Yucatan News: Pedestrians and Pilgrimages
The Pilgrimages of the Guadalupanas Has Begun
Please drive carefully between now and December 28. The Guadalupanas are on the highways and will be in the streets as they enter and leave the cities. The busiest day will, of course, be December 12 (The Day of the Virgin), but that will simply be the beginning of their return home, so it is important to continue driving with great care and attention. Last year, the Church of San Cristobal saw 25,000 people in the procession on December 12 alone. To learn more about the Guadalupanas, please visit Yucatan Living’s article about The Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. There's a link there too to a video... you'll love it!
Yucatan Has New Regional Hydro-Meterological Center
Yucatan’s new Regional Hydro-Meterological Center is linked to other similar centers in Chiapas (already online) and others in Veracruz, Sonora, Nuevo Leon and Chihuahua (to be built next year). This will give coordinated emergency weather tracking and monitoring to both the northwest and southeast of the country. The new center in Yucatan tracks hurricanes for the benefit of Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo, and has close ties with weather tracking systems throughout the Atlantic Basin and the Caribbean. This state-of-the-art facility is already sending out weather reports every three hours, so Yucatan is well protected with one of the best early warning systems in the world today. This is especially important to Yucatan’s fishermen, who have lost all too many of their number to weather-related events in the past.
Fifteen New Pedestrian Crosswalks Coming in Merida’s Centro
Mexico’s answer to lead-footed drivers are topes and pedestrian crosswalks. To learn more about topes, visit Yucatan Living’s article on Topes. Be sure to read the comments! While a tope is, by any other name, a speed bump, a pedestrian crosswalk is an entirely different matter. These structures can either be a simple crossing lane painted on the street, or they can be like topes that are wide enough for several people to cross at once. There are very tough fines for drivers who enter a pedestrian crosswalk when people are crossing, and woe be unto the driver who actually hits a pedestrian in one of these crosswalks. Several years ago, a number of pedestrian crosswalks were abandoned and the accident rate, especially near schools, has gone up. The first fifteen of the new crosswalks will be near a primary school in Merida’s Centro to help fix that problem. There will be more crosswalks completed in the near future.
Hanal Pixan Goes to Atlanta
The Governments of Mexico and Yucatan joined together this year to bring the altars of Hanal Pixan to the Office of the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta. They also brought along Los Juglares, one of Yucatan’s beloved trova trios, to give the folks from Atlanta a little taste of the romance of Yucatan. Chefs from UNO (University of Valladolid) also went along and conducted a workshop that taught people how to cook the traditional Hanal Pixan menu. Thousands of people came to visit the presentation. New friends were made and we are certain that Yucatan can expect many new visitors from Atlanta in the very near future.
Mayan Art Around the World
In addition to the Hanal Pixan display at the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta, the first ever display of Mexican art and sculpture is currently being shown in China. The collection consists of 238 pieces and was escorted by the President of Mexico. Next year, the exhibition will head off to the United Kingdom. In the meantime, Japan’s puppets came to Yucatan to participate in the Mayan Cultural Festival and everyone loved them! As the world grows progressively smaller, Yucatan is finding herself to be one of the increasingly popular and accomplished areas in the world. We cannot help more than a little pride in our adoptive home.
Study Shows: Cell Phones and the Internet Affecting Productivity
There are currently 254 Chambers of Commerce in Mexico, representing 670,000 member companies. The section of the Chamber of Commerce that falls under the heading of Services and Tourism represents 52.5% of the total economy of Mexico and 53% of the formal jobs. A new study among these employees shows that the use of personal digital devices, such as tablets, smartphones and the internet, during working hours, slashes productivity for the company by 15%. The individuals participating in this behavior have a very high lost level of productivity. For example, those who use their phones to check their personal e-mail do so approximately 36 times per day and receive approximately 61 e-mails per day. This behavior results in a productivity loss of 65%, meaning that these employees are actually working only about 20 minutes per hour. Since no one wants new, more restrictive labor laws, companies are restricting the use of these personal digital devices and making it possible for workers to receive urgent personal calls on the company phones, with oversight by supervisors. If employees knowingly and willingly contribute to a loss of productivity for the company over an extended period of time, then they can, under current law, be terminated without cause. Look for more alert and engaged employees in Yucatan beginning immediately. During this presentation, it was also mentioned that this is a problem in classrooms and government offices as well, so those areas are also looking at restricting access to the use of personal digital devices. This is a worldwide problem that needs attention immediately and it is laudable that Yucatan is addressing it early.
State of Yucatan Fights Back Against Obesity and Diabetes
The slogan is: Eat Better, Exercise and Measure Your Blood Sugar. The numbers are staggering. Fifteen percent of Yucatan’s population has now been diagnosed with diabetes and it is believed that another 15% have the disease but have not yet been diagnosed. This means that 250,000 people have been diagnosed and another 250,000 are living a life that is limited by not feeling well. Sooner or later, their illness will force them into a doctor’s office, but the damage to kidneys, their circulatory system, even their eyes will already be done. The 15% is not just about the numbers of the population who have diabetes. Now we learn that 15% of the state’s health care budget goes for diabetes-related illnesses and that number is projected to double in the next 15 years if nothing is done to stop it. The root cause of the high incidence of diabetes in Yucatan is poor nutrition, obesity, and lack of exercise. Everyone is being asked to make the necessary lifestyle changes for just one week. If they can make it one week, they might be able to go on. Everyone has to start somewhere and maybe this is the starting place for you, too!
Mid-Season Smiles All Around in Yucalpeten
We started to say that it has been a long time since the fishing fleet in Yucalpeten has had such a successful season – but that isn’t true! Happily, mid-season prices for pulpo (octopus) and mero (grouper) are higher than they have ever been! The income of the fishermen is a major component of the economy in all of the beach communities in Yucatan. If they have a bad season, there are food pantries and make-work jobs provided by Yucatan state, but very little extra beyond just survival. The level of success they are enjoying now means that they might actually get an end of the season bonus. There are 600 ships fishing out of Yucalpeten. Eighty percent fish for pulpo and 20% fish for mero. We hope they have a wonderful season and that everyone returns home safely every night.
Hunucma: Up On the Roof-Top…
Every once in a while, a neighborhood will have one of those special people who have a very special holiday skill set. These are the people who decorate for holidays and people come from miles around to see their creations. For the past ten years, one neighborhood in Hunucma has enjoyed the talents of Luis Alberto Romero Cuytun. At the present time, there is a tall skeleton, dressed in rags and holding the severed head of a doll. Soon, the skeleton will be replaced by Santa Claus, complete with sleigh, bag of toys and even Christmas carols. What a treat for the children and families who live in his neighborhood. If you are near Hunucma during the holidays, the home of Luis Alberto Romero Cuytun is located at Calle 37 x 22 y 24. Do stop by and enjoy the show!
Valladolid: Centro Medico San Lucas
Centro Medico San Lucas is a Christian mission hospital in Valladolid. They are affiliated with the doctors of the International Medical Assistance (IMA). Their mission is to provide health care, including specialty surgeries, for the poor in the area in and around Valladolid. You can watch the building of the hospital in photos on the Centro Medico San Lucas Facebook page. This week, the ENT’s will be in Yucatan and will be conducting surgery at Centro Medico San Lucas. They have plenty of volunteer positions, and new projects starting all the time, but there is a fee to the volunteer that covers room, board, and a portion of the cost of the project. The founders have been conducting medical missions to Yucatan for decades and are well known in the area. If anyone is interested in having surgery at Centro Medico San Lucas, you can register at the hospital in person or by calling (985) 856-2786. The only cost is a small maintenance fee, plus a recovery and support fee.
