A
Festivity of Remembrance for Departed Loved Ones
If you really want to know something
about the traditions and culture of Mexico, you should experience
the Day of the Dead. This festivity begins on the evening of November 1st
(All Saints Day for western Christianity) and ends on November 2nd (All
Souls Day).
For the most vivid of these celebrations, you should go
to Morelia, above all to the island of Janitzio,
in PátzcuaroLake. You also
should see the Day of the Dead celebrations in Tzintzuntzan, the ancient
capital of the Purepechan people; Jaráuraro and Erongaricuaro.
Also famous are the celebrations in Mixquic, once a
farming island of the Aztec empire and now a district of Mexico City;
Oaxaca, capital city of the state of the same name; Huejutla, in the
state of Hidalgo; Chiapa de Corzo, in the state of Chiapas, Jesús María,
in the state of Nayarit; and Tecate, in the state of Baja California.
Founded by the Spaniards as “Puebla of Angels”,
Puebla
offers great tourism attractions such as breath-taking centuries-old
buildings that reflect a fusion of Aztec and Spanish architecture as well
as incomparable gastronomy that can captivate everyone’s taste.
Among the most famous dishes that Puebla offers, we can find mole
(chili-cocoa sauce), chiles en nogada (meat-stuffed chili with sweet pecan
sauce) and a wide variety of traditional milk candies.
Puebla
also gave birth to the traditional Talavera pottery. Glazed white pottery
with intricate enamel-painted designs of Arabic origin, Talavera ceramic is
considered an artistic icon of the city.
Assume a Key Role in the Play of Life, from Mere
Witness to Actor: Voluntourism
In a rather egocentric and superficial era, it is
incredible to discover a humanist face in the tourism sector. Who might
choose to travel in order to serve, and find pleasure in this altruistic
action?
Travel is about experiences, a close encounter, and an
intense and meaningful act, the pleasure of leaving a trace. Today, the
travelers of the world look for ways to get involved, to be actors rather
than observers. Voluntourism and sustainable tourism are tangible proof of
this new trend that exemplifies an alternate way to interact with other
countries, with other landscapes and species, with other people.
A
Unique Way to Travel Mexico:
“Sun, Stones and Shadows”
Imagination and literature add an
effective and distinctive dimension to traveling. Through literature, we are
able to discover the landscape, the traditions, the history, the way of
life, the soul of a country. And a literary jewel is waiting to help us
discover Mexico
through 20 short stories written by some of the most prolific Mexican
authors of the twentieth century.
In this thorough compilation, Octavio Paz, Juan Rulfo,
Elena Garro and Carlos Fuentes –among others- depict the different
faces of Mexico; a multifaceted country that offers a rich mosaic for
diverse interests and desires, from pre-Hispanic and native Mexico, the
devoted and colonial country, to the most cosmopolitan cities.
Through these stories, we sense a country where present and
past intertwined in a magical harmony, a country of devoted people where
religion and superstition stand together and co-exist in unthinkable
accordance, where churches raise on top of ancient pre-Hispanic temples,
synchronism of many elements, from the gastronomy, to crafts and their
general way of life.
The stories are as universal and global as the writers, but
they express the Mexican imagination, masterpieces in their modernity,
universal yet regional. The original stories are in Spanish, but there is
an English-language version, the only Mexican book to be part of the Big
Read program in the United
States, a governmental initiative to
promote reading.
So if you haven’t yet traveled to Mexico, or
even if you have, visited it through “Sun, Stones and Shadows”
edited by Jorge F. Hernandez.
Celebrating
Life in the Coral Reefs
If
you travel far into space and look back to the Earth, the only living
structures you will distinguish are the coral reefs: wondrous colors such
as greens, blues, yellows, and reds painted on the globe. These are the
rainforests of the sea, the largest living structures on the planet due to
the vast amount of species they harbor.
This is the time to celebrate the diversity that rises within
the coral reefs. 2008 has been declared the International Year of the Reef
and it is promoted by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). Mexico and the U.S. are leading the ICRI Joint
Secretariat in order to increase awareness and understanding about the
conservation and sustainable use of these ecosystems. As part of the IYOR
activities, the Mexico Tourism Board will host a special lecture in Washington, D.C.
in which two Mexican specialists will talk about the actions taken by the
Mexican government in order to reduce the threat of human activity on the
development of coral reefs.
Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor
but they support an estimated twenty-five percent of all marine life. The
Mesoamerican Coral Reef, also known as the Great Maya Reef, is one of the
Riviera Maya’s most magnificent natural attractions. It is the
largest complex in the Western Hemisphere
and the second largest in the world. Along with other reefs, it helps to
keep balance in the environment by minimizing wave impacts from natural
forces. Also, their beauty creates a powerful attraction for tourism,
making the reef an important source of revenue and a stimulus for job
creation.
The Great Maya Reef is a weave of coast-hugging, fringing
reefs, banks, islets and immense coral atolls. Its uniqueness is
breathtaking. When witnessing the abundance of marine life and the blue
dominant color that turns into a rainbow of colors when you approach the
reef, you will be overwhelmed. Much more than a single reef barrier, it is
a myriad of shallow patch reefs, coral gardens and precipitous drop-offs.
Feel
the Beat at Mexico!
One
of the best ways to enjoy jazz is to let the music provide the soundtrack
for a clear star-filled sky, and there is no better place to do that than
in Mexico,
home to many jazz festivals. If you are in Mexico during November, you are
there at the right time to feel the beat.
In San Miguel de Allende the XIV International Jazz and
Blues Festival is scheduled to take place from November 28th to December
4th. This year the free festival, one of the oldest jazz festivals, is
continuing to grow and boosts four Grammy award winners.
Right next door to San Miguel de Allende is the city of Irapuato. This town
will be hosting their VII Jazz Festival from November 19th to the 23rd.
This city of unique colonial architecture adds its love of strawberries to
the nights of jazz and stars.
The best know Mexican Jazz festival takes place along the
Riviera Maya. With artists like David Sanborn, the best and most well known
alto sax player on the world jazz scene; and the Grammy-winning guitarist
and songwriter Earl Klugh, the free Riviera Maya Jazz Festival, November
27-29, starts every day at 6 p.m. and continues far into the night.
San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca
among Top 10 Cities to Visit in the Americas
Condé
Nast Traveler’s 2008 Reader’s Choice Survey revealed this
October that its readers voted two Mexican cities among the top 10 cities
to visit in the Americas.
The two cities are San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca, both UNESCO World Heritage
sites. According to the survey in which 32,633 Condé Nast Traveler readers
participated, San Miguel de Allende was ranked the friendliest city in Latin America.
“These awards celebrate the destinations, lodgings,
and modes of transportation that exceed our expectations,” said Klara
Glowczewska, editor in chief of Condé Nast Traveler.
“The 2008 Readers’ Choice Awards, with over
32,000 readers voting, are a credit to the worldly expertise of our
readers—passionate travelers for whom no island is too remote, no
city too challenging, and no hotel too untested.
” These results came for the Top 100 Reader’s
Choice Awards survey, which was available to all readers of Condé Nast
Traveler through a secure web site. The survey also includes the top
resorts and hotels in Mexico.
Complete award results will appear in the November issue of the magazine
and on the magazine’s website at www.cntraveler.com
Melomans:
Head Out to the International Music Festival of Morelia!
Seeking
to experience some of the world’s best music in a single location?
Then you need look no further than Mexico! From November 15th
through the 29th, the striking city of Morelia
will be showcasing one of Mexico’s
most important artistic events, the XX Annual International Music Festival
of Morelia, Miguel Bernal Jimenez.
Honored guest for this year’s festival will be the
country of Argentina,
arriving with its National Philharmonic Orchestra and performing the
closing concert ceremony. Among other featured sounds will be Mexico’s very own National Symphonic
Orchestra, orchestras from the United Kingdom,
Poland, Switzerland
and other Argentinean musicians. Music aficionados will experience the
presence of over 450 international artists, 35 concerts, over 50 thousand
people in attendance, seminars, classes and courses both for students and
music professionals.
Located in the northern region of Michoacán, Morelia’s HistoricCenter, declared a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO in 1991, boasts colonial-style structures such as the
Palacio Nacional (NationalPalace) and La
Catedral (The Cathedral).
Due to its strategic location, many tourists visit Morelia before heading out to nature reserves such as
the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in the State of Mexico and
Michoacán, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.
For further information about Morelia and its International Music
Festival, please visit
The municipality
of Tequila, whose Agave
Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila were declared
UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2006, is home to one of the more
attractive events in Mexico,
the Tequila Festival held annually in the cradle of this well loved
spirit.
The Tequila Festival runs from November 30th to December
12th and features expositions by the primary tequila makers from
throughout the country. Visitors, ranging from connoisseurs to fans of
the drink, can learn about the distillation process and enjoy various
tasting opportunities.
The fair also features charreadas or Mexican rodeos,
mariachi serenades, and fireworks. For more information, please go to.
Mexican Tourism Secretary, Rodolfo
Elizondo Torres, invited the participants of a meeting of the Tourism
Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), held in Riva del Garda, Italy last October, to meet again in Mexico
in January 2009 to analyze new business models to boost the tourism sector
amid the current world economic situation.
Elizondo Torres explained that a meeting on Culture and Tourism
that will take place in Mexico City and the state of Michoacán on the 22nd
and the 23rd of January will be extended an additional day exclusively to
analyze the consequences of the world economic situation and to establish,
if it is necessary, new business models within the tourism sector.
The Mexican minister of Tourism emphasizes that the Mexico
meeting will not be limited to high ranking officials of the OECD only, but
will also include specialists in various economics sectors that directly
influence tourist activity. The OECD is an international organization of
thirty countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Spain, the United States, United Kingdom, etc.,that provides a setting in
which governments can seek answers to common problems, identify good
practices, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD is
headquartered in Paris.
SATW
on its Way to Guadalajara 2009!
From
October 17th through the 21st, the Society of American Travel Writers
(SATW) held their annual convention in Houston, Texas.
Five days filled with professional development, council, chapter and board
meetings, local FAM trips, a golf tournament and social events.
The most anticipated event was the closing ceremony where
the passing of the gavel between the outgoing and the incoming president of
the Society of American Travel Writers takes place. The president’s
awards are also given out during the closing.
The Mexico Tourism Board was in charge of the closing
reception and dinner. “Mexico knows the importance of
travel writers and their influence on consumers and where they choose to
take trips. We are very grateful that Mexico
is a favorite destination among these writers and the least we could do was
to help by participating in celebrating them with the warmth and joy that
the Mexican culture offers,” said Martin Gonzalez, Director for the
Mexico Tourism Board’s office for the southern U.S. based in Houston.
This same warmth and culture will be felt at SATW’s
next convention in 2009 when they will be received by Guadalajara, the capital city of the
Mexican state of Jalisco.
Interested
in writing about Mexico?Learn more about our upcoming Fam trips and see how
you can experience Mexico
first-hand.
The following FAM
trips are available for the remainder of the year:
Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
Want to write
about Mexico?
Need ideas or assistance with a story? Contact the Mexico Travel News Bureau directly at
1-800-929-4555, by e-mail at northamericanpress@visitmexico.com,
or visit our press site at www.visitmexicopress.com.
If you really want to know something
about the traditions and culture of 
Imagination and literature add an
effective and distinctive dimension to traveling. Through literature, we are
able to discover the landscape, the traditions, the history, the way of
life, the soul of a country. And a literary jewel is waiting to help us
discover 
If
you travel far into space and look back to the Earth, the only living
structures you will distinguish are the coral reefs: wondrous colors such
as greens, blues, yellows, and reds painted on the globe. These are the
rainforests of the sea, the largest living structures on the planet due to
the vast amount of species they harbor. 
One
of the best ways to enjoy jazz is to let the music provide the soundtrack
for a clear star-filled sky, and there is no better place to do that than
in 
Condé
Nast Traveler’s 2008 Reader’s Choice Survey revealed this
October that its readers voted two Mexican cities among the top 10 cities
to visit in the 
Seeking
to experience some of the world’s best music in a single location?
Then you need look no further than 
The 
Mexican Tourism Secretary, Rodolfo
Elizondo Torres, invited the participants of a meeting of the Tourism
Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), held in Riva del Garda, Italy last October, to meet again in Mexico
in January 2009 to analyze new business models to boost the tourism sector
amid the current world economic situation. 
From
October 17th through the 21st, the Society of American Travel Writers
(SATW) held their annual convention in 
