The impact was slight, with no injuries.
Editorial Staff.- Two cars merging from the Ajijic beltway onto the Chapala-Jocotepec highway were involved in a minor rear-end accident on the afternoon of May 17.
Even though the accident caused only minor damage, the drivers involved had to wait for their insurance companies to arrive. Despite the fact that the damaged vehicles did not block through traffic, curious onlookers in passing vehicles caused traffic to slow.
Translated by MaryAnne Marble
Triálogo Jazz Quartet. Eleazar Soto, Miguel Soto, Gilberto Ríos, and Sofía Ramirez. Photo credit: La Cochera Cultural.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic).- Guadalajara’s historic Teatro Maria Theresa will resonate with world class jazz as Ajijic’s renowned jazz quartet Triálogo records a live performance in a double-bill concert with jazz master Luis Shatter. The live recording will be produced as Triálogo’s debut album.
Triálogo is composed of Sofía Ramírez on piano and vocals, Gilberto Ríos on double bass and electric bass, Miguel Soto on drum, and Eleazar Soto on saxophone. The live recording and album production is underwritten by Ajijic’s La Cochera Cultural and local investors.
Triálogo is well known in Lakeside for its very high level of talent and its constant search for innovation that results in music that is often exploratory. Each of the four members of Triálogo comes with a different background, including traditional jazz, free jazz, classical music, contemporary music, Afro-American rhythms, electronic rhythms, flamenco, and Latin rhythms.
They bring these influences together in their passion for jazz and for composing original songs, one reason they are beloved by Lakeside jazz fans along with world-class musicianship, a diverse catalog of songs, and their knack for engaging an audience.
Keyboardist and composer Luis Shatter will join Triálogo on the bill at Teatro Maria Theresa, joined by Marcos Díaz on saxophone; Juan Manuel Ayala on electric bass, and Armando Curiel on drums. Shatter e received a nomination for the 2022 Minerva’s de Jalisco Awards in the Best Jazz Artist category.
Shatter, who has collaborated and recorded with artists such as Hela San, La Celestina, Sharif, and Astrid Cruz, has released several singles and a live recorded EP titled Wabi-Sabi and his latest instrumental Petricor.
The public is welcome to the concert which begins at 8 pm at Teatro Maria Teresa, Calle Cruz Verde 121 between Independencia and Juan Manuel, downtown Guadalajara. Admission: $160 in presale / $200 the day of the event. Tickets on sale: teatromariateresa.com
Information: 33 19 79 01 96 / 33 11 90 88 963312879814 (S3 3312879814 (Sin central Guadalajara).
People who participated during the removal of one of the invading cyclone fences. Photo: Facebook.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).- Approximately 20 people gathered to recover the federal land on the beaches of San Antonio Tlayacapan to protest against alleged illegal construction last Sunday, May 15.
On Sunday morning, residents of San Antonio and Ajijic and members of the group Pueblos Unidos de la Ribera removed two fences that were encroaching properties on Lake Chapala.
The activists identify illegal landfills and construction as part of their mission and they pointed to a trailer on land allegedly invaded by the former PAN candidate for local deputy, José de Jesús Arambul Solorio as one of the sites they are targeting.
One of the fences the activists removed was located in a construction site in progress and had been re-erected during the week. The group reported the fence to the Chapala Urban Development Department, requesting its removal and an end to the construction.However, as of the closing of this edition, the municipal authority had not acted, and the group intends to protest again.
«There are several landfills and high walls on the invaders’ land and they are walls that, until a year ago, were not there. They are very large spaces, some of up to one hectare. We tried to get a resolution from the city council to close down these construction projects, but they did not do it», mentioned a participant of the movement.
The contested trailer had been planned to be removed during the demonstration, but there were not sufficient people to move it. The protesters cleaned the property, and disconnected the vehicle from the electrical wiring, which, according to several witnesses, was illegally connected.
Due to the disregard by the authorities, as well as the lack of support, a demonstration is being called in the same area, this coming Friday, May 20, which will be attended by people from San Antonio, Ajijic and San Juan Cosalá to support the liberation of beaches and to create recreational and sports spaces.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
Restaurant being remodeled to “open soon”. Photo: Sofía Medeles.
Sofía Medeles.- The controversial restaurant located on the Ajijic pier, which in recent weeks has seen staff working on its upcoming reopening, still does not have the necessary licenses to operate, nor has it been approached by Chapala authorities.
This information was confirmed by the municipal president Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, who said that no commercial activity has been authorized.
«So far, I am not aware that they have been approached, but they do not have any license», thus ruling out a prompt opening.
Contrary to this, in the last three weeks, there has been activity on the part of workers performing remodeling, next to a large billboard, which has information about the restaurant, which reads «coming soon».
The appearance of the restaurant and the sign have generated controversy in Ajijic, as some people object to both the restaurant on the premises, and those who see it as a source of work, a tourist attraction, and that it would be better occupied than abandoned.
The 34-year-old building, located next to the Ajijic pier, was built there due to a concession granted by the National Water Commission (Conagua) to a private individual. The owner of the site and of the concession is Fabio Rizzo Jasso, according to him, the concession covers 3,362 meters, which includes part of the boardwalk and the Parque de la Amistad, and is authorized for 50 years.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
Miguel Martínez street in the municipal headwaters with the fallen guamuchil and flood damage.Photo: Jazmin Stengel.
Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).- The first rains in Chapala left five fallen trees, damaged power line, and the obstruction of the water well number 3, according to reports from the director of Fire and Civil Protection in Chapala, Antonio Lorenzo Salazar Guerrero and the Municipal System of Potable Water and Sewerage (SIMAPA).
Winds of over 50 kilometers per hour in Ajijic and more than 70 in Chapala were recorded for almost 15 minutes during the first rain of the season on May 14, after 7:30 at night, according to Civil Protection and Firefighters of Jalisco.
Of the five fallen trees, two were in Atotonilquillo, one at the entrance on the Santa Rosa – La Barca highway and the second at the exit to Juanacatlán, damaging a light pole and telephone cables, which have already been repaired.
Another tree almost 15 meters tall fell in La Floresta subdivision of Ajijic, which blocked the road for almost an hour.Residents and Firefighters and Civil Protection removed it completely.
In the municipal capital, the tree collapsed on Emiliano Zapata street and took down the perimeter fence of the neighboring land and another one on Miguel Martínez street, where a guamuchil grafted on a camichin fell on the niche of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the gate of an adjoining house, taking down two walls and a metal sign on the door.
Firemen and Civil Protection promised Eliba, owner of the property, that members of the Urban Development Department would come to assess the damage, but a week after the incident they still have not shown up.
In addition, water well number three, located on Teófilo SIlva Street, was so clogged with sedimentary materials that only four liters of water per second could be extracted, instead of its normal 25 liters per second.
At press time, SIMAPA personnel were re-drilling the well to stabilize the water supply in the Las Redes and Barrio Nuevo subdivisions, located northeast of the municipal capital.
The effects of the rain were also felt in other areas. Damage to a shade netting structure was reported at School1066 of Las Redes Chapala, caused by the strong winds of the Urban Planning personne removed the shade becauseFirefighters and Civil Protection considered it dangerous.
«Having a municipality rich in green areas, also entails risks,» explained Lorenzo Antonio Salazar Guerrero. Commander Of the Chapala Bomberos, adding that neither Fire and Civil Protection, nor the Director of Ecology have conducted a total study of trees in the municipality, to identify how many of them are sick and at risk of collapse.
However, upon receiving a report, the Fire Department and Civil Protection does go to the site to diagnose the tree and determine its condition.The director of Civil Protection has asked the people of Chapala to report any type of anomaly in trees in their gardens or public spaces.
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
Amy E.’s 2009 Prius. Photo: Amy E.
Editors. After 10 months of ping-pong between state agencies, attempts by local officials to intervene, and multiple meetings and documents, Amy E. has asked the Stolen Car Office of the US Consulate in Guadalajara to help her get her car back in what observers say is a painful example of a byzantine, incompetent and uncaring bureaucracy run amok.
According to statements, a timeline and documents provided to Laguna by Amy E., the Chapala police towed her car, a 2009 silver Toyota Prius, last July after it was sideswiped by a driver who was passing on the left in a no passing zone. She had been waiting to make a left turn from the Carretera when her car was struck. Damage to her car was minor; the other driver lost control and seriously damaged his car, but there were no injuries. Amy E. called her insurance company.
Neither driver called the police but Amy E. claims a Chapala policeman showed up and towed their cars without permission to the el carralón (impound lot) located on the Libramiento in Chapala.
Amy E., her spouse, a representative of the insurance company, the lawyer for the insurance company, the President of Gysa S.A de C.V. which owns the impound lot, and a senior official from the Chapala municipal government met last week to find a way to get Amy’s car back. Laguna was present at the meeting.
The consensus was that as much as the Gysa S.A de C.V. wants to return her car – which the company president said was his priority – state law forbids the company from doing so without a release document from Jalisco Ministerio Público (MP). Efforts by Amy E., GYA, and the insurance company to obtain the document have been stymied by 10 months of bungling and bureaucratic nonsense, according to Amy E. and those in attendance.
“It feels quite unfair – we appeared at every appointment, showed every piece of documentation several times, and we were very eager to get our car out of storage. But every time we showed up with the documents they asked for, they had another excuse for not releasing the car. I wish I knew why it was being held for so long,” Amy told Laguna, displaying all of the documentation required by MP and the list of appointments she and the insurance company had attended on time, as requested.
During the past ten months she says that she and her attorney and insurance company have tried to retrieve their car multiple times both at the Gysa S.A de C.V. lot and at the Ministerio Público office in Chapala, starting two days after the accident, but have been blocked by the state government agencies who were unwilling or unable to provide the release, although was not at fault and her car was driveable.
The Mexican driver who sideswiped her car did not have insurance and was driving with open alcohol, has never shown up for any required meetings and has suffered no consequences for ignoring the law.
She knew it was going to be difficult at her first meeting at MP when she arrived for her appointment with all the requested documents and was told she needed another appointment to present the documents to the clerk standing in front of her. At her most recent meeting, she was told her TIP (importation document) was expired and she could not get her car without renewing it and she could not renew it without getting her car. She protested that she had renewed it and presented the documents to prove it (Laguna confirmed the renewal documents) but to no avail. According to copies of emails provided to Laguna by Amy E., MP staff said they needed another document from another state agency.
At one point in the process (October 2021) the MP told her another agency could not locate the car (it was where it had been for months). Her insurance company had to go to the impound lot and obtain photos to prove that it was still there.
Amy E. relates that the MP staff also asked her to sign a paper saying she was half at fault in order to get her car back, which was not true; however, she signed the paper to expedite the release of her car, which did not happen. The MP has also refused to give her any documents from her file.
With no more options, she has asked the Stolen Car Office of the US Counsel General to initiate an investigation. Since MP and the other agencies it works with to obtain documents are part of the Jalisco State government, it appears that intervention is needed at the state level. She is awaiting a reply.
“Since it was taken during the rainy season, and due to the accident the driver-side door did not shut completely, we are worried the rain will get inside [the car and ruin it], but our greatest fear is that we will never get it back.”Amy E. told Laguna.
By: Patrick O’Herffernan
Elsewhere in Laguna are the details of the towing and impounding of a local Expat’s car after a minor non-injury accident. The story chronicles a bizarre 10-month journey through a bureaucratic hall of mirrors at the Jalisco Ministerio Público that is still not over.
The Chapala cop who mysteriously arrived at the accident scene while the parties were working out a deal did not have to tow Amy E’s car. Why he towed the car we won’t know (he works for another agency now), but that unnecessary action set off a chain of events that , to my mind, has laid bare the worst – and the best – in the Mexican government.
The system of initiating a tow by a local cop, the actual towing by a private company to a lot regulated by the State, and release of the car in the hands of a State Agency whose priorities are elsewhere, all together are a recipe for disaster. Amy E. is going through this disaster now. The agency doesn’t give a damn about the citizens, the staff is incompetent (at least in this case) and the local government that is closest to the people is powerless.
This has to change. State law should be changed to devolve the authority for releasing towed cars to a local agency. Police at every level should not be allowed to tow cars that are drivable unless they were involved in a crime or an injury. And cars not involved in a crime or an injury accident should be released to the owners within two weeks by the impound lot, whether or not the government has generated the needed documents.
I know – good luck with that. But there is a small silver lining to this cloud – the responsiveness of local officials. Amy E. was able to contact local officials who, rather than saying hers was a state problem, attempted to intervene on her behalf, spending considerable time in the process. While the intervention failed, it is heartening to see that the government closest to the people – the municipality – listens to them.
The bottom line here; Mexicans will tell you if you are in an accident and no one is hurt, leave. Don’t leave your car at the scene for a cop to tow while you work out a deal with the other driver, they say. I support a change in the organic law controlling the Ministerio Público; that will make life a lot easier on everyone. In the meantime. Watch this space to help Free Amy E’s car.
The audience laughed out loud with Rafa Ramírez’s jokes. Photo: Jazmín Stengel.
Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).- This year, the mothers of the municipality enjoyed more than four hours of entertainment and fun with tapatío comedians, mariachi and the imitation of Jenni Rivera. They also took a few moments to share laughs.
The president of DIF Chapala, Erika Erín Torres Herrera, congratulated all the mothers of the municipality and in welcoming them, said that the festival was held with the purpose of giving a moment of joy to the mothers.
The gifts were few, but the laughs were many, and unlike other years in which utensils for the house were distributed, on May 9 at the Juan Rayo Municipal Field they were spoiled with laughter with the ‘Rafa Ramirez Show’, accompanied by the comedian Gelipe with G Latina.
The Original Mariachi Hermanos Vargas del Tepehuaje also performed to harmonize the evening, and Blanca Estela Fernandez’s impersonation of Jenni Rivera helped them sing what many have not been able to say.
The celebrants, upon entering the facilities, were given a plastic basket with juice, a clown popsicle and a ham sandwich as a snack for the evening. This also included a number of vouchers for beverages, either soft drinks, cool water or beer.
Smiles and dancing demonstrated the joy with which they celebrated the evening, while our interviewees were at a loss for words to describe what a great time they had. Some of them, already in tune, sang along to the mariachi songs and others took pictures of themselves in the illuminated letters.
All noticed the moment when the host introduced Gelipe as Rafa Ramirez, and, as in a good comedy presentation, the mistake was lost in the audience’s applause and became the first joke of the night with an «Ah gee, that’s not me, sir,» as a response from the comedian.
Rafel Ramirez began his presentation with the famous characterization of El Cholo, a satirical character of a popular Latin lifestyle. He concluded without disguises being his own character, although at times the audience could not tell if Ramirez was dancing for the women or dancing with them.
The protagonists managed to bring tears of joy to the mothers of Chapala on their day. «It was a great idea», said one interviewee, who said that the best gift is to pamper oneself.
The presentations began after 6:00 p.m. and concluded shortly before 11:00 p.m., after more than four hours of music, entertainment and fun. To top it all off, Gelipe con G Latina and Rafa Ramirez stayed until the last photo was taken with every mom who wanted to take home a souvenir.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
Photography for illustrative purposes
Editorial Staff.- Angel Alejandro D., accused of robbing a gas station in Chapala in 2017, was arrested almost five years after committing the crime. The arrest took place in Puerto Vallarta. The arrest report did not date the arrest..
The subject is accused of threatening an employee with a firearm and robbing him of cash.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office was able to establish his probable responsibility and requested an arrest warrant against him. He was captured in the Santo Domingo neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta by agents stationed in District VIII, who notified him of his legal rights.
Translated by Mags Petela
The fire was visible from various points in Chapala and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. Photo: Mario Negrete Photography.
Laguna Staff (Chapala).- The hills located behind the Brisas Chapala subdivision, on the border with Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, were affected by the fire that started during the morning of Saturday, May 7, damaging 67 hectares of forest area.
Around 11:00 a.m. the first reports were received when a large column of smoke was observed in Chapala and visible in Ajijic. Shortly afterward, the smoke could be seen from the municipality of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos.
The flames quickly spread, when members of the Civil Protection and Firefighters of Chapala arrived in the area. They asked for reinforcements from other municipalities to fight the magnitude of the fire. Soon a tanker helicopter from the municipality of Tlajomulco arrived to help.
After hours of work, the fire was extinguished with 58 firefighters participating in the arduous work.
Although most of the burned area was leaf litter, the fauna was affected and forced to move away from the affected area. Before the fire started, some suspicious trucks could be seen from the road near the starting point.
Translated by Mary Woods
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