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Graphic image taken from the internet  

ARIES (March 21 – April 20) 

You are going to feel energetic and vital, with a practical sense that will come in handy to manage your affairs. In the professional sphere, you are going to obtain good results that could lead to an increase in your income. You can make a decision that will bring a breath of fresh air into your life.

TAURUS (April 21 – May 20) 

The Moon in your sign transmits such a magical and powerful energy that you will feel the urge to pursue your dreams. In addition, with the good astral aspects that you receive, you will have openness with others and know how to appreciate the little things in life. It is a good time to externalize your emotions and find or strengthen love.

GEMINIS (May 21 – June 21) 

You will have to keep quiet more than once to avoid confrontations that do not suit you because you will not get anything good. You may have the feeling that you give much more than you receive and you will need those around you to show their support and understanding. Life may bring you new opportunities.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22) 

You will be in the mood for a good time and will have energy and vitality. You will be able to put a lot of strength and enthusiasm into everything you undertake and that will generate new opportunities. It is a good time to change your focus. Move, act and you will see how good things happen to you. You will be able to do something that excites you and that you have been waiting for a long time.

LEO (July 23 – August 23) 

You will know what people expect from you and it is a great time to creatively develop an idea or project that can lead you to success. Be prepared to experience new emotions, especially in your love life. If you have a steady partner, do not rule out important changes in the relationship. A trip is coming that will fill you with joy.

VIRGO (August 24 – September 23) 

Some projects that you have just set in motion will be consolidated, but you must be especially careful with the issue of money, as unforeseen events may come and alter your plans. Try to do things differently than usual because that will lead you down a path of good luck and will open new doors. Someone from your past may reappear in your life.

LIBRA (September 24 – October 22)

You may be giving too much importance to matters that really are not so important. You need to get rid of useless worries and avoid exaggerations that can lead you to make mistakes. It is time to close the door to people or attitudes that do not suit you. Do not allow any prejudice to condition you when making a decision.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 22)

You are going to have to arm yourself with patience to face situations that can develop very slowly. You need to manage your emotions and release tensions to be calm and have the feeling that you control every situation. The relationship with a person you love may go through bad times. Communicate and do not isolate yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 – December 21) 

Your personal relationships may go through difficult times. You will need to have strength and that can lead you to confront people who hurt you. You need to find new airs so that your life is more stimulating and you can feel good about yourself. You can solve a financial problem that is keeping you awake at night.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19) 

The planetary concentration in your sign empowers you. It is such a positive energy that you will be very optimistic and what you want can come true sooner than you imagine because your potential will be at its maximum. Fortune smiles on you in everything related to emotions and feelings and now is the time to be happy in love.

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 19)

The Sun in your sign helps you to have a very positive attitude towards things that happen to you. Use all the favorable energy you are receiving to put your plans into action and give your life the direction you want. Be prepared to live surprising situations that will come from the hand of someone you already know and that will make you feel new emotions.

PISCES (February 20 – March 20)

You will know how to play your cards very well and you will be able to achieve success. If you show yourself with courage you will do better and everyone will see you in a positive light, so exert yourself to the maximum because the benefits of your efforts can be fabulous. It is a good time to seek new horizons and to expand your range of relationships and friendships. You will solve a financial problem.

Translated by Kerry Watson

Community of El Chante, gathered to demand their rights after the lack of water service. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.

Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- Starting February 4th, residents of El Chante I unleashed a series of protests due to construction work on the network that supplies water to their subdivision. This pork was being done by the Government of Jocotepec,on Morelos Street to connect a new development called “Ribera Capital Living” to the water well that currently feeds the community. Residents complained that they currently have a shortage of water, with only a few hours of water a day. 

The Municipal Police and the National Guard escorted the representatives of City Hall to talk with the protestors; however, they did not reach any agreement. 

Residents banners were installed at the affected street address. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.

The demonstration resumed the following morning, when municipal police, prepared for riot operations, set up on Chueca Street «cutting cartridges and preparing for battle», according to neighbors. 

«Suddenly the entire police department arrived, with shields and helmets, cutting cartridges, as if sending us a message,» commented one of the residents. A fact that the community described as excessive use of force, «they treated us as if we were criminals», they added.

The demonstration continued until Wednesday, February 9, when in the afternoon about 60 people gathered at the point between Chueca and Morelos streets, where the project is located.

Citizens could be heard chanting «the people united will never be defeated» and with their banners demanded respect for their right to access to water.

Residents dissatisfied with the mayor’s response to the situation. Photo: Héctor Ruiz.

Municipal president José Miguel Gómez López summoned them to engage in dialogue at Campo David, an event hall located near the Jocotepec boardwalk.  This, he explained,was to safeguard their integrity from the insults of the inhabitants. A meeting did not take place and demonstrators advised that City Hall did not consult with them.

They also recalled the controversy that arose in September of last year, when the municipal president promised to fix the now bumpy Cuauhtémoc Street after disagreements over the Lago Luna development, a promise that has not been fulfilled.

Through his social networks, Gómez López said that the community of El Chante will be left without a solution to the problem of lack of water supply they face due to the poor state of the water and sewage networks, since the «misinformation» incited them to demonstrate and slow  the improvement and development works for them. 

Translated by Christalle Dalsted

For the fourth consecutive year, the Local Congress has  presented the  recognition to outstanding women of the State.  

Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- For the fourth consecutive year, the Jalisco State Congress will recognize women who have stood out for their work and struggle for their rights. This year it will seek to open the call to the interior of Jalisco. 

The «Hermila Galindo Acosta» award, established in honor of the Mexican writer, politician, suffragette feminist and journalist, seeks to recognize those who work to protect the rights of domestic workers, for gender equality, and against violence, as well for as environmental issues, among other areas. 

The Deputy for District 17 and President of the Legislative Commission on Substantive Equality and Gender, María Dolores López Jara, said that this year they will seek to extend the call for entries beyond the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, with the intention of diversifying the profile of  applicants. 

This means that women from all municipalities of Jalisco will have the possibility of being recognized, including all those women inhabitants of the Chapala area, who have highlighted, promoted, innovated, or led the way in favor of women’s rights.

The dates for submitting applications will be from February 4 until February 25; the applications must be sent to the Commission for Substantive and Gender Equality, along with the corresponding documentation, by e-mail to: dolores.lopez@congresojal.gob.mx 

The recognition will be granted as part of the commemoration of the International Women’s Day, on March 8, at 11:00 a.m. in Plenary Session, in the Congress of Jalisco.

Translated by Kerry Watson

Police tape. Illustrative photo from the internet 

Editor.- Edgar Adán C., was arrested in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos and charged with the crime of rape, having an arrest warrant. He was arrested in the Sabinos III neighborhood. 

Edgar was arrested at Río Nilo and Río Sena streets, as he had an arrest warrant issued by the Supervisory Trial Judge of the Fifth Judicial District based in Chapala for the crime of rape.

The director of SIMAPA Chapala, Fernando Antonio Monreal Mendoza. 

D.Arturo Ortega  (Chapala).-  The Municipal Water and Sewage System of Chapala (SIMAPA) plans to drill a new artesian well to solve the drinking water supply problem in the downtown area of the municipal capital.

SIMAPA announced the drilling of a new water well next to Well Three, one of the oldest wells with decreasing capacity.

Residents of Chapala have been using social networks to publicize the lack of water service in the downtown area of the municipal capital.  

The director of SIMAPA, Fernando Antonio Monreal Mendoza, explained that the 60- year-old Well 3 is reaching the end of its life. The 12-inch diameter steel pipe is fractured.  The age of the pipe, along with lack of maintenance, has caused the fracture.

Monreal Mendoza recalled that in 2017, Well 3 delivered up to 24 liters per second.  Currently it produces  ten liters per second. A landslide in October 2021 plugged the well. SIMAPA was able to recover 132 meters of the original 165 meters.  They could not recover more because of lack of tools and risk of losing the source of water.

Another reason there are water shortages is the increase in population. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), from 2010 to 2020, Chapala’s population increased from 49,000 to 55,000 people. 

The director of SIMAPA said that a short-term solution is to truck water to places where there is no supply through the use of two water trucks.  One water truck is provided by the Civil Protection and Fire Departments (when it is not required by the municipal agency). Another water truck is contracted by the Decentralized Public Organization (OPD), so as not to leave the affected population without water.

To make use of this free water truck service, which is available seven days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, residents must register by calling SIMAPA at 375-7612 or 375-3108.

Another strategy that SIMAPA uses is to deliver water to the neighborhoods most affected such as Barrio Nuevo, Las Redes, El Carmen, Los Electricistas and streets such as Pepe Guízar, Privada Pedro Moreno, Privada Degollado, Juárez, Degollado, Francisco I. Madero and Raúl Navarro.

 The Artistic Marathon will once again be held in the San Juan square.  

Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- The 15th edition of the San Juan Cosalá Artistic Marathon will be held in the municipality of Jocotepec. Its purpose is to help pay the medical expenses of people from the community with chronic illnesses.

The charity event will take place in the Main Square of San Juan Cosalá  on Saturday, February 20th. This year, the event will benefit eleven people suffering from different types of diseases such as cancer, leukemia and kidney failure. The proceeds will help these people pay for their medical treatments. 

One recipient is Mónica Garcia, one of this year’s beneficiaries, who has been suffering from kidney failure for some time which has kept her bedridden making it increasingly difficult to pay for her treatment.

Enrique Rodríguez Zamora, general coordinator of the event, shared that the line-up of artists that will participate in the 15th event has not yet been confirmed, but the eleven booths where a great variety of food is usually offered for sale are already lined up. 

The organizer expects the attendance to exceed 500 participants, between locals and visitors.The goal is to raise 300,000 pesos, which will be distributed among the eleven people selected this year.

«The truth is that after last year’s event was postponed due to the coronavirus, this year we can feel and see the enthusiasm of the people to participate,” said Rodríguez Zamora.

Rodríguez Zamora invited the community to attend the event, since the sole purpose of this non-profit association is to help those who need it most.

Translated by Colleen Beery

Rogelio Ramos Pérez, Secretary General of Jocotepec.  Photo: Courtesy.

Héctor Ruiz Mejía  (Jocotepec).-  Rogelio Ramos Pérez resigned as Secretary General of the municipality of Jocotepec on February 3, 2022. Prior to becoming Secretary General, Ramos Pérez had served as the Director of the Municipal Institute of Attention to the Youth of Jocotepec (IMAJ) in the previous (2018-2021) administration.

Ramos Pérez was reluctant to provide further information about his decision, citing only “personal reasons” for his resignation. He urged the community to respect his privacy. He also expressed his gratitude for the expressions of support that he has received from his colleagues at City Hall. 

Regarding the resignation, Felipe Aguilar Montes de Oca, Director of Social Communication of the Government of Jocotepec, said that he has not yet considered who will be the next Secretary General. He said that a decision would be made in the following weeks. In the meantime, the municipal trustee, Carlos Alberto Zúñiga Chacón, will assume his duties. 

Before assuming the General Secretariat, Ramos Pérez served as director of the Municipal Institute of Attention to the Youth of Jocotepec (IMAJ) in the past administration 2018-2021. 

Translated by Amy Esperanto

By Leticia Trejo 

Here I am, listening to “Hold the Line,” a song by the famous band Toto, included in their first debut album, and I see that it was released in 1978! This brought back some memories that I want to share with you. 

I wasn’t quite 15, but I remember that my father went to the gym almost every day, played soccer and rode his bicycle from México City to Puebla. He was my idol: strong and lean, very muscular. I also remember that people in the exercise guild had ideas about physical activity like: «if it doesn’t hurt it doesn’t work», and that to be «advanced» was to be the one who carried the most weight on the discs and bars in the gym (Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to mind).

When a woman or a man goes from childhood to adolescence, they usually experience difficult changes in their body, and my case was no exception. Accumulation of abdominal fat, love “handles” and a huge bust made me feel uncomfortable and inadequate. The advice from those «in the know» was that when I exercised, I should wrap my body in plastic (they sold a sports pants type suit). They also recommended the use of girdles made of bandages. Some were like the casts used for fractured bones. All to make the waist thinner. I was told that women should not do weights because the back would become wide, and we would look like men.

Readers born after the 90’s are probably laughing at these beliefs or myths. If you follow this column, you probably read the one in which I told you that another common myth is that if you sweat a lot, you are burning a lot of fat. Which has been proven not to be true; sweat is water, and yes, it carries some toxins, but it is not fat. I could write a book with all the myths about health and wellness that we believed to be true. Look at the damage done for years by «drugs to lose weight and burn fat.”  Those drugs had negative effects on the mood of the people who consumed them, generating anxiety, depression and irritability.

Fortunately, scientific advances and discoveries show us irrefutable evidence of how our organism can be more efficient, and I love that. We are not talking about being right or wrong, but about being efficient. You know what, dear reader? Thanks to these advances we know that each one of us has different needs. Each person must discover and decipher their own formula for health and wellness. The only thing we must do is have an adventurous spirit, feel passion to discover the whole world of possibilities that exist on the planet, to live more years with better quality of life and happiness. With so many tools, we have access to reliable sources of knowledge, and we can analyze different points of view and be able to make a safe decision. 

Listening to this song by Toto also reminded me that in the past we did not check the credentials of the authors giving us advice in magazines and other media. So, my best advice is to discover, investigate, experiment and find your own formula to live in wellness. Meanwhile, I invite you to listen to the 1978 TOTO album and you too will enjoy realizing how much you have learned and how much you can continue to grow and mature in your mind, body and spirit.

Translated by Nita Rudy

The kindergarten’s provisional entrance crosses Cruz Azul field, to the east of the delegation. Photo credit: Sofía Medeles

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).- Complaints about the lack of maintenance at the Aurelia Flores Kindergarten are not a priority for the Jalisco Ministry of Education (SEJ), according to the general director of planning, Alfonso Oliva Mojica. 

The official confirmed that he has received at least two letters regarding the needs of the kindergarten, which include the request to repair bathrooms and an entrance, not to mention repairing structural damages and lack of personnel, reported by the mothers of the family in previous days.

«As for the bathrooms, it is a non-urgent need. Whoever is in charge of budgets, the Instituto de la Infraestructura Física Educativa del Estado de Jalisco (IFEJAL), has a list of priorities when it comes to the distribution of resources. The first to be attended are schools that have structural damage, and in the region there are several that need those repairs. The kindergarten (Aurelia Flores) is not really in bad shape,» said Oliva Mojica.

However that is not the case with the entrance of the kindergarten, which he mentioned is what he thinks is most important to take care of first. «The construction of the Cardinal Cultural Center has blocked the passage. What we are working on is a separate entrance from the street to the kindergarten, a safe passage for the children, which will prevent them from passing through the cultural center.”

He also commented that the resources managed by both the SEJ and IFEJAL are limited and not enough to cover all needs. Although he does not know when it will be the kindergarten’s turn to be taken care of, he said he hopes that at least a couple of months will be enough time for the budget manager to review the request for the construction of the private entrance.

Finally, Alfonso Oliva told the community that they know the issues and that they are working on providing a quick resolution, in addition to reaffirming that their priority is privacy for the kindergarten, that is, a fence to cut off the view from outside, and the entrance.

Complaints about the lack of maintenance and lack of staff by the mothers of families have been lodged at least since the beginning of the last school year. In addition to an entrance that they defined as «not dignified» for children, they pointed out the lack of a custodian, bathrooms in poor condition, walls with damage and lack of tree maintenance.

Translated by Colleen Beery

Editor – A man was rescued on the afternoon of February 6 after attempting to jump from the pedestrian bridge on the Chapala-Jocotepec highway in the town of San Juan Tecomatlán. Chapala Civil Protection and Firefighters were on the scene. 

The man is a resident of the town of San Juan Tecomatlán, municipality of Poncitlán. After a psychological intervention, Civil Protection personnel persuaded the man to be rescued. Following the rescue, he was left in the care of his mother. 

Translated by Christalle Dalsted