Consul...ting

MAY 2011 Publication of the Consulate General of Mexico in Toronto

The exhibition "Maya: Secrets

of Their Ancient World" will be

presented at the Royal Ontario

Museum (ROM) from November

19, 2011 to April 9, 2012 and

then at the Canadian Museum of

Civilization (CMC), in Ottawa,

from May 18 to October 28,

2012.

This major exhibition, prepared

exclusively for Canada, was an-

nounced at a press conference at

the ROM on May 4.

The exhibition will be compri-

sed of 250 objects, including sculptures, ceramics,

and masks related to Maya temples and palaces,

many of which date from the Maya Classic Period

(250 to 900 AD).

The exhibition assembles

collections from a number of

museums including the Natio-

nal Institute of Anthropology

and History (INAH) and its

regional museums, the ROM,

and institutions in Europe and

across North America.

Canadian curators Justin

Jennings and Jean-Luc Pilon

worked with Mexican curators

Martha Cuevas and Roberto

López to prepare the exhibition.

Doctor Victor Rabinovitch, director of the

Canadian Museum of Civilization, said that,

through its museums, Canada is providing a

window into this ancient civilization and that

the exhibition will bring Maya culture to life

once more.

He added that this exhibition, which is the

result of a collaborative effort between the Ca-

nadian museums, the INAH and CONACUL-

TA, is an example of the "continuing cultural

exchange between our two countries."

The director of the ROM, Janet Carding, said

that "many of these pieces are considered to be

among the most important archaeological disco-

veries."

The director of exhibitions for the INAH,

Miriam Kaiser, also addressed the gathering. She

noted that "this is not just another exhibition, it was

prepared exclusively for Canada," and will present

artefacts that have never been seen here before.

The Ambassador of Mexico

to Canada, Francisco Barrio,

highlighted the Maya's great

accomplishments in astrono-

my, art and writing.

"We are very proud of this

sophisticated civilization," he

said.

The event was also attended

by the Consul General of

Mexico in Toronto, Mauricio

Toussaint, and the director of

the Mexico Tourism Board in Toronto, Guillermo

Eguiarte.

Maya Exhibition Announced at the ROM 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

Guillermo Equiarte, Justin Jennings, Miriam, Kaiser, Francisco Barrio, Janet Carding, Víctor Rabinovitch,

Mauricio Toussaint, Gerardo Ochoa

Page 2 Consul...ting

Mexico participated in the

SIAL Agri-Food Festival, a lea-

der in the agri-food sector in

North America, which was held

May 11-13 at the Metro Toronto

Convention Centre.

The Consul General of Mexico

in Toronto, Mauricio Toussaint,

and the director of ProMexico in

Toronto, José A. Peral together

opened the Mexico Pavilion at the

trade show.

The Pavilion featured Mexican

products including fresh and pro-

cessed foods, prepared foods,

canned goods, pasta, candy, coo-

kies, snacks, ice cream, cheese,

desserts, chocolate, soft drinks,

juice, water, seasonings and flour.

The trade show provided Mexi-

can producers and distributers

with a very attractive platform for

doing business and introducing

themselves into this regional

market.

SIAL is an international event

that is held in a number of regions

around the world (Buenos Aires,

Paris, Shanghai, Abu Dabi and

Canada).

This was the first time that

SIAL has taken place in Toronto.

The show was attended by nearly

14,000 members of the food dis-

tribution and agri-food industries.

There is growing demand for

Mexican products in Ca-

nada, and this show was a

great opportunity to in-

crease interest and strengt-

hen Mexico's place in the

Canadian market.

During the three days of

the exhibition, the Mexico

Pavilion was a popular

booth and the products on

display drew a great deal

of interest.

People attending the

show came from each

province of Cana-

da, 30 states of the

USA, and over 60 coun-

tries from around the

world.

SIAL Canada was crea-

ted in 2001 to give the

company a North Ameri-

can presence.

There were about 550

exhibitors in 2010, and

the 2011 show is expec-

ted to surpass that figure. 53%

were Canadian companies and the

rest came from 36 other coun-

tries.

In addition to participating in

the trade show, ProMexico and

the SAGARPA office in Ottawa

organized meetings between

Mexican producers and importers

for the large Canadian supermar-

kets, in which the producers had

the opportunity to showcase the

excellent quality of their pro-

ducts.

Mexico Participated in SIAL Canada 2011

José A. Peral, Cynthia Cortés, Consul Mauricio Toussaint, Ernesto Maldonado

Mexico at the Worldwide Short Film Festival

Mexico will

once again be

present at the

Worldwide Short

Film Festival,

taking place in

Toronto from

May 31 to June

5, 2011.

Mexico has participated in the festival since

2008, presenting short films from new Mexican

filmmakers.

This year's festival will include the screening of

the short "Martyris" (Mexico, 2010) from the

director Luis Felipe Hernández Alnaís, as part of

the program Freaky (Midnight Mania), at the

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) on Saturday

June 4 at 11:59 pm.

The Worldwide Short Film Festival gives the

following description of "Martyris":

“In a dismal and decadent world, a stop-motion

Saint cares for a collection of creatures with sui-

cidal tendencies. To keep them alive, he holds

them captive in an abandoned church. But a

strange visit convinces him that he can’t control

the supreme order of things, damn it.”

Tequila and More Show

After the great success that the com-

pany Connect Production had with the

Tequila and More Show in December

2010, a second event was held on May

6 at the Metro Toronto Convention

Centre.

The second show began as the first

one had, with opening remarks from

Consul General Mauricio Toussaint,

who noted the presence of five mezcal

producers, all members of the govern-

ment regulatory body the Consejo

Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mez- cal, A.C. (COMERCAM).

The companies, that together brought 11

different types of mezcal, are: Donaji, Gusa-

no de Oro, Tecuan, Tehuana and Cinco Di-

amantes.

The mezcal producers had to provide their

products without the worm, since currently

in the province of Ontario, it is not permitted

to show or sell a beverage with a dead insect

in it.

The response from the Canadian audience

was very positive, with about 2,000 people

attending the festival over six hours.

Currently, two types of mezcal are sold in

LCBO stores.

Consul General Mauricio Toussaint

Consul...ting

www.consulmex.com

“Consul. . . ting” is the

monthly e-publication of the

Consulate General of Mexico

in Toronto.

Register your e mail to re-

ceive this newsletter and

information about our ac-

tivities:

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

7th World Chambers Congress

The Chamber of Commerce,

Services and Tourism of Mexi-

co City (CANACO) is organi-

zing the 7th World Chambers

Congress, which will take place

from June 8-10 at the Centro

Banamex in Mexico City.

Some of the topics the Con-

gress will cover include: The

new economy, challenges and

opportunities; creating a green

economy; corporate social res-

ponsibility for peace and pros-

perity; and the labour force of

the future.

For more information, contact

Román Vidal, International

Business Network Director, (52

55) 5592 0371, 3685 2269 ext.

1300.

rvidal@ccmexico.com.mx

www.iccwbo.org

■ 151 Passports

■ 86 Legalizations

■ 26 Certificates issued per request of parties

■ 15 Life certificates to pensioners

■ 33 Visas to foreign passports

■ 28 Notarized documents

■ 1 Youth Mobility Program Visa

PTAT(*):

■ 4,982 workers (total since January): 4,878 to

Ontario and 104 to Manitoba. In all, 139 are

women.

■ 32 visits to farms and hospitals (total since

January) to attend to 350 workers.

(*) Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program

Services of the Consulate General

during the month of April:

Praise for Mexican Documentary at Hot Docs Th e d o cu men ta r y

"Mosca" (Fly), by Mexi-

can filmmaker Bulmaro

Osornio, screened in

Toronto on April 30 and

May 2 as part of the Hot

Docs Documentary Film

Festival.

The director was pre-

sent at the showings,

thanks to support from this Con-

sulate General, and responded to

questions from the audience.

"Mosca" is a coproduction of

Axolote Cine and IMCINE, with

support from a Gucci -

Ambulante grant.

The film follows a night-time

taxi driver, a widower with two

daughters, who struggles with

his role as a father as he works

his daily shifts in the vastness of

Mexico City and remembers his

wife.

"I wanted to take an emotional

X-ray of this taxi driver, who

lives in nostalgia, remembering

his wife and caring for his

daughters. The best way to do

this was to accompany him in

his daily life. The love he feels

for his wife he passes on to his

daughters; it is a love that sus-

tains him," said director Osornio

in a statement to the press.

"What I like is to make films,

and I choose the documentary as

a tool because, on the creative

level, it comes closest to captu-

ring reality", added Osornio, a

graduate of the UNAM and the

Centro de Capacitación Cinema-

tográfica film school.

"Making documentaries

is like being a solitary

writer, I take my camera

and I hit the street, and I

allow myself to enter

deep into the intimate

space of the person I am

filming," said Osornio,

who received Honorable

Mention at the José Rovi-

rosa National Documenta-

ry Awards for his documentary

"San Vicente de Chupaderos.

"Institutional support and the

grants that I received assured me

that I would be able to finish my

documentary with full post-

production, a good picture and

in a better position for getting

the film shown. These forms of

support make the path easier",

he added

The Consul General in Toron-

to, Mauricio Toussaint, attended

the premiere of the documentary

and congratulated director Bul-

maro Osornio.

Scene from “Mosca”

Scholarships from the SRE

The Foreign Ministry (SRE) is offe-

ring 70 scholarships to students enro-

lling in universities in Mexico. On

April 5, the Cultural Attaché to the

Consulate, Gerardo Ochoa, gave a

talk to about twenty faculty and stu-

dents from Glendon College of York

University, on the Call for Applica-

tions for the Mexican Government's

2011 Scholarship Program for Foreign

Students, offered through the Foreign

Ministry. His presentation covered the

section of the Foreign Ministry's web-

site that provides the English version

of the scholarships for foreign stu-

dents, details about the scholarship

program,and special programs, appli-

cable standards to foreign grantees

and the list of academic programs.

Regarding the special programs, he

mentioned: Visiting professors; high-

level lectures; visits for artistic crea-

tion; the Genaro Estrada scholarship

for specialists on Mexico; and the

improvement in the quality of Mexi-

can higher education institutions.