Todos Santos Latino Film Festival Change of Venue

There has been a last minute change of venue for all of the adult films in the Todos Santos 6th Annual Latino Film Festival schedule. The films were to be shown at the Cultural Center but now will be shown at the Marquez de Leon Theater that fronts the town square. There will be plenty of seating and no need to purchase advance tickets.

The children’s portion of the festival on Friday, March 6, at 1 pm will still be held in the Cultural Center.

Dead Pelicans Abound on Todos Santos Beaches

I forgot to mention this yesterday but for the last two weeks or so the number of dead and dying pelicans on the Las Tunas beaches has been on the rise. It seems that every day there are new dead birds. Some can be seen just sitting on the beach, not moving and obviously in the process of dying. They don’t seem injured or otherwise overtly affected by the shrimping trawlers working the local waters (there are two or three off the beach every night.) Some people suspect a virus is the cause. There are no other fish or birds dying in unusual numbers, just the pelicans.

What ever has killed them, it hasn’t stopped the turkey vultures from descending to eat the dead birds once they reach the “right” stage of ripeness.

February Is A Tough Month

Well it always is for me at least. There is too much to do, too much that I would like to do and so little time since it is the shortest month of the year and El Calendario deadlines roll over so quickly. Blogging suffers in a big way in February.

The weather has been great! Nights are cool, about 5-10 degrees warmer than they normally are. Days are clear and actually getting warm in the shade and hot in the sun. This is scary since it makes me wonder what the coming summer might be like, although a friend (eternally optimistic) recently suggested perhaps the summer will be 5-10 degrees cooler than normal. Ojala!

This week the ocean has been kind to surfers. There have been surfable waves nearly every day. Word from the beach (of course I don’t have time to be there photographing) is that yesterday, Thursday, was the best day of the year with 6-8 foot waves, peaky and glassy. I’ll be out there on Sunday morning to photograph the paddle out in honor of Tommy Lewis. It starts at 10 am and some old time long boarders have come to Todos Santos from SoCal to honor Tommy. With any luck, there will be waves too!

March 2009 El Calendario de Todos Santos Posted Today!

I have just now finished posting the March 2009 issue of El Calendario. You can view it by clicking on the cover below:

March 2009 El Calendario Cover

Enjoy! The print edition should be available on March 2nd or 3rd.

Some Quick Todos Santos Comments

The art festival has come and gone. I have not been feeling well so did not attend many events. There were lots of interesting crafts for sale in the lot between the Hotel California and the church. The Zocalo was unusable – it had been torn up for the second time in two years,  just weeks before the festival. Go figure. I heard from a reliable source that the Pueblo Magico people had money they needed to spend before the end of 2008 or lose. So they tore up the plaza knowing that the festival was beginning January 31. Go figure. I don’t get it. Really.

It rained briefly Sunday morning. A light drizzle for about 15 minutes. It had been cloudy all night. This is more like our normal winter weather, cold fronts come from the Pacific northwest with clouds, sometimes rain, usually lots of wind and waves for surfers. Yes, we have had waves over the last 2 days. Bumpy but surfable. Los surfos son mas contentos.

It continues to be a very very unusual winter. It makes me wonder what the summer will hold if the winter is averaging 10 F warmer than normal. Food for thought…

Unbelievable! Fingerprints Necessary to Buy a Cell Phone in Mexico?

Please, say it ain’t so….

Mexico to Fingerprint Cell Phone Users

Mexico Is Not a “Failed State”

My friend and neighbor, Mario Becerril, takes offense at the US Pentagon’s accusations putting Mexico in the same boat with Pakistan. See previous blog entry: More Unsettling Press for Mexico

For another, and perhaps more rational and informed point of view, Mario recommends the following link:

The reality is different: Ours is a country with two centuries of institutional independence that has woven a tight web of identity, territory, social fabric and customs…

As I did note in my original post, I don’t know what the truth is. I certainly can believe that the US Pentagon is capable of great errors in assessing other countries. I do not take their comments as the gospel truth. Where I live in Baja California Sur, there is no imminent sign or public fear of national collapse. Life is very very good here even if business and tourism are slowing down and the peso is losing value vs. the US dollar.

One thing I do know for certain – I am very glad not to live on the US – Mexican border.