Son 70 nuevas luminarias las que alumbran el malecón de Ajijic. Foto: Sofía Medeles.
Sofía Medeles.- Para mejorar la iluminación del malecón, personal de delegación de Ajijic, reemplazó los focos de 70 luminarias.
Fue el pasado miércoles 16 de febrero cuando se realizaron las labores de instalación, así como la poda de algunos árboles. Las nuevas lámparas se encuentran repartidas entre el andador y el Parque de La Amistad.
Al respecto, el encargado de despacho, Maximiliano Macías Arceo, informó que las bombillas retiradas que aún funcionen se colocarán en las zonas con problemas de iluminación como, por ejemplo, la calle Lázaro Cárdenas o el barrio La Canacinta.
By Patrick O’Heffernan
The sunsets have been spectacular this week. A combination of clouds – some of which actually brought rain – and the position of the sun this time of year all came together to create the flaming skies and the silver linings. The sunsets turn the lake a color of blue that can only be seen on an open body of water for a few minutes while the sun sets. As I look out over the lake from my balcony and enjoy the luminous demonstration of nature’s artistry. I can’t help but think about how lucky we are to live in this beautiful place.
After sundown, the social beauty of Mexico emerges – the parties in the eventos, the high school band practicing two blocks over with the out of tune tuba, the recuerdos emanating from the giant speakers of my neighbor’s son’s car as he and his friends gather for beer and conversation.
I love the tables that come out onto the sidewalks around 7 pm for family dinners. And I especially love the grills or portable stoves on the sidewalk firing up while the abuelas sit at their table and play Loteria as the daughters and daughters -in-law cook delicious things in the sidewalk kitchen.
As I walk down my street into Ajijic, I pass about 5 tiendas built out of the living rooms of homes, and 4 sidewalk restaurants (one with indoor seating!). “ Buenas noches” the neighbors say as I walk by, and I can’t resist stopping and sniffing. “Hueles delicioso!” I reply. “Probar” the mujer behind the stove or the grill orders me (I know it is an offer, but…maybe not) so often I do take a taste. Despite my bad Spanish, the people on the street talk with me. They know who I am through my next door neighbor, a Mexicana who knows everyone and everything on the block, and my friend Chui who owns part of the block and who built us our Christmas tree in his taller last year.
Of course, everyone has a boom box, either inside the house or under the table or beside a parked car. Mostly traditional Mexican music – recuerdos, banda, Mexican pop and rap, and some 70’s rock and roll. The children sit on the curb, bounce to the music and giggle while they look at their phones. The young men, back from construction jobs, sit next to them, drinking beer, swapping stories and sports scores and occasionally looking at the phone games the children are playing, giving advice.
Often an old man on a bicycle rides by (up the hill on cobblestones!!) on his way home and a chorus of “buenas noches” follows him. The horse and rider who live around the corner come down to the tienda for beer, and the rider goes inside for his big boy Corona while the kids pet his horse hitched outside. I think he is really flirting with the daughter of the woman who runs the store, at least that is the gossip.
I understand that not everyone has a life in Lakeside with beautiful sunsets and chatty families dining al fresco on the sidewalk. Chapala was one of 22 counties in Jalisco that saw an increase in poverty since the last census. I don’t understand that, given the steady income brought in by the retired Expats, the constant construction all around us, the traffic day and night. It is something I hope we at Laguna can look into, to find out why Chapala ranked high on the poverty scale in Jalisco and maybe find some insight into what can be done to reverse it. But for now, the sunset is stunning, the aromas from the sidewalk are mouth-watering , and the music is cranking up.
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