MINING IN MEXICO S - ProMéxico

Special Feature
Creative industries
Fully Set Up To Astonish
lights, camera... mexico! Mexican Film Industry At A Glance
offices abroad
North America
Vancouver Regional Director
jorge.lopez@promexico.gob.mx
Offices in: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York,
Toronto and Vancouver
Chicago
miguel.leaman@promexico.gob.mx
Dallas
diana.castaneda@promexico.gob.mx
Houston
carlos.marron@promexico.gob.mx
Los Angeles
mario.juarez@promexico.gob.mx
Miami
cesar.bueno@promexico.gob.mx
Montreal
alfonso.mojica@promexico.gob.mx
New York
gerardo.patino@promexico.gob.mx
Toronto
jose.peral@promexico.gob.mx
Vancouver
carlos.cacho@promexico.gob.mx
Europe
and Middle East
Offices in: Brussels, Dubai, Frankfurt,
London, Madrid, Milan, Paris and
Stockholm
Frankfurt
jimena.ibarra@promexico.gob.mx
London
alexandra.haas@promexico.gob.mx
Madrid
ximena.caraza@promexico.gob.mx
Milan
claudia.esteves@promexico.gob.mx
Paris
dolores.beistegui@promexico.gob.mx
Stockholm
nicole.felix@promexico.gob.mx
Asia - Pacific
Offices in: Beijing, Mumbai, Seoul,
Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo
ProMéxico
Headquarters
mining in
mexico
+ 52 (55) 544 77070
promexico@promexico.gob.mx
www.promexico.gob.mx
S
A Golden Opportunity
Seoul
miguel.delvillar@promexico.gob.mx
Singapore / New Markets
francisco.bautista@promexico.gob.mx
Taipei
cesar.fragozo@promexico.gob.mx
Tokyo
esau.garza@promexico.gob.mx
Latin America
and South America
Offices in: Bogotá, Guatemala, Santiago
de Chile and Sao Paulo
Bogotá
carlos.edgar@promexico.gob.mx
Guatemala
ignacio.elias@promexico.gob.mx
Brussels
alejandro.saldivar@promexico.gob.mx
Dubai
jose.neif@promexico.gob.mx
Beijing
ari.saks@promexico.gob.mx
Mumbai
aldo.ruiz@promexico.gob.mx
Santiago de Chile
joel.enriquez@promexico.gob.mx
Sao Paulo
juan.pintoribeiro@promexico.gob.mx
iII- 2010

offices abroad
North America
Vancouver Regional Director
jorge.lopez@promexico.gob.mx
Offices in: Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York,
Toronto and Vancouver
Chicago
miguel.leaman@promexico.gob.mx
Dallas
diana.castaneda@promexico.gob.mx
ProMéxico
Headquarters
+ 52 (55) 544 77070
promexico@promexico.gob.mx
www.promexico.gob.mx
Houston
carlos.marron@promexico.gob.mx
Los Angeles
mario.juarez@promexico.gob.mx
Miami
cesar.bueno@promexico.gob.mx
Montreal
alfonso.mojica@promexico.gob.mx
New York
gerardo.patino@promexico.gob.mx
Toronto
jose.peral@promexico.gob.mx
Vancouver
carlos.cacho@promexico.gob.mx
Europe
and Middle East
Offices in: Brussels, Dubai, Frankfurt,
London, Madrid, Milan, Paris and
Stockholm
Brussels
alejandro.saldivar@promexico.gob.mx
Dubai
jose.neif@promexico.gob.mx
Frankfurt
jimena.ibarra@promexico.gob.mx
London
alexandra.haas@promexico.gob.mx
Madrid
ximena.caraza@promexico.gob.mx
Milan
claudia.esteves@promexico.gob.mx
Paris
dolores.beistegui@promexico.gob.mx
Stockholm
nicole.felix@promexico.gob.mx
Asia - Pacific
Offices in: Beijing, Mumbai, Seoul,
Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo
Beijing
ari.saks@promexico.gob.mx
Mumbai
aldo.ruiz@promexico.gob.mx
Seoul
miguel.delvillar@promexico.gob.mx
Singapore / New Markets
francisco.bautista@promexico.gob.mx
Taipei
cesar.fragozo@promexico.gob.mx
Tokyo
esau.garza@promexico.gob.mx
Latin America
and South America
Offices in: Bogotá, Guatemala, Santiago
de Chile and Sao Paulo
Bogotá
carlos.edgar@promexico.gob.mx
Guatemala
ignacio.elias@promexico.gob.mx
Santiago de Chile
joel.enriquez@promexico.gob.mx
Sao Paulo
juan.pintoribeiro@promexico.gob.mx

2 Negocios
Contents
18
MEXICO, THE
BEST CHOICE
FOR the
MINING
INDUSTRY
Mexico has a world-class
mining industry with 500
years of experience and it
expects to attract 15 billion
usd of investment in the sector
between 2007 and 2012.
From the CEO 6
Briefs 7
Mexico’s Partner inverafrut 12
34
Animators Take
Bicentenary by
storm
Special Report mexico and the uk 14
Business Tips mining: a strategic sector 16
Special Feature Animex estudios 36
Special Feature digital media 38
Figures 40
30
Lights, Camera …
Mexico!
Films “made in Mexico” are not
just Mexican productions, which
are gradually receiving more
international exposure. There
is another side to the coin: the
international film industry that
comes to Mexico to film largescale
productions.

Success is just
a click away…
>> Log in to Mexico
www.promexico.gob.mx
negocios@promexico.gob.mx
+ 52 (55) 5447 70 70

4 Negocios
ProMéxico
Bruno Ferrari
CEO
Ricardo Rojo
Image and Communications Director
Sebastián Escalante
Managing Coordinator
sebastian.escalante@promexico.gob.mx
Miguel Ángel Samayoa
Advertising and Suscriptions
negocios@promexico.gob.mx
Fernanda Luna
Copy Editing
taller méxico
Alejandro Serratos
Publisher
a.serratos@tallermexico.com
44
Interview
Lynn
Fainchtein:
Born Into Music
The lifestyle Contents
Felipe Zúñiga
Editor in Chief
felipe@tallermexico.com
Orlando Santamaria
Marketing Manager
orlando@tallermexico.com
Pilar Jiménez Molgado
Design Director
pilar@tallermexico.com
Jorge Silva
Design
jorge@tallermexico.com
Dalia Urzua Orozco
Design
dalia@tallermexico.com
Paloma López
Production
paloma@tallermexico.com
Vanessa Serratos
Design Assistant
vanessa@tallermexico.com
58
Destination
ZACATECAS
A Charming Labyrinth
42 The Lifestyle Briefs
48 Animation Industry
La Marca del Jaguar
50 Interview
judith macgregor,
British Ambassador to
Mexico
52 The Lifestyle Feature
Editorial Industry:
about The art of
book publisHing
61 Feedback
The fascination
for mexican
handicrafts
Piso de ediciones
Vanesa Robles
Senior Writer
vanesarobles@gmail.com
Karla Juárez
Sandra Roblagui
Lucila Valtierra
Mauricio Zabalgoitia
Staff Writers
Translation
Alejandra Díaz Alvarado
Juan Manuel Romero
PROOF READING
Graeme Stewart
contributors
Graeme Stewart, María Cristina Rosas,
Jesús Estrada Cortés, Cristina Ávila-
Zesatti, Sandra Roblagui, Francisco
Vernis, Karla Barajas, Oldemar.
This is an editorial project for ProMéxico
by Taller México & Piso de Ediciones.
ProMéxico is not responsible for inaccurate information or omissions that might exist in the information provided by the participant
companies nor of their economic solvency. Title certificate of lawfulness 14459. Text certificate of lawfulness 12032. Number of Title
Reserve 04-2009-012714564800-102. Postal Registry PP09-0044. Responsible editor: Sebastián Escalante. Printing: Cía. Impresora El
Universal, S.A. de C.V. Distribution: ProMéxico Camino a Sta Teresa 1679, México D.F., 01900. Phone: +52 (55) 5447 7000. Negocios is an
open space where diverse opinions can be expressed. The institution might or might not agree with an author’s statements; therefore the
responsibility of each text falls on the writers, not on the institution, except when it states otherwise. Although this magazine verifies all
the information printed on its pages, it will not accept responsibility derived from any omissions, inaccuracies or mistakes. March, 2010.
Download the PDF version
of Negocios ProMéxico at:
negocios.promexico.gob.mx

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+ 52 (55) 5447 70 70

From the CEO.
Mexico’s position in the mining world should not come as a
surprise. For centuries, the country has been an important
player in the international arena because of its abundant
mineral reserves and its potential to exploit some of the
most demanded products in the market.
Without a doubt, one of Mexico’s main advantages in the mining industry
is its geography. The country’s rich subsoil and large mineral deposits, among
many other attributes, make it one of the world’s leaders in this sector.
Mexico has become one of the most attractive destinations for investments
in the mining sector, not only because of its natural resources but also because
of many assertive decisions.
First, Mexico’s legal framework favors and protects investment. Also, its
political and financial stability translate into certainty for investors and an
environment that is suited for long-term business development, for example,
in the area of mining activities.
Second, mining is an important source of income, employments and development
for Mexico, and this is reflected in solid public policies that, based on
reliable and avant-garde systems, offer mining companies all the information
they need to make decisions and develop business plans.
The world’s leading mining companies are aware of the Mexican mining
industry’s infinite potential, and they are leveraging all the advantages that
Mexico offers to explore, extract and use its mineral resources.
In this issue of Negocios we paint a picture of Mexico’s mining industry and
we discuss why Mexico has become one of the key players in the future of the
world’s mining sector.
Welcome to Mexico!
Bruno Ferrari
ProMéxico CEO

iefs.
Photo courtesy of bp
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Luminous
Alliance
BP Solar has entered into an agreement with
Jabil Circuit to assemble BP Solar modules for
the North American market in Jabil’s plant
in Chihuahua, Mexico, as the company banks
on increased solar demand in North America
and Europe. The agreement calls for an initial
capacity of 45 MW with the opportunity for
expansion as demand increases. Production
will begin in the second quarter.
The plans expand BP Solar’s efforts to
cut costs for its solar power panels and
the manufacturing deal that the solar
player struck with Jabil in October 2009,
to manufacture BP Solar modules in Poland
for the European market.
www.bp.com / www.jabil.com
AUTOMOTIVE
Chrysler Fits
Its Engines
Mexico will play a key role in the renovation
of Chrysler. After the carmaker emerged
from government-backed bankruptcy in
2009, it formed a global strategic alliance
with Italy’s Fiat Group and now the partners
are investing 550 million usd in Mexico
to produce a retro-version of an Italian icon,
the Fiat 500.
The vehicles would be produced at Toluca,
one of five Chrysler plants in Mexico,
and would start distribution at year-end.
Toluca’s plant could produce up to
130,000 Fiat 500s a year, with 95% slated
for export to the US and Latin America.
The investment would generate 400 direct
jobs and more than 1,200 indirect ones.
The automotive industry represents
20% of Mexico’s manufacturing GDP and
more than 70% of its exports go to the US.
www.chryslergroupllc.com / www.fiat.com
Photo archive
RETAILING
Strategic
Move
As it looks for new markets to boost revenues,
Lowe’s Cos. Inc., the world’s second-largest
home improvement retailer,
opened its first two stores in Mexico, in
the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León. The
company has invested approximately 18
million to 20 million usd in each store
and about 430 associates have been
hired to operate both stores along with
the company’s offices in Monterrey.
The store openings in Mexico continue
Lowe’s long-term International growth
strategy.
www.lowes.com

8 Negocios Photo courtesy of nissan / goldcorp / archive
AUTOMOTIVE
Modeling
The Future
Nissan Motors opened a design center in
Mexicali, Baja California. The carmaker is
likely to spend close to 10 million usd over the
next 10 years on its Baja California facility.
Mexico has been a target for growth
for the Japanese carmaker ever since it
entered the country in 1961, as it seeks to
benefit from its proximity to the US market
and its strong trade ties with high demand
potential neighbors in the south.
Nissan’s Automotive Modeling Center
in Mexicali is expected to help San Diegobased
Nissan Design America –one of the
carmaker’s three other global design centers–
to develop models keeping Mexican
and South American tastes in mind.
www.nissan-global.com
MINING
Meet Opportunity
Mexico will participate at the 2010 PDAC
International Convention, Trade Show & Investor
Exchange, to be held in Toronto from
March 7 to 10, 2010. The country will offer
information regarding mining opportunities,
as well as other strategic subjects for investors,
such as Mexican legal framework, mining potential
areas and tax incentives. PDAC is the
world’s leading convention and trade show
for the mineral exploration industry, jointly
organized by the Prospectors and Developers
Association of Canada (PDAC) and the Canadian
Association of Mining Equipment and
Services for Export (CAMESE).
www.pdac.ca
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Stays On Top
SERVICES
Right On Time
The parcel delivery company Estafeta will
increase its investment in Mexico by 66%, going
from 15 million to 25 million usd in 2010.
With this investment a 6% growth in sales is
expected, a figure higher than that recorded
in 2009, which was 2%. Of the total invest-
America Móvil, Latin America’s biggest mobile
operator, could invest between 3 billion
and 3.5 billion usd in its operations in the
Americas during 2010. The company operates
in 18 countries in the region and reported
201 million wireless subscribers at the end
of 2009. Mexico is its largest market, where its
Telcel unit had a 72% market share at the end
of the third quarter of 2009, with 58.4 million
subscribers. Around 850 million usd will be invested
in Mexico.
www.americamovil.com
ment, 13 million usd will be allocated to the
renewal and growth of the company’s vehicle
fleet, 4 million will be used to increase
infrastructure and 8 million will be invested
in technology development to reduce customer
service and package delivery times.
www.estafeta.com.mx

iefs.
MINING
The Giant
Can Still
Grow
Bigger
Grupo México, Mexico’s largest mining company,
has purchased the oil-drilling company
Compañía Perforadora de México (Pemsa)
for 240 million usd, to increase its stake in
the infrastructure development industry.
Pemsa, which posted a revenue of 91
million usd in 2009, has worked with Mexican
state-owned oil company Pemex for 49
years. It offers drilling services for onshore
and offshore facilities.
www.grupomexico.com
Photo C-Riouz, panoramio
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Praxair Has
Plans For
Mexico
US industrial gases producer Praxair Inc. will
invest 150 million usd in Mexico this year. The
investment will be made at plants in the central
Mexican towns of Ciudad Sahagún and Tepeji
del Río, among others.
To date, Praxair has 300 Mexican production
and service facilities constructed over
the last 40 years. Among its many Mexican
operations, it supplies nitrogen to state-owned
oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), to
increase petroleum recovery.
The US based firm, the largest industrial
gases company in the Americas, invested 350
million usd in Mexico during 2008-2009.
www.praxair.com
IT
Profitable
Partnership
Mexican IT consultancy North American
Software (Nasoft) will receive an 8 million
usd International Finance Corporation
(IFC) investment to expand operations into
new and existing Latin American markets.
The IFC, a member of the World Bank
Group, will receive an 18% stake in the privately
held information technology firm in
exchange for its investment. Nasoft is putting
up another 4 million usd for its expansion,
for a total investment of 12 million usd.
Nasoft was founded in 2000 as a private
Mexican enterprise, providing business applications
consulting services in Mexico,
Central America and the US. Nasoft primarily
serves large domestic and international
private sector companies and progressively
a growing number of SMEs. The company is
a top business partner of leading enterprise
software application vendors.
www.nasoft.com

10 Negocios Photos courtesy of eurocopter / archive
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Powerful
Wind
The Spanish company Renovalia Energy
will build a wind farm in Oaxaca, southern
Mexico, that will have 114 wind turbines
with 228 megawatts of installed capacity
and will be the second largest wind farm
in Mexico.
This latest wind project came to fruition
after a contract of collaboration between
Renovalia Energy International, Desarrollos
Eólicos Mexicanos and Gesa México, the Mex-
ican subsidiary of the Spanish Gamesa Wind.
The Piedra Larga wind farm will cost
300 million euros (about 410 million usd)
and, according to company estimates, it will
produce 841 gigawatt hours (GW/h) of electricity
annually.
The electricity produced will supply 14
plants of Grupo Bimbo, one of the largest
baking companies in the world, for a period
of 15 years.
The annual production of the 228 MW
wind farm will replace 49,020 tons of oil
equivalent (TOE) per year and prevent the
emission into the atmosphere of 342,000 tons
of CO2 per year.
www.renovaliaenergy.es
AEROSPACE
An Ambitious Outlook
French helicopter producer Eurocopter expects
sales in Mexico and the surrounding region
to rise 10% in 2010 from 305 million usd
in 2009. The company, which sells helicopters
to civilians as well as governments and their
militaries, has risen in recent years to become
the market leader in the region, claiming a
57% share in 2009, up from 34% in 2004.
The sales outlook applies to Mexico, Central
America and the Caribbean, in addition
to Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. The
company delivered 24 helicopters last year to
those countries.
In addition Eurocopter, a subsidiary of Airbus
parent European Aeronautic Defence &
Space, is developing a long-term program to
eventually assemble complete helicopters in
Mexico, where it currently has a service facility
in its hangar at Benito Juárez International
Airport in Mexico City.
www.eurocopter.com
AUTOMOTIVE
Fast & Safe
According to figures
from the Mexican
Automotive Industry
Association (AMIA, by
its Spanish acronym),
car production in
Mexico rose 102.4%
and exports soared
123.6% in January
2010. In that month,
Mexico produced
165,058 vehicles and
114,193 units were
exported, mainly to
the US.
During 2009,
Mexico assembled
1.56 million units and
placed itself within the
“top ten” producers in
the world.
www.amia.com.mx

iefs.
FOOD
Mexico’s
Flavors in
Russia
Mexican flavors will soon invade Russia as
the Russian Federal Supervision Service has
approved 28 Mexican food companies to export
products to that country. Russia has announced
its interest to buy Mexican products
such as shrimp, cereals, grains and poultry, as
well as increasing its current purchase of Mexican
beef and horse meat.
www.sagarpa.gob.mx
Photo bodaestilo
MANUFACTURING
Building
A Clean
Emporium
Photo icis
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Chemistry For Business
INEOS Group has agreed terms for the
sale of its fluorochemicals business to Mexichem,
leading Latin American producer of
PVC pipes and resin, chloralkali, hydrofluoric
acid and fluorspar. The deal comprises
the international business and assets related
to INEOS’ fluorochemical operations
located in North America, Europe, and
Asia. It is expected that on completion of the
transaction, programmed for the end of March
2010, the business will become an integrated,
global producer of specialty fluorochemicals
with worldwide presence and an annual sale
revenue of over 500 million usd.
www.mexichem.com.mx / www.ineos.com
Denmark-based professional cleaning equipment
company Nilfisk-Advance invested
10 million usd in a new plant in Querétaro,
Mexico, where the company estimates it will
employ 200 people for the assembling of professional
industrial cleaning equipment.
The move is in line with the company’s
global growth strategy and is designed to provide
logistical and cost advantages. For over
40 years, Nilfisk-Advance has distributed its
products in Mexico through authorized dealers.
In 2006 the firm, one of the world’s leading
manufacturers of professional cleaning
equipment, established its own sales company
in Mexico City and followed up with sales
companies in Argentina and Chile in 2008.
The new plant will work as the company’s
“springboard” to all of Latin America.
www.nilfisk.com

12 Negocios Photos archive
Juicy Business
Inverafrut began as a consulting firm for businesses engaged in fruit marketing. Today it exports Mexican
tropical fruits to different countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its secret: forming alliances with
strategic partners and a strict commitment to quality.
Two young entrepreneurs are mainly responsible
for 1,500 tons of tropical fruit leaving
Veracruz every year for countries abroad and
for putting a citrus touch to many dishes in the
US and Europe. Adriana Melchor Muñoz and
Luis Omar Urrutia Núñez began their business
cautiously in the tropical fruit sphere
but today they export to the US, Germany,
France, England, Spain, Switzerland and
sometimes Japan, among other countries.
The international market is the prime objective
of Integradora Veracruzana de Frutas
Tropicales (Inverafrut), whose star product
is the Persian lime which, according to these
entrepreneurs, has the best quality. They
are not mistaken. It has been shown that the
Persian lime produced on Mexican soil surpasses
the quality of that cultivated in other
countries, such as Brazil, for example.
Inverafrut was born in 2004 from the association
between the two entrepreneurs,
who began with a consultancy business
for companies in the sphere of fruit growing.
Once they had decided to expand their
company’s activities, they began to pack
and export pineapple, papaya, watermelon
and mango. For five years they maintained
their operations with these products and, in
parallel, provided advisory services to their
colleagues.

mexico’s partner inverafrut
“With the advisory services we provided, we
gradually built up our assets and rented premises.
Before, we took a truck and machinery
and everything was packed right there in the
fields. Afterwards we rented a packing plant in
Isla, in the south of Veracruz,” recalls Luis Omar
Urrutia Núñez, Administrative Director of Inverafrut.
Today the company has major growth
plans, among them the inauguration of a new
processing plant in March 2010, with an investment
of around 450,000 usd. Currently
Inverafrut’s corporate offices are in Jalapa,
Veracruz. The group has two packing plants
in the same state and a commercial office in
Paris, France, from where the fruit sent to
Europe is distributed.
In their new plant they hope to consolidate
a processing project with stainless steel machinery,
to extract and market fruit pulp. This
will enable them to increase their exports of
fruits such as mango, which today face significant
health restrictions. Inverafrut estimates
that once it starts operations in its new processing
plant, it will have the capacity to export
5,000 tons of mango a year.
Strategic alliances
Although since 2004, when they founded the
company, they have worked with tropical fruits
such as mango, watermelon and pineapple,
this year they are betting on Persian lime.
There are many advantages, Urrutia
Núñez points out. Persian lime can be harvested
throughout the year and the product’s
quality has no competition abroad. In
addition to the star product, they will begin
to strengthen the grapefruit harvest, once
they decide on some strategic alliances.
The forming of alliances is a strategy that
has worked for them, as Luis Omar Urrutia
says, since it has made it possible for them to
become consolidated and above all, to have
no fear of doing business.
At first, as Urrutia states, exports of Inverafrut
products were very complicated. It
took them a long time to select the fruit, wax
it, wash it, label it and pack it. There was also
the traveling time to be considered.
The partners traveled to rural communities,
many of which lacked electric power or
were in an area with extreme weather, for
example. Sometimes, the entrepreneurs relate,
they had to pack the fruit by candlelight
or with hand-held lamps.
As in this process time is a key factor, they
had to face serious consequences such as the
The international market
is the prime objective of
Integradora Veracruzana
de Frutas Tropicales
(Inverafrut), whose star
product is the Persian
lime which, according to
these entrepreneurs, has
the best quality.
shipment arriving in a bad state, with the
subsequent financial losses. This made them
realize that the company they had formed
needed reinforcements, so they requested
information and support from different
agencies. The idea was to have their own
premises, with the registration of a brand,
a fruit-processing machine to manufacture
juices and do the packing and shipping
themselves.
With its new plans to industrially process
the fruit, Inverafrut is planning important
alliances with suppliers of large companies
such as Jugos del Valle, for example.
“Associating ourselves abroad has been
one of our successes,” states Urrutia. But
these alliances have not been the product of
chance. Inverafrut has reached high quality
standards that have allowed it to penetrate
the most demanding markets. The company’s
products are offered packed, classified,
insured and represented by the Inverafrut
brand. In its slogan, the company states: “It’s
fruit, it’s flavor, it’s Mexico.”
Its plants have special health measures
to guarantee agrofood quality, from picking
in the field to packaging. Furthermore, the
company has pre-cooling chambers and special
cold storage chambers for the conservation
of the fruits, as well as systems to ensure
water health, such as a water treatment
plant and a wastewater treatment plant.
They abide by food safety standards, international
rules, and are currently working on
the global certification of their products. n
www.inverafrut.com

14 Negocios i The Lifestyle
Photos Courtesy of The British Embassy in Mexico
UK is in the Mood for Trading
BY GRAEME STEWART
Like two shy teenagers whose eyes meet across
a crowded ballroom, Mexico and Great Britain
had been coyly skirting around the dance floor
of greater economic co-operation for years. The
interest between the couple was obvious but something
had to be done to bring them together.
Then, in 2009, President Felipe Calderón
was invited on a State Visit to London that
would act as an ice breaker in the hopes that
the British Lion and the Mexican Eagle would
soon be tripping the light fantastic to the tune
of increased bilateral trade.
The State Visit was a great success with
both families, the Calderons and Britain’s Royals,
getting on famously, so much so that Prince
Andrew, the Duke of York, who also happens
to be the British special envoy for trade, was
invited to Mexico in February 2010. Using his
undeniable charm, the third child of Queen
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip flirted with and
wooed the Mexican business community with
tales of improved economic prosperity for both
countries through greater trade and investment.
At long last, the dance had begun. True, its
pace is more that of a sedate waltz than a hot
blooded tango but the tempo will increase later
this year with the visit to Mexico of Boris Johnson,
Lord Mayor of London, who, like a loving
uncle, will press the marriage of the blushing
couple, for richer or even richer.
In this article, Judith Macgregor, Great
Britain’s ambassador to Mexico, gives her take
on the proposed increase in trade and investment
between the two countries.
There was great excitement at the British Embassy
in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc district as
Prince Andrew, the UK’s special representative
for international commerce and investment,
was due to arrive at any minute.
But Judith Macgregor, Great Britain’s ambassador
to Mexico, took time out to discuss
her country’s hopes of greater trade between
the two countries.
Slipping her tall, elegant frame on to a
comfortable seat, she said: “I suppose that both
Britain and Mexico have rather ignored each
other in terms of bilateral trade. Certainly,
the figures of trade and investment could and
probably should be much higher. That is something
we intend to remedy.”
“It wasn’t always like this,” she asserted. “In
the 19th Century British miners and engineers
came to Mexico in their droves, bringing their
expertise for the benefit of the relatively new
nation of Mexico. Then, in the 20th Century,
the US superceded all other countries in trade
and investment with Mexico. But now UK
Trade and Investment has launched an aggressive
push for greater economic co-operation
between the two countries. In fact, it has been
a priority for us for the past two years but it is
now being handled much more forcefully.”
“It really took off last year when President
Felipe Calderón was invited on a State visit to
Britain. Prince Andrew accompanied him on
a visit to Aberdeen to view the UK’s oil capital
and the two seemed to hit it off well, so it was
natural that the Prince, as the UK’s special
representative for commerce and internatio-

special report mexico and the uk
nal investment, should reciprocate by visiting
Mexico to fan the flames of interest among the
Mexican Business community,” she explained.
“Of course, there has always been some
trade link between the two countries and both
Shell and BP work closely with Pemex on oil
and gas exploration and drilling. But now we
are launching two programmes, one in Britain
and one in Mexico, that will promote bilateral
trade between the two countries. Here in Mexico
it will be called Think Britain and in the UK
it will be known as Mexico Matters. We have a
lot to offer each other. We will be pushing for
more trade in many sectors but mainly in engineering,
education, manufacturing and new
technologies.”
“I don’t believe that British business and
industry has fully grasped the advantages of
investing in Mexico. Here we have a skilled,
inexpensive, hard working labor force on the
doorstep of the US. British business should
take advantage of this, particularly through
Mexico’s participation in the North American
Free Trade Association market.”
“Likewise, Mexican Business can take advantage
of Britain’s membership of the EU and
exploit that foothold into the vast European
market, not to mention our extremely good trade
links with India and China. So there are advantages
to be gained by both sides in opening
up new markets to each other.”
“There are also opportunities for British
energy companies as Mexico continues to
expand its oil, gas and electricity production
as well as in the creative industries like information
technology and education. I know that
British universities are very keen to have close
links with their Mexican counterparts, including
the trading of students.”
“So, there is a lot of interest in Mexico in the
UK and, we hope, vice versa. As I said, we have
a lot to offer each other.”
The Ambassador’s opinions were echoed by
Prince Andrew as he addressed the Mexican
business community at the Club de Industriales.
He said: “Both our countries have an interest
in expanding and diversifying our economies
to create a sustainable recovery from
the economic downturn. Our economic cooperation,
especially in trade and investment,
has to be major. Even although trade bewteen
Mexico and Britain has doubled since 2000,
Brazil exports twice as much to the UK than
Mexico and British exports to Mexico represnt
only 0.8%. I believe that Mexico is a market that
Britain should not be shying away from. Rather,
we should be embracing it.” n
Think Britain,
Live Mexico
Mexico is an international partner of
great importance to the UK and will
be one of the biggest economies in
the world during the next 50 years,
overtaking the UK on the way. It is a key
market for trade and investment, now
and in the future.
UK and Mexico share similar values
–democracy, open politics, free trade,
respect for the law and human rights
and a disposition to act on the main
challenges of the 21st Century, such
as climate change and the promotion
of a global economy with sustainable
growth.
Both countries are very active in the
multilateral forums G20, G8 plus 5,
the UN Council for Human Rights, the
International Atomic Energy Agency,
the World Organization of Trade, the
Organization for Co-operation and
Economic Development and now the UN
Security Council.
2010 is the Bicentenary of Mexican
Independence. Throughout the year, the
British Embassy in Mexico, UK Trade
and Investment and the British Council
in Mexico along with other partners like
Visit Britain, UK-Mexico Chamber of
Commerce and ProMéxico decided to
use the opportunity to launch the Think
Britain programme in Mexico. There
will be a parallel campaign in Britain
called Mexico Matters.
A series of activities designed to lift
the profile of Mexico in the UK, and the
UK in Mexico, will be organised with
the objective of raising co-operation
and understanding between the two
countries in the areas of economics,
culture and politics.
Through the British Embassy and
the British Council, the UK supports
projects worth millions of Pounds
Sterling in Mexico each year in areas
like the creative industries, education,
sustainable development, human rights,
climate change and economic reform.
That co-operation has shown the
importance of the two countries
working together. The main activities
for 2010 include:
• British Week from 24 to 28 May.
• A visit to Mexico by the Lord
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
in October.

16 Negocios i The Lifestyle
illustration oldemar
Mining: A Strategic Sector For
Mexico And The World
By MARÍA CRISTINA ROSAS *
Mining is a strategic sector for the Mexican economy and is one of the
country’s assets when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment.
Despite the international financial crisis, in 2009 Mexico remained as one of
the most attractive and safe destinations for mining companies worldwide,
reason why investors are taking increasing interest on Mexican mines.
Current economic dynamics would be
hard to understand without mining. Although
some insist that modern economies
derive a large proportion of their
revenue and prosperity from the service
sector, primary sector activities form the
economy’s real bedrock. Without exaggerating,
the World Bank confirms that the
most significant progress toward satisfying
human needs –including food, accommodation,
health, education, employment
and transport– relies on the increasingly
efficient use of mineral resources. Furthermore,
some studies suggest that activities
such as manufacturing, construction
and even agriculture, could not exist
without mineral production.
Mining plays a leading social-economic
role in Mexico. At its various stages –from
exploration to production– it generates a
significant number of jobs and income for
the country. In 2009, it accounted for 3.6%
of Mexico’s GDP (mining expanded), 4% of
Mexican exports and 270,000 direct jobs.
Due to the rising demand for minerals
by the world’s largest and most rapidlygrowing
economies, mining is becoming
increasingly important. China, for example,
has increased its mineral consumption
to support its dizzying economic
growth, contributing to the growth in global
prices for various minerals. African and
Latin American countries are among its
providers. The African continent is seen
as a gigantic deposit of mineral resources –
with everything from oil to coltan– and the
world’s largest economies are ever more interested
in that part of the world. But when
it comes to mining, Mexico has a number of
advantages, even over African countries.
Mexico offers a solid and less risky alternative
for mining production. Several African
countries suffer from armed conflict, endemic
diseases, poor infrastructure and lack
of governmental transparency, which exponentially
increases the operating costs for
foreign investment despite the abundance of
mineral resources.
Mexico possesses significant mineral deposits
that are widely sought after around
the world. The country is among the twelve
largest producers of 17 minerals. It is the
world’s second largest producer of silver, bismuth
and fluorite; the third of celestite; the
fourth of wollastonite and diatomite; the fifth
of lead; the sixth of cadmium and molybdenum;
the seventh of zinc, salt and graphite;
the eighth of manganese and baryte and the
twelfth of feldspar, gold and copper.
Investors are taking increasing interest
in Mexican mines given their reserves of
strategic minerals, some of which are key to
industries such as aerospace, military and
electronics.
This all explains how, despite the international
financial crisis, Mexico remained one
of the world’s top investment destinations
in 2009. In terms of mining exploration, it
ranked as the top investment destination in
Latin America and fourth in the world.
Mexican legislation encourages investments
in the sector. The 1993 Mining Law
(Ley Minera) replaced the 1961 legislation
and opened up new areas to foreign investment
previously limited to Mexican financing.
It also removed the requirement for foreign
capital investments to be associated with
Mexican capital in a proportion of 49-51 per
cent respectively. The Foreign Investment
Law further liberalized the mining industry
in a process consolidated by NAFTA and the
removal of several investment requirements
–for production work only to use Mexican
supplies, for training and technology transfer
or for nationality requirements imposed on
the majority of members sitting on boards of
directors– as well as tariff reduction on foreign
trade and the import of equipment and
machinery. That opened up unprecedented
opportunities for private foreign investors
interested in the mining sector. The new legislation
heralded another important change:
the duration of concessions, which are
awarded for 50 years and may be extended.
The Mexican mining sector is a highly
attractive investment. It is far quicker for
a company to obtain an operating license
in Mexico than in other countries. The US
company Hecla referred to the “comparative
advantages” offered by Mexico in relation
to its other commercial partners, confirming
that it had taken only eight months to be
granted the license concession for the project
at La Choya in Sonora. In the US or Canada
the process would have taken between five

usiness tips
and 10 years. Workers’ salaries are another
incentive to invest. In Mexico, the average
monthly salary in the mining sector is 482
usd, compared to 1,137 usd in Brazil and 1,472
usd in Turkey. In South Korea, the US and
Germany the figure rises to 2,611, 3,384 and
3,696 usd respectively, showing that labor
costs in the sector in Mexico are between
60% and 80% lower than in those countries.
Therefore mining is not just a strategic sector
for the Mexican economy but also for the
world, which is looking ever more closely at
the opportunities, potential and advantages
Mexico offers in this sector. n
Mexico offers a more solid and less risky
alternative for mining production than other
regions. The country possesses significant mineral
deposits that are widely sought after
around the world.
*Professor and researcher in the Political and Social
Sciences Faculty, National Autonomous University
of Mexico (UNAM).

18 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo courtesy of minefinders
MEXICO, THE
BEST CHOICE
FOR the
MINING INDUSTRY
Mexico has a world-class mining industry
with 500 years of experience and it expects
to attract 15 billion USD of investment in the
sector between 2007 and 2012.
By JESÚS ESTRADA CORTÉS
In the depths of Mexico’s jungles, mountain
ranges or deserts, the country’s geography
is a map with coordinates set
for the growth of its mining industry. Its
origins predate the Spanish conquest
and the industry is now fully globalized, with
Mexico now ranked first in Latin America and
fourth in the world for investments in mining.
Mexico is the second largest producer of silver
in the world and is ranked among the top 12
countries in terms of production of eighteen
types of minerals.
Mexico has become one of the most internationally
competitive countries for mining
at the same time as the sector has taken
on a key role in the country’s own economic
growth. The sector currently accounts for 3.6%
of Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (mining
expanded), thanks to new and sizeable investments
for large-scale projects which have an
inherently long average life-span: from the exploration
phase until production at optimum
levels, maintaining a significant number of jobs.
While the industry is optimistic about the
future, with 15 billion usd of investment expected
for new projects in the 2007-2012 period, it
is worth taking a few steps back and revealing
the background of the enormous potential of
mining in Mexico today.
Mining Tradition
Mexico has a long history of mining, stretching
back over more than 500 years, before the
Spanish conquest and colonization. Mining
was the driving force behind the New Spain
economy. Furthermore, the country’s enormous
production of silver and gold became
Spain’s main source of income.
This 500-year history is the reason for one
of modern Mexico’s main competitive advantages.
The skill developed by its workforce over
the centuries has evolved into a tradition and
the talent behind the industry’s operations and
management is matched by the varied geography
and by the geological potential in Mexico.
Geological Potential
Mexico’s geological terrain is one of the most
tectonically active and complex in the world.
Orogenesis has pushed up mountain chains all
across Mexico, like the Sierra Madre Oriental,
the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra
Madre del Sur, and these three regions have
formed some of the key metallogenic areas.
Gold and silver mineralization is commonly
linked to the two belts of hydrothermal veins
and gaps that stretch out underneath both
sides of the Sierra Madre Occidental and that
are located mainly in the younger volcanic sequences,
in the case of both types of deposit,
according to a document prepared by the Ministry
of the Economy.
“We currently have one of the largest mining
potentials in the world, especially in terms
of extracting silver, copper and gold,” the document
reports.
With the country’s enormous geological
potential in mining, the Mexican government
has set about organizing all this information
for the benefit of investors. Exploration surveys
have therefore been carried out, covering
100% of the Mexican territory at a scale
of 1:250,000 and almost a third of the country
at a scale of 1:50,000, available to the general
public on the Mexican Geological Survey website
(www.sgm.gob.mx); essentially based on the
mining-geological cartography, geochemical
and geophysical program to identify and take
an inventory of mineral deposits in Mexico.
Quality Deposits
Businessmen find a number of advantages
when investing in Mexico. According to Xavier
García de Quevedo, CEO of Minera México
and COO of Southern Copper Corp., “the first
advantage is the quality of the deposits. There
is enormous unexplored mining potential and
current found deposits have been of high qual

eport
mining in
mexico

20 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo courtesy of industrias peñoles
Historical Player
Industrias Peñoles began
operations as a mining company in
1887 and is now one of the largest
mining producers in Mexico. Its
exports, mainly to the US and Japan,
account for nearly two-thirds of the
company’s sales.
Part of Mexican Corporate
Grupo Bal, Peñoles is the world’s
leading producer of refined silver,
metallic bismuth and sodium sulfat
and is among the major Latin
American producers of refined
gold, lead and zinc.
The company owns and operates
several mines throughout Mexico
and is involved in several mining
joint ventures as well as mining
exploration projects in Peru.
Among its main mining assets in
Mexico are La Herradura –Mexico’s
largest gold mine–, La Ciénega —the
country’s richest gold mine–, Naica
–the largest lead producing mine in
México– and Francisco I. Madero –
the country’s largest zinc mine.
The company also operates the
largest non-ferrous metallurgical
complex (Met-Mex Peñoles) in Latin
America, and the fourth largest in
the world in terms of production
value.
Peñoles has substantial silver
and gold mining interests through
majority-held, publicly traded
subsidiary Fresnillo, which it spun
off in 2008.
Fresnillo mine has been
operating almost continuously
since 1550. It is the largest and
richest silver mine in the world and
produces about 30 million ounces of
silver per year, approximately 5% of
the total world production of silver.
Jaime Lomelín, Chief Executive
Officer of Fresnillo PLC,
summarizes the future plans for
the mine: “We intend to maintain
our position as the world’s largest
primary silver producer with the
aim of doubling production on
a silver equivalent ounce basis
by 2018 and equally increasing
our gold production.” That is
increase Fresnillo’s production up
to 65 million ounces of silver and
400,000 ounces of gold over the
next eight years.
Meanwhile, Peñoles remains
as the most important mining
company in Mexico. A historical
player in the industry, engaged in
exploring valuable deposits of nonferrous
metals in Mexico and Latin
America and profiting from one of
the longest mining traditions in the
world.
ity. Two years ago Mexico ranked as the best
location for exploration in terms of the country’s
investment risk for mining.
García de Quevedo, previously chairman
of the Mining Chamber of Mexico, draws attention
to the competitive advantages of a
country “with a very strong mining tradition.
Over the years, Mexico has developed genuine
expertise in mining, with great technical
and growth potential.”
But there are other factors too, such as
Mexico’s “total openness to foreign investment,
that encourages any company from around the
world to come and explore Mexico,” adds García
de Quevedo. Here he mentions that mining
attracted almost 17% of all foreign direct investment
in Mexico in 2009. This only accounts for
the metallic and non-metallic segments, without
including the iron and steel, cement and
glass industries.
The importance and cost of the workforce
are just as important, and highly competitive
internationally, as well as productivity, which
has increased significantly in recent years.
Government Support
Trading partners trust in Mexico and its industry’s
capacity to respond to global demand for
large-scale production and this is reflected in
Mexico’s leading role in key market segments
of the mining industry.
The country is the second largest producer
of silver, bismuth and fluorite; the third of celestite;
the fourth of wollastonite and diatomite; the
fifth of lead; the sixth of cadmium and molybdenum;
the seventh of zinc, salt and graphite; the
eighth of manganese and baryte and the twelfth
of feldspar, gold and copper.
These rankings not only reflect Mexico’s
competitive advantages but they also speak
volumes about other essential aspects of mining
- the country’s infrastructure to ease foreign
trade transactions, using road, highway, railway
or shipping networks, and the straightforward
mechanisms for companies to avoid doubletaxation
and to exchange information on supply
and demand. The Behre Dolbear report, published
in 2010, places Mexico in the first place
among 25 countries due to its fiscal regime.
Today’s Outlook
Due to these advantages, although not entirely
immune to the effects of the global economic
recession in 2009, Mexico’s mining industry
showed signs of robustness and even growth.
Figures from the Ministry of Economy
show that in 2009 private investment in the
mining and metal industries increased to 2.73
billion usd, adding up to a total of 8.54 billion
usd injected into the sector between 2007 and

eport
mining in
mexico
A Roaring Giant
The giant in the Mexican mining
industry is called Minera México.
The company is the mining
subsidiary of Grupo México and
it currently operates in Mexico,
Peru and the US. It is a holding
company operating in the mining
and transportation industries
through its two subsidiaries:
Americas Mining Corporation and
Infraestructura y Transportes
México.
Minera México operates through
three business units: Mexicana de
Cobre, Mexicana de Cananea and
Industrial Minera México.
Mexicana de Cobre, located in the
Northern state of Sonora, operates
an open pit copper mine, with a
production of 90,000 metric tons of
copper ore at the concentrator plant,
22 thousand metric tons of copper,
300.000 metric tons a year for the
smelting plant and 300,000 for
refining, 150,000 metric tons a year
for heavy wire production, around
15 million ounces a year of silver and
100,000 ounces of gold a year in the
precious metal refinery plant.
Mexicana de Cananea, also based
in Sonora, operates an open copper
mine regarded as one of the largest
in the world in copper ore reserves.
The company has a concentrator
plant with a daily output of 80,000
metric tons and two ESDE plants
with a combined capacity of 55
thousand metric tons of electro won
cathodes a year.
The Industrial Minera México
business unit is integrated by
seven underground mines located
in the Central and Northern parts
of Mexico, where the company
produces zinc, copper, silver and
gold. This business unit includes
the industrial processing operations
for zinc and copper in the state of
San Luis Potosí and it includes San
Martín, the largest underground
mine in Mexico, as well as Charcas,
the second largest production mine
04 in the country. It also includes
coal mining operations in the
Northeastern region of Mexico.
Plans have been put in place
to aid growth in production.
Xavier García de Quevedo,
Executive Chairman of Minera
México and COO of Southern
Copper Corporation –the largest
mining company in Peru, which
Grupo México acquired in 2005
through a merger agreement– says
the company has implemented
important projects, such as the
development of a new mine in
Pilares, Sonora, next to La Caridad
mine site.
La Caridad mine is the most
important copper producer in
Mexico and it will be expanded
thanks to this project. The company
has investment plans there, adding
up to around 700 million usd in
Mexico in the coming years.
However, this investment
may grow a lot more considering
the project Minera México is
implementing at the El Arco mine,
one of the largest copper fields in the
world and located in the state of Baja
California, where it could invest over
1.5 billion usd in years to come.

22 Negocios photo courtesy of industrias peñoles
2009. Of the total invested capital, 70% came
from national companies with foreign capital.
In December 2009, 692 exploration projects
were registered in Mexico. Of this total figure,
64% were gold and silver related projects,
18% polymetallic projects (copper, zinc, silver
and lead), 13% copper related projects and the
remainder was spread out between several
mineral exploration projects.
Also, the Mexican mining sector posted
a solid trade surplus. As of June 2009, its
exports totaled almost 4 billion usd and its
imports around 2 billion usd.
In terms of employment, at the end of 2009
Mexico’s mining industry employed 270,000
workers. Mining was one of the first Mexican
industrial sectors to show signs of recovery
after the international downturn, generating
4,613 new jobs since August 2009.
Mining in Mexico has seen a year-on-year
increase since 2006, at an average annual
growth rate of 4.8% from 2006 to 2008. The
sector registered an accumulated growth of
23.4% up until September 2009.
Supporting Investment
Mexico was therefore able to remain as a leading
investment destination in 2009 and one of
strongest potentials for mining in the world.
Analysis by prestigious international
firms ranked Mexico in first place for exploration
in Latin America and fourth in
the world. The Behre Dolbear report, published
in 2010, placed Mexico as the world’s
fourth-best investment destination for mining
among a 25-country-list and in first place
regarding the fiscal regime.
To assist investors, the Mexican Geological
Survey has not only improved Internet
access to its geological maps, as well as to
inventories of minerals in the states and geochemical
and geophysical research, but also
the Ministry of Economy provides a follow
up right from the promotion phase until providing
accompaniment during the extraction
or exploration phase, even afterwards,
to review its performance and a successful
conclusion.
The government also provides all information
on providers in the sector, on land
ownership and the licenses and requirements
for handling concessions, to guarantee
legal certainty.
The Ministry of Economy’s Mining Promotion
Trust (FIFOMI) is another key player.
In 2009 it helped capitalize micro, small and
medium-sized mining companies as well as
the sector’s production chain with loans worth
510 million usd, 20% higher than in 2008, in
addition to offering training and technical assistance
to more than 8,000 companies.
The government is particularly interested
in reactivating those mining districts that
are regions with high potential. Exploration
schemes are taking place in those areas and
sixteen districts are expected to be reactivated
between 2009 and 2012.
Work in Progress
This has all combined to create a boom for investors
in search of Mexico’s wealth of mineral
resources, leading to new research and mining
exploration.
In December 2009, 262 Mexican companies
backed by foreign capital were operating
692 projects in Mexico. Of this total figure,
74% of companies are based in Canada, 17%
in the US and 2% in Australia and the United
Kingdom. The remainder is spread out between
another ten countries.
During 2009 new exploration projects
were undertaken. Among them: Palmarejo
and Pinos Altos in Chihuahua, reactivation of
the La Testera plant in El Triunfo, Baja California
Sur and the San Francisco and Lluvia de
Oro mines in Sonora, as well as increasing installed
production capacity in La Encantada
in Coahuila and La Parrilla and Cerro Las
Minitas in Durango.
In 2009, important mining projects consolidated.
That was the case with the Dolores
mines in Chihuahua, Campo Morado in
Guerrero and Peñasquito in Zacatecas. The
latter will begin operations in 2010 and along
with Pinos Altos it will contribute to increase
Mexican gold production by up to 40%.
Other mines starting operations in 2010
are Santa Elena and Luz del Cobre in Sonora,
El Águila in Oaxaca, La Pitarrilla in Durango
and El Boleo in Baja California Sur, which will
start operations in 2011.
But Mexico still has much mineral wealth
to offer throughout its huge territory, enough
to ensure it remains a favorite for investors
with its top-quality deposits and its reliable
and profitable business environment. n

eport
mining in
mexico
Growth Is The Goal
Over a short period, Canadian Goldcorp has grown from a strong intermediate player to one of the top senior gold
producers in the world. It is one of the companies with the strongest production growth profile among all senior gold
producers and Mexico has played a key role in that.
As Salvador García, Vice President of Goldcorp Mexico, puts it: “Mexico’s major advantages are its big mineral
resources and its openness to foreign investment, in addition to an ideal environment for doing business.”
Goldcorp has managed to take advantage of Mexico’s assets to become one of the world’s mining strongest players.
The company began its golden business relationship with Mexico eight years ago, when it took control of Minas de
San Luis (Luismin), a wholly owned subsidiary of Wheaton River Minerals who merged with Goldcorp to create a major
new company in the gold mining industry.
Goldcorp started producing 50,000 ounces of gold per year and now produces 650,000 ounces. Furthermore, the
company expects to increase these figures to 1 million ounces per year, 55% of Mexico’s total production of gold.
To date, Goldcorp employs 6,000 people in Mexico and its operating assets include El Sauzal, Los Filos, San Dimas
(Tayoltita) and Peñasquito gold/silver mines. The latter is the largest open pit mine in Mexico and Goldcorp has invested
around 1.5 billion usd in it.
To reach its production goals, Goldcorp has a solid pipeline of projects. The company is currently working in two
major mining projects: the second stage of Peñasquito mine and the recently acquired Camino Rojo mine.
“Growing is one of our most important short-term goals in Mexico and the Camino Rojo mine will play an important
role. The company is also investing in its operating units. Each year around 60 million usd are invested to prolong the
life of the mines and to explore new reserves within the project portfolio we have throughout the country,” says Salvador
García.
The truth to be said, Goldcorp’s growth profile is unmatched in the mining industry and Mexico has a lot to say about
this story of success.

24 Negocios infographic oldemar
Mining projects
IN MEXICO
Value of Mining
Production in
Mexico in 2008
10.5
billion USD
New Mining Pr
2006-2009
Production
Investment
Baja California
El Arco
Grupo México
Advanced exploration, expects
to start operations in 2012
Production by State
1.4 billion USD
190,000 tons of copper
(expected production)
Baja California Sur
29%
Others
27%
Sonora
Exploration Projects
2009-2012
16%
Zacatecas
15%
Coahuila
13%
Chihuahua
El Boleo
Baja Mining / Kores
Under construction, expects
to start operations in 2011
889 million USD
1,535 tons of cobalt
55,750 tons of copper
6,300 tons of zinc sulfate
Sonora
692
Projects
Companies involved
262
Mining
companies
8.8
billion USD
(estimated investment)
El Crestón
Moly Corp
Advanced exploration, expects
to start operations in 2011
512 million USD
10,000 tons of molybdenum
8,000 tons of copper
Los Cedros
ArcelorMittal
Started operations in 2008
157 million USD
Mexican
Grupo México
Peñoles
Grupo Frisco
Autlán
Grupo Alfil
Nemisa
Minas de Bacis
Las Encinas
Materias Primas
GAN
Canadian
Goldcorp
Pan American Silver
Farallon Mining
Teck Resources
Alamos Gold
Gammon Gold
Frontera Copper
First Majestic
US
Hecla Mining
Coeur d’Alene
Mines
UK
Vane
Minerals
Arian Silver
Australian
Kings Minerals
Indo Gold
2 million tons of iron ore
Mulatos
Alamos Gold
Started operations in 2007
100 million USD
170,000 ounces of gold
El Chanate
Capital Gold
Started operations in 2007
35 million USD
60,000 ounces of gold

ojects
report
mining in
mexico
Chihuahua
El Chanate
Palmarejo
Coeur d’Alene Mines
Started operations in 2009
2.25 million USD
El Crestón
Mulatos
Dolores
9 million ounces of silver
110,000 ounces of gold
Pinos Altos
Agnico Eagle
Started operations in 2009
240 million USD
El Arco
El Boleo
Los Cedros
Pinos Altos
Palmarejo Ocampo
190,000 ounces of gold
2 million ounces of silver
Dolores
Minefinders
Started operations in 2008
250 million USD
130,000 ounces of gold
3 million ounces of silver
Peñasquito
Ocampo
Gammon Gold
Started operations in 2006
200 million USD
120,000 ounces of gold
4 million ounces of silver
Zacatecas
El Coronel
Peñasquito
Goldcorp
Started operations in 2008
Guerrero
Campo Morado
Farallon Mining
Started operations in 2008
114 million USD
9,000 ounces of gold
1.6 billion USD
400,000 ounces of gold
31 million ounces of silver
El Coronel
Grupo Frisco
Started operations in 2008
54,000 tons of zinc
60 million USD
920,000 ounces of silver
6,800 tons of copper
Los Filos
Goldcorp
Started operations in 2008
Los Filos
665 million USD
Campo Morado
200,000 ounces of gold
Source: Ministry of Economy - General Direction for Mining Promotion

26 Negocios infographic oldemar
Economic And Financial Indicators
MINING IN MEXICO
23,659
21,922
Total Foreign
and Mining
Industry
Investments
Millions USD
16,475
Total
Foreign
Investment
427.7
Mining
Industry 731.7 1,167.8
2003
2004
2005
Mining Trade Balance
Millions USD
Exports Imports Balance
3,185,712
4,227,249 5,249,338
-727,423 -918,114 -799,846
-3,913,135
2003
-5,145,363
2004
-6,049,184
2005
Value of Mineral
Production
Millions USD
2,781
2003
3,671
2004
4,895
2005
7,200
2006
8,262
2007
Legal Framework of Mining Concessions
Through mining
concessions
(claims), the Mining
Law guarantees the
mineral rights to
Mexican individuals
and companies
established within
the country.
Companies can be
constituted up to 100%
with foreign capital.
Initially, mining
concessions are
yielded for 50 years
and can be extended
for other 50 years.
There is no limit
to concession
areal extension.
Claims are granted
for all mineral rights,
excepting radioactive
minerals, on the
bases of “first came
first served.”

eport
mining in
mexico
27,278
19,316
21,950
15,000
1,923 2,156
3,656 2,730
2006
2007
2008
2009
Estimated
8,109,976 10,435,640
12,413,991
293,827
-7,816,149
2006
2,685,787
3,234,262
8,552
2008
6,202
2009
-7,749,853
2007 -9,179,729
2008
Sources: Statistics and Geography National Institute / Ministry of Finance and Public Credit /
Ministry of Economy - General Direction for Mining Promotion / National Bank for Foreign Trade / Bank of Mexico
Mineral rights
can be freely
transferred
between Mexican
individuals or
companies
constituted in
Mexico.
Mexican
government does
not charge
mineral royalties.
Surface and
corporate taxes
are charged.
Foreign investors
are considered
evenly as national
investors.
Free access
through the web
to all the geological,
geochemical
and geophysical
information from
the Mexican
Geological Survey

28 Negocios infographic oldemar
Mining
Investment
Projection
Millions USD
2,156
2007
3,656
2008
2,730
2009
National
Mining
Production
Participation
Value, 2008
14.9%
Silver
8.6%
Zinc
16.7%
Gold
21.50%
Copper

eport
mining in
mexico
2,245
2010
2,011
2011
1,884
2012
Latin America And Mexico Gold Production
Latin
America’s gold
production
grew 3% in
2008 to 15.6
million Oz
(20% of total
world
production)
and in the
first-half of
2009 it
increased a
further 3%.
Mexico is the second
largest producer of
gold in Latin
America, participating
with 10.3% of the
total production in
the region. The
country has the
second largest
reserves and
resources of gold
(91.4 million oz
—2,843 tons—)
distributed in 43
projects.
In 2008, 6 of
the 28 largest
Latin American
gold mines
(those
producing
more than
100,000 oz
—3.1 tons—)
were located
in Mexico, just
surpassed by
Peru with 8
mines.
In 2008 and the
first nine
months of 2009,
16 new mines
containing more
than 27 million
Oz —839.8 tons—
of gold in
reserves and
resources began
production in
Latin America.
Four of them
were located in
Mexico.
16 projects
with
potential
capacity
totaling 3.6
million Oz
per year
—112 tons—
are being
built in
Latin
America.
Seven of
them are in
Mexico.
To date, 43
largest Latin
American
reserves
development
and feasibilitystage
gold
projects are
documented.
Nine of them
are located in
Mexico,
totalizing 42.5
million gold Oz
—1,322 tons.
38.4%
Others
Sources: Mexico’s Mining Chamber / Ministry of Economy - General Direction for Mining Promotion / Metals Economics Group. Strategic Report, September-October, 2009.

30 Negocios Photo archive
Lights,
Camera …
Mexico!
BY CRISTINA ÁVILA-ZESATTI
Films “made in Mexico” are not just Mexican
productions, which are gradually receiving more
international exposure. There is another side to
the coin: the international film industry that comes
to Mexico to film large-scale productions.
With the increasing professionalization of
specialists, together with financial and tax
incentives offered to foreign productions and
Mexican co-productions, Mexico has become a
major player in the international film world.
Between April and May 2009, Mexico
City looked almost unreal with its
empty streets, closed stores and the
few people who ventured out of their
homes wearing facemasks. The authorities had
raised the health risk alarm due to a new influenza
virus, AH1N1.
The real “horror film” began just a short
while later, when the globalized fear of travelling
to Mexico began to appear a little exaggerated.
The restaurant, entertainment and tourism industries
immediately felt the side effects of an
illness, which, fortunately, did not lead to the catastrophe
that was first feared.
And there was another Mexican industry
which expected to be hard hit by this fiction-like
situation for very genuine reasons: Mexico’s film
industry, one which offers 500,000 direct jobs
every year and generates increasingly sizeable
revenue, according to figures released by the
Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE).
The Show Must Go On
Despite the health emergency conditions imposed
across the country, preparations for
scheduled filming continued, says Hugo Villa, IM-
CINE’s director of film production support.
“Last year we had a good year that was in line
with our expectations, and the usual number
of foreign movies were filmed in Mexico … of
course we were anxious about the possible effect
of health restrictions on the industry but at the
end of the day it didn’t affect us too much.”
IMCINE’s figures show that during 2009 the
institute collaborated on the production of 70
film projects, 44 of which were foreign. And that
does not include commercials, which are now
made to the same standard as films. In 2009, 27
large-scale commercial productions were filmed
in Mexico, 15 of which were foreign.
The threat posed by an unknown virus was
not the only dark cloud hanging over the world
in 2009. The specter of the global financial crisis
also loomed over the world’s strongest economies
and affected various industries, including
the film industry, and Mexico also suffered as a
result from cuts in international budgets.
“We mustn’t forget that the entertainment
industry depends on public financing to a large
extent. Films are often financed thanks to government
incentives or support. But the negative
effects will only actually be felt in 2010,
because fortunately the planning required by
a large film production means that those in-
volved need
to think about
projects far in
advance,” Hugo
Villa adds.
And although some
analysts believe that the
global film industry will face
massive cuts in mid-2010, other
specialists consider that it will be one
of the industries to get off lightest, given
the increase in audience numbers - because
it is precisely when times are tough that people
look for distractions.
And maybe if the major producers and investors
plan ahead so far, with some luck films will
only be about the crisis rather than suffering
from it.
“Avatar, for example, James Cameron’s latest
film, began to be planned while the director
was wrapping up his other great success, Titanic
[…] we are talking 1997, no less than 13 years ago,”
says Villa.
Movie Tourism
When “The King of Rock & Roll” Elvis Presley
came to Mexico in 1963 to film Fun in Acapulco,

it was hugely expensive to
transport the heavy filming
kit, cameras, materials
and a cohort of
specialists to operate it
all. That did not even include
the expense of travelling
with ‘the stars’, finding
them lodging and filming them in a pleasant
environment.
Today things have changed considerably, not
only because the equipment is much more manageable
but also, and especially because as opposed
to the 60s, Mexico is now able to offer big
film producers much more than “beautiful locations
and a good climate.” Our appeal as a filming
destination has grown.
“100% foreign productions filmed in Mexico
are now much better catered for, with top-quality
specialists who are generally bilingual. Our
workforce is completely au fait with film
special feature creative industries - filming in mexico

32 Negocios
work and this is one of our main competitive
advantages, as producers only have to bring
the bare essentials to Mexico. They can travel
with smaller teams and they can hire the rest
of their people here. Films like Apocalypto
[Mel Gibson, 2006], The Legend of Zorro
[Martin Campbell, 2005] or Troy [Wolfgang
Petersen, 2004] are just some examples of
productions that employed Mexican labor
extensively,” says Hugo Villa.
IMCINE’s statistics reveal that US productions
most frequently use Mexico for filming,
due to its obvious geographical proximity.
France and Spain are the European countries
which predominantly choose to film in Mexico,
the latter for language reasons. For the
same reason, a number of Latin American
countries like Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba
and Bolivia, choose Mexican locations.
This variety of countries that choose
Mexico to film their productions seems to
be growing at the same pace as the locations
themselves. “Local and state
governments are taking increasing
interest in the importance
of the film industry, not only
for their economies but also for
the promotion of tourism that
arises from people seeing these
places on big screens around the
world,” says Hugo Villa.
And so while Durango was once ‘the
king’ of American Western movies, today
major film producers favor several states
across Mexico. Their preferences are not
only shaped by the climate, geographical terrain
or suitable period sets but also by infrastructure
around the location which is often
a determining factor for whether filming is
to take place in a specific place or not.
“Currently Mexico City is top choice for
foreign productions. You could safely say
that 70% of films produced in Mexico take
place in the country’s capital, partly due to
the city’s infrastructure and airport facilities
but also due to the city government’s work in
supporting film productions on their patch,
with new legislation and regulations making
it very clear how to go about the process,” explains
Hugo Villa.
Also, Mexico City has an ace up its sleeve.
The Estudios Churubusco film studio is located
in the Mexican capital, with sets suitable
for large-scale productions that are
unique throughout Latin America and with
industry-related services that easily match
the quality of other international studios.
Even so, states like Morelos, Puebla, Veracruz
and Zacatecas seem to be making their
presence felt, after years of the desert and
beach locations in states like Durango and
Baja California being the star attractions.
This is an area in which IMCINE, as a national
institute, is working hard.
“We go to all the festivals we can, both in
Mexico and abroad, to promote the country
as a ‘film destination’ offering a whole series
of benefits […] and of course we invite those
in charge of film promotion at state government
level. Little by little, this work is beginning
to pay off,” says Hugo Villa.
Every year Mexico is host to at least ten or
twelve large foreign productions. Each one
spends between 8 million and 10 million usd,
representing a profit of between 120 million
and 130 million usd.
And They Filmed Happily Ever After
It is not only the large, 100% foreign productions
that generate revenue for Mexico. Coproduction
is a formula that is increasingly
applied in the global market and in Mexico.
The IBERMEDIA program in Spain,
for example, created in 1997, has successfully
raised funds to provide an incentive for
Spanish and Latin American producers to
work on co-productions.
But this is not the only way. The Mexican
film industry is always looking for ways to
encourage Mexican filmmakers and producers
to “throw their hats into the ring.” Increasingly,
alliances with foreign colleagues
are being formed, resulting in benefits for
the film industries of the countries involved.
In Mexico, under Article 226 of the Income
Tax Law, producers can make films
with exclusively Mexican content, but they
can also use this financing for co-productions
with content from other countries. No
small incentive.
“This investment fund, which does not
come from the public purse but instead is
paid by the taxpayer himself, has strengthened
Mexican film-makers and producers
and converted them into major players within
the international film scene, especially
in Latin America or those countries with
similar-sized industries to the Mexican one,”
says Villa.
This fund currently has a total of 500 million
pesos to invest in productions involving
Mexicans. Those who take advantage of this
incentive almost always have 50% in private
investment, a considerable amount for Mexico
if the film is made in this country. That amount
often doubles the initial funding, meaning that
through this mechanism alone, approximately
$1 billion pesos remain in Mexico.
According to IMCINE, that is not all. Every
year Mexico is host to at least ten or twelve
large foreign productions. Each one spends
between 8 million and 10 million usd, representing
a profit of between 120 million and 130
million usd.
The Challenges Behind The Cameras
It is not all plain sailing in the film scene,
however. Like the movies themselves, which
compete with each other to position themselves
as the latest “box-office hit,” the competition
between potential locations and
national industries to produce a major film
is tough. Mexico is aware of the
challenge.
“We are competing, for example,
with incentives such as those
offered by New York City, which
recently announced a fund of 490
million usd for those filming in
New York locations, or by Puerto
Rico, which returns to foreign producers
45% of their expenditure in their territory.
In contrast, Mexico offers a VAT refund.
Also, although all Mexican states offer their
own particular attractions for film productions,
Mexico’s natural attractions could be
optimized and improved a lot more in order to
take full advantage of our natural assets,” concludes
Hugo Villa.
Even with these challenges and with parts
of the film machinery still needing a little oil,
there is something about Mexico that captures
people’s hearts and fascinates them in the
same way a good movie does.
Otherwise it would be hard to explain why
so many filmmakers choose to return to film in
Mexico. This is by no means an isolated phenomenon.
The latest saga in this “film love”
will be in 2010 when Mel Gibson will return to
film in Veracruz, where he made his box-office
smash Apocalypto.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation is a film
written and produced by Gibson himself, once
again promising controversy and therefore likely
to attract large audiences. Moviegoers around
the world will see Mexico’s natural beauty projected
before their eyes onto the big screen. n

special feature creative industries - filming in mexico
SOME INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTIONS
THAT HAVE BEEN FILMED
(ENTIRELY OR PARTIALLY) IN MeXICO
Movie year Location
• Fast & Furious 4 2009 Magdalena, Sonora
• Dragonball Evolution 2009 Mexico City - Durango
• The Perfect Game 2009 Monterrey, Nuevo León
• Jumper 2008 rosarito, Baja California
• 007 Quantum of Solace 2008 san Felipe, Baja California
• City of Ember 2008 rosarito, Baja California
• You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 2008 La Paz - Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2008 Mexico City - Hermosillo, Sonora
• No Country for Old Men 2007 Piedras Negras, Coahuila
• Into the Wild 2007 Algodones, Baja California - El Golfo, Sonora
• Resident Evil: Extinction 2007 Algodones - Mexicali, Baja California
• Apocalypto 2006 Veracruz
• Bandidas 2006 Durango
• Nacho Libre 2006 Oaxaca
• The Legend of Zorro 2005 san Luis Potosí
• Between 2005 Tijuana, Baja California
• Troy 2004 Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur
• Once Upon a Time in Mexico 2003 Coahuila
• Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World 2003 rosarito, Baja California
• Frida 2002 Mexico City
• Kung Pow: Enter the Fist 2002 rosarito - Tijuana, Baja California
• The Mexican 2001 real de Catorce, San Luis Potosí
• Fast & Furious 2001 san Felipe, Baja California
• Pearl Harbor 2001 rosarito, Baja California
• Deep Blue Sea 1999 rosarito, Baja California
• In Dreams 1999 rosarito, Baja California
• Armageddon 1998 Veracruz
• The Game 1997 Mexicali, Baja California
• 007 Tomorrow Never Dies 1997 rosarito, Baja California
• Titanic 1997 rosarito, Baja California
• Old Gringo 1989 Villas del Oeste, Durango
• 007 Licence to Kill 1989 Guerrero, Durango, Quintana Roo
• Caveman 1981 sierra de Órganos, Zacatecas
• The Night of the Iguana 1964 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
• Fun in Acapulco 1963 Acapulco, Guerrero

34 Negocios photos courtesy of batallón 52
Animators Take Bicentenary
By Storm And Launch An Industry
Batallón 52 has raised a high standard for the celebrations marking two hundred years of Mexican
Independence and one hundred years since the Revolution. It will animate the festivities surrounding
Mexico’s birth as an independent nation, as well as lay the foundations for a world-class animation and
multimedia industry in Mexico.
BY SANDRA ROBLAGUI
The year marking Mexico’s bicentenary
celebrations of Independence
and the centenary since the Mexican
Revolution will leave behind it
an army-sized group of animation specialists.
The forces of animation march to the tune
of Batallón 52. Their main barracks are in the
city of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco. Their
first engagement is called Suertes, humores y
pequeñas historias de la Independencia y la
Revolución (Feats, moods and short stories of
Independence and the Revolution). It is a collection
of 52 animated short films on the country’s
wars of liberation. The project revealed
that Mexico is prepared to lay down the gauntlet,
using its full arsenal of technology and its
knowledge base. One of this army’s greatest
victories is the Chapala Media Park, in Jalisco
–covering an area of almost 35 acres with offices,
sound and recording studios and sets to
match any film studio in the US. Some believe
Jalisco will soon become a Mexican Jaliwood.
For example, the entire production of
Matrix, as well as the entire lobby of Titanic,
could be filmed on Chapala’s sets. That is just
for starters because the installations will be
equipped to handle all the technical post-production
work of any independent or commercial
film, “entirely staffed by people trained in
Jalisco state itself,” says Carlos Gutiérrez Medrano,
producer of Batallón 52 and founder,
in 2002, of Metacube, which focuses in special
effects, animation and 3D.
Gutiérrez Medrano confirms that various
US-based studios have already expressed an
interest in renting out space in the park, which
will be inaugurated in the first quarter of 2010.
A second section is planned once the first is
fully occupied.
Carlos Gutiérrez has recently become a
key figure in persuading members of the National
Chamber of the Electronics, Telecommunications
and IT Industry (Canieti,) of the
importance of the film industry for Mexico’s
economic growth.
In 2007, the young entrepreneur became
Canieti’s Western Division (Canieti Occidente)
first Vice-President of Audiovisual Media and
through Metacube he is now working with various
unions to train up specialist technicians in
constructing and moving sets in the Chapala
Media Park. He also played a major part in
ensuring that the state government of Jalisco
bought ten hectares of land for use as backlots
for movie productions.
As Vice-President of Canieti’s Western Division,
Gutiérrez submitted a proposal to Víctor
Ugalde, then Secretary General of the Film
Investment and Incentives Fund (Fidecine), a
State film fund managed by the Mexican Institute
of Cinematography (Imcine), for the production
of ten feature-length animated films
with a view to Mexico’s national celebrations
in 2010. “The final agreement was better than
good. We settled on 52 shorts, each lasting a
minute and a half. One half on the Bicentenary
01 / 02 / 03 HIDALGO’S
EXCOMMUNICATION DECREE,
directed by Rigoberto Mora
04 the first air to sea attack,
directed by René Castillo.
01
02

special feature creative industries - batallón 52
of Independence and the other on the first century
since the Revolution,” Gutiérrez explains.
He then raised over 3 million usd to finance
the production of the shorts, with equal support
provided by Imcine and the Jalisco state government,
through various institutions and programs.
The next stage involved finding directors to
command the battalion. The generals appointed
were to be Rita Basulto, Karla Castañeda, René
Castillo, Luis Téllez and Rigoberto Mora. All of
them young, Mexicans, with plenty of experience
and recipients of national and international
awards for their animation work.
Then the magic of Batallón 52 began to
work together with future animation and
movie projects in Jaliwood. Paola García, the
project’s Marketing and Public Relations manager,
remembers that in December 2009 Canieti’s
Western Division invited people to apply
for a job through various media outlets in the
metropolitan area of Guadalajara. It was open
to people of all ages, professions and trades
who liked to talk and to draw. It was a tempting
offer. The successful applicants could learn
and receive a salary to take part in various
stages of a series of short films that would illustrate
some stories from the eras of Mexican Independence
and the Revolution. As well as the
Mexican directors, team leaders also included
animators like Jason Ryan (Walt Disney and
DreamWorks), Shawn Colbeck (Disney and
CORE), Mark Simon (author of Producing Independent
2D Character Animation, a book
regarded as “the Bible” of the animation industry),
and Víctor Manuel Espinoza (the voice of
Homer Simpson in the movie’s dubbed version
for Mexico).
Paola remembers that she thought about
200 people would show up. But 600 came,
including painters, illustrators, graphic designers,
bank employees, aspiring voice-over artists,
and 150 were chosen.
On a separate front, the battalion’s generals
were fighting to set up a state-of-the-art studio.
Eighty computers were bought and equipped
with “less paper” technology where drawing
can be done straight on to the monitor. Batallón
therefore became Latin America’s largest
animation studio.
The 52 films –one for each week of the
year– were created from this mix of management,
talent, knowledge and technology. They
freely tell some of the stories –some amusing,
others serious– that provide the backdrop to
the two most important wars in Mexico’s history.
The first shorts, which will be added with
the remainder during the first quarter of 2010,
The generals appointed were to be Rita Basulto, Karla
Castañeda, René Castillo, Luis Téllez and Rigoberto Mora.
All of them young, Mexicans, with plenty of experience and
recipients of national and international awards for their
animation work.
are screened before mainstream films showing
at most movie theaters across Mexico.
“Actually, Batallón 52 even went beyond
its brief, by training dozens of people in using
animation technologies. This will lead to
the creation of new projects in the Chapala
Media Park,” confirms line producer Estefani
Gaona.
Over the next months, the battalion will
march in a new direction and several of its
troops will be working on feature length productions
in 2D and 3D that Metacube is planning
for 2011.
Carlos Gutiérrez adds that now the fight
will continue to generate intellectual property
and ideas to take shape in movies and
video games.
“The idea when the Bicentenary project
began was to lay the foundations for the Mexican
animation industry to grow and become
globally competitive. We aimed high and hit
out target,” adds Estefani Gaona.
They hit several targets, in fact. Now, the
shorts’ directors are receiving invitations to
present their productions in places such as the
International Short Film Festival Clermont-
Ferrand in France, in which they took part on
February 2, 2010, while in Jalisco the scene is
set for an industry that will grow over the coming
years. n
03
04

36 Negocios photos courtesy of animex estudios
Animations of Mexican Stories
Complete the Picture
Animex Estudios has focused the world’s attention on some Mexican legends,
tales and, coming soon, a story reflecting the reality of Mexico.
Mexican cleverness can also fill
up seats in movie theaters.
With support from Puebla’s
state government and private
investment by a regional business association,
but most importantly with great stories to tell,
Animex Estudios (www.animex2d.com.mx) has
taken the international industry by storm with
its animation and audio work, as well as by
producing scripts, character designs and storyboards
for companies in other countries.
But these global services are just the tip of
the iceberg for this young Mexican
company. It is passionate
about recovering Mexican stories
and legends –pre-Hispanic
and modern alike– and revealing
them to other cultures. Over the
past three years, the studio has
reached an audience of almost
two million children for its La
Leyenda de la Nahuala (The Legend of the Nahuala,
2007) and Nikté (2009). The story continues.
Its latest children’s animated film project El
Americano (The American) is currently being
co-produced by Mexican-American actor Edward
James Olmos, and by founder and current
CEO of Animex Estudios, Ricardo Arnaiz.
The movie will be released in early 2011. Its characters
are birds and Ricardo Arnaiz says that “the
story is about migration and the many positive
results of contrasting cultures meeting together.”
Yes, yes, yes. Hollywood tries and dumps
productions all over and has Animex’ success
at least 30 times per year. However, the difference
is that the company from Puebla is hardly
ten years’ old, its directors, Eduardo Jiménez
and Ricardo Arnaiz, are very young –Ricardo
is thirty-five– and until recently it operated
exclusively with family backing. For example
its offices were located in a space lent by Arnaiz’
father. In 2000, Animex employed just
five people but now has a full-time staff of 55
employees.
“Obviously we don’t charge the same as in
Hollywood but we are creating interesting
products for a global audience and the
response is positive.”
This Mexican company has also shown that
a first-rate film does not need massive investment.
La Leyenda de la Nahuala and Nikté cost
just 2.5 million usd each. Nothing compared to
Disney productions, which cost an average of
between 90 and 180 million usd.
Even without the benefit of the Hollywood
marketing machine, Animex Estudios
has scored some great successes with a selftaught
process and bottom-up, low-budget
scripts. The story of a frightened boy who
in 1807 personally discovered the legend of
La Nahuala, a spirit that hides in an old house
in the city of Puebla, was seen by 1.2 million
people. The Spanish company Filmax took an
interest in the film and is now responsible for
distributing it across ten countries in Europe
and Asia. In the US, the animated film is on
sale on DVD. Nikté, the story of a young girl
in the Olmec culture –which flourished in the
state of Tabasco in south-east Mexico– is still
showing in movie theaters across Mexico, says
Ricardo Arnaiz.
For Nikté, Mexican ingenuity
was used right from pre-production.
For the film’s sound effects some of
the crew travelled to the Agua Selva
community in Huimanguillo in the
state of Tabasco to record natural
sounds for the animation.
The most wonderful aspect is
that, in common with other parts
of Mexico where animation is an emerging
sector boasting solid technical skills and talent,
in the state of Puebla those behind Animex
managed to persuade other sectors not
normally associated with the film industry.
“We received support from the state government
of Puebla and a group of businessmen
who are members of the state business development
council [The Council for Industrial,
Commercial and Service Development of
the State of Puebla, CDICSEP],” says Arnaiz.

special feature creative industries - Animex estudios
—There’s a generation of Mexican directors
who have received awards in other
countries. Is there a boom in animation
in Mexico
Definitely. Several Mexican feature-length
animated movies are being screened in commercial
movie theaters for the first time. Some
recent ones include: La leyenda de la Nahuala,
Nikté, El agente 00P2 and Triple AAA: sin
01
límite en el tiempo [both by Ánima Estudios],
Una película de huevos and Otra película de
huevos y un pollo [by Huevocartoon Producciones],
and others coming soon are La revolución
de Juan Escopeta [produced by Arnaiz himself]
and Brijes 3D [by IThrax Producciones].
—Most of the young Mexican directors
have not had a formal education in film
or animation. Do you think that this generation
of creative talent has a mutual
influence
Sure. The same animated cartoons that we
grew up with and which are still being made
around the world; access to technology, for
example, to free programs available on the
Internet, and our own culture. Most of the
recent animated films have been done on low
budgets with great creativity. We have grown
up. Although Mexico did not have much experience
with animation, us Mexican directors
have learned by ourselves what works and
what doesn’t and we have made improvements
with each film.
—Almost everyone says that art and
financial survival are incompatible. Is
animation the exception
It is difficult to find financing to make a film
anywhere, but it’s worth it. In Mexico, we receive
increasing support from government and
the private sector. Many people make a living
with animation. Obviously we don’t charge
the same as in Hollywood but we are creating
interesting products for a global audience and
the response is positive.
—Animation is a competitive and globalized
industry. How much interest is
there in other countries to see stories
like La leyenda de la nahuala and Nikté
In this globalized world, differences offer
opportunities. Children, like their parents,
are looking for something new when they go
to the movies because they are keen to find
out new things. Good stories make good films
and in Mexico we have lots of stories to tell
that can be understood and appreciated in
any culture. n
02
01 / 02 niktÉ is the story of a young girl in
the Olmec culture.
03 drawers and animators at
Animex Estudios.
03

38 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos courtesy of digital media / archive
Playing In The Big Leagues
Playing golf is not easy. To play it on a videogame console with the skills of a champion sounds even more
difficult. With a videogame for Nintendo inspired by Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, the Mexican company
Digital Media has placed itself on the shelf of international videogames and is moving towards it’s goal of
positioning the Mexican videogame industry on the global scene.
By FRANCISCO VERNIS
In 2002, when Iván Díaz de León decided
to start his own company –Digital Media–
he did it with a clear goal in his mind: to
support the consolidation of the videogame
industry in Mexico.
Since then, he has launched proposals such
as the creation of a university degree in videogame
development, the foundation of a national
association of videogame developers and the
creation of special funds to support small and
medium companies in the country.
To date, Digital Media is a small company.
With barely an eight-year history, it has done
what was said to be impossible: develop a game
to be launched worldwide by Nintendo for its
Wii console. Digital Media’s videogame was
entirely designed and developed by Mexican
professionals and is based on Lorena Ochoa,
another Mexican who is world champion in
her specialty, golf.
“This game presented the opportunity for
entering the industry at a professional level.
It comes from the idea of having a ‘made in
Mexico’ product to be exported to the world,
leveraging in the fact that Lorena is at the top
level of a high profile profession. Negotiations
took almost two years,” says Díaz de León.
Launching will be defferred according to
each market: US, México and Latin America in
the first half of 2010, Europe and Asia in the
second half of the year.
The Beginning
Díaz de León, founder and general manager of
Digital Media was in Spain, being certified in
videogame development, when he decided to
create his own company and become part of
the “creation wave” for a new market.
Value of the
International
Videogame Industry
• 2007: 62.6 billion usd
• 2008: 71.7 billion usd
• 2009: 81.9 billion usd
Source: International Data
Corporation
Growing Market
• 50% of Mexican gamers buy at
least one videogame every three
months.
• 20% of Mexican gamers buy
several videogames per month.
• Xbox 360 holds 36% of the
market share in Mexico, Wii has
11.5%, PS2 9%, and PS3 8.7%.
• 20% of Mexican videogamers
play daily, 24% play every other
day and 16% play at least once a
week.
• Average Mexican player is 35
years old, 40% are women.
Source: Competitive Intelligence Unit
“It was easier opening something in México
at a slower rhythm because it gave the opportunity
to collaborate in founding this industry
in the country. Since then, many cases have
projected the Mexican industry to the world,”
says Díaz de León from his Guadalajara-based
office, in the state of Jalisco, west Mexico.
As a consumed gamer, Díaz de León knew
since he was a child that he wanted to develop
videogames. With that in mind, he specialized
in it. His passion happened to be contagious to
the members of his team, now integrated with
29 professionals, all focused on the same goals.
The company began developing advertgames
–advertising based games– to promote
specific brands and products. Three months
after operations started came the first client,
Aeroméxico. Since then it has not stopped.
Among its extensive client list are familiar
names such as Samsung, Sony, Mercedes Benz
and Intel.
Experience acquired in multimedia development
has allowed the company to survive and
keep a place in their favorite market: videogames.
“Advertgames helped us to know, learn,
improve techniques and to become internationally
competitive. As these videogames are
developed by request, specific objectives and
needs have to be met. We produced multimedia
projects to gain experience and learn how
to deal with big international companies,” says
Díaz de León.
Díaz de León foresees a great future for the
videogame business, especially due to the fact
that sales in México are higher than in other Latin
American countries, like Brazil or Argentina.
“Latin American markets present the opportunity
of creating different projects that can
be produced for diverse audiences, keeping all
of them satisfied, as they are eager for different
products,” says the businessman.
Since he presented Digital Media’s project
in Spain, the company has gained the trust
of firms like Nintendo and Xbox, both giants
fighting resistence to share their technologies.
Even though, since its beginning, the Mexican
firm has been working with the most advanced
systems.

special feature creative industries - digital media
Díaz de León foresees a great future for
the videogame business, especially due
to the fact that sales in Mexico are higher
than in other Latin American countries,
like Brazil or Argentina.
Iván Díaz de León
“It was like crashing into a big party, like entering
the industry by its back door. We learned
who were the key players, how decisions were
made in the industry and how everything
moves within it. These elements helped us define
our strategy,” says Díaz de León.
Think Global, Act Local
Digital Media’s goal has always been projecting
México internationally. Perhaps that’s why
they prefer to move slowly but with certainty
in a market valued at around one billion usd,
according to figures from International Data
Corporation, a leading company in market research
and analysis for technological industry.
Díaz de León is clear that Digital Media has a
long way to run yet. Business trips to create contacts
and build alliances and professionalization
is how the company expects to progress in an
industry with more than 30 years behind it.
“We are trying to strengthen the entire industry
so we can export more contents. China,
India and Singapore are emerging markets
that have invested between eight and nine
years to build their videogame industry. Now
they are important outsourcing centers for
the entire world. There is a lot to learn and we
manage as a ‘start-up’ company. It is not the
best moment to pretend to offer something
fully professional in the region. That wouldn’t
be realistic. Good news is that even by being
humble we have grown. We believe we are on
the right track and what we offer is a young
company achieving global production levels,”
says the Digital Media founder.
But Digital Media does not want to grow
alone. The company has been a strong supporter
of the creation of a Mexican Federation
of Videogame Developers, which aims to
group together all companies interested in the
professionalization of the industry.
“We are presenting the brand México Develops
Games [mexicodevgames.org] and taking
it to every major event worldwide. We are
presenting Mexico as a country in the process
of maturing to host leader companies and to
share our outsource projects,” Díaz de León
explains.
This initiative has already worked and the
Federation has been invited to take part in
some of the main events for videogame developers
in cities such as San Francisco, Tokyo,
Montreal and Lyon that have become key players
of the global industry.
Becoming Professional
Part of the objectives of the Federation
is training and professionalizing human
capital in Mexico by inviting specialists
from around the world.
For example, explains Díaz
de León, “if we need someone
with experience in
solving physics issues we go
to the network and access a
specialist that can solve that
specific issue for the project. It
works as outsourcing.”
“Talent in Mexico has to grow. We
are working for college degrees in main
universities and soon a new generation
of professionals will be on the market,”
he adds.
Digital Media is mostly made up of passionate
videogame fans, explains its founder.
Maybe that is why their achievements can be
compared to those of a larger company.
Through its short life, the firm has diversified
and now owns a distribution company,
Catapulta Entertainment, and a web-based
videogame company, Gran Tiki Games.
“We are building an entertainment
holding. In the future we will offer diverse
contents for the web, consoles and mobile
devices. The future seems golden, we are entering
at a level that is very complicated to
access to. That is an achieved goal. The rest
of the way has challenges but we know we
can face them because we are competitive,”
concludes Díaz de León. n

40 Negocios Infographics oldemar
As Good As The Best
But Cheaper Than All
Negocios figures
Average monthly salary....
for engineering and design services (USD)
$447 $484 $591 $835 $994 $2,387 $3,000 $3,868
Mexico Colombia Brazil Turkey Poland South Korea US Germany
There are over 900
post-graduate engineering and
technology programs offered
by Mexican universities.
Labor costs for the sector in Mexico
are 80% cheaper than in Germany,
South Korea and the US and 45%
cheaper than in Poland and Turkey.
...for music, film,
radio and television (USD)
$388 $406
$550 $752 $891 $2,442 $2,685 $3,715
Mexico Colombia Brazil Turkey Poland South Korea US Germany
Labor costs for the sector in Mexico are
90% cheaper than in Germany, 85%
cheaper than in South Korea and the
US and 50% cheaper than in Turkey
and Poland.
Sources: The Boston Consulting Group / LABORSTA Labour Statistics Database - International Labour Organization / ProMéxico

Op. 44
The lifestyle
T h e C o m p l et e G u i d e of t h e M ex i c a n Way of L i fe .
The Lifestyle Feature
Editorial
Industry
p. 52
Interview
lynn
fainchtein:
Born Into Music
Photo Francisco Vernis

42 Negocios photos courtesy of aeroméxico / Peugeot / ARCHIVE
TOURISM
Central
America Gets
Closer
Aeromexico has revised its international expansion
for 2010 by refocusing on new markets
in Central America and the Caribbean,
while deciding to keep its North American
capacity about the same as last year.
As part of this strategy, the company will
launch a daily Mexico City-San Jose (Costa
Rica) service on board Boeing 737 by the
end of March 2010.
www.aeromexico.com
TOURISM
Mexico in Spain
El Corte Inglés, the largest department store
chain in Spain, has decided to feature Mexico
as its guest country in 2011.
Each year, the chain launches a campaign
promoting a country. After visiting Mexico
and getting surprised by the quality and design
of Mexican handicrafts, buyers from
the company decided to schedule Mexico as
the country to be promoted in 2011. Mexican
products, specially handicrafts, will be sold in
the 80 stores of El Corte Inglés in Spain and
Portugal.
www.elcorteingles.es
TECHNOLOGY
The Future
Reached Us
An alliance between Peugeot, Telcel and
Apple has resulted in the creation of the
first car with Internet. It is the Peugeot 207
Compact WiFi, whose limited 500-car special
edition will be sold only in Mexico.
The French firm’s model has a Modem
Router compatible with almost all computer
equipment and wireless devices.
www.peugeot.com

The Lifestyle briefs
UK ANd MEXICO:
50 YEARS OF CREATIVITY
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG and UK Special Representative for
International Trade and Investment, celebrated fifty years of
UK-Mexico creativity during his first official visit to the country.
In Mexico City, the Duke of York officially
launched the “Young Creative Entrepreneur
2010” award at the Franz Mayer
museum whilst inaugurating an exhibition
of Carla Fernández.
Carla Fernández, a Mexican fashion designer,
won the award in 2008 for her work
designing clothes with Mexico’s indigenous
population.
The award was initiated by the British
Council to establish a network of entrepreneurial
contacts between the UK and Mexico,
inspiring and facilitating exchanges of
ideas and best practice as well as the development
of skills and creative talents. Prizes
are given in the following sectors: design,
music, communication, “interactive arts,” visual
arts and cinema.
Other Mexicans have also previously won
the award including Eduardo Rabasa, Director
of Sexto Piso in 2004, Robert Velázquez
Bolio, Director of Production for Milenio TV
in 2009 and Uriel Waizel, Content Coordinator
for Ibero 90.9 FM also in 2009.
The Duke of York launched Love and
Money, an exhibition recognizing 50 years
of British creativity, which focuses on how
creativity and business can come together
to be successful.
ukinmexico.fco.gov.uk
Photo Courtesy of The British Embassy in Mexico

44 Negocios i The Lifestyle
photo Francisco Vernis
Lynn
Fainchtein:
Born Into
Music
Lynn Fainchtein’s name is linked to the best Mexican films
of the past few years and, more recently, she has worked as
music supervisor for foreign films such as Precious, currently
nominated for six Academy awards.
By FRANCISCO VERNIS
When she was born,
Lynn Fainchtein was
given The Beatles’ first
single Love Me Do/P.S.
I Love You (1963) –the
only time Ringo Starr did not play drums on a
Beatles’ track. That marked the beginning of a
symbiotic relationship with music that she has
maintained ever since.
As a young girl she preferred opening up a
new vinyl record and learning the lyrics than
playing with dolls. So it is hardly surprising that
she cannot remember how many records she
has at home and that she has almost 100 thousand
tracks in her digital music collection. Music
is her work, her life, but she herself only plays a
little saxophone and flute.
Fainchtein is a music supervisor for movies
and advertisements. She and her team make
suggestions for film soundtracks, handle licensing
and do the production work for whatever is
necessary (original music and bands on screen).
She has worked on 38 films made between
1992 and 2009 and she has about a dozen projects
in production. One of the most important,
and the reason for her particular excitement on
Monday February 1 during her interview for
Negocios, is Precious (Lee Daniels, 2009), which
that morning had received six Academy Award
nominations, including for Best Picture.
“I’m thrilled. The director is an incredibly important
person in my life, I think he’s wonderful
and we get on great together. Successful directors
are those that accomplish what they set out to
achieve, those who have a clear idea about how
they want things. That gets them funding and
everything else,” says Lynn, who worked on the
production of 30 songs for Precious.
Fainchtein’s career is closely tied to the development
of Mexican film. She began by helping
the musical supervision of Danzón (María
Novaro, 1991), one of the first films that began to
be labeled as “the new Mexican cinema.” Since
then, she has worked on Mexico’s most important
cinematic releases, such as Todo el Poder
(All The Power, Fernando Sariñana, 1999), Voces
Inocentes (Innocent Voices, Luis Mandoki, 2004),
Una Película de Huevos (An Egg Movie, Gabriel
and Rodolfo Riva Palacio, 2006), and Amores
Perros (Love Dogs, Alejandro González Iñárritu,
2000), which catapulted her onto the international
scene with 21 Grams and Babel.

interview lynn fainchtein
But it has not all been film work. Fainchtein
graduated in Psychology from the National
Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM), and has also been successful in radio,
with the Salsabadeando and Descelofaneando
programs on Mexico City’s Rock 101
music station. Subsequently she worked on
other radio projects with her characteristically
relaxed and intelligent style: Dimensión
13.80 and Espacio 59.
As MTV Latin America’s program director
from 1994 to 1999 she immersed herself
in so many music videos that she began to
develop a distinct visual and musical sense
that eventually led to her film career taking
off with Altavista Films.
—Where did you find your musical
vocation
I’ve loved music ever since I was a young
girl. I was never into dolls or toy cars. I loved
records instead. We always listened music
at my grandparents’ house.
Two memories from my childhood
stand out. My grandfather owned a hotel in
Puerto Vallarta called Posada Vallarta, and
“I’d never pass up on a film
that I like no matter how
much work I’ve got on. I’ve
even done some films pro
bono because I’ve liked
them a lot.”
once, while I was in the swimming pool of
the hotel I listened to a trio singing La Gloria
eres tú. It seemed to me like the trio was
putting on a soundtrack for paradise.
The other time was with my parents in a
synagogue in the Colonia Condesa in Mexico
City. Men and women are separated in
synagogues but as a child you’re gender-less
and they let you be in the men’s section until
you’re thirteen. I remember that the first
time I went, a man they called “el cantor”
(the singer) appeared. I was really amazed
by the deep notes that man reached.
Those two moments have stayed with me.
That was when I started buying records.
—What was the first record you bought
The first records I bought were Hemispheres,
by Rush, and IV, by Led Zeppelin.
—Did you ever want to play an instrument
I have tried. I play a little sax and transverse
flute but I’ve never been disciplined enough
to study every day. And now I’m getting a little
old and life has caught up with me. It takes a
lot of dedication.
—How do you work
I get the script and I read it. I speak with the
director to find out what he wants and where he
wants to go. Music for a film is usually divided
between what already exists and what still
needs to be made. For what has to be made, you
need to make a deal with a musician and I produce
it. If you have to record with an orchestra, I
also produce the orchestra recording. There is a
lot of production work.
For songs that already exist and that need
to be recorded for a film, I create a songbook.
Normally I suggest the songs, depending on the
budget and the story. Once I have that, I start
getting the licenses to use the songs.

46 Negocios
—What is your favorite part
When I put the song in the right place. Most
of all I like using my creativity to place songs.
—Do you always like the end result
No, of course not. I don’t usually expect the end
result to please me but the director, because he
is the one with the idea for the film. I try to persuade
him on some things but everything comes
down to the budget. If you want a Leonard
Cohen song, for example, you’re going to need
money. All these things need to be weighed up.
Truth be told, I haven’t been pleased with all my
work but I have only been really disappointed
with a few things, about four or five projects.
—You have worked on almost every
Mexican film.
No, that’s a myth. I don’t do more than ten
films a year. It’s just that I work on many films
that come out at different times. I can be
working on a film that ends in April this year
and then is released next year because they
want it to come out at Sundance. Last year
around seventy films were made in Mexico, I
took part in just ten. It’s not so many, there’s a
limit to how much you can do.
—How much is your work appreciated
I worked intensely for two and a half years on
Precious. Songs run through the whole film…
That was thirty songs in over two years.
On some projects, music groups form part
of the filming process. For example I’m in the
middle of working on a Luis Estrada film. For
the music we need to go to Matehuala in San
Luis Potosí, look for musicians in the markets,
film them, license the song and wait for the cut
to see how it turned out.
If you look at it like that, I don’t get paid much
at all. That’s why I have to do ten films a year. I
couldn’t make a living by doing just one film.
I think my work is properly appreciated
Lynn Fainchtein has worked
on 38 films made between
1992 and 2009 and she
has about a dozen projects
in production. One of the
most important projects she
has worked in is Precious
(Lee Daniels, 2009), which
has received six Academy
Award nominations,
including for Best Picture.
because I get a lot of it. But it could be better
paid! Sometimes I’d like to do fewer films but
earn more, although I’d never pass up on a film
that I like no matter how much work I’ve got on.
I’ve even done some films pro bono because I’ve
liked them a lot.
—Do you always listen to music
Yes. I have masses of music to listen to. I’ve got
tons of songs that people have sent me and that I
haven’t been able to listen to.
—Is it hard to get licenses for songs
I’ve got a whole network now. I know whom I
need to speak to for a song and I know which
musicians I can talk to depending on the film.
My address book is huge.
—Was it hard to set up this network
Yes, especially after I left Altavista Films. It was
the first time I was working independently.
Before that, I had worked in radio, for MTV, for
CIE and Altavista. I had spent a long time working
for companies, so it was hard to begin with.
Now I think the wind is in the sails, the captain
has learnt how to use GPS, the barometer, the
thermometer, and the altimeter.
—Technology must help a lot
I can easily spend fourteen hours in front of my
computer. I live in this amazing Disneyland! I
also see and listen to new music all the time, I
can send music from my computer to anyone,
make suggestions, do a whole recording for a
film’s opening sequence. We’re about to try
to do a remote orchestra recording, with the
composer directing it via Skype to save on the
transport costs of the whole orchestra.
I can be anywhere on my telephone answering
emails. I don’t need to be set in an office,
hating my boss.
—Is it very different working on a
Mexican film compared to a foreign
film
Mexican productions are much more
friendly. Working on foreign films can be
quite an antiseptic experience and more
hassle because the lawyers –there are about
25 on a single production– want all kinds
of contracts running to 40 pages each. First
they want to set a price in one way, then it
gets passed into a kind of contract and then
the final contract. Working on a big studio
production in the US can be a nightmare.
Among the materials producers must submit
to sell their movies is the folder containing
all the music and all the associated
paperwork.
For some reason, in the US they like
doing everything in triplicate. Normally in
Britain, France, Mexico or China, one contract
is enough to say that you and I agree
about something. But in the US they need
more. First they want a letter establishing
that there will be a contract and then there
is whole lot more paperwork after that.

interview lynn fainchtein
—You have also produced films. Would
you do it again
I produced ¿Y tú Cuánto Cuestas [So,
what’s your price Olallo Rubio, 2007]. Now
I’m working in the production of a film with
cartoons by Jis and Trino [Mexican cartoonists].
We’re about to start.
—Do you like any genre of music in
particular
I really like cumbia, black music, R&B, regional
Mexican music. I’m a big fan of tambora
music [a musical genre from northern
Mexico], groups like K Paz de la Sierra and
Horóscopos de Durango. I’m also a big fan
of bolero. I like music generally, except
country.
—How much music do you have on your
computer
About 85,000 tracks… Not that much.
—Do you have an MP3 player
Yes. I make a playlist every month. I listen to
music from that playlist as I walk every day.
I never fill up my MP3 player as I also use it
for work and to carry around the playlists for
films I’m working on.
—Do you still buy records
Yes, of course, especially box sets of things I
like. I’ve just bought a box set of The Beatles
and one of Andrés Calamaro. I also buy records
that I really like after listening to them
on the net.
—What record do you listen to the most
I always listen to Ryuichi Sakamoto when
The Dynamic Duo
I’m traveling. It’s now the music I always
take with me. I listen to Sakamoto when I
want to feel the music rather than think or
work with it.
—How many records do you have
I don’t know, because I gave away lots of LPs.
Sometimes it hurts getting rid of them. I also
tend to accumulate stuff that I don’t listen to. n
Jis (José Ignacio Solórzano) and Trino (José Trinidad Camacho) are both
from Guadalajara, Jalisco. They joined the local avant-garde punk/performance/
visual art scene of the 1980s before starting professional careers as cartoonists
with the weekly fully page strip El Santos contra la Tetona Mendoza in the Mexico
City daily La Jornada, in 1989. The strip –now collected in three volumes from
Editorial La Jornada– ended in 1997 but has been followed by others made both
by the team and by each one individually. These new strips have appeared in
several Mexican newspapers and humor magazines, as well as in new collections
of their work. Trino’s animated cartoons and videos have also appeared on
television.
Jis and Trino became famous due to their character “El Santos,” their very
own unrefined and cynical version of “El Santo,” one of the most famous
Mexican luchadores (wrestlers).
Lynn Fainchtein is currently producing a film based on this “dynamic duo’s”
creations.
Good Selection
Lynn Fainchtein has been musical supervisor for several
internationally awarded films. Among them:
Director
2009
2008
2008
I Just Want to Walk
Agustín Díaz Yanes
2007
Precious
Lee Daniels
Don’t Let Me Drown
Cruz Angeles
Without Name
Cary Fukunaga
Tear Up My Life
Roberto Sneider
I’m Gonna Explode
Gerardo Naranjo
Cochochi
Israel Cárdenas
Under The Same Moon
Patricia Riggen
2006
Babel
Alejandro González Iñárritu
2004
Maria Full of Grace
Joshua Marston
Paraiso Travel
Simon Brand
Sleep Dealer
Alex Rivera
2000
Love Dogs
Alejandro González Iñárritu

48 Negocios photos courtesy of la marca del jaguar
Mexico’s Awakening
Victor Mayorga is looping out to revive Mexico’s pre-Columbian
history through a trilogy of animated films, which, even when they are
still in the planning stage, have spurred the interest of the animated
film industry in Mexico and several other countries.
BY KARLA BARAJAS
is important for everybody to be aware of the
history of ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica,
the ordeals of their warriors and the vast
richness of their heritage and culture.
Also, I have great respect for the Chinese
and Japanese cultures and I thought that if
those countries are so proud of their roots
and culture, why can’t Mexico feel the same
way as it has a history unlike any other in
the world
As a child, Victor Mayorga
Figueroa had an indigenous
nanny who inspired his passion
and interest for Mexico’s pre-
Columbian culture. Later, his approach to indigenous
communities increased his interest
in that culture even more.
Mayorga, 32, founded Ocelotl Company,
where he developed the Project La Marca
del Jaguar (www.lmdj.com.mx), aimed at recovering
the history of the Náhuatl culture
from the center of the Mesoamerican region
through anime or cartoons –through a mix
of 2D/3D animation and the toon shader
technique.
Currently Mayorga is working on the film El
Despertar del Fuego (The Fire Awakes), the first
of an animated trilogy based on the history of the
Aztecs before the arrival of the Spaniards and
throughout the arrival of the Conquistadores.
In 2008, Mayorga produced a short film entitled
La Cueva or The Cave. This effort gave birth
to his interest in producing the trilogy and a six
season television series. The trilogy alone will
cost roughly 3 million dollars and it has the support
of organizations such as the Mexican Film
Institute and some private companies.
—How was La Marca del Jaguar born
It is something I came up with, though there
are a lot of people involved in the project.
My contact with ethnic communities set the
precedent in my heart and mind so I could
give them back a dignified history. I think it
—What is El Despertar del Fuego about
It is based on the most important ritual in Mesoamerica,
before the Spanish conquest, which is
called Fuego Nuevo [New Fire]. Every 52 years, the
Aztecs had to protect the World from the dark
forces threatening to prevent the Sun’s rebirth.
According to these cultures, when in the darkness
the Sun travels to the underworld and in order to
be saved, a new fire shall be lit. This reference can
be found on slide 34 in the Codex Borbonicus and
in the texts of Friar Bernardino de Sahagún.
Aztec communities performed this ritual to
return life to the Sun and help it return to fight
evil beings or dark forces trying to unbalance
the light. It was said that before the New Fire, the
dark side beings would rise from the ground to
kill and devour mankind.

Animation Industry La Marca del Jaguar
It is a magic war, a mythical story about
this ritual.
—Where did you find support for your
project
I currently have the support of Fidecine [Trust
for Investment and Incentive to the Film Industry].
This funding has allowed me to obtain
additional resources via venture capital using
royalties as collateral. They can provide as
much as 10 million pesos [770,000 usd].
Another source is the fiscal incentive
program for the film industry, through
which private companies may invest and
reduce taxes.
IXE Banco and CompuSoluciones, a Jalisco
based company, are also backing us, as well
as the Jalisco State Science and Technology
Council and the state’s government.
—Who else is involved in this project
On the artistic part we have Rubén Albarrán,
the lead singer from Café Tacvba, one of Mexico’s
and Latin America’s most popular and
important rock bands. Rubén will compose
the main soundtrack in both the Spanish and
Náhuatl languages. He is very excited about
the project.
Carlos Santana may also be involved. He
has yet to confirm, but is likely to do a duet
with Albarrán in one of the songs about the
Mexican seal.
Other singers such as Natalia Lafourcade
and Ximena Sariñana have expressed their
interest too, possibly Jaguares and Bárbara
Padilla, a soprano who was born in Guadalajara
and currently living in the US, where her talent
is well known.
The participation of all these people would
not be possible without the help of Ricardo
Tejedo, who is the director of the film voice
over phase.
Those who have confirmed are actors Victor
Trujillo, Damián Alcazar and Érick del Castillo.
There are other equally important actors still to
be confirmed.
—How advanced is the production
We are in the preproduction stages. The production
begins in March 2010.
The Project was launched in TIFFCOM, the
affiliated market of Tokyo International Film
Festival, with the support of ProMéxico and the
Mexican embassy in Japan. This festival is the
most important film summit in Asia.
El Despertar del Fuego was quite successful.
The Japanese loved the content and some
of the most important Japanese companies
approached us to learn more details. We are
currently in talks with them to get more support.
Our goal is to launch the project as a whole
international co-production. This would be the
first time Asia and Mexico have joined forces to
produce a film together.
I think it is important for Japanese companies
to be aware of the Mexican and Latin
American markets’ profitability. This would
be the first film coproduced between Mexico
and Japan.
The “Newcomers”
El Despertar del Fuego will be one
of the first animated films wholly
produced in Chapala Media Park,
promoted by the Information
Technology Institute and with
the support of the Science and
Technology State Council of Jalisco.
—Why are you interested in rescuing
this part of history
Because as Rubén from Café Tacvba puts it
“our history has been stepped on.” Sometimes,
the Mexican and Latin American historical
background has been stepped on. And
we need to change that.
There is a lot of information on real
heroes who were not defeated. The Aztec
warriors were actually never defeated in
hand-to-hand combat.
Also, I think we all must know about pre-
Columbian history and culture and their con-
tributions to our current society. They had a
really advanced vision on matters such as the
environment and relationships with nature
and the planet. That is one of the themes I try
to portray in El Despertar del Fuego.
—Why did you want to work with anime
The graphics are more for practical reasons.
The most important part of the project is to
produce and deliver a message, in a global
language. The youth of today have a very developed
audiovisual code. Anime is regarded
as a global market and is also very popular in
Mexico. To me it is the most developed audiovisual
gender in the world. I think it is better
than many others in expressing and telling
a story. It brings out emotions that no other
drawing styles are able to convey.
—How are Mexican animated films welcomed
abroad
I think they are not very well known abroad
but I see a boom coming thanks to outstanding
productions set out to surprise the world.
There are films such as La Nahuala, the
ones featuring the Eggs [Una Película de
Huevos and Otra Película de Huevos y un
Pollo] and Nikté, that have become international
blockbusters.
I am interested in delivering a coproduction
more focused on the quality of the
project. The key is what the animated film
industry can provide to the country and the
world artistically. This is what I care about.
Investing in Mexican animated films is a
good business, proven by the audience response
at the box office to the movies I just
mentioned.
—You are also involved in social responsibility
projects…
Yes. With the Marca del Jaguar Foundation,
we want to provide support to those indigenous
communities inside and outside the big
urban zones of Mexico. Initially, we intend to
donate a percentage of the tickets sold to those
communities.
The Mexican Indigenous Language
Institute is currently supporting La Marca
del Jaguar. The idea is to have the movie
translated into the Náhuatl, Purépecha and
Mayan languages, aside from having a narrator
for the other indigenous languages.
We want everybody to be able to see and
understand this story. n

50 Negocios Photo Courtesy of The British Embassy in Mexico

interview judith macgregor
Mexico Ticks All Boxes
For Ambassador
Judith Macgregor took up her post as the British Ambassador to Mexico in 2009. Since then she has been
busy in her taxing job, particuarly in promoting increased trade between the two countries. But she has
found time to enjoy all that Mexico has to offer and her hobbies have helped her feel right at home. She
took time out from her duties to tell Negocios of her hectic lifestyle.
By GRAEME STEWART
Don’t let her Scottish name fool you. Judith
Macgregor is as English a rose as you will ever
find, a real London girl.
But the British Ambassador to Mexico admits
that she has found a home from home in
the sunshine of Mexico City. The fact that her
hobbies include arts and crafts and archaeology,
so predominant in Mexican culure, has allowed
her to feel quite relaxed in the shadows
of Popo and Ixta, the two volcanoes overlooking
the nation’s capital.
The tall, elegant, fair haired diplomat is as
friendly and chatty as can be, a real delight to
converse with.
Wearing a fashionable navy blue pin
striped trouser suit, white shirt and a permanent
“twinkle in her eye, the mother of four
enthused about the delights of Mexico.
I find the Mexicans to be very friendly
people, very easy to get along with. And the
colours of Mexico are gorgeous! I have really
enjoyed living here since I arrived last year.
When I have the time, I like to get out to the
archaeological sites and there are so many to
choose from. They are fascinating places, especially
for me as archaeology is one of my passions.
I also like to indulge in cycling and embroidery,
so the arts and crafts to be found in
the pueblos are right up my street.”
Judith was born in Bermondsey, Southwark,
on the south bank of the River Thames in 1952,
in the days before mass immigration turned the
area into a cosmopolitan melting pot.
“I suppose I had quite an Enid Blyton upbringing”
she said, referring to the English
author of twee, middle class children’s books.
“And I attended a Church of England grammar
school in Central London. I had a very nice
childhood and I remember my friends and I
used to idolise two local boys –Tommy Steele,
a 1950s English pop star who went on to star in
Hollywood musicals and became an all round
family entertainer, and Roger Moore, the actor
who became James Bond.”
“I enjoy Mexico very much.
It ticks all the boxes for
me –history, archaeology,
arts and crafts. I intend to
continue enjoying all that
Mexico has to offer while I
am here.”
After grammar school, she went on to study
history at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University,
and graduated in 1974. Strangely, she spent
a year studying in Bucharest, Romania, before
beginning her diplomatic career in 1975.
She explained: “I had never thought about
Romania until a friend of mine, a musician,
said she was going to Budapest in Hungary for
a year. I thought that sounded good so I looked
at a map to see what was near Budapest and
saw Bucharest. I got a British Council scholarship
to study history there.”
“So I lived in Bucharest for a year under the
Communist regime. It was an experience but I
returned home the following year and applied
to the Foreign Office and basically worked
my way up from there. I soon found myself in
Yugoslavia then led by Tito, an amazing man.
Then I served in the Czech Republic, Poland
and Slovakia and met another diplomat called
John Macgregor, whom I married,” she recalls.
As well as being a diplomat her husband
is also a talented musician playing the organ,
piano and cello and Judith likes nothing better
than to listen to him play. Otherwise, she is an
opera buff and would love to attend a performance
of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
Judith also cares deeply about women’s
Rights and is chair of the Foreign Office’s
Women’s Association.
“It is difficut for women to get ahead in
the Foreign Office, so we like to promote their
cases whenever we can. We do not have many
women in senior positions in the Foreign Office,”
she said.
As for her future in Mexico, she adds “I
enjoy Mexico very much. It ticks all the boxes
for me –history, archaeology, arts and crafts. I
intend to continue enjoying all that Mexico has
to offer while I am here.”
And with that, Her Britannic Majesty’s
Ambassador to Mexico is off to her next engagement.
n

52 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo archive

the lifestyle feature Editorial Industry
About The Art Of Book Publishing
A group of new Mexican publishers, with leaders who are only around thirty
years old, are looking to stake their place in the Spanish-language publishing
industry. Competing against the large publishing houses, especially those from
Spain, they want to show that they can find niches of cultural consumption that
reconcile cultural quality with financial viability.
By JOSÉ MIGUEL TOMASENA
In their words: instead of bestsellers, long sellers; instead of a Dan
Brown or Steig Larsson publishing frenzy, a slow-cooked catalog of
consistent quality; instead of fashion, literary merit; instead of the big
bookstores that churn out constant novelties, distribution networks
that reach their readers.
Publishers like Almadía, Sexto Piso, Tumbona or Textofilia were
not on the radar in Mexico ten years ago. The success of Oaxaca-based
Almadía shows that the fresh approach is a result of its focus on design
–its colorful covers include a window onto the inside– and a catalog
that combines acclaimed writers such as Sergio Pitol (winner of the
Cervantes prize), Juan Villoro or
Margo Glantz, with a generation
of young writers who are coming
to the fore, such as Bernardo Esquinca,
Alberto Chimal or Daniela
Tarazona.
Tumbona Ediciones, founded
in 2005, has published a collection
of provocative diatribes called Versus,
including some of the funniest
and most ingenious writings found
among modern essay, with arguments against poetry, against television,
against work and against copyright.
A report by UNESCO shows that Mexicans read an average of 2.9
books per year. However, a careful look at the 2006 National Reader
Survey carried out by the National Council for Culture and the Arts
(Conaculta) shows that a specific group of Mexicans with a high level
of income and education read a lot more. Those with university-level
education read an average of 5.1 books per year and taking into account
income levels, the upper-middle and upper socioeconomic groups read
7.2 books per year.
This latest wave of publishers
aiming to create high-quality catalogs,
realize that this is their niche.
“It would be crazy to try to compete
with Grupo Planeta or Mondadori,
because their market is very well
defined,” says Ricardo Sánchez, Editor
in Chief of Textofilia, a new publishing
house specializing in classical
poetry and contemporary art.
Their work involves a slow and careful
process of selecting books to create a
long-term catalog, setting up independent
distribution networks and buying the rights
to high quality works that have not been
published in Spanish.
On The Art Of Creating A
Catalog
Diego Rabasa, a partner in Sexto
Piso, a Mexican publishing house
that produces around twenty-five
works a year and exports its catalog
to South America and Spain, believes
that the publishing business gives results
over the long term. The keys to
success: quality and consistency.

54 Negocios photos courtesy of sexto piso
Creating an
alternative selection
of works is not the
only requirement
when developing
their business. Small
publishing houses
have had to diversify
in order to compete.
“The secret is about knowing and being determined not to be misled
by commercial interests. The only admission criteria to the catalog
should be the book’s quality,” he says. “From that point on, the catalog
itself makes the choices. Does this name go well with the other 96 books
that I’ve already published Does it work” explains Rabasa.
“When you create a literary catalog, you’re not publishing opportunistically
or to follow a fashion. You are aiming to produce long sellers
rather than bestsellers,” he adds.
Rabasa often gives the example of Jorge Herralde, founder of Anagrama,
who was on the verge of closing down his publishing house after
ten years of existence. It is now forty years old and has the most prestigious
catalog of Spanish-language literature. Another example is that of
Manuel Borrás, editor of Pre-Textos, another Spanish publishing house,
who took 15 years to generate a profit.
Sexto Piso’s adventure began in 2002 at the Political Science Faculty
of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where
two students and a teacher swapped photocopies of texts that were
no longer published. These books are no longer made, they said, so
we should do it ourselves.
Almost eight years later, Sexto Piso “doesn’t make a profit but it
doesn’t make a loss either,” says Rabasa. That is no mean feat if you
stop to consider the number of idealistic young entrepreneurs who
open publishing houses that soon go bankrupt. “We can live off this.
Many publishers can’t even do
that,” he adds.
Currently the five partners
have a modest salary that pays
the bills. And that is something.
In the early years, they supplemented
their income by other
means - through doing translations,
receiving grants, writing
for magazines and by living with
their parents.
“We never had a business
plan,” Rabasa is ashamed to admit.
“Our lack of business acumen
cost us dear.” They published
books that did not get
sold or which cost too much to
translate. But they learnt how to
calculate each book’s financial
feasibility without compromising
their principles.
“Reality soon dictates the
need for a good publication to be

the lifestyle feature Editorial Industry
matched by an equally good commercial
potential. Ultimately, it’s
a business and we are subject to
the same rules as someone selling
grapefruit,” says Rabasa.
Opening its Spanish subsidiary
was one of the most important
steps taken by Sexto Piso. Not only
in terms of expanding the company’s
financial growth but also due
to the need for professionalization
on entering the Spanish market. As Rabasa says, “in Spain there are another
hundred small publishing houses producing impeccable books.”
This required a graphic redesign of their books, a plan to balance out
their collections (novels, short stories, essays, classics and illustrated
books) and the participation, along with other publishers, as part of the
Grupo Contexto, which received a prize from the Spanish government
for the Best Cultural Publishing Work in 2008.
Although the Spanish market is much more competitive, it also offers the
opportunity given the large number of specialized bookstores that enable
their catalog to be on display for longer. If Spain currently reflects 30% of
their total sales, compared to 60% in Mexico and the remainder in South
America, mainly in Argentina and Chile, Rabasa hopes that sales in Spain
will increase over the coming years until they match those in Mexico.
On The Meaning Of Being “Alternative”
Textofilia was the creation of a group of literature students at the Ibero-
American University who began to publish a magazine on literature and
contemporary art. “Unlike other publishers, we had no start-up capital. Our
only investment was our work, our time, and as we were still undergraduate
students I reckon we didn’t start at zero, but from minus ten,” jokes Alfredo
Núñez, editor in chief of Textofilia. It was originally a magazine. But over time
the team grew, it became an almanac and a publishing house was born, beginning
with poems and fragments of text by Anacreon.
Why publish a Greek poet from the sixth-century b.C. “Textofilia
is interested in archaeology through literature, to rescue authors who
unfortunately do not appear in their own special editions, except in
anthologies of classical poetry,” Alfredo Núñez says. It therefore seeks
to be a new alternative in the Mexican publishing industry. “What we
saw was that on an international level people’s taste was being defined
by what was commercially viable
and quick to produce. This
led to a homogenous glut of junk
books or works that sought to
fill a niche and then flooded that
niche,” explains Núñez.
But creating an alternative
selection of works is not the only
requirement when developing
their business. Small publishing
houses have had to diversify in
order to compete. Textofilia, like
other publishers, is now involved
in distribution, which apart from
cutting its own costs, provides extra
income for it to work on other
Diego Rabasa, a partner in Sexto Piso, a
Mexican publishing house that produces
around twenty-five works a year and
exports its catalog to South America and
Spain, believes that the publishing business
gives results over the long term. The keys to
success: quality and consistency.
publications, such as La Tempestad
or Literal- Latin American
Voices magazines, books of the
Fundación del Centro Histórico
de la Ciudad de México publishing
fund or the Diamantine publishers.
They have also teamed
up with other publishers to develop
alternative sales strategies,
such as “evening sales.” On one
occasion, they managed to entice
four thousand people to the Centro
Cultural España.
Small publishers do not have
as many resources to promote authors
or place advertisements in
newspapers but nor do they need
to play the same game as the large
publishers with their constant
search for the new.
Their work involves a slow and
careful process of selecting books
to create a long-term catalog, setting
up independent distribution
networks and buying the rights to
high quality works that have not
been published in Spanish.
It is the quality, rather than the
size, that matters. n

56 Negocios i i The Lifestyle photo archive
“The electronic book is
attracting a new generation
of readers”
Jorge Pinto is a keen supporter of “electronic literature.” His New
York-based company, Jorge Pinto Books, has published around thirty
works in Spanish and English, half of which are available in electronic
format for the most popular reading devices, such as Amazon’s
Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook and Apple’s iPhone.
By JOSÉ MIGUEL TOMASENA
Despite some resistance and critical comments,
there is little doubt that the future of
the book lies in digital media. The facts have
borne out this trend: in December 2009,
Amazon reported that Kindle had become its
best-selling gift in its history and that electronic
books were out-selling printed books for the
first time. And on January 27, 2010, Apple announced
the launch of the iPad, an invention
that aims to revolutionize the consumption of
journals, magazines and books.
Jorge Pinto anticipated this change in 2002
when he founded his own publishing house in
New York, Jorge Pinto Books, and he began to explore
the possibilities of editing electronic books.
He has now published around thirty works in
Spanish and English, half of which are available
in electronic format for the most popular reading
devices, such as Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and
Noble’s Nook and Apple’s iPhone.
“Reading is being revived,” says Pinto, who
is sure that iPad is a “game-changer,” despite
receiving criticism from some quarters. “Kindle
takes the prize for being the pioneer but it
is a lower-quality device. Apple has come onto
the market relatively late but its arrival will be
a definite boost.”

the lifestyle Interview feature Editorial andreas Industry heinecke
—How is an electronic book better
than a printed one
Printed books have a very expensive inventory
problem. There is the difficulty that
bookstores sell them for one or two weeks
on their shelves and then they want to get
rid of books to make room for new ones.
A paradox occurred with this year’s Nobel
Prize winner [Herta Müller]: it was unpublished
for a month, even though there were
translations dating from 1990 or 2000.
But they were no longer available because
inventories in the US are also considered a
taxable asset.
Another factor is the lack of piracy. The
important thing about electronic books,
especially those for the iPhone –the device I
use most for my publications– is that a book
can only be read on one iPhone. I can’t copy
it for anyone else. If my wife wants to read it,
I have to leave her my phone.
—How are electronic books different
from other media businesses, like music
or film
They are two separate types of media. With
music you’re talking about millions [of
downloads], with books, thousands. That’s
the main difference and the same applies
for films. My print runs vary between 2,000
and 5,000 but, as opposed to bestsellers,
they are known as evergreen because they
are sold constantly, each month, and they
don’t need to be struck off catalog lists.
—What does the iPad mean for the
publishing industry
It’s going to be successful. They’re going to
sell four million devices straight away. It’s
going to attract precisely those people who
are averse to reading devices because “you
can’t see the pages,” “the pages turn slowly”
or because “you can only read them with
lights on.” If you check out Steve Jobs’ presentation
you can see how you can literally
lift up the page with your finger and leave it
half-turned. It’s just like a book. Also, unlike
a laptop, you can read it lying down rather
than always having to be hunched over it.
—How will it affect other reading devices
I think they’re going to become obsolete.
Literally. It’s completely different. Amazon
is going to have to bring out a Kindle that
can produce colors. I imagine they’re working
hard on that right now. I think that we’ll
be seeing a lot of similar devices but like in
the case of the iPhone, nothing is going to
get close.
advantage of electronic reading will succeed.
It’s a new platform. It’s a new media
that may be enriched with music, hypertexts
or reading clubs. It opens doors to new
ways of disseminating content. For those
who already own content –such as publishers–
you can either choose to do nothing or
add greater content and value to what you
already have.
—What impact will it have on the Spanish-language
publishing industry
I see it as an opportunity to break up monopo-
“It’s a new platform. It’s a new media that may be
enriched with music, hypertexts or reading clubs. It
opens doors to new ways of disseminating content. For
those who already own content –such as publishers– you
can either choose to do nothing or add greater content
and value to what you already have.”
—How does this change your work as
an editor
Actually, I’m working with my developer on designing
a platform. This is forcing me to be more
ambitious and to develop my own reader for
the iPad. You can create hypertexts; make books
more interactive, with notes. It brings other costs
down so much that I have the resources to create
my own reader.
The advantage of Jobs is that he lets anyone
develop applications. There isn’t going to be just
one platform but several. With Kindle, as an
editor you upload your books and the quality is
uneven. Here the editor has control, although
Apple has the last word, as it won’t take on a
book without testing it first. For editors like myself,
this is a challenge to publish better books.
—Where are publishers going to compete
What is going to distinguish
them from each other
Content. Whoever manages to take fullest
lies, as a chance for anyone with a certain
amount of imagination to take part. It does
away with distribution bottlenecks. For instance,
the iTunes store is already selling content
in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina, and
not just music but also applications and content
too. You don’t need to be a big publishing
company any more. You can get a piece of the
action if you can offer attractive content.
—What entrepreneurial opportunities
do you see in Mexico
Mexico has enormous possibilities with
technology. And not just in terms of books
but for all kinds of media. We have a huge
pool of talent in the software industry. Our
creativeness will give us a new opportunity.
If I were a businessman or considering a
new business, I would set up a company to
produce applications for Apple. Not just for
books but all types of applications: for debt
collections, for catalogs, for everything. n

58 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo archive

destination zacatecas
Zacatecas, A Charming
Labyrinth
The city of Zacatecas in Northern Mexico is not only an absolute
labyrinth of winding streets but also a fascinating maze of artistic and
cultural treasures.
Built between hills and on steep slopes, the city
of Zacatecas, capital of the Mexican state of the
same name, has a maze-like street plan, which
makes wandering it a delight.
Founded in 1548, two years after the nearby
discovery of silver, Zacatecas was one of the
most important mining cities in New Spain and
is one of the most beautiful cities of contemporary
Mexico.
The people of Zacatecas have made such
outstanding efforts to preserve and restore the
city’s ancient architectural monuments, and
with such good results, that UNESCO designated
the city a “World Heritage Site” in 1993.
As one explores the city’s peculiar urban
layout along narrow streets, alleys and plazas,
many of these outstanding buildings can
be found.
Look no further than the majestic Cathedral,
considered one of the most important expressions
of Baroque architecture in Mexico. It
was built between 1730 and 1760. Its façade is
one of the finest examples of Churrigueresque
architecture in Mexico.
The State Government Palace, an eighteenth
century building, originally the dwelling of the
Count of Santiago de la Laguna, hosts a mural by
Antonio Pintor Rodríguez that depicts the history
of the city. Just outside the building is the
Plaza de Armas, the most important and largest
square in the city.
Across the main street and on the left as you
stand with your back to the Government Palace
is the Palacio de la Mala Noche (The Bad Night
Palace), which used to be the house of a Spanish
miner, Manuel de Rétegui. The former Hotel
Francés, now a tourist information office, is
located next to it.
Several blocks to the east is the Rafael Coronel
Museum, located at the former convent of
San Francisco, dating from the 17th century. The
museum exhibits several fine collections including
a fascinating one of some 10,000 masks –the
largest collected work of its kind worldwide.
Also intriguing are a series of sketches and architectural
designs by Diego Rivera, terra cotta
figures of the colonial era, regal parchments and
the banner given to the city by King Phillip II at
the end of the 16th century.
Returning towards the center, one can see
the Plaza de Santo Domingo. The church of
Santo Domingo, built as a Jesuit church (1746-
1749) but turned over to the Dominicans when
the Jesuits were expelled in 1767, has a particularly
interesting interior with eight Churrigueresque
gilded wooden retablos or altarpieces,
with fine sculptures and paintings.
On the north side of the plaza is the former
Jesuit College, now the Pedro Coronel Museum
displaying this Zacatecan painter’s fabulous collection
of art from around the world, donated
near the end of his life to his native city. The
ground floor houses the Elías Amador Library,
some 25,000 volumes full of history. The museum
exhibits paintings by Picasso, Miro, Dali and
Chagall, among others.
Two short blocks away is the former Casa de
la Moneda (Royal Mint), founded in 1810, which
later became the State Treasury and is now the
Zacatecan Museum, exhibiting collections of
Huichol art, votive paintings and ironwork.
Past the Zacatecan Museum is the side entrance
to the ex-temple of San Agustín. Its main
facade was destroyed in the last century and its
towers decapitated.
Downhill from San Agustín is the Rosales
Arcade, once an important shopping
area. Turning back towards the Cathedral,
one can view the Fernando Calderón Theater,
constructed between 1891 and 1897 and
which takes its name from Fernando Calderón
(1809-1845), a noted poet and dramatist.
Across the street from the theater is the 19th
century González Ortega Market, completely
restored in 1982 as a shopping center. This is a
good place to look for souvenirs and below the
market are several very good and inexpensive
restaurants.
On the outskirts of the city, the Eden mine
is one of the main tourist attractions. There, a
narrow-gauge mining train takes visitors into
the depths below the city and the cable-car, or
teleférico, soars over the city from one of the
mine’s upper entrances to La Bufa hill with its
outstanding view.
Zacatecas might seem a complex, labyrinthine
city, but the effort to explore it is made
more than worthwhile by the discovery of so
many cultural and artistic riches.

60 Negocios i The Lifestyle photos courtesy of government of the state of zacatecas
Where
• Zacatecas is located in Mexico’s north-central region, 610 kilometers
northwest of Mexico City, 458 kilometers southwest of Monterrey
and 318 kilometers north of Guadalajara.
01
02
What
• Catedral (Cathedral) – Located on Avenida Hidalgo. Considered
one of the most important masterpieces of New Spain Baroque
architecture.
• Church of Santo Domingo – Located at the Plaza Santo Domingo. The
sober Baroque façade is certain to grab your attention.
• State Government Palace and Plaza de Armas – Located at 604
Avenida Hidalgo. Inside the Governor’s Palace you’ll see a mural by
Antonio Pintor Rodríguez that depicts the history of Zacatecas. Just
outside the building is the Plaza de Armas, the most important and
largest square in the city.
• Ex-Temple of San Agustín – Located on Miguel Auza Street. What
was once a grandiose façade, originally a Baroque design, is now a
tall white wall. The side walls of the structure remain intact, giving
an idea of how the building once looked.
• Fernando Calderón Theatre – Located at 501 Avenida Hidalgo. This
is Zacatecas’ most brilliant architectural treasure. Its svelteness
and strategic location allow you to appreciate its beauty from all
angles. The three-tiered façade and the building’s crest give it the
appearance of an impressive construction from the classical period.
• Pedro Coronel Museum – Located in the Plaza Santo Domingo. This
museum houses a collection of universal art from famed Zacatecan
artist Pedro Coronel.
• Rafael Coronel Museum – Located at the Ex-Convent of San
Francisco, it exhibits Mexican popular art.
• Zacatecan Museum – Located at 301 Doctor Hierro Street. This
museum has a large and rare collection of Huichol art, making it the
only collected work of its kind.
How
• Either on foot or from 85 meters above on the cable-car that crosses
the city, Zacatecas is a destination with its own unique charm, beauty
and culture.
03
The Surroundings
Thanks to its fascinating geography and rich
natural resources, Zacatecas’ surrounding areas
offer ideal scenarios for outdoor activities.
The Sierra de Órganos, which has served as
a setting for several international film productions,
and the Sierra de Cardos, near the city of
Jerez, are two excellent places to take in the gorgeous
outdoor scenery.
Close to the city you will find La Quemada
and Altavista, two pre-Hispanic archaeological
zones that reflect the industrious nature of the
societies that built them.
La Quemada, located 50 km southeast of Za-
catecas, is one of the state’s most important archaeological
zones and it stands out for its stone
structures built on man-made terraces on the
slope of a hill.
The main attractions of Altavista, located 55
km north-west of Zacatecas, include a rectangular
plaza with an altar in the middle delete of
the square, the Salón de las Columnas with 28
columns and the Pirámide del Sol (Pyramid of
Sun) which houses a crypt.
In the suburbs of Zacatecas lies the village of
Guadalupe, once the base for the great Franciscan
drive northwards. The former monastery
is now the Museum of Viceregal Art, a treasure
trove of secret passages, cells, catacombs, sundials,
enormous water tanks, chapels, corridors
and doorways, together with magnificent pieces
of religious art of all kinds. Highlights include
seventeenth century oil paintings, cells furnished
in period style, the monastery library
and the Nápoles Chapel, richly decorated with
complicated white and gold motifs.
For those who appreciate tranquility and
nature, Paraíso Caxcan, a spa that offers various
treatments and relaxation techniques, is located
two hours from Zacatecas. n
01 portal de Rosales
02 / 03 san Agustín

FEEDBACK Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal
photo archive
The Fascination For
Mexican Handicrafts
Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal are two sister organizations that were born to provide support and training
for Mexican craftsmen. The trading company and the civil association work together to give hand
made products from rural indigenous communities access to the international markets.
By CRISTINA ÁVILA-ZESATTI
According to the Aztec cosmogony, Xochipilli
and Xochiquétzal were twin brother and sister,
a prince and a princess, god and goddess
of the flowers and of all the beautiful things
in nature and therefore patron and patroness,
respectively, of artists and craftsmen.
These two names in the Náhuatl language
inspired the names of the twin organizations
as well – born in the city of Cuernavaca,
Morelos, to revere and support Mexican
craftsmanship. A cult of much more modern
shades, linked not only to the preservation of
traditions but also, and above all, to the International
expansion of hand-made exquisite
products by rural and indigenous communities
in Mexico.
Since 1991, these two organizations
have helped craftsmen from various sites
in Mexico ship their products to countries
such as France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the
US and Canada. When they decided to embark
on this project, its founders concluded
there were two problems to solve. Firstly,
find clients outside of Mexico who could be
interested in the work of Mexican artisans.
Secondly, help Mexican artisans ascribe to

62 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo archive
punctual production and quality standards,
without losing traditional manufacturing
methods.
Fair Trade and Community Partnership
While Xochipilli is an international trading
company, Xochiquétzal is a non-profit
organization. It may seem contradictory but,
according to its founders, the two complement
each other. As with the Aztec god and
goddess, they were born together to work for
a common goal: Mexican artisans and craftsmanship.
In a way, one of the organizations is in
charge solely of the products and goods,
whereas the other is responsible for the
men and women who manufacture them.
So, while the trading company specializes in
finding international clients who value the
work made in Mexico, its twin organization
is devoted to training those in charge of producing
this work to improve its quality.
Since their birth, they joined the World
Fair Trade Organization (WFT) and later
they applied for membership of the European
Fair Trade Association (EFTA), in order
to create an ethical trading culture delivering
benefits for the producers and artisans,
as well as for their international customers.
Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal, which initially started
with 100 workshops, has decided to concentrate
its efforts in 18 training workshops
located in five states: Guerrero, Oaxaca,
Guanajuato, Estado de México and Morelos.
Balance and Sustainability,
Tradition and Quality
To honor their name, these organizations act
as true guides for the artisans. They choose
their suppliers based on their ability to produce
beautiful works featuring the distinctive
Mexican tradition aspect and willingness
and openness to receive training at the
workshops in order to upgrade production
and quality standards.
“We could say our specialty is the pieces
in rustic clay, although we also organize
workshops and courses and later export
handicrafts made with lacquered wood, tin
and ceramics baked at medium and low temperatures,”
explains Inez Villaseñor Salto,
general manager of Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal.
Today, the annual sales abroad with the
support of these organizations account for
roughly 120,000 usd, which benefit around
100 Mexican artisans and their families.

FEEDBACK Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal
It is easier said than done but it implies
very hard work. Only three full time employees
are in charge of coordinating, visiting,
promoting and planning the logistics to ship
the goods, which must travel from the rural
communities to their final destinations.
Also, in its 20 years of operating, Xochipilli-
Xochiquétzal has supported itself with its
own resources obtained through
its intermediary work and helped
by clients from abroad, who occasionally
request and partially
fund special workshops and seminars
for specific craftsmanship.
Future Plans
Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal have managed
to preserve the traditions of
the artisans in the communities
where they work and have also optimized
their production and quality skills. They
have also been able to implement additional
small changes in these indigenous and rural
communities of Mexico.
Traditionally, in many of these places
women have no access to work or any other
type of opportunities. Even though women
are typically the creators of most of the
handicrafts, the local ways have always allowed
them to produce them for use solely
in their own dwellings.
In Cuentepec, Morelos, for instance,
women were the ones typically working the
clay, making their own household products,
only occasionally available for retail sale. In
this community, only women were allowed
to go to the clay mines but now the men help
in some of the gathering work, as much as
their tradition allows them.
Today, some 26 women from Cuentepec
are able to produce 1,000 pieces a week and
Since 1991, these two organizations have
helped craftsmen from various sites in
Mexico ship their products to countries such
as France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the US
and Canada.
when they are not sold to international clients
through Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal, they
can be sold in other markets.
When Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal has given
indigenous women the opportunity to work
for a certain wage, the whole family contributes
to the work, exponentially improving
the quality of life of the community.
“The money the women obtain through
their work is usually well invested in improving
the nurturing and education of their
families or in house improvements. Giving
them access to an additional source of income
makes them feel better about them-
selves,” says Inez Villaseñor.
At the moment, the international handicrafts
market is hardly going through a
boom period, so Xochipilli-Xochiquétzal plan
to concentrate their work in the 18 workshops
they operate in five states.
In the future, their plans are to begin a campaign
amongst its beneficiaries, promoting increased
contact between the craftsmen
and the Fair Trade mission.
“In the fair trade philosophy,
the salaries must be competitive
and you have to take responsibility
for the men and women
involved in the processes of production,
as well as for the environment,
complying with all the
required standards. The working
conditions must be optimized and
the commercial relations must benefit the clients,
traders and manufacturers equally and
as much as possible,” claims Inez Villaseñor.
These two organizations have not only
managed to stay afloat but also in 20 years
have implemented important structural and
economic changes without undermining
the traditional ways of making handicrafts
in Mexico. They have also achieved international
recognition and appreciation for these
100% typical Mexican products. Undeniably,
in a cult for the gods that inspired their
names, they have become true modern patrons
for Mexican artisans. n

64 Negocios i The Lifestyle
XOCHIPILLI-XOCHIQUÉTZAL
Working for Mexican Artisans
The main objectives of the organizations include:
Communicating
the artistic
heritage of the
communities they
work with.
Periodically
launching
new
products.
Sharing the
principles of Fair
Trade among the
artisans.
Developing
workshops to
improve production
and quality.
Maintaining a permanent
communication
network with the
artisans to inspect
production standards,
follow up and comply
with orders.
Preserving their
traditions and
techniques without
threatening the
environment.
Improving the
competitiveness
and quality of life
of Mexican
artisans by trading
their work in the
international
markets.
infographic oldemar
Improving the
empowerment
and purchasing
capacity of women
so that their work
benefits their own
families and
increases their
access to education
and opportunities.
Creating their
own designs and
samples
requested by
foreign customers.
Achieving equal
development and
creating permanent
work
opportunities for
both men and
women in the
communities.
Creating a
network of
communities
producing
handicrafts so that
they can find
additional tools to
market their own
work in local and
domestic markets.