Mexico, Innovation - understand-culture

Compadre and Corona

Milenio writes that the accordion arrived in Mexico in the 19th century and that in Nuevo León it is used for genres from the polka to the cumbia. One line of the article reads: “El acordeón nos llega de la tradición centroeuropea desde el siglo XIX” (The accordion comes to us from the Central European tradition, since the 19th century).

Two accordion models of the maker Hohner carry Spanish names, Compadre and Corona. In 2024, a study of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez observed that these names “han incorporado palabras en nuestro idioma” (have taken words from our language). The author found no explanation for the choice.

The Pact for Mexico

On December 2, 2012, President Enrique Peña Nieto and the leaders of the PRI, the PAN and the PRD presented the Pacto por México in a ceremony at Chapultepec Castle. The pact contained 95 proposals and a timetable for carrying them out.

A paper presented at a congress of the Latin American political science association ALACIP lists the rules of the talks that led to the pact. One of them was “Trabajar con absoluta confianza y discreción” (to work in complete trust and discretion).

The Literary Gatherings

In 1810, the conspirators of Querétaro met in the house of the corregidor Miguel Domínguez. They met at tertulias literarias, literary gatherings. México Desconocido notes that Epigmenio González, one of the conspirators, was a regular at the literary gatherings in the corregidor’s house.

A report sent to the authorities in 1810, now published by UNAM, said that the plan was discussed “en casa del corregidor, y en una academia recién establecida, y con las mayores precauciones” (in the corregidor’s house, and in a newly founded academy, and with the greatest caution).

Step by Step to the President

Article 42 of the Law of Discipline of the Mexican Army and Air Force sets the path for a complaint. It can go up “por rigurosa escala, hasta el Presidente de la República, si es necesario” (through the strict chain of command, up to the President of the Republic, if necessary).

Article 16 adds that a soldier may not make petitions as a group, or requests intended to oppose or delay orders.

Trial Balloons

Globo sonda, “probe balloon,” is the Mexican political term for a way of anticipating how the public will react to a measure. A column in SDP Noticias explains that a globo sonda “permite observar el nivel de aceptación o rechazo de las medidas” (makes it possible to observe the level of acceptance or rejection of the measures).

Selling Through Acquaintances

About 3.1 million people in Mexico work in venta directa, direct selling, according to the Asociación Mexicana de Ventas Directas, as reported by the magazine Emprendedor. In 2024, the industry’s sales reached 88,574 million pesos.

According to the same article, the business rests on “recomendaciones personales” (personal recommendations).

Three Friends, Five Films

In May 2007, at the Cannes festival, the directors Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro announced a joint project, Cha Cha Chá, to make five films for 100 million dollars. Universal Pictures and Focus Features International would finance the films and handle their distribution and international sales.

The film site Espinof called the three directors Los Tres Amigos, the three friends.

The Freezer

Mexican journalists speak of la congeladora, “the freezer,” for bills that wait without a vote. In February 2023, Expansión reported that the Congress of Mexico City had more than 1,000 initiatives “en la ‘congeladora'” (in the “freezer”).

In January 2024, El Financiero reported that the federal Chamber of Deputies had received 6,389 initiatives in its current legislature. It had approved 618 and rejected 266, and 5,030 were pending. Of an earlier legislature, Expansión wrote: “la mayoría ni siquiera se desecha, simplemente queda pendiente” (most are not even rejected, they simply remain pending).

Nights of Failure

The first Fuckup Night took place in Mexico City in September 2012. According to El Financiero, it was the “iniciativa de cinco amigos” (initiative of five friends) who talked one night over mezcal and found that speaking about professional failure was a relief.

At each event, three speakers talk for about seven minutes about a business failure, and questions from the audience follow. In 2018, El Financiero reported that the format had spread to 250 cities in 80 countries.