Click to Find your section

Jaltemba

Travel Mexico

Click on ad for more information

brew pub

Go here for details on this home

or

Go here for more Real Estate

The Jaltemba Sol is free but you can donate if you want to support the publication

Jaltemba Sol...the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit

July 15th, 2009

Fishermen casting nets on the river. Photo taken from the Bridge for Life.

(Yes they really do eat the fish!)

Become a Friend of Riviera Nayarit on Facebook click here

Headline News

Mexico's major election: Congress, state and local governments

A voodoo-like doll left on a candidate’s doorstep. Political contenders jailed for shoplifting at Wal-Mart or receiving kickbacks for a garbage dump contract. A century-old cartoon character reborn as a write-in candidate. Flying accusations of narco-corruption…Click Here to Read More

Al Gamez forges marketing alliance with Real Resorts, Palace Resorts, RIUResorts, Funjet Vacatiions

Al Gamez, CEO of MVP Media and a pioneer in the Mexico tourism industry has signed contracts with Mexico's top resorts brands to bring the NFL Legends to Mexico…Click Here to Read More

“Miss Spain” Moves to Mexico

Times are tough for beauty pageants. With every year that passes they become more irrelevant and more of a joke than a competition to most. Perhaps that’s why Spain’s “Miss España” pageant is suffering so much that they need to take the show on the road: to Mexico…Click Here to Read More

China apologizes to Mexico for tough swine flu stand

China's Health Minister Chen Zhu Friday apologized to his Mexican counterpart for failing to warn him about the tough measures Beijing imposed on Mexicans to combat swine flu. …Click Here to Read More

Archaeologists dive deep into the lost world of the Maya

Machete chops echo and leaves rustle underfoot when the vines clear, revealing cobalt-blue water in a cliff-sided pool. …Click Here to Read More

New Riviera Maya Theme Park in Mexico

Xplor, the Xcaret group’s adventure park, opens today on the Maya Riviera, right next to Xcaret itself. …Click Here to Read More

Joslyn Art Museum Presents Exhibition of Mexican Folk Art from Private Local Collection

Mexican Folk Art from the Collection of Pat and Judd Wagner is a celebration of the rich folk art traditions that reach more than 2,000 years into Mexico’s past…Click Here to Read More

AeroMexico's new service to New Orleans may boost medical travel

When Sue Sorey needed hip replacement surgery, her husband, the Rev. Galen Sorey, called hospitals in the couple's hometown of Baton Rouge to get estimates of the cost. …Click Here to Read More

Grupo Mexico Offers Asarco Creditors $1.46 Billion

Grupo Mexico SAB agreed to pay $1.46 billion in cash plus a $280 million note to regain control of its bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC, the company said in court papers. …Click Here to Read More

Tropical Storm Blanca forecast to lose steam

Tropical Storm Blanca off Mexico's Pacific coast was losing steam as it moved toward colder waters Tuesday, which should sap its energy. …Click Here to Read More

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

Jaltemba Bay Animal Rescue

Advocating humane and healthy practices for animals in the Jaltemba area by promoting health, education, sterilization, adoptions, foster care and positive relationships with animals and their owners.

December 2006 to June 2009: Two and a half years, 7 clinics and more than 1,150 animals spayed or neutered in the Jaltemba Bay Area!!!

_________________________________________________________

JBAR UPDATE:

It is wonderful meeting people who comment about the amazing difference there is regarding the reduction in the number of sick, homeless street animals in Jaltemba Bay. JBAR works all year to medicate, sterilize and to offer veterinary care for street animals. Many thanks to Ana and Celia who put in so much of their personal time. More volunteers to help drive animals to nearby clinics and/or to vets would be so appreciated!

Update on our Adopted Animals:

It is so rewarding to following the lives of some of our adopted animals, many now living in the U.S. or Canada. Here are a few of the stories.

News on Abbott, found very sick and abandoned in an Abbott pharmaceuticals box at a few weeks of age. Fred adopted him and JBAR flew him to New York once he was healthy enough to join his new family.

ALLTHE JBAR NEWS go to page two

Winged Jewels of the Riviera Nayarit

By Tara Spears

In the blink of an eye it appears like a brightly colored prism hovering over tropical flowers; just as quickly it disappears, leaving a neon memory. Anyone fortunate enough to observe a hummingbird can readily understand why the ancient people coveted these diminutive and elusive birds, venerating them as gods and using their iridescent feathers in religious ceremonies. Those visiting or living in the Riviera Nayarit have the opportunity to see these winged jewels in their natural habitat. Of the 339 hummingbird species that live in the Western hemisphere, most species reside year round in Mexico, with dozens more species wintering here in southwestern Mexico.

Unique Coloration:

The brilliant, iridescent colors of hummingbird plumage are caused by the refraction of incident light by the structures of certain feathers. Like any diffraction grating or prism, the hummers’ unique feathers split light into its component colors, and only certain frequencies are refracted back to the viewer. The apparent color of any particular part of a feather depends upon the distance between the microscopic ridges in its grid-like structure. The resulting colors are much more vivid and iridescent than those of birds with only pigmented feathers. Because hummingbirds don't really sing, males will use their brilliant feathers, those around their neck that are called gorgets, in breeding displays. They also use their gorgets as a threat to territory intruders. The variations in gorgets also help identify the various species of hummingbirds. Not all hummer colors are due to feather structure, however; the duller, rusty browns of Allen's and Rufous Hummingbirds are the result of pigmentation. Iridescent hummingbird colors actually result from a combination of refraction and pigmentation, since the diffraction structures themselves are made of melanin, a pigment.

Flying Ability:

Hummingbirds are famous for their amazing aerial displays. They are able to fly up, down, forward, backward and sideways, besides stop in midair- they were the inspiration for modern helicopters. They can beat their wings 60 to 200 times per second-so fast that the human eye cannot detect it- and reach a flying speed of up to 60 mph! Unlike most birds, the hummingbird’s wing is joined to its body only from the shoulder joint, allowing it supple movement and an180 degree axial rotation. According to the International Wildlife Encyclopedia, hummers’ hovering ability is accomplished by tracing its wings in a figure eight forwards and backwards. The hummingbird’s wing strokes are so powerful because one-third of the hummingbird’s body weight is dedicated to its breast muscles. Because they fly so much, they have poorly developed feet, barely able to walk. However, hummingbirds are able to perch and will do so at feeders regularly but the hummingbird is much more comfortable when flying. Some of the hummer species exhibit aerial displays when courting; other flight displays are aggressive behavior to protect their territory. Hummingbirds' wings 'buzz' or make a whirring sound while the birds are in flight. This sound is referred to as a "wing whistle." Many hummingbird species fly great distances when they are migrating.

Feeding Habit:

Hummingbirds are very small birds with a high metabolism. A great deal of energy is spent flying, so they must feed almost constantly. Hummingbirds can consume up to twice their body weight in nectar every day. They usually feed on nectar and insects. Hummingbirds actually lap up the nectar with their tongues. A lot of people think that hummingbirds have a hollow tongue like a straw. Not so, but their tongues do have grooves on the sides that collect nectar. When the bill constricts, the hummingbird can swallow the nectar from flowers and feeders. When the chicks hatch, they need protein to grow, not sugar, so their mother spends most of her time catching small insects and spiders for them.

Unique Adaptation:

These marvelous flying jewels logically cannot sustain their flying 24 hours a day so they have developed a unique survival mechanism. Torpor is a hibernation-like state that a hummingbird can enter to help conserve energy. While in a state of torpor, a hummingbird will lower its body temperature by about 20 degrees and up to 50 degrees. This will help the bird conserve energy on cold nights or anytime that food might be scarce. The next morning the bird can raise its metabolism and get its body temperature back to normal usually within a few minutes but, it can take up to an hour. Hummingbirds can even lower their heart rate from 500 beats per minute to as few as 50. Also to conserve energy, hummingbirds may even stop breathing for periods of time. Even with all these energy conservation abilities, a cold night or difficulty locating enough food for a day, can prove to be fatal to the hummingbird. That’s why once you put out a feeder, it is vital to maintain it.

Reproduction:

The hummingbird social world generally has segregation of the sexes until they are a year old and mature enough to mate. In the hummingbird breeding cycle, the male and female associate only long enough for mating, with the female running the show on nest construction and rearing of the young. Hummer nests, made from plant down and spider webs, are covered in lichen. Once the nest is partially built, the males begin to perform courtship displays and vocalize to attract a mate. The eggs generally incubate for about two weeks before hatching. The young will spend three weeks in the nest, then start to wander away, though they are still dependent on the mother for food (insects and spiders) for a handful of days. In the wild, hummers only live from 4-6 years, although there are records of banded birds surviving up to eight years.

Natural Hummingbird Attractors:

The easiest way to enjoy the antics of the world’s smallest bird is to provide a food source for them. Including one of the following tropical plants on your balcony or in your yard is a maintenance-free method of drawing hummers to your viewing area.

allamanda[1].jpg Coleus[1].jpg

Alamanda bouganvillia coleus

brazilian flame.jpg Coneflower2[1].jpg Ixora-coccinea[1].jpg

Brazilian flame Coneflower Ixora Jasmine

passion vine.jpg Salvia_Red_Ann[1].jpg Zinnas[1].jpg

Marigolds Passion vine salvias Zinnas

What better way to savor the tropical beauty of the Riviera Nayarit than sipping a cold beverage in the company of lush exotic flowers and the little jewel-like hummingbird!

Next week: Identifying local species of hummingbirds

Email: tara.sprs@hotmail.com

JONATHAN GETS GLASSES!!!

Jonathan Can See

Jonathan Israel Rivera Paredes, a student at "Jardin de Ninos GPE Manautau" in La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico, was presented with new glasses this week.

The need for the glasses came as a result of observations by Kate Baron, the English teacher at the school, when she noticed his trouble doing simple tasks such as running, kicking a ball and coloring. Discussions were then held with Jamie Lazenby, an employee at Sears Optical and here on vacation, to try to find a solution to the problem. Jamie consulted with her company and donated money for Jonathan's eye examination. When the exam was completed the prescription was Emailed to Jamie in the U.S. and the glasses were made and sent as a donation.

It is with their hearts that the parents, teachers and community thank Jamie, Sears Optical and all who were involved with this project.

A Magical Mexican Beach Town

Los Ayala is a dreamy little Mexican town nestled along a one
kilometre bay at the very foot of the Sierra de Vallejo Mountain
range. An undiscovered gem, Los Ayala is an authentic Mexican beach
town and a true Mexican fishing village that is just now beginning to
be discovered as a tropical beach destination by the foreign tourist.
The setting for the town is reminiscent of the “Garden of Eden”. The
surrounding vegetation is dense and thick, including a thousand shades
of green, hundreds of dancing palm trees; giant lime trees, mahogany
trees, and an abundance of papaya, mango, banana trees.

Los Ayala is also a bird watchers paradise and common to the area are
flocks of green parakeets soaring above the many variety of palms,
amiable pelicans, frigate birds, prancing egrets, inca doves and
white doves, tropical king birds and even the occasional lone eagle.

The one kilometre long beach of Los Ayala is a palm fringed cove, and
perfect for swimming with soft, silky gold specked sand, a gradually
sloping shoreline and crystal clear waters. Most days the waves lap
gently on the shore, and with the right weather and tide conditions
the blue pacific water takes on a Caribbean green hue, and the calm
water resembles a lake, offering perfect snorkelling conditions.
Locals say with pride that Los Ayala offers one of the most beautiful
swimming beaches on Pacific Mexico’s coast.

At the south end of Los Ayala beach, the shoreline is rocky and dotted
with caves tempting one to explore a little. Los Ayala is said to be
named after a group of bandits who sought refuge here many years ago
(Los Ayalas), and the locals speak of a “Golden Door”, hidden within a
cave entrance behind which lies a lost world, and a magnificent
treasure, still to be discovered. Los Ayala used to be called “Beach
of the Mermaids” which seems a more fitting appellation for this
tropical oasis, far removed from bandits.

A ten minute swim around the south end of the beach takes swimmers
through some passable snorkelling, ending at the secluded and
beautiful beach called Playa del Beso (Beach of the Kiss). If one
continues swimming and heads around the next bend, they end up at
Playa del Toro (Beach of the Bull), an even more secluded beach, where
your only companions are birds, fish and the odd fisherman. Snorkelers
frequently find themselves snorkelling through schools fish. If
swimming is not your forte, it is an easy ten minute hike to Playa del
Beso, and just another twenty minutes to Playa del Toro. The hike to
Playa del Toro takes one through the beautiful Nayarit rainforest.

The beach of Los Ayala is generally quiet and tranquil, but it has
been a favourite with Mexican families for decades and still bustles
with activity on weekends, holidays, and especially Semana Santa.
Semana Santa in Los Ayala is not for everyone, as the beach is packed,
and competing bands play music through the day and night, but it is
definitely is off the beaten path and worlds away from the more
heavily touristed beaches. The beach is lined with Palapa restaurants
serving delicious blackened fish and prawns cooked in a hundred
fashions. It is very inexpensive to dine here and a pleasure to dine
bare foot on the sand at any of the restaurants. Beach vendors selling
pineapples stuffed with fresh fruit, and the locals carry large trays
of muffins and sometimes even more tempting donuts on large trays on
their head displaying perfect posture and balance.

The beach bustles with fishermen selling fish to the locals early in
the morning, while the tourists delight in watching the amiable
pelicans vie for the scraps. The small town of Los Ayala even boasts
an internet café, Coffee shop serving great cappuccino and espresso,
and a disco called “Green Please” which features female impersonators
just opened.

Los Ayala, a Magical Mexican Beach Town! Come, stay a while!

Submitted by Christina Stobbs

www.tropicalmanorhouse.com

Letters

Just keep me on your mailing list. Love to hear the news from Jaltemba Bay area and elsewhere in Mexico.

Hope you're enjoying your trip around Mexico. We miss it.

Ray & Eva Lash

Cate Baron received a recognition plaque from the school after she volunteered all year to teach pre schoolers English....Congratulations!

Mexico’s Peso, Stocks Fall as Calderon’s Party Loses Election
Valerie Rota - Bloomberg

go to original
July 06, 2009

A woman wears a T-shirt and cap reading "Vote Void" during a protest at the Angel de la Independencia square in Mexico City. The ruling National Action Party (PAN) of Mexico admitted defeat in the country's legislative elections. (AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt)

Mexico’s peso fell to the lowest in two weeks and stocks dropped after President Felipe Calderon’s party lost congressional seats in midterm elections, adding to concern the government will struggle to implement tax increases that economists say are needed to narrow a budget gap.

The peso weakened 0.3 percent to 13.2725 per U.S. dollar at 10:50 a.m. New York time, from 13.2307 on July 3. It touched 13.3755, the weakest since June 23. Mexico’s Bolsa, the nation’s benchmark stock index, tumbled 1.3 percent to 23,727.33, the lowest since June 25.

Calderon’s National Action Party, or PAN, took 27.9 percent of the votes in the July 5 election to renew all 500 lower house seats while the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, won 36.6 percent of the vote, according to 97.9 percent of all votes counted by the Federal Electoral Institute. The PAN currently has 41 percent of lower house seats.

“This is not a market-friendly result,” said Jaime Ascencio, a fixed-income strategist at Actinver SA, Mexico’s biggest independent money manager, in Mexico City. “This result makes it very likely that Mexico’s credit rating will be cut.”

Standard & Poor’s cut the outlook on Mexico’s BBB+ rated foreign debt, the third-lowest investment grade rating, to negative in May, and cited concerns the government may “not adequately address lack of flexibility in its fiscal policy” after the midterm congressional elections.

The PAN’s 206 lower house seats in the current Congress make it the biggest party in that chamber. The opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, is the second largest with 123 seats and the PRI has 104 seats.

‘Negative’

PRI’s victory will be “negative” for the markets because of the potential for legislative gridlock, UBS AG said.

“Congressional dynamics are set to make for the passing of a reform agenda that much harder,” analysts led by Tomas Lajous wrote in a note. “The results are negative for markets, but only marginally.”

Alfa SAB, the world’s largest maker of aluminum engine heads and blocks, and Grupo Modelo SAB, the nation’s largest beer brewer, led declines on the Bolsa index.

Calderon’s setback comes as the economy heads for its worst recession since 1995 because the slump in the U.S. is curbing demand for exports and trimming flows from remittances, foreign direct investment and tourism. Mexico’s economy will contract 5.5 percent this year, according to the government.

That contraction has swelled the budget deficit and exposed the government’s dependence on oil income. The Finance Ministry is projecting the public sector deficit may grow to 3 percent of gross domestic product this year form 2.1 percent in 2008.

The government collects 37 percent of its revenue from oil, whose production dropped 6.5 percent in May from a year earlier after falling 9.2 percent in 2008.

Further Weakening

Today’s peso drop extended a slide last week fueled by concern surging unemployment in the U.S. will delay an economic recovery. Mexico sends 80 percent of its exports to the U.S.

The peso may continue to weaken, said Win Thin, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

“The fundamentals and the politics are all lining up against the peso now, especially with the U.S. data being weak,” said Thin, who is based in New York.

Yields on Mexico’s 10 percent bond due December 2024 fell two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 8.41 percent. The bond’s price rose 0.21 centavo to 113.68 centavos per peso, according to Banco Santander SA.

To contact the reporter on this story: Valerie Rota in Mexico City at vrota1(at)bloomberg.net

Litter Campaign

Clean up Our Act

By Dorothy Bell

Dorothy Bell was the executive director of the Recycling council of British Columbia and also the Hazardous Waste Reduction commissioner for the Province of British Columbia

Our state of Nayarit and our lovely costal communities must implement litter strategies if they want to be competitive with other tourist destinations in Mexico. We are not working together. We are just blaming “those people, those busses, those tourists” rather than biting the bullet and addressing a common plan that would make sense for our region.

No this is not a Mexican problem. This month Bill and I have travelled to 16 of the 31 states in the last 6 weeks and can unequivocally say that the Mexican States with litter programs are substantially cleaner than those that don’t. Even the poorest state in the Union, Chiapas, with a “Fine the Litterer” program, has cleaner highways than Nayarit. Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Ixtapa, Puerto Escondido and other ocean tourist resorts pride themselves on their community cleanliness. You just don’t see the visible pollution that you do in our state.

While we applaud the recycling efforts that Amigos and other community groups have put in place, we feel it is time for leaders in the community to stand up to the plate and encourage business, municipal and our state government to develop a plan to ensure we clean up our roadsides and neighbourhoods. The dream for a “Riviera Nayarit” will remain a dream unless we collectively “clean up our act”.

I remember as a kid the government campaigns in Canada geared toward changing our social behaviour towards littering. Remember the slogan “Don’t be a litterbug.” In the 90s that slogan was refined to “Let’s pitch in.” And these campaigns worked. We changed our behaviour and our attitude towards littering and to litterers.

Other programs worked too. Some jurisdictions adopted deposit legislation on beverage containers, one of the most common discarded objects on roadsides. Deposits put an artificial value on containers so that they are returned to a central point for either reuse, recycling or disposal. Coke, Pepsi and other beverage manufacturers hate deposit systems because of the added cost to the beverage, and in some places have “given” big bucks towards recycling programs to ensure that state or provincial governments don’t pursue a deposit system. Either way, US and Canadian roadsides improved.

There are other “low cost” litter programs that too have achieved significant results. Adopt a highway programs work well in many areas, but require sponsorship from the business community. We are all familiar with the strategy: publicity in exchange for a clean highway.

Fines and penalties are another avenue to deter litterers and it appears to work well in Chiapas and Campetche. Another program is “volunteer labour” in the form of community service from small time juvenile offenders. A shoplifter or a graffiti “artist”, for example, might be required to join a litter crew along a highway for a specific number of hours. The highways are cleaned, the juvenile is not subjected to jail and the community doesn’t have to pay for incarceration.

Together we can implement low or no cost strategies that will clean our communities and help us remain inviting and competitive as a tourist destination. Litter campaigns work. Ignoring the problem doesn’t.

Become a Friend of Nayarit on Face book click here

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

Archeological Sites

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

Jaltemba Sol Copyright 2009

Custom Search