The collision snarled traffic.
No lives were lost in the accident, but there was heavy traffic in the area. This is not the first time that a heavy truck has been involved in an accident on this road.
Translated by Kerry Watson
Municipal Public Security officers. Photo: Jazmín Stengel.
Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).- During the Holy Week and Easter holiday period from April 9 to 24, there was one death, two arrests, three injuries, 20 road accidents, 87 infractions and two closed bars. This balance was presented by the municipality based on the Security Operation Joyful Holidays in Chapala.
A 42-year-old man from El Salto lost his life after he overturned his ATV on the road from San Nicolás de Ibarra to Atotonilquillo on the evening of April 16. No details are known about the accident since it was reported to the Fire Department and Civil Protection by citizens who were passing by.
The first arrest was the result of a serious accident between a car and a motorcycle, in which the motorcyclist was seriously injured and was treated by the Chapala Red Cross and later transferred to a hospital. The driver of the car was arrested.
The second person arrested was due to traffic officers who were looking for the driver of a vehicle that was blocking the road and who tried to flee in a car while inebriated, stated the director of Mobility Chapala, Moisés Ochoa Urquieta.
In another incident, two people were injured in an accident between cars in which both drivers were injured and taken to hospitals for medical attention. The Public Prosecutor’s Office did not arrest either of them, specified Ochoa Urquieta.
In total, 20 road accidents were reported during the holiday period by the Chapala traffic department, however, most were only material losses.
The department’s report also includes 87 infractions issued from April 9 to 24; 15 complaints from the community, and two vehicles stopped for blocking parking lots or interrupting the flow of traffic. This is in addition to road assistance that was required for three hours due to demonstrations on April 14.
The Regulations Department also reported the closure of two stalls on the Chapala boardwalk due to a dispute over space between the two owners, 25 warnings, 15 summonses and 20 visit orders were issued to supervise different commercial activities.
During the operation, the departments of Mobility, Public Safety, Fire and Civil Protection, Regulations and Tourism were involved. In addition to the heads of each department, 60 police officers, 17 traffic officers, 19 inspectors and 42 firefighters participated throughout the municipality of Chapala.
Translated by Sydney Metrick
Front of the new dialysis clinic at 303 Hidalgo Avenue in Chapala. Photo: Jazmín Stengel
Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).- Go Health Mx Foundation installed a specialized dialysis clinic for people suffering from Chronic Renal Insufficiency, or CKD, in the municipality of Chapala. Hemodialysis patients must often have the treatments for life so the new facility ends the need for weekly drives to Guadalajara for treatment.The facility opened Monday, May 2 at 303 Hidalgo Avenue with the capacity to perform 2,800 treatments per year. This could save money and time for kidney patients in the Chapala area, which is one of the places in the world with the highest incidence of kidney disease. Industrial pollution in rivers and creeks in the greater Chapala and Santiago aquifers has been cited as a possible cause, as well as the agrochemicals and pesticides used on local farms, according to 2017 research by University of Guadalajara and the National Institute of Public Health.
Although world statistics show that one in 10 people suffer from kidney failure, on the shores of Lake Chapala the average rises to three out of every 10 inhabitants. The most affected communities are near the Santiago River basin, such as Mezcala, San Pedro Itzicán, San Juan Tecomatlán, Agua Caliente, and others. The local location will save time and travel expenses so patients no longer have to go to Guadalajara. Another advantage is the lower cost, 1,250 pesos per treatment, with expenses to be paid by the civil association, the Government of Chapala and the patient in equal parts of the total, equalling 416 pesos each.
Chapala municipal president Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curie, promised this to citizens of the municipality. However, although the unit has been inaugurated, the collaboration agreement contract with the Go Health Mx foundation is not yet ready. Those interested from other municipalities will go through a socioeconomic examination to evaluate the percentage of help that the foundation can offer.
Registration takes place at the hospital’s reception desk, which is open from 8 am to 5 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It is expected that the hospital will soon keep its doors open all week. Days of service will increase according to demand.
Annual dialysis costs can reach up to 260,000 pesos (about US$13,000) per person, taking into account 1.2 treatments of three hours per week, according to 2019 data from the Mexican Institute of Social Security. It is best to have a kidney transplant in the first two years after initial diagnosis, before it becomes chronic. However, there are not enough kidneys available in Mexican organ donation banks.
Today in the municipality of Chapala there are 1,026 officially registered cases of kidney failure, and there are probably more. The clinic’s staff intends to rely on the municipal medical services to help identify those patients who have not yet been officially diagnosed. Aguirre Curiel promised to implement a laboratory where patients can perform their monthly tests at low cost. He also promised to start a series of agreements with private hospitals in the area so low-income patients can also be treated.
In Jalisco, “the numbers are stark,” said Ángela María Soto Cruz, a nephrology specialist at the new clinic. In 2019 the state was listed as having the most cases of kidney failure registered internationally, surpassing some countries, with almost 7,000 cases as of the last census, more than 10 percent of the entire country.
This worried nephrology specialists, since many of these cases were detected in children, young people and adolescents who at a young age are already dependent on dialysis machines. According to studies by the University of Guadalajara in 2019, 51.4 percent of the cases in the state ended in death.
Dialysis and hemodialysis treatments consist of connecting the patient intravenously to a machine that acts as an artificial kidney. The machine cleans the blood from the kidneys by mixing it with completely purified water. The facilities in Chapala also have the proper chemical and carbon filters, as well as an ultraviolet light to eliminate all the microparticles that can harm the patient.
Translated by Mike Rogers
San Juan Cosalá delegation crosses were decorated with floral arrangements.
Alma Serrano (San Juan Cosalá).- Traditionally, parishioners go up to the cross on a hill to pay their respects or simply as an act of faith. On the way, some pick up stones. When they arrive at their destination, they leave the stones next to the cross as a symbol of offering. Others leave money, objects, written notes and even food.
In the town, the crosses were decorated with flowers and colorful composure. Some are on La Paz, Morelos and Vicente Guerrero north streets. The general population, especially the elderly, visited the crosses near their homes to participate in the Eucharistic celebrations and prayers.
“Because of my legs, I can no longer go to the cross on the hill,” said a 63-year-old San Juan Cosalá resident. “It is very tiring to climb, so I just come like today, but here. It is nice and one comes to ask things to the Holy Cross.”
This day is also to remember the dignified and invaluable work of the masons, who honor the date by erecting a cross decorated with paper flowers. “I have been a mason since I was 13 years old,” said a 57-year-old worker. “We build homes, and it is an important and dignified job.”
Translated by Mike Rogers
The traditional Las Mañanitas are sung by the mariachi in the festival of the Lord of Huaje.
By: María del Refugio Reynozo Medina
NOTE. Just as Mexican Catholics recognize many representations of “la Virgen,” they also recognize many representations of Jesus Christ. Usually these are depicted with a sculpted figure, sometimes of great antiquity and value, often dating back to the 1500s or 1600s when Spain was establishing the church here. These representations have their own names and their own celebration days, and are often credited with performing miracles on behalf of the faithful. This article refers to the celebration for “el Señor del Huaje,” a large figure of the crucified Christ made of the wood of the “huaje” or tamarind tree, which is celebrated with a festival and procession on the first Sunday in May each year.
The streets of Jocotepec are still in darkness. It is about 5:30 in the morning and the orange flowers and green foliage of the flame-red tabachine trees at the entrance of the temple look grayish.
About a hundred people are already gathered inside and outside the temple, under the leafy trees. Dances are being prepared and the brass band is playing. Steaming pots rest in their stands. Chocolate, cinnamon and tamarind atole (a hot cornflour drink) awaits the faithful who gather at the temple of the Señor del Huaje, for his feast.
The band is playing a popular dancing song, El Mono de Alambre (The Wire Monkey). The men of the band sing. The bells ring the second call for the six o’clock mass and Father Mario Fernando Sandoval Varela comes out of the temple to welcome the cargueros (the men who will be carrying the figure of the Señor del Huaje in the procession).
“How about the music,» he says. And El Mono de Alambre is interrupted by the chants of a procession.
“Long live my Christ, long live my King,” some women sing, and the band stops.
Soon the San Cristobal Band arrives and intones the traditional Las Mañanitas, followed by waltzes and pasodobles dances, which permeate the Eucharistic celebration.
At the end of the mass, a man reads a list of the various expenses of the festival: the music, the dawn ceremony, decorated candles, dances, dinner for the musicians and the castillo or fireworks tower. He names the families who will assume the expenses. Many of them are from the Nextipac neighborhood
At the exit of mass, they begin to distribute the drinks and the dancers execute their movements to the sound of the drum and the caracol, a prehispanic musical instrument like a trumpet made of shell or ceramic.
Today is expected the visit of Father Eduardo Garcia Orta who spent three years in the community of Jocotepec and still retains the affection for these lands and the veneration for the Lord of the Huaje.
Father «Lalo» as the community calls him, is on his way with a very valuable cendal, a beautifully decorated loincloth that will be wrapped around the image of Christ to be premiered by the Señor del Huaje in his feast. Some representatives of the honor guard gather and wait eagerly for its arrival. «They say that this loincloth has golden threads» a discreet and festive voice is heard. There is much excitement to see it and to welcome the priest.
Upon his arrival, Father Lalo is received with signs of affection. They congregate at the altar and everyone approaches to see the loincloth, which is bright red with gold embroidery.
To carry out the change of the loincloth, putting the new one in place of the current one, the men remain in the enclosure and the women wait outside. A woman who accompanies me in the wait says, “These are men’s duties; women have no business being there.”
Carlos Mendo is the main person in charge. For ten years, he has overseen the honor guard. It is made up of about a hundred people, mostly men and a few recently integrated women. He was questioned by some parishioners for having allowed access to women.
“God doesn’t say you don’t or you do,» he responded confidently.
Mr. Roberto Mendo, Carlos’s father, was the last person in charge and left the position to his son.
It is a great responsibility, says Carlos, because it means taking care not only of the image of a beloved Christ, but also of a piece of historical artistic value. The last restoration cost 140,000 pesos (about US$7,000), which were raised with donations from the community.
It is a difficult responsibility, but it is also a blessing. «Now I only ask for work and health,” he said.
Víctor, a member of the honor guard, shares a testimony. His wife was sick for a couple of months, having inexplicably lost the mobility of her body, during which time she remained in bed in a lot of pain. They went to several doctors and his wife’s health did not improve. One morning, she told him, “I dreamed of the Lord of the Huaje.”
In the dream, the Lord of the Huaje told her to «drink from that water,» pointing to a small puddle next to him. The woman asked to be taken to the temple with the figure of the crucified Christ. When she was in front of the altar there was some water on the floor, so she brought her lips close and implored for her health.
That day she walked out of the temple, healthy. From then on, both asked to be part of the honor guard.
On the first Sunday of May, the day denoted for this celebration, the procession is almost the last ceremony of the day. Before that, mariachi musicians coincide with the band with their blue shirts and at least five groups of dancers. Colorful plumage abounds to the beat of the drum.
There are lines of people kneeling to approach the crucified figure to fulfill a request or ask for a favor.
The route of a couple of hours is a mosaic of dancers with multicolored feathers and costumes, musicians with their polished costumes and the honor guard with their bright red shirts.
The sound of the drums announces the approach of the procession. As it passes, the figure of the crucified Christ, almost three meters high, draws sighs and tears.
In a loudspeaker, the voice of a woman prays and sings, “There are eyes that, if they look at me, make my soul tremble with love, they are such beautiful eyes…”
The Lord of the Huaje is carried on a special platform driven by a man. He advances, standing out among the crowd with his gaze towards the sky, towards the mountains, towards the faithful who sometimes look into his eyes. “Because He lives,” says a woman next to me, ecstatic with fervor.
Translated by Sandy Britton
The Philharmonic Orchestra of Jalisco began its season with a concert in Jocotepec. Photo: OFJ.
Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- The Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (OFJ) performed for the first time in the municipality of Jocotepec.
Hundreds of citizens packed the temple of Señor del Monte to listen to the first concert of the orchestra’s tour outside the Metropolitan Zone of Guadalajara (ZMG). With guest conductor Mariana Martinez, the orchestra will visit the 12 regions of Jalisco.
Noé Reynoso Hermosillo, Culture Director for the municipality, said that the 368 tickets distributed by City Hall for the recital were sold out, and additionally, there were people from other delegations or municipalities who attended. A little less than 500 in total, due to the limited capacity of the venue.
«Although this was a municipal event, was more of a regional event, because people came from Ocotlán, from Guadalajara, from Jamay, from La Manzanilla, even from Tizapán,» commented Reynoso Hermosillo.
«They should bring this type of event more often, I loved it, I loved seeing so many people enjoying real music, something other than Maluma,» commented one of the attendees to the musical.
Culture director Hermosillo was satisfied with the results of the orchestra’s first presentation in the municipality. Previously the orchestra was reluctant to perform outside the ZMG as «it was very expensive.»
This was the first concert of the Jalisco Philharmonic in an «extensive» tour, said Noé Reynoso, which will tour the 12 regions of Jalisco as part of the strategy of decentralization of culture of the Ministry of Culture of Jalisco.
Translated by Paul Weeks
Area of the accident in the lake.
Editor.- A man died after suffering an accident in his kayak while on Lake Chapala in San Antonio Tlayacapan. The accident occurred during the afternoon of May 1st.
The person entered the lake, but was not seen leaving, so help was requested. Unfortunately, help was too late and the young man lost his life by drowning. His body was recovered. The deceased was a well-known and respected person with a family in the town of San Antonio Tlayacapan.
During that day, a fishing tournament organized by the municipality of San Antonio Tlayacapan was being held on the boardwalk.
Translated by Rebecca Zittle
A planter had to be moved with a crane to allow the truck to pass.
After unsuccessful maneuvering attempts and wanting to move the other truck, the operators decided to call a crane to move a planter so that the pickup, whose owner was not present, could be moved and the mammogram unit could get out of the situation.
Translated by Paul Weeks
The Regional Prosecutor’s Office served an arrest warrant against Joshua A. for suspicion in the crime of aggravated child sexual abuse, and corruption of minors.
Investigations by the Investigative Police division led to the locating, and arrest of this man. He was arrested at the intersection of Isla del Presidio and Los Maestros, in the Gastronómica neighborhood, in Chapala municipality. Joshua A. is allegedly connected to the sexual assault of a child reported earlier this year.
Translated by Amy Esperanto
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador seeks to push an electoral reform initiative. Photo: Government of Mexico.
By: Abigail Angélica Correa Cisneros
Dissatisfaction with Mexico’s democracy validates President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s proposal to reform the electoral law and reduce unjustified spending by up to 24 billion pesos.
Is this viable and positive for the country two years before the change of government? It will be difficult for legislators to approve the changes being sought and the proposal would remain only an attempt at a transition to more reliable institutions.
However, a policy change of this size is essential. Throughout the neoliberal period, there has been evidence the government could have functioned successfully had it not been complicit in fraud. Examples include 2006, when the Federal Electoral Institute was complicit with the Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation. Likewise, in 2012 with the massive vote-buying led by the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
This reform would modify 18 constitutional articles and include seven transitory articles. The National Electoral Institute, or INE, would become the National Institute of Elections and Consultations. It would eliminate 200 plurinominal deputations [a proportional representation in which votes are cast and counted for a list of named candidates collectively, rather than for individuals], list senators, local public electoral bodies and state electoral tribunals, reduction of the number of members of local congresses and regidurías, in addition to the establishment of popular vote as a mechanism for the election of the councilors of the electoral body and of the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Power.
Another significant change, which makes approval of the proposal more difficult, would be the end of public financing for the ordinary activities of the parties, which would only be given a budget to face the elections.
The country’s democracy has been manipulated by the interests of those who have been governing for decades with the sole purpose of plundering the nation. On numerous occasions, it has been demonstrated that this electoral system does not work. This proposal intends, among other points, to reduce the number of councilors from 11 to seven and that these be elected, together with the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal, by popular vote. The election would take place every six years, before the presidential elections, from 60 names proposed by the Executive Branch (20), the Judicial Branch (20) and the Legislative Branch (10 from the Chamber of Deputies, 10 from the Senate).
Likewise, the Chamber of Deputies is to be reduced from 500 to 300 legislators. The deputies would be elected from lists of candidates nominated by the parties and independent candidates in each of the 32 states.
The Senate of the Republic is contemplated in 96 senatorial seats out of 128; eliminating the current National List and generating that the three senatorial seats in each entity are elected from state lists.
Currently, INE owes a lot to Mexicans. It failed in the recent call for the revocation of mandate. In every electoral process there are reports of falsification of minutes. Councilors have been accused of obeying particular interests, especially those of the PRI. Their credibility is at rock bottom, according to the opinion of millions of Mexicans. The institution could use a change and a considerable saving in its budget.
Translated by Mike Rogers
© 2016. Todos los derechos reservados. Semanario de la Ribera de Chapala