In this monthly series, we republish a few of the headlines from our April editions 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.
1967
(From a weekly column by Reporter founder Bob Thurston.)
Christmas at Easter?
On Viernes Santo (Good Friday) we drove out to the village of Tlaquepaque in search of a few arts and crafts and with somewhat guilty glances at the darkly clad solemn folk coming and going from one of the churches, we parked our car and started for the market place. Familiar music rang out from the speaker system of the ancient plaza and before we were fully aware of it we were humming along with the melody, a tune which evoked a pleasant mood and strong ambience of well-being with us. What old melody that? Before long it dawned on us … “Deck the halls with boughs of holly … season to be jolly,” and the rest. We sank unbelieving onto a convenient park bench. We felt a vast and frightening disorientation. But we were the only ones. Old ladies in black, hands on rosaries, and younger couples, in stylish but no less somber dress, passed us on their way to services which marked the darkest hours of their religious calendar. Then “Joy to the World” flooded the air and then “Jingle Bells.” Nobody minded.
A dignified white-haired man sat down on the other end of our bench and when we asked him about the music he said, “Well, it’s Good Friday.” “Exactly,” we replied, “so why are they playing all this Christmas music?” “It’s a very holy day,” he said. “But not Christmas, Eh?” we replied. “No, Christmas falls in December,” he said. We saw a cold doubt creep into his clear blue eyes. “Are you a Christian, señor?” he asked, and then continued, “This is Viernes Santo. It marks the passion of Our Lord.” “And the music?” we asked. “In Mexico we play only sacred music on this day,” he replied. “It has always been so. Mexico is a Christian country, señor.”
Well, we let it go at that. “Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la,” was back on the loud speaker again. We turned to our commercial errands. There are mysteries of the spirit one best leaves undisturbed.
1977
US delays Mexican recovery
Political and industrial leaders here, stunned by the news that the United States would limit importation of certain Mexican products by raising tariffs, have been somewhat soothed by President Jimmy Carter’s refusal to apply this sanction to shoe imports despite demands from U.S. labor unions, legislators and the U.S. international trade commission. Many Mexicans were hard put to understand why the richest country in the world should find it necessary to protect its own industry with protective tariffs.
Ajijic Raft Race
A sporting event unique in Lakeside history took place with resounding success on the strip of Lake Chapala fronting the Posada Ajijic. Some eight hand-made rafts heaved off from the shore into the wind-whipped churning waters at about 2:30 p.m. Pre-race trials resulted in several sinkings. Both the Amazing and the Santa Maria were wrecked on the beach. Dan de Simone, who managed his large bamboo craft solo, spent more time around and under than on top of the raft. El Chico Bandito, captained by R.J. Swartz, seemed likely to run the course because he paddled while prone on an inflatable mattress. Marcos Guzman went literally to sea in a tub and won the trophy for the youngest entrant. The monster craft, Dragon Baggies, consisted of inflated plastic bags outfitted with two armchairs and crewed by Phylliss and Georg Rauch, Elsa Takefue and Oliver Johnson. Mobility was provided by a pole. After an hour the race was called and “300 judges,” declared Morley Eager, “decree that everybody won.”
1987
Stock market boom?
Feverish share activity hit the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores this week as the share index pushed up toward the 100,000-point barrier. Trying desperately to convince the citizenry, especially in this pre-election year, that the domestic economy is on course, cabinet secretaries spent the week indulging in heady and fanciful number-crunching, with a special focus on the Republic’s growing international debt commitments. Representing a 100-percent increase in less than 90 days, the superheated Bolsa now represents the focal point of domestic investment activity as housewives, middle-class professionals and even north-of-the-border speculators are all trying to cash in on the boom.
Packed beaches, but empty hotels in city
Jalisco’s sun-drenched beaches were jam-packed with teeming Semana Santa vacationers while Guadalajara hoteliers complained of 60 percent occupancy — the lowest in a decade. Domestic inflationary trends and Mexico’s ongoing economic crisis appeared to underline a major shift in Easter vacationing patterns in Jalisco as air transport demand plummeted and railroads and camping holidays proved extremely attractive. More than 100,000 tourists crammed Puerto Vallarta, while some 40,000 headed to the southern Jalisco beach towns of Barra de Navidad/Melaque, La Manzanilla, Tenacatita, Careyes and Chamela, which reported 90 percent occupancy.
1997
US immigration hysteria
The new U.S. immigration law is causing hysteria north of the border among legal and illegal Mexican citizens who fear a massive wave of deportations. The Mexican government, too, is concerned that the legislation, effective April 1, could send them flooding back into this country, where no jobs await them.
Mexican newspapers have warned of the dire consequences of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. “The United States will expel more than a million Mexicans,” read an April 1 front page headline in one Guadalajara daily.
Thousands of families in Mexico depend on the funds their absent relatives send them, and they are worried that the flow could stop.
U.S. officials respond to these concerns with flat denials.
Three-year-old in chains
A teenage mother and father are under arrest on child abuse charges, after their three-year-old daughter was discovered chained to a metal post. The parents denied accusations of cruelty. They declared that Hilda had been chained for her own safety, to prevent her from running out in the street while they were at work.
A doctor attached to the Zapopan Medical Services agency said the child showed no signs of maltreatment, other than bruises and skin breakage on the ankle where the chain had bound her.
2007
Birth defects from Chapala fish
Citizens of Jamay petitioned state health officials to investigate the link between toxins in Lake Chapala’s waters and what they see as a high incidence of serious birth defects in their town on the eastern shore of the lake. “There are more than 700 cases of Downs Syndrome, spina bifida, mental retardation, deformities and many other types of disabilities,” said Guadalupe Jimenez Sahagun, president of Tras la Pesca de una Esperanza (Fishing for Hope), an organization of families who blame consumption of toxic fish from Lake Chapala for the health crisis.
Based on Jimenez’s calculations, one in 30 of the town’s 21,223 residents suffers from an illness, deformity or congenital malformation whose cause can be linked to environmental health hazards.
Trump’s Mexico Pageant
Mexico City is hoping to get a lot of good press from the three million dollars it paid Donald Trump to hold the Miss Universe Pageant this May in the Auditorio Nacional. Participants will arrive May 15 and spend the next two weeks vigorously promoting the capital as a tourist destination. The Miss Universe pageant is in the big leagues of advertising, being the third most watched television event in the world. Some 1.5 billion spectators line up to cheer for their compatriots.