An elephant seal weighing approximately 1.5 tons drew crowds as it rested on Los Ayala beach in the municipality of Compostela, Nayarit on Tuesday, January 27. The same mammal was spotted in recent days in the bay of Santa Cruz de Miramar, also in Nayarit.

As January unfolds, the highways leading to the Jalisco town of San Juan de los Lagos transform into rivers of devout travelers. Right now, thousands of pilgrims are undertaking the traditional journey for the Fiesta de la Candelaria, one of the most significant religious events in western Mexico, culminating on February 2.

In a solemn ceremony this week, state and municipal authorities unveiled a bust of former Jalisco Governor Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz (2013-2018), who was shot to death in Puerto Vallarta five years ago. 

In response to the measles surge, Jalisco’s health sector has mobilized a full-scale vaccination campaign, particularly targeting high-risk zones in the state.  But despite this unprecedented vaccination offensive, health authorities report confronting a significant barrier: widespread public hesitancy.

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro convened his cabinet in Ajijic this week for a strategic planning retreat focused on defining the state government’s priorities for 2026.

Mexico is facing its largest measles outbreak in decades, with the highly contagious virus now confirmed in every state. However, the focal point of active transmission has shifted decisively to Jalisco, which has registered 385 new cases in the first 20 days of 2026 alone—more than half of the national total for the period and making it the state with the highest number of new infections this year.