By RICARDO CASTILLO

Mexican Army Grooves to Music and Dance

The Mexican Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) took a two-day-long recess to commemorate the 107th anniversary of its foundation on Feb. 19, 1913.

The celebration began on the night of Tuesday, Feb. 18, with the National Defense Secretariat (Sedena) Symphony and Choir delivered a spectacular concert, mostly for officers, in the auditorium of the National Palace of Fine Arts, performing an international repertoire of military marches.

Major and conductor Dario Estrada led the concert, in which nine different military classic marches were performed, with Estrada explaining the words and origins of each march.

The program included marches Radetzky, Hungarian, Pomp and Circumstance, Slavic, Persian, El Capitan and the Polovtsian dances.

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, the orchestra moved  on to Mexico City’s Constitution Square, also know as El Zócalo, to perform for the official celebration of the anniversary.

But previous to that, the audience of about 40,000 soldiers got to enjoy a show of festive Mexican folk dances and listen to cumbia and salsa stars Sonora Dinamita and Sonora Santanera.

The lively Latino music got the soldiers out of their seat to dance.

Then, they listened to romantic ballads before intently listening to the words of the keynote speaker, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), who, as expected, had nothing but praise for the job the military is carrying out under his direction as commander in chief..

ENI Discovers New Oil Field

The Italian private oil exploration company Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI) announced it had discovered a new shallow-water oil field in the southeastern basin of the Gulf of Mexico, between the states of Tabasco and Veracruz.

The field, known as Saasken-1 ESP, may contain anywhere from 200 to 300 million barrels of light oil, according to preliminary estimates, with a yield capability of 10,000 barrels per day.

It also represents the sixth successful find for ENI in the same area, thanks to an exploration contract awarded by the Mexican government under the 2013 Energy Reform.

The well was drilled at a 3,800-meter depth, with 338 meters being water.

“Mexico is central to the growth strategy of ENI,” the company announcement in a press release, “and ENI is also planning to initiate other exploration licenses in Mexico.”

Internet Use Increases

A 2019 poll carried out by the National Geographic and Statistics Institute (Inegi) showed that 76.6 of Mexico’s urban population uses the Internet while in rural areas, the comparable figure is 47.7 percent.

In Mexico, 44.3 percent of homes have a computer and 92.5 percent have at least one television set.

According to the same study, 86.5 million Mexicans own a cellphone, which represents 75.1 percent of the total population.

The statistical poll is carried out yearly in collaboration with the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation and the Federal Institute of Telecommunications.

This census gauging began in 2015.

Mexican Spy Arrested

A Mexican national who has been accused of carrying out espionage duties for Russia was arrested in Miami on Monday, Feb 17, according to the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.

Héctor Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, a resident of Singapore, was arrested for “acting in the United States on behalf of a foreign government (Russia) without notifying the Attorney General’ Office and for conspiracy to do so.”

Cabrera got caught photographing an official vehicle license plate and admitted he was doing so under the instructions of a Russian official.

Cabrera will face a preliminary hearing on Friday, Feb. 21, and will hear charges from a federal judge on March 3.

Reserves on the Rise

The Central Bank of Mexico reported this week that, as of Feb. 14, the country’s international reserves have grown to $182.66 billion.

This represents an accumulated growth of $1,783 million compared to the last count at the end of 2019, when the bank tallied $180.877 billion.

This was great news for the Fourth Transformation administration, as AMLO calls it, because it shows that in 14 months the reserves have managed to recover growth.

Mexico’s international reserves at the end of 2018, when the last administration of Enrique Peña Nieto left, were at $173 billion.

You Want It? Take It

The mining corporation Grupo México has announced that it is giving back the controversial mine at Pasta de Conchos located at the San Juan de Sabinas municipality in the northern state of Coahuila.

On Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2006, the mine had an accident involving a methane explosion that left hundreds injured and 63 miners buried alive.

The remains of those miners have not been recovered.

The company, owned by tycoon Germán Larrea, said that the concession is being given back to the government in compliance with a request from AMLO, who cowed to renew efforts to recover the remains of the miners to give them back to their families.

Government officials have said that preparations for the recovery are on as of now and will most likely begin next November since the mine, a maze of tunnels, is dangerous to explore.

Sports: Best Soccer Player

Mexican soccer star Kenti Robles was awarded the Best Latin American Player Award in the Spanish Women’s League.

Robles plays professionally for the Madrid Athletics in the Spanish First Division as a defender and also plays for Team Mexico in international tournaments.

The award is issued by the Spanish news agency EFE.