Fabián Heredia Perales, falleció el pasado 19 de noviembre, a los 26 años.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)- Fabián Heredia Perales, un joven que, pese a su corta edad, dejó huella en Ajijic y San Antonio Tlayacapan, conocido por su barbería, sus hobbies, y sobre todo, por su amistosa personalidad, y una vida llena de metas cumplidas en sus 26 años de vida.

Nació el 10 de agosto de 1995, fue el séptimo de ocho hijos; sus padres, Emilio Heredia y Marisela Perales. Desde chico vivió en Ajijic y su mamá lo describe como un niño muy inquieto, muy travieso. “La primera vez que se me perdió tenía siete años, se fue a Chapala y no lo encontramos hasta tarde. Siempre fue inquieto, no le gustaba estar en un solo lugar mucho tiempo”.

Altar en honor de “Cacheiris”, en el sitio del accidente.

Asimismo, aseveró que no era bueno para el estudio; sin embargo, tenía inteligencia para otras cosas, por ejemplo, hacer modificaciones en automóviles y motos, cosa que era su pasatiempo favorito. Su mamá recuerda con gracia, “una vez llegó de dar la vuelta en su carrito y que me dice: ‘Ma, qué cree, que iba manejando y se le salió el motor al carro, pero no pasó nada’; y después de eso, lo arregló”.

Sus papás, así como su novia –Alexa Hernández, originaria de San Antonio, con quien llevaba dos años de relación-, y Marcos, el chico con quien trabajaba, lo recuerdan como una persona centrada, que se proponía metas y no descansaba hasta cumplirlas, además, pese a todo lo que logró, aseguran que nunca perdió su humildad y su manera de ser.

Por otro lado, Alexa, comentó que él siempre fue un muchacho que mantuvo sus ideales, muy respetuoso, y que, con los años que llevaban de relación, la incluyó en sus planes, iniciando ya un proyecto para construir la casa donde vivirían ambos.

“Siempre me apoyó en todo, con él aprendí muchas cosas, como a trabajar, a estudiar, porque él siempre me motivó. Así como él se proponía sus ideales y los cumplía, me alentaba a que yo hiciera lo mismo. Con él aprendí la responsabilidad, la perseverancia, el amor, maduré mucho y siempre estará en mi corazón”, aseveró Alexa.

Fabián y su novia Alexa.

Marcos, el chico con quien trabajaba en Barber Shop Cacheiri’s, ubicada en San Antonio Tlayacapan, recordó que al principio, él era el patrón de Fabián y le enseñó del oficio, pero tras pasar por algunos momentos duros en su vida, dejó su Barbería; tiempo después, Fabián le ofreció trabajo y volvieron a trabajar juntos. “Siempre fue buen patrón, aunque se quedara sin un sueldo, él siempre sin falta me pagaba el mío y siempre estuvo al pendiente del negocio. Como amigo era muy bromista y buena onda, de un tiempo para acá se volvió muy maduro y responsable en todos los aspectos, pasamos muchos momentos alegres, que hoy en día no me hago a la idea de que ya no estará”.

La mamá de Fabián recordó que, una de las últimas metas que platicó con ellos, fue que se quería casar con su novia Alexa y que ya estaban en proceso de construir su casa. “Ya iba para casarse bien, preparando su casa para formar su familia”.

Las personas entrevistadas declararon que agradecen lo que les aportó a sus vidas, el amor, las enseñanzas y los buenos momentos vividos. Sus padres, Emilio y Marisela, comentaron que estuvieron completamente orgullosos de él; mientras que su novia dijo que nunca lo olvidará y siempre tendrá presente todo lo vivido y aprendido; y Marcos, señaló que lo recordará siempre de la mejor manera.

Fabián falleció el pasado 19 de noviembre, en un accidente en motocicleta ocurrido a la altura de la gasolinera de Ajijic. Tenía 26 años cumplidos y un fugaz, pero bien vivido paso por esta vida.

By: Patrick O’Heffernan

In 1976 I was sued for $7 million by a group of developers. I was an elected director of a 50,000-person water district in California which was facing a  severe drought that threatened drinking water and fire protection water supplies for our residents. It was the fire protection  issue  that helped us solve the problem.

The district was sprouting new homes, but  they  demanded water.  Our projections showed that continued growth would crash our system, so we activated the state law that allowed us to block development that threatened fire protection supplies. Developers sued us,  individually and as a board. We won and  halted new construction and the growth in water use. To prevent another crisis, we and the county enacted water conservation measures on existing and new developments which developers had to pay for.  It worked, and the district population continued to grow with adequate water. 

There is a lesson here for Lakeside.

Have you ever waited 40 minutes to get from downtown Chapala to downtown Ajijic and cursed the 24/7traffic? According to the 2020 Census, Chapala has grown 13% in the past decade, San Antonio Tlayacapan 33%, and Ajijic by almost 15% .  All those new people drive, but the roads have not grown . 

The same can be said for water, the electricity grid, law enforcement, courts, fire protection – little or no growth  in them to meet population increase.

 The infrastructure picture is not all bad;  the region has added 3 new hospitals,  the cyclopista,  new internet companies,  and SIMAPA is connecting a new well in Ajijic.But the improvements don’t match the population growth. Homes, condos, and  apartments are going up all over Lakeside  –e.g. a monster new development will soon open in  San Antonio Tlayacapan, dumping dozens of cars onto the Carretera every day. 

The answer is not to stop growth –  that  won’t happen and shouldn’t.  The answer is to plan for it and build for it. A tool for this is the community infrastructure impact statement and impact fees.  Every new development would be required to pay the municipality a permit fee to project its impact on the infrastructure.  Based on the findings, the municipality imposes a fee  that is paid into a fund to pay for infrastructure upgrades from street repair to more police, to  new water pipes.

Developers will claim that this raises housing prices. It won’t; the  market determines prices.   What impact fees do is prevent developers from externalizing the costs of their community impact onto residents.  Impact fees make developers pay their real costs – which will reduce their profits – but it can also  incentivize them to reduce their impacts with things like low water use fixtures and gardens, condo-based shuttle buses, and power-shaving lights. The municipality can also use the impact reports to help project future growth and plan projects to accommodate and guide it.  

We all pay for the impact of new development in time wasted in traffic, electricity outages, water shortages, and shock absorbers.  It is time to plan instead of pay.

Image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, possibly from the 18th century, in her recently restored niche.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)– Over the past few months the niches holding religious icons and images in the parish church of San Andrés Apóstol have been covered with gold leaf.  The  pottery technique used for the láminas de oro involves applying  and burnishing the applique to give it a brilliant shiny surface.

Fernando and Hugo, workers who live in the Archdiocese of Guadalajara, told Laguna that they have worked on  the main altarpiece, the niche of the Virgin of Guadalupe – an image that possibly dates from the 18th century-,  and are currently working on the niche of the Sacred Heart, immediately on the left side of the altar.

«For the moment we are doing well, but the work on the other niches  will depend on  donors  financing it,” said Fernando, who said  that the work is being paid for by benefactors from Ajijic and another part is being paid for by the parish. Fernando added that by the year 2022 the site where the image of the Sacred Heart rests will be finished, and they will learn  whether to continue or stop for the time being.

Intervention work in the niche of the Sacred Heart.

The current coordinator of cultural heritage of Chapala, Antonio Velazco,  a restorer and conservator by profession,  said that the approximate age of the image of the Virgin Guadalupe was 18th century He said hat maintenance actions such as removing dust from an image, are allowed, however, restoration must be authorized and subsequently supervised by the National Institute of Anthropology and History. However,  because of the care and precautions taken for the image’s  removal and storage to protect it from work in progress, permission was not needed from  the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).  

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan

Patricio Fernández Cortina, center, author of the book «Ajijic».

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)- In a special  evening at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Patricio Fernández Cortina, a lawyer by profession and a writer by passion, presented his first novel, which is inspired by Ajijic,  the Magical Town on the banks of Lake Chapala . The book tells the story of Bob, an Expat living in Ajijic who embarks on a journey to find his roots in New York, which allows  him to clearly see his true cultural duality.

Patricio Fernández Cortina, speaking  in front of approximately 30  people at the book signing, explained that t he  was inspired by this town’s  picturesque streets and beautiful qualities like  the coexistence that exists between foreigners – whom he called “lakesiders” – and the native Mexicans, both working together in the cultural activities of the town.

Fernández Cortina stated that he got to know Ajijic, since his wife has a house in the La Floresta subdivision, and from his visits, he found a space to remain inconspicuous and  observe the coexistence, which he described as «peculiar and magical».

He said that the idea for the story had been in her head for about five years; however, it took  him  a year to write it. 

«When I arrived, I thought that the “lakesiders” came to Ajijic to live their last days in peace, but when I observed them I discovered that they come to live,» he said, referring to the lifestyle they adopt when they arrive, getting involved in traditions and celebrations.

The writer indicated that in the book he portrayed the traditions of Ajijic and made multiple references to prominent people of the town who inspired him, as well as musical references to popular songs that  describe the moments of the story.

He said that the book will be on sale in Spanish and English at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) library for 350 pesos. The book can also be purchased at Gonvill bookstores and digitally at Google Books for 179 pesos.

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan

Andador de Ajijic in previous weeks. Photo: archive.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)– As part of the Christmas tourist preparations in Ajijic, the Colón pedestrian walkway will be restored for several days and the main square in the downtown area will be cleaned.

The person in charge of the delegado’s office, Maximiliano «Max» Macías Arceo,  said that Civil Protection authorities will announce the actions in the next few days, however, he knows now that the walkway will be in place from Monday, December 20 to Sunday, December 26. 

Macias Arceo told Laguna that, «It was not possible to place it (the pedestrian walkway)  from Parroquia Street because of  the parties and the stalls there, and because we lack parking in the center of town , so we could only install it from Ocampo.   But  during the Christmas tourism period it will be in place from the 20th to the 26th to create a connection on foot from the square to the boardwalk that invites tourists to walk in the town.» 

Next week, cleaning crews will begin cleaning the main square with a hydro washing machine, and begin cleaning the surrounding streets such as Marcos Castellanos, which was left dirty by the stalls during the patron saint festivities. Macías Arceo also asked the residents for patience, since the Christmas decorations have not yet been put up. 

«We hope that this weekend we can finish with the Christmas decorations placement; the street decorations are almost finished, and as for the nativity of the kiosk, we are just waiting for the material to decorate it,» added Macias Arceo.

Finally, he asked Ajijic residents to clean their walls and  facades to make Ajijic look as good as possible, saying  «it is everyone’s responsibility».

Miss Grand México, Mariana Macías during the night of the Miss Grand International final. Photo: courtesy.

Editor- Mariana Macías Ornelas, representative of  México in the ninth edition of the Miss Grand International pageant, will return without the crown after competing in the final stage of the international  contest,  December 4, at the DC Hall Show in Bangkok, Thailand.

«I gave it my all and it didn’t happen, but now I hold my head high and I continue. I became a queen and a queen knows that she never loses herself,» wrote Mariana Macías on her Facebook page after she failed to place among  the 20 finalists of the beauty pageant.

 “I felt my heart leap out of pride every time I shouted the name of my country. It was an honor to have been MEXICO. I trust a lot in what life has for me ”, Mariana Macías posted on her Facebook account. The San Antonio Tlayacapan native  thanked her followers for their support at all times.

The Christmas tree installed in Chapala

Jazmín Stengel.– With an artificial snowfall during the lighting of the Christmas tree, decorative objects from other years and an investment of only 240 thousand pesos, the Municipality of Chapala illuminated its streets with the Christmas spirit. 

With  the intention to save money, city hall personnel found some nativity figures that were restored and placed them in the Plazoleta de la Hermandad. Christmas wreaths that decorated Chapala’s former administration offices are now decorating the current ones as well as the main square. Because of the savings from reusing past decorations, the administration was able to spend only 240 thousand pesos, mostly on lights, spheres, trees and artificial snow for the popular display.

The nativity set up in front of the municipal palace.

The lighting of the Christmas tree at 7 pm  in front of Chapala’s town hall on Thursday, December 9th,  was accompanied by two Christmas shows –  ‘La Rampa’ and ‘La Posada’ –  performed by Carlos Rayo, as well as the artificial snow that twice covered the happy spectators.

Of the 240 thousand peso budget,  70 thousand pesos were distributed among the towns  with Ajijic receiving 20 thousand pesos, the largest amount, followed by Atotonilquillo and San Antonio Tlayacapan with 15 thousand pesos each. The least populated towns of Santa Cruz de la Soledad and San Nicolás received 10 thousand pesos a piece.

The kiosk was decorated with Christmas lights.

One of the arrangements that the Government of Chapala recently reached with the merchants of the Tianguis Navideño in the municipal capital,  was a business contribution of five thousand pesos to decorate the main kiosk with lights, lighting it up at night.

The neighbors of Francisco I. Madero Avenue, which crosses the municipal capital, were also asked to collaborate by decorating the facades of their businesses or homes to spread the Christmas spirit in the streets of Chapala.

Maximiliano (Max) Macias Arceo, in charge of the office in the Ajijic delegation, last week asked  the general public to help with the restoration of the decorative objects that were rescued from previous years so they could be used again at no cost.

Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan