Last day, good Friday!

On the last day of this international week, time seem to fly as we felt the end of this incredible experience that has gathered us, as everyone arrived in the morning for breakfast most of the teams were finishing their last ideas for their presentation.



At 9:00 am we had as a guest speaker Mr. Gordon Viberg, he told us about his experience in the tourism sector as CEO of the Intercontinental Hotel in Mexico for over 20 years; his approach to this lecture was to show how difficult was to change a pre-established business model in an closed environment as it was Mexico in the 80’s and how he had to transformed it to fit not only the changing of the mindset but also how to become competitive in the 90’s and in the new millennium.

The last discussion was given to us by Mr. Edmundo Vallejo (Prof. at IPADE and Ex CEO of GE Finance LA), we rounded all the ideas that we had been hearing about throughout the week and left us with several questions so that we can ponder about this industry and what it means as a whole for the global economy.

The last hours of this week we has the presentations that all the groups did, they where make in two different class rooms, all the works where done with professionalism and showing the different perspectives of the teammates and their unique approach to the requirements.

WOOOOOOHHHHH its lunch time and the people at IPADE has given us a really good surprise, we have a complete Mexican food buffet, and of course we had to be dressed for the occasion that’s why they gave us a “reboso” for the ladies and a “zarape” for the guys, and our costume hats, the tables where filled with Mexican candies, we also had a group of marimba playing music, that gave us a really nice touch to the end of this international week.

Some of the international students went after wards to the pyramids of Teotihuacán, that way they could see the grandeur of the Mesoamerican culture.

Last but not least we want to say good bye to a group of new friends and we hope to meet you again later. As it is usual we had a little good bye party starting at 8:00 pm and ending more or less at 7:00 am, here is just a taste of what happened there.

Tlalpajahua - Tips

We want to share a few important information about the Thursday trips.

TLALPUJAHUA

Guys!! For the ones that are going to Tlalpujahua (the Monarchs’ Sanctuary) here are some recommendations.

Footwear:
Use comfortable shoes as some parts of the road are not paved and from time to time it can get muddy and uneven (sneakers or hiking shoes).

Clothing:
Wear warm clothes and bring a good jacket as the region is cooler than Mexico City (Weather forecast for the region is Min 2°C – Max 13°C, Min 36°F – Max 55°F, partially clouded).

About the place:

The Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve is located mostly in the eastern part of the state of Michoacán with some being in the western part of the State of Mexico in the central Mexican highlands. The Reserve was created to protect the wintering habitat of the monarch butterfly and contains over 56,000 hectares of land.

Tlalpujahua is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Michoacán (formally “Michoacán de Ocampo”). The name Tlalpujahua has its origins in the nahuatl words tlalli, which means "land" and Poxohuac, which means "sponge". The name of Tlalpujahua means "spongy land". Another name for this city is Xijumú Otomí. The people refers to its inhabitants as “The people that refused to die.”

Queretaro - Tips

QUERETARO

Santiago de Querétaro is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro located in central Mexico. It is located 213km northwest of Mexico City. The founding date of the city is given as 25 July 1531, when during a battle between the Spanish and the natives of the area, an eclipse occurred during which Saint James on a white horse carrying a pink cross supposedly appeared, causing the natives of the areas to surrender. In reality, Spanish dominion here was gradual.

Today, the city is one of the fastest-growing in the country, with its economic base in industries such as chemicals, paper products and machinery. This has caused the city and the metropolitan area to attract many migrants from other parts of Mexico.

One of the most popular sports in the city is bullfighting.

Weather forecast for tomorroy: 19°C – 6°C (67°F – 42°F) partially clouded

You can download a document about the Bullfighting in Mexico by clicking here.

Puebla - Tips

PUEBLA

The city and municipality of Puebla is the capital of the state of Puebla, and one of the five most important colonial cities in Mexico. It is located to the east of Mexico City and west of the port of Veracruz, on the main route between the two. The city was founded in 1531 in an area called Cuetlaxcoapan whichmeans “where serpents change their skin.”

Due it its history and architectural styles ranging from Renaissance to Mexican Baroque, the city was named a World Heritage Site in 1987. The city is also famous for mole poblano, chiles en nogada and Talavera pottery. However, most of its economy is based on industry

Weather forecast for tomorroy: 18°C – 5°C (65°F – 41°F) partially clouded

Guess who is this...

This is time to start interacting with our blog.

Do you have any idea of who is the misterious masked wrestler?

If you have any guess, click on "comments" and tell us who do you think it is.

A night at the Wrestling Arena!

What does "chingar" mean?

Matt’s question was not one that I would be comfortable answering within the polite academic atmosphere of the IPADE but in our current surroundings it was a word that the crowd would angrilly yell at the professional wrestlers repeatedly. We were seated only a few feet away from the ring and the masked heavyweights heard and often responded to the verbal aggressions with gestures and hand movements that required no translation whatsoever.

I began to elaborate on the meaning and syntax of the aforementioned word but I was interrupted by the roar of the crowd as the Rudos decided to break official wrestiling rules and three masked men in dark outfits performed a simultaneous aerial somersault that landed squarely on the body of the Tecnico who laid helplessly on the floor in the middle of the ring.

From International Week 2010

Victorious, the Rudos stood up to jeer at the crowd and hear their “appreciation” while the assaulted member of the Tecnico team was able to roll to the safety of the side of the ring and tap out of the competition.

“So you see” I explained, “the Tecnico’s are the good guys, and they will never break official rules, the “Rudos” on the other hand only follow them when they see fit… hahaha, this is an important part of your immersion process into mexican culture”.

Back on the ring the “Tecnico” team members hurled abuse at the referee for allowing such a violation of official rules whilst a camera crew roamed through the crowd and projected the images of wrestling fans on a massive screen visible throughout the arena. On that very screen I was surprised to recognize a group of people I had come to know well at the IPADE; the visitors from the international week. Normally these were a professional and serious group of people from very well respected academic institutions but the camera and the crowds had completely transformed them into a crazed mob of wrestling fans that hurled insults and took off their shirts without question… their enthusiasm could only be matched by the most hardcore mexican fans.

We all watched as the beaten and bruised Tecnico team made a surprising comeback riddled with aerial combos and impressive locks that delivered them a final and decisive victory. And just like that, the fight was over and everyone made their way out of the (in)famous Arena Mexico.

From International Week 2010

Men, women and children of all ages and nationalities walked and smiled, having experienced an evening of unparalleled adrenaline and entertainment that exposes yet another facet of true Mexican culture.

Jorge Gutierrez
Master on Mexican Wrestling

PS:

Quotes:

"Estan rellenos de Tamales no de Musculos!!!!"
"They are made of Tamales not muscles"
Beatriz Guzman while screaming to the fighters

"UUUUY Hasta jabón tienen aqui en los baños! A ver si los usan!"
"They even have soap on the restrooms, I hope you use them"
Alonso Méndez while in the restrooms full of MBA students

"Rudo quiero ver sangreeeeeee!!"
"Rudo I want to se blooooooood!!"
Sofia Calderon almost loosing her voice

"El Pepino está bien riiiiiico!"
"The Pickle is really delicious!"
Memo, sharing his true love for "El pepino"

Group Picture

As it has been a tradition in the International Week all the participants gather in the Claveria Gardens to take a group picture.

From International Week 2010

This year, as the number of participants was really large Bea (international director) decided to also take a video.

As you may have noticed IPADE students pronounced a funny word during the picture: Shuuuuyyy!!! This word has become the slogan for our class and it has several meanings so it’s kind of complicated to explain, but if you are learning a lot and having a great time just say Shuuuyyy out loud.

Meet Shuuuyy!!