Yucatan News: Vote for Yucatan Living
Expat Consumer Awards: Vote for Yucatan Living!
An international marketing company in England has created a new award, the Expat Consumer Awards. Voting for these awards is the motivation they are giving you for participating in three surveys that they have created, the first of which is now online. By answering these surveys, you will also be eligible to vote in the consumer award categories. This first survey asks for write-in votes in categories related to publications, and thus, related to Yucatan Living! We encourage you to take the survey and then vote for Yucatan Living as Best Expat Website. We realize that a regional website such as ours may have a small chance of winning, but we'll never know unless we try, right?
There are also categories for "best expat newsletter" and "best expat blog" that Yucatan Living would qualify for, if you prefer to vote for us there. Next year is YucatanLiving.com's tenth year of existence... what better way to celebrate that than to win this award! Take the survey here: www.theexpatsurvey.com. The next two surveys, which should be online soon, will allow you to vote for categories like Best Professional Advisor, Best Banking Service, Best Insurance Provider, Best Relocation Specialist, among others. We look forward to finding out the results of the survey questions, as well as seeing what websites will be winning. Stay tuned!
Archbishop of Merida Reaches Age of Mandatory Resignation
The Archbishop of Merida has reached the age of 75 and has tendered his resignation. The Holy Father can take up to two years to accept that resignation and name a new Archbishop. Yucatan is a predominantly Catholic state and the Church is closely associated with social programs and projects. The leadership role of the next Archbishop of Yucatan will be more than interesting, given the coming social changes and popularity of the current Pope. Everyone will be interested to watch this exciting era of Church history in Yucatan.
Dengue Vaccine 95.5% Effective
A research project testing the effectiveness of a vaccine for dengue fever has shown that it is 95.5% effective in preventing deaths from this disease. The study was conducted with 20,000 subjects, half of whom were in Mexico. Most of the Mexican subjects were children in Yucatan, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Morelos. By late 2016, it is expected that a French company will have 100 million doses of the vaccine available for use in Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Honduras and Mexico.
Defining Merida: More Troubadours than Police
If it is Thursday night in Merida's centro, at least 1,000 people are moving in the general direction of Parque de Santa Lucia. During tourist season, that number rises to 2,000 or more. This is the park where you will find the Altar of Trova (those busts of historical trova figures) and hear the romantic music of the Serenata Yucateca (Yucatecan Serenade). It is where you will hear the finest trova trios and groups, all of whom are members of the Yucatan Trovadores Association. This year, as the Serenata Yucateca draws near to its 50th anniversary, with almost 2,500 Thursday night performances under its belt, this Thursday night’s event (November 13, 2014) will take place in its newly remodeled Parque de Santa Lucia. The mother of internationally acclaimed Merida guitarist Cecilio Perera is quoted as saying that Merida is the only Mexican city of its size where one can find more troubadors at night than policemen. Now, THAT's a great statistic!
Two Successful Young Software Engineers: More to This Story
It is a story we see all the time in Yucatan. Two young men embark on a path to success and their lives are forever changed by the opportunities provided to them by their hard work and study. But this is not the usual story. These two young men, Luis Ángel Berrios Rivera, 19, and Russell Santos Charruf, 20, both have Asperger’s Syndrome. This diagnosis usually results in a lower quality of life if for no other reason than the difficulties in social interaction these children face. With the help of Ingenium, ABP, these young men are not only on their way to stellar careers of their own, but are also already highly prized contributing members of the community. Of course, Luis and Russell are not the first successful young men with Asperger’s Syndrome. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who may have also shown symptoms of Asperger's, turned out to be pretty smart themselves. Ingenium, ABP is a private charity founded in 2000 for the purpose of providing education and support for mental health issues for individuals diagnosed with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, major depression, borderline personality disorder, PTSD, and dual diagnoses, as well as their families. They partner with health care providers, private hospitals, medical associations, companies, and institutions that are working on prevention and the proper treatment and support for all persons concerned. Luis and Russell are living proof of the value of Ingenium’s programs. Their families and all of Yucatan are their beneficiaries. Our congratulations to everyone concerned.
Andrea Survived and Saw the Sea
Andrea is a nine year old little girl from Tizimin, who has recently beaten cancer. It had always been her dream to see the sea and now, through the program “Te cumplo un sueño,” which is part of the national “Doctor Sonrisas” Association, she was able to not only see the sea, but take a ride in a boat as well. “Doctor Sonrisas” (Doctor Smiles) is a Mexican national association that was started by a group of young people in 2003, when they realized there was a great need for programs that meet the need of terminally ill children. Their mission is to change the pain and suffering of children with moments of hope, fun and joy, while helping them fulfill their greatest dreams. We are constantly amazed by the support given to the ideas of young people by the Government of Mexico and by Mexican states and local areas. “Well done!” to all involved in all of the projects supported by Dr. Smiles.
Kanasin’s World is Changing
The leap from being a little bit backward to being a full-fledged member of the 21st century is often an amazing thing to watch, and no more so than today in Kanasin, Yucatan. The area in and around Kanasin has been growing for some time now, with new and/or improved roads, and with such conveniences as local farmers’ markets. Now, the federal and state governments are sharing the cost of giving 21,000 homes a new tinaco. This will not only ensure a steady supply of healthy water to Kanasin families, but it will also improve public health in the entire area. The newest news is that Kanasin is also getting a new health center that will double the available health care services for the area. As Kanasin’s projects move forward, it was also announced that this is only 25% of the total project of bringing new tinacos to the people of seven different at-risk municipalities.
Coming Soon: Cross-Border Industrial Complex
This is great news for Mexico, for the United States and for Tamaulipas and Texas! At least 150 Mexican companies, of all sizes, have partnered with companies in the United States to form a 14-county wide industrial complex that will straddle the border between the two nations. From what we can see, these partnerships are mostly between energy companies (oil, gas, and electricity), but other trade industries will benefit, as well as will the job markets in both Tamaulipas and Texas. Even the universities of the two states are on board and looking forward to new research opportunities and Mexico’s National Foreign Trade Bank (Bancomext) is standing at the ready to support the financial needs of the domestic energy companies. It is said that Tamaulipas will benefit most from this project and that is good to know because they have not had a real break since they were struck by Hurricane Alex in 2010.
New Judicial System at Work
The judicial system of Yucatan began to evolve in 2011 and has, thus far, done an excellent job of modernization. This past week, it worked as it should when a prisoner suffering from acute schizophrenia was deemed incompetent to stand trial and sent to a hospital where he can receive proper care. Everyone on both sides of this particular case behaved perfectly as they moved to have the judge declare the man incompetent. This is not to say that this man could commit murder and walk away unpunished. The judge understands that he is a danger to the public and will not let him go free. However, it is good to know that those who are mentally ill will no longer languish in prison, but can receive the care they – as human beings – deserve.
Cancun Underwater Museum
The goal for the Cancun Underwater Museum is 10,000 pieces of sculpture underwater in a period of ten years. Currently, there are 500 statues on the west side of Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancun, and Punta Nizuc National Parks. When it was realized that, in one year, over 220,000 people are coming to snorkel to see these statues, and that the number of visitors is growing by 10% per year, it suddenly made sense to begin a program to officially grow the number of statues and expand the project to even greater numbers. It has recently been announced that those who visit the museum will be asked for a donation of 20 pesos, a paltry sum to see the amazing underwater art. The statues will sit at eight feet and four feet below the surface of the water. They will be by six international artists and the collections will be organized into two halls. Organizers are currently working on the process by which donations can be made tax deductible.
