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June 24, 2011 ..the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit

The Sol, the English Language source of News for the Riviera Nayarit Mexico, including La Penita de Jaltemba, Rincon de Guayabitos, Lo de Marcos. Los Ayala, Lo de Marcos, and San Pancho

Editor Bill Bell

Become a Friend on the Riviera Nayarit Click Here

New Requirements for Bringing Foreign-Plated Cars into Mexico

Steven M. Fry - YucaLandia
go to original
June 22, 2011

The Mexican Ministry of Finance and Public Credit has issued a new decree affecting expats bringing foreign plated cars into Mexico: "New Requirements for Bringing Foreign-Plated Cars into Mexico: Banjercito."

From the Banjercito website:

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) has issued a decree which states that beginning on June 11th, 2011 anyone applying for a temporary import permit for vehicles must make a deposit in the amount determined by the following table:

Vehicle Year Model
Amount to be paid in Mexican Pesos. (Peso amounts are based on applicable exchange rate.)

2007 and later - USD $400
2001 until 2006 - USD $300
2000 and earlier - USD $200

Click here to read the entire story

New Immigration Law for Mexico & How They Affect Expats
Stephen M. Fry - YucaLandia/Surviving Yucatan

(photo: despertardetamaulipas.com)
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The web is abuzz with sketchy information about the new Ley de Migración. President Calderon signed it into law on May 24, 2011, along with several official blurbs published in the Mexican Government’s Diario Official.

The main focus of the new Ley de Migración is clearly directed towards improving protections and documenting protections and rules targeted to migrants from Belize, Guatamala, Honduras, etc as they traverse Mexico.

This post is just a preliminary report on the aspects that affect expats, because even though the Ley de Migracion was published May 30, the associated regulations with specific requirements (El Reglamento) for the new Immigration law have not yet been published. This means that INM has no procedures in place yet for how to apply the new law, nor do they have instructions for issuing the new "Tarjeta de Residencia" cards.

The new law has bundles of changes affecting ex-pats that dwarf last May’s changes.
Ley de Migracion para Mexico (in Spanish)

For starters, here’s a partial list of some of the new interesting twists:

No more FM2's or FM3's, no more stand-alone Non-Inmigrante & Inmigrante categories, and there’s a tweaked Inmigrado category. Tourists and other Visitors descriptions have not changed much.

Instead of the old "Inmigrante" & "No Inmigrante" (FM2's & FM3's), there are 4 new categories:

Visitante: 6 Types: Non-Working Visitors (tourist), Working Visitors, and Visitors for Adoptions, Humanitarian, etc. 180 day limit. See Chapter 2, Article 52, Items I – VI of the Law for descriptions of all 6 types.

Residente Temporal: Covers the old "No Inmigrante" (old FM3), 4 year limit per visa, Work Permit possible, Leave and Re-enter as many times as desired. This also seems to include the old "Inmigrante" FM2 "Rentistas". See Chapter 2, Article 52, Item VII

Residente Temporal Estudiante: Covers Student Studies, Research, Training, including working on university degrees. See Chapter 2, Article 52, Item VIII

Residente Permanente: Several types: Covers the old "Inmigrado" and a few special "No Inmigrantes" (the old FM3s for asylum seekers & refugees ), and it appears to cover working "Inmigrantes". It allows indefinite stays, no need to renew, and includes the right to work. See Chapter 2, Article 52, Item IX and Transitorios, Sexto, I – VI

Other Items Affecting Ex-Pats:

Permanent residency can be granted after just 4 years of Temporary Residency.

Permanent residency can also be granted after 2 years of marriage or common law relationship with Mexican citizen, (with such marriage also recognized by the Mexican Government by successfully registering a foreign marriage with your Registro Civil). Such Permanent Residency also depends on the applicant successfully completing 2 years of Temporary Residency (concurrent with the marriage). Article 55, Item II

To read the entire story click here

The rains have come to Jaltemba Bay and swarms of flying insects have appeared...some say they are flying ants, others say flying termites. Kathy Olivas did some research and this is what she found:

SUBTERRANEAN TERMITE REPRODUCTIVES-SWARMING TERMITES

Primary reproductives are the king and queen, the swarmers that started the colony. The king and queen mate periodically, and the queen may live as long as 25 years.Primary reproductives (king and queen) range in color from honey to black . They are about 1/4 to about 1/2 inch in length. The male and female mate for life and are responsible for producing eggs that become the workers, soldiers, and future alates of the colony.

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Views from My Tropical Garden ©Tara A. Spears

Warm climate gardening tips

Hello, Crossandra! Also known as the firecracker, this tropical native flourishes in the Riviera Nayarit year-round warm temperatures and high humidity. It blooms nearly any time of year but is a prolific bloomer during the rainy season. A small tropical shrub that originated in south India, it is sold as a flowering houseplant in colder climates. The bushy, two to three foot tall (about a meter) plant bears an abundance of glossy, medium to deep green lance-shaped leaves that contrasts nicely with its pastel colored flowers. The flowers are held upright on green tubular bracts, which open from the top first then send out a sequence of flowers down the bract for a long visual feast of color. The clusters of flat-faced, five petal flowers appear in orange- the most common color- yellow, red, and pink.

To read the entire story click here

Click here to read more about this new insurance product

This Week

US Agency's Gun Operation Stirs Anger in Mexico

The Obama administration is continuing an investigation into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - known as the ATF - for allegedly allowing guns to be smuggled into Mexico after they had been purchased in the United States by people who were suspected of criminal activity. The allegations have fueled anger and mistrust on both sides of the border….go to original article

Tourism rebounds on violence-marred lake on Texas-Mexico border

Coy Callison doesn't believe he's risking his life when he steers his speedboat into crystal-clear waters that straddle the Texas-Mexico border, hoping to hook a few monster bass in an area marred with drug violence. His marriage might be a different story….go to original article

Mexico launches high-profile crackdown on lower-grade crime

The eight-day push by state and local police targets car thefts, muggings and other offenses. It makes for great PR, but Mexicans are skeptical. …go to original article

FIFA will allow Mexico to replace 5 players

Mexico will be allowed to replace the five players who have been dropped from the Gold Cup squad after testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol…..go to original article

Mexico says $250 million in oil stolen in 4 months

Increasingly sophisticated thieves stole thousands of barrels per day of oil products from Mexico's state-owned oil company in the first four months of 2011, thefts worth about $250 million, the company's director said Thursday.

Those thefts amounted to almost one million barrels in the first four months of the year, a level almost 50 percent more than what thieves stole in the same period of 2010, according to the Petroleos Mexicanos oil company, also known as Pemex…..go to original article

Mexico says leader in kidnapping, killing of 72 migrants arrested

Mexican police say Edgar Huerta Montiel, 22, confessed to leading the capture of two truckloads of undocumented migrants in Tamaulipas state, and the killing of 10 of the victims. He also allegedly told of ordering the kidnapping of six busloads of passengers in San Fernando, Mexico…..go to original article

Letter from Mexico City: Pulque, the ancient drink of Aztecs, is lost and found again

The ancient booze of the Aztecs has been losing its buzz over the past century, the victim of changing tastes, slander — and beer.

But salvation may yet come for the slightly viscous, naturally fizzy fermented juice of the maguey cactus, still peddled over the counter from big glass jars in the mega-metropolis of Mexico City, where on a warm Saturday afternoon, hazy old-timers can be found slurping down plastic buckets of the brew in a place where you urinate down a hole in the corner…..go to original article

Washington under fire for covert gun-tracking operation in Mexico

One night last December, a 40-year-old border patrol agent named Brian Allen Terry was shot dead when he faced down a group of bandits in a small Arizona town, just north of the Mexico border.

At his funeral 10 days later, a reporter asked his older brother how he felt, knowing Mr. Terry was killed by the bullet of an AK-47, a far more powerful weapon than the agent himself was armed with at the time….go to original article

Who is overseeing Mexico's economy?

Mexico’s central bank governor is on a whirlwind tour in his bid to head the IMF. Mexico’s finance minister says he's eyeing the presidency. Critics say all that campaigning leaves an economic void…..go to original article

Mexico Can Win Drug War Colombia’s Way

In 2002, strife-torn Colombia took a bold step that paved the way for vastly improved public safety. Now Mexico is struggling to subdue drug wars that have killed almost 40,000 people during President Felipe Calderon’s tenure. It’s time to try the Colombian remedy. ….go to original article

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Last Week

Official: Mexican cartels use money, sex to bribe U.S. border agents

Mexican drug cartels have used cash and sexual favors as tools to corrupt U.S. border and customs agents, an inspector general investigation has found.

In exchange, agents allow contraband or unauthorized immigrants through inspection lanes, protect or escort traffickers or leak sensitive information, said Charles Edwards, acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security….go to original article

After 4-year wait, pastor from Mexico preaching

When Alberto Vidal visited Vicksburg in January 2007, he decided he wanted to stay and be pastor of the Hispanic community at First Church of the Nazarene…..go to original article

Mexico's hottest fashion craze: 'Narco Polo' jerseys — "Narco Polo" is the new fashion trend sweeping lower-class neighborhoods in Mexico, inspired by seven high-ranking drug traffickers who were arrested over a three-month stretch wearing open-neck, short-sleeved jerseys with the familiar horseman-with-a-stick emblem. …go to original article

Mexico peace tour: Final stop in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico's 'epicenter of pain'

The cry is clear and strong in the Villas de Salvarcar stadium in Ciudad Juárez, the Peace Caravan's final stop in its week-long journey across the north of Mexico.

The crowd is shouting one word: justice. ….go to original article

Mexico: Beef Not Tainted By Drug Found In Soccer Players

The Mexican government says its beef doesn’t contain clenbuterol, hurting the defense of five soccer players suspended after testing positive for the banned substance. ….go to original article

Serving the Community:

Francisco Zuniga Ibarra, President of La Penita Ejido

© Tara A. Spears

As more international visitors to beautiful Mexico decide to purchase property here, inevitably they hear the term ejido with various explanations. Although I have lived in Mexico for nearly a decade, it wasn’t until recently that I finally understand the term. Because I know Francisco Zuniga Ibarra, a really nice guy, and his family from before he was elected president of the La Penita Ejido, I felt comfortable meeting with him to get the facts. Pancho has lived in La Penita for 45 years and as an area business owner, he has a vested interest in community operations and improvements.

He is serving a three year term as president of the Comisariado Ejidal de La Penita de Jaltemba. Pancho explained his duties: “My chief responsibility is to coordinate the efforts of all the individual member municipalities in regards to all campo projects, agriculture, and livestock. The biggest challenge is getting proper papers for the land.” La Colonia, La Penita, Guayabitos, Los Ayala, Monteon, Chulavista, Villa Morelos, and Lo de Marcos are communities within the ejidal. Zuniga’s personal goal when taking office was to regularize the documents for lots so that locals and foreigners alike can be secure when purchasing property. “The ejidal commission is not likely to approve clear land title if the purchaser solely wants to buy the land for speculation and resale only,” cautions Pancho. “However, buying land to immediately develop/build on is usually approved as it benefits the community by generating jobs.” It is helpful to know how the system of Mexican communal agrarian land evolved in order to understand the complications of ejido property.

Click here to read the entire story

“Build it and they will come”

El Monteon's Field of Dreams Golf Course

A remarkable dream comes true!

By Bette Venturi

In Mexico, on an especially sweltering day in August, three of my golf buddies and I peel our skin off the car seats of the jeep and pile out to play some golf. For $15 (summer play) US dollars we can play until the sun goes down, that is, if we don’t get heat stroke first! We are met in the gravel parking lot by five of the seven resident dogs. We’ve disrupted their siesta and they bark excitedly, romping towards us and wagging their tails in greeting. Other than the dogs and a few ducks squawking disapproval at our arrival, the place is quiet and seems deserted. In mid-afternoon this time of year, most sane people are snoozing in front of electric fans.

Someone in our foursome hollers, “Hola!” and a moment later the proprietor, Gerardo, emerges from his house squinting, looking as though he’s been enjoying the ubiquitous summer nap himself. Without having to ask, he equips us all with an extremely cold bottle of Corona. Now we are ready to play a round of what we like to call “Extreme Golf”. It’s like regular golf, but when you add 90-degree weather and 90% humidity to the challenge, the result is a game of golf that is not for the weak of heart or for the sound of mind.

Click here to read the entire story

'The Monkey' Drug Boss Who Ran Mexico's Cult Cartel

Guy Adams - Independent UK

Mexico arrested Familia head Jose de Jesus Mendez, alias 'El Chango,' in another blow to the already reeling criminal group, chalking up a result for the Federal Police.

His nickname turned out to be richly deserved. When armed police presented Jose de Jesus Mendez at a press conference in Mexico City yesterday, the drug kingpin was revealed to be in possession of both a fat neck and a simian scowl. That's presumably why he was known as "El Chango", or "The Monkey".

Mendez was the leader of La Familia Michoacana, among half a dozen large criminal organisations which have fought for years over one of Mexico's most lucrative industries, the $38bn-a-year (£23.6bn) business of shifting cocaine from South America to US consumers.

The circumstances of his arrest were rare, given the bloody nature of the Mexican Government's ongoing "war on drugs", which has resulted in almost 40,000 deaths in the past four years. Federal police who swooped on "El Chango's" hideout in the central state of Aguascalientes arrested him without a shot fired.

Click here to read the entire story

Cock fighting!

Written and photographed By Bill Bell

Cock fights, a Mexican tradition steeped in history and culture? Or, the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals that usually fight to the death for the pleasure of the crowd?

In the state of Nayarit, cock fights or Palenques are legal and regulated by the government. The promoters and organizers travel between the various towns where locals turn out to watch up to thirty fights per event. Although mostly men turn out and bet on the various birds identified by either a red or green leg marking, family and young children also attend.

Click here to read the entire story and view more photographs

Warning! The following story and photographs may be offensive to some people!

Local fishermen protest against new government rules by burning government boat in Jaltemba Bay on Tuesday

enforcement of rules impact local dorado, oyster and lobster catch. No nets and air for div ers

Mexican officials checking all fish boats leaving La Peñita and Guayabitos

Exclusive video of fishermen setting fire to government boat in Jaltemba Bay

$100,000 pesos REWARD

For any information leading to an arrest and conviction

for the murder of Len Schell on Monday, May 30

between 9:00am and 12:00pm on calle Lirios

above cinco de diciembre known as la Pechuga

Information in English please call

Cell: (322) 185 2969/044 (322) 889 7392/ 044 (322) 779 7377

Email: informa.vallarta@gmail.com

All information is kept strictly confidential

Se ofrece Recompensa de

$100,000 pesos

Por cualquier información que lleve a la captura y condena

Del o los responsables del homicidio de Len Schell

Ocurrido el Lunes 30 de Mayo de 2011

Entre las 9:00am y las 12:00pm en calle Lirios Arriba de la colonia 5 de diciembre (La Pechuga)

Favor de llamar al

Cell: (322) 185 2969/044 (322) 889 7392/ 044 (322) 779 7377

Email: informa.vallarta@gmail.com

Toda la información es confidencial y anónima

2nd Medical Tourism Global Forum in Vallarta 24-26

Keph Senett - PVPulse.com

The CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta will host the 2nd Global Forum on Medical Tourism, August 24-26.
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - After several years of planning, the implementation of a "medical cluster" for the Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit region has begun. A group of executives from the area's major tourist and health organizations met recently to discuss integration strategies.

A health care cluster, according to the Medical Tourism Association, is "generally an independent organization of hospitals, clinics, medical professionals and the government in a specific city, state, or region." These bodies jointly fund the enterprise, and the interests of all members are represented. The main purpose of a health care cluster is to promote the members and to build a reputation as having extremely high quality health care.

When clusters are successful, it can mean big business for the member organizations and for the hosting regions. Indeed, according to the Medical Tourism Association, "forming a healthcare cluster or medical cluster is probably the most important single step in establishing a medical tourism destination."

Last month, in Mexican Business Web, Association of Private Hospitals of Jalisco president Gabriel Najar Lopez suggested that the formation of a health care cluster could result in $450 million pesos, or triple the amount the association's 50 member hospitals earned in 2010.

Among the speakers at the meeting were Angarita Luis Mayorga, director of the Puerto Vallarta Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), Carlos Arceo, founder of Global Medical Tourism Forum and president of the Mexican Association of Medical Tourism, and Dr. Jorge Hernandez Villanueva, owner of the CMQ pharmacies and hospitals. All parties agreed that the cooperation and integration of the tourism and healthcare sectors was a vital part of the success of a regional healthcare cluster.

Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit are already uniquely positioned to provide services to the growing segment of Canadian and American tourists seeking medical tourism opportunities. The area has many hospitals, clinics, and spas with an internationally-recognized reputation for quality.

The CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta will host the second Global Forum on Medical Tourism, August 24-26, 2011.

The meeting adjourned with the agreement to meet again on July 4, 2011 to continue to explore steps towards an integrated tourism and health industry cluster in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.

La Peñita Conalep Graduating Chefs Showcase their Skills

Thirty seven young and talented chefs scurried about setting up a luscious buffet that consisted of each graduating student’s best culinary effort after completing the three year training program. Adriana Gallegos Garcia, right photo, confessed, “I’m so nervous! What is no one likes my dishes?” The annual culinary arts (Muestra Gastronomica) exhibit is important to the students because the event invites government dignitaries, hotel and restaurant managers (think job offers), besides their families. As if that isn’t enough pressure, the students also earn a grade for their entries. The mouth watering display was impressive, consisting of: appetizers, beverages, fruits, side dishes, entrees of beef, chicken, pork and seafood; and my personal favorite- yummy desserts.

Click here to read the entire story

WORKING FOR THE COMMUNITY

Local Rotary News

ROTARY JALTEMBA BAY LA PENITA CLUB RELFECTS ON ITS PAST YEAR'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Out-going Jaltemba Bay La Penita president, Eddie Dominguez, presented an overview of last year's projects, goals and financial accounting. The club's successful projects rank it in the top one per cent of the district's sixty-two clubs. Quite an accomplishment for a three year old club! Goals were met and exceeded. Financial stability was obtained under the direction of treasurer Carlos Rendo. A big applause is in order for Eddie and his hard working members. Looking forward to the new Rotary year, under the leadership of Dr. Lidiana Flores, projects and goals are being considered. Some of the projects and programs under consideration are: kindergarten, secondary school, Conalep high school, recycling, prenatal, dengue, mammogram, scholarships and books. Members are being asked how they can best participate. Rotary Jaltemba Bay asks you to look into your heart and choose a service project as well. A small, yet mighty club, needs to grow its membership and encourage visitors, residents and Rotarians from a far, to lend a helping hand. Susana Connors is available to answer any questions. Please contact her at sescobido@aol.com.

ROTARY JALTEMBA BAY LA PENITA CLUB WINS YET ANOTHER ROTARY INTERNATIONAL GRANT

Rotary Jaltemba Bay La Penita Club has created a successful model for partnering with other Rotary and service clubs. Last year it partnered and won a grant with 12 international Rotary clubs for the extensive remodeling of the Zacualpan Prepa high school project. In the same year, it partnered with Kalispell Montana Rotary club and La Pentia's Los Amigos and Chacala's Cambiando Vidas in the winning of a grant for scholarships and leadership training. The program will roll out this year, benefiting 80 students. The latest partnership involves a grant between Los Amigos and the Jaltemba Rotary club, expanding the existing La Penita Recycling program. Success begins with a dream evolves into a plan followed by tenacious action. Many hours of work are clocked before the project begins. We thank all those dedicated souls whose motto is "service beyond self". If you would like to participate in either the recycling project or the leadership program, please contact Susana Connors at sescobido@aol.com.

ROTERACT AND INTERACT? WHAT AND WHO ARE THEY?

For service clubs to succeed into the future, they must always focus on the recruitment of new members, specifically younger members. Both International Rotary Interact (12 to 18 years) and Roteract (18 to 30 years) present opportunities for youth and young adults to do Rotary service in their own way. Some of these involve building orphanages and schools. They function under the encouragement but loose supervision of parent Rotary clubs. Nationally the interest of service amongst the next generation is growing. It is important that Rotary listens to its youth and adjusts to meet their concerns. Social media, like Facebook, allows the human side, the stories, to reach out and touch the heart strings of our ever busy youth. Posting any activity wins an audience. It is Rotary Jaltemba Bay La Penita club's goal to create a Roteract club. For more information, please contact Susana Connors at sescobido@aol.com.

JALTEMBA BAY LA PENITA ROTARY WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS CAT MORGAN AND OWEN WALCHER

Jaltemba Bay La Penita Rotary Club welcomes two new members, Cat and Owen. They are previous Rotarians, now making Jaltemba Bay their new home. They come with solid Rotary background, enthusiasm to participate and the desire to make a difference. Owen is a marketing guru. While the Jaltemba Bay Rotary club is renown for its weekly news bulletin it is just beginning to explore the power of social media. It is lacking a web site. Owen has a host of ideas which will all be much appreciated. Cat is talented in her right, adding energy medicine and massage to her list of accomplishments. We look forward to their energy and contribution

U.S. Overseas Citizens Count Project

Overseas Vote Foundation is working with international and domestic organizations to determine the number of Americans living abroad and how they are dispersed geographically. Every US citizen living abroad should step forward and join the project.

Your rights as an overseas American are important.

Americans living abroad are not counted in the US Census. Currently, there is no up-to-date estimate of the size of the overseas US citizen population. Understanding the size and location of our population is crucial to improving access to voting, social security and consular services - and for that we need your help.

Overseas Vote Foundation is working with international and domestic organizations in the Overseas Citizens Count Project. Our goal is to determine the number of Americans living abroad and how they are dispersed geographically.

Your help is essential. Every US citizen living abroad should step forward and join the project.

Please sign-up and be counted today! Click HERE to do your part.

Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to the civic participation of overseas Americans. Our programs include voter support and outreach, technology development and analysis, and electoral research.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overseas Vote Foundation (OVF), founded in 2005, is the first and only nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) public charity organization dedicated to serving the voter registration needs of uniformed and overseas American citizens who wish to participate in federal elections by providing online access to innovative voter registration tools and services. For more information, click HERE or visit OverSeasVoteFoundation.org.

Don’t Throw Away Those Coffee Grounds!

PV Mirror Staff - PV Mirror

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Did you know that dengue sickens around 50 million people around the world each year? Unfortunately, Nayarit is one place where the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes likes to vacation too.

If you are down here, do yourself a favor: avoid leaving anything around your place that may hold stagnant water as that is where those unpleasant insect females like to lay their 200+ eggs, each. Those females only live 3 to 4 weeks, but they’ll lay those eggs three times during that period! And it only takes a few hours for them to hatch …then a week for them to reach adulthood.

Used coffee grounds have been shown to affect the larval development of A. aegypti. Those studies determined that a concentration of 300 mg/ml was the most efficient, producing 100% of larval mortality until nine days after preparation.

Thus, although the elimination of the breeding sites remains being the best way to control Aedes aegypti population size, the results obtained herein reinforces the validity of considering used coffee ground preparations as possible auxiliary in the alternative control of this mosquito, mainly in gardens.

Used coffee grounds have the advantage of being free of cost, since it is the powder that is left after coffee has been filtered out to drink.

Read more on PVNN.com http://www.pvnn.com/vallarta/health/16jun2011/dont-throw-away-coffee-grounds-dengue.htm

OPEN ALL SUMMER

El Tajín El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site and was the site of one of the largest and most important cities of the Classic era of Mesoamerica. Bill Bell Photograph

Photography by Bill Bell

El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site and was the site of one of the largest and most important cities of the Classic era of Mesoamerica. The city flourished from 600 to 1200 C.E. and during this time numerous temples, palaces, Mesoamerican ballcourts and pyramids were built. From the time the city fell in 1230 to near the end of the 18th century, no European seems to have known of its existence, until a government inspector chanced upon the Pyramid of the Niches in 1785.

El Tajín was named a World Heritage site in 1992, due to its cultural importance and its architecture. This architecture includes the use of decorative niches and cement in forms unknown in the rest of Mesoamerica. Its best-known monument is the Pyramid of the Niches, but other important monuments include the Arroyo Group, the North and South Ball Courts and the palaces of Tajín Chico. In total there have been 17 ball courts discovered at this site[6]. Since the 1970s, El Tajin has been the most important archeological site in Veracruz for tourists, attracting over 650,000 visitors a year.

El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site and was the site of one of the largest and most important cities of the Classic era of Mesoamerica. Bill Bell Photograph

The "Pink Peso", An Attractive Market Fernando Álvarez - Vallarta Opina
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - For a time, the so-called "pink peso" was only an expression full of doubts and prejudices to become a tangible possibility of significant income in the tourist destinations of Mexico and the world.

Also called "pink tourism" (in reference to the sexual preference of homosexual men and women), it represents an attractive and profitable market for tourist destinations that exploit themselves as being "gay friendly".

Experts say that more and more often, the national tourism industry is spending more efforts in expanding their services and facilities to meet this growing market which has been proven to have tremendous purchasing power, at least in the United States, Canada and many European countries.

Many tourist destinations in Mexico, especially Mexico City, has been slow to cultivate the market of the so-called "pink peso".

They contend that with so much freedom that exists today, the town of Mexico City has not been able to capitalize on its tourist offers to attract the large market in the United States, Canada, and Europe, where there are no problems of air connectivity - but quite the opposite.

The experts mentioned that Riviera Nayarit, which is the best example of a tourist destination that has achieved the greatest growth in recent years in Mexico, that they have been very aggressive in reaching this market, taking advantage of what has already been accomplished in Puerto Vallarta in this area for more than 15 years.

Analysts estimate that the "pink tourism" market in Mexico is currently valued at around 4.5 billion pesos, which is not negligible for a segment that continues to grow. Worldwide, it is estimated that the market is worth about $835,000,000 USD and continues to grow.

The leading countries in receipt of this type of tourism are Brazil (in America) and France (in Europe), receiving visitors from the United States, Canada and several European countries.

According to specialists, gay tourism expenditures are 15 percent more than traditional tourism, although many areas still maintain prejudices and lack of strategies to attract this market to national tourist destinations.

Figures from the United States and Canada show around 75 million gay and lesbian members of tourism who seek places where they will be well-treated, with respect and with places for them, as they normally seek romantic and calm environments.

Unfortunately, there are many areas in Mexico who have cut off strategies to attract this growing market.

Read more on PVNN.com http://www.pvnn.com/vallarta/news/16jun2011/pink-peso-in-mexico-pv.htm

In closing, it is important to point out that Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit continue to actively pursue the gay tourism market.

Ricardo!
Archaeologists Peek Into Early Mayan Tomb

Mark Stevenson - Associated Press

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A 1,500-year-old Mayan burial chamber visited for the first time ever via remote camera sits beneath this crumbling and unstable Mayan pyramid, authorities said.
Archaeologists Peek Into Early Mayan Tomb

Mexico City - A small, remote-controlled camera lowered into an early Mayan tomb in southern Mexico has revealed an apparently intact funeral chamber with offerings and red-painted wall murals, researchers said Thursday.

Footage of the approximately 1,500-year-old tomb at the Palenque archaeological site showed a series of nine figures depicted in black on a vivid, blood-red background. Archaeologists say the images from one of the earliest ruler's tombs found at Palenque will shed new light on the early years of the once-great city state.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History said archaeologists have known about the tomb since 1999, but have been unable to enter it because the pyramid standing above it is unstable and breaking into the chamber could damage the murals.

It said the floor appears to be covered with detritus and it is not immediately evident in the footage if the tomb contains recognizable remains. But archaeologist Martha Cuevas said the jade and shell fragments seen on the video are "part of a funerary costume."

The chamber was found in a heavily deteriorated pyramid complex known as the Southern Acropolis, in a jungle-covered area of Palenque not far from the Temple of Inscriptions, where the tomb of a later ruler, Pakal, was found in the 1950s.

While Pakal's tomb featured a famous and heavily carved sarcophagus, no such structure is seen in the footage of the tomb released Thursday. The institute said in a statement that "it is very probable that the fragmented bones are lying directly on the stones of the floor."

But Cuevas said the discovery shed new light on early rulers, and its proximity to other burial sites suggested the tomb may be part of a funerary complex.

"All this leads us to consider that the Southern Acropolis was used as a royal necropolis during that period," Cuevas said.

Susan Gillespie, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Florida who was not involved in the project, said "this is an important find for Palenque and for understanding Early Classic Maya history and politics," in part because the later rulers who made the city-state larger tended to build atop their predecessors' temples and tombs, making it hard to get at them.

"Palenque was a relatively important western Maya capital in the Early Classic, but with the buildup during the time of Pakal and some of his successors, those accomplishments were buried and thus difficult to assess, buried literally by Late Classic structures atop Early Classic ones," Gillespie wrote.

The later rulers wrote almost obsessively about Palenque's history in long stone inscriptions, but Gillespie noted that "finding archaeological confirmation of the earlier kings has been extremely difficult."

The tomb's floor occupies about 5 square meters (yards), with a low, Mayan-arch roof of overlapping stones. Experts say it probably dates to between 431 and 550 A.D., and could contain the remains of K'uk' Bahlam I, the first ruler of the city-state.

The tomb's existence was revealed by a shaft found near the top of the ruined pyramid, leading downward. But it was too narrow to provide any kind of view of the chamber. In late April, researchers lowered the tiny two-inch-long camera into the tomb using the six-inch (15-cm) wide shaft.

While the general public had not seen images of the interior of the tomb, video of it was made after the chamber was detected in 1999, noted David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin.

The images had circulated among researchers and been posted on the internet, and Stuart said that some evidence suggests the tomb "is the burial of a noted female ruler of Palenque named Ix Yohl Ik'nal, based on the date and on the identities of ancestral figures painted on the walls."

"The female ruler is mentioned in a number of the historical texts of the site," Stuart wrote.

It would not be the first tomb of a female noble found at Palenque; in 1994 archaeologists found the tomb of a woman dubbed The Red Queen because of the red pigment covering her tomb. But it has never been established that she was a ruler of Palenque, and her tomb dates from a later period, between 600 and 700 A.D.

• • •

Another Successful Season for the Los Amigos Recycling Program

The Recycling Program that Los Amigos first put in place in 2008 continues to gain momentum. What began as purely a school-based program recycling plastic bottles in La Peñita has now been expanded to include other types of plastics as well as corrugated cardboard and covers the entire community of Jaltemba Bay.

The departure of most of the community’s seasonal residents represents a good time to review the progress that was made this season.

Thanks to the generous support of the Jaltemba Bay Rotary Club, Los Amigos embarked on an ambitious program to build more recycling baskets. An enthusiastic group of volunteers attended the ten Saturday workshops – many of them coming week after week to help out. The basket-making season concluded with a special session at CONALEP, where the regular basket-making team worked with a group of students, including a number of scholarship recipients, putting together baskets for the school.

A total of 334 baskets were produced. Well, actually, there were 337 produced; three individuals made it into the “Order of the Double Bottomed Basket” when they accidentally put bottoms on both ends of a basket. After all, we did advertise that all you needed to bring to one of the workshops was your enthusiasm.

The Committee would like to thank Gayle and Tony Dixon and Ryan Campbell who took turns hosting the regular Saturday workshops over the winter season Mimi Beaupre and Zobeida Barrera who helped organize the session at the CONALEP.

The Committee also made great progress over the winter getting the hotels and bungalows to participate in the program. Thanks are due to Heather Gunn and Sheila Soenen for their hard work in helping to make it happen.

Los Amigos are now collecting an average of 4,000 kilos of plastics each month – and having a huge positive impact on the environment. The program was also expanded this year to include corrugated cardboard. Between December and April alone, almost 12,000 kilos of plastics were compacted and sold to a recycler. The program is well on its way to become self-sustaining from a financial point of view.

The Committee owes a debt of gratitude to Vern Porter, who supervises the operational side of the program, and Gustavo Cisneros Dávila who operates it on a day-to-day basis.

One of our key initiatives next year will be to develop an implement an educational program for the schools on the benefits of recycling. Marion Rogers has agreed to chair the group looking at this and would welcome volunteers to help out.

Los Amigos also had an opportunity this season to thank two silent heroes of the recycling program: Danny Milski has provided us space for our compactor operation for the last three years at a rent of $1 a year and Rodger Murphy from Green Parrot who was instrumental in helping to finance the purchase of the truck, trailer and compactor when an opportunity arose to obtain it.

All in all, it has been a busy and productive season; no small part of this is due to the work of Carol Wallace who agreed this year to take on the challenging task of chairing the Recycling Committee.

And it’s not done yet. Contrary to what some people think, the recycling program will continue to operate all summer. So, if you are a permanent resident, be sure to keep putting out your plastics and cardboard. Collection is on Mondays for Guayabitos and Los Ayala and Wednesdays for La Peñita and La Colonia. Please put out the cardboard only on collection days and break down boxes if at all possible.

And last, but not least, thanks to all of you for your support of our recycling efforts.

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Mexico Assures that Puerto Vallarta is Safe

Gay Nagle Myers - Travel Weekly Mexico Assures that Puerto Vallarta is Safe

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Mexico Tourism Board expressed concern about Princess Cruises' decision to drop three calls in Puerto Vallarta this winter, and assured travelers that the destination is safe.

"The Mexico Tourism Board would like to work with Princess Cruises to help address any concerns they might have," the board said in a statement.

The board pointed out that many U.S. and Canadian retirees "happily call Puerto Vallarta home" and cited Travelocity's recent ranking of Puerto Vallarta as No. 8 in its top 10 summer family destinations for 2011.

The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board said it looked forward to welcoming Princess Cruises again in 2012.

"The board is sorry to learn of Princess Cruises' recent decision to cancel the remaining calls to our port for 2011. Puerto Vallarta is a leading cruise destination in Mexico and continues to offer a wide range of shore excursions and a safe experience for all cruise passengers," the destination's tourism board said in a statement.

It cited a study by Los Angeles-based security firm Thomas Dale & Associates that found the number of negative events involving foreigners or non-foreigners is "fractional compared to the large ex-pat resident population and the millions of visitors who vacation each year in Puerto Vallarta and find the destination safe and continue to visit numerous times."

• • •

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U.S. border security: Huge costs with mixed results

by Martha Mendoza - Jun. 22, 2011 06:46 AM

Associated Press

HIDALGO, Texas - Perched 20 feet above a south Texas cabbage field in a telephone booth-sized capsule, a National Guardsman passes a moonlit Sunday night with a gun strapped to his hip, peering through heat detector lenses into an adjacent orange grove.

Deployment of 1,200 National Guard soldiers for one year: $110 million.

This same night, farther west on the border, a haunting whistle blasts through the predawn quiet as a mile-long train groans to a heavy stop halfway across a Rio Grande River bridge. In a ritual performed nightly, a Customs and Border Protection agent unlocks a gate, a railroad policeman slides the heavy doors open, and they both wave flashlight beams under, over and in between the loads of cars, electronics and produce, before they pass through an X-ray machine searching for hidden people or drugs.

Princess Cruises Cuts Calls in Puerto Vallarta

Mexican Tourism Officials in 'Total Shock' at Princess Move Gene Sloan - USA TODAY
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Princess Cruises' decision to cancel calls in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the rest of the year has left the country's tourism industry in "total shock," a top tourism official tells USA TODAY.

"Puerto Vallarta is a perfectly safe destination," says Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism Board. "We were very surprised and clearly very concerned about the announcement of Princess Cruises pulling out."

As we reported Monday, Princess cited worries about the safety of cruisers and crew in canceling calls in Puerto Vallarta -- a move that comes just months after Princess and several other cruise lines pulled out of Mazatlan, Mexico, over safety concerns.

The decision came just days after the robbery and murder of a Canadian man who was living in Puerto Vallarta with his family, and in the wake of a new U.S. State Department travel warning about growing drug-related violence in Mexico. The travel warning specifically mentioned Mexico's Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is located.

Still, Lopez Negrete says the drug-related violence in Jalisco and other areas of Mexico cited in the travel warning is taking place far from tourist areas, and the State Department is unfairly lumping whole regions together without being specific about the risks to tourists.

"Mexico is a very large country," he notes. "If there are some episodes of violence up in the hills of the state of Jalisco that doesn't mean that Puerto Vallarta is an unsafe place for tourists."

Lopez Negrete draws a comparison with Los Angeles, which he notes is considered a safe tourism destination despite recurring violence in some areas of the city that aren't near the places that tourists go.

"If they kill 100 people in East L.A. that doesn't mean that I shouldn't go to Los Angeles," he says.

Lopez Negrete says Mexican tourism officials were given no warning of Princess' move, but top Mexican officials including Secretary of Tourism Gloria Guevara Manzo have since reached out to the company.

"Unfortunately we were not given the chance to have a prior dialogue with the Princess Cruises executives to talk about this topic before they made the decision," he says.

Lopez Negrete says Mexico remains a wonderful and safe place to visit, despite what Americans may be hearing about drug violence on the evening news.

"The perception of the consumer is that Mexico is up in flames, (and) that is totally wrong," he says. "There are episodes of violence in pockets of the country, but that is in places we do not recommend (people) go."

Of 2,500 municipalities in the state, only 80 have experienced drug-related violence, and tourists are rarely the victims of crime, he says.

"Mexico receives more than 20 million tourists every year, and we receive more than 6 million cruise passengers every year," he says. "When you compare the number of incidents that tourists have had in Mexico to that scale of business, it's really small."

As for Puerto Vallarta, Lopez Negrete says it is "more beautiful than ever, more wonderful than ever. (It has) fantastic weather, fantastic food (and) has become one of the meccas of the world."

Read more on PVNN.com http://www.pvnn.com/vallarta/news/24jun2011/mexican-tourism-officials-princess.htm

There is no reason not to go, he says.

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Mexico Attorney General’s Office Rules on Two 'Fridas'

Ricardo Castillo - The News
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San Miguel De Allende - The decision by the Attorney General’s office not to press charges against the owners of a Frida Kahlo paraphernalia collection enraged the trustees of the Diego Rivera-Frida Kahlo Trust Fund.

In a press conference in Mexico City last week the trustees alleged that the Attorney General’s decision which gives the Noyola-Fernandez family legal ownership, does not mean the work is authentic. It may be a forgery, trustees claim.

Here in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), antiquarians Carlos Noyola and wife Leticia Fernandez are taking the flak over the authenticity of the collection with a grain of salt.

At a press conference, fund trustees Guadalupe Rivera, Juan Coronel, fund director Carlos Phillips Olmedo, as well as art critic, Teresa del Conde, regret that the Noyolas obtained a legal victory and that they are planning to exhibit the collection.

Art critic Teresa del Conde stated that the collection was a forgery but Noyola answers: “how can she claim it is a forgery if she has never even seen it? In fact none of the trustees has seen it!”

The collection went into litigation in 2009 and the final verdict was made public last week, even though the Attorney General had made the decision not to pursue any charges against the Noyolas last August.
Mexico Attorney General’s Office Rules on Two 'Fridas'
Trust fund directors of the Anahuacalli (Diego Rivera’s) and Frida Kahlo museums said they took the wrong path in the case by “denouncing” the existence of the collection and not pressing charges against Noyola and Fernandez for trying to exhibit and market works “attributable” to Frida.

“The Trust Fund did not point out to any offense or person but inquired regarding possible actions that might be considered a crime,” said Carlos Phillips.

Diego’s daughter Lupe Rivera, a lawyer, called upon Congress to legislate protection for work that is considered an “Artistic Monument” under Article 51 of the Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Zones. The argument that the Noyola-Fernandez family used to retain the collection is that these are Frida Kahlo’s intimate scribblings with no real “artistic” value.

The Princeton Architectural Press published the collection in 2009 in a book called “Finding Frida Kahlo,” authored by Barbara Levine and Stephen Jaycox. Noyola believes that by now the book has sold over 20,000 copies, a bestseller for an art book.

Lupe Rivera said she questioned the authenticity of the work on two counts. One: “due to her ailments Frida did not produce such a large amount of work. The second reason has to do with the person to whom Frida gave her memorabilia to keep, wood-carving artist Abraham Jimenez Lopez, who carved several works based on Diego Rivera’s etchings.

“During the time I lived in that house (La Casa Azul) I did not meet anybody with that name.”

“Obviously,” responded Carlos Noyola, reminding that Lupe and Frida did not get along particularly well.

CASE CLOSED

For the Attorney General the case is closed, the controversy has created what Carlos Noyola calls “two different Fridas.”

One, no doubt, is the Frida Kahlo of approximately 400 paintings being managed by the Diego Rivera-Frida Kahlo Trust Fund of where Carlos Phillips Olmedo acts “as if he were the owner, not a trustee.”

The second Frida is the one described in a memoir written by her niece Isolda Kahlo, daughter of Cristina, Frida’s sister.

“Isolda was the daughter Frida never had,” says Carlos. “She wrote a book that is written with true blood... She was the most fervent and loving admirer in her family.”

Isolda, quoting Noyola by memory, “says Frida’s freedom was restrained and what has been written about her are interpretations over interpretations. That is, refries over refries. And her aunt was not what everyone claims. She says her true aunt was hidden in her intimate work.”

Which is what the Noyola-Fernandez family has in its possession now.

Read more on PVNN.com http://www.pvnn.com/mexico/18jun2011/mexico-ag-rules-on-two-fridas.htm

“We feel that we have the true Frida. And in this we coincide with the Trust Fund. They have their official Frida and we have the liberated Frida. A Frida who has been sequestered by the guardians of her memory.”

• • •

Mexico Senate Recognizes Disability Rights

Víctor Mayén - The News
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Mexico City - Two months after the inauguration of the new Senate facilities, senators decided to launch a public tender for the construction of two official seats for people with disabilities in the Plenary Session Hall of the Senate.

On Monday, the Resources and General Services Department of the Chamber of Senators, through a publication in the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF), launched the public tender to invite companies interested in participating to present a project that would convince the senators.

The senators forgot to include two seats in the Plenary Session Hall with special characteristics that would allow people with disabilities to make use of the facilities.

The document reads as follows: “The Chamber of Senators urges companies to build and install two seats for people with disabilities.” Moreover, the Senate also ordered the construction of 33 new seats, although the specifications of these have not been released yet.

The document was originally released by the directive board of the Chamber of Senators on May 11, after a formal complaint presented by the president of the Free Access Association, Federico Fleischmann Loredo. However, the document only became official on Sunday.

Read more on PVNN.com http://www.pvnn.com/mexico/21jun2011/mexico-recognizes-disability-rights.htm

According to Carlos Cravioto Cortés, the General Director of the Legal Affairs Department of the Chamber of Senators, the Senate’s new facilities were in accordance with all official construction, equipment, and civil protection requirements. “We will make sure that these two seats become a reality. After all, people with disabilities are not a liability for this country, but rather people with rights than can improve Mexico and society,” he said.

• • •

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Learn Spanish and Avoid Alzheimer's

Claudia Dreifus - New York Times
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A cognitive neuroscientist, Ellen Bialystok has spent almost 40 years learning about how bilingualism sharpens the mind. Her good news: Among other benefits, the regular use of two languages appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.

Dr. Bialystok, 62, a distinguished research professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, was awarded a $100,000 Killam Prize last year for her contributions to social science. We spoke for two hours in a Washington hotel room in February and again, more recently, by telephone. An edited version of the two conversations follows.

Q. How did you begin studying bilingualism?

A. You know, I didn’t start trying to find out whether bilingualism was bad or good. I did my doctorate in psychology: on how children acquire language. When I finished graduate school, in 1976, there was a job shortage in Canada for Ph.D.’s. The only position I found was with a research project studying second language acquisition in school children. It wasn’t my area. But it was close enough.

As a psychologist, I brought neuroscience questions to the study, like “How does the acquisition of a second language change thought?” It was these types of questions that naturally led to the bilingualism research. The way research works is, it takes you down a road. You then follow that road.

Q. So what exactly did you find on this unexpected road?

A. As we did our research, you could see there was a big difference in the way monolingual and bilingual children processed language. We found that if you gave 5- and 6-year-olds language problems to solve, monolingual and bilingual children knew, pretty much, the same amount of language.

But on one question, there was a difference. We asked all the children if a certain illogical sentence was grammatically correct: “Apples grow on noses.” The monolingual children couldn’t answer. They’d say, “That’s silly” and they’d stall. But the bilingual children would say, in their own words, “It’s silly, but it’s grammatically correct.” The bilinguals, we found, manifested a cognitive system with the ability to attend to important information and ignore the less important.

Q. How does this work — do you understand it?

A. Yes. There’s a system in your brain, the executive control system. It’s a general manager. Its job is to keep you focused on what is relevant, while ignoring distractions. It’s what makes it possible for you to hold two different things in your mind at one time and switch between them.

If you have two languages and you use them regularly, the way the brain’s networks work is that every time you speak, both languages pop up and the executive control system has to sort through everything and attend to what’s relevant in the moment. Therefore the bilinguals use that system more, and it’s that regular use that makes that system more efficient.

Q. One of your most startling recent findings is that bilingualism helps forestall the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. How did you come to learn this?

A. We did two kinds of studies. In the first, published in 2004, we found that normally aging bilinguals had better cognitive functioning than normally aging monolinguals. Bilingual older adults performed better than monolingual older adults on executive control tasks. That was very impressive because it didn’t have to be that way. It could have turned out that everybody just lost function equally as they got older.

That evidence made us look at people who didn’t have normal cognitive function. In our next studies, we looked at the medical records of 400 Alzheimer’s patients. On average, the bilinguals showed Alzheimer’s symptoms five or six years later than those who spoke only one language. This didn’t mean that the bilinguals didn’t have Alzheimer’s. It meant that as the disease took root in their brains, they were able to continue functioning at a higher level. They could cope with the disease for longer.

Q. So high school French is useful for something other than ordering a special meal in a restaurant?

A. Sorry, no. You have to use both languages all the time. You won’t get the bilingual benefit from occasional use.

Q. One would think bilingualism might help with multitasking — does it?

A. Yes, multitasking is one of the things the executive control system handles. We wondered, “Are bilinguals better at multitasking?” So we put monolinguals and bilinguals into a driving simulator. Through headphones, we gave them extra tasks to do — as if they were driving and talking on cellphones. We then measured how much worse their driving got. Now, everybody’s driving got worse. But the bilinguals, their driving didn’t drop as much. Because adding on another task while trying to concentrate on a driving problem, that’s what bilingualism gives you — though I wouldn’t advise doing this.

Q. Has the development of new neuroimaging technologies changed your work?

A. Tremendously. It used to be that we could only see what parts of the brain lit up when our subjects performed different tasks. Now, with the new technologies, we can see how all the brain structures work in accord with each other.

In terms of monolinguals and bilinguals, the big thing that we have found is that the connections are different. So we have monolinguals solving a problem, and they use X systems, but when bilinguals solve the same problem, they use others.

One of the things we’ve seen is that on certain kinds of even nonverbal tests, bilingual people are faster. Why? Well, when we look in their brains through neuroimaging, it appears like they’re using a different kind of a network that might include language centers to solve a completely nonverbal problem. Their whole brain appears to rewire because of bilingualism.

Q. Bilingualism used to be considered a negative thing — at least in the United States. Is it still?

A. Until about the 1960s, the conventional wisdom was that bilingualism was a disadvantage. Some of this was xenophobia. Thanks to science, we now know that the opposite is true.

Q. Many immigrants choose not to teach their children their native language. Is this a good thing?

A. I’m asked about this all the time. People e-mail me and say, “I’m getting married to someone from another culture, what should we do with the children?” I always say, “You’re sitting on a potential gift.”

There are two major reasons people should pass their heritage language onto children. First, it connects children to their ancestors. The second is my research: Bilingualism is good for you. It makes brains stronger. It is brain exercise.

Q. Are you bilingual?

A. Well, I have fully bilingual grandchildren because my daughter married a Frenchman. When my daughter announced her engagement to her French boyfriend, we were a little surprised. It’s always astonishing when your child announces she’s getting married. She said, “But Mom, it’ll be fine, our children will be bilingual!”

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As Mexico Hurricane Season Approaches, International Insurance Group Offers New Tips For Homeowners

Mexico Homeowners Insurance provider International Insurance Group, Inc. offers consumers tips on reviewing insurance coverages for homes and condos in Mexico in preparation for hurricane season.

Many Mexico based homeowner’s insurance plans do not offer hurricane coverage, and those that do may include severe coverage restrictions, or use outdated policy language.

Most of the Homes and Condos owned by U.S., Canadian and other foreigners in Mexico are located near the coast. The 2011 hurricane season is predicted to be an especially active one, both in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. In anticipation of the predicted active hurricane season, Mexico Homeowner’s insurance provider http://www.mexpro.com (an International Insurance Group, Inc. Company) advises owners of property in Mexico to take the following steps to prepare for hurricane season.

1. Get Mexican Homeowner’s Insurance. If a policy is already in place, it should be reviewed carefully.. Does it even offer hurricane coverage? Is the insurer A-rated with the A.M. Best Company, and thus able to withstand thousands of hurricane claims? Is the policy written on U.S.-style coverage forms?

Many Mexico based homeowner’s insurance plans do not offer hurricane coverage, and those that do may include severe coverage restrictions, or use outdated policy language. Mexpro.com, a U.S. based insurance provider, offers new Homeowner’s Insurance with hurricane coverage, available with fixed deductibles and low co-payments in all coastal areas.

“At this time, we do not have any moratoriums on writing new policies. But that could change quickly, as storms begin to develop”, stated Jim Labelle, CEO of Mexpro.com.

Property owners are advised to act now to obtain coverage before moratoriums take effect. Mexico Homeowners can get A-rated coverage, based on U.S.-style policy language, directly online at http://www.mexpro.com or by calling 1-888-467-4639 (U.S. and Canada) or 001-888-467-4639 (toll free from Mexico).

2. Protect belongings. Those homeowners in residence in Mexico home during hurricane season should pay attention to the weather.When a storm is approaching or threatened, homeowners should take precautions such as storing valuables in a safe place.

3. Be vigilant. Keep an eye on the local weather tracking websites. Have your insurance policies handy.

4. Board up windows. If a storm looks like it is going to hit, cover windows with boards. These don’t have to be special hurricane shutters, but they need to be thick and securely nailed over the windows.

5. Owners of homes and condos in Mexico who rent their houses out should also communicate this items to the renters. .

Hurricane season can be damaging and expensive, especially to the unprepared. Consumers who own homes in Mexico are encouraged to contact Mexpro to discuss their current policy coverages and receive a free, no obligation coverage analysis and premium quotation.

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