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For other inquiries, email contact@ensia.com You can paste it directly into the WYSIWYG editor of your site September 4, 2024 — Editor’s note: Paul Biasco first wrote about the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park for Ensia in early 2020 the author revisits the park as it’s set to open to provide an update on the progress It’s unusually dry in this former lake bed in the Valley of Mexico and typically temperate Mexico City is in the midst of a heat wave Residents are planning for a “day zero” situation with water shortages impacting nearly every part of the city Iñaki Echeverria points toward the edges of the horizon where the plateau of the Valley of Mexico is surrounded by two volcanoes and mountains that create a barrier around the city based 7,350 feet (2,240 meters) above sea level snow almost up to the skirts [of the mountains] in normal times,” says Echeverria an architect and landscape designer who has been tapped to lead the formation of the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park an ecological restoration project in the valley that could end up being the largest urban park in the world “[The lack of snow] is a very clear example of climate change which is the context in which the project is being developed.” bobbing on top of the blueish-green water and peering out through the brush Scientists hope more than 150 species will inhabit the area once the park is complete Image provided by Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco The wetlands are a sliver of an oasis that had been drained in one form or another over hundreds of years starting with the founding of Tenochtitlan and Spanish conquistadores later drained most of the lake system Lake Texcoco had lost more than 95% of its surface the lake was set to be drained completely as the site was chosen for a US$13 billion airport But when Andrés Manuel López Obrador became president in 2018 he canceled the airport despite the fact it was already one-third complete and appointed Echeverria to restore the ecosystem with the creation of the park spanning more than 14,000 hectares (34,500 acres) “This project is a project of social and environmental justice in favor of all the people of the valley of Mexico particularly the most vulnerable in the context of global climate change,” Echeverria says “And it allows us to aspire to a broader project of restoration of the entire hydrological basin The project of the lake alone cannot restore all of this but it is a key and central piece for a broader process.” who says he has been obsessed with the area for nearly three decades isn’t seeking to restore it to the exact state it was before humans settled 700 years ago but instead is implementing what he calls “soft infrastructure,” which lets nature act as builder with the right pieces in place “It’s a more open system where uncertainty and change in time are allowed.” says he has been obsessed with the area for nearly three decades Instead of trying to construct the wetlands piece by piece Echeverria’s revitalization experiment is repurposing parts left over from the airport construction previous ecological ventures over the past 100 years and hydraulic projects that have sought to regulate water flowing into and out of the megacity for decades Echeverria sees the park as part of a broader awakening of sorts around the world where people are “going against the current,” saying “a consciousness is beginning to emerge that clearly something is going wrong and that we all have to start looking for alternatives.” policy and management at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford sees the wetland restoration project as a global example that could fill a gap in urban ecological planning “There’s a lot of writing of how adaptation should be done but we don’t have enough literature of ‘Is it actually successful?’” Grecksch says “We want to see the projects that have been adapted to see if they are actually working seeing such a project like this can be a very valuable sign to go ahead with these projects … It could send a strong signal to other big cities in the world.” located just northeast of Mexico City’s current international airport and less than 15 miles (24 kilometers) by car from the city’s historic center is surrounded by roughly 4.5 million residents in some of the region’s more economically disadvantaged areas The multifaceted design aims to achieve multiple goals A big one is to reintroduce the natural water and vegetation system of the valley which the team behind the park hopes can spark other water restoration projects in the valley and metropolitan area “It allows us to aspire to a broader project of restoration of the entire hydrological basin of the valley,” Echeverria said “The project of the lake alone cannot restore all of this but it is a key and central piece for a broader process “This project is a project of social and environmental justice in favor of all the people of the valley of Mexico,” Echeverria says “And it allows us to aspire to a broader project of restoration of the entire hydrological basin.” Photo provided by Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco says he views the project as the first step to a bigger solution “Cities like Mexico City require these types of projects and even more ambitious ones. If you know the story of Mexico City in terms of water management, it’s disastrous,” Ramirez says. “There needs to be a thinking away from controlling water and moving toward working with water This project is one step in that direction but it requires a lot more effort to make these things more ambitious.” The second goal is to help regulate global temperatures by reducing the heat island that has formed because of draining bodies of water and paving over a vast region of the valley during the city’s expansion into a metropolis of more than 22 million people which regulated the temperature and provided humidity to the environment to [contribute to] the most terrible heat island in the whole valley,” Echeverria says The third is to provide green space and a connection to nature for residents surrounding the park but entrances to connect the neighborhoods adjacent to the sprawling park are planned in the near future who previously lived in the Valle de Aragón near the park says that connecting to the neighboring communities will be vital for the park’s future This will ensure that whatever happens politically neighbors and the park’s primary users will strongly support it A community center and events space in the park will welcome residents of neighboring communities which planners believe will be vital for the park’s future “This project might have had a specific political spurt that allowed the project to happen You never know how much that support might shift in the future You need something that makes the communities feel this project is part of their lives something they can defend and maintain in the future I think it needs to work more on how to incorporate the support and work of the communities that surround the area.” The park includes a massive sports complex near its main entrance is you need to have these local or regional solutions,” Grecksch says but we also know it differs depending on the geography so there’s water that should have a natural cooling effect This is what we’re talking about when redesigning cities.” The government expects the site to capture 1.5 million metric tons (1.7 million tons) of carbon emissions per year due to expanded green and wetland areas and to improve air quality by reducing exposure of bare soil which causes dust storms and PM1 pollution in the region Pulling off an environmental project of this size required the costly cancellation of the airport and major political “risks,” given that the environmental results and permanent impact would not be seen for years Echeverria’s advice to planners around the world on achieving success on projects of similar scale boils down to four points the construction and planning among scientists engineers and designers have been based more on a strategy than a concrete plan Be the first to hear about important new environmental stories “The problem that we humans have is that we love recipes and recipes don’t exist,” he says The plan would have been more complicated and would have had a greater chance of failure if the team wasn’t able to be flexible creating the narrative for a project is more important than the specifics especially when selling it to not only the public but also to decision-makers “The narrative is critical,” Echeverria says “You have to have the capacity to transmit the possibility of other worlds … This capacity to create worlds to imagine and give an image to these worlds so that others can get excited and generate interest and become part of this — I think it’s one of the most important things you can do in a project The third point is to have an ambitious and clear leader — not always easy with projects of this scale “It needs someone who has vision and enthusiasm and the dedication to enthuse others and the delivery to excite others,” Echeverria says “More than 11,000 people have participated in this project The president’s decision to cancel the airport ignited the restoration project Echeverria points to Chinese landscape architect and urbanist Kongjian Yu whose book Letters to the Leaders of China: Kongjian Yu and the Future of the Chinese City sparked a national movement to take climate change solutions seriously at local planning levels “Something like [Lake Texcoco Ecological Park] — due to the investment it requires — requires an important political leadership,” he says what he has been able to do is because he knew how to talk to politicians.” the most difficult part of the yearslong process has been getting multiple agencies and types of experts to work together and agree on concepts involving scientists Ensia shares solutions-focused stories free of charge through our online magazine and partner media That means audiences around the world have ready access to stories that can — and do — help them shape a better future Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Sign up now for our bi-weekly newsletter and you'll get the latest stories from Ensia delivered straight to your inbox WASHINGTON: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump had proposed sending US troops to Mexico to combat drug trafficking but said she had rejected that offer because “sovereignty is not for sale.” Sheinbaum’s comments were in response to questions about a Wall Street Journal report published on May 2 that said Trump was pressuring Mexico to allow deeper US military involvement against drug cartels to combat trafficking across the shared border ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking I propose that the US Army come in to help you,’” said Sheinbaum who was speaking at a university event near the capital on Saturday sovereignty is loved and defended,” the president said adding that while the two countries can collaborate “we will never accept the presence of the United States military in our territory.” A spokesperson for the US National Security Council (NSC) said in response to a Reuters request for comment that Trump had been “crystal clear that Mexico must do more to combat these gangs and cartels and the United States stands ready to assist and expand the already close cooperation between our two countries.” Copyright © 2025. The News International, All Rights Reserved | Contact Us | Authors The Natural Resources Protection Area (NRPA) of Lake Texcoco in México state has been designated an Ecohydrology Demonstration Site by UNESCO Environment Minister Alicia Bárcena and UNESCO’s representative in Mexico Andrés Morales Arciniegas made the announcement during a visit to the Texcoco Ecological Park marking World Wetlands Day on Feb The designation recognizes natural sites globally where sustainable activities are underway to support ecological recovery “Our great crusade at the Environment Ministry (Semarnat) is the recovery of wetlands and the recovery of mangroves, these are the two ecosystems that we think are very important to protect, to restore, because they are places where life, species, mangroves [thrive],” said Bárcena in a speech federally designated a Natural Protected Area in 2022 370 species of fauna and 10 species of fungi and mosses including some that are categorized as under threat by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Semarnat has recovered 1,900 hectares of land and 4,000 hectares of water bodies accounting for nearly 90% of the surrounding Texcoco Ecological Park Some measures implemented at Lake Texcoco have been the treatment of water using wetlands knowledge generation about the availability of water resources and actions to revitalize the lake’s historical and cultural heritage as the largest natural lake in the Valley of Mexico Lake Texcoco was recognized by UNESCO for its ongoing work to strike “a balance between the potential of the ecosystem and social needs.”  Bárcena stressed the importance of collaboration between the Valley of Mexico’s communities and the government to improve water quality as well as mitigate the impacts of climate change An attending representative from the Peoples’ Front in Defense of the Earth group said his organization plans to work alongside the government to preserve the area and promote trade and the well-being of nearby communities The communities “have done a lot for this struggle to preserve the wetlands from excessive urbanization and to protect this place from that really senseless project by the NAICM (…) I believe that it is time for the water to return to its origin and that is why we have a vision that wants to combat this extractivist and predatory vision,” said Bárcena 64% of the world’s wetlands have already disappeared Lake Texcoco will join 63 other Ecohydrology Demonstration Sites around the world that are working to restore wetlands With reports from El Universal ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC TEXCOCO - With an investment of more than US$60.2 million, Coppel inaugurated its largest Regional Distribution Center (CEDIS) in the country in Texcoco, equipped with the latest technology in the sector. The opening of the new facilities responds to Coppel's commitment to strengthen service to its more than 14 million customers. The CEDIS Texcoco is 25% more productive than the rest of the distribution centers and has the capacity to supply more than 225,000 products daily to 235 stores in 35 cities throughout the country. It also has a primary fleet of 49 tractor-trailers and 118 trailers. “The CEDIS Texcoco will allow us to serve our customers more quickly and efficiently; it will also expand the variety of products available for e-commerce and shorten response times for home delivery," said Agustín Coppel Luken, CEO and President of Grupo Coppel. Coppel chose the State of Mexico to build its fifth CEDIS in the state because it is a strategic point of logistics connectivity in the center of the country, close to the main trade routes and suppliers in the production chain. The CEDIS Texcoco will generate more than one thousand jobs in the state. “With an investment of US$60.2 million, this logistics distribution center was built, thus providing a change with direction, origin and destination to the people of the State of Mexico," said Delfina Gómez Álvarez, Governor of the State of Mexico. We’re in the business of providing relevant information through print and electronic media, organizing events to bring industrial value chain actors together and services to create new business relationships. Our goal is to improve our clients’ competitiveness. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Also today: Senegal gives Akon a deadline for his futuristic city and why beautifying bus stops pays off A biologist observes birds near Lake Nabor Carrillo at Lake Texcoco Ecological Park in Texcoco.  LBV Magazine English Edition a team from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) uncovered the remains of a dock and a navigable canal dating back to pre-Hispanic times at a depth of two meters This area was once the shoreline of a peninsula located at the foot of Chapulín Hill The discovered canal forms part of a hydraulic network mentioned in the renowned Uppsala Map (circa 1550) this artificial waterway connected to Lake Texcoco and functioned as a sort of aquatic highway for small boats an INAH researcher and director of the project noted that the best-preserved segment of the canal is located near the Chapultepec Metro station a natural river was modified across different periods: first as a navigable canal then as a drainage ditch during the early colonial period The canal and dock are associated with a pre-Hispanic settlement in the area previously identified on the grounds of the Secretariat of Health researchers found remains of a Late Postclassic dwelling (1200–1521 CE) whose layout suggests a direct connection to the canal the inhabitants accessed the “waterway” via a parallel land path This integration of terrestrial and aquatic routes was common in pre-Hispanic cities in the Valley of Mexico has identified several key elements at the site whose structure consists of 40 wooden pilings arranged transversely from which canoes likely arrived and departed toward Lake Texcoco are being analyzed by INAH’s Sub-Directorate of Laboratories and Academic Support to determine their origin and precise dating offering clues about the ancient inhabitants’ diet Another significant aspect of the discovery is the variety and quantity of cultural materials found Among the ceramic fragments are Late Postclassic ritual pieces such as incense burners and decorated vessels which may have been part of offerings related to the body of water Early colonial period (1521–1620 CE) artifacts have also been identified and utensils that reflect the cultural transition of the region after the Conquest The intensive urbanization of the area since the 19th century has posed challenges to site conservation the discovery of these remains beneath Chapultepec Ave allows for the reconstruction of part of the Valley of Mexico’s history from its pre-Hispanic use to its transformation into a modern space it highlights the importance of “waterways” as vital axes for communities not only in terms of transportation but also as ritual spaces and hubs of cultural exchange Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) de México Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email The Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens housed a colossal statue made of gold and ivory carved by the famous sculptor Phidias in 438 BC Two thousand years before the Inca Empire extended its dominion over the Andes a much less known yet culturally influential society—known as the Chavín Phenomenon—had already developed numerous artistic expressions,… while the Byzantine Empire was mired in a succession crisis sought to take advantage and launched his conquest Archaeologists from universities in the United States and Denmark found deep within the Actun Uayazba Kab cave in Belize two small stone tools dated between 250 and 900 AD that… men and women gathered to play a game called Cuju A team of researchers has succeeded in recreating for the first time in a laboratory experiment a phenomenon that until now only existed as a theory in the realm of… the Cantonal Archaeology of Aargau carried out a rescue excavation between early May 2024 and the end of March 2025 The Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated with the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced the discovery of a group of defensive structures and a system of moats that could indicate… In the southeastern area of the city of Rome archaeologists excavating inside the Triton Baths within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette… Why did some animals from ancient eras become fossils while others simply disappeared without a trace Receive our news and articles in your email for free You can also support us with a monthly subscription and receive exclusive content Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker CIMMYT, in collaboration with the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) and with the support of Fideicomisos Instituidos en Relación con la Agricultura (FIRA) invites you to the Recarbonization of Agricultural Soils — Decarbonization of Agri-Food Systems forum with 2024 expected to set new records for global temperatures this forum addresses the urgent need to transform agriculture into a key solution for mitigating its impacts The event will explore regenerative agricultural practices and successful case studies from across Latin America This forum will provide a roadmap for advancing soil health and climate resilience in agricultural systems offering opportunities to engage with global experts on strategies for carbon markets and sustainable financing With the degradation of 64% of Mexico’s soils posing a critical challenge this dialogue aims to build frameworks and actions that ensure a sustainable Join us for this pivotal event and contribute to shaping the future of agriculture and environmental stewardship Stay tuned for more details on the agenda and speakers Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85834933366?pwd=xkGnYskRhxAEJkeAPf7lE26Pqhej9Q.1 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday that her government would in the coming days present a plan to protect the country’s non-genetically modified white corn under the constitution “We have an obligation to ensure that the white corn cultivated in Mexico is not genetically-modified,” Sheinbaum told a morning press conference “This will be in the constitution as this is the best defense we have for biodiversity as well as for our health.” Sheinbaum said her predecessor President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had sent a proposal to safeguard Mexico’s corn varieties and that she hoped this would be discussed in the lower house of Congress in the coming days used to make the country’s staple tortilla but imports genetically-modified yellow corn from the United States which is used largely to feed livestock had sought to limit imports of genetically-modified corn sparking a dispute under the North American free trade pact The country counts has more than 60 native varieties of corn a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine that was domesticated by indigenous people over thousands of years and has an important symbolic value dating back to pre-Hispanic cultures Sheinbaum said it was also important to safeguard the quality of seeds being used by farmers to protect the local agricultural capacity A dispute settlement panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) is soon expected to rule on Mexico’s genetically-modified corn import restrictions Cattle Futures Post Another Round of New Contract Highs Restrictions on narcocorridos — a Mexican regional music subgenre that tells stories associated with drug trafficking and organized crime — are on the rise in Mexico as more states and cities ban live performances of drug ballads Nayarit was the first state to issue a ban this year More states have followed suit as pressure against the controversial genre has mounted Michoacán and Mexico City have all announced restrictions on public performances of the music promoting violence or crime — prohibitions that in some cases extend to private events forbidding musical groups from singing them at public events and commercial establishments from playing them the municipality of Benito Juárez (Cancún) denied granting permits to concerts that promote organized crime banned corridos tumbados and music that promotes violence or misogyny Artists such as Natanael Cano and Peso Pluma have faced sanctions for violating this rule By late March, the debate intensified after the musical group Los Alegres del Barranco performed a narcocorrido during a concert at the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) praising the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) The United States later announced it would revoke the visas of the group’s members Weeks later, the Texcoco Feria del Caballo in the state of México became the center of the debate, after singer Luis R. Conriquez refused to perform some of his most famous corridos that reference — and sometimes glorify — real-life figures in the drug world who self-censored after the state government threatened to criminally prosecute narcocorrido singers left the stage as the rowdy fans began to riot Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero issued an official decree banning narcocorridos and corridos tumbados at fairs the Querétaro government and the state’s 18 municipalities signed a joint agreement to forbid public and private events that glorify crime Governor Pablo Lemus ordered a ban on any public presentations or musical groups that glorify crime at events organized by the state government Mayor of Mexico City Mayor Carla Brugada announced that her government will issue a directive to limit music with violent messages at government events and public spaces On Thursday, the local Congress approved an initiative to ban narcocorridos at public eventsjust days before the San Marcos Fair begins on April 19 The crime will be classified in the local penal code as “Provocation to commit a crime or apology for crime,” and will carry a prison sentence of six months to one year a decree signed by Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla took effect prohibiting authorities from granting permits for public events hosting musical groups that advocate crime the controversial $1 billion Lake Texcoco Ecological Park is emerging out of the foundations of Mexico City’s canceled airport.  XLinkedInEmailLinkGiftFacebookXLinkedInEmailLinkGiftBy Matthew PonsfordAugust 2, 2024 at 7:00 AM EDTBookmarkSave Lea este artículo en español it’s eerily quiet on the shores of Lake Nabor Carrillo Just 30 minutes from the clamor of downtown Mexico City this placid water body has languished for decades with few visitors and little love The Lake Texcoco Ecological Park (PELT) — located on and around the site of the canceled Mexico City airport project — will open next month Iñaki Echeverría told reporters that the park — a federal government project — is 95% complete and will be inaugurated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the middle of August It is more than twice the size of Manhattan and 17 times bigger than the Chapultepec Forest the park in central Mexico City that is home to various tourist attractions including the Chapultepec Castle the Chapultepec Zoo and the National Museum of Anthropology an urbanist and architect who designed the PELT noted that the development of the México state site as an ecological park was first proposed during the 2006-12 presidency of Felipe Calderón and the plan was scrapped when the 2012-18 government of former president Enrique Peña Nieto decided to build what was to be called the New Mexico City International Airport (NAICM) on the site López Obrador’s cancellation of the NAICM project after a legally-questionable vote held in late 2018 paved the way for the plan to be taken up once again is the recovery of wetlands on the site of the ancient lakebed “It’s a project of environmental regeneration,” he said “… It’s about recovering … all the bodies of water and habitat that we can.” The 14,030-hectare PELT is located in the municipality of Texcoco around 25 kilometers northeast of the historic center of Mexico City The park — declared a natural protected area in 2022 — is being developed with an investment of 5.5 billion pesos (US $302.8 million) It aims to improve air quality in the eastern section of greater Mexico City and the quality of life of local residents by giving them easy access to a vast recreational space. In addition, Echeverría said the park will help regulate temperatures as it is located within the area of the Valley of Mexico’s worst urban heat island During a tour of the PELT with reporters late last week Echeverría said that the San Juan Marsh and the Xalapango and Texcoco Norte lagoons have been restored He also said that the park will enable public access for the first time ever to the artificial Lake Nabor Carillo providing an excellent vantage point to observe the lake and its birdlife “The idea … with this lookout is to open up to the public … a magical place that is very close to the most populated area of the Valley of Mexico Few people have seen the lake up close and the number of birds the sounds — it’s an experience that can be transformative,” Echeverría said the park’s head of natural resources protection said that 250 bird species and 350 other species of fauna can be found in the PELT Some of those birds migrate to Mexico from as far away as Alaska and South America Echeverría said that “practically everything” is ready There are things that are already 100% [complete] and others that are being finished,” he said Some 8 million people are expected to visit the park annually public buses will run to it from the Terminal Aérea metro station at the Mexico City International Airport and from points in the México state municipalities of Nezahualcóyotl Buses will also operate on three different routes within the PELT Conriquez declined to perform his hit narcocorridos (drug ballads) at his April 11 concert in Texcoco trashing the stage and fighting with security who specializes in corridos bélicos (songs whose lyrics are mainly focused on drug trafficking and the ongoing cartel turf battles) and other Sinaloa-style genres told the audience he was adhering to the state’s regulations against such narcocorridos 🚨 No cantó corridos y le destrozaron su equipo de audio e instrumentos Desde antes lo había anunciado en sus historias: “Entramos a una nueva etapa, mi gente: nos sumamos a la causa de cero corridos”. pic.twitter.com/8ybwoGPBoy — Pamela Cerdeira (@PamCerdeira) April 12, 2025 whose songs regularly chart on Billboard’s Hot Latin list in the U.S. may be keeping an eye on his bottom line as well: The next stops on his current tour include New York In Mexico several states, México state among them, responded by issuing or enforcing regulations and decrees prohibiting the performance of corridos bélicos in public events México Governor Delfina Gómez issued a ban on songs glorifying violence specifically informing the authorities in the cities of Texcoco Metepec and Tejupilco where concerts were scheduled The decree hinted at hefty fines for performers According to Conriquez and his manager Freddy Pérez those in attendance were not informed in advance of the restrictions to the performer’s song list When the artist explained that he was simply obeying the protocols established by local and state authorities Some audience members then became aggressive hurling objects at the band on the stage located in the middle of the arena the musicians fled the stage and rioters began destroying the instruments and equipment abandoned by the performers “We feared for our lives,” Pérez said in a public apology issued the following day “and we left the arena without any security.” It feels awful not being able to perform the songs that the public wishes to hear but we support the ‘no corrido’ policy and want to move forward.” Sheinbaum condemned the violence but sought to make clear that despite regulations imposed in some states she is not in favor of prohibiting narcocorridos “We are not looking to regulate narcocorridos nor are we in favor of censorship,” she said “We simply would like to promote alternative musical content through an educational process to which we can all contribute.” Sheinbaum also emphasized that she opposes the glorification of violence in popular culture The México state government declared that it will continue to enforce the “no narcocorridos” policy insisting that authorities will charge those who violate the decree with glorifying violence Did you know that this could become one of the largest urban parks in the world It is 15 times the size of Chapultepec Forest A new urban park will soon be open for business, and it will be 15 times the size of the Chapultepec Forest We tell you everything you need to know about the new Ecological Park of Lake Texcoco This large-scale park aims to restore the water and ecological recovery of more than 14,000 hectares of land as well as to be the new recreational space for more than 12.5 million inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico Conservation and maintenance of water bodies to recover ponds and wetlands that are accessible to the public cultural and social infrastructure has also been developed for sports such as soccer Did you know that the Ecological Park of Lake Texcoco is the only area in the valley with the necessary extension to store excess water on a large scale This could create a perfect habitat to treat it and then re-inject it into the aquifers in the area The project has been managed by the National Water Commission (Conagua) and aims to transform the eastern Zone of the CDMX and thus contribute to the ecological preservation of species of flora The Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco will have sports fields viewpoints and many more areas where you can spend time outdoors with the whole family has announced that the facility will be completed by Sunday The project was declared a Natural Protected Area in March 2022 covering an area of more than 14,000 hectares Recall that the Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco will be located on the former New Mexico International Airport (NAIM) project This area has been of great natural and historical importance, as it was present since pre-Hispanic times and was part of the system of sides that surrounded the ancient Tenochtitlan This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Receive bi-weekly updates and analysis from  Mexico’s international airports might have been great in 1994. However, they had significantly deteriorated by the turn of the century. With only two runways, and limited to one runway in use at a time, Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City was at capacity in 2000; it has officially surpassed its official capacity since then the government twice proposed a new airport for the Texcoco lakebed megacity But despite the urgent need for a new international airport Mexico ended up canceling both airport projects.  Mexico City’s two cancellations of the Texcoco airport provide two separate lessons for the study of urban politics The first project’s cancellation showed the power of local residents yet again who stopped the airport’s construction before it could start The second project’s cancellation — and the subsequent popular opposition to the Santa Lucía project — demonstrated that political considerations had influenced the construction process.  As in Caracas and in Buenos Aires urban populations challenged a massive building project and won the political power of the ejidatorios was even greater than that of slum residents in either of the two other cities: They stopped the project before it even started while other communities could only react post facto.  Twelve years later, President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration tried again. In 2014, Peña Nieto announced that the project would begin anew with an X-shaped terminal, designed by British architect Norman Foster Peña Nieto had at least learned something from the previous fiasco: The project would be built entirely on federally-owned property without the need to expropriate any ejido lands for the project.  However, the project soon ran into an obstacle: Andrés Manuel López Obrador, popularly known as AMLO. In 2018, even though construction had reached the 30% milestone and the government had already spent $3 billion on the project AMLO made it clear during his presidential campaign that he would cancel the project AMLO’s unabashed populism emphasized unsubstantiated corruption allegations and cost overruns in the project to justify canceling the airport.  ratified AMLO’s preferred option at Santa Lucía.  had practically “found itself in abandonment” due to a lack of support from politicians “When decision-making is discretional and responds to subjective or political criteria,” the publication wrote “it tends to identify voters more than citizens.”  The Santa Lucía airport transparently responded to political criteria — but the government has been less than forthcoming about other details. Indeed, the government has classified all data related to the project this means that the public has little opportunity to criticize the project and entities such as Mexico’s SNIP cannot exercise their due diligence.  The pandemic has exacerbated concerns about the Santa Lucía project. Even though AMLO pledged further fiscal austerity in the face of COVID, his pet project has continued to rack up costs. The final budget for 2020 increased by 128% over the initial budget even despite the Mexican government cutting costs in other areas.  As of now, it looks like the Santa Lucía project has emerged as the final contender for Mexico City’s desperately needed new airport, despite its uneven political history and the criticism it has faced. If it finishes in 2022 as scheduled AMLO will definitely claim victory as the president who finally built the long-needed second airport due to the lack of sound economic planning and lack of transparency it will likely be a performative rather than a substantive victory.  Image Credit: “NAICM.jpg” by Vmzp85 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spent Friday and Saturday visiting four municipalities in México State where work is underway to create a 14,000-hectare natural reserve on the site of the former Lake Texcoco México state Governor Delfina Gómez accompanied AMLO on his tour of Tecámac where he made a speech celebrating progress on the massive ecological project “Today we evaluated progress in the recovery of Lake Texcoco,” AMLO said in a statement on social media bird lagoons and lands comprising more than 14,000 hectares have already become natural protected areas.” Information from the National Water Commission indicates that the park is now 77% complete has cost 4.9 billion pesos (US $280 million) and generated 6,100 jobs AMLO announced another addition to the Lake Texcoco project – a new university for medical students –known as the Benito Juárez García Universities for Well-Being (UBBJ) – that will form part of his administration’s educational initiative The UBBJ are public higher education institutes generally located in marginalized areas where there are few tertiary education options The new medical school will be the second university campus in Texcoco alongside an existing civil engineering school AMLO said that the park would include sports fields for soccer basketball and the pre-Columbian ball game “pelota”; a skatepark; recreation areas; walking circuits; sustainable gardens and agricultural spaces; a restaurant; offices and scientific research areas is the restoration of four water bodies that once formed part of the enormous lake that filled the Valley of Mexico but were drained or dried out over the centuries following the Spanish conquest: Lake Nabor Carrillo; the Xalapango and North Texcoco Lagoons; the San Juan Ciénaga and Lake Texcoco Historic wetlands and forests will also be restored The government predicts that this will generate a range of environmental benefits including better regulation of water resources in the severely water-stressed Valley of Mexico as well as health benefits for the local population The Lake Texcoco Ecological Park was originally designed by architect Iñaki Echeverría in 2010 but was sidelined four years later by former president Enrique Peña Nieto who planned to build a new airport on the site at a projected cost of 169 billion pesos (US $9.6 billion) instead AMLO claimed that the full cost of the airport could reach 285 billion pesos (US $16.2 billion) and campaigned to scrap the project and expand the existing Santa Lucía Military Air Base in nearby Zumpango a controversial referendum – in which less than 1% of eligible voters participated – backed AMLO plan The Santa Lucía air base became the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) while the site of President Peña Nieto’s planned airport was given over to the “hydrological and social recovery of Lake Texcoco.” With reports from La Jornada and Infobae Icon DONATE Music of the Americas: Solos from Argentina and a Mexican Bruja Argentine solo artists working in various genres share original music and covers We also release the video of La Bruja de Texcoco's debut in our series En Casa features solo videos from Argentina featuring tangos and folk music and we share the video of La Bruja de Texcoco's concert on our stage in New York in July.  Support the Music of the Americas performances of tomorrow with a gift to Americas Society today Clara Cantore is back with her version of Luis Alberto Spinetta's "Quedándote o yéndote." Argentine bandoneonist Vito Gauna lives in Buenos Aires and is a member of the tango group Ciudad Baigon and the experimental group Palo Random Vito's music explores non-traditional sounds of the bandoneon and improvisation into a style that invents new soundscapes rooted in curiosity and tenderness and pianist Natalia Lagos has been the singer of Orquesta Fernandez Fierro and the Quinteto Alto Bondi and a member of the female pianist group Las Pianas with Noelia Sinkunas and others Lagos is currently a member of Orquesta Típica Say No More a group dedicated to creating new versions of songs by Argentine legend Charly García Pisar en mi sombra and Tangos de hoy en piano y voz with which she toured Europe in 2018–2019 and is currently recording her third featuring a tango quintet and a rock band.  she sent us this version of "Ámbar," a song originally composed for the Alto Bondi Quintet "'Ámbar' tells the story of a woman during an alcohol-soaked night in Buenos Aires; she is torn by guilt and sadness." The song has been recorded by singers including Natalia Bril Luz Pérez is back on En Casa with her "Zamba luna." Mexican singer-songwriter La Bruja de Texcoco was on our stage in July 2023.  Find more information here.  The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation The Fall 2023 Music program is also supported by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature              and the video of Canadian baritone Jonathon Adams' 2025 concert in New York © 2025 Americas Society/Council of the Americas Try a different filter or a new search keyword Origin stories don’t get any more thrilling or fantastical than that of Octavio Mendoza Anario, the artist who records as La Bruja de Texcoco (translated: The Witch of Texcoco) She had been hired to play violin with a group of friends at a party of concheros—traditional musicians who play guitars made from armadillo shells A curandero (a traditional healer) from the outskirts of Texcoco turned to Anario and delivered a plea: she must heal this woman she strummed “El Pescador”—one of the hymns she’d learned gigging at Catholic masses as a kid—and her band chimed in The curandero then took La Bruja to the woods and instructed her to identify herself to the demon she had expelled “I am the Bruja de Texcoco [witch of Texcoco],” she told the dark forest she began to wear a flower in hair while performing she is still understanding how her powerful trans femininity can be tied to both the music she makes as La Bruja and the impact it has on her own personal life That’s how La Bruja sets up her debut album, De Brujas Peteneras y Chachalacas, speaking from home in Mexico City after a day of work. (When she’s not making music or performing miracles, she teaches music.) Her home—one of two stacked units she rents in Colonia Narvarte—is full of colorful items, like the guitar she covered with stickers of Sailor Moon, Steven Universe, and a trans Hello Kitty drawn by Mexico City artist Jovan Israel La Bruja will hold an event celebrating the launch of her LP in Xochimilco Around 100 adoring fans will board trajinera boats and set off for a nearby chinampa one in a network of hundreds of man-made islands dating back to the pre-Colombian eras which we jokingly dubbed “Bruja Fest,” will go off without a hitch; but for the time being there is the matter of renting a generator and figuring out who’ll bring the toilet paper she has Octavio for these things; “I feel like Octavio is part of La Bruja Octavio went to work and has money to buy La Bruja her dress La Bruja is just waiting for Saturday to put on that dress Among the album’s son jarochos and huapangos (two types of folk musical styles) which was spent playing guest tambourine in her father’s gold-suited 1980s Acapulco tropical party band and obsessively learning Vivaldi concertos and Mozart symphonies on the viola when La Bruja was confronted with classical music’s limiting academic hierarchy in Mexico City the iron-boned orchestral structures and choral arrangements of her youth gave way to embellishment-driven They rejected me at the Nacional three times But those roadblocks led to a fateful artistic recalibration A music nerd enamored with learning the harp La Bruja began to study with jarocho eminence Mario Barradas at Mexico City’s Casa de Música Mexicana The rhythms reminded La Bruja of her grandfather’s love of the Mexican singer-songwriter Amparo Ochoa to Veracruz huapanguera and Guadalajaran mariachi gatherings luxurious tracks on De Brujas Peteneras y Chachalacas weave together genres even as a performer and interpreter of traditional music But where the references for La Bruja’s music are vast its core—a haunting voice which defies colonized notions that grant supremacy to Europe’s classical sounds over Latin American folkloric ones—is nothing if not solid she strips off her huipiles and vast skirts to briefly reveal the soft Lyrics about witches’ brews and mermaids on solitary seas femme anti-heroines both omnipotent and doomed awaken the listener’s need to question their own standing in relation to tradition and to decide which legacies they must dig into and which to cast away “Despite the fact that Mexican culture is very macho “if you cross into its magic the discourse is different.” multi-instrumentalist of international folkloric group Huayucaltia broke up De Brujas Peteneras y Chachalacas with cleansing interludes of nature sound Opening huapango “Té de Malvón” features cheerful recuperative violins accompanying a poem written by Nahuatl poet Mardonio Carballo and an ode to a geranium tea that saved La Bruja’s voice from a post-breakup muteness a music genre originating from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region and sung in the indigenous Zapotec language It’s sung from the perspective of a beautiful muxhe who shares secrets and dances on forgotten nights—it seems to be a song made for La Bruja “Suite Aquelarre” is built on chamber music a 10-verse form popular in traditional Mexican music here used to tell of growing certainties; “And if I die bury me in a women’s dress.” De Brujas Peteneras y Chachalacas closes on the sad freeform jazz horn of “Nahual Papalotl” and its Babylon outerlude of dialogue Its snippets are meant to be felt: “The end of the party”; “I was able to change the wind”; “This is why you’re here”; “Everything that happened before “I want to be a different kind of woman through music,” La Bruja reflects softly the only thing I want is to be always searching.” the vibrantly coloured cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae) was a pre-Hispanic dietary staple If you've spent any time dining in Mexico City recently you may have noticed spirulina cropping up on menus in everything from the usual smoothies to more traditional dishes such as tortillas and tlayudas (a crisp tortilla base with refried beans and other toppings) But don't assume this is some symbol of encroaching hipster health food globalisation: in fact centuries before it was deemed a "superfood" the vibrantly coloured cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae) – which grows primarily in warm alkaline lakes ponds and rivers in the tropics and subtropics – was a pre-Hispanic dietary staple the Mexica could recognise the nutrient densityThe Mexica – or Aztecs as they were later known – harvested the protein-rich substance from the surface of Lake Texcoco an expansive body of water in central Mexico that was later largely drained by the Spanish to make way for the construction of Mexico City the waters exhibited the perfect balance of salinity and alkalinity for spirulina to flourish The Mexica called the foodstuff tecuitlatl a Nahuatl word that roughly translates to "rock excrement" though they held it in decidedly higher esteem than its name suggests "Oral traditions say that the Mexica couriers and runners in ancient Tenochtitlan would eat dried spirulina cakes with corn, tortillas, beans, chillies or mole as fuel for long-distance travel," said Denise Vallejo, an indigenous first-generation Xicana chef who runs the vegan Los Angeles pop-up Alchemy Organica to the arriving Spanish conquistadors in the 16th Century Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote in his 1568 memoir about "a species of bread made of a kind of mud or slime collected from the surface of the lake and has a similar taste to our cheese." And Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún included illustrations of spirulina harvesting in his 16th-Century ethnographic study most of its consumption declined with the draining of the lakes in the Valley of Mexico," Vallejo said "And many of the Spanish didn't enjoy its 'cheesy' or 'slimy' properties Knowledge of its consumption was lost for a long time." The Western world rediscovered the nutritious ingredient in the 1940s when a French phycologist (a scientist who studies algae) noticed the Kanembu people along Africa's Lake Chad harvesting spirulina and turning it into sun-dried cakes called dihé But it didn't make its grand return to Mexico until a happy accident in the 1960s when the owners of Sosa Texcoco – which produced sodium carbonate and calcium chloride in a large snail-shaped pond on the remnants of Lake Texcoco – noticed a green substance mucking up the works who concluded that it was the same organism that had been nourishing the Kanembu for generations Rather than try to eradicate the cyanobacteria encouraged its growth and opened the world's first commercial spirulina company While Spirulina Mexicana has since closed, a micro-farm on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende called Spirulina Viva is continuing the ancient tradition American expat Katie Kohlstedt and her San Luis Potosí-born husband have grown fresh spirulina that probably tastes remarkably similar to what the Mexica harvested centuries ago "We're really proud to grow it here," she said "We didn't have to invent something new or bring something from somewhere else." • Mexico's ancient caviar • Where there's no queso in quesadilla • Mexico City's walking fish While many people may be familiar with spirulina in its dehydrated powdered form Spirulina Viva sells the green stuff raw and frozen which imparts a much more delicate flavour "Fresh spirulina should be creamy like a spreadable cheese," Kohlstedt said you might think you were eating a cross between an avocado and spinach." She noted that if you think of spirulina as fishy or an acquired taste chances are you've been buying a lesser-quality product – or even one that uses ground fish bones to provide the phosphorus the spirulina needs to grow Kohlstedt and Portillo lead spirulina-growing workshops and have welcomed future farmers from as far away as Australia and Argentina "It's gardening combined with chemistry," Kohlstedt said of the process the finished product still remains a bit of a mystery "If I read one more article that said spirulina is grown in the ocean or [that shows] a picture of seaweed I'm just going to scream," she said "My other two least favourite words are 'pond scum' I think that's really offensive actually!" If I read one more article that said spirulina is grown in the ocean or [that shows] a picture of seaweed I'm just going to screamKohlstedt recommends eating spirulina as simply as possible spread on bread or mixed into guacamole with extra lime juice because vitamin C has been shown to help iron absorption "You're going to feel like you just ate Popeye's lunch," she said head bartender Kenneth Rodrigez has incorporated spirulina into a number of drinks including a gin-based cocktail with Mexican lime and asparagus liqueur "I use it when somebody doesn't like egg whites or [in drinks for] vegan people because spirulina has protein and we can get interesting textures," Rodrigez said "not to mention the incredible colour and the nutritional components that it provides."  He describes the taste notes as "green herbal and clorofila (chlorophyll)," and said that "it can be used to enhance other flavours where one of the hors d'oeuvres was a smoked spirulina yogurt with trout roe and radishes Vallejo incorporates spirulina powder into a pineapple agua fresca (a Mexican drink made with water flowers or grains for flavour) with lime and chia seeds And she has even used it as "a natural food colouring and nutritional boost along with cactus and spinach powders" to make vibrant green masa (dough made with corn that has been nixtamalized which she turns into colourful tortillas and tamales "I also use it as a flavour enhancer for some of my seafood-inspired dishes as it imparts a flavour much like seaweed," she explained And when one of her cooks began selling fresh spirulina at a farmer's market Vallejo took to simply scooping spoonfuls into her drinks "It gives you energy like you'd expect from a cup of coffee!" she said these chefs are tapping into something much deeper than simply taste or nutrition said that spirulina is often viewed as a detoxifier to prepare for rituals spells and "visionary plant ceremonies" And Kohlstedt has similarly heard about the ingredient's mystical connections which draw on the similarities between spirulina's helical shape and our own building blocks as humans: "Someone told me that the reason it's called 'spirulina' has to do with its spiral form but that it also has to do with our DNA and how there is something really basic and spiritual about how we relate to plants [and cyanobacteria]." "So many of the 'superfoods' enjoyed today have a rich history in Mesoamerica: chia "I think the current decolonising movement in Xicanx Central American and other Spanish-speaking communities is helping us to rediscover and remember our ancestral foodways We get to take back our foods and our plant wisdom the more we awaken that DNA and that history." Ancient Eats is a BBC Travel series that puts trendy foods back into their ‘authentic’ context exploring the cultures and traditions where they were born Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "The Essential List". 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Print The last time I went to Aqui Es Texcoco And while this might not have been a problem in most Mexican restaurants where you’d shrug and move on to the roast pork or the mojarra Aqui Es Texcoco is more or less a one-dish restaurant — that dish being barbacoa in the style of the Mexico City-adjacent Texcoco an area as famous for pit-roasted lamb as it is for its Aztec ruins When you see the word “Texcoco” on the sign of a restaurant or food stand you know there is going to be pit-roasted lamb When you get in your car and drive to the odd neighborhood of industrial parks in which you find Aqui Es Texcoco you are not there for the Mexican craft beers the promise of handmade pulque or the sturdy quesadillas chewy and gelatinous and touched with crunchy bits of char You eat the lamb with stacks of hot tortillas freshly made guacamole and foam cups of consommé fashioned from the drippings of the lamb served so hot that your flimsy plastic spoon is likely to curl up in its depths Lamb barbacoa at Aqui Es Texcoco is a perfect supper on a hot Sunday afternoon perhaps accompanied by a Cucapá pale ale or two I have often driven to the restaurant’s original U.S (I have never been to the Tijuana original.) I once even visited a San Diego restaurant called Aqui Esta Texcoco by mistake I love the slightly different lamb barbacoa at My Taco Borrego de Oro and El Borrego as de Oro in Los Angeles but I was ecstatic when this Aqui Es Texcoco opened late last year just close enough to the Citadel outlet mall to make the short trip to Commerce an entire day out Barbacoa with consommé isn’t the only dish here Regulars tend to order without even looking at the menu barbacoa serves the same restorative morning-after function as menudo or birria and occasionally the lamb is sold out by midday Even the Lebanese-style lamb served with pita and dilled yogurt sauce instead of salsa crisply fried tacos stuffed with baked lamb’s brain So we got a plate of those quesadillas filled with the typical Mexico City mixtures of cheese with squash blossoms roasted peppers and the jet-black corn fungus called huitlacoche We tried the grilled quail — everybody orders these in the Chula Vista store — whose crisp skin and vivid seasoning bear a remarkable resemblance to what you might find at Zankou griddled wafers of toasted cheese curled into massive and “quesatacos,” which are tacos made of that same melted cheese that are stuffed with more cheese and which are incredibly delicious if you manage to ignore the rivulets of grease that dribble down your arm when you eat them stews baked in parchment with fat slivers of agave leaf from the plant used to make tequila and mezcal although after a few hours in that parchment it has come to resemble a fat slice of butternut squash.) The mixiotes made with rabbit whose meat half-dissolves in the cooking process herbal chile sauce thickened with the rabbit itself When the waiter opens the package at the table which involved strips of cactus grilled with onions and served on a big plate with squash blossoms and cheese — the waiter called it vegetarian fajitas and once you lubricated it with the restaurant’s angry green tomatillo salsa and wrapped it into a tortilla We had managed to eat a satisfying meal at Aqui Es Texcoco without a single bite of lamb jonathan.gold@latimes.com Twitter: @thejgold Lamb is the thing — and what wonderful lamb it is 5850 S. Eastern Ave., Commerce, (323) 725-1429, aquiestexcoco.com Antojitos, $2.25-$6.75; specials, $5.75-$12.50; barbacoa, $9.50 per 1/3-pound order; $38 per kilo. Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Credit cards accepted. Full bar. Lot parking. Lamb barbacoa, rabbit mixiotes, plato Azteca Jonathan Gold was the restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. He won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2007 and was a finalist again in 2011. A Los Angeles native, he began writing the Counter Intelligence column for the L.A. Weekly in 1986, wrote about death metal and gangsta rap for Rolling Stone and Spin among other places, and was delighted that he managed to forge a career out of the professional eating of tacos. Gold died July 21, 2018. Food World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map 2020 — Walking along the edge of a seasonally dry lakebed on the eastern outskirts of Mexico City there is near perfect silence except for the occasional airplane that flies overhead Experts from around the world hope the project will serve as an example to other cities of what is possible in the fight against climate change The size of the proposed park is nearly unfathomable from ground level covering 12,300 hectares (30,394 acres) and stretching 16 kilometers (10 miles) from end to end That’s about the size of 36 New York Central Parks or more than twice the size of Manhattan The government and the architect behind the park see great potential in the park — particularly in the face of mounting water shortages They view this mega project as one that could turn back the clock on disruptions to the region’s water systems dating back to Hernán Cortés and the Spanish siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521 One of the goals of the project is to merge the concepts of public spaces and green infrastructure while bringing back the lakes to rebalance the Valley of Mexico’s water system The region’s lakes were the primary source of freshwater during Aztec times but the Spanish drained the valley’s lakes after they took over the city of Tenochtitlan This forced an independent Mexico centuries later to construct hundreds of miles of pipes to bring in roughly 30% of the city’s water and to pump the rest from an underground aquifer The city is now pumping water out of that aquifer twice as fast as water is returning via rainfall “The problem is we cannot turn 500 years of history and go 180 degrees overnight,” says Mexico City architect Iñaki Echeverria “Very few times you are offered the possibility that can have an impact that can really change things it changes the direction of the history of the city and the valley.” speaks about his plans for the project standing next to Lake Nabor Carrillo The project is designed to be constructed in the basin of the former Lake Texcoco, which dried as Mexico City expanded into a megacity of more than 20 million people over the past two millennia The area has not been inhabited and has been off-limits to the public due to annual flooding and infrastructure issues Echeverria is seeking to restore the vast majority of the area to its former state including rejuvenating numerous lakes that were drained That includes routing stormwater runoff into the wetlands and replenishing aquifers “This is really the only space that’s left [in the city] and it’s federal land and it’s untapped,” Echeverria says Right now there’s a possibility to keep it so we are really working hard to make this happen as soon as possible to bring people here to understand that this is not a fantasy The government hopes to open up the first section of the park project by 2021 says he is feeling the pressure from all angles to complete the project or get each component on the right path before the end of the current presidential administration in 2024 “There’s a lot of people betting this will not happen In addition to the water-system goals of the park the project team is planning for a significant solar power component and is considering wind and biofuels to offset maintenance costs “I cannot afford the luxury of just going crazy on the beauty of this place like I used to,” Echeverria says referring to his previous work designing projects; now he has to worry about more than just design “I have to give it the means to maintain itself,” he says the means for it not to disappear after this government is gone.” a lot of people will go there and learn from it,” says Steffen Lehmann School of Architecture and co-director of the interdisciplinary Urban Futures Lab Echeverria had proposed a design for the park 10 years ago but that plan was quashed to make way for the airport project “We thought it was dead for sure and it suddenly comes back to life again but it’s almost like the lake is refusing to die completely,” Echeverria says I think we had to get involved in that fight.” The government’s decision to dedicate an enormous plot of land for natural area and green infrastructure so near the city center is a progressive one that experts say could affect the future of public spaces around the world “If this is successful, a lot of people will go there and learn from it,” says Steffen Lehmann, director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Architecture and co-director of the interdisciplinary Urban Futures Lab Cities are learning that they should share their best practices.” Lehmann, an internationally recognized architect and author on sustainable architecture and urban design, pointed to New York’s High Line project and the “High Line-ization” of copycat parks around the world as an example Other world cities that have completed major urban parks in recent years include Seoul, Moscow and Singapore “It’s going to have a huge impact,” Lehmann says of the upcoming Mexico City project “We need urban forests with climate change and we need those parks to keep cities cool because of the urban island effect Cities heat up and store and trap solar radiation and store heat like an oven The edge of what will become parkland is adjacent to some of the poorest neighborhoods in Mexico City according to Mexico City architect Iñaki Echeverria The project will also capture carbon and mitigate air pollution Lehmann says there is an ongoing struggle against the privatization and urbanization of public space in cities around the world “This is the kind of work that cities are hungry for. They are looking for ways to include good local governance practices and good water management practices,” says Raul Pacheco-Vega, a water scholar at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas You improve urban governance by providing more green space and you showcase measures of adaptation to climate change.” Echeverria is directing the project for the National Water Commission (Conagua) and has gathered a diverse team of ecologists biologists and politicians to bring the project to life restoring Lake Nabor Carrillo and building public sporting facilities in a portion adjacent to it That portion will also include a 10-kilometer (6-mile) running trail around the lake Mexico’s volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl can be seen on a clear day from Lake Nabor Carrillo The first phase of Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco will be restoring Lake Nabor Carrillo and building public sporting facilities in a portion adjacent to it the project will expand to the area where the airport had been partially built and involve restoring the Casa Colorada lake which will flood the already-built runway and terminal foundations “There’s a lot of things that have to happen over there,” Echeverria says referring to an ongoing legal battle over the canceled airport “I’ve tried to keep a very cold mind about that We have so much work to do without even touching that area we will begin working as soon as it’s legally permitted.” The project is located roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the city’s Centro Histórico and is directly adjacent to some of the poorest neighborhoods in Mexico City “It would be something of a life-changing situation if this space could be created and be next to what is the highest rate of crime and highest rate of poverty in the entire metropolitan region,” he says The project currently is being funded completely by public money according to Echeverria; but he says his team is looking into private funders for portions of the site including the renewable energy production areas Preliminary studies required for the project were estimated at US$11.78 million Could the new Mexico City International Airport (NAICM) which was partially built by the previous government and canceled by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador Presidential candidate Xóchitl Gálvez believes so although she stressed on Thursday that she hasn’t yet decided whether a government she leads would seek to reactivate the multi-billion-dollar project the ruling Morena party’s presidential candidate and clear favorite to win the June 2 election ridiculed the idea first aired by Gálvez last week asserting that any move to resume construction of NAICM would be an “ecological absurdity.” The construction of an airport on an ancient lakebed in Texcoco east of Mexico City was the signature infrastructure project of former president Enrique Peña Nieto López Obrador canceled the project — at significant expense — after a legally-questionable referendum held before he took office in December 2018 He had long argued that the project was corrupt too expensive and being built on land that was sinking Meanwhile, an ecological park on the site of what was to be NAICM is slated to open at the end of April The candidate for a three-party opposition alliance and Sheinbaum’s main rival for the presidency said late last week that if she wins the June 2 election she will consider reviving the NAICM project with 100% private investment as public money is needed for things such as medicines and schools transparent private participation [in the project] I don’t know why the [current] government thinks that working with the private sector means corruption,” Gálvez said at a Citibanamex event on March 7 She said that the cancellation of the airport is “an issue that continues to pain us” and that she was “studying” the possibility of reactivating the project “I don’t want to take a decision lightly Three hundred billion pesos [US $18 billion] was already spent [on the airport]” Gálvez said adding that the money was effectively “thrown in the trash.” the former senator said she would also consider the option of expanding the army-built AIFA as the current government anticipated would occur in future years in order to increase capacity from the current level of 20 million passengers per year to as many as 80 million “We’ll have to see if six runways fit [at AIFA] we’ll have to see if new terminals fit because it has to be an airport for at least 100 million passengers,” Gálvez said the PAN-PRI-PRD candidate said Thursday that it is “false that I’ve made a decision” about the NAICM project “We’re studying [the issue] because Texcoco Lake could be a water storage lake … We have to study the issue comprehensively,” Gálvez said Water supply in Mexico City On the campaign trail in Cuernavaca on Tuesday, the former Mexico City mayor and close ally of López Obrador asserted that there is no possibility of reviving the canceled airport project and that any attempt to do so would be an “ecological absurdity.” Speaking at an event with scientists from the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos Sheinbaum noted that the NAICM site has already been declared a Natural Protected Area and asserted that her rival’s idea had not been well thought out “The lakes [on the site] have recovered to a large extent and diversity has returned to the area in a significant way [since the airport was canceled] and this was achieved through science,” she said Sheinbaum acknowledged that the “connectivity” between Mexico City and AIFA needs to improve to encourage more people to use the new airport and suggested a government she leads would look at additional ways to do that A rail link between the Buenavista suburban train station in central Mexico City and AIFA —  located about 40 kilometers north of the capital’s central square — is scheduled to open in June an academic in the postgraduate economics program at the National Autonomous University told the infrastructure news website Obras por Expansión that completing the airport is not an economically viable option although Gálvez said the money would have to come from the private sector That we would have spent [billions] on the cancellation of the airport [just] to build it again,” he said In early 2022, the Federal Auditor’s Office estimated that the cost of canceling the NAICM project was 184.55 billion pesos (US $11 billion at today’s exchange rate) Gálvez didn’t mention any estimated cost for completing the project but the figure would presumably be in the billions of dollars Rosas said that NAICM would have offered significant “advantages” to Mexico particularly as a result of its slated size It was expected to eventually have a capacity to handle 125 million passengers annually “It was going to compete with the large airports in Europe,” Rosas said infrastructure director at construction company Bovis told Obras por Expansión that it wouldn’t be an easy task to “recover” the structures that were built on the NAICM site and continue the project is to invest in the existing Mexico City airport and build new roads to AIFA Considering that Sheinbaum is the hot favorite to become Mexico’s next president that the NAICM site is now a Natural Protected Area and that a new airport opened in the Mexico City metropolitan area just two years ago it appears extremely unlikely that planes will one day take off and land in Texcoco While Gálvez’s idea to have the private sector complete NAICM may never become a reality the opposition presidential candidate has succeeded in reigniting a debate about the cancellation of the previous government’s airport project and what needs to be done in Mexico to ensure that the country’s future aviation needs are met Transgender rights icon Sylvia Rivera was honored with a new corrido on Friday by Renee Goust and La Bruja de Texcoco Called “El corrido de Sylvia Rivera,” the song tells the story of Rivera’s historical significance with music that traditionally would not touch on issues of sexual diversity and I was inevitably influenced by that just by virtue of being surrounded by it all the time it’s a genre of music that I didn’t enjoy I learned that it wasn’t because of the music And so I decided that I was going to sort of claim the genre And so that’s why I wrote a story about Sylvia Rivera,” Goust told Latino Rebels The new song also features La Bruja de Texcoco an artist and songwriter who embraces Mexican traditions in her work That’s why the video for the corrido highlights costumes and scenery that celebrate Mexico The video was recorded in Xochimilco and shows a party aboard traditional Trajineras “I really wanted to tell stories that are relevant to me as as a queer person who lives in the United States but also who is of Mexican heritage and who grew up in Mexico So that’s why we chose that location We thought it would be very good to be just festive and colorful,” Goust said The song was intentionally released in July after Pride Month in June because the artists wanted to send a message that people like Rivera should be celebrated every day Rivera was one of the movement’s most important activists during the 1970s and passed away in 2002 The song describes police repression against the  LGBTQ community during Rivera’s time “I wanted to keep sort of pushing forward the narrative And we’ll have other things to talk about I think everyone deserves to be noticed and acknowledged all year like Black people are not only existing in February and women are not only existing in March It’s important to normalize us year-round,” Goust said Goust recently released her debut album, Resister, which also includes a ranchera called La Apuesta a song that invites people to live life without prejudice Juanita Ramos Ardila is a Colombian journalist who has written for El Tiempo and ColPrensa. An M.A. Journalism candidate at CUNY’s Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, Juanita is also Latino Rebels’ 2021 Summer Correspondent. Twitter: @JuanitaRamosA […] Goust and La Bruja De Texcoco just released a corrido (a traditional Mexican-style ballad) honoring transgender rights icon Sylvia Rivera This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English Chula Vista’s cult favorite Aqui es Texcoco is famous for their incredible slow-cooked lamb barbacoa but they’ve got an off-menu grasshopper taco that’s worth chirping about there’s no need to bug out over chapulines They’ve been considered a Mexican delicacy since the 16th century sold by the scoop as a sustainable source of protein Texcoco imports them from Mexico and pan-fries them with lime juice The crispy-crunchy chapulines end up tasting remarkably like bacon Dress them up with chopped onion and cilantro and a drizzle of chile pasilla sauce—or tomatillo for a kick—and munch on the not-too-filling taco You can order a side of chapulines with avocado 1043 Broadway, Chula Vista aquiestexcoco Very Important Taco: The Chapulines Taco from Aqui es Texcoco By clicking subscribe you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions Email: [email protected] By clicking Subscribe you’re confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions Email: [email protected] © Copyright 2023 San Diego Magazine 1230 Columbia Street Bitte aktiviere Javascript in deinem Browser und lade die Seite dann erneut SEITE NEU LADEN  Newcity Resto by | September 1 The armies of Cortez conquered the Aztec nation Less well-known is that the final assault on Montezuma’s ancient capital of Tenochtitlan was by water the Aztec city that became Mexico City was defeated in a naval assault on the island of Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco Cortez and his men—along with many hundreds of indigenous collaborators who hated the high-handed tribute-demanding Aztecs—built their warships and hauled them to Lake Texcoco to lay the siege that spelled the end of the Aztec capital Lake Texcoco is a body of water that was half-salty and and the lake was divided by a dike engineered by the Aztec deposits of a salt called tequesquite were collected by the Aztec and you can purchase the same salts to this day in Mexican grocery stores in the Chicago area I’ve been to Mexico more than any other country outside of the United States, but it took a dinner at Mesa Urbana in Lincoln Park to introduce me to this Mexican salt We ordered the Elote en Tequesquite because although we were familiar with elotes (corn) and whenever we spot something unknown on a menu Elote en Tequesquite is corn cut off the cob a pungent herb frequently included in refried beans and used for both culinary and medicinal purposes in Mexico tells me “makes the flavors of food more bold We can’t get it from our regular suppliers so we have to go to a Mexican grocery store to pick it up In a little bodega around the corner from the National Museum of Mexican Art we found tequesquite on a rack with the other Mexican spices “Tequesquite is almost like a rock that they have to break up our small bag of one-half ounce of tequesquite or almost fifteen dollars a pound; compare that to eighty-nine cents for a twenty-four ounce box of Morton Salt But if you’re going for the taste of Mexican tequesquite you’re going to have to pay a premium for that distinctive taste we did not find to be that awesome: it tasted like a blend of soil and soap which has a flavor unlike any other salt I’ve tasted To get another take on what makes the taste of different salts, I called on Rod Markus, who owns Rare Tea Cellar a key source for exotic ingredients in the Midwest Markus knows about a lot of spices and seasonings that many of us may never have heard of and he even carries his own personal salt cellar in his signature black suit jacket just to ensure that he always has high-quality sodium chloride to season his food marketed as “Australia’s Only Natural Pink Salt.” salt is defined by terroir and the processing,” Markus says “so where the salt is harvested and how it’s cut up—into either granules So if you grew up with food flavored with tequesquite because it tastes of the water and earth of Mexico “For a third of all the salts we sell,” Markus says, “the buying decision is based on color, and all these salts are colored naturally. They may taste a little different, but people first eat with their eyes, and color changes people’s thoughts about a food. For instance, black salt is big now, and Cypress Black Pyramid Sea Salt and Hawaiian black salt are flying out the door; on the red side I can say from experience that black or red salt looks great on asparagus or eggs that anyone would be attracted to tequesquite based on appearance; it looks like cement dust Taleb believes that unrefined salt may be better for our health than super-refined salt “The last thing I want a salt producer to do,” says Markus though it’s not black or red… more like a pale gray “You also get the gray salts from the French,” says Markus we sell tons of that stuff.” Markus is currently selling salt flavored with yuzu “citrus flavor goes so well with salt.” Taleb had said that he detected a slight citrus note in his tequesquite which may explain its continuing popularity long after Lake Texcoco has dwindled to little more than the floating garden of Xochimilco and the once-great metropolis of the Aztecs is now reduced to a pile of gray rubble—but a glorious pile of rubble—in the center of Mexico City Department of State Special Representative for Global Partnerships Dorothy McAuliffe visited CIMMYT in Texcoco The visit aimed to strengthen ties between the United States government and CIMMYT—reaffirming commitment to fostering partnerships to achieve food and nutrition security goals museum and conservation agriculture trial plots CIMMYT scientists explained their efforts to protect one of the largest maize and wheat seed collections through research and collaboration with CGIAR and seed health initiatives She also received a detailed briefing about the Southern Africa Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative Rapid Delivery Hub (AID-I) a regional project in southern and eastern Africa led by CIMMYT with the backing of Office of Special Envoy for Global Food Security and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) CIMMYT practitioners briefed McAuliffe on AID-I’s inspiration in a successful model implemented in Mexico with the potential to inform policy makers and transform agrifood systems in Central America to respond to migration Partner seed companies and project leaders shared significant milestones already achieved in Zambia Malawi and Tanzania to expand access for smallholder farmers to market actors McAuliffe heard private and public partners share success stories and current initiatives jointly led with CIMMYT on regenerative agriculture gene bank development across CGIAR and climate-smart and scale-appropriate mechanization technologies we can work on R&D goals for better nutrition data-driven decision making and promotion of regenerative agriculture so that farmers produce diversified crops who have historically made scientific innovation possible leaving a huge footprint to feed the world,” shared Bram Govaerts Crop science and farming research attracts interest of National Association of State Departments of Agriculture of the United States Minister Müller explored the campus and heard about CIMMYT’s latest innovations in maize and wheat research Researchers use genome-wide association mapping approach to identify new regions with resistance to the disease Mexico -- In a shallow lake on the outskirts of Mexico City a handful of farmers still harvest the eggs of an evasive fingertip-size water bug in a bid to keep alive a culinary tradition dating at least to the Aztec empire This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC El material de Associated Press es Copyright © 2025 derechos reservados Associated Press y no puede ser publicado audio y/o video de Associated Press no será publicado reescrito para su transmisión o publicación ni redistribuido directa o indirectamente en ningún medio Ni estos materiales de AP ni ninguna parte de los mismos pueden almacenarse en una computadora errores u omisiones de los mismos o de la transmisión o entrega de la totalidad o parte de los mismos o de cualquier daño que surja de cualquiera de los anteriores A huge ecological park to be developed on and around the site of the abandoned Mexico City airport project will cost just over 17.7 billion pesos (US $808.7 million) the National Water Commission (Conagua) has determined According to an investment proposal recently submitted to the Ministry of Finance, development of the 12,225-hectare Lake Texcoco Ecological Park (PELT) will begin in 2021 and finish in 2028 Conagua said the outlay during the current government’s six-year term (2018-24) will be just over 10.9 billion pesos with a first installment of 2.9 billion pesos to be allocated to the project next year The water commission also calculated that the operation and maintenance of the park which will be divided into four different zones will cost just over 13 billion pesos during a period of 31 years The total cost of the project will therefore be at least 30.77 billion pesos (US $1.4 billion) Referring to the grandeur of the project and its waterways President López Obrador said earlier this month that the ecological park will be like a “new Tenochtitlán,” the water-rich capital of the Aztec empire that once stood on the land where Mexico City is now located said last week that one area of the park will be opened to the public in 2021 The ancient lakebed site of the abandoned airport, a US $13-billion project that was canceled by López Obrador after a controversial public vote before he took office will be part of the PELT’s 4,875-hectare Zone II will feature three different parks with gardens Across the PELT’s four different zones a total of eight separate parks are slated for development Zone I will encompass six restored lakes and lagoons including Lake Nabor Carillo while Zone III will include three more lagoons Zones III and IV will set aside land for agricultural purposes and a solar farm is slated to be built in the former which will dwarf Mexico City’s 678-hectare Chapultepec Park will lead to a reduction of respiratory illnesses among local residents and generate a range of other environmental benefits including improved regulation of water resources It also expects that the project will add value to real estate in six México state municipalities and two nearby boroughs of Mexico City Conagua said the PELT will “promote inclusion and social cohesion” in the surrounding areas and “generate identity and pride” among people who live in the eastern region of the Valley of México Echeverría orginally designed the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park in 2010 but the project was sidelined four years later by former president Enrique Peña Nieto’s plan to build a new airport on land located about 25 kilometers northeast of central Mexico City Source: Reforma (sp)  both in canned form and from scattered street vendors selling pulque made from agaves up in Victorville but both of these products are barely palatable The problem with pulque in both Los Angeles and Mexico City is that pulque only has a 24-hour period of freshness after fermentation so most of the pulque in Mexico’s capitol is doctored with various flavors like oatmeal The thick viscosity of the older pulque can be too much for some but when it’s fresh the drink is clean So when Aqui es Texcoco owner Paco Perez decided to offer Hidalgan pulque at his city of Commerce restaurant I can honestly say I never thought Americans would be able to enjoy true pulque domestically I used to be content with getting on a plane to try pulque, but now I just have to drive to Commerce Aqui es Texcoco Thelma Golden will celebrate Lauren Halsey and U.K.-based singer Griff will take the stage featured A-list designers and Otis College standouts who earned scholarships for innovation in Fashion Design lawyers say Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe showed injuries consistent with a dog attack and plan to present a case against Chloe a German Shepherd who was re-homed by the owner's of the house where the cop's body was found in a snowbank Magazine’s takeaways on five notable topics from President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term consumers are stocking up on household items and bites from THEBlvd and Hinoki & the Bird De Cabeza’s signature dish features cow head in a rich broth A new Chula Vista restaurant from lamb barbacoa experts Aqui es Texcoco is now spotlighting another regional Mexican dish. De Cabeza features the Sonoran and Sinaloan specialty of cabeza en su jugo beefy soup made using every part of a cow head which is offered in half-pound and third-pound servings and accompanied by tortillas and alambre skillets stuffed with carne asada Craft beer and Mexican brews are also available Manager Jesús González told Eater that this new concept has been in the works for some time and was originally planned for a different location when ownership found a larger location for Aqui es Texcoco which recently relocated to the Las Tiendas Shopping Center at 520 Broadway in Chula Vista they chose to keep Aqui es Texcoco’s former space and open De Cabeza in its place “There was demand for authentic cabeza en su jugo but there is no other place serving it in San Diego We have already brought over lamb barbacoa and now we are bringing another regional specialty but from Sonora and Sinaloa,” Gonzalez said General enquiries: CIMMYT@cgiar.org Media requests: Please visit our Media Center. and small personal packages weighing up to five kilograms) Please note that these objects incur a 16% VAT fee plus a 4% administrative fee and may be subject to additional customs charges The address to use for this type of items is: The physical address should be used to receive larger items Please note that it is strictly prohibited by Mexican authorities to use the service to send pharmaceutical products