Apr 152017
 

Following on from his (self-defined) “success” in growing cacao in Mexico, American businessman Jim Walsh is now promoting his own brand of “mezcal” – Kimo Sabe – and is talking up a project to help 1,000 farmers in Zacatecas.

– “The collaborative partnership will create over 100 new agave farms, as well as work with existing agave growers to greatly expand their cultivation capabilities, generating over 1000 new jobs in the state. “

– “The replanting of wild agave on a grand scale, championed by the Governor and the experienced agri-business executives at Kimo Sabe, is the key to long term sustainability of a vibrant mezcal industry,”

The details (ie the company’s own press releases) can be read here:

The claims on their website include:

“Kimo Sabe, unlike any other spirit, uses sound technology to homogenize the molecules in the spirit. This makes the liquid clean and smooth from the first sip to the last note. “

“Along with the energy of the sound waves, agave plants are like solar panels, they absorb sun during the day and grow at night. Harvested after 8 years of sun absorption you are drinking SUN and SOUND energy – a natural stimulant!”

Such statements echo the sensationally non-scientific claims they made for their “Intentional Chocolate”, that their “breakthrough licensed technology… helps embed the focused good intentions of experienced meditators and then infuses those intentions into chocolate”.

Those unfamiliar with Mr Walsh’s previous agricultural experience in Mexico may want to first read about Maya Biosana, before jumping up and down in delight at his latest venture:

We’d love to be proved wrong this time, Mr. Walsh, but we’re not holding our breath.

Easter celebrations in Mexico

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Apr 102017
 

Mexicans celebrate Easter in considerable style with processions and re-enactments of religious events. The MexConnect Easter Index page has a varied collection of articles and photo galleries relating to the Easter period in Mexico.

Easter procession in San Miguel de Allende. Photo: Don Fyfe-Wilson. All rights reserved.

Easter celebrations have been held for centuries in many of Mexico’s towns and cities, though the details may have changed over the years. This MexConnect article, for example, features photos from a Good Friday procession held in San Miguel de Allende in the mid 1960s.

The festivities in dozens of villages and towns throughout the country, including Tzintzuntzan in Michoacán and San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, have a very long history.

In other villages, the present-day, large-scale Easter celebrations are not genuinely “traditional” but are a relatively new introduction to the local culture. This is true, for instance, in the case of the Easter activities in Ajijic, on the northern shore of Lake Chapala, where, “The local townspeople take honor in portraying the cast mentioned in the Bible. Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are there, along with wonderfully costumed early Christians and complacent Roman townspeople and authority figures.”

Perhaps the single most famous location in Mexico for witnessing Easter events is Iztapalapa near Mexico City. See here for photos of the 2013 Celebration of Easter Week in Iztapalapa.

Note: This post was originally published in April 2010, updated in April 2014 and republished in 2017.

The geography of Mexico’s religions is analyzed in chapter 11 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico; many other aspects of Mexico’s culture are discussed in chapter 13.

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