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February 17th  2010

..the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit 

Dearly Beloved…lets Party!

By Bill Bell

Life is too short.  Jet airliners, the internet, iPod phones, video conferences and digital cameras bring us all a little closer, but at the same time seem to help blur out those punctuation marks of life.  Turning 21, the birth of your first born, retirement, it all seems to go so fast and like that little red wagon on the steep hill it starts out slow and ends up at a dizzying speed at the bottom.  Wow what a ride!

Last year Dorothy and I became empty nesters as our children moved back to Canada to attend college.  This March we will be celebrating our 20^th wedding anniversary, a milestone that gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction and as corny as it sounds I love her more than on the day I proposed.  

Sure we have had a few arguments about career choices and family members along the way, pretty typical stuff that we can now both laugh at.  But we also have memories of moonlit walks along the Seine in Paris, climbing through the Mayan jungles with our children in hand and coming up with joint challenges like moving to Mexico to enjoy life.

It is here that we found that life could slow down a bit, it here that we have discovered so many wonderful people in our community, Mexican, American and Canadians, making our paradise an even better place to live.

It is here that we met two people that we have grown to love and admire; two people who are the fabric of our community.  They are the volunteers that help in one fundraising event after another.  When they walk into a room together they bring a smile to your face.

Ginger and Byron Payne are as vibrant as young newlyweds.  Proud parents, proud grandparents, their love of life shows through and their love of family is wonderful behold.  They are a most loving, fun, hilarious and giving couple.

On February 20^th, friends, family and an entire community along the Jaltemba coast will be coming out to celebrate an amazing milestone for this gracious couple as they celebrate 50 years marriage.

Congratulations! And may the next fifty years be as fun as the last.

Become a Friend of Riviera Nayarit on Facebook click here

Headline News

Mexican Meteorite: Was it Russian Space Junk?

According to media sources in Mexico, a 30 meter wide crater was left after a meteorite impacted approximately 100 miles to the northwest of Mexico City in the municipality of Ahuazotepec, Puebla.….Click Here to Read More

Mexico — Cha, cha, cha

Many folks will be enjoying a three-day weekend for President’s Day and next month area schools dismiss for spring break, so perhaps now is the time to consider a visit to Mexico.….Click Here to Read More

Sir Elton John to Perform Concert at one of the Seven Wonders of the World

Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya Celebrates Elton John Performing In Chichen-Itza With Decadent Concert Package. "Sir Elton in Mexico" package combines live concert at one of the Seven Wonders of the World with a luxury weekend resort experience in Riviera Maya.….Click Here to Read More

Drinks, retail to boost Mexico's FEMSA net 435 pct

Mexican brewer and bottler FEMSA is expected to report quarterly net profit more than five times that of a year earlier, when it got hit by the weak peso, as it benefits from strong soft-drink sales and growth at its convenience store chain.….Click Here to Read More

Industrial Prod +1.6% Yr/Yr; Manufacturing +4.3%

Industrial production in Mexico rebounded dramatically in December, gaining 1.6% year-over-year after 19 consecutive months of declines, driven by a more impressive 4.3% surge in the manufacturing sector, national statistics agency INEGI reported Thursday. ….Click Here to Read More

Mexican Official Optimistic About Resuming Cross-Border Trucking

Mexico - 630 thousand million pesos to be invested in infrastructure in 2010

Upon opening the overpass of the Segundo Anillo and Avenida 45 Norte, in Aguascalientes, President Felipe Calderón said that investment in infrastructure is key to raising the competitiveness of the economy and improving people’s life quality.……Click here to read more

How Will Slim’s Legacy be Perceived?

He’s a billionaire, but he famously likes to say he doesn’t believe in charity. Even so, Carlos Slim’s generosity has been growing a lot lately. His charitable foundations now have a whopping $10 billion in endowments. But critics still question the sincerity of his giving. Many of the charities he has funded are entities he created and controls, or has a direct interest in. ……Click here to read more

Mexico Jan auto output leaps 102.4 pct vs year ago

Mexican auto production rose in January for the third straight month as the economy recovered from a severe downturn due to the U.S. recession, an industry group said on Monday……Click here to read more

Televisa Said to Request Approval to Buy NII Stake

Grupo Televisa SA, the world’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster, asked for antitrust approval to buy a stake in the Mexican unit of wireless carrier NII Holdings Inc., a person familiar with the matter said.The transaction would require the Federal Competition Commission’s signoff, said the person, who declined to be identified because the request is under review. The person didn’t say how big Televisa’s stake would be.……Click here to read more

Chrysler Pledges $550M to Build Fiat 500 in Mexico

Chrysler Group LLC says it will invest $550 million to build the Fiat 500 minicar at its assembly plant near Mexico City.Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the new work at its Toluca plant will create 400 jobs. He said Monday the company will begin making the model in December for U.S. and Latin American markets.……Click here to read more

WE ARE MOVING….

NOUS DÉMÉNAGEONS….

NOS MUDAMOS ….

Consular Agency of  

Agence Consulaire du

 Agencia Consular de

STARTING MARCH 01ST 2010

A PARTIR DU 01 MARS 2010

A PARTIR DU PREMIER MARS 2010

PLAZA PENINSULA ( Above the/ Au dessus du /Arriba del: Porton)

Boulevard Francisco Medina Ascencio #2485, Local “Sub. F”

Colonia Zona Hotelera Norte

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco C.P. 48300

SAME CONTACT NUMBERS / MÊME NUMÉRO DE CONTACT/ MISMOS CONTACTOS:

Tel: (322) 293 0098 & 293 0099

Emergency outsider office hours/ En cas d’urgence en dehors des heures de bureau/ Emergencia afuera de horario de oficina:

001-800-514-0129 / 01 800 706 2900

Fax: (322) 293 2894

Email/ Couriel/ Correo Electronico: vallarta@canada.org.mx

Opinion Coming to Sol, Watch out!

Bill Bell

Some of you know that I write a political column back in Canada and my opinion is either loved or hated…very little room in the middle.  I tell it as I see it.  Of course I use facts, but it is my opinion. Lately I have been asked on numerous occasions to voice my opinion and tell people down in our neck of the woods what I think and up until now I have said no.  We have a small community and  a real opinion piece every week would hit too close to home.

However, the growth of the Sol this year has been tremendous.  We have doubled our subscriptions and now have over 100,000 hits per issue (actually in January it was 150,000).

I love this community and know I don’t for the moment believe that I am always right. I can be wrong big time.  However I want to be able to give constructive criticism. Or tell them I believe they are making a mistake.   I add my voice for over 200,000 readers a week on the North Shore and as a former long time municipal councilor, writer, editor for many community newspapers, President of the Kiwanis, I have more than a little bit of experience working in communities and community organizations. I want to add my voice to praising the Rotary Club or Amigos of La Penita or the Jaltemba Foundation. Or maybe voice the opinion that they are on occasion misguided, spiteful or wrong. OOOOO did I just raise a few heckles? But that is just my humble opinion.

The Sol has now reached a readership that is sustainable. Mexican newspapers ask us for pictures and copy, a reputable Tepic newspaper has asked us to partner in a joint venture, the Governor’s office is a subscriber and most of all, the vast majority of people who come here enjoy our little newspaper. 

I hope by adding my journalistic opinion in a weekly piece will create discussion, a little controversy and in the end make this wonderful community that we all live in a better place.

PS. We do intend running contrary letters, guest editorials and opinion pieces.

In the meantime we have grown so large that we have had to add one more section today and that is home and living. Hope you go there and enjoy it.

Watch for Bill Bell’s column every Sunday starting next week.  We're in Mexico, lets be nice to each other, not rude!  Come on you know who I am talking about! No need to wine!  To read Bill Bell's latest column in Canada click here

Valentines on the Coast

Kirsty and Ellie at Xaltemba's Valentine's day.

Enjoying a great meal and friendship at Salvador's Click here to view more photographs

Complete slideshow of the Fashion show

From Women Helping women

To see the slide show, click the black screen

La Penita Princess Parade

Photography by Jim Fyke

Click on any photograph to view in larger format

The Real Reason for All the Fun: How the

Margarita Challenge Gives To the Community

© Tara A. Spears

 Emiliano Zapata Primaria school students with materials purchased by Margarita Challenge

The party’s over; the afterglow of a terrific fun time at the annual Margarita Challenge fundraiser becomes another good memory of Guayabitos social season. But just like Christmas, there is a serious side to the event. The caring and dedicated Committee of the Margarita Challenge Education and Family Fund has already approved the awarding of the 2010 event proceeds to support their local projects. It is a good time that truly keeps on giving!

      Special education classroom being improved

The Emiiano Zapata Primaria, in Guayabitos, continues to receive funding for the development of their Special Education room that serves 14 students.  Thanks to the Margarita Challenge group, the facility now has been painted and given school materials for the education of these children that require one-on-one instruction. This year’s grant will provide ceiling fans, light fixture, and floor tile for the classroom that presently is bare concrete and tin roof. The grateful parents participate by supplying the labor as the Margarita group purchases the materials, investing in their child’s education as best they can.  Through the united efforts of the international and local residents, the entire community is benefiting.  Special thanks to the school principal, Rosa Rodriguez;  Director of Special Education, Jorge A. Bernal; and special education teacher, Marlenne Gutierrez, for the wonderful work they do with the kids.

Thanks to the Committee that administers the Margarita Challenge for all their time, effort, and caring:  Jim and Bonnie; Estaban and Mina; Ron and Sue; Doug and Pattie; Bill and Gina; Ralph and Shirley; Shirley and Norm; Dot; Mike and Mary; Rick; Gerry; Sheila.   The Family Fund  grant has been awarded to a La Penita low income family to cover their transportation and medical treatment  costs for a severe illness, and to a new non-denominational food bank that is beginning operation in Guayabitos.  This group focuses primarily on elderly poor who do not have family to help them purchase food and medicine; the Margarita Challenge Fund grant will enable the food bank to provide monthly food bags for the approved individuals.

Thank you to all who attended the Margarita Challenge or purchased Tshirts: your good time is improving the lives of La Penita/Guayabitos residents throughout the year.

 

Social Season Finale:

Jaltemba Foundation Home Tour

Sunday, February 28

© Tara A. Spears

You’ve partied; you’ve danced; you’ve dined at many of the fine area restaurants; perhaps even attended a couple of charity fundraising events that were spectacular. Besides enjoying the tropical weather, beautiful beaches and exploring the friendly Mexican villages, one can’t help but be impressed with the variety of fun activities that make visiting the Riviera Nayarit so special.  For those who are soon to head back north of the border, don’t miss the last event of the high season: the Seaside Living Home Tour. 

As you have walked the area, how many times have you thought, “I’d love to see the rest of that house”- now you can!  Not just for the curious, the Home Tour is a fantastic way to learn about  the area homes that feature  Mexican design and artistic details.  The guided tour will offer tantalizing décor and history about the homes.  What a great way to get ideas to take back and incorporate in your own home.

George Steensma, left, is the Chair for the Home Tour 2010 committee.  “The homes in the La Penita/Guayabitos area are so distinctive, it is a real treat to sneak a peek,” he said. “Besides, it is so rewarding to support all the Jaltemba Foundation’s non-profit groups through the purchase of a ticket. It will be such an enjoyable day that includes lunch and beverages-all for a worthwhile cause.”  Other charities in Puerto Vallarta and Bucerias have had tremendous success for years with home tours; now you can sample the best of the area without traveling.  Tickets only available until February 20!

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Mexico Study Shows Extent of Sales Drop
Kevin Brass - International Property Journal
go to original
February 12, 2010

	Mexico is once again becoming a buyer’s market, as prices return to more reasonable levels.

Everyone knew there had been a steep drop in Mexico second home sales last year. But a new study of the Puerto Vallarta coast line reveals just how far sales fell in new resort developments.

In 2010, developers along the stretch known as Costa Vallarta—including Puerto Vallarta, Punta Mita and the Riviera Nayarit—recorded sales of 315 new units, a 54 percent drop from 2008 and an 80 percent drop from 2007, according to a survey by the Vallarta Lifestyles Publishing Group.

Of the 112 developments surveyed, 43 reported no sales for 2009—zero, nada. Eighteen of the projects had been cancelled or taken off the market.

Of course, Mexico has been battered by forces of Biblical proportions that had nothing to do with the housing market. The H1N1 virus and drug-related violence were devastating blows to a market already crippled by the woes of the U.S. economy.

Nevertheless, the numbers are still shocking, illustrating a once-thriving market that almost ground to a halt last year.

“There have been reports that activity has improved during this high season,” Vallarta Publishing Group director general John Youden writes on his blog. “And this should be expected to continue to some degree, primarily through people who have been interested in buying in the past but have held off” due to the economic crisis.

As long as the economy continues to improve and “Mexico’s problems regarding security and drug violence do not get any worse,” there are signs that the market is beginning to normalize. At the beginning of 2008, there were 8,100 properties for sale in the area; now the number is closer to 3,400. And 40 percent of the projects have units that start below $300,000—a sweet spot for buyers, Youden notes.

“In markets such as these, people tend to go more for re-sales as they know exactly what they are getting,” Youden writes. “This will force many developments to continue to build out and will not be able to rely on pre-sales to pay their construction costs, putting another burden on developments.”

Translation: Mexico is once again becoming a buyer’s market, as prices return to more reasonable levels.

Kevin Brass is editor of the International Property Journal. For the past decade he's covered the quirks and trends of the global property industry for the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times.

 

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Xaltemba is open every night for dinner

including Mondays

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Saturday and Sundays too

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Mexico's Killing Fields
Tony Cohan & Tamsin Mitchell - Los Angeles Times
go to original
February 15, 2010

	Dozens of Mexican journalists have been killed since 2004. Mexico says it is concerned, but little has changed. Foreign reporters publicizing Mexican colleagues' work might offer a shield.

Last Nov. 2, the body of Jose Bladimir Antuna Garcia, crime and security affairs reporter for the newspaper El Tiempo de Durango, was found in front of a hospital in the central Mexican city of Durango. Antuna, 39, had been abducted on his way to work earlier that day. He was declared to have died of "asphyxia from strangulation," though according to some reports, his body also bore bullet wounds to the head and abdomen.

A note found next to his body reportedly read: "This happened to me for giving information to soldiers and for writing too much."

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a journalist. From January 2004 to December 2009, a total of 27 writers - 26 print journalists and one author - were slain, seven of them in 2009 alone. Five others have disappeared. Last month, two more Mexican journalists were killed. Few if any of these crimes have been properly investigated or prosecuted.

International PEN, the worldwide writers' organization, believes it likely that these journalists were targeted in retaliation for their critical reporting, particularly on drug trafficking. Though organized-crime groups are believed to be responsible for many attacks against journalists, government officials and the police are also believed to have played a role in some.

In the week before his death, Jose Antuna had broken a story about police corruption in Durango and had also been investigating the unsolved killing of another journalist at his newspaper, Carlos Ortega Samper, who was abducted and killed in May 2009. Antuna had received repeated death threats starting in 2008 and was the target of an apparent assassination attempt in April 2009. Despite reporting the latter to the Durango state public prosecutor's office, Antuna was not provided with any protection and continued to receive threats.

On May 26, the same day that another Durango-based journalist, Eliseo Barron Hernandez, was found dead after having been kidnapped from his home, an anonymous call was reportedly made to El Tiempo's offices saying that Antuna would be next. The caller identified himself as a member of Los Zetas, a paramilitary group reportedly linked to a drug cartel.

Last February, Mexico's human rights record was scrutinized for the first time by the United Nations under the Universal Periodic Review. Numerous member states took the opportunity to express concern about the shocking violence faced by journalists in the country and the apparent impunity of their attackers.

The Mexican government took the international community's recommendations seriously and promised to better protect journalists, investigate threats and violence against them more vigorously, and ensure that the investigation and prosecution of such crimes would become a federal rather than a state matter.

A year later, little has changed. Since the U.N. review, eight more print journalists have been slain in Mexico and another has disappeared. A number of these journalists were threatened before their killing or disappearance, and yet apparently none had been offered police protection or other measures to ensure their safety. In none of these cases has the perpetrator been brought to justice.

In a recent article on the dangers of being a journalist in Mexico, the award-winning Mexican investigative journalist and activist Lydia Cacho criticized the Mexican mainstream media for failing to reflect the true reality of the country, leaving the international community uninformed. Cacho called on foreign journalists to fill this gap by writing about the violence faced by their Mexican counterparts, "because talking about us protects our life and allows us to go on investigating and reporting."

So, let's not be silent about Mexico's killing field for journalists. Let's call President Felipe Calderon and the Mexican state to account for the 34 Mexican writers who since 2004 have paid the ultimate price for "writing too much."

Tony Cohan is the author of the travel narratives "On Mexican Time" and "Mexican Days"; Tamsin Mitchell is Americas researcher and campaigner for the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN.

   The Cancer de Mama Clinic:

Giving the Gift of Love and Hope  

                             © Tara A. Spears   

Businesses measure success in monetary amounts but the volunteers that provided the recent Cancer de Mama Clinic rate their success in smiles.  332 women were given a chance at living a more normal life after surviving the disfigurement of breast removal due to cancer. Not only does the all volunteer clinic provide free prostheses, bras, lunch, wigs, and physical therapy literature in Spanish, they offer love, hope and respect to women that are struggling to regain their self respect. One volunteer sums up the gift that the volunteers receive in return for their long hours: “We all arrive as strangers but each woman leaves as a friend.”

        

To read more click here

Huge Gap in Food, Salaries
rika Velasco - The News
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February 15, 2010

Pesos buy fewer basic food items; 66% rise in 3 years.

Mexico City – Basic food prices in Mexico are practically out of control, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency said Sunday.

In just three years, the cost of primary foods has risen 66.7 percent, indicating a large gap between salary and consumer prices. In 2006, it cost 812.92 pesos to buy 42 items, or 16 days worth of minimum wage, but in 2009, those items cost 1,358 pesos, or 23.6 days of minimum wage.

A person earning minimum wage in December 2006 worked 10.4 hours to buy one kg of steak, 7.41 hours to buy one kg of ground beef and 59 minutes to buy one kg of tortillas. Three years later, a worker would need to spend 13 hours, 9.04 hours and 1.25 hours, respectively, to be able buy those products.

So far during President Felipe Calderón’s administration, workers’ purchasing power has fallen by 41 percent, taking into account the recent 2.6-peso increase in minimum wage as well as increases in public transportation fares, the price of diesel, natural gas, gasoline and electricity, Profeco said.

Minimum wage ranges between 54.47 pesos and 57.46 pesos per day, depending on the area. In 2006, minimum wage was between 45.81 pesos and 48.67 pesos per day.

In rural areas, the prices of products such as corn and wheat flour, milk, soft drinks, crackers, eggs, sugar, beans, rice and soups have risen by as much as 50 percent or more.

Data from the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) show that between December 2006 and January 2010, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or accumulated inflation, has been 14.54 percent; however, the rise of prices of main energy sources is even greater.

The price of Magna (standard) gasoline has risen 19.21 percent, from 6.61 pesos per liter in December 2006 to 7.96 pesos per liter in January, or nearly five points above inflation.

Premium gasoline costs 23 percent more during the same period. Diesel fuel rose 49.7 percent, three times greater than inflation during those three years.

However, the Treasury Secretariat has defended these hikes, arguing that it is necessary for fuel prices to reflect the international market to improve competitiveness in Mexico.

 

New Homes and Living Section

February 14th, the Sol will launch a new Homes and Living section.

"We expect there will be a great deal of interest," says Bill Bell, Editor in Chief. "We will feature homes in the area as well as building materials, techniques and a whole host of information pertinent to tropical living."

"Additionally, the Homes and Living section will focus on healthy lifestyles including recipes, diet and fitness and travel."

If you have a topic you think we would find interesting contact editor@jaltembasol.com

Click here

 

 

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Agence France-Presse
go to original
February 15, 2010

National Front Against Repression leader Javier Contreras bellowed at some 1,300 people taking part in the "March of Anger" in the center of the city. (Agence France-Presse)

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Hundreds of people took to the streets Sunday to protest Ciudad Juarez' record-setting crime wave civil rights groups say is made worse by the presence of 6,000 Mexican combat troops.

"The army's presence is anti-constitutional and violates citizens' rights. That's why we're asking them to withdraw," National Front Against Repression leader Javier Contreras bellowed at some 1,300 people taking part in the "March of Anger" in the center of the city.

Across the border from the US city of El Paso, Texas, Ciudad Juarez is a battleground for rival drug cartels seeking control of lucrative drug smuggling routes into the United States.

Despite 6,000 troops sent in to reinforce local police in fighting crime, last year 2,660 people were murdered in the city, making it the murder capital of Mexico.

When 15 innocent youths were gunned down at a party on January 31, civil rights groups staged a demonstration to vent the local population's anger at the seemingly endless bloodshed.

The National Front and other civil right groups maintain innocent civilians are sometimes harassed or tortured by law enforcement officials in their zealous crackdown on organized crime.

"You can't fight violence with more violence and breaking the laws," Contreras said, speaking to the protesters.

President Felipe Calderon visited Ciudad Juarez last week and apologized to the bereaving families of the young party goers for initially blaming last month's massacre on gang warfare.

The president admitted that his three-year crackdown on crime with more than 50,000 troops spread across the country "is not enough," and vowed to redesign a new strategy against crime and violence with community cooperation.

Drug-related crime has left more than 15,000 dead in the past three years in Mexico.