General News

Following a spate of at least three suicides in Guadalajara last week, Cardinal Jose Francisco Robles Ortega (Archbishop of Guadalajara), called for people to reflect on the value of human life and work to improve conditions in the community. 

San Francisco based non-profit organization Hack For Big Choices is holding their second Hackathon in Guadalajara January 30 to February 1. A hackathon brings technology-minded people together and challenges them to collaborate to create new products and ideas. The group of about 150 innovators will assemble in the campus of Tec de Monterey and spend three days directing their technical skills towards developing ideas for issues such as education and health care. 

Ticket sales are available at the website: http://goo.gl/2CCRCu

Go http://hackforbigchoices.org/ for more information.

Delegates and representatives from the food industry were encouraging people to eat healthy ingredients from Canada at a press conference on Monday 26 January. The Canadian ambassador to Mexico Sara Hradecky was among those promoting the country as a key exporter of canola oil, wheat, oats and meat. The conference was designed to foster trade and encourage people to eat food that combats obesity and diabetes. 

Farmers and heads of the food industry came to the platform to promote their products, such as barley, which is high in fiber and low in fat, and pulses whic

h are rich in vitamins and great for weight loss. Those in attendance were served a delicious menu, beginning with a barley salad, followed by a lentil hamburger and a carrot cake. 

A catalogue of products available in Mexico is available on the website, which contains a list of quick and delicious recipes and information about the stores selling Canadian foods. www.saboresdecanada.mx

During her January 28 visit to lakeside Canadian Ambassador Sara Hradecky stopped by La Nueva Posada as the guest of the Canadian Club and the also Lake Chapala Society headquarters to commemorate 90 years of cordial Canada-Mexico diplomatic relations. At both venues the ambassador presided over the planting of maple tree saplings that will take root as living symbol of friendly ties between the two nations.  With Hradecky (holding shovel) are Guadalajara Canadian Consul, Francis Uy and Chapala, Mayor Joaquín Huerta Barrios, DIF Presidnt Maricela Navarro Rodríguez, Lake Chapala Chamber of Commerce President Yolanda Martinez, Chapala Sunrise Rotary Club President Elect Sheila Paull, President of the Canadian Club at Lake Chapala Barbara Wills and Bob Foster.

Police implemented special measures to monitor Chivas soccer fans on Sunday January 17, as official supporter groups returned to the stands after a 10-month ban for rioting. A drone hovered around the stadium and 500 police officers were on duty in a security operation designed to prevent the kind of violence which marred the Clasico Tapatio match against Atlas in March last year. 

Over half of high school students leave before finishing their studies, according to University of Guadalajara Rector Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla.

Bravo said that a variety of factors influenced the decision to drop out. Among them were a lack of economic resources which make it difficult to cover school costs. Another significant minority were young women who become pregnant. 

“The lack of orientation is a problem,” Bravo said. “Students become dissatisfied with study and seek a professional or technical path. Another factor is that they may live far away from their schools. Others left in search of opportunities in the United States.”

The government is seeking to lower the high school dropout rate. At the beginning of the year, Artistoteles Sandoval announced that by 2018, all young people that apply to enter an educational institution will have a place guaranteed.

Cyclists are concerned for their safety after two incidents in January put into doubt the degree to which they are protected on Guadalajara’s roads. 

A full frontal collision between two trains in station Atemajac in Guadalajara left 29 passengers injured. The crash occurred in the afternoon of Monday January 26, apparently due to a confusion between the two train operators, who were later arrested. 

Guadalajara’s most famous clown, Lagrimita, who hopes to run as an independent candidate for city mayor, kicked his campaign off with a press gathering in Plaza Universidad. The performer has been accepted as a pre-candidate and now has until February 27 to collect the 23,000 signatures he needs to secure his candidacy. The clown responded with irritation when a reporter accused him of discriminatory behavior on his television show and suggested that Enrique Alfaro, the pre-candidate of the Citizens Movement (MC) was behind the line of questioning. “Maybe you’ve been paid off” he said. “Maybe Alfaro paid you.”