What’s up with Loving? Meet Gustavo Cid. At first glance, he looks like a that?!” Many of the speakers have been stolen or typical young urbanite driving to work in the Salto vandalized, according to Gustavo. Feisty street del Agua district of the Centro Histórico. But his job sellers smash them when they hear announce- In the 16th century, the first Bishop of the area, is far from ordinary. ments discouraging people from buying their Vasco de Quiroga, encouraged indigenous Tarascan Gustavo is a DJ in the system. wares, he says. artisans and urged every village to specialize in one He is one of seven who work in shifts playing the The DJ get song requests, often from taquilleros. product. Possibly to counteract this coddling of the na- diverse musical repertoire -- from classical sympho- Trapped in their claustrophobic booths for 8 hours tives, the church and the viceregal government began nies to chill-out electronic and belly-dancing music at a time, some ticket sellers ask for songs all day to importing entire families from Spain to become the -- that you hear during your commute. alleviate the monotony of their jobs. new landed gentry. The colonizers moved the capital At 31, Gustavo is the youngest DJ in the system (the “Happy Birthday” is commonly requested by and from Patzcuaro to Morelia, and gave it the grand ar- oldest is 80) and the man behind the subterranean for Metro employees. Hopeful bands stop by the chitecture and aristocratic feel that still dominates the tunes from 11 am to 5:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday. broadcast office to drop off demo tapes. Foreign historic center. Gustavo shows me the 10,000 song computer embassies donate music from their countries. Ob- Nights need not be dull in what was once a conserva- database he uses to create his playlists. He and the sessive passengers call to track down the name of a tive city; Morelia now boasts more than its share of discos other DJs also upload new songs that fit the Metro’s song Gustavo or one of the other DJ’s has played. and antros. There is a year-round roster of festivals and, guidelines. All in all, it’s a job Gustavo loves, not only for the being a university town, higher-brow diversions for those And what are the guidelines? Thrash metal is out. opportunity to introduce new music to people who who prefer the staid and proper. On top of that, there is So is thumping techno. Ranchero stays on the ranch wouldn’t otherwise hear it, but also for the perks of always the shopping. and banda is limited to microbuses. No melancholy working for the Metro system – medical insurance, Visit the Mercado de Dulces, which sells more than heartbreakers or moody goth - we can’t have sui- free education, subsidized housing, and a cheap candy. Stringed instruments from Paracho – a town fa- cidal riders. Want to hear Daddy Yankee? Go to the cafeteria. mous for its guitars – can be found at Iranpa in the historic Colonia Roma nightclub Bullpen. And when he’s not spinning tunes to assuage center. Copperware from Santa Clara de Cobre is avail- The guidelines are also explicit about what kind harried Metro riders, Gustavo is known as Cid Proj- able at Cobre y Arte in the Colonia Electrícistas. Among of music may be played at different times of the day. ect playing his own synth and electro-pop music in the better art galleries are Galeria Oñate in the Plazuela During morning rush hour, a perky rock, swing, clubs like La Capilla and Dada-X. Sonterraña in the historic center, and Creadores de Arte funk or jazz riff will get your blood flowing. In the en Michoacán in Colonia Vista Bella. afternoon lull you’ll likely hear Spanish and English Find out more about Cid Project at www.myspace. And of course, many of the antiques on display back at rock and pop, or new music by local bands. For the com/cidproject the San Miguelito are for sale. Though what lures most evening rush hour, the goal is to soothe the weary Got music you’d like a Metro DJ to play? Bring a copy to people there, in addition to the good food, is the chance traveler with chill-out, electro, acid jazz, trova, the broadcast office in the Salto del Agua to petition Saint Anthony for a soulmate. z Mexican folklore or world music. station, at Delicias 67.

April 2007 InsideMéxico [  ] A Gathering of Fugitives

Diana Anhalt was eight years old when her parents moved the family to Mexico from A story of Americans in political New York. Active in many left-wing political self-exile in Mexico organizations, they were fleeing the anti- communist persecution that swept the United States in the 1940’s and 50’s. In Mexico City they joined a rag-tag community of like- minded Americans living in political self- exile. 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:

by Diana Anhalt

hen somebody asks why we’ve moved to Mexico you tell them we’re here on business,” my “Wmother instructed. No other explanation was forthcoming. My parents never dis- cussed 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 personal- Main photo: Joe Nash, inset photo: Luz Montero ized version of ‘pig Latin.’ Controversial books were rarely left out in the open. My histories, and some of us lost jobs when pres- more than a million and a half inhabit- Captivating and parents kept theirs in a cardboard box on sure was placed upon our employers. Depor- ants, who referred to it as a pueblote, a timeless. Paseo the upper shelf of their closet. In short, they tations, though less common, also occurred huge town. Cows grazed, chickens pecked, de la Reforma to- were always on their guard. Discretion was along with the occasional detention. Such and corn grew in vacant lots just blocks day and in a photo essential: The same FBI that had placed dangers were real and deprived us of the se- away from the city center; the surround- from journalist Joe us under surveillance in the States, would curity planning for the future brings. Indeed, ing mountains and snow capped volcanoes Nash’s 1954 book continue to do so in Mexico. In addition, the we had little sense of the future, forced as we –Ixtacihuatl and Popocatépetl–were visible , American business community could not were to live from one day to the next. most of the year, and on Sunday mornings, A Guide. help but be aware of our presence. At the beginning, those were the things charros, Mexico’s elegantly clad horsemen, Ironically, many of these expatriates we shared, and sharing gave us the se- cantered down the Paseo de la Reforma, the shared our same sense of dislocation at curity of belonging. It drew us together wide, tree-lined avenue said to resemble having to adapt to life in a foreign country. defreakifying the ‘I’ and making us part the Champs Elysees. Minor drawbacks, But, generally speaking, this would not of a ‘we,’ an extended family. What we of course, were to be expected: American draw us together. On the contrary. In time, had in common kept us from standing movies took over a year to arrive; a good we would discover we had run straight alone. We could be a part of something, malted and shoes in extra large sizes were into the arms of the very people we were and that masked the pain and isolation. unavailable; drinking the tap water or eat- running away from: white, middle class, Freaks stand alone, but we didn’t. Ergo, ing fruit and vegetables like strawberries, conservative Republicans. Although they we weren’t freaks. lettuce, grapes and plums was ill-advised; lived in Mexico, they continued to inhabit With time, we glanced less at our watch- medical and dental care could be care- their own little Americas, Americas far es and idled a little longer over a heavily less, and a cloudburst brought the city to less diversified than the ones we had fled, spiced meal, learned to roll our tortillas a standstill. Such things we took in stride. bringing with them their gift for turning and our ‘R’s around words like ferrocarril But reconciling ourselves to widespread everything they touched into Everywhere, and carretera, to gesture with our hands, poverty, the institutionalized corruption, USA. No matter that we shared a common and to kiss casual acquaintances on the and the casual disregard for punctuality language and a national identity. Our poli- cheek, to revel in the warmth of Mexi- was more difficult.z tics set us apart. co’s people and its climate. We learned to Because of our politics, our whereabouts adapt. Time numbed the gnawing sense Diana Anhalt is a writer and editor who lives were routinely recorded, our passports with- of unease and diminished—though never in Mexico City. drawn without notice, and subpoenas deliv- completely—our sense of alienation. You can purchase A Gathering of Fugitives ered to our doorsteps. The local and foreign Mexico City during the ’50s had through Amazon.com, or download it for free press publicized our names and political a decidedly rural flavor, despite its at: www.archer-books.com

[ 10 ] InsideMéxico 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 Mexicanos, Mazatlán 152 – A by birth Col. These 17th century 5553 5334 terms—just a few of seemingly infinite pos- sibilities—were used to Guadalupe Tote describe Mexicans of In a flash she appeared! mixed descent. Sequin Guadalupe applied on a natural woven bag is a Mestizo: child of perfect weekend carry-all. white and indigenous $250 Pesos persons El Chiribitil Bazaar del Sábado, ¡Santo Mío! Zambo: child of Plaza San Jacinto Mezza- indigenous and black nine, stand 51 & 52 In honor of Semana Santa persons Col. San Angel 5550 0764 we went out in search of a few Mulato: child of black heavenly inspired items. and white persons

Some are classic, others trendy but all are divine! Castizo: child of mes- Photos by Luz Montero tizo and white persons

Calpamulato: child Cross Pendant/Broach of indigenous and mu- Hand crafted cross adorned with lato persons semi-precious stones is stately with Oversized style. Zambo prieto: child Guadalupe $2,000 Pesos of black and zambo Watches Joyas del Museo by Stefano persons Let go of time Tanasesco Morelli Bazaar del Sábado, Plaza San and have a little Morisco: child of mu- fun with these hip Jacinto 11-91 lato and white persons and colorful Col. San Angel 5291 5544 (studio) Guadalupe-inspired Albino: child of white watches. and morisco persons $375 Pesos Distroller Easter Candles Salta atrás: child Av. De la Paz 58, Traditional Easter candles from the of albino and white local 10 landmark candle shop, Bazar de Velas. persons Col. San Angel $39 - $59 Pesos 5550-4955 Bazar de Velas Chino: child of salta -or- Periferico Sur Av. Rio 306 Between atrás and indigenous 4020 Plaza Santa Division del Norte and Av. Coyoacán persons Teresa Col. Coyoacán 5554 4596 Source: Institute for the Study of 5135 0094 the Americas

Health The Fixer Taking a heal out the bad thy option won’t make you miss out on the good Fia-what BY G UNDER ? EO STANDING RGINA RENTAL DEL ÁNGEL REQUIREMENT P S IN MEXICO HO TO S BY LUZ MONTER BY MAYA H HOW TO O ARRIS GET THERE By car: Leave One of the double-edg ays, weeks Mexico City via or problems. the Toluca highway luxuries of eating in ed even months Manyof (57D) and af- without us arrive follow the Mexico ter scouring personal signs. Toll road costs – getting a licuado or the contacts $554 pesos a classifieds, or a sponsoring and takes 6 hours. tamal on the street corner D talk company. 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If most interesting, to the isbetween consid- and legumes it’s common you are new to band play favorites in th Tort healthyered to be a grilled and prac Mexico and Plaza de los Mariachis e illas, a heal andthe an home unhealthy of the vegetables tice to co-sign - need a place colonial–era bandstand. fo thy tacocharreria as well. A for the sak to live, Closeto theintersection FOR od is what’s –rodeo inside – which pregnant woman of a friend: e for close, look of Av Ja- Others was the tor- should opt “I trust t property-owning aspect of , vier watch Every nutrient tilla. decreedG for grilled he peo- Minaand Calz. Independencia EVERYONE toddlers has a iven Mexico’sthe countless na- white meats, ple I’ve done friends while run through tion inside func- varietiestional sport in 1880. vegetables green it for, and I’ve you’re scout- Inside México Raisea glassin tribute fl ocks of coo- the human of tacos, and legumes, never had ing those apartment to the ing pigeons, which body, comesEvery when it and a problem. s. birthplaceof m scattering is why it’s important timerodeo to order, features red meat once can help If I Happy hunting! ariachim usic and them to ten how do friends simplify ❚ admirethe into clouds that recognize which events and in a week. ❚ their statuesalong lift, ones are Georgina addi- process, NEXT MONTH: of the top circle the plaza found in tion to delbeing Ángel I’m happy to the buildings.Plenty – once, any given vador ais am nutritionisteasure do so” says Step-by-step of places twice – At 4.1 million food . of a cowboy’sZubiránNational skill, each is and researcher CristinaGarcia, advice for a beer and settle again. people, specializing Instituteof at the Sal- who getting on and a serenade. Guadalajara in nutrition Nutritionin Mexico has agreed a fi ador Over the is Mexico’s degenerativeits own ritualized and the treatment City, to be a and acquir- childrens’ de- [ 24 ] Insi diseases. grand of chronic dor for numerous frie fi a- ing a lighted secondlargest deMéxico pageant. Any questions? and fi anza. Chivas Training laughter you can metropoli- There are many [email protected] However, nds. Centre hear tan areas. rules this Please (known the rustle of Residentsof the for ‘authentic is where send comments as Valle Verde) feathers, ’ char- many new and ques- insidemex.com or The Tip. city, arrivals tions W wings beating the air. foundedon January ros, right down run into to: [email protected] atchthis year’s hot 5, to the out- youngplay- It’s the 1532,are knownas fi ts they ers showtheir stuff. kind of serenity “tapatios”. wear. Shirts, for The address you don’t example, isn’tpublic often fi nd in must be light– Mar c but thisChivas coun- heated chaos of a big Mexicthe coloured, h 2007 try--most taxi and the buttons driverswill know But an city. made of bone. how to get that’s the thing There you there.Training manages about Guadalajara. are experts sessions to offer It piring on hand to coach throughoutthe a traveler all cowboy. Visit the as- week, lights you expect the urban de- El Charro, but alwaysthe morning from a city of Juarez and on the corner of the day with few of the distresses. of four million, Molina in the beforea game. They have centro historico. useful and Checkwww.chivas. Traffi traditional outfi com.mx c moves effi American–style ts, as well for details. ciently. Shops boots, as more and open every are plentiful, buckles and [ 8 ] NSIDE day. The can’t miss hats. You Thanks! I streets it; MÉXICO the sidewalks are clean and there’s a life size unclogged by the doorway plastic horse in ambulantes. Police . The closet mariachi can also get outfi tted MARCH 2007 entertaining? Aran and Margot Shetterly

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 11 ] dive Uncovering the masters history behind an iconic slice of Mexico’s pop culture

Text and Photos by Barbara Kastelein

ver the last forty years, the cliff div- ers of Acapulco, or Los Clavadistas de La Quebrada, have become a world famous icon of Mexico’s al- lure. OHere in their own country, however, the cul- ture 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 internation- al 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 indi- vidual 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, A stunning display contrary, willful and unpredictable. of grace and bravery Raúl arrived in Acapulco from as characterizes each dive. an orphan and his children were not destined to become cliff divers. But many of his contempo- raries and the generation of divers who followed them, passed their skills and legacy to their off- spring. Ricardo Vega Moreno, for example – four Iris Alvarez is the time international champion at La Quebrada youngest girl ever – had a son Edgar who at the age of eight was to dive from diving from 18 meters (more than half the height La Quebrada’s heights. of the La Quebrada cliff). Three-time champion Ignacio Sánchez was in- spired to become a cliff diver by his older brother Cuauhtémoc. In November, Sánchez’s son Mar- tin won accolades for synchronized diving in the international championship in La Quebrada.

[ 12 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Public Service Cliff Divers of Acapulco Announcement

Boss calls. Boss dive You missed mastersFor more informa- tion about this the call with year’s cliff diving Boston? show on Día You del Niño, phone the Cliff Diver Associa- tion Headquarters between 10 and I was at my 2pm, Fridays to desk and the Saturdays, at phone never (01) 744-483-1400. Boss rang!

The time changed on the East Coast last week. You Divers climb 18 meters to the top of the rugged cliff.

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, We suggest you sign I was astonished to see a young girl diving. With her shiny, long black braid and attractive up for Inside México’s smile, Iris Alvarez was graceful and radiantly weekly e-mail. 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 THE TiP will help lists Iris to be, at the age of 12, the youngest you avoid awkward girl, and – slightly misleadingly – the youngest child to dive from the height of 18 meters in La situations like the Quebrada. one represented It’s been a great pleasure to uncover and record the stories of Los Clavadistas de La Que- above. Once a week brada, who have kept this breathtaking phe- we’ll recommend nomenon going for so long. In the case of Iris, she exemplifies a family dynasty of divers that something fun, tasty, could quite fairly be compared to the great East- cool, or interesting. ern European acrobats and circus performers of yesteryear. She joins her grandfather (“El Intergenerational ties are important to the Cuadro”), her uncle Eligio (“El Cuadrito”), her diving community. father Jose Luis (“El Cuchillo”), and a number of male cousins as part of a rich history that has A focus on the next generation has always yet to get its due recognition in Mexican popular been part of the community of cliff divers. They culture. z Sign up now! frequently hold charitable events with the pro- ceeds going to Acapulco orphanages, and every Dr. Barbara Kastelein, in association with Los Cla- Send us an e-mail: April on Día del Niño (Children’s Day, April vadistas de La Quebrada, is writing a book on the 30) they stage a special show for orphans. The feats and history of the Acapulco cliff divers. Héroes [email protected] children enjoy brightly-colored cakes and a spe- del Pacífico will feature photographs by Rodrigo cial performance -- sometimes with the divers Vázquez.

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 13 ] • María de 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 May- oral Hernandez, 13, laughs with girlfriends before a graduation ceremony from school in in the Costa Chica on Thursday June 30, 2005. (Photo By Sarah Meghan Lee)

By Aran Shetterly A little known population Few people, including most Mexicans, realize that a significant black Mexican population sat in the shade under a palapa and lives along Mexico’s “Costa Chica” which waited for the boat taxi to carry me runs just east of Acapulco down to Huatulco, from the small town of Zapotalito in the state of Oaxaca. Until 1810, across Lagunas Chacahua to the even If one does think of African-Mexicans it smaller town of Chacahua, which tends to be of Veracruz on the country’s Gulf Isprawls among the mangroves at the edge Coast. there were of Mexico’s Pacific coast. Just off the rickety Mexico’s Caribbean port of call, Veracruz wooden pier, frigate birds dive-bombed peli- is known for its carnival, Cuban danzón, more Afri- cans, hoping to scare a fish loose. and a 16th century African freedom fighter The boat came into sight and moments named Yanga who established a free black later the whir of the engine reached my ears. town in the mountains there. cans living About 30 feet from shore the pilot cut the And yet, the black population on the west power, lifted the prop, and coasted to the coast is significantly larger, though less well in Mexico beach. A man hopped out, barefoot, wearing researched or understood due, at least in old yellow surf shorts and a t-shirt. A full afro part, to its geographic isolation. ballooned from beneath his baseball cap. According to American scholar Bobby than Span- I tossed my backpack into the boat and Vaughn, “While the population of contem- centered myself on the cross thwart as my porary black Mexicans is very small in Vera- iards. chauffer polled us toward deeper water. cruz as compared with the Costa Chica, the Turning to look back at Zapotalito, I watched discourse on blackness in Veracruz is perva- him lower the outboard into murky water. sive. Veracruz is envisioned in the popular “Where are you from?” I asked. Mexican imagination as a black state, and “Cuba.” while this is due in part to the slave legacy “Cuba? How did you end up here?” in Veracruz, this imagination stems more The man laughed. “A slave ship was from a nineteenth century Cuban cultural wrecked off the coast. Some of the slaves exchange.” • Sirvino Soto Salinas casts his fishing net made it ashore. We’ve been here ever since.” Spanish Mexico’s history as an importer into the sea at El Faro, a small black commu- He pulled the cord, the motor roared, and of slaves is often overshadowed by the vast I held my hat as the boat picked up speed numbers of Africans sold as laborers in the nity along the Costa Chica. Subsistance fish- and headed into the lagoon’s labyrinthine Caribbean, the United States and Brazil. ing remains the life blood of the former slave channels, leaving me to wonder how a Cuban Until 1650, however, there were more Af- communities. slave ship had arrived along Mexico’s west rican slaves in Mexico than anywhere else in (Photo by Sarah Meghan Lee) coast. the Americas. More surprising still, Vaughn claims that the population of Spaniards liv-

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 17 ] Retratos bajo el sol – Portraits under the sun

hotographer Alberto Ibáñez has been documenting the lives of Pthe 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 “But why is your hair like it is?” raise general awareness about Mexico’s black until 1810. She reached up and touched the white population, he created an organization called This history is studied by only a handful ends of her afro. “I don’t know why my hair México Negro or, Black Mexico. The moniker of amateur and professional scholars curious is like this. I am Mexican.” emphasizes the “Africanness” of the people, about the part Africans have played in Mex- rather than their blending. “Blackness” it ico. Many Mexicans know that the country’s A matter of consciousness asserts, exists in Mexico. second president, Vincente Guerrero, was of When Father Glyn Jeemott listens to these “The question of justice is basic in this. African descent. So too was José María More- stories told by black Mexicans to explain Mexico cannot deny equality and recogni- los, the national hero who fought and died for (or not explain) their presence in Mexico, a tion,” he says. He explains that there are no independence from Spain. Even so, the every pained look crosses his face. government statistics for the black popula- day reality of what it means to be black along “It’s not only ignorance,” he says. “They tion, no option to claim this identity in the the Costa Chica goes largely unexamined are holding onto a myth that was handed census (and therefore no way to determine, by non-black Mexicans, and by many black down to them as a way of rationalizing and with any real accuracy, the size of the popula- Mexicans as well. reshaping the past. The sick joke is that they tion). This, he says, is a, “judgment on Africa accept it. But,” and here he concedes a pos- and ‘Africanness’ that is not being reconciled Unacknowledged roots sible subversive quality to the myths, “when [with the Mexican identity].” As I wandered the paths of Chacahua, I saw a black man shrugs his shoulders, how much The conventional story of modern Mexico’s people of all shades, from light tan to dark is indifference and how much is survival?” founding emphasizes the mix of Spaniards and chocolate. I saw straight hair and afros and Jeemott is from Trinidad. He was ordained indigenous Mexicans that forged the “mestizo” everything in between. Nearly all, however, a Roman Catholic Priest in 1977. He came to identity. Father Jeemott believes that the dual- even those who could pass as mestizo (the Oaxaca City in the early 1980s and shortly ity of this myth makes it easier to exclude all most common term for the mix of indigenous thereafter visited Pinotepa Nacional, a mu- those who do not fit the model; to make them Mexican and Spanish) identified themselves nicipal capital in the southwest corner of invisible, sometimes even to themselves. as “moreno” or “negro.” Oaxaca State. A wry smile curls the corner of his mouth When I asked about the history of the town When he saw all the black people living as he wisecracks about national hero José and its people I was told, “You have to talk to there, he realized that it was where he was María Morelos, “[he] can’t take off his ban- the old timers.” meant to minister. “I had to be here,” he says. dana because it will show his curly hair.” As dusk settled, I spotted an old woman Padre Glyn, as he is known to his parish- “The indigenous people of Mexico have sitting in a chair in her neatly raked dirt ioners, was sent to be the parish priest in said, ‘There is no Mexico without us.’ The yard. Her simple, stick house stood behind the tiny, dusty village of Ciruelo. He brought blacks haven’t been able to say that.” Jeemott her and off to one side a cook fire smoldered. not only his faith, but a belief in pan-African believes that there is an internal cohesion to “Where did the people of Chacahua come identity and social justice. He has committed the indigenous cultures that develops inter- from?” I asked her. the last 22 years of his life to the spiritual nal leadership. “Well, there was a plane crash in the needs of his parishioners and to nurturing Jeemott hopes México Negro will help cre- 1950s,” she said. incipient calls for economic justice in these ate the kind of unity that produces leaders Was this answer a non-sequitur, or a mod- impoverished, isolated, rural communities. who will continue and extend the work he has ern version of the slave ship story? To further these last two objectives, and to started. Every March the organization puts

[ 18 ] IInsnsiidedeMMéxéxiicoco AAprpriill 2007 Serie, Hijos de la mar 01 Belleza bajo las palmas Armonía familiar · Family Harmony · From the series Sons of the sea 01 · Beauty under the palm tree Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005 Chacahua, Oaxaca, 2005 Zapotalito, Oaxaca, 2005

“The indige- nous people on an encuentro of the pueblos negros. People “That’s the library,” he says, noting that from the area are invited to celebrate their for about $700 dollars more he could get it heritage and to spend three days discussing finished. Then he would have to fill it with of Mexico local problems such as health care, education books and computers. and garbage collection. It’s a difficult battle, he says. There are have said, no jobs, so the kids don’t see the point in “There is a future” studying. The town’s resources are controlled ‘There is Gerardo Carranza has six brothers and sisters by the municipal seat, a mestizo town that, and all of them slipped across the US border according to Gerardo, has no interest in Hue- no Mexico to find work. No“ me gusta irme de mojado. huetan’s future. Nunca. –I don’t want to be a wetback. Not So he’s trying to organize a sort of seces- ever–” he says, by way of explaining why at sion that would allow his town and a couple without us.’ twenty-two he still lives in the town of Hue- of others to form their own municipality and huetan, Guerrero where he was born. govern themselves. He believes that if Yanga The blacks Carranza was accepted to Morehouse Col- could create an autonomous town for black lege (a historically black college) in Atlanta, people in Mexico, why can’t the citizens of haven’t Georgia, but it seems the scholarship he re- Huehuetan do the same? ceived has been rescinded. He says he’s not “There are a lot of things this town can do,” been able interested in “awakening that dream” again. says Gerardo. “In ten years, I’ll still be here Instead Carranza, who is the local president organizing the people.” of México Negro, focuses his energy and atten- to do that.” tion on his small Guerrerense pueblo where he Mexican first says, “you can see there is a future.” Not everyone agrees with Father Glyn’s ef- For an outsider the hopeful signs are not forts to develop his parishioners’ identifica- easy to identify. The streets are narrow, lined tion with their black roots. Some Mexican by crumbling stick and mud constructions. academics argue that he’s “inventing iden- An old woman squats in an open door, a small tity.” What they are suggesting, it seems, is display of old carrots on sale before her. The that the “Africanness” of the people is purely identity in the Mexican “mestizo” model. We few modern houses are clearly the fruits of historical, and that today everyone is mixed are but one more ingredient in the Mexican relatives laboring north of the border. In fact, and should identify as Mexican. mix, it asserts. But first, we are Mexican. Carranza’s family home is one of the nicest Near Ciruelo, across the Oaxaca state line These critiques of Father Glyn’s approach in town. Even so, his parents still work the in Guerrero, is the town of Cuajinicuilapa. are, at least in part, a rejection of “foreign” fields every day. There brothers Eduardo and Jorge Añorve ideas. Even after nearly a quarter of a cen- One of the signs of hope Carranza sees is a Zapata counter Father Glyn’s pan-African tury in Mexico, he’s still an outsider and his small arrangement of cinderblocks. The walls approach, identifying themselves as “afro- worldview challenges the way some Mexicans stand about four feet high and vines are be- mestizo.” This term, rather than drawing – and even some of the Mexicans he hopes to ginning to crawl over them from the inside. attention first to being black, instead locates help – see themselves.

Aprpriill 20072007 IInsiideMéxiico [[ 1919 ]] Pescadora de ilusión Pescador (El piojo) · Fisherman nicknamed El Piojo Mujer sonriente · Smiling woman · Fishing for illusions Chacahua, Oaxaca, 2005 Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005 Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

A practical approach The Costa Chica library project Back in Ciruelo, Elena Ruiz has little patience for abstract discussions about identity. There’s By Father Glyn Jeemott construction in Huehetan, a more urgent problem to solve: local employ- he Biblioteca Ter- Guerrero. It will join the ment. cera Raíz, opened in network of smaller libraries A striking, dark-skinned woman with T 1997 in El Ciruelo, already operating in Cor- straight hair, Elena grew up in Pinotepa Na- Costa Chica, Oaxaca is part ralero, Minitan, El Tamal, cional and experienced her share of discrimina- of a larger effort to break Maldonado, and Paso de la tion. Her worry now is that without any new the silence and overcome Garrocha. local industry many of the black towns might the invisibility of the black Through these libraries just disappear. Mexican population. we aim to promote the his- There’s a steely determination in her eyes The library organizes tory of Mexico’s black popu- when she says, “This is our country too. We a summer school in eight lation, to stimulate artistic were born here. We feel completely Mexican.” Trinidadian Father Glyn communities, offering work- and cultural production in At 52, she has five children, two of whom Jeemott has lived in shops in painting, mask- our communities, and to are working in Los Angeles. Here, as it does all Ciruelo for 22 years. making, pottery, music, as contribute to the urgent over Mexico, immigration tears at the town’s well as support programs task of building their social social fabric. More and more young men and in mathematics and Span- and economic potential. women leave. The money they send back builds ish. Our annual painting Last year at the Meeting nice houses for relatives and introduces flashy contest attracts hundreds of Afro Mexican communities, US styles, but it does little to create a perma- of participants. Workshops March was chosen as the time nent source of employment. in painting, mask-making to celebrate our black and To her mind, there’s no time to wait for gov- and engraving have been African heritage. That decision ernment help or recognition. Elena started a conducted in more than 30 was taken with the knowledge sewing workshop with the hope that she and communities. Painting exhi- that it may take years before other women could make blouses and purses to bitions have toured through- the black and African heritage sell at the market in Pinotepa. Unfortunately, out the Costa Chica region of many Mexicans, and of the they have run out of the minimal resources and beyond. Mexican nation, will receive needed to keep the project going. Another library is under official recognition. Each year on International Women’s Day Elena organizes a road race for the women of For more information about the library project, the town. They go out to the highway and run or Mexico’s black community, contact: the three kilometers back to the center. It’s almost as if the race is a kind of home- Biblioteca Tercera Raíz Tel: (52) 954 553 0228 coming. Go out to the road and instead of run- El Ciruelo [email protected] ning away, run back to who you are and where 71600 Pinotepa Nacional [email protected] you are from. ❚ Oaxaca, MEXICO

[ 20 ] IInsnsiidedeMMéxéxiicoco AAprpriill 2007 La última de la artesa Costumbres · Customs El campesino · The peasant · The oldest artesa dancer Chacahua, Oaxaca, 2005 Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005 Corralero, Oaxaca, 2005

“This is our country too. We were Aran Shetterly Aran by born here.

We feel photos completely The tradition of the tono Mexican.” tradition] that, al- mal, it’s human counterpart though not limited will likewise fall ill. [A to Afro-Mexicans, is The most common tonos central to their ethnic identity are the bull and the tiger, but and may point to an African almost any animal can be a origin is the belief in the tono, tono. [The] belief in the tono is variously known as the nagual embraced by blacks as part of or simply as el animal. The their own traditional culture. tono can be understood as an animal spirit alter-ego that –Bobby Vaughn each individual is assigned from his 2001 dissertation, at birth. This wild animal is Race and Nation: A Study a kindred spirit and roams of Blackness in Mexico the surrounding wilderness. Should harm befall this ani- www.afromexico.com

Aprpriill 20072007 IInsiideMéxiico [[ 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 refresh- ing, with fruity body and pala- dar 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 n my previous columns, we Ihave looked at how our enjoy- ment 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 aes- thetic elements of taste.

[ 22 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Special Occasion Luxury expert Wines Wines This wine, well-structured and This wine can be enjoyed now, or choice elegant, with intense flavors, has a kept for a later date. good price-to-quality ratio and Carlo Cibo makes an excellent gift. At less Quinta Quietud 2002 than $500 pesos, it’s the per- fect wine for a special moment. Quinta de la Quietud S.L. Each month, Tinta de Toro D.O. Toro, España we’ll bring Jaros 2002 you a fresh Bodegas y viñedos del Jaro This wine has a rich cherry color. 100% Tinta del País The aroma is intense but bal- perspective D.O. Ribera del Duero, España anced, with touches of bilberries, black currants, grass, licorice and on the wines The aroma has notes of black fruits, even a slightly animal hint. It has with hints of toasted oak and traces a wonderful feel in the mouth, we drink and of mineral. In the mouth, this wine and is fresh, savory, and medium- is potent, ripe, and oaky. Enjoy with bodied, with excellent acidity and why we love a stew or a roasted lamb shank. a very good finish. Buy it in the them. Find this wine in specialty stores at specialty store Via Gourmet (Plaza an average price of $400 pesos. It’s Santa Teresa Tel. 5568 3191) at an also on the menu in many restau- average price of $600. rants.

he physiological di- the taster is looking for. The and strategy in sports, and Going deeper into tals are sweet, salty, acidic mension of taste re- objective of this higher level evaluate the geometry and and bitter, the combination Tfers to how we per- of attention is to broaden structure of the plants in our pastimes takes of which determines a wine’s ceive what we call flavor: Is our enjoyment. In this sense, our garden. us to the point soul. the wine sweet or salty? Is wine tasting is no different And so it is with wine. Additionally, we notice it acidic or bitter? Aesthet- than any other interest, be it We notice more character- where we know the wine’s feel in our mouth, ics imply judgment and pose literature or sports, painting istics, and take pleasure in what qualities and speak of its corpulence, the question: Is the wine or gardening. the themes and variations to look for, and temperature, astringency, good? Going deeper into our of the grape. We share our silkiness and length. We ex- Drinking wine is a sen- pastimes takes us to the knowledge with other afi- have a context for perience the interplay be- sual pleasure, in large part point where we know what cionados and, when we take appreciating their tween aroma and taste, a passive: we enjoy the sen- qualities to look for, and our next sip and allow the connection experts call the sations of the wine without have a context for appreci- sensations to lap over us, ap- fundamentals and “retronasal path”. paying them too much atten- ating their fundamentals preciate them much more. subtleties. Next month, we’ll delve tion. To truly taste a wine, and subtleties. We learn to When we finally taste the deeper into the flavors and however, is a deliberate and see form and color in paint- wine, we hope to corroborate indicators of a wine’s qual- textures and sensations that considered act, full of scru- ing; our ears pick up melody, the impressions given by ity. As with aroma, there is we call taste. Until then, the tiny, informed by what the harmony and rhythm in mu- the wine’s appearance and any number of possible fla- wines above will appeal to wine has to offer and what sic; we anticipate movement smell, and this is one of the vors, but the four fundamen- 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” Fia-how?? Eating healthy: a Part two: practical advice on balance between acquiring fiadores and fianzas enjoying and By Maya Harris nourishing o you’ve arrived rental property and pay- in Mexico and ing corresponding taxes. by Georgina t h r o u g h y o u r In the event that you del Ángel Cabrera Scharm and good can’t produce a fiador, or Photos by luck have managed to snag just don’t feel comfortable Luz Montero a property-owning friend asking a new friend to wa- who is willing to act as a ger personal property, you ome people be - guarantor for the dream can purchase a fianza, or lieve the only way apartment you’ve found. bond contract. to a healthy diet is Congratulations, you’ve Fianzas are insurance Sthrough sacrifice, got a fiador! policies that assume the to the point of being afraid Renting with a fiador third party responsibility to eat food they love. Sound on your side is relatively of a fiador. Contracting a familiar? But it is possible straightforward. A personal fianza generally requires a to eat what you want and fiador is someone who holds 10% premium of the year’s still stay healthy. When an escritura, or real estate contract. Most major in- we’re eating the right foods title, and who posts their surance companies and on a regular basis, we can property as a guaranty that financial institutions sell indulge without fear. you will not default on the fianzas. When shopping The key is achieving the rent. They also agree to as- around for an afianzadora, right balance. I’m referring sume responsibility for the be wary of small outfits, to the amount and quality lease in the event of non- as many have gained a of nutrients in a meal. payment. The legal repre- reputation for taking your What we eat every day sentative of a sponsoring money and disappearing. should be proportioned to be company or embassy can Before accepting the about 60 % carbohydrates, Viejo Sombrero Roto “Light” also act as fiador. risk, afianzadoras require 15 % proteins, and 20 to 25 Serves 2 • Epazote (washed) A standard rental con- the rent contract, a formal % lipids, or fats. Each con- • Tortillas de maíz • Green or cascabel chile tract generally includes a application, official iden- tains important calories, or • 1 kg red tomatoes (optional, to taste) line for the renter, landlord tification, income and/or energy, and has a special • 1 medium-sized white • 100 g queso panela and fiador to sign. Some- bank statements and proof function inside the body. onion • Shredded chicken times landlords can be of current residence.* For- Quality refers to the value convinced to accept a good- eign residents will be asked each nutrient brings to the The day before: chile. When the vegetables are faith signature of a “poder” to provide legal migratory body. For example, there are Cut tortillas into small triangles, browned, drop them into a instead of an actual fiador. forms. These will be used to two types of fats: vegetable cover with a paper napkin, and blender. Add a teaspoon of salt, Exceptions like these are assess the applicant along and animal. Vegetable fats, leave out overnight 500 ml of water and blend. usually only made for large with a credit check. such as those that come from Preparation: Put mixture in a heated pot, multinational corporations If approved, the afianza- olives, have been shown to Warm a Teflon pan on low heat. add a tablespoon of vegetable or embassies. dora will bear the responsi- have a positive affect on the When hot, add a handful of the oil, and bring to a boil. Add a Beyond signing the con- bility for the rent contract. heart. Animal fat, by con- day-old tortilla pieces. Stirring branch of epazote, cover and let tract, a fiador will have to Some policies also include trast, sticks to the arteries, occasionally, heat until they boil for about 20 minutes. provide official identifica- ‘services’ clauses which which in turn restricts blood are crunchy like a tostada. Re- To serve: tion, a copy of the escri- take responsibility for flow – a major risk factor for move from heat and spread on Cover the pieces of tortilla with tura, and a proof of pay- utilities, structural dam- heart attack. a plate. queso panela and pour the hot ment of property taxes age and legal fees. These With that in mind, let’s Salsa: salsa over top. Garnish with (ultimo predial pagado). extra services often make look at how to enjoy a typical– In a heated Teflon pan, com- shredded chicken, onion slices The landlord will then fianzas more attractive to and typically rich–Mexican bine the tomatoes, onion and and a little finely diced epazote. confirm the title is regis- high-rent landowners. breakfast dish: chilaquiles. tered in the public records. All this can seem a bit The word “chilaquiles” soned with garlic, epazote control and you practice a Once cleared, the rental overwhelming at the out- comes from the Náhuatl and chile. They’re garnished balanced diet the rest of the contract can be signed. set, but once you’re settled word “chilaquilitl,” which with cream, onion and some- week. However, if this isn’t Unfortunately, many into your new home you’ll means “old broken sombre- times chorizo or chicken. the case, or if you want to eat rental properties slip out look around, sip your li- ro”. This refers to the stale You can eat traditional chilaquiles more frequently, of their hands because a monada, and realize it was maíz tortillas, cut into piec- chilaquiles once a week if above is a recipe that will renter can’t find a per- well worth the effort. es and fried, at the heart of you have a healthy weight, let you indulge every day, sonal guarantor. Some *Requirements are the dish. your cholesterol is under worry-free. ❚ landlords prefer and only specific to each insurance According to the tradi- accept fiadores either for company and are not lim- tional recipe, the tortillas Georgina del Ángel Cabrera is a nutritionist and safety, ease or because ited to those mentioned. ❚ are cooked in lard until researcher at the Salvador Zubirán National Institute they want to keep the pro- crunchy then smothered of Nutrition in Mexico City. Her specialty is nutrition in cess private and in that Please send comments and ques- in a red or green salsa sea- the treatment of chronic and degenerative diseases. way avoid registering the tions to: [email protected]

[ 24 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 floored entrance foyer, opening What does into a stately living room with floor-to-ceiling windows and glossy wood floors. The terrace three-quarters of overlooks a wooded ravine and wraps around a corner to a pa- a millon dollars tio and large garden dominated by a 20-year-old pine tree. Off the relatively small kitchen a buy you? walk-in pantry has room for an extra fridge. The sunny BY Lorraine Orlandi breakfast room, as big as many PHOTOS BY Luz Montero formal dining rooms, leads to a grander comedor with a built- f you’re like us, you don’t spend much in china cabinet. Cedar shelves Itime hanging out with Mexico City’s uber- line the walls of an ample li- brary. A wooden staircase leads wealthy. So this month we thought it’d be down to the bedrooms, one fun to take a peek behind the walls at how with a glass-enclosed balcony that has been converted to a the thin upper crust lives. workout space. The partially Bosque de Cerezos, enclosed roof has a bathroom Cerro de la Escondi- 600m2, 4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 High ceilings, tall windows and a laundry room. ❚ da 133, Pedregal San baths, garden, central gas and hilltop views add light Francisco heating, service quarters, six and space to this conservative For more information on parking spaces, neighbourhood but elegant house in the posh these apartments and real 800 m2, 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, security patrols paid for by Lomas district. A crystal chan- estate in Mexico, email mar- 2 1/2 baths, gym, squash court, residents delier dominates the marble- [email protected]. service quarters with bath, 1- bedroom apartment, 6 parking spaces, security Right angles are rare in this mul- tistory split-level in a leafy, gated community near Coyoacán’s cen- ter. The circa 1980s architecture is a frenzy of pentagonal rooms, tear-drop-shaped skylights, free-standing cut-glass panels. simulated faux-classical columns The spacious kitchen, with lots and smoked mirrors etched with of shiny red cabinets, opens to swirling designs. Its sheer size the family room. One level down – with squash court, gym and is a small office, a semi-enclosed steam baths on the bottom level conference room and a parquet- and an apartment at the back of floored “party salon” which lets the garden – helps compensate out onto the garden. Bedrooms for this home’s crowded feeling. on the top floor each have bath The living room/dining room and dressing rooms, with a jacuzzi features a black lacquered bar and 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 Ixtac- cihuatl volcanoes. Below, a palette of peaceful greens is splashed a small game and bar area. Past a with lavender from blooming cozy study, a comfortable living jacarandas. Half a block from the room has a faux chimney and glass din of Insurgentes, the apart- walls that maximize the dizzying ment tower stands partly inside vistas. A large dining room and a lush, sunken green expanse master bedroom one floor below in the city’s urban heart known both have terraces. On the roof a as Parque Hundido. Inside, the communal entertainment center elevator opens into the foyer and is under construction.

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 25 ] Inside México Talks with Patricia Reyes- Spindola

Eclectic artwork con- Reyes Spindola fell in High ceilings and walls Lined with flowering tributes to the house’s good love the minute she saw provide the perfect space for plants, the roof top is a per- energy. the house. displaying art. fect refuge. A spiritualhome a pool of tranquility in the “Puuuta!” Lola squawks at me, after some prompting. heated chaos of the city “She only says rude things,” laughs Reyes-Spin- By Quade Hermann sparkling. “Can you feel it?” dola, rewarding the bird Photos By Luz Maybe it’s the stately high with an orange slice. “I’ve Montero ceilings and elegant lines of tried to teach her to say the collection of mid-century other things, but she never At Roma Norte’s northern furniture, or the eclectic art- learns.” edge, just a few steps off work that fills the walls, or *** Avenida is a her low sexy purr of a voice, For a woman whose work narrow street sheltered by but I think I can. demands a lot of creativity, a canopy of green and lined Energy is just one element I ask if there’s a part of her by grand old homes from the of Reyes-Spindola’s spiritual- home that acts as a muse early twentieth century. It’s ity, a unique mix of beliefs to her. a place where time seems to and traditions. In the foyer I “Come with me,” she have stopped, where you can spy a Chinese good luck sym- says. We climb three flights still feel the elegance that bol , and a small dish of grain of stairs to the new addition, once prevailed in the heart and maiz, an offering to the her rooftop studio with an of the city. gods, says Reyes-Spindola, open-air kitchen and large “The neighbours have who will protect everyone in terrace. been here many years,” says the house from hunger. Then In contrast to the heavy Patricia Reyes-Spindola, the there’s the huge stained-glass wood and dark coziness of award-winning Mexican ac- angel in the window over the the lower floors, it is all air, tress and head of a theatre front door. space and light. The ter- school. “The couple next “I love angels. I really be- race is lined with flowering door, the teachers, they’ve lieve in their power,” she ex- plants. A fountain gurgles been here more fifty years. plains, standing at the foot cheerfully. Birds sing at top Across the street, forty of the stairs, bathed in mul- volume in the trees below. years. On the other side, fif- ticolored light. “This is made “This is my space,” says ty years. The one next door, from power colors [bright Reyes-Spindola, her face I think sixty years.” red, yellow, royal blue] that bright with pleasure. “My At just six years of resi- were chosen to suit the peo- Patricia Reyes-Espindola and her talking parrot, Lola. spiritual space. I have my dence, Reyes-Spindola is the ple who live in the house. plants, my music. I like to new kid on the block (though When I come down the “The first owners were didn’t have money to keep take photos, and I can do it she does have some history stairs in the morning I see Italian and none of their it up, and so they sold it to a here and work on my com- here; her grandparents lived the colors and they fill me children ever married. One bachelor.” She laughs. “It’s puter. This is where I relax.” in Roma). She fell in love with positive energy.” became a nun, and the oth- been a house for singles!” We stand together for a with the house almost im- The house has a quirky er two lived here with their We step from the formal moment enjoying the tran- mediately. history that appeals to the parents for their whole lives. dining room into an enclosed quility of her roof top refuge. “I believe in energygood dramatic actress in Reyes- The nun survived the rest courtyard drenched with “I want to live the rest of energy and bad energy. And Spindola. She tells the story of the family, and when she sunlight and are welcomed my life in this house,” says I believe this house has good with relish as we wander died she gave the house to by a bright green parrot Reyes-Spindola. And I can energy,” she says, her eyes from room to room. a group of nuns. But they named Lola. certainly see why. ❚

[ 26 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Dialing for (fewer) dollars a cellphone plan or calls to cellphones, both of which can be expensive. My wife and I often use my New to call home about York-based Verizon cellphone to call a friend’s cell in Mexico By Jamie Rosen at $60 USD a month for City because it’s cheaper than very so often you en- 450 minutes — Verizon lets using our home phone or her counter such a good you call between the US, Mexican cellphone. Edeal that you won- Canada, and Mexico. Any The downside is that you der if the company offering direction. From a cellphone. don’t get a local number, it knows what it’s doing. Without surcharges. This so if someone here wants (And if it doesn’t? Probably seemed (and frankly, still to phone you they’ve got to best not to write a column seems) too good to be true. make an expensive interna- about it!) I remember being amazed tional call (unless they, too, I’ve been wondering this in the late 1990s when AT&T have this Verizon plan). about Verizon’s North Amer- announced a cellphone plan The plan was launched in ica’s Choice Calling Plan. with no roaming or long-dis- 2004 and I have not seen it I am not normally a fan of tance charges. Today, such advertised, certainly not in Verizon but in this case I plans are common. But Veri- Mexico, which is odd consid- have become an unbridled zon has taken it one step fur- ering that expats are a logi- evangelist. ther, effectively turning Can- cal market. I suspect that’s When I started traveling ada and Mexico into the 51st because the service is re- to Mexico I brought my T-Mo- and 52nd states. Apart from ally intended for occasional bile cellphone, which worked the basic cost of airtime min- travelers to Mexico and not fine but is expensive; T-Mo- utes, it’s free to call from New people who live here (phone bile charges $1.49 a minute to York to Oaxaca. Or Oaxaca to companies don’t want to call the US from here. New York. I used to shy away cannibalize their lucrative So when I moved here, I from calling Mexico from the international business). got a VOIP home phone to US with a cellphone. Now I If you want to take advan- connect to the US. Inevi- don’t think twice about it. It’s tage of this deal, you’ll need tably, however, there were like calling New Jersey. to get the phone from the US. times when I had to use a I feared this service But note: don’t just have a cellphone. In those cases, I’d wouldn’t work in many parts friend send one down to you. suck it up and talk fast. (If of Mexico, but not so. Veri- It won’t work until it is ini- you don’t need a cellphone, zon partnered with Iusacell, tialized in its “home” market there are more affordable which partnered with Un- (a simple matter of dialing options for calling the US efon, and together they all *228). A friend of mine made and Canada from Mexico, do a good job of covering this mistake and ended up namely VOIP services.) the country. So far the only offsetting her savings by hav- Then a friend told me place it hasn’t worked is in ing to FedEx the phone back about Verizon’s North Loreto, Baja California Sur. and forth to the US. America’s Choice Plan. For And that’s good, because all For more information, roughly what I paid for my calls within Mexico are also go to www.verizonwireless. old cellphone — rates start included, even long distance com.❚

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 27 ] Re hoto by Luz Montero

duce P Mexico City’s big challenge re By Quade Hermann everything together,” says Tonatiuh González, of ack in Canada I was a recycler’s recycler. I the Comisión de Aprovechamiento de Bienes of the soaked labels off jars, flattened tin cans, and Legislative Assembly of the Distrito Federal. Bsaved so many plastic containers that every The problem is the garbage trucks aren’t equipped time I opened the cupboard I caused an avalanche. to deal with separated items. That’s why you’ll see But here? I just throw everything into the trash. And I sacks of plastic bottles hanging off the sides, or stacks use am not alone. Despite a 2004 law requiring all house- of paper piled on the top. When they run out of holds in the Distrito Federal to separate organic and space, the rest just gets crushed in with the garbage. inorganic waste, only 3 of 10 people say they do. Some basuristas also try to make money on the One quarter of all the solid waste generated in this side by selling recyclable materials, which isn’t a bad re country comes from Mexico City. No wonder. In the thing. But in the process of mixing the garbage to take last forty years the population has tripled, while the out what they want, they make some of it, like paper amount of garbage we produce has multiplied by ten products, un-recyclable. times. Our garbage men, or basuristas as I call them, It’s all pretty discouraging to a formerly devoted collect 12,000 tons a day. Of that, only about 3% is recycler like me. You can’t help asking yourself, what cycle recycled. The rest, along with about 6,000 tons a day can I do? of industrial waste, ends up in the dump. The point is to help build a culture of recycling, say The government’s no real help. Despite good inten- local environmentalists. And this begins at home, tions (stated goal: recycle 80% of the waste in the DF with our persistence to keep separating garbage and within the decade) there are no penalties for not sepa- putting it on the curb week after week, even if – for rating your garbage and the law isn’t enforced. the time being – not all of it ends up where it’s sup- For more information on what to recycle, and how, And to those good citizens who dutifully try posed to go. Over time, environmentalists believe, go to: www.df.gob.mx/ciudad/residuos/ to recycle? C’mon! We all know what happens. this will encourage the government to upgrade the “When the truck arrives, although you have system, build more recycling facilities, enforce the separated your garbage, they break the bags and mix laws, and make good on their best intentions.

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[ 28 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Hunt was a dedicated businessman, first at S. Huntington Burlington and later as vice-president of Ander- son, Clayton & Company, which was acquired by Hobbs III Unilever. Detail-oriented, 1923 - 2006 hands-on and exacting, “the man was a genius,” BY: Catherine Dunn said Ron Nicholas, who worked for Hunt at An- derson, Clayton.

He went by Hunt – with his wife of 57 years, as a armen Guerra Gesseniues de Hobbs Nicholas said Unilever company president and vice-president, and on the is renowned for not keep- ing on foreign executives, tennis court where he racked up numerous trophies. “but they kept Hunt on even much longer than the hoto courtesy of C

. Huntington Hobbs and pre-Castro Cuba. P president,” who was also III died July 10, His wife, Carmen, re- Hunt, as he was known, had a talent for code breaking. American. “I think that S2006 in Fairfax, Vir- called how she and her sis- spoke to the knowledge he ginia after having lived in ter used to write letters to ico City; he was moving to later painting. They married had.” Mexico City for nearly six each other in code, a habit Mexico from Cuba to become in 1948. When he wasn’t at work, decades.A North Carolina since girlhood. Hunt’s intel- president of Burlington In- The couple had three Hunt devoted his free native, Hunt earned Phi ligence background showed dustries, a textile company. children; S. Huntington time to playing tennis. He Beta Kappa honors from through once when he saw Carmen Guerra Gesseniues Hobbs IV, an accomplished coached the Mexican Davis the University of North one of the letters and de- had grown up in small Baja agriculture specialist in Vir- Cup team and won several Carolina, Chapel Hill. He ciphered it immediately. California town, where she ginia, and twin girls, Mary National Seniors champion- worked in military intel- “He had a special talent for voiced roles on radio soap Carmen Hobbs Guerra of ships. ligence in Europe during translation,” Carmen said. operas. In Mexico City she Mexico City and Adriana, He is buried in Arlington World War II, and went on Hunt and Carmen met on worked as an airline stew- who died 10 years ago of National Cemetery in Vir- to work in Washington, DC, a plane from Mérida to Mex- ardess, studied acting, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. ginia, US.

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 29 ] Where to pick up your free of Inside copyMéxico At more than 200 points around the country! Or download your digital copy at www.insidemex.com

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[ 30 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Explaining Mexico by David Taylor Where Canadians are killed in Mexico and a journalist is faced with the task of translating culture without For when falling into stereotype wouldn’t describe myself as a crime in the 1980s and early 1990s when you’re you want reporter. But when you’re a freelancer, filing story after story about police be- Iyou have to wear many hats and lately ing shot, the Public Security Secretary in one of them has been the crime beat. Tabasco being ambushed, or a member of That has as much to do with where I Congress taking a bullet in Nuevo Laredo. your story am from, than with anything else. If you’re And when it comes to raising the stakes a Canadian journalist living in Mexico, here, don’t blame the journalists; Presi- the crime story here has been hard to dent Calderón has used some pretty strong avoid. All the interest back home has been language. told right: sparked by an unfortunate series of crimes “We have no alternative,” Calderón said against Canadians. on March 16th. “We must act in a decisive It began a year ago with the brutal manner now or the costs in terms of money murder and Nancy and Dominic Ianiero and human lives will be much more, and Melwood in Playa del Carmen. Then in Janurary, worse still, unrecoverable. We must act Adam DePrisco, coincidentally from the now or lose Mexico.” same Toronto-area city as the Ianieros, When you have this sort of material to was run over and killed by a taxi in Aca- work with, it’s tempting to indulge in the Global pulco. Friends claim he was beaten sense- apocalyptic when someone asks you to less in a bar fight before he stumbled in explain the big picture. If you are doing business in Mexico front of the cab. Shortly after that, two But trying to explain the big picture more women from Southern Ontario were means steering away from easy conclu- and want to become better known to injured in a drive-by shooting in front of sions. the people in the United States, you their Acapulco hotel. It’s true that Mexicans worry about need Melwood Global to handle your The cluster of crimes generated a lot of their safety and security; the President’s attention, especially in Toronto, Canada’s crackdown is responding to public demand, information campaign. media capital. and necessity. The drug violence is real, Add this to the parade of stories about and sometimes shocking in its brutality. drug violence, President Calderon’s of- It is also true that just as the over- Melwood Global helps its clients attract fensive against the cartels and critical whelming majority of tourists make it the attention of the media to generate reports on Mexico’s justice system by home in one piece from a Mexican vaca- positive press coverage. Our clients groups like Amnesty International, and tion, average Mexicans live their lives you get editors calling to ask if Mexico is free of the sort of violence that led to the have included governments, the hotel spiraling out of control. government’s crackdown. and hospitality industry, educational So how do you explain this place to The comparison to Columbia remains people at home? in the realm of conjecture. organizations and private individuals in Part of the answer is just common The big picture here is of a country in over 40 countries. sense. Canadians don’t arrive in Mexico transition, on myriad levels, and that is with bullseyes on their backs. Every year the sort of truth that does not lend itself millions of tourists come here, enjoy their to a pithy conclusion at the end of a story If you want clients, investors or the vacation and go home with nothing more or an easy sound bite. general public in the United States to pick serious than a sunburn. The deaths of One of the things that I have learned the Canadians are horrible anomalies, in my career is that one story doesn’t sum up a newspaper and read more about not the rule. up a country, just as a single snapshot you and your business in a positive light, Still, it’s easy to add to the hysteria and can never fully describe the person being say Mexico is heading the way of Colombia photographed. The full picture of a place is contact us: drawn over time, from different angles, on different subjects, by many people. David Taylor is a Canadian journalist on [email protected] So the deaths of Canadians here might sabbatical living in Mexico City. His work has been pique my editors’ interest in Mexico, but +1 202 468 9413 published in the Globe and Mail and can be heard it’s my task to make sure the folks back regularly on NPR and CBC. Back at home, he is home know there’s much more to this All queries remain strictly confidential. the Parliamentary bureau chief for CBC radio. country than bloody headlines.

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ 31 ] [ 32 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 LOMASLOMAS

restaurants · S Pa s · s h o pp ing · churches & more!

The Fuente de Petroleos, honoring the national- ization of oil, harkens the arrival to Las Lomas at Reforma and Periferico. One plaque quotes Veracruz governor Miguel Aleman from 1936: “Now, after l o o k f o r m o r e 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.” Back to School Photo by Luz Montero Chef Andrea Blanco’s cooking classes G6 Security Corner Over the hills How to choose a security company G6 & through April Calendar the woods Cock fights and From trendy Palmas to the wilds poetry at the Feria de of Chapultepec, Las Lomas is a San Marcos G5 beehive of foreign residents The Bazaar G7 & G8 ass the Fuente de Petroleos and under the pedestrian bridge P 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-kidnap- ping-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 for- eigners who have chosen to make their lives in this “city of several cities,” as New York native Cynthia Pelini puts it. The zonas conflictivas. It spits you out directly Coming mother of twin daughters who attend the Navigating into Chapultepec Park. When Palmas backs in May American School, she’s worked and lived he three main boulevards that run up, take the parallel Av. de los Alpes. Around in Mexico for over 20 years, five of them in through Las Lomas are Virreyes, Re- Palmas and Prado Norte valet parking will save Where do you Lomas. Whether it’s school-related, kid-re- Tforma and Palmas. Virreyes, a beauti- you from cruising in circles. like to go in lated, or church-related, “this is absolutely ful mansion-lined road, essentially parallels Prado Sur and Prado Norte are excellent for La Roma? where the foreign community concentrates Reforma from Prado Sur to the intersection of strolling, eating and shopping. At the inter- more than other parts of town” she says. What do you like Reforma and Palmas, making it a good alterna- section of Monte Líbano and Monte Everest The Guía Roji agrees. Union Evan- to do, or eat, or buy tive route during rush hours and traffic snarls. you’ll find a pocket of shops, bakeries and gelical Church – also the headquarters when you get there? The Alencastre exit off Periferico is a restaurants, plus handy services like a lock- for the American Benevolent Society Email theguide@ great connecting road that also skirts traffic smith, plumber and hardware store. and Newcomers Club – is denoted quite insidemex.com. simply as “Iglesia Americana.” z

[ G1 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 Restaurants carpaccio de alcachofa, 10. Loma Linda breakfast all day long All prices listed in artichoke, for lunch. The Argentine steak in this popular, casual Mexican pesos feeling of a swank island house eatery. Credit cards accepted get-away; an adjoining Reforma 1105 unless noted store sells the restau- 5540 1209, 5520 0024 18. Salute! Average cost listed rant’s bread and meals. Mo - Su: 1 pm - 12 am Mediterranean per person Average cost: $350 Prado Norte 125 5. Cinco 5 Try the ribeye vaquero. 5540 3303 1. Bakéa European-Asian What started as a dance Mo, Tu: 1-11 pm, We: 1 pm- Basque-French fusion hall in 1924 became, in 12 am, Th-Sa: 1 pm-1 am Sierra Ventana 700-5 Pedregal 55 1954, a restaurant with Su: 1-6 pm 5520 7472, 5282 5856 5540 1927, 5520 9155 archways and tiled col- Average cost: $250 Reservations Mo - Fr: 8 am - 8 pm umns throughout. Try the pappardelle al recommended Sa, Su: closed Inside México Recommends teléfon, a thick pasta Mo-Sa: 1:30 pm-12:30 am Average cost: $150 11. Marentino with mozzarella, and Su: closed - $200 Fish and seafood International 9. La Lorena the flavored martinis. Average cost: $400 Try the Ravioles Cinco, Palmas 275-C Monte Libano 265 An easy going, open - $500 stuffed with chile po- 5520 1039, 5520 1069 5202 4594 Try the scrumptious scones and a pineapple space with colorful Try the crostini de caracol blano, or the pescado Mo - Sa: 1 pm - 1 or 2 am, Mo-Sa: 8 am-11 pm mimosa for breakfast, and a pot pie for lunch. The murals and rock jam- y jamón de Guijuelo,– balsamico on a bed of Sun: 1 - 5:30 pm Su: 8 am-6 pm shabby chic interior, with antique tea cups and ming in the back- snail and ham – arúgula risotto. The eye-catch- Average cost: $450 Average cost: ruffled table cloths is designed with grandmoth- ground. y vinagreta con piñones ing interior design sets Try the roasted octopus. breakfast $120 - er’s house in mind. You can also order cakes, and www.salute.com.mx in the cozy, charming the stage for this café- Step down into the $130, lunch $280 buy scones and cookies to go from the chef- French-country dining lounge. restaurant and it feels - $350 owner-namesake. 19. Suntory room. like Cheers, only much Japanese 6. Guadiana classier, with the busy Bike tour Montes Urales 535 2. Barrio Norte Mexican lunchtime clatter and 5202 4711, 5202 6920 Italian-Uruguayan Palmas 810-101 wine selection on 55. Cicloestación Reservations recom- Prado Norte 340 5520 6685, 5202 2801 display. mended 2 days ahead 5520 0557, 5520 0535 Mo: 1:30 - 10 pm, Tu: 1:30 Drop off an ID and pick Mo - Th: 1 pm - 11:30 pm Su, Mo: 1:30 - 6 pm - 11 pm, We - Sa: 1:30 pm 12. Meridiem up a bike for one hour Fr, Sa: 1 pm - 12 am Tu - Sa: 1:30 - 11 pm - 12 am, Su: 1:30 - 6 pm International – for free! – in front of Su: 1 - 9 pm Average cost: $350 Average cost: $400 Lago Mayor, Chapulte- the Sanborn’s on the Average cost: $550 Try the Vacío Rioplatense, Try the arrachera with pec, Section 2 Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca, - $600 a steak similar to ar- guacamole, beans and 5273 4036, 5273 3599 an abandoned railroad Try a teppanyaki dish, rachera, and one of the French fries. A roaring Mo - Sa: 1 pm - 1 or 2 am, track now used as a trail. grilled at your table with imported Uruguayan fire, high ceilings and Su: 1 - 5:30 pm Weekend group tours in a view toward the sur- wines. The plates are big tall windows invite you Average cost: $450 Chapultepec cost $100 rounding waterfall-filled enough to share and the into a stately but relaxed Try the roasted octopus pesos per person. gardens. rustic-chic setting, can- restaurant-bar. with lentils dlelit by evening, suits www.meridiem.com.mx M - F: 7 am - 5 pm 20. Un Lugar an intimate meal. 7. Hunan Weekends: de la Mancha Chinese 13. Naos 10 am - 3:30 pm Café-restaurant and 3. Blossom Reforma 2210 Comtemporary Tours: Call Antonio bookstore Chinese 5596 5011, 5596 4355 Mexican de autor Suárez, Prado Norte 205 Palmas 890 Mon - Fri: 1:30 - 11 pm Palmas 425-B 044 55 2428 1488 5202 8048 5202 8443, 5202 2442 Sat: 1 pm - 12 am 5520 5702 Ecotourism Info: Mo- Fr: 8 am-10 pm Mo-Th: 1 - 11 pm Avergae cost: $450 Mo: 1:30 - 1 pm, Tu, We: www.balam.org.mx Sa, Su: 9 am-10 pm

Fr, Sa: 1 - 11:30 pm Try the pato pekín, Peking 1:30 - 11:30 pm, Th: 1:30 PHOTOGRAPHY: MONTERO LUZ Average cost: breakfast Su: 1 - 7 pm duck, in one of the city’s pm - 12 am, Fr, Sa: 1:30 $110, comida $160 Try the Beijing duck. best Chinese restau- pm - 12:30 am, Su: 1:30 Mo-We: 1:30 - 1 pm, Th- Try the atún mantequilla dos en frijoles de la olla, Try the tampiqueña or The brightly-lit, refined rants. - 6 pm Sa: 1:30 pm - 12 am, Su: soya. Excellents seafood and the queso tapado con the vegetarian pita. A dining room showcases Average cost: $500 1:30 - 6 pm and wine selection flores de calabasa. First bookstore with lots the meal. 8. El Lago Try the robalo a los tres Average cost: $350 at Marentino’s sister opened in 1969 in the of nooks sits behind www.restaurante-blos- Internacional chiles and the pas- - $400 restaurant. Centro Histórico, the the restaurant’s patio som.com Lago Mayor, telito tibio de chocolate. Try the stone crab roll www.puntarena.com.mx Palmas site carries the seating and dining Chapultepec,Section 2 Even the after-dinner and huachinango al vapor. famosisimo torch. room. 4. Cafe Ó 5515 9585, 5515 8307 mints are exquisite Chill out in the lounge- 16. Restaurante www.elcardenal.com.mx www.lamancha.com.mx Fusion de autor Mo - Th: 7:30 am - 11 pm in this Mónica Patiño bar with a fantastic ceil- El Cardenal Tacos Monte Líbano 245 Fr - Sa: 7:30 am - 11:45 pm creation. The black, ing, get serious at the Traditional Mexican 17. Restaurante 5520 9227 Su: 10 am - 4:30 pm white and Tiffany-blue sushi bar or dine facing Palmas 215 Finesse 21. La Onda Mo-Fr: breakfast 7:30 am Average cost: breakfast angular dining room the Japanese Zen garden 2623 0401, 2623 0402 Aguiar y Seijas 38-A Barrilaco 420 - 12 pm, lunch 1 - 6 pm, $300 - $400, lunch/ projects great atmo- outside. Reservations 5202 9774 5520 9146, 5540 2273 dinner 7 - 11:30 pm dinner $500 sphere. recommended Mo - Fr: 8 am - 9 pm www.laonda.com.mx Sa: 8 am, same schedule Try the Atún al Hintextle 15. Puntarena Mo - Sa: 8 am - 6:30 pm Sa: 8 am - 4:30 pm Su: 9 am - 5 pm con salsa de frijol, over- 14. Nick San Palmas Fish and seafood Su: 9 am - 6:30 pm Su: 9 am - 4:30 pm 22. El Farolito Average cost: breakfast looking the lake at Sushi & Bar Palmas 275-B Average cost: breakfast Average cost: $100 Prado Norte 480-A $130, lunch and dinner one of the most elegant Palmas 100-1 5520 1735, 5520 1723 $150, lunch and dinner - $120 Mo - We: 11 am - 1 am, $350 - $380 and restaurants in DF. 5202 6074, 5202 3559 Mon - Sat: 1 pm - 1 or 2 $300 Try the bagel sandwich Th: 11 am - 3 am, Fr, Sa: Try the eggs benedict www.lago.com.mx Reservations am, Sun: 1 - 5:30 pm Try the fresh baked with salmon and cream 11 am - 5 am, Su: 11 am for breakfast and the recommended We - Su. Average cost: $450 bread, the huevos ahoga- cheese. You can order - 12 am

[ G2 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 45 Mtes. Celes 16 14 B Lomas Arboled lv Lomas 38 r. M. Ávi 37 13 15 11 a t POLANCO

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68 23. El Lago 27. Giornale Caffé 31. La Criolla 72 de Los Cisnes Palmas 820, PB Monte Everest 760-D Av. Observatorio Prado Norte 391 5540 3965, 5540 3434 and 770-B Su - We: 8 am - 2 am Mo - Fr: 7 am - 12 am 5520 2289, 5520 0672 Th - Sa: 8 am - 6 am Sa: 8 am - 1 am Mo-Fr: 10 am-8 pm, Sa: 10 Cafes Su: 8 am - 11 pm am-7 pm, Su: 11 am -3 pm www.giornalecaffe.com Cheese case, deli meats, 24. Beretta wines, Twinings teas, Café & Bistrot 28. Starbucks pastas and peanut Pedregal 17-D Prado Norte 324 butter. 5520 7705, 5202 3426 Mo - Fr: 6 am - 10 pm Credit card minimum Sa, Su: 8 am - 10 pm 32. Le Chocolat $100 pesos Gourmet Stores Prado Norte 543 Home delivery 5282 4466 Quiche, soups, salads 29. Anexo Bakéa Mo - Su: 10 am - 7 pm and paninis to enjoy at Sierra Ventana 700-8 Su: closed the bar facing the street. 5282 5856 Columbian, Brazilian Tu - Sa: 11 am - 8:30 pm Belgian and Mexican 25. Café Emir Su: 11 am - 4 pm chocolates, some Prado Norte 365-B Mo: closed painted, set in artistic 5520 4009 Pates, quiche, desserts boxes and tins. Mo-Fr: 6:30 am-10 pm and wine, opened by the

Sa: 9 am - 10 pm restaurant next door. 33. Los Tulipanes PHOTOGRAPHY: MONTERO LUZ Su: 10 am - 8 pm Bakery and cake shop Paseo de la Reforma runs through the middle of the Lomas business district. Home delivery 30. El Secreto Prado Norte 540 Gourmet 5540 3156 Bookstores A large source for inex- Travel, fiction, classics, The biggest Baja Cali- 26. Citio Rico Prado Norte 525 Mo - Sa: 10 am - 8 pm 34. Caza Libros pensive, used books in magazines in English. fornia wine label offers + Natural 5520 8493 Su: 10 am - 4 pm English. www.libroslibros.com wine tasting sessions. Prado Norte 460 Mon - Fri: 10:30 am - 7:30 If it smells like heaven, American Benevolent Courses and courses. 2623 2203 pm, Sat: 10:30 am - 4:30 it must be. You won’t Society 35. Libros, Libros, Mo-Fr: 8 am - 8 pm pm, Sun: closed leave without a cake, Union Church, 201 Libros 36. Boutique 37. Centro de Sa: 10 am-8 pm Dressings, spices, pastas, cookies or the tempt- Reforma 1870 Monte Ararat 220, Mez- L.A. Cetto diseño, cine Su: 10 am-6 pm jams ing chocolates. The 5540 5123 zanine Monte Athos 315 y television Home delivery www.elsecretogourmet. flourless hocolatec con Mo–Fr: 9 am–5 pm 5540 4778, 5202 0825 1100 1040, 1100 1045 Sierra Mojada 415 Salads and smoothies com.mx almendra was a recent Sa: 10 am–1:30 pm Mo - Sa: 10 am - 7 pm www.lacetto.com 5201 8870 birthday cake hit. Su: closed Su: closed [email protected] www.centro.org.mx

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ G3 ] Organizations A university, also offers 44. Duval Beauty and makeup continuing education Monte Líbano 280 brands include Dior, The American classes: design, film, 5520 7609, 5520 8014 Lancome, Clinique, Es- Society of Mexico Phone jewelry making and pho- Mo - Fr: 10 am - 2:30 pm, tee Lauder and Chanel. 5277 5875 tography on a trimester 4 - 7 pm Spa treatments include Mo - Fr: 9 am - 5 pm Directory schedule. Sa: 11 am - 3 pm chocolate and wine americansociety2005@ All telephone numbers Shopping Fancy gifts: fine pens, massages. prodigy.net.mx are local to Mexico City. silver, flatware, place www.cosmetika.com www.amsoc.net 38. Aquor Spas settings, and cuff links. Hosts events such as City area code: 55 Palmas 215-103 52. Derma the Networker, the first Country code: 52 5202 5377, 5202 5441 45. Habitat Design Dermatological Monday of every month. Mo-Fr: 10 am-8 pm Palmas 215-102 pharmacy Emergencies Sa: 10 am-3 pm 1163 6812 Monte Ararat 220-A1 American www.aquorspas.com.mx Mo - Su: 11 am - 8 pm 5202 3699, 5202 3831 Benevolent Society Ambulances, firefight- Spa showroom Catalogues, design for Mo - Fr: 9 am - 8 pm Union Church ers and police: 080 your space, carrying lines Sa: 9 am - 6pm Reforma 1870 Police: 060

39. Boutique by Adolfo Domínguez www.derma-fd.com 5540 5123 PHOTOGRAPHY: MONTERO LUZ Red Cross: 060 Amazonas and Agatha Ruíz de la Runs Caza Libros (see The piano at Union Church, where the Cda. de Monte Líbano Prada. 53. Fussion Estilistas 34), hosts lunches, sup- Newcomers Club and the American Tourism 12-B Prado Norte 325 ports Americans in need. Benevolent Society have their offices. 5540 4396 46. Homestyles 5540 3326 Infotur: 5250 0123 Mo - Fr: 11 am - 7 pm Palmas 810 Tu - Sa: 9 am - 7 pm Hash House Worship 69. Church of Jesus Secretary of Tourism’s Sa: 11 am - 3:30 pm 5202 4600 Su: closed Harriers All services listed are Christ of Latter Tourist Orientation and Shawls (Indian and Sa-Th: 10 am - 8:30 pm, Facials, manicures, hair Bike, ride, run or walk conducted in English. Day Saints Information Services Mexican) and eclectic Fr: 10 am - 5:30 pm www.fussionestilistas.com Chapultepec, Section 2 Sierra Guadarrama 11 Mexico City 5596 4977 jewelry designed by the www.homestyles.com.mx Every Sunday, 10:30 am 66. Christ Anglican International Airport: owner. Furniture and interior 54. Mani e Piedi Meet at Paco’s juice Sun: 1 pm 2482 2424, 2482 2400 Episcopal Church decor. Nail spa stand, across El Lago www.aicm.com.mx 40. Cusi Prado Norte 530, Local A restaurant’s parking lot. Mts. Escandanavios 405 70. Lutheran Cda. de Monte Líbano 8 47. Kasi 5520 0751, 5540 1129 http://mchhh.com 5202 0949 Church of the Embassies 5520 4947, 5540 2250 Prado Norte 427, PA Mo - Fr: 9 am - 7 pm Sun: 8:30 am & 10 am Good Shepherd Mo – Fr: 10 am – 6 pm 5540 0177 Sa: 9 am - 6 pm Mexico City Quilt Wed: 7:30 pm Palmas 1910, 5596 1034 Australian Embassy: Sa: 10 am – 2 pm Mo-Sa: 12-7 pm Su: closed Hour-long manicures Guild Sun: 10 am, bilingual 1101 2200 Upscale floral design Vintage clothes, shoes, and pedicures that Contact: Virginia Bush, 67. Beth Israel for gardens, events and purses. include reflexology 5294 1078 Community Center 71. Our Lady of British Embassy: occasions, with touches massages. Jewish Conservative Lourdes Church 5242 8500 48. L’Aguja Loca such as replicas of an- Health & Exercise Newcomers Club Synagogue Roman Catholic Consular section and tique talavera vases. Vosgos 125 Union Church Virreyes 140 Av. Castillo de emergencies involving 5520 2507 56. Psicoprofilaxis Reforma 1870 5540 2642 Chapultepec 70 British citizens 41. dic & co Mo-Fr: 10 am-3 pm, 4 - Center 5520 6912 Fri: 8 pm, Sat: 9:30 am 5596 0999 Monte Everest 740 6:30 pm, Sa: 11 am - 2 pm Prado Norte 314-3 www.newcomers.org.mx The synagogue requires Sun: 10:30 am Canadian Embassy: 5520 4834 Needlework shop of- 5540 5725 Monthly general meet- making an appoint- 5724 7900 Mo- Fr: 10 am-7 pm, Su: fering materials and Yoga, pilates and belly ings, supports charities, ment before attending 72. St. Patrick’s Consular Section: 10 am-3 pm, Su: closed classes. dancing for moms-to-be. runs various activities services. Roman Catholic 5724 7900 ext. 3322 Shoe store and outlet: www.psicoprofilaxiscenter. and committees. Church Emergencies involving Keds, Steve Madden, 49. Lomas com 68. Capital City Calle Bondojitos 248 Canadians, country-wide Sperry Top-Sider. Bookshop Salvation Army Baptist Church 5515 1993 telephone: Cda. de Monte Líbano 57. Sports Clinic Women’s Auxiliary Sur 138 Sun: 10 am and 12 pm 01 800 706 2900 42. Distroller 10-A, 5520 4086 Lomas Contact: Bonnie Dillon, Col. Las Américas Prado Norte 525 Papelería with office and Reforma 155, PB, Local B 5520 7110 5516 1862 73. Union Evangelical French Embassy 5540 7025 schools supplies. 5202 7015 Sun: 9:45 am Bible Church & Consulate General: Mo-Fr: 11 am-7 pm Physical therapy and Zona International study, 11 am service Reforma 1870 9171 9700 Su: 12-6 pm 50. Nine West rehabilitation, medical Contact: Dr. Rosita www.capitalcitybaptist- 5520 0436 Jewelry – bracelets, cell Outlet assessment available. Roa, 5580 5423 church.com Sun: 11 am Irish Embassy: phone charms, neck- Cda. De Monte Líbano www.sportsclinic.com.mx 5520 5803 laces – for cool kids. 4-1 Check out Bistroller, 5282 4597, 5520 2407 58. The Yoga Center 60. Superama Flowers stalls, piñatas Taxis German Embassy: next door, too. Mo - Fr: 10 am - 7 pm Monte Athos 385 Aguiar y Seijas 123 and grocery counters. 5283 2200 63. Sitio 107 Sa: 10 am - 5 pm 5520 6895 Open 24-hours 43. dd doris duffour 62. Mi Mercado Not exactly outlet 044 55 1357 2264 Markets Pedregal and Reforma Japanese Embassy: Monte Ararat 9-B prices, but ooohh, the Offers a full schedule of Monte Athos 5202 8030 5211 0028, 5514 4507 5540 4656, 5520 3470 shoes. Nine West and several types of yoga. 61. Mi Mercado Monte Athos 375 Mo - Fr: 11 am - 7 pm Ann Klein. www.yogacenter.com.mx Prado Norte Mo-Fr: 9 am-6 pm 64. Sitio 400 New Zealand Sa: 11 am - 3pm Beauty/Spas Supermarkets Prado Norte 465 Sa: 9 am-4 pm Prado Sur and Montes Embassy: Clothing boutique: se- Food stands: Mo - Sa, 9 Su: 10 am-3 pm Pirineos 5283 9460 quined purses, dresses, 51. Cosmetika 59. Super Gigante am - 4 or 5 pm Small section of gro- 5520 3028, 5520 3027 shoes; guayaberas for Prado Norte 320 Aguiar y Siejas 5 Try the enchiladas verdes cery counters, larger United States men. Everything is from 5520 0681 Mo - Su: 7 am - 12 am and the sopes at selection of flowers. 65. Sitio Barrilaco 114 Embassy: Vietnam, Cambodia and Mo-Su: 11 am-8 pm Home delivery: Reymond Red. Try Flores Anita, which Sierra Ventana, corner of 5080 2000 India. (store), Mo-Sa: 10 am 1334 0010, 8 am - 8 pm Rest of the market: Mo-Sa, also has a website: www. Monte Ararat Consular services and - 6:30 pm (spa) 8 am-7 pm, Su 8 am-4 pm floresanita.com. 5520 6666, 5520 5896 emergencies

[ G4 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 APRIL Feb. 14 - May 6 Daylight Members Snap Judgments: 1Saving Time Info: 5277 5875, Mon New Positions in Contemporary Ends – Fri: 9 am – 5 pm African Photography Mexico *changed from original Museo Tamayo A conceptual art, documentary fashion Set clocks one hour March 28 date Reforma and Gandhi emphasis depicts themes such as identity and forward “Africala” Bosque de Chapultepec Tu – Su: 10 am – 6 pm postcolonial memory and questions “typical” Place your 18 www.museotamayo.org depictions of Africa in western media. 6bets 1er Festival de Cine Horse races Africano in the DF Schedule: www.africala. Hipódromo de las org Americas Runs until April 22 3:30 pm Make Tickets: Ticketmaster friends Schedules: www. 20 Newcomers Club hipodromo.com.mx Races throughout the April open house & art Día del month show Sleeping Union Church 11Beauty Reforma 1870 Niño 5520 6912 La Bella Durmiente Carrera Día del Niño en Castillo de 9:30 am -12 pm Chapultepec www.newcomers.org.mx Banamex 2007 Performed by the Fight April 29. 2007 National Dance night Company 20 Hipódromo Lucha Libre Castillo de Chapultepec de las Americas 8:30 pm Arena México 9:10 am

Performances 8:30 p.m. every Friday Photo courtesy Museo Tamayo Categories for children throughout April Dr. Lavista 189, ages 5 – 14 years old Tickets: Ticketmaster between Carmona y MACO Carol Miller, www.asdeporte.com Bazaar del Valle and Dr. Lucio, 40 years of sculpture Col. Doctores International contemporary art fair Register until April 26, Sábado Patiño 14 Tickets: 5588-4922, April 25 - 29 2007 Art and artesania Av. México 5843 5588-1561 Residencial Palmas Park 515 Email: omiramontes@ La Noria, Plaza de San Jacinto, www.cmll.com Lomas de Chapultepec 5555 1221 asdeporte.com Colonia San Ángel Ay, papacito General admission: $70 pesos www.museodoloresolmedo.com (55) 5387 0600 Every Saturday Alejandro Sanz www.macomexico.com March 17 - June 17, 2007 Starts at 9 a.m. 21 Hash House Auditorio Nacional Harriers 8 pm 15 Tickets: Ticketmaster Jardín Borda, once Maximil- Bike ride, run or walk Oaxaca San Luis Potosí … then drink Walk this iano’s vacation home. way Procession of Semana Santa Sección Benito Juárez del Chapultepec Park, 22 Silence The state capital city offers Jardín Borda section 2 Aerosmith Good Friday one of the best Semana Av. Morelo 271 Every Sunday at 10:30 Foro Sol, 7 pm Aguascalientes April 6, 7 pm Santa celebrations in the Col. Centro Histórico a.m. Tickets: Ticketmaster Alcala and Garcia Vigil country from Good Friday, March 23 – April 23 Meet at Paco’s juice Mexpat Feria Nacional April 6 to Easter Sunday, http://arte-cultura-morelos. stand, across Del Lago de San Marcos Movie night April 8. For general informa- gob.mx/ 24Mingle, drink restaurant’s parking and be merry The mother of all Mexican fairs, Madame Satã ( Brazil, 2002) tion on the area: lot. this feria has been celebrated April 13, 5 pm www.visitasanluispotosi.com/ Cine Club Brady http://mchhh.com/ 8 pm for more than 175 years. Events URSE, Eulalio Gutierrez 6 pm Cuernavaca Silvio Find out where: include cock fights, bull fights, 1002, Col. Aleman Every Thursday Rodriguez www.mexpat.com rodeo, dance, theater, presenta- Sor Juana, a la luz Museo de Robert Brady 16 Last Wednesday of tion of the National Poetry Prize For information on Oaxaca Netzahualcóyotl 4 Famed for his trova de los tiempos cubana music every month and a golf tournament. cultural events, email Margie Exposition of painting, Col. Centro Newcomers April 14 - May 13 Barclay: [email protected] sculpture, graphic art and Auditorio Nacional event www.feriadesanmarcos.com/ recordings in the beautiful 8 pm 26 [email protected] Mexico: a time for Tickets: Ticketmaster reflection and growth American For Ticketmaster sales, A talk by psyco- Festival Ecológico Loreto, Peña Rosa Nacional, 10 pm Society call 5325 9000 or visit 17 therapist Marc I. Ollin Kan Pobre, Zocalo Mexicano Tickets: Ticketmaster General Assembly 27 27 www.ticketmaster.com.mx Ehrlich. For info, 2007 www.ollinkan.. Cabaret style show by www.lunario.com.mx Got a date? the singer-actress- US Ambassador’s email: newcomers@ World music gob.mx/ Tell us about it. producer All prices listed in Residence newcomers.org.mx Main stages: Bosque Runs until May 20 Send announcements to Mexican pesos. Only AMSOC de Tlalpan, Parque Lunario del Auditorio [email protected]

April 2007 InsideMéxico [ G5 ] Smart safety advice from one of Mexico’s leading authorities by Mario González-Román Securing who your home Those canT each BY Margot Lee Shetterly where entrants create entrees on the fly based on and business Photo BY Luz Montero ingredients given to them). Finding the right company for you When she decided that she wanted to learn or eight years, Andrea Blanco has been the traditional Italian cooking, she showed up at one Security companies in Mexico City are like dogs creative force behind the exceptional cuisine of Rome’s most well-known restaurants in her – they’re everywhere. In 2004 it was estimated that Fat Cuernavaca-based La Gaia, a charming es- whites and convinced the owner to let her work the security industry in this country is worth a bil- tablishment in a house formerly owned by famed elbow-to-elbow with the staff. This year she’ll lion dollars. With so many companies vying for the Mexican entertainer Cantiflas. She also developed be the guest chef at the Camelback, Arizona chance to guard your home and business, how can the menu at its sister restaurant Villa de la Selva, restaurant Elements. you be sure you’re hiring a reliable and trustworthy in the Pacific coast The curriculum service? resort town Ixtapa. Cooking with Chef for Blanco’s class Word of mouth is a good bet. If your friends or col- When Blanco first reflects her practi- leagues feel confident with their company, chances proposed the idea Andrea Blanco cal sensibility. The are you will too. Ask for a referral. of offering cooking Class meets once a week six-week course If you have to go cold calling, here are a few things classes on Mon- for six weeks. teaches cooking you should know: days at the restau- Cuernavaca: Mondays, basics and gives All security companies in Mexico City must rant—the kitchen’s 10:30 am -12:30 pm and an overview of be registered with the local police. There is no slowest day—she 6-8 pm different dishes bonding system for individuals to prevent people wasn’t sure what Mexico City: Wed & and cuisines, from with criminal records from working as security to expect, but they Thurs, 10:30 am – 12: 30 pm to risotto to guards, but companies must still provide the were an immedi- Cost: $2550 pesos, includes stir fry. Each class police with personal information about all em- ate hit. The evening all ingredients. covers three reci- ployees. classes, from 6 pm pes, which stu- Go to http://portal.ssp.df.gob.mx/Portal/Se- to 8 pm, tend to at- Email blancoandrea@ dents should then guridadPrivada/ where you will find information tract professionals, whereas the morning classes, hotmail.com to enroll in be able to recre- on almost 200 companies who are either in good between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm, are attended April classes ate in their own standing with the local police or who have been by well-to-do housewives, a group she calls Visit www.gaiarest.com.mx kitchens. “I like cited, or had their registration cancelled, for “The Ladies”. The class was so popular among and www.villadelaselva.com simple things,” wrong doing. the ladies, that Blanco soon opened a separate for more information on she says. “I don’t The federal government also tracks private security class—at their request—for their housekeepers. Blanco’s restaurants. like recipes that companies and provides information on why some “Many of The Ladies hate cooking,” says Blanco, take two days.” have lost their licenses. Go to www.ssp.gob.mx, “but the maids like to cook. Sometimes I have She also offers courses to corporate executives and click on Servicios in the menu on the left hand side to explain more things [to the maids], but they has developed a line of spices, called Spezia. The of the page and choose Secretaria de Seguridad absorb the knowledge much faster.” spices make it simple to add flavor to a variety of Publica. A member of the young generation of Mexican meals and are given as a gift in the corporate courses For home and business security in Mexico City, I chefs storming the national and international and sold in the Mexico City restaurant, Café Ó. have worked with and can personally recommend gastronomic scene, Blanco combines classical It’s clear that for the multitalented Blanco, the the Mexico City Banking and Industrial Police training (she studied at the Culinary Institute of classes have become another way to indulge her (PBIDF). It’s a branch of the city police department America, in New York) with a flair for innova- fervor for the kitchen. that can be contracted for private security services. tion and a roll-up-your-sleeves practicality. In “I really love teaching,” she says. “I love seeing You can contact them for an assessment at 5567 2001, she won the Concurso Nacional de Joven students pick up ideas. And I learn so much from 4995 or 5587 7966 ext 3837. Chef Méxicano (an Iron Chef-like competition them as well.” 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 The best Advisor for Security at the US Embassy in Mexico City. His website is www.securitycornermexico.com and he can be The finest reached at [email protected]. Deals Properties The finest Properties The Largest Selection 42 Years of Leadership 5 Star Concierge Service in Acapulco Real Estate. www.AcapulcoLuxuryVillas.com www.RonLavender.com 01.(744)484.10.60 01.(744).484.70.00

[ G6 ] InsideMéxico April 2007 the bazaar is your marketspace! Reserve your space for the April issue: Call Alex Xolalpa 044 55 2519 9591

Medicarein Mexico Dr. David Warner of the Univer- sity 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 unasletras.com or email [email protected] For more information on Medicare in Mexico, go to http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~healthp/index.html

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*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

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[ G8 ] InsideMéxico April 2007