have developed an unexpected passion for crafts with the plethora of stunning “artesanías” the country has to offer Nowhere is this more obvious than in the town of Cuetzalan “Crafts” is not nearly adequate enough of a word to do justice to Mexican artesanías It brings to my mind childish “arts and crafts” or knick-knacks from a fair artesanías are more akin to exquisite handmade arts — very intentional creations for display or usage often using near-ancient methods passed down from generation to generation for centuries It’s particularly delightful when one encounters talented artisans experimenting with modern designs using traditional production techniques It was this allure of artesanías and fascination with indigenous culture that drew our trio — Lourdes, Bethany though crafts as I had imagined them were not quite what we found there We set out from Mexico City on a Thursday morning I had packed my habitual giant bag of snacks: raisin and walnut baguettes from Rosetta dark chocolate and a relatively unappetizing Cliff bar for emergencies spend a night and continue onward to Cuetzalan the following morning Puebla proved to be a treat. We enjoyed a tourist-free jaunt around the city, browsed antique markets, dined at the delightful Oaxacan restaurant Casa Bacuuza and enjoyed several hours sunning ourselves at the hotel’s rooftop pool. In the morning, we stopped at the glass factory Fábrica de Vidrio la Luz and after excitedly ogling a Mexican actor we recognized from a Netflix show from behind a rack of margarita glasses The roads became winding and misty as we ascended to the city and chickens mingling on the side of the road About an hour and a half from our destination we stopped at a small roadside vendor to stock up on some of the crunchiest and most flavorful apples we’d ever tasted dozens of kilometers of winding roads and 38 songs later Being the adventurous exploradoras we were we had opted for an eco-hotel run by indigenous women which was very much akin to cabins or glamping other accommodations might be more comfortable for those such as myself mosquitoes and the excessive moisture that creeps into such structures I had romanticized the experience in my mind but nevertheless the surrounding nature was undeniably lovely Having donned our raincoats and with our belongings situated in our cabins we ventured out into a storm to find a glass of strong mezcal and a cozy restaurant for dinner While not number one rainiest spot in the country Cuetzalan is still one of the rainiest areas in Mexico Set high up in the Sierra Norte hills in northern Puebla State the region enjoys a warm and humid climate due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico jungle-like vegetation and numerous waterfalls cobblestone streets carefully designed for grip in the perpetual dampness It’s built along a multitude of sloping boulevards As Bethany would later aptly caption an Instagram post accompanying a photo of the town Our first evening led us to Taol an exceptional restaurant efficiently run by what seemed to be an all-woman team set in a mystical indoor-outdoor space where we watched the rain from a covered garden patio as we sipped our cocktails We devoured chicken over warm banana bread bathed in mole queso sizzling over cecina and steaming corn tortillas overstuffed and guided by the glow of mezcal in our bellies we stopped into a very local bar — think Cheers but most likely someone’s converted living room — to enjoy a glass of the region’s traditional liquor Nahuatl for“medicine of the heart,” is very much like Cuetzalan — a mix of everything It’s rumored to cure everything from heartache to illness and it certainly provided a hearty start to our adventure as we made our way back to our lodgings Cuetzalan’s “bread and butter,” our guide Ricardo would inform us the next morning Cuetzalan has largely escaped commercialization It’s a study in contrasts: charming yet gritty small-town Mexican rustic crossed with remnants of Spanish colonial architecture Many of the men wear ranchero-style cowboy hats and leather belts while the women don colorfully embroidered white huipils It’s picturesque yet “real.” Live music blasts from quinceañeras set in giant barn-like halls while in the town square next to the incredibly opulent Parish of St as families share a meal together in neighboring restaurants a 19th-century monastery surrounded by a gloomy cemetery hosts murmuring lovers seated among the parapets while cemetery visitors pray at the graves of their deceased loved ones There is so much going on that it’s almost absurd I was not opposed when Lourdes — a bit of a daredevil and adrenaline junkie — suggested we embark upon a 6-hour tour of some of Cuetzalan’s caves The tour would encompass several ziplines hundreds of meters above Cuetzalan’s valleys descending 60 meters by rope into the impressive Chichicazapan cave we explored Cuetzalan’s famed Sunday market The region is renowned for its fragrant coffee which is grown on plantations in the surrounding hills It’s also celebrated for its textiles including intricately embroidered blouses and quechquemitls (one-piece shawls) created using traditional techniques like back-strap loom weaving chasing a lead from a staff member of our hotel we passed through the tiny town of San Miguel Tenextatiloyan — nicknamed “the town of clay pots.” The town is rumored to have been producing clay artesanías since pre-hispanic times and it did not disappoint The handmade clay pieces were a crafts-lover’s dream So the next time you find yourself in need of a weekend escape It isn’t just a destination: it’s an unforgettable escape filled with authenticity and adventure that will throw your senses into a tizzy Just remember to pack your sense of humor and an umbrella ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC Each year, the Mexican travel magazine México Desconocido announces the “Best of Mexico” in several tourism categories at the Tianguis Turístico Latin America’s largest tourism industry event a popular tourist destination for Mexicans and foreigners alike The categories vary from popular tourist spots to destination wedding hotspots and famous gastronomic routes with finalists dotted across the entire country Some of the standout winners announced on Tuesday include the following: SMA, in Mexico’s Bajío region, was recognized for being the most popular destination for weddings among couples from around the world The city is well-known for its colonial architecture Guanajuato’s Minister of Tourism and Identity emphasized the communal effort between communities service providers and authorities in solidifying the city’s strong reputation for tourism The state also received nominations in the categories of Best Magical Town for a Romantic Getaway (Mineral de Pozos) and Best Magical Town for a Family Getaway (Dolores Hidalgo) The border state of Chihuahua won first place in three categories of the 2025 Best of Mexico awards on Tuesday The Grutas Nombre de Dios caves were recognized as Best Nature Destination for an Adventure Experience; Creel as Best Magical Town for a Mountain Getaway; and Copper Canyon as Best Destination to Visit in 2025 Chihuahua’s Basaseachi Park was also a finalist for Best Destination to Experience the Energy of Nature and its “Living an Experience with the Rarámuri” for Best Community Tourism Experience ✨ Barrancas del Cobre: un tesoro escondido en el corazón de Chihuahua ✨ Las imponentes Barrancas del Cobre no solo superan en profundidad y extensión al famoso Gran Cañón de Colorado ✨ Copper… pic.twitter.com/9UcxBvWZNP — Visit México (@VisitMex) April 25, 2025 Experience Palenque among rivers and waterfalls (Chiapas) Cuetzalan (Puebla)  Creel (Chihuahua) Michoacán (Carnitas) Experience the spirituality and warmth of the Wixárika people (Nayarit)  Ruta de Tequila (Jalisco) Three winners! Cancún (Quintana Roo), Barrancas del Cobre (Chihuahua) and Los Cabos (Baja California Sur) Prepare your next visit to Cuetzalan del Progreso because you will discover paradisiacal waterfalls where you will be able to swim and enjoy nature 🏞️ This magical town is located four hours from Mexico City We know it is not exactly close to the capital it is worth traveling to Cuetzalan to immerse yourself in one of its waterfalls There are several options to refresh yourself and contemplate the goodness of nature This is one of the most famous waterfalls in Cuetzalan del Progreso but it also has a pool where you can take your swimming lessons This point is located about ⏰ 20 minutes from the Center and the access cost is de💵 $25 there are guided tours that include transportation and guided visit You will also find a food and beverage Zone 🏞️Clic here to see the location In this place you will be able to refresh yourself the body of water where this waterfall flows is not so deep; it depends on the season of the year in which you attend there are tour guide packages that can accompany you on your tour To get to the main viewpoints you must hike for approximately 20 minutes so we recommend wearing non-skid shoes and comfortable attire 👵🏽 Remember that the ticket cost is 💵 $35 and is located 15 minutes from Cuetzalan Center by car 🏞️Here the map Assembles the weekend plan and jump into El Salto one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Cuetzalan The ticket costs 💵 $50 and you’ll be able to take a dip so get your swimsuit and non-skid shoes ready The best of all is that you will be able to attend with your puppy because it is a pet frendlyspace 🐕‍🦺 you’ll be happy to know that in this complex there are activities such as rappelling 🏞️This way the map Get your bathing suit ready because at Las Hamacas you will be able to submerge and enjoy nature Here you and your dog🦮 will be able to dive in crystal clear waters Just remember to use biodegradable sunscreen These waterfalls are located ⌛ 40 minutes from Cuetzalan Center by car Remember that the access cost is 💵$20 but this price could change; it depends on the season you go 🏞️Consulta the location here a waterfall 60 meters high This is one of the most impressive waterfalls in Cuetzalan; located about ⌛ 40 minutes from downtown and it is advisable to hire a guide to accompany you It is not a trail suitable for older adults We recommend you to wear comfortable clothing non-skid shoes and a lot of desire to live a real adventure 🏞️Here the location Show Search Search Query Submit Search Don't Miss He places one foot on a wooden step nailed into the spine of the tree trunk shorn of branches. He hoists himself up, a hand on one plank, then another. Wind ruffles the gold fringe at the hems of his red pants and the feathers on his headdress as he climbs with no safety harness. At the top, almost parallel with the bells of the church tower, he sits alongside three other voladores — fliers — on a square, mounted frame. He ties a thick rope that’s attached to the trunk around his waist. People in the square below lift their faces to watch. Ricardo, 25, has been making this climb since he was 15 and his chest “cold” with nerves. For years, as a child, he had watched with envy as his two brothers took part in ceremonies central to the identity of this town and its people. Now, he sits with his legs dangling, taking in the church’s spire, the spectators below, the cluster of houses giving way to central Mexico’s lush green mountains. Ricardo hears the whistling of a flute and the beat of a drum played by a fifth volador stomping inches away at the top of the trunk, his back arched and face tilted toward the sky. Then on the count of three, Ricardo and three others lean backward to fall headfirst into nothing. Across Mexico, hundreds of people take to the skies this way, spiraling gently to the ground and preserving an Indigenous tradition that survived the Spanish conquistadors perhaps simply because it is jaw-dropping. For generations, families like Ricardo’s have taken it upon themselves to keep alive what started as a plea to the gods for rain and good crops. Now the Ritual Ceremony of the Voladores, as it’s officially known, is performed for all sorts of occasions, including holidays and festivals to honor Catholic saints. Along with passing the ceremony down to their children, the voladores are fighting to provide it legal protections and figuring out how to keep the ritual pure while collecting tips from tourists. For Ricardo, who ekes out a living as a motorcycle mechanic, the meaning outweighs the risk. He’s been flying for 10 years and the ritual retains its magic. 1. Children learn to fly in free weekly classes offered in Papantla in central Mexico. 2. Children gather for classes teaching students how to be voladores in Papantla. 3. Voladores Ricardo García, left, and Carlos Fernández, right, are joined in Cuetzalan by children also dressed as voladores. “It’s lethal, yes, but it’s something that calls to you, something that identifies me as a Mexican,” he says, “something where I can say with pride, ‘This is what I am.’” Mountain roads winding through the state of Puebla lead to Cuetzalan, a municipality of 51,000 where most live in poverty and speak the Indigenous language Náhuatl. It has proudly rejected Walmart and mining concessions critics call “projects of death,” instead boosting its economy through tourist excursions to waterfalls and caves. It’s hard to know when the voladores first arrived here, but the ritual they sometimes call the “dance” has become embedded in the city’s identity. There are 120 voladores, forming groups often made up of families. A weekend outdoor market sells volador-themed keychains and little poles with figurines of fliers hanging by threads. Not too far from the Volador Inn, a restaurant stages the flight from a metal pole. Cheerful flute music fills the main square on weekends, when voladores collect tips after flying. But one tradition has not changed: replacing the skyscraping tree trunk in the town square each year is a feat that requires dozens of volunteers and brings many in the town together. Ricardo‘s father, Rufino García, began flying at 19 when an older volador invited him to try. Rufino was hooked. There was nothing like the adrenaline of flying. He wasn’t scared since he was used to climbing trees to get firewood. The woman he was dating, Enedina, worried about his safety, but she was proud to sew his first volador uniform. Enedina lost her nervousness and married into the volador life. Rufino didn’t want their sons to become voladores, but it ran in their blood. His oldest, also named Rufino, flew at 15, then Jesús and Ricardo. “We’ll be right back,” the brothers would tell their mom on weekends, carrying a frame and rope to a tree they had cleared of branches in order to practice. The brothers grew up in Cuapech, a neighborhood in Cuetzalan with many voladores, and lived down the road from Jorge Baltazar, the man who had invited their father to fly. Baltazar, who says his four daughters were the first voladoras of Cuetzalan, had even erected a shorter volador pole to teach children the art. 1. Ricardo García, a volador who repairs and maintains motorcycles for a living, has been flying for 10 years. 2. Xochitl Salas de la Cruz folds her volador attire at home in Cuetzalan. 3. Arturo Díaz, a volador preparing to mount the pole in Cuetzalan, recalls that his introduction to the ritual years ago was “a disaster.” At the top of the pole, he was paralyzed with fear. One of his recent female students is Xochitl Salas de la Cruz, an athletic 17-year-old who lightheartedly recalls how her brother once accidentally spilled hot sauce on her headdress. “I feel free, I feel at peace, I feel calm,” she says of flying. “In that moment, I forget about everything, school, all of it. It’s only the dance.” She’s two years older than Ricardo was when he started to fly in the church square. Until then, he would help his father tend cows while his brothers were off flying. Then, on Christmas Eve when he was 15, it was finally his turn. He crossed himself and climbed the pole in Cuetzalan’s square, pausing to rest as he made his way up. “I’m behind you, go calmly,” another volador encouraged him. At the top, Ricardo couldn’t help smiling as he took in the view of the cloudy day. As he fell through the air, he let himself go. He heard the creak of the platform turning with the weight of the voladores as the rope unspooled counterclockwise, and the music of the drum and flute. He kept his eyes open as he hung upside down and opened his arms, feeling the pull of the rope around his waist. He spun more slowly as he neared the ground. About three minutes after he took flight, he turned himself right side up and touched down on his feet. Now flying is just a part of García family life. Outside Rufino and Enedina’s house, a chunk of a wooden pole with steps still nailed in lies in the grass. Inside, near the dining table, slices of old volador poles double as stools. Enedina proudly shows a tarp she had made with a blown-up photo of her three sons and husband in volador uniform, and on her cellphone is a photo of Ricardo as a toddler dressed as a volador. Her oldest son, she gushes, plays the volador flute “beautifully.” She sometimes worries about her sons when they go on long drives to fly in other cities. She knows they’re experienced, but that some things are out of their hands. “Only God knows if their time is up,” she says. Her husband no longer flies because of shoulder injuries from previous heavy lifting jobs. But when the couple renewed their marriage vows several years ago, he dressed as a volador. Much is unknown about who the first voladores were. But based on archaeological findings, experts believe that the ceremony goes as far back as 2,500 years ago; images from a 16th-century codex suggest it may have been associated with human sacrifice. Some early depictions show voladores dressed as birds, perhaps to personify gods. Alessandro Lupo, an Italian ethnologist who has studied the voladores, ventured that the spectacular nature of the ritual allowed it to survive the Spanish. It’s also an extraordinary way to prove your religious devotion. “We can all pray the Lord’s Prayer, Ave Maria,” he says, “but climb a 100-foot post and jump headfirst when you know that if you fall you die.” In Cuetzalan, voladores’ practices have come and gone over the years. Today, the voladores wear red, to represent blood and life, some say, and feathered headdresses to evoke birds. But the old custom of sexual abstinence and purification in a river before cutting a new ritual tree has fallen by the wayside. Replacing the palo volador — which voladores say represents the connection between the underworld, human world and celestial world — is one tradition that in Cuetzalan, at least, the voladores are committed to keeping. One morning in August, the García brothers and their father set out from town with about two dozen other voladores and many more volunteers. The group, almost all men, ride in cars and in the back of pickup trucks to a forest about an hour away to retrieve the tree already selected for the ritual. Every year, voladores such as Sonia Flores, center, travel into the mountains to cut down a tree that will be used as the pole for the flying ritual in Cuetzalan. There, walking for about 10 minutes on a rugged dirt road in the misty mountain air, one man cheerfully grumbles that the tree is too deep in the woods and would be hard to pull out. They reach a clearing and gather in a half circle as two priests celebrate a Mass a few feet away from the tree, blessing some of the materials the voladores would use this day: flowers, candles, an electric saw. The voladores then form a line. One runs a goblet with copal incense up and down the bodies of his colleagues. They move in single file toward the tree as a flute plays. Each volador takes a turn walking around the tree with the incense and flowers, and sprinkling it with holy water and aguardiente. When the cutting begins, about 60 men grasp long ropes to ensure the tree will fall in the right direction. “Pull, pull!” they yell. They rush forward as the tree falls, its crash muffled when it lands on smaller trees. The rest is more teamwork — and grunt work. The tree’s branches are sawed off and the trunk is dragged away by a bulldozer. It takes several hours, and a lot of shouted directions and playful curses, to navigate the tree through the forest. 1. A volador carrying incense walks around a tree that will be cut down and erected in Cuetzalan to serve as the new volador pole. 2. Men grasp long ropes to ensure that the tree will fall in the right direction. 3. Arturo Díaz checks the length of the tree destined to be erected in the town square as the volador pole in Cuetzalan. Previous years had been more difficult, said Díaz, who wears a bandanna to block out sweat. Once, the tree broke as they were hoisting it on the truck and the entire ceremony had to be done all over again. Ricardo and his brothers help load the newest tree onto a dump truck, securing it with belts and rope. As the sirens of a police escort blare, the caravan of cars and the tree make its way down the curving mountain roads and into town, where local news stations and hundreds of residents wait in the main square. The García family is lucky — ropes have gotten tangled, but neither the father nor his sons have ever had a serious accident. Fatal falls across Mexico make newspaper headlines. In the tight circle of voladores from Cuetzalan, when someone falls, everyone hears about it. That was the case with José Luis Hernández. When Hernández, 25, began flying, following in the footsteps of his relatives, he felt like he had discovered a new crush. It was like “when you meet someone you like,” but more powerful. In October 2021, he traveled to a town a few hours away from Cuetzalan to dance in a Day of the Dead festival. The fliers noticed that the ropes seemed wet but waved it off. Hernández had only been flying for a few seconds when his rope broke. He plunged to the ground, suffering fractures on his feet, legs, left hand and face. He spent a month in the hospital, where nurses told him he had a guardian angel. Then it took another month before he could take his first steps. 1. José Luis Hernández, standing in the shadow of the church in Cuetzalan, was once badly injured when his rope snapped and he fell shortly after he began the flying ritual. 2. Ricardo García, left, with his cousin, center, at his parents’ home, where slices of old volador poles serve as stools. For almost two years, not wanting to worry his family, especially his mother, Hernández didn’t fly. Instead, he handled logistics and social media for his voladores group, and as a tour guide in Cuetzalan answered an “infinite number of questions” about the ritual. “The dance is supposedly a dance to the cosmos, the universe,” he says. “It’s about finding yourself.” In September, during a religious holiday, he finally did, returning to the adrenaline and the connection he feels to nature in the air. “It was like the first time, the same feeling, the same energies, the same fear, everything,” he says. The Indigenous roots of the ritual are partly why voladores from Puebla believe the government should do more to support them. They are petitioning the state to recognize their art as part of Puebla’s heritage; they conducted a census that so far identified more than 400 voladores in the state. They hope recognition comes with a plan to protect the ritual, including financial support to pay for voladores’ uniforms and help those who are injured while performing. Voladores across Mexico recently formed a national council to preserve their ritual, which was recognized on UNESCO’s world heritage list in 2009. They also want states with volador communities to declare the ritual part of their heritage, something only Veracruz and San Luis Potosí have done so far, and are fighting back against what they see as exploitation of their image. Voladores process through the streets of Cuetzalan to mark the arrival of the tree cut down to serve as the new volador pole. In 2022, for example, a loan company issued a public apology to voladores after it faced backlash for a commercial that claimed that the number of times voladores fly around the pole and a person’s first loan “both generate zero interest.” Voladores also grapple with how much they should seek to commercialize and institutionalize their culture. Many say that there’s nothing wrong in asking for a tip after performing the ritual or earning a contract to perform abroad, pointing to the money they invest in buying their uniforms. “We need to maintain a balance between not crossing the line of reaching full commercialization of the dance, but we also can’t receive nothing for the days we put in, for all our effort,” says Díaz. Díaz’s own introduction to the ritual was “a disaster.” Once on the frame, he was paralyzed with fear. When it came time to launch himself, he was delayed by an issue with his rope and another dancer finally grabbed both of his hands and dropped him. A child throws a tantrum on the floor before an exhibition on the volador tradition in Cuetzalan. The event was held during the festival honoring the town’s patron saint. As Díaz recalls, he “started to spin many times over my own axis. I couldn’t see anything. I started to get dizzy, and said, ‘I’m going to throw up.’” After a while, though, he was flying smoothly — and although he touched down red-faced, fell in love with the ritual art. Díaz says that a volador school in Papantla that offers free weekly classes to students can be a model for Cuetzalan, but that he’s also wary about institutionalizing the ritual to the extent that it loses its purity. “The ritual ceremony of the voladores is not in danger of extinction in its physical form. Every time there are more kids, more youth that participate,” Díaz told attendees at a voladores convention in Mexico City this summer. “What is in danger is the true essence of the ritual ceremony.” Baltazar notes that people often thank voladores for keeping the tradition alive. “People approach you,” he says. “The respect they have for you, the admiration. People say congratulations, how wonderful, how good that it hasn’t gotten lost.” As one volador plays the flute and drum while standing atop a 100-foot pole, four others tethered by ropes prepare to cast themselves off the pole and spiral gently down to earth as the ropes unspool. Ricardo climbs up with his brothers in a group of eight voladores for a more complicated, and even more dangerous, maneuver than usual. Seven sit crowded elbow-to-elbow on the frame while one stands on the pole and dances. Although Ricardo had been spending much of his time out of Cuetzalan on a construction job, he couldn’t miss returning home recently for the town’s biggest event, a nine-day festival honoring its patron saint, Francisco de Asis. On a large stage inside a packed amphitheater, a group of kindergartners attempts to stomp in unison around a small volador pole while Baltazar plays the flute. Parents clap as his 7-year-old grandson and granddaughter fly. Nearby, Indigenous dance groups spread out on the church square as voladores take to the newly erected pole. The fliers’ flute can barely be heard over the clash of violins, drums and guitars below. As soon as one volador group scales the pole, another prepares to go up, dancing around the base. On the frame 100 feet up, voladores take selfies and flash peace signs. Rockets explode and drones buzz as the voladores spin through the air. A wide-eyed little girl watching with her father from the church steps points skyward. “Dad, dad, dad, dad, look, dad!” she says. A 23-year-old voladora who hadn’t flown in years waves at her 2-year-old daughter from the air. When Ricardo and the other seven are ready, four of them plunge backward to take flight, the colorful streamers and feathers attached to their headdresses rippling in the wind. When they are about three-quarters of the way to the ground, the other four voladores, including Ricardo, begin inching their way down the same moving ropes, stopping halfway to strike acrobatic poses. Even when it starts to rain, voladores continue to fly, landing on the wet cobblestones with wide smiles. One pats another on the back. The crowd applauds. “Let’s go!” a man shouts. And then, without wasting a moment, another group climbs up. Leila Miller is a former foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City where she spent several years covering criminal justice including the Luz del Mundo sex abuse case and was part of the team that was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its coverage of the Conception boat fire off the Channel Islands She moved to Mexico in 2021 and was a 2023 Livingston finalist for an investigation on how a centuries-old forensic test has been sending mothers in Latin America to prison for killing their newborns Born in Argentina but raised in Los Angeles Miller is a graduate of Oberlin College and Columbia University’s School of Journalism World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map When Women Fly is a project about the participation of women in the Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the flying men) a traditionally male ritual still performed today in Cuetzalan del Progreso “Everytime I put on my costume and I jump off the pole I feel a great sense of freedom” says Irene García a 33 year old voladora – or flying woman – from Cuetzalan del Progreso a mountain town in the Mexican state of Puebla Irene García is part of the group Caballeros Aguilas and more recently she joined the whole female group called Mujeres Voladoras de Cuetzalan On her back she bears a tattoo of a dreamcatcher The Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the flying men) is a prehispanic indigenous ceremony that begins with performers dancing around a 30-metre pole before climbing to the top After securing themselves with a rope around their hips spinning around the pole towards the ground with their arms open wide Above: Voladores dance around the pole before climbing up and flying during the celebration of Semana Santa Right: Irene García climbs up the voladores’ pole seen from the Templo Parroquial de San Francisco de Asís “There are normally five participants The fifth participant is a representation of the sun,” said Irene The ceremony is one of the most impressive traditions that have existed in Cuetzalan since Prehispanic times the ceremony was only ever performed by men Irene is one of a group of women in Cuetzalan who have challenged that custom joining in the ritual and opening up new spaces for women to participate Voladores perform during the patron festivity in Reyesogpan de Hidalgo Cuetzalan del Progreso sits amid mountains, forests and waterfalls. The area has a large indigenous population, of Nahua and Totonac heritage. “It’s difficult to tell where the dance first originated. I personally think the tradition of the flying dance was born in different parts of Mexico at the same time,” Irene told me Voladores in flight in Cuetzalan del Progreso What is sure is that the ritual has changed over the centuries In prehispanic times it was performed as a way to communicate with the gods and ask for a good harvest the dance became a tribute to Catholic saints during religious festivities which has become a popular tourist destination the ritual is nowadays not only performed during festivities but also on ordinary Sundays Tourists flock to the main cathedral in the town square to witness the spectacle Above: Yolanda and Xochitl Morales in their family’s milpa field Yolanda and Xochitl are the first female practitioners from their family flying group Right: Julisa Varela and María Azucena Vázquez Far right: María Azucena Vázquez displays her voladora costume in Zoactepan the front part of the voladores’ costum.The two warriors embroidered are the symbols of her voladores group that is called Águilas Mensajeras The practice is normally passed down generation to generation among the same family had no family members involved in the dance and her mother was outraged when she first announced that she was going to join the dance “My family were worried about the risks I would face But eventually they supported my decision” the first generation of flying women had to overcome many prejudices and discrimination in order to be accepted in the dance Women were often considered too weak to fly or they were derided for “wanting to act like men” is currently the oldest female performer who is still actively participating in the dance “Sometimes I felt that other flying men were jealous of me because I was allowed to perform as a woman” said Jacinta Teresa a voladora from the first generation of flying women Jacinta is currently the oldest female performer who still actively participates in the dance In a social context which can still be quite conservative – and in which gender roles are starkly defined – it is hard not to see the act of flying as a metaphor for liberation: the flying women represent a rupture with ancient traditions and a step towards a more equal society it is increasingly common to see female participants within groups of voladores “We know that taking part in the dance is a commitment towards our community,” says Yolanda Morales a 22-year-old voladora from the town of Atmolón Support for flying women has grown among the local community A man climbs up the tree that will be cut and used as the voladores’ pole But female flyers still face some more barriers than their male counterparts Once they get married or have kids it’s almost impossible for women to keep flying as they are expected to take care of their household while in many cases working full time jobs only a few women continue to fly past a certain age Although some of the flying women are unmarried others have formed relationships with men in their group who met her partner Arturo Díaz on top of the flying pole when she was 18 They share their passion for the dance and have passed it onto their daughters Above: Arturo Díaz helps his daughter Nikté to put on her eagle helmet Right: two voladoras’ hats: the white veil and feathers represent purity while the colourful strips stand for the colours of the rainbow Far right: Yohualli Nikté Díaz poses in her house with her eagle costum Nikté forms part of the newest generation of voladoras At her very young age she already shows great commitment to the tradition – and to the fight for an equal society “I don’t understand why women couldn’t take part in the dance In my opinion the pole symbolizes motherhood we tie a rope around our belly; it’s almost like we are tied to an umbilical cord” pointing to the dance’s strong connection to fertility When a volador flies off the pole to the ground it is like a flower that lets its seeds fall off “It’s the circle of life: we come to this earth Valeria Luongo is a documentary photographer and anthropologist who has worked on several projects with the community of Cuetzalan del Progreso since 2013 Mexico — Rain clouds thicken overhead as a small crew finishes the installation of a pair of rooftop solar panels The house stands along a dirt road in a small indigenous community in the Mexican state of Puebla and woodsmoke from a cookstove mingles with the fog Raindrops begin to fall as the team applies the final touches of silicone caulk and routes wires to a pair of deep-cycle batteries inside the house The crew on the roof consists of Cuahutemoc Lima an indigenous cooperative based in Puebla’s Sierra Norte mountains They’re still in a sort of apprenticeship; working alongside them are four members of ONergia a solar social enterprise from Puebla city The installation underway is their fourth project together: a set of solar panels for Doña Mari a cooperative member who lives outside the town of Cuetzalan Solar might seem like an odd investment in the rainy cloud forests of northern Puebla But photovoltaic panels don’t need direct sun to produce power and the panels are part of a plan hatched by these mountain communities to unhook from Mexico’s federal power company provide their youth with meaningful employment and reclaim control of their land and resources To meet commitments made under the Paris climate accord Mexico has pledged to increase clean energy production which now represents less than a quarter of its energy mix to 35 percent by 2024 and to 43 percent by 2030 Some estimates put Mexico’s solar energy potential at 75 times what it’s currently producing Following energy reforms made by the administration of the former president Mexico saw a boom in foreign investment in renewable energy including large-scale solar and wind projects in the states of Yucatan many of these big renewable energy projects face substantial opposition from local indigenous and peasant communities who accuse the companies funding the projects of failing to consult them in negotiations over land use — a violation of both the Mexican constitution and international law the communities say these megaprojects threaten their ways of life and human rights in much the same fashion as traditional extractive megaprojects with the electricity routed to far-off urban centers while locals see little benefit The Mexican Supreme Court recently intervened in Oaxaca halting a wind project and finding in favor of local communities who hold collective land rights to property around Similar cases of community resistance to large-scale renewable energy initiatives have popped up on the Yucatan Peninsula The Tosepan solar power project’s emphasis on local control represents a break with this national trend of top-down renewable energy projects and this is in keeping with the organization’s tradition of defending its mountain territory against development imposed from outside Tosepan Titataniske began as a bulk sugar-buying cooperative to help members avoid the price hikes imposed by coyote middlemen the organization has grown into a union of eight regional cooperatives that in turn represent 410 community-level cooperatives Tosepan now includes an organic agricultural cooperative as well as cooperatives dedicated to the production processing and commercialization of coffee There are also cooperatives for ecotourism and strong alliances with other indigenous groups Tosepan enjoys a fair degree of sovereignty over its corner of the Sierra Norte sent bulldozers to the hills outside Cuetzalan to begin breaking ground for an electrical substation to form part of a new regional network of high-tension power lines who argued that the project would improve electricity delivery to local communities and accommodate a growing population When leaders from concerned community organizations they found that the CFE and the mayor were not telling them the whole story Official reports from Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) laid out the real rationale for the project: to provide for tourism and to route power to mining and fracking projects proposed for the mountains around Cuetzalan when community members organized a protest march in Cuetzalan “We discussed postponing the march for the bad weather but the people said we need to continue,” recalled Ofelio González one of Tosepan’s young leaders and a head of the solar program where they convinced the bulldozer operators to go home A sympathetic farmer granted them permission to camp out along the dirt access road to the site to keep watch and a few days later they erected a small bamboo shelter Thus began an occupation that lasted almost a year To sustain the round-the-clock guard of perhaps a couple dozen people at any given time the protesters needed electric lights and a licuadora the blender used to make the fruit aguas and salsas that form important parts of many meals “Cuetzalan is the cloudiest city in the whole country,” said Pedro Miguel a journalist and early promoter of photovoltaic panels who helped the cooperative get its start in solar “Everyone told us this wouldn’t work Soon the occupation was using the encampment as a site for workshops training people from the community about the threats to their sovereignty and teaching energy conservation when the CFE’s construction permits ran out Since then, the violence and tension have only escalated. In March, gunmen ambushed a Tosepan van in an apparent assassination attempt on the cooperative’s leadership that left the driver wounded a lawyer allied with the cooperative in opposing the substation was found stabbed to death in a hotel in Cuetzalan The Puebla district attorney and the CFE have also filed charges against several occupation leaders accusing them of using violence to obstruct the substation construction ready to be reoccupied should construction resume still hangs over the road to the construction site When the Tosepan cooperative first blocked the federal power company’s plans it was accused of being anti-development and even of being manipulated by environmental activist groups But this could not be further from the truth sufficient electricity for our communities but not at the cost of our way of life and not under these conditions.” The cooperative’s pursuit of energy sovereignty has been two-pronged focused as much on conservation as on developing locally generated renewable energy Many households in the area lack the appliances that are ubiquitous in urban homes and the cooperative is not necessarily trying to change that “There’s a narrative that we need extractive [energy and mining] projects to maintain our lifestyle,” Dugin said “That’s a way of blaming us for things that really are not our fault especially those of us who live in rural indigenous communities who consume much less materially than those of you who live in cities “There’s power in being selective on what technologies improve one’s quality of life or improve a community’s ability to develop intelligently,” he continued they’re like a machete that’s been well-sharpened — they can be super helpful but only if you know how and when to use them.” The cooperative began its solar initiative with a door-to-door survey around early 2017 in an effort to better understand community members’ electricity needs This helped the cooperative confirm that the CFE’s statistics about local communities lacking electricity were misleading and that the company was exaggerating the scale of the issue to build a case for the substation “CFE claimed that many surrounding communities lacked power but we work in those communities and knew it wasn’t true,” González said This added to the perception that the power company was acting in bad faith and strengthened the cooperative’s desire to take energy matters into its own hands The survey also offered an opportunity for the cooperative to implement its first major energy-saving initiative the distribution of high-efficiency LED lightbulbs a 20-year-old indigenous Nahua native of Cuetzalan was away in college when she heard about the cooperative’s plans to launch a solar power initiative back home “I was in university talking about how renewable energy is a good option I wanted to do something practical.” Vázquez was one of two young women in a group of about 50 of Tosepan’s youth who showed up for a week-long workshop in solar power installation put on by a solar power company from Puebla city in May 2018 There was hardly enough work or tools to go around but together they installed Tosepan’s first large-scale photovoltaic array on the roof of the cooperative’s headquarters in Cuetzalan the cooperative launched its residential photovoltaic program Its first two home installations have been proof-of-concept gifts to cooperative members to spread the word about solar’s viability under the area’s cloudy skies Once Doña Mari’s new panels were hooked up to their batteries there was an unceremonious clipping of the wires on the meter breaking her link with the CFE’s grid It’s clear from the scale of the installations so far that the goal is to keep both consumption and costs low but not enough for a refrigerator or air conditioner The intent is to create an infrastructure to help poor families afford solar panels who heads Tosepan’s microfinance cooperative Of all the financial packages the co-op bank offers its lowest interest rates are for home construction and it plans to include solar as part of its sustainable housing loan packet González said two- or three-panel systems like the one installed on Doña Mari’s home will cost between 15,000 and 25,000 pesos Of the 50 youth trained in panel installation back in May attending training sessions and conferences and sharing job opportunities in a group chat as the project gathers momentum They’re paid a day rate for the installations they’ve done so far,and have acquired skills that put them in a good position to capitalize on Mexico’s growing solar sector Lima and Garrido were both hired for short gigs doing residential solar panel installations in Mexico City None of them have been able to quit their day jobs  Tosepan is in the process of forming a new cooperative for solar power installation and the youth installers will be its charter members which means “Light for Everyone” in Nahuatl And Tosepan’s model of locally controlled renewable energy generation could get a big boost in the coming months has outlined a vision for renewable energy that privileges community-led renewable energy initiatives like Tosepan’s One of his administration’s stated policy proposals is to install 1 million renewable energy modules to power residences and small businesses and to invest in training young people by building 500 Centers for Technical Development in Renewable Energies His proposal cites the need for a massive cultural shift and new environmental model one that’s grounded in the lifestyle and values of indigenous communities and that capitalizes on the latest sustainable technologies It’s no coincidence that AMLO’s policies resonate with Tosepan’s own solar energy program One of Tosepan’s leaders and long-term advisers was tapped to head what was once the Secretariat of Social Development two of Tosepan’s green-energy allies entrepreneur Luis Abelardo González and Pedro Miguel the renewable-energy activist and journalist were nominated to advisory or leadership positions in the CFE because the geographic and economic situations around the country are so different but Tosepan’s program is certainly an inspiration” for the new president’s initiatives Tosepan leader Dugin said he hopes this official support for Tosepan’s vision holds out “It’s one thing to fight with [outgoing president] Peña Nieto but what a pain it’d be to fight with our friends!” Banner image: Members of the Tosepan cooperative’s youth solar panel installation team and the ONergia solar cooperative put the finishing touches on a domestic panel installation while community members chip in an independent researcher whose work focuses on gender equality contributed to the writing and reporting of this story FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the editor of this post The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] a few courageous women are breaking barriers to join a sacred—and breathtaking—Indigenous ritual Cuetzalan, Mexico — The first time Jacinta Teresa prepared to launch herself from the towering pole it felt as though the entire world was shifting beneath her feet the wind whipped hard and fast against her face “I felt like I didn’t have enough hands to keep me holding on.” The voladoras, as these women have become known, live in Cuetzalan—a small mountain town—and the surrounding communities set among the rugged hills of the Sierra Norte, in eastern Mexico. Most come from families of flyers and learn from their older relatives, the kind of ancestral passing-down that is common to the many Indigenous traditions born in this region. Some fly alongside their male peers; others have created all-women troupes. Anthropologists who have extensively interviewed the women flyers and documented their experiences acknowledge that their emergence in the age-old tradition is not indicative of larger social trends in the region. “The mujeres voladoras of Cuetzalan don’t represent the fights of women for gender equality,” writes Eugenia Rodríguez Blanco, a social and cultural anthropologist at the Universidad Miguel Hernández in Elche, Spain. Julissa Varela Vázquez and María Azucena Vázquez climb the flying pole on a foggy day.At left, a video portrait of the newly formed Mujeres Voladoras de Cuetzalan, the first all-women flying group in Mexico. At right, the view from the base of the flying pole as the voladores descend.“If we concentrate enough up there, the five of us have chemistry,” Teresa explains. “We’re going to make it rain in a place where it hasn’t in a long time.” This was, precisely, how Teresa had felt so many years earlier, atop the flying pole. Her uncle was with her that morning—far above Cuetzalan’s near-vertical streets of stones, overlooking the church cupola and roosting crows in the swaying palms, and gazing down at the clock tower whose tolling bells had marked the passing of the days for so many generations before. “Tranquila,” her uncle said, his voice steady and calm. “Everything is moving normally now.” PA Images/Getty Images","dsc":"People watch the sun rise during a winter solstice celebration at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire 2021.","ttl":"GettyImages-1237376223","rchDsc":{"markup":"People watch the sun rise during a winter solstice celebration at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire 2021."},"rchTtl":{"markup":"GettyImages-1237376223"},"ratio":"3x2"},"isFeatured":true,"sections":[{"name":"History & Culture","id":"b0c8dd52-23a8-34c0-a940-f46792bc9e70","type":"sources","uri":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history"}],"headline":"The secret to thriving in the winter don’t fight it","link":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/winter-season-change-ancient-culture"},{"description":"For Irukandji knowledge holder Siobhan Singleton green trees surrounding","asstSrc":"NG Grant","crdt":"Photograph by Kiliii Yuyan","dsc":"Adjacent to Kuranda National Park on Djabugay homelands within the biodiverse Wet Tropics cultural fire is used to keep rainforest growth and invasive plants in check clearing the way for new life.","ttl":"Australia- forest fire","rchDsc":{"markup":"Adjacent to Kuranda National Park clearing the way for new life."},"rchTtl":{"markup":"Australia- forest fire"}},"sections":[{"name":"Environment","id":"623ce370-3e67-3fb2-b9a5-070ceb9b2de5","type":"sources","uri":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment"}],"headline":"Aboriginal women are reclaiming traditions of fire","link":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/australia-aboriginal-women-fire-management"},{"description":"TikTok—specifically #witchtok—is fueling interest in this spiritual movement Here’s how to immerse yourself in full moon rituals National Geographic","dsc":"A woman presses her staff to her forehead amongst people gathered to watch the sunrise at Stonehenge on the morning of the autumn equinox (Photo/Alice Zoo)","rchDsc":{"markup":"A woman presses her staff to her forehead amongst people gathered to watch the sunrise at  Stonehenge on the morning of the autumn equinox (Photo/Alice Zoo)"},"rchTtl":{"markup":""}},"sections":[{"name":"History & Culture","id":"b0c8dd52-23a8-34c0-a940-f46792bc9e70","type":"sources","uri":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history"}],"headline":"Paganism is on the rise—here’s where to discover its traditions","link":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/where-to-go-to-explore-pagan-culture"},{"description":"Teotihuacan and other metropolises featured striking religious centers and the arrow-straight Avenue of the Dead.","crdt":"Image courtesy of Max Shen/Getty Images","dsc":"Hot-air balloons drift over the Pyramid of the Moon and the arrow-straight Avenue of the Dead.","ttl":"Teotihuacan","rchDsc":{"markup":"Hot-air balloons drift over the Pyramid of the Moon The rainforest extends into the background and the sky is blue.","crdt":"Photograph by Martin Bache Alamy Stock Photo","dsc":"Mayan Temple I emerging from the jungle at Tikal National Park","rchDsc":{"markup":"Mayan Temple I emerging from the jungle at Tikal National Park"},"rchTtl":{"markup":""}},"sections":[{"name":"History & Culture","id":"b0c8dd52-23a8-34c0-a940-f46792bc9e70","type":"sources","uri":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history"}],"headline":"Rare 1,600-year-old child remains found at a Maya altar","link":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/maya-tikal-altar-child-sacrifice-teotihuacan"},{"description":"Before their defeat by the Spanish in 1521 The prickly pear evokes the story that the name Tenochtitlan means “place among the prickly pears.” Mexican artist José María Jara painted the scene in 1889 Mexico City.","ttl":"capital find"},"sections":[{"name":"History Magazine","id":"9e8034f6-2e16-3b86-998b-56f8ff9dffb7","type":"sources","uri":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine"}],"headline":"Who were the Aztec It’s complicated.","link":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/who-were-the-aztec"},{"description":"Several tombs in the necropolises of Egypt depict figures dancing across the walls and playing instruments dance was a huge part of daily life","link":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/dance-ancient-egyptians"},{"description":"”Keep it hidden keep it warm“ was the instruction for these capsules of anti-evil from 17th century England The busy weekend market in Cuetzalán, Mexico, is still largely indigenous a collection of remote villages in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Puebla I visited a remarkable union of cooperatives that is achieving food sovereignty through agroecology The Tosepan Titataniske cooperatives had drawn on Indigenous Nahuatl traditions and used their remoteness to try to carve out not just an area free of genetically modified crops When the environment ministry announced the large “Cloud Forest” ecotourism project for the area in the late 1990s They had already seen the negative impacts of such projects taking advantage of the abundant rains in the mountainous area There were 98 land concessions for such projects in the area which means “together we shall overcome” in the local Nahuatl language taking advantage of a national law that allows communities to zone for different land uses With a series of technical studies and community consultations that involved up to 5,000 people they approved their “Ecological Land-Use Zoning for the Sierra Norte of Puebla.” The plan identified areas approved for conservation and protection (including the main watersheds) Mining and most other megaprojects were defined as categorically incompatible with all four zones Getting the plan enforced was another matter Tosepan created its own Territorial Defense Committee to monitor company activities and led a class action suit to have its zoning plan recognized and enforced Tosepan leader Enrique Fernández told us that they had successfully stopped four hydroelectric projects and a Walmart through a mixture of legal action and direct action to stop the bulldozers and backhoes Stopping Walmart and the national electric company got my attention Was this another little David taking on a different set of Goliaths Little wasn’t the word that came to mind as I learned more about Tosepan now has 410 cooperatives involving more than 30,000 families in 25 municipalities (similar to U.S the young multilingual local who briefed our small group on the organization said the goal of the group was yeknemilis in Nahuatl and of course we don’t really have a good phrase for such a lovely concept in English Tosepan runs its own autonomous school system recognized by the government under a program for remote communities It’s supported like many other cooperatives in the community with donations and a lot of volunteer labor are trained on the Montessori model as bilingual Spanish-Nahuatl instructors in one fourth-grade class the teacher went back and forth between the two languages seamlessly The goal is to have all children functionally bilingual by sixth grade She said that younger children come in with stronger Nahuatl (or Tutunaku the other indigenous language in the region) than Spanish They want children to be able to function in the larger Spanish-speaking society assigning books and book reports in Spanish (“In a country where our president does not read books,” one teacher told us and I didn’t even know what was coming back home.) They keep older children from losing their local language by involving them in cultural projects including their own weekly radio show in Nahuatl our English isn’t up to the elegance: Dignified Life?) It includes high-schoolers interviewing their grandmothers or older community leaders in their native language.  so poised and articulate as they toured us around the school explained how they make biological fertilizers as part of their practical work curriculum Their regular school day involves only two and a half hours of academic instruction The food is donated by community members and prepared by a student-staffed cafeteria Everybody’s involved in community projects made entirely with bamboo from a Tosepan project that makes furniture and building materials with all community members participating in tequio which grows on beautiful shaded hillsides that contain 150 different plant species Their cooperative control of the process has boosted farmer income from coffee 200 percent Cooperatives also have a successful organic bee/honey operation and the bamboo workshop producing furniture for the local market We visited the large processing plant in town where they produce high-quality organic pepper for export to the Middle East and Europe Leonardo said the community is largely self-sufficient in basic foods It was easy to romanticize Tosepan as being “off the grid,” but as Leonardo made clear they know that with megaprojects threatening them they need to engage with the larger national and international economy not letting the market decide their collective futures Certainly Monsanto was not going to decide what they grow or eat in Tosepan This excerpt originally appeared in Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness published by The New Press and edited and reprinted here with permission We’ve all read countless guides to Puerto Vallarta There are those of us looking for another side of Mexico however — a quieter side that offers a window into the country we might not find elsewhere because this year Mexico News Daily has visited some of these places If you’re looking for an authentic slice of Mexico away from the crowds of popular Pueblos Mágicos Nestled in a quiet valley with the Sierra Fría mountains as its backdrop this charming town embodies the spirit of traditional Mexico Calvillo’s Spanish influence shines through its baroque-style Templo del Señor del Salitre and elegant municipal palace But what truly sets Calvillo apart is its status as the “Guava Capital of the World.” Here guava isn’t just a crop — it’s a vital part of the local culture You’ll find it in everything from guava jelly and pastries to guava mole and artisanal guava beer Visit during December’s Guayaba Fair for music Think pink: Why Calvillo is Aguascalientes’ most famous town Calvillo offers rugged adventures in the Sierra Fría Kayak or fish at the serene Presa de Malpaso A sunset hike to the Santa Cruz de Calvillo monument rewards you with sweeping views of the town and surrounding mountains Calvillo’s magic lies in its unpolished charm It’s a town where history and tradition thrive or sipping a signature “Bomba” at a local cantina Calvillo invites you to slow down and enjoy Mexico at its most genuine often overlooked and overshadowed by nearby UNESCO darling Puebla It’s a city that whispers rather than shouts—a place where simplicity reigns and its unassuming nature invites you to slow down feels like a relic from a more laid-back era its cobbled roof and bell tower a testament to its 1524 origins a mix of flat terrain and gently sloping hills lead to treasures like the Ex Convento Franciscano de la Asunción and bustling weekend markets hawking brightly woven sarapes The city you’ve never heard of that deserves a visit Tlaxcala’s accessibility is its secret sauce free from the tourist crowds that often strip such spaces of their serenity A short trip out of town takes you to Cacaxtla and Xochitecatl ancient ruins that seem to breathe history misty greenhouses and winding paths evoking a quiet euphoria where an unexpectedly massive pool and hearty buffet breakfast make you feel like you’ve found a secret Mineral de Pozos in Guanajuato is shaking off the dust of its past and stepping into a new role as a haven for artists its mines once churned out silver and gold for the Spanish crown with grand architecture and European investors The city is also an excellent example of some of President Porfirio Díaz ambitious infrastructure projects The Guanajuato ghost town that deserves a second look and an exodus that left the place all but abandoned the ruins remain — a visual poem of broken chimneys and the eerie elegance of the Escuela Modelo But Pozos isn’t content to be just a ghost town for history nerds April brings the International Mariachi Festival joyful celebration of Mexico’s musical soul their gritty sound spilling out into the night October’s indie film festival gives emerging filmmakers a chance to shine It’s not just a drink here — it’s a way of life and pair it with local cuisine that hits all the right notes where you can soak in wine or coffee while pondering life’s absurdities its historic center a UNESCO World Heritage site brimming with Baroque and neoclassical architecture the city remains blissfully under the radar Walking the tree-lined Calzada de Guadalupe part of the Americas’ longest pedestrian street takes you past the neoclassical Caja de Agua a bronze water boy statue that nods to the city’s past half-animal — stand as haunting reminders of her fascination with the uncanny with its cry stal caravel-shaped chandelier pilgrims crawl along the Calzada on their knees to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe San Luis Potosí: Mexico’s best kept secret Tangamanga Park offers expansive green spaces a ghost town where gold and silver were first discovered in 1592 provides a stark contrast to San Luis’s vibrant streets a tranquil hotel steps from the lively Plaza de Armas Indulge in shrimp tacos at La Oruga y la Cebada or mojitos at La Posada del Virrey Early risers should hit Cafe Tokio for hearty Mexican breakfasts its allure lingering long after you’ve left A few days here will leave you craving more Cuetzalan is a place that’s hard to explain without sounding like you’ve just come back from some fevered dream — a place where the mountains meet the mist cobblestone streets feels like a different time clinging to a mix of colonial architecture and old-world Mexican rusticity that most places have long lost It’s not pretty in the way that glossy brochures promise How a ‘girls trip’ to Cuetzalan showed me the real Mexico The town’s charm lies in its contradictions The market smells like fresh coffee and rain where artisans hawk their woven textiles and hand-carved wares You can feel the weight of centuries in the air like you’ve stumbled onto something that hasn’t been curated for tourists And it’s alive — locals in ranchero hats and embroidered huipils go about their business while a bizarre ritual involving flying men The air hums with the sound of music blasting from quinceañeras with caves and waterfalls hidden in the lush forest But Cuetzalan is more than just a photo op for the Instagram crowd—it’s an escape An unfiltered slice of Mexico that hasn’t been chewed up and spit out for the convenience of travelers and it’ll mess with your senses in all the right ways albeit with a slight decline from 76.05% in 2008 to 74.9% in 2018 The challenges compound with empowering indigenous women who account for 50% of agricultural production yet grapple with limited educational and economic opportunities Within the rustic embrace of Cuetzalan, where 64% of the population identifies as Nahua and Totonaca indigenous people, the struggle is even more palpable: 52% of the population comprises women, 68% of whom are illiterate and only 14.4% are economically active The region suffers from population loss as both men and women seek out better economic opportunities in urban centers or the United States (U.S.) Amidst this backdrop of adversity, indigenous organizations like Masehual Siuamej Mosenyolchicauani (‘women who support each other’ in the Nahua language) emerge as beacons of hope Stemming from the legitimate social claims and needs in regions where the State’s presence wanes against neoliberal and globalization trends these organizations symbolize the fight for political autonomy and communal empowerment Founded in 1985, Masehual embarked on a journey toward empowering indigenous women through economic independence and cultural preservation Its mission: is to mitigate migration to urban hubs and the U.S by fostering local employment opportunities through the fair trade of indigenous textile handicrafts a stronghold of indigenous culture and environmental stewardship This hotel has empowered more than 45 indigenous families with jobs Taselotzin, conceived amidst land ownership struggles, now stands as a testament to indigenous resilience, fueling economic growth and cultural preservation. Embraced by the Indigenous Touristic Network (RITA) fostering community development while promoting indigenous tourism and preserving environmental and cultural heritage It strives for the integral and dignified development of indigenous tourism services Masehual has brought together 100 women from six communities uniting them under the banner of empowerment and progress Through projects spanning handicraft production Indigenous Women Care House (CAMI) and hotel management Masehual orchestrates a symphony of change Each initiative breathes life into the community enhancing members’ quality of life while championing rights health care and environmental sustainability Masehual’s vision extends beyond economic prosperity—it embodies a quest for social cohesion and cultural resurgence Through agricultural and artisanal training nurturing not only their households but the very fabric of their communities The empowerment of these women heralds a new dawn—one marked by social where resilience paves the path to a brighter tomorrow In the resolute spirit of Masehual Siuamej Mosenyolchicauani indigenous women find not only a platform for autonomy but also a beacon of hope—a testament to the transformative power of collective action and unwavering resilience As it weaves women’s stories into the tapestry of history it illuminates the path toward a future where every voice is heard every culture cherished and every dream realized It is by empowering indigenous women that communities can do more than survive We take on many of the biggest environmental and health challenges of our time and stick with them. The law makes change. Press Room Earthjustice submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Mexican Supreme Court in support of the State of Puebla-based Masewal people’s constitutional action media@earthjustice.org International civil society organizations are supporting a lawsuit filed by the Masewal indigenous people of Cuetzalan del Progreso based in the Sierra Norte of the Mexican state of Puebla The Masewal request that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) declare the law unconstitutional because it violates indigenous peoples’ fundamental rights the Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC) and the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) filed separate amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs to provide information in order to help the SCJN rule on litigation initiated by the Altepetajpianij Masewal Council and the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA) argues that Mexico adopted the new Mining Law in violation of indigenous rights by not previously consulting or informing indigenous peoples before passing the law the law failed to take into account indigenous values or perspectives and contained no mechanism to protect their human rights even though many mining concessions already affect their territories this law violates indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination by excluding them from decision-making on mining within their territories thus threatening local communities’ quality of life as we say in Nahuatl — it is necessary that we be well and have social peace nor can we build social peace in our territories when extractive projects such as destructive mining threaten our way of life,” the Masewal people told SCJN justices in their brief “Our contribution presented in our amicus brief highlights that Mexico’s international obligations require free and informed consultations with indigenous peoples before approving any legislative measure that affects them especially when it comes to their territorial rights,” said Guillermo Zúñiga “This also includes laws on the extraction of natural resources found in their territories which applies directly to the case of the Mining Law.” “Mining concessions cannot be granted solely based on mining legislation based on human rights and environmental law and on the interrelation between the two issues legal framework determines and limits the granting of mining titles in the case of lands and territories,” says EDLC in its amicus’ conclusions “Mexico’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation has the opportunity to set an exemplary precedent for the region with respect to the protection of indigenous rights,” said attorney Carlos Lozano Acosta of AIDA the SCJN can learn from regional experience adopting the relevant standards that courts in other countries have provided in favor of indigenous peoples Letters of support from other indigenous groups in Mexico as well as 4,091 signatures collected through the platform change.org.mx as of June 26 were sent to the Ministers of the SCJN’s Second Chamber supporting the Masewal People’s suit Lea este comunicado en español. 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We respect your privacy a pueblo mágico about a four-hour drive from Puebla city is one of those places that has something for just about everyone The pueblo has winding cobblestone streets pre-Hispanic ruins and an abundance of excellent coffee Cuetzalan is a Náhuatl name that has been translated a few different ways but the most common is “Abundant Place of Quetzals.” The pueblo was founded by Franciscan friars in 1547 but the area surrounding it was settled over 1,000 years earlier the majority of whom are Indigenous and speak Náhuatl or Totonac Men will often be seen in traditional white shirts and pants while women wear white skirts and tops embroidered with colorful designs a Náhuatl name meaning “House of the Night.” It’s about a 20-minute drive from Cuetzalan’s center The pyramids here surround a central ceremonial platform the ancient ballgame played by many pre-Hispanic peoples throughout Mesoamerica Yohualichan’s construction is believed to have been started by the Totonacans around A.D The civilization reached its peak around A.D a larger site in Veracruz also built by the Totanacans I’m not sure if they continue to hear such sounds but I didn’t hear any during my visit Overlooking Cuetzalan’s center is the Parroquia de San Francisco a Renaissance-style 16th-century church that boasts the tallest tower in the state of Puebla locals set up stalls where they sell a variety of handicrafts and other goods The steps ringing the center are often lined with people selling their produce most of the people are older and speak little or no Spanish A short distance away from the center is another church It gets its nickname from the small terracotta jugs (jarritos) that decorate its spire In front of the church is a large cemetery enveloping the graves in a mist that give them a sense of mystery The pueblo’s population swells on Sundays when there’s a tianguis People come in from nearby towns and set up stalls where they’ll sell produce The Calmahuistic Ethnographic Museum is small but worth a visit and it has rooms filled with pre-Hispanic figures and pottery Another feature of Cuetzalan is that its surrounded area is dotted with waterfalls the most popular of which is La Cascada de las Brisas I walked with Hernández to a series of smaller waterfalls The trail we took to and from the waterfalls was made from stones that had been laid over 700 years ago by Totonacans a member of a group that performs a traditional ceremony associated with fertility rites and I got a chance to observe his group at work dances on a small stand atop the pole while playing a flute and tapping on a small drum who all this time have been sitting on a platform surrounding the stand saved from serious injury or death only by a rope tied around the upper part of one leg that ensures they land safely I asked Hernández if they learn to perform this ritual by first climbing up shorter poles I mentioned at the beginning that Cuetzalan has a multitude of caves these caves should only be explored with an experienced guide Many people in Cuetzalan’s surrounding pueblos grow coffee and belong to the fair-trade cooperative Tosepan Titataniske a Náhuatl phrase meaning “Together We Will Overcome.” Fair-trade coops pay farmers more for their coffee People also harvest black pepper and many keep bees — a small variety that lacks stingers and produces honey with a slightly vinegary taste The coop also runs Tosepan Kali an ecotourism site that offers a hotel and cabins set among a lush orchard There are plenty of places to eat in Cuetzalan offering everything from traditional Mexican fare to pizza and pasta One of my favorite street foods there are tayoyos (also called tlacoyos) It’s a thick corn tortilla generally filled with beans and then fried and there are sometimes days when there’s a steady drizzle and it’s often foggy Its streets and sidewalks are made of stone and when wet PHOTOGRAPHS AND WORDS BY VALERIA LUONGO In Cuetzalan del Progreso, Mexico, a group of women are challenging gender roles by participating in a traditionally male ritual called Danza de los Voladores. The ritual begins with a ceremonial dance before five participants ascend a 30-meter pole and jump off the top, head first, tied to ropes as they revolve around the pole towards the ground.  I first arrived in Cuetzalan in 2013 as an anthropology student. I kept returning throughout the years, researching topics related to local eating habits, healthcare, and traditional medicine. But as I became more interested in documentary photography and filmmaking, I started working on collaborative visual projects that touched on social themes I was interested in. Since 2022 I’ve been documenting the lives of several women flyers, aged nine to 50. Jacinta, 50, belongs to the first generation of flying women; Irene, 33, and Nikté, 12, are a mother-daughter duo; Julisa, 39, is the first trans voladora in the region; and Yolanda and Xochitl, both nine years old, are the first female practitioners from their families. When Women Fly is an ongoing project that honors the women participating in  Danza de los Voladores. With my work, I hope to celebrate the daily lives of these women and showcase how they balance being mothers, sisters, daughters, workers, and also proud voladoras. Join our membership community. Support our work, receive a complimentary subscription to Atmos Magazine, and more. Atmos is a nonprofit media organization focused on the cross-pollination of climate and culture, delivering award-winning journalism and creative storytelling through a biannual print magazine, daily digital features, original newsletters, and more. Our mission is to re-enchant people with nature and our shared humanity. We inspire cultural transformation and illuminate solutions to heal and protect the planet—now, and for generations to come. Text description provided by the architects. In February 2016 the National Housing Commission, CONAVI (for its acronym in Spanish), renewed its operating rules for providing federal subsidies. New regulations established that the use of traditional materials and constructive systems such as bamboo, straw, bajareque, palm, carrizo and wood, is considered precarious, denying access to federal funds to self-construction practices with these materials. Therefore, the first housing exercise, carried out jointly with the community of Tepetzintan through five workshops of technical training and participatory design, was discarded to receive government support, making it difficult for residents to self-construct it. © Onnis LuqueGiven this scenario, together with the Tosepan Titataniske and Tosepan Ojtatsentekitinij Indigenous Cooperatives, we decided to make a second housing exercise that avoid using local bamboo species as structural elements in order to comply with the regulations already imposed by CONAVI. © Onnis LuqueOnce installed, bamboo panels are coated with ixtle (local tissue used to make coffee sacks) and a thin layer of mortar. Once the base structure has been placed, the beams and subsequently the ecolam sheet are fixed. This last one is a product made from food-grade aluminum waste, which gives thermal, acoustic and antibacterial properties. DiagramsIn addition to local materials, which allow the villagers to contribute in kind and labor to reduce the cost of their homes, the project has an optimum environmental performance. In the case of water, rainwater harvesting is used, as well as wetlands for reuse of gray water and biodigestor for sewage treatment. As for the climate, basic bioclimatic strategies were implemented to combat the region high temperatures. © Onnis LuqueIn terms of space, the house responds to the customs and traditions of Nahuatl people, who employ a main hall where they locate the altar - the central element of the house - and dry the coffee and corn crop. The kitchen has a permeable character to let out the smoke of the firewood and the design of traditional lattices is recovered. SectionThe second exercise was awarded by CONAVI with a silver medal in the "First National Rural Housing Contest" and approved to receive federal subsidies we will continue to seek the viability of the first exercise as we firmly believe that traditional building materials and vaconstructive systems must be endorsed by public housing policies in our country and promote the autonomy of indigenous peoples the value of vernacular architecture and conservation of intangible knowledge You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email Cloud forests threatened by global warming A team of researchers analyzed the tree biodiversity of four of Mexico’s remaining cloud forests and concluded that despite the recent retreat of these habitats many species of trees and bromeliad have endured in relatively high numbers Bromeliads are a type of flowering plant found in the tropical Americas or they can grow up high in the canopies of trees Species that fall into the latter category are called “epiphytes.” To analyze the biodiversity of the Mexican cloud forests researchers from the Mexican Institute of Ecology (INECOL) established six small plots in each of the four sites in which they measured the botanical diversity The team recorded 18 species of epiphytic bromeliads and 45 species of tree an endangered species of oak that turned out to be dominant at one of the sites surveyed Other species of tree classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN were found to be in relative abundance some of the smallest fragments of cloud forest boasted the highest levels of botanical diversity the researchers speculate that forest fragmentation may have led to an increased amount of sunlight exposure in clearings and at the edges of the forests This may have upset the monopoly of the tall established giants and allowed a greater number of “pioneer species” to grow Cloud forests are areas of high altitude woodland distinguished by a frequently low cloud cover They host a uniquely cool tropical environment and due to the narrow band of altitude and latitude in which they can grow they account for only about one percent of the world’s forest Because of the highly specialized atmospheric conditions needed to sustain a cloud forest are expected to shrink or vanish outright due to human-caused global warming many cloud forests are currently targeted by logging companies The study indicates that these areas could be vital for the conservation of Mexico’s struggling forest habitats “even small and disturbed fragments can play an important role as reservoirs of tropical montane cloud forest biodiversity within the severely transformed landscape of the region.” the danger posed to these enigmatic woodlands remains prominent the journal Nature Climate Change published a paper warning that human-caused climate change is on course to wipe out 90 percent of Mexico’s cloud forests by 2080 and the loss of these habitats could mean the extinction of as many as 37 vertebrate species Mountain forests store 40 percent more carbon than expected (06/10/2014) It’s not easy to measure carbon in mountain forest ecosystems But a new review study in Biogeosciences found that many estimates of carbon storage in montane tropical forests have been largely underestimated Emerald-faced reptile discovered in Ecuador (05/23/2014) Researchers have discovered a colorful lizard species in the cloud forests of northwestern Ecuador Connecting forests, saving species: conservation group plans extensive wildlife corridor in Panama (05/16/2014) With the cooperation of hundreds of ranchers and researchers Azuero Earth Project aims to replant a swath of tropical dry forest connecting the dry tropical forest on the coast to cloud forest further inland The trees along the 140-kilometer (80-mile) wildlife corridor will create a continuous habitat for the Critically Endangered Azuero spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi azuerensis) and improve the soil for people who farm and ranch along the way Letting forests regrow on cattle pasture yields cheap conservation benefits (04/28/2014) Letting forests regrow naturally on grazing lands in the tropics offers substantial climate and biodiversity at a low cost reports a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change Game of thorns: colorful, spiky tree frog discovered in Vietnam (04/25/2014) Evening fog settled quickly on Mount Ngoc Linh as the steady drone of cicadas and crickets took up their usual nighttime chorus The night calm was broken by sudden crashing through the thick bamboo stands and excited voices High in this isolated cloud forest in central Vietnam researchers had come upon the first thorny tree frog known to science Photos: Weird aquatic lizard discovered in mountain streams of Peru (03/13/2014) A ‘new’ species of lizard has been described from the cloud forests of Peru’s Manu National Park Amazon trees super-diverse in chemicals (03/03/2014) In the Western Amazon—arguably the world’s most biodiverse region—scientists have found that not only is the forest super-rich in species Climbing into the canopy of thousands of trees across 19 different forests in the region—from the lowland Amazon to high Andean cloud forests—the researchers sampled chemical signatures from canopy leaves and were surprised by the levels of diversity uncovered Sky islands: exploring East Africa’s last frontier (12/04/2013) The montane rainforests of East Africa are little-known to the global public The Amazon and Congo loom much larger in our minds while the savannas of East Africa remain the iconic ecosystems for the region biodiverse forests—sitting on the tops of mountains rising from the African savanna—are home to some remarkable species A team of international scientists—Michele Menegon and Simon Loader—have made it their mission to document the little-known reptiles and amphibians in these so-called sky islands Satellites reveal browning mountain forests (11/22/2013) In a dramatic response to global warming tropical forests in the high elevation areas of five continents have been “browning” since the 1990s Scientists analyzed the forest cover by using satellites to measure sunlight bouncing off the surface of the earth then determining the different surface types via reflection patterns was detained last night by the Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INM) in Cuetzalan del Progreso Mexico and deported to the United States following a collaborative and extensive investigation by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and Caldwell County law enforcement Anderson was presented before Mexican judicial authorities and an order of deportation was granted after a determination that Anderson had no legal status to remain in Mexico Anderson has been sought by law enforcement since his 1998 flight from Texas parole authorities Anderson was convicted in 1987 in Caldwell County and was sentenced to a twenty (20) year term of incarceration in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Anderson was subsequently released to parole supervision in 1993 and also required to maintain his registration with authorities as a convicted sex offender Texas parole authorities issued an arrest warrant after Anderson failed to register as a sex offender and absconding from the central Texas area Anderson worked as a missionary for his father who also was a minister The Texas Department of Public Safety placed Anderson on their Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitive Program acted on information provided by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and initiated surveillance in Cuetzalan del Progreso after it was determined through a local investigation that Anderson was using the alias of a deceased man It appears Anderson was living in this town and maintaining his livelihood as a traveling minister in various towns and villages in the Mexican state of Puebla Task Force officers determined that while on the run Anderson was married to a Guatemalan native purported to be a Mexican national with false Mexican documents Andersons’ conviction stems from his criminal actions in rural Luling Texas where Anderson was convicted for sexually assaulting two juvenile females Both girls were molested over a period of three (3) years when the girls were nine and ten years of age with the assaults gradually escalated from fondling to forcible sexual assaults “The collaborative effort of law enforcement from both sides of the border was critical to the bringing this 1998 fugitive case to a close Anderson’s history shows he is a sexual predator and a genuine threat to children Anderson was deported from the Republic of Mexico late last night arriving at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and remanded to the custody of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Houston United States Marshal for the Western District of Texas states “This is an example of international cooperation persistence and our never ending efforts to locate fugitives and hold them accountable for their actions.” Members of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin – Austin Police Department-Criminal Apprehension Team They insisted they had done nothing wrong but were simply enjoying the "sport of caving" Some of the group declared a desire to return to Mexico - despite their ordeal in the caves and where they were detained and allegedly deprived of sleep The 13 men - six of whom spent more than a week underground - were accused by Mexican authorities of violating their tourist visas and making "false statements" about the purpose of their visit After they arrived at Heathrow shortly after 2pm Major Stephen Whitlock denied that they had done anything to invalidate their visas He told a press conference: "The only thing that we were doing in Mexico was actually enjoying the sport of caving finding new caves where nobody has ever been before." The six potholers became trapped by rising flood waters in caves at Cuetzalan more than 100 miles north-east of Mexico City before being rescued by a team of British divers on Thursday were held in an immigration detention centre for five days before being expelled from Mexico last night Officials in Mexico were suspicious of the cavers but the Mexican attorney-general's office had to rule that there was no evidence they acted illegally after reports that they were looking for uranium the country's assistant interior secretary claimed they did not say they were undertaking a cave exploration expedition for which they would have needed a different visa Foreign military exercises are forbidden on Mexican soil Today Major Whitlock said in a statement: "Speculation that we have been involved in activities other than the sport of caving are completely unfounded." said the cavers' difficulties had simply been the result of a "great misunderstanding" and the purpose of their expedition was to "bolster initiative and courage" who had remained above ground during the rescues thanked the Mexican authorities and the people of Cuetzalan He said their detention had been fair "on the whole" But the group made several complaints to the human rights authorities in Mexico which are under investigation These centred on alleged instances of sleep deprivation the sport of caving in Mexico has now been classified as a science "Due to the potential effect on caving in general and cavers wishing to visit Mexico we intend to contest this finding in an appeal over the next couple of weeks," he said Many of the group expressed their determination to return to Mexico in the future if the visa row is resolved from the Combined Services Caving Association had been taking part in Exercise Cuetzalan Tiger When he was asked what he was most looking forward to Warrant Officer Charles Milton said: "Obviously get home and have a good English breakfast a 41-year-old former army major based in Shanghai; Simon Cornhill a civilian guide from Lancashire; army soldiers Captain Toby Hamnett who is based in the West Country; Sergeant Chris Mitchell from south Wales and in his late 30s; RAF Sergeant John Roe in his late 30s and from Scotland and living in south Wales; and Navy Warrant Officer Charles Milton said earlier the group had been victims of "bureaucratic incompetence and inefficiency" But he said they had managed to keep their sense of humour throughout the ordeal and that he hoped to return to Mexico "soon" I have invested a lot of time exploring caves here and I don't intend to give it up," he told GMTV "We have basically had a very good expedition We have been a little bit inconvenienced on our way home but we will get over it and will carry on and will hopefully be coming back to Mexico again soon." a Shanghai-based businessman and former army major "It has been a long time," he said But being in a Mexican prison is a little bit different." Welcome Mickeymickey@disney.comManage MyDisney AccountLog Out3 captured from Texas most wanted listsWednesday Maxwell and Anderson were all captured recently according to the Texas Department of Public SafetyTexas Department of Public Safety-KTRKHOUSTON (KTRK) -- Three people on Texas' most wanted lists were captured recently The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) today announced today Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender John Erick Anderson, 54, was deported from Mexico on June 2; Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive John Ernest Maxwell was arrested on June 4 in Austin; and Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender Dennis Ray Sandoval Texas DPS says Anderson through a coordinated effort between the U.S Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and Mexican federal authorities Authorities say he was deported from Mexico on June 2 Authorities say his arrest was the result of a tip DPS says Maxwell a confirmed Bloods gang member Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force in Austin Responding to tip information, the Leon County Sheriff's Office coordinated efforts with the U.S. Marshals Service North Texas Fugitive Task Force to locate Sandoval in Dallas Sandoval was wanted for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements DPS says their agency and others have arrested 16 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders including 13 sex offenders and three gang members and $35,000 in rewards have been paid for tips that resulted in arrests The cash rewards are funded by the Governor's Criminal Justice Division DPS reminds the public to not attempt to apprehend fugitives as they are considered armed and dangerous To be eligible for the cash rewards, there are five different ways to provide anonymous tips. Find out more on the DPS website Exploration turned into a diplomatic incident (Agencies) Updated: 2004-03-26 13:35 State raises rice prices amid output drop Taiwan police disperses protesters China accepts US demand on tax talks Contract ensures more oil delivery to China Interpretation of Basic Law in HK's interest East aims at balanced development Dear Reader,Unfortunately our comment platform isn\'t available at the moment due to issues with our paywall and authentication vendor Quetzal Ecology is a grassroots organization that assists six schools in the rural rainforest village of San Miguel Tzinacapan and neighboring Cuetzalan in the state of Puebla Read more stories about locals giving back to their communities here When he isn’t working full time at Safari West he’s volunteering on his days off or he’s dedicating time before or after work to make a difference for impoverished schoolchildren in Mexico The Rohnert Park resident is the tireless founder of Quetzal Ecology, a grassroots organization that assists six schools in the rural Place and his supporters raise money for much-needed school projects and supplies Place “initiated an enormous recycling endeavor,” said Nancy Lang established the Santa Rosa wildlife preserve and safari park in the late 1980s in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains “Sean is impassioned about providing critically needed supplies to the students and the community of San Miguel,” she said we often see Sean escorting potential donors on tours of Safari West while explaining how he has turned recycling at our park into computers and printers for a community in need.” increased the number of recycling bins – to about 20 – to help encourage the park’s thousands of annual visitors to recycle beverage cans and bottles That effort alone significantly reduced the park’s landfill waste He credits the Langs with wholeheartedly supporting the recycling project He said it was their suggestion to utilize the park’s recyclable materials to benefit Quetzal Ecology Working to help the environment through recycling is a natural mix for Safari West and Quetzal Ecology Not only are Mexican villagers and schoolchildren in the mountainous region benefiting from monies raised through their recycling efforts but Quetzal Ecology is helping the environment and spreading a message of conservation both locally and in San Miguel Tzinacapan and its greater municipality of Cuetzalan del Progreso In a Quetzal Ecology YouTube video Place sums up the efforts in one sentence: “Recycling makes a difference.” By recycling California Redemption Value (CRV) beverage cans electrical wiring from old appliances and other materials Place and his small but dedicated team of volunteers fund everything from basic school supplies to educational programming on a local radio station to construction expenses for a high school cafeteria they’ve raised more than half of the $10,000 earmarked for the cafeteria which also will serve as a community gathering place “It’s going to be a gift for the community,” he said Many students in the isolated town travel to school “on a pickup truck with benches and a plastic tarp (overhead),” Place said One elementary school doubles as a mechanic’s garage on weekends A cobblestone walkway still used in the Indigenous Nahuat community dates to Aztec times And three schools operate without electricity are undeterred by the conditions at the schools Students from preschool through high school receive help and donations from Quetzal Ecology “The kids are super intelligent,” Place said Place began fundraising several years before establishing Quetzal Ecology as a nonprofit in 2020 I was doing before I was a nonprofit,” he said He used some of the funds he received through a settlement from the Tubbs Fire to pay legal fees to secure Quetzal Ecology as a bona fide nonprofit organization “It’s amazing what documentation can do,” said Place whose nonprofit has raised about $15,000 to date and all they owned in the catastrophic wildfires of 2017 that roared through their Mark West Springs neighborhood in Santa Rosa He and his children moved in with relatives displaced but grateful for the shelter and empathy they received Creating Quetzal Ecology “became my therapy,” he said The nonprofit evolved when he was in a relationship with a teacher from Mexico a woman he met at a day camp in Santa Rosa where he was volunteering After discovering the conditions in her village – and the wide-scale need for help – he stepped into action Place remains dedicated to helping the community “Have you ever visited a place and fallen in love with it?” he asked “That’s what it was like.” The people – teachers villagers – “made it very clear” he was welcome and appreciated a senior at Sonoma State University and the Quetzal Ecology board of directors secretary Founded in 2020, Quetzal Ecology works to support the schools teachers and the community of San Miguel Tzinacapan They also support conservation of the environment through education and recycling Recycling is a vital method through which the group raises funds for its projects The nonprofit has helped to complete 9 murals and its raincoat drive finished with more than 600 raincoats being collected More information: www.quetzalecology.com The family has a long history of dedication to community service “Ever since I was little he’s taught me how to help people in need,” Ashley said of her father “He spends at least an hour after work each day sorting and working on recycling projects and dedicates about five hours on each of his two days off including driving to recycling centers to turn in materials for cash.” He also leads donation drives and sets up informational tables outside local businesses including several Sonoma County Latino businesses A book drive for the community library in San Miguel Tzinacapan brought in 187 new books in Spanish He also provided hundreds of rain ponchos to the village courtesy of discounted pricing through Safari West He was motivated to help after seeing a child wearing a garbage bag for protection from inclement weather Place even connected with a local restaurateur who funded uniforms for a girls soccer team He’s approached local stores and businesses to secure donations of everything from pencils crayons and notebooks to toothbrushes and toothpaste eyeglasses and musical instruments – anything to fill a need A donation of chalk “was like gold to them,” Place said He even made a spontaneous (and successful) solicitation stop one day while driving past an auto dealership “that had Mexican flags out.” Place doesn’t hesitate to provide opportunities for others to help “Dad always has his business card on him.” He acknowledges that around Rohnert Park Place – who said he can get by with limited Spanish — is currently enrolled in a Spanish class to help expand his skills He travels to Mexico about twice each year to work directly with school officials and villagers and sends boxes of supplies a few times a year He maintains updates on the Quetzal Ecology website and Facebook page shoot videos and update the nonprofit’s website With the exception of treasurer Kimberly Robertson other Quetzal Ecology board members are part of the San Miguel Tzinacapan community Teacher Cinthia Anayely Carreon Mora has served on the board several years and is grateful for Quetzal Ecology and its supporters it supports cultural programs like community mural projects Quetzal Ecology also provided aid for Hurricane Grace relief and the coronavirus pandemic while continuing to emphasize the importance of caring for the environment students and Quetzal Ecology volunteers planted 250 trees in Cuetzalan to improve vegetation in the region “Seeing the results obtained motivates us to continue working for the good of each one of the people who are benefited by (Quetzal Ecology),” Mora wrote in Spanish in an email Place provides a sense of hope and accomplishment and brings people together to help “Thanks to Sean we can believe that there is no difference between nationalities when a fighting heart for noble causes is shared that the union overcomes any border and that he has earned the gratitude and respect of the indigenous communities,” Mora wrote Place said villagers care deeply about one another and preserving their history and traditions He said there are many people and businesses that support Quetzal Ecology which is named for the quetzal bird that’s sacred in indigenous Mexican mythology The nonprofit’s logo features the bird in a design created by a young artist who graduated high school in San Miguel Tzinacapan Place is ingenious in finding unique ways to help Rather than sell the 1971 Volkswagen Bug he’d owned for years he traded it to a Rohnert Park family with little cash vowed to give Place their recycled goods on an ongoing basis as payment school supplies or materials for recycling He’s pushed through the challenges and impacts of the Sonoma County wildfires the coronavirus pandemic and the hurricane that hit the state of Puebla “I put a lot of my time and energy into this thing,” he said “They’re so appreciative for what little they have,” Place said “They’re over the moon when they get new things.” Place and his small team hope to raise the additional monies needed for the high school cafeteria throughout 2023 They will continue to respond to school and community needs as they are identified They will also continue to donate $100 every month to a San Miguel Tzinacapan radio station for educational programming that benefits people in the region Building a traditional home can take anywhere from a few weeks to months architects have increasingly looked to prefabricated construction in which parts are built off-site and assembled on-site Mexican studio Comunal Taller de Arquitectura designed a prefab home that can go up in less than a week The firm built a prototype of the house in a mountain town outside Puebla The structure is the second iteration of a similar home the architects designed in 2013 who can now easily replicate the house in the future.  Source: Dezeen Trapped explorers led out of Mexican cave (Agencies) Updated: 2004-03-26 09:06 Japan told to release Chinese unconditionally Lunar satellite to be launched in 2007 Taiwan "election" protesters keep vigil US vetoes UN measure on Yassin's death China refutes US censure on human rights UN sees problems, progress in nation's path ABC News News HomeMexico cavers only exploring: UK Army chiefShare Mexico cavers only exploring: UK Army chiefTopic:Foreign Affairs Mexican soldiers and British cavers wait for a rescue team to arrive in Cuetzalan in central Mexico. (File photo) (Reuters) Link copiedShareShare articleThe chief of the British Army has called the detention of a British military group in Mexico a "grave misunderstanding" and said the men had been there only to explore underground caves. The six cavers, four of them members of the British military, were rescued from a cavern on Thursday after spending 11 days underground. They became trapped by rising flood waters a few days into the caving expedition. But the presence of the men sparked a diplomatic row between London and Mexico. Mexican President Vicente Fox refused to accept Britain's explanation of what they were doing in the caves. Mexico's Attorney-General's office said it was investigating media reports the cavers were scouting for deposits of radioactive materials. The men have been detained and questioned by immigration officers and agents for the attorney general. They were still being held on Sunday night while officials determined whether they had violated any laws. General Sir Michael Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, said the men were on an expedition designed to improve their skills and were simply exploring the caves. "It seems to me there is quite a grave misunderstanding," he told BBC television. "This was a joint service adventure training expedition. "We do a lot of that to bolster initiative and courage. It seems to me that their purpose was to explore these caves further than they had already been explored." The Mexican Government is upset it was not told in advance of the presence of the expedition, most of whose members belonged to an enthusiasts' group made up of active and retired British soldiers and civilians in the Ministry of Defence. Mexico does not allow foreign military exercises on its soil. CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)