Consul...ting

NOVEMBER 2011 Publication of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto

Lectures and Special Presentations

at the Maya Exhibit

www.consulmex.com

USEFUL LINKS

● Visas and consular ser-

vices: consulmex.com

● Mexican Embassy in Ca-

nada

● Facebook Consulmex

● Secretary of Foreign Af-

fairs:

sre.gob.mx

● Mexican restaurants in

Toronto & GTA [click

here]

● ProMexico (former Ban-

comext):

promexico.gob.mx

● Mexico Tourism Board:

visitmexico.com

● Mexican National Coun-

cil for Culture and the

Arts: conaculta.gob.mx

ecultura.gob.mx

● Canadian Chamber of

Commerce in Mexico:

canchammx.com

● Presidency of Mexico:

presidencia.gob.mx

On Saturday Novem-

ber 19, the much-

anticipated exhibition

entitled “Maya: Secrets of

their Ancient World” will

debut in the Garfield

Weston Hall at the Royal

Ontario Museum (ROM),

where it will be open to

the public until April 9,

2012, prior to travelling

to the Canadian Museum

of Civilizations in Ottawa

(CMC), where it will be

on display from May 18

to October 28, 2012.

This comprehensive exhibition presents approxi-

mately 250 original objects associated with the

Maya culture, most of them from Mexico and its

national and regional museums.

Many of the objects will be shown for the first

time as part of this exhibition, and some of these are

recent discoveries that have not even been exhibited

in Mexico.

The exhibition includes sculptures, masks, pottery

and other objects associated with Maya cities, tem-

ples and palaces, many of which date from the

Classic period (250 to 900 DC). The exhibition is

enriched by items on loan from the ROM as well as

from several European and American museums.

Archaeologists Martha Cuevas and Roberto

López joined the ROM’s Justin Jennings and the

CMC’s Jean-Luc Pilon in curating the exhibition.

The ROM's introduction to the show highlights

the fact that, despite the far-reaching impact of the

Spanish Conquest on Maya

civilization, the Mayas have

managed to preserve their

language, land and culture.

“In the present day, the Ma-

yas (approximately 10 million)

live in parts of Mexico, Belize,

El Salvador, Guatemala and

Honduras. The Mayas have a

vital culture inspired by the

great achievements of their

ancestors,” the text goes on to

say.

In the context of this exhibition,

the Consulate General of Mexico

in Toronto held a special presen-

tation at the Harbourfront Centre

on November 5 at 3:30pm, with

the archaeologist Martha Cuevas

and Leticia Perez Castellanos,

Deputy Director of International

Exhibitions for the Instituto Nacional de Antro-

pología e Historia (INAH).

According to Cuevas, who spoke about the

Maya's achievements: "One of the greatest achieve-

ments of this civilization was the development of a

writing system and a calendar, where they recorded

significant details related to each ajaw or leader of a

political area, such as references to their birth, en-

thronement, heirs, dedicatory rituals, auto-

sacrifices, important visits, and the commemoration

of period endings, deaths and marriages, and other

important events."

Leticia Pérez's talk was entitled "Objects that

Travel." She spoke about the INAH whose mission

is to research, conserve and teach about Mexico's

archaeological, anthropological, historical and pale-

ontological heritage.

As part of the exhibition, which will include arte-

facts that have never been seen before in Canada,

the ROM is offering a lecture

series on the mysteries of the

Maya civilization: November

15 and 22; December 6; Janu-

ary 31; February 28; and

March 20.

Tickets for the lectures can

be purchased through the

ROM’s website or by calling

416-586-5797.

Page 2 Consul...ting

The Consulate General of Mex-

ico in Toronto and the Latin

American Studies Program at the

University of Toronto are pre-

senting a Mexican Film Series

whose line-up includes "Julio

Bracho's Vision" and "The Mex-

ico of Emilio Fernández and

Gabriel Figueroa."

In the 1930's, soon after the end

of the Mexican Revolution, film-

maker Julio Bracho was at the

forefront of the innovations that

took place in the Mexican theatre

scene.

In the following decade, Bracho

came to understand that the

"theatre" in which he felt most at

home was cinema, and he began

his career as a filmmaker, a career

which would continue for more

than three decades.

The Cultural Attaché for the

Consulate General of Mexico in

Toronto, Gerardo Ochoa Sandy,

wrote: "In his films, Julio Bracho

creates impressions of national

themes, local vignettes, and un-

forgettable stories that occur

every day, from circumstances

that could arise for anyone. One

of his films included in the series,

"Distinto amanecer," is included

in the collection of the Museum

of Modern Art in New York.

"The Mexico of Emilio

Fernández and Gabriel Figueroa

is that of the Golden Age of na-

tional cinema. And the inverse is

also true: they invent Mexico's

Golden Age through their unpar-

alleled combination of direction

and vision."

All of the films are in Spanish

with English subtitles.

The screenings are free but

require advance registration

through the following link:

http://las.utoronto.ca/events/curre

nt

The film series is made possible

thanks to support from Fundación

Televisa. Screenings will be held

at: Larkin 340, 15 Devonshire

Place, Room 340 (M5S 1H8).

Each screening will be followed

by a talk.

Program:

November 30: “La virgen que

forjó una patria” (1942), hosted

by Berenice Villagómez.

January 18: “Bugambilia”

(1944), by Emilio Fernández,

hosted by Blanca Granados.

February 8: “Pueblerina” (1948),

by Emilio Fernández, hosted by

Ximena Berecochea.

February 29: “Las abandonadas”

(1944), by Emilio Fernández.

March 14: “Flor Silvestre”

(1943), by Emilio Fernández,

hosted by Susan Antebi.

March 28: “La perla” (1945), by

Emilio Fernández, hosted by

Ramiro Armas Austria.

Mexican Film Series at the University of Toronto

The Consulate General of Mexico in To-

ronto informs that it is moving its offices to a

new location, in order to better serve the pub-

lic. Accordingly, the Consulate will be closed

to the public on December 8, 9, 12, 13 and

14, 2011.

We recommend that you take advantage of

our office hours on Saturday November 19 to

pursue any matters with the Consulate. We are

also open to the public on Wednesdays from

3:00pm to 4:30pm. Appointments are required

and can be arranged by emailing ci-

tas@consulmex.com or by calling 416-368 28

75 ext.236.

The Consulate General's new address begin-

ning December 15, 2011 will be: 11 King

Street West, Suite 350, Toronto, ON, M5H

4C7 (at King subway station).

The telephone number will remain 416-368

28 75. For the above days when the Consulate

will be closed, the Consulate can be reached at

416-315 58 76, solely in case of emergency.

The Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto is Moving

"Heart of Mexico" at Centennial College The “Heart of Mexico”

exhibition at Centennial

College is open to the

public, free of charge,

from November 2-24.

This unique collection

of Mexican folk art con-

sists of 61 pieces produ-

ced by the Asociación

Metropolitana de Artistas

Visuales y Manuales,

from the Universidad

Tecnológica de Tulancin-

go, Hidalgo (Central

Mexico).

Using a variety of me-

dia such as needle oil,

textiles and paper mache,

the artists seek to express

the sensitivity, creativity

and spirit of Mexican

society.

Where: Fireside Galle-

ry, Progress Campus

Library, 941 Progress

Ave., Scarborough.

Exhibit Co-Sponsors:

Universidad Tecnológica

de Tulancingo, Mexico's

Secretariat of National

Defence, the Consulate

General of Mexico in

Toronto and Mexico's

Ministry of Foreign Af-

fairs.

www.consulmex.com

“Consul...ting” is the monthly e-

publication of the Consulate Gen-

eral of Mexico in Toronto.

Register your e mail to receive

this newsletter and information

about our activities:

www.consulmex.com

Press Office

Isabel Inclán

Phone: (416) 368-2875 ext.238

Fax: (416) 368-0676

E-mail:prensa@consulmex.com

Page 3 Publication of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto

“Doing Business with Mexico” Session Mexico played a significant

role in the Toronto Forum for

Global Cities which took place

on October 24-25. In addition to

speaking at the inaugural session,

the governor of Sonora, Guiller-

mo Padrés, took part in the ses-

sion entitled "Mining and Natural

Resources". He spoke about the

competitive benefits to be had

from investing in Mexico and in

his state.

"One can see our industrial

growth in the activity of major

companies such as, in the auto-

motive sector, Ford, which as-

sembles over 330,000 vehicles

each year at the Hermosillo

plant," Padrés said.

Speakers at the "Doing Busi-

ness with Mexico" session inclu-

ded the Governor of

Sonora, Guillermo

Padrés; ProMexico’s

regional director for

North America, Jorge

López; Scotiabank

Vice-President Pablo

Bread; and Magna

International Vice-

President, Scott Paradi-

se. The session was

moderated by Mexico's

Ambassador to Canada, Francis-

co Barrio.

Mexico was presented as a

country whose strategic location

and low production costs strengt-

hen North America. The Mexican

officials pointed to the benefits of

investing in Mexico and the busi-

ness representatives talked about

their positive experien-

ces of operating in

Mexico for many years.

Jorge López said that in

2011, ProMexico finis-

hed 70 projects which

represent an investment

of 9 billion dollars.

Scott Paradise of

Magna International said that

Mexico has a strong manufactu-

ring sector, and its maritime ship-

ping system is much better than

that of Brazil. Pablo Bread noted:

"Mexico is a good investment

option due to its contained infla-

tion and stable monetary policy."

The session was attended by

about 100 Forum participants and

40 business people who were

invited because of their interest in

doing business with Mexico. The

session was organized by the

Mexican Embassy in Canada, the

Consulate General in Toronto

and the Toronto offices of Pro-

Mexico and the Tourism Board.

Mexico's Presence

in Toronto

The stu-

dents from

M e x i c a n

t e a c h e r

R a q u e l

A v i l é s

T o r r e s ’

class at the Toronto French Montes-

sori School sent the Consulate cards

in recognition of the commemora-

tion of the 201st anniversary of

Mexico's Independence. We would

like to thank each and every student

for their best wishes, and for the

interest expressed by Raquel Avilés

and her students in learning and

helping to continue our traditions.

S tu d en t s

from Green-

wood Colle-

ge School

c r e a t e d

b r i g h t l y

c o l o u r e d

folk art

scu lp tures

called alebrijes for a public exhibit

in a section of King subway station.

As part of the XI Binatio-

nal Health Week, the Cana-

dian Breast Cancer Founda-

tion (CBCF)'s "Run for the

Cure" was held on Oct 2.

The Consulate General

was represented by Adriana

Becerra Serrano, who is in

charge of Community Af-

fairs and the Institute for

Mexicans Abroad (IMA).

She was accompanied on

the 5 km run by six Mexican

women. The route began

at the University of To-

ronto and wound its way

along the streets of

downtown Toronto.

The women participa-

ted in the event to raise

awareness within the

Mexican community

about the illness and the

forms of help that are

available, as well as to

show their support for wo-

men who have survived

difficult experiences.

The team that partici-

pated in the race, toget-

her with some communi-

ty members, raised a

sum of $1,500. The

funds will be used by the

CBCF to continue sup-

porting research, educa-

tion and programs to impro-

ve the quality of life of wo-

men living with breast can-

cer, the goal being to create

a future without breast can-

cer.

The run is held across

Canada. In Toronto alone,

170,000 people participated

and $30 million was raised.

Consulate Participates in the "Run for the Cure" (5km)

Amb. Barrio with the Governor of Sonora, the Director of ProMexico and representa-

tives from Scotiabank and Magna Int.

G. Padrés, F. Barrio & M. Toussaint