en inglés

The Entry of the iconic image of the Holy Virgin of Zapopan, Patroness of the Archdiocese of Guadalajara and Queen of Lake Chapala, kicked off the celebrations  of Señor del Monte, Patron Saint of the town of Jocotepec since 1833.  The celebrations which began January 6, recalled that according to tradition, Señor del Monte saved the people of Jocotepec from the Morbus Cholera epidemic. The Holy Virgin of Zapopan is also known for miracles such her emergence intact from the  collapse of a chapel in 1609

The Holy Image stayed until 4:00 pm on Sunday to return to its resting place in the Basílica of Zapopan, where images of the Virgin and Señor del Monte were  worshiped by  hundreds of faithful in the hope of putting an end to the  new global pandemic.

 Santiago Baeza, former Culture Director in Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan. Photo: El Informador.

Jazmín Stengel. – After the unexpected departure of Santiago Baeza, who served as Culture Director in Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan during the first hundred days of the current administration (2021-2024), the Culture Director for Chapala, Sergio Arturo Unzueta Flores, remains in his position and denied rumors of his resignation.

The departed Baeza declared exclusively for Laguna, “I could not be part of a situation in which the direction of culture was being pulverized.” He said he was grateful for the opportunities and support that Mayor Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel offered him during his short administration in the towns of Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan.

Baeza surprisingly made public his resignation through a tweet on his personal account on January 8, saying: “I made the decision to resign from the municipality of Chapala. Three months of work there gave me reason, dividing the direction of culture in two was not viable. I step aside, so that @AlejandroA_C, the mayor, has the freedom to decide on that area, for the benefit of Chapala.”

Baeza said he believes such a sensitive direction cannot be split into pieces and noted, “I cannot bear the responsibility that this fraction generates.”

Despite his resignation, the ex-official Baeza invited the mayor to reconsider the structure of the dependency and return it to what it should be, “A solid direction of Culture, with resources, with strategy and with projects.”

Sergio Unzueta, Culture Director in the municipal capital and the rest of the towns.

“The commitment was for 100 days, and those who know me know that I did it under protest,” said Baeza, who said he was surprised to realize that the Directorate of Culture was going to be divided in two during the current administration (2021-2024).

Because of this, Santiago analyzed from the beginning the viability of the situation. For him, beyond collecting a salary, the institution is more important than the people, so he opted to resign from his post.

“What was worked on during these three months has to be maintained,” Baeza said. “I am going to do it. I don’t need to be appointed to be able to give of myself to promote culture.”

He said the three months were very interesting from his personal perspective, and he asked that the cultural communication groups he formed in the municipality be maintained for the coordination of creatively gifted residents.

The former cultural official plans to summon the artists of the towns to make a project proposal to the Municipal Government with a totally civic aspect.

“Cultural promotion is of the community and we are all part of it, as a kind of network,” Baeza said, continuing to work with the Municipal Government as a citizen because, “We need them, but the government also needs us.”

Sergio Unzueta, in charge of the Directorate of Culture in th Chapala and the delegations, said, “We are still here and we are working,” during a talk with Laguna,in the  Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia (CCAP), in the municipal capital.

Translated by Mike Rogers

The facilities were inaugurated in December with a ribbon cutting in which authorities from the Ministry of Education Jalisco, the City Hall and the educational institution itself participated.

Editor. – The Terranova Institute of Ajijic inaugurated the first tennis court in an educational institution on the shores of Lake Chapala with a religious mass, a ribbon cutting and a demonstration match played by its students.

The sports facilities were inaugurated during the month of December and will be used by students who decide to take up this sport as part of the optional subjects in their academic offerings. 

During the inauguration the administrative director, Salvatore Blum, emphasized that with tennis the institution will now have five sports disciplines for the students, as part of the comprehensive education they receive so that they can achieve the best version of themselves through discipline, perseverance and teamwork. 

The inauguration was attended by educational authorities from the Secretary of Education of Jalisco in the region, as well as representatives of the Chapala City Hall and benefactors of the educational institution, in addition to students and teachers of the school. 

Translated  by Patrick O’Heffernan

No lines at SIMAPA Ajijic during January collections

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic). – The collection of the Municipal System of Potable Water and Sewerage (SIMAPA) Ajijic, has been slow, according to the head of the agency in the delegation, Timoteo Aldana Pérez.  He asked for the cooperation of the people to pay their bills.

According to the interviewee, Ajijic is the delegation with the least number of defaulters, since there is a good culture of payment here, but in recent years they have been slower to pay, due to the pandemic situation and the slow economy that this entails.

They do not have an estimate of what percentage has paid, since the final data will not be available until March. He believes that 40 percent of Ajijitecos are delinquent, and of that number 20-40 percent have very late accounts. «We are not looking to cut or reduce the service of debtors, but to invite them to pay,» he stressed.

«The municipal president, Alejandro Aguirre Curiel, gave us orders to arrange discounts during the first months of the year. People in general who have no debt are given a 20 percent discount if the house is in their name and they pay at least the minimum. The agreements can be made throughout the year, the idea is to get people to pay,” explained Aldana. 

Timoteo Aldana Pérez, the head of SIMAPA Ajijic, said that «Payments this year have been very slow.”

Aldana.  said that to provide adequate service to all residents, everyone needs to pay their bill.  SIMAPA has debts, personnel, and supplies to be paid.  A higher collection rate makes it easier for them to offer a more efficient service.

Aldana emphasized that during the previous administration the needs of Ajijic were not fully covered. One of his goals for 2022, is to have all homes in Ajijic receive water service at least for twelve continuous hours, if not all day.

Aldana said that he has not received instruction for part of the money collected from the payment of water to remain in the delegation, as the municipal president promised in his campaign, since their priority is to have both current payments and the necessary material for their work.  

Translated by Nita Rudy

Esta semana comenzará la inmunización de refuerzo para el grupo de 50 años y más. En la foto: Personal de salud aplicando la vacuna. 

Comunicado de prensa (Jalisco).- Durante la segunda semana del 2022, en Jalisco se logró la aplicación de 346 mil 126 vacunas contra COVID-19, avanzando sustancialmente en la protección de adultos mayores y personal educativo que recibieron su dosis de refuerzo: se suministró la tercera vacuna (para el grupo de 60 años y más) y segunda dosis para quienes habían sido inmunizados con la unidosis de Cansino en su esquema original.

Estas vacunas fueron suministradas en tres macromódulos habilitados en el Área Metropolitana de Guadalajara (AMG): en el Auditorio Benito Juárez en Zapopan, en el Centro Administrativo Tlajomulco (CAT) y en el Centro Universitario de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierías (CUCEI) de la Universidad de Guadalajara; así como en los diversos puntos de vacunación que se abrieron en las principales cabeceras municipales para cubrir todo el territorio estatal.

Del lunes 10 al sábado 15 de enero (semana epidemiológica 2 del 2022) fueron aplicadas 136 mil 080 dosis de la farmacéutica AstraZeneca; 123 mil 091 dosis producidas por el laboratorio Moderna, 86 mil 927 de laboratorios Pfizer-BioNTech y 28 de Sinovac.

El domingo 15 de enero concluyó la aplicación del refuerzo para el personal del sector educativo logrando cubrir al 100 por ciento de las y los trabajadores que se registraron en la plataforma (se abrirá una próxima jornada para quienes por alguna razón no pudieron acudir a esta convocatoria). Por lo pronto, esta semana se estarán aplicando refuerzos a personas de 50 años y más (incluirá a población de la tercera edad); segundas dosis a mayores de 18 años: de AstraZeneca (primera aplicada antes del 22 de noviembre), de Moderna (primera aplicada antes del 20 de diciembre) y de Sinovac (primera aplicada antes del 20 de diciembre); así como primeras dosis a adolescentes de 14 a 17 años y a adultos rezagados.

Para conocer detalles de las jornadas activas y apertura de nuevas convocatorias para jornadas de vacunación contra COVID-19 se recomienda estar atentos a los canales oficiales de la Secretaría de Salud y Gobierno del Estado o consultar la página https://coronavirus.jalisco.gob.mx.

Cabe destacar que la pandemia se mantiene activa y con tendencia al incremento de contagios por lo cual la Secretaría de Salud Jalisco (SSJ) invita a reforzar las medidas de prevención:

• Usar cubrebocasadecuadamente en espacios cerrados.
• Lavarse frecuentemente las manoscon agua y jabón o usar gel alcohol al 70 por ciento.
• Evitar espacios cerrados aglomerados y lugares queincumplan las medidas de prevención.
• En caso de presentar síntomas como tos persistente, dificultad respiratoria, fiebre que no cede o la oxigenación en sangre disminuye a menos de 92 debe acudir a una unidad de urgenciasy no esperar una prueba confirmatoria de COVID-19.

A personas con síntomas respiratorios se les pide mantenerse aisladas y reforzar el uso de cubrebocas en tanto acceden a una prueba de detección. Si resulta positivo mantener el aislamiento diez días o hasta no tener síntomas o siete días de ser asintomáticos.

ACUMULADO CASOS SEMANAL

A la semana epidemiológica número 2 del año (del 9 al 15 de enero de 2022), se han acumulado 425 mil 357 casos confirmados de COVID-19 (16 mil 011 contagios nuevos). En este periodo se acumulan 17 mil 711 defunciones (47 durante el periodo citado).

Fuente: Secretaría de Salud Jalisco

*Corte semana epidemiológica 2 (del 09 al 15 de enero de 2022).

**Incluye información de los laboratorios del SISVER, HCGFAA, HCGJIM, UdeG, laboratorios privados y pruebas rápidas.

 ***Se incluyen casos confirmados y defunciones por asociación y dictaminación clínico-epidemiológica.

Fuente: Secretaría de Salud Jalisco

As of January 13th, seven out of ten patients who were seen for a suspected case of Covid-19 tested positive at the Jocotepec Community Hospital. Photo: File.

Héctor Ruiz Mejía: Hospitals in the municipality of Jocotepec are preparing for a new wave of coronavirus cases after the Christmas and Señor del Monte festivities, medical authorities asserted.

As of January 13th, seven out of ten patients who were seen for a suspected case of Covid-19 tested positive at the Jocotepec Community Hospital.

Now they are faced with the forecast of a 35 percent increase in the number of cases, estimates the municipality’s medical authorities.

«Fortunately, the vaccine has had an beneficial effect and the severity of the cases have decreased; however, we are preparing the facilities in case treatment is needed», assured the medical authorities of the Community Hospital.

They explained that there are currently six beds available in case of pneumonia complications from the coronavirus or for patients who may need oxygen supplementation.

A 35 percent increase in coronavirus positivity is expected in the next two weeks. Photo: File.

For the past week, the number of positive results at The Rafael Gómez Rodríguez clinic has remained at an average of around three confirmed COVID-19 patients per day, explained Ricardo Alvarado, director of the clinic.

Although he agrees with the «favorable» observations of the Community Hospital regarding the seriousness of the illnesses, he showed his concern regarding the outlook for the increase in infections that are predicted, following the festivities of the Señor del Monte.

«Unfortunately, it has been very difficult to stop this spread of the disease, and given the effort that families from Jocotepec had already made, we don’t understand why the decision was not made to cancel the festivities. Even so, sanitary protocols were maintained at the festivals,” commented the doctor. However, the doctor himself acknowledged that it was almost impossible to maintain a healthy distance during the festivities.

Given the estimate of medical authorities of a 35 percent increase in positivity for the next few weeks, the Rafael Gómez Rodríguez clinic has already adapted a special room for extra coronavirus patients.

The space will have eight beds and the necessary medical supplies, including oxygen in case patients arrive with complications in order to avoid a past hospital occupancy crisis.

Medical authorities urged the community to evaluate the need to attend the upcoming festivities. If you attend, be fully aware of the risk and take all necessary precautions.

Translated by Colleen Beery

The vehicle, a 1999 model Chevrolet Cavalier, was recovered.

Officers of the State Security Secretariat recovered a car that had been stolen on Wednesday, January 13, 2022 in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos. The officers, who were carrying out surveillance work in the area, arrested the man driving the car who was found to be in possession of prohibited substances.

State police officers were patrolling the downtown area of the municipality when a woman approached them to notify them that her 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier had been stolen the night before.

During their search, the officers spotted the vehicle at the intersection of Guerrero and Cuauhtémoc streets. Upon being detected, the man driving the car tried to run over the officers, so they fired shots at the tires of the car to apprehend him safely.

Translated by Rebecca Zittle

By Leticia Trejo

 Dear readers of Semanario Laguna, this introduction gives me the opportunity to share with you something I tell my students in my yoga classes: Welcome all bodily sensations, comfortable and uncomfortable. When we begin the process of returning to physical activity after many years of not doing anything with discipline and constancy, it is common for our bodies to ache. Muscles and joints that for years have not received the special attention of self-care do not recognize the activity and respond by manifesting pain. 

Another common sensation is shortness of breath. We try to follow the new routine – whether it’s twenty minutes on the treadmill or elliptical, a yoga or spinning class, or a tennis match –  whatever activity we choose to get moving again represents an effort that feels enormous. And of course, the most important muscles for any routine, or extra-ordinary, activity of the day are now shrunken, shortened and atrophied.

At the risk of making this sound too technical, there are muscles that we should  know about, and one of these is the diaphragm. The diaphragm is the most important muscle for respiration, responsible for seventy-five percent of the total function of taking in oxygen and removing toxins and carbon dioxide from the body. So if you, like me, thought it was the lungs that deserved all our attention, you now have more accurate information on how to help the lungs perform their important functions. 

To be more precise: the lungs do not function without the work of the diaphragm. To give you a clearer picture, this muscular structure lives inside the ribcage; it is mushroom-shaped and acts like a parachute, filling with air when you inhale and collapsing when you exhale. It fills the entire circumference of the ribcage, and as it moves it massages the heart, the lungs, and the esophagus – the valve that prevents gastric juices (acids) from going up into your throat from your stomach. As if that were not enough, it is responsible for you being able to climb stairs without getting tired, or climb a hill without gasping, as well as for reducing or eliminating one of the most uncomfortable and annoying activities that some of us engage in: snoring. How does it do that? -When you learn how to prepare it, train it, and strengthen it, thereby making it more elastic.

An alarming fact is that, out of all the capacity of this important muscle, most people use only two percent. It can extend a total of ten centimeters, but ninety percent of people cannot make use of their diaphragm’s full capacity due to weakness or deterioration of this muscle. To phrase it in stark perspective, if ten centimeters of capacity equals one hundred percent life, then two centimeters would be eighty percent death. I don’t want to be dramatic, but I see it every time I train or teach someone who has years of not moving everything, and everything is extremely difficult for them. 

There are special exercises to work this muscle and to achieve its maximum capacity. My most important advice in this column is: before forcing yourself to do intense physical activity, first train the diaphragm.

And as an extra gift I give you one more important fact: fat is not “burned,” and sweat is not fat. Fat goes through an oxidation process that turns it into vapor and liquid that come out through urine, feces and exhalation. A strong and elastic diaphragm will bring in a large amount of oxygen which will decrease your visceral fat levels, and visceral fat is the fat that surrounds your organs such as your heart, liver, kidneys, etcetera. A strong and elastic diaphragm will help eliminate a lot of fat, among other toxins. So if you really want to get in shape, take this information to heart! See you next week with more wellness tips.

Translated by Rebecca Zittle

The Coffee, Chocolate and Wine Festival was held on January 8 and 9 at the Ajijic Malecon. 

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)– Although the «Coffee, Chocolate and Wine Festival» was well attended by tourists, the “Ajijitecos” or local residents didn’t like the event because they felt that this type of festival does not help local commerce and only benefits a few.  

According to 14 locals interviewed at the festival held last weekend (January 8 and 9), it is the foreign merchants who are taking advantage of the Pueblo Mágico designation, which in fact doesn’t benefit local commerce, but rather harms it, in addition to the fact that the prices are too high for  local people. 

«They are only using the Pueblo Mágico designation to benefit a few, because not all of us produce the kind of things they sell at these festivals, and besides, they are expensive. Only tourists or Americans can afford to buy things from there. Many of us would like festivals that are really made for ajijitecos,» said Luis, who was present on the malecón with his family while the event was taking place.

The event, installed on the Ajijic boardwalk corridor, was attended by around 50 exhibitors, who competed with the merchants who set up shop on the boardwalk every weekend.

The street merchants interviewed pointed out that there was a lot of tourism, but sales did not go well, since the public concentrated on the festival, which offered a variety of products ranging from food and handicrafts to art pieces.

“Yes, there are a lot of people, but we’ve hardly sold anything. Look, those from the festival sell the same things I do, and that’s why I haven’t sold much,» complained one of the street merchants who set up shop in the handicraft corridor on one side of the Ajijic pier. 

Ignacio, an Ajijic native, said that people don’t even come to browse, thinking that these are products they can’t afford to buy. «One prefers not to get involved in these things. Apart from the fact that there are always a lot of people who must crave these products, and I say crave, because when you ask, they tell you that a sandwich, a pair of flip-flops, or a sweet is more than 100 pesos. That’s very different, for example, from the sales that take place during the November holidays, where you know that you will be able to afford many things.”

A woman named Brenda García, originally from San Miguel de Allende, commented that something similar happens where she comes from, and stated that she believes that this happens in places where there is a lot of tourism. «What happens in Ajijic is a controversy that also happens in San Miguel de Allende, a tourist town in Guanajuato. Suddenly there are events that are focused more on tourism, or who can spend. The difference is that over there they are usually held in private places such as restaurants or vineyards, thus better targeting the public they want.”

Maximiliano «Max» Macias Arceo, in charge of the office of the Ajijic delegation, commented that one of the main problems that may cause these opinions are the high prices of the exhibitors, but that it’s not possible to compare products that companies manufacture to the handmade products.

«Between a product from an established company and one from an artisan there is no point of comparison. We understand that the prices they charge don’t suit us, but we must also consider that they come from distant places, such as Morelia, Yucatán, Oaxaca, Michoacán, and they have to cover those large expenses, so we can’t put conditions on their prices. Even so, I hope that in the future we can have more balanced events, so that we all have the opportunity to buy something we like.» 

The Coffee, Chocolate and Wine Festival was born in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, a little over three years ago, and this year, for the first time, it is being held in Jalisco. The event brought exhibitors from various parts of the country – for example, Oaxaca, Mérida, Yucatán, Michoacán – and not only exhibited food, but also crafts and local art.

Translated by Sandy Britton and Patrick O’Heffernan

Doctor in charge of the Health Center, Sandra González, and nurses Irma Ortega and Gloria Cisneros.

Sofia Medeles (Ajijic, Jalisco) – According to the hospital staff, neither the doctors nor the nurses at the Ajijic Health Center (CS) have received specific instructions from the Jalisco Health Secretariat (SSJ), or municipal superiors, on how to assist in treating the new variant of Covid-19 Omicron.

Dr. Sandra González said that the Jalisco Health Board, which is in charge of issuing protection measures at the state level, usually focuses more on training hospitals where they handle a high incidence of the virus or very serious patients. The health centers take a back seat, having only the power to redirect cases to more suitable facilities.

«Here at the center these last few days have been quiet. We have not received any suspected cases. In my day-to-day work I have noticed many people presenting symptoms that appear to be the new strain, which resembles a cold,» said Dr. Sandra.

She suggested that civilians when faced with any flu, symptoms or suspected case, take the same precautions taken with the Covid-19 virus, since the risk of contagion of this variant is higher and has increased due to the false belief that it could be a common cold. Additionally, the antigen tests are not functional against this strain.

The Omicron variant presents symptoms that a common cold would normally have–runny nose, sore throat, fatigue, sneezing and headache. Unlike other strains, there is no fever, nor loss of taste and smell.

As of Monday, the State Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, confirmed 16 cases of Omicron. However, the University of Guadalajara (UDG) estimates that there are at least 107 confirmed cases and there could be many more.

Translated by Sydney Metrick