Astronomer Emma Sanders performed at the Aleph: Festival of Art and Science, UNAM

▲ Considered a rock star of scientific outreach, Sanders was accompanied by writer José Gordon. Photo by Yazmín Ortega Cortés

Angel Vargas

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. 4

Starting from the premise that art and science are windows into the mysteries of the universe, British astronomer Emma Sanders led a tour through humanity's cosmic history yesterday.

Considered a rockstar of scientific outreach, the exhibition coordinator for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) was responsible for opening the Aleph: Festival of Art and Science 2025 event with a keynote address. The event is organized by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and will run until May 18.

The specialist guided the audience in the auditorium of the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), and those who followed the live broadcast on social media and UNAM TV, on a journey through time that began fractions of a second after the Big Bang and culminated with the awareness that every particle of our body holds the memory of the stars.

The entire vast universe, the galaxies around us, are all made of energy that was once concentrated in a space smaller than a single atom. And this is our story , he explained.

In his presentation , How Your Particles Became You, he unraveled how the atoms that make us were forged in the hearts of supernovae and traveled billions of years to form life on Earth and the rest of the cosmos.

Most of the atoms in our bodies were cooked up in a star and then exploded and ejected into space in a supernova explosion. We are literally stardust , Sanders argued, clarifying that all matter, including humans, is made up of three fundamental particles: up quarks, down quarks, and electrons.

These particles of matter are held together by particles of force; to me, this is one of the most extraordinary things about this whole story I'm telling you , he added.

Think about it: all the diversity in this room, never mind the rest of the universe, on a tiny scale, it's all made up of three things that are over 380 million trillion years old.

Author and science communicator José Gordon, the event's host, emphasized the urgency of building bridges between disciplines and societies. In remembrance of the writer Carlos Monsiváis (1938-2010), he argued that networks, although more prevalent than ever, do not guarantee true communication.

Monsiváis put it this way: either I no longer understand what is happening, or what I understood is no longer happening , and then he emphasized that art and science seek to make visible intimate connections with the universe.

He quoted biologist George Wald (1906-1997, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1967, to emphasize that scientists are instruments for atoms to understand themselves , a metaphor that resonated in the audience by evoking cosmic interdependence.

The journalist compared CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—a 27-kilometer ring located 100 meters below Geneva, Switzerland—to a " Big Bang theater," where protons collide at near-light speeds to recreate the early moments of the universe. "It's like observing 'glimmers of light in the cosmic night,' as José Emilio Pacheco wrote," he noted.

Dark matter

In the style of a storyteller, as she called herself, Emma Sanders took the audience on a journey to a millionth of a second after the Big Bang— that is, when the universe had just been born, at billions of degrees Celsius.

At that moment, massless particles begin to interact with an invisible field of energy known as the Higgs field, which pervades the entire universe. Without this crucial step, your particles would never have been able to coalesce to become you , he explained.

This point in our story corresponds to the energy we can reach with particle colliders, and what was proven in 2012: that the Higgs field really existed. Before interacting with that field, all particles are moving at nearly the speed of light, and a tiny fraction of a second later they begin to split energies. This is where our story begins, the story of each of you .

According to the researcher, the specifics of what happened in the Big Bang are still unknown: Perhaps it all began with a tiny, tiny quantum fluctuation, or perhaps there was no beginning at all .

In his words, it's extraordinary what we know about our universe, as well as what we don't know about it. To give an idea of ​​this, he shared some of those great mysteries. There are many more, but this is one. The particles I've mentioned so far are only part of the story: 85 percent of the matter in the universe is in a form we have no idea what it is , he indicated.

And scientists know it exists; we've observed it there, because we see how it bends matter in space-time and bends light coming from distant galaxies. Scientists have dubbed this matter dark matter.

During his presentation, Sanders spoke about the Large Hadron Collider, its operation, and its use in other fields of human knowledge, specifically in medicine, for example, in cancer treatments.

He also stated that studying the Higgs boson today opens a window that allows us to see the universe moments after the Big Bang and its evolution. He also highlighted the way astronomy and particle physics work together to combine observational approaches to improve our understanding of the universe.

To close the talk, Sanders showed a pair of images of views of Earth from the Moon and Mars to emphasize how small our planet is in the vastness of the universe and to illustrate the scope of scientific knowledge.

One of the most extraordinary things about human exploration of the universe is how much we've discovered from the perspective of our planet. We know an incredible amount: from the smallest scale of particles, the atoms that make up our bodies, to the universe and the most distant reaches of space. And we can describe what's happening, going back billions and billions of years to when this great story began.

Eirinet Gómez

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. 4

Through humor and satire, the play "Las fragmentos de Dios" (The Particles of God), presented in Room A of the Teatrería, seeks to inspire audiences to reflect on how discrimination, sexism, homophobia, racism, and loneliness can be reinforced through language and everyday actions.

The purpose is to question the violence we normalize, the way we speak to each other, how the words we use daily do have weight, because they are brutal, rude , said Karla Cantú, director of this work written by Luis Ayhllón.

The story revolves around the meeting of three women in a border town who devise a plan to get ahead, even if it means harming others. Their target is Mr. Douglas, a seemingly blameless American: a devoted husband, benefactor, expert on Saint Thomas Aquinas, and owner of a McDonald's restaurant. But behind this seemingly trustworthy figure lurks classism, a lust for power, and hypocrisy.

"What attracted me most to Ayhllón's text was its relevance. The work was written more than 10 years ago; however, it is absolutely relevant today. It is a social critique on several levels: from interpersonal relationships to political issues.

Because the text addresses serious issues, we wanted to make it a farce, to work in a light tone all the harshness it presents to us , Cantú explained.

He explained that the staging has been a pleasant experience of collaboration with Ayhllón, where constant communication has been a fundamental pillar. He knows what things were changed or modified by the director, and he has agreed with them. It's very satisfying to work hand in hand with the author of the play, because there are things he himself understands and reveals in his text .

Regarding the balance between humor and emotional transformation in the story, Cantú said it was only possible after assembling the cast and determining that they would tell this story without hesitation, without half-heartedness.

We want to express our disagreement with what the play tells. How are we going to do it? Through laughter, through the lightness of the terrible.

She emphasized that working with the actresses included extensive research on each topic presented. "We tried to find out how much is talked about in everyday life, but also about the Higgs boson, St. Thomas, etc.

The process wasn't the usual one—that is, analyzing the entire text and then editing it—but rather, we worked piecemeal: we analyzed scene by scene and edited each one. This streamlined the process.

Cantú emphasized that, although the play seeks to make the audience question how they might engage in acts that encourage violence or discrimination, we do not want to teach anyone a lesson, but rather to observe this and then, at the end of the play or at some other time, perhaps a thoughtful critique may arise .

The cast includes Carmen Ramos, Mahalat Sánchez, Renata Zalvidea, and Fidel Monroy. Patricia Gutiérrez is responsible for set and lighting design, Brisa Alonso for costumes, Cynthia Muñoz for makeup and hair, and Carlos Matus for sound design. The Casiopea animation studio also collaborates with Sandra Medina and Andrea Mondragón, Miriam Romero for audiovisual design, and Osvaldo Ruiz Navarro for assistant director.

The Particles of God will remain in season until June 15 in room A of the Teatrería (Tabasco 152, Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc municipality).

Performances are on Fridays at 8:30 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at lateatreria.com.

▲ Year 1973, by Xavier Castellanos, a painting part of the exhibition Mexico and France . Photo courtesy of the painter.

Merry MacMasters

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. 5

Mexican painting enjoys great prestige outside the country. Both young and established painters are welcomed in Europe, the United States, and Canada. Mexican painting is a calling card, as it is seen as a solid body of work, full of color and vitality , says artist Xavier Castellanos.

Although he was born in Genoa, Switzerland, where he spent his childhood, Castellanos considers himself a colorful Mexican painter . Color also permeates his landscapes, as can be seen in the exhibition "Mexico and France," open at the Alliance Française in San Ángel. It features 21 urban landscapes, rendered in acrylic on canvas and paper, representative of both countries.

They are Mexican views, whether of jungles, forests, mountains, balconies, or gardens, on one hand, while on the other, they are scenes of Paris or Bordeaux, as well as the beaches of Biarritz , he notes. Half of the work on display was painted recently in Mexico City, and the rest was completed in France three years ago.

Castellanos is also a portraitist; however, this time he focused on landscapes.

-How do you conceive the landscape, figuratively or abstractly?

−They're figurative landscapes; therefore, the viewer recognizes what it is. They're also very colorful.

The artist mentions that he is drawn to the harmonies of all colors: blue, pink, purple, red, and yellow. He uses very bright, vibrant colors .

In his artistic background he recognizes influences from great Mexican painters, such as Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, Pedro Coronel and, above all, Olga Costa.

−Mexico is known for its landscape painting, but how can we innovate within this genre?

−Simply put, the landscapes keep changing, so you can paint and stylize them. Not make realistic or photographic paintings, but stylize them and make them a little more poetic; that is, in my own style. I can also, for example, instead of a blue sky with white or gray clouds, create a sky entirely of orange, gold, or yellow triangles. This way, it's not a realistic or hyperrealistic painting, but rather one that takes on childlike or dreamlike characteristics.

-What landscapes attract you the most?

−Every place is beautiful, from the Atlantic coast in France to the Sierra Tarahumara in Mexico, the Sonoran Desert, the city of Querétaro, and the municipality of Coyoacán.

They are landscapes devoid of human figures, although sometimes a tiny figure can be seen.

Castellanos began painting at the age of four. He had his first solo exhibition in Mexico City at the age of 16, at the Casa del Lago, according to his resume. He studied fine arts at The Art Students League in New York.

Over time, his work has attracted attention in Mexico and is now part of museum and corporate collections. He has been recognized by artists such as José Luis Cuevas and Raúl Anguiano.

He has over 70 solo exhibitions and around 80 group exhibitions around the world, including Japan. A keen traveler, Castellanos currently divides his time between Mexico and Europe. In October, he will have a solo exhibition at a Toronto gallery.

The Mexico and France exhibition will remain open until July 12 at the Alliance Française in San Ángel (San Luis Potosí 26, Chimalistac neighborhood). Visiting hours are Monday through Saturday, and admission is free.

Afp and Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, May 10, 2025, p. 5

Washington. US President Donald Trump has fired Carla Hayden, director of the Library of Congress. Hayden became the first Black woman to hold the position in 2016, according to an email shared yesterday by Democratic Senator Martin Heinrichel.

Since returning to the White House on January 20, Trump has fired officials from Washington's cultural institutions, the vast majority of whom were appointed by his Democratic predecessors Barack Obama (2009-2017) and Joe Biden (2021-2025).

In February, he announced the dismissal of several members of the Kennedy Center's board of directors who did not share his vision of a golden age of arts and culture, and appointed himself head of the famed concert hall.

Then, in March, he signed an executive order to regain control of the contents of museums and the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, which he accuses of engaging in racially motivated indoctrination .

Carla, on behalf of President Trump, I am writing to inform you that your appointment as Librarian of Congress is ending effective immediately , according to the text shared by Heinrichel, dated Thursday and signed by a White House official.

The Democratic senator deplored the Republican president's decision, noting in a statement that Trump "is taking his attack on America's libraries to the next level. While the president wants to ban books and tell Americans what to read—or not read at all—Dr. Hayden has dedicated her career to making reading and the pursuit of knowledge accessible to everyone," he added.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has ordered all military leaders and commands to remove from armed forces libraries educational materials that promote divisive concepts and gender ideology, inconsistent with the Department's core mission . The memo adds that they should quickly identify books that are inconsistent with that mission and remove them by May 21.

By then, the release said, guidance will be provided on how to refine that initial list, determine what needs to be removed, and determine an appropriate final disposition for those materials.

It does not specify whether the books will be stored or destroyed. According to the memo, a Temporary Committee of Academic Libraries will provide input on the review and decisions regarding the texts.

This is the most sweeping and detailed directive yet in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's campaign to eliminate diversity and equity programs, policies, and educational materials from the military, and follows similar efforts to remove hundreds of volumes from military academy libraries.

Early last month, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 titles from its library after receiving instructions from Hegseth's office. Two weeks later, the Army and Air Force libraries were ordered to review their collections. The purge led to the removal of books on the Holocaust, feminism, civil rights, and racism, as well as Maya Angelou's famous autobiography, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ."