Super Bowl in Mexico: American football is not just for gringos
The annual Super Bowl ritual of gathering around the television with friends, family and food is now part of many Mexican homes, restaurants and bars.
One reason is American football’s long but unknown history in Mexico.
Cultural appropriation in Mexican fashion: The ‘Original’ revolution
Several years ago, internationally renowned singer Susana Harp called out French designer Isabel Marant for selling a blouse that was essentially a copy of that worn in the village of Santa María Tlahuitoltepec in Oaxaca. The resulting controversy shone a spotlight on a practice that while legal, has significant cultural, political, and diplomatic repercussions.
Quilting in Mexico? A US tradition with a following south of the border
Most English speakers from North America are quite familiar with patchwork quilts; it is one of the few native handcrafts we still have north of the border, and it remains a part of Anglo-American identity. Although not documented, when American and Canadians began retiring to Mexico in large numbers after World War II, the hobby likely accompanied them south.
Just who is Santa Muerte and why do millions of people follow her?
With a scythe, a long robe and piercing stare, this figure looks very much like the Grim Reaper icon we know from film, books and other media. However, this version is more: it’s a religion and a split in how Mexicans see death.
Is Mexico a baseball country? Yes, and it could turn even more so
On April 29, I made the mistake of taking Line 9 of the Mexico City Metro just as fans from a game between the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants left the Alfredo Helú Harp Stadium. Although I had seen advertisements for the game, I never took Mexico for a baseball country.
Why did Mexico so love Chabelo, a man dressed as boy?
Maybe I have been in Mexico too long. I was at the market when I looked up at a television set to find out that performer Xavier López, a.k.a. Chabelo, had died. My response was “no manches!” (You’re kidding!)
Understanding the character known as “the friend of all children” is one key to understanding 20th-century Mexico.
A gringa experiences her first quincañera celebration
This month, my sister, niece and I had the honor of being invited to the quinceañera party of my husband Alex’s godchild, Valeria. I already knew that it is a rather elaborate rite of passage for girls in Mexico, and I did a little research before going, but I still found the experience both moving and, shall we say, peculiar.
Female voladoras both challenge and preserve an ancient rite
High above the crowd, five people in colorful costumes ascend a tall pole to flute music. When the moment is just right, four of them throw themselves off the pole simultaneously, with only unwinding cords keeping them from crashing below.
This popular pulque bar’s owner is kindly knife-weilding grandma
The newspaper El Universal calls her San Luis Potosí’s “queen of pulque.” Her real name is María Crescencia Ortiz Hernández, but everyone calls her Doña Chencha, out of both familiarity and respect.
Her claim to fame is a small pulquería (pulque bar) called La Flor de Mexquitic in Maravillas, a San Luis Potosí community in the Mexquitic de Carmona municipality. The state capital is only a 20-minute drive from here, and urbanization is making its way here fast.
Mexico’s world-famous Day of the Dead spotlights the country’s relationship with the end of life, but that doesn’t mean that death is ignored the rest of the year. Its acceptance as an integral part of life means that there are year-round cultural institutions dedicated to the subject.
Death comes alive with calacas, Mexico’s skeletal figures
In the opening scenes of the James Bond film Spectre (2015), giant skeleton puppets parade down Mexico City streets, and Bond himself wears a skull mask with very regal clothing.
The parade was fictitious at the time, but its focus on depictions of skeletons (calacas) and skulls (calaveras) had basis in reality. Skeletons that imitate those of us of flesh and blood have been a part of Day of the Dead for some time.
Blight or culture? A CDMX borough’s battle with colorful vendor stalls
When is the painting of a public space blight and when is it something to be valued?
Last year, borough Mayor Sandra Cuevas began a program called the Integrated Journey to Improve the Urban Environment (Jornada Integral de Mejoramiento del Entorno Urbano). Her stated goal is cleaning and organizing the borough, which encompasses the oldest sections of Mexico City. However, some of her efforts have sparked controversy.
In a land dependent on rain, ancient god Tlaloc is alive and well in Mexico
“Tlaloc is showing off again,” you will hear in my house when a good thunderstorm hits Mexico City.
Yes, it’s the 21st century, but it turns out we are not the only ones who “invoke” the god Tlaloc as we go into the annual start of the rainy season. With almost half the country now officially in drought, even the newspaper El Financiero appealed to Tlaloc in an April 4 headline.
Meet the psychologist who became Mexico’s top ghosthunter
Antonio Zamudio, a paranormal investigator for over 25 years in Mexico, says the country is rich in ghost stories in part because its history “has been written in blood in all of its decades.”
Delivery services’ rise is teaching Mexicans to love motorbikes
I was surprised to see hardly any motorcycles when I first came to central Mexico in 2003. After all, the temperate weather in most parts makes them far more practical than in places like New York. But it is only in the last few years that I have noticed a significant number of motorcycles on the streets of Mexico City.
Five icons of Mexican popular culture you should know
If my discussions about this topic with friends, family, and other longtime foreign residents are any indication, this list might get me into some trouble.
Do Mexicans accept death better than other cultures?
Oddly, we’d had a casual conversation about Licha’s condition a few weeks ago, when my husband Alejandro assured me that things were OK with his sister-in-law’s cancer treatment.
Then, a few days ago, I hear him talking on the phone with that tone of voice that transcends all linguistic barriers. You know the one — half hushed and 150% serious.
Though now part of the mainstream, Chinelos still retain an aura of mystery
The Chinelos, costumed dancers who are a regional Mexican Carnival tradition, began as a way to “diss the man” several hundred years ago.
Want to speak like a native? Learn the language of Mexico’s hand gestures
Shortly after arriving in Mexico, I was confronted by a hand gesture at work that took me aback.
A person passed in front of me, and I let him by. The response was the raising of the palm to chest level with the back of the hand facing out.
Xochimilco’s nearly 450-year old Niñopa statue adapts to the pandemic
A 4 1/2-century-old “child” called the Niñopa is the most important religious icon in Mexico City’s borough of Xochimilco and the star of an upcoming celebration.
Coahuila municipality’s communities originated in escaped US ancestors
Tucked away in a corner of the state of Coahuila, only a couple of hours from the United States border, lies a municipality with an open secret: two communities — one of African descendants (called Mascogos in Mexico) and one of Kickapoo, both who fled the United States in the 19th century.
Firm keeps historic neighborhoods alive by ‘recycling’ their heritage
It’s an interesting juxtaposition: new construction in an old, established neighborhood, keeping at least the old facade as — well — a facade.
It provokes mixed feelings. What is kept makes me wonder how much was lost.
Mexico City’s best known haunted houses, real and fake
While no one should ever confuse Day of the Dead with Halloween, at this time of the year thoughts turn to the hereafter. With over 500 years of modern history and thriving civilizations that came before that, it is no surprise that Mexico has an abundance of ghost stories.
Born to be salvaje: Biker culture in Mexico more than an imitation of US
As of 2017, there were over 3.5 million motorcycles on the roads of Mexico, a market that has been experiencing robust growth.
One reason is the availability of inexpensive, small bikes that are good for urban transportation, and indispensable with the rise of delivery services like Uber Eats.
Mexico attracts people not only of this world, but from outer space, too
So the Pentagon has admitted studying UFOs, and not a single person is shocked. I thought it would be fun to find out if our alien friends visit Mexico as well. Looks like they do!
The sound of bagpipes: Mexico’s little-known Irish connection
One can be forgiven for thinking that a Saint Patrick’s Day parade held in Mexico City is just a kind of marketing gimmick, especially when sponsored by the McCarthy’s Irish Pub chain. But while marketing certainly plays a role, there is more interest in Irish/Scottish culture among Mexicans than one would suspect.