November 2003 Issue 12

DAY OF THE DEAD - - - DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

There is not just one Day of the Dead, but two - Day of the Little Dead, for children, on November 1, and Day of the Adult Dead, on November 2.  On the Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos, the dead join the living in a festival which originated in the prehispanic past.  It is a time when many Mexican and Mexican-American families celebrate the cyclic nature of life and death by remembering their dead.

To the indigenous peoples of Mexico, death was considered the passage to a new life and so the deceased were buried with many of their personal objects, which they would need in the hereafter.  Many times even their pets were sacrificed so they would accompany their masters on their long journey.  

The core elements of the holiday are family visits to decorate the tombs where their ancestors lay, and offer food, drink and temporary altars.  The gist of the fiesta is that the spirits of the dead on these dates are able to come back from the beyond to visit, if the living facilitate this communion with petals of the cempazuchitl (an orange marigold flower) pointing in the direction from the grave to the house.  Altars and tombs also feature candles to light the way, water for the dead to drink and salt for the journey.

The poor walk between tombs, asking for the right to pray for the deceased in exchange for food, a tradition shared with Spain and other Latin American countries.  Today, mariachis in the Dolores Cemetery in Mexico City will sing a song for the difunto for a fee.

Children throughout Mexico have long used Day of the Dead to ask passers-by for their "calavera" - any sweet or pocket change.  And sweets fashioned for All Saints' and All Souls' Days are also featured in Catholic Europe.  However, independent of colonial and Christian influence, the tradition of celebrating "Los Muertos" is basically a pre-Hispanic concept.

It is widely known that the Mexica, celebrated a fiesta called "Miccailhuitontli" held in honor of dead children, and "Miccailhuitl" in honor of the adult dead. But before the Spanish conquest, these fiestas were not celebrated in early November, but in the middle of the year.  The Spanish made them coincide with the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Soul's Day, which date to the Middle Ages.  But here in Mexico Todos los Santos is secondary to the pre-Hispanic festival.
  

SOUTH AKUMAL VIES FOR GUINNESS RECOGMITION

Now, the owners who rent their houses in South Akumal have another item to add to their web sites and offerings - "Home of the World's Largest Tope."  While it has gone undisputed in Mexico and North America, the Guinness Book of World Records has  taken the tope under consideration before bestowing its place in their record book.

Stewart Newport, Keeper of the Records at GWR, was recently in South Akumal to take all the measurements and a series of photographs.  Stewart said, "This is a new one on me, and I am not even sure what category I’d put it in.  It sure is big though."

Besides being an excellent tope to maintain speed control, it is also being considered for other sporting activities, like:

• Starting ramp for the Tour de South Akumal bicycle race,
• Starting ramp for the new South Akumal Soap Box Derby,
• Training Hill for frustrated vacationing skiers,
• First element in South Akumal's Extreme Sport Park, and
• A series of others, now under consideration by the Tope Management Team.
   

DID YOU KNOW?

Cheeta, the original one from "Tarzan", is 71 years old and living in a retired old-apes home in California.  He's the world's oldest chimp and in excellent condition, living with several other retired showbiz primates at the Cheeta Primate Foundation in Palm Springs.  Cheeta's "world's oldest" title is noted in the Guinness Book of World Records.

But life isn't as much fun as a barrel of monkeys for Cheeta, the chimp who starred in the classic Tarzan movies of the '30s and '40s, when he swung through the jungle with Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) and Jane (Maureen O'Sullivan).  At age 71, the retired chimp has been forced to give up his favorite pleasures - beer (about a case a day!) and cigars.  The suds stopped flowing for the 4-foot-6, 142-pound primate after animal activist Brigitte Bardot complained the brew could damage his health.  Cheeta's owner, Dan Westfall, says the chimp still gets to go to a drive-in restaurant, where he enjoys dining on hamburgers and Coke.

The word Umgawa was the invention of MGM screenwriter Cyril Hume.  The all-purpose command "Ungawa," which could mean "good," "up," "down," "stop" or "go."

The phrase "Me Tarzan, you Jane," was never spoken in any Tarzan film.
 

AKUMAL WATER

            CAPA continues to move forward with the construction of the large cistern and treatment plant beside the entrance road into Akumal, and the asbestos water pipes are being installed all along the highway north of the Akumal entrance.  It really is hard to believe that an organization like CAPA could move so quickly.

             I tried to pay my small water bill twice today, and both times was turned away because they could not change a $200 peso bill or a $50 pesos bill!  Wait till next month.
 

DID YOU KNOW?

            Deep Throat, the famous 1972 porn movie, is the most profitable movie in history.  It cost about $25,000 to make and grossed (no pun intended) over $600 million.  Now, an HBO documentary, "Inside Deep Throat", about the film's life and times should be in theaters before the end of the year.
 

DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT....?

            From the story on page 4 about the trees being cut down along the sidewalk into Akumal, the story is that a fence is going up there.  The idea is to enclose the property bordered by that road on the South, Yal-ku Lagoon on the North, the highway on the West, and the North Akumal road on the East.  "Why is that?" I hear you ask.

            It is very elementary, my dear Watson.  A golf course is being built there, with villa lots all around the course.  No decision has yet been made on who the course architect will be, but Denny Mahan is applying for the job as Club Pro.
 

TURTLE BAY CAFE REOPENS FOR DINNER

            Turtle Bay Cafe will be opening for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings, commencing on Friday, November 14.  And, there are plans for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, November 27.  The 'locals' are already planning for re-opening "gathering" on the 14^th, after Happy Hour at the Lol-Ha Beach Bar.
  

LOL-HA REOPENS

            Speaking of Lol-Ha, the restaurant and pizzeria are scheduled to re-open on Saturday, November 15.  Laura reports, "We have a new food and beverage manager from Argentina. His name is Gerardo.  He is bilingual and has been working at five star resorts in Argentina, Mexico.  We have an exciting new decor planned for inside the Lol-Ha.  We have purchased new plates, new table cloths, and will work with lighting and seating areas for a new ambiance.  The menu is almost the same, but we are incorporating some of our best selling specials into the menu and have added two new deserts, Bananas Foster Cheescake and Warm Chocolate Lava Cake, which is truly decadent."

            Starting after December 15^th, Lol-Ha brings back the "specials" nights, with Sunday Pasta Bar, Wednesdays will be Taco Bar, Thursdays and Fridays will be Prime Rib night, and Saturdays they will have Roasted Rosemary Rack of Lamb.  The dancing schedule will also remain the same, with Flamenco on Wednesdays and Mexican folkloric on Fridays.

A new patio at the Beach Bar is being made to stop the erosion each time it rains, and that area will be used for seating and dining under the stars.  The retaining wall will be covered in stone, and that is what you see being cut in the parking area.
 

THE FENCE HAS VINES

            Let it not be said that the fence that secures the "flatiron" section of Las Casitas from roving bands of bandits does not have flowering vines growing along the first section, before the long expanse of road with no fence.  This does take out some of the harshness about the chain-link fence.  It is also very interesting to note that the Las Casitas management has apparently listened to suggestions from the community, to some degree anyway, because Las Casitas has painted their side of the fence poles a bright green.  "Heck, I don’t want to see that eye-sore from my casita."  Waste not, want not.

No explanation has surfaced yet on why there is a gap in the fence directly across from John McCalumn's property.  Do you know why?
 

PLASTIC RE-CYCLING AT CEA

       CEA reports more good news.  Avangard, a company supported by the Mexican government, is now collecting "pet" plastic drink bottles.  These include all of the drink bottles (Water, Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc), and can be re-cycled.  Avangard has left containers, which are really big bags, for the plastic, and these are positioned across the road from CEA and TSA.  Please make an effort to be environmentally conscious and bring your plastic containers to be re-cycled.  Every little bit really does help Akumal.
 

AKUMAL ENTRANCE

            The entrance to Akumal is looking "real gooooood" now that the grass has been cut, the walls have been painted, and people are ingeniously being kept off the "AKUMAL" sign and planter.  Kudos to David and Laura for not repainting the Club Akumal Caribe, Las Casitas, and Super Chomak commercials on the walls.  The plain white walls are warm, inviting and welcoming for people coming to Akumal.

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