Avocado Orchards In Mexico Compete With Forest Land

Demand for avocados in the United States has quadrupled in the last 20 years. America's growing love for the fruit may be harming the fragile habitat of the monarch butterfly, whose winter home is in the forests of central Mexico. Those forests are not far from Mexico's avocado orchards, where the majority of the avocados Americans consume are grown.  

While  high demand has created economic opportunity for farmers, it has also put a strain the region’s natural resources.

Reynaldo Garduño was just 8 years old when he would climb the mountain near his village in central Mexican state of Michoacan and chop down trees. Then he'd take his burro loaded with wood to sell in town.

"They'd buy that wood and make toothpicks, popsicle sticks, ceiling beams and furniture," he said. "We made our living off the forest. It was our means of survival."

A simple corn harvest was not enough to pay the bills. But 50 years later, things have changed. Garduño lives in the village of Carpinteros about 2.5 hours northwest of Mexico City. Carpinteros is an ejido, a self-governed agricultural community where land is communally held. Today farmers there have a new source of income.

Fronteras - Avocado Orchards In Mexico Compete With Forest Land

More monarch butterflies in Mexico

More monarch butterflies in Mexico, but numbers still low

MEXICO CITY—For the first time in 4 years, scientists have seen an uptick in the number of monarch butterflies migrating from the United States to Mexico. As of mid-December, the butterflies covered 1.13 hectares of forest in Michoacán and Mexico states, up from an all-time low of 0.67 hectares last year. But despite a nearly 70% increase in forest coverage—the established proxy for butterfly numbers—the 2014 to 2015 number is still the second lowest since recording began in the winter of 1993 to 1994.

The increase is “good news, but the numbers still remain very low,” said Omar Vidal, director general of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, in a press conference here today. WWF Mexico administers the winter colony count, surveying the sites where monarchs are known to gather to wait out the winter before returning to the United States to breed.

This year’s population increase was probably largely due to “good monarch breeding weather” last summer in the upper Midwest, says Karen Oberhauser, a conservation biologist at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. The region saw relatively mild temperatures and regular rain to nourish milkweed, on which monarchs lay their eggs. That allowed more caterpillars to survive to adulthood and boosted the number of butterflies attempting the journey to Mexico, Vidal explained.

More monarch butterflies in Mexico, but numbers still low

More Monarch butterflies return to Mexico

A monarch butterfly perches on a branch in the Piedra Herrada sanctuary near Valle de Bravo, Mexico, last week. CHRISTIAN PALMA AP

PIEDRA HERRADA, MEXICO

More Monarch butterflies appear to have made the long flight from the U.S. and Canada to their winter nesting ground in western Mexico, raising hopes after their number dropped to a record low last year. But experts still fear that unusual cold temperatures will threaten the orange and black insects.

While an official census won’t be ready until mid-January, observers are seeing healthy populations of butterflies bunched together on fir and pine trees in protected sanctuaries, said Gloria Talavera, director of the official monarch butterfly reserve.

“We’re encouraged, because we’ve seen more,” Talavera said Monday.

But cold forecast for this winter, she said, “could put at risk the whole migratory phenomenon. … We will be saying a prayer each day until mid-February.”

More Monarch butterflies return to Mexico

Ballet Folklórico at Plaza Valladolid

Ballet Folklórico at Plaza Valladolid

Todos invitados!!

Ballet Folklórico de México " Amalia Hernandez".. 

12 de diciembre Plaza Valladolid en Morelia 19:00 Hrs .

No se lo pierdan!

Textiles and embroidery of Michoacan

This doily, purchased in the market of Patzcuaro , shows a traditional embroidery Mazahua from Michoacan.

In indigenous communities in Mexico, she is responsible for developing the clothing and other textiles necessary in everyday life of the community. Almost always is responsible for the entire process. The materials used are wool and cotton and the process starts with harvest, through the spinning, dyeing and warping, up to the development of the garment on a backstrap loom, loom pedal Hispanic origin.

Traditional embroideries are not accidental. The Mazahua woman is typing in their tissues history of its people, their ancestors and their environment using scenes of everyday life, deer, flowers, birds and other animals. The knowledge passed from mother to daughter through observation and practice. This women become repositories of wisdom that is centuries old.

Unfortunately, globalization and loss of identity and customs which it originates, has had negative consequences in these ancient embroidery. Celia Carmona Roma says in his book "Traditional Embroidery Mazahua from Michoacan " : "As a child I saw Mazahua and Otomi women with their colorful costumes, a full head of hair combs and barrettes, braids adorned with colored ribbons and her bare feet; is unfortunate that young people who come to study or work in Zitacuaro not wear their traditional clothes, maybe not to feel slighted, because they think that using other clothes take on a different status or unfortunately rather be like everyone else ".

Textiles y bordados de Michoacán

A Grande Dame Branches Out

The day of reckoning came on a recent Tuesday for the tacos, enchiladas verdes, cactus salad and pork posole served at Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona, Queens.

Diana Kennedy, the 91-year-old author of 11 groundbreaking cookbooks on Mexico’s many regional cuisines, had just ordered those items for lunch.

Nixtamal is highly regarded as the first New York City outfit to make true masa, what Mexicans call dough made of ground corn, and use it to make tortillas, tamales and many other things. For Ms. Kennedy, never one to mince words, that is not enough to earn the place a free pass.

“Don’t forget that American corn is never as tasty,” said Ms. Kennedy, who grows her own at the three-acre almost-off-the-grid “ecological” homestead called Quinta Diana she maintains in Michoacán in Mexico.

NYT - A Grande Dame Branches Out

Bass fishing from kayak in lake Zirahuen

Alejandro has been fishing from a kayak for 5 years, time that has helped him to focus in finesse tactics which he employs often in his home lake, Zirahuen. He has participated in several tournaments in Mexico and currently his personal record largemouth bass, caught from a kayak, stands at 14 lbs 10 oz. Alejandro also focuses his efforts on big bass, for which he employs different tactics. During 2010, he caught 5 bass over 10 lbs from his kayak.

Bass fishing from kayak in lake Zirahuen, Mexico

Mexico's Monarch butterflies in decline

By Mark Stevenson, The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY —The amount of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico dropped 59 percent this year, falling to the lowest level since comparable record-keeping began 20 years ago, scientists reported Wednesday.

It was the third straight year of declines for the orange-and-black butterflies that migrate from the United States and Canada to spend the winter in mountaintop fir forests in central Mexico. Six of the last seven years have shown drops, and there are now only one-fifteenth as many butterflies as there were in 1997.

The decline now marks a statistical long-term trend and can no longer be seen as a combination of yearly or seasonal events, the experts said.

But they differed on the possible causes.

Who's at fault?

Illegal logging in the reserve established in the Monarch wintering grounds was long thought to contribute, but such logging has been vastly reduced by increased protection, enforcement and alternative development programs in Mexico.

More in the NBC News Article

Brilliant Soil

By custom, thousands of artisans in Mexico still use lead based glazes in their pottery without knowing the damage that this toxic element causes to their health.

Herlinda, an indigenous Purepecha potter, is one of the few artisans in her community who uses alternative lead-free glazes. Having achieved safer and healthier living conditions for her family, she faces the difficult task of finding a market for her impressive pieces.

But this does not dull her dreams of having her shop thrive and her brothers return from the United States to rejoin the family tradition.

An unexpected trip could crystallize this dream.

Geothermal power plant in Los Azufres area

TOKYO – Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday it reached an agreement with Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, to build a 50 MW geothermal power plant in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

The facility, which will be completed in December 2014, will be the twelfth geothermal power plant delivered by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to Mexico, the Japanese company said in a statement.

The power plant is part of the Los Azufres III project, which the Japanese company has provided with engineering, manufacturing, acquisition and installation services.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will be supplying a steam turbine for the power plant that will be manufactured by subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric.

The deal will help expand Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ business in Mexico, which is No. 5 in the world in terms of geothermal resources.

The new plant, which is the fifth built by Mitsubishi in the Los Azufres III complex, will allow the CFE to meet rising demand for electricity due to economic growth.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of geothermal power systems. EFE

Diana Kennedy in Zitacuaro

Author Diana Kennedy, a leading expert on Mexican cuisine, checks a draft of her newest book while working in her kitchen at her home in Zitacuaro, Mexico. Sparkling brown eyes, sharp tongued and hilarious, at 87, Kennedy has a new cookbook coming out, "Oaxaca al Gusto," featuring more than 300 recipes gathered over decades. (Associated Press).

ZITACUARO - If the grand dame of Mexican cooking were a foodstuff, Diana Kennedy might be a pickled pepper. Absolutely indispensable at the table. But be careful. A little chili habanero goes a long way.

Three hours west of Mexico City, we pass happily up the cobblestone drive of her home tucked into a forested hill outside a sleepy little pueblo in the wilds of Michoacan. But when Kennedy spots an unexpected guest, a fellow reporter just along for the ride, she recoils in fury, points, and demands, "What is she?"

"I am very, very annoyed," Kennedy says, and turns on her heel.

There is a difference between hospitality and gastronomy, and Kennedy is much more about the latter and is famous for her tart tongue, quick temper and withering appraisals of competitors.

The Washington Post Article

Magical Patzcuaro, Mexico

Located in the highlands of Mexico, Patzcuaro is a traditional pueblo with a strong Purhépecha Indian presence. Come to visit or to live in this magical town in the heart of the Colonial Circle. By Tracy Novinger,  See novinger.com

El Cumpleaños de Pepita - 1957

(1957) 14m, unknown director. Meant to be shown to students learning Spanish, this film transcends the didactic, and provides a glimpse into the Mexico that has, in many places, all too quickly disappeared. Pepita and her uncle travel to Lake Pátzcuaro, get their pictures taken by an itinerant photographer, see wonderful dancers, and attend a birthday party. A sweet, wonderful film. (In Spanish)

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A New Volcano Erupts in Mexico (1943)

A very strange thing happened in Paricutin, Mexico on February 20th, 1943.

This was the day when, with no real warning, the farmer in Paricutin suddenly found himself with a highly explosive cinder cone volcano suddenly sprouting up in his corn field.

Fortunately he and everyone else who was near the sudden flurry of lava and ash which began spreading quickly scorching vast areas of land, had a decent amount of time to escape the impending danger.

The pyroclastic portion of the eruption of the Paricutin volcano continued nearly unabated for almost a year, during which time the lava and ash continued to compact onto itself, growing into a hill with a height of nearly 1,100 feet.

It is officially a dead volcano now but after destroying two entire villages (Paricutin, after which it was named, and San Juan).

Paracho Guitars

Paracho de Verduzco ("Paracho") is a small town in Michoacán, Mexico. Its population measures about 16,500 people; still it has a unique reputation as a guitar metropolis. The town is full of workshops and music stores in which handmade instruments are made and sold. Estimates say that over 3,000 people in Paracho work in the instrument-making field. The numerous workshops produce all kinds of acoustic guitars, mandolins and bass guitars.

Visitors of the workshops will always be able to get a good view of the manufacturing process. The instruments can be purchased on the spot, while the offers range from beginner to sophisticated master instruments.

The "International Guitar Festival of Paracho" takes place once a year, mostly in the second week of August. Participants say that the concerts are preceded by a kind of "guitar procession" where e.g. a 12ft guitar - rumoured to be playable - is carried through the streets.

Art and Sol

Art and Sol - a New York Times article

IN A SLEEPY VILLAGE IN MEXICO, THE REAL SURREAL LIVES ON. BY ANTHONY COHAN

Photographs by Trujillo/Paumier

On my second morning in Erongarícuaro, I rose at dawn and slipped out of a converted stable room into the gardens adjoining a vine-trellised stone house built by a Venetian countess who found her way here by horseback in the late 1930s. The air was cool, a pale moon lingered in the sky, and I could glimpse through trees the ‘‘infinitely beautiful lake of Pátzcuaro,’’ as that tireless early-19th-century traveler and genius Alexander von Humboldt described it. Still half asleep, suffused with a residual buzz from mescal sipped on the erstwhile contessa’s veranda the night before, I let myself out through an old wooden gate and took the street called María Luisa Martínez (after a local heroine of the revolt against the Spaniards) to its end, then clambered down a path to the lake.

Link to the complete Art and Sol article

Move Over Oaxaca, Arty Michoacán Is Calling

New York Times article ..

By GISELA WILLIAMS
Published: July 20, 2008

IT all started with an enormous green ceramic pineapple. Seconds after it caught my eye in the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City, I began to covet it. The label revealed that the piece had been made in Michoacán, a Mexican state along the southwest coast. Oddly enough, over the next hour, almost every time an especially fantastic object caught my attention, the provenance on the label was always the same: Michoacán.

By the time I left the museum’s overpriced gift shop, I had it all mapped out: a crafts safari though the region, foraging for the fanciful animal masks and brightly painted mermaid figurines that caught my eye.

There was one little snag: Michoacán is not only one of Mexico’s premier crafts centers; until recently, it was also home to some of Mexico’s most notorious drug kingpins. Less than a decade ago, its coastal highway was nicknamed Bandito Alley, and the region was overrun with marijuana fields and methamphetamine labs.

But in December 2006, just days after President Felipe Calderón was sworn into office, the government launched Operation Michoacán, sending convoys of troops to bulldoze marijuana fields and chase out gangsters and drug dealers. Drug-related violence has fallen in the last year and despite occasional flare-ups — which have been confined to gang-on-gang violence and government crackdowns — Michoacán is beginning to attract visitors besides backpackers and serious collectors.

A new highway, 37, through Michoacán has also helped, enabling travelers from beach towns like Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo to zip up to the charming colonial center of Michoacán in less than three hours. It used to take as much as eight.

A few months after Operation Michoacán was put into action, my husband, Carsten, and I drove west from Mexico City into Michoacán without incident. The only ambush was the orange-and-black clouds of monarch butterflies, fluttering above our windshield. (In March, the butterflies migrate north across Michoacán’s rolling green hills to lay eggs on the milkweed plants of the United States.) And the only indication of a lingering drug problem was a few soldiers patrolling the highway.

But what is a safari without a little adventure? The region has a reputation for a rebellious citizenry, as well as its wildly natural beauty.

The original inhabitants, the Purépecha Indians, were thought to have developed one of the most advanced pre-Columbian societies in western Mexico. Their achievements included unique T-shaped pyramids and tapestries made from hummingbird feathers. While they succeeded in fending off numerous invaders, including the mighty Aztecs, they were eventually conquered (and almost wiped out) by Spanish rifles and the famously brutal Nuño de Guzmán in the 16th century.

An ideal place to be based is Pátzcuaro, a colonial town set above a large blue lake in central Michoacán. Unlike the endless sprawl that surrounds most Mexican cities, the streets leading to Pátzcuaro are hedged by pine trees and old adobes.

The full New York Times article - 2 pages

Michoacan, Patzcuaro

Patzcuaro by Train

Through Mexico by Train

By Barbara Belejack; based in Mexico City.
Published: December 2, 1990

BY all accounts the golden age of the Mexican railway was a split second about 40 years go, when everything was new and crisp -- from the crease in the porter's gray trousers to the tablecloths in the elegant dining cars. It was a time when clocks in the capital could be set to the whistles of departing trains, and a ticket on an overnight train guaranteed what the journalist Guillermo Garcia Oropeza described as the closest you can come to "an epic experience."

Today Mexican trains run on a combination of nostalgia and the promise that somehow, someday, the ambitious series of six-year plans that every administration dutifully produces will make a difference in passenger service. Although the golden age has come and gone, you can do far worse than to set your watch to and catch a ride on the Division del Norte as it pulls out of Mexico City's Buenavista Station at precisely 8 P.M., en route to Ciudad Juarez -- 1,230 miles and 36 hours away.

Since 1986 the Mexican Government has been attempting to reorganize and improve its long-distance passenger service. The Division del Norte is the most recent addition to the Servicio de Estrella (Star Service) trains of Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico (F.N.M.), the Government-operated railway. The inauguration of Star Service trains featuring renovated vintage American Pullman sleeping cars coincided with years of economic crisis. Not surprisingly, train travel has increased in popularity with middle-class passengers who otherwise would have opted for a plane ticket for a weekend getaway.

In addition to the Division del Norte, the current lineup of overnight sleepers includes service to Guadalajara (on Tapatio), Morelia, Patzcuaro and Uruapan in the state of Michoacan (Purepecha), Oaxaca (Oaxaqueno), Veracruz (Jarocho) and Monterrey (Regiomontano), with continuing service to Nuevo Laredo and connecting service to Matamoros. These trains also feature new cars with reserved first-class reclining seats (primera especial).

Full 1990 New York Times Article

Volcan Paricutin

From Las Cabañas and Angahuan - Michoacan

Since we were in the area, had not all seen it and I had no pictures of Angahuan - we made the drive. A few fotos are from a previous trip just to fill in. This was our first stop up from Uruapan and at 10am no tourists had arrived so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We got the usual sales pitch to ride horses to the church but weren't interested. I felt sorry for the guys that follow you from the entrance of town to Las Cabanas - but what can you do. They don't take NO for an answer.

Paricutin from Las Cabanas


Las Cabanas Lookout


Angahuan Plaza


Angahuan Church


Girls playing

The potters of Cocucho

I've seen Cocucho pottery in the past in Patzcuaro and heard that they are very cheap if you visit the town - but I was unsure where it was or how hard to get to. The road is between the Paricutin turnoff and Paracho and paved all the way. Very pretty country. There are a few stores on the plaza that sell the pottery but more interesting are the little factories that make them - and sell as well. The place we found was on one corner of the plaza and the family showed us the whole process more or less.

Coming into Cocucho


Cocucho Church


Cocucho Plaza


The family of potters


The potter at work


Some of the pots they make

Just a few more pictures of Cocucho