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Jaltemba Sol...the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit

July 1st, 2009

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Headline News

Mexico begins marketing efforts to restore $13B tourism industry

It will be a nice change to see some positive Mexico headlines in the coming weeks and months. ……Click Here To Read More

'Rudo y Cursi:' The Mexican movie phenomenon

Eight years ago, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna became global pin-ups for the resurgence in Mexican filmmaking after their memorable breakthrough in coming-of-age road movie "Y tu Mama Tambien." ……Click Here To Read More

Mexico Will Benefit From Flu Conference In Cancun

The Global Flu Summit in Mexico, from July 1-3, 2009, will be of great benefit to the country and its tourism industry, said Cancun real estate agents, RE/MAX Investment Properties, today……Click Here To Read More

Airline Aeromexico To Get MXN500M Infusion From Investors

Mexican airline Aeromexico's investors have committed to inject 500 million pesos ($37.9 million) into the company to help it cover financial shortcomings resulting from the local outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza, a top official said Thursday. ……Click Here To Read More

Stockholders in Mexico's ICA approve share sale

ICA (ICA.MX)(ICA.N), Mexico's top building company, said on Thursday its stockholders h

ave approved a plan to sell up to $350 million in shares to finance infrastructure projects. ……Click Here To Read More

2 million flew from Mexico as swine flu began

In a startling measure of just how widely a new disease can spread, researchers found that more than 2.3 million people flew from Mexico to more than 1,000 cities worldwide in March and April as the swine flu epidemic was unfolding. ……Click Here To Read More

Mexico deploys 1,500 extra soldiers to border city

Mexico has deployed 1,500 more troops to Ciudad Juarez following a surge in homicides in the border city related to the drug trade. ……Click Here To Read More

Fields of hope: How Portales won the battle for Eastern New Mexico University

In 1912, the New Mexico Constitution called for “a normal school, which shall be established by the Legislature and located in one of the counties of Union, Quay, Curry, Roosevelt, Chaves or Eddy.” ……Click Here To Read More

Conference to bring together U.S./Mexico ‘sister cities’

The Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the governor’s office and the city of Austin to host the 2009 U.S./Mexico Sister Cities International Conference from Aug. 5 through Aug. 9, an event that will bring about 300 attendees from more than 160 U.S. cities and their sister city counterparts in Mexico. ……Click Here To Read More

Schwarzenegger Visits Victims of Mexico Fire

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has toured a Sacramento hospital that is treating children burned earlier this month in a blaze at a day care center in northern Mexico. ……Click Here To Read More

Tropical Storm Andres could grow into hurricane, brush Mexico

Forecasters are expecting Tropical Storm Andres to grow into the Pacific season's first hurricane Tuesday. …Click Here to Read More

Mexico to propose San Luis Potosi as UNESCO World Heritage Site

Mexico will propose that silver mines in San Luis Potosi become a World Heritage Site at a UNESCO meeting scheduled for June 22-30 in Spanish city Sevilla, a culture official said on Wednesday. …Click Here to Read More

Badiano Codex, Key to Study Indigenous Medicine

Returned to Mexico in 1990 by the Vatican, the De la Cruz-Badiano Codex, considered the first medical book of the new World, was digitalized and edited in a compact disc by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) …Click Here to Read More

Likely burial place of one of the last Aztec rulers still awaits discovery

Archeologists digging in the dirt and black ooze under Mexico City's most important public square are still awaiting the discovery of a royal tomb, which may be the likely burial place of one of the last Aztec rulers. …Click Here to Read More

Two faces of mariachi's future

Teens from San Antonio and Odessa share an affinity for Mexican music genre. The mention of mariachi music conjures up images of Mexican troubadours decked out in full regalia with elaborately adorned outfits and wide sombreros. The music they perform, the ranchera love songs with their lilting vocal harmonies, muted guitar chords adorned with the romantic vibrato of violins, is a familiar fixture here in Texas. …Click Here to Read More

UN claims talks progress, despite finance, targets impasse

International negotiations for a post-2012 deal have stepped up a gear, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer claimed after two weeks of talks in Bonn this month – but he admitted that developed countries are still showing a lack of ambition on 2020 emissions cuts. …Click Here to Read More

Mayan Bard

Arclight Rep moves 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to Mexico for Shakespeare on the Square Festival…Click Here to Read More

Mission to Mexico accomplished with Red Bull, grit

Trip: Despite stressors, equipment gets to towns…Click Here to Read More

Mexico teams up with Google to promote ancient ruins

Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History signed an agreement with Google Mexico to promote archaeological and historical sites in a bid to revive tourism following the swine flu epidemic…Click Here to Read More

sayulita land.jpg They’re Baack!

Tropical Land Crabs

By Tara Spears

With the summer rains come the hoards of blue land crabs along the Riviera Nayarit coast. Since their main habitat is inland jungle forests within five miles of the ocean, most of the year these low-slung critters are not that visible to those living female blue.jpg or visiting the coastal communities. But, since the life cycle of the land crab (terrestrial crabs of the family Ocypodidae) is controlled by the sea, it is the ocean that regenerates the species. Land crabs migrate from the jungle to the ocean to wash their eggs during the Mexican summer rainy season, then migrate back to their land territory. That’s why you are seeing so many of them recently. These alien-like terrestrial crustaceans have ecological importance as decomposers of dead organisms besides being a human food source.

Land Crab Life Cycle: Adult female blue crab heading to sea; giving birth in the ocean; baby (larvae stage) in the ocean; juvenile returning to land.

crab birth.jpg

baby crab.jpg

Blue land crabs reach sexual maturity in approximately four years. Their peak reproductive activity occurs during full moons in the summer. After mating, an adult female lays her eggs but carries the egg mass beneath her body for approximately 2 weeks prior to migrating to the ocean and releasing the eggs into shallow inshore waters. A female may produce 300,000 - 700,000 eggs per spawn, but very few larvae survive to become small crabs. The larvae are eaten by fish and other aquatic animals. The spawning season (female migration to ocean) lasts from June to December, peaking in October and November. Once the eggs hatch, the tiny larvae are carried out to sea. The development stage (from larvae to small crab) takes about a month out in the ocean; during that time the currents can carry a concentration of larvae quite far before depositing young crabs on another shore. This phenomenon sometimes seems as if an invasion of young land crabs has occurred in an area.

male blue land.jpg The adult male Blue crab (left) displays the asymmetric claws that indicate sexual maturity. In the juvenile phase, the male and female crabs look alike. Land crabs grow by moulting, a process of shedding their hard exoskeleton; the crab absorbs water internally to crack the old shell.

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Crabs are usually aggressive towards each other, and males often fight over females. Social and mating behaviors are complex. Many make species - specific sounds by banging on the ground with their pincers or stamping with their feet, or make elaborate pincer movements. Mating occurs only when the female has just molted and her new shell is not yet hard; the males, however, are in their hard-shelled form. Thus males may protect a female just before she molts, so he can have first access when she is able to mate, and may continue to protect her till shell hardens. Some males even carry the female around. Usually the eggs are laid shortly after mating, but females can also store sperm for many months. The eggs are fertilized as they pass through the chamber holding the sperm. In most, the females carry their eggs cemented to their underside and protected by the tail, which is folded under the body to form a brood pouch.

This animal can measure up to 6 inches (15cm) across its carapace. In its juvenile form, the crab is a dark brown, purple, or orange in color. As an adult, it is a bluish-gray color. The adult female sometimes appears light gray or white. The reproducing, mature land crab has one claw that is larger than the other, and the walking legs are sparsely hairy.

As adults, Blue crabs are terrestrial (land-dwelling) and are found as far as 5 miles from the shoreline, returning crab burrow.jpg to the sea only to drink or breed. They live in burrows several feet deep or at least to a level that will allow water to seep in for moisture. The blue land crab is primarily vegetarian, preferring tender leaves, fruits, berries, flowers and some vegetables. Occasionally they will eat beetles or other large insects.

Land crabs have sensitive eyes. During the day they use light and at night they identify the brightest part of the horizon. They also use vibrations, landmarks and prevailing winds to guide them to the sea. It does not depend on its eyes alone, for it senses motion and sound. They can rapidly move in any direction. Their hard pinchers, used for tearing food and protection, will regenerate if torn from its body.

The exotic tropical Blue land crab is another treasure that makes living or visiting the Riviera Nayarit so enjoyable.

Contact Tara: tara.sprs@hotmail.com

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Mexico fights resurgent dengue fever

Dengue fever is on the rise in Mexico and elsewhere in the Americas.

By MARY CUDDEHE

Special to The Miami Herald

TECOMAN, Mexico -- Mayra Regidor knocked on the door of the little green house, asked to enter and walked straight to the kitchen, where she saw a tub filled with dishwater and took out measuring tools to figure how much insecticide powder should go inside.

''She's got to get just the right amount,'' explained her supervisor. ``Too little and it won't work; too much and the mosquitoes will develop resistance.''

Regidor and her boss, Pedro Santamaria, a biologist with Mexico's Public Health Department, were part of the team that recently conducted one of the largest anti-dengue mosquito sweeps in the state of Colima's history. The target was nearly 9,000 homes in the city of Tecoman.

So far this year, the central state on the Pacific Coast is leading the country in confirmed cases of dengue fever, the mosquito-borne illness that's on the rise in Mexico.

OTHER COUNTRIES

Climate change and global commerce have created ripe conditions for the disease to spread not just in Mexico but all over Latin America. Brazil and Argentina have reported record numbers of cases this year, and dozens of people have died.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers dengue one of the most important mosquito-borne viral illnesses. Tens of millions of cases occur each year, and outbreaks have happened in at least 24 countries in the Americas.

While there's just a small risk of dengue outbreaks in the continental United States, there have been periodic outbreaks.

Other places, like Puerto Rico, are more threatened, say experts.

''At this point in time, we're keeping track of what's happening in Mexico and all of Latin America,'' said Dr. Fermin Arguello, acting chief of epidemiology in the CDC's Dengue Branch in Puerto Rico. Though the agency devotes its resources to diseases in the United States, ''we do our best to keep track of diseases globally,'' Arguello added.

ADAPTABILITY

An eradication program in Latin America that started in the 1950s all but vanquished the dengue mosquito, but it reappeared in the late 1970s and has slowly spread the virus since. Perhaps no factor is more to blame for the rise of dengue in the Americas than the impressive adaptability of the carrier mosquito, the Aedes aegypti.

In 2000, there were 1,781 reported cases of dengue fever in Mexico. Last year saw a total of 33,000, according to the Public Health Department. This year, the rate is up 15 percent. What's more, the prevalence of the deadly hemorrhagic form has also spiked. In 2000, hemorrhagic dengue represented one in about 26 cases; today, it's one in four.

`INTELLIGENT MOSQUITO'

Dubbed the ''intelligent mosquito,'' lately it has been showing up in colder climates and at higher altitudes than ever. This year for the first time, it has been detected in 21 of Mexico's 31 states. Entomologists say it is also reproducing year-round for the first time.

''In terms of statistics,'' said Miguel Angel Lezana, the director of epidemiology for the Public Health Department. ``It's more useful to talk about where it is not.''

The mosquito is so common in the capital city of Colima that everybody seems to have had dengue or at least know somebody who has.

In the central plaza, Maria Dolores Vazquez, a homemaker out for a sunset stroll with a girlfriend, said her entire family had it last winter. She got it first, then her husband, then two of their children. Only their 19-year-old daughter was spared.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Renovations completed thanks to Los Amigos

Recently the Los Amigos education committee completed it's first project, the bathroom and grade elevation at Jose Cruze primary school in La Colmena. Pictures of the construction and the end result here:

http://tinyurl.com/mjnvo5

Learn Spanish Today - Learn Spanish on-line for free, using interactive audio/visual lessons.

Photography by Bill Bell to view Mexico Photography click below

Colonial Cities and Towns

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Speak Spanish - That Should be Your Goal!

Learn Spanish Today Make 2009 the year that you learn Spanish

Can you Speak Spanish? How long have you been studying Spanish? Between high school classes, college classes and you own efforts you could easily have a couple years already under your belt. During this time you have likely built up a good Spanish vocabulary, along with a basic understanding of Spanish verb conjugation. But can you speak Spanish?

Why is speaking Spanish so hard? Would you feel comfortable approaching a native Spanish speaker and starting a conversation? Why not? Why is it so hard to speak Spanish evenBeginning high school and college Spanish classes, as well as most self study Spanish courses start off by teaching vocabulary and verb conjugation. You practice speaking, but the focus is on the individual word or phrase. Lists of words are memorized and tests are given on verb conjugation. So when it comes time to speak, the words and phrases are separate in your mind. It becomes a matter of trying to pull all the pieces together and form them all into a sensible sentence, not just speaking.

The key to becoming more comfortable in speaking situations is to practice and learn the sentences as a whole, not in separate pieces. This way when you are trying to remember what to say, the whole sentence pops in your mind, not just one word. You will speak Spanish more correctly, more fluently and more confidently than ever before.

The Visual Link Spanish Course allows you to utilize this effective way of learning and practice speaking Spanish. In our free online demo lessons, you can see how we utilize these strategies to truly teach you to speak Spanish. You will be able to recall everything you learn and words will come into your mind as a complete sentence not separate individual words. You will already be on your way to speaking Spanish more fluently and more confidentl

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