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Cempasuchil Signals the Days of the Dead

If you’ve been driving round town lately, you may have noticed the budding flower stands popping up everywhere, offering bright orange flowers in pots and by the bunch. It is the season of the cempashuchil.

The cempashuchil is the ceremonial flower of the ofrendas, or Day of the Dead altars, from October, through November 3. Also known as marigolds or flor de Muertos (flowers of the dead), this blossom is the traditional flower to decorate not only altars, but gravesites throughout Mexico. Even though the marigold blooms in white, yellow, and orange, the orange is the traditional color chosen for this holiday, and one of Mexico’s most important traditions.

The flowers sold in Rosarito, Tecate, Mexicali, and all over Baja are grown right here in Rosarito, at the El Carrizal Ranch in Rosarito Canyon; started by one of Baja’s first families, the Machados.

Only a mere 300 yards from the Rosarito Beach Hotel as the crow flies, the El Carrizal Ranch, owned by Machado descendant, Jorge Luis Hinojo Gonzalez is one of the oldest farms in the Rosarito area. This region was, at one time, the border between the United States and Mexico. In actuality, the US/Mexico border has been “relocated” several times throughout history. It’s kind of nice that the border has moved, and there is not a wall running across Benito Juarez Boulevard.

Rancho El Carrizal is open to the public as well as wholesalers, so feel free to run up and see the b eautiful fields before they are all harvested for the season.  But be careful when visiting the marigold fields; there are bees… lots and lots of bees.

Directions: go east and under the cuota on Calle de la Palma, from the Festival Plaza Hotel. Turn south, continuing past the Oxxo and gas station onto a dirt road (Calle Alta Tension). Turn right at the bend in the road, and follow the signage reading “Ruta Eco Turistica Canyon” to the gate of El Carrizal, and the signs that read: “El Carrizo Cempasuchil” and “Verita flor de cempashuchil  Mayoreo y Machado.”

Whether you have a traditional Day of the Dead altar at the house, or want to cheer up a gravesite, or just want to have something pretty on your coffee table, pick up some marigolds in town, or at the ranch, and enjoy.

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 Articles, Ensenada

Wow! Did You See That Giant In Ensenada?

The largest cruise ship in the Norwegian line dropped anchor in Ensenada’s bay for the first time on Saturday, October 6. It did look big, from wherever you viewed it.

the Norwegian Bliss will set sail from the Port of Los Angeles for a few week long voyages to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta, before squeezing through the Panama Canal to ply the Caribbean route for the winter season.

This past summer it sailed between Seattle Washington and Alaska. It had to wait for low tied to go under the Lions Gate bridge on arrival in Vancouver British Columbia.

The newly built Bliss is Norwegian’s largest cruise ship, and has an onboard go-kart race course, a water park, Broadway theater shows, and a very cool sounding laser tag arena. Some people don’t like such big cruise ships, so there is a separate upscale section, called The Haven that offers quieter, more luxurious accommodations. Away from the unwashed masses, one would presume. Well, we presume.

The big boat can take up to 4,900 passengers, mostly in 170 square foot balcony rooms, but there are 2206 rooms total, in 42 categories on 11 decks. Altogether there are 20 decks It takes about 1700 crew to keep it all organized. Top speed is about 26 miles an hour, and the $920 million ship gets about 3,000 gallons an hour.  That’s 3000 gallons to move the ship 26 miles down the road. Sounds expensive, but with 4000 passengers, that’s only about three quarters of a gallon per person per hour.

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 Articles, National

What’s Going On In This Country?

Pipeline taps. Petroleum theft, committed by gangs of thieves known as huachicoleros, costs Pemex US $1.6 billion a year, and is just getting worse. Officials blame this trend on Pemex workers in cahoots, and because people living nearby protect and often join in the effort. They view the robbery as   getting back at Pemex for rising gasoline prices.

Good idea for tires. The seventh annual used tire collection drive in Cuernavaca, in the state of Morelos, collected 46 tons of old tossed around tires from streets, homes and businesses.

Known as Llantatón, the event was run by the local Sustainable Development Secretariat (SDS) and the Japanese tire maker Bridgestone. Yup, believe it or not, Bridgestone had always been a Jap company. It’s the English version of the word in Japanese for bridge stone. What??

The problem is, rainwater collects in used tires left around, becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The collection drive was designed to remove the hazard. They also kept the tires from reaching rivers, ravines, streets or open-air dumps.

In the seven-year history of the tire collection marathon it has rounded up 446 tons — an estimated 46,000 tires, which have been used as an alternative fuel in the cement industry or reused as furniture parts or an asphalt ingredient.

Raising The Price Of No Water City officials in La Paz are warning about raising the price of water delivered to their 104,000 homes, 70,000 of whom don’t even have a meter. Well, that’s alright, since La Paz doesn’t have water.

Although a lot of their watery  is pretty spotty, the official price of this “non delivery” is about 40 cents US for about 270 gallons. The average in Mexico for that much water is about $1.60.

Mayor Ruben Munoz explains, “We would like to start with the tariff update program, but first the administration needs to improve the quality of the service and once we have made the service more efficient, then I will propose the increase in tariffs.”

This effort was halted by top Democrats in Congress and so far dismissed by the Mexican government. Well, it might work better than a wall.

Thousands of Central Americans travel through Mexico to reach the U.S. and either cross the border illegally or legally. In any case, the Trump administration doesn’t want them and is willing to pay the Mexican government to deal with it. Although Mexico says they want no part of this plan, it would be just like Mexican officials to take the money anyway. And why not? $20 million bucks doesn’t grow on cactus.

Put that call on hold. In a crackdown on extortion calls, almost 3,000 cell phones have been taken away from prisoners in seven prisons. “Suspicious” telephone equipment was found among 20,000 inmates, and they are linked to 6,926 chips.

In order to establish a cell phone as “suspicious”, the telephone companies took into account factors such as whether these devices presented an “atypical number of outgoing calls” or that they worked with several chips. The 3,000 phones made 3.7 million calls last year.

The authors of this report urged prison authorities to design a program that reduces the number of cell phones in prisons. It was also suggested that prisons block all outgoing calls.

Prisoners rent the phones by the day from other prisoners, and then sit on their bunks and dial for dollars all day long. They call random numbers and threaten people with bodily harm or kidnapping if they don’t pay. Some people are tricked into paying.

Trump hires Mexicans. The Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan to pay Mexico $20 million to deport migrants from Central America and prevent them from reaching the U.S., even after the plan had been cancelled.

Those pesky laws. The Senate is trying to establish penalties of between one and three years in prison for those who promote, apply or fund therapies that claim to cure homosexuality. It also proposes to suspend the professional practice of physicians who promote or apply these practices.

The United Nations withdrew homosexuality from the list of diseases in the 1990s and advocated eradicating these supposed therapies as being “a painful and cruel practice”.

Lotta scofflaws. Four out of every 10 electricity customers in Mexico City don’t pay their bills, according to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). That’s 1.15 million customers. CFE is not amused.

That accounts for 41.4% of the 2.77 million electricity customers in Mexico City. The number of defaulters increased by 282% between January 2012 and August 2018. Contrary to what might be expected, the increasing number of people not paying for their power consumption is not a product of any dramatic increase in electricity rates. CFE data shows that prices have gone up by just 3.5% in Mexico City over the past six years, less than half the average 7.75% hike across the country.

Other states with high numbers of people who don’t pay their electricity bills include México state and Tabasco. Not in this state, you will notice, as around here CFE is quick to cut the cord. You will be in the dark within days after ignoring a CFE bill. And if the bill gets blown off your door knob before you get home from work, break out the candles. In Mexico City, México state and Tabasco as well as Chiapas and Veracruz, a large number of customers who refuse to pay their bills are claiming “civil resistance” against the public utility, a movement that first began in 1995.

To make CFE’s problems worse, President-elect López Obrador said in July that his government will cancel the debts owed to the CFE, but stressed that the “clean slate” applied from July 1 of this year.

Between this January and July, the CFE cut off more than 3.2 million residential customers across Mexico for failing to pay their bills.

Drink beer. More than four million Mexico City residents will have no running water for up to five days at the end of this month due to maintenance of the capital’s main water system, and people are already wringing their hands over this. The Mexico City government advised residents to prepare by stocking up on water before it begins, adding that water tankers will be used to supply hospitals, schools, prisons and other public places. Everyone else is on their own.

Buncha whiners. We here in Northern Baja go that long without water, and don’t even get any warning. Supposedly the local water agency warns us on their website or facebook when a particular neighborhood is going to go dry, but don’t count on any accuracy there. Nor do we ever know when the water is going to come back on. Don’t see us whining like the Mexico City folks.

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 Articles, Rosarito

A Farewell to Nelson Denniston

There will be a Celebration of Life potluck for longtime Rosarito resident Nelson Michael Denniston on Saturday, October 27, 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the home of Judy Westphal in Mision Viejo.

Nelson passed away after a brief illness on September 7. Born February 13, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, Nelson served in the United States Army and saw action in the Korean War. Nelson was married for 52 years to wife, Adele (who preceded him in death). The couple lived in Long Island, NY, and moved to Orange County, California in 1965. Nelson is survived by his sister Ellen, his two children, daughter Vanessa, and son, Rosarito resident Wayne, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Nelson built DC-9s and DC-10s for McDonald Douglas before supervising the manufacture of computer chips in the OC. Nelson also worked closely with the Orange County Repertory Company before retiring to Rosarito with Adele in 2005.

While in Rosarito, Nelson kept busy in the community by serving as a volunteer and Board member of many of Rosarito’s charities, including the United Society of Baja California, Flying Samaritans, and Cruz Roja Voluntarios Americanos. He was also a monthly attendee of the FRAO breakfast meetings. I never saw this man without a smile and a cheerful word for me… for everybody. So please come to the potluck with a smile and a cheerful Nelson story to share.

Potluck information: The main dish and dessert will be provided. Please bring a side dish of eight servings to share. A no host bar will feature coffee, soda, beer and wine. Advance RSVP is required. Please contact Jim Henshaw at Jim@Henshaw.com, cell phone 664-748-3949, by October 22.  Directions: KM 50 on  the free road, south of the sand dunes; 49994 Calle San Juan Capistrano in Mision Viejo, south arch. For additional information, please contact Judy Westphal at jawmem@msn.com.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Denniston family at this sorrowful time.

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 Articles

The Case Of The Vanishing Vaquita

The rest of the world has suddenly caught up with the sad story that has been followed in Baja California for many years and it has taken the shy little vaquita porpoise to become the most endangered marine animal in the world to bring it to everyone’s attention. You may well ask how in today’s modern world of wisdom and conservation awareness, we are now accountable for the rapid demise of this unassuming porpoise. It’s a story that began back in 1958 when the vaquita was first recorded as a species in the Journal of Mammalogy.

At only around 5 feet long and weighing less than 100 pounds, the Vaquita is the smallest of the porpoise family. They reproduce only once every two years or so, produce one calf normally at the beginning of spring and are found only in the Sea of Cortez. The name means “little cow” in Spanish and they are also nicknamed “panda of the sea”, due to their chubby frame and black-ringed eyes. So far, so cute but here the story takes a darker turn into one of greed and the criminal underworld.

As far back as the 1980’s the vaquita began to ring alarm bells in the conservation world as they realised that 7-15% of the population was becoming unintentionally entangled and drowning in gillnets used by fisherman to trawl for shrimp and finfish and later the prized totoaba, every year. In 1985 the vaquita was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and a year later listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

When the first official population count was made in 1997 it was estimated that there were less than 600 left and for the next eight years continual lobbying of the Mexican government by the likes of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA), founded by a global group of scientists in the same year, won a small victory – a vaquita refuge was established in 2005 but gillnet fishing wasn’t totally banned until 2015 with compensation offered to fisherman and associated fishing industries as a sweetener for the loss of income.  As the vaquita only reproduces every two years that was never going to be a long enough recovery period.

Although fishing for totoaba (they too are unsurprisingly on the endangered species list) has always gone on – it exploded into big business back in 2011 when the Chinese market turned to Mexican waters to supply the ever-growing demand on the Chinese black market for the swim bladders (or maws) of the totoaba. The maws are used in a soup and alleged to contain medicinal properties for blood circulation, joint pain and improved skin complexion amongst other attributes.  They are a symbol of wealth and have on occasions been used as a source of investment or traded as currency and in some Chinese homes are framed and hung on the wall.  Selling on the Chinese black market for around 20,000 USD per kilogram, it is no surprise that they have become known as the “cocaine of the sea” and of course where there is easy wealth to be made, regardless of the law or the consequences, there will always be those waiting to swoop in for the spoils.

Even with a ban in place and financial compensation, the lure of cash that could be made illegally fishing totoaba versus legal fishing was just too great for some and so gillnets continued to be used, the vaquita continued to die, and a chain of people continued to make money. Since 2015 the vaquita population has continued its rapid decline to just 59 in 2016, 30 in 2017 and now there are only a dozen left.

In 2017 vaquita CPR was born, a collaboration between the Mexican government and a group of international experts and scientists, to rescue and relocate remaining vaquitas to an ocean sanctuary with the additional hope of a breeding programme to increase their numbers. They managed to capture two vaquitas – a young female who had to be quickly released due to signs of great stress and a more mature female who initially appeared to be less ruffled by her situation.  All was going well until she arrived at the state-of-the-art floating sea enclosure where she proceeded to swim into the nets and show deep signs of distress eventually leading to her death which scientists believe was caused by heart failure. Broken-hearted by the results, the group realised they could not risk any more deaths and the project was abandoned.

In the same year, A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio and Mexico’s telecommunications billionaire – Carlos Slim, met with President Enrique Pena Nieto to pledge their respective foundations support to the plight of the vaquita. In November 2017, Sea Shepherd – the international ocean conservation organization, put Project Milagro IV in place. Milagro means “miracle” in Spanish and right now that is exactly what the little vaquita porpoise needs. With two ships patrolling the vaquita refuge they are removing gillnets, patrolling for poachers and taking partial blame for the U.S. ban on seafood harvested by gillnets in Mexico’s northern Gulf of California.

A lot of people are putting their hearts and souls into saving the Vaquita but there are many more ominous twists to this tale and you can read more of this story in the poignant but sometimes disturbing “Vaquita – Science, Politics and Crime in the Sea of Cortez” by Brooke Bessesen which came out last week or wait until next year for Terra Mater Factual Studios, the movie and TV production arm of Red Bull to release their documentary – “Vaquita: Sea of Ghosts”.

The documentary begins with the meeting between Leonardo DiCaprio and Pena Nieto in May 2017 and follows the increasingly violent conflict between the Mexican drug cartels and Chinese crime gangs on one side and the Mexican government, U.S. Navy, FBI, Sea Shepherd and other wildlife activist groups on the other. Scriptwriters are no doubt hurriedly adding the latest instalment following the arrest on Thursday 13th September of an alleged drug cartel hitman with strong links to the Sinaloa cartels known as “El Parra” who was hauled in with accusations of trafficking the critically endangered totoaba fish amongst other serious charges and subsequently if not surprisingly released again a week later.

So, will the vaquita be saved? That remains in the hands of the gods, but we would be wise to remember that 14 known breeds of our wildlife have already become extinct in the 21st century, mostly due to our destruction of their habitats or hunting and do we really want the vaquita to be the 15th in our legacy?

Writer Brooke Bessesen hit the spot when she said, “I learned that conservation is a messy business”.

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 Articles, Arts & Literature, Baja Norte

More Than Another Brick in the Wall

Only an invisible line separates the United States from Mexico, and the two countries have lived harmoniously for decades. Recently, the mayor of San Diego declared that the southernmost counties of that city, together with all of northern Baja, are codependent upon each other economically, socially and creatively; he dubbed the region “CaliMex.”

One individual who personifies that union in the most joyous fashion is Enrique Chiu, a resident of Tijuana, originally from Guadalajara; he’s the artist whose work decorates that otherwise hideous tin wall that is supposed to separate our two cultures.

Enrique recently had his work on display at one of Ensenada’s premiere cultural and civic centers, the notoriously famous Riviera. An admirer of his work gave me his contact information, which I pursued with vigorous anticipation.

Enrique painting on the border wall in Playas de Tijuana. Photo by: Noemi Ramirez
Enrique painting on the border wall in Playas de Tijuana.
Photo by: Noemi Ramirez

The man is an artist whose work is so positive and energetic that neither one of the governments dividing our two nations has ever tried to suppress him in any way. His work is nonpartisan, and celebrates the gift of life with colors bright and joyful, with messages that unify disparate cultures and express with uplifting energy the passion and cohesion that unite human beings in a manner that supersedes the spoken language.

Enrique told me that he became interested in art at a very early age. He grew up in Guadalajara, a city rich in culture, a metropolis blessed by museums, a rich history and              an optimistic attitude toward the future.

He traveled to the United States, where he continued to study art, music  and history. Always, during his travels, he expressed his impressions in paintings that caught the spirit of individualism while opening the door to human dignity and respect. His love for life is so contagious that his followers are numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands; his work attracts and energizes children as well as adults. His images are expressions of joie de vivre, “the joy of life,” and to see his work is to feel the happiness and hopefulness of humanity at its best.

From Long Beach, California, to Guadalajara, Mexico, Enrique has opened workshops for children, and encourages everyone, regardless of age, to express him or herself with vigorous and joyous respect and gratitude for the life we have been granted on this magnificent planet.

Enrique Chiu
Enrique Chiu

I was teasing him about his Mexican first name and his Chinese surname, and he responded with the good nature that one would expect from an artist whose life is his work, and whose work brings joy and unity to the human family: he said “I am an artist, altruistic, social and committed to things that can make changes in society.”

He went on further to tell me that he is a Mexican with Chinese and Spanish grandparents. How fortunate are we to have such a unique individual living among us; how beautiful and unifying is his art.

Next time you travel north to the United States, remember that although political differences will always challenge us, art will always unite us. Beauty, passion and joy are gifts that human beings treasure and revere.

Those treasures that we share will allow us to forgive our differences.

When you see Enrique’s art on any one of the panels he has decorated, remember that the man is expressing himself in a manner of peaceful coexistence and a presence of mind that encourages the future of our species in the simplest, purest and most innocent manner; that simplicity and innocence has driven artists throughout human history to create works in whose shadows we shall forever stand in awe.

Enrique Chiu’s love of humanity flows from within his heart to the panels on which he designs his art. Those panels are reminders that although our differences may be many, our similarities are our common bond.

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 Articles, Charities, Rosarito

Hearts of Baja Christmas Toy Drive

As the weather cools, thoughts turn to Christmas. C’mon. By now you’ve realized the days are growing shorter, and the stores are filled with Christmas ornaments AND Halloween candy at the same time.

Many children will not be experiencing a very merry Christmas this year. You can help to guarantee they are not forgotten. Hearts of Baja Children’s Network is announcing their “1000 Dolls and Balls” drive to ensure all local children have something to open on Christmas Day. Now, you can donate any new unwrapped toy to the cause (it doesn’t have to be a ball or a doll). Nor does it have to be a toy. Also needed are all sizes of shoes and clothing, as well as blankets. Sure, “throws” are acceptable, but more children can fit under a blanket than under a throw. You can even help out families by donating non-perishable food items.

No time to shop? You may donate money using PayPal, MasterCard or Visa at the Hearts of Baja website, www.Heartsofbaja.com. Simple. Just do it. Feeling generous? Sign up for a monthly donation of $5 or more. You won’t even feel it; just one less Big Mac each month.

All items may be conveniently dropped off at Click-On Mail Room, Surf Brewing, Charly’s Taqueria, Bobby’s by the Sea, Gary’s La Fonda, La Paloma, Café Conrado, Plan B, or the Judith Douglas Spa. I’m sure readers of the Gringo Gazette live pretty close to one of these fine establishments, or have a handy computer on which to donate funds.

Hearts of Baja, partnering with Baja Outreach and Angel and Rosy Lopez, can now reach additional homes and farms in the hills, not previously served. The more happy kids, the better.

Hearts of Baja Children’s Network thanks you very much, in advance, for your generosity. For more information, or to donate, please visit: www.HeartsofBaja.com, or Hearts of Baja Children’s Network on Facebook.

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 Articles, Ensenada, Rosarito, San Felipe, Tijuana

What To Do If You’re Stopped By The Police

Although not every policeman is corrupt around here, there are definitely many bad apples in the group.

People! Do not feed these thieves, you only make it worse for yourself and for everyone else. If nobody gives them money, they will stop asking.

If you are stopped, and you have actually made a boo boo, ask for a ticket and go down to the police station later on or the next day, or even the next week, and pay it. They will take your driver’s license to insure that you show up, and that’s OK. They do not want your license, and there is nothing they can do with it. You will get it back.

If you have not broken any law, just keep asking for a ticket. “Dar may un teeket por favor”. Be polite but be firm.

If they threaten you or get nasty, write down their name, or if they are not wearing their name badge, (mandatory, but still it’s common for them to stick it in their pocket), then haul out your phone and take their picture. That’s like holding a mirror up to a vampire, and they will jump in their car and scurry away like cockroaches when you turn on the light. They will let you go with some face saving mumble like, “just a warning this time”.

It’s extremely rare for them to write a ticket, and for sure they will not cite you when you haven’t done anything wrong. And, if you have broken a law, the ticket is ridiculously small. Man up and go down and pay it, don’t take the cowardly/lazy way out and throw money at the officer.

OK, once more now, altogether, “dar may un teeket”

This police extortion would stop in a week if everyone would grow a back bone and stand up to them. If it doesn’t stop, then it’s your own fault.

UPDATE: We heard that the police are now using the new “tinted windows law” to shake down foreigners. It is in fact illegal to have your windows tinted if they are dark enough that you can’t see inside of the vehicle. The law says that the officer should give you a chance to remove the film of the windows right then and there and you will not get a ticket, if you get the ticket you will have to remove it to get your license back anyway. If it’s too dark get rid of it! Better to comply with the law than to support corruption every week.,

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 Articles, Rosarito

What’s Up With The Trash Collection In Rosarito?

You may have noticed that your trash cans are being emptied on a different day than they were in August. Rosarito’s Secretary of Urban Development Jose Michael Angle released the new schedule of the city’s rubbish pickup. Many areas of Rosarito, specifically neighborhoods in the hills, complained of sporadic pickup or no pick up at all of their trash, leaving a “very bad smell” in some neighborhoods. Blamed are an increased population and high tourism rate.

The Municipal Public Works Department will have eight trucks active during the day and three trucks at night. Night collection is for the Benito Juarez Boulevard and Popotla  business districts. There are also three trucks available for “heavy duty” item pickup.

Many are not happy with the new schedule (including me, who now has pickup on Saturdays instead of Wednesday when my housekeeper is here). Has your pickup date changed? The new schedule is available at the Public Works office in the City government building. You may also contact FRAO (Foreign Relations Assistance Office) through Facebook/ Cal Rox  (FRAO Rosarito) and check their post dated August 28.

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 Articles

Mexico Gets A New Federal Tourism Official

BY SANDY BEECH

Finishing projects that are already under way, reviewing programs currently in place and not undertaking new, grandiose ventures will be among the tourism priorities of the next federal government, according to the man who will be Mexico’s new tourism secretary.

Miguel Torruco will be our next top federal tourism leader. President elect Lopez Obrador, (commonly AMLO), has already appointed most of this cabinet and they’re hitting the road running. Already. Torruco promises he won’t abandon any projects currently in progress, specially citing the Escalera Nautica, (Nautical Staircase), project in Baja. That was a scheme that so far hasn’t gained much traction, (other than insiders already buying up property near it). Escalera Nautica is a series of small craft marinas planned for about a day’s boat trip between them. “There won’t be grandiose projects that remain unfinished,” Torruco promised.

Torruco also said that he will carry out an “exhaustive review” of the Pueblos Mágicos,(Magical Towns) program, saying the parameters and objectives have become unclear and that the designation now gets handed out like candy. To become a magic town, there has to be something special about it. Tecate, an hour from Rosarito, or 90 minutes from Ensenada is a magic town.

Miguel Torruco and AMLO celebrating thier victory.
Miguel Torruco and AMLO celebrating thier victory.

“We have to be realistic, a town that enters into the program should have certain characteristics and commitments,” Torruco said. There are now 111 pueblos mágicos in Mexico, a number that has grown rapidly in recent years and led to claims that the program is more about politics than tourism that a magical designation comes down to negotiations between state governors and federal authorities, with money being the main motivator. Magic towns are for sale? Yes, some of them have been bought and paid for.

Torruco said that in order for a new town to now be awarded magical town status, it must not only meet certain requirements that make it worthy of the name but also that agreements with municipal, state and federal authorities as well as the private sector must be in place to ensure that it is funded and developed as it should be. And that has been a complaint by some magic town citizens. That there are certain programs that must be implemented and some of them are costly. The incoming secretary cited San Cristóbal in Chiapas as an example of a destination that received the magical town destination but failed to meet the objectives of the program due to a lack of funding.

Meanwhile, Roberto Cintrón, the president of the Cancun Hotel Ass. promised support for the new guy, and promised they would get a handle on the latest infestation of stinky ugly seaweed that has invaded their beaches. And, oh yes, they could use some help with that periodic problem.

Torruco said that diversifying the tourism market to avoid over-dependence on United States visitors would continue to be a priority for the next government.

The future secretary said he was committed to stamping out corruption in the tourism secretariat and implementing cost-cutting measures such as eliminating first-class travel for high-ranking officials. “We will continue to have the same budget at Sectur, (the Secretariat of Tourism] but there is going to be a salary reduction for those at the top to increase salaries for those at the bottom.”

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