Mexico once again lost an important soccer game to the United States on U.S. soil by dropping the Gold Cup final 2-1. The U.S. advanced to finals only after the Mexican referee in the semi-finals jobbed an upstart Canadian squad, but Mexico looked unimpressive throughout the CONCACAF tournament and probably got an assist from the referee in its quarter-final match against Costa Rica.
Mexico failed to score more than a single goal in any of its matches except for its opener against Cuba. Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez often maligned his predecessor and lobbied openly for the nation team position. Surely he must shoulder a large portion of the blame for his team's performance. And, the U.S. is regularly proving itself the best team in CONCACAF - not that anyone in Mexico would acknowledge that even though the U.S. owns an 9-2-1 advantage since 2000.
24 June 2007
23 June 2007
Big Brother program offends Mexicans
Few programs in Mexico have been as loathsome as Big Brother, which drew enormous audiences and even convinced a Green Party (PVEM) politician to skip work for six weeks so he could participate in the Mexican version of the reality show.
Now the Australian edition ran afoul of Mexican sensibilities during a poorly-planned Mexican theme episode, during which contestants "dressed in mariachi outfits played musical chairs and ate chili con carne - a dish almost unknown in Mexico - to win points," according to ABC Australia. Even worse "One of the rounds of the game showed a team protecting the Mexican flag against slime balloons thrown by a rival team."
Since Mexicans take their national symbols seriously, this obviously was bound to offend. But Mexicans also indulge stereotypes of other races and nationalities - some offensive, others not - with disturbing regularity.
The Big Brother crew could have at least served a taco buffet instead of chili con carne and perhaps thrown in some sort of tequila drinking game. (The Consejo Regulador de Tequila loves pretty much any foreign publicity.) But throwing slime at a flag?
Hopefully this stupid stunt hastens the demise of all versions of Big Brother.
Now the Australian edition ran afoul of Mexican sensibilities during a poorly-planned Mexican theme episode, during which contestants "dressed in mariachi outfits played musical chairs and ate chili con carne - a dish almost unknown in Mexico - to win points," according to ABC Australia. Even worse "One of the rounds of the game showed a team protecting the Mexican flag against slime balloons thrown by a rival team."
Since Mexicans take their national symbols seriously, this obviously was bound to offend. But Mexicans also indulge stereotypes of other races and nationalities - some offensive, others not - with disturbing regularity.
The Big Brother crew could have at least served a taco buffet instead of chili con carne and perhaps thrown in some sort of tequila drinking game. (The Consejo Regulador de Tequila loves pretty much any foreign publicity.) But throwing slime at a flag?
Hopefully this stupid stunt hastens the demise of all versions of Big Brother.
21 June 2007
No-tell motel installs steel doors
The Thunderclap Ranch, a no-tell motel (hotel de paso) in Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon, installed steel doors on all of its 34 rooms. Guests now receive extra security and privacy - in addition to a three-hour stay - for 150 pesos. According to the motel's management, "There's a line of cars on Friday and Saturdays." With narco violence flaring in Northern Mexico, the place somehow seems apt.
04 June 2007
The Mexico City News returns
The Mexico City News was published in English for some 50 years until it folded in late 2002. (What was the exact date? Please comment if you know.) Now with the Miami Herald Mexico Edition shutting down, the News will reappear in the late summer - if everything goes as planned.
While things are still in the planning stages, buzz in Mexico City media circles has the paper returning with an O'Farrill family member involved. (The O'Farrill clan originally owned the paper and were also longtime shareholders in Televisa.)
As a reporter, I obviously find this delightful news. Let's hope it works out.
UPDATE: Kelly Arthur Garrett, a former reporter and columnist with the Herald, launched a new blog: http://kellyarthurgarrett.blogspot.com where he provided an interesting analysis of what the old Mexico City News was and what the paper could become. To my knowledge, he has no inside scoop on what's going on with the new News, but since he toiled for the old one, his insights are pertinent.
I used to read the News while living in Colima during the winter of 2002. It would arrive around 3 p.m. from Mexico City and was sold at an excellent newsstand in Los Portales, which fronts the Zocalo. I liked the old News, although since my Spanish was pretty sketchy at the time and I wanted something in English, the News fit the bill.
Garrett commented, "Most English-language efforts have chosen -- or been forced — to fill up their pages with whatever they could get their hands on. They’ve had no journalistic purpose other than to be in English."
He added, "For some reason, there's an assumption among media heavies that English speakers, because they are less well-versed about Mexican society, need to read at the level of six-year-olds. Newspapers by definition are published for the common reader, but the common Anglophone reader in Mexico is not necessarily the boob that these publishers think."
Very true. Most editors have no clue what their readers want. As an example, the Guadalajara Colony Reporter, where I worked for 18 months, puts out a hit-or-miss product. Some of its stuff is gold, but the owners truly believe that few, if any, expats living in Mexico (read: Chalapa, Guadalajara and the places the Reporter is sold) have any interest in Mexican affairs. I visit Chapala on a regular basis, and would disagree.
The Herald was read out in the provinces - when people could actually find it. Circulation was a disaster, though. I could quibble about the Herald's editorial faults - mainly in the community pages - but not being able to purchase a Sunday edition on a regular basis in Mexico's second-largest city was an even bigger problem. I wrote for the Herald and found the editors to be genuinely interested in putting out a quality product - even though there were considerable constraints. That's more than could be said for many English papers that simply need to fill pages. If the Herald lacked anything, it was perhaps a stronger personality. (The Reporter has that with some of its columnists and headlines, although it's an editorially-incoherent publication.)
The News is at least gauging what interests its potential audience. Let's hope it succeeds.
While things are still in the planning stages, buzz in Mexico City media circles has the paper returning with an O'Farrill family member involved. (The O'Farrill clan originally owned the paper and were also longtime shareholders in Televisa.)
As a reporter, I obviously find this delightful news. Let's hope it works out.
UPDATE: Kelly Arthur Garrett, a former reporter and columnist with the Herald, launched a new blog: http://kellyarthurgarrett.blogspot.com where he provided an interesting analysis of what the old Mexico City News was and what the paper could become. To my knowledge, he has no inside scoop on what's going on with the new News, but since he toiled for the old one, his insights are pertinent.
I used to read the News while living in Colima during the winter of 2002. It would arrive around 3 p.m. from Mexico City and was sold at an excellent newsstand in Los Portales, which fronts the Zocalo. I liked the old News, although since my Spanish was pretty sketchy at the time and I wanted something in English, the News fit the bill.
Garrett commented, "Most English-language efforts have chosen -- or been forced — to fill up their pages with whatever they could get their hands on. They’ve had no journalistic purpose other than to be in English."
He added, "For some reason, there's an assumption among media heavies that English speakers, because they are less well-versed about Mexican society, need to read at the level of six-year-olds. Newspapers by definition are published for the common reader, but the common Anglophone reader in Mexico is not necessarily the boob that these publishers think."
Very true. Most editors have no clue what their readers want. As an example, the Guadalajara Colony Reporter, where I worked for 18 months, puts out a hit-or-miss product. Some of its stuff is gold, but the owners truly believe that few, if any, expats living in Mexico (read: Chalapa, Guadalajara and the places the Reporter is sold) have any interest in Mexican affairs. I visit Chapala on a regular basis, and would disagree.
The Herald was read out in the provinces - when people could actually find it. Circulation was a disaster, though. I could quibble about the Herald's editorial faults - mainly in the community pages - but not being able to purchase a Sunday edition on a regular basis in Mexico's second-largest city was an even bigger problem. I wrote for the Herald and found the editors to be genuinely interested in putting out a quality product - even though there were considerable constraints. That's more than could be said for many English papers that simply need to fill pages. If the Herald lacked anything, it was perhaps a stronger personality. (The Reporter has that with some of its columnists and headlines, although it's an editorially-incoherent publication.)
The News is at least gauging what interests its potential audience. Let's hope it succeeds.
28 May 2007
U.S. women in Jalisco fight for justice
Jailed U.S. citizen claims innocence
By David Agren/The Herald Mexico
El Universal
Lunes 28 de mayo de 2007
GUADALAJARA - Rebecca Roth led the good life for eight years in Puerto Vallarta, where she ran a boutique. Nowadays though, she lives in a six-bunk cell in Jalisco´s Puente Grande Prison with a dozen other women as she battles money-laundering charges stemming from a brief sojourn working for a convicted scam artist.
Despite her tough surroundings, the former financial consultant from Lake Oswego, Oregon, produces whimsical paintings that draw inspiration from a far more cheerful place, during her advanced art classes. Her sister Barbara Roth has framed several and displays them in her Lake Chapala-area home - but a painting of two sisters called "Dos Hermanas" is most prominent. And appropriately so, especially considering the women´s struggles.
For the past 15 months, Rebecca and Barbara have waged a lonely fight in a legal system that seemingly dispenses little justice. Although gaining recent support from the local expatriate community and some Mexican friends, Rebecca still faces an uncertain future as her pleas of innocence have fallen on deaf ears. If convicted, she could face 20 years in prison.
"How do you prove your innocence in this country?" Barbara asked rhetorically.
Rebecca Roth´s misadventure started in late 2000 after meeting Alyn Waage, a Canadian who ran an Internet investing scheme called Tri-West. He hired Rebecca as a personal assistant and paid her US$4,000 per month. In April 2001, he was arrested in Puerto Vallarta. While he was in a Mexican jail, US$50,000 was deposited into Roth´s Mexican bank account so she could pay the domestic staff and expenses at his eight luxurious Puerto Vallarta properties. The proposed transaction unsettled Rebecca, but a Puerto Vallarta lawyer said everything was legal. The advice proved erroneous.
Waage later fled to Costa Rica, but was eventually extradited to the United States, where he was convicted of running a US$60 million Ponzi scheme. He is serving a 10-year sentence in a North Carolina prison.
Rebecca thought little of her intersection with Waage´s life - it had lasted slightly less than four months - and carried on with her business, which is still being operated by three Mexican employees. In 2005, sister Barbara also moved to Mexico, building a home on Lake Chapala´s north shore. Their lives here seemed idyllic, but everything changed quickly.
At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 as Rebecca was closing up her business, she was apprehended and driven overnight to Puente Grande. She was told she would be back in Puerto Vallarta the next day. It´s already been 15 months.
Two other former Waage employees were also apprehended: Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman that also worked as chef, but had been fired, and Waage´s former Mexican bodyguard. The bodyguard, a former Puerto Vallarta police official, was released after five days due to a lack of evidence, according to a local newspaper.
The key evidence against Roth is the bank deposit, even though she paid Waage´s staff with the funds and kept receipts. Waage recently signed a deposition saying Rebecca was not involved in his schemes. The U.S. prosecutors from the Waage case told Rebecca´s U.S. lawyer that they had no interest in her.
None of that has so far satisfied the Mexican prosecutors.
"In Mexico, the crime she´s charged with is worse than murder," sister Barbara said.
Although in a fight for her life, proving Roth´s innocence and preparing a defense has been difficult.
Upon arriving at Puente Grande, Rebecca was told to sign a document saying incorrectly that she was fluent in Spanish. Her public defender was also of little use. He often went missing in action.
After disappearing for a month, he told Rebecca she had just ten days to submit her evidence and witness list. She reportedly asked, "Don´t they care about justice?" The defender reportedly responded, "Of course not!"
Finding a better lawyer was also trying. All of the potential attorneys either demanded large up-front payments or would back off after viewing the court documents. One hotshot lawyer pitched himself as the "Johnny Cochran of Mexico" and demanded US$100,000 plus expenses. The women declined.
"We´re no O.J. Simpson and we don´t have that kind of money," Barbara said.
The women eventually settled on an erstwhile law student, but still needed to pay his professor approximately 200,000 pesos.
Enlisting help from U.S. officials has also been difficult. Barbara turned to the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, but found little help. She wrote her senator and still is waiting for a response. A friend recommended writing a Florida senator after reading about how he helped a constituent jailed in Vietnam.
The desperation of the situation hit both women hard. Rebecca´s asthma worsened and was aggravated by the summer rainy season and sleeping on the floor. She spent three months in the prison infirmary.
Barbara´s health also declined. After months of intense stress she was diagnosed with diabetes.
"This is what´s made me ill: none of this makes any sense," she said.
By David Agren/The Herald Mexico
El Universal
Lunes 28 de mayo de 2007
GUADALAJARA - Rebecca Roth led the good life for eight years in Puerto Vallarta, where she ran a boutique. Nowadays though, she lives in a six-bunk cell in Jalisco´s Puente Grande Prison with a dozen other women as she battles money-laundering charges stemming from a brief sojourn working for a convicted scam artist.
Despite her tough surroundings, the former financial consultant from Lake Oswego, Oregon, produces whimsical paintings that draw inspiration from a far more cheerful place, during her advanced art classes. Her sister Barbara Roth has framed several and displays them in her Lake Chapala-area home - but a painting of two sisters called "Dos Hermanas" is most prominent. And appropriately so, especially considering the women´s struggles.
For the past 15 months, Rebecca and Barbara have waged a lonely fight in a legal system that seemingly dispenses little justice. Although gaining recent support from the local expatriate community and some Mexican friends, Rebecca still faces an uncertain future as her pleas of innocence have fallen on deaf ears. If convicted, she could face 20 years in prison.
"How do you prove your innocence in this country?" Barbara asked rhetorically.
Rebecca Roth´s misadventure started in late 2000 after meeting Alyn Waage, a Canadian who ran an Internet investing scheme called Tri-West. He hired Rebecca as a personal assistant and paid her US$4,000 per month. In April 2001, he was arrested in Puerto Vallarta. While he was in a Mexican jail, US$50,000 was deposited into Roth´s Mexican bank account so she could pay the domestic staff and expenses at his eight luxurious Puerto Vallarta properties. The proposed transaction unsettled Rebecca, but a Puerto Vallarta lawyer said everything was legal. The advice proved erroneous.
Waage later fled to Costa Rica, but was eventually extradited to the United States, where he was convicted of running a US$60 million Ponzi scheme. He is serving a 10-year sentence in a North Carolina prison.
Rebecca thought little of her intersection with Waage´s life - it had lasted slightly less than four months - and carried on with her business, which is still being operated by three Mexican employees. In 2005, sister Barbara also moved to Mexico, building a home on Lake Chapala´s north shore. Their lives here seemed idyllic, but everything changed quickly.
At 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 as Rebecca was closing up her business, she was apprehended and driven overnight to Puente Grande. She was told she would be back in Puerto Vallarta the next day. It´s already been 15 months.
Two other former Waage employees were also apprehended: Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman that also worked as chef, but had been fired, and Waage´s former Mexican bodyguard. The bodyguard, a former Puerto Vallarta police official, was released after five days due to a lack of evidence, according to a local newspaper.
The key evidence against Roth is the bank deposit, even though she paid Waage´s staff with the funds and kept receipts. Waage recently signed a deposition saying Rebecca was not involved in his schemes. The U.S. prosecutors from the Waage case told Rebecca´s U.S. lawyer that they had no interest in her.
None of that has so far satisfied the Mexican prosecutors.
"In Mexico, the crime she´s charged with is worse than murder," sister Barbara said.
Although in a fight for her life, proving Roth´s innocence and preparing a defense has been difficult.
Upon arriving at Puente Grande, Rebecca was told to sign a document saying incorrectly that she was fluent in Spanish. Her public defender was also of little use. He often went missing in action.
After disappearing for a month, he told Rebecca she had just ten days to submit her evidence and witness list. She reportedly asked, "Don´t they care about justice?" The defender reportedly responded, "Of course not!"
Finding a better lawyer was also trying. All of the potential attorneys either demanded large up-front payments or would back off after viewing the court documents. One hotshot lawyer pitched himself as the "Johnny Cochran of Mexico" and demanded US$100,000 plus expenses. The women declined.
"We´re no O.J. Simpson and we don´t have that kind of money," Barbara said.
The women eventually settled on an erstwhile law student, but still needed to pay his professor approximately 200,000 pesos.
Enlisting help from U.S. officials has also been difficult. Barbara turned to the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, but found little help. She wrote her senator and still is waiting for a response. A friend recommended writing a Florida senator after reading about how he helped a constituent jailed in Vietnam.
The desperation of the situation hit both women hard. Rebecca´s asthma worsened and was aggravated by the summer rainy season and sleeping on the floor. She spent three months in the prison infirmary.
Barbara´s health also declined. After months of intense stress she was diagnosed with diabetes.
"This is what´s made me ill: none of this makes any sense," she said.
26 May 2007
Miami Herald Mexico Edition R.I.P.
By joint decision, El Universal and The Miami Herald pulled the plug on The Miami Herald Mexico Edition. The last issue will be released on May 31. The Herald Mexico now joins an illustrious list of English publications in Mexico to go belly up.
This comes as a surprise, but only a slight one. The paper never sold much advertising and El Universal (the Mexican partner in the venture) was seemingly derelict with handling circulation. I've been told that many El Universal employees simply viewed the English paper as more work for no extra money.
El Universal perhaps also lost its taste for risk. It has already let staff go earlier this year. It also recently oversaw failed Spanish-language publishing ventures. Ultimately, though, the company probably never truly understood the expat market niche. A little more entrepreneurial thinking would have helped too.
I contributed to the paper on a regular basis so yes, this hurts, but it won't be fatal to my economic wellbeing.
Other English-language publications exist in the provinces and many appear to be doing well - attracting ads, but often not putting out a quality product.
Inside Mexico recently launched in Mexico City, although it is a monthly, and a new online project will launch soon. (I'll post details when they become public.)
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