Yucatan News: Castro, Shrek and a Thief for Love
Raul Castro to Make State Visit to Mexico and Merida
Raul Castro will make an historic three day state visit to Mexico (November 5 – 7). The meeting between Cuban President Raul Castro and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will take place in Merida. Economic cooperation will be one of the topics discussed at that meeting. Although the announcement was brief, it could not help but underscore the fact that Merida is developing as a world leader in providing a secure city and state that can host heads of government. Welcome to Presidents Castro and Pena Nieto. We hope their meeting is successful and that they both come back to Merida soon.
Raw and Vegan Products from Merida
Alhely Fallah y Franchesca Caffagni are two young ladies who saw a need, filled it, and are poised for success beyond their wildest dreams. Three years ago, they wanted raw and vegan products for themselves, and because they are young and enjoy going out as much as any other young people, they wanted snacks they could enjoy to be served in bars and discos. They put their money together, sold their car for startup cash and went into business. Today, they have 10 products that are doing quite well. They have gone from selling in local organic markets to merchandising in digital venues such as twitter and Instagram, but want to see their products in stores throughout Mexico. They are well known from Yucatan to Austin, Texas, and New York City. These young ladies are not just lucky. They have paid their dues, including getting a good education. Alhely is a nutritionist and Franchesca is a business major. Both are from Merida, where young entrepreneurs are encouraged and supported. The sky is the limit for these two young ladies and all of Yucatan is proud of their dedication to improving nutrition and health throughout the state.
Yucatan’s State Fair: Showcase of Industry
Everyone in the world expects to see things like livestock on display at state fairs, but Yucatan takes that one step farther. This year, the Fair at Xmatkuil has 95 vendors, with 25 companies showing visitors how their products are made and how their industry works. These physical demonstrations and video documentaries depict everything from how snacks are made to how cardboard, plastic and chemicals are developed. This way, all of the people of Yucatan get to see just how advanced their state is and what obtaining a good education can offer them. Expos for the world are fine, but Yucatan hasn’t forgotten that expos for the people and other fair visitors have enormous value for the future of the state.
Trees Matter
If you see headlines saying that Yucatan is turning into a desert, you might want to become part of the solution. Logging, fires, and agrochemicals all play a part in the damage that has been done to the environment, but the growth of urban areas, often without enough green spaces, is another culprit. For example, in Caucel, temperatures have been recorded at seven degrees Celsius (12.6 F) higher in places where their either are no trees or where existing trees have been cut down. That’s a lot of heat, but understandable when we consider the enormous areas of concrete streets, sidewalks and subdivisions that have gone up in Yucatan over the past few years. Watch the news for programs such as the “Recovery of Species.” In 2016, this program will emphasize the planting of zapote, avocado and mango trees, so if you have property in Yucatan and are planning on doing a bit of landscaping in 2016, do consider adding those varieties to your list. Remember, Yucatan is working on planting a million trees and, thus far, has 200,000 in the ground. You can be part of saving the environment in Yucatan just by planting trees.
Merida Red Cross Ambulances Need Sponsors
Merida is served by five Red Cross ambulances. The State of Yucatan has stepped up and is funding the next four to five months of operation for these services. However, the Volunteer Ladies of the Red Cross will have to have donors from the general public to fund them after that. To learn more about how you can help, ask on Yucatan’s Red Cross Facebook Page. There is a place to ask questions on their About page. The Red Cross has some amazing services in Merida, one of which is their Cancer Hospital, where more than one expat has gained a new lease on life. We hope that everyone will contribute to keeping these ambulances operating in Merida.
Inspections for Hospitals, Health Centers, Shelters and Prisons
Yucatan is a leader in the identification and implementation of human rights services. Toward this goal, the State implemented over 240 permanent programs to analyze the conditions in over 240 hospitals, health centers, shelters and prisons. Their analysis is ongoing and will be used to ensure that the human rights of those who live and work within their walls are respected. The goal is not to recreate these areas as luxury hotels, but to make them places that respect the dignity of human beings and places that work hard to return people to society in a state where they can be an asset to themselves, their families, and to society as a whole. We tend to think of the institutions in such programs as large hospitals and prisons, but that is not the case. Yucatan has many addiction centers, homes for unwed teen mothers, specialty hospitals and rehabilitation centers located in cities and towns throughout the state. All of these are now being monitored, on a monthly basis, by human rights specialists. In the end, taking care of the human rights of vulnerable populations is one of the cornerstones of a stable and productive society and Yucatan is first in line to recognize that and to watch over it carefully.
Honest Thief “For Love” Arrested
Bless his heart. His name is Jose. Originally from Dzidzantun, now living in Dzilam Bravo, he broke into a cantina and stole three cartons of beer, a bottle of perfume and a cell phone. Then he left three notes explaining that he would pay for the merchandise and “This I did for love!” Needless to say, it didn’t take the police long to find him from information found in the background of the notes he wrote. Poor thing. Now, he is being heralded as the only “honest thief” in the history of Yucatan. We hope he won the lady’s heart and that she will be waiting for him when he gets out of jail.
Advance Directives to be Defined for Yucatan
In early November, there will be a conference of The Association of Catholic Doctors of Yucatan in Merida. The name of the conference is “Ethical Reflections on the Law of Wills.” This is an important conference because, in a state where the population is largely Catholic, what these doctors decide will be presented to the State Legislature and will, in all likelihood, become part of state law. So far, we know that the doctors are against euthanasia, but in favor of end-of-life palliative care for pain reduction. What that amounts to is foregoing medical and surgical procedures that will only briefly extend a painful and undignified death, in favor of palliative care during death. Simply put, this is what will come out of this conference, and what will be the law in Yucatan, as it is in much of the world today.
Congratulations to New Municipality of Puerto Morelos, QR
As tourism increases on the Mayan Riviera, so do the pressures on local governments to provide necessary services. With populations concentrated around tourist destinations, this means that some cities, along with their surrounding areas, experience more pressure than others and need more autonomy than others. There are three cities/towns in the new municipality: Puerto Morelos, Central Vallarta and Leona Vicario, and part of the Golden Mile lies inside its boundaries. For those who might not know, Puerto Morelos lies just about halfway between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. We wish the new Municipality of Puerto Morelos a bright and successful future!
Coming Soon: Shrek to Dreamworks Park in Q.R.
This park is part of the long-term plans for the Trust for Tourism Promotion of the Riviera Maya. It will also showcase Antz, Shark Tale, Puss in Boots, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar and more. It will also be the first of its kind in Latin America. The next closest thing to it is the American Dream Park near New York. This means that the Punta Maroma area of the Mayan Riviera is set to get a huge boost to tourism, especially from South America, before the end of 2016. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard to make this theme park a reality. We can hardly wait to see it!
Beware of Unsolicited E-mail Deals
This morning, we received an unsolicited e-mail from a cruise company. Supposedly, this company is out of Houston, Texas, and was offering very cheap cruises to the Bahamas. We toggled our e-mail to show headers so we could see the real e-mail address and IP number of the sender. Although the sender did not show up as a known spammer, the IP trail led from Houston to Florida to Bogota, Colombia. Cruises are not cheap. Please deal only with the cruise company itself, or travel agencies that are locally known in your own area. Never, ever (!), purchase anything online from any company you haven't checked out with a magnifying glass.
Posted By Khaki Scott
