MND Local: Ricky Martin to perform in Zapopan; World Cup qualifying matches are coming up at Estadio Akron, and an artisanal chocolate maker honors Guadalajara

Fresh from his caller quality astatine Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, Ricky Martin is heading to Mexico for a highly anticipated show astatine Guadalajara’s Estadio Panamericano (the location venue for Los Charros baseball) successful March.

Ricky Martin to execute astatine Estadio Panamericano successful Zapopan

Often referred to arsenic the “King of Latin Pop,” Martin is credited with bringing Latin popular euphony to mainstream English-speaking audiences. His crossover hits “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and “La Copa de la Vida” sparked a alleged “Latin Explosion” successful the precocious 1990s, helping pave the mode for different talented Latin artists specified arsenic Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias. 

Mexico loves Ricky Martin, and the feeling is mutual, arsenic evidenced by the singer’s caller eight-city tour. (FunTicket)

The Puerto Rican musician’s past travel to Guadalajara was successful 2022, erstwhile helium performed astatine VFG Arena arsenic portion of his “El Movimiento” tour. Owing to his immense popularity here, the 2026 “Ricky Martin Live” circuit plans to marque stops successful 8 Mexican cities, including Monterrey, Mexico City and Mérida, successful summation to Zapopan. 

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 9 p.m.

Location: Estadio Panamericano, Calle Sta. Lucía 373, Tepeyac, 45150 Zapopan

Cost: Tickets commencement astatine 938 pesos per seat, excluding fees.  

Guadalajara’s World Cup qualifying games approach, with other information planned  for the main lawsuit this summer 

Amidst rumors that FIFA, the World Cup’s governing body, would determination qualifying games scheduled for precocious March from Guadalajara’s Akron Stadium, Jalisco’s Governor Pablo Lemus was speedy to quash them.

In speaking astir those concerns, Lemus said, “There’s perfectly nary volition connected FIFA’s portion to instrumentality immoderate of Mexico’s big sites away.” And concerning Guadalajara’s lucifer docket specifically, helium added, “Not the 2 playoff matches, oregon the 4 World Cup matches.”

Since cartel-related unit swept crossed Mexico pursuing the decease of CJNG cause lord El Mencho, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has reiterated the organization’s committedness to holding matches successful Mexico.

This past week, President Sheinbaum herself visited Guadalajara to reassure the doubters. During past Friday’s visit, the authorities announced a caller program to deploy astir 100,000 information forces during this summer’s tournament, to guarantee bid and information for the astir 5 cardinal visitors expected.

General Roman Villalvazo Barrios, caput of Mexico’s World Cup coordination center, said that the country’s information program includes 20,000 National Guard troops and 55,000 constabulary officers, connected apical of existing unit employed by backstage information companies.

Security was the cardinal taxable of a caller statesmanlike presser, which took spot successful the metro country of Guadalajara, Jalisco. (Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)

In the meantime, 2 World Cup qualifying matches volition beryllium played astatine Guadalajara’s Akron Stadium aboriginal this month. 

In the archetypal lucifer connected March 26, New Caledonia volition look disconnected against Jamaica, with the victor advancing to instrumentality connected the Democratic Republic of the Congo connected March 31. The winning squad from this bid volition punch its summons into the main World Cup draw, joining Group K alongside Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan.

In much bully news, FIFA released a caller batch of tickets this past week for Mexico’s qualifying matches astatine prices accessible to section fans.

Dates: Thursday, March 26, for the New Caledonia vs. Jamaica semi-final. Tuesday, March 31, for DRC against the victor from the semi-finals. 

Location: Estadio Akron, Cto. J.V.C. 2800, El Bajío, Zapopan, Jalisco

Cost: Available astatine FIFA.com starting astatine 300 pesos per spot (about US $17).

With reporting from ESPN and Front Office Sports.

Artisanal Mexican cocoa made with emotion by a autochthonal Tapatía

The originative spark for Guadalajara autochthonal Fabiola Zorrero’s journey into the satellite of cacao began connected a travel to Europe earlier the pandemic. Standing successful beforehand of a support overflowing with chocolates from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and elsewhere, she was struck by the lack of immoderate Mexican varieties, contempt the country’s abundant cacao production.

Back location successful Guadalajara, she decided she needed to alteration that. Zorrero began her quest astatine location during the pandemic, with nary anterior cooking oregon chocolate-making experience. 

She bought a tiny volcanic chromatic grinder from Colima, on with immoderate cacao beans from Chiapas, and started tinkering successful the basement of her father’s house. 

Fabiola Zorrero founded Chocolate Metiche, the Guadalajara-based brand. (Chocolate Metiche)

Relying connected tutorials, research, and plentifulness of proceedings and error, Zorrero mastered everything from harvesting to cocoa barroom production. During her aboriginal experiments, Zorrero learned to admit that cacao is simply a surviving thing, with a tremendous array of flavors and varieties influenced by the ungraded and clime successful which it grows, arsenic good arsenic however it’s cultivated.  

An municipality task with agrarian roots

When Zorrero launched Chocolate Metiche (Chocolate Busybody successful English) successful 2021, her extremity was to nutrient the astir blase cocoa successful Mexico. And portion her products are made successful a bustling municipality metropolis, their roots are successful the Mexican countryside. 

Zorrero works chiefly with cacao from Tabasco and Chiapas, 2 regions wherever farms are typically tiny successful standard and usage earthy methods. To guarantee exceptional quality, she visits the farms herself to observe their processes and sensation each batch of cacao selected for Chocolate Metiche’s products. 

Every cocoa barroom and portion sold astatine her tiny store successful the Arcos Vallarta vicinity of Guadalajara is made from scratch successful a adjacent workshop, utilizing lone fermented Mexican cacao.

Zorrero’s attraction to item has paid off. 

In 2023, Metiche won 2 metallic medals astatine the Chocolate Awards Mexico. One was for a 75% cacao barroom developed successful collaboration with the women-led Finca Las Delias successful Tabasco. The different was for a 74% cacao barroom containing marigold and almonds. 

A gastronomic task with a societal mission 

Chocolate Metiche makes large chocolate, but has a societal component, too. (Chocolate Metiche)

Beyond her culinary success, Zorrero besides sees Chocolate Metiche arsenic a concern connected a societal and ecological mission.

On her Instagram page, Zorrero observed, “Being a cocoa husbandman is synonymous with being a guardian of the biosphere. The greenish areas wherever cocoa grows are location to endemic species, and the extortion of these reserves is captious for the improvement and well-functioning of the ecosystem.”

On a much basal level, she derives heavy restitution from the joyousness and transportation her chocolates bring to customers. As she noted precocious successful an interrogation with El Mural, “I similar this thought that the chocolates I marque are shared arsenic a ritual; you unfastened a vessel of wine, hole immoderate beverage and stock it with people.”  

Dates: Sundays and Mondays, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m; Wednesdays done Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: Av. José María Morelos 2256, Colonia Arcos Vallarta, Guadalajara

Cost: Chocolate bars commencement astatine 140 pesos.

MND Writer Dawn Stoner is reporting from Guadalajara.