Yucatan News: Pope Francis Promotes Local Bishop
Pope Francis Promotes Yucateco to Bishop
On May 27, Monsignor Pedro Sergio de Jesus Mena Diaz, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Barrio of San Cristobal, Merida, was surprised by a notification from Rome. Pope Francis promoted the Monsignor to Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Yucatan. He is to be installed in his new position on July 22. The promotion came as a surprise to Diaz, who is glad to continue working among his people in the Yucatan.
Yucatan’s Smallest Diver Wins Bronze Medal
On the first day of the 2017 National Olympiad in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Yucatan won a flurry of 16 medals in weightlifting with nine silver and seven bronze. Two more bronze came on the trampolines and another in fighting. Then, all eyes turned to ten year old Ricardo Lanciani Lugo (pictured right), a diver who picked up another bronze medal for Yucatan.
Ricardo went to Kukulcan for swimming lessons when he was just five years old. When someone suggested that he try diving he “never left.” Today, he is well known for his complex jumps and the precision necessary to compete at the Olympic level in his sport. Congratulations to Yucatan’s smallest diver and to his parents and coaches. Everyone will be watching with great pride as he grows up in sport.
Snakes in Summer
As Yucatan heat continues through the summer, there are going to be more incidents of snakes coming into villages and small towns; but this is the first time we have seen one in the city. This boa constrictor was found in a workshop at Calle 53 x 58 as the owner was cleaning the shop. Chances are, it was looking for a cool place to rest and a free meal. There are plenty of mice, as well as street dogs and cats available for hunting. This snake had grown to 2.40 meters (7 ft. 10 ½ in) in length.
Please be careful around cool, dark, damp places and make sure not to provide any easily accessible snake habitat on your property no matter where you live. This is the first time we can remember a snake like this in the city, but better safe than sorry.
Hurricane Season is Here!
Now is the time to prepare for hurricane season. Here are a few tips from the bad weather veterans.
- Watch the weather. Know what’s coming. You can watch weather online at the National Hurricane Center, Accuweather’s Hurricane Center and Intellicast’s Storm Alert Center.
- Be prepared ahead of time for needs of people, property, and pets. There are great lists that take the worry out of what to have on hand in the Emergency Preparedness Guide. Know where the shelters are and learn what Civil Protection can and cannot do.
Now – make your lists, check them twice to make sure you are ready and then hope there will be no hurricane this year so you can enjoy the wonderful days of summer in the Yucatan.
Yucatan Kids Care for the Environment
Last week, 335 students from the Jose Trinidad Mendez Primary School in Chelem met in their local park, divided into groups and cleaned city blocks. Commonly picked up items were bottles and disposable diapers. When they finished cleaning, the kids went swimming and enjoyed refreshments.
This is an important activity because the peninsula’s future depends on its next generation. This is why you’ll see young people participating in programs to conserve sea turtle populations, plant trees, clean beaches and help keep local patios free of mosquito breeding areas. These children will be making life saving decisions in the future and we know they are standing on a firm foundation.
2017: Merida to Exceed Green Infrastructure Plans
According to the Mayor of Merida, the city had planned on planting 60,000 trees in 2017. They will exceed that number by enough to allow coverage of 7 square meters per inhabitant. The average in Latin America is only 3.6 square meters per inhabitant. The mayor tells us not to brag too fast because the World Health Organization says that there should be 9 square meters of coverage per inhabitant, so there is still plenty of ground to be covered. However, joint efforts between civil society and private initiatives will soon bring Merida to the recommended coverage and continue Merida’s efforts to address climate change.
Chelem: Clean Seawater Turns into a Family Business
As most already know, seawater is used in a variety of pharmaceutical products, mostly for lubrication and nasal cleaning. Yucatan’s strict monitoring of water quality along our coasts has now provided one Chelem family with a small business venture – selling pure, clean seawater to a pharmaceutical supplier. They take a boat just a few kilometers offshore, fill up to 50 of the 20 liter plastic bottles, and their day is finished in about two hours. Their small business has been growing and thriving for a year and a half!
Insisting on a clean environment has the potential to create new jobs that are expanding opportunities across the peninsula. Congratulations to the family that owns this business and many thanks to the people of Yucatan for insisting on clean beaches and clean water.
Chinese Officials Spend Two Days in Merida
The vice president of the National Commission of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Ma Peihua, brought a group that spent two days in Yucatan which served as the beginning of their official trip to Mexico. Their objective was to consolidate friendship and collaboration between China and Mexico. The president of the Chinese-Latin American and Caribbean Friendship Association came to Merida from Havana, Cuba, accompanied by the Chinese ambassador to Mexico, Qiu Xiaoqi. It was these two men who requested that the trip begin in Yucatan, in recognition of the cooperation and exchanges that sustain the good relationship between Yucatan and China.
Rural Tourism Congress in Tekax
Under the concept of “new alternatives,” over 400 visitors attended the third International Congress of Rural Tourism conducted by the Mexican Association of Centers for Higher Education in Tourism and Gastronomy (Amestur) and the Regional Technological University of the South (UTRS). With over 400 visitors, hotel occupancy in Tekax, Oxkutzcab and Mani shot to 100%. Today, tourists are looking for more than beaches and Yucatan is able to provide them with cultural experiences and traditions.
In the three days of the congress, visitors were able to walk to archeological zones, grottos, rural houses, churches, convents, orchards and markets, and experience activities associated with the Vaqueria festival. Today, tourists are more sophisticated than in the past and interested in the history and culture the Yucatan has to offer.
Week of Yucatan in Mexico
The fifth “Week of Yucatan in Mexico” saw 245 exhibitors and set them up in 151 booths. The products they showed included: textiles, handicrafts, footwear, baking, sauces and condiments, horchatas, concentrates, liqueurs, ice cream, snacks, hammocks and more. These were seen by 151,000 visitors and Yucatan’s vendors brought home more than 46 million pesos. The visitors were folks from other countries who are in a position to give Mexico’s new entrepreneurs opportunities they have never had before. Congratulations to everyone who participated in this event.
Posted By Khaki Scott
