Trying to Protect a Reef With an Otherworldly Diversion

By: Randal C. Archibold

Source: www.nytimes.com

CANCÚN, Mexico — Most people head off to an art exhibit with comfortable shoes and a deep appreciation for creativity. Jason deCaires Taylor’s work requires flippers and, to really appreciate it, a depth of at least 12 feet. Mr. Taylor labors over his sculptures for weeks, five-ton concrete figures of men, women and children, many of them modeled after people in the fishing village near here where he lives and works. The little boy Carlito sitting on a rock. The proud Joaquín glancing skyward. The old man everyone knows as Charlie Brown clasping his chin in contemplation.

For Baja California Winemakers, It’s Fiesta Time

By: Talea Miller

Source: www.pbs.org

While driving to Ensenada one recent Saturday, I passed billboards advertising no fewer than five foodie festivals: The festival of cheese and bread; the festival of seafood and shellfish—even a festival devoted entirely to salads and salad dressings. But it’s a paella competition that brings me south of the border today.

“If we win we get to go to the big contest in Valle de Guadalupe in the last weekend of August,” said Montserrat Vildósola, an architect from Mexico City and amateur paella chef. “There’s a contest where 100 paelleros go, and this is the contest you have to win in order to be able to contest there.”

Vildósola’s team is one of about a dozen competing today for a spot in the big paella contest that closes out the grandaddy of all Baja gastronomic festivals: the Fiestas de la Vendimia. That’s Spanish for harvest parties, and they’re happening now in Ensenada’s lush Guadalupe Valley wine country, a bucolic place where horses graze amid scenic vineyards surrounded by majestic purple mountains.

“Baja produces about 90 percent of the wine from Mexico,” said Joaquín Prieto, current president of Provino, the coalition of winemakers that coordinates the Vendimia. “Climate is the prime thing. We have the Pacific cold and the heat of the valley so it creates a microclimate.”

Take the plunge into Mexico's underwater museum

By: Hello Magazine

Source: www.hellomagazine.com 

It's not just flurries of brightly coloured fish that you'll spot whilst swimming the warm, turquoise waters off the coast of Cancun. 

Just a short kick of the flippers away from Mexico's famous diving spot, Manchones Reef, you'll find a collection of over 400 underwater statues that comprise one of the world's most unusual museums, the Cancun Underwater Museum.

Despite being an artistic project, the park has conservation at is core. It is an attempt to ease some of the swimming traffic away from the reefs suffering under the strain of tourism.  

The permanent collection of life-size sculptures features a range of scenes, from everyday life above water to iconic events such as the Last Supper. Other more artistic scenes include the Phoenix – the museum's first kinetic structure of a woman with purple coral wings. 

You don't need to be a deep sea diving expert to enjoy the museum. There are two galleries – one deep and one shallow – and the latter exclusively welcomes snorkelers. If you don't fancy taking the plunge, you can take a ride in a glass bottomed boat and catch all the action from the surface. 

The waters off the coast of Cancun are some of the best in the world. Jason Decaires Taylor, the artist behind the project, designed the sculptures from ph neutral clay in order to stimulate the growth of coral reef and marine life.

Sun, Beach and Relaxation

By: VisitMexico

Source: www.visitmexico.com

Beaches that intertwine with the desert or with the lush jungle, beaches with ancient remains or full of contemporary art, beaches that are an eternal party or whose immeasurable silence takes us closer to paradise… More than 450 beaches make up the Mexican coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California and the deep-blue Caribbean Sea. The variety of climates and points of interest that surround them make each Mexican beach a memorable spot. From the cosmopolitan destination of Los Cabos, the ideal place to fish and scuba dive, to the mystic Mayan Riviera, with unmatched natural surroundings, Mexican beaches stand out due to people’s warmth. Choosing one of them is a difficult task, but you will get to the same result: all of them will take your breath away.

THINGS TO DO....

Cancun

You might think you know Cancun – 22 km (14 miles) of pristine white beaches shaped like a number "7" crystalline waters and sultry nights sipping on the perfect margarita, right? Well, you're both right and wrong. If this is your idea of what Cancun is all about, read on. There's so much more.

Resting on the northeast corner of the Yucatan Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo (keen-tah-nah-ROW), Cancun was a part of the ancient Mayan civilization and is still considered the gateway to El Mundo Maya (the Mayan World).

Los Cabos

At the tip of Baja California Sur you will find the dual destination of Los Cabos. Wondering why they call it a dual destination? Part of the fun comes with exploring the region’s two dramatically distinct personas. Tranquil San Jose del Cabo retains the look and vibe of an authentic Mexican town. Cobblestone streets, intimate restaurants and boutiques radiate from the central main square and mission church. Rambunctious Cabo San Lucas, on the other end of the highway (called the Corridor), is party central with funky bars and the slick Luxury Avenue Mall centered around the marina.

Puerto Vallarta

The Puerto Vallarta region is actually several destinations rolled into one, each with its own character and charm. The River Cuale divides the town into north and south. On the southern end is the quaint Romantic Zone where the Playa los Muertos attracts sun worshippers to its golden sand and countless beach bars. Further south the seaside villages of Boca de Tomatlan and Mismaloya where The Night of the Iguana was filmed beckon. North of the river, the Old Town meanders uphill to Gringo Gulch and along the bay where you’ll find the Plaza de Armas (main square) and Los Arcos amphitheatre where daily free performances draw crowds.

Mexico industry output grows at fastest pace in 9 months

By: Reuters

Source: in.reuters.com

Mexican industrial output rose the most in nine months in June from May, led by manufacturing gains and underscoring solid growth that bodes for steady interest rates in the coming months.

Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent in June from May, the national statistics agency said on Monday, better than expected in a Reuters poll that saw a 1 percent rise after a dip in May, which was revised to a 0.65 percent slide.

The pace of industrial growth was the fastest since last September as the manufacturing sub-component rose 1.6 percent in June from the previous month fueled by export orders.

Mining output, another sub-component of the industrial sector, was flat while utilities slipped, but construction activity increased 1.49 percent, pointing to solid domestic demand.

The pace of industrial growth was the fastest since last September as manufacturing output rose 1.6 percent from the previous month fueled by export orders. Construction activity, another sub-component of the industrial sector, increased 1.49 percent, pointing to solid domestic demand.

"Industrial production performance draws a clear picture of the current sources of the Mexican economy's growth: both external and domestic factors," Barclays analyst Marco Oviedo wrote in a note.

Latin America's No. 2 economy has been shielded from a wider global slowdown that has pushed Brazil to cut interest rates due to U.S. demand for local manufactured goods, although exports have begun to slow and U.S. manufacturing data is weakening.

Sanoviv is also a place for healthy people looking to stay healthy for the rest of their lives

By: Sanoviv

Source: www.sanoviv.com/medical-services/

We know far too well that traditional medicine focuses primarily on treating the symptoms and not in being proactive with your health care future. By not focusing on the root cause of your problem the current medical system has only accomplished to prolong disease, having people live longer and less healthy lives. Integrative and holistic healthcare offer a much wider spectrum of tools to maintain health and vibrancy for life, focusing on mind, body and spirit as key indicators of well being.

Our training in Functional Medicine, by the Institute of Functional Medicine, gives us the tools to promote your continued vitality through improving organ reserves, aiding in detoxification and balancing the biological terrain in the body.

We have always focused on prevention as our main tool to accomplish our vision of a world free of disease and suffering. We invite you to protect your most valuable resource: your health. We rely on education, lifestyle changes, nutrition, supplementation and early detection of imbalances through our state of the art diagnostics and assessments to achieve this.

Click on the link Below to read about the programs that we offer for healthy people that want to maintain their health, learn about nutrition, stress management and get a thorough integrative health assessment.

Mexico's Economy: Coming to Terms with China

By: Sean Goforth

Source: mexicotoday.org

Has China’s economic rise come at the expense of Mexico? To many casual observers and experts alike, the answer is yes. The International Economy, a trade journal, once concluded, “China is eating Mexico’s lunch.” “China competes with Mexico and buys from Brazil,” noted The New York Times on June 17. 

China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 marked the onset of a decade-long slowdown in Mexico, where economic growth averaged 1.8 percent annually. Foreign investment flocked to China, setting up factories where hourly wages were among the lowest in the world. Other factors supported China’s export-led growth model, including low fuel prices that allowed for profitable trans-Pacific shipment of manufactures. Seven years after NAFTA granted Mexico privileged access to the US market, Mexico’s position appeared undercut by China’s incorporation into the global economy. 

In some industries, such as clothing assembly, China certainly hurt Mexico. However, the impact has been more limited than widely supposed.  China and Mexico manufacture different classes of products, cheap baubles in the case of the former and heavy industrial goods in the case of the latter. Hence, as the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank put it in 2004: “There is little correlation between China’s gains and Mexico’s losses.”

The notion that Mexico simply lost out to a more productive China is even less persuasive as one moves toward present-day. From 2005-2010, the percentage of US imports from Mexico increased, from about 10 to 12 percent, as did China’s share, 14 to 17.5 percent. China’s gains accrued alongside Mexico’s gains, not at the expense of Mexico. (Over the same period, the percentage of US imports from Canada, Japan, Germany and Britain decreased.)

Instead, in this more recent period Mexico may have lost out by not having China as an investor. According to the UN Economic Commission on Latin America, China invested $1.1 billion in Mexican industry from 2003-2008, a sliver given the $25 billion it invested across Latin America in 2008 alone. In a list of China’s largest foreign investments in Latin America prior to 2009, Mexico is notably absent. 

Now, as the global economy shifts gears away from the commodity boom brought on by Asia’s rise, several trends behoove Mexico. China has absorbed most of its vast labor pool, driving up wages. Wages in southeastern China are increasing at 15 percent a year, and for the country as a whole worker pay is expected to double by 2015. Inflation is a worry as food prices and apartment rents shadow wage increases. As a result, the US Chamber of Commerce estimates that hourly wages in China are nearly on par with Mexico’s. 

Mexico's Stocks Open Higher, Peso Gains versus U.S. Dollar

By: Anthony Harrup

Source: online.wsj.com

MEXICO CITY--Mexico's stocks opened higher Monday in line with equities markets overseas, while the peso continued its recent positive run against the U.S. dollar.

The stock market's benchmark IPC index was up 0.2% at 41,071 points around 10:10 a.m. EDT, on volume of 18 million shares worth 485.7 million pesos ($37.2 million).

With the IPC near record levels in both nominal and dollar terms, upside potential is limited and the market remains vulnerable to renewed bouts of global volatility, Banco Santander said in a report.

The Mexican stock market has been one of the most defensive in the world, although the gains have also put it among the most expensive, Santander added.

Cement company Cemex (CEMEX.MX, CX) CPO shares were up 0.8% to MXN9.58, and retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico V shares were up 0.8% to MXN39.12. Brewer Modelo (GMODELO.MX, GPMCY) C shares were 0.9% lower at MXN118.51.

Mexico's peso continued to chalk up gains, after reaching its strongest close in three months following last Friday's better-than-expected U.S. payrolls report. The peso was trading in Mexico City at MXN13.0750 to the dollar, according to Infosel, compared with MXN13.1380 at the close Friday.

Banorte-Ixe said the peso's current level, given the vulnerability of emerging market currencies to global risk aversion, makes dollar positions attractive in the near term. The bank predicted a trading range of MXN13.00 to MXN13.45 for this week.

Rental Market Still Tightening: Moody’s

By: Miguelsmexico

Source: www.mexintl.com/blog/beaches

With vacancies declining and rental prices rising, the climate in the housing industry is clearly warming up to rental properties. According to Moody’s Analytics, “weak income gains, favorable demographics, and the foreclosure crises” are all causing people to choose renting over buying, and demand for rent will remain solid over the next two years.

Between 2000 and 2008, real per capita income grew at an annualized rate of 2 percent compared to 0.8 percent in 2010 and 2011, according to the report. In addition, many households simply don’t have enough for a down payment, and until households gain more in terms of finances or confidence in the economy, fears of homeownership won’t be put aside.

A survey released by Integra Realty Resources reported 31 percent of respondents said a lack of a down payment was the main reason holding them back from making a purchase, 24 percent said it was the fear of making a bad investment, and 21 percent said the uncertainty of the economy was the main reason.

Another reason the rental market is booming is because of the emergence of a younger age group heading households. The younger age group are the least likely to own a home and more likely to rent, according to Moody’s.

While the overall rental rate is 35 percent, the renter rate for those between the ages of 25-29 is nearly 65 percent, and for those under 24 years old, it is 77 percent, according to the Census Bureau.

And, growth for those between the ages of 20-29 is not likely to slow down, either. The report stated that this group has been growing at an average pace of 0.9 percent from 2007-2011 and grew only 0.3 percent between 1990 and 2006.

Harnessing the power of the ocean

By: Selene Aparicion

Source: www.renewableenergymexico.com

In the eternal search for alternative sources of energy, scientists throughout the world have turned their attention to the planet’s most abundant natural resource: the ocean. Wave and tidal power technologies, as renewable energy sources, represent large areas of untapped energy potential. This is no surprise. After all, the ocean covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water.

The sea offers a vast source of power and the energy contained in waves has the potential to produce up to 80,000 TWh of electricity per year—sufficient to meet our global energy demand five times over. When it comes to generating energy from the ocean, two types of energy forms exist: tidal power and wave power.

Tidal power, as the name clearly states, is generated from oceanic tides where the rise and fall of the sea level can be utilized to produce electricity. Tidal power is usually exploited through the construction of dams across tidal basins where a channel allows the tide to flow into the basin and the elevated water is transformed into electricity through conventional hydro power technologies such as turbines.

Wave power, on the other hand, utilizes the kinetic energy present in the movement of the ocean’s waves and this energy is then used to power a turbine. Renewable energy analysts believe there is enough energy in the ocean waves to provide up to 2 terawatts of instantaneous electricity (1 terawatt = 1 trillion watts), which is twice the electric generating capacity currently available throughout the world.

At present, Mexico is known for its beaches with clear blue water and white sand; however, now the country has the possibility to gain a different type of reputation for its sea-side spots. After a two year period from when the idea was first suggested, last month the CFE confirmed its plans to construct a wave power station in Rosarito, Baja California with an investment cost of 71.6 million MXP. The power station will have a generation capacity of 3 MW and will be constructed in a five-month period by Mareomotrices de Energías Renovables (Marersa), Integragas Telcorz and Grupo Nuhe. Construction began on June 2nd and the project is due for completion on December 10th of the current year.