WILD 9 Congress in Mérida

My last entry on this blog about Eugenia Leon is dated 4th August 2009, over three months ago. Since then I wrote two more entries –  firstly about corruption and politics and then corruption and education – but removed those from the blog following the advise of a colleague at the university where I work.

Just before taking off the two posts about corruption, I had already decided to remove a previous post about a conflict over land on the Michoacán coast. My blog address was printed in a local paper in the area, together with translations of comments made by an American, which were being used as evidence of his meddling in the internal affairs of Mexico. Given the delicate, tense, potentially violent and complex nature of this situation, I decided to remove the post. I have to say I felt cowardly doing this. Interestingly, all my Mexican friends thought it was best to do so. A case of discretion being the better part of valour.

I then asked my colleague what she thought of the two posts about corruption and she advised me to remove them. Since then I have written nothing.

Coming to Mérida, however, to attend the 9th World Wilderness Congress has inspired me to get back onto the horse again. In this post I will write about the Congress and in another post(s) about some of the delights of Mérida.

The World Wilderness Congress (WWC), organised by the Wild Foundation, is held once every three or four years. It began in Africa in 1977, and this is the first time it is being held in Latin America.

The programme this year states that the WWC:

“Continues to work for a world in which a healthy and prosperous human society understands wilderness, and has an animated relationship with the complex biological, spiritual, cultural and economic benefits provided by wild nature”.

The first thing to say about this congress is that it is long! An initial event of three days from 6-8 November followed by another event of five days. I’m writing this on the second day of the second event. My impressions too are filtered through the bronchitis which I have been suffering from since I have arrived last Friday which maybe has made me soemwahat jaded.

The congress has had a high profile this year. Mexican Presidente Felipe Calderon dropped in last Friday evening, and, Jim Prentice, the Canadian Minister for the environment gave a keynote speech. Dr Mario Molina, the Mexican Nobel prize winner for his work on chloroflurocarbons in the atmosphere also gave a key note talk.

In addition, there was a strong corporate presence. Most of Saturday morning was given over to business presentations about work being done in their companies to address the environmental challenge. CEMEX, Coca Cola and Bimbo (a very large Mexican bakery company) were given platforms to show what they are doing.

CEMEX is actively involved in the creation of a wilderness area called El Carmen on the Mexico-Texas border. Coca Cola, through its Fundación Coca Cola is planting many trees throughout Mexico. Interestingly, it has also made a commitment to put back, every drop of water it uses to produce Coca Cola. It was not clear to me how they will do that. For example, the reforestation project is part of this. Bimbo has also created a civil society organization to be involved in reforestation projects.

There seem to me to be many contradictions in these huge companies giving their commitment to the conservation of wilderness. In an earlier post about Chiapas, I wrote how a Human Rights organization there was organizing the boycotting of Coca Cola products.

More fundamentally, however, I think questions need to be asked of these companies (Coca Cola and Bimbo) promoting themselves as, and winning awards for being, socially responsible businesses when it can be argued that their basic products do not promote healthy nutrition. Mexico is facing a health crisis due to an impending diabetes and obesity epidemic. I don’t think it is a coincidence that Mexico also has the highest rate per capita of consumption of Coca Cola in the world.

The main thrust of the conference, though, was given over to conservation of wilderness areas, with a particular focus on the possible effects of climate change. There were some remarkable and inspiring speakers, notably Dr Jane Goodall who especially talked about the work she is doing with young people, which goes under the name of Roots and Shoots.

Thomas Lovejoy gave a detailed account of some of nature’s response to climate change. Seeing this kind of presentation, with its wealth of evidence, painstaking and wide-ranging studies, made me wonder how anyone could not take climate change seriously. The conference was full of scientists and environmental activists, with a deep commitment to the work they are doing.

There were however aspects of the conference that made me uneasy.

•    First from a learning point of view, the format was incredibly traditional. A series of key-note presentations for the first three days and even in the second week the workshop sessions in the afternoon seemed the modern equivalent of ‘chalk-and-talk’ – a sequence of powerpoint presentations

•    It seemed to me that very little conscious attention had been given to the need to create more space and opportunity for dialogue. Not easy with 1000 people, of course, but still possible. As always, people were networking like crazy in the coffee and lunch breaks, and renewing friendships and contact. But even a simple tool like a list of participants showing their organizational affiliations was not provided. I came to the conference hoping to meet more people in Mexico involved in environmental issues and it was not so easy to do this.

•    The building where the conference was held, the Siglo XXI conference center in Mérida is incredibly ugly. To me it is the embodiment of a certain kind of Mexican monumental authoritarian neo-brutalist architecture – almost as far away from wild nature as you could get!

•    The food was utterly conventional, over-priced, without taste, and generated vast quantities of plastic waste. What an opportunity missed to show-case the delights of Mexican food and maybe even find some small producers or local restaurants to show off what they could do. I appreciate this would be difficult but it seemed to me an incongruency in the organization of the event not at least to try and consider this aspect. For another perspective on how to green events, have a look at ecogatherings.

•    In a similar vein, the tour company selling tickets to visit all the amazing Mayan and other architectural sites in this part of Mexico was a conventional tour company. In a conference, extolling the virtues of eco-tourism, could it not have been possible to try and find some local eco-tourism companies? I don’t underestimate the difficulties of doing this. I’m sure agreements exist between the conference center and the other businesses that are allowed to operate there. But I had a sense, maybe wrong, that the organisers of the conference had not considered this.

•    Overall, all these points indicate to me a certain lack of imagination in the design of the conference. They help to reinforce a sense that it will be science (with its rational, materialistic underpinnings), closely followed by conventional economics, that would help get us out of the fix we are in. Everything is now being turned into a market. There was an afternoon session on the emerging markets in not just carbon credits, but also in biodiversity, fresh water and marine life. I understand the argument that it is important to value ecosystems and the services they provide, but I can’t help wondering that it is this kind of thinking and mindset that has created the problems we now face. 

On reflection, this last point seems a little glib. I think the subject of the role of science and market-based solutions to the ecological crisis is complex. For a good critical outline of market-based solutions see Naomi Klein’s very recent article in the English newspaper the Guardian.

Better to end with Einstein’s quote that:

“In times of crisis the imagination is more important than knowledge”

Eugenia León: concierto en San Gabriel, Jalisco

Last Saturday 1st August, Eugenia León was singing in San Gabriel. All my Mexican friends said I should go. My friend Queta even said that Eugenia León was a far better singer than Lila Downs. Given that I think that Lila Downs is an extraordinarily talented and wonderful singer, I found this difficult to believe.

Oddly enough, given how famous Eugenia León is in Mexico, I had never heard of her beforehand. She was singing in San Gabriel, which is really a tiny municipality of around 14,000 people, statistically defined as having a high level of marginalisation, on the other side of the Volcano del Nevado from Ciudad Guzmán.

Rancho Maria Teresa: Valle de Guadalupe

Last week I had the good fortune to spend five days in the Rancho Maria Teresa, a hotel, restaurant and vineyard in the heart of Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California – the main wine-producing area in Mexico. As Mexican wines stop being a joke and increasingly hold their own in competitions with more well-known wine-producing countries, this area is gaining prominence as a tourist destination, centered around the Ruta Del Vino.

I had been invited by my friend Lupita, whose uncle owns the Rancho Maria Teresa. Up until now, I have not had much interest in visiting the north of Mexico, but the thought of spending a few days on a working vineyard with a lovely pool and good restaurant easily overcame my prejudices and qualms about visiting the North.

In a previous post, I wrote that one of the main reasons to fall in love with Mexico is the warmth and hospitality of the Mexican people. Even by Mexican standards, however, the hospitality I received at the Rancho Maria Teresa was exceptional. Basically, I was not allowed to pay for anything. All my attempts to pay for anything, such as a restaurant bill, were thwarted by the family paying beforehand. Clearly not all guests get treated this way! I had the great advantage of being invited by a well-loved member of the family.

Rancho Maria Teresa has 25 hectares of which 18 are planted with vines. The great advantage Valle de Guadalupe has as a wine producing region is that many types of grape can be successfully grown here. The main variety in Rancho Maria Teresa is Cabernet Sauvignon, though other varieties include Tempranillo, Merlot, Syrah, Berbera, Chenin Blanc, and Nebbiolo.

This area is known for its Mediterranean climate. Whilst I was there, in mid to late June, there was an intense, searing, dry heat which reminded me of Greece. The earth has a wonderful red colour, and is ideal for creating adobe-based buildings. A small oratorio is currently being constructed on the ranch by a builder using ecological construction techniques.

The ranch has been producing its own wines for only four years, but already its Cabernet Sauvignon has won prizes at major International Wine Fairs. I tasted the 2007 Cabernet direct from the barrel and it was spectacular – really fruity, complex and full-bodied. I’m looking forward to that vintage being bottled. The wine is produced completely organically, without using chemicals. Equally, the fruit that is cultivated on the ranch is produced organically. I don’t think I have ever tasted better orange juice. Oranges fresh from the tree the day before, with the perfect combination of sweetness and acidity.

Currently the Rancho produces 1200 cases of wine per year. Its aim is to produce 2500 cases, which would qualify it as a boutique producer. Interestingly, the challenge in producing this number of cases is not the land available (the Rancho is already selling its surplus grapes to other producers) but the equipment needed to achieve this level of production. I was told that making high quality wine requires much investment in equipment.

By contrast, I went to visit the winery of L.A. Cetto which is only about 10 minutes away.

This is wine making on another level. L.A. Cetto has 1600 hectares of land in this area and is the leading wine producer in Mexico in terms of volume. Because there is still not a strong wine drinking culture in Mexico, 60% of their production is exported. They offer guided tours of their site, which are informative and well worth doing – and not just for the free wine-tasting at the end.

As Lupita’s cousin used to work at L.A. Cetto for five years, before producing his own wines at Rancho Maria Teresa, we were allowed to drive around the vineyards. In one part, a stage has been constructed, with lovely views over the vineyards and surrounding valley. This plays host to the annual fiesta at the start of the wine harvest when local and national dignitaries are invited  – Vicente Fox has attended whilst he was President – and tickets cost around $200. The area even has its own bullring.

A great advantage of staying in the Valle de Guadalupe is that the attractive seaside town of Ensenada is only about 25 minutes away. Ensenada is known, amongst other reasons, for having the best tacos de pescado (fish tacos) in the world. I was dubious about this until I tried them at one of the well-known street taco stands (on the junction of Castillo and Juarez).

If I understood right, either here or at another stand, it was possible to pay by credit card, though the tacos are incredibly cheap. Five of us ate about 20 fish and shrimp tacos, and the bill was less than $20. I have eaten good fish tacos before but these were at another level. Large portions of fried plump, really succulent fresh fish, without a trace of grease, served wrapped in a tortilla with a combination of whatever takes your fancy of the following – lemon, finely shredded cabbage, tomato chile and onion salsa, mayonnaise, marinated onions, plus a variety of differently spiced salsas.

Ensenada seemed a pleasant, funky little city to me, full of restaurants and bars. Interestingly, too, given the reputation and influence of Tijuana, which is only about two hours to the north, it felt very safe. As often in Mexico, there are some great examples of everyday surrealism on show.

Another advantage of the Valle de Guadalupe as a location is that it is easy to visit the USA. The quiet border crossing at Tecate with one lane – in comparison with the 17 lanes of Tijuana – is about 90 minutes away. And from there, San Diego is less than an hour away.

Tecate seemed a quiet, small town to me but later I learnt that the day after we crossed the border there, a US Border Patrol Policeman had been killed in the area. The circumstances of his death had not been clarified and it was even rumoured he had been killed on the Mexican side of the border.

I was expecting to see evidence of militarization everywhere in Tijuana but it seemed relatively calm to me. I was told that generally things were much better there now. I’m sure this is not the whole picture, as the week I was in Baja California there was a shoot out in Tijuana between two rival drug gangs which left two people dead and a number injured.

Despite, however, this note of narcoviolence at the end, I would recommend the Valle De Guadalupe in general, and Rancho Maria Teresa in particular, as a great holiday destination, especially if you are interested in wine.

One final point, just in case anyone still believes the stereotype of the lazy Mexican lacking in entrepreneurial spirit. Just under 50 years ago, Joaquin Santana, the owner of Rancho Maria Teresa, arrived in Tijuana from Colima, with his wife, young baby and 50 pesos in  his pocket. He bought the land in the late seventies, and started growing and selling oranges. Slowly, and, as he told me, literally through blood, sweat, and tears, he built the Rancho up to what it is today – a thriving hotel, restaurant, vineyard and fruit-producing farm.

Obstacles to success in Mexico often seem greater than in the US or Europe – bureacracy, corruption, mistrust, envy, attracting the attention of organized crime (amongst others). Anyone, therefore, achieving business success in Mexico – and not doing it solely through family connections and/or already being part of the wealthy elite – shows considerable ability and tenacity.