municipio

Efrén González and Antonio Velazco in front of the museum, located at Privada Flores Magón #3. Foto: Sofía Medeles.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).- the doors of the Ajijic Museum of Art (AMA) will open June 1st, 2nd and 3rd with three unveilings, a ribbon cutting, and three days of cultural activities,on Privada Flores Magón #3, in the west side of Ajijic.

The artist Efrén González, who is the main promoter of the project,said that June 1st, 2nd and 3r, will be for all the people of Ajijic and for visitors to be part of the celebration.The schedule for the three days will be from three in the afternoon to eight at night, and there will be musical presentations, folkloric dance shows, among other activities.

Efrén González in front of what will be the second wall of the dead. Photo: Sofía Medeles.

González said that after the inauguration, the museum will remain open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will have six rooms where different artists from the Chapala Rivera area will be exhibited, and the plan is to change the pieces exhibited at least four times a year. 

«With this project, we not only promote the preservation and exhibition of Ajijic’s art, but also support the people of the area, and expand the commerce and activities beyond Ajijic main square «, he said.

This first inauguration corresponds to the first stage of the museum project, while the second will be completed around December, according to Efrén González . The museum will also have an  area to buy souvenirs, and near the museum, on Flores Magón Street, a second wall of the dead will be located.

Translated  by Patrick O’Heffernan

Jesús María Higuera Hernández «Katuza» in his temazcal (sweat lodge). He passed away last Sunday at the age of 68. Photo: Facebook.

Sofía Medeles (Ajijic).- «Katuza», one of the most iconic characters of Ajijic passed away last Sunday, May 22 at the age of 68, leaving an artistic and spiritual legacy in  Ajijic..

«Katuza» was the local name by which Jesús María Híguera Hernández was known since he was young. He was born on March 1, 1954 to a family from Ajijic. He studied in both Ajijic and Chapala, graduating as an accountant in the municipal capital, in the school known as «la academia de las monjas» (the nuns’ academy).

He never practiced his profession. He had a restaurant in Canada and later returned to México to begin his career as an artist, sculptor and shaman, being his marakame name – people who heal with traditional Huichol methods of the region,  Cehuia Ilhuiac Marakame.

His relatives and acquaintances described him as a sincere man who said things as he thought them and disliked people who acted hypocritically, and as very spiritual and ahead of his time. «He spoke as he was told,» said one of his sisters.

He died last Sunday, May 22, of a heart attack. In the next edition of Semanario Laguna, we will publish his complete profile, his history, and his work in the town of Ajijic.

Translate by Patrick O’Heffernan

Letras monumentales en el municipio de Tuxcueca. Foto: Cortesía.

Redacción.- Tres hombres fueron localizados sin vida en el interior de un pozo artesanal en el municipio de Tuxcueca el domingo 29 de mayo, por lo que la Fiscalía del Estado de Jalisco ya realiza investigaciones.

El hallazgo se dio sobre la carretera federal Tuxcueca a San Luis Soyotlán a medio kilómetro del panteón municipal gracias a una denuncia anónima que fue recibida en la cabina de la Policía Municipal.

Personal del Ministerio Público y la Policía Investigadora corroboraron el hecho y Protección Civil acudió al lugar para la extracción de los cuerpos, ya que el pozo cuenta con una profundidad de entre los 10 y 15 metros.

Los cuerpos rescatados se encontraban armados, contaban con impacto de bala en el cráneo y fueron puestos a disposición de elementos del Instituto Jalisciense de Ciencias Forenses según el comunicado emitido por la Fiscalía.

El sospechoso fue capturado en la zona centro de la cabecera municipal. Foto: ilustrativa: Internet.

Redacción.- Por privación ilegal de la libertad de un hombre y el robo del camión de carga que conducía, la Fiscalía Especial Regional llevó a la captura de Miguel Ángel M. que se encuentra identificado como probable partícipe de este delito.

Dicho sujeto, en compañía de otros individuos, presuntamente interceptaron al chofer de un tracto camión marca International, modelo 2016, sobre el macro libramiento, a la altura del kilómetro 29, en Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, para robarle la mercancía que portaba, esto sucedió el pasado 15 de mayo.

La denuncia permitió al Ministerio Público realizar la investigación mediante la que se obtuvo una orden de aprehensión contra el señalado quien fue capturado por elementos de la Policía Investigadora destacados en el Distrito V, en la zona centro del referido municipio.

Miguel Ángel M. ya se encuentra a disposición del Juez Especializado en Control, Enjuiciamiento, Justicia Integral para Adolescentes y Ejecución Penal del Quinto Distrito Judicial con sede en Chapala.

“La persona mencionada se le presume inocente y será tratada como tal en todas las etapas del procedimiento, mientras no se declare su responsabilidad mediante sentencia emitida por el Órgano Jurisdiccional”, informó en un comunicado la Fiscalía.

 Fernando Riveros Magaña, director of the Chapala Regional High School. Photo: Jazmin Stengel.

Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).-  Sex education, and keeping students safe from harassment and bullying will be a priority for Fernando Riveros Magaña, the new director at the head of the Chapala Regional High School of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), for the period 2022-2025.

Riveros Magaña served as Secretary General of the Chapala school from 2015 to 2018. Now, he takes the place of his colleague and friend Juan Ramón Álvarez López, who led the high school management since 2015.

Riveros Magaña says his priority will be to train teachers to raise awareness and diagnose disorders that may cause harm to students. 

He said that a case of alleged sexual harassment involving Professor David N. is unique in the Chapala High School record to date.

«Teachers must not only conscientiously avoid the abuse of minors,» he said, but they must act as first responders in situations of bullying or harassment.

«Harassment is something deeply rooted at all levels,” Riveros Magaña told Laguna. “However, that does not justify it happening here,» he said.

Students will be taught to recognize different levels of bullying and harassment and urged to report such incidents to the proper authorities if they themselves are victims. This would help create a safety net between teachers, administrators and students.

Issues relating to gender violence and sexual diversity would also be addressed, from the point of view of both young people and adults.

“The staff must be open to new forms of expression of love and coexistence between couples,” as well as being respectful towards, and tolerant of, the LGBTQ+ community, said Riveros Magaña.

The new director said he was aware of the need for more psychologists to serve students. His ideal is to have at least one psychologist per shift, with help from teachers who are knowledgeable about the subject.

Riveros Magaña said he would also work to resolve infrastructure deficiencies at the school, including drainage repairs at bathrooms, which must be fixed before they become a hygiene problem. 

The director also plans to create a wired internet network with fewer bugs and powered by solar panels. His most ambitious project is a large, open-air auditorium where young people can engage in activities in combination with the cultural centers of the municipality.

Fernando Riveros Magaña, 56 years old, graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Guadalajara in 1993. For 13 years he worked as a private doctor in the system of the Federal Health Secretariat, currently serving for the Jocotepec Community Hospital.

His teaching career began 13 years ago at the University Center of the North (CUNorte) of the UdeG in Colotlán. He also was in charge of Medical Services at the Los Valles University and area manager at the Universidad de Oriente. Within the UdeG he is responsible for the Outreach and Liaison Area of ​​the Transdisciplinary Literacy Institute (ITRALI) and deputy director of the “Letras a Volar” («Letters to Fly») program.

Translated by Alan Ferguson

Heavy machinery clearing streambeds in La Canacinta Ajijic. Photo: Courtesy.

Jazmín Stengel (Chapala).-  Chapala is preparing for the rainy season by clearing streams and riverbeds in the municipality to prevent flooding. Up to 32 risk points have been identified in the municipality, where rains could cause flooding.

The work focused in the Ajijic area is near the La Canacinta neighborhood because of the mudslides that occurred in October of last year.

Other places where work has been completed or is underway are the San Marcos stream in the municipal capital, the Grande stream in the San Antonio Tlayacapan delegation next to the golf club and the one in the Las Guerras neighborhood, in Atotonilquillo.

 Emergency Services in Chapala are prepared to deal with complications from rainfall of 30 to 70 millimeters, according to general statistics on which the Fire Department and Civil Protection are based. However, the rainfall on October 5 reached 120 millimeters near La Canacinta.

Translated by Nita Rudy

Miguel Ibarra Garavito, coordinator of Health in the municipality of Jocotepec, on behalf of the Jalisco Ministry of Health (SSJ). Photo: Héctor Ruiz.

Héctor Ruiz Mejía (Jocotepec).- Medical authorities in the municipality of Jocotepec reported a favorable outlook regarding dengue infections for this year.

According to Miguel Ibarra Garavito, coordinator of Health in the municipality of Jocotepec on behalf of the Secretary of Health of Jalisco (SSJ), very few infections have been reported.

As of May 6, only one suspected case of dengue was reported in the municipality, which turned out to be negative.

The incidence of cases this year contrasts radically with that of past years, including 2020, where the municipality of Jocotepec had the highest number of dengue cases at the state level with 393. 

Despite predictions for high infections this year, the outlook is favorable. According to the doctor, dengue is a biannual disease, which means that one year there is a higher incidence and the following year there is a lower incidence. 2022 should be one of infections.

The success so far this year is due to the intense decluttering campaigns to eliminate all containers that can accumulate water throughout the municipality, such as the campaign that started on March 1st until April 29th.

27 trips were made throughout the municipality and around 359 tons of scrap metal and other materials that could serve as incubation sources for mosquitoes were removed, as well as a total of 1,559 tires. These items were found in houses and vacant lots. 

In view of the positive scenario of contagion, Ibarra Garavito urged the community to pay attention to symptoms such as headache, body aches, eye pain, weakness, fever, among others, and not to self-medicate, but to see a doctor as soon as possible.

There are variants of dengue that with the combination of wrongly administered medications can trigger hemorrhages, since dengue, being a disease caused by a virus, in most cases the only treatment is paracetamol.  

Dengue is a disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, of which there are four serotypes, ranging from a mild infection, strong flu-like symptoms, to severe hemorrhage.

Translated by Nita Rudy

The overturned patrol car lies on the road. 

Editorial staff. – In the early morning of May 19, a drunk driver crashed into and overturned a patrol car of the Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos Police Department. The police vehicle was parked on the highway while officers controlled traffic following a prior collision on the Guadalajara-Jocotepec highway near the intersection with La Barca highway

After a report of the original collision, authorities went to the scene to find a woman who was pinned inside her truck. She reported that a runaway trailer had hit her, destroying the front passenger side of the truck. The woman was traveling alone. 

Because a highway lane was reduced, municipal police officers placed a patrol car behind the accident to alert motorists, but an intoxicated man in a RAM pickup truck hit the patrol car and overturned it. No security personnel were injured, but the drunken driver sustained injuries requiring medical attention.  

Translated by Mags Petel

The mayor of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, accompanied by municipal officials and elements of Civil Protection and Chapala Firefighters. 

Editorial Staff.- Real estate developers who improperly diverted streams were largely to blame for major landslides in Chapala riverbeds last October, an investigation has confirmed.

The results of a diagnosis by the State Civil Protection Unit of the State of Jalisco (UEPCBJ) showed that the diversions had greatly reduced the natural width of the channels.

The diagnosis was revealed during a session of the Municipal Council of Civil Protection of the Municipality on Thursday, May 19.

State director Roldán Guerrero said the narrowing of the channels threatened the sustainability of the fragile micro-basin in the municipality. He argued against any type of construction that puts the population at risk.

The municipal president of Chapala, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel, said that since his administration began, no real estate development had been approved.

He added that collaboration between all parties involved in future developments would be of the utmost importance to guarantee the security of residents.

The director of Civil Protection and Firefighters of Chapala, Lorenzo Antonio Salazar, reported that maintenance and conservation of riverbeds in federal zones had begun.

He said the work consists of cleaning streams in the municipality, starting in the Ajijic delegation since that was where the greater number of obstructions in the channels was detected.

He said that 30 percent of the work had been done, using machinery from the municipality and involving personnel from Public Works, General Services, Public Cleaning and Parks and Gardens.

The municipal director cited a previous lack of maintenance as a problem, with channels becoming obstructed by branches, trunks, earth and stones.

The rainy and tropical cyclone season began on May 15 and is expected to end on November 30.

Translated by Alan Ferguson

Image of the wrecked bus at the scene of the accident. Photo: Courtesy.

After losing its brakes, a bus carrying workers crashed into the side of the Tuxcueca-Citala highway, leaving 14 people dead and 19 more injured. The accident occurred during the night of May 18.

The blue vehicle with the logos of the Ruza company was transporting workers from a berry company after a day’s work when its brakes failed..

Nine men and five women lost their lives in the accident, while another six women and 13 men were injured and were taken for medical attention to the Municipal Medical Services and the Jocotepec Community Hospital.   

Some of the injured were treated at the regional hospital in Jocotepec, while others had to be transferred to Guadalajara due to the seriousness of their injuries.

During the support operation, security officers of the Secretary of National Defense, officers of Public Security of Tuxcueca and the State Police participated. Other support included the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences (Ocotlán Delegation); Medical Services of Jocotepec; Tuxcueca Firefighters; as well as Civil Protection officers of the command of Mazamitla, Chapala and Jocotepec in addition to the Highway Police, Investigative Police (Agency of Tizapán el Alto) and State Civil Protection.

Translated by Kerry Watson