Yucatan News: Classic Cars and Cochinita
Transpeninsular Train Canceled
Mexico has announced the cancellation of the proposed new train that would eventually travel between Mexico and Quintana Roo, passing through Merida. The reason given was that there are no federal resources available for the project and it cannot continue now that the contract with China Railway has been canceled. This move is alternately described as a cancellation and an indefinite suspension of the project. Only time will tell.
Koreans Came to Yucatan as Tourists
Knowing the sad story of how the original Korean immigrants came to Yucatan, we were thrilled to see that a group of Korean tourists visited the state just this past week. They are part of a documentary called “Atlas and Walk to the World.” The Korean tourists came to see all of our major tourist attractions, along with trips to markets and even small towns. While we are thrilled that they came, we are even happier that they love the food and culture and they want to come back. For a short history of Koreans in Yucatan, read Korean Yucatecos: 100 Years of History in our 2008 Yucatan Living News.
Real Estate Warning from Profeco
One of the oldest tricks in the book: selling a lot that cannot be sold to someone who either is not physically present or does not know what they are looking at, and who does not have sufficient legal representation to protect themselves. This is the case with a number of lots that are actually under water in the mangroves along Yucatan’s coast. Potential buyers are stuck for between a deposit of 10,000 and 20,000 pesos for these lots and told that the water will be filled in prior to construction. Sooner or later, Profeca steps in and stops the construction at whatever stage it is found. Owners are outraged that they have bought land that is actually public property. Unfortunately, “Buyer Beware” is about all that anyone can say. If you are purchasing property anywhere in Yucatan, please check with other expats for recommendations and make certain that you have your own legal representation in place before your real estate adventure begins.
Female Entrepreneurs Receive Recognition
Every week, there is at least one story in the news about entrepreneurs in Yucatan and we wonder if our readers really know how important this much support and publicity has been for our adopted state. Now we know. Most entrepreneurs in Yucatan are women. Banks and government lending institutions show that these women are better administrators and better at repaying investments in their businesses than are their male counterparts. These women-owned small businesses may not create massive numbers of jobs in the state, but they are credited with creating an environment that attracts those companies that do. It was noted at a meeting of the Mexican Association of Women Entrepreneurs this week that the State of Yucatan has one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the nation. This is wonderful news and congratulations are in order for everyone in the Yucatan.
Traffic Chaos in Merida’s Centro
It all started with 115,000 visitors to Merida’s Plaza Grande for events related to the three week Anniversary of the City. Keep in mind that more Yucatecos than ever now have cars and everyone wants to attend the festivities. Then came the “streets closed to vehicular traffic” with no way to turn around and get out. Ah! The answer, of course, is to travel into Centro by bus. Well, not really. When the streets filled with cars, the buses couldn’t get in, so they just remained where they were. When the festival ended, at the end of January, traffic problems continued because the city is now doing what is called “major surgery” on all of the most traveled streets in Centro. This results in random street closures, as well as temporary changes in the direction of traffic.
Merida's Busy Airport
Not only does Merida's airport now serve 4,000 passengers per day, but it is also the third busiest import/export freight airport in all of Mexico. The two airports that handle more freight than Merida's airport are Mexico City and Guadalajara. Merida's airport handled 17,953,770 pounds of freight in 2014, of which 40% was exports and 60% were imports. The top trading partners included countries in Europe and the United States, Japan, China and South America. The countries Yucatan dealt with, in large part and on this side of the world, included the United States, Nicaragua, Barbados, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil and Ecuador. Those items most shipped included various industrial materials, parcels of documents, airplane parts, car parts, flowers and fish. This all comes after a 48% increase in Merida's airport freight industry that came about after airport management throughout the Caribbean and South America graduated from a special program taught by experts from Madrid, Spain. We see how rapidly every industry is growing in Yucatan and can hardly wait to see what 2015 brings for Aeropuerto Internacional de Merida (MID).
In Yucatan, Trilingual Now Recommended
Yucatan's young people are making their mark around the world and their dedication to learning foreign languages is one of the main reasons they are so successful. Today, Spanish and English skills are almost universal among Yucatan's school age population because both languages are mandatory in school. Soon, it may be that a third language will be added. Choices there include Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, French, Russian, Portuguese or German. Add all of these to the new requirement for some of Yucatan's school children to master the Mayan language and what you get are young people who can hold their own in any nation or industry in the world. For those who think this cannot be true at all levels of employment, we can tell you that we have actually seen an advertisement for a boat mechanic, in Quintana Roo, that required all applicants to be trilingual. The world really is much smaller than it was when we were young(er) and young Yucatecos are ready to compete with the best of them.
Guadalajara to Try to Beat Merida's Guinness World Record for Cochinita
In 2010, Yucatan earned its place in the Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Cochinita. Now, Yucatan is a guest in Guadalajara, along with Yucatan's native chef David Cetina, as they try to cook over four tons of meat and serve more than 18,000 tacos. That would beat Yucatan's record by a mere 76 kilos and open the door to a rematch.
Classic Cars: Rally Maya: May 3 - 7
As we are all aware, a new case of diabetes is diagnosed in Yucatan every two hours. This disease is a huge burden on the families of diabetic patients, and more so on the families of children with diabetes. This rally will bring classic cars together to tour Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche, with the proceeds going to help pay for a camp that teaches diabetic children about food and the treatments they need. The last rally of this kind saw 1,120 cars on the tour. Hopefully, this one will be even bigger. This event is one of the best of the year, so do try to attend. Visit the Rally Maya Mexico Facebook page to learn more.
Handicapped Parking Comes to Yucatan
This past week, the handicapped citizens of the state received not only the familiar blue and white sign that will hang from their rear view mirrors when their vehicles are parked, but they also got word that 12 transport vans have been purchased to help those who do not have their own transportation. The general public has been asked to watch for parking spaces marked as reserved for handicapped citizens and to respect their human rights by leaving those spots open for them.
University Gerontology Graduate Institute of Yucatan Expands
This new graduate degree adds three new tracks to the standard Master in Social Gerontology degree: physical and emotional health, technology education, and entrepreneurship. From computers to dancing, and from advanced English to basic auto mechanics for women, these new graduate degrees are recreating a world in which age really is nothing but a number. Personally, we rather like growing older; but I do have to admit to being more than a little bit interested in taking a class in basic auto mechanics for women. How about you? The school is located in calle 21 número 371 colonia Miguel Hidalgo, interior Plaza las Palmas local 12. and the website http://www.inugey.mx/
