Semana Santa, also known as Holy Week, is one of the most popular holidays in Mexico, second perhaps only to Christmas in terms of reverance and participation. For 2013, Semana Santa falls between March 24th and March 31st, however the children get two weeks off from school, so you can expect Puerto Vallarta to be busy the week after Easter too.

Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit are on the list of the five most popular destinations during the upcoming Easter holiday and Passover, according to the trends identified by the tourist and commercial sectors of the country from next week will gradually increase the number of visitors who enjoy the holiday of at least Thursday and Good Friday.

Easter and Passover Operating in Puerto Vallarta 2013 will be held  with over a thousand police officers. Various agencies of the three levels of government are in constant communication.

It will involve the Navy, Army, State Civil Protection, Ministry  Health of State and municipal offices. Start on Friday March 23 and ends on Sunday, April 8.

The Platform consists of the care of the beaches where lifeguards will feature, in addition to 60 Police Officers and seven boats to monitor the sea area.

By land it will have about a thousand public servants among municipal and state police, transit, municipal and state civil defense, firefighters, Navy, Army and the Red Cross.

Sergio Ramirez Assistant Fire and Civil Protection recommends the public to be careful with the local wildlife, compliance guidelines, as well as to prevent alcohol abuse.

Highways,several beaches and roads will also be monitored . In the Malecon area  will deploy 300 Police Officers, and on the tourist strip 700.

[readon1 url="http://www.prensaglobal.com/notas/40946.html"]Source:www.prensaglobal.com - Translated by: Suyapa M Ajuria[/readon1]

It is located on a beach well known for its tradition and culture. This has become a characteristic symbol of the city between 1960 and 1970. was  woodenvery and simple , but by the needs of the development of Puerto Vallarta  the place was built of concrete,  becoming an internationally used, although depth varies with the years, from 4.5 to 6 meters.

Today has use for small boats, as well as being used by local fishermen to launch their ropes and "Tarrayas".

[readon1 url="http://www.puertovallarta.gob.mx/Principal/muelle.php"]Source:www.puertovallarta.gob - Translated by: Suyapa M Ajuria[/readon1]

“Cultures Connected Through Music” by Oscar Romero, given by the Highland Park Sister Cities Foundation to Puerto Vallarta city officials in 2010..

Chicago did not get the predicted heavy snowfall, but it was grey. In fact, everything was grey; everything but my mood.

Many years ago I learned that, “there is no such thing as bad weather, just a bad attitude and bad gear.” So, with the proper snow boots and a warm coat, we went out for a walk when most would have stayed in.

Art gallery owners were surprised to see us walk through their doors on what everyone, but Arthur and I, thought to be a bad day to be out and about. For us, one gallery’s display of brightly colored paintings served to quickly transport us to warm and sunny Mexico.

With all of the beautiful art, history and culture, not to mention the culinary delights of Mexico, it is not hard to understand why five Illinois cities have a Sister City in Mexico. Chicago is connected to Mexico City, which was founded by the Aztecs 688 years ago on March 13, 1325, and known as Tenochtitlan. Chicago Heights’ sister is Cedral. Hanover Park’s sister is in Valparaiso; Highland Park is one to Puerto Vallarta; and Naperville’s is in Patzcuaro.

More than 20 years ago, I was in Puerto Vallarta on an all-inclusive vacation that had me wearing an armband to identify the type of services I was to receive. Tourism has come a long way since then, especially because of the Sister City relations that the U.S. has in Mexico.

As Arthur and I continued to thaw out in this Chicago art gallery, which also featured traditional Spanish guitar music, we chatted about how Mexico was once called New Spain. It was ruled in the 16th century from Mexico City after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.

New Spain included all of present-day Mexico and U.S. territories west of the Mississippi, plus Florida. Five hundred years ago this past week, on March 3, 1513, conquistador Juan Ponce de León began his expedition that would lead to what he called the “flowery land” or the popular winter getaway state of Florida.

We also noted that in many ways Americans are very much influenced by Spanish or Mexican cuisine, especially when we realize that the mandatory turkey at the all-American Thanksgiving dinner was originally from Mexico. In the early 1500s, wild turkeys were brought from Mexico to Europe. After domesticating them in Europe, the English colonists then brought turkeys back with them to the New World, but they arrived farther east on the Atlantic seaboard in Massachusetts, about 2,500 miles from Mexico, where the turkey had begun its travels.

 In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote of his preference for the wild turkey as the nation’s national bird, not the bald eagle. Ironically, according to American laws, bald eagle feathers cannot be exported, so the stereotypical Indian headdresses made for foreign consumers often contained turkey feathers.

Painters in the 19th century of Western scenes often mistakenly placed feather headdresses on Indians no matter what tribe. East coast tribes did not wear this type of head gear, but rather those of the plains. In addition, many painters confused their historical periods and placed a conquistador of the 16th century with pilgrims of the 17th century at the traditional first Thanksgiving feast.

There are no cultural mistakes in the art which has been exchanged between Highland Park and Puerto Vallarta. In 2010, a wonderful mural was painted by Chicago artist Oscar Romero and given by the Highland Park Sister Cities Foundation to Puerto Vallarta city officials.

It is titled “Cultures Connected Through Music” and is on permanent display at the Ordaz International Airport. The world-renown pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, who was born in Mexico and is now a resident of Highland Park, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra stand on one side of the mural.

The Mexican Mariachis are on the other side. The theme is the United States and Mexico are connected by the universal language of music.

As Arthur and I ventured out once more into the grey Chicago day, leaving this delightful art gallery, we felt as if we had gone to Puerto Vallarta. I could hear the music playing in my head as we sloshed our way home to the beat of Mexico, and I felt warm inside. Art, music and sisters have a way of making you feel that way no matter what the weather is outside.

Laura C. Johnson is a freelance art historian who lives and works in Chicago and Florence, Italy. She is writing about the 40 Illinois Sister Cities in 33 countries around the world, one Postcard at a time. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

[readon1 url="http://www.rrstar.com/go/x2082709768/Postcard-from-Laura-March-important-in-Mexicos-history?zc_p=1"]Source:/www.vallartaopina.net[/readon1]

The most compelling feature of the area is the huge bay, the Bahia de Banderas or Bay of Flags, cut like a semicircle out of the Pacific Coast of Mexico. The coastline of the bay is relatively featureless, except for a few small inlets at the mouths of rivers, such as a Yelapa, Boca de Tomatlan, and Mismaloya. In the mouth of the bay is a small cluster of rocky islands, the Marietas or Islas Marietas where some sea birds nest in season.

The Mexican axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) salamander has the rare trait of retaining its larval features throughout its adult life. This condition, called neoteny, means it keeps its tadpole-like dorsal fin, which runs almost the length of its body, and its feathery external gills, which protrude from the back of its wide head.

Puerto Vallarta, Jal. (January 28th, 2013) –the Hotel Marriott , the US Consular Agency in Puerto Vallarta and HealthCare Resources, with the support of Sharp HealthCare San Diego, proudly present the 2013 Medical Matters Conference on Monday, February 11, 2013 from 9 am to 6 pm at the Hotel Marriott CasaMagna in Marina Vallarta.

A Mexican girl said to have given birth last month at the age of nine has disappeared with her baby, and authorities now suspect she may be older, a top prosecutor said on Thursday.

Hospital officials and prosecutors said this week that a nine-year-old girl named Dafne gave birth to a baby girl by C-section on 27 January in the western state of Jalisco.

Police are seeking a 17-year-old boy believed to be the father.

But Tomas Coronado Olmos, the Jalisco state attorney general, said on Thursday that Dafne's own birth registry raised suspicions about her age since her parents only registered it in 2011.

"We have some evidence of irregularities that we need to investigate," Coronado Olmos said, adding that investigators want to conduct a psychological profile of the girl.

Neither Dafne nor her baby were at the address she gave to the hospital where she gave birth in the town of Zapopan.

The mother and the baby, who weighed 2.7kg at birth, were released from the hospital in good health.

The state's health secretary, Antonio Munoz, voiced doubts that Dafne could have been so young.

"The medical characteristics of this minor do not correspond to a nine-year-old girl. She could be much older. She seems to be 15 years old," Munoz said.

"The responsibility falls on the family for not taking care of the girl's environment and not notifying the authorities when they discovered the pregnancy," he said. "The harm on the minor is incalculable."

Sources in the Jalisco state prosecutor's office told AFP on Wednesday that the girl declared that she had consensual sex with the boy.

But another official in the prosecutor's office, Jorge Villasenor, described the encounter as a case of rape or child abuse.

[readon1 url="http://news.iafrica.com/worldnews/841390.html"]Source:news.iafrica.com[/readon1]

The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

How does your health affect your happiness? Studies have shown that the worst care you take of yourself, the higher your chances are of being unhappy. If you’re stuck inside all day– you’re not getting any sunshine and therefore aren’t getting any vitamin D. If you don’t work out, then you’re denying your body of producing endorphins– also responsible for that happy feeling. Finally, if you’re eating junk food all the time chances are you’re not getting the nutrients you need to feel good. As the Public Health Nutritional Journal writes, “consumers of fast food, compared to those who eat little or none, are 51% more likely to develop depression.”

Now, let’s look at the flip side. How does your happiness affect your health? Turns out that happier people produce less of the stress hormone cortisol. If you have high levels of cortisol on a regular basis, there is a good chance that you’re putting yourself at risk for the following ailments:

Heart Disease
Obesity
Sleeplessness
Memory Impairment
Worsening of skin problems (like eczema)

There have also been experts that say that high levels of cortisol suppresses your immune system and makes you more susceptible to cancer.

The moral of the story? Get happy and healthy! The two are interlocked. Even small changes in your daily life can improve the overall quality of your life– both in mood and physical health.

[readon1 url="http://therandomforest.com/happiness-health-related/"]Source:therandomforest.com[/readon1]

A nine-year-old girl has given birth to a daughter in Mexico, a media report said Wednesday.

Authorities are hunting for the baby's 17-year-old father after the girl fell pregnant aged just eight and gave birth last week, the Mirror daily reported.

The baby was born Jan 27 in Mexico's western Jalisco state.

"We are looking for the young man to get his story because she does not understand what has happened. This is a rape or child sex abuse case," Jorge Villasenor, from the state prosecutor's office, was quoted as saying.

The girl and her baby were discharged from hospital and are believed to be doing well.

However, the hospital said it would have to do extensive follow-up due to the mother's age.

[readon1 url="http://news.yahoo.com/nine-old-gives-birth-daughter-mexico-151230180.html
"]Source:news.yahoo.com[/readon1]