Mexico tourism secretary invites gays from all over the world to get married

From an article on Travel Video News:

Mexico City enacted Latin America’s first law recognizing gay marriage Tuesday and said it hopes to attract same-sex couples from around the world to wed. The law, approved by city legislators on Dec. 21, was published in Mexico City’s official register and will take effect in March. It will allow same-sex couples to adopt children and municipal officials say it will make Mexico’s capital a “vanguard city”-and attract extra tourism revenues.

“Mexico City will become a center, where (gay) people from all over the world will be able to come and have their wedding, and then spend their honeymoon here,” said Alejandro Rojas, the city tourism secretary.

The law, approved by city legislators on Dec. 21, was published in Mexico City’s official register Tuesday and will take effect in March. It will allow same-sex couples to adopt children and municipal officials say it will make Mexico’s capital a “vanguard city” - and attract extra tourism revenues. . . .

The annual economic impact of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travelers is about $70 billion in the United States alone, according to Community Marketing Inc., a tourism research company that specializes in gay and lesbian consumers.

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Haciendas in Yucatán

From an article on Latido de Mexico:

Haciendas in Mexico were the basis of an economic system introduced by the Spaniards in the 16th century, similar to the feudal system of Europe. Many of them were originally cattle ranches which in the 19th century converted to produce rope from henequen. In Yucatan, the hacienda owners used the local Mayan population to work the fields and factories at slave-like wages or no wages at all. Over time, haciendas became symbols of wealth and culture, decorated with architecture, furnishings and art from around the world. There are over 170 haciendas in Yucatan, some of them completely renovated and turned into 5 star hotels and historical museums while others are left unrestored, sometimes abandoned, to collapse and fall apart over time.

A hacienda usually consisted of the Casa Principal, or main house, where the hacendado and his family lived and the administration of the business took place. The processing of the henequen took place in the Casa de Maquinas, the machine house, the overseer lived in the Casa del Majordomo, many of the haciendas also had a chapel, La Capilla, and several other smaller buildings used for storage and living quarters.

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How 14 Days In The Yucatan Made Me Realize The Value of Planet Earth

From a post by Shawna Coronado on her blog Gradening Nude on Chicago Now:

. . . My family and I took the eco-journey of a lifetime in 2009 into the jungles, caves, and ocean of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Above you see me getting ready to zipline across a jungle - note the giant grin - it was a blast! I wrote and posted a blog every day for fourteen days about our journey using greening and eco-nature information as a tool to educate readers about environmental concerns in the world. . . .

Understanding the fact that we impact all of the world, not just our little corner is so important. For example, areas of coral are dying out in the Yucatan from our fertilizer run-off. If the chemicals do not go down into our water aquifer, they are whooshed out through the storm water system. All those chemicals then react with ocean life - ultimately causing green blooms and death where ever the chemicals settle. This is disastrous for coral.

Who taught me that? An amazing man in Akumal, Mexico named Paul Sanchez- Navarro who is the Director of Centro Ecological Akumal (Photo to the right). He explained how nearly one quarter of all marine species are believed to depend on coral at some stage of their development. Many fish live their entire lives on reefs, while others use them as nurseries; if the coral dies out it is assumed the fish will too. The economic impact of losing coral is also significant - in the billions of dollars worldwide.

There were so many questions I wanted answered when I returned from the trip. What will happen if we are unable to provide fish for the world to eat? Will people starve? Without the coral and fish, millions of people will lose their jobs and be unable to support themselves. Without smaller fish which inhabit the coral reefs will all the larger fish die such as tuna and shark - the very same fish we use to feed our nation?

We went to jungles, beaches, caves, and protected eco-parks throughout the Yucatan Peninsula area and experienced some incredible things in nature, but one of the most powerful messages I saw everywhere we went is that you have an impact on planet earth. What we do here in the U.S. directly touches the rest of the world - the water supply issue is just the beginning.

Make a difference for planet earth - start paying attention to the chemicals, fertilizers, and products you use at home that might be making a difference half-way around the world.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community!

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New Year's Eve traditions in Mexico

From an article by Daniel Wheeler on Mexconnect:

The year-end holidays in Mexico are always known for time honored traditions and a family oriented spirit. You can sing Christmas carols with your friends and family and enjoy some buñuelos, tamales and ponche spiked with rum.

Then comes New Year's Eve. And while it has its traditions, this holiday is not so family-oriented.

The most important beach destinations in Mexico are packed with young people looking for a good time. The most visited ones are Acapulco, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. They are always packed with young Mexicans who travel in groups to get together and have fun with friends on the last night of the year.

Upscale hotels and restaurants host New Year's Eve dinners with festive menus and orchestras for dancing.

What you wear on New Year's Eve is thought to influence your destiny during the next 12 months. Some dress in white from head to toe to invite good vibrations and assure a good year spiritually. Green clothing attracts a year of good health. Wearing red underwear is said to bring love, while yellow underwear brings wealth. And no, it's not fair to wear both colors. You have to decide which is more important.

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Sustainable travel to Chichén Itzá

From the Insider's Guide to Chichén Itzá published by the World Heritage Alliance:

Like the slithering shadow that snakes down the Pyramid of Kukulkán at the spring and autumn equinoxes each year, the influx of tourism—which draws 5,000 visitors to this site each day—carries its own threat. Here are eight actions you can take to enjoy, protect, and enhance Chichén Itzá.

• Respect the monuments. The structures of this Maya city are more than a thousand years old. Climbing the monuments is forbidden. Tread lightly and take out all that you carried in.
• Take your time. Give yourself at least four hours to explore all of Chichén, its old city as well as later-period monuments.
• Learn about Maya achievements. The Observatory of Caracol conveys Maya notions of astronomy, time, and math.
• Hire local guides. Support the regional economy and see the site as locals view it by selecting guides that are recommended by community-based tour operators.
• Refrain from bargaining for crafts. Visit the official center for local artisans in the nearby town of Piste.
• Spend the night at a local inn. Stick around after the daytrippers depart for a taste of regional culture and cuisine.
• Explore the region around Chichén. Visit the cave of Balankanché, a Maya ceremonial space, and the Cenote Zací, at the heart of the town of Valladolid.
• Preserve the environment. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.

For more information on responsible travel and for ideas about preserving destinations, visit www.friendsofworldheritage.org

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Maya built elaborate subterranean aqueducts to deal with streams

From an article by Charles Q. Choi on MSNBC:

The ancient Mayans may have had enough engineering know-how to master running water, creating fountains and even toilets by controlling water pressure, scientists now suggest.

Perhaps the earliest known example of the intentional creation of water pressure was found on the island of Crete in a Minoan palace dating back to roughly 1400 BC. In the New World, the ability to generate water pressure was previously thought to have begun only with the arrival of the Spanish.

Scientists investigated the Mayan center at Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. At its height, this major site, inhabited from roughly 100 to 800 AD, had some 1,500 structures — residences, palaces, and temples — holding some 6,000 inhabitants under a series of powerful rulers.

The center at Palenque also had what was arguably the most unique and intricate system of water management known anywhere in the Maya lowlands. These involved elaborate subterranean aqueducts to deal with the spring-fed streams that naturally divide the landscape and could otherwise cause flooding or erosion.

"The ancient Maya called this city Lakamha' or 'Big Water' because of its nine perennial waterways, 56 springs, and hundreds of meters of cascades," said researcher Kirk French, an archaeologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.

One peculiar finding at Palenque was a buried, spring-fed conduit some 216 feet long (66 m). While other aqueducts under the site's main plaza stayed relatively level and maintained a roughly constant width, the rectangular conduit was located on a steep slope and abruptly narrowed at its end.

Assuming this sloping conduit was smoothly plastered as the aqueducts were at Palenque, the researchers calculated the resulting water pressure could drive a fountain shooting water roughly 20 feet high (6 m).

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Continentally important proposal for the Yucatan Peninsula

From a proposal by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative:

The Yucatan is extraordinarily important for the conservation of both terrestrial and aquatic species. Its habitats are remarkably diverse, consisting of savannas, palm forests, a wide variety of deciduous and semi-evergreen tropical forests, fresh and coastal wetlands, caverns, and sink holes. The northeastern portion of the Yucatan is a high priority region for Jaguar conservation in Mexico. The region’s coastal mangroves and freshwater wetlands are the prime reproductive habitat for the endangered American Crocodile and the Moreleti´s Crocodile.

Unfortunately, the last five years have seen massive investments in tourism projects,
such as golf courses, marinas, and resorts, particularly in Quintana Roo. ...

The proposal involves collaboration with the Central Hardwoods Joint Venture in the United States to bi-nationally conserve shared migratory species, such as Wood Thrush and Kentucky Warbler. The Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (BCR) is an ecological transition zone where historically extensive tallgrass prairie and oak savanna to the north and west graded into pine woodlands to the south and mixed forests to the east. The Joint Venture has identified three sites to carry out habitat projects that counter increasing development pressures, mitigate negative pressures from recreation, and introduce prescribed fire to ecosystems where fire and other disturbances once helped maintain diversity at landscape scales.

To achieve habitat goals in the Yucatan, partners are proposing over US$52 million worth of conservation activities. The Central Hardwoods portion of the proposal lays out a plan to spend a total of over US$6 million in the three locations. The main project outcomes will be:
• The protection of an estimated 45,000 hectares of bird habitat in the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula.
• The first land conservation trust established in southern Mexico and a land stewardship endowment.
• A regional bird monitoring network and database for the Yucatan Peninsula.
• A regional fire management plan, regional cattle plan and best management practices, and Sustainable Cattle Ranchers Association.
• Participation in a Pride Educational Campaign by 28,000 people in the States of Yucatan and Quintana Roo.
• The consolidation of the Yucatan Peninsula Alliance for Birds and coordination with the Central Hardwoods Joint Venture.

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