The film, "Mexico: The Royal Tour," premier in Los Angeles.

Last night we attended a VIP Reception and Premiere showing of Mexico: A Royal Tour, a film by Peter Greenberg for PBS.

In the film, President Calderón takes Greenberg on a tour of Mexico—but not your average tour. It’s a spectacular visit to many beautiful and unusual places with lots of adventure, including zip-lining, scuba and more. The President and his family clearly enjoy being the tour guides, and showing off these fabulous and interesting places, well-known and not so well-known. There is also discussion of the current security misconceptions. In the end, you will want to get on the next flight south.

California Native President, Lee Klein, and Mexican President, Felipe Calderon.

We arrived at the JW Marriott at LA Live in downtown LA, were given wrist bands, checked off several security lists, then passed through a metal detector and into a small ballroom. We enjoyed drinks and conversation with other celebrities such as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara, other dignitaries associated with both Mexico and the film, and entertainment icons including George Lopez, Russell Brand, Lionel Richie, James Caan, and Cindy Crawford. Then there was a buzz, lots more security, and the arrival of President Felipe Calderón and his wife, Margarita Zavala. After the camera flashes subsided, we were able chat with the President for a few minutes—our second meeting.

California Native's Lee Klein and Mexico's Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara.

We moved on to the movie theater, and found seats with our names on them directly behind the President, the Mexican dignitaries and Greenberg, and next to the film’s director. After some speeches, the film began and we were entranced.

Afterward, talking to the Director, we learned that Mexico’s Copper Canyon was to have been part of the tour, but there were some weather issues on the days slated for filming so they did not film there. From previous conversations with President Calderón, we know that Copper Canyon is one of his favorite places in Mexico.

California Native's Ellen Klein and singer Lionel Richie.

The movie premieres on Thursday, September 22, 2011 on many local PBS station (check listings for time) and will air several times in the next couple of weeks. Find out more about the film or watch the movie trailer.

After the movie, check out our website and join us for a wonderful adventure in Mexico.

In the village of Kirare, in Mexico's Copper Canyon, a Tarahumara man helps his wife with her chores. The California Native has been a leader in tours to Copper Canyon for almost 30 years.

Anthropologist Carl Lumholtz predicted that the Tarahumara Indians would disappear within a century. A hundred years later, these gentle people, who inhabit Mexico’s Copper Canyon, continue to be the most populous indigenous group in northern Mexico.

Spanish explorers had entered the Sierra Madre Mountains by the mid-16th century. Gold and silver were soon discovered and mines began operating. The Indians were pressed into the labor force, often enduring the harshest conditions.

The Jesuits established their first mission pueblo in 1611. Although many attempted to ease the burden of the Indians, a great deal of prejudice existed. An early Jesuit wrote, “They are inclined to idleness, drunkenness and other vices. They are ungrateful, dull and stupid…very cunning and alert in evil things…They have no sense of personal honor nor the honor of their daughters.”

Forced to live in artificially-created communities, the Indians were susceptible to a variety of diseases, and epidemics swept the area. As the demand for labor increased, the Spanish raided the mission pueblos. The Jesuits managed to protect some of their charges, but many Tarahumara fled, hiding deep in Copper Canyon. The expulsion of the Jesuits from the Americas, in 1767, ended their efforts to protect the Indians, and the Franciscans, who succeeded them, were not as effective.

Mexico attained independence in 1821 and soon established huge land grants in Tarahumara country. The Indians were uprooted again, and fled, often onto lands of other indigenous people. Fighting often resulted.

The Revolution of 1910-21 resulted in the re-creation of the pre-hispanic communal landholding system known as the ejido. The Tarahumara received some benefits from this, as much of this land has economic potential for lumbering, agriculture, and tourism. Around 60,000 Tarahumara still inhabit caves and simple dwellings in Copper Canyon.

The California Native has for many years assisted these people, donating clothing, school supplies and money. Some of our travelers have returned to volunteer in local clinics. Tourism is a positive factor, and visitors gain a new appreciation for these noble people who have survived and thrived despite Lumholtz’ dire predictions.

The valley of Paraiso del Oso, located just outside of Cerocahui, is named for its rock formations, one of which looks like Yogi Bear.

Nestled in a picturesque valley surrounded by Mexico’s magnificent Sierra Madre Mountains, is the little village of Cerocahui, the most beautiful of all the mountain villages of southwestern Chihuahua State.

Cerocahui, with its old mission church, was founded in 1680 by the Italian Jesuit, Juan Maria de Salvatierra. It is said that Father Salvatierra, who founded many missions in the area, considered this to be his favorite.

Over the centuries, the 300-year old church, with its lovely stained glass windows, fell into disrepair. In 1948 it was extensively reconstructed. Services are now held there for the towns people and the local Tarahumara Indians, and the church also operates an Indian orphanage and boarding school.

School girls and a visitor stroll by the old church in the Sierra Madre village of Cerocahui.

Walking around Cerocahui, which has a population of around 1500, you can find people with skills which seem to belong to a bygone era. There are cowboys, prospectors, blacksmiths, and a man who makes rawhide lariats.

Just a mile from “downtown” Cerocahui is the Paraiso del Oso Lodge, located in a picturesque valley, surrounded by large rock formations. The lodge is owned and operated by American Doug Rhodes, who takes pride in the delicious Mexican food served at his lodge and in the fine horses he offers to guests who wish to ride.

Autumn is a beautiful time to visit Cerocahui on your trip through Mexico's Copper Canyon.

From the lodge, Doug offers a one-day tour down to the bottom of the canyon and the old silver mining town of Urique. Established in 1612, Urique was active eight years before the first pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock.

Join us on one of our trips to Copper Canyon and enjoy the hospitality of this unique little village nestled in the Sierra Madres.

In 1610, the Viceroy of Mexico and Peru ordered a fort to be built on a hill overlooking the town now known as El Fuerte, the first stop on California Native tours of Copper Canyon.

In 1610, Juan de Mendoza y Luna, the Viceroy of Mexico and Peru, ordered that a riverside fort be erected on a hill overlooking the town of San Juan Bautista de Carapoa, to defend it against attacks by fierce Mayo, Zuaque and Tehueco Indians, and to guard the rich haul of silver from its many mines. Founded fifty years earlier by the Spanish conquistador Don Francisco de Ibarra, the town was renamed El Fuerte, “The Fort.”

In successive years, El Fuerte became a major trading post for gold and silver from the mines of Urique, Batopilas, and other Sierra Madre settlements and a station on Spain’s fabled Camino Real trade route. In 1824, after almost three centuries as the most important commercial and agricultural center in northern Mexico, El Fuerte became the capital of the territory which now makes up the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora, and part of Arizona. After a few years, and a few wars, its administrative functions were taken over by Culiacán, Hermosillo and Phoenix.

El Fuerte today, with a population of around 30,000, is a quiet, picturesque colonial town, but the old fort still looks down on the quaint cobblestone streets as they wind past its historic church, mansions and shops, many dating back to colonial times. El Fuerte is also the starting point for most of The California Native’s journeys through the spectacular Copper Canyon.

In Mexico's Copper Canyon, California Native guests stop to take photos on the road down to the remote village of Batopilas.

Memorial Day is coming up and it’s time to start planning your fall and winter adventures. We have just published our 2012 schedule of tours to Mexico’s Copper Canyon. We haven’t announced our 2012 prices but if you sign up now, we will honor our 2011 prices for your 2012 trip.

And, yes, our guests in Mexico are safe. We are often asked about the safety of traveling in Mexico in light of the media sensationalism about the government’s campaign against the drug traffickers. Mexico is a very large country and the violence has been mainly in cities along the U.S. border. None of it has any effect on the destinations we travel to and no tourists have been involved in any incidents. Putting it into perspective, it would be the same as avoiding travel to Yosemite because there was an incident in New York City. This coming October more than 40 countries will be sending their athletes to participate in the Pan-American games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Ricardo Gonzalez, great uncle of Bessie "Crickett" Quijada.

A few weeks ago we received a very interesting comment from Bessie "Crickett" Quijada regarding our article, A Visit With Mrs. Pancho Villa. I contacted her and she agreed to share some of her photos with us.

In her comment Mrs. Quijada told us “My grand mother’s brother, Ricardo Gonzales, rode with The General Pancho Villa. In the Military Classics Illustrated (News Letter) there is a photo of My great uncle Ricardo on horseback along with Pancho Villa and about 5 or 6 other riders. My uncle is to Pancho Villas left. I have a photo of my uncle with Mrs Pancho Villa (Dona Luz) taken at La Quinta Manor where she lived until her death. The Villa’s manor is a museum in Chihuahua, MX. In the Military Classics Illustrated along with the photo of my uncle with Pancho Villa there is an article titled, The Villistas: Soldiers in Sombreros and Suit Coats By Don Fuchik.”

The author she refers to, Don Fuchik, was a very close friend of mine from the time we were 13-years old until his death a few years ago. He was also a consultant for The California Native and led many of our trips through Mexico’s Copper Canyon.

Pancho Villa and his wife, Luz Corral de Villa, in 1914.	Dona Luz Corral de Villa with Ricardo Gonzalez in 1967.

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Two weeks ago David Isaacson from Boston, MA, traveled with us to Copper Canyon and Baja California:

Hi Laurie:

I wanted to thank you, Dave, and Lee for the most perfect trip possible to The Copper Canyon and Baja..I wouldn’t have changed a thing. All the experiences that you planned for me were ideal, the weather was perfect, and great hotels…especially the one that overlooked the Canyon. The only thing I would have changed is having more time in Copper Canyon and Baja…but that is the way a perfect vacation should end! I so appreciate the expertise, and all that you and The California Native have done for me.

Best,
David

The races are organized by “Caballo Blanco,” a gringo who has for years lived among the Tarahumara, or Raramuri (the running people), of Copper Canyon. The race begins in the canyon-bottom town of Urique. The participants are  taken on hikes along the trails that will be the race course days later. On race day, almost the whole town gathers to cheer on the racers—both the gringos (a group that gets larger every year) and the local Tarahumara, wearing their very “technical” footware—thin sandals made from old tires. The course features three loops of 18, 22 and 10 miles of difficult terrain that begin and end in the town. In this year’s race, which was held on March 6, only two gringos finished in the top 10.

While the Raramuri run from their homes and caves in the mountains to Urique, many make their way to the race by way of Paraiso del Oso near Cerocahui, also a stop on California Native’s popular trips to Copper Canyon.

Francisco “Pancho” Villa was a hero to some and an overated hoodlum to others, especially the “Gringos” who made their fortunes in Mexico.

It was 1880 and in the remote village of Batopilas, at the bottom of the area now known as Copper Canyon, he developed one of the richest silver mining operations in the world. Fifty-seven years later, Shepherd’s oldest son, Grant, who was five years old at the time of the family’s relocation, published a book, The Silver Magnet, recounting tales of growing up in Batopilas. The following excerpt from the book describes an incident between Grant’s younger brother, Conness, who Grant refers to as “The Kid” and Pancho Villa. Shepherd’s views on Villa were less than complimentary:

“Francisco Villa knew quite well who our tribe was, and he knew my young brother. The Kid was a competent horseman, pistol and rifle shot; he stood six feet three in his stockings; weighed one hundred and ninety pounds. There was nothing sticking to his ribs but the very hardest and most efficient and experienced muscle; he possessed a pleasing personality. The Mexicans who knew and worked for him loved him with a devotion not frequently met with. In fact, his position in the estimation of the inhabitants of the sections where his work placed him was one rarely found and much to be desired.

“With the advancement of the revolution, the size and importance of the internationally known Pancho Villa welled with much rapidity. His increase in magnitude and undeniable presence as something actual on the landscape may well be compared to that of a fat mule who had died on the trail, and been subjected to the hot sun of the locality. You soon can see him and smell him from a great distance.

“The Kid was making his way into Chihuahua; he rode into Carretas one afternoon accompanied by a couple of his mozos and a pack animal or two. He had been there only long enough to wash his face and sit down to supper, when into the town rode Villa with a big bunch of followers. Villa swaggered into the main room of the meson where Conness was eating his supper and sat down opposite to him. He had had a few drinks and was bombastic and offensive in elaborating upon the fact that ‘he was a big mad bull who gored whom he pleased and had to account to no one for his goring.’ The Kid is a very quiet, a very silent man … this kind is the most dangerous.

“Villa hated all gringos, but he knew exactly who this gringo was and he also had no particular amount of guts. When he performed his own shooting and killing, which was seldom enough, he needed all the breaks so that this pastime would be a perfectly safe one to be indulged in by Don Francisco Villa.

“The Kid looked him steadily in the eye; that same Kid had a damned mean eye to look into when he felt that way. He then serenely informed Villa that if Pancho started anything it would, of course, result in his, the Kid’s, being killed; but he was positive that Villa was aware of the fact that he himself would go first, and that the news of the Kid’s death would be transmitted to Villa by some of Villa’s many followers in Hell or wherever it was he would be residing when dead. Villa knew that the Kid was right, that when it came to a draw this gringo had him beat a mile, so he decided to laugh it off and be a good friendly boy scout. The Kid went on to Chihuahua that night.”

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Last month, Stan and Elizabeth Williams, from Calgary, Alberta, traveled with us to Copper Canyon. Before returning home they sent us an e-mail which we posted two weeks ago. In a followup e-mail they discussed the state of tourism in Mexico and the issue of security:

Hi Laurie:

Attached is our evaluation form for our Copper Canyon Tour from February 6 to February 15, 2011. Overall, you get straight “A’s”!! You can read the details but we couldn’t have enjoyed ourselves more and the tour ran like clockwork! We are already looking forward to our next California Native tour.

I just have a comment about the state of Mexico tourism in general. Prior to our trip, when people found out we were traveling to Mexico they said “isn’t that dangerous?” (in reference to the recent media reports). We responded by saying that it is no more dangerous than some parts of Calgary and we that were traveling with an experienced tour company called “California Native.”

We love Mexico. We find the people to be very friendly, helpful even with our broken Spanish, and curious about us. But the tourism situation in Mexico is in very sad condition. Despite being in the low tourism season, we expected there to be more foreign tourists than were there. We often had individual service at hotels restaurants, on tours and on the train because there were very few other travelers. The Mexicans we encountered depend on tourism for their livelihood.

If tourists have concerns about traveling in Mexico, then it is all the more reason to hire a tour company, like California Native, who knows the lay of the land and local customs, have dealt with service providers for years and can “put all the pieces” of a tour puzzle together so very well.

Thanks very much!

Stanley Williams, BSc P.Geol
Senior Geologist, CBM
Nexen Inc.
Calgary, AB, Canada