OPINION By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS Anyone who doubts Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) dictatorial tendencies need only take a look at his authoritarian declarations from Friday, Sept. 23. Having come up against a senatorial blockade to his devious plan to keep the nation’s military in charge of patrolling the streets through 2028 (part of a bigger plot to militarize
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS As a tourist destination, Iguala, the little town in the northeastern corner of the Mexican coastal state of Guerrero, gets a bad rap. Irreparably linked to the 2014 disappearance of 43 rural teachers’ college students who were allegedly disappeared by government forces in the nearby town of Ayotzinapa after they had commandeered a bus to travel
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS For years — 131 years, to be exact — Palacio de Hierro (which was originally known as Las Fábricas de Francia) has been the gold standard of haute couture in Mexico, offering the finest styles from Europe and the rest of the world, while at the same time promoting and showcasing up-and-coming national designers. Even for those
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS During the 300 years of Spanish rule following Hernán Cortés’ conquest of Tenochtitlán in 1521, the people of Mexico suffered the indignities of imported smallpox epidemics, forced labor and imposed religious conversions. The disenfranchised indigenous Mexica, Maya, Zapotec and Toltec civilizations were stripped of their heritage and land, and what properties were not claimed by the viceroys
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS On Monday, Sept. 12, Mexico pays homage to 83 Irish immigrants who fought beside Mexican soldiers in the 1846 invasion of Mexico by the United States. The Saint Patrick Brigade, as this martyred group of Irish soldiers came to be known, had originally been drafted into the U.S. Army by General Zachary Taylor to invade Mexico in
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AMLO Takes Aim at Crime
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS In an innovative act of couture diplomacy, the Israeli Embassy in Mexico hosted the first-ever Israel Fashion Mexico parade at the Monte Sinai Cultural Center in the Mexico City municipality of Cuajimalpa on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 6. The event, which was part of the embassy’s ongoing celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, included
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS On Thursday, Aug. 25, the international streaming platform Netflix released a controversial true-crime series titled “A Kidnapping Scandal: The Florence Cassez Affair,” which tried to clear the name of the French citizen Florence Cassez and her longtime Mexican boyfriend Israel Vallarta Cisneros, both of whom were arrested in 2005 and charged with possession of illegal firearms, involvement
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS Many foreigners know Mexico for its lively mariachi and tapatio music, both of which have gained world recognition, along with its powerful corridos norteños, passionate romantic ballads and hypnotic salsa music. But Mexico also excels in the world of classic music, boasting some of most important tenors and sopranos on the international stage today. From Placido de
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By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS Twenty years ago, British-born dance director Richard O’Neal, who spent five years as the assistant director of “Riverdance,” the internationally acclaimed dance phenomenon based on Irish folk traditions, decided to use his stage and choreographic knowhow to create a Riverdance-like spectacle that showcased Mexican ballet based on the rousing, foot-stomping dance style known as jarocho, native to
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