The stage at The Bare Stage, a platform for stunning drama.
Patrick O’Heffernan, English Editor.- The audience at last Saturday’s production of These Shining Lives at the Bare Stage Theater in Riberas sat in stunned silence for a few seconds when the play ended and then gave it a standing ovation. The production, which told the story of the “radium girls” who painted watch faces with radium for a company that hid the effects of “miracle chemical” on their health even as they wasted away and filed suits and labor actions that changed worker safety law in the US, was that powerful.
Although These Shining Lives was a “readers theater” in which the actors sit on stools onstage and read from scripts, it was as riveting as a fully staged play. The delivery of the lines, the actors, assumption of the characters, and the careful pacing and direction produced a drama with the impact of a fully staged production.
Director Phyllis Silverman worked for two years on the play, since the last production at the Bare Stage in 2020 before it was closed by Covid. During that time she assembled a cast she recruited reflected the outstanding talent in Lakeside, paired them for a chemistry that seems impossible for a staged reading but which was palpable – especially between Frank Lynch and Linda Goman as a loving husband and wife – and pulled emotions from them that literally filled the open-air theater.
That chemistry between the actors was a throughline in the relationships among the other radium girls – Darlene Sherwood, Louise Ritchie and Giselle Phipps evolved as their characters unfolded their souls and Graham Miller revealed the evil of the corporate soul of the watch factory.
Bare Stage Artistic Director Roseann Wilshere has spectacularly elevated the already good quality of drama at the theater with These Shining Lives, attracting actors and a director and selecting scripts that appeal to the theatrical audience in Lakeside, but push the boundaries and demand more from them than passive consumption.
The upcoming (April 22nd, 23rd & 24th) production of the Norm Foster comedy The Long Weekend, promises to maintain the level attained by These Shining Lives. Wilshere’s judgment in choosing a play by Canada’s most produced playwright, frequently compared to American playwright Neil Simon, not only reflects a continuation of the quality brought to the Bare Stage by These Shining Lives, but is a smart nod to our Canadian neighbors.
Wilshere has assembled a team with solid talent – Kathleen Morris, (last seen in LLT’s production of Silent Sky), Sally Jo Bartlett, Pamela Johnson, Douglas Pinkerton & Ken Yakiwchuk. Tackling a comedy – a very hard medium to work in – after raising Lakeside’s expectations of high quality, will be a challenge. If These Shining Lives is any example, The Bare Stage could just raise the bar again
Alex at Italia. Photo: Jazmin Stengel.
Patrick O’Heffernan and Jazmin Stengel.- Alex Sgroi was seven years old in Switzerland when Hitler invaded Poland and still remembers the sound of the German planes flying overhead; the war did not touch him directly, but he lost friends in the war and he lost contact with many people he knew. As a result, he still carries the need to help with him, which is why when Russia invaded Ukraine, he knew he had to do something.
“I wanted not only to raise money to help the refugees, but to raise awareness of the suffering that the invasion was causing. I saw the atrocities that are happening in Ukraine today as no different than the atrocities of WW2. So I decided to raise money and awareness,” Alex told Semanario in an interview at his new restaurant, Italia.
The plan was simple; ask people to buy a takeout lasagna for $500 pesos and have them pick them up during a week set aside for the fund raising. Before starting, however, he consulted friends with relatives in Ukraine, and local nonprofits and his contacts from being in Rotary and Masons, and their advice helped.
“It was very successful. We raised more than we planned and have already sent the money to the Canadian Red Cross. I chose the Canadian Red Cross because the Canadian government was matching donations until they reached $130millinon CN. Our donation was too late for the match, but it still helped,”, Alex said.
Having spent almost all of his adult life in the restaurant industry, including managing restaurants for major hotel chains in Europe, Alex knows exactly how to most efficiently produce the dinners. He started a few weeks before the designated donation week and he and his staff cooked the lasagnas, packaged them for takeout, and froze them as part of their regular routine. They defrosted them during the donation week and were able to deliver delicious fresh lasagna to donors who arrive at his new location, Italia, in Ajijic.
“This is what I knew how to do,” Alex told Laguna as we gathered around one of the Formica tables in Italia, “Because of my age I could not volunteer to fight – I would be more of a problem than a solution, but this I could do,” He added that if there is a need for restaurant management or cooking, he would volunteer.
The people who bought the dinners were mostly Canadians, he said, followed by Americans and a few Mexicans. He said he has both Expats and Mexicans customers, but because they eat dinner at different times, they rarely are at the restaurant at the same time. But since the campaign was mostly for takeout, it did not matter. What was important was that they donated and they knew of the fight in Ukraine and the suffering of the refugees.
By: Patrick O’Heffernan
Yesterday, a fully loaded gravel truck lost its brakes coming down the Libramiento hill into Ajijic. It collided with two cars and ended up on its side. Fortunately no one was hurt, but 3 cars were seriously damaged, traffic was stalled, and the driver barely escaped with his life.
As I drove by the accident, I thought of another lost-my-brakes accident at the end of December in Coahuila on Highway 57 near Saltillo when a tanker truck that lost its brakes killed 5 people and injured 15 before stopping. And the tractor-trailer that lost its brakes and rammed into a house in Chapala last December, killing one person
It is only a matter of time before this happens again in Lakeside with a loss of life. Anyone who drives the Carretera west to Jocotepec can hear the air brakes on the trucks – not their mechanical brakes – because the drivers are afraid that the mechanical brakes may not work. But air brakes don’t apply immediately like mechanical brakes do; they take a few seconds to build up and apply pressure. And if there is a leak in the system or a pump seal fails, there are no brakes.
It takes an 18-wheeler traveling at 40 miles an hour 525 feet to stop if its brakes are in good condition and it is on a level road. In reality, it takes much longer; slow reaction of the driver, slick roads, worn brakes, overloaded trailer, and a downward sloping road all increase this distance by hundreds of feet, or even render the brakes useless
The first line of defense against these tragedies isa brake inspection every 6 months with trucks that fail to be taken off the road until they pass inspection. México does have brake inspections, and the standards for Mexican trucks have been accepted by the US, but many Mexican trucks are operated by local owner-operators or families who work on slim profit margins and cut costs where they can.
The easiest way to save money is not to spend it – on maintenance, like brakes – and skip inspections. So brakes fail. Solving this problem with a Federally-enforced, comprehensive, incorruptible brake inspection and certification program applied to every truck is not realistically in the cards. So, how do we prevent more accidents like Tuesday’s rollover at Walmart?
An easy, inexpensive solution is a runaway truck ramp at the bottom of the Libramiento.
A runaway truck ramp is an exit that comes off of a highway designed to safely stop a speeding truck using gravel, sand, collapsible barriers and sometimes an incline . A properly designed ramp can stop a fully-loaded speeding truck in a few hundred feet, often with little damage to the vehicle.
When the driver of a loaded truck comes down the Libramiento, hits the topes and realizes that the brakes are gone, he or she can swerve the truck into an escape ramp parallel to the Libramiento which will stop it before it reaches the Carretera. Signs warning drivers to test their brakes ahead of the ramp will allow them to use it if they need it.
There is room for a ramp next to the Libramiento before the intersection. The relative cost is relatively minimal – land purchase, grading, sand and gravel, collapsible barriers, a safety wall. And it needs little maintenance. If it saves one life, it is worth it.
Of course there are politics. Neither the Carretera nor the Libramiento are Chapala municipal roads; they are Federal. Getting the Federal agency to deal with the Walmart intersection took years and everyone pretty much agrees they didn’t help much. Getting them to build a runaway truck ramp could take years more, unless there is a spectacular accident and even then, who knows? But solving the problem can start locally; the new Chapala Director of Movilidad – the former Police Chief of Dallas, Texas , who was born here – is a problem solver,
get-it -done kind of guy. Perhaps he can light some fires under the right Federal chairs to prevent another runaway truck smashing into cars or even people on the Libramiento.
Land located next to the San Antonio Tlayacapan boardwalk. Photo: Armando Esquivel.
Armando Esquivel(San Antonio Tlayacapan).- José de Jesús Arambul Solorio, a former PAN candidate for Congress, has been accused of corruption by local citizens for trying to subdivide land in a federal zone on the beaches of Lake Chapala, next to the San Antonio Tlayacapan boardwalk.
Claiming that Arambul Solorio used faked deeds and a corrupt notary, the citizens went to take back the public space on the afternoon of April 1. Arambul Solorio was also present accompanied by his subordinates.
About 50 people gathered on the San Antonio Tlayacapan boardwalk; men, women, children, young and old came to defend what they consider to be public spaces and began removing the metal fence poles. Jesús Arambul’s subordinates wanted to confront the demonstrators, but were told to «leave them alone» and just record the action.
As the activists shouted «raiders» and «invaders» and the crowd of citizens, many of them very angry, joined in to recover the spaces they consider public, the former candidate for local deputy for the National Action Party (PAN) chose to hide inside a trailer on in the property the group claimed he had illegally invaded.
One of the people accompanying the politician claimed that they were acting legally because they had a deed to the land. They said it was not fair for the neighbors to label them as outsiders parachuting “into the community to take public land.
One of Jesús Arambul’s subordinates offered a copy of a deed and tried to argue that it proved the claim to the land was legal. He asked “Who is the leader?” so he could dialogue with someone in charge, but the crowd answered that no one was a leader and that they all acted equally.
The photocopies of the deed presented show that Alvaro Guzmán Merino, notary public 126 of Guadalajara, issued the document, endorsing the purchase and sale of almost 5,104 square meters in front of the lake, with Gerardo Ponce Gómez as the seller and Jesús Arambul as the buyer. Those present said they never heard of Ponce Gómez
The title deed shown has an issue date of February 2021, but the Official Gazette of the State of Jalisco, July 24, 2020 , states that the notary in question could not practice because he was suspended. Additionally, Jesús Arambul’s subordinates did not present previous deeds; instead they argued that the property was owned by the seller since 1994 and that he had a concession from the National Water Commission (CONAGUA). No evidence of a concession was presented.
Jesús Arambul intends to subdivide the property for a luxury housing development and is already putting 11 lots up for sale, asking 6,500 pesos per square meter, legal deeds, supposedly with all the services, at the foot of the lake and with a fenced preserve.
CONAGUA representatives were not in evidence at the demonstration, following their failure to defend the shores of Lake Chapala which they are legally obliged to protect. The municipal government say sthat they have not neglected the issue and have reported invasions to the federal agency.
«They have told us that it is not a municipal issue, however, you are aware that we have entered (the disputed land), we have recovered spaces and we will continue working on the recovery of public spaces. I believe that the participation of the inhabitants is very important», Chapala President Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel said during an interview with the media, adding that the demonstrators should take care in their actions.
Two municipal police patrols were present on the day of the demonstration, but decided to withdraw before the protest started.
José de Jesús Arambul Solorio ran for local deputy for the XI district in Zapopan, using his political party, Acción Nacional, and lost the race. Arambul also served as coordinator within the Secretariat of Mobility of Jalisco, where he was disciplined for failing to file his asset declaration after leaving office. A politician with a law degree, he owns «Grupo AS Bienes Raíces», which is running ads on the internet offering large lots of land for sale in Chapala.
The fence built on this property was torn down and closure seals had been placed on the property by the authorities, but work has continued. Arambul Solorio promised not to make any moves until the situation is legally resolved, but the neighbors of San Antonio Tlayacapan, who were also accompanied by a group of people from Ajijic, said they do not believe him and fear that political influence could result in luxury houses on the shoreline and the exclusion of citizens to spaces they consider to belong to all.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
A Cyclone fence that had been removed and was put up a day after removal. Photo: Sofia Medeles.
Sofía Medeles(Ajijic).- Of the nine cyclone fences removed from federal land by activists, at least five were put back up by the owners of the residences on the shoreline Lake Chapala.
The «anti-rejas» (anti-fences) movement, which removed alleged illegal obstructions at the initiative of the group Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera, has focused on two areas of Ajijic: the beaches known as «Tío Domingo», and the Ajijic shoreline starting on Donato Guerra Street.
Seven fences were removed from the beaches of Tío Domingo, five of which have been reinstalled. In two of these cases, the property owners have planted crops to back up their claimed concession from the government to fence in the shoreline. To date, one of these plots still has agaves planted on it. Two other landowners placed gates at the border of their properties, claiming they were there to stop trespassing.
On the other side of Ajijic, two gates were removed by the Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera group The first one is located at the end of Donato Guerra Street. The property owner threatened to take action against the activists, but the activists were able to completely remove the chain-link fence. The activists also knocked down fence posts during their protest on March 25.
Later that day, close to the Hotel Real de Chapala, they removed a fence that extended approximately 30 meters along the shore of the lake, which had been rebuilt the following day,
Members of the group stated on several occasions that they would take action as many times as necessary against the alleged invaders of the areas that had previously been cleared of fencing.
On Friday, April 8, Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera will gather to remove the invasion next to the Hotel Real.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
Malla ciclónica que se había retirado y se colocó un día después de la remoción. Foto: Sofía Medeles.
Sofía Medeles.- De las nueve mallas ciclónicas retiradas del terreno federal, al menos cinco fueron colocadas nuevamente por los propietarios de las residencias al pie del Lago de Chapala.
El movimiento “anti-rejas” que se encargó de quitar las obstrucciones por iniciativa del grupo Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera, se ha desarrollado principalmente en dos zonas de Ajijic: las playas conocidas como “Tío Domingo”, y el oriente de la delegación, a partir de la calle Donato Guerra.
En las playas de Tío Domingo, se retiraron siete cercados, de los cuales, cinco nuevamente están de pie. En dos de estos casos, los responsables de las mallas colocaron siembras para confirmar su presunta concesión. Al día de hoy, uno de estos terrenos aún tiene agaves plantados. Por otro lado, otros dos propietarios, colocaron puertas al límite de sus propiedades, sin incurrir en la invasión.
Del otro lado de Ajijic, se quitaron dos rejas en días anteriores. La primera, al final de la calle Donato Guerra, la cual, pese a que los propietarios de la casa amenazaron con tomar acciones contra los activistas, terminaron retirando completamente la malla ciclónica y los postes que dejaron derribada los asistentes de la protesta del pasado 25 de marzo.
Más adelante, casi a un costado del Hotel Real de Chapala, ese mismo día, se quitó un cercado que se extendía aproximadamente 30 metros hacia la orilla del lago, la cual, al día siguiente, había sido recolocada.
Miembros del grupo declararon en varias ocasiones que tomarán acción nuevamente en contra de los invasores de las zonas que ya habían sido liberadas de los enmallados, las veces que sea necesario.
El viernes 8 de abril, Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera se reunirá para quitar la invasión al costado del Hotel Real.
La escuela tiene como objetivo motivar a los niños y jóvenes a practicar ciclismo. Foto: Cortesía.
Alma Serrano.- Desde mayo del año 2021, los niños y jóvenes cosalenses cuentan con una alternativa para practicar un deporte y mantener un estilo de vida saludable: la Escuela de Ciclismo “Rayo”.
Fue por iniciativa de Joel Nava, Samuel Díaz y Uriel Rayo, que se creó el proyecto sin fines de lucro para apoyar a los interesados o con aptitudes para el ciclismo, con el fin de enriquecer la cultura deportiva en San Juan Cosalá.
“Este proyecto se fundó con el fin de fomentar el deporte en los niños y adolescentes de nuestra comunidad, prepararlos en la cultura deportiva y darles un enfoque distinto ante estos tiempos difíciles, otra de nuestras metas es capacitarlos para competencias locales y nacionales en dónde representen a nuestra población”, expresó Joel Nava Reyes.
El objetivo del proyecto es impactar directamente en la salud y educación de la comunidad, por lo que los organizadores invitaron a niños y jóvenes de la comunidad a sumarse a este equipo, del cual también están en busca de patrocinadores para solventar gastos para material y concursos.
Los 50 comerciantes protestaron en la avenida Francisco I. Madero después de que el puesto fue decomisado. Foto: Jazmín Stengel.
Jazmín Stengel.- El desalojo de unos comerciantes ambulantes y el decomiso de su mercancía por elementos del departamento de Reglamentos, Padrón y Licencias, cerca de la zona recién restaurada en el malecón de Chapala, terminó con una manifestación sobre la avenida Francisco I. Madero cruce con Hidalgo, en la cabecera municipal, el sábado 2 de abril.
Y es que, los comerciantes Triquis de Oaxaca tras haber tenido varias reubicaciones en el último mes por parte de las autoridades, debido a la restauración de áreas verdes y cambio de imagen urbana que se llevan a cabo en el malecón de Chapala, se negaron -junto con los otros 10 comerciantes que venden en la zona- a establecerse al oriente del malecón, en el estacionamiento de la zona restaurantera conocida como La Rampa.
Por lo que agentes del departamento de Reglamentos, Padrón y Licencias decomisaron sin previo aviso un puesto ambulante en el malecón de Chapala, haciendo uso de los elementos de seguridad pública, denunciaron los comerciantes Triquis de Oaxaca de la zona.
El lunes 4 de abril se iniciaría un diálogo con las autoridades, durante el horario laboral y hasta ese entonces se les había permitido seguir trabajando a diez puestos en las ubicaciones que ya están registradas dentro del padrón, a razón de que los propietarios cuentan con su permiso comercial vigente.
Sin embargo, inspectores de reglamentos acompañados de elementos de seguridad pública acudieron el sábado 2 de abril, pasado el mediodía a decomisar los juguetes del primer puesto ambulante con 30 años de antigüedad, sin dar notificaciones oficiales por escrito de manera previa, según testimonios de comerciantes de los comerciantes indígenas.
Los agentes involucrados negaron su identificación limitándose a responder “oi este wey”, además, comenzaron una serie de forcejeos con los comerciantes que defendían su producto y derechos laborales, como se viralizó con videos sobre el caso en redes sociales. «Se llevan las cosas como viles rateros», se escuchó decir a una de las afectadas en las grabaciones.
En uno de los múltiples videos publicados por el gremio de indígenas Triquis de Oaxaca, se observa el jaloneo entre hombres, mujeres, funcionarios y elementos de seguridad pública. «A mí me jalaron tres hombres», declaró una menor de edad involucrada. Una señora Triqui resultó con moretones tras el forcejeo.
Las agresiones por parte de ambos bandos se acentuaron al exigir que el conteo de la mercancía fuera público. Sin embargo, el producto fue introducido en las instalaciones del Ayuntamiento, lo que derivó en un bloqueo por parte de los 50 protestantes en la avenida Francisco I. Madero en su cruce con Avenida Hidalgo.
Por su parte, los líderes del gremio de comerciantes Triquis dijeron organizarse para exigir sus derechos humanos, derecho laboral y el reembolso de la mercancía afectada. Ya sea por medio de una queja ante los derechos humanos, una demanda legal o un amparo comercial para evitar ser removidos y discriminados.
Hasta el cierre de esta edición, la afectada fue atendida por el presidente municipal e informada de que el conteo de la mercancía finalizó. Sin embargo, Alejandro Aguirre les pidió a los presentes mantener el malecón libre de comercio ambulante durante las próximas vacaciones de Semana Santa y Pascua. Esto no resuelve el problema de reubicación, para los comerciantes indígenas.
Foto: Cortesía.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía.- Aunque se espera una afluencia aproximada de 18 mil personas durante la Semana Santa y Pascua en Jocotepec, autoridades médicas descartaron un aumento en los contagios de Covid-19.
“La verdad no vemos mucho peligro para este periodo vacacional, ya que el virus actualmente no está circulando, sería otro escenario como en enero, que sí estaba activo el virus y se hicieron las fiestas”, informó un médico del Hospital Comunitario de Jocotepec, cuyo nombre prefirió omitir.
Como muestra, durante el mes de marzo, el Hospital no registró ni un caso positivo ni una hospitalización por coronavirus.
No obstante, el entrevistado indicó que pese al favorable comportamiento que se ha tenido en cuanto a la disminución de contagios en el municipio, ha sido preocupante el panorama de las jornadas de vacunación en las últimas semanas.
La participación ha sido casi “nula” por parte de la comunidad, ya que aseguró que antes, un aproximado de tres mil, cuatro mil dosis, se agotaban en tres días y ahora, en dos semanas solo aplicaron 500 dosis.
Por lo que el médico exhortó a la población a no bajar la guardia, a continuar aplicándose las respectivas vacunas, aunque por el momento, la última jornada será el viernes 8 de abril y ya no hay indicaciones por parte de la Secretaría de Salud Jalisco (SSJ), de continuar con las campañas hasta nuevo aviso.
Debido a la disminución de casos positivos a nivel estatal, la Mesa de Salud de Jalisco actualizó el pasado 17 de marzo las medidas sanitarias, liberando al cien por ciento el aforo en establecimientos públicos y no emitió prohibiciones para la temporada vacacional.
Las dos motocicletas modelo XTZ250 Lander 2022 proporcionadas al departamento de Movilidad Chapala.
Jazmín Stengel.- Dos motocicletas de 249 centímetros cúbicos modelo XTZ250 Lander 2022 de la marca Yamaha fueron entregados al departamento de Movilidad Chapala, el pasado 7 de abril.
Ambas motocicletas, tuvieron un costo de 300 mil pesos aproximadamente; el pago lo realizó el Ayuntamiento de Chapala, informó el presidente municipal Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, al concluir la presentación del Operativo Municipal Alegres Vacaciones en Chapala.
Se mantendrá prioridad en las zonas con más conflictos viales, como lo son el libramiento de Ajijic, también a su cruce con la carretera Chapala- Jocotepec, y el principal crucero de la cabecera municipal, avenida Francisco I. Madero con Hidalgo, entre otros. «Se espera tener más presencia en los puntos rojos del municipio», aseguró el alcalde.
«El tránsito lo requiere, para poder ordenar la movilidad en Chapala», especificó Aguirre Curiel. Además, dijo que será necesaria la adquisición de más motocicletas, debido a que las utilizadas en administraciones pasadas estaban en comodato y este no les fue posible mantenerlo.
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