MR4

Move Over,
Acapulco!
Meet Puerto
Vallarta and
The Riviera
Nayarit
PEOPLE : POLITICS : CULTURE : TRAVEL FROMMEXICO. INENGLISH.
The DF Race
Can the Left
Hold the
Capital?
New Brew
Mexican
Beer Just
Got Better
Press of Plenty
Mexico City
Has a Daily
for Every
Point of View
Plus:
Pending Events,
Revealing
Numbers,
Telling Quotes
and More
www.mexico-review.com
0018920360242
A BI-WEEKLY
March 4, 2012
Mexico City
Vol. 01 No. 04
32 pages

From the Executive Director
BY ANA MARÍA SALAZAR :2
They Said It
Quotable quotes by, for and about Mexico : 3
A Difference of Opinion
There are at least two dozen daily newspapers in
Mexico City alone. Whatever else they might think,
readers can’t complain that they’re not getting a variety
of viewpoints.
BY TOM BUCKLEY
:POLITICS : MEDIA : 4
Silencing Criticism
The owner of the Chivas has denied access to reporters
from a critical newspaper. And the rest of the sports
press doesn’t seem to mind.
BY TOM BUCKLEY
:POLITICS : MEDIA : 10
The Capital Race Gets Off
to a Lively Start
There will be a lot at stake in the July 1 Mexico City
mayoral election, and three very different major
candidates promise to make the race interesting.
Unfortunately, the dominant image so far is the eyesore
of runaway (and illegal) campaign propaganda.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TOM BUCKLEY
: POLITICS : ELECTIONS : 12
By the Numbers
How high does Mexico rank in ease of doing business?
How much will Coca Cola invest in Mexico in 2012?
Are thieves really rampant on the Mexico City subway
system? : 15
Queens of the Pacific
Mexico’s biggest tourism-industry gathering switched
its venue this year from Acapulco to Puerto Vallarta.
Could that mean Vallarta and the adjacent Riviera
Nayarit have taken over as the prime west coast
resort area?
BY JIMM BUDD
:LIFE & LEISURE :DESTINATIONS :16
Barely Passing
An ambitious new documentary exposing a woefully
underperforming education system has gotten all of
Mexico talking about reform. Timed to the presidential
election season and backed by an influential business-
led organization, “¡De Panzazo!” may have more of an
impact than previous efforts.
BY KELLY ARTHUR GARRETT
: LIFE & LEISURE : FILM : 22
Taking on South America
Three Mexican clubs earned invitations to the prestigious
Copa Libertadores. Two off them are taking it seriously.
BY TOM BUCKLEY
:LIFE & LEISURE : SPORTS : 24
Democratic Brew
Mexican-made craft beers are just starting to get noticed.
They’re not going to break the grip of the two big
commercial brewers any time soon, but they already offer
two things that had been missing: lots of choice and eye-
opening quality.
:LIFE & LEISURE : FOOD & DRINK : 27
March Madness ...
Some of the big events to watch for in Mexico during
the month of March.
:LIFE & LEISURE :EVENTS : 32
:Onthecover
The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe rises from
the center of town and serves as an unofficial
symbol of Puerto Vallarta.
Photography by Jimm Budd
CONTENTS
MEXICO REVIEW
March 4, 2012
To subscribe call:
subscriptions@mexico-review.com
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subscriptions@mexico-review.com
Mexico
2012:
A Year of
Change,
A Year of
Renewal
PEOPLE : POLITICS : CULTURE : TRAVEL. FROMMEXICO. INENGLISH.
Presidential
Politics An
Early Look at
a Historical
Election
Remembering
Leonora A
Farewell to the
Last of Mexico’s
Surrealists
Magical Trips
Nine Special
Pueblos You’ll
Want to Visit
Totally Tri
The National
Soccer Team
Has a World
To Conquer
0018920360242
SPECIAL EDITION
January, 2012
Mexico City
Vol. 01 No. 01
32 pages
Mexico Review is more than a magazine. It
is a multimedia project that includes TV,
radio, and internet.
The editorial focus of Mexico Review is
general interest news exclusively about
Mexico with special emphasis on politics,
elections, art and culture. Our intention is to
go beyond the headlines and explain the
news, to put events in context and to offer
our readers information about life in Mexico.
With so much going on in Mexico, why not
Subscribe now!
(55)5203:4943 MEX
Just
Say No
Why Can’t
Congress
Get Anything
Done?
IFE’s Groove
Can the Election
Referee Get It
Back?
Anita’s Diary
Hanging with
Rivera, Orozco
and the Rest
Soccer’s Start
The Mexican
League’s
Clausura Gets
Under Way
Plus:
Pending Events,
Revealing
Numbers ,
Telling Quotes
and More
Vive
Latino
Mexico City’s
Monster
Rock Music
Festivalwww.mexico-review.com
0018920360242
A BI-WEEKLY
January 27, 2012
Mexico City
Vol. 01 No. 02
32 pages
PEOPLE : POLITICS : CULTURE : TRAVEL. FROMMEXICO. INENGLISH.
Women in
Politics Moving
Toward Gender
Equality
Mexicans
Abroad How
They’re
Changing
European Soccer
Public and
Private Nine
Working
Together to
Build Mexico
Pyramid Power
Music in
a Magical
Place
Urban
Roots
A Celebration
of Mexico,
Past and
Present
0018920360242
A BI-WEEKLY
February 12, 2012
Mexico City
Vol. 01 No. 03
32 pages
Move Over,
Acapulco!
Meet Puerto
Vallarta and
The Riviera
Nayarit
The DF Race
Can the Left
Hold the
Capital?
New Brew
Mexican
Beer Just
Got Better
Press of Plenty
Mexico City
Has a Daily
for Every
Point of View
Plus:
Pending Events,
Revealing
Numbers,
Telling Quotes
and More
0018920360242
A BI-WEEKLY
March 4, 2012
Mexico City
Vol. 01 No. 04
32 pages

It’s true discrimination.
T R A I N S P O T T I N G
I
T’S HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT RECENT EFFORTS TO REVERSE THE DECEPTION
AND IMPUNITY IN ELECTORAL MATTERS WILL BE ENOUGH TO PREVENT A
DISASTROUS TRAIN WRECK DURING THE ELECTION PROCESS. BREAKING
THE LAW CONTINUES TO BE AN ENTERPRISE OF GREAT BENEFITS AND FEW
COSTS, FOR THE PARTIES AND THE CANDIDATES.”
-JOHNM.ACKERMAN,aresearcherattheLegalResearchInstituteattheNationalAutonomous
University of Mexico, and frequent contributor to Mexican and American publications.
THEOLOGY LESSON
Religions worry me,
because they’re usually
an excuse for ostracism,
denial and intolerance
ratherthanasteptoward
discovering the best in
human beings.
- GUILLERMO ARRIAGA,
screenwriterfor“AmoresPerros,”
“21 Grams” and “The Three
Burials of Melquiades Estrada.”
FAMILIAR
ACES
“There’slittlenewaboutthe
Mexicanleft.Inthelastquarter
century,it’shadtwocandidates,
andbothofthemareold-style
caudillos.It’sadvantageis
thatneverhavingreachedthe
presidency,thatarchaismstill
hasalotofpastaheadofit.”
- JUAN VILLORO,novelist
and columnist, referring to the
presidential runs of Cuauhtémoc
Cárdenas (1988, 1994, 2000) and
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
(2006, 2012).
Hardball ...“ To d ay … we s t a r t o n a n e w p a t h t o d e fe a t M e x i c o ’s r e a l
adversary, who represents authoritarianism and the worst
o f a nt i d e m o c rat i c p ra c t i c e s, w h o re p re se nt s t h e re t u r n to
corruption as a system and impunity as a sentence, and that
adversary is [Enrique] Peña Nieto and his party.”
- Fo r m e r E d u c a t i o n S e c r e t a r y a n d p r e s i d e n t i a l c a n d i d a t e
Jo s e f i n a Vá z q u e z Mo t a , going right after her frontrunning rival from the PRI
during her victory speech after winning the nomination of the center-right PAN on Feb. 5.
… Or Cricket“Congratulations and welcome to the democratic contest. May
it be for the good of Mexico.”
- E n r i q u e Pe ñ a Ni eto , tweeting after Vázquez Mota’s victory.
Notes from a Second Class Citizen
-NÉSTORDEBUEN,Spanish-bornlaborrightsattorney,UNAMprofessor
emeritus and newspaper columnist, referring to the fact that naturalized
Mexican citizens, of which he is one, cannot run for or occupy federal
political positions, a governorship, a Supreme Court seat, or serve in the
military in peace time, any police force or on a Mexican-ﬂagged ship or
aircraft, among other prohibitions.
“ I f w e h a v e l e s s t h a n 1 0 0
p e r c e n t , i t m e a n s t h e r e
a r e c o m p e t i t o r s , s o t h a t ’s
a n o t h e r l i e .”
- G r u p o C a r s o p r e s i d e n t C a r l o s S l i m , w h o
c o n t r o l s t h e c e l l u l a r p h o n e g i a n t Te l c e l
a n d t h e e q u a l l y d o m i n a n t T e l m e x p h o n e
c o m p a n y, r e a c t i n g s t r o n g l y t o a n O E C D r e p o r t
b l a m i n g i n s u f f i c i e n t c o m p e t i t i o n i n M e x i c o ’s
t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s i n d u s t r y f o r $ 2 5 . 8 b i l l i o n
i n e x t r a c o s t s a n n u a l l y.
ho You Callin’ a Monopolist
W THAT’S THREE,ACTUALLY
“
“
he‘Loving
Republic’ishonesty
andjustice,andinthe
particularcasethat
concernsusmost,wecan
summarizeitintwowords:
hugs,notbullets.”
-FormerMexicoCityMayor
AndrésManuelLópezObrador,
seekingthepresidencywitha
coalitionledbythecenter-left
PRD.
“T
2 MEXICOREVIEW : March 4, 2012 March 4, 2012 : MEXICOREVIEW 3
they
said it...
Mexico can be a difficult country to under-
stand, even if you are fluent in Spanish.
Unfortunately the Mexican media offers only a glimpse of the compli-
cated and convoluted political and security environment currently pre-
vailing here. Even if you browse several newspapers daily or you listen
to and watch the news and the political roundtables, it is virtually impos-
sible to figure out what is going on. That is unless you have an in-depth
understanding of the political and ideological leanings of all the media
outlets.
In this issue, we feature an extraordinary piece highlighting how one po-
litical event – the falling-out between two political parties (the PRI and
Panal) – has resulted in a fascinating variety of interpretations by the
pundits, talking heads and on opinion pages.
And despite our flourishing democracy, media censorship continues.
Reading a Mexican newspaper or watching the nightly news, somewhat
reminds me of the Soviet era, when you had to read between the lines to
uncover the truth. Granted, using the Soviet example may be an exag-
geration since the difference between Mexican and Communist era me-
dia is that the censorship is not coming entirely from the central govern-
ment. Here it is more likely to come from state and local authorities.
However, what most promotes censorship in Mexico are threats from or-
ganized crime. Mexico, as you know, is one of the most dangerous coun-
tries in the world for journalists.
On the lighter side, are you still considering where to go for spring
break? Despite the recent travel warning issued by the U.S. government,
there are many fabulous and safe vacation destinations in Mexico. Don’t
miss Jimm Budd’s article on Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit. I
promise you will wish you were there.
With so much going on in Mexico this 2012, can you afford not to sub-
scribe to Mexico Review or visit www.mexico-review.com?
Ana María Salazar
Executive Director
anamaria.salazar@mexico-review.com
Recognizing
the spin is
no easy task
Mexico Review@MexicoReview
“Mexico Review” ES UNA PUBLICACIÓN QUINCENAL
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LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
E D I T O R I A L
Oscar McKelligan
PRESIDENT
Ana María Salazar
VICE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Fernando Ortiz
LEGAL ADVISER
Tom Buckley
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Kelly Arthur Garrett
MANAGING EDITOR
Blake Lalonde
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Andrea Sánchez
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Daniela Graniel
ART DIRECTOR
S A L E S
Verónica Guerra de Alberti
CANCÚN REPRESENTATIVE
Abril de Aguinaco
CABO REPRESENTATIVE
Iker Amaya
Álvaro Sánchez
U.S. REPRESENTATIVES
C O N T R I B U T O R S
Jimm Budd
B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S
Oscar McKelligan
Ana María Salazar
Yurek McKelligan
Fernando Ortiz

S
top in front of a news-
stand in Mexico City
andglanceatthemany
headlinesadorningthe
display racks. You’re
likely to see as many
different “top stories”
asyouseedifferentnewspapers.
NewspapersacrossMexico–andinthe
capitaltherearesaidtobeupwardof24dif-
ferentdailies–arerenownedforthebroad-
ly divergent editorial lines they tout. The
selectionoftopstoriesfurtherreflectsthe
editorialleaning.
Doyouwantaleftistspinonthenews?
LookforLaJornadaorProcesomagazine.
Doyoupreferapro-business(somewould
saypro-government)take?CheckoutRe-
formaandElFinanciero.Doesyellowjour-
nalismappealtoyou?You’llfindahealthy
doseinLaPrensaandElGráfico.
Editorial spin machines have been
revved up frequently in early 2012.
Prompting editorial page sermonizing
were the “accidental” leak about govern-
ment agents on the alert for three former
governorsofTamaulipas(pro–proofthat
PRIgovernmentsarecorruptand/orhave
links to drug cartels; con – proof that the
Calderónadministrationispoliticizingjus-
tice);thecaptureofaVeracruzgovernment
agentcarrying$2.2millionincash(pro–
proof that the PRI is illegally funding its
presidentialcampaign;con–uncommon,
butnotunbelievablethatalegitimatepay-
ment was the intention, and justice is be-
ing politicized); the Federal Competition
Commission decision to block a major
telecoms merger (pro – preventing a du-
opoly and/or maintaining fairness in an-
othertelecomssector;con–revengeand/
orineptitude;neutral–letthemonopolies
fighteachotheracrosstelecomssectors).
IN FULL AGREEMENT
On Sunday, Jan. 22, newsprint aficiona-
dos were taken aback. Almost every pa-
per had selected the exact same top story.
Thedaybefore,theformer,long-timerul-
ing party (the PRI) and its front-running
presidentialcandidatehadcanceledanal-
liancewiththepartyfrontedbythepower-
fulleaderoftheteachersunion.
Terse headlines about the PRI-Panal
break were splashed across virtually ev-
eryfrontpage.Thefactthatallthepapers
agreed that this was the top story means
A Difference
of OpinionNEWSPAPERS AND THEIR COLUMNISTS provide a wide variety
of interpretations of the day’s events.
4 MEXICOREVIEW : March 4, 2012
POLITICS
March 4, 2012 : MEXICOREVIEW 5
MEDIA

thateditorialpageswouldbefilledwithin-
terpretations,providingagoodopportunity
toanalyzeeditoriallinesandcomparepo-
liticaltendenciesacrossnewspapers.
Thetopicwasturnedinsideoutsteadi-
ly for almost two weeks and four lines of
examination were prominently featured.
The “truth” about the break-up was the
most popular approach, followed by di-
agnosis of the impact. Also getting at-
tentionbycolumnistsweretheperceived
consequences of the break and potential
outcomes.
Since versions of the “truth” were far
and away the most common arguments,
we’ll focus on these contrasting tracts
before presenting a brief look at the oth-
erthreelinesofexamination.
Aweekafterthealliancewascanceled,
Milenio columnist Jorge Medina Viedas
catalogued the various interpretations
thusly: Critics of PRI candidate Enrique
PeñaNietoinsistedthebreak-upwasfake;
opponentsofthehardlinePRIarguedthat
itwasaset-upplannedbyPRIoldguardto
get even with teachers union leader Elba
EstherGordillo;criticsofPRISen.Man-
lioFabioBeltronessaidheschemedtowin
hiscabalmorecandidacieswhilemaneu-
veringhisenemyGordillooutthedoor.
Meanwhile, Medina Viedas wrote,
PRI adherents contended that the orig-
inal alliance was a political miscalcu-
lation that was rocking the party and
a simple cost-benefit analysis made it
clear that the alliance must be canceled.
I’M RIGHT, YOU’RE WRONG
The initial punditry primarily focused
on who was to blame while expressing
skepticism about the PRI and Panal in-
sistence that it was a cordial split and a
mutualdecision.
Ricardo Raphael (El Universal, Jan.
23) claimed that Panal leader Luis Cas-
troblamedtheoldguardofthePRI,iden-
tifying PRI Sen. Francisco Labastida as
aringleaderoftheso-called“dinosaurs.”
It had been well documented that the
alliancehadpromptedaninternalPRIre-
bellionasregionalchiefsthoughttoomuch
hadbeenconceded,specificallyfourSen-
atecandidaciesand24deputyspots.One
oftheSenatecandidacieswasinSinaloa,
Sen. Labastida’s home state. Raphael de-
claredthatthesenatorhadthreatenedto
resign from the party if this concession
wasnotcanceled.
CarlosMarín(Milenio,Jan.23)assert-
edthatPanalinitiatedthebreakafterPe-
ñaNietocampaigncoordinatorLuisVide-
garaysoughttotweakthecandidatelists
and give the Panal alternative spots in
different states. Marín identified Labas-
tida,Beltrones(andtwoofhiscronies)and
even former PRI leader – and bitter Gor-
dillo enemy – Roberto Madrazo as being
behind a conspiracy to dump the union
leaderandherparty.Thisdespitethefact
thatMadrazohasnotbeenspokenofasa
moverandshakerwithinthePRIinnear-
lyfiveyears.
On the same page as Marín, Milenio
counterpartCiroGómezLeyvadismissed
theconspiracytheory,suggestinginstead
that Videgaray told him it was just plain
electoralmath:
“Itreallywassimplymath.Gordilloand
Panal promised about 3 or 4 percentage
pointsinvotesandsolidElectionDayorga-
nization.Butacloserlookatthe‘calculator’
revealed that the internal strife over can-
didaciesandthelossofprestigeforlinking
upwithGordillowasmorethan4points.”
Another Milenio columnist, Héctor
Aguilar Camín cited a competing news-
paper to support Gómez Leyva on an ad-
jacentpage:
“Media reports cite the internal PRI
rebellion, but a Reforma story before the
break-up suggested the party was con-
templatingGordillo’shighnegativesinpoll-
ing numbers. It was probably both, but we
mustcalculatetheproportion.Ifitwasre-
bellion,itisjustconfirmationthatthePRI
dinosaursexist.Ifitwasthepolls,itreflects
a careful analysis of the usefulness of alli-
ances in the eyes of the electorate (in other
words,theopinionofvoterswasbeingtaken
intoconsideration).…Perhapspublicopin-
ionisfinallyinfluencingpoliticaldecision
making. Maybe we’ll see some dinosaurs
gettingkickedaside.”
Twodayslater,AguilarCamínseemed
toembracetherebelliontheorywhilealso
placingblameonGordillo:
“TherewassomeprotestvoicedbyGor-
dilloadversaries,particularlyLabastidaand
Beltrones.[MexicoCitymayoralcandidate
Beatriz] Paredes also had public differenc-
es with Gordillo … and wanted to avoid the
perceptionoflinkstoGordilloandherhigh
polling negatives. Also, new PRI president
PedroJoaquínColdwellisfriendswithboth
BeltronesandParedesandhehashishand
onthepulseoftheparty.…Gordillo’spersis-
tentobstinanceindemandingpost-electoral
perkswellbeyondtheexpectedelectoralval-
uesimplybecameunacceptable.”
Jesús Gil Olmos (Proceso, Jan. 28)
claimedtohavetheinsidestory:
“This wasn’t a cordial break-up, with
boththePRIandPanaldecidingitwasbest
togotheirseparateways.Instead,therewere
angryshouts,accusationsandinsultswith
Gordilloeventuallyflounderingarounddes-
perately,lookingforafallbacksolutionwhile
declaring that she was the victim of a dou-
ble cross. … PRI sources continue to insist
thesplitwascarriedouttomaintaininter-
nalequilibriumwhileadmittingthatpolit-
ical conditions to sustain the alliance sim-
plydidnotexistanymore.”
Roberta Garza (Milenio, Jan. 24) said
the decision went beyond electoral math,
suggestingthatcandidatePeñaNietohad
come to realize that he could eliminate a
potential campaign issue for leftist rival
Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Carlos
Ramírez (El Financiero, Jan 23) argued
that the break-up revealed that Peña Ni-
etowasn’tasstrongaswascommonlyre-
ported since he did not have control over
his own party, “threatening to reprise the
divisive scenes of 2000 and 2006,” the
PRI’sonlypresidentialelectionlosses.
López Obrador reacted to the break-
up by immediately labeling it a simula-
tion,sayingthatPeñaNietowasonlypre-
tending to split with Gordillo to avoid the
negatives but that the alliance would still
beobservedinsomefashion.
La Jornada quickly sprang to López
Obrador’s defense and wrote in a Jan. 22
editorial:
“Unlike2006whenGordilloleftthePRI
afteracrimoniousconfrontationswithpar-
tyleadership,thissplittookplaceinappar-
enttranquilitywithtalkofanagreeablesplit
and mutual benefits. So it is pertinent to
considerLópezObrador’sassertionthatit
isasimulationdesignedtolimittheerosion
ofPeñaNieto’simageasaresultofanalli-
ancewithGordillo.”
PROJECTING OUTCOMES
Commentators soon moved into predic-
tion mode, with conjecture ranging from
difficult days for Panal to the end of Gor-
dillo’sreignatoptheteachersunion.
POLITICS
MEDIA

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Aguilar Camín (Milenio, Jan. 25) of-
fered that the timing of the break-up
“would make it virtually impossible for
any Panal value to be transferred to an-
otherparty.”
Leonardo Curzio (El Universal, Jan.
23)elaboratedfurther:
“Panalcandidates(herfriendsandrel-
atives) must now run on their own merit.
Thatmeanswe’llseetheactualstrengthof
Panal.Atthesametime,PeñaNietobene-
fitsbyappearingtohavethegutstosayno
toGordillo(somethingPresidentCalderón
neverdaredtodo).”
Gordillo’spotentialdownfallsoonbe-
cameatopicofconversation.ElFinancie-
ro’sCarlosRamírezsubmitteditforcon-
siderationfirst(Jan.23):
“…thebreak-upcouldalsoput[Gordil-
lo’s] 22-year stranglehold over the teach-
ers union at risk since she is left without
political protection, without accomplices
who could offer her impunity during the
nextsexenio.”
Proceso’s Jesús Gil Olmos was quite
blunt(Jan.25):
“ThebreakwiththePRIwouldseemto
suggest that [Gordillo’s] reign has ended
and the mythology of her immeasurable
powerisbeginningtocrumble.”
Axel Didriksson (Proceso, Feb. 6) re-
turnedtothenotionofcomeuppancefrom
anotherangleoveraweeklater:
“Thisisnotagoodtimetobeinaweak-
ened position because the time for the
[teachersunion]toselectanewleadership
committeeisfastapproaching.Ifthelegal
procedures are followed strictly – unlike
the selection process in 2008 when Gor-
dillo manipulated the law – Gordillo and
herunioncroniesmightbeindangerofget-
tingvotedout.”
POTENTIAL IMPACT
Columnistsalsowerewonderingwhatthe
break-upmeantforthefederalelections.
José Antonio Crespo (El Universal,
Jan.31)assertedthatthePRIwasaclear
beneficiaryofthediscardedalliance:
“The political capacity of Gordillo and
Panalhasbeenoverstated.Theirvoteshelp,
of course, but they are not a determining
factor. The PAN-Panal alliance in Micho-
acánfailedtowinthegovernorshipforLui-
saMaríaCalderón[inNovemberelections].”
Milenio’s Aguilar Camin (Jan. 26) in-
sistedthatPanaldisciplinewasstillanat-
tractiveconcept:
“ThisstructureandexperienceofPan-
alandtheteachersunionmemberscouldbe
invaluableonelectionday,especiallyforor-
ganizingpollwatchers.”
Roberta Garza (Milenio, Jan 24) dug
deeper:
“ThequestionifGordillolamentsover-
reachingdependsonwhetherornotthedi-
vorcewiththePRIisgenuine.Ifnot,wecan
expecttoseesubtlecontributionsfromPa-
nalthatwillberepaidwithofficialandun-
officialbenefitsfromaPeñaNietoadminis-
tration.Ifthesplitisgenuine,wemightex-
pecttoseeanotherunionleadersetupfora
fallviaquestionablelegaltactics.Theonly
thingthatisperfectlyclearisthatthefight
forpolitical power in Mexico isthe imper-
ative while education has not really mat-
teredtothepoliticalclassforalongtime.”
Milenio’s Medina Viedas (Jan. 29) al-
so revealed that a variation of the “simu-
lation”theorywasnotsoeasytorejectas
firstappeared:
“It would be eminently pragmatic [for
Gordillo]tostayclosetothePRIcandidate.
But Peña Nieto is unlikely to forge a pact
afterthedamagealreadydoneandtheob-
vious negatives associated with Gordillo.
So what can she do? She can select a Pan-
al presidential candidate that will siphon
votes from Peña Nieto’s main competi-
tors. Another approach would be to make
theSNTEmorebelligerent.Anewpolitical
narrativehasonlyjustbegun.”
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
A new twist was added when Panal
named civil engineer and ecologist Ga-
brielQuadriasitspresidentialcandidate.
Columnistswillnodoubtponderwhathis
entryintotheracemeanswhencampaign
seasonreopensinMarchandthedebates
arescheduled.
TheaforementionedLaJornadaedito-
rial(Jan.22)alreadypublisheditspredic-
tion,drawinguponcandidateLópezObra-
dor’saccusation:
“Any Panal presidential candidate
wouldbeselectedtohelpthePRI…justlike
2006 [when Panal allied with the Nation-
alActionParty].”
Ahead of the 2006 election, Panal
presidential candidate Roberto Campa
skeweredPRInomineeMadrazowithil-
legally obtained tax documents in a de-
bate,doomingMadrazo’salreadyslender
chanceatvictory.Panal’salliancewiththe
victoriousNationalActionPartywaspar-
layedintoalucrativesexenio.
Erstwhile Gordillo ally Jorge Casta-
ñeda (Reforma, Jan. 26) was more
phlegmatic:
“PanalandGordillomighthavelearned
avaluablelesson.Unioncontrolstrategies
don’tnecessarilytranslatetoelectoralpol-
itics.Atradeunionandtheemployermust
inevitablyreturntoeachother,butthesame
isnottruewithregardtopoliticswhereone
partycansimplyleavethetable.Perhaps–
withthepossibleexceptionofLula–that’s
why good union leaders rarely make good
politicians.”
EzraShabot(ElUniversal,Jan.30)of-
feredablueprintforsurvivaltoGordillo:
“Elba must hope the election devolves
into a two-man race so that she can ex-
change her real or imagined power for po-
litical perks and access to public funding.
…Gordillobasicallyofferedtorentheren-
tire‘franchise’tothePRIbuttheoldguard
[strong-armed her].”
Inhispreviouslycitedcolumn(ElFi-
nanciero,Jan.23),CarlosRamíreziden-
tified this tragicomic aspect of Mexican
politics:
“This affair again demonstrates that
GordillocreatedPanaltobeaprofit-mak-
ingventurededicatedtoelectoralalliances
andnotarealpoliticalpartyinanysense
of the concept.”
So Panal is on its own and, on the
surface, it holds no chits over any of the
threemajorparties,ortheircandidates.
This potentially weakens the bargain-
ing position of the all-powerful teach-
ers union and forces Panal to secure
its official registration as a party on its
ownmerits.Inthatvein,RicardoRapha-
el(ElUniversal,Jan23)pennedahope-
ful conclusion:
“Public education could be the main
beneficiary[ofthePRI-Panalsplit]since
anypotentialfederaladministrationhas
notrenouncedpolicycontroloverEduca-
tionbymakinga[dealwithGordillo].”
POLITICS MEDIA

T
heMexicanSoccerFed-
eration(FMF)isnobet-
ter nor worse than oth-
er similar federations
around the world. Un-
fortunately that can be
seen as a particularly
damningcomparison.
And as if to confirm the verity of that
initial statement, the FMF has decided
to treat the notion of freedom of expres-
sionwithdisdain.Incasewedoubtedthe
omnipotenceoftheFMFasthecaretaker
ofsoccerinMexico,therewaslittletono
uproar from journalists who you’d think
would tenaciously defend the tenets of
freedomofspeech.
Since the controversy occurred dur-
ing the first weekend of the mandato-
ry six-week dead time of the presidential
campaign,perhapscolumnistsandedito-
rialboardswerewaitingforthefullslate
of soccer games to come to an end before
turningtheirthoughtstoethicsandmoral
principles.Thisfailuretostandupforjus-
tice was equally as repugnant as the ban
imposedonRecordjournalists.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, the FMF issued
apressreleasestatingthatthe“18teams
comprising the First Division and the
federation support the Guadalajara soc-
certeam.”
Thestatementreflected“solidarity”for
Guadalajara’s decision to ban all report-
ersworkingforthesportstabloidRecord
from its installations and denying them
accesstogames.
Recordhasearnedareputationoffear-
lessly(thoughthisisnottosayalwaysob-
jectively) reporting on scandals in Mex-
ican soccer. And there are many: the ex-
pulsionofeightplayersoverasexscandal
inEcuadorduringthe2011CopaAméri-
ca;thecontroversialsuccessfuldefenseof
five players kicked off El Tri ahead of the
2011 Copa Oro after testing positive for
clembuterol; the appropriation of Pueb-
lateampropertiesbyfederaltreasuryof-
ficials; cases of drug money laundering
through soccer club ownership in lower
divisions,amongothers.
Guadalajara, its owner Jorge Vergara
and Record have been feuding over cov-
erage and the heat was intensifying as
the Chivas were winless in their first six
games.TheChivasaccusedthetabloidof
“acampaignofhateandabuses”indefend-
ingtheban.
The Chivas are one of Mexico’s most
popular clubs and Record has blamed
the team’s recent abysmal play on owner
JorgeVergaraandhiswifeAngelicaFuen-
tes, who serves as executive president of
theteam.
The news filtered across the news
wiresandinternationalnewspaperweb-
sitesatacrawl.Theearlieststoriesreport-
edthatall18teamsnotonlysupportedthe
Guadalajaradecisions,butwouldalsoban
Recordscribesfromtheirownstadiums,
asperthepressrelease.Shortlythereafter
reporters actually called spokesmen for
theteamsanditbecameapparentthatthe
FMFpressreleasehadbeenissuedwith-
outbotheringtoinformtheteams.
Incredibly,afewteamsinitiallyvoiced
support for the ban. Ahead of its home
gameagainstMexicoCityrivalUNAM,a
CruzAzulspokesmansaidRecordreport-
erswouldbepermittedaccess…fornow.
“Since we have not received an offi-
cial notice yet, we’re going to continue as
thingswere,”saidManuelVelázquez.
However,Recordlaterreportedthatit
was denied entry into the stadium. Cruz
Azul team president Alberto Quintano
insisted he was not behind the order, al-
though the team personnel who blocked
the reporter’s access claimed they were
actingatthebehestofQuintana,accord-
ingtoRecord.
Whencontactedbyreporters,UNAM
–ateamownedbythenationaluniversi-
ty–saiditwouldnotblackballjournalists.
“The professional football team of
UNAMhasnevercontemplatedthepos-
sibilityofrestrictinginanymannerthe
exerciseoffreedomofexpression,”the
teamsaidinastatement.
Record sports director Alejan-
dro Gómez was succinct, telling
The Associated Press that this was
more than about attending a soc-
cermatch.
“This is dangerous,” Gómez
said. “Today it was us, but to-
morrow any club unhappy with
coverage…canaskforthesame
thing and the rest will have to
goalong.It’sashamebecause
Mexicansoccerneedstoim-
prove and polish its image
insteadoftakingmeasures
likethis.”
One might think that
freedom of expression
and censorship would
be featured among
headlines in the Sunday papers. You’d be
wrong.
Thesportspagesalsoignoredtheissue
ordownplayedit.Amongthe“Big3”Mexi-
coCitynewspapers–Reforma,ElUniver-
salandMilenio–thefirsttwofailedtore-
port about the issue in either their news
sections or their sports sections. Milen-
ioaddressedittangentiallybypublishing
ashortsidebarsayingthatUNAMwould
notsupporttheveto,andreportinginthe
final paragraph that the ban was carried
outinfourstadiumsonSaturdaynight.
Throughout Sunday, Mexico newspa-
per websites completely ignored the is-
sue,whereasRecordreportedthatToluca
granteditaccesstothegamevs.Chiapas.
On Sunday afternoon, América –
owned by the Televisa TV network –
played at home against Pachuca and Re-
cord correspondents were permitted in-
sidetocoverthegame.
The deafening silence in the media
over the weekend speaks volumes. It’s
unlikely that a parallel occurrence in
the political spectrum would be so easily
shruggedoff,especiallywithinthecontext
ofapresidentialelection.Iteitherspeaks
to the power of the FMF, or the Mexican
media’sabilitytodistinguishbetweenthe
validity of political journalism as com-
paredtosportsjournalism.
Silencing CriticismTHE PRICKLY OWNER of the Guadalajara Chivas drums up support for his ban on reporters from an
antagonistic sports daily.
POLITICS
MEDIA

ELECTIONS
Capital Race
Gets Off to
Lively StartTHREE COMPELLING CANDIDATES vie for City Hall
as residents assailed by campaign propaganda.
N
obody disputes that the
presidential contest mer-
itstopbilling.Buttheelec-
tionsinMexicoCitysurely
won’t lack for intrigue, in-
vectiveandindecision.
The Mexico City mayor is unofficially
thesecondmost-powerfulpoliticianinthe
land,andtheDemocraticRevolutionParty
(PRD)isdeterminedtoretainthatpostand
preserveitsdominanceacrossthecapital.
TheJuly1electionhasthepotentialtobe
a genuine three-way race at the top of the
ballotandnationalvotingtrends(thepro-
verbialcoattailsofanattractivepresiden-
tial candidate) could be reflected in bor-
oughracesaswell.
Equallyappealingtothepoliticaljunkie
istheelectioneeringandtheevaluationof
the same by the often overwhelmed elec-
toral institute arbiters. IEDF councilors
have already been made to rule on elec-
tion code cases, but in the past these pro-
nouncementshavebeenminimizedorig-
noredbypoliticalpartiesandmediaalike.
WHO WANTS TO RUN THE CAPITAL?
ThePRDhaswonCityHallandheldlarge
majorities in the local Legislative Assem-
bly ever since the Federal District began
holdingelectionsin1997.
Priortothat,thepresidentappointeda
regent,andthelocallegislatureonlydates
backtothelate1980s,butitsauthoritywas
limited. The Federal District – much like
Washington, D.C., in the United States –
stilllackstruepoliticalautonomy.
ButtheofficeofMexicoCitymayoren-
joys a major national platform and earns
international exposure as well. The capi-
tal is viewed globally as a major progres-
sive urban center. Marcelo Ebrard was
even recognized as 2010’s “Best Mayor in
the World” by the World Mayor Project.
Ebrard – unlike the two men voted into
officebeforehim–isservingouthisterm
insteadofrunningforpresident.
The three candidates seeking to re-
placehimofferanenthrallingcontrastthat
promisestocontributetoatantalizingrace.
The PRD nominee is Miguel Ángel
Mancera,anattorneywhoservedlaudably
asMexicoCityattorneygeneraluntilJan.
6. Unlike the three PRD mayors he aims
to succeed, Mancera is not a career poli-
tician. As such, his candidacy was initial-
ly rejected by party hardliners who didn’t
regardhimasatruememberofthePRD.
Beatriz Paredes seems set to compete
for the second straight time on the Insti-
tutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) tick-
et after finishing a disappointing third in
2006.Sincethen,Paredesservedasnation-
alleaderofthePRI,presidingoverthefor-
mer ruling party’s impressive revival as it
wonkeystateelectionsandbecamethetop
partyintheChamberofDeputies.
Isabel Miranda de Wallace is the sur-
priseselectionoftheNationalActionPar-
ty (PAN). A surprise because she is not a
member of the party. An anti-crime cru-
sader who came to prominence in 2005
as she campaigned to have her son’s kid-
nappingcaseresolved,MirandadeWallace
eventuallyhelpedleadpolicetothekidnap-
persbydoingherowndetectivework.She
wasawardedtheNationalHumanRights
Awardin2010.
INTERNECINE STRIFE
Theofficialcampaignseasondoesn’tstart
until March 30, but all three candidates
havebeenfendingoffblowsorputtingout
potential fires. Ironically, the danger has
primarilybeenfoundwithin.
The PRD is famous for tribal warfare
and too often the combatants have little
regardfortheself-damagedone.Mancera
seemed to have avoided fratricidal con-
flict when some of his most strident crit-
ics among the early mayoral contenders
publiclybackedhisnomination.
Butfullunitywasnotachieved.Alejan-
draBarrales,theassemblywomanwhofin-
ishedsecondinthepartyprimary,refused
to appear at Mancera’s nomination cere-
monyandwithheldhersupportforweeks
afterward.Newsreportsindicatedshewas
demanding key Cabinet positions in ex-
changeforashowofsupport.
Manceraquietlyandefficientlybuilta
campaign staff that won nods of approv-
alfromthevariousfactionsbutpotential
pitfalls loomed. The local PRD commit-
tee has twice suspended a council meet-
ingaftercompetinggroupscouldnotagree
onselectionproceduresforboroughchiefs
andassemblyseats.
UnlikethePRDandthePAN,thePRI’s
mayoralcandidateseemedaforegonecon-
clusionoverayearago.Undeterredbythe
poor showing in 2006, Paredes had a rea-
sonableplan.Shefiguredtoexertdiscipline
within the party and ride the coattails of
popularpresidentialcandidateEnriquePe-
ñaNietotovictory.
POLITICS
ELECTIONS

51Mexico’srankingamong183countries
in how easy it is to do business.
89China’s ranking in the same category.
129Brazil’s ranking in the same category.
48Number of years between Best Actor
Oscar nominations for a Mexican
(AnthonyQuinn,in1964for“Zorbathe
Greek” and Demián Bichir, in 2012 for
“A Better Life”).
661Numberofrobberiescommittedinside
Mexico City’s Metro system in 2008.
406Numberofrobberiescommittedinside
the Metro system in 2011, a 38.56
percent decrease from 2006.
1.4 billionNumber of passenger trips per year on
the Metro system.
25.8 millionPopulation of Mexico in 1950.
113.9 millionOfficialestimatedpopulationofMexico
as of September 2011.
1.8 millionApproximateaverageannualpopulation
growth in Mexico through 2050 at the
current rate.
1.7 millionCurrentpopulationofEcatepec,Mexico’s
second largest city (after Mexico City).
1 billionAmountindollarsCocaColahaspromised
toinvestinMexicoin2012.
5 billionNumber of dollars diabetes treatment
costs the Mexican health care system
annually,accordingtotheinternational
consulting firm FSG.
129 billionNumberofdollarsthatthelackofadequate
competition in the telecommunications
industry cost Mexicans from 2005 to
2009,accordingtoarecentOECDreport
that has been disputed by Carlos Slim
(América Móvil and Telmex).
2Number of books out of every 10 sold in
Mexico that are pirated versions.
6 billionAnnuallosses,inpesos,tothepublishing
industry attributed to piracy.
110 millionAnnual losses, in pesos, in authors’
royalties due to piracy.
42PercentageofMexicanswhoapproveof
the job their Senate is doing, according
to the Consulta Mitofsky polling firm
cited in the magazine Nexos.
39PercentageofMexicanswhoapproveof
the job their Chamber of Deputies (the
lower house) is doing.
11Percentage of Americans who approve
of the job their Congress (both houses)
is doing, according to a December 2011
Gallup poll.
As the presidential slate has taken
shapeoverthepastfourmonths,PeñaNie-
tohasseenhiscomfortableleadinthepolls
shrink.AndPRIunityisstillbeingcobbled
togetherintheparty’snotoriouslyraucous
MexicoCityoperations.PeñaNietohelped
broker an uneasy peace at the PRI city
councilmeeting,butthereappearstobea
riftbetweenParedesandthepowerfulfac-
tionheadedbyCuauhtémocGutiérrez,the
leaderofthetrashpickersunioninthecap-
ital.IfParedescan’tcountoncompletepar-
tyunity,shehasnochancetowin.Tonati-
uhGonzálezandJuanAntonioFloreshave
registeredtocompetewithParedes,butis
notgivenmuchchancetowin.
PAN candidate Miranda de Wallace
was a controversial choice within party
ranks.Theactivistisnotamemberofthe
partyandhopefulsdemonstratedvarying
degreesofresentmentaboutthedecision.
OnFeb.1,MirandadeWallacenotedthat
PANistaswereslowinacceptingherplat-
formandcommentatorsaccusedthePAN
ofturningtheirbacksonher,dentingany
momentumpossiblefromtheuniqueness
ofherselection.
On the stump, Miranda de Wallace
has been direct in demonstrating her in-
dependence.Shehassaid“IamnotPresi-
dentCalderón’scandidate”andhasforce-
fullyassertedthat“Iamnotamemberof
the [PAN] so I don’t have to defend their
political positions.” The latter state-
ment might prove helpful as she strives
to differentiate her policy positions from
thoseoftheconservativeparty.Herroleas
ananti-crimecrusaderwillplacethatis-
sueontheagendaandcouldputMancera
onthedefensive.
AslateasNovember(beforeMancera
won the nomination), Paredes continued
to lead in polls with any PAN candidate
registeringasamereblip.InlateJanuary,
onepollhadManceraat43percent,Pare-
desat16percentandMirandadeWallace
at13percent.
For Mancera, the worst-case scenar-
io is that compromise is not reached in
thePRDelectionscouncilandafactional
splitdragsonhiscampaign.Itseemslike
hisracetolose.
OtherbadnewsforParedesisthatthe
poll was taken before Miranda de Wal-
lace had her first strategy meetings with
PAN officials. The thinking is that Mi-
randadeWallacecanonlyriseinpollsas
thepartymachinerevsintoactionhoping
thatherstatusasa political outsiderres-
onates with disaffected members of the
electorate.
Theabove-mentionedpollsaysthat28
percentofvotersremainundecided,sug-
gesting that there are plenty of votes out
theretobewon.
CAMPAIGN DEBRIS
Fans of urban landscapes and observant
pedestrians can’t help but notice the glut
of election materials cluttering up their
lineofsight.
It appears as if every available lamp-
post, stop light, telephone poll, phone
booth, overpass and tree has been hi-
jackedbycampaignbannersandpartyad-
vertisements. The department responsi-
ble for enforcing the local advertising or-
dinancereportedonFeb.7that96percent
ofcampaignmaterialstheysawhanging
washungillegally.
Thereport–basedonadriveacross118
kilometersoflocalthoroughfares–record-
ed 6,264 banners, posters and billboards.
Overhalfofthematerialinviolationofthe
lawfeaturedPRDcandidates(57percent).
Another17percentofthematerialbelonged
totheLaborParty,amemberofthealliance
backing Mancera. PAN (2.5 percent) and
PRI(1.5percent)violationswereminimal.
Another22percentofthe“politicalmessag-
es”hunginviolationofthelawwereforcur-
rentofficialsandlegislators,mostofwhom
aremembersofthePRD.
MayorEbrardpromisedtotakeaction
butitwillbeinterestingtoseeifhemoves
to“correct”thesituation,keepinginmind
thatinadvertentlyremovingsignagefora
PRDcandidatewhobelongstoadifferent
factionthanhiscouldprovokeaschism.In
themeantime,pedestriansandcommut-
ers will become quite familiar with the
faces of Lía Limón, Mauricio Soto, Ma-
rio Delgado and Agustín Barrios Gómez,
amongmanyothers.
POLITICS
By the
NumbersELECTIONS

Queens of
the PaciﬁcHAVE PUERTO VALLARTA and the Riviera Nayarit usurped the
throne from Acapulco?
TEXT & PHOTOS BY JIMM BUDD
life&
leisure
life&
leisure DESTINATIONS

oward the end of March, many eyes will
beonPuertoVallartaandtheneighboring
RivieraNayarit.Tourpackagersfromsev-
eral countries will be gathering there for
the Tianguis Turístico, an annual trade
showwheretheymeetwiththeirsuppliers
–salesexecutivesfromairlines,buslines,
hotelchains,carrentalfirmsandmore–to
puttogethertheprogramsthattheyhope
vacationerswillbuyinthecomingmonths.
“This is big business,” says Enrique
Carrillo, general director of Fonatur, the
government’stourismdevelopmentagen-
cy.“ThetourismindustryisMexico’sbig-
gestemployer.”
For the first time the Tianguis will
be held somewhere other than Acapul-
co. Back in 1966, when it all got started,
therewerenootheroptions.“Butinrecent
years, people have been requesting other
venues,”saysRodolfoLópezNegrete,chief
operatingofficeroftheMexicanTourism
Board. The board – properly the Consejo
NacionaldePromociónTurística–orga-
nizes the Tianguis. Acapulco protested
theshift,butLópezNegretesaidthatde-
clining attendance led to the decision to
movethetradeshowaround.
“That Puerto Vallarta got the nod
seems only fair,” says Aurelio López Ro-
cha,whoheadstheJaliscoTourismSec-
retariat,notingthatPuertoVallartaissec-
ondinseniorityasamajorMexicaninter-
nationalresortdestination.
The adjacent Riviera takes in some
300 kilometers of coastline from Nuevo
Vallarta through Punta Mita and Guay-
abitos on up to Playa Novilleros, near the
state border with Sonora. The area has
longbeenpopular,butonlyrecentlyhasit
beendubbedtheRivieraNayarit,afterthe
stateit’sin.(PuertoVallartaitselfisinthe
stateofJalisco.)
standalongbeachesaboveandbelowthe
townitself.FirstcamethePosadaVallar-
ta,todaytheKrystalVallarta,northofthe
village. To the south, the Camino Real –
now Dreams – opened in 1969. The next
year, U.S. President Richard Nixon flew
in to meet with President Gustavo Díaz
Ordaz,aneventthataddedtothefameof
PuertoVallarta.Therest,somewouldsay,
ishistory.
Puerto Vallarta is more than just a vil-
lage now, having grown to a point where
it is more like half-a-dozen destinations
servedbyoneairport.Culture,cuisineand
ecology are the big attractions these days.
ThequaintesttownontheMexicanPacific
hasbecomemuchmorethanjustabeach.
LOTS TO DO
Among the greatest joys is the resurrec-
tionoftheneighborhoodaroundPlayalos
Muertos(BeachoftheDead),whichlocal
boosters turned into a slum when they
T
Taken together, Puerto Vallarta and
the Riviera make up the biggest holiday
area in Mexico. With size comes diversi-
ty. “Vacationers can find there just about
anything they want, as long as they are
notlookingforsnow,”writesNewJersey-
basedtraveljournalistCraigZabransky.
Just how much the Tianguis attend-
ees will see of it is a mystery. Plans do
call for them to be housed in a variety of
hotels throughout the area, but just get-
tingtotheexhibitareasmayprovetobea
challenge.Trafficcrowdsthenarrow,cob-
bledstreets,andthattrafficgetsworseon
weekends now that new highways have
broughtthetownwithinafewhours’drive
fromGuadalajara.
“It’sgoingtobeamess,”saidoneveter-
an Mexican hotelier, who asked not to be
identified, “but disorganization is an an-
nualfeatureattheTianguis.”
Still,theminorwoessufferedbytrade
fair attendees is no way to judge Puer-
to Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit. The
placespeaksforitself.Let’stakealookatit.
FROM FISH TO PRESIDENTS
In a manner of speaking Puerto Vallar-
tabeganatMismaloya,aboutahalf-hour
by car from downtown Vallarta. It was
on this cove that John Huston in 1963
directed“TheNightoftheIguana,”andin
theprocessmadeVallartafamous.Among
thestarsofthemoviewasRichardBurton.
Elizabeth Taylor had no role in the film,
butshoweduptokeephimcompany.They
weremarried,butnottoeachother–not
yetanyway.
The potential for gossip attracted
journalists. Once they arrived (getting
to Vallarta was a challenge half-a-cen-
tury ago), they found that they had little
to write about except the delights of the
Eden they’d discovered. A tourist mecca
wasborn.
It started out as a fishing village. It
looked the way Mexican fishing villages
aresupposedtolook.Cobbledstreetstum-
bleddownsteephillstotheMalecón,once
anunpavedseasidepromenade.Tileroofs
toppedwhitewashedhouses.
Until the 1950s, the only way to get to
Vallartawasbyboat.ThenMexicanaAir-
linesbeganflyinginfromMexicoCityev-
eryotherday.Ahandfulofforeignersdis-
coveredtheplace.ThisisonereasonHus-
ton decided on Vallarta for his movie.
American residents were ready to stand
inasextrasanytimeHustonneededthem.
Huston changed everything. A statue of
him in town reminds anyone who may
haveforgotten.
The bigger, more luxurious hotels
“Puerto
Vallartais,
amongmany
otherthings,
theplaceto
connectwith
theopposite
sex.Orthe
samesex.”The work of Puerto Vallarta-born painter Manuel Lepe (1936-1984) attracted the attention of the
international art world, leaving the town teeming with artists and galleries to this day. A statue honors the director John Huston (above), whose filming of “Night of the Iguana” in the early 1960s put Puerto Vallarta and its picturesque
coastline (below) on the tourism map.
life&
leisure
DESTINATIONS

tried to rename it Playa del Sol (Beach of
theSun).ThestreetsleadingdowntoLos
Muertos,particularlyBasilioBadilloand
Olas Altas, have become the address of
some of the best places to eat and drink
intown.Thelocaltourismofficecallsthis
theZonaRomántica,whichitcanbe,de-
pendingonwhoyou’rewith.
Italsocanbeagoodspottolookforfine
artorfolkartalongthestonestreetsthat
line the Río Cuale or on the island in the
middle of the river. That might mean ar-
rivingintimeforlunch,andthechoicesof
spotsaremany,mostofthemquitegood.
“OurrestaurantsareoneofPuertoVal-
larta’s biggest attractions,” says Andreas
Rupprechter, proprietor of Restaurant
Kaiser Maximilian in the Los Muertos
BEDS GALORE
A few years ago Puerto Vallarta appeared
to be in a tailspin, with too many hotels
chasing too few tourists. Airlines had to
be all but bribed not to cut service. That’s
changing.AnewHiltonandaHolidayInn
Expressareintheworks,accordingtothe
local hotel association. AM Resorts plans
to inaugurate a Now Amber Resort while
PosadasdeMéxicoislookingatopeninga
low-pricedOneintheresortarea.
Justwheretheywillbelocatedhasnot
been announced. First thing vacationers
needtodecideiswhereinPuertoVallarta
theywanttobeddown.Thismeansthattour
operatorsintownfortheTianguisTurísti-
coshouldbetakingalook,althoughthereis
somuchtoseeyouwonderwheretheywill
findthetime.Thenyouneedtodecidewhat
partoftownfeelsbesttoyou.Abovetown?
Belowtown?TheMarina?Perhapsoneof
thecozylittleinnsrightintown(butnoton
thebeach)?
The highway out to Mismaloya is dot-
tedwithresorts,includingBarcelórightat
Mismaloya,aPresidenteInter-Continen-
tal, the classic Garza Blanca and Dreams,
which is all-inclusive (room, meals, en-
tertainmentandactivitiesincludedinthe
basic price). You can rent condominium
apartments and villas. In town are more
intimateandusuallylessexpensivedigs.
Toward the north, beyond where the
Malecón begins, are more fancy places to
stay. And then there is the Marina, which
could be a resort destination in itself. You
will find the Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Mar-
riott and Westin out this way, along with
properties managed by European and
Mexicanchains.Inall,therearemorethan
100 places to bed down in Puerto Vallar-
ta,andmanymoreacrosstheAmecaRiv-
erwheretheRivieraNayaritbegins.
Luxury hotels crowd the southern
shores of the Riviera Nayarit, starting at
NuevoVallartaandFlamingos,continuing
outtoPuntaMitaandbeyond.PuntaMita
is the address of both a Four Seasons and
aSt.Regis,plustwoJackNicklausSigna-
ture golf courses (“signature” courses ap-
parentlybeingbetterthanunsignedcours-
es). The Riviera has two other golf cours-
eswiththreemoresaidtobeunderway.
Beyond Punta Mita less elegant lodg-
ing abounds, along with plush and not-
so-plush all-inclusive resorts. In all, the
Nayarit Riviera includes more towns,
villages, hotels and resorts than I could
count. An entire vacation would not pro-
vide enough time to explore them all, but
tryingcouldbefun.
“Thebeachesarebetteroverherethanin
PuertoVallarta,”saysabiasedRichardZar-
kin,wholefthisnativeMexicoCityhopingto
baskbeneaththepalms.Asapromoterforthe
RivieraNayarit,Zarkinfindshimselftoobusy
todomuchbasking.“Thewatersoverhere
remain shallow for quite a distance, which
makesthebeachsaferforchildren,”hesays.
“WehaveresortsbothinPuertoVallar-
ta and Nuevo Vallarta,” says Carlos Aqui-
no,avicepresidentofthefast-growingVil-
laGroup,buildersoftimeshareproperties.
“Weprovidewhatourcustomerswant.”
Puerto Vallarta appeals to the young
andthosewhowishtheywereyoung.Itis
theplacetoconnectwiththeoppositesex.
Or with the same sex. More conservative
vacationers are dismayed by the way that
PuertoVallartahasbecomesupposedlythe
mostgay-friendlydestinationinMexico.
TheRivieraNayarit,ontheotherhand,
attracts the already-connected crowd,
familieswithyoungchildren.Adolescents
probablywillbehappieriftheirparentsopt
for accommodations in Puerto Vallarta.
“But that is changing,” insists Zarkin, the
RivieraNayaritpromoter.Hecomparesthe
littletownofBuceríastothePuertoVallar-
taofthe1970s,whichmightbesomething
ofanexaggeration.“Weareputtinginour
own seaside boulevard, a malecón 10 me-
ters wide, at least three kilometers long,”
hesays.TheMalecón,hepromises,willbe
equalorbetterthanthatofPuertoVallarta.
“Itwillbetheaddressofbistros,boutiques
andthebestartgalleries,”hesays.
InneighboringLitibú,theNayaritgov-
ernmenthasannouncedthat,withthehelp
of Fonatur, 167 hectares are being pre-
paredfortheconstructionof10resortho-
tels, nearly 1,000 vacation residences and
a 72-hole golf course designed by Greg
Norman.Iberostarwillbeamongthepio-
neers,promisesMiguelFluxá,CEOatthe
bigSpanishresortgroup.
He, or one of his people, doubtless will
have more to say once the Tianguis trade
show gets under way. The Tianguis is
wherehotelchainsandairlinesoftenmake
theirbiggestannouncements.
Jimm Budd is the dean of English-language
journalists covering the tourism industry in
Mexico, and writes a regular tourism column
for the Mexico City daily Reforma. His kindle
book ¡Mexico! is available at www.kindle.com
by typing “Jimm” in the search box.
Golfers have their choice of three courses in Puerto Vallarta and four more on the Riviera Nayarit,
including the Club de Golf Punta Mita (shown here), with water hazards the size of an ocean.
neighborhood. “We like to think that our
town has more outstanding restaurants
persquaremeterthananywherethisside
ofVienna…orParis.AndinPuertoVallar-
ta,youarenotlimitedtoEuropeanfood.”
Maybe not, but Vallarta seems to
have attracted quite a number of Euro-
pean chefs, among them Bernhard Guth
and Ulf Henrikkson, who opened Trio, a
shortwalkfromKaiserMaximilian.Thi-
erryBlouet’sCafédesArtistes,alsoincen-
tral Vallarta, has become something of a
gourmetshrine.
Vacationerswhowanttodomorethan
loungebyaswimmingpooljointeamsof
biologistsandnaturalistsinreleasingba-
byseaturtlesthatmightotherwisebegob-
bledbypredators,makingsurethehatch-
lings wait until dark before scurrying to
thesea.
Severalfirmsoperatetours,everything
from hikes into the jungle to horseback
rides, excursions on mountain bikes and
kayakoutings.Humpbackwhaleswinter
inBanderasBayoffVallarta.Canopytours
havebecomeespeciallypopular.
“Canopy tours send you zipping
through the tree tops, riding in a har-
ness attached to a steel cable,” says Pau-
lo Rodríguez, a guide at Vallarta Adven-
ture.“Theygiveyouachancetoseesome-
thingofwhatliesinthehillsthatsurround
thebay.”
Then there are picnic cruises across
the bay to tiny hidden havens along the
shore. These include Yelapa, a cove with
many restaurants and activities such
as parasailing. At Playa de las Ánimas
(Beach of the Spirits) and Quimixto, you
can hire a pony or hike up trails into the
hills.Ladiesshouldeschewhighheels.
Golfers have their choice of three
coursesinPuertoVallartaitselfandfour
moreoverintheRivieraNayarit.
When it comes to shopping, those at-
tendingtheTianguisTurísticofindmore
todothanbuyingracyt-shirtsandtacky
souvenirs.Theartgalleriesclaimtorival
the best in Mexico City and they’re more
funtovisit.Morethanadozenplacessell
finepaintingandsculpture,andwhilethat
maynotsoundlikemuch,fewvisitorsget
toseethemall.
The late Manuel Lepe, Mexico’s pre-
mierprimitivepainter,getscreditforput-
ting Puerto Vallarta on art maps. Lepe’s
trademark angels flying over the beach-
esdelightedHollywoodtypeswhobegan
flockingtotheareainthe1960s.
TheRiviera
Nayarit
includes300
kilometersof
coastlinefrom
NuevoVallarta
toPlaya
Novilleros.The Riviera Nayarit attracts the already connected — families with young children.
life&
leisure DESTINATIONS

Barely Passing
CAN A documentary rescue public education?
F
or the second straight year,
the Mexican film world spent
much of February with its at-
tention split between a home-
grown Oscar nominee and a muckraking
documentary.
Lastyear,“Biutiful,”byMexicandirec-
torAlejandroGonzálezIñárritu(“Amores
Perros,” “21 Grams,” “Babel”), was in the
running for the Best Foreign Language
Film award, which ended up going to
the Danish drama “In a Better World.”
At the same time, the powerful “Presun-
to Culpable” (“Presumed Innocent”), ex-
posing a callous judicial system convict-
inganinnocentmanevenasthecameras
rolled,wassettingboxofficerecordsfora
documentary.
Thistimearound,DemiánBichir’srun
for the Best Actor Oscar was the maga-
zine cover topic of choice for most of the
month, while an ambitious documenta-
ry was screening for the media and oth-
erselectedaudiencesinthelead-uptoits
much-anticipatedFeb.24openingincom-
mercialtheaters.
“¡De Panzazo!,” like “Presunto Culpa-
ble”beforeit,isadoconamission,hopingto
spurreformofatragicallyunderperforming
e d u c a -
tional system just as its predecessor fo-
cused attention on a dysfunctional judi-
ciary.Butwhile“PresuntoCulpable”found
a dramatic tug by staying with a single,
shocking case that we fear is all too typi-
cal,“¡DePanzazo!”looksatthebigpicture,
loading its 80 minutes with establishing
shotsofschoolsinvariousstatesofdisre-
pair, testimonybystudents,teachersand
parents, 60 Minutes-style adversarial in-
terviewswithauthorities,andabarrageof
facts. With some exceptions, such as the
contrastbetweenshotsoflovableyoung-
sters fidgeting with unchanneled energy
andtheself-protectivedissemblingofbu-
reaucratsseeminglyintentonlivingupto
their stereotype, we feel we’re being told
morethanwe’rebeingshown.
Butwhatwe’retoldrevealsasystemin
shambles.Kidsaren’tlearning.
Takemath,thatoldbugaboo,asanillus-
tration.OnlyoneoutofeveryhundredMex-
icanstudentsreachesanadvancedlevelof
mathematics (in Canada, by comparison,
it’s26,andinSouthKorea36).Morethan
halfhaven’tevenlearnedminimumarith-
meticskillsastheyenterhighschool.
And that’s assuming they get that far.
Aboutathirddon’tmakeittosixthgrade,
and well under half graduate high school.
Collegede-
grees,derigeurforsuccessinMexico(few
inspirationalup-from-the-mailroomsto-
ries here), are reachable by about 10 per-
centandpost-gradsarefortheselectfew.
In the film, these cheerless facts are
coming to us from an off-screen voice
that soon incarnates as a familiar face,
noneotherthanCarlosLoretdeMola.The
Televisanewsanchor’sappearancemight
seemmildlyincongruousinthiscontext,
hisnetworkseldombeingaccusedoffos-
teringaneducatedviewership.ButLoret
de Mola is a pro and a charmer, and he
serves as an amiable Virgil accompany-
ing us through the circles of school hell.
Hehastheadditionaladvantageofbeing
a celebrity journalist, with all the access
thatimplies.
Plus he co-directed and co-wrote the
film,soheenjoysacertaindroitd’auteur.
(Theprincipledirectorandcinematogra-
pher is Juan Carlos Rulfo, known for the
SundanceFilmFestivalsuccessofhis“In
thePit,”aportraitofconstructionworkers,
andforhispedigree;he’sthesonofthere-
veredauthorJuanRulfo.)
“¡DePanzazo!,”namedafteranexpres-
sionforsqueakingbythatinthiscasemight
best be translated as “Barely Passing,” is
slick enough to hold our attention for the
duration. But it’s not so good at matching
thevisualcon-
tentwiththemessage.Showingkids
acting up (or out) on the school grounds
doesn’t demonstrate poor education, par-
entscomplainingaboutteachersisuniver-
sal, and the fact that both a private school
studentandherpublicschoolcounterpart
comeupwiththewronganswertoamath
problemoncameraprovesexactlynothing.
Fewdoubtthatascandalouslyhighpercent-
ageofMexicanteachersareunpreparedor
unwillingtoperformadequately,butshortof
100hiddencamerasandalotoftime,you’re
notgoingtogetthatonfilm.
Nor does the documentary offer any
bold statements about who or what’s to
blame for themess. Thefilmmakesclear,
however, that the problem isn’t money, or
at least not education spending. Mexico
spendsmoreoneducationasapercentage
of the total budget than the OECD coun-
tries’ average, we’re told. Which begs the
question:Wheredoesthemoneygo?
This is where the national teachers
unionanditscontumaciouspresident-for-
life,ElbaEstherGordillo,don’tcomeoffso
well. After an interlude in which Loret de
Mora tries unsuccessfully to get some-
body,anybody,totellhimhowmanyteach-
ers there are in Mexico – it’s his Michael
Mooremoment,playedforlaughs–hecon-
frontstheunionbossonthatandotheris-
sues.Hedoesn’tgetmuchinthewayofan-
swers,buttheverbalsparringistop-rate,a
truebattleoftitansamongtheinfluential,
ifnottheintellectuallyelite.
One controls millions of votes, the other
millionsofviewers.
At one point, the TV newsman asks
Gordillo why the union resists teacher
evaluations. That’s a pertinent question,
since it’s an open secret that more teach-
ers get and keep their positions through
unioninfluence,politicalpatronageorout-
right purchase than actually demonstrat-
ingqualifications.
The union boss insists she’s in favor of
evaluations.“Thendothem!”LoretdeMo-
lashootsback.“You’vebeentheheadofthe
unionfor20years!”Gordillo,neverlettinggo
ofhishand,replieswithadeflection:“Well,
makemetheSecretaryofEducation.”
Viewerscomeawayfromthedocumen-
tarywiththesuspicionthatwhetherornot
Gordillobearsresponsibilityforthesadstate
ofeducationinMexico,thesolutionisn’tlike-
lytobecomingfromher.Theunionappar-
entlyinterpretsthefilm’sintendedmessage
thatway.Itwagedanenergeticcampaignto
discreditthedocumentarythroughoutFeb-
ruary, and newspapers reported that a re-
spectedVeracruzteacherwhocooperated
withthefilmmakershasbeenharassedand
threatenedwithdismissal.
Thisiswhatreformersareupagainst.
Ontheironicside,leadersofMexicanos
Primero–thenonprofit,pro-educationciti-
zensgroupthatproducedandfinanced“¡De
Panzazo!” – include the heads of Televisa
anditsfoundation.It’sbeenwidelyalleged,
mostly from the left, that the media giant
has slant-
editscoverageinfavorofEnrique
PeñaNieto,thetelegenicpresidentialcan-
didateoftheInstitutionalRevolutionPar-
ty(PRI).UntillateJanuary,duringthetime
thefilmwasinpost-productionandfirstbe-
ingscreened,thePRIwasinanelectoralal-
liancewiththeNewAllianceParty,whichis
controlledby...ElbaEstherGordillo.
Mexicanpoliticsarecomplicated.
Butlet’schoosenottodoubtthesincer-
ityofMexicanosPrimero(MexicansFirst)
anditseffortstofinallygetsomethingdone
about the education system’s shortcom-
ing. All the screenings were accompanied
by calls to action, and it’s probably no co-
incidence that the documentary’s release
came on the eve of the presidential cam-
paign.HugoHernández,whoreviewsfilm
forthemagazineLetrasLibres,wassurely
rightwhenhesuggestedthat“¡DePanzazo!”
shouldbethoughtofmoreasapromotional
videothanatraditionaldocumentary.
For anything to happen, the next pres-
ident and Congress will have to do more
thanwatchamovie;they’llneedthepoliti-
calcouragetotakeonvestedinterests.That
wouldbeclosetounprecedented.But“¡De
Panzazo!”andMexicanosPrimerohaveat
least started the nation talking about ed-
ucation reform, which is something. And
among the celebrities attending the red
carpet premiere a week before the public
openingweretwoofthethreemajorpres-
identialcandidates–PeñaNietoandJose-
finaVázquezMotaoftheconservativeNa-
tionalActionParty.VázquezMotaisafor-
merSecretaryofEducation.
life&
leisure FILM

Taking on South
AmericaTHREE MEXICAN TEAMS earned invitations to the Copa Libertadores. But only two of the clubs have
taken it seriously.
BY TOM BUCKLEY
A
NewYearbringsnewhopejust
as a new soccer season brings
newhope.Thatisunlessyou’re
notevengoingtotry.
TheTigreswontheirfirstMexicanSoccer
League title since 1982 in December, fea-
turing a stingy defense and a patient, op-
portunisticoffense.Byvirtueoftheirthird
placefinishintheregularseasonstandings
theTigresalsoearnedaqualifyingspotin
theprestigiousCopaLibertadores.
Guadalajara and Cruz Azul finished
1-2 in the standings but both crashed out
of the playoffs in the first round. Howev-
er, their regular season performance won
themspotsdirectlyintotheCopaLiberta-
doresgroupstage.
BothteamshaveenjoyedLibertadores
success. The Chivas and Cementeros are
the only Mexican clubs to ever reach the
finalsoftheSouthAmericantournament,
althougheachlostinagonizingfashion.
CHASING INTERNATIONAL GLORY
Cruz Azul advanced to the finals against
Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors in
2001 only to lose the first leg at home 1-0.
Against all prognostications, Cruz Azul
traveled to Buenos Aires and outplayed
Boca, winning at La Bombonera 1-0 and
forcing a penalty shootout. Boca perse-
vered and won the shootout 3-1 to claim
theirsecondstraightLibertadorestrophy.
In2010,Guadalajaraplayedunevenlyin
the knockout rounds but pushed through
tothefinalsagainstheavilyfavoredInter-
nacional of Brazil. A goal just before half-
timeofthehomeleggavetheChivashope,
but Inter scored twice midway through
the second half. In the return leg in Por-
to Alegre, Guadalajara scored late in the
first half to level the aggregate score, on-
ly to see Inter find the net three times in
thesecondhalf.
The aggressive and controversial Chi-
vasownerJorgeVergaraisobsessedwith
defendingtheprestigeofGuadalajara’scol-
ors. Vergara demands the best, firing two
coaches in the past three months even as
the club was compiling the best record in
the Apertura 2011 tournament. He wants
theChivastostaketheirclaimasthepre-
mierclubinMexicoandtheLibertadores
offersaninternationalplatform.
CourtlyCruzAzulownerGuillermoÁl-
varezhasbeentryingtowinanothertrophy
fortheCementerosfornearly15years.The
Blue Machine has become the perennial
JORGEADORNO/REUTERS
ALEJANDROACOSTA/REUTERS
Javier Orozco, left and Emanuel Villa of Cruz Azul celebrate Orozco’s first goal against Paraguay’s Nacional in their Feb. 8 Copa Libertadores match.
Guadalajara’s Omar Arellano, right, reacts after scoring against Ecuador’s Deportivo Quito in a Feb. 7
Copa Libertadores match.
runner-upinrecentyears,losingfourfinals
since2007.TheCementerosaredesperateto
repayÁlvarezforhisfaithandcoachEnrique
Mezasayshismenwillcontendforboththe
leagueandtheLibertadorestrophies.
FERRETTI THUMBS HIS NOSE
Duringthewinterbreakbetweenseasons,
Tigres coach Ricardo Ferretti announced
his team would focus on defending its
leaguetitle.Thepricklycoachsaidhewould
useplayersfromthejuniorsquadandrest
mostofhisstartersforleaguematches.
The decision was met with a mixture
of dismay and outrage because the Mexi-
can Soccer Federation had fought hard to
raiseitsprofile.Playinginthetraditionally
weak Concacaf region, Mexico has strug-
gledtowinrespect.Afteryearsoflobbying,
theSouthAmericanFederation(Conme-
bol) extended an invitation to Mexico for
the1993CopaAmericaandElTrishocked
punditsbyreachingthefinalandgivingAr-
gentina a scare before losing 2-1. Mexico
hasbeeninvitedtoeachtournamentsince
and has seen its reputation climb thanks
to steady growth and solid performances
againstqualitycompetition.
Mexicanclubshavebeeninvitedtothe
CopaLibertadorestournamentsince1998,
thesameyearToyotaenteredintoaspon-
sorshipagreement.Sincethen,teamshave
earnedpayoutsforadvancingtotheknock-
out stage. The winner of the tournament
plays in the World Club Cup tournament
attheendofthesameyear.
So coach Ferretti’s disregard was seen
asnarrow-mindedandcounterproductive.
SportscolumnscriticizedFerrettiandthe
Tigres, suggesting that the coach lacked
ambition. The fear that the snub would
hurtrelationswithConmebolwasvoiced.
ESPN commentator David Faitelson
wrote:
“Ferrettilacksambition.TheloyalTigres
supporterswaited29yearsbetweenleague
titlessoit’snotasifthefanswouldsuddenly
losepatiencejustbecausetheteamwastak-
ingpartintwotournaments,perhapsstrug-
gling in the league due to the extra energy
required. Especially in exchange for seeing
top-notchclubsfromSouthAmericaplayin
theirhomestadium.”
life&
leisure SPORTS

True to his word, Ferretti traveled to
Chile to take on Unión Española in the
play-in series with a team of youngsters.
The Chilean squad were third-place fin-
ishersinthelocalleaguelastyear,butthey
beattheTigres1-0.
In the Feb. 2 return match in Monter-
rey,theyouthfulTigresjumpedouttoa2-0
first-halfleadonlytoseevictoryslipaway
thanks to a series of errors. Sports pages
mocked the effort with headlines such as
“FelineFailure”and“Kittensslipup.”
GOING ALL IN
Incontrasttotheindifferencedisplayedby
Ferretti and the Tigres, Guadalajara and
Cruz Azul approached their Libertadores
groupstageopenerswithdetermination.
TheChivashavestruggledthisseason,
losingtheirfirstthreegamesbeforefiring
theircoach.NewmanagerIgnacioAmbriz
fashionedascorelesstieinhisfirstgameon
the touchline but the club lost again prior
to its date at home against Ecuador’s De-
portivoQuito.
Guadalajara played inconsistently but
striker Omar Arellano salvaged a tie with
agoalduringsecondhalfinjurytime.Even
so, squandering points at home is nev-
er good in a short tournament, especially
since Vélez Sarsfield is in Group 7 along-
side the Chivas. The Argentine club is
ranked No. 3 in the world (behind only
BarcelonaandRealMadrid)intheFeder-
ation of International Soccer History and
Statistics(IFFHS).Guadalajaraisranked
No.302bytheIFFHS.
Coach Ambriz acknowledged that he
still has work to do and the Chivas insist
theyareadjustingtothenewtactics.Gua-
dalajara knows it must find success soon
asthedomesticseasonisnearlyone-third
overandtheteamtravelstoBuenosAires
totakeonVélezSarsfieldonFeb.22.
CruzAzulfindsitselfinaneasiergroup
toppedbyBrazilianpowerhouseCorinthi-
ans. Though ranked only #151 by the IF-
FHS, the Sao Paulo club won the Brazil-
ian league last year. The Cementeros are
ranked#178byIFFHSandarefavoredto
advanceintotheknockoutstagealongwith
Corinthians.
In their Group 6 opener, the Cement-
eros traveled to Asunción, Paraguay, and
played a very solid game. Cruz Azul de-
feated Nacional 2-1 behind two goals by
striker Javier “Chuletita” Orozco. Win-
ningthreepointsontheroadshouldserve
theteamwellwithVenezuelanchampDe-
portivo Táchira due to visit Mexico City
onFeb.21.
Upcoming
Matches
Cruz Azul and Guadalajara each
have four more group stage games
in their respective Copa Libertado-
res campaigns. The first two teams in
each group advance to the Round of
16 knockout stage.
Group 6
: March 14
Corinthians (Brazil)
at Cruz Azul
: March 21
Cruz Azul
at Corinthians
: April 3
Cruz Azul
at Dep. Táchira (Venezuela)
: April 18
Nacional (Paraguay)
at Cruz Azul
Group 7
: March 13
Defensor (Uruguay)
at Guadalajara
: March 28
Guadalajara
at Defensor
: April 11
Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina)
at Guadalajara
: April 18
Guadalajara
at Deportivo Quito (Ecuador)
DANIELBECERRIL/REUTERS
Eder Nicolás Borelli of the Tigres, center, battles for possession with Unión Española’s Antonio
Braulio Leal, right, and Emmanuel Herrera during their Feb. 2 Copa Libertadores match in Monterrey.
Democratic
BrewTHERE ARE DOZENS OF MEXICAN beers you’ve never
revolution.
PHOTO:KELLYARTHURGARRETT/MEXICOREVIEW
Gilbert Nielsen, head of the Calavera
microbrewery, crafts European-style
beers with a Mexican touch.
life&
leisure SPORTS
life&
leisureFOOD & DRINK

A
restaurantritualhas
played out for de-
cades in Mexico, at
mom-and-pop holes
in the wall and up-
scale eateries alike.
It’s in call-and-re-
sponseformat,initiatedbythecustomer,
who calls for a beer. The waiter will then
respond:Corona,Modelo,Victoria,Pacífi-
coand(inarecentmodification)Leónand
Montejo.Itoftenstopsthere.
Alongerliturgyaddsthefollowing:Dos
Equis,Sol,Bohemia,Superior,CartaBlan-
ca,IndioandTecate.That’sessentiallyit.
Takenasawhole,theselectionmaynot
seemsothin.Infact,formuchofthe20th
century those Mexican brands were lad-
derrungstobeerheavenforvisitorsfrom
the United States, where the beer itself
wasthin.
The problem is that the Mexican beer
list has calcified into a rigid orthodoxy.
With a few regional and seasonal excep-
tions,youdrinkoneoftheaforementioned
productsoryoudon’tdrinkMexicanbeer.
Thedearthofchoicehastakenthedis-
crimination – and most of the pleasure –
outofbeerdrinking,andreducedittothe
lowestdepthofitsowncliché.Beerturned
intolittlemorethansomethingtoguzzle
at parties, quench a thirst, wash down a
quickmealorgethammeredwith.Andif
you’reover21,it’sadealbusteronadate.
Untilnow.
AparallelbeeruniverseexistsinMex-
ico,withscoresofchoicesthathavenoth-
ingtodowiththeestablishedcommercial
brands.Maybe99percentofresidentsand
visitorsamblethroughthisuniversewith
noideathatitcontainsofferingsfromdoz-
ens of proudly Mexican breweries with
names like Cucapá, La Chingonería, Ca-
lavera, Baja Brewing Company, Revolu-
ción, Rámuri, Primus, Cosaco and Arte-
sanalJack.
Nor do they know about the new beer
distribution outlets cropping up like
shoots through the concrete. The Beer
Box and Beer Company have opened up
specialty beer shops and tasting taverns
in an expanding number of cities across
Mexico, including relatively small ones
likeSanMigueldeAllende.
TheyjoinindependenthangoutslikeEl
DepósitoandLaBelgainMexicoCity’sRo-
ma and Condesa neighborhoods as gath-
ering spots for a new breed of beer lovers
ontheprowlforquality,variety,andasen-
sualexperience.Otherwise,it’sjustbeer.
Inthesecircles,there’snonamingrit-
ual. Since each brewery manufacturers
at least two or three beers, often several
timesthat,therearetoomanyforawaiter
or bartender or store clerk to get through
the list. Attempts at it can approach po-
etry, however, since those not named af-
tertheirtype(LightPaleLager,Mexican
Imperial Stout, Brava Dunkler Bock and
the like) are prone to fanciful nomencla-
ture, like Chupacabras, Amargator and
BatriChonami,ornamesthattranslateto
Redhead,BlackTearsandBlackScorpion.
What’s going on? Is a beer revolution
raginginMexico,assomeliketosay?
Well, what’s starting to happen, beer-
wise, is a delayed version of what hap-
pened a decade or two earlier in Europe
and the United States, where the grip of
the big breweries was suddenly loosened
byhundredsofmuchsmallerones,atleast
1,500intheU.S.
“Whenonlyafewbreweriesdominate
themarket,peoplestartlookingforsome-
thingelse,”saysGilbertNielsen,oneofthe
new brewers in Mexico. “At some point
they find out that there are other beers
out there that are maybe more attractive
andinteresting,oratleastdifferent,than
whatthey’vebeengetting.”
Whichmeansthatthefirststepwould
beariseinimports,andthat’sexactlywhat
happenedinMexicanretailstores,though
notsomuchatrestaurants.Supermarket
shelves, once exclusively domestic, now
often include an ample, though inconsis-
tent, selection of sometimes outrageous-
lypricedforeignbeers,mostlyEuropean.
(This development also created the curi-
ous situation of the likes of Miller, Coors
and Budweiser being marketed as exotic
high-qualityimports.)
Theadventofimportedbeer,thetheo-
ry goes, opened the door for more variety
inhomegrownproducts.“Theinterestin
variety gets some entrepreneurial spirits
thinking about starting their own brew-
eries and producing beers independently
from the large companies,” Nielsen says.
“Mexicoisjustnowenteringthatphase.”
WINE AND BEER
Iftheemergingmicrobreweriesareareac-
tiontothedominanceofthemega-brew-
eries,itfollowslogicallythatthenewones
wouldn’texistiftheoldoneshadn’tgrown
sobig.Nielsen,whorunstheCalaverami-
crobrewery, acknowledges that. “Mexico
is a country that is very used to beer, and
we can thank two very large breweries
formakingitthatway,”hesays.“Without
themwemightbeawinecountry,because
there is very good wine made in Mexico.
Butwe’reabeercountry.”
The two very large breweries he’s
talkingaboutareCuauhtémocMoctezu-
ma,whichdatesbacktothe19thcentury,
andGrupoModelo,foundedinthe1920s.
Modelo makes the beers referred to in
the first paragraph of this article (Coro-
na,etc).CuauhtémocMoctezuma,which
isnowownedbyHeinekenInternational,
makestheonesinthesecondparagraph.
Before those two companies started
operations,Mexicowasnotabeercountry.
Nowtheannualper-capitaconsumption
ismorethan50liters.Thatputsitwellbe-
lowthetop-quaffingcountries(theUnited
States drinks more than Mexico and the
CzechRepublicleadsthepack),butit’sstill
alotofbeer.Andclosetoeverydropofitis
producedbytheBigTwo.
A few of those drops, however, come
from the microbreweries. And the mi-
crobrewersassumemoredropsarecom-
ingtheirwayastimegoesby.Theythink
that will happen because they consider
theirproductsuperior.Ittastesbetter.
Thedifferenceisinhowthey’remade.
Their particular niche in the specialty
beer market is often referred to as craft
beer–cervezaartesanal–whichimplies
creativityintherecipes,experimentation
withingredientsandacertainlovingcare
intheactualbrewingprocess.Thewaythe
microbrewers see it, they’re creating Pi-
cassoswhileModeloandCuauhtémocare
mass-producingmotelart.
“Theconsumerswhodrinkcraftbeer
are very similar to the consumers who
drink wine, and they’re often the same
people,” Nielsen says. “They like quali-
typroducts,theylikegoodwineandthey
likegoodbeer.”
Inacertainsense,thecraftbeermakers
and the commercial brewers aren’t even
engaged in the same pursuit. Modelo and
Cuauhtémocproducelagers,almostexclu-
sively.Lagerisafinebeertype,butit’sonly
one.Acraftbeerismorelikelytobeapale
ale,astoutorawheatbeer,amongothers.
Within those types there’s plenty of
play, because craft brewers don’t always
limitthemselvestobarleyandhops.Tast-
ing notes for wine will talk about fruits
andspices,butthosearemetaphorstode-
scribesubtletastesthattherearenowords
for. These beer makers often put the real
stuff right in there. Not overwhelmingly
so,tobesure,butyoucantasteit.
Raramuri’sBatariTurio,forexample,
isawheatbeerwithhoneyanddrychipo-
tleadded.CerveceríaJackandmanyoth-
ers include chocolate in some stouts. La
Chingoneríaaddspowderedavocadoleaf
toitsAmargatorpalealetoevokethefla-
vors of the pueblos of Morelos. Nielsen
addsthetraditionalsugarskullstoCala-
vera’sseasonalDayoftheDeadbeer,each
skull inscribed with the name of his fel-
lowcraftbrewers,“togetthegoodvibesin
there.”Minerva,basedinthetequilastate
of Jalisco, ages one of its beers in tequila
barrels,andthusisborntheITA,orImpe-
rialTequilaAle.
Some Craft
Beers:
A Mexican
Sampler
La Chingonería
Isaac Aroche runs
this quite new
“nano-brewery”
out of a small of-
fice in the family
medical services business, farming
out the actual production of his reci-
pes to the Minerva brewery. He con-
siders beer drinking as a memory-
evoking experience, and his design
of the bitter IPA (India Pale Ale) Am-
argator achieves that in a very per-
sonal way; it’s based on the flavors
of the pipián (a green mole) sauc-
es he remembers as a child in his fa-
ther’s pueblo in the state of Morelos.
Házmela Rusa is an Imperial Stout
with chocolate flavorings (Tabas-
can cacao) and chile. The name of
the brewery is a mildly off-color
mexicanismo that might be polite-
ly translated as “very, very good.”
www.lachingoneria.com.mx
Cucapá
Named for
the indige-
nous people
in the Mexi-
cali area where it’s based and has
a brew pub, this is one of the old-
er Mexican microbreweries (since
2002), with a good reputation and
an ample selection of beers (about
15, though not necessarily all at the
same time). Some of the names sug-
gest the border culture it’s part of,
including Green Card (a barleywine)
and Lowrider (a rye beer). Some Cu-
capá beers are available in the Unit-
ed States. www.cucapa.com
Minerva
Guadalajara-based and one of
the more successful Mexican
microbreweries. Selling since
2003. The Malverde is a con-
tinental style Pilsener. The Vi-
ena is dark and meant to be
life&
leisure
FOOD & DRINK

ABOUT THOSE PRICES ...
Another difference between the big and
the small is not as fortunate for the mi-
crobrewers.It’stheprice.A355-millliter
bottleofMexicancraftbeerusuallyruns
from20to45pesosinthestores,whichis
lessthanmanyimportedbeersbuttwoto
five times what you’ll pay for a commer-
cial domestic beer.
There are a number of reasons for
this. Most are intrinsic to the nature of
the business, and they’re not likely to go
away in the foreseeable future. A Che
GuevarabeerfromtheRevoluciónmicro-
brewery will probably always cost more
than a Dos Equis.
It comes down to economy of scale,
or a lack of it. These people don’t make
a lot of beer at a time, so they’re not buy-
ing ingredients in big enough quantities
to get the price down. “I purchase may-
beacoupleofpalletsofmalt,whereasthe
bigcompaniesarepurchasinghundreds
oftonsatatime,”Nielsensays.“Theyget
theirsbythetruckload.Mineyoucanget
into a van.”
Moreover,themicrobrewersbuymost
of their ingredients from abroad. Some-
times it’s by choice, but often not. “We
can’t even buy malt here in Mexico be-
causeallthebarleyisboughtupbythebig
malting facilities that are controlled by
CuauhtémocandModelo,”Nielsensays.
“Iimporteverything,andthatalonecosts
twice as much.”
And then there’s logistics. “It’s not
easy to distribute in a country that’s so
big,”Nielsensays.Ofcourse,Mexico’sthe
same size for Modelo as it is for Calave-
ra, but on a per-bottle or per-barrel ba-
sis, the delivery trips are costlier for the
little guys.
Themicrobrewersaren’tcatchingany
breaks with Mexican taxation policy ei-
ther. They’re selling alcoholic beverag-
es,sothey’resubjecttoa26.5percenttax.
Thatadds2.65pesostothepriceofacom-
mercial bottle otherwise worth 10 pesos,
butmaybefiveoreightpesostoacraftbeer.
The microbrewers say their prices could
comedownsomeifthetaxwerebasedon
alcoholcontent,asitisinothercountries,
ratherthanproductprice.
What the craft brewers don’t do, ac-
cordingtoNielsen,isjackupthepriceof
anindividualbeerbecausetheythinkit’s
good enough to bring in more, as winer-
ies might do. “We can’t do that,” he says.
“Beer is a democratic product.”
BEER CULTURE
The Calavera brewery occupies a former
waterprocessingplantinatraffic-choked
sliceoftheValleyofMexicomegalopolis,
justoutsidetheFederalDistrictinthecity
ofTlalnepantla,StateofMexico.Ithasfive
employees–fivemorethanmanyMexican
microbreweries–andasmanytanksthat
playtheirrespectiverolesinthebrewing
process,whichbasicallyinvolvessoaking
and steeping the malt (germinated bar-
ley) to convert its starches into ferment-
able sugars, and adding hops (and what-
everelse)forflavor.
GilbertNielsenwasborninDenmark,
butgrewupinMexico,attendingelemen-
taryandsecondaryschoolsherebeforere-
turningtoDenmark,gettinganengineer-
ing degree, mastering the brewery trade
and returning to Mexico three years ago
tosetupCalavera.
He’sbig,blondeandblue-eyed,withthe
amiable, unstressed demeanor of a man
doingexactlywhathewantstodo,exact-
lywherehewantstodoit.Recently,hesat
inhismodestofficeand,overthedinofthe
machinery,spokeinflawlessEnglish(his
thirdlanguageafterSpanishandDanish)
aboutachangingbeercultureinMexico.
“With these beers, you spend more
but you drink less, so it balances out,” he
said.“Plusyouenjoyitmore.It’saspecial
experience.”
Drinking less and enjoying it more
soundslikeawin-win,nottomentionits
benefits for health, weight control, digni-
fiedbehaviorandthehandlingofautomo-
biles.Butthemicrobrewersareawarethat
old habits die hard, especially when they
have todowiththe consumption of alco-
holicbeverages.Whenitcomestodrink-
ingbeer,Dr.House’sdictumisparamount:
Peopledon’tchange.
ButNielsenthinkstheycan.“Weknew
from the beginning that very few people
would know much about the different
styles of beer,” he said, noting that in the
worldofcommercialMexicanbeer,there
areonlytwotypes–claraandoscura,light
anddark–whicharen’treallybeertypesat
all.“Weattemptedtoremedythisbygiv-
ingourbeersnamesthatmoreorlesscor-
respondtotheiractualstyles.”
He went to a shelf and started pulling
down750-milliliterbottles–thesizeyou
can share with your dining partner. One
was an American pale ale called Amer-
ican Pale Ale. Another was an Imperi-
al Stout called Mexican Imperial Stout.
served very cold. The Colonial is in
the Kolsch style. The Imperial Stout
has touches of coffee and choco-
late. The Minerva Pale Ale won a
gold medal in its category at the
prestigious World Beer Cup in 2010.
www.cerveceriaminerva.com
The Beer Factory
It’s hard to think of
these guys as mi-
cro-anything, given
their spacious res-
taurants at five ma-
jor shopping malls in Mexico City (as
well as one in Puebla and another in
Tlaquepaque), each with huge beer
tanks prominently displayed. But their
six year-round beers, fruity and exot-
ic, are clearly of craft quality. For years
available only in the restaurants, Beer
Factory products are now being bot-
tled for retail. www.beerfactory.com
Artesanal Jack
A highly creative mom-
and-pop Mexico City na-
no-brewery specializing
in darker beers, like the
chocolatey sweet stout
Jack Chocolate, but al-
so a mango-laced, hon-
ey-kissed yellow wheat beer named
Alebrije after the tiny folk art sculp-
tures of fantastical animals.
www.cerveceriajack.com
Rámuri
The name evokes the
indigenous Rarámuri
people of Chihuahua,
also known as the
Tarahumaras, and in-
deed the name of their London brown,
Batari Chonami, is Tarahumaran for
dark beer. But this microbrewery is in
Tijuana, and is known for its chocolatey
oatmeal stout Lágrimas Negras, a Rus-
sian-style Imperial stout named after
Alexander the Great’s horse, Bucéfalo,
and a laguer called Diablo Blanco.
wwww.cervezaramuri.com
Primus
A Mexico City
brewer and well-
known name
among craft beer
aficionados since
There was a wheat beer (made form malt-
ed wheat instead of malted barley) called
Witbier. And a Belgian-style dubbel called
DubbeldeAbadia.Thereareothers,butyou
gettheidea.
Thepointoflearningthestylesisn’tsnob
appealbutflavorrecognition,whichinturn
helpswithabeerdrinkingstrategythatfew
are aware of – food pairings. “Wines have
positioned themselves as superior to beer
withmeals,butthecraftbeersproducedin
Mexico marry very well with the national
food, like chiles en nogada,” said Nielsen.
“If you remember the styles, you’ll recog-
nize that wheat beer goes well with sea-
food,Ifyou’regoingtoeatmole,you’llgofor
theImperialStout.”
The microbrewers are aware that get-
tingpeopletoeventhinkaboutpairingbeers
withfoods,letaloneactuallydoingit,calls
foreducation.Theydoalotofthatonlinein
thesocialmedia,andthroughtalks,cours-
es and beer festivals. On the day we chat-
ted, Nielsen was scheduled to speak to the
MexicanAssociationofSommelierstopro-
motetheideaofbeerasanaccompaniment
toMexicanfood.
Restaurants have been a hard sell for
thecraftbeermakers.Manyhavecontracts
withoneorbothoftheBigTwothatdemand
exclusivity,andeventhosewhodon’toften
only buy in amounts that are beyond the
small brewers’ capacities. The few restau-
rants that do give craft beer a try don’t re-
ally push it, the microbrewers say, so they
soondropitaltogether.
But that, too, is starting to change, ac-
cordingtoSiemens,becauserestaurantsin
Mexicoarechanging.“Gastronomyschools
are showing up everywhere and some are
very big,” he said. “The education has im-
provedsothestudentslearnalotaboutthe
chemistry of food, not just how to cook it.
So the restaurants are more professional
andtheownersarelookingnowforchoice.”
ThebeermarketinMexicoisbigenough
thatthecraftbeerbusinessshouldbeableto
getafootholdwithoutmakingadentinBig
Twosales.Butthemicrobrewersareaware
that one of the best craft beers, Casta, was
recently bought up by Cuauhtémoc and is
now nowhere to be found. They wonder if
more such sniper fire is in the works. (Mi-
nerva,oneofthefewcraftbeerssometimes
foundinsupermarkets,isoftenmentioned
asthemostlikelynexttarget).
Morelikely,theBigTwowillrespondby
introducingtheirownspecialtybeers.That
has already happened with Cuauhtémoc’s
Bohemiabrand,whichintroducedawheat
beer a few years ago and recently brought
outachocolatestout,thoughittastesmore
like beer-flavored chocolate than the oth-
erwayaround.
Commercialcraftbeermaybeacontra-
diction in terms, but it’s indicative of the
dawn of a new era in Mexican beer. Craft
beerbydefinitionisagrassrootsmovement
– “democratic” in Nielsen’s words – so the
near future is unpredictable; it could take
offovernightortakeyearstopenetratethe
consciousnessofbeerdrinkersinMexico.
Nielsen tells an anecdote, which he in-
sists is true, that illustrates the challenge.
AfriendaskedforaCalaveraatabeachre-
sortbar.Theconfusedbartenderhesitated,
walked away, came back, and said, “I don’t
thinkwehaveit.Butifyoutellmetheingre-
dients and how to prepare it, I’ll make one
foryou.”
2007, Primus is active in promot-
ing the emerging craft beer market.
Its beers are called Tempus, and in-
clude Tempus Doble Malta in the
Altbier Imperial style, the Altbier-in-
spired Tempus Alt and a golden ale
called Tempus Dorada.
www.primus.com.mx
Baja Brewing
Company
Started by Ameri-
cans, it’s in Los Ca-
bos and it’s all about
the Margaritaville life-
style there, with a
brew pub, its own cantinas, a beachy
image, a line of t-shirts, a burro as a
mascot and a nice variety of excel-
lent, not overly-daring beers. The Ba-
ja Blonde is just what it sounds like,
Baja Black is a non-bitter dark ale,
Baja Stout is a bitter oatmeal stout,
and Baja Razz is a light-bodied fruit
beer. www.bajabrewingcompany.com
Hacienda
The epitome of a
home-grown, inde-
pendent microbrew-
ery, Hacienda brews
its own recipes out of
the old Hacienda San Juan Puebli-
lla in the municipality of Zempoala,
near the Hidalgo state capital of Pa-
chuca. The Hidalgo is a light-bodied
stout, Jaguar is a pale ale and Ca-
trina is a red ale with a fruity aroma.
http://cerveceriahsjp.blogspot.com
Sileno
Run by beer gurus
in the state of Jalis-
co who organize beer-
making courses when
they’re not busy brew-
ing, Cervecería Sileno is unabashed-
ly named after a Greek god of ine-
briation (Silenus in English).
www.cerveceriasileno.com
life&
leisure
FOOD & DRINK

THE STRAWBERRY FAIR March2-21inIrapuato,Guanajuato
Under its more pleasingly alliterative Spanish title Feria de las Fresas, this annual affair takes place in the garden city of Irapuato,
where the strawberry fields are, if not forever, at least abundant. A quarter of a million visitors are expected to help the locals
celebrate everybody’s favorite fruit, two of those visitors being Paquita la del Barrio and Joan Sebastián, two of the biggest stars
in the ranchera music genre.
THE ZIHUATANEJO INTERNATIONAL GUITAR FESTIVALMarch15-18inIxtapa-
Zihuatanejo,Guerrero
A week of guitar music in paradise is how this non-profit music jam bills itself. They’ll be playing in town
and on the beach, and the emphasis is not on commercial names but on superb guitar picking and
accompanying song, and that includes blues, classical, flamenco, rock, rockabilly, Gypsy jazz and swing
guitarists from Brazil, Turkey, United States, Canada and Mexico.
MANOS DEL MUNDO March15-18inMexicoCity
The name means Hands of the World, and they do mean hands and they do mean world. It’s the third
edition of an annual artisans’ fair that brings together the work of artisans from all over the world. It’s not
a street fair; the event takes place in the spacious Expo Reforma exhibition hall. But there will be plenty
of supporting cultural activity, including dancers from India and the Middle East, Scottish bagpipes,
Argentine tango music and dance, and mariachis, among much else.
CUMBRE EL TAJÍN March17-21ElTajín,PapantlaandParqueTakilhsukut,Veracruz
It’s a five-day festival culminating in the Spring Equinox and taking place in and around the mind-
blowing pre-Columbian ruins of El Tajín. The main attraction is the music, and the line-up this year
includes the two biggest bands in Mexico – Caifanes and Café Tacvba – as well as international stars
Bjork and Sinead O’Connor, among many others.
OLYMPIC QUALIFYING SOCCER March22-27inNashville,Tennessee,andCarson,California
The penultimate stage of the qualifying tournament that will determine which two teams from the Concacaf region will compete
at the London Olympics will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, and Carson, California. The Mexican team will face Trinidad &
Tobago on March 23, Honduras on March 25 and Panama on March 27. The U.S. plays against Cuba on March 22, Canada on
March 24 and El Salvador on March 26. The top two teams from each of those groups will play in a semifinal round on March
31 in Kansas City. Those two winners get a ticket to London, but a final game to determine the tournament champion (and the
seeding at the Olympics) will be played on April 2, also in Kansas City.
THE PAPAL VISIT March23-26inLeón,Guanajuato,andSilao,Guanajuato
Pope Benedict XVI will be in Guanajuato, a state known for its religious conservatism, before moving on to Cuba. He is
scheduled to arrive in the city of León on the 23rd, a Friday, where he will be received by President Calderón, and then will meet
with him again on Saturday in the city of Guanajuato before appearing publicly. Sunday’s events will include a Mass in the new
Bicentennial Park in Silao and Vespers in the cathedral in León, where he will address bishops and other representatives of the
Bishops Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean.
FESTIVAL VIVE LATINO March23-25inMexicoCity
The premier rock festival in Latin America will take place over three days and nights at the Foro Sol, a Mexico City stadium. The
musical performers include Bunbury, Madness, Café Tacvba, Jaime López, Molotov and 100 others.
Now in Cancun!
MarchMadness...
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