UNAM UK, Centre for Mexican Studies United Kingdom UNAM-UK, Centre for Mexican Studies United Kingdom

Prof. María Del Coro Arizmendi will talk about the importance of taking actions to protect hummingbirds since they play such an important role in plant reproduction and environment conservation. Hummingbirds are nectar-feeding birds that pollinate plants in America. There are 58 hummingbird species in Mexico. They  form a very distinctive family of birds of small size, long bills, very small feet and large, pointed wings. They are very good flyers and can fly in all directions, flapping their wings up to 200 times per second,  while  hovering for feeding. Hummingbird conservation depends on conserving the plants they feed on, as well as the places where they breed. Urban expansion threatens their survival, but given adequate habitats and breeding spaces, they can adapt. Hummingbird Gardens can be an opportunity for their conservation.

In Mexico, Hummingbirds mainly live in the states of Oaxaca (Sierra de Miahuatlán), Guerrero (Sierra Madre del Sur de Guerrero), Veracruz (Los Tuxtlas), Yucatán, and the in the basin of Balsas river. However, according to the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), although hummingbirds are currently threatened with extinction, designing and implementing conservation actions is challenging because of the small size of their population and their limited distribution.

Prof. Arizmendi works to raise awareness about the importance of taking actions to preserve them. It is important to build special areas where hummingbirds can be fed and live freely at the same time that they help other plants to reproduce.

MARIA DEL CORO ARIZMENDI ARRIAGA is Director at the Faculty of Higher Studies Iztacala of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and Head of the University Coordination for Sustainability at UNAM. Also, she is a full-time professor and belongs to the National Mexican Research System (SNI). She is a biologist and holds a PhD in Ecology from UNAM. Throughout 30 years, she has conducted several research projects related to ecology, evolution, and conservation of birds. Additionally, she has occupied important positions at the Ecology Laboratory of the Biology, Technology and Prototypes Unit; and the Coordination of Postgraduate studies in Biology Science at UNAM. She has published 69 articles in well-renowned journals, 11 books, and 35 book chapters as a result of her collaboration with national and international institutions such as the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), The University of California Institute for Mexico, and the United States (UC MEXUS), the National Fish and Wildlife,  among others. Her work has been cited 1,815 times.

She developed and implemented the project “Gardens for hummingbirds” (In Spanish: Jardínes para Colibríes). The project aimed to engage society in conservation activities for hummingbirds’ habitat. The first garden was built in 2014, and by 2020 there are about 90 gardens in Mexico City.

Richard Maudslay, CBE, FREng, chairman of the British Mexican Society, recorded a short biographical video about his great-great-uncle, archaeologist Alfred Maudslay, to commemorate his contribution to Mayan archaeology, incorporating endearing family mementos such as letters and photographs.

At this event we are delighted to launch the video followed by a conversation with Antonio Saborit, Director of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico, and Claudia Zehrt, who was involved in the digitization of the Maudslay collection for the British Museum.

Alfred Maudslay (1850–1931) was a British archaeologist, referred to as 'The father of Maya archaeology'. Born in Norwood, London into an engineering family, he first visited Central America in 1870 while he was studying anatomy and botany at the University of Cambridge. After graduation, he entered the Colonial Service in Trinidad, Australia and Fiji (1872-1880), during which time he developed an interest in ethnography. He revisited Central America in 1880 and thereafter directed seven expeditions to the Mayan sites of Tikal, Yaxchilán, Copán, Quiriguá, Palenque, Chichén Itzá and Ixkún.

RICHARD MAUDSLAY CBE: He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Chairman of the British Mexican Society. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He was appointed CBE in 2006 for services to business in the North East of England. In 1985, following 7 years in Mexico, he became MD of NEI Parsons Turbine Generators. In 1992, he was appointed to run Rolls-Royce's £1.3Bn Industrial Power Group, covering all Rolls' non-aero interests, military and civil, including power generation and transmission, materials handling and marine propulsion, and joined the Rolls-Royce plc main Board.

ANTONIO SABORIT: He is the Director of the National Museum of Anthropology at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) of Mexico. A researcher at the Directorate for Historical Studies, he holds an undergraduate degree in modern languages, a master's degree in history from the School of Philosophy and Letters at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and a doctorate in history and ethnohistory from the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH). He has studied film at UNAM's University Cultural Center for Cinematographic Studies. Since 1995, he has participated in the initiative "Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage" at the University of Houston. Author of numerous distinguished works on anthropology and history, he has also translated many works of world literature into Spanish.

CLAUDIA ZEHRT: She is a Mayan archaeologist and formerly a curator at the British Museum. She has conducted research at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL), and has worked with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the University of Bonn in Yucatán, Mexico, and in western Belize. Her work with a Trent University project there was the topic of her PhD thesis on Fate and Fortune: Dynamics of social organisation at Minanha, Belize, focusing on the excavation of a small residential group and its life history, the indicators for social status and relations of its inhabitants, and its final abandonment during the Terminal Classic. In the Google Maya Project, she joined the Americas team at the British Museum as the lead Google Maya Project Curator to direct and manage the project’s output.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) is an outstanding poet from New Spain, present day Mexico. She lived as a Jeronima nun, being thus  allowed to dive into her vast range of scholarly pursuits. An exemplary figure of femenine authorship and literary achievement, she has inspired a series of fictional, historical novels by Oscar de Muriel, who publishes in English and in Spanish. He has gained worldwide acclaim for his Frey and McGray series. Don't miss this chance to meet him on Sor Juana's birthday!

The event will be in Spanish, but English questions and comments are welcome.

Muerte en San Jerónimo

Alguien (o algo) se ha infiltrado en el convento de San Jerónimo. Monjas y esclavas por igual aparecen sacrificadas en el altar, a la usanza de los sangrientos rituales precolombinos. Todas las hermanas se culpan entre sí. Todas tienen algo que ocultar. Muchas, incluso, le achacan las muertes a posesiones demoniacas.

Éste es el panorama que se encuentra Alina, joven novicia, al tomar los hábitos. Junto con Matea, su fiel doncella indígena, se ve forzada a unir fuerzas con la excéntrica Juana Inés de la Cruz, y entre rezos, guisos, cantos y poesía inoportuna, tratarán de esclarecer la terrible verdad detrás los asesinatos.

La sangre es tinta

Don Carlos Singüenza y Góngora ha desaparecido. El único rastro del genial poeta y astrónomo es su sombrero ensangrentado, abandonado en los pasillos de Palacio durante el cumpleaños de la virreina. Todo esto ocurre bajo la luz de un cometa que ha causado pavor a lo largo y ancho de Nueva España. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, íntima amiga de Don Carlos, decide investigar en cuanto recibe la noticia. Solo encontrando a Góngora podrá al fin expiar las culpas secretas de su pasado.

Ayudada por la joven novicia Alina (de cuyo hermano también se sospecha que ha desaparecido), y por Matea, su doncella indígena, las pesquisas pronto atraerán miradas muy peligrosas, amenazas escritas en sangre y enemigos muy poderosos.

La vida en el convento de San Jerónimo nunca será igual.

OSCAR DE MURIEL: Doctor en Ingeniería Química por la Universidad de Manchester, escritor, violinista y traductor. Es autor de la serie detectivesca Frey y McGray, publicada inicialmente en Reino Unido y que ya ha superado los 100,000 ejemplares vendidos a nivel mundial. La quinta entrega fue nominada al premio McIlvanney de novela negra escocesa y el último libro está nominado al premio de novela histórica por la Historical Writers’ Association. Las dos primeras entregas de su serie Muerte en San Jerónimo salieron a la venta en 2019 y ya se negocia su publicación en inglés.

JORGE GUTIERREZ REYNA: Poeta, académico e investigador. Licenciado en Lengua y Literaturas Hispánicas, Maestro en Letras y doctorante en Letras por la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Imparte la materia de literatura novohispana en la UNAM y el taller de poesía en la Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana. Ha publicado libros, antologías, así como artículos y reseñas en revistas especializadas. Fue becario de la Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas y fue ganador del premio Ciudad y Naturaleza “José Emilio Pacheco” en 2016 por su libro El otro nombre de los árboles.

En esta serie de cuatro videos, la Dra. Irma Irene Bernal Soriano relata la historia del Banco de Londres y México.  

La serie ANGLO ONDAS/ ANGLES & WAVES rastrea los encuentros anglo-mexicanos a través de la historia.