Cosala Turns on Its Magic About 99 Milles From Mazatlan Mexico

Cosala turns on its magic

Until a few years ago, the little storybook town of Cosala in the mountains of western Mexico could have been the poster child for the expression, “off the beaten track.” The few tourists who came by – typically on their way to go fishing in nearby lakes – likely never knew they were driving through what was once one of the richest cities in the country.

Cosala was loaded with the shiny stuff.

Silver miners hit paydirt here in 1562, and the town was soon brimming with the mansions of wealthy mineowners, elaborate churches, porticoed walkways and all the other splendors of colonial Spain. Cosala's mines produced so much silver that the city became the capital of Mexico's immense State of the West (a combination of the country's present-day states of Sinaloa and Sonora).
The mines eventually petered out, but Cosala (pronounced co-sah-LAH) hit another kind of paydirt in 2005 – thanks in large part to its 2,000 historic sites, many now housing everything from bars to barbershops.
What finally put Cosala on the tourism map was a program launched by the Mexican government to promote “the charming architecture, exquisite gastronomy and traditional festivities” of some three dozen small cities across the country. They're called “Pueblos Magicos,” or magic cities, and Cosala was a shoe-in for membership in that prestigious club.
The city has been spruced up quite a bit since it made the list in 2005. For example, the formerly drab colored shops and homes lining its narrow lanes have been restored to their original kaleidoscope of pastel browns, blues, greens, yellows and reds. Its church and other buildings have been facelifted, and its streets look like they could have been bricked in only yesterday. Actually, some were.
Sights like these were enjoyed by some 34,000 visitors last year, roughly double the count before the city was tapped by Mexico's magic wand. And the count is still climbing by leaps and bounds.
A good number of Cosala's guests are Americans taking a break from vacations down the coast in the big-time resort at Mazatlan. They come to the smaller city to sample its charm for a day or two, having heard about Cosala back home or from tour operators in Mazatlan.

Fiestas feature local youngsters.

Mayor Juan Martinez wants you to know that visitors are welcome to rub elbows with the local folks at the city's traditional free fiestas. They're staged on Friday and Saturday nights (and also on other nights, seemingly at the drop of a sombrero). Among highlights of the entertainment, singers belt out everyone's favorite Mexican songs and dancers from tots to teens act out old-time Sinaloan folk tales.

Showgirl struts her stuff.

Pleasantly, there are a number of things you won't see here. Like tacky souvenir stands, fake watch stalls and kids selling burro rides. Also, you won't spot any Burger Kings or Pizza Huts or any other American fast-food imports. Suppose you get a Big Mac attack? Not to worry, there's a place on the town square named “Exquisite Hamburgers and Hot Dogs.”
Some visitors stick around for a few extra days to enjoy activities in the surrounding areas. About five miles away, for instance, the Vado Hondo nature preserve lets wannabe-Tarzans soar over the jungle canopy on seven ziplines and rope-sided walkways, ending with a rappel down a 30-foot-high tree. Other nearby attractions include bathing in hot springs, exploring caverns, birdwatching and buying right-off-the-loom goods in handicraft villages.
Anyone for fishing? You can toss your lines out on several lakes around these parts known for their trophy-class Black Bass. At one, Lake Comedero, anglers average 40 to 60 daily catch-and-releases per boat, typically weighing 8 to 12 pounds and some up to 15 pounds. Guests stay in a luxury lakeside lodge (check out http://www.mexicobassadventures.com/).

Ay, yay, yay, yay....

Visitors to Cosala have their pick of a dozen or so tourist-class restaurants, all within walking distance of their hotels (as is just about everything else in town). Top places to dine include El Pueblito, the Merendero and El Sazon de Dona Tichi. Among regional specialties are machaca dishes, chorizo, tamales, empanadas and white cheeses, typically served with blue tortillas.

Getting there: Some 10 major airlines offer service to Mazatlan from cities across the U.S. Day trips and overnight tours of Cosala can be booked by your travel agent or at hotels in Mazatlan.
Staying there: Cosala has nine hotels with a total of some 220 rooms. A little over 50 of these are in the pleasant colonial-style Hacienda Quinta Minera (http://www.hotel-quintaminera.com/) where rates start at about $60 a night.
More info: Cosala's two best websites are http://www.vivesineloa.com/ and http://www.cosala.gob.mx/. Right now they're both Spanish-only, but officials say English versions of the sites will be available soon. Details on the magic city program can be found on the Mexico Tourism Board's site at http://www.visitmexico.com/ (click the Travel Experiences button at top, then Discover More and then Magical Villages). For Mazatlan, check out the hotel association's site
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Story and photos by Bob Schulman

Safety in Mazatlán, Mexico. Hear the real story from real people

Leading Opportunities In Mexican Affordable Housing

Lending Opportunities in Mexican Affordable Housing

JULY, 2010
Mexico
By Lawrence McDanielMexico

The collapse of foreign investment in the Mexican affordable housing sector has created a significant opportunity for debt capital in search of compelling risk-adjusted returns on construction lending. Our confidence in this market is underpinned by continued strong fundamentals combined with increased government support of existing mortgage programs to provide exit strategies for newly developed housing units. We believe that current dislocations in the construction finance market, and commensurate yield decompression, is driven entirely by structural flaws in Mexico’s affordable housing sector and not by fundamentals.


STRONG FUNDAMENTALS

As Mexico successfully winds down its first-ever counter cyclical monetary policy intervention we believe its sovereign debt looks more attractive at present than that of any other G-8 country. The countries central bank, Banxico, shows signals of rate tightening in 2011 buttress our view by easing inflationary concerns even as tourism and industrial, auto and consumable exports have rebounded sharply since reaching their respective 2009 troughs. With currency flows now moving in the opposite direction, and consensus expectations of 4.5% inflation by year-end, we see possibilities for peso strengthening as well as a case for peso-dollar swaps to revert to pre-crisis costs.

Within this macro context, the Mexican mortgage industry trailed the broader 2008 economic slowdown by nine months or so and in our estimate, will lag the recovery by about the same length of time. Current consensus is that mortgage delinquencies, now approaching 8% industry wide, will not find bottom until Q4 of this year. Meanwhile, one million new housing units are required annually in order to keep pace with natural population growth. Despite the Mexican government’s unprecedented 90% direct and indirect participation in the funding of mortgages, the industry has struggled to keep pace with this demand. In the last 12 months the problem has exacerbated as home builders lost access to SOFOL (Sociedad Financiera de Objeto Limitado)-supplied construction finance; temporarily slowing the pace of development. Government sponsored mortgage programs simultaneously increased lending capacity, paradoxically leaving the industry in a state of high pent-up demand and readily available mortgage takeout finance which is stymied by the limited availability of construction loans.


PERSISTANT STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS

On the other hand, the global credit crisis exposed multiple structural weaknesses in Mexico’s affordable housing industry, as well as some previousl.....

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Spanish Company Iberdrola To Invest $400 Million Dollars in Mexico

Iberdrola to invest 400 million dollars in Mexico
Business - Tuesday, December 7, 2010 (15:14 hrs)




The measure is part of the company's strategic plan for 2011 and 2012



The online Financial

Madrid, Dec. 7 .- The Spanish power company Iberdrola plans to invest 400 million dollars in Mexico between 2011 and 2012, said Tuesday the energy group at a meeting in Cancun of its CEO, Ignacio Galán, and Mexican President , Felipe Calderón.

These investments are part of Iberdrola's strategic plan until 2012, which seeks greater internationalization of their business, which will involve investments in Latin America of 1,700 million dollars during the period 2010-2012, said Tuesday in a press release.

Iberdrola has about 770 employees in Mexico, where it has an installed capacity of over 5,000 megawatts (MW), mainly in combined cycle gas.

Renewable energy, it will go much of the group's growth in Mexico through its subsidiary Iberdrola Renovables, has 80 MW operating wind farms and is building another park of 103 MW. (With information from Reuters / MCH)

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