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Semana Santa- Mexico Celebrates Spring to Hit the Beach

©Tara A. Spears

Just when the majority of snow birds and international winter visitors have journeyed home to northern climes and  the beachside villages return to a sleepy pace, the Riviera Nayarit rebounds with the energy of the national two week Easter holiday season. Holy week, Semana santa, and the week after Easter, Pascura, which is April 17-30 this year, brings thousands of families from all over Mexico to enjoy the Jaltemba Bay beach.

April tends to be a hot and dry time of the year throughout Mexico, making the beach a magnet for those wanting to escape the city.  The area goes into party mode: exuberant children and adults fill the beaches to bursting, crowds dance along the clogged streets to strolling musicians and celebrate with fireworks, traditional foods and lots of beer! No one can out do the Mexicans for enjoying life with impromptu fiestas for fun-in-the-sun. As with so many of its delightful customs, Mexico originally started Semana Santa as a solemn religious occasion from the Spanish liturgical calendar but added a spirited Mexican interpretation that celebrates spring and renewal. While many parts of Mexico observe the holiday with passion plays and processions, the more secular west coast area is a feast of popular cuisine. Thirsty revelers guzzle aguas frescas- water flavored with local tropical fruits or coconut, vast quantities of tequila and beer; and the abacoa and cerviche tacos from the roving vendors are in high demand.  Holy week is the traditional start of Mexico’s ice cream season: pushcarts that are loaded with tubs of ice cream or the popular fresh fruit ice bars on a stick, called paletas, roam the beaches and village streets calling out “nievees”. Vendors also sell snow cone-like shaved ices known as raspados. The dulces regionales-candies made from coconut, tamarind and other regional ingredients- are sold by industrious vendors trudging with wheelbarrows through the sand.

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Mexico's Senate has abolished a law that made cheating on a spouse an offense punishable by up to two years in prison. Sixty-nine senators voted almost unanimously late Thursday to "abolish and depenalize adultery" in the penal code, with one abstention, according to a Senate document

Under the law, a convicted adulterer could face up to two years in jail and the suspension of their civil rights for up to six years...go to original article

Magnitude 5.8 quake hits off Mexico Pacific coast

A moderate 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of southern Mexico, the US Geological Survey said on Sunday.The quake hit 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Suchiate, Chiapas state, at a depth of 54 miles (87 km), the USGS said

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Traffickers are aware of the risks of major provocations in Mexico City, home to the federal police, army, navy and intelligence services, not to mention many of the cartel leaders' families….go to original article

Resignation Shows U.S.-Mexico Divide on Role

Carlos Pascual, the American ambassador here who resigned last week, had hoped to withstand the fierce storm caused by the release of diplomatic cables revealing his private criticism of Mexico’s fight against organized crime. By all accounts, he has been engaged and proactive in his two years here — promoting institutional reforms, meeting with mayors in violent cities and sidestepping what he saw as bureaucratic delays….go to original article

Texas congressman tours Arizona-Mexico border

Congressman Ted Poe, who represents the 2nd U.S. Congressional District of Texas, toured the Arizona-Mexico border Friday afternoon. He was invited by the office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to see border security firsthand. The two had worked together last year, to call on President Obama to assign National Guard troops near the border….go to original article

Mexican workers sue Nashville company

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Mexico publishes guide to cutting sexist language

Mexico's interior ministry has released a guide to reducing sexist language in government offices of a nation renowned for its machismo. The “Manual for the Non-Sexist Use of Language” is a “tool to familiarize federal public workers with the use of non-sexist strategies in the Spanish language,” according to the introduction of the guide distributed Wednesday. The manual seeks to reduce comments that enforce sexual stereotypes, such as “If you want to work, why did you have children?” or “You're prettier when you keep quiet,” according to the document…go to original article

Mexican drug traffickers set designer trends

THE cliche of Mexican drug traffickers in gaudy cowboy outfits and flashy jewellery is rapidly losing ground, with younger generations setting discrete new trends in designer labels.

Last year, three suspected drug traffickers, including Edgar Valdez, nicknamed 'La Barbie,' and Jose Jorge Balderas, nicknamed 'El JJ,' were presented before television cameras on their arrest - as is the custom in Mexico - wearing Ralph Lauren polo shirts. …go to original article

Last Week

US ambassador to Mexico quits amid WikiLeaks controversy

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US law enforcement role in Mexico drug war surges

Arturo Beltran-Leyva, a notoriously cruel cartel boss and one of Mexico’s most wanted criminals, threw a riotous Christmas party two years ago with Grammy-winning musicians, prostitutes, and lavish food and drinks.

U.S. law enforcement agents in Mexico, electronically spying on Beltran-Leyva, relayed detailed information to U.S.-trained Mexican Navy Special Forces, who crashed the fiesta. After a 90-minute shootout, the cartel leader fled with a gut wound….go to original article

Mexico plans to use Mayan prophecies to lure tourists

The Mexican government is planning to use the so-called Mayan prophecies to lure tourists into the country in 2012, Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara said.

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012, which is said to be the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar….go to original article

Top commander says US respects Mexico sovereignty

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Slim eyes Florida, Mexico for hotel growth

Florida, Mexico City and the Pacific resort of Acapulco will be key for the expansion this year of Carlos Slim's Ostar hotel chain, as the world's richest man continues to take his empire well beyond telecoms.

Ostar, short for Orient Star -- the name of the store that kick-started the wealth of Slim's Lebanese immigrant father in the early 1900's -- bought a Ramada hotel in Kissimmee last year, located a mile (1.6 kms) from Orlando's Walt Disney World….go to original article

Mexico grounds pilots on 2 flights for drinking

Mexican authorities suspended the licenses of two pilots, two co-pilots and a flight attendant on flights operated by Mexican carrier Aeromexico for being under the influence of alcohol, the Communications and Transportation Department said in a statement Thursday.The department said three crew members on an Aeromexico flight that arrived Wednesday at the Mexico City airport from the Pacific coast resort of Puerto Vallarta had been found to have consumed alcohol. …go to original article

Divorce Law In Mexico City Will Destroy The Family, Experts Warn

The Supreme Court of Mexico's decision to uphold a "fast track divorce" law promotes the destruction of the family, various family experts are warning.

On March 8 the Supreme Court declared the reforms carried out in October 2008 by the Mexico City Legislative Assembly to be constitutional. The legislation allows one spouse to request and obtain a divorce without the agreement of the other….go to original article

3 Charged In San Francisco Hate Crime Attack On Mexicans