Sunday, November 4, 2012

BECC opens public consultation for Ensenada desalination plant


The US-Mexico Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) has started the public consultation process for the construction of a desalination plant in Ensenada, Baja California state, BNamericas has learned.
The project consists of the design, construction and operation of a 250l/s plant at an estimated cost of 637mn pesos (US$49.9mn), according to the public consultation document.
The North American Development Bank will provide a 320mn-peso loan to the concession holder, GS Inima Environment (a subsidiary of South Korean company GS Engineering & Construction), with the remaining funds to be provided by the national infrastructure fund Fonadin and the concessionaire.

Read more...
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/waterandwaste/becc-opens-public-consultation-for-ensenada-desalination-plant

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

BAJA123.COM RECOMENDS BAJA BOUND FOR YOUR MEXICO AUTO INSURANCE


BAJA123.COM RECOMENDS BAJA BOUND FOR YOUR MEXICO AUTO INSURANCE


Because not all Mexican auto insurance companies are the same!


This is one service in Mexico you do not want to be bargain hunting for.  This is why we are recommending  Baja Bound Insurance

Trust me, I know from my own experience with other Mexican Auto insurance companies they are not all the same.  Up front, other companies look great with very attractive pricing but when it comes time to submit a claim that is where the nightmare begins.

Like most insurance companies around the world, certain insurers will do everything they can to not have to pay a claim!  Even if you do everything right they will still turn your claim process into a paperwork gathering nightmare only to deny your claim after you have jumped through a million hoops. And if you are “Spanish Speaking” challenged like I am, it is going to even be more difficult.

We have been referring clients to Baja Bound now for 5 years and have never had one complaint from any of our clients,  which just goes to show that they are doing business right.

They have a very simple and easy to use website  Baja Bound Insurance

Purchase and Renew your policy online or give them a call and one of their friendly English speaking staff will assist you.

Make sure to tell them Baja123.com sent you

Baja Bound Insurance


Travel to Mexico safe and sound with Baja Bound!

Baja Bound Mexican Insurance Services, Inc. has been in business selling Mexican insurance on the border for over 14 years. In 1999, the first version of the Bajabound.com web site was launched. At that time we saw the potential to make Mexican insurance an easy, convenient thing to purchase at home or in the office in a matter of minutes. We set out to make the purchasing process as easy as possible, with a streamlined interface that enables the insurance customer to enter information into a few online forms and then immediately print out the official certificate of Mexican insurance. Since then, we have continued to see the tremendous growth of the internet, and continued interest in our online services and information.

BAJA123.COM RECOMENDS BAJA BOUND FOR YOUR MEXICO AUTO INSURANCE


BAJA123.COM RECOMENDS BAJA BOUND FOR YOUR MEXICO AUTO INSURANCE


Because not all Mexican auto insurance companies are the same!


This is one service in Mexico you do not want to be bargain hunting for.  This is why we are recommending  Baja Bound Insurance

Trust me, I know from my own experience with other Mexican Auto insurance companies they are not all the same.  Up front, other companies look great with very attractive pricing but when it comes time to submit a claim that is where the nightmare begins.

Like most insurance companies around the world, certain insurers will do everything they can to not have to pay a claim!  Even if you do everything right they will still turn your claim process into a paperwork gathering nightmare only to deny your claim after you have jumped through a million hoops. And if you are “Spanish Speaking” challenged like I am, it is going to even be more difficult.

We have been referring clients to Baja Bound now for 5 years and have never had one complaint from any of our clients,  which just goes to show that they are doing business right.

They have a very simple and easy to use website  Baja Bound Insurance

Purchase and Renew your policy online or give them a call and one of their friendly English speaking staff will assist you.

Make sure to tell them Baja123.com sent you

Baja Bound Insurance


Travel to Mexico safe and sound with Baja Bound!

Baja Bound Mexican Insurance Services, Inc. has been in business selling Mexican insurance on the border for over 14 years. In 1999, the first version of the Bajabound.com web site was launched. At that time we saw the potential to make Mexican insurance an easy, convenient thing to purchase at home or in the office in a matter of minutes. We set out to make the purchasing process as easy as possible, with a streamlined interface that enables the insurance customer to enter information into a few online forms and then immediately print out the official certificate of Mexican insurance. Since then, we have continued to see the tremendous growth of the internet, and continued interest in our online services and information.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Venture Capital Is Taking Off in Mexico


By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui

Source: www.cnbc.com




Mexico has such a solid macroeconomic context that — among the only four countries to have recovered all the lost ground after the stock markets crashed during the 2008 financial crisis — Mexico is the fastest-growing country according to the MSCI index, surpassing the U.S., Singapore and Sweden.

According to the Mexico Ministry of the Economy, 35 percent of Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 73 percent of the country’s jobs are created by small and medium sized companies (SMEs), which are the fastest-growing segments of the economy. While only 21 percent of small and medium sized companies are subject to bank financing, most startups and SMEs have no access to credit.






Move Over, Brazil: Why Mexico’s Entrepreneurs Are Prime for Investment


By: Pilar Aguilar

Source: www.cnbc.com





With daily news reports of drug-related violence on the U.S.-Mexico border, our neighbor to the South may not be the first place most wealth managers think of in search for returns on investment. But in recent years, Mexican businesses have grown at an impressive pace, making the country a new destination for venture capital firms in search of impactful returns.

I have seen it first-hand. For the last 15 years, the nonprofit Endeavor has worked with entrepreneurs in emerging and growth markets around the world to build their companies, with an eye toward improving the sustainable growth of local economies.





Mexico: Surprising Land Of Opportunity


By: Mark Koba

Source: www.cnbc.com




Long considered a second cousin to its behemoth neighbor to the north — and a source of illegal immigration and drug violence — Mexico may have one of the most underrated and misunderstood roles in the global economy.

The reality, many analysts say, is that Mexico offers investors and businesses a land of opportunity that rivals any other emerging market.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Valle de Guadalupe: Mexico's Answer to Napa Valley


By: Zack Stone

Source: www.cntraveler.com


Scenery in Valle de Guadalupe
With fear the emotion that still dominates the conversation about the U.S.–Mexico border, many Americans exploring Baja beeline to the beaches of Los Cabos. That's a shame, because one of Baja’s true gems—and safer locales—lies to the north, striking distance from the California border. The Valle de Guadalupe, often called the Napa or Tuscany of Baja, is just a four-hour drive from Los Angeles (if you time the traffic right), and it's stocked with enough local wines, fresh foods, and gorgeous views to rival other wine destinations. Plus, it's incredibly laid-back, even during high season. American tourists, in particular, seem to just be waking up to all the riches the valley has to offer. Check out a few of our picks for where to eat and drink while you're there…

Mexico Ex-President Urges US to Expand Partnership


By: Associated Press

Source: www.abcnews.go.com



Former Mexican President Vicente Fox says the U.S. should expand its partnership with Mexico to promote business — or face being left behind by China's emergence as the world's superpower.

Fox spoke Thursday morning at a news conference in Peoria, Ariz., saying China's economy is forecast to emerge as the world's largest in a decade or so.

Trade surging as Mexico consumers embrace 'Made in USA'


By: Nick Miroff

Source: www.seattletimes.com



Monica Castaneda shops at a Costco outside Mexico City.
When the governor of Colorado came to Mexico on a trade mission earlier this year to see the sights, "one of the most amazing" was a Costco.

"It was as big, clean and modern as any in America," recalled John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, who found the aisles filled with shoppers bearing "nothing but positive feelings toward the United States."

Especially toward U.S. stuff.

The Costco was stocked with products stamped "Made in USA," including some of the $755 million in goods that Colorado exports to Mexico each year: marbled slabs of steak from Greeley, cans of pinto beans from Holyoke, and sacks of russet potatoes out of Monte Vista.

Monday, September 10, 2012

DEMAIO LEADS "HISTORIC" JOBS TOUR FOCUSING ON BI-NATIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH


By: carldemaio.com



As the first mayoral candidate ever to visit Baja California during the election season, San Diego Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio ignited international goodwill while strengthening DeMaio’s ties to government and business leaders in Mexicali and Tijuana during a two-day jobs tour.

“My focus is all about jobs, jobs, and more jobs. There are numerous ways we can work together to create jobs on both sides of the border if we are willing to overcome stereotypes and work together.” said DeMaio who was joined by San Diego Councilmembers-elect Scott Sherman and Mark Kersey on the Mexican Trade Tour. “Besides building a competitive global mega-region for international commerce, we learned that there are needs for more secure and efficient crossings to the United States, regional rail services to reduce truck emissions, and more dialogue as a region to improve infrastructure needs on both sides of the border.”
 

U.S. Defense Companies Will Gather to Analyze Bi-National Manufacturing Competitiveness Strategies


By: PRWEB

Source: www.prweb.com


CaliBaja Defense Compliance Workshop
For California, recent cuts to the US Defense budget could mean the loss of 31.000 jobs and a significant impact on the sales of local products, particularly aircraft equipment. US defense contractors are looking for ways to streamline efficiency and minimize costs without compromising jobs, while still complying with federal programs.

In preparation for sequestration, the Cali-Baja Bi-National Mega-Region is starting to work proactively by organizing an event that will pin-point potential alternatives that might minimize some of the effects on the local industry. As testimony to such benefits, CUBIC Defense will talk about how they have succeeded in the bi-national region.


Mexico to Boost Auto Output 38% Within Three Years, Agency Says


By: Nacha Cattan and Brendan Case

Source: www.bloomberg.com



Mexico will boost annual auto output by 1 million vehicles within three years, a 38 percent jump from last year, as foreign manufacturers use the country as an export base, said Carlos Guzman, head of the nation’s investment promotion agency.

Investments already announced by carmakers will allow Mexico, the world’s fourth-largest auto exporter, to increase annual production from last year’s 2.6 million units, Guzman, president of ProMexico, said in an interview yesterday at Bloomberg’s Mexico City office. Surging car and aerospace sales will help Mexican exports climb by about 15 percent this year to a record of around $400 billion, he said, surpassing a $350 billion high reached last year.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Jessica Biel's Relaxing Cabo San Lucas Rehearsal Dinner


By: Celebrity Gossip



After an day filled with flights, Jessica Biel finally took a moment to relax when she arrived at her friend's rehearsal dinner in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on over Labor Day Weekend (September 1).


Held at the beautiful Las Ventanas al Paraiso Resort, the 30-year-old actress joined her pals in a simple blue frock and enjoyed an evening with drinks around the fire.


Nicole Richie Rocks Bikini Top in Cabo San Lucas


By: Gabrielle Chung




Summer may soon be over, but Nicole Richie‘s vacation is just beginning.

The Fashion Star judge was spotted enjoying the sun and sand in Cabo San Lucas for her Labor Day weekend.

Sporting a black bikini top and a cream-colored maxi skirt, the 30-year-old looked kicked back with friends at Las Ventanas al Paraiso Resort.


Hyundai to invest $130 mn in new plant in Mexico


By: The Economist




Hyundai to invest $130 mn in new plant in Mexico
Mexico City: South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors Company's Mexican unit said it planned to invest USD 130 million in a new plant that will manufacture aluminum auto parts in Tijuana, a border city in the northwestern state of Baja California.

The plant is expected to create 300 direct jobs and make up to 900,000 units of three new automotive products for different models sold in the US, Hyundai said. Hyundai Trans-lead chief Kenny Lee laid the cornerstone for the new plant, the automaker said. The plant is expected to start operating in 2014 and "production could rise to 1.5 million units when it is at 100 percent of capacity", Hyundai said.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Tijuana EDC and MEDevice San Diego Offer Free Tour of Baja Medical Manufacturing Facilities


By: MEDevice San Diego

Source: www.heraldonline.com


the Tijuana Economic Development Corporation and MEDevice San Diego will host a free guided bus tour of two medical manufacturing facilities in Baja California. The trip, which shows how medical manufacturers are taking advantage of cross-border manufacturing opportunities, includes tours of Greatbatch Medical and Fisher & Paykel. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The bus trip departs from San Diego the morning of September 18, 2012, arriving at the first facility at 11:00 a.m. The bus leaves Baja at 3:30 p.m., returning to San Diego at around 5:30 p.m. The tour is free for all registered attendees of MEDevice Forum San Diego. After registering for MEDevice, visit the Calibaja Manufacturing Facility Tour Page and sign up for the tour.

Border Week: Bizet's Carmen in Tijuana rodeo


By: Sandra Dibble

Source: www.utsandiego.com



Preparing to present the opera "Carmen" in Tijuana on Thursday and Saturday are from left to right, music director Armando Pesqueira, baritone Amed Liévanos (Escamillo), mezzo soprano Grace Echauri (Carmen) stage director José Medina, soprano Monica Abrego (Micaela) and tenor José Luis Duval (Don José).
TIJUANA — A rodeo in Playas de Tijuana will be the setting for a production of the Georges Bizet four-act opera "Carmen" sponsored by Tijuana's Municipal Institute of Art and Culture (IMAC) and Mexico’s National Council for Culture and the Arts

The opera brings together accomplished musicians with international experience. Some first honed their skills in Tijuana, including music director Armando Pesqueira, head of the Chihuahua State Philharmonic Orchestra, stage director José Medina, artistic director of the Tijuana Opera, and soprano Monica Abrego, currently based in New York City.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Foreign correspondence: Mexico offers everything from pyramids and ecotourism to tequila


By: John Bordsen


Source: www.sacbee.com


What's it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on a vacation? Foreign Correspondence is an interview with someone who lives in a spot you may want to visit.

Gloria Guevara, 44, is Mexico's Minister of Tourism. The graduate of Northwestern University and Mexico City's Universidad Anahuac was formerly an executive with Sabre, the travel technology corporation.

Budget Travel: Mexico's Next “It” Destinations


By: Julie Schwietert Collazo




Mexico's Copper Canyon is a hidden gem in a country that is in the news too much for drug violence and crime.
Though the resort towns of Mexico's Pacific and Caribbean coasts are frequently visited by Americans, most of the country's interior—all 1,220,610 square miles of it—is barely on travelers' radar screens. Lack of awareness about Mexico's vastness and its diverse geography are two of the most persistent challenges the country faces with respect to tourism.

In recent years, tourism officials have tried to respond to those challenges in many ways, from emphasizing overlooked destinations in its “Mexico: The Place You Thought You Knew” ad campaign to meeting with US Department of State officials to advocate for greater geographic specificity and political context in its travel alerts about Mexico.

Mexico Recognized as “Tourism Board of The Year” by Virtuoso Luxury Travel Network


By: Susie Albin-Najera






Mexico Tourism Board Chief Operating Officer, Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete; Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch, CTC; Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara

LAS VEGAS – The Mexico Tourism Board was honored by renowned luxury travel network, Virtuoso, with the first-ever “Virtuoso Tourism Board of the Year” award.  Mexico was bestowed the award for its bold diversification and promotion strategy, creative advertising campaigns, and robust industry partnerships.

Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, accompanied by Mexico Tourism Board Chief Operating Officer, Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, accepted the award at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas yesterday evening. The ceremony formed the centerpiece of “Virtuoso Travel Week”, a major luxury travel trade fair attended by more than four thousand industry experts from 85 countries hosting approximately 350,000 business meetings, representing the largest attendance at this event in the past 24 years.



Google Mexico offers virtual visits to archaeological sites


By: Fox News Latino






Cybernauts will be able to take virtual strolls through 30 Mexican archaeological sites using Google Mexico's Street View platform, Mexican cultural authorities said.

The 360-degree virtual view of these archaeological sites, which include Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, Monte Alban, Chichen Itza, Tulum, Palenque, Tula and Paquime, allows them to be explored down to the last corner.

Mexico: 3 Names to Know in an Ignored Emerging Market



By: Charles Sizemore

Source: www.investorplace.com



Mexico gets no love. It’s not quite a developed market, but being next door to the U.S., it’s not quite remote or exotic enough to be an alluring emerging market, either. And starting with the letter “M,” it doesn’t fit into any popular acronyms.

Lest you think I’m joking, the four BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — have nothing in common other than the fact that their first letters make a word that sounds good in marketing literature. Mexico, Turkey and Indonesia would all have been better choices than Russia because all three are promising emerging markets, whereas Russia is a decrepit petrostate on the decline. But it’s hard to form an acronym with their first letters.


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Mexico Shares Are on a Roll


By: Laurence Ilif and Georgia Wells

Source: online.wjs.com


Enrique Peña Nieto's election as Mexico's next president boosted stocks.
Earlier this year, Mexican shares were driven higher largely by investors cheering the July election of incoming President Enrique Peña Nieto and the promise of market-friendly changes. Now the rally is showing more staying power as investors zero in on manufacturing-driven economic growth, the widening regional footprint of some Mexican companies and expectations of an expansion of consumer credit—even though Mexico's close ties to the U.S. economy remain a concern, many investors and analysts say.



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Ensenada Wine Valley Explodes!


Source: www.bajabound.com

The wine producing regions of Baja, like wine itself, have gotten better with age. In the past few years there has been an explosion of creative juices flowing south of the border as new and exciting wineries and wines are popping up seemingly overnight. Some have called it the 'renaissance of Baja's wine country' and the excitement is growing.

Vino Mexico!
Head to Valle de Guadalupe for upscale wineries, chic hotels and a south-of-the-border answer to the French Laundry

By Katie McLaughlin | The Wall Street Journal TRAVEL

WE WERE WATCHING the kids swim in his backyard pool in Los Angeles when my friend Juan Carlos, who grew up in Tijuana, began raving about a life-altering bowl of chicken soup he'd recently eaten.

"It was at the Mexican version of the French Laundry," he said. "You know—a fancy, farm-to-table place in the middle of Mexican wine country."

I had no idea, I sheepishly admitted, there was wine country in Mexico, nor anything resembling the French Laundry. But Valle de Guadalupe is a Mediterranean microclimate in Baja California where wine has been produced for more than a century, and it's in the midst of the kind of winemaking and tourism renaissance that Napa Valley experienced in the 1970s.


For Baja California Winemakers, It’s Fiesta Time

By Maya Kroth | KPBS

While driving to Ensenada one recent Saturday, I passed billboards advertising no fewer than five foodie festivals: The festival of cheese and bread; the festival of seafood and shellfish—even a festival devoted entirely to salads and salad dressings. But it’s a paella competition that brings me south of the border today.

“If we win we get to go to the big contest in Valle de Guadalupe in the last weekend of August,” said Montserrat Vildósola, an architect from Mexico City and amateur paella chef. “There’s a contest where 100 paelleros go, and this is the contest you have to win in order to be able to contest there.”


Guadalupe Valley aims for domestic, international wine prominence

By Loic Hostetter | UT San Diego

ENSENADA — Guadalupe Valley, the most famous wine-producing area in Mexico, plays host to vintners of every stripe — from establishments turning out millions of bottles a year to those making just a few hundred.

Those products are being widely circulated, and sampled, this month as visitors hit the Baja “wine route” and nearby Ensenada during the annual Vendimia (wine harvest) festival. The 17-day event, which ends Sunday, is expected to draw more than 50,000 people, according to the Baja California tourism secretary.


Wine Country: Valle De Guadalupe

By Crossing South

In this episode, we’ll visit the famous wine country of Baja. Valle de Guadalupe is just North of Ensenada and is the Napa Valley of Mexico. Visit the harvest festival, wine taste, get to know the wine owners, and learn about the Russian history behind it all.


DaMarcus Beasley: I encourage more Americans to play in Mexico


By: Eric Gomez



TIJUANA -- It only took an ill-timed slide and just 20 minutes on the Estadio Caliente's artificial turf for DaMarcus Beasley's tendinitis to flare up again. That was a month ago, and thankfully for Club Puebla and Beasley, the injury did not keep the American winger out for long. Despite the limited appearance in Tijuana last July, Beasley got a good look at Xolos de Tijuana and its American stars, mainly midfielder Joe Corona, who Beasley can now call his teammate after both players were penciled in by Jurgen Klinsmann for Wednesday's friendly against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Vino Mexico!


By: Katy McLaughlin

Source: online.wsj.org



WE WERE WATCHING the kids swim in his backyard pool in Los Angeles when my friend Juan Carlos, who grew up in Tijuana, began raving about a life-altering bowl of chicken soup he'd recently eaten.

"It was at the Mexican version of the French Laundry," he said. "You know—a fancy, farm-to-table place in the middle of Mexican wine country."

I had no idea, I sheepishly admitted, there was wine country in Mexico, nor anything resembling the French Laundry. But Valle de Guadalupe is a Mediterranean microclimate in Baja California where wine has been produced for more than a century, and it's in the midst of the kind of winemaking and tourism renaissance that Napa Valley experienced in the 1970s.

A decade ago, the area was mostly known in the wine scene for being home to L.A. Cetto, a huge maker of mid-market wines—the Mexican version of E. & J. Gallo. Today Valle de Guadalupe boasts scores of artisanal wineries; the region's wine has improved and become trendy enough to be served in fashionable Mexico City restaurants. Top chefs are opening eateries in the area, and several stylish boutique hotels have been built in the past few years.

It sounded irresistible, so a few months later, I found myself caravanning, with Juan Carlos, his wife and my husband in one car, another couple of friends in theirs, across the Mexican border and south on the Tijuana-Ensenada Cuota toward Valle de Guadalupe, a 3½-hour ride from L.A.

We ditched our plan to drive directly to the valley when Juan Carlos pointed out Bar Villa Ortega, his favorite spot in Puerto Nuevo, for Pacific lobster, placemat-size flour tortillas and micheladas—pressed lemon over ice with beer in a salt-rimmed glass. We sat on a spacious covered patio built on a bluff, making us feel like we were eating on the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

For Baja California Winemakers, It’s Fiesta Time


By: Talea Miller

Source: www.pbs.org



While driving to Ensenada one recent Saturday, I passed billboards advertising no fewer than five foodie festivals: The festival of cheese and bread; the festival of seafood and shellfish—even a festival devoted entirely to salads and salad dressings. But it’s a paella competition that brings me south of the border today.

“If we win we get to go to the big contest in Valle de Guadalupe in the last weekend of August,” said Montserrat Vildósola, an architect from Mexico City and amateur paella chef. “There’s a contest where 100 paelleros go, and this is the contest you have to win in order to be able to contest there.”

Vildósola’s team is one of about a dozen competing today for a spot in the big paella contest that closes out the grandaddy of all Baja gastronomic festivals: the Fiestas de la Vendimia. That’s Spanish for harvest parties, and they’re happening now in Ensenada’s lush Guadalupe Valley wine country, a bucolic place where horses graze amid scenic vineyards surrounded by majestic purple mountains.

“Baja produces about 90 percent of the wine from Mexico,” said Joaquín Prieto, current president of Provino, the coalition of winemakers that coordinates the Vendimia. “Climate is the prime thing. We have the Pacific cold and the heat of the valley so it creates a microclimate.”


Take the plunge into Mexico's underwater museum

By: Hello Magazine

Source: www.hellomagazine.com 



It's not just flurries of brightly coloured fish that you'll spot whilst swimming the warm, turquoise waters off the coast of Cancun. 

Just a short kick of the flippers away from Mexico's famous diving spot, Manchones Reef, you'll find a collection of over 400 underwater statues that comprise one of the world's most unusual museums, the Cancun Underwater Museum.

Despite being an artistic project, the park has conservation at is core. It is an attempt to ease some of the swimming traffic away from the reefs suffering under the strain of tourism.  

The permanent collection of life-size sculptures features a range of scenes, from everyday life above water to iconic events such as the Last Supper. Other more artistic scenes include the Phoenix – the museum's first kinetic structure of a woman with purple coral wings. 

You don't need to be a deep sea diving expert to enjoy the museum. There are two galleries – one deep and one shallow – and the latter exclusively welcomes snorkelers. If you don't fancy taking the plunge, you can take a ride in a glass bottomed boat and catch all the action from the surface. 

The waters off the coast of Cancun are some of the best in the world. Jason Decaires Taylor, the artist behind the project, designed the sculptures from ph neutral clay in order to stimulate the growth of coral reef and marine life.

Sun, Beach and Relaxation


By: VisitMexico

Source: www.visitmexico.com



Mexico industry output grows at fastest pace in 9 months


By: Reuters

Source: in.reuters.com


Mexico 4, Brazil 2: Football and economics


By: The Economist

Source: www.chicagotribune.com



Does Mexico's victory over Brazil in Olympic football foreshadow the two countries' economic futures?


Congratulations are due to Mexico, which on August 11th won its first gold medal in the London Olympics, beating Brazil in the men's football final. After 93 frantic minutes, the final score was 2-1 to Mexico. Mass celebrations followed in Mexico City.

This blogs headline isn't a misprint, but a reference to the score in a longer-term competition: economic growth. In recent years Brazil has outplayed Mexico, growing at 6% or more as Mexico bumped along in the slow lane. But lately that has changed. Last year Mexico grew by 4% and Brazil by 2.7%. This year Mexico is expected to get close to 4% again, whereas some economists reckon that Brazil's rate could dip below 2%. A recent report by Nomura predicted that Mexico's economy, currently half the size of Brazils, could end up the bigger of the two within the next decade.

One reason for the turnaround is China. Its growth has been a boon to Brazilian commodity exporters (who have made a fortune feeding the Chinese economy) and a headache for Mexican manufacturers (who face stiffer competition from Chinese companies in the United States). But with China slowing down, the tables are turned. Demand for Brazilian commodities is cooling, and Mexico is regaining an edge in its main market. The gradual recovery of the American economy will help Mexico further.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Cross-border pollution pact to be signed


By: Gary Martin

Source: www.mysanantonio.com/news


WASHINGTON — An eight-year environmental pact to reduce air, water and chemical pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border will be signed by dignitaries from both countries, Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday.

The pact, "Border 2020: U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program," will be officially unveiled by EPA Director Lisa Jackson and Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, Mexico's secretary of environmental and natural resources, at a Wednesday news conference in Tijuana.

The signing of the pact was applauded by U.S. officials who have worked over a year to develop the agreement.

"We must ensure we provide a clean, safe and healthy environment to people on both sides of the border," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.

Officials from all 10 U.S. and Mexican states sharing the 1,969-mile international border, as well as the leaders from indigenous tribes, took part in developing the environmental plan, an EPA spokeswoman said.

The eight-year program is a bi-national agreement that calls for significant reductions in air and water pollution, and improvements in children's health, in the border region, according to the EPA.

A Visit To The ‘Fiestas De La Vendimia’


By: Alisa Barba

Source: www.fronterasdesk.org



SAN DIEGO — There was a time when San Diegans like myself would regularly go down for dinner in TJ, as Tijuana is known here, to take in a bullfight, search out carnitas, drive down the blue sparkling coast for golf or some luscious Mexican lobsters at La Fonda.

But that was a decade ago, before post-Sept. 11 border security created multi-hour border wait times for the return; before grisly cartel violence dominated the headlines, and certainly, for me, before kids and their activities sucked up all the spare time it took to travel south. Still, I’ve been dying to check out the emerging wine and food scene in Baja, and finally had a chance this past weekend.

The excuse: the Fiestas de la Vendimia, Baja California’s 22nd annual wine harvest festival. Conjured up by tourism officials and some of the some nearly 70 local wineries around Ensenada, the festival is a two-week-long celebration of wine and food, with events including concerts, wine tastings, and art exhibitions scattered among the seven beautiful wine-producing valleys between Ensenada and Tecate.

This year’s festival -– which runs from Aug. 3-19 -- officially began with the inauguration by Mexican President Felipe Calderon of the spectacular Museo del la Vid Y El Vino (Museum of Vine and Wine), located on the Ruta del Vino road that connects Ensenada with Tecate.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Ensenada Beach House Hotel For Sale





• 15,095 sq. ft. "Hotel" - $1,500,000 USD - Estimated Value of $2.8M

  -  The Ensenada Beach House Hotel is located in the “Playas de Chapultepec” area of Ensenada. The hotel is beautifully maintained and is a great get-away location for guests seeking the fun of Ensenada and the privacy that is found once you enter the facility. 



The Beach House Hotel is 5 miles south of downtown Ensenada, near Estero Beach. Built in 1995 the structure is made from block with wood framing. The roof is a composite roll roof that is covered with decorative broken red roof tiles. The entire structure is stucco finished. The foundation of the property is designed and built to carry three stories and the plans for expansion to 45 rooms total are available.

The hotel is completely enclosed and has two gated entries, one of which is RV accessible. Located two blocks from the beach, the hotel offers oceans views from second story rooms.


This is a For Sale By Owner Property, please contact the owner:


Thomas Polley
US Phone: (858) 344-0333
sales@ensenadahotelforsale.com

Monday, August 6, 2012

Ensenada gymnast making Olympic history for Mexico


By: Mark Zeigler

Source: www.utsandiego.com



LONDON — Daniel Corral is a Mexican gymnast from a small gym in the dusty Baja California town of Ensenada, which immediately elicits the question: What in the name of the pommel horse is he doing in London for the Olympics?

“To be honest,” Corral says, “I still ask this question every day.”

He is the first Mexican male gymnast to qualify for an Olympics in two decades and could become the first Latin American athlete, male or female, to win a gymnastics medal when he goes in the parallel bars individual apparatus final Tuesday at O2 Arena.

Corral is not among the favorites, but only eight men qualified for the final and crazy things happen when you mix human beings with the crucible of competition with two long wooden bars set 17 inches apart and 6½ feet off the ground. And it’s not like Corral hasn’t beaten major odds already. He’s from Mexico. He’s a gymnast.

“In Mexico, gymnastics was gone for 20 years,” says Corral, 22. “Right now, my coach and I are the only team. We’re the (national) team. Sometimes it’s been us against all of Mexico, against the federation, against plenty of people. But the only thing that matters is what my coach and I think.

“This is the result of it, and I’m happy about it.”

Corral became a gymnast because his older sister was, training with Steve Butcher at the Mission Valley YMCA. He was a rambunctious kid and his mother figured it was better to drain his bottomless reservoirs of energy on the vault runway than, as he puts it, “doing some things at our house that moms are not very happy with.”

Eventually, Mexican coach Oscar Aguirre moved from the YMCA to the Ensenada gym and they have been together ever since, forging a new legacy in a sport that had vanished like chalk dust after Luis Lopez finished 57th in the individual all-around at the 1992 Olympics. Corral was 2.




Mexico Inaugurates Wine Museum, Wine Route Highway Upgrades


By: Mexidata

Source: www.mexidata.info



Presidency of the Republic

During the inauguration of the Baja California Vine and Wine Museum, Mexican President Felipe Calderón remarked that the museum will also operate as a convention center that will trigger further economic and cultural activity in the Ensenada-Valle de Guadalupe region. He hoped that both national and foreign tourists would visit it and discover the region's wine-making tradition, a deep source of pride for Mexico.

The new museum, built with $5.3 million in state and federal funds, is at the 81-kilometer marker of the road linking Tecate and Ensenada.

Calderón noted that the museum required the combined efforts of the federal government, CONACYT, the state government, and Casa Cetto, with a total investment of 76 million pesos.

The president said that in order to support the industry, the Program to Support the Wine Industry (Proviti) was implemented this year, which will have a 50 million peso fund. The program will provide wine makers with access to support or financing of between 250,000 and 500,000 pesos to invest in production, investment and training projects, studies and consultancy.

The president's visit coincided with Fiestas de la Vendimia, Baja California's annual harvest celebration that [is now taking place and] includes concerts, dinners and wine tastings at the different wineries.