What’s your idea of fun? Volleyball? Water skiing or jet-skiing? Wind surfing? Fishing? San Felipe’s beautiful beaches offer a variety of activities. Or do you like solid ground underfoot? If so, dunes and mountains are ideal for back- and off-road motorcycling, four-wheeling, and horseback riding. Hikers, nature lovers and history buffs will also want to explore.

Bird’s eye view of town from Virgin of Guadalupe shrine

Sportfishing
Just in the last few decades has San Felipe’s main economic source turned to tourism, before this fishing made this town & there is still alot of good fishing available to the visitor. March through October seems to be the high season with catches of white sea bass, corvina, cabrilla, yellow tail & grouper. San Felipe has a few large boats available for the one day or multi-day trips to the local fishing grounds. Also popular if the local fisherman & their pangas for a 1/2 day or 3/4 day of fishing.

Watersports
The Bay of San Felipe provides for endless watersports. It’s calm waters are perfect for water & jet skiing, as well as kayaking. Many kayak adventures start here headed south. Both jet skiis & water skiing are available from local rental agencies. You’ll also find young men trailing “banana boats” from their pangas looking for beachgoers who are eager to jump on the yellow rubber boats and be pulled through the wake.

Catamaran’s on San Felipe’s beach

Catamarans are also available for rent in San Felipe and the winds of the outer bay provide for exhilarating rides. A catamaran regatta is held each year.

Sail boats aren’t as common as points south, but more & more sailors are towing their boats down & putting into the water here, many for the beautiful sail to Bahia de Los Angeles about 200 miles to the south.

San Felipe can become windy in the late fall & early spring. The storms which cause these winds are called chubascos. The winds shoot down the coast from the north and can last 3 or 4 days at a time. Depending on the strength of the storm, sailing may be hazardous except for the expert.

Adventure Tours
San Felipe is a border between the desert & the sea, so naturally off road enthusiasts and nature lovers make up a significant number of visitors here. You’ll see & hear dirt bikes, ATV’s and dune buggies pass through town headed for the desert or the nearby sand dunes at the southern edge of town. This is the transport of choice for many people staying on the outskirts of town. Rentals are available in town. We recommend enjoying the surrounding area, but please show a healthy respect for the fragile desert environment.

The Baja 1000, 500 & 250 also pass through or nearby San Felipe. Sponsored by Score International Racing, these racing bring a festive attitude to town.

Side Trips

San Felipe is an isolated desert beach town located on the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez which one of the reasons this small fishing and retirement village attracts so many outdoor enthusiasts.

In order to get a proper feel for the town, visitors are recommended to hike the short distance up a small hill to the Shrine of the Virgin Guadalupe. Here you’ll command a near panoramic view of the town and bay which makes up San Felipe.

South of Town

The Valley of the Giants

You’ll find miles of sandy beaches, some with collections of vacation and retirement homes and others completely isolated. A somewhat maintained paved road leads past these beaches and camps to Puertecitos (Little Port) 80 kilometers away. On the way you’ll notice giant Cardon Cactus, among other species, in an area called the “Valley of the Giants”. In fact Mexico donated a 60 ft.+ tall Cardon from this area to the World Fair in Spain a couple of years ago.

Puertecitos can barely be considered a town, more like an American retirement colony. Houses surround the small cove. A small airstrip, one or two tiendas, a cantina serving beer & tequila plus a gas station which is rarely opened make up this settlement. There is a reason to visit and it’s the hot springs in the rocks on the seaside of the small point. One of the best times to visit is after high tide when the sea water has cooled the scolding mineral water enough to relax in the pools.

After Puertecitos, the road is dirt track and only 4wd or other sturdy vehicles should venture further. Make sure you have supplies including water and gas if you plan on heading south. You’ll come along various fish camps and small settlements such as El Huerfanito and Punta Bufeo plus a retirement home or two. You won’t find any hotels, but you may be able to rent a cabin. Be prepared to camp.

The largest settlement you’ll reach is the scenic bay of Bahia San Luis Gonzaga, 75 kilometers (5-6 hours) after Puertecitos. Here a cluster of fisherman and their families scratch out a living off the sea. You’ll also find American vacation homes and Papa Hernandez’ and Alfonsina’s Camps where you can buy supplies, find meals, go fishing or just set up camp. You’ll also come upon the airstrip as many Americans fly their planes down. From here you can drive another 65 kilometers on a graded dirt road to Highway 1 coming out 30 kilometers north of the Bahia de los Angeles turnoff.

West of Town
If you head towards the Sierra de San Pedro Martir, you’ll cross a dry lake bed to reachCañon Diablo (Devil’s Canyon) near the base of Baja California’s highest peak, Picacho del Diablo. In the spring the Canyon is known to have waterfalls and pools of cool Sierra runoff from the winter storms. You’ll also find Indian caves and fossils if you know where to look. If you adventure to the Canyon, please make sure you are well supplied and be prepared to camp as you won’t find any supplies or settlements here. Also, make sure you have a sturdy vehicle to make the trip, this is Baja 1000 country!

To Ensenada
If you prefer something a bit more tame, try the beautiful drive across the peninsula to Ensenada on Highway 3. To get there, head north out of town on Highway 5 towards Mexicali, then, after about 50 kilometers, take the turnoff at Crucero La Trinidad east on Highway 3. This 145 km drive takes you out of the desert and into the higher elevations with various farmlands and chaparral. You also pass the dirt road exit (sturdy vehicles only) to pristine Parque Nacional Constitución de 1857 and Laguna Hanson (please see the Ensenada Directory  for more information). Other highlights of the trip include the turnoff for Mike’s Sky Ranch, a famous guest ranch high in the rugged Sierras.

As you drive on you’ll pass the towns of La Trinidad and Ojos Negros where you’ll be able to find fuel, meals and supplies before arriving in Ensenada.

The Las Caras de Mexico Golf Course
An 18-hole championship golf course on the Sea of Cortez
Named the “Faces of Mexico” to give it an archaeological,
historical and social Mexican character.
San Felipe * US Tel: 800-404-2599 + 9 + 4417  From Mexico 686-576-0517

Enjoy!                                                                                              

Resource: Mexonline.com

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Modern History Sourcebook:
Francisco Madero:
The Plan of San Luis Potosi, November 20, 1910

The Mexican presidential election of 1910 was stolen when Porfirio Diaz – the longtime dictator, had his opponent Madero arrested and imprisoned. Madero took refuge infled to San Antonio, and issued the Plan of San Luis Potosi calling for the nullification of the elections and upon Mexicans to take up arms against the government. The date of its issue marks the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.

People, in their constant efforts for the triumph of the ideal of liberty and justice, are forced, at precise historical moments, to make their greatest sacrifices.

Our beloved country has reached one of those moments. A force of tyranny which we Mexicans were not accustomed to suffer after we won our independence oppresses us in such a manner that it has become intolerable. In exchange for that tyranny we are offered peace, but peace full of shame for the Mexican nation, because its basis is not law, but force; because its object is not the aggrandizement and prosperity of the country, but to enrich a small group who, abusing their influence, have converted the public charges into fountains of exclusively personal benefit, unscrupulously exploiting the manner of lucrative concessions and contracts.

The legislative and judicial powers are completely subordinated to the executive; the division of powers, the sovereignty of the States, the liberty of the common councils, and the rights of the citizens exist only in writing in our great charter; but, as a fact, it may almost be said that martial law constantly exists in Mexico; the administration of justice, instead of imparting protection to the weak, merely serves to legalize the plunderings committed by the strong; the judges instead of being the representatives of justice, are the agents of the executive, whose interests they faithfully serve; the chambers of the union have no other will than that of the dictator; the governors of the States are designated by him and they in their turn designate and impose in like manner the municipal authorities.

From this it results that the whole administrative, judicial, and legislative machinery obeys a single will, the caprice of General Porfirio Diaz, who during his long administration has shown that the principal motive that guides him is to maintain himself in power and at any cost.

For many years profound discontent has been felt throughout the Republic, due to such a system of government, but General Diaz with great cunning and perseverance, has succeeded in annihilating all independent elements, so that it was not possible to organize any sort of movement to take from him the power of which he made such bad use. The evil constantly became worse, and the decided eagerness of General Diaz to impose a successor upon the nations in the person of Mr. Ramon Corral carried that evil to its limit and caused many of us Mexicans, although lacking recognized political standing, since it had been impossible to acquire it during the 36 years of dictatorship, to throw ourselves into the struggle to recover the sovereignty of the people and their rights on purely democratic grounds….

In Mexico, as a democratic Republic, the public power can have no other origin nor other basis than the will of the people, and the latter can not be subordinated to formulas to be executed in a fraudulent manner. . . ,

For this reason the Mexican people have protested against the illegality of the last election and, desiring to use successively all the recourses offered by the laws of the Republic, in due form asked for the nullification of the election by the Chamber of Deputies, notwithstanding they recognized no legal origin in said body and knew beforehand that, as its members were not the representatives of the people, they would carry out the will of General Diaz, to whom exclusively they owe their investiture.

In such a state of affairs the people, who are the only sovereign, also protested energetically against the election in imposing manifestations in different parts of the Republic; and if the latter were not general throughout the national territory, It was due to the terrible pressure exercised by the Government, which always quenches in blood any democratic manifestation, as happened in Puebla, Vera Cruz, Tlaxcala, and in other places.

But this violent and illegal system can no longer subsist.

I have very well realized that if the people have designated me as their candidate. for the Presidency it is not because they have had an opportunity to discover in me the qualities of a statesman or of a ruler, but the virility of the patriot determined to sacrifice himself, if need be, to obtain liberty and to help the people free themselves from the odious tyranny that oppresses them.

From the moment I threw myself into the democratic struggle I very well knew that General Diaz would not bow to the will of the nation, and the noble Mexican people, in following me to the polls, also knew perfectly the outrage that awaited them; but in spite of it, the people gave the cause of liberty a numerous contingent of martyrs when they were necessary and with wonderful stoicism went to the polls and received every sort of molestation.

But such conduct was indispensable to show to the whole world that the Mexican people are fit for democracy, that they are thirsty for liberty, and that their present rulers do not measure up to their aspirations.

Besides, the attitude of the people before and during the election, as well as afterwards, shows clearly that they reject with energy the Government of General Diaz and that, if those electoral rights had been respected, I would have been elected for President of the Republic.

Therefore, and in echo of the national will, I declare the late election illegal and, the Republic being accordingly without rulers, provisionally assume the Presidency of the Republic until the people designate their rulers pursuant to the law. In order to attain this end, it is necessary to eject from power the audacious usurpers whose only title of legality involves a scandalous and immoral fraud.

With all honesty I declare that it would be a weakness on my part and treason to the people, who have placed their confidence in me, not to put myself at the front of my fellow citizens, who anxiously call me from all parts of the country, to compel General Diaz by force of arms, to respect the national will.

Source:

From United States Congress, Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations, Revolutions in Mexico, 62nd Congress, 2nd Session (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1913), pp. 730-736, passim.

This text is part of the Internet Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.

Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use of the Sourcebook.

© Paul Halsall, July 1998
halsall@murray.fordham.edu

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20th Century Mexico by Chris Michael Ratliff

I came across this wonderful Historic Mexican Archive and hope that you have as much fun with it as I have.

By the end of the 1800′s Mexico was still under the rule of one of history’s longest running dictators, Porfirio Díaz. While Díaz may have brought modernization of sorts to Mexico, the revolution that would oust him, the first social revolution of the twentieth century, would usher in the new age.

Despite the mask of modernization during Díaz’s rule, by 1910 the average Mexican was worse off than in 1810. While foreigners owned many of the factories, transportation systems, and mines, most of Mexican land was owned by a few Mexican families. Some owned land the size of small countries. Mexicans worked for these foreigners and land owners under paltry conditions. Malnourished, underpaid, overworked, and impoverished, the people of Mexico badly needed change.

The first signs of unrest came through labor unrest. In 1906, at Colonel William Green’s Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, Mexican workers struck over unfair wages and conditions. Arizona Rangers were called in and given power by Mexican officials to suppress the workers, showing Díaz’s willingness to give foreigners power over Mexicans. A second strike at the Rio Blanco textile mills, in 1907, resulted in Federal troops firing point blank into a crowd of striking workers, killing over a hundred men, women, and children.

In 1904, three Mexico exiles, the Flores Mag´on brothers and Camilo Arriaga publish REGENERACION, attacking Díaz’s regime. After being jailed, they went to the U.S. to publish REGENERACION. During a 1908 interview, Díaz announced he would not seek re-election in 1910 and he would welcome opposition. This announcement led to heightened political activities among liberals. The Anti Re-electionist party candidate, Francisco Madero, supported a democracy. He was from a wealthy land-holding family and was an early supporter ofREGENERACION. On Election Day Díaz had Madero imprisoned, Díaz was re-elected and Madero escaped to the U.S.

While in exile Madero and his supporters drafted a plan that called for all Mexicans to rise up in revolt on November 20, 1910. Madero made himself President. The revolution didn’t exactly begin on that date but soon afterwards uprisings grew until the whole country was in revolt. The turning point in the revolt against Díaz happened on May 13, 1911 when revolutionary generals Pascaul Orozco and Pancho Villa captured Ciudad Juárez, twelve days later Díaz resigned and fled the country. Following Díaz’ departure Madero won a new election and tried to instill democracy to Mexico.

In 1911, revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata issued his Plan de Ayala in response to Madero’s disappointing reforms. The Zapatistas wanted agrarian reforms, and soon began an armed struggle against the government. By 1913, Mexico City was surrounded by rebel forces. Madero was betrayed by one of his generals, Victoriano Huerta. Huerta ordered the murder of Madero and became dictator. Opposed to Huerta was the Constitutionalists to the north and the Zapatistas to the south. The years 1913-14 showed an escalation in the Revolution.

The events that led to Huerta’s overthrow in 1914, was started when U.S. president Wilson sent marines into Veracruz to occupy the city. While Huerta sent troops as a show of force, rebel forces quickly filled the vacuum left by federal troops. By July, Huerta had resigned. Venustiano Carranza of the Constitutionalist party filled the role of First chief after Huerta’s overthrow. His bitter enemies were the Zapatistas and the Villistas. During 1916, Pancho Villa raided some U.S. border towns, provoking the U.S. to send Gen. Pershing into Mexico to pursue Villa, but never finding the Mexican general.

In 1917, the revolutionary leaders drew up their constitution, it would be a radical constitution for its day. It strongly supported labor unions, socialized property, contained strong anti-clerical measures, and was extremely nationalistic in nature. Carranza reluctantly accepted it. Carranza didn’t enforce the constitution; in fact, he distributed a very small amount of land and was slow toward social reform. His reform record was purposely lower than his hated enemy and predecessor, Huerta. The end of the armed struggle happened soon after Carranza had Zapata killed in 1919. In 1920 Alvaro Obregón revolted against Carranza and overthrew him. Villa made peace with the government and retired. Obregón started to implement the constitution; he spent more for education than any of his predecessor. Obregón favored CROM, the national labor union, and its leader Luis Morones, but not radical labor unions. The 1924 election brought Plutarco Calles to power. Calles was anti-clerical, so much so he closed many church institutions, deported priests. Whereupon the Church declared a strike , thus starting the Cristero Rebellion. Catholic rebels, the Cristeros, attacked government forces, they destroyed government property such as schools. By 1929 a compromise was reached.

In July 1928, Obregón won re-election, but before he could retain office, he was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic. Afterwards Calles pulled strings for three puppet presidents. By 1929 Calles had organized the PNR (Partido National Revolucionario), now the PRI (Partido National Institucional). Mexico’s government shifted to the right under Calles’ puppets and progressive changes slowed until Cárdenas took office in 1934. The PRI can be seen as a coalition of centrist parties rather than one political party. From 1929-87, the PRI , organized by occupational sectors, contained the left, right, and center.

Cárdenas was a left-wing president; he distributed more land than any of his predecessor sand he was very much pro-labor, but his greatest triumph was the nationalization of Mexican oil companies. Since oil was first discovered in Mexico, foreigners, specifically American and British companies, owned it. By 1911, 12.5 million barrels of oil were produced in Mexico, by 1921, 193 million barrels, making Mexico the second largest oil producer. First Cárdenas created STPRM (Petroleum Workers Union of the Mexican Republic) in 1936, and placed demands on oil companies, declared that the companies exploited Mexican workers. He also created the PEMEX (Petróleos Méxicanos) as a state oil enterprise. He supported the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers). In 1938, Cárdenas nationalized Mexican petrol, creating bitter U.S.-Mexican relations until World War .

The Cárdenas Presidency was the most radical of the Revolution, the election of 1940 marked the end of his presidency and of the revolution. After Cárdenas’ term, the Mexican political leaders changed from social reformers to economist and industrial capitalists. President Avila Camacho declared war on the side of the allies in May 1942, after two Mexican tankers had been torpedoed by Germans. Mexico’s main contribution to the war was its raw materials. The 1950′s saw social reforms slowed down considerably. Although industrialization grew, the work force grew faster, leaving many unemployed. During the 1960′s, urban populations grew to surpass that of the rural population. Health programs made progress in rural areas, reducing tuberculosis, polio and almost eradicating malaria. Low cost housing projects were started in the vastly growing urban areas, to compete with Mexico’s fast population growth.

Social unrest also plagued Mexico during the 1960′s. In 1968, the Olympic Games were held in Mexico City. In addition to earlier student demonstrations against police corruption, shortly before the games anti-government rallies were held. In October at Tlatelolco, troops and police showed and opened fire on a large group of demonstrators. The Government claimed 43 dead, although some Mexicans claimed hundreds died.

Mexican oil production was low after nationalization, but by 1973, production was back to the level it was at 1921. When OPEC formed and the price of oil rose, Mexico’s debt increased each year, and even more so when President Echeverría devalued the peso. By 1979, crude oil was up to 511 million barrels, and much of that going to the U.S. In the early 1980′s corruption and inflation plagued Mexico. Increase in gas, food, and electricity costs went along with Mexico’s problems. In addition to these calamities, a huge earthquake hit Mexico City in September 1985, killing around 8,000 people and totaling about four billion in damage. Another problem due to Mexico’s economic woes is the flow of undocumented workers in the U.S.

The latest problems in Mexico is the criticism of the one party system. In 1987, some of the left within the PRI split and formed the FDN (National Democratic Front). Ernest Zedillo rebuilt the PRI coalition with the right and center factions. Considering the 1994 murder of a PRI party leader Mario Ruiz Massieu, believed to have been executed by party members, and the recent uprisings in Chiapas, the future is still uncertain for Mexico. Ernesto Zedillo, chosen as the PRI nominee and, thus, President of Mexico, after the murder of Colosio is wrestling with how to keep the system functioning.

Works Cited

Meyer, Michael and Sherman, William. THE COURSE OF MEXICAN HISTORY. Oxford University Press. New York, 1987.

Mabry, Donald J. “Mexican Anticlerics, Bishops, Cristeros, and the Devout during the 1920′s: A Scholarly Debate”. JOURNAL OF CHURCH AND STATE. Vol. 20, no.1, 1978, 81-92.

Shafer, Robert J. and Mabry, Donald J. “Mexican Oil and Nationalism”.Neighbors-Mexico and the United States. Chicago, Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1981.

Baker, George and Galindo, Alfonso. “PRI Victory?”. G.BAKER@CGNET.COM

By the end of the 1800′s Mexico was still under the rule of one of history’s longest running dictators, Porfirio Díaz. While Díaz may have brought modernization of sorts to Mexico, the revolution that would oust him, the first social revolution of the twentieth century, would usher in the new age.

Despite the mask of modernization during Díaz’s rule, by 1910 the average Mexican was worse off than in 1810. While foreigners owned many of the factories, transportation systems, and mines, most of Mexican land was owned by a few Mexican families. Some owned land the size of small countries. Mexicans worked for these foreigners and land owners under paltry conditions. Malnourished, underpaid, overworked, and impoverished, the people of Mexico badly needed change.

The first signs of unrest came through labor unrest. In 1906, at Colonel William Green’s Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, Mexican workers struck over unfair wages and conditions. Arizona Rangers were called in and given power by Mexican officials to suppress the workers, showing Díaz’s willingness to give foreigners power over Mexicans. A second strike at the Rio Blanco textile mills, in 1907, resulted in Federal troops firing point blank into a crowd of striking workers, killing over a hundred men, women, and children.

In 1904, three Mexico exiles, the Flores Mag´on brothers and Camilo Arriaga publish REGENERACION, attacking Díaz’s regime. After being jailed, they went to the U.S. to publish REGENERACION. During a 1908 interview, Díaz announced he would not seek re-election in 1910 and he would welcome opposition. This announcement led to heightened political activities among liberals. The Anti Re-electionist party candidate, Francisco Madero, supported a democracy. He was from a wealthy land-holding family and was an early supporter ofREGENERACION. On Election Day Díaz had Madero imprisoned, Díaz was re-elected and Madero escaped to the U.S.

While in exile Madero and his supporters drafted a plan that called for all Mexicans to rise up in revolt on November 20, 1910. Madero made himself President. The revolution didn’t exactly begin on that date but soon afterwards uprisings grew until the whole country was in revolt. The turning point in the revolt against Díaz happened on May 13, 1911 when revolutionary generals Pascaul Orozco and Pancho Villa captured Ciudad Juárez, twelve days later Díaz resigned and fled the country. Following Díaz’ departure Madero won a new election and tried to instill democracy to Mexico.

In 1911, revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata issued his Plan de Ayala in response to Madero’s disappointing reforms. The Zapatistas wanted agrarian reforms, and soon began an armed struggle against the government. By 1913, Mexico City was surrounded by rebel forces. Madero was betrayed by one of his generals, Victoriano Huerta. Huerta ordered the murder of Madero and became dictator. Opposed to Huerta was the Constitutionalists to the north and the Zapatistas to the south. The years 1913-14 showed an escalation in the Revolution.

The events that led to Huerta’s overthrow in 1914, was started when U.S. president Wilson sent marines into Veracruz to occupy the city. While Huerta sent troops as a show of force, rebel forces quickly filled the vacuum left by federal troops. By July, Huerta had resigned. Venustiano Carranza of the Constitutionalist party filled the role of First chief after Huerta’s overthrow. His bitter enemies were the Zapatistas and the Villistas. During 1916, Pancho Villa raided some U.S. border towns, provoking the U.S. to send Gen. Pershing into Mexico to pursue Villa, but never finding the Mexican general.

In 1917, the revolutionary leaders drew up their constitution, it would be a radical constitution for its day. It strongly supported labor unions, socialized property, contained strong anti-clerical measures, and was extremely nationalistic in nature. Carranza reluctantly accepted it. Carranza didn’t enforce the constitution; in fact, he distributed a very small amount of land and was slow toward social reform. His reform record was purposely lower than his hated enemy and predecessor, Huerta. The end of the armed struggle happened soon after Carranza had Zapata killed in 1919. In 1920 Alvaro Obregón revolted against Carranza and overthrew him. Villa made peace with the government and retired. Obregón started to implement the constitution; he spent more for education than any of his predecessor. Obregón favored CROM, the national labor union, and its leader Luis Morones, but not radical labor unions. The 1924 election brought Plutarco Calles to power. Calles was anti-clerical, so much so he closed many church institutions, deported priests. Whereupon the Church declared a strike , thus starting the Cristero Rebellion. Catholic rebels, the Cristeros, attacked government forces, they destroyed government property such as schools. By 1929 a compromise was reached.

In July 1928, Obregón won re-election, but before he could retain office, he was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic. Afterwards Calles pulled strings for three puppet presidents. By 1929 Calles had organized the PNR (Partido National Revolucionario), now the PRI (Partido National Institucional). Mexico’s government shifted to the right under Calles’ puppets and progressive changes slowed until Cárdenas took office in 1934. The PRI can be seen as a coalition of centrist parties rather than one political party. From 1929-87, the PRI , organized by occupational sectors, contained the left, right, and center.

Cárdenas was a left-wing president; he distributed more land than any of his predecessor sand he was very much pro-labor, but his greatest triumph was the nationalization of Mexican oil companies. Since oil was first discovered in Mexico, foreigners, specifically American and British companies, owned it. By 1911, 12.5 million barrels of oil were produced in Mexico, by 1921, 193 million barrels, making Mexico the second largest oil producer. First Cárdenas created STPRM (Petroleum Workers Union of the Mexican Republic) in 1936, and placed demands on oil companies, declared that the companies exploited Mexican workers. He also created the PEMEX (Petróleos Méxicanos) as a state oil enterprise. He supported the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers). In 1938, Cárdenas nationalized Mexican petrol, creating bitter U.S.-Mexican relations until World War .

The Cárdenas Presidency was the most radical of the Revolution, the election of 1940 marked the end of his presidency and of the revolution. After Cárdenas’ term, the Mexican political leaders changed from social reformers to economist and industrial capitalists. President Avila Camacho declared war on the side of the allies in May 1942, after two Mexican tankers had been torpedoed by Germans. Mexico’s main contribution to the war was its raw materials. The 1950′s saw social reforms slowed down considerably. Although industrialization grew, the work force grew faster, leaving many unemployed. During the 1960′s, urban populations grew to surpass that of the rural population. Health programs made progress in rural areas, reducing tuberculosis, polio and almost eradicating malaria. Low cost housing projects were started in the vastly growing urban areas, to compete with Mexico’s fast population growth.

Social unrest also plagued Mexico during the 1960′s. In 1968, the Olympic Games were held in Mexico City. In addition to earlier student demonstrations against police corruption, shortly before the games anti-government rallies were held. In October at Tlatelolco, troops and police showed and opened fire on a large group of demonstrators. The Government claimed 43 dead, although some Mexicans claimed hundreds died.

Mexican oil production was low after nationalization, but by 1973, production was back to the level it was at 1921. When OPEC formed and the price of oil rose, Mexico’s debt increased each year, and even more so when President Echeverría devalued the peso. By 1979, crude oil was up to 511 million barrels, and much of that going to the U.S. In the early 1980′s corruption and inflation plagued Mexico. Increase in gas, food, and electricity costs went along with Mexico’s problems. In addition to these calamities, a huge earthquake hit Mexico City in September 1985, killing around 8,000 people and totaling about four billion in damage. Another problem due to Mexico’s economic woes is the flow of undocumented workers in the U.S.

The latest problems in Mexico is the criticism of the one party system. In 1987, some of the left within the PRI split and formed the FDN (National Democratic Front). Ernest Zedillo rebuilt the PRI coalition with the right and center factions. Considering the 1994 murder of a PRI party leader Mario Ruiz Massieu, believed to have been executed by party members, and the recent uprisings in Chiapas, the future is still uncertain for Mexico. Ernesto Zedillo, chosen as the PRI nominee and, thus, President of Mexico, after the murder of Colosio is wrestling with how to keep the system functioning.

Works Cited

Meyer, Michael and Sherman, William. THE COURSE OF MEXICAN HISTORY. Oxford University Press. New York, 1987.

Mabry, Donald J. “Mexican Anticlerics, Bishops, Cristeros, and the Devout during the 1920′s: A Scholarly Debate”. JOURNAL OF CHURCH AND STATE. Vol. 20, no.1, 1978, 81-92.

Shafer, Robert J. and Mabry, Donald J. “Mexican Oil and Nationalism”.Neighbors-Mexico and the United States. Chicago, Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1981.

Resource: Historical Text Archive by Chris Michael Ratcliff

Posted by AetnaJo B on September 14,2011.

Baker, George and Galindo, Alfonso. “PRI Victory?”. G.BAKER@CGNET.COM

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Cozumel is Mexico’s largest inhabited island, is also one of the country’s biggest paradoxes. Serene, laid-back and somewhat undiscovered by Mexico’s 20 million annual visitors, Cozumel rivals many Caribbean island destinations when it comes to visitor facilities, activities, and stunning beauty.

Cozumel has a “laid-back” Caribbean feel

Cozumel’s appeal lies with its combination of the best of Mexico with the allure of vacationing on a Caribbean island. This mix makes Cozumel one of Mexico’s most unique destinations, offering a hard-to-find vacation duality.

The jewel shaped island lies just 19 kms. off of the Yucatan coast and measures 29 miles ( 47 kilometers) long and 10 miles (15 kilometers) wide. Its jungle-clad interior and ivory white beaches are girdled by one of the most spectacular ensembles of coral reefs in this hemisphere. The island’s limestone shore is surrounded by temperate, crystal clear waters which range from stunning turquoise to deep indigo.

The climate on the island is warm year around with an average temperature of 81 F (27 C). Heavy rains start in June and go on through October. It is a possibility that rain can fall everyday, but the usual duration of a shower is brief. Expect high humidity during the rainy season. The humidity levels are lower November through May, with an occasional cool evening. However, because it a tropical climate, the weather can change from one day to the next.

The westward side of the island is calm, and is ideal for swimming, diving or just relaxing in the sun. This part of the island is also the most developed with banks, markets, shops, restaurants and hotels. The eastern side of the island is more secluded, with very few people living there and little activity. There are some calm beaches with clear emerald green water. There are at least 20 live reefs so close to the shore, it makes snorkeling and diving a must. The island also has it’s share of Mayan ruins hidden in the jungles that can be explored by car, bike or foot.

The area’s diving and snorkeling are legendary. Following a 1961 documentary by Jacques Cousteau, Cozumel earned a world-wide following of divers who ranked it one of the top five scuba diving and snorkeling sites on the planet. The island’s surrounding sea is teeming with undersea life, colorful reefs, and the slumbering hulls of Spanish galleons.

World class SCUBA diving on Cozumel

For non-divers, the island has something for everyone. Sightseeing includes over 35 archaeological sites (only a few of which are accessible and worth seeing), and the charming village of San Miguel de Cozumel. The town is a collection of cafes, restaurants, and attractive boutiques. It encircles the main plaza, and extends several blocks along the city’s breezy seaside promenade.

Nature lovers come to Cozumel to see giant see turtles laying their eggs (May to September) and to observe the island’s variety of exotic migratory bird life. Visitors are only a 40 minute ferry ride from the incredible Tulum Corridor region of the Yucatan Peninsula, brimming with hidden beaches, secluded resorts and archaeological treasures. Large numbers of day trippers from Cancun and cruise ship passengers sometimes overtake the city proper, only to retreat a couple of hours later. This is when Cozumel really shines, as the island’s bountiful man-made and natural attractions can be leisurely explored.

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History Of Mexico’s Most Famous Culinary Preparation:

Most people associate mole with either with Puebla or Oaxaca , but the origin of mole poblano, the thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce made so famous in the colonial mountain city of Puebla, Mexico, is still disputed, and generally involves these two versions of the legend:

The first says that 16^th Century nuns from the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla de los Angeles, upon learning that the Archbishop was coming for a visit, went into a panic because they had nothing to serve him. The nuns started praying desperately and an angel came to inspire them. They began chopping and grinding and roasting, mixing different types of chiles together with spices, day-old bread, nuts, a little chocolate and approximately 20 other ingredients..

	Mole Poblano: Pollo con Arroz

This concoction boiled for hours and was reduced to the thick, sweet, rich and fragrant mole sauce we know today. To serve in the mole, they killed the only meat they had, an old turkey, and the strange sauce was poured over it. The archbishop was more than happy with his banquet and the nuns saved face. Little did they know they were creating the Mexican National dish for holidays and feasts, and that today, millions of people worldwide have at least heard of mole poblano.

The other legend states that mole came from pre-hispanic times and that Aztec king, Moctezuma, thinking the conquistadors were gods, served mole to Cortez at a banquet to receive them. This story probably gained credibility because the word mole comes from the Nahuatl word “milli” which means sauce or “concoction”. Another connection could be that chocolate was widely used in pre-columbian mexico, so people jumped to that conclusion.

Diana Kennedy, the famous cookbook author and television chef, adds a third, less plausible version in her book The Cuisines of Mexico, [Harper & Row:New York] 1972, (p.199-200), “This time it was Fray Pascual who was preparing the banquet at the convent where he (the archbishop) was going to eat. Turkeys were cooking in cazuelas on the fire; as Fray Pascual, scolding his assistants for their untidiness, gathered up al the spices they had been using, and putting them together on a tray, a sudden gust of wind swept across the kitchen and they spilled over the cazuelas.” Thus mixing together such an unheard-of combination of ingredients.

	Poblano Kitchen

What do the real experts say? “The idea of using chocolate as a flavoring in cooked food would have been horrifying to the Aztecs—just as Christians could not conceive of using communion wine to make, say, coq au vin. In all the pages of Sahagun that deal with Aztec cuisine and with chocolate, there is not a hint that it ever entered into an Aztec dish. Yet, today many food writers and gourmets consider one particular dish, the famous pavo in mole poblano, which contains chocolate, to represent the pinnacle of the Mexican cooking tradition. …the place of origin of the dish and its sauce, the Colonial Puebla de los Angeles; this beautiful city, unlike others in central Mexico, has no Aztec foundations – and neither does the dish, regardless of what food writers may say.” Taken from The True History of Chocolate, Sophie D. Coe and Michael D. Coe [Thames and Hudson: London] 1996 (p. 216-7).

There is no greater expert on pre-hispanic Mesoamerica than Michael Coe and this detective is convinced.Case closed (for now) on the mystery of the origins of mole poblano.

THE OTHER MOLES

No story about mole poblano would be complete without talking a little bit about the other moles. There is a lot of misinformation about mole out there, in general. Most culinary experts agree, there are 6 moles and as Susana Trilling describes in her book, My Search for the Seventh Mole: A story with Recipes from Oaxaca, Mexico, [self-published, 1997], she is looking for that elusive seventh mole. Does she find it? You’ll have to read the book to find out, and the recipes are fantastic, so you can try your own mole at home, if you dare.

	Enchiladas con Mole

All moles are very time consuming, labor intensive and require many ingredients. Some sources state that some moles have as many as 100 ingredients, but that’s an exaggeration. But 30 ingredients is not unheard of, and some mole recipes contain 10 different varieties of chiles alone. Other ingredients include: peanuts, almonds, fried bread, plantains, lard, sugar, bittersweet chocolate, cinnamon, cloves and many more. For those willing to give it a try, here is a less elaborate recipe for Mole Poblano with chicken.

Each Mexican woman has her own mole recipe, probably passed down from her mother. Because mole takes so much time to prepare, it is usually made in huge batches, too large for the home blender to handle. Therefore, women take their mole ingredients, all cooked and ready to blend, to large “molinos” or grinders in their neighborhood. The mole is passed through the grinders and comes out smoother than you could get from your home blender. It is not unusual to see women walking home from the molinos with buckets of mole for a fiesta.

And be sure to have plenty of napkins nearby when eating any mole. As you dip your warm, homemade tortilla into the wonderful sauce, you are bound to take some home with you on your shirt, your arms and under your fingernails. Now you know you’re enjoying mole!

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Rodrigo Orozco shares his Guadalajara, Mexico, home with thousands of tarantulas and tens of thousands of crickets. He’s a man with a mission. “I want to end the illegal trade in Mexican tarantulas,” he says. “My goal is to produce 6000 tarantulas per year and eventually flood the black market so that tarantula poaching will no longer be a lucrative business.”

Tarantulas belong to a class of invertebrates called arachnids, which have eight legs. There are around 70,000 species of arachnids, including spiders, scorpions, daddy longlegs, ticks and mites. Tarantulas, of course, are spiders, famous for being long-lived. Their bodies are completely covered with short hairs and their leg spans can reach up to twelve inches. Brazil leads the world in the number of different species and Mexico is in second place.

Tarantulas in the Americas have a dense covering of extremely fine irritating hairs at their back end. These have tiny barbs and produce a burning itch in human skin. When angered, the tarantula can turn around and shoot these nearly invisible missiles at an enemy. However, generally speaking, they are very docile and one can pick them up without fear. Mexican tarantulas — in particular the red-legged tarantula,Brachypelma smithi — are noted for their docility. They are, of course, capable of inflicting a painful bite, since their fangs can pierce human skin, and they do have venom glands, but the bites of New World tarantulas are considered non-toxic to humans and there have never been any deaths reported as a consequence.

Tarantulas have eight eyes but can only distinguish light and dark and movement. They spend most of their lives in their burrows waiting for something tasty to pass by, but males venture forth during their last year of life in search of females with whom to mate.

Like bats, tarantulas have received bad press for longer than anyone can remember. They are, after all, big, hairy and mysterious.

Along the Pacific Coast of Mexico, they are known as “mala hierba” (bad weed) and “matacaballos” (horse killers) and there are local legends that they poison whatever they step on and hypnotize their victims by licking them before they bite.

In spite of (or perhaps because of) these myths, tarantulas have become immensely popular all over the world and many, many people want to have one as a pet. Add to this the fact that tarantulas require very little maintenance and space, and it’s easy to see why there is now a huge demand for them all over the world.

Of course, there are laws against the capture of wild tarantulas and their sale, but the huge profits in this business have encouraged widespread poaching and inhuman practices. For example, Orozco mentions the case of a trafficker who wandered about with 750 tarantulas crammed into a suitcase, looking for customers. This man eventually sold a dozen of them and all the rest died.

At present, a full-grown tarantula can fetch several hundred dollars on the black market and, because Mexican tarantulas make ideal pets, thousands are illegally shipped to Germany, the USA and other corners of the world. “People don’t realize how tricky it is for tarantulas to reproduce in the wild. The poaching that’s going on will wipe them out unless something is done.”

How did Rodrigo Orozco become interested in Mexico’s tarantulas and what inspired him to try singlehandedly to save them from extinction? Here’s his story:

“My interest in tarantulas came about purely by chance. One fine day a friend came over with a beautiful Brachypelma vagans (now I know its scientific name) and asked me to take care of it while he convinced his mother that it’s harmless. Well, six years were apparently not enough to convince her, because he never came back for his tarantula. By then, I was hooked.”

Having lived for years in Acapulco, very near the jungle, Orozco eventually discovered the harm that was being done to tarantulas as a species by people collecting them in the wild for commercial purposes.

“You have to understand,” he says, “that it takes a female tarantula eight years to reach sexual maturity, if she’s lucky enough to survive that many years. Then she has to wait for a male to come along. Under the most ideal conditions (lots of males in the area) she might lay eggs six times during the next twenty years of her life, if she’s lucky enough to stay alive that long. Now, scientists calculate that only one baby out of every egg sac is likely to survive. So, under the most perfect conditions imaginable, this tarantula might produce six babies by the end of her life span of 28 years.”

In nature, of course, decades of good luck and perfect conditions are most unlikely and it could be considered a near miracle if one female tarantula ends up with one fertile daughter 28 years after her birth.

Now put the poacher into the equation. By removing large numbers of males from a given habitat, the poacher is virtually practicing genocide against the tarantulas in that area, vastly decreasing the odds that one female might be succeeded by another.

Having discovered all of this, Orozco’s reaction was to begin raising tarantulas in captivity in order to liberate them in areas frequented by poachers. “But,” he says, “I soon discovered that my own ignorance was the tarantulas’ biggest enemy.”

Long conversations with local experts Enrique Fanti and Martha Yañez convinced Orozco that his project had two great weaknesses. “First of all,” he comments, “why liberate tarantulas in a place where poachers have eliminated them? It would be like putting chickens in front of a fox; I would be aiding and abetting the trafficker by giving him more tarantulas to sell.

Secondly — and more importantly — there was the genetic problem. What was going to happen if I liberated creatures that were physically the same as those in the bush, but genetically different? I would probably end up committing an ecocide, with my tarantulas replacing the local ones because of the Law of the Survival of the Fittest. I must confess, it was hard for me to accept this concept with confreres abroad urging me to liberate my tarantulas, fully convinced that what was needed was quantity, not quality.”

Orozco eventually came to the conclusion that the only way to bring down the black market in tarantulas was to give the traffickers real competition using creatures reared in captivity. Flooding the market with legal tarantulas for sale at the same price was the only way to protect the ones living in the wild. “I had my plan, but who would help me to carry it out? I was not a biologist, after all, and many doors were slammed in my face.”

In Mexico, there exists a system by which an organization or an individual can register an animal-related project as an UMA or Unidad de Manejo para la Conservación y Aprovechamiento de la Vida Silvestre (Environmental Management Unit). In order to be certified, an UMA must conform to the norms of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, to which Mexico subscribed in 1976. Unfortunately, certification does not imply financial assistance of any kind.

“I had been looking in vain for support for the UMA I had in mind,” says Orozco, “but my friend Enrique Fanti, a stubborn conservationist, kept insisting, ‘Do it on your own — Go for it!’ So I did, and to my surprise, I experienced nothing but kindness and help from the government agencies I had to deal with.

“That’s the story of how Tarantulas de México came into being in the year 2003, when my idea was accepted and turned into an UMA for the reproduction of tarantulas.

“The government people told me my idea was very innovative and that only once before had there been an attempt to reproduce tarantulas on a large scale. This took place in Michoacán when various individuals brought their tarantulas to the same piece of property, figuring that by doing so, they would soon have thousands of tarantulas. To their great surprise, however, they ended up with only a handful — and all of them remarkably fat! Unfortunately they had been given extremely bad advice on this project by people who apparently knew nothing about the behavior and cycles of these creatures.

“My project is coming along nicely and I now have more than 5,000 little mouths to feed. ‘What do they eat?’ you may ask. Well, along with reproducing tarantulas, I now also raise crickets! By trial and error and with a few tips from my friend Fanti, as well as a considerable investment on my part, I have finally managed to stabilize my cricket production and no longer have to buy crickets to feed my tarantulas. I now produce 10,000 crickets per week, just what I need to be self-sufficient.

“I frequently give talks in schools, universities, neighborhood organizations, expos, etc. demystifying what people believe about spiders and I think these presentations have had a big impact. I sincerely hope this new awareness will prevail and respect for these creatures will become something natural and basic in people’s outlook.

“When somebody is about to step on a bug and asks me whether it’s good or bad to do so, I only reply, “If you know how to make a new one, go ahead and kill it.”

Rodrigo Orozco has a website, Tarántulas de México, [http://www.tarantulasdemexico.com/] In both Spanish and English, where you can learn more about tarantulas and about his project in Mexico. You can help fight the poachers by clicking on “store.”

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Like Saint Augustine in the 5th century we all know what time is until somebody asks us to define it exactly.

Likewise, the idea of literature seems clear enough until we begin to ask people what they regard as literature. Is it Shakespeare, the Bible, the morning newspaper, or what?

In a complex society such as ours people will have many different views about what constitutes literature. In a pre-literate or tribal society however there is a general consensus on what constitutes the A literature@ of that society even if it is handed down over the generations by the spoken word only.

In ancient Mexico, the spoken word or the oral tradition was greatly reinforced by the use of painted books in which native history and religion were preserved and handed down through successive generations.

The Maya had the most advanced system of writing in the Americas at the time Europeans began to arrive, but the Mixtec and Aztec peoples also had a very efficient system of written communication through a combination of pictorial and phonetic elements which made up the Mixtec-Aztec writing system.

In a very real sense, these were highly literate societies, although the methods and themes of their literature may seem to us exotic or difficult to understand. It seems strange therefore (to me at least) why there should be any serious doubt that the Maya and the Aztecs had an extensive literature in both oral and written form until it was all but brought to an end by the Spaniards.

Here we shall be concerned with written texts in Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish Conquest in 1521.

The Conquest of Mexico was the crucial turning point in the history of Nahuatl or Aztec literature.

Before the Conquest, a strong oral tradition backed up by the painted codices guaranteed the composition and transmission of what we shall assume for the moment was Aztec “literature.”

Shortly after the Conquest, Spanish missionaries taught the survivors or their sons Spanish and Latin. They also quickly learned to write their own native Nahuatl in Roman transcription or alphabetic letters.

It is at this point that Nahuatl literature enters the world literary stage as fixed texts. However, this is also where the controversy starts between those who believe that the Nahuatl texts are a genuine reflection of pre-Hispanic oral and “written” tradition and those who doubt that we have the genuine native tradition because so much of it has been filtered down through the Spanish missionaries and colonial rulers.

Much of the discussion pro and con focuses on three important sources of Nahuatl poetry: theCantares Mexicanos (Mexico City), the Romances de los señores de Nueva España (University of Texas), and a collection in Paris (samples only).

The Cantares Mexicanos is a collection of poems in Classical Nahuatl which was transcribed into an alphabetic form around A.D. 1550, some 30 years after the Spanish Conquest.

Among these poems are compositions of a heroic type found in other epic poems and sagas elsewhere. Some poems therefore may be described as Cuauhcuicatl (“Songs of the Eagle or “The Eagles”), Yaocuicatl (“Songs of Warriors”), and Teuccuicatl (“Songs of Princes or Chieftains”).

Other categories included Xochicuicatl (“Songs of Flowers” or “Flowery Songs”), Icnocuicatl (“Songs of Desolation or Adversity”), Matlazincayotl (“Songs of the affairs of Matlazinco”), Tlaxcaltecayotl (“Songs about Tlaxcala”), Huehuecuicatl (“Songs of the Old Men”), and a poem about Xopancuicatl.

Many poems of a heroic or epic quality refer to warriors or the warrior cult. Garibay provides these Nahuatl poems with general descriptive titles, such as Canto de guerra mística (“Song of the Mystical War”), Recuerdo de los héroes (“Memory of the Heroes”), Muerte en guerra, feliz para al guerrero (“Death in War, Happiness for the Warrior”), Los tres reyes y la sociedad guerrera (“The Three Kings and the Warrior Society”), Poema de rememoración de héroes (“Poem in Remembrance of the Heroes”), etc, etc. Other warrior songs are: La batalla y el dios (“The Battle and the God”), Ciudades vencidas (“Conquered Cities”), and En memoria de heroes (“In Memory of the Heroes”).

Father A. Garibay was one of the first scholars to attempt to translate and interpret these difficult Nahuatl texts, which admittedly are full of elaborate metaphors and obscure allusions. Again we have to blame our present lack of knowledge on the early Spanish Conquistadores and missionaries who destroyed the painted books and other sources of information we needed to interpret these works correctly.

But we have no choice but to work with what we have. The work of Garibay was followed up by his student M. Leon-Portilla at the National University of Mexico in Mexico City.

According to the standard Garibay/Leon-Portilla interpretation the recurring phrase in xochitl in cuicatl(“the flower, the song”) in Nahuatl poetry not only represents the concept of poetry in Classical Aztec society but reflects the genuine pre-Conquest native tradition. It also purports to show that there was a completely different side to the Aztec character than their apparent limitless bloodthirsty appetite for human hearts.

However, several scholars have recently sharply challenged the Garibay/Leon-Portilla interpretation of Aztec culture in general and Nahuatl literature in particular. In this view, Garibay and Leon-Portilla were simply creating a literature for the Aztecs which, allegedly, existed only in the minds of the translator-historians. One critic goes so far as to claim that Garibay in fact “created” a literature for Aztec civilization for personal and political reasons. Hell hath no fury like that of an academic with a point to make and a reputation to uphold.

The current debate over the question of the pre-Hispanic origin and authorship of these poems and their value as a genuine expression of native tradition may be briefly illustrated from the following excerpts from the Cantares Mexicanos.

In one series of short warrior poems, we find a strange mixture of themes: flowers and song intermingled with references to death on the battlefield. The battle itself is described as “flowery” (tlachinoxochitl).

King Ahuizotl (1486-1502) is said to reign by means of arrows and flowery shields (chimalxochitl). The composer or singer of this song-poem says he is intoxicated with the flowers of war (yaoxochitl) and calls upon the God and Giver of Life (Teotl e Aya ipalnemoani) to carry the city on his shoulders and preserve Anahuac (the Valley of Mexico) in his hands.

In Garibay’s edition, the word “Dios,” which precedes the Nahuatl word “Teotl” in the original text, is omitted and placed in the right-hand margin thus: ( ) Teotl é Aya ipalnemoani (Om. Dios).

There are many such Christian references throughout the poems in the Cantares Mexicanos, such as “obispo” (“bishop”), Santa Maria, Espiritu Santo etc. This is only one such example. In his later translations, Leon-Portilla leaves these out of the text altogether.

Consequently both scholars have been severely criticized on the grounds that they were deliberately altering the original texts to suppress whatever did not support their concept of Aztec society in general and Nahuatl literature in particular.

The explanation for the Christian references in the Nahuatl poems seems rather obvious (to me at least). In fact, Garibay thought he had explained them in his early edition of the Cantares Mexicanos.He quotes directly from the proceedings of the First Catholic Council in Mexico in the 16th century. In that report, church officials noted that the Indians were prone to backslide into their old pagan ways, especially in these song-poems. Therefore the officials gave instructions that priests or persons well-versed in Nahuatl were to examine the poems for any sign of paganism (cosas profanes) and make sure that they were conducive to the conversion of the natives. Garibay gives a number of examples of the way in which the Spanish missionaries appear to have altered the text in very subtle ways to give [alleged] pre-Hispanic Nahuatl poems the appearance of Christian compositions. For example:

Iztac huexotl Aya iztac tolin in
ye imanican Mexico nican Huiya
Timatlalaztatotl tipatlanihuiz
tehuan titeotl ( ) Ohuaya (Om. Spu. So.)
(Ref)

From the white willows, the white reeds
Mexico is the abode,
You, you the blue heron, you have come down flying
You are the god*
(*my translation after Garibay)

Garibay here says that the poet is speaking of the Aztec war god Huitzilopochtli, the blue heron refers to the semi-historical, semi-legendary Aztlan, original home of the Aztecs, and blue is the ritual color of the god. But here, too, we can see the not-so-subtle guiding hand of the priest, for the proof reader adds “Tú, dios Espiritu Santo” (see above bracketed quotation). The result, as Garibay remarks, is grotesque.

Many more examples of such Christian interpolations could be given here. One would have thought this would have settled the matter once and for all, but some critics think otherwise.

For example, J. Bierhorst interprets all of the poems of the Cantares as “Ghost Songs” and completely rejects the Garibay/Leon-Portilla interpretation of “in xochitl in cuicatl” as referring to poetry. Instead, Bierhorst believes that these are songs intended to summon the spirits of dead warriors to return to earth to help their descendants trodden under by the Spaniards.

In this view, the oft-mentioned”flowers” (xochitl) in the poems refer to persons summoned from the Other World. These ghosts descend from heaven fully armed and ready to fight. In return for their services, the warrior ghosts demand payment in human sacrifice or if the war is already in progress, they will automatically arrive as payment.

Bierhorst and others offer so many more criticisms of the Garibay/Leon-Portilla method of translation and interpretation that one wonders why the poems were preserved in the first place if they were so controversial from the beginning. Again the answer seems fairly obvious.

Some years ago I was doing some private research on the Huichol Indians of Jalisco and Nayarit. I visited the Huichol museum at the twin-towered Cathedral in Zapopan to the north of Guadalajara, where I met a Father Buenventura who showed me an instructional manual for priests dealing with the Huichol Indians.

In it was a diagram of the ririki or native temple or god-house showing how the various items used in the Huichol ceremony could be gradually, almost imperceptibly, converted into a Catholic mass.

This was simply a continuation of the process of conversion of natives to Christianity beginning in the 16th century. The universal aim of the Spanish missionary- priests was to wipe out all trace of native religion, which they regarded as idolatry and the work of the devil.

However, they were clever enough not to destroy all the symbols of the ancient “pagan” world; rather they used every means at their disposal to convert the Indians. As the so-called “Christian Humanist,” A. Garibay himself noted in his edition of the Cantares Mexicanos, the Christian interpolations in the poems were intended to do precisely that.

One of the great ironies of events in Mexican history is that, in some cases at least, the very opposite has happened. The conquered have conquered the conquerors and certain aspects of religion in Mexico are simply a thin veneer of Christianity superimposed over pre-Conquest native religion. The old gods of Mexico are not yet dead.

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(US NEWS SOURCE) January 4, 2011 - The Mexican Caribbean offers hundreds of miles of white sand beaches, stunning turquoise waters, lowlands along the coast that hide ancient Mayan cities and a limestone plateau that allows underground rivers to emerge through caverns and create distinct formations.
Few places in the world offer beauty and attractions like the Mexican Caribbean. A paradise for lovers of nature and adventure, travelers arrive every year to this multifaceted destination in the state of Quintana Roo in search of ecotourism, a popular type of vacation.

The Mexican Caribbean offers hundreds of miles of white sand beaches, stunning turquoise waters, lowlands along the coast that hide ancient Mayan cities and a limestone plateau that allows underground rivers to emerge through caverns and create distinct formations. It also has the second largest coral reef in the world, protected biosphere areas, natural aquariums, and several archaeological sites that encompass some of the world’s most amazing settings.

Among the areas of outstanding natural beauty with a wide range of eco-tourism activities, are Cancun, Riviera Maya, Cozumel, Grand Costa Maya, Puerto Morelos, Isla Mujeres and Holbox. Ecotourism forces the traveler to constantly engage and connect with nature and enjoy its offerings while keeping a respect for the balance of the environment. All of these elements join together in the Mexican Caribbean, where visitors are surrounded by lush jungle, cenotes and natural reserves. Visitors can enjoy exotic bird watching, observing endangered species in their natural habitat; swim with whale sharks, as well as enjoy the rich fauna and flora.

From Cancun to the Mayan area, there are a wide variety of eco-tourism activities that allow visitors to enjoy a one of a kind experience with nature. Among the most popular spots to visit is Isla Contoy, ideal for bird watching enthusiasts. Another option is Coba, a site that holds an impressive archaeological area immersed in a Mayan community.

Cancun is a gateway to our environmental world. It’s a beautiful, natural place with underground river systems, caves, the world’s largest cenotes (natural sink holes), magnificent waterfalls and spring-fed pools surrounded by a mystic jungle full of ancient Mayan cities. Due to its unique and strategic location in the Yucatan Peninsula, Cancun offers a variety of adventure and eco-tourism activities such as snorkeling in the Great Mesoamerican Reef, swimming with majestic whale sharks and dolphins, diving along the archipelago or visiting eco-archaeological parks.

The region offers exclusive and exciting adventure tourism, such as rappelling in a cenote, as well as the fast and long zip lines in the middle of the forest, combined with expeditions to different lagoons. One of them, Laguna Bacalar, known as ‘lagoon of the seven colors’ for its seven shades of blue, is a perfect place for camping, snorkeling, enjoying the beauty of the tropical fish or simplying relaxing during leisurely stroll in a canoe surrounded by nature.

Also, there are a variety of tours that cross the lowland jungle of the Mexican Caribbean and offer a wonderful eco-tourism experience. The adventure begins aboard a jeep and continues by visiting different ranches and small Mayan communities where cenotes and underground rivers can be found. Once there, visitors can snorkel in beautiful and unique rivers. Another impressive ecotourism excursion is a trip to the Rio Secreto, an exciting caves tour between stalagmites and stalactites in a pristine underground river.

On the other hand, some eco-tours offer visitors what is known as Maya flight, a zip line experience in the jungle that also combines a Mayan ceremony in a cenote, where visitors learn how this ancient culture envisioned the world.

The Mexican Caribbean offers one of the most diverse flora and fauna in Mexico and is constantly researching new sustainable practices. The hotel industry and many service providers are also in the process of becoming certified by international environment agencies.

The Mexican Caribbean offers endless activities for ecotourism and direct contact with nature for visitors, as well as unique and memorable experiences.

About Quintana Roo

The Ministry of Tourism is a department of the Executive Power of the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, whose main aim is to establish, direct and supervise the criteria and policies for tourism promotion and development in the state, as well as act as a liaison for the departments and entities of the Federal Government related to the tourism sector.

Thus we present on this website all the information related to tourism activity in the state that the State Government, through this department, generates to fulfill its function and objectives, which will serve as an instrument for consulting and working among the Tourism Sector in the State. For more information, visit http://www.caribemexicano.gob.mx/

Follow us on Twitter @mexcaribbean or “LIKE” us on Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mexcaribbean

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Musicologists and folklorists have argued for years over the origin of the word – Mariachi. The explanation that appears most frequently – especially on record jackets and in travel brochures – is that it is a variation of the French wordmariage, meaning wedding or marriage, and comes from the time in the nineteenth century when Maximillian, a Frenchman, was Emperor of Mexico.

According to this myth the Mariachi was named by the French after the celebration with which it was most commonly associated. But this explanation, always regarded as highly doubtful by linguists, was totally discredited recently when a use of the word was found that predated the time when the French arrived in Mexico.

Currently, however, the best scholarly opinion is that the word mariachi has native roots. One theory is that it comes from the name of the wood used to make the platform on which the performers danced to the music of the village musicians. But whatever its true source – and the truth may never be discovered with absolute certainty – the word today has one meaning that is crystal clear: Mariachi means one of the most exciting and enchanting musical ensembles found anywhere in the world.

The Beginning of the Mariachi We Know Today

Although the origins of Mariachi music go back hundreds of years, in the form we know it the Mariachi began in the nineteenth century in the Mexican state of Jalisco - according to popular legend, in the town of Cocula. The Mariachi was the distinctive version of the Spanish theatrical orchestra of violins, harp and guitars which developed in and around Jalisco. In other areas such as Veracruz and the Huasteca region in the northeast, the ensemble evolved differently. By the end of the nineteenth century, in Cocula the vihuela, two violins, and the guitarró n (which had replaced the harp) were the instruments of the Mariachi.

The principal music played by these early Mariachis was the SON, the popular music of the day. A mixture of folk traditions from Spain, Mexico, and Africa, the son was found in many regions of the country. The son from Jalisco is called the son Jalisciense. La Negra is the best-known example.

Zones from other regions include the son Jarocho or Veracruzano, from the region around the Gulf port of Veracruz; and the son Huasteco, from northeastern Mexico. The most famous example of the son Jarocho is La Bamba. A typical son Huasteco, also known as the Huapango, is La Malagueña. It is interesting to note that there are some zones, such as El Gusto, which are common in all three regions and clearly date back to a common ancestor.

By: Jorge Tamayo Re-published or Posted on July 30, 2011 by AetnaJo B.

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Having you been thinking about getting married in Mexico? Many couples now see Mexico as a wonderful and exciting place to get married that is both affordable and convenient. Wedding planners can take almost all of the hassle out of the process and make life easier for bride and groom.

Getting married in Mexico has become an extremely popular option for people from all over the world, who often combine their wedding ceremony with their honeymoon vacation. Below, you’ll find a general list of information on how to get married in Mexico. Please remember that this information is general, and can vary from state to state. Please check with the proper authorities, or you may choose a wedding coordinator (both are listed below).

Civil ceremonies are the only ones recognized in Mexico. A religious ceremony can be had, but it isn’t considered official.

You must have tourist cards and/or a visa plus passports. No Mexican residential requirements are applicable. Marriages are performed at the “Oficina del Registro Civil” (Civil Registers Office) for a fee (can range from $100 to $250 in resort areas). Every city and small town has an office. Most people in this office don’t speak English. This is where a wedding coordinator comes in handy if you don’t speak Spanish. The marriage ceremony can be performed elsewhere, but please check with the office for information and extra fees.

Divorced people cannot marry in Mexico until one year after their finalized divorce (this may vary in different areas and proof of divorce may be enough). Minors under 18 can not marry without written & notarized permission from a parent or legal guardian. Some states may require a waiting period of a few days.

You’ll need to present the following;

• A current passport with tourist card or visa (make copies of each)
• Certified copies of your birth certificate
• An application stating whether that you wish to marry (available at the Civil Registers Office)
• If divorced in Mexico, a certificated decree from the Mexican Consular Office
• A blood test done in Mexico (the CRO will recommend a doctor/clinic) – There is a fee (as high as $60 in some resorts)
• Two legally qualified witnesses (over 18) who must be present for each person

You’ll receive your copy of the marriage certificate at the CRO. Make sure you get certified copies now, so you don’t have to go through the trouble at a later date.

NOTE: Foreigners wishing to marry Mexican citizens must obtain authorization from the National Institute of Migration (Instituto Nacional de Migracion). This will take a bit longer and there will be more paper work to process.

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