INTRODUCTION

It may seem like you just received the August issue of The Akumalian, and you are correct. As you know, The Akumalian has no defined schedule. It happens when something important happens, or a lot of "NEWS" becomes available. The reason driving this issue so early in the month is Mexican Independence Day - Viva Mexico!!

CONSEJO DE DESARROLLO DE AKUMAL A.C

The Consejo de Desarrollo de Akumal - a.k.a. Akumal Council - continues to grow and flourish, and the next General Assembly Meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 8, 2004 at 11:00am, at Lol Ha. Admittedly, it’s a tad early to notify members about this meeting, but it allows enough time to make airline reservation, so you can attend.

One of the recent events co-coordinated by the Akumal Council was the Security Training Course conducted by the Municipality police for all private Security personnel in Akumal. See http://www.akumalcouncil.com/councilakumal/securitycourses.html for more information about this program.

A second Security Training Course is going to held starting on Wednesday, September 22nd, and Owners, Property Managers and Vecinos should really attempt to get as many private Security personnel as possible into this excellent course. This is being co-coordinated by Jorge Palma at jorge@akumalrealestate.com and more information will be forthcoming from Jorge.

HIGHWAY SIGNS

On a recent trip to/from Cancun, this phenomenon finally dawned on me, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out the rhyme or reason for this. This just leaves all kinds of questions on the table. This has to do with duplicate highway signs, and while this happens to occur the length of the Riviera Maya, all these, and others, are right here in Akumal, on a stretch of highway MEX 307, about 3 kilometers long. Starting from the hill just north of the AKUMAL PLAYA entrance and going to about 50 meters south of the entrance to South Akumal, there are three (3) of the redundant speed limit signs, and at least four (4) of various textual signs like the one(s) here.

Who - what department(s) - put these second signs up?
Why is the second sign there?
Why is the second sign so close to the original sign?
Why didn't they remove the original sign when they put the second one up?
Why can't South Akumal get a highway entrance sign when all these 'extra' ones are up?

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY, SEPTEMBER 16

A new century and the age of enlightenment, revolutionary examples of France and of the former colonies of England, growing local interests and a desire to lift the invader's boot that crushed the traditions and very life of much of the western hemisphere - these are some of the reasons why the territories dominated by Spain began to formulate their various plans for liberation.

In the largest area, occupying most of Mesoamerica and called by the foreigners "Nueva Espana", movements were begun by the criollos and mestizos. Born in the "new world" of Spanish fathers or of mixed unions, they were denied by law the privileges enjoyed by those born on the Iberian Peninsula. Not only in the economic sphere but in politics, religion and the military their aspirations far outstripped the possibilities permitted them by Spanish law.

Hoping to benefit from the chaos in Europe caused by Napoleon and his usurpation of the Spanish throne and fearing that their religion would be outlawed, the criollo and mestizo priests, politicians and military leaders planned to induce military and political authorities to join with them in repudiating Joseph Bonaparte. By thus supporting the return of Ferdinand VII to the throne they hoped, with a bloodless uprising, to gain political freedom while still allied to Spain.

They failed to obtain sufficient military support before being found out and so faced the choice of abandoning their hopes or of immediately starting a revolution. To this end, Ignacio Allende, Dona Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez (la Corregidora) and others of the Insurgents left their headquarters in Queretaro for the small town of Dolores where they conferred with another of the group, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

In the early hours of Sunday, September 16, 1810 it was decided to call for an immediate revolt. On that morning the church bell rang out for liberty and Father Hidalgo gave the first shout for freedom when he exhorted the mostly indigenous parishioners with these immortal words: "Viva la Independencia! Viva la America! Muera el mal gobierno

Thus began eleven years of intense and bloody struggle. Led by a handful of priests and other criollos, the descendants of the original inhabitants fought long and hard for the independence of all Mexico.

Spain formally recognized the independence of Mexico with the signature of the Treaty of Cordoba on August 24, 1821 - after 300 years and three days of slavery and repression.

The United Mexican States celebrate their independence every year on September 16, with parades, speeches and many patriotic events.

But the night before we remember and celebrate that first great proclamation of independence - El Grito. La Noche Mexicana mas mexicana. At 11:00 PM in every city, town and village, the maximum local authority proclaims the independence of Mexico in a great shout. In Mexico City the President rings the original liberty bell brought from Dolores and installed in the National Palace.

'EL GRITO', SEPT. 15 AT 11:00PM OR SEPT. 16 AT 11:00AM??

On the night of September 15, 1910, the special envoys stood on the illuminated balconies of the National Palace and watched the fiesta of all fiestas on the Mexican civil calendar: the grito de independencia, the "cry of independence." One hundred years earlier (less a few hours) at dawn on Sunday, September 1810 -- while Napoleon's troops were occupying Spain and King Ferdinand VII was still in captivity -- Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a fifty-seven-year-old priest from an old family of criollos (Mexican-born Spaniards) had suddenly begun to harangue his parishioners in the small town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato, "seducing them" (according to a chronicle of the time) to rise up in arms - even with stones, slings, sticks or spears - in order to defend their religion against the "French heretics" who had occupied Spain since 1808 and now threatened to come over to the Americas.

What Hidalgo intended - and accomplished - was to launch his flock against the hated gachupines (Spaniards born in Spain and living in Mexico) "who had been exploiting the wealth of the Mexican people with the greatest injustice for three hundred years." Within a month, he had been joined by more than fifty thousand men, mainly Indians from the poorest levels of society. Attracted by his religious magnetism and by other, less noble motives, this multitude devastated the cities of San Miguel, Celaya, and Guanajuato and was on the point of entering Mexico City when Hidalgo ordered them to retreat.

A few months later, in July of 1811, he was tried by the Inquisition, condemned by the civil authorities, and executed, but by then the seed had begun to sprout. It took the form of a long and violent social earthquake, almost without precedent in New Spain or the Americas: the Mexican War of Independence - a truly popular movement led by four hundred armed parish priests - only to be compared in its fury with the uprising of black slaves in Santo Domingo in 1801, and the Indian rebellion of Tupac Amaru (1781) in Peru.

Not many remembered the revolutionary aspect of the War of Independence on that night of nights in 1910. As in every other year, what really mattered was going to the Zocalo (central plaza) to participate in the ritual of the grito. According to witnesses present at the original event, Hidalgo and then his followers had shouted "Mueran los gachupines! Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!" ("Death to the Spaniards! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!"), but after one hundred years, time, good manners, and the secularization had transformed the ritual from the call for a holy war, to a peaceful, patriotic affirmation.

At 11:00 pm on that September, 1910, President Porfirio Diaz stood on the main balcony of the National Palace, and once again rang the same bell Hidalgo had rung in Dolores. He shouted several vivas: "Long Live the Heroes of the Nation!" "Long Live the Republic!" Below him, in the majestic Zocalo that, from the days of the Aztecs had been the ceremonial heart of the Mexican Nation, a hundred thousand voices shouted in reply "¡VIVA!"

But why had the President delivered this grito on the night of the September 15th rather than at dawn on September 16th, when it all really began? A minor historical license: September 15 was the Day of Saint Porfirio (a Greek saint of the fourth century) and the birthday of President Poririo Diaz.

Abstracted from "Mexico: Biography of Power"

by Enrique Krauze,

YAL KU LAGOON SLOWLY DETERIORATING

This is a reprint of an article - The Yal Ku Lagoon Slowly Deteriorating - by Alejandero Eddins in the Saturday, September 4, 2004 issue of The Miami Herald.

The Yal Ku lagoon, whose clear refreshing waters and abundant colorful fish once made it the jewel of Akumal, is on the verge of an environmental collapse. The pollution of its waters, excessive tourist traffic, and construction projects on its fringes have already affected the lagoon ecosystem and threaten to kill off this once beautiful natural treasure located within Akumal.

An overgrowth of fleshy algae is a sign of eutrification, or an enrichment of the water much like when gardeners enrich their soil with manure, only in this case surely due to pollution. The levels of the contamination are unknown, but what is obvious is the excessive growth of algae fogging up what used to be clear and transparent waters. Snorkeling these waters is much like looking into an aquarium that needs to be cleaned.

This area, which deserves to be protected, needs the attention of the government agencies, the tourism industry, and the local community before it is too late. Besides the deteriorating quality of the water, there are some individuals who continue to fish from the edge of the lagoon despite its legality, simply because there is no authority to stop them.

Though the decay of the lagoon is obvious, construction projects continue to be authorized all around it, destroying the adjacent vegetation and increasing traffic in an already crowded area. Furthermore, many of these buildings discharge their wastewater through deep injection wells, a system whose inefficiencies in coastal zones have been well proven. Since freshwater is lighter than saltwater, the wastewater tends to float to the top of the underlying saltwater layer, regardless of the depth at which it has been discharged.

The situation at Yal Ku is disappointing to say the least, and the carrying capacity of the lagoon is obviously being exceeded. The murky waters, the algae, the illegal fishing, and excessive tourist traffic have diminished the pleasure of visiting its waters. Serious measures must be taken now to allow Yal Ku to recover and protect not just the lagoon, but hose who visit it as well.

A key step would be to determine the levels and sources of pollution. It is likely that wastewater is the culprit, and this could represent a serious risk to the health of bathers - Swimmer's Ear (see page 24 of the Sept. – Oct. issue of Sac-Be). Meanwhile, measures can be taken to protect tourists and enable the lagoon's recovery. It is essential to regulate construction around Yal Ku, and require that existing hotels, condos, and houses have adequate wastewater treatment systems that remove not only pathogens but algae-feeding nutrients as well. Organized tours to the lagoon could/should be limited, giving the ecosystem a chance to recover. Finally, the authorities must intervene to combat the problem of illegal fishing.

Area residents and returning tourists alike have noticed the environmental decline of Yal Ku. It is time for all the interested parties - government, business and citizenry - to join forces to rescue it. It is time that this piece of natural heritage be protected before it is too late.

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