Castro said that past presidents including George W. Bush have understood the value of economic and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Mexico. But Trump isn’t like past presidents. "Of course, there was a phone call recently between President Trump and President Pena-Nieto," Castro said. "That was not encouraging. My hope is that the president will surround himself with good people that understand the relationship.

Six days after taking office, President Donald Trump is facing the first international crisis of his administration. And it’s unfolding on Twitter. Following through on campaign promises to crack down on immigration, Trump signed executive orders to both kick-start the construction of a border wall with Mexico and block federal grants for “sanctuary cities“ - jurisdictions that offer safe harbour for undocumented immigrants.

Several times, the concepts analyzed in theory and the ‘how should it be’ don’t really happen in reality, for social scientists like me it’s a constant struggle to analyze reality and society and try to come up with proposals to improve the situation and the life quality of people, and sometimes they don’t happen to be quite as real as we would want.

One way for North Americans to transcend the ugliness of politics and assert a shared identity would be by hosting a World Cup together. The 2026 World Cup is the next one to be awarded, and the North American region is a strong contender, given the tournament’s traditional rotation among continents. Both Mexico and the U.S. are expected to submit compelling bids. 

Foreign officials in Washington are struggling to get to know the president-elect's transition team and are experiencing a sense of anxiety about the incoming administration. But none of them, as an Obama White House official told me, are as worried as the Mexicans.

The shared South African-Mexican craving for maize was deliciously apparent when City Press and the Soweto Hotel introduced Mexican restaurateur and culinary star Abigail Mendoza to Madiba’s longstanding personal chef Xoliswa Ndoyiya. Tasked with making maize-based meals that reflected their respective culinary cultures, these queens of traditional flavour went to work to create magnificent mealie dishes.

Tang said mariachi music transcends borders and cultures because of the universal feelings of love and loss that this music reflects. She’s planning a trip to China as part of a cultural exchange program and hopes her love of this musical form will entertain Chinese audiences.