Mexico
A year on but still no explanation….
José Antonio GarcÃa Apac, editor of the regional weekly Ecos de la Cuenca, based in the state of Michoacán was last seen on this day last year. He was on his way home to his wife and seven children when he disappeared. Since that date, the culprits for his disappearance have not been presented by […]
In male world of Mariachi, women sing their own tune
In Plaza Garibaldi, female musicians muscle in on the men. (This article appeared in The News, Mexico on Saturday November 17th. They’re yet to launch a website. See below for a video of the band singing) Dusk falls on a regular Thursday night in Mexico City’s Plaza de Garibaldi and the capital’s multitude of mariachi […]
Witness expands into citizen journalism
Witness, the human rights organization co-founded by Peter Gabriel, launched an online community portal last week aimed at encouraging citizen journalists out there to pick up their cameras and bear witness. The move is evidence of how journalism is becoming incerasing blurred with activism in the ever-expanding multi-media world. The Hub is aimed at encouraging […]
Mexican reform to change relationship between media and Government
A new electoral reform goes into effect in Mexico today that aims to redefine the relationship between the country’s major broadcasters and the government, and to level the political playing field. The changes to the constitution could help improve the quality of media editorial in Mexico, and help it to become more politically independent than […]
Drug-cartels kill journalists, says CPJ. But what about the Government?
Drug-fuelled violence against the press in Mexico is spreading. A report released yesterday by the Committee to Protect Journalists says more journalists are being killed or persecuted whilst covering the drug trade and the powerful Gulf and Sinaloa cartels in the country. But the research from the NGO fails to address the high levels of […]
Two journalists attacked in Cuernavaca, say reports
Reports are surfacing in Mexico today that two journalists in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos, were detained and one of them abused by state police over the weekend. CENCOS (Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social) is circulating a release stating that journalists Óscar López and Ariel RamÃrez Arrieta, of the cultural publication “El Perro Azul”, were […]
People Profile: Spokesman Subcomandante Marcos
Subcomandante Marcos Spokesman By Deborah Bonello Of all Mexicans that one might have known prior to arriving here, SubCommandante Marcos – or Delegado Cero as he now prefers to be known – is definitely one of them. His image abroad as the mask-wearing, pipe-smoking mestizo who fights for the indigenous cause rivals that of another […]
People Profile: Straight Shooter Dario Ramirez
Dario Ramirez Straight Shooter By Deborah Bonello DarÃo RamÃrez is no naïve idealist. The 35-year-old head of Article 19’s Mexico chapter – an organization that defends and promotes freedom of expression — has been a human rights activist for more than a decade. He bluntly describes the United Nations as a “slow elephant,†Mexico’s NGO […]
Day of the Dead Dance in Tetela de Volcan, Mexico
[video:bliptv:472665] Tetela de Volcan is a small, traditional town in the state of Morelos, Mexico overlooked by the volcano Popocatepetl, also known as Popo. Here, the locals spend the days of November 1st and 2nd in their local cemeteries, tending to the graves of their loved ones and spending time with their families. In their […]
Dia de Muertos in Tetela de Volcan
Dia de Muertos in Tetela de Volcan, originally uploaded by MexicoReporter. MexicoReporter.com spent the Dia De Muertos festival in Tetela del Volcan. Click here for the photo story set.
Brad Will shot at close range, says investigation
Brad Will was shot by an assailant (s) just 50 centimeters away, and not from a distance of 30 meters as originally thought, according to the latest findings of the investigation of the Attorney General on the case in Mexico. Results from the investigation into the death of the American IndyMedia journalist, shot dead in […]
Press Freedom Fighters Demand Legal Action in Mexico
Demands have been sent to the Mexican Government from international press freedom organisations this week calling for more vigorous legal proceedings and investigations into cases of violence against journalists. Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists both sent letters to government officials this week following the one year anniversary of the death of […]
Oaxaca Remembers Brad Will
As many as 20,000 people gathered in Oaxaca City on Saturday this weekend to remember Brad Will, the American journalist shot dead a year ago. The marchers also walked in memory of the Oaxacan teacher Alonso Fabian who was shot dead the same day during clashes between teachers and members of the APPO, and municipal […]
Female Mariachi’s Croon in Mexican Plaza
Mariachi Sonidos de America Feminil are defying Mexican tradition. A female band of Mariachis, the group of women musicians are confronting the macho culture of the Mariachi to give it a feminine touch. The group plays every night of the weekend in Mexico’s Plaza de Garibaldi. More to come from MexicoReporter.com on the mariachis….. Formats […]
One Year On, Supporters of Dead Journalist Oppose U.S Drugs Cash Proposal
Groups demanding justice for the murder of U.S journalist Brad Will, who was shot dead in Oaxaca, Mexico on this day last year, are opposing the $1.4 billion security proposal put forward by President George Bush this week as part of an initiative to help the country fight its illegal drugs trafficking problem. Supporters demanding […]
'Mexican newspapers don't explain Mexico' says journalist
Mexican newspaper publishers sell only three million newspapers a day in a country with a population of 106 million. Most Mexican journalists will tell you that Mexican's don't read because Mexican newspapers have yet to get round to the job of 'explaining Mexico', according to Ronald Buchanan, a Scottish freelance journalist based in Mexico City. […]
Punks Collect Downtown at El Chopo
El Chopo is a weekly fleamarket that has been going for 27 years in Mexico City. Punters can pick up anything from original Doc Marten boots to a copy of ‘London Calling’ by the Clash in the stalls that line the market streets. Click on the photo for more pictures.
English Newspaper Hits Streets of Mexico, Pledging Independence
English language newspaper The News hit the streets of Mexico City today after a five year hiatus. Its directors have promised a more independent tone this time around. In its prior incarnation The News kept its head under the parapet, preferring to keep its advertisers and powerful readers happy rather than rocking the boat.
‘Mexican Government is main perpetrator of violence against journalists in Mexico’, says human rights expert
‘The Mexican Government is one of the main perpetrators of violence against journalists in the country and complicit in its continuance,’ according to one of the country's leading freedom of expression organisations. Mexico is reportedly the second most dangerous country to work as a journalist after Iraq. But speaking to MexicoReporter.com last week Dario Ramirez, […]
Arena de Mexico Mascara-Seller makes nearly $1000 dollars on a good night
José Carmelo is 33 years old and has been working outside the Arena de Mexico selling mascaras for 20 years. He got into this line of work thought his brothers, who used to have another shop outside another lucha venue – el Toreo de Cuatro Caminos. Click on the picture for more photos.
What does the Tlatelolco Massacre mean today?
MexicoReporter interviewed Salvador Martinez dela Roca, a student leader at the time of the Tlateloloco Massacre, about his thoughts on what the tragedy means today and why people march. Watch the film here, and click here for more on Tlatelolco: Mexico Remembers Massacre Formats available: Windows Media (.wmv), Flash Video (.flv) Tags: newcorrespondent, mexicoreporter, tlatelolco, […]
Mexico Remembers Massacre
Ana Ignacia Rodriguez Marquez, now in her sixties, stood in La Plaza de Las Tres Culturas on Tuesday this week, October 2nd, in the same place that she had stood nearly 40 years ago. It was from that very spot that she saw students, men, women and children gunned down by state police and officials […]
An Evening with SubComandante Marcos
It was rather an unlikely setting for a press conference with one of the world's most famous rebel leaders, Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatista National Liberation Army(EZLN). Mexico City's Casa Lamm, a cultural centre and converted mansion in the Roma neighbourhood is the kind of place you expect to see expats and well-off Mexican families […]
World Press Photo exhibition opens in Mexico City
The World Press Photo awards exhibition opened in Mexico City's beautiful Franz Meyer museum last night in collaboration with Mexico's National Commission of Human Rights. The event was attended by hundreds, and features 200 photographs representing the best in press photography of last year. Images in the show range from photographs of conflict zones to […]
Mascot prompts YouTube frenzy
Dr. Simi is the mascot for chain of discount pharmacist shops here in Mexico, but he’s a lot more than that. Based roughly on the founder of Farmacias Similares founder Victor Gonzales, the marketing strategy has developed a cult following. [video:youtube:3AKOoClbdVQ] People dressed in Dr Simi costumes dance outside the highstreet pharmacies. He’s an easy […]
Too much violence in contemporary photojournalism, says Magnum member
There is too much of an emphasis on documenting violence in contemporary press photography, and photojournalists should document other, non-violent stories in the world, according to Rene Burri. Speaking at the opening of his photo exhibition ‘Un Mundo’ (a world) in Mexico City’s Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Swiss-born Burri told NewCorrespondent that he deplores […]
Mexico is ‘out of control’
This story appeared in Press Gazette: 17 September 2007 By Deborah Bonello Unlike Iraq, there is no war in Mexico. At least officially. Despite that, the country is one of the most dangerous to work in as a journalist in the world, second only to Iraq. A recent report by Reporters Without Borders showed that […]
Mexico’s Independence Day celebrations pass peacefully
Mexico celebrated the anniversary of its independence this weekend. It was the first time that Felipe Calderon, the country’s current president, oversaw the celebrations since he took office in December last year following controversial elections. Observers said that the military presence surrounding the annual event was much higher than past years, and the volume of […]
Mexico City’s military and police are out in force in preparation for this weekend’s Independence Celebrations
Stalls and celebrations in Mexico City’s Zocalo. The country is preparing to celebrate its Independence Day. This will be the first Independence Day to be presided over by the country’s current president Felipe Calderon, who took office in December last year following controversial elections. Metal barriers and fences sprung up in the Zocalo almost overnight, […]
30 years of photojournalism in Mexico City
September is the month of photography here in Mexico City, and a number of photographic exhibitions are running. One of the most striking to foreign eyes is that of Proceso, a political magazine based here in Mexico that has been running for the last 30 years. Lining the outside fence of the majestic Bosque de […]