Kulturaustausch: Special issue on Mexico

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Market vendor Raúl Ramírez Florido (65) in Coyocán in Mexico City can really get into a rage when you talk to him about politics

Photo: Miguel Tovar for KULTURAUSTAUSCH

Vox pop | Mexico

Mexico’s fourth transformation

Mexico’s outgoing president launched extensive social reforms, and his successor Claudia Sheinbaum promises to continue his work. What has changed so far? A snapshot of the prevailing mood in Mexico City

By Paula Mónaco Felipe 09/07/2024
Exhausting and dangerous: commuting in Mexico-City

Illustration: Daniel Barreto

Notes and observations | Mexico

A journey into the heart of Mexico City

The average “chilango”, or resident of Mexico City, spends around one and a half hours a day on public transport. An essay on public and semi-public transport in the Mexican capital

By Mateo García Elizondo 09/07/2024
Paulina Sotomayor performs as a solo musician under the name ‘Pahua’

Photo: El Rey de Aragón

Pop culture | Mexico

The sound of Mexico

Paulina Sotomayor sang in a mariachi band for years, but today she mixes electro with Mexican folk music, cumbia, conga and afrobeats. This is her personal playlist to celebrate female empowerment

By Paulina Sotomayor 09/07/2024
Avital Benshalom

Photo: Ali Ghandtschi

Shared society | Israel

“How do you keep a vision of peace without sounding naïve?”

Avital Benshalom runs the Hagar School in Be’er Sheva, where Jewish and Arab children learn together. How did the school continue its work after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza?

Interview with Avital Benshalom 09/12/2024
Photo: Ali Ghandtschi

Shared society | Israel

“I don’t want coexistence if I don’t have equality”

In Israel, the Jewish and Arab populations share a common everyday life, but currently the peaceful coexistence could escalate any moment. Mohammad Darawshe, Strategy Director of Israeli peace organization Givat Haviva, talks about emergency programs and damage limitation

Interview with Mohammad Darawshe 09/12/2024

Issue II/2024

Indi-pendent

Indigenous groups have long struggled to protect their traditional ways of life. Young activists are now building up international networks. Insights from a world that is being reshaped

Issue I/2024

Broader horizons

Dry, empty and hostile to life: the desert is etched in our collective imagination. But this unique landscape is often not what we expect

Das Cover der Ausgabe IV/2023 von KULTURAUSTAUSCH. Auf dem Foto ist eine Gruppe Menschen zu sehen, die sich offenbar nahe stehen. Im Zentrum ein etwas älterer Mann mit kurzen grauen Haaren, um ihn herum gruppiert sechs junge Menschen.

Issue IV/2023

Inner circle

Unconditional love and huge conflicts: few relationships are as emotional as those of parents and children. What connects us - and what have we always wanted to say to our parents?

Issue II+III/2023

Precious freedom

Taiwan is a key democratic ally in Asia for the West. But, looking beyond the looming threat from China, what makes this place unique and what do people in Taiwan dream of?

Issue I/2023

Living on less

The limits of growth have been reached, the climate crisis is real, the war in Ukraine is shaking up global politics. With the world in crisis mode, it’s time to consume less!

Issue IV/2022

Fear of women

Since the withdrawal of NATO troops in August 2021, women in Afghanistan have been increasingly stripped of their rights, freedom and dignity by the Taliban. In this issue, they raise their voices!

Issue III/2022

Are we running out of water?

Without water, life on our planet would be impossible, but we are too careless with it. An issue on the complicated relationship between humans and the big blue

Issue II/2022

Black and white thinking

How fairly do we all live together? Who has power, who is left on the sidelines? How do we deal with other people’s opinions? Our issue on culture clashes

Issue I/2022

Under the Earth

We plunder raw materials, build secret escape tunnels and dig up remnants of prehistoric times: There is much more happening under our feet than we realise. A journey into the underground

Issue IV/2021

Make it yourself

Around the world, people design and create things by hand. A magazine exploring why we make things ourselves – with instructions for making ten objects from across the globe

Issue III/2021

The new Poland

Judicial reform, freedom of expression, women's rights: Poland is rife with dispute and the issues strike the heart of democrcacy. A deep dive into a divided nation

Issue II/2021

The hunters and the hunted

Many animals are loved and worshipped by humans. Many more are cramped in factory farms. A magazine about the ambivalent relationship between people and animals

Issue II/2019

Issue II/2019

When do people feel guilty? And who gets to define what that is? A magazine with tales of perpetrators, victims and witnesses, about how we deal with injustice and the role of forgiveness

Conflict | Israel

“We have to get them back now”

Or Levy was abducted by Hamas from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. In this interview, his brother Michael discusses his family’s experience over the last twelve months, his hopes and fears for the future, and the ongoing campaign to free Or from captivity

10/07/2024

Photo: Ali Ghandtschi

Shared society | Israel

“How do you keep a vision of peace without sounding naïve?”

Avital Benshalom runs the Hagar School in Be’er Sheva, where Jewish and Arab children learn together. How did the school continue its work after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza?

Interview with Avital Benshalom09/12/2024

Photo: Ali Ghandtschi

Shared society | Israel

“I don’t want coexistence if I don’t have equality”

In Israel, the Jewish and Arab populations share a common everyday life, but currently the peaceful coexistence could escalate any moment. Mohammad Darawshe, Strategy Director of Israeli peace organization Givat Haviva, talks about emergency programs and damage limitation

Interview with Mohammad Darawshe09/12/2024

A light-flooded, light grey and soberly furnished hall. Winter sunlight falls through the window front on the left. The room is recognisable as an exhibition hall thanks to display cases and wall texts — Photo: Max Hart Nibbrig

Remembrance | Netherlands

A house of loss

For a very long time, the Netherlands had no national memorial to the victims of the Shoah. For the recently opened National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, the team led by director Emile Schrijver developed a new approach to commemorating the genocide

By Senay Boztas09/09/2024

A young woman wears a tight-fitting, colourful T-shirt. She looks to the side and holds her pigtails to the right and left. She is standing in front of an undefined grey wall — Photo: El Rey de Aragón

Pop culture | Mexico

The sound of Mexico

Paulina Sotomayor sang in a mariachi band for years, but today she mixes electro with Mexican folk music, cumbia, conga and afrobeats. This is her personal playlist to celebrate female empowerment

By Paulina Sotomayor09/07/2024

An illustration depicts Mexican commuters — Illustration: Daniel Barreto

Notes and observations | Mexico

A journey into the heart of Mexico City

The average “chilango”, or resident of Mexico City, spends around one and a half hours a day on public transport. An essay on public and semi-public transport in the Mexican capital

By Mateo García Elizondo09/07/2024

A man stands behind the crowded sales counter of a store and looks into the camera with a smile. The shelves behind him are full of cans and packages — Photo: Miguel Tovar for KULTURAUSTAUSCH

Vox pop | Mexico

Mexico’s fourth transformation

Mexico’s outgoing president launched extensive social reforms, and his successor Claudia Sheinbaum promises to continue his work. What has changed so far? A snapshot of the prevailing mood in Mexico City

By Paula Mónaco Felipe09/07/2024

Photo: Jörg Kandziora

Literature | Nigeria

“I’m interested in mundane acts of resistance”

Francesca Ekwuyasi is a Nigerian writer whose debut novel “Butter, Honey, Pig, Bread” follows three women on a journey of love, reconciliation, and food. In an interview, she talks about living in the diaspora and writing about queerness and faith.

Interview with Francesca Ekwuyasi08/12/2024

Photo: Lidia Edith

Feminism & Pop | Tunisia

“United Colors of Emel”

Tunisian musician Emel Mathlouthi moves between genres and languages. Recently she has published an album exclusively produced by women. A conversation about metal, feminism and the Arabic language

Interview with Emel Mathlouthi08/12/2024

Photo: Gary Doak / Alamy

Manifesto | Mexico

My president

For the first time in history Mexico voted for a female president. Following Claudia Sheinbaum’s landslide win, the writer Gabriela Jauregui lists her demands for the new Presidenta

By Gabriela Jauregui05/29/2024

A woman in a mustard yellow shirt with a patterned scarf is leaning against a railing in front of a concrete wall next to a window. She wears glasses and her long grey hair is tied back. She looks thoughtfully out of the window to the side — Photo: Natalia Bronny

Trade unions | Pakistan

Invisible women workers in Pakistan

Women working from home are an important economic factor in Pakistan, but they are often isolated and deprived of their rights. The Home Based Women Workers Federation campaigns for change

By Hannah El-Hitami04/30/2024

Opinion | Nairobi

I think that Fitness should be straightforward again

The pressure of social media can quickly become overwhelming. But fitness doesn't have to be expensive, complicated or perfect

By Kylie Kiunguyu04/30/2024