Beware—don´t drive this way!

You might have noticed more and more streets closing in your neighborhood over the last few weeks. Atención received news from the Traffic Department of the following road closings due to underground cable works: 

Street Closed from

Cerrada del Trébol (whole street closed) November 20 to 27, 2007

Guadalupe Mojíca (whole street closed) November 20.to December 11, 2007 

Calle Nueva December 12 to January 2, 2008

Tenerías (From Callejón Suspiros to Aldama) January 3 to 25, 2008

Cardo (guardería IMSS to Ancha S.A.) January 3 to 25, 2008

Callejón del Pueblito (whole street closed) November 20 to December 5, 2007 

Hidalgo ( from Insurgentes to Calz.Luz) November 27 to December 27, 2007 

Relox (whole street closed) December 27 to January 27, 2008

Palmar (whole street closed) January 10 to 24, 2008

Calzada de la Luz (from Hidalgo to Relox) January 24 to 31, 2008

Insurgentes (from Hidalgo to Plazuela San Felipe) January 24 to 31, 2008

Pre-Hispanic collection recovered

Lecture

San Miguel de Allende & Archaeological Patrimony: a pre-Hispanic collection recovered
Archeologist Gabriela Zepeda Garcia Moreno
Thur, Dec 6, 7pm
Auditorio Miguel Malo
Bellas Artes
Hernández Macias 75

In September 2005 a private collection of pre-Hispanic ceramic pieces was given to the archeologist Gabriela Zepeda Garcia Moreno by Christopher Finkelstein, then municipal Director of International Relations.

Considering the importance of the collection and the origin of many of the pieces, the necessary steps were begun to keep the collection in the Municipality of Allende and with the people of San Miguel. To date the collection is protected in the facilities of the investigation site of the Cañada de la Virgen.

The collection includes important pieces of ceramics in the tradition of Chupícuaro, indigenous to the state of Guanajuato, and pieces from western Mexico, specifically of Michoacán, and several pieces come from Durango, Zacatecas and Chihuahua. 

To protect the collection a NGO, the Institute of Cultural Conservation was formed between the public and government authorities and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The organizations mission is to rescue, preserve and restore this archaeological patrimony and later locate an appropriate permanent exhibit space.

The Institute of Conservation of the Culture, A.C., recently presented to H. Town hall a budget that includes the restoration of 110 of the ceramic pieces and that is being studied by the Council. In addition to 110 pieces there exist a significant number of anthropomorphous statuettes and fragments that will need the same treatments. By the same token there exists the need to achieve the pertinent archaeological investigations and to do the ceramic analysis of the finished collection, for which another budget is being prepared. 

On December 6 Archaeologist Gabriela Zepeda Garcia Moreno will speak on “San Miguel’s Archaeological Patrimony: a Pre-Hispanic collection recovered”. The board of directors of the newly formed Institute of Cultural Conservation will be presented.

Hidden treasures at Bodega sale

The Biblioteca Pública’s weekly “trash and treasure” sale the Bodega de Sorpresas has furnished the home of and dressed many a sanmiguelense. Known as the best place in town for bargains and books this program of the Biblioteca is now in its 34th year. The proceeds of the sale not only go directly to the institution’s scholarship fund with extra warm clothing items regularly donated to the Family Services agency (DIF). 

This year’s annual Christmas sale includes a variety of books, records, videos, clothes, jewelry and other treasures, and will be held Saturday, December 8, from10am to 1pm in the Biblioteca patio. 

The long time volunteer staff of the Bodega welcome donations, which can be left with Juan Carlos González of Biblioteca security, from Monday to Friday, 10am to 7pm. Donations of clothes will be received Monday and Tuesday.

Sweater and winter clothes collection begins
By Jesus Ibarra

On Thursday, November 22, in a joint effort between the City Council and the Civil Protection Department, the collecting of winter clothes for the rural communities and vulnerable families in the municipality began. Mayor Jesús Correa, City Counselor Rodolfo Pérez, Verónica Agundis, head of the Education and Culture Department, and staff of Civil Protection invited the community to participate in this collection aptly named Sweater-Ton (A ton of sweaters).

Doctor Jorge Vidargas, head of General Hospital Felipe G. Dobarganes, spoke of the importance of preventing lung diseases during the winter season, by offering proper warm clothing. He invited the community to join the Sweater-Ton: “A lot of people need our help to prevent these diseases.”

During the opening, the Sweater-Ton gathered more than 12,000 pieces of clothing. The clothing donations will be collected until November 30 at XESQ Radio San Miguel, Sollano 4; The Red Cross offices, Libramiento Manuel Zavala; Channel 4 TV, Montitlán 17, Los Balcones; Channel 3 Telecable, Salida a Celaya 95; and in the Civil Protection and Public Security Department. These two government departments, in the Presidencia building on Salida a Querétaro, will receive clothing until December 7. 

Shining a light on forgotten women
By Shelley Bull

Film Juarez: The City Where Women are Disposable Thurs, Dec 6, 5pm Teatro Santa Ana Biblioteca Pública Insurgentes 25 50 pesos

Someone is killing women by the hundreds in Ciudad Juarez, but the crimes are shrouded in mystery and silence. Juarez: The City Where Women are Disposable is an independent documentary directed by two outraged and inspired Latina women, Alex Flores and Lorena Vassolo, that sheds light on the answers to some of these questions. Juarez “shows the theories of family members of the victims, forensic scientists, journalists, artists and activists in Mexico, questioning why the federal government hasn’t thoroughly investigated the brutal murders of over 460 women. Juarez exposes the high levels of corruption and violence in Mexico, which have led to increasing violence and murders against women,” explains director Alex Flores. 

Part of the proceeds from the San Miguel premiere will support the San Miguel Walk on January 24, 2008, an awareness event that funds the Violence Prevention Program at CASA (Casa de Adolescentes de San Miguel de Allende, A.C.).

Director Alex Flores believes most of the women have been kidnapped, raped and killed for sexual pleasure by rich men. Snuff films could be another reason. Poor women from southern Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua who migrate to Juarez to work in the sweatshops are targeted because they have dark skin, beautiful faces and long hair. The situation is out of control and an unfortunate example of how marginalized women throughout the world truly lack human rights. The prevailing attitude is, if you kill a poor woman, who will notice or care? A general lack of attention paid to these crimes, evidence is tampered with and testimonies are not taken seriously. The hurt and damaged children of the murdered women, the other victims, are now being raised by their grandmothers. They are afraid to live in Ciudad Juarez and often lack money for food. Another goal of the film is to contribute to the formation of an international jury, as these families are unable to find justice in Mexico.

“As women and filmmakers, we hope our documentary will raise awareness about femicide and violence against women. We also hope that it motivates people to get involved in learning more about these issues, to take action to prevent violence or discrimination against women and to promote justice and equality,” said Flores.

Domestic violence is a separate cause of femicide throughout the world; hundreds of women are killed by partners each year in Mexico. Please come check out this film, hear the voices of women who are willing to lose their lives to end the femicide in Ciudad Juarez, and consider participating in the San Miguel Walk to end domestic violence.

For more information on the San Miguel Walk, contact Shelley Bull at 044 (415) 114-8648 or shelleybull@gmail.com.  Sign up sheets will be available at the film premiere.

A brief history of the femicide

The economy of Ciudad Juarez depends on two industries: sweatshops and narco-traffic. Many young, poor women are drawn to the area by jobs in assembly plants known as maquiladoras. Organised crime exploded in 1993 when the Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel, the most powerful and brutal in Mexico, took control of trafficking into the US. That same year, women started disappearing, their bodies later found in the desert, murdered and often mutilated. Alma Chavira Farel was the first, on January 23, 1993. From 1995-1996, two to four bodies were discovered every week. An investigation started in 1999 when family members started coming forward to report the crimes. Now it is 2007 and women continue to die. During the last three weeks of filming Juarez, two more women were murdered. 

In 1994, forensic expert Oscar Maynez Grijalva warned his superiors that there was a serial killer at work. 

In 1995, Egyptian national Abdel Latif Sharif Sharif was arrested and charged with being the serial killer. The murders continued. 

In April, 1996, police swept the downtown bar area and arrested 150 people. All were released except for 15, an alleged gang known as Los Rebeldes, with Sharif as the mastermind who paid $1200 per body from his jail cell. The murders continued. 

In April, 1999, a gang called Los Choferes were arrested (two members were Juarez city police) and were also said to be in the pay of Sharif Sharif.

Diana Washington Valdez investigated the murders for five years for the El Paso Times. She claims, “Five men from Juarez and one from Tijuana get together and kill women. . . those involved are prominent men with important political connections—untouchables.”

Many residents and some discouraged investigators now believe that the police themselves may be behind some of the murders. At the very least, many think the police are involved in an ongoing cover-up.

A decade after the start of the official roster of the dead, only one thing is certain: All females are in danger on the streets of Ciudad Juarez. The overall murder rate for women in Juarez is twice that of Mexico generally (7.9 per 100,000 versus 3.1). The rate for woman age 15-24 in Juarez is five times the rate of Tijuana and more than ten times that of El Paso, Texas (12.4 for Juarez, 3.6 for Tijuana and 1.1 for El Paso).

According to Amnesty International, as of February 2005 more than 370 bodies had been found, and over 400 women were still missing.

A Stanford University conference asserted that the murder of women has reached epidemic proportions in some parts of the world. In Juárez, 400 murders have been confirmed, but a thousand other women are missing. From 2001 to 2005, women violently murdered throughout Central America included 1,780 in Guatemala, 462 in Honduras, 117 in Costa Rica and five per month in El Salvador. 

Sources: Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times; The Observer; Wikipedia; Organization of American States’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Stanford University conference.

Supporting our San Miguel women

The Instituto Municipal de La Mujer, the local government organization that protects the rights of women, recently presented the Mexican film entitled Te Doy Mis Ojos, directed by Icíar Bollarín in the Teatro Santa Ana. The movie was screened specifically for an audience of women from rural communities such as Santa Cecilia and La Esperanza, to inform them about their rights when they find themselves in abusive relationships. The movie presents the story of a woman of great courage— not only to escape an abusive relationship but her strength to face an uncaring society that ignores the issues of domestic violence and the pervasive culture of fear that enables these terrible abuses to continue.

The movie was shown to this specific audience with the goal to empower and educate women about their rights to report and inform the police when domestic violence occurs.

BioBlitz and biodiversity
By Walter L. Meagher

A BioBlitz is a race. It happens in one day, with as many people as possible collecting, examining and identifying organisms living in a small space— a county park, for example.

The aim is to enhance local awareness of biodiversity and to establish the biological richness of a selected area. A BioBlitz recently happened in New York City’s Central Park; it could happen in El Charco del Ingenio. A BioBlitz requires the participation of a host of scientists having specialties such as bats, beetles, birds, butterflies, lizards and plants. It also depends on a population of volunteers, mainly children and youth groups, who comb the grass and search the canyon for all the insects and spiders they can find. Scientists bring their tools—nets, jars, microscopes magnifying glasses and microscopes. Although El Charco may not immediately lend itself to a BioBlitz, examination of its flora and fauna is underway in a different manner.

Kim Garwood came to El Charco in September. Working with Wayne Colony, they photographed and identified 109 species of butterflies. September is a giddy month for butterflies; even on a Monday or a Tuesday, one might see 30–40 species. The full list of names will appear in a forthcoming book on El Charco biodiversity. Next year the number may be different, but if the area is surveyed in successive years, a useful record may be prepared, not only for El Charco, but also for the state of Guanajuato and the butterflies of Mexico.

Naturalists love to make lists. Birders keep “life lists” and travel far and wide to add to them. In El Charco, Susan and Wayne Colony have recorded 154 bird species; Tom Nash and his colleagues found 51 species of lichens this year; Raul Hernandez identified two frogs, five lizards, nine snakes and one turtle. Walter Meagher has compiled a list of 535 species of plants. But one should ask—What is the value of a list? It is a baseline against which habitats and species populations may be measured. Over a period of time, there may be equilibrium in the habitat, species neither rising nor declining; or there may be loss and degradation; or gain and enhancement. Take the example of spontaneous plant life in El Charco, plants that are wild, uncultivated, and left alone. In the Inventory of Spontaneous Flora in El Charco del Ingenio published in 1994, 260 species of flowering plants were reported. Fieldwork began again after the area was expanded to include Parque Landeta. In the revised list published in 2007, 49
8 species of flowering plants were reported.

Although Mexico, with 1,972,544 square kilometers, is the fourteenth largest country in the world, it ranks third in biodiversity. Mexico has 30,000 species of plants, 100 species of coniferous trees and over 100 species of oaks. Over 2,000 kinds of fish swim in Mexican waters. Quite miraculously, there are 25,000 butterflies and moths, and at least 1,580 species of bees pollinating Mexican flowers. So great is the species richness of the nation that biologists call it “megadiversity.” El Charco shares the nation’s biodiversity; even here, in such a small space above a busy city, unexpected riches have been revealed and new records made.

Walter L. Meagher studied botany at the University of Michigan and the Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State Univ. He is the author of the recently published Inventario de la Flora Espontanea del Jardin Botanico ‘El Charco del Ingenio,’ San Miguel de Allende.

Mujeres en Cambio Holiday Luncheon
By Joan Strouse

Mujeres en Cambio Luncheon
Thurs, Dec 13, 2pm
Hacienda de las Flores
Hospicio 16
Advance ticket required, 120 pesos

Come celebrate Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Christmas, or the upcoming Winter Solstice at the Mujeres en Cambio holiday luncheon on December 13. Core group members will be preparing your favorite holiday comfort food including turkey with all of the trimmings. 

As at all Mujeres en Cambio (Women in Change) events, the proceeds will go directly to assist young women from several rural communities. Currently Mujeres en Cambio supports more than 160 deserving women from the campo through modest scholarships that allow them to remain in school. Scholarships are awarded to academically strong students based upon recommendations by their school’s principal and teachers. To keep their scholarships, students need to maintain good grades. 

On these increasingly darker and cooler mornings it is sometimes hard to get out of bed. Try to picture what one of the Mujeres scholarship students, Carmen (not her real name), does to get to high school every day from her small, remote village southwest of San Miguel de Allende. Carmen, age 17, is in her fourth term of videobachillerato. She walks for one hour and then rides a public bus for another 20 minutes to reach her school every morning before it begins at 8am. Her father, an itinerant bricklayer, is the sole support for the family of eight. Carmen plans to finish high school in 2008 and hopes to attend the University of León where she wants to study architecture because she “wants to know about everything related to construction.” She maintains a 9.4 gpa and is eager to learn more. Carmen is the first person in her entire extended family to study past primary school. She uses her scholarship of 250 pesos per month to help cover transportation to and from school. Many more young women like Carmen de
serve our help to make the best of their lives under difficult circumstances. 

This luncheon is limited to 50 people and entry is by pre-sold ticket only. Tickets are 120 pesos and are on sale now at Casa de Papel, Mesones 57A (the China Palace building). Be sure to purchase your ticket early as they sell out quickly! As a special treat we will have a vintage apron fashion show during the luncheon.

Remember, if you are still trying to think of an easy-to-mail holiday gift for people, please consider making a charitable donation to our organization. You can have a beautiful Mujeres en Cambio notecard sent to that person. The card will indicate that you have made a contribution in their honor. The card is sure to please your friends and family and it will take the stress and expense out of selecting a gift and sending or carrying a package. Please visit our website if you want to know more about Mujeres en Cambio, www.mujeresencambio.com. If you would like more information, you can also call Joan at 152-2820 (no phone reservations for lunch, please). New members are always welcome, so please come join us!