Tag Archives: Mazatlan

USA-Mexico Relations and Mazatlán

UPDATE: Consul General Karen Ogle of the U.S. Consulate in Hermosillo will be visiting Mazatlan and extends an invitation to meet her for coffee and to speak informally to members of the American citizen community.  She will be at Rico’s Cafe.  Ave. Marina #2216 Petroplazas from noon to 1pm on Thursday, March 16, 2017.
consular districts mexico.jpgIt is a difficult time for many US Americans who reside in Mexico. Our newly elected President has not ingratiated himself with our southern neighbor, long-time adopted home for many of us. I found it encouraging this morning, then, to read a newsletter that we receive from the USA Consulate General in Hermosillo (serving Sonora and Sinaloa), which included news on a collaborative project to support binational citizens. We get the newsletter because Greg and I are wardens, meaning we have a responsibility to help communicate information that can aid US American citizens in Mazatlán. Often times that is an unsavory role, as we find ourselves not agreeing with many of the legally mandated “warnings” that come out of the State Department.

Wardens are non-governmental volunteers of the American Citizen Services (ACS) Units of Mission Mexico. ACS offers routine and emergency services to U.S. citizens abroad. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, its nine Consulates General, and its nine consular agencies provide passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and notarial services. American Citizen Services sections also handle visas, IRS, Social Security, and VA benefits; they assist U.S. victims of crime, visit U.S. prisoners, and help with missing U.S. persons and international parental child abductions. They provide assistance to families of deceased U.S. citizens and identify local resources for destitute and ill individuals as well as victims of domestic violence. Our local ACS email is hermoacs@state.gov, should you wish to contact them. Mazatlán’s USA consular agency can be reached at 01-81-8047-3145 or via email to conagencymazatlan@state.gov. After-hours number is  Embassy 01-55-5080-2000. The office is located across the street from the Hotel Playa Mazatlán in the Golden Zone, and it’s open 9am-1pm Monday through Saturday, except US and Mexican holidays.

I will share with you three pieces of today’s newsletter that I believe you may find helpful. Be sure to pass it on to those who might need it.

  1. Soy México Initiative: Information for USA-born students or those seeking legal documentation upon return to or moving to Mexico
  2. Expo Consular/Consular Road Show: Upcoming consular visit to Mazatlán and US American community meeting
  3. Dispelling myths about obtaining a US American visa (video en español/in Spanish)

1. Soy México Initiative for Binational Kids

From the USA consular newsletter: “According to the 2010 census by the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography, there are approximately 600,000 children born in the United States that have returned to Mexico. A large number of these children face major challenges in accessing basic services in Mexico, especially education and public health services. The U.S. Mission in Mexico has partnered with the Mexican government at federal, state, and local levels, as well as with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), to assist these children.”

Did you know that Mexican school registration requirements have changed? Children born in the United States are no longer required to present an apostilled birth certificate to enroll in school. Moreover, a CURP is no longer required for school registration. Ask USA Consular Staff if you need more information about school access.

“Children born in the United States to Mexican parents have dual citizenship. They have rights in both countries and the U.S. Embassy wants to ensure they can fully exercise those rights. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico processes more than 20,000 passport applications each year. Two thirds of these passports are for children under 16 years old, the vast majority of whom are binational.”

“In September, U.S. Ambassador Jacobson and Mexican Secretary Osorio Chong announced the Soy México initiative, allowing U.S. born children living in Mexico to verify their U.S. birth electronically (48 U.S. states and the District of Columbia participate) and then register with the Civil Registry in Mexico and receive their Mexican birth certificate. The program nearly eliminates the need for the costly apostille, mak-ing the dual citizenship process much more efficient and cost-effective.”

“Over the past year, U.S. Mission Mexico has conducted extensive outreach to migrant communities in Mexico to encourage families to document their U.S. born children with U.S. passports. American Citizens Services staff from all our consulates traveled directly to these communities and conducted town halls and passport acceptance fairs in order to reach our most vulnerable populations.”

“In addition to direct outreach with the public, we also partnered with state-level government offices to offer “Train the Trainer” events. Through these events, consular officials provide guidance about passport applications and other consular services to state and municipal migrant assistance agencies. The agencies then use the training to help families complete passport applications and gather proper documentation for passport “fairs” that follow several weeks later.”

“Throughout this coming year, American Citizen Services will be traveling throughout our consular district to promote this important program and to document U.S. citizen children. Please let us know if you are familiar with a community that would benefit from these services. When we go on these outreach trips, we look forward to meeting the wardens that live and work in those areas. Please take a look at the outreach schedule below to see when we will be visiting a locale near you. We will likely be reaching out to you when we are in your city.”

Below is a video in Spanish about how to obtain a passport for children born in the USA.

2. Expo Consular/Consular Road Show

The consular office in Hermosillo is planning a coffee and meeting with citizens here in Mazatlán in March. As soon as the date and details are finalized, we will let you know. Below is from the newsletter.

“It’s our Consular road show! We provide wide ranging outreach and information to Consular clients in conjunction with local partners, to create a one-stop shop for accurate consular information. Our Expo Consular team includes officers and local staff from the non-immigrant and immigrant visas, Ameri-can Citizens Services, Social Security, and Customs and Border Protection offices along with Mexican government officials from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Civil Registry, EducationUSA, Mexican Im-migration, Sonora Secretary of Education and Culture, and the national employment service.”

3. Dispelling myths about obtaining a US American visa

Finally, I think it’s important that non-US citizens know that the visa process is fairly straightforward and they don’t need to hire “coyotes” or outside help to apply for a visa. The staff in the consular agency are bilingual. Below is a video the government has put together to dispel some myths.

Miss Universo Carnavál 2017

16729547_1868731800012115_2132236453093537905_n.jpgPlease block this Wednesday evening, February 22, for a wonderful show filled with joy and excitement that will benefit two children in desperate need of surgery. Belleza con Causa—Beauty with a Purpose, holds this annual event, a beauty pageant for the Drag Queen of Carnavál. I am very pleased to be judging for the second year in a row, along with other expat representatives Susie Morgan Lellero, Luis Ramírez, Ginger Borman and Shilo Downie.

The pageant will take place at Castillo de LuLu, Aquiles Serdán 60 (the same street Immigration is on, the salón is just farther down the street, off Carnavál) in Playa Sur, starting after 8pm. The event is BYOB, bring your own drink, though a lady there will be selling soft drinks. Entrance usually costs about 50 pesos, and all proceeds go to support the two children.

There will be loads of singing and dancing, flirting, whooting and hollering. The event usually includes a couple of star performances, and the pageant includes the queen aspirants modeling both cocktail and evening dresses, and answering a question. Three queens will be crowned: Miss Universo, Señorita, and Rostro Carnavál/Face of Carnaval.

Get your party on and come on out! Below are a few pics from last year; click on any photo to enlarge or view a slideshow.

 

Classical Guitar Concert Tonight!

Do you love classical guitar? I know I do. I also love supporting young people with a vision and a passion for our city.

A group of young Mazatlecan men including Jorge Birrueta, son of Turismo Mazatlán’s Julio, has organized a non-profit “Sociedad de la Guitarra Mazatlán,” the Mazatlán Guitar Society. Their goal is to promote classical guitar-playing here in town by holding as many concerts as they are able to.

A concert will be held TONIGHT in María del Mar Church, on the corner of Carnavál and Gemelas in Playa Sur, at 7pm. Carlos Viramontes from Torreón will play selections from Napoleón Coste, Joaquín Rodrigo, Francisco Tárrega, Leo Brouwer, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Sergio Assad.

A donation of $80 pesos or US$4 is requested at the door. For more information call mobile number 55 4194 9431.

Chocolate Making Demo

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Young shoppers at the Organic Market sample the truffles

Our blessed Saturday Organic Farmer’s Market in Plaza Zaragoza frequently hosts cooking demonstrations, and today’s was about chocolate—Oaxacan organic chocolate, to be precise. I had gotten up before dawn to go bird-watching in Estero del Yugo, but just before 9:00am I dashed south to be able to view the demonstration.

José Itzil López, sous-chef at Raggio Cucina Casual in the Golden Zone, showed us how to effectively melt chocolate, then turn it out to quickly cool—giving it shine and flavor, and then mold it. He also showed us how to add a liquid such as coffee to make truffles. Then came the best part—the sampling. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

José Itzil López

We were shown cocoa “nibs”—what’s left when the outer shell of the cocoa bean is removed after roasting and the inner cocoa bean meat is broken into small pieces. The nibs are then ground into “cocoa liquor”—unsweetened chocolate or cocoa mass. The grinding process generates heat, liquefying the high amount of fat contained in the nib and converting it from its dry, granular consistency into a creamy, gooey mess.

Different percentages of cocoa butter are removed or added to the chocolate liquor. Cocoa butter carries the flavor of the chocolate and produces a cooling effect on your tongue that you might notice when eating dark chocolate.

Itzil melted chocolate over a propane-heated double boiler, to show us how it’s done. Key, as I’ve learned the hard way, is not to burn the chocolate. If you burn it, the chocolate changes color and becomes hard and dry. Itzil told me you always want to see steam coming off the chocolate, always use a double boiler, and never stop stirring. He recommends a candy thermometer as well. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can tell the chocolate is sufficiently melted and the molecules fused if it runs from your spatula in a consistent stream (no breaks in the line) and if it swirls/twirls as it runs off the spatula—see photos below. His chocolate most definitely did both. And it smelled heavenly!

Armando swirls.

Conching develops the flavor of the chocolate liquor, releasing some of the inherent bitterness and giving the resulting chocolate its smooth, melt-in-your-mouth quality. Itzil told us the key to conching is “shocking” the chocolate by rapidly changing its temperature; thus, he spread the melted chocolate out on a cold stone slab. There he used paddles to knead and mix the chocolate, cooling it down and allowing the granules to fuse together, producing a richer flavor. It has cooled sufficiently when you can comfortably touch the chocolate to your lower lip or inside wrist, must as you would test the heat of milk before giving it to a baby.

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He molded some of this mix into bars, which got the children attending (ok, the adults, too) very excited. It’s important when molding your chocolate to hit the mold against the counter often enough that you destroy any air bubbles in the chocolate. The air bubbles cause the chocolate to break more easily. Once the molds were filled, he put them on ice so the chocolate would harden.

To the other half of the paddled chocolate he added some hot coffee, and used a whisk to beat it vigorously. He explained that this is how we flavor chocolates for making truffles. Once it cools, you can form it into balls and roll it in the toppings of your choice, or insert a filling. This is the point at which the sampling commenced, and those truffles disappeared awfully quickly! He had truffles flavored with kahlua and mint, and rolled in coconut, nuts and cocoa powder. It was delicious!

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Together with his friend from Monterrey, Armando Villarreal, Itzil has started a new enterprise called “Kimoots.” They tell me they don’t yet have a store, but individuals or restaurants can order chocolate from Chiapas or Oaxaca, chocolate bars (plain, with nuts or fruit), truffles (various flavors), organic cocoa butter, and vegan chocolate from chocolate@kimoots.com or tel. 811-530-5011. You can also obtain this delicious chocolate at Raggio’s Italian Restaurant, or at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning during the winter, 8am-noon.

Organic Gluttony Report

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Farm to Table events are a worldwide trend, often related to the slow food movement, and the desire for organic, local-grown, farm-fresh and free-range ingredients. Mazatlán is blessed to have had three major Farm to Table events, with the latest one being held this past Sunday, February 12, 2017, on Chuy Lizárraga’s organic farm (Chuy’s Organics) just north of town.

What makes our Mazatlán event so unique? First, it’s held out in the middle of a pepper field, next to the green houses; we are surrounded by bird song, green crops, fresh air and sunshine. The chefs have to plan and prepare ahead, as in the middle of a farm field they have limited access to what a professional kitchen might have. They work out of tents, on a propane stove and open fires. Second, rather than having just one main chef, as is usually the case at such events, our FTT is a collaboration of some of the best chefs in Sinaloa. Greg and I have been fortunate to have attended all three Mazatlán FTT, and I have the double chin to prove it.

Let me get right to the food and drink, which is our main reason for traveling north of town about 20 minutes. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow. This year’s menu included:

  1. Welcome Cocktail: Cucumber margarita with fresh mint, Chef Alistair Porteous, Water’s Edge Bistro
  2. Ceviche FISH: Shrimp and pocked mahi, pineapple and red onion marinated in chipotle and garnished with avocado. VERY tasty with a nice smoky flavor complemented by the freshness of the pineapple. Gabriel Ocampo and Luis Vargas, Fresh International Seafood House
  3. Mazatlán Pilsner: Specially brewed for this event and not available at the brewery, this beer is infused with German hops, giving it an aroma of white wine, herbs and citrus. We loved it! A bit champagne-like, especially with the glass. Brewmaster Edvin Jonsson, Cervecería Tres Islas
  4. Organic Salad: Green beans, trio of tomatoes, ricotta and mussels with a red mustard and honey dressing. Chef Elmo Ruffo, Fiera
    This dish completely rocked! OMG! That ricotta sauce brought everything together and made it to die for. And, of course, I’m a sucker for mussels. Having met the charming owner of Fiera, Yamil González, and now knowing Elmo, you can bet we’ll be visiting Fiera again soon and regularly!
  5. Grilled Seafood Salad: Grilled shrimp with chimichurri, octopus with heirloom tomato marmalade, roasted sweet peppers with cranberry vinaigrette, and ash-roasted sweet potatoes and greens, goat cheese, and an apple and honey dressing. Chef Daniel Soto, El Caprichito Mio
    Another dish that was unbelievably delicious! Danny Soto is two for two; his cold salad last year was such a standout that we drove all the way to Culiacán to dine in his restaurant. His hot salad this year hit it out of the park as well. He loves gorgeous fresh vegetables just like we do! First a video with Daniel, followed by pics of his dish and the preparation.

  6. Jicama Tagliatelle: The menu said turnips, but they were past their prime in the fields. The chefs then used grated jicama as the pasta, in a sauce of shrimp bisque, mustard greens and green garlic vinaigrette. Chefs Francis Regio and Karl Gregg, guests from Vancouver BC

  7. Asian Duck Confit Tamales: What a wonderful twist on a traditional Mexican dish. Star anise, a mix of spices, orange, carrot and green onions with a garnish of crispy duck, accompanied by caramelized vegetables. Chef Alistair Porteous, Water’s Edge Bistro
    Alistair and his wife Tracey of course organized this whole event, though it is a collaboration, with everyone involved taking on major roles. Thank goodness they tell me we will have another FTT next year!
  8. Braised Pork Breast Ribs: In a miltomate sauce with barbecued duck and mushroom risotto. Chef Luis Osuna, Cayenna
    Another UNBELIEVABLY incredible taste combination! Two dishes in this course, and they were, indeed, heavenly. Another trip to Culiacán is definitely in order. We should be getting a Cayenna here in Mazatlán soon, thank goodness.
  9. Pumpkin Flan: with a crispy crumble topping. Hector Peniche, Hector’s Bistro
  10. Dessert Coffee: Organic expresso over vanilla ice cream, puré of coconut and spices, with a sweet expresso-coffee reduction. Marianne Biasotti and Enrique Ochoa, Rico’s Cafe
    Photo by Martha Parra
    Photo by Martha Parra
  11. Wines: All we could possibly drink of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, thanks to Javier Ramírez of Vinoteca and Oscar Gámez of Cava del Duero. There was iced hibiscus tea for those who didn’t want alcohol.
  12. Trio of fresh breads

As always, we were seated at long tables, which enabled us to make new friends as dining is family-style. There were nearly 300 people attending this year, including two reporters from Gourmet Magazine. This time we were lucky enough to sit with a gentleman who brought wine from his own cellar, just in case they didn’t serve enough. As if! His was great, though—thank you!

The chefs looked nearly as happy as we did when the day was finished. Glasses in hand, they happily accepted our accolades.

Our dear Gail Blackburn, from La Rosa de las Barras Farm, provided garlic snaps and other wholesome, flavorful goodies. As always, there was a raffle at the end, this year in benefit of Refugio San Pablo, a new home downtown for teenage boys—for which we raised $24,000 pesos! Our table was very fortunate, with several winners including Greg!

Music was provided by a strings duo, and they provided wonderful accompaniment to the birdsong and the buzzing of the fields.

The 25 wait staff were led by Andrés, as in prior years, and they did an outstanding job.

Thanks to my friend Martha Parra for a few of the photos! I will admit that sometimes I was too busy eating to get a good shot of a dish, so I appreciate her helping me. We were blessed with a most incredible day, capped off with a gorgeous sunset.