Yucatan News: Reading and Kitesurfing
Yucatan and The Love of Reading
If you take a poll, in Mexico, and ask young people how often they read a book, your view of the educational level of the next Mexican generation is going to be on life support. However, if you ask the right question, i.e. how often do you read a book online?, then you will see that Mexicans are reading more than ever before and have a love for reading that is truly unlimited. This week, we learned a new word that describes an entire new category of bloggers. A booktuber is a videoblogger who uses their blog to promote books and generate interest and new readers. Booktubers are, most often, young and masters of using social networking to promote their blogs. We are pleased to report that the booktuber species has begun to develop a strong presence right here in the State of Yucatan. During the recent literary festival in Merida, they were accepted as part of mainstream literature and interest is growing by leaps and bounds. This is wonderful news and we want to thank every booktuber and congratulate every book-reader in Mexico!
Merida Hack Day: I Am a City Changer! March 20 – 22, 2015
One Hundred young people from the ages of 18 to 29, who are interested in applying innovative, entrepreneurial and social action through software development, program design, and communication and marketing have been invited to form teams and compete to see which team comes out on top. The jury is composed of recognized experts and the committee includes representatives from the authorities, academics, NGOs and private companies. Each member of the winning team will receive a scholarship for 6 months in order to make their project a reality. As software designers ourselves, we will be watching to see what Yucatan’s talented young people come up with on Merida’s Hack Day!
When Is Semana Santa 2015?
For those who are trying to make plans for the Easter Holidays, it is important to know the dates of Semana Santa (Holy Week). This is the week when people are on vacation and families usually get together for reunions. Expect most government offices to be closed during this entire week, and don’t be surprised if some businesses are closed as well.
• March 29, Palm Sunday
• March 30, Easter Monday
• March 31, Holy Tuesday
• April 1, Holy Wednesday
• April 2, Holy Thursday
• April 3, Friday
• April 4, Easter Saturday (or Holy Saturday)
• April 5, Easter Sunday (or Easter Sunday)
• April 6, Easter Monday, a holiday in some communities
Tianguis Turistico de Mexico 2016: Merida Strong Contender
The Tianguis Turistico de Mexico is the largest tourism and trade fair in Mexico. Whatever city is chosen as its host can expect a huge shot in the arm of its local economy due to the many attendees from around Mexico and the world. At this point, Merida is the strongest contender to host this event in 2016. Merida has the infrastructure and it has the security. With private and governmental supporters already on board, everyone is holding their breath to hear the final decision.
Job Requirement: Three Hours of Exercise or Sports Daily
In the course of a week, we read a mountain of material sent to us by various news agencies. This story struck our eye because it is about the firemen of the Fire Department of the Maritime Rescue Base. The Municipality of Progreso has delivered sports equipment for volleyball and soccer to these professional firemen who are required to spend three hours of every shift either doing exercise or playing sports. It was explained that, in this way, the firemen seek to maintain dexterity, agility and the quick reactions required by their work. We have a hard enough time managing to walk a mile or two once or twice a week. We can only imagine having a job that requires three solid hours of hard exercise or sports day in and day out. For all that our firemen do for us, we are deeply appreciative of their service.
Where in the World is Naturalist Jim Conrad?
It dawned on us this week that we haven’t heard from Naturalist Jim Conrad in a while. That usually means that he is off on yet another exciting new adventure somewhere in Yucatan. Then, as we opened the website for Hacienda Chichen, there was Jim, in a beautiful photo at the very top of their Hacienda Chichen Activities page! Jim Conrad is currently living and volunteering in Hacienda Chichen’s Nature Reserve. He continues to write his Naturalist Newsletter, but now includes conducting eco-tours. For anyone who wants to know more about the flora and fauna of Yucatan, we highly recommend reading all of Jim Conrad’s web pages, as well as signing up to receive his newsletter.
Kiteboarding and Kitesurfing in Yucatan
This past weekend, the Third National Kiteboarding Tournament was held in Progreso, Yucatan. In mid-March, you can expect to see Kitesurfing Tournaments as well. This is a great time to go back and take a look at these two sports and at the opportunities to take kiteboarding and kitesurfing vacations here in Yucatan. There are three destinations to choose from: Progreso, El Cuyo, San Felipe and Rio Lagartos. If you are a beginner, classes are available. We’ve got the wind, now all we need is you!
Ornamental Fish Trade Up 250% in 10 Years
The First National Expo Aquarium Fair has just been held in Mexico City. There, it was learned that over 60 million ornamental fish are produced in aquaculture programs in Mexico each year. The State of Morelos produces about 32 million of these fish. The next largest producer is the State of Yucatan, which produces about 15 million ornamental fish per year and exports about 70% of production to the United States. This industry has grown so large now that it has attracted the support of the Federal Government. It now has a national market that collects the fish and exports them from a central location in Mexico City. It is wonderful to note that the ornamental fish industry in Mexico is also associated with the veterinary departments of the various UNAM campuses, which speaks to the health of this very successful aquaculture project. This is another case of Yucatan taking a small resource (bees, citrus trees, pumpkin seeds, ornamental fish found in cenotes, etc), taking care of that resource, and going on to become one of the premier producers in the world.
Pumpkin Seeds: Working Hard to Meet Demand
Speaking of pumpkin seeds, as of the end of 2014, one of the most important small, sustainable agricultural products of Yucatan turns out to be pumpkin seeds, which are now marketed as snacks to casinos and hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada. The six women’s groups in Chemax, Yucatan, have used a government grant to get them well on their way to a goal of being able to cultivate 100 hectares of pumpkins so that the seeds will provide a boost to their rural economy. Knowing the women’s agricultural groups in Yucatan, plenty of other projects will soon be devised to handle the rest of all those pumpkins. Chemax is the municipality that lies between Valladolid and Quintana Roo on the far eastern border of the State of Yucatan. Chemax is actually a diamond in the rough – just a short drive to most of the major tourist destinations on the Yucatan Peninsula and now billed as the location of low mountain trails for hiking, ATV activities, and motorcycle riding. To download GPS information about the Best Trails in Chemax, visit their website.
SAGARPA and Livestock in Yucatan
We often miss the fine points when we read the news in a foreign language. Recently, it was reported that SAGARPA has invested 300 million pesos in the livestock industry in Yucatan. That is incorrect. SAGARPA has invested 260 million pesos in productivity programs and 40 million pesos in other components for all of the Yucatan Peninsula. That includes Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo. The productivity process programs are not just for raising cattle either. As you will remember, Yucatan has been long on raising cattle but short on slaughter houses, which causes a significant increase in costs as beef must be shipped to the north to be processed. This new SAGARPA investment is to benefit small and medium sized farmers through the incorporation of new technologies, training and funding for equipment, and money to purchase capital goods to make raising cattle more profitable. With the world population growing as it is, increases in the production of protein (specifically meats) is also growing, with Mexico standing in 7th place in world production of beef cattle and, last year, all previous export records for the exporting of Yucatan’s beef were broken. This is an opportunity this state has no intention of wasting.
