Mexico

Mexico desperately needed Mexicans to care about axolotls. So he put them on the bills

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The cultural phenomenon around Mexican axolotl It began with an apparently modest gesture: its appearance on a bill, part of a design process in which specialists in Xochimilco advised the Bank of Mexico to faithfully represent this unique species and its chinampero ecosystem. The initial intention was pedagogical and symbolic, but it ended up unleashing an unexpected enthusiasm of unknown dimensions. The creature that conquered a country. As we said, the emergence in 2021 of the axolotl on the Mexican 50 peso bill completely transformed the country’s relationship with a species that, until then, was known only by specialists and inhabitants from Xochimilco. From the first day of circulation, the design captivated millions of people, not only for its aesthetics, but for the soft and enigmatic figure of the amphibian that, unintentionally, embodied a mixture of tenderness, identity and cultural pride. Without millions in circulation. The bill became an immediate phenomenon: collectors, families and young people began to keep it as a small treasure, which explains that, in 2025, more than four years later, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) announced through a report that 9.8 million Mexicans They keep or collect this bill as if it were a treasure and they have decided to remove it from circulation. In fact, the bank has detailed that 68% of those consulted, who responded that they keep or collect this paper money, have one to five units. According to the calculation, if 9.8 million Mexicans keep a 50 bill, it is estimated that around 490 million pesos of this currency, or its approximate equivalent of more than 26 million dollarsare out of circulation. Hallucinatory. Awards. Its success even led to it being internationally awarded as ticket of the yearconsecrating what was already intuited: the image of the axolotl had connected with a collective sensitivity that went far beyond the economic. And behind that image there was a real animal, an axolotl called Gordaselected after a careful process of documentation and photography, which ended up becoming a national figure without anyone planning it. The daily life of la Gorda. Gorda currently lives in Axolotitlán, the National Axolotl Museumwhere she remains in a deep and well-kept fish tank where she is no longer constantly exposed due to her advanced age. Even so, those who visit it can recognize it by small white spots on its head, a feature that ended up becoming its hallmark. Its fame has generated a parallel ecosystem of objects and souvenirs (from stuffed animals to mugs and clothing) that have reinforced its presence in the country’s daily life. But beyond popular culture, specialists have remembered that admiration also implies responsibility: the axolotl is a extremely fragile speciesdependent on a specific environment, and its sudden notoriety only makes sense if it translates into greater awareness about its conservation. Gorda’s story shows that a single specimen can become a bridge between citizens and nature, but also that collective emotion must be accompanied by decisions that guarantee the survival of the species. An extraordinary creature. The qualities axolotl biologicalfrom its ability to regenerate limbs, tissues and even parts of the brain, to its breathing through gills, skin and mouth, or its condition as a salamander that does not complete metamorphosis, have made it a unique animal in the world. However, this singularity coexists with a critical situation: he Ambystoma mexicanum It is classified as extremely endangered and the destruction of its habitat has been constant for decades. Xochimilco, the only place where this species exists naturally, faces a combination of threats: accelerated urbanization, water pollution and the presence of invasive species that have decimated native ones since the 1980s. And more. Added to this are improvised interventionssuch as the release of axolotls without scientific protocols, which end in almost immediate mortality due to thermal shock, poor water quality or competition between specimens. The specialists they insist in which the conservation of the axolotl is not an act of isolated goodwill, but a technical process that requires strict control of the environment, genetic evaluation, slow acclimatization and comprehensive protection of the channels. The fragility of the animal reflects the fragility of the ecosystem that supports it. Restore Xochimilco. Scientists say that the conservation of the axolotl is inseparable from recovery of Xochimilcoand that evidence has led researchers and chinamperos to undertake shelter projects that recover ancestral agricultural techniques. These restored chinampas act as safe microecosystems where axolotls can remain free of contact with invasive species and with adequate water quality. The objective is not to create artificial reserves, but return to the environment its original balance so that the species can survive without eternally depending on human intervention. Xochimilco is not just a historical heritage nor a tourist postcard, it is a living system that regulates floods, stabilizes temperature, supports traditional agriculture and houses a biodiversity that depends on its continuity. The axolotl is only the visible tip of a problem much broader: if your home disappears, ecological functions on which the entire region depends will also disappear. Takeoff and the World Cup. Since May 2026, the government of Mexico City (with the head of government Clara Brugada at the helm) has taken the image of the axolotl to a much larger scale in view of the 2026 World Cup that is being held: the Light Train has been renamed like “The Axolotl” (with an investment of more than 2.3 billion pesos), bridges, pedestrian crossings, buses and street furniture have been painted purple and decorated with axolotls in what the Mexican press has dubbed “axolotization”, and an official city mascot was even presented for the tournament (“Ajolotín”). The phenomenon has generated so much viral memes as reviews for public spending and for using the animal symbol while the real species continues to decline. The hype. Be that as it may, the social phenomenon of the 50 peso bill demonstrated that an image can change public perception of an entire species. Gorda became a symbol recognized by millions of people, capable of arousing curiosity, affection … Read more

Mexico has turned the opening of the World Cup into its greatest showcase. A wave of protests threatens to turn him against him

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Welcome the inauguration A World Cup is always a guarantee of something: visibility. There are few ‘showcases’ comparable to being the city in which the ball of a FIFA tournament begins to roll, something that will happen tonight (peninsular time) in Mexico City. What is not so clear is what the rest of the planet will see through that showcase: the Government hopes to offer a great sports festival, but there is seven protests summoned that threaten to spoil the day and leave a very different image. The World Cup ball is not the only one that rolls. And the day came. If you like sports (and if you don’t, too) it is likely that you had March 11 marked in red on your calendar. Barring an unforeseen catastrophe, this afternoon, at 9:00 p.m. peninsular time, the teams of Mexico and South Africa will play the opening match of the 2026 Soccer World Cup. They will do so in the Azteca stadium from Mexico City, after an opening ceremony in which several artists will participate and which will experience its climax when Shakira and Burna Boy perform the song of the World Cup, ‘Dai dai’. More than football. The normal thing on a day like today is that the host country of the World Cup dedicates itself to talking basically about football. Mexico knows it well, which has experience in the matter: this will be the third time in which it hosts the World Cup tournament, something it already did in 1970 and 1986. Today, however, the Mexican authorities (especially those in CDMX) are awaiting something else: half a dozen calls of protests that will start from different points of the city towards the vicinity of the stadium where athletes, authorities and fans will meet. What protests? The diary The Universal speaks of at least seven calls confirmed and organized by groups of transporters, health workers, peasant associations and pensioners who basically want to take advantage of two things: the media attention generated by the World Cup and the Government’s interest in avoiding any conflict that tarnishes the FIFA tournament. There are two mobilized groups that stand out above the rest due to the exposure they have achieved in recent weeks. The first are the ‘seeking mothers’that they cry out for justice for your missing relatives. The second, the teachersorganized in the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) and who have been demanding labor improvements for some time. Although the Executive has tried until the last moment reach an agreement with them to deactivate today’s protests, both parties (Education and CNTE) remain very distant. Claudia Sheibaum’s team does has been luckier with the farmers, who also threatened to mobilize. @lajornadaonline Hours before the soccer festival begins, the pain of the families of missing people is manifested in Mexico City. Collectives of searching mothers walk towards the Mexico City stadium, but the capital police prevented them from passing through Tlalpan. ♬ original sound – lajornadaonline – lajornadaonline “They want to provoke us”. The conflict does not catch the Government by surprise. The CNTE it takes months showing its discomfort and its relationship with the Sheinbaum Government has been strained in recent weeks, which has even led some of its members to break into the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Education. The most critical episode occurred a few days agowhen a teacher lost an eye after being hit by a rubber bullet while participating in a march. Incidents like this are the ones that now, a few hours before the start of the World Cup, the Government wants to avoid at all costs. “There are groups that want to provoke us, and they are not necessarily teachers. In other words, what they are looking for is repression, I say it clearly. What they are looking for is that before the opening of the World Cup the international note is: ‘The Government of Mexico represses teachers’. That is what they are looking for, but they are not going to have it,” Sheinbaum assured on Monday. The scenario is not simple. Both the president and the Government of CDMX assure that will respect the right to protest, but at the same time they are taking measures to shield the Azteca and prevent the protests from altering the World Cup agenda. “National Security Facility”. The Secretary of Government of CDM, César Cravioto, it was very clear about it on Tuesday: the capital’s stadium, he warned, “is already a national security facility.” Hence, access controls and protection have been reinforced. “They will have to understand that in less than 48 hours the World Cup will open here, in the stadium, and we have to protect it.” Cravioto insisted also that fans are “guaranteed” access to the Azteca, although he asked them to arrive “early” to avoid “complications.” ABC assures that there are professionals (journalists, stadium workers, sponsors…) who are already considering heading to the area at seven in the morning, six hours before the opening match starts. The focus is not only on the Azteca. The Secretariat of Citizen Security has also deployed a special device on the perimeter of the Mexico City International Airport to anticipate the arrival of CNTE protesters. Of laws and pensions. In the background is the clash between the Executive and the teachers represented by the CNTE, who on May 1, Labor Day, presented a document with their requests to the Government. In general lines propose eliminating the ISSSTE law of 2007, changes in educational reforms, recovering a solidarity pension system for teachers and a salary improvement. For now, and despite the eight-hour meeting held in extremison the eve of the World Cup, there has been no agreement with the Government, which maintains that the change in pensions would skyrocket its cost. The teachers’ protests will match today with those of the ‘seeking mothers’, who have been demanding that the Executive not forget the tens of thousands of people with unknown whereabouts that Mexico accumulates. Before, the group has … Read more

In two days, on Netflix, the first stop-motion film made in Mexico arrives with the seal of Guillermo del Toro

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There are projects that are literally made with a lifetime’s savings. ‘I’m Frankeldathe first stop motion animated feature film produced entirely in Mexico and which comes with the seal of Guillermo del Toro’s production, comes to Netflix this June 12 with more than one hundred hand-built puppets, four years of craftsmanship. The beginning of its story dates back to 2021 and a semi-unknown anthology miniseries. It was in that year when the Mexican studio Cinema Fantasma, founded by brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz, premiered on HBO Max (not available in Spain) ‘The Hidden Scares of Frankelda’, a stop motion anthology miniseries starring a ghost writer who tells horror stories to children. The success of the series led to the jump to feature length, initially as a 30-minute special, which grew to become a two-hour film. The Ambriz brothers ended up financing the production with their own savings. We will meet Francisca Imelda in 19th century Mexico, a writer of horror stories whose texts are ignored and dismissed by those around her. Forced into silence, she adopts the pseudonym Frankelda and continues writing until a tormented, supernatural-looking prince, Herneval, guides her on a journey into her own subconscious. Turned into a ghost, she discovers that The monsters he invented have come to life and threaten the balance between fiction and reality.. Just like explained Roy Ambriz: “When Mary Shelley published her books, she had to do so under the name of her husband, Percy Shelley. So we asked ourselves: how many Mary Shelleys would there have been in Mexico?” After seeing a provisional montage, Del Toro congratulated the creators and sponsored the project. The director was already in contact with the brothers since 2015 and the short film ‘Revoltoso’, which he produced. In ‘Soy Frankelda’ he served as creative advisor. It is a role in which the director fits perfectly, since he not only won the Oscar with his own version of ‘Pinocchio’ for Netflix, but he has supported the art of stop motion in very diverse ways, such as with the creation, together with the platform and the Parisian animation school Gobelins, of a stop-motion studio-laboratory. In Xataka | Today on Netflix, 6 seasons of a brutal and fast-paced action series with an impeccable score

Mexico wanted to end telephone anonymity. SIMs are already being sold with someone else’s identity on the black market

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He Mexican government made the decision to end the anonymity of cell lines and thus put an end to telephone extortion. The goal is for each number to be linked to a person by June 30; after that date, all unregistered lines will be disconnected. The problem is that on the black market there is already a way to circumvent this rule. What is happening. They tell it in Xataka Mexico following a newspaper investigation Millennium. In the historic center of CDMX anyone can buy a SIM card already activated under the identity of another person, without having to leave their personal data. It costs 200 pesos and can be done in minutes. He modus operandi. The official process To register a mobile line, you must provide your identification document or passport and perform biometric identification using a selfie video. The sellers of these SIMs take a photo of the barcode on the card and send it via WhatsApp. In a few moments, the fraudulent registration is done and they even offer a guarantee if there is a problem. All for 200 pesos: 100 pesos for the SIM and 100 pesos for the procedure. A striking detail is that the majority of SIMs sold with this method are from Movistar. Deepfakes. Although it is not clear how registration is carried out, it has already been confirmed that the identification system is not infallible. As reported in The Countrythe system cannot distinguish between a real person or a deepfake made with AI, so registration can be done on behalf of anyone simply by having their data and a photo. False lines have even been registered using the senator’s data Gerardo Fernández Norona. Fear of identity theft. There is another problem with line logging related to trust. Many citizens flee from the registry for fear that their personal data will end up on the black market. It is not an unfounded fear, it is something that already happened in a previous attempt to create a database with mobile phones in 2008. The initiative was called Renaut and ended up being eliminated in 2011 after complete databases were leaked and sold on the black market. Later, in 2022, the Supreme Court invalidated another attempt because it considered it violated the right to privacy. Massive line losses. This distrust has had an impact on telephone companies’ numbers. Many prepaid users have preferred to let their lines die rather than comply with this obligation. Taking into account that in Mexico more than 80% of the market is prepaid, this translates into massive line losses. In the first quarter of the year, AT&T Mexico lost a whopping 577,000 lines, while Telcel lost 483,000. With contract users there is not so much resistance since when signing with the operator the personal data has already been delivered. An unreal goal. The government is putting pressure with advertising campaigns to get registration done before the deadline, but it does not seem realistic that they will achieve it. As of May 19, there were registered 49.5 million lineswhich represents 30.7% of the total, which is about 160 million lines. As we said, if the plan continues as planned, all lines that have not been registered before June 30 will be disconnected. Image | PublicDomainPicturesedited In Xataka | Not content with flooding your email, spam and scams are now arriving in your mailbox.

Mexico has so many dogs abandoned in its streets that are part of the landscape that has made them a “representative breed”

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A few years ago, a story went viral in Mexico City. She had a stray dog ​​nicknamed “Hachiko of La Raza” as the protagonist, and became famous because he spent day and night at a subway exit waiting for an owner who, according to neighbors and users, had died shortly before. Thousands of people began to leave him food and water when they saw him always in the same place. Hachiko was actually a symptom now turned into a race. A national symbol. Mexico has reached such a peculiar point with its stray dogs that one of them has ended up being officially recognized as a representative “race” of the country. The call Candy dogwith its yellowish fur, sharp snout and medium size, has been part of the Mexican urban landscape for so long that millions of people instantly identify it as something everyday and almost cultural. We are talking about an animal that sleeps in front of stores, follows invisible routes through the colonies and survives thanks to small scattered gestures from neighbors who leave it food or water. The phenomenon reveals something deeply latin american: abandoned animals that have ceased to be perceived as exceptions and have become partly natural of urban life. The problem is that this normalization is also a sign of the enormous structural failure surrounding animal abandonment. A “race” born of abandonment. Behind the myth of Caramel there is no real race, but entire generations of miscegenation produced by decades of neglect. A genetic study conducted in Brazil discovered that these dogs contain traces of hundreds of different lineagesfrom German Shepherds to Pekingese. However, the environment has been molding the same extremely recognizable physical pattern: resistant size, short hair, agile body and that yellowish color that helps it better withstand the heat. and certain diseases. The street has acted as a kind of urban natural selection where the animals most adapted to living among asphalt, traffic and extreme temperatures survive best. The result is paradoxical: Mexico has ended up developing its own “type of dog” not through planned breeding, but through mass abandonment. Everyone knows them, but no one adopts. Caramelo generates collective tenderness, memes, movies and millions of interactions on social networks, but that does not mean that it will easily find a home. Rescuers and associations they explain that these dogs tend to become the most invisible in shelters precisely because they are too common. While breeds like the Golden Retriever or the German Shepherd receive hundreds of adoption applications, yellow mixed breed dogs can spend years waiting without anyone asking about them. The contradiction is brutal: they are probably the most recognizable dogs in the country and at the same time the most ignored when the time comes to assume real responsibilities. The collective affection towards them often functions as a kind of abstract affection that rarely translates into adoptions, sterilizations or permanent care. Mexico and a gigantic crisis of animal abandonment. The background to the phenomenon is much harsher than the cute images of dogs resting in the sun suggest. Mexico has one of the largest populations of stray animals in Latin America. Official figures estimate that about 70% of the country’s dogs live homeless and that millions of them were once abandoned pets. And every day more than a thousand animals they are left to their fate. This pressure has generated extreme and deeply controversial situations, such as the case of Tecámac, where authorities recognized the sacrifice of thousands of dogs street during the last years. The discussion reveals the enormous institutional vacuum around the problem: neither shelters, nor public campaigns, nor administrations seem capable of managing an animal population that is already a structural part of the Mexican urban landscape. From everyone and at the same time from no one. If you also want, the figure of Caramel summarizes an uncomfortable idea: many of these dogs survive thanks to an informal network of small community care, but without no one really assumes full responsibility on them. A neighbor gives them food, another takes them to the vet sometimes and someone else lets them sleep in front of his business. However, this chain of solidarity is extremely fragile. Without an official owner, many animals are left out of vaccinations, sterilizations or stable medical care. They live in a kind of limbo where they receive occasional affection, but are still completely exposed to abuses, illnesses or violence. That Mexico has ended up turning these dogs into a recognizable symbol says a lot about the emotional bond that exists with them, but also about the extent to which abandonment has been integrated into everyday normality. Image | Doggo19292 In Xataka | More than a thousand years ago the Mayans exploited a business almost as profitable as gems: the sale of pedigree dogs In Xataka | The easiest way to receive a fine for the Animal Welfare Law: leaving your pet on the terrace

Some bones found in Mexico have revealed a new facet of the Mayans: traders of “exotic” dogs

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We knew that the Mayans wove important commercial networks and? they used to market with food or items as precious as jade, obsidian, cocoa either shells. What we did not know is that in their markets there was another good as or even more precious that led sellers to invest resources, time and effort in transporting it over hundreds of kilometers: dogs. Just as we are willing to pay large sums for certain pedigree species, the Mayans of the Classic period (200-900 AD) they traded dogs that they fed with care. At least that’s what it suggests. a new study. Some lost bones. Moxviquil and Tenam Puente They are two Mayan sites located in Chiapas where, some time ago, archaeologists found remains of bones. So far nothing surprising. The curious thing is that among the remains there were fragments that belonged to dogs and deer, a valuable material that has allowed Dr. Elizateb Paris, from the University of Calgary, to compare their chemical characteristics to find out where the animals came from. The conclusions has published them in Journal of Achaeological Science and they leave a few surprises. An isotopic map. What Paris basically did, with the help of the rest of the colleagues who signed he paperwas to analyze the remains of strontium preserved in bones and tooth enamel. The reason is very simple: for researchers it represents a key clue to understanding what humans (or animals, in this case) ate and drank when they were alive, which in turn reveals the places they passed through. Once this information was collected, Dr. Paris and her colleagues compared it with a isotopic map which shows the proportions of strontium in all of Mesoamerica. What did they discover? That while the deer bones showed strontium levels consistent with the area in which they were located, suggesting that they were probably wild animals hunted in the local forests; The skeletons of the dogs told a very different story. “We discovered that the dogs in our sample were not from the area, but came from Mayan kingdoms in very distant lowlands,” share the anthropologist. The second surprise. It wasn’t the only thing Paris found out. The bones located in Moxviquil and Tenam Puente held yet another surprise. By thoroughly analyzing the carbon and nitrogen isotopes of the bones, the researchers discovered that the dogs enjoyed a privileged diet. So much, in fact, that they largely ate the same foods as humans: corn and meat. The archaeologists admit that the dogs may have been searching through the remains of what their owners consumed, but they also believe that this protein-rich diet was the result of “deliberate feeding.” In summary: it is not only that the dogs identified in the Mayan sites had traveled long distances, their diet was also taken care of. The question is… Why so much effort? The answer: trade. For Paris and his colleagues, the explanation is clear. The remains of Moxviquil and Tenam Puente reveal that Classic Period Mayan societies “traded” live dogs. And they were even willing to move them hundreds of kilometers, such as those between the central regions of Chiapas and the north of the Yucatan Peninsula. This not only shows that pre-Columbian peoples had customs not so different from those we maintain in 2026. It also confirms that they created “solid” marketing networks in Mesoamerica. The great unknown. The study de Paris helps us better understand Mayan society (and trade), but it leaves up a fascinating question: Was there any race that was especially valued? To which did the bones located in Chiapas belong? From the University of Calgary they recognize that this is still a mystery that they have not been able to completely clear up. At least for now. Researchers are already working with DNA samples to clarify it, although they have a hypothesis. The anthropologist remembers that the Aztecs had several special races and among them was the Xolotizcuintli (xolo), a dog that can be found in various sizes, but is always characterized by the lack of hair and premolars. “This breed could be present in the Mayan site, since the selective breeding of these dogs causes mutations that give rise to a strange shape in the teeth, a characteristic that many dogs in Chiapas have,” reveals university before remembering that there are indications that dogs were “highly appreciated” creatures among the Mayans. And not only because of what we now know about the distances they traveled or their diet. They are preserved representations in which rulers appear in hammocks with small dogs. Images | Secretariat of Culture of Mexico City (Flickr) 1 and 2 and Alex Azabache (Unsplash) In Xataka | We had always thought that the Mayans disappeared due to an environmental “apocalypse.” Turns out we were wrong

Mexico touches the sky with a new and elegant skyscraper of 484 meters and 99 floors. It will be the highest in all of Latin America

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For decades, it seemed that “the sky is the limit” applied to architecture was a maxim that only Asia and the Middle East reached. In fact, in recent times the world has witnessed a frantic race to see who has the biggest (skyscraper) between Dubai and Saudi Arabia. But there are some notable exceptions like the one that is about to premiere in Monterrey: the Tower Risea skyscraper that will not only be the tallest in the Central American country, but will also lead the skies of all of Latin America. If we open the range to the entire continent, it is only overshadowed by the mythical One World Trade Center in New York. The project. The Rise Tower is a mixed-use skyscraper that is being built in Monterrey (Nuevo León). It will have a height of 484 meters, of which 408 make up 96 residential floors and the remaining 76 make up the architectural spire that crowns the structure. More specifically, it will house residences, offices, a hotel, commerce and leisure facilities in a single structure, as is usual in skyscrapers of these characteristics, thus turning it into a city within a building. It will be located in the Obispado neighborhood, on Constitución Avenue in front of the Santa Catarina River, in one of the densest and most representative urban corridors of the city. The project is in charge by Nest and Ancore Group, has been designed by the Ancore architecture team and Mexican architect Esteban Ramos. Pozas Design Group and Next are responsible for its luxurious interior. Rise Tower layout diagram. Rise Why is it important. The Rise Tower will surpass the Torres Obispadowhich is also in Monterrey and is still the tallest skyscraper in the country. But once completed, it will officially be the tallest building in Latin America, a title that gives Mexico symbolic and technical leadership in the urban and architectural sector. Without going any further, it also moves the Great Santiago Tower in Chile. The building also positions Mexico in the world leagues of vertical architecture, a race dominated by Asia and the Middle East. For Mexico it is also a demonstration that the region can conceive, finance and execute projects at the scale of the world’s large urban centers and at the metropolitan scale, it can function as an engine for the repopulation of the urban center that favors investments in infrastructure. Context. Monterrey has been consolidating itself as the laboratory of vertical urbanism in Mexico for two decades. Without going any further, the construction of the Obispado Towers in 2020 had already surpassed the 300-meter barrier that defines it as “supertall.” The Rise Tower itself has been evolving since its first plans, when he aimed “only” 350 meters. The project is part of the trend of mixed-use supertalls that began to emerge in Asia and the Middle East since the 2000s and is now beginning to materialize in Latin America. Monterrey is in an area with wind and seismic activitywhich adds a layer of technical complexity to any potential design. In figures. Some numerical data of this stratospheric construction: 484 meters high: 408 habitable meters and 76 meters from the spire It will be the 13th tallest skyscraper in the world 35 levels of offices, 22 floors of apartments, 10 levels of luxury hotel 4,300 square meters of green areas and 8,000 square meters of leisure spaces. In detail. The tower has a rectilinear shape with a reinforced structural core and a perimeter framing system designed to withstand lateral loadssomething essential given that Monterrey is in a region where there is seismic activity and a lot of wind. The building envelope consists of a modular aluminum and glass curtain wall system, an aesthetically striking and effective combination for thermal control and management of dynamic wind pressures at high altitude. The concept of the façade is quite reminiscent of the architecture of mid-20th century skyscrapers. Points out The Civil Engineer The initial sketches suggested a more robust metallic aesthetic inspired by the historic Torre Latinoamericana in Mexico City (the grandfather of Mexican skyscrapers, built in 1956), but with the progress of construction, a greater presence of glass has become evident. In terms of sustainability, the project already has LEED Silver, Green Globes, Building EQ and Well certifications from the International Well Building Institute. For when? Construction began in 2023 and by March of this year the Rise Tower exceeded 306 meters and reached the 52nd floor, but there are still 170 meters left. The construction pace is high and in accordance with the governor’s statements from Nuevo León, Samuel García Sepúlveda, the inauguration is projected for the summer of 2026, before the FIFA World Cup. Nevertheless, other specialized sources They suggest that it will be delayed until the end of 2026 or even 2027. In Xataka | If the question is whether a skyscraper can be erased without demolishing it, Paris has the answer: yes, in exchange for a fortune In Xataka | Cancun has a huge bottleneck in its tourist area: Mexico is going to solve it with a megabridge Cover | Chorizowithegg and Rise Tower

What is a Roman bust doing in a pre-Hispanic tomb in Mexico?

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It is not strange that from time to time archaeologists surprise us with fascinating finds. A bone that tells us about shows with wild animals in Roman Britannia, a stalactite that reveals to what extent the Mayans suffered from the droughts, a 16th century wreck sunk with part of the menu of its crew members… The list is long, but in it it is difficult to find milestones like the one left 90 years ago an excavation at the site of Tecaxic-Calixtlahuacain Mexico. While studying a pre-Columbian tomb, historians located what appears to be part of a Roman sculpture, a figure that some experts date to the AD. 2nd and 3rd centuries AD The question is obvious: How the hell did it get there? First jump back: 1933. To understand the enigma we have to jump back 90 years, to 1933, when a team led by José García Payón He was excavating in the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca site, 65 kilometers northwest of the capital of Mexico. There the experts located a funeral offering which included pieces of gold, copper, turquoise, rock crystal, jet, ceramic… and something much less common in a pre-Columbian funerary trousseau: a terracotta head. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Two big unknowns. The bust in question shows a bearded face, with a style, features and even a hairstyle that fit more in ancient Rome than in pre-Hispanic America. The piece is so curious that in recent decades it has fascinated archaeologists and led to several investigations that try to answer two big questions: Where did the figure come from? And how the hell did it end up among the offerings in a tomb from the late 15th century? The scope of the mystery is better understood when we know a fundamental piece of information from the 1933 excavation. The ringleader did not appear in an open (and manipulable) space, but among offerings buried under three intact floors of a pyramidal structure. That is to say, everything indicates that no one altered the trousseau since the date of the burial, which experts date between 1476 and 1510. If that small bearded bust that looked like something out of ancient Rome was there, it was, in theory, because someone deposited it before sealing the tomb. Second jump back: II AD The leader of Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca continued to be involved in unknowns until early 60’swhen Ernst Boehringer, the president of the German Institute of Archaeology, suggested that it was probably of Roman origin and had been made between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. He is not the only one who thinks this way. Bernad Andreae, another eminent archaeologist, shares the hypothesis and even has gone one step further: “The hairstyle and the shape of the beard present the typical features of the period of the Severan emperors (193-235 AD).” In case there were any doubts, in the mid-90s the University of Heidelberg, in Germany, subjected the figurine to a thermoluminescence dating test. The time frame he provided is much broader, but it clears up the mystery: he concluded that the head had to be manufactured between the centuries IX BC and XIII AD Some sources even limit that window between the II BC and VI AD If we take into account that the rest of the items of the funerary trousseau were from the Aztec-Matlatzinca era (15th-16th centuries AD) the question was repeated again: How do you explain that an ancient Roman figurine ended up buried there? And what is the answer? The reality is that experts only handle hypotheses, not certainties. Some are fascinating. Others not so much. Among the latter there is one that has been on the table for a while and explains that for decades the academic world viewed the Calixtlahuaca figurine with certain suspicion. We can accept that the bust is Roman, even that it was made at the beginning of our era and ended up in a pre-Columbian tomb that remained sealed until the 1930s; but that does not mean that we have to accept that the figure had been buried there at the end of the 15th century. How is that possible? Very easy. Perhaps someone placed it there 90 years ago, during the García Payón excavation. “It could be a hoax, it could be a Roman figurine placed at the site or laboratory,” slides Michael E. Smithprofessor at Arizona State University. It is not a theory just thrown into the air. The same expert recalls that in the academic world it is rumored that the famous ringleader was snuck in by a student to play a prank. There is even a suspect. “Many archaeologists in Mexico have heard the story and tend to believe it.” The great unknown. When Smith tried to delve deeper into this possible explanation, he encountered a seemingly insurmountable wall. He couldn’t confirm it. Nor deny it. It also doesn’t help that his protagonists have died and that Payón was not especially exhaustive with his notes. In fact there are those who assure that the collection of artifacts extracted from Calixtlahuaca exhibited in the Museum of Anthropology of Toluca includes ceramics that come from other sites. Another plausible possibility is that the ringleader was associated with the trousseau for a mistakenot intentionally. Strange yes, impossible no. It is not the only hypothesis that archaeologists have raised. Smith himself acknowledges that there are others on the table, equally plausible, such as the fact that the figure was brought with him by a Spaniard at the beginning of the colonial period and for some reason ended up included in the trousseau along with other pieces whose origin can actually be delayed until the beginning of the 16th century. After all, the Calixtlahuaca burial occurred prior to prolonged contact with indigenous people, but it coincides with the first years of exploration. As notes Arkeo News That leaves out a remote possibility: What if, for a historical twist, a Roman antiquity traveled in the first colonial expeditions and then … Read more

Mexico is getting its foot in the door in the semiconductor industry. It will take more than good intentions

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The return of donald trump to the White House it was like an alarm clock for the rest of the countries. It caused the rise of the feeling of European technological sovereigntybut also the awakening of his neighbors. That feeling was captured in the ‘Mexico Plan‘, a strategy for the country to stop depending so much on others and where technology plays a fundamental role. Because Mexico has decided to get into the conversation of the semiconductor industry, and the OECD He just said there is potential. But also some other problems. Intentions. Mexico’s intention is to complete a series of objectives to become the tenth economy in the world and, within that strategy, there are objectives such as reducing poverty and inequality, promoting tourism and promoting vaccines made in Mexico. Also generate 1.5 million jobs and enhance the technological network. Among the various initiatives to achieve this, there are two that stand out: electric cars for urban mobility (the Olinia project of which We expect news this summer) and semiconductors (the Kutsari project). Mexico has experience in both fields because there are powerful companies that manufacture their products in the country, but from being the factory to having all the legs of the chain there is one step. How things are going. However, without making much noise, the institutions are moving. Puebla, Sonora and Jalisco are the three proper names, the three headquarters chosen to develop this plan that allows Mexico to go from being a country that assembles chips for others to one that designs, manufactures and sells them. The three states are reinforcing investment and consolidation of already established infrastructure, as well as the construction of new buildings and agreements to attract and retain talent. In Sonora, for example, it is in the Mexico-US Trade Corridor. In Jalisco there is the Intel Design Center, so there are contacts and experience in integrated circuits. And Puebla will have one of the semiconductor production plants. Strengths. The idea is to start producing chips by 2028 with an eye toward commercialization by 2029. And beyond what Mexico says, it is interesting to see what other organizations have to say. Here the OECD comes in with a optimistic message in which he points out that Mexico already has that experience in the assembly and testing of chips, so it has a base on which to scale. They assure that the country has “a promising future” and a favorable position due to its geographical proximity to the main world market, a large and experienced workforce and an industrial network that, as we say, has already been tested by manufacturing chips for others. They also have data centers and plenty of land for renewable energy to power the industry. Something that the OECD also highlights is the talented labor base because 17% of Mexican graduates are from engineering areas, three points above the average for the OECD as a whole. The least optimistic face. Now, not everything is so optimistic. There is a difference between “potential and concrete execution” and there is critical positions with the country’s ability to meet energy and transportation requirements. security when developing this industry. Regarding education, although the OECD indicates that number of engineering graduates, only 16% of young people between 15 and 19 years old are enrolled in technical programs related to the sector compared to the average 23% of the organization. Water can also be a problem, but if there is one thing clear, it is that the country is more on track with its future as a producer of semiconductors than, for example, as a creator of mass electric cars with its own batteries. Because that’s where lithium comes into play and, although there is plenty of it in Mexico, It’s one thing to have it and another thing to refine it.. Images | mister rfflag of Mexico, Data Center (edited) In Xataka | The avocado “war”: the product that has brutally confronted Mexico and the United States for 80 years

The Coca-Cola recipe seemed untouchable. Until Europe first and Mexico later have decided to touch it

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For decades, the Coca-Cola recipe has been treated almost like a state secret, guarded in a vault in Atlanta and protected by an aura of mystery. However, in the real world, governments have discovered that they do not need to infiltrate that vault to alter the world’s most famous drink, but can do so through legislative texts. Modifying, for example, the fiscal or regulatory framework can push any company to change its composition, its prices or its supply. The case of Mexico. Without a doubt, it is one of the most solid in the world to understand how large-scale industrial change can be forced. And it is no wonder, because the driving force behind this change was not a direct order to rewrite the formula, but rather the entry into force of a new tax on sugary drinks. in 2014. Here the effect it had was commented on by different studies which showed that, one year after the tax, purchases of sugary drinks fell by 6%, while purchases of water they rose 4%. He had an answer. The fiscal scenario and the drop in sales logically generated strong pressure for the company to change its ingredients, causing great pressure on the mix of the company’s sweeteners. This opened an intense debate about the use of cane sugar versus high fructose corn syrup, and now the national government has put on the table the possibility of forcing Coca-Cola to stop using imported corn syrup and transition towards national cane sugar by selling it much cheaper. In Europe. While Mexico uses fiscal pressure on consumption, the European Union is the perfect example of structural market regulation. And for those who have traveled to North America, you will have realized that the taste of Coca-Cola is different from what is drunk here in Europe. And a very important bureaucratic tangle is also to blame. The culprit was none other than the strong intervention that the sugar market had in the European Union for 50 years through a complex quota system that came to an end on September 30, 2017. Its consequences. Here European regulations historically limited the production of isoglucose, which is the European equivalent of American corn syrup, through strict quotas. This structural restriction forced its use in the soft drink industry to be much more contained than in the United States. Although the European Commission continued to manage certain quantitative limits in the final phase of this legal regime, the regulation acted as a containment dam. Furthermore, several Member States have implemented their own taxes on soft drinks, separating the strategy of “market regulation” from “public health” policies against sugar consumption. In India. To understand how far the fight between a State and the Atlanta giant can go, you have to travel to India in 1977. Here, unlike Mexico or Europe, the debate was not about cane sugar or sweeteners, but about sovereignty and corporate control due to the ‘fault’ of a currency control law that forced multinationals to dilute and reduce their foreign participation. Here Coca-Cola reacted quickly to prevent any government from controlling its operations and therefore sharing its secret formula, and that is why it decided to leave the country in 1977 before submitting and revealing the secrets it had. Images | Unsplash In Xataka | Researchers have analyzed the impact of sugary drinks on global health. They have put their hands on their heads

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