Vallarta Blog

A protester blows marijuana smoke against the face of a police officer during a march to mark the 1968 Tlatelolco plaza ‘massacre’ in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008. Hundreds of student demonstrators were killed by men with guns and soldiers on October 2, 1968, ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics celebrations in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

Protesters carry posters with pictures of victims of the Tlatelolco massacre during a march to mark the 1968 Tlatelolco plaza “massacre”‘ in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008.

 A protester sprays paint on the face of a police officer.

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/tlatelolco.htm

1 out of 21 anti-addiction units for Vallarta

Each unit will have the cost of 1 million 613 thousand 329 pesos and 12 ½  centavos. There will be 2 in Guadalajara, Tonalá and Zapopan. Others are Colotlán, Lagos de Moreno, Tepatitlán de Morelos, Arandas, Ococtlán, Tamazula de Gordiano, Zapotlán El Grande, Puerto Vallarta, Mascota, Ameca, Tlaquepaque, Tlajomulco de Zuniga. This will improve the availability of these services with quality and opportunity.

Colonia 5 de Diciembre: Tortured, Killed, Burned

Yesterday 12th of August at 4:40 am, police found a male (25) body on fire at Privada Brasilia street near Libramiento. The body was thrown on to the street by unknown people who lit him up using some sort of gasoline to accelerate the burning process. The body had signs of torture and 2 bullet wounds in the head. There was no evidence of violence at the scene and no conclusions have been made so far.

Coming true: Nayarit will have its own Airport

For a long time Nayarit has been thinking about constructing an Airport to be able to bring more tourism up north of Vallarta and soon it will come true. There are many projects going on with the focus on better connectivity between Cities in Jalisco. Also planned is the construction of a highway from Guadalajara through Nayarit to Puerto Vallarta which will be of great benefit to many businesses and people.

25 gallons of diesel leaked in Marina Vallarta

The Navy, supported by the local Fire Department and Civil Protection, was forced to implement an operation in the morning of the 13th to prevent damage. The diesel was recovered at 9:30 am. Where the gasoline came from is unknown, but it is thought that it could have come from a construction site or the golfing area. The captain of the Marina said that this is not an uncommon problem here and other Marinas.

No work for people with AIDS

The organization Vallarta Contra el Sida (Vallarta against AIDS) is accusing various businesses in Vallarta of giving out jobs only to those who have no AIDS. They are pointing out that it is discriminative and a violation of human rights what is happening in the restaurant area. The AIDS test is required to obtain a job in many places because businesses are afraid and or misinformed about the risks and facts of AIDS. Vallarta Contra el Sida will start a campaign of orientation to help people that are affected in their rights as well as there will be classes for businesses to explain everything related to AIDS.

Clean Vs. Dirty Beaches

Boca de Tomatlan shows 1,800 enterococci but nothing to be worried about. The rain can be problematic sometimes; it comes with a lot of dirt and waste, which causes the measurements to vary significantly. Besides Boca, all other beaches are said to be good for recreational use.

Recycling in Vallarta, Jalisco

We’re just a few weeks away from a new law that will make it obligatory for everybody in Jalisco to separate the garbage. The mayor of Vallarta said that it is something that the people and culture, will have to learn to change. We know we have to and we’re going to work in that aspect.

Ujena Bikini Jam coming up

From the 22nd to the 31st of August, we will be seeing over 250 models, photographers, stylists and many more running around PV creating thousands of high quality photos, profiles and portfolios. Not to forget the amount of publicity Ujena Swimwear is getting from the Talent Shows. There will be Workshops to learn the most important aspects in photography, modelling and makeup, as well as parties, competitions and a lot of fun. Also: Prices with a value of $250,000 usd in cash, contracts & awards. Go to: the official Ujena Bikini Jam Puerto Vallarta 2008 website.

In the above picture you can see three boats heading (at full speed) towards a couple of whales.

These pictures where taken on March 29. According to vallartawhales.com the season ends on March 24. The date changes, depending on the source, like on puertovallartatours.net it says the season is until March 31st.

 No matter if the season is on or not, it is not ok for boats to turn towards whales, especially on full speed.

We were sitting on the beach and had noticed the whales before these boats showed up. It looked like two whales playing together and constantly jumping out of the water. Of course they disappeared as soon as the boats in the above picture sped towards them… pretty sad.

In the next picture you can see how close the 3 boats are from the whales. And then people ask themselves how it’s possible that every year there are accidents with whales.

 This combined with some news talking about Vallarta being one of Mexico’s most polluted beaches.. is.. sad.

Please inform yourself well enough to know if you are participating in a real eco friendly tour/ride/adventure or if you are contributing to endangering our whales from being hit or maybe even never come back home to the Bay of Banderas.

THE father of a 19-year-old Selkirk man who died in mysterious circumstances in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico last week said he’s not optimistic that information will emerge about the nature of his son’s fatality at the popular vacation destination.

Josh Iwasiuk was a guest at the Getaway Resort in the western Mexican city when he allegedly fell from the 10th floor of a resort building, according to reports given by hotel staff to Iwasiuk’s older brother, who was also in Mexico.

A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada said Tuesday they’re liaising with Mexican authorities about the investigation into the young man’s death. However, Jerry Iwasiuk expressed doubt it will explain the tragedy, adding the information released to the family has been extremely limited so far.

“We made some phone calls and I’ve been talking to (Foreign Affairs Canada) but you don’t get much out of them. All they say is the investigation is ongoing. But you don’t get any answers,” said the grieving father.

Twenty-eight-year-old Jerry Iwasiuk Jr. — Josh’s older brother — was also a guest at the resort and had last seen his sibling Saturday afternoon when the two were drinking at a hotel bar. Iwasiuk Jr. said that was before a hotel security member took him to a room he was sharing with his brother, where he fell asleep, intoxicated.

The next morning, after Iwasiuk Jr. awoke, hotel staff told him his brother was found dead on the ground 10 floors beneath their room’s balcony. It’s a claim Iwasiuk Jr. said he found dubious due to the chest-level height of the resort’s balconies and information relayed to the family by the Canadian consulate in Mexico that Josh’s only serious injury was trauma to the back of his head.

“I don’t think he fell by accident. The height of the railing on the balcony? I don’t see it. If somebody stumbled into it, you’d fall down, but you’d have to jump to get over it,” Iwasiuk Jr. told the Free Press Monday.

Iwasiuk Sr. said his son’s body will arrive back in Canada this Sunday and the family is considering having an independent autopsy done. A funeral is planned for next Tuesday.

“All the information we’ve got is very vague,” said Iwasiuk Sr. “I’m hoping his body comes back the way we said we want it to come back, and that it isn’t cremated.”

Christiane Theberge, president of the Association of Canadian Travel Agents, said the Iwasiuk family should be able to pressure the Canadian government into pressing the investigation forward on foreign soil. She said the country receives almost one million Canadian tourists per year, making it Canadians’ second-most popular foreign destination.

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca