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Despite the fact that Cozumel businesses located on the downtown waterfront area were give advance notice of plans to remodel Melgar Avenue, many owners are upset by the effects the project is having on their businesses. They say that it isn’t just the poor image it projects, but also because it makes it more difficult for tourists to get to the downtown area.

“We knew that sooner or later this was going to be necessary and we were somewhat prepared for it, but our sales have diminished considerably and the work is a real nuisance for our visitors,” said handicraft shop owner Esteban Hernández.

“Since they began working on the avenue approximately two weeks ago our sales have dropped by 50 percent. When tourists see mounds of dirt and the trenches being dug, they turn away from the businesses in that section.”

After a recent inspection of the project, the state’s secretary of regional planning and development requested that local authorities as well as the construction company schedule work during the evenings, and that they create better signage for routing tourists as well as to prevent accidents.

With the traditional dance of the pig’s head, attended by local and state dignitaries, the week-long activities held in the village of El Cedral to honor the Holy Cross of Saban came to a close. This year marked the 186th year for this religious festival in Cozumel.

At 1:00 P.M. holy mass was celebrated, where faithful Catholics asked that their needs be fulfilled, prayed that those who have gone before them rest in peace, and gave tribute to the Holy Cross of Saban. The El Cedral festival began when early settler Casimiro Cárdenas iniciated a yearly religious celebration in gratitude for a wooden cross that he believed permitted him to arrive safe and sound in Cozumel after norrowly escaping death during the War of the Castes in Yucatan.

At 6:00 P.M. families whose ancestors were the first to settle the island some 156 years ago, began the traditional baile de la Cabeza de Cochino before a crowd of 1,000 people who had come to participate or observe this particular event in honor of the cross.

Local dignitaries and residents exchanged their street clothes for more traditional clothing, with the women robed in intricately embroidered formal ternos and the men in guayaberas or filipinas, all demonstrating their pride in their Yucatecan roots. The dance lasted for approximately 90 minutes during which children joined their parents to share in a tradition that will surely continue for generations to come.

While the dance originally involved placing a decorated pig’s head on a large tray which was then carried over head as they danced, today’s celebrants most commonly use an artificial head or a large round loaf of bread which is decorated to resemble the original. Figureheads of various families often carry a beautifully decorated “maypole” as their family members dance around them with streamers in hand.

As a result of climate changes and the warming of the earth, local experts are predicting a total of 19 meteorological phenomenons in the Carribean this year. Of that total number, four or five are expected to be in the category 5 classification; seven in category three; and the remaining six in categories 1 or 2. All this according to Daniel Álvarez Villanueva, municipal director of civil protection.

Álvarez commented that although Cozumeleños are for the most part well educated with regard to hurricane preparation, his department will continue instructing residents about what they must do before, during, and after a hurricane, specifically with regard to schools, businesses, neighborhoods, and emergency units, among others.

Félix González Canto, former Cozumel mayor and current state secretary of the tourism commission, presented local businessmen with his proposal to establish new federal law with regard to gambling and an initiative to permit casinos in the state of Quintana Roo and specifically Cozumel. Gonzalez Canto proposes that 30 percent of the casino revenues be directed to the federal entity, with 50 percent remaining for the municipality.

The 75-page document was delivered to a prominent businessmen’s organization with the objective that these individuals respond with their comments and opinions, as well as to involve them in the initiative and any final decisions that are made.

Supporters of the proposal and the revisions to federal law say that the advent of casinos should increase tourism and impulse regional development in various areas of Mexico, generating greater employment opportunities and stimulating foreign and national investment. In turn they believe that this will result in more tax revenue which will support economic and social development programs in those communities where casinos exist.

Editor's note of interest: The spanish term for slot machine or video lottery machine is máquina tragamonedas which literally translated means “money-swallowing machine”.

Although Cozumel has a law on the books concerning vacant lots, the law in not adequately enforced and that’s why we see so many areas filled with garbage and weeds; the owners don’t respect the law and don’t concern themselves with cleaning the property.

Juan Miguel Salinas Rodriguez, president of the executive municipal committee for the PRD national political party stated the above, adding that local authorities have done nothing to enforce the law or sanction offenders.

The law requiring land owners to maintain their lots was passed in 1994, stating that the municipality would oversee compliance with the law and that the finance department would be responsible for applying fines to offenders.

One of the articles of said law states that it is the obligation of the land owner to keep the property clean, maintain it in optimum condition, trim trees that obstruct visibility, and fence the property while also providing an access area for entering the property.

Despite the fact that the Mexican military can’t compete with the financial resources and technology available to narcotics traffikers, the Armada remains vigilant in its unending effort to ensure that Cozumel and the waters surrounding it are not utilized for transporting drugs.

Quintana Roo has always been a frequent stop on the drug route for traffikers and although the flow decreases at times, the problem persists, which is why the military continues patrolling, affirmed Commander Mateo Avendaño Torres. As the highest ranking officer in the area, the commander states that the constant pressure applied by the Armada has forced the narcotics trade to look skyward for an alternative transportation method. He went on to say that it’s difficult to oversee both air and sea and that drug lords use boats and planes that can easily outrun the standard military transport because of the limited resources available in Mexico.

“However, this doesn’t discourage us nor does it stop us from keeping a 24 hour vigil seven days a week and 365 days a year. The proof that our work has brought results despite our lack of technology and equipment, is that traffic in this area has consistently diminished over the last three years.”

He pointed out that it’s unfair that the media prints articles stating that their efforts are not effective when the reality is that they are seeing positive results. He went on to say that these comments by the media are made without regard to the damage it does to the institution itself.

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