Women Sold in Southern Veracruz

On your next trip to Catemaco and Los Tuxtlas, bring along some spare change and pick up a nice little souvenir. Of course, it may not fit your baggage.

This recent article from a local newspaper highlights an outrageous practice still common in parts of Mexico. (Excerpted and loosely translated from Spanish).

In the 21st century the sale of women in the state of Veracruz is on the rise, stated the chairman of the State Commission of Human Rights who elaborated that the practice occurs more frequently in southern part of the state, where even parents exchanged their daughters for crops, livestock or money.

On this International Women's Day he claimed that little progress has been made related to human rights for women. This outrageous situation persists and affects females vulnerable to violence in all its forms, and who in some communities still are seen as a mere commodity subject to barter.

The majority of them are minors, whose own family surrender them to strangers to get some economic advantage, no matter what their fate will be, subjecting them to become mere sex objects who are beaten, humiliated, forced to do chores and inappropriate practices.

Source: Diario del Istmo - Spanish

Catemaco Gun Control

Offically you cannot buy a gun in Catemaco.

For that matter, you cannot buy a gun in the entire state of Veracruz,or in 29 other Mexican states or in Mexico City. The only gun shop in Mexico is in Naucalpan, outside Mexico City in the state of Mexico and is run by the Mexican army. There you have a variety of choices as long as the caliber is less than a 38 special, or a 10 gauge shotgun.

Unofficially, over the last few years I have been offered an AK47 assault rifle popularly known as “Cuerno de Chivo” (Goat’s horn), a couple of 9mm’s, a MAC10, and a sawed off shotgun. Prices are in the arm and a leg range, although I hear the border towns have daily specials.

Incidentally if you travel with an unregistered weapon you better carry a large amount of cash with you. Otherwise you WILL go to jail and stay there.

Mexico is the sixth most violent country in the world!http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
And there you thought the home of Rambo was heading the list. WRONG! The US is way down at number 24.

Isn´t gun control wonderful in Mexico?

Pick out your favorite shooting iron here:
http://www.laarmeria.com.mx/catalog/default.php?cPath=22And then go and pick it up here
www.sedena.gob.mx/index.php?id=123

and then you can join fellow Mexican gun-nuts here.
http://www.mexicoarmado.com/

Catemaco Forensics

Aside from roadkill, laguna floaters, occasional dumped bodies and aftermaths of machete duels, there have only been 8 known murders in the past year in Catemaco. As of today, the valiant police agencies of Catemaco continue doing what they are good at, which is basically riding around in the back of pickup trucks and scratching their balls.

On a recent short ride (100 miles) we had the fortune to be stopped by 4 other Veracruz enforcement agencies which were bereft of pickup trucks but otherwise performed the same functions.

So the local rumors that a next town coroner is now being investigated for diagnosing 2 recently departeds with heart disease, while being afflicted by one or two bullets through those organs, comes as no surprise.

After all, this is supposed to be the witchcraft capital of the world.

Curiously, now the dozens of motor riding brujo (witch) shills usually accosting tourists at the entrances of Catemaco, have gone into retirement. Possibly they did so to avoid heart disease, and probably because their masters all seem to have decided to take vacations.

There is a wicked thought in the back of my head. Could brain disease be diagnosed in some of those hundreds of shills pestering tourists along the Malecon with offers of boat rides and other enjoyments

Catemaco bodyguard

He is afraid to get near water without wearing a life jacket because he cannot swim.

You should see what he wears while guarding me.

I need a bodyguard like I need an extra toe on my foot. But my Popoluca has been insistent since both family members and familiars began making unexpected obituary notices.

My bodyguard is almost as confused as I am. He thinks that I am his bodyguard, which may be true because he is my Popoluca's favorite son.

Anyway, the two of us have been seen driving a mysterious dark window tinted black SUV throughout the inaccessible areas of Los Tuxtlas, and the word on the street is that we are probably two gay drug lords visiting their plantations. The smart observors think we are buying up Los Tuxtlas at bargain prices and are now tripling their asking prices.

Catemaco is not far from the end of the universe in terms of accessibility. Nevertheless, the pueblo has a relatively violent history. Some of the lurid items are political candidates shooting each other in the thirties, and a multiple homicide brujo war in the 1990's.

Lately, the homicide rate in this village of 24,000 has been increasing beyond the usual machete shlashings of disrespectful friends or family.
Some serious assassinations involving kidnaps, drugs, drugs, and more drugs have been making statewide headlines along with the Catholic church supposedly booing the local brujos.

All that mayhem is gist for chit chat, and boy, oh boy, does Catemaco have chit chat. I seriously think that a loud fart on one end of Catemaco will be discussed on the other end within minutes.

Anyway, today's murder case, involving the chief brujo's son seems to have been converted into a simple kidnap with blood loss.

Nevertheless my Popoluca now wants to add another guard to my entourage.

Would someone know whether there are any used Pope Mobiles available?

Catemaco baptism

Gunfire woke me at 4:00 am in beautiful downtown Catemaco, Veracruz.

So, instead of returning to sleep, I checked the Catemaco News and read about a vague acquaintance being kidnapped, and a few police officers being gunned down near Veracruz City.
By the time dawn broke, the earlier gunfire had turned into a Catemaco police standoff, involving federal, state and municipal police forces trying to dislodge a drunk brujo (witch) from his home just because he decorated a local police vehicle with a few bullet holes.

But it was such a gorgeous day. The first sign of spring after a long drawn out winter full of north winds and freezing Catemacao temperatures of around 70 degrees F (19c).

So we baptized my Popoluca's first grandson and lunched with some family and friends on delicious barbacoa in a restaurant overlooking the laguna.

Upon our return to casa, we found a burglar hiding under my bed. He was just a young inexperienced thief who unfortunately fell several times while we caught him. The resulting turmoil attracted a full fledged street party of men with clubs, the local press, police and inquisitive neighbors.

And some enjoyed the left-over baptismal cake.

Added note: A few days later, the kidnappers killed their victims, and the drunk brujo manipulated the Mexican legal system, and is now suing the police chief to get his car repaired.

DUI in Catemaco

Here in beautiful downtown Catemaco, Veracruz, WUI would probably be the more appropriate term, because the town is so small that driving is a waste of gasoline. If anyone does not know the abbreviations: (DUI means Driving Under The Influence, of usually alcohol, or drugs, WUI would be Walking Under the Influence).

In a recent conversation, after listening to the usual litany about why to live in Mexico, such as culture, beauty, customs, etc., I squawked about the benefit of the lack of drunk driving enforcement which so many gringos in Mexico enjoy.

I never had a chance to mention my perceived sentiment of official disregard of drunken driving offenses, especially for high-paying drunken gringos and so called "juniors" (sons of the rich).

Has anyone ever heard of a politician or any famous person being arrested for drunk driving in Mexico? Are there no Mel Gibsons in Mexico?

A Catemaco Adios

He was a bear of a man, way over 250 lbs, with a head and heart the size of an Olmeca statue.
He was one of the first “guys” I met in Catemaco during my partying days before my Popoluca captured me. We shared many a “chella” (beer) at Chellos, a barely upscale dive on the carretera running through Catemaco.

He did automotive body work for a living and relieved me of a fender bender once and again. In the last few years we drifted apart, except for an occasional bear hug.
He died 2 nights ago, cheese holed by 7 large caliber bullets. Probably involving drugs as I am now finding out.

He should have stuck to beer!

Beautiful downtown Catemaco, Veracruz does not seem very beautiful right now.

Noticiero Veracruz:
EJECUTAN A PEPE TORO SE DEDICABA A PINTAR AUTOMOVILES EN CATEMACO.

Catemaco Vignette

This was sent to me by a fortunate soul who´s had the privilege of living in Catemaco for 26 years and learned to keep his mouth shut:

He remembers the bank guard for Multibanco Comermex here in Catemaco who, some twenty three years ago, asked him for a shotgun shell, 16 gauge, because he had used the one (1) shell he was allotted to shoot a duck the night before in the lagoon, and was some nervous fulfilling his duties with an empty gun.

Catemaco Blood

Among the usual culture shocks foreigners experience in Mexico are lurid newspapers. Crime, generally speaking, is under reported in Mexico.

But if a juicy bloody event occurs, newspapers compete on who can publish the most gore. None of the political correctness of hiding naked women under counters applies to the category of titillating red dripping gore decorating news stands.

The Mexican crime rate is three times higher than the US, and it has been so, since even before the drug related killings began. Violence is pervasive in the country and is possibly a counter weight to the typical usual Mexican sense of courtesy and good manners.

In perspective, Mexicans have been killing each other in enormous numbers, starting with the war of independence in 1810 to the
Cristero Rebellion ending in 1929 and the most current bloodbath at Tlatelolco in 1968.
But Mexicans are a valiant people, a disproportionate number of them in the US forces are now uselessly getting themselves killed in Iraq.
They are also a nasty people who kill contrary opinion journalists. Another one died yesterday.

Catemaco Press

Aside from the local mayor sending out thugs to rough up a news anouncing wagon, journalists in Catemaco and Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz are doing well. Most receive hand outs from whoever is looking for a political angle.

Others in Mexico get killed because they missed an angle or two. The former editor of the Mexican national newspaper Exelsior was just murdered.

Coming right upon the killing of a journalist in Oaxaca, many periodistas (journalists) are probably thinking of changing their occupation to ecologists. They talk almost as much. But at least they only seem to shoot them in Brazil.

Update 11-22-06
Investigative reporter slain in Veracruz