Yucatan News: Three Amigos
Three Amigos Summit
Later this month, look for news about the upcoming Three Amigos Summit, where leaders from Canada, the USA and Mexico will be talking about their responses and responsibilities regarding climate change. The three leaders of these countries will meet in Ottawa on June 29. How will Mexico be affected by climate change? An interview on worldpoliticsreview.com interviewed an independent energy consultant who says Mexico may be seeing more violent storms, more severe droughts and some coastal flooding. While not a lot appears to be changing inside the country, Mexico has been visibly active in the global community, signing up for a 30% reduction in emitted greenhouse gases by 2020, and an additional 25% by 2030. Although at the moment, Mexico is responsible for less than 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the population is growing and their contribution is rising. Cooperation between countries and electrical grids in particular could have some powerful effects on how all three countries approach these problems, but experts don't expect much from President Obama as his term is almost at an end. The three presidents are also expected to discuss heroin and poppy cultivation. According to various articles, they won't just be talking about why Mexican peasants are turning to cultivating poppy fields (which have increased by more than 100 percent in the last three years in Mexico), but also how they might combat the growing problems of opiate addiction and gang violence. These guys have a lot to talk about.
Dealing with Both Borders
Mexico, according to a Reuters article, is working hard to stem the tide of immigrants from Central America that are streaming over their southern border. Last year, Mexico detained over 190,000 immigrants at that border, but the numbers are down this year. Apparently, the number of immigrants is rising due to threats of a border wall and a Central American drought, but fewer are being detained because the Mexican resources are at their limits. Between last October and April 2016, the number of families detained at the US-Mexico border has risen 122 percent, and the number of children traveling alone has risen 75 percent. This is not something we typically are exposed to in the Yucatan, but it is an issue for all of us. Let's hope some resolution is forthcoming.
Three Kayaks from Canada
Three kayakers from Île-Perrot in Canada have finally reached Mexico. They landed in Tamaulipas and are finding it difficult to speak Spanish because they are pretty tired after kayaking for over a year from Canada. Their final destination is Rio de Lagartos in Yucatan, 1600 kilometers away from their current location. We wish them a safe journey... buen viaje! And we look forward to seeing them on Yucatan shores! In the meantime, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter using @defigofetch. Or you can check out their website, www.defigofetch.com/.
Extreme Weather to Continue
Extreme heat and rain is set to continue affecting the Yucatan Peninsula for the next few days. Temperatures are set to remain at 35 and 39 degrees for Yucatan, 36 to 40 degrees in Campeche and 33-37 degrees for Quintana Roo through the weekend. Apparently it isn't just Yucatan, either. Rain and even hail is expected in many other states of Mexico, many of which are already soaked from recent rainy weather. At least in Yucatan we never have to worry about mudslides, but our fingers are crossed that those who do will stay safe.
Sistine Chapel in Mexico
It seems like an almost impossible feat, but the Sistine Chapel has been reproduced in Mexico City. The replica has recently opened on the Plaza de la Republica in Mexico City and the Pope has approved it. The reproduction was a joint effort from a team of Mexican architects, scenographers, engineers and photographers. The cost was about $2.4 million USD (that's all?) and it was all paid with private funds. The replica is actually achieved through the placement of photographs, not by paint. And it was inspired by the sight of an elderly Mexican woman, moved to tears as she viewed the original in Italy. Antonio Paolucci, the director of the Vatican Museums, oversaw the work of producing the photographs, which took 170 nights when the Sistine Chapel was closed. According to Paolucci, this was the first time that the Sistine Chapel had been documented in this way. We can't help but think that now that the work has been done, perhaps the Pope will approve additional replicas on other continents. Meanwhile, this particular replica can actually be dismantled and packed, and it will be traveling around Mexico over the next three years, and is expected to attract up to 52 million visitors. In another part of town, a painter, Miguel Macias, is continuing to paint his reproduction of the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of a church near his hometown in Mexico City. He started in 1999 and in 2016, is 80% complete. Miguel Macias is paying for this reproduction out of his own pocket and painting on canvases, which are then affixed to the ceiling of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Vacation!
OK, folks... this is it for awhile. We are going on an extended roadtrip for four weeks. We will not be publishing anything new during that time, but we will be back in late July with more Yucatan News, Merida Events, more chapters of the Princess of Yucatan, job openings and offerings, houses for sale and all sorts of wonderful things. Happy summer!
