Mexican voices: 1 year into the López Obrador presidency

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12/01/19 – AP News

By Amy Guthrie

Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been president of Mexico for a year, after a landslide 2018 vote. He pledged a presidency close to the people, austere, with punishment for the corrupt and greater safety and economic well-being.

Not all has gone according to plan. The country’s murder rate continues to log record highs, while economic growth this year has been flat and borders on recession. Corruption and crime remain difficult plagues to eradicate, though the administration has taken on some high-profile targets.

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Mexican women protest violence via art, breastfeeding

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11/26/19 – AP News

By Amy Guthrie and Ginnette Riquelme

Women’s groups protested at cultural institutions in Mexico’s capital ahead of Monday’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, using painting, crocheting and breastfeeding to call attention to rampant violence and machismo in their country.

Dozens of women painted on a protective barricade around the Angel of Independence monument on the city’s main avenue Sunday while others crocheted purple and pink hearts to string up. The wall was erected after feminists used paint to deface the monument with graffiti in August to decry alleged rapes by police in the capital as well as high rates of murders of women throughout the country.

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Vogue cover spotlights Mexico’s transgender ‘muxe’ women

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11/20/19 – Reuters

By Jose de Jesus Cortes, David Alire Garcia

A culture of indigenous transgender women that has been part of southern Mexico’s heritage for centuries is primed for global fashion cachet thanks to one of the world’s top style magazines.

For the first time in Vogue magazine’s more than 120 years of publishing, an indigenous “muxe” will appear next month on the cover of the glossy’s Mexican and British editions.

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Mexico City debates allowing children legal gender change

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11/19/19 – AP News

A couple of hundred demonstrators have protested against a proposed Mexico City law that would allow children and adolescents to change the gender listed on their birth certificates.

They would have to be accompanied by at least one guardian to do so.

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Day of the Dead parade hits Mexico City as holiday expands

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10/29/19 – AP News

By Amy Guthrie

Thousands of Mexicans took to the streets of the capital to dance beside giant skulls and skeletons Sunday as Mexico City rolled out its fourth edition of a Day of the Dead parade inspired by Hollywood, part of an ever-expanding menu of festivities for the holiday.

The city once again borrowed props from the opening scene of the 2015 James Bond film, “Spectre,” in which Daniel Craig’s title character dons a skull mask as he makes his way through a crowd of revelers. Festivities in the capital have expanded in recent years to capitalize on growing interest in the holiday, with temporary art installations in public spaces and colorful weekend events. Yet another elaborate parade is scheduled to traverse the city’s iconic Reforma boulevard on Nov. 2, All Souls Day.

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AMLO, the World Series-watching president, wants to Make Mexican Baseball Great Again

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10/24/19 – The Washington Post

By Mary Beth Sheridan

It was another grim news conference for Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. There was a narco crisis in Sinaloa. A clash with protesters in the capital. And now, a new threat from Washington.

 

His name was Juan Soto, and he was sticking it to the president’s team, the Astros.

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Mexico Fashion Week: Showcasing the work of contemporary designers and traditional artisans

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10/25/19 – CNN

By Kristen Bateman

It’s easy to see why contemporary designers seek to evoke traditional Mexican handcrafts and folk art through their collections.

Brightly-colored embroidery and intricate beading reflect skills passed down for generations, while the patterns themselves carry meaning far beyond modern print design.

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