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March 2024

Navigating Progress: A New Highway to the Coast of Oaxaca

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By Randy Jackson

On February 4, 2024, the inauguration of an essential transportation artery for the Oaxaca Coast, including Huatulco, marked a significant milestone in the development of the coast of Oaxaca. La Autopista Barranca Larga-Ventanilla is a toll highway, linking Oaxaca City to the coastal road near Puerto Escondido, approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Huatulco. This highway is expected to reduce travel time from Huatulco to Oaxaca City by approximately four hours and it will integrate the Oaxaca Coast into Mexico’s toll road system.

The construction of this highway over the course of 20 years has faced many challenges. The project was initiated under President Ernesto Zedillo in 1999. However, construction progress experienced numerous interruptions across subsequent presidential terms, spanning administrations from Vicente Fox to Felipe Calderón and Peña Nieto, before its inauguration by the current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). on February 4th.

The road isn’t quite finished, but it is in use. One taxi driver I spoke to drove the route the day before inauguration, and the trip to Oaxaca City took 5 hours from Huatulco. The highway is very similar to the road between the airport and Huatulco, two lanes with wide shoulders. It is a toll road but the government has announced it would be toll free for the first year. Some of the final work on the highway includes construction of the toll booths and highway connections to communities along its route.

The Use of Roadblocks

Amid the bevy of news reports announcing the inauguration of this highway were reports of two illegal blockades within 24 hours of the highway opening. One was set up by some members of the municipality of San Jerónimo Coatlán demanding an audit of their former administrator and current municipal president. Another blockade was by the municipality of San Pablo Coatlán, demanding payment for their lands and claiming they would charge a toll themselves.

Anyone familiar with driving on Oaxaca highways is aware of the issue of roadblocks. Highway blockades are an effective tool for municipalities in getting the attention of the state or federal authorities. The setting up of roadblocks within a day of the new highway’s inauguration serves as a troubling sign for users of this highway, although it should be noted that most Oaxacan roadblocks are typically short-term, allowing vehicles to pass through after a few hours. Some however, have been in place for much longer.

Roadblocks had been a major source of construction delays for this highway. Notably, one agrarian dispute between two communities which held up progress for over a year. This community dispute has resulted in up to 28 fatalities since 2008, according to Imparcial News. The expropriation of 13 kilometers of land for the new highway through these communities exacerbated tensions. The deployment of blockades to obstruct construction thrust this conflict into the limelight, capturing the attention of authorities and the wider Mexican public.

The Two Disputing Communities

Situated approximately 95 kilometers south of Oaxaca City, the two communities of Villa Sola de Vega (population 12,350) and San Vicente Coatlán (population 3,512) are both municipalities. In Mexico, municipalities represent the third tier of government, positioned below the Federal and State levels. Villa Sola de Vega spans an area of 680 square kilometers and encompasses 138 villages. San Vicente Coatlán covers an area of 105 square kilometers and includes 8 villages within its jurisdiction.

The communities’ dispute over the ownership of 19,600 hectares of land dates back to 1976. In 2006, The Tribunal Unitario Agrario 21 de Oaxaca (Unitary agrarian court of Oaxaca) ruled in favor of the municipality Villa Sola de Vega. San Vicente Coatlán disputed this, citing a presidential decree in 1754 allocating the land to them. This ruling by the agrarian court resulted in numerous acts of violence between the communities over the years, including the wounding of a state policeman in 2017.

Following AMLO’s election in 2018, he unveiled plans to prioritize the completion of the Barranca Larga-Ventanilla highway as part of his infrastructure agenda. In 2021, he personally visited these two communities, pledging to facilitate dialogue to address the conflict and expedite highway construction. However, by September 2022, the municipality of San Vicente Coatlán announced a blockade of the construction, citing perceived lack of progress toward resolution.

In January 2023, AMLO announced that his administration was in consultation with the two communities, and if a resolution could not be found within one month, an alternate highway route would be used avoiding the lands of these two municipalities altogether.

An agreement was made shortly thereafter and the construction of the highway was completed. The two communities each received 50% of the disputed lands and the Municipality of Villa Sola de Vega was to receive a gas station, a tourist inn, a communal property office, and a water and sewage treatment plant. This settlement demonstrates the effectiveness of blockades, and marks progress for these two communities.

The Road Beyond Inauguration

Although potential roadblocks and more construction delays may haunt this new highway for a time, the significance of this transportation infrastructure looks to be a game changer for Huatulco and the Oaxaca Coast. It promises economic benefits from more efficient transport of goods as well as more tourists, likely many more tourists. The increase in tourism is expected to bring more investments and jobs to Huatulco and the Oaxaca Coast.

New investments and jobs can be stymied, however, without further investments in service infrastructure, potable water and expanded sewage handling in particular. These services are at capacity in Huatulco, and exceeding capacities in Puerto Escondido. For nine years Puerto Escondido has been pumping raw sewage into the ocean, and their potable water system, like that of Huatulco, struggles to meet demand.

With the transition of Huatulco from FONATUR to the State of Oaxaca, any new service infrastructure will be the responsibility of the state. This may prove to be a test for the state government in their commitment to the development of the Oaxaca Coast. But for now at least, the road is open and Huatulqueños anxiously await future announcements of new service infrastructure to navigate further progress.

For contact or comment, email: box95jackson@gmail.com.

February 2024

The Uncertain Future of the Huatulco Golf Course

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By Randy Jackson

In an earlier article in The Eye, “Bahías de Huatulco: Three Important Developments” (December 2023), I wrote about the proposed conversion of the Tangolunda golf course to a national park. Although the federal government’s announcement to convert this to a national park has not been withdrawn, there has yet to be an official decree to make the golf course into a natural area. The uncertainty looming over the fate of this crucial tourist asset for Huatulco stems from the clash of egos between the Mexican president and the billionaire owner. There have been strong reactions against the conversion to a national park, and uncertainty reigns over the future prospects of the golf course in Huatulco.

Background

The golf course in Tangolunda is known as Las Parotas, named after the majestic parota trees that enhance the beauty of the course. Established in 1991 under the administration of the federal agency FONATUR (Fondo Nacional de Fomento al Turismo), the golf course sustained operations until 2012, despite accumulating a reported loss of $26 million mxn ($1.5 million USD) over the preceding six years.

In an effort to mitigate economic losses and bolster tourism in Huatulco, FONATUR then opted to lease out the golf course. The objective was to attract third-party investments with the aim of elevating the golf course to a professional championship level. Grupo Salinas’s Producciones Especializada SA de CV, chaired by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, head of TV Azteca and Grupo Elektra, secured a ten-year lease for the golf course on August 21, 2012. To acquire the concession, a payment of $500,000 USD was made to FONATUR, coupled with an ongoing fee amounting to 10% of the golf course’s income. Leasing out the Tangolunda golf course marked a pivotal transition in its operations and future prospects.

The Golf Course during the Ten-Year Lease

After extensive redesign under the famous Mexican golf architect, Agustín Pizá, the course reopened in 2014. The improvements to the greens and fairways were impressive. It has been raised to a first-class professional level, and is the only professional golf course in the state of Oaxaca. The course is a public course, made somewhat exclusive by the high cost to play golf there. The economic viability of the golf course is not publicly available. Anecdotally it seems there are few players, yet social media reviews generally give it high praise citing the beauty and challenge of the course and the high quality of service.

During the tenure of the lease there has been some controversy, focused principally on two issues: (1) water use, and (2) lack of tournaments that would help promote Huatulco.

The water use issue was reported in the Mexican press around August of 2022. The controversy centered around the golf course refusing to use greywater from the sewage treatment plants for irrigation. This was something the golf course had done during the years of FONATUR operation. Also, the greywater use was listed as one of the environmental sustainability practices that helps Huatulco qualify for the Earth Check award (Earth Check is a global evaluation group for sustainable tourism; Huatulco has been awarded Earth Check Certification each year since 2005 up to and including 2023).

The golf course water controversy was compounded by the fact that it now uses potable water for irrigation while Huatulco overall is at or near its potable water capacity. However, not reported in any of the news articles on this issue was the fact that the golf course had drilled its own water wells for irrigation and have not been using the potable water supplied by FONATUR, which is the source of the drinking water for Huatulco. Nevertheless, the golf course is using ground water at a rate of 350,000 liters per day. (Note: As I reported in “Huatulco’s water system: In Survival Mode?” [December 2022], FONATUR produces 15 million liters of potable water per day from nine wells near the Copalita river).

The second issue cited against the operation of the golf course under the ten-year lease is the fact that the company operating the golf course hasn’t properly promoted it, which would aid in the promotion of Huatulco overall; the example cited is the failure of the course to schedule any professional golf tournaments.

Golf Course Fees

The fees to golf at Tangolunda are, to quote social media reviews, “muy caro” (very expensive). The Las Parotas website lists the fees for 18 holes: Mon-Thu, $2,700 mxn ($160 USD); Fri-Sun $4,000 mxn ($235 USD). There is a discount for locals. Although this is an expensive activity, affordable by few, the costs are not out of line for such a golf course.

To provide a comparison, on the website of the top 100 golf courses in Mexico, the Tangolunda golf course is listed as 49th. The top listed golf course on this website is Diamante Dunes in Cabo San Lucas. Its greens fees are listed at $320 USD for 18 holes. For the golf course Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta in Nuevo (Puerto) Vallarta, one up from the Tangolunda golf course on the list of best 100 courses, the cost is $195 USD.

Conversion to a National Park

With the expiry of the golf course lease in 2022, the current President of Mexico, AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) announced the golf course would be sold for $600 million mxn ($35 million USD), allowing Ricardo Salinas Pliego the first option to purchase it. Then on October 12, 2023, AMLO stated there were no purchase offers from Salinas Pliego or from anyone else and the Tangolunda golf course would be converted to a national park. This surprise announcement needs to be understood within a political context, the personal animosity between left-wing AMLO and conservative Ricardo Salinas Pliego.

According to the news site Infobae, on November 2, 2023, in his normal morning news conference, AMLO took several minutes to blame Ricardo Salinas Pliego for “leading a campaign against him.” AMLO accused Pliego of not paying taxes owed amounting to $25 billion mxn. Furthermore, he claimed that Salinas Pliego’s news organization (TV Azteca) inflated the number of deaths from the Acapulco hurricane for political purposes.

Salinas Pliego responded the same day saying that AMLO was abusing his power because his tax case was before the courts and AMLO was linking victims of the Acapulco hurricane to his (Salinas Pliego’s) organization in order to deflect political pressure on the president. The two have had public spats over private planes and educational textbooks as well.

The Current (Uncertain) State of the Golf Course

The Tangolunda golf course continues to operate normally under the ownership of Salinas Pliego, regardless of the political rhetoric. And the story is not over. There have been official protests against the conversion of the golf course by a number of Huatulco area business organizations. At the Oaxaca state level, the chamber of deputies has approved a motion asking for the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) to refrain from declaring the Tangolunda golf course a Protected Natural Area.

Moreover, when Oaxaca governor Salomón Jara Cruz announced there would be investigations into the legitimacy of some of the real estate transactions in Huatulco carried out by FONATUR during previous administrations, he added that the Tangolunda golf course, despite the announcement to convert it to a national park, was tied up in litigation over the extension of the original ten-year lease. Because of this litigation, no change can be made to the golf course.

Then on January 15, 2024, we learned that Jara Cruz has accused a particular FONATUR executive with corruption by extending the ten-year lease without authorization. Salinas Pliego has responded by saying all regulations have been followed and his company has the lease extended until 2027.

So perhaps when thinking about the future of the Tangolunda golf course, the best advice might be from historic New York Yankees coach Yogi Berra, who famously said “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

For contact or comment, email: box95jackson@gmail.com

January 2024

The Taxi Industry in Huatulco

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By Randy Jackson

One prominent feature on the streets of Huatulco is the abundance of taxis. Many, including both tourists and locals, rely on taxi service. At a casual glance, the diversity of colored cabs suggests numerous taxi companies. But how many companies exist, and how do taxi regulations and economic factors shape the industry in Huatulco? For the taxi curious of Huatulco, I have pulled together some information on the taxi industry here.

Taxis – a Public Service

Taxis throughout the world make up part of government-regulated public transportation networks. The importance of taxis is most critical in places like Mexico, where many people do not own their own vehicles. In Mexico overall, there are 391 private vehicles per 1,000 people (2022 data). By comparison, in the United States there are 908 private vehicles per 1,000 people, and in Canada that number is 790 per 1,000 people. In Huatulco, with poor rural communities alongside a tourism area, taxis are in great demand. According to the 2019 taxi registration list for the state of Oaxaca, there are 629 taxis within the municipality of Santa María Huatulco, the local governing body for the resort area of Huatulco. These taxis service the needs of a population of about 50,000-55,000 people.

The state of Oaxaca oversees taxis throughout the entire state, which includes 570 municipalities. In order to operate, each taxi requires a “concession,” good for five years, which can then be renewed. The concessions are usually owned by a taxi company, although any given taxi can be owned by the company or by the driver. Since 2013, the number of taxi concessions in Santa María Huatulco (629) has remained relatively constant.

Taxis in Huatulco

In Huatulco, the various cab colors signify different taxi companies. The names of these companies are prominently displayed on the front doors of each taxi. There are 19 distinct taxi companies within the municipality of Santa María Huatulco, with 16 servicing the tourist development (Bahías de Huatulco). The largest company, Sitio Santa Cruz, boasts a fleet of 74 taxis. Sitio in Spanish means “location” and precedes each taxi company’s name, signifying specific pick-up areas assigned to that company. For example, each of the all-inclusive resorts in Tangolunda has its own sitio or company. There are also sitios for the different bays and residential areas such as Entrega, Arrocito, Chahue and Conejos.

These taxi companies maintain strict control over their territories. While any taxi can drop off or pick up passengers anywhere, only taxis designated for a specific area can park at that location. This territorial protection is observable in popular spots like the shopping center Chedraui or the main square at La Crucecita.

Taxi Fares

Taxi fares in Huatulco are regulated by the state of Oaxaca. There are variations in fares in different municipalities of the state as a result of the government applying certain socio-economic factors (affordability). As of January 2024, the taxi fares have not changed since 2019. According to José Alfredo Cruz Acevedo, former president of Sitio Santa Cruz, there are no new fare changes scheduled.

The Economics of Taxis in Huatulco

Taxi companies in Huatulco operate as civil associations, the designation for non-profit organizations. These associations, owned jointly by the concession holders and the drivers, charge drivers a daily fee for dispatch and operational services. The profit in the taxi industry is thus derived from two sources: the concession owners and the drivers.

For taxi drivers in Huatulco, the economics vary. The table above shows the approximate monthly fixed costs – i.e., not including gas – for a driver who owns their own vehicle.

The fixed costs amount to $422 MXN per day. Adding one tank of gas per day at current rates would bring the total daily cost to approximately $1,322 MXN. This amount, before the taxi driver earns any income, is equivalent to the fare for 38 local trips (at $35 MXN each). Taxi drivers often work long hours to earn a living wage beyond the costs of running and maintaining a taxi.

The primary source of profit in the taxi industry appears to be the ownership of taxi concessions (the right to operate a taxi) and renting that right to taxi drivers. There is no public market for taxi concessions and they are rarely sold. The rumored price for a concession is in the hundreds of thousands of pesos. However, the value of a concession can be estimated using the approximate monthly amount paid by a taxi driver for a concession, about $4,500 MXN. Through a calculation resembling reverse engineering, e.g., when you figure out the present value of an annuity, the value of a 20-year taxi concession is roughly $500,000 MXN ($29,000 USD).

In conclusion, understanding the taxi industry’s importance to Huatulco involves recognizing that around 600 to 700 local families depend, at least in part, on this industry to meet their basic needs. Recognizing the challenges faced by taxi drivers in earning a living wage is essential for those of us who regularly use taxi services. A small tip on each taxi ride can be a meaningful contribution to support these hardworking taxistas.

For contact or comment, Email: box95jackson@gmail.com.

November 2023

Coalitions and Democracy: Navigating Mexico’s Unique Political Landscape

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By Randy Jackson

Both Mexico and the United States will hold their federal elections in 2024. Although the Republic of Mexico has a federal government structure similar to that of the United States, with both countries featuring a president and bicameral legislatures, the nature of the democratic process between these two nations is strikingly different. In the United States, despite the availability of other party choices, voters, in all practicality, must choose between two political parties. In contrast, Mexico’s democracy is more dynamic, with a wide variety of viable political parties. This diversity has led to the emergence of coalitions as a fundamental aspect of the country’s political landscape. In this ever-evolving political landscape, coalitions have become pivotal in determining the course of governance in Mexico.

As we approach the Mexico General Election (scheduled for June 2, 2024), it may be helpful to provide an overview of how coalitions operate within Mexico’s federal governance.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE

The federal level of Mexico’s government consists of three branches: the Executive (President), the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate. All three branches play crucial roles in passing legislation. Each branch operates under different electoral rules. The President is elected through a plurality vote (the highest number of votes). In contrast, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have members elected through both plurality and proportional representation, with each employing distinct proportional representation methodologies.

THE IMPORTANCE OF COALITIONS

With the elections of 2000, seventy years of continuous single-party rule by Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional – PRI) came to an end with the election of President Vicente Fox. Since then, the governance of Mexico has relied on coalitions. Under the current administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), seven parties hold seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. These seven parties are organized into two coalitions: the governing coalition and the opposition coalition.

Prior to each election cycle, new coalition agreements are established through formal agreements among the parties. In the last federal election (2018), a left-of-center coalition, calling themselves Juntos Haremos Historia (together we will make history), was formed. It consisted of MORENA (Movimiento Regeneración Nacional, or National Regeneration Movement – MRN), the Labour Party (Partido del Trabajo – PT), and the Social Encounter Party (Partido Encuentro Social – PES). This coalition emerged victorious in the election, with AMLO securing the Office of the President. The PES dissolved in 2018. In 2020, just before the midterm elections, the entire coalition dissolved, and a new coalition – Juntos Hacemos Historia (together we make [present tense] history) – added the Green Party (Partido Verde Ecologista de México, or PVEM) to its roster. This coalition has once again chosen MORENA to lead, with Claudia Sheinbaum as their presidential candidate for 2024. Neither the PT nor the PVM will field a candidate in the presidential election, thus consolidating the votes for MORENA.

On the opposition side, a center-right coalition named FAM (Frente Amplio por México, or Broad Front for Mexico) is led by the PAN (Partido Acción Nacional, or National Action Party). It also includes the PRI, MC (Movimiento Ciudadano, or Citizens’ Movement), and PRD (Partido de la Revolución Democrática, or Party of the Democratic Revolution). This coalition enters the 2024 election with the PAN’s leader, Xóchitl Gálvez, as their presidential candidate. Similarly, the other parties in the coalition will not nominate a candidate for President to maximize support for PAN.

It’s important to note that the Presidency can be won by a candidate from one of these two coalitions or even another party. Furthermore, the composition of the Congress of the Union (comprising the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate) can result in various scenarios. This may lead to the formation of new coalitions for effective governance or possibly a period of political disarray, akin to the current situation in the United States.

THE STRUCTURE OF MEXICO’S GOVERNMENT

Understanding the significance of coalitions in Mexican governance requires a basic understanding of the division of powers between government branches and the election methods for different branches.

The Office of the President
The President of Mexico serves as the head of the executive branch, with responsibilities including being the Head of Government, Head of State, Commander of the Armed Forces, and head of the Federal Public Administration. The Presidential term lasts for six years, and Presidents are ineligible to run for subsequent elections. The President plays a pivotal role in approving or vetoing legislation. To advance a legislative agenda, the President must collaborate with the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Additionally, the President is responsible for making key appointments, such as those to the Supreme Court, diplomatic posts, and various federal agencies. These appointments require confirmation by the Senate.

Presidential elections in Mexico are based on a plurality system, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins. For instance, in 2018, AMLO secured 54% of the popular vote (there were four final candidates). In 2012, Enrique Pena Nieto won the Presidency with 38% of the vote (three final candidates), and in 2006, Filipe Calderon emerged victorious with 36% of the vote (three final candidates). Coalitions play a vital role in Presidential elections, as parties within a coalition with somewhat similar political leanings abstain from running their own candidates to prevent vote splitting.

The Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies comprises 500 members, with elections held every three years. Its powers encompass passing laws, levying taxes, declaring war, initiating impeachment proceedings, and ratifying foreign treaties. Seven parties currently hold seats in the Chamber of Deputies, grouped into two coalitions: the Governing Coalition and the Opposition Coalition.

Of the 500 deputies, 300 are elected through plurality voting in each of the 300 constituencies throughout the country. The remaining 200 deputies are allocated through proportional representation. These seats are distributed based on the popular vote in five distinct regions of Mexico, each with an allocation of 40 seats. Calculations are made to assign the percentage of seats each party receives in each of the five regions.

The Senate
The Senate comprises 128 members, with four seats designated for each of the 31 states and Mexico City. Senators serve six-year terms and possess the authority to pass laws and confirm appointments to the Supreme Court, diplomatic positions, and other presidential appointments.

Out of the 128 senators, half (64) are elected directly via plurality voting in each state, along with Mexico City. An additional 64 senators are allocated through two distinct proportional representation systems. Among the directly elected Senators, the two candidates with the highest vote counts in each state and Mexico City secure a seat.

Subsequently, one additional seat is assigned for each state and Mexico City through the “First Minority System.” In this process, one Senate seat is granted for each state based on the highest percentage of national senate results overall. However, if the overall national results for the first-place party match the parties of the directly elected senators for that state and Mexico City, the seat is assigned to the next most popular party in that region.

Finally, in the “Second Minority System,” one Senate seat is allocated for each state and Mexico City based on the second highest national senate results overall. Once again, if the second most popular party nationally aligns with the party of the two directly elected senators from that state and Mexico City, the seat is awarded to the next most popular party in that region.

In conclusion, the very structure of the electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, with its proportional representation, promotes a diversity of political parties, thereby necessitating the formation of coalitions. As we approach the 2024 Mexican general election, it will be interesting to watch how the results will determine the reshaping of coalitions in the governance of Mexico.

Email: box95jackson@gmail.com

2023, August 2023

The Art of Portraying Food in Art

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By Randy Jackson

I was interested to see a recent news story about a restored fresco from Pompeii depicting what the headline billed as an early version of pizza. The fresco shows a flatbread with toppings believed to include pomegranates, dates, and a type of pesto sauce. But what attracted my attention was not an interest in the history of pizza, or even the fascinating discoveries of daily Roman life frozen in time at 79 CE, but our ongoing interest in depicting food in art.

I trace this curiosity to a much younger version of myself wandering around art museums in Europe, and pondering why there were so many paintings of bowls of fruit. What, I wondered, was so great about that? In an attempt to answer that, and to hopefully develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of still-life painting, it helps to have some historical context of food in art.

The Meaning of Food in Art

When food is represented in any human artwork, it always conveys, or intends to convey, some meaning. Some of the earliest depictions of food appear in the Egyptian pyramids. These drawings were thought to hold magical properties that could enable the deceased to have food in the afterlife. Food as sustenance, and in the afterlife, you gotta eat, right?

Centuries later, the ancient Greeks and Romans painted food in their frescos of celebrations. Here, food was portrayed as symbols of wealth and abundance. One thing the Pompeii flatbread painting has taught us is that good quality food was not reserved solely for the elites. The everydayness of the meal, portrayed in the fresco of a house attached to a bakery in Pompeii, demonstrates that a much wider group than the elite enjoyed their meals, and had access to foods prepared, at least in part, for the pleasure of eating.

As European civilizations moved through the Middle Ages, the depictions of food in art no longer reflected food as celebratory, but rather as one of the regular features of daily life. Paintings of the period often showed food preparations for meals and feasts. Christianity was of course a central force running through the Middle Ages and food is an important symbol of devotional Christian practice (bread = the body, wine = the blood of Christ). Probably the best examples of this, in art, were the paintings of the Last Supper, where fish or lamb (both symbols of Christ) were conveyed along with wine and bread.

As European society gradually emerged into the Renaissance, food in art began to represent abundance. There was also a movement in paintings towards detailed realism. Scenes of butcher shops and kitchens (notably in the Italian Baroque) were common, although food did not yet serve as the centerpiece of a painting, often being shown as part of busy crowded scenes in the paintings of the time.

But the attention to detail for everything in the paintings, including the food, was greatly elevated from earlier paintings of the Middle Ages. While food remained a secular object, it was rarely painted without some Christian symbolism.

An interesting side note on food in art in the Renaissance is seen in the work of Italian painter Giuseppi Arcimboldo (1526-93). Arcimboldo’s work is recognizable today for its creative genius – he painted portraits entirely from fruits and vegetables. These food portraits were only part of Arcimboldo’s more conventional body of work; the portraits were understood to be for the amusement of the court (he was a painter for the Habsburg court in Vienna). Arcimboldo’s other paintings, including his religious paintings, have largely been forgotten in the context of better-known Renaissance paintings.

Food in Art in the Dutch Golden Age

The movement towards naturalism and detailed personal observation emerging in Renaissance art provided the underpinning for still-life genre paintings to emerge, culminating in the Dutch Golden Age of the 1600s.

The Dutch Golden Age is thought to cover a good portion of the 17th century. Spurred on by the wealth of overseas trade, the Netherlands emerged to lead Europe in the arts and sciences. Of note in this flourishing is the Dutch Reform movement that shifted the Netherlands away from Catholic-dominated Europe, which then led to independence from the Church in intellectual life, commerce, and the arts. In the Dutch Golden Age, wealth was largely held by the merchant class. As a result, decisions in all aspects of society reflected perspectives and interests different from those of the elites, royalty, or the church, which still shaped most of the rest of Europe. It was the wealthy merchant class who commissioned works of art. This, along with the Renaissance movement towards naturalism and observation of details, motivated Dutch artists to create the genre of still-life paintings.

Dead Game, Red Lobsters, and Bowls of Fruit

To my own youthful question about what is so great about paintings of bowls of fruit, the answer, somewhat clearer from the passing of years, is that attention to detail is a deepening of awareness. Artists can bring a greater awareness to us, the viewer, through their attention to detail and the reproduction of that detail on canvas of texture, light, shadows, and hues. This can, if we apply our own attention to the painting, bring a sense of marvel. Articulating many aspects of the beauty of Food in Art, I recommend the New York Times article titled “A Messy Table, A Map of the World” – an amazingly entertaining tutorial in understanding the social history of art.

Email: box95jackson@gmail.com.

2023, May June 2023

The Accordion in Mexican Music

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By Randy Jackson

Nothing tells me I’m in Mexico quite like the lively accordion notes of a melody drifting out of a shop or restaurant as I pass by. The clarity of the accordion sound is like a pleasant breeze to our eardrums, its tonal vibrations stimulating our smile muscles. If the accordion sound were a colour, it would be bright yellow. What could be more delightful than a song with a lumbering tuba stomping out a slow beat while the accordion dances rapidly around it like Tinker Bell after an espresso.

Although the accordion didn’t originate in Mexico, once it arrived, it became a venerated cultural icon of Mexican music. The accordion was introduced by German immigrants to Texas and Northern Mexico in the mid-19th century. It promptly plunged into the existing regional folk music of Northern Mexico and Southern US like a fat kid doing the cannonball into the kiddie pool. Today we call the music that emerged from this area Norteño or Tejano music (also referred to as Norteño Conjunto and Tejano Conjunto (conjunto meaning “together,” or “ensemble”).

Traditional Norteño/Tejano music features the acordeón diatónico or acordeón de botones (an accordion with two rows of buttons, with each row producing the diatonic, or 7-note, scale), the bajo sexto (12 string Mexican guitar), drum, and a sort of talking-singing vocals. The instrumentation of this musical genre has evolved over time to include bass guitar, saxophone and other instruments. Beyond the Norteño/Tejano musical genre, the accordion spread to a number of other folk music traditions in Mexico, so that the delightful ear-tickle of the accordion can be heard in most forms of Mexican music today.

Where Did the Accordion Come From?

The accordion was invented in Germany in the 1820s. Its lively spread in worldwide popularity was accelerated by the “Polka Craze.” Polka burst onto the scene in Paris and London in the 1840s and spread rapidly throughout the western world. The marriage of the polka and the accordion was quickly consummated. From the start, the accordion and polka were artifacts of the common people, something more for the streets than for upper-class salons.

In Mexico and Latin America, the accordion never completely outgrew its folk root traditions. Rock music, which emerged mostly from the United States and Britain in the 1960s, favoured drums and electric guitars, which led to the decline of accordion popularity. But not before door-to-door salesmen convinced parents like mine, and those of Weird Al Yankovich, that their precious sons should learn how to play the accordion. Although accordion lessons worked out pretty well for Weird Al, my rotund Polish instructor only left me with an addiction to pierogis.

The Accordion in Mexican Music Styles

Thankfully, in Mexico, accordion love is still alive and well. There is an astounding range of Mexican musical styles; although the accordion may not be as prominent as it is in the traditional Norteño/Tejano music, it remains a proud member of most Mexican music genres and styles. Two examples of this are the banda and cumbia genres.

The popular banda music originated in the state of Sinaloa. This style may sound similar to Norteño because of the ever-present accordion, but the distinguishing feature is the prominence of brass instruments, in particular rumbling low notes of the tuba used to set the song’s tempo.

By comparison, the cumbia genre generally has a more lively tempo than banda, especially in its Mexican versions. Cumbia is thought to have originated within the Afro-Colombian community. Wikipedia lists four styles of cumbia in Mexico, and dozens of styles throughout Latin American countries. In Mexico, maracas are usually the distinguishing cumbia sound, setting the song’s tempo, but the piano accordion (keys instead of buttons) is frequently the main source of the rhythm.

It’s no wonder the accordion is so often heard in Mexican music; its versatility to musicians is like a Swiss army knife to Houdini. The accordion can add delight to pretty much any music style. I’ve even heard the accordion in some reggaeton pieces. Although to my ears, reggaeton is basically rap music, it doesn’t get much of my accordion-loving attention.

Without any neurological understanding whatsoever, my guess is that the audible range of the accordion is perceived by the part of the brain that is associated with the urge to dance. I believe this dance urge developed early in human evolution, but remained only partially satisfied until the accordion came along. And although I accept that this view may have developed as a result of my childhood accordion lessons, I’m happy to have found that Mexican music embraces the accordion.

Email: box95jackson@gmail.com

2023, April 2023

Mayan Revivalist Architecture

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By Randy Jackson

One “best book” list I continually return to over the years is National Geographic’s 100 Best Adventure Books. A number of these true adventure epics have held me riveted from cover to cover. One of the books on this list is Incidents of Travel in Yucatan by an American lawyer turned archeologist John Lloyd Stephens (1805-52). The two volumes, published in 1843, contain the classic adventure tales of hardships, endurance, fascinating characters, and life in the Central American jungles of the 1800s. However, the tale’s mark on the world went far beyond a tale of adventure; it introduced a virtually unknown (and lost) civilization to the world, the Mayan civilization.

The Aztec civilization was well established in the historical records as a result of the Spanish Conquest. But right up until the beginning of the 20th century, very little was known of earlier ruins found in Mexico and Central America. The Eurocentric view, held by most scholars of the era, was that the Aztec civilization originated long before the Spanish conquest, with the arrival of some unknown peoples from Asia, Europe, or the Middle East (a foundational belief still held by the Mormon Church). Stephens’ book marked an important turning point away from this view, towards our understanding that the Mesoamerican civilizations originated independently. As a result of this book’s publication, the mystery of and fascination with an unknown civilization, the Maya, exploded in the popular imagination of the early 20th century. One aspect of this interest was the birth of Mayan Revivalist Architecture, which emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Mayan influence on design and architecture came from the illustrations in Stephens’ book, which were made by a British artist, Frederick Catherwood, who accompanied Stephens on his Yucatan adventures. Catherwood’s illustrations not only conjured up romantic images of the discovery of a lost civilization in the jungle, they also inspired new concepts of design in architecture. As an indication of the importance of Catherwood’s illustrations, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of New York called his work in the Yucatan “a landmark of architectural illustration.”

Frank Lloyd Wright and Mayan Revival Architecture

One architect who first incorporated ideas from Mayan design was the famed American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright’s first exposure to Mayan architecture was in connection with some architectural work he did at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. One exhibit Wright would have seen at the fair contained full-scale models of four Mayan structures in the Yucatan, based on Catherwood’s illustrations. One was the Gateway at Labnah, southeast of Uxmal.

Any web searches of Mayan Revivalist Architecture will list a number of buildings designed by Wright. Wright’s renowned contribution to architecture, known as the Prairie School, has elements that can be seen as inspired by the ancient Mayans. Some observable architectural elements common to Wright’s Prairie School designs and extant Mayan ruins are horizontal lines, flat roof construction, use of natural materials, and Mayan motifs.

Later in Wright’s career, he drew most directly on the Mayan Architectural style for some commissions in Southern California. The first of the buildings he designed in this style was the Hollyhock House in Los Angeles (completed in 1922).

Beyond Frank Lloyd Wright, there were other architects whose designs are considered Mayan Revival; to name two, Manuel Amábilis designed the Monumento a la Patria in Mérida and Stiles Oliver Clements designed the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles.

Of the many buildings designed using the concepts of Mayan Revival architecture, most of them are in the United states. Five alone – four residences (including the Hollyhock House) and the North Hollywood Masonic Lodge – are listed in the Los Angeles Conservancy, which protects historically important buildings in LA.

One building in the Mayan Revivalist style that caught my attention is in Mexico City: The Templo de la Ciudad de México. My attention was first arrested by the architecture, but I was quickly astounded by the fact that it is a Mormon Temple. Astounded because of the irony: this architectural style was chosen in part because of the Mormon belief that the indigenous peoples of the Americas originated from the lost tribes of Israel.

The long-held belief that outside influences established the Mesoamerican civilizations that preceded the Spanish conquest was the very theory discredited by John Lloyd Stephens in his book – the very book that started the Mayan Revivalist Architectural style in the first place. Nevertheless, the Templo de la Ciudad de Mexico is a beautiful building. There are many other impressive buildings designed under the influence of Mayan Revival architecture. They are well worth some of your Google time.

Email: box95jackson@gmail.com

2023, March 2023

The Saga of Huatulco’s Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue)

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By Randy Jackson

During the presidency of Felipe Calderón (2006-12), FONATUR relaunched a multi-year development plan for Huatulco (Relanzamiento del CIP Huatulco). This plan spelled out specific long-term development goals for each of the nine bays of Huatulco. The plan also included three large shorter-term projects that were initially funded by the Calderón administration. These were expanding the Huatulco Airport (completed in 2015), constructing the museum at the Parque Eco-Arqueológico Copalita (opened in 2010), and building Quinta Avenida – a pedestrian corridor connecting Santa Cruz and La Crucecita. This corridor project is still not complete, but after some years of inactivity, construction has now started on a number of the commercial lots along Quinta Avenida.

This pedestrian corridor goes by a few different names. One is Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue); it is also referred to as an andador turístico (tourist walkway), or as corredor turistico (tourist corridor). The corridor runs between Boulevard Benito Juárez in Santa Cruz, starting next to the Hotel Castillo, and the sports complex in La Crucecita. Many of us regular Huatulco-ites are familiar with this sunbaked 1.5-kilometer walkway that, for some years now, has maintained trees and shrubs and has security personnel on either end, looking at their phones.

My optimistic thoughts projected a soon-to-be completed pedestrian avenue, lined with shaded restaurant terraces, shops and hotels. Except here I’d like to paraphrase Woody Allen: “Optimism is the feeling you have before you understand what is going on.” The commercial construction projects along the pedestrian corridor would appear to be the start of the final stage of this project, but significant hurdles remain.

Development of the Pedestrian Corridor
The FONATUR plan for the corridor, issued in 2008, called for 33 lots with a parking area on each end. The plan spelled out in detail all the work to be undertaken by FONATUR to prepare the corridor, including water, sewer, internet and electrical infrastructure, as well as environmental impact and remediation. In 2009 the environmental approval for the corridor was granted, and then the project seemed to fall into a kind of dark age. Over the following seven years construction started and stopped. In 2014 there was a media report that the pedestrian corridor had been completely abandoned. Cables had been stolen by thieves and the company constructing the corridor had withdrawn.

But, as the children’s song goes, “The cat came back.” Sometime in 2016-17, FONATUR completed the project at a cost of 300 million pesos ($15 Million US) and the 33 lots went up for sale. FONATUR was looking for a single buyer of all 33 lots, and would not entertain selling individual lots. There were no takers. More years passed.

Then, following outside advice from a local business consortium, FONATUR reconfigured some of the lots that were too small, making 24 lots from the original 33. They then offered all of the lots for sale to individual buyers, and by September 2020 all 24 lots were sold. All of the lots are deemed as mixed commercial and residential. This means shops or restaurants on the ground level, and up to three stories above will be either hotels or apartments.

Following the lot sales, the pandemic delayed construction another two years, bringing us to the winter season of 2022-23. There are now a number of construction projects evident along the corridor. And this brings us to the unresolved issues facing the pedestrian corridor today.

Outstanding Issues with the Pedestrian Corridor
Pedestrian tourist corridors are a standard feature of FONATUR-developed resorts and exist in Cancun (Playa del Carmen) and Ixtapa. They are all named 5th Avenue after the famous shopping street in New York City. But unlike the pedestrian walkways in these other resorts, or any pedestrian street anywhere, Huatulco’s 5th Avenue climbs a (not insignificant) hill.

The biggest issue appears to be that of parking. The final phase of the pedestrian corridor project calls for parking lots at both ends as well as a pedestrian crosswalk to connect the corridor with the shops and businesses of Santa Cruz. The parking areas are yet to be developed, as FONATUR expects to sell the parking areas to a commercial parking lot investor for multi-level paid parking. To date these parking areas have not been sold and FONATUR is looking to the purchasers of the 24 lots along the corridor to collectively buy and develop the parking areas. My suggestion to anyone who suffers congestion anxiety is to suppress any thoughts of what traffic might be like with hundreds of new residents from the corridor, plus casual visitors, who need to cross the main thoroughfare into Santa Cruz at the traffic circle next to the Hotel Castillo.

Lastly, there is a temporary problem with electricity to the pedestrian corridor. When FONATUR built the 5th Avenue, the process of connecting the electrical network to the CFE system was not followed, leaving the purchasers of the lots without electricity. CFE is now providing temporary power until the exact protocol connecting the network is completed.

March is the month when many of us snowbirds migrate back northward, but construction on many developments in Huatulco continues throughout the summer, creating a buffet of surprises for us when we return next season. As for the pedestrian corridor, two of the construction projects have a posted completion date for the end of 2025. Assuming this is indicative of the other projects along the corridor, we can expect another couple years at least in the saga of Quinta Avenida Huatulco.

box95jackson@gmail.com

2023, February 2023

The Saturday Boarders of La Bocana

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By Randy Jackson

They began meeting at La Bocana beach on Saturday mornings for boogie boarding more than a decade ago. Back then the only boards available around Huatulco were boards too small for an adult. Although that meant the rides, even on the biggest waves, were quite short, they had a taste of what great fun it is playing in the waves. They returned in subsequent seasons with boards more suited to their size, and their fun in the waves really began.

A boogie board is a trademark term for bodyboards, just as Kleenex is a trademark term for facial tissues. However, “boogie” in front of “board” is an indispensable descriptor of the use of the device, much as “magic” is a descriptor to the term “magic wand” (a wand in medieval English means stick). To “boogie” is to dance, whereas a bodyboard could mean something you lay a cadaver on. So, in the spirit of good clean fun, the Bocana Boarders prefer the term boogie board. And by adding “ing” to “board,” as in Boogie Boarding, it becomes an activity of jollification.

The origin of this activity is attributed to the indigenous peoples of Polynesia. A lesser-known fact in surfing history is that most early Polynesians lay prone on their boards, and only rarely were they observed standing up on them. The Polynesian term for this form of fun is he’e nalu, or “wave sliding.”

The Saturday Boarders of Bocana are a small non-elite group of gringo-pensioners. They are much less fearful of the waves than the possibility of developing neck wattles. But then again, the waves in the snowbird season are generally modest, not at all like the cresting turquoise four-meter waves off French Polynesia. In fact, the surfer term for the type of winter waves at La Bocana is “shoreys.” In Tahiti, shoreys are mostly used by the surfers’ Swedish girlfriends to wash sand off their calves. To the Boarders of Bocana, however, shoreys are riotously more exciting than even the upward curve of bank stocks.

Like good surfers everywhere, the Saturday Boarders of Bocana have honed their skills using practiced techniques appropriate for the conditions. This type of boogie boarding requires one to stand in waist-to-chest-deep water, watching for the appropriate ocean swell that will break into a curl near one’s standing position. Then, facing towards shore, they tuck the back end of the board into their waist while looking back over their shoulder at the rapidly forming wave. Then, just as the wave is about to break overhead, they leap shoreward onto their board, their momentum joining the force of the wave as it breaks.

From shore, the boarder’s motion will appear to hesitate slightly as the wave crests. Then, tipping earthwards as the wave breaks, the boarder shoots downwards and disappears into the crashing water and foam of the breaking wave. It takes two or three seconds for the laws of physics to work out the boarder’s fate. Spectators on shore hold their breath. Sometimes a riderless board is shot skyward (“oooh’s” from the crowd). But, emerging from the wave-froth is the face of a skilled Bocana Boarder, grinning, out ahead of the wall of foam, careening towards the beach. The crowd cheers.

Oh, and the crowd? It’s an imaginary one. The wives and friends of the Bocana Boarders are there each Saturday morning for the event, but not to watch it. Some stroll along the beach, others are busy with their fish tacos and beverages at the restaurant. Alas, the Bocana Boarders’ daring acts of athletic wave conquest are rarely witnessed.

A good ride ends when the board smooches to a stop on the sand, just centimeters from the highest wave mark. That wave delivering the boarder to the beach was a final bit of energy culminating from planetary forces of wind and gravity. While the earth spins at 107,000 kilometers per hour, the gravitational pull of the moon sloshes the oceans like pulling a beer keg out of a bathtub. But as oblivious to these cosmic forces as they are to farting in Walmart, the Bocana Boarder rises from the beach, tucks his board under his arm, and heads back into the oncoming waves.

Yet in this dimension, where time exists, the fun in the waves must inevitably end. So while galaxies rotate, supernovas explode, and nebulas coalesce, there on the edge of a continent, on this blue spinning planet, the Saturday Boarders of La Bocana leave barefoot tracks from the water’s edge, with a promise of fish burgers and later the open-mouthed oblivion of an afternoon nap.

Email: box95jackson@gmail.com

2023, January 2023

Huatulco’s Water System: In Survival Mode?

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By Randy Jackson

In survival training, there is the Rule of Three’s: You can survive three minutes without air. You can survive three days without water, and you can survive three weeks without food. Air, it seems, is plentiful enough. But knowing we only have a three-day survival window without water should make us all prioritise a clean, dependable, potable water system. In Mexico, as in most places in the world, people depend on the government to provide sufficient potable water for their needs. In Huatulco, the potable water system, built and maintained by FONATUR (the Fondo Nacional de Fomento Turismo, the National Tourism Promotion Fund), is facing the challenge of meeting the growing demands on the water system.

Anyone living in Huatulco, even for part of the year, is well aware of the frequency of water outages. In some sectors, people are without water for several hours every day. Other sectors experience frequent unannounced water outages for multiple days each week. What has mitigated the seriousness of the water delivery problems up to this point is that virtually all residential buildings and hotels have water storage tanks and cisterns that hold three or four days’ worth of water. This mitigation measure can give the appearance of “all is well,” but it seems apparent that the demand for potable water in Huatulco is seriously challenging the capacity of the FONATUR potable water system to provide it.

In my attempt to understand Huatulco’s potable water system, I set out to answer four basic questions.

(1) What area and population does the FONATUR water system serve?
(2) What are the uses of water in Huatulco?
(3) How much potable water is available?
(4) How much potable water is needed?

First, what do we mean by “potable” water? Potable water covers normal household uses. Drinking, cooking, washing, toilets and showers. FONATUR provides “gray” water for irrigating street plantings, but many residents use potable water for lawns and plants. In Huatulco, it also includes the water used in swimming pools.

(1) WHAT AREA AND POPULATION DOES THE FONATUR WATER SYSTEM SERVE?

For a past article in The Eye (January 2022), I noted that the government census showed 25,000 residents in the Tourist Zone of Huatulco, including La Crucecita. This, plus the approximately 7,000 hotel guests here in the high season, means that the FONATUR potable water system is serving approximately 32,000 people. In a 2022 request to fund a water study, FONATUR indicated that this number would rise to 41,000 by 2030.

Other communities within the larger area of the municipality of Santa María Huatulco, which includes the communities of Santa María itself, Copalita, Coyula, and others), all have potable water sources outside of the FONATUR system. The FONATUR water system covers the area from the Copalita River (think La Bocana), westward along the coast covering all the communities and bays along the coast as far as Maguey, and inland to include La Crucecita.

Most of the FONATUR water delivery is by pipe to end use, but in some sectors, like H3, the water is trucked in by FONATUR.

(2) WHAT ARE USES OF WATER IN HUATULCO?

In 2018, FONATUR, under their obligations for transparency, published a presentation on the potable water system for Huatulco. The 2017 consumption data are summarised here:

(3) HOW MUCH POTABLE WATER IS AVAILABLE?

The FONATUR potable water supply comes from eight wells along the Copalita river. The total water extracted from the wells in 2017 was 11 million litres per day. In a recent budget request document (2022), FONATUR reported that their current well production was 15 million litres per day, and stated that the amount was insufficient to meet existing requirements.

A budget of $9.7 million pesos ($500,000 USD) was granted to FONATUR for a pre-investment study in 2023 of locations for new wells, with the goal of bringing the potable water supply up to 21 million litres per day. As this budget is only for well site selection, it is probably safe to assume that any additional potable water for Huatulco is some years away.

For some time now, I have been aware of persistent rumours that some of FONATUR’s potable water wells are impaired or non-functional. By visiting the wells and talking to operations personnel, I can confirm that all eight wells are in operation, and only one well (#8) has a reduced flow rate, roughly 25% lower than the average of the other seven wells. My investigation would confirm that the combined volume of all the wells is about 15 – 16 million litres of water per day.

Of course, the amount produced is not always the amount delivered. As shown in the consumption table above, 14% of the water produced from the wells was lost. Water lost due to leakage is a perennial problem in water delivery systems around the world. The loss rate in Canada and the United States is around 12%. In Mexico overall, the loss rate is thought to be between 20% and 40% as a result of underfunded maintenance of water infrastructure. Here in Huatulco, the reported 14% loss was before the last major earthquake. In just the previous month (December 2022), FONATUR finished replacing a damaged section of mainline pipe near La Bocana. Water lost from leakage is not only from the pipes and tanks used to deliver water to consumers. There are leaks in the water storage cisterns of residential buildings and hotels. Although the loss from private cisterns would not show up in the FONATUR water loss statistics, it would still reduce potable water availability to consumers, requiring even more supply.

One final note on water availability. Stating the obvious, the FONATUR Huatulco water system is dependent on funding. That funding is provided by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). In 2022, Huatulco was allocated $250 million Pesos ($12 million USD) to improve deteriorated infrastructure, including water.

For 2023, the PPEF (El Proyecto de Presupuesto de Egresos de la Federación , basically the Budget of Expenses project) has announced their proposed funding for the tourism sector as follows:

*Ixtapa (Guerrero), Huatulco (Oaxaca), Bahía de Banderas (Nayarit), Los Cabos and Loreto (Baja California Sur), Pacific Coast (Sinaloa), Cancun and Cozumel (Quintana Roo)

The 2023 appropriation for the Mayan Train is $8.7 billion USD. A Bloomberg news story from July 2022 reported the total cost to Mexico to complete the Mayan Train could reach $20 Billion USD.

(4) HOW MUCH POTABLE WATER IS NEEDED?

Water systems around the world are sized in accordance with the formula:

Population times average water use/person/day = Volume of water needed per day

The volume of water per person varies in different countries and regions. The international OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has collected data on the per capita use of potable water. The United States leads the world in consumption at 380 litres/person/day, Canada is at 335, Italy 250, and Sweden at 200 litres/person/day. I found only one reference on comparable water use in Mexico, and that was for Mexico City, which uses 200 litres/person/day.

To figure out Huatulco’s per-person use of water, I used the Huatulco water consumption by category table above. If residential users consume 34% of the supply, and the population is about 25,000 people, consumption would come to 154 litres/person/day. Per person use by hotels, 28% of consumption, is substantially higher. Depending on occupancy rate, hotels use between 450 and 900 litres/person/day.

I’m still, however, trying to answer this question: How much potable water is NEEDED? The full answer to this question would depend on what “need” means. Or better still, do we need all the water we use? So let me throw out one more number. The World Health Organization suggests the minimum per person requirement for water use is 30 litres per day (for drinking, cooking, personal hygiene and laundry). As we all use way more than that, it is an open question as to how much even modest conservation efforts might reduce the demand on the Huatulco water system.

Although water conservation could be an important part of the solution to Huatulco water shortage problems, conservation of a shared resource never seems to happen voluntarily. So Huatulco-ites should expect to see their water bills continue to rise, and water outages to keep on keeping on.

Randy Jackson email: box95jackson@gmail.com