Zih of Dreams

The quincena is here, and all across Mexico millions of workers receive paychecks with a Christmas bonus stipulated by law called an aguinaldo that corresponds to an additional 15 days of work. Besides what they may have saved, this paycheck is what they will use for their vacation. Unlike the USA and Anglo cultures, Christmas isn't the traditional day for gift giving here. Día de los Reyes Magos aka Three Kings Day is the day when Mexican children expect gifts here, though as usual foreign companies and their disrespectful marketing techniques work hard to change that each year and to convince us to spend money we don't have to buy all their junk, and city dwellers seem to be their easiest prey to convince.

Meanwhile here in the Costa Grande the people of Petatlán may be relieved to know the comunitarios are handing over control of Petatlán to federal security officials and the military. The folks hoping the comunitarios would go after the criminals the way the autodefensas did in Michoacán several years ago are of course disappointed.

Buses and vehicles full of tourists are arriving and lots of students are excited to begin their vacations. Our municipal government and our neighbors have done a wonderful job getting Zihuatanejo spiffed up and ready. Of course with so many outsiders here there are always some that bring their bad habits and their carelessness with them, and it's up to local residents to be vigilant that they don't break things, steal things or leave refuse all over the place. Hopefully our police and public officials will do their part to maintain law and order. But unfortunately no one should expect to get a good night's sleep until the holiday vacation period is over. That has been a constant in every tourist destination where I've lived over the past 5 decades. Even in remote luxury resort destinations this is the time of year when broken glass is most likely to appear on the beach, so heads up.

A heartfelt gracias to the generous people who make smiles like this possible.

Helluva way to start the day!