It could be any day along the Pacific coast of Mexico, but on this day it's Puerto Vallarta. The morning broke with a puff of clouds lolling upon the Pacific, casting a veil across the fishing boat dropping anchor in Banderas Bay. Tourists drop their lines into the water, prop their poles on the side and pop open a beer. These tourists are hoping to catch fish -- dorado, bonito, yellow fin, mahi-mahi, even marlin -- but I can't help but wonder if some are here to catch something else as they unwind on the gentle waters.

You can hear the first party boat before the clouds have a chance to break. Music rises over the waves as voices surf the high notes. A catamaran, its bronzed passengers gripping the sidelines with one hand and a drink in the other, rushes along the coast in a race against outbound schedules. These tourists are fishing also -- not for the fruit of the sea, but for pleasure, experience, thrills, relaxation. Anything that steals the stress even for an hour revives the soul in ways not yet known.

By 10 a.m. the morning clouds have broken, their edges now laced with blue like a doily thrown against the sky. The bay responds to the sun with slivers of sapphire gleaming upon the gentle swells.

September 6th is World Shorebird Day—and San Blas and Tecuala are among the hundreds of destinations spanning the five continents that will be part of the counting to register and follow up on these species.

World Shorebird Day takes place on September 6th, and to mark the occasion the Global Shorebird Counting will take place to further the research and science behind these species. The Riviera Nayarit will be an active participant as a birding destination.

There are 510 destinations across the five continents that have voluntarily registered to be a part of this movement, which is made up of different organizations that specialize in these species. There are 11 destinations registered in Mexico, three of which are in the Riviera Nayarit: San Blas and two more in Las Marismas Nacionales (The National Marshes) located in Tecuala.

This first global counting will be part entertainment, part scientific in nature, as it will give researchers the opportunity to monitor and create a registry of the species in order to observe their behavior, the quantity, variety and tendencies of the birds, all very necessary to the legal protection of any species and their habitat.

Tour guide, photographer, professional birder and Nayarit Birdwatchers’ Club member Mark Stackhouse registered the port in order to support the investigation, but also to promote the area, since the results will be available to birders around the world.

“San Blas already has a great reputation as a bird watching site and there are plenty of tourists who come to see them,” explained Stackhouse. “Whatever we can do to promote birding tourism is a good thing. The potential of this type of tourism is one of the most important things San Blas can offer.”

“As its reputation grows, so does the tourism to the area. This is big business on a global level. San Blas has a unique resource within North America: this is the best spot for birdwatching but it’s still unknown to the majority of birders. The results of this counting will bring it to the forefront for birders around the world,” he added.

The town gas station will be the meeting place in San Blas at 7 a.m. The group will depart from there to tour the main beaches—everyone is invited. You can contact Mark Stackhouse by calling 323-285-1243 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Inaugurated on January 4th, 2013 the iconic pier in Puerto Vallarta, México made it to CNN’s list of the most beautiful piers around the world. Ranked number six on the article, the pier on Los Muertos Beach it is the perfect scenario for a romantic walk overlooking the characteristically sunsets of Banderas Bay.

Designed by the winning architect José de Jesús Torres, this is the foundation of a renewal project for Puerto Vallarta’s well-known downtown. Truth to be told, the pier adds a new energy to the other surrounded attractions, appealing local and international visitors.

If you have the opportunity to visit this gorgeous and modern structure, look around, you will find important places to see.

Mexico City is set to have a new state-of-the-art airport, a facility that will be among the most advanced in the world, incorporating the symbols of the country, its vivid colors and green technology.

The project, which aspires to become a model for future air terminals, was designed by British architect Norman Foster, who has also designed the Beijing and Hong Kong airports, along with Mexican Fernando Romero, the son-in-law of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world.

The futuristic design, unanimously selected from among eight proposals, incorporates sustainable technology and large commercial spaces.

The new terminal will have six runways and handle 120 million passengers annually, or four times the capacity of the current airport.

The monumental project, to be built at a cost of more than $9 billion, will replace the present airport, which opened in 1929 and has reached full capacity despite having been remodeled and expanded over the past few decades.

President Enrique Peña Nieto said during the unveiling of the project on Wednesday that the airport would open after his term ended in 2018 because his administration "will not have enough time to put the new international airport into operation."

"It is important for Mexico to have a world-class airport," Peña Nieto said, adding that the decision to move ahead with the project was made out of a sense of responsibility and not from a short-term perspective.

Three runways will be constructed in the first phase to handle 50 million passengers annually, with the passenger count rising to 120 million at the end of the second phase, the president said.

Foster said that although the project incorporates the experience of several monumental projects, it "is the first of its kind in the world."

Romero discussed the incorporation of Mexican symbols in the project, particularly the eagle and the serpent that adorn the country's flag.

"The colors, the patterns are very special to Mexico ... and also the quality of monumentality in the works of earlier civilizations," Romero said.

The green airport will have 24 water treatment plants, a waste processing system and natural ventilation, all with the goal of reclaiming a degraded and densely populated area.

A metropolitan transportation network serving the airport will be developed by the federal government, the capital's government and Mexico state, which surrounds the Federal District and forms part of the Mexico City metropolitan area.

Then-President Vicente Fox tried to build a new airport in the town of San Salvador Atenco in 2002, but a wave of violent protests by residents forced the government to scrap the project.

Fox's successor, Felipe Calderon, opted for the construction of Terminal 2 at the Mexico City international airport at a cost of $655 million.

Terminal 2 opened in 2007, allowing the airport to expand its operations within seven years, however, the airport reached a capacity of 32 million passengers and 393,000 flights annually, forcing Peña Nieto's administration to seek a longer-term solution that did not involve land expropriations.

[readon1 url="http://www.laprensasa.com/309_america-in-english/2693117_mexico-city-to-have-state-of-the-art-airport.html"]Source:www.laprensasa.com[/readon1]

Mexico's tequila exports rose 16 percent to $568 million in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2013.

Exports were boosted by higher sales of 100 percent agave tequila to markets such as China, Russia and the United States, the secretariat said in its preliminary report.

Mexico exported 149.1 million liters of tequila worth $996.9 million in 2013.

Mexico currently exports tequila to 90 countries, including Australia, Spain, the United States, China, France, Japan, Lithuania, Panama, Britain and Russia, the secretariat, which oversees the Tequila Regulating Council, or CRT,.

The agave used to produce tequila was granted denomination of origin status in 1999 in an area that covers Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacan and Tamaulipas states, the secretariat said.

[readon1 url="http://www.laprensasa.com/309_america-in-english/2691831_mexican-tequila-exports-grow-16-pct.html"]Source:www.laprensasa.com[/readon1]

Global Voices through its Rising Voices initiative, the Juan de Córdova Research Library, and SURCO invite indigenous language activists from all across Mexico to take part in the Indigenous Language Digital Activism Gathering that will take place on October 3-5 at the San Pablo Cultural Center in the historical center of Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.

The central focus of this gathering is to provide a space for peer learning and exchange targeted at 25 indigenous language digital activists that are currently using their languages in digital media.

Mexico is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Latin America with more than 300 indigenous languages spoken and written on a daily basis, and many of these are in danger of extinction. Technology has been adopted in recent times for academic documentation and for the creation of language learning software as a way to study and preserve these languages.

New generations have also been taking to the Internet to tweet, blog, or podcast in their native languages as part of their daily online routines. However, an emerging movement comprised of indigenous Internet users are welcoming the responsibility to promote their language and culture online in an effort to revitalize the language and encourage the next generations of speakers. This sense of duty to their community drives these digital activists to dedicate their own time and resources towards this noble cause.

Despite these grassroots efforts, many digital activists work in relative isolation facing unique and ongoing challenges, such as:

Technical challenges - including the unavailability of a keyboard with the appropriate characters necessary for writing in the language.
Linguistic challenges – including a lack of a consensus among the community on the correct version of the written alphabet, or a lack of technology-related terminology in the language
Socio-cultural challenges – including communities that may yet to have discussions about how their language and culture should or should not be openly shared online.
The good news is that there are strategies to address these challenges in unique contexts, as demonstrated by the growing number of success stories of how communities have been using participatory media to promote their languages online. However, there continues to be a need to find ways for these digital activists to connect with one another to share their stories and experiences.

That's where the Indigenous Language Digital Activism Gathering comes in. This group will include bloggers, audio-visual producers, Wikipedia editors, and free software localizers, all creating digital content in Mexican indigenous languages.

Through peer-led discussions and hands-on workshops, there will be ample opportunity for the participants to build digital skills, as well to engage in conversations about the unique challenges that they face. In addition, workshops exploring the topic of online and offline digital activism and how their work can continue to have an impact in their communities.

There will also be two public events where those interested in learning more about how these communities are working to help make this social change through their digital work.

Those interested can apply to attend and full and partial travel scholarships are available.

Please note: this opportunity is only open for participants that speak an indigenous language and who reside in Mexico. The deadline to apply is August 29, 2014. For more information, please use the Contact Form on the event's blog.

[readon1 url="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/08/18/a-gathering-of-indigenous-language-digital-activism-in-oaxaca-mexico/"]Source:globalvoicesonline.org[/readon1]

Passengers were greeted by mariachi music as they descended from the ship, which officially begins with the 2014-2015 cruise season in Puerto Vallarta.

The arrival of the ship represents the first of the 53 arrivals until December 31 , after three months without a cruise on the Port Administration (API) of Jalisco tourist destination.

"We will begin the cruise season with four cruises for September, and December will have 52 cruises in total, which added to the 64 already came reach a total of 116 cruises, this represents 43 percent of the 81 arrivals received during 2013, said Miguel Garcia, director of the API.

"Since this is the first time the Carnival Legend is coming to Puerto Vallarta, we perform the traditional exchange of plates with the ship's captain.

Carlos Gerard, Tourism director of Puerto Vallarta, said that the arrival of the cruise represents improvement of the industry in vallarta, since they will be arriving without interruption until the end of 2015.

"We are estimating that they will be arriving over 120 thousand cruise to this destination. welcome, it's something we're waiting, cruise ships and tourists, we are talking about $ 250,000 per cruise pours," the official said.

"The important thing is that these tourists will be using taxis to tour the tourist strip, going to some restaurant, the experience that they will live is important, so that tourists return later to expand the economic benefit."

[readon1 url="http://economia.terra.com.mx/inicia-temporada-de-cruceros-en-vallarta,91c3ecd068838410VgnCLD200000b2bf46d0RCRD.html"]Source:economia.terra.com[/readon1]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say a mass die-off of fish at a lake in western Mexico was not due to natural causes, but the causes are still being investigated and one research said that low water levels could have been responsible.

Over 53 metric tons of rotting fish have been removed from Lake Cajititlan in western Jalisco state, the state environment department said late Sunday. Workers using shovels, a bulldozer, boats and wheel barrels removed the dead fish, which are being sent for testing. Workers wore masks to ward off the smell of rotting fish.

The small, finger-sized fish are apparently a type of chub. The cause of the die-off has not been determined; samples of the dead fish have been sent to laboratories for testing.

The state environment department said late Sunday it was not due to natural causes.

But Manuel Guzman Arroyo, director of the University of Guadalajara's Fresh Water Institute, said the lake is very shallow, and that a strong wind or other causes could have stirred up sediment and deprived the fish of oxygen.

"The lake has problems because too much water is being drawn off, and its level is very low," said Guzman Arroyo. The lake is surrounded by up-scale housing developments and its waters are used for irrigation and recreation, but he said pollution probably wasn't a big problem.

It was the fourth time this year there has been a die-off at the lake, which sits between Guadalajara and Lake Chapala.

Also Monday, authorities acknowledged that birds, turtles and fish had died off from a fuel spill at a river in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.

The spill, which happened Aug. 27 and spread for almost a mile (1.2 kms) was caused by thieves drilling an illegal tap into a gasoline pipeline.

While workers contracted by the state-owned Pemex oil company had managed to contain the spill with booms, heavy rains had caused those containment ponds to overflow and spread the fuel again.

Dalos Rodriguez Vargas, the Veracruz state environmental prosecutor, said dozens of "reptiles, birds and fish" had been killed, but that the bigger concern was that even heavier rains could spread the pollution to a nearby lake.

"The danger is that if it rains more, with the tropical weather system out there, it could overflow again if they don't get it gathered up quickly, and reach the lake," Rodriguez Vargas said.

"They are working with all possible speed to get it contained," he said. The lake is known as the Laguna Maria Lizamaba, and is a local tourist attraction. Rodriguez Vargas said the oil company would also have to reforest the river banks where vegetation has been affected.

Thousands of illegal pipeline taps have become an increasing environmental and safety problem in Mexico, because they frequently trigger spills or explosions.

An oil spill last week in the northern state of Nuevo Leon that was also caused by an illegal tap may takes weeks to clean up, the state-run oil company said Monday.

It said some oil on the river banks was still being washed off with pressure hoses, and that cleaning up oil-soaked vegetation "will continue in the coming weeks."

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/09/01/mexican-authorities-say-massive-fish-die-off-not-due-to-natural-causes/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Tropical Storm Dolly headed Tuesday for a soggy collision with Mexico's Gulf coast.

The storm's maximum sustained winds early Tuesday were near 50 mph (85 kph) and it was forecast to strengthen as it approaches the coast Tuesday night and moves inland on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was expected to bring 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) of rain to northwest Mexico.

A tropical storm warning for Mexico's coast covered an area from Tuxpan to Barra el Mezquital.

Dolly was centered about 145 miles (230 kilometers) east-southeast of La Pesca and it was moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/09/02/tropical-storm-dolly-threatens-mexico-gulf-coast/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

The new House Hunters International episode featuring Puerto Vallarta and Timothy Real Estate Group will premiere this September 9, 2014 on HGTV USA. This will mark the fourth time the hugely popular and addictive TV show returns to the tropical Mexican resort town.

PVRPV Rentals, Gary Green (it was his great idea) and the Bomberos City Fire Department helped organize the event with a visit from Vallarta's Director of Tourism Carlos Gerrard.

The event took place in Los Muertos Beach on the new world famous pier.

Preliminary count of funds raised show over 10,000 pesos, thanks to Rolando Villaseñor Garcia and Debbi Brolin Egan for doing such an amazing time with the 50/50 and Margaret Souder for donating back 50% of her winnings. Philippa Vernon Powell, thank you for accepting all the donations and please also thank your friend for volunteering. Also thanks Colette Zarry for donating part of your sales back.

In addition to providing awareness at the Ice Bucket Challenge, participants were encouraged to support the cause. Funds will be donated to Familiares y Amigos de Enfermos de la Neurona Motora AC. The 35-year-old Mexico City-based non-profit is dedicated to the research and promotion of opportunities for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The organization funds research as well as patient therapy and psychological treatment. They disseminate information about the disease to public, private and medical schools as well as provide health care professionals. For more information on the organization, visit FYADENMAC online.

Watch the  video to see the Puerto Vallarta Mexico locals and visitors taking the Ice Bucket Challenge on August 26, 2014.

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[readon1 url="http://pvangels.com/news/2759/puerto-vallarta-city-wide-ice-bucket-challenge-a-huge-success"]Source:pvangels.com/news[/readon1]

Sacramento - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto thanked California on Thursday for improving the lives of immigrants from his country, including legalising drivers' licenses for undocumented migrants and making it easier for them to work and start businesses.

Pena Nieto, on his first trip to the United States since becoming president in 2012, addressed a joint session of the California legislature, detailing economic and electoral reforms enacted back home and emphasising his country's social and economic ties to the state.

"I want to thank you for what you have done for migrants, especially the ones from Mexico", Pena Nieto said. "It's no coincidence that my first visit to the United States is in California."

Pena Nieto's visit was the latest in a series of exchanges with Mexico that included a trip to that country last month by California governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and a visit to Sacramento by Mexico's foreign minister, Jose Antonio Meade.

The visits, part of an ongoing effort to further economic ties between California and Mexico, are taking place against a backdrop of growing tensions from the flow of thousands of undocumented children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras into the United States from Mexico.

For their part, the Mexican leaders have expressed concern that efforts to enact comprehensive immigration reform have stalled in the US, amid opposition from Republicans in Congress.

On Thursday, several Republican state lawmakers who had been invited to a luncheon with Pena Nieto declined to attend, citing the ongoing detention of US marine sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi, who was arrested on 31 March by Mexican customs agents who found guns in his pickup truck at the San Ysidro border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana.

A group of protesters demonstrated against Tahmooressi's detention across the street from Sacramento's Leland Stanford mansion, where the luncheon was being held.

Tahmooressi maintains he accidentally crossed the border, and had no intention of transporting weapons across an international border. He is being held in a federal penitentiary in Mexico.

"I could not go to the lunch in good conscience", said state senator Joel Anderson, a Republican whose district includes parts of Riverside County east of Los Angeles. "I don't have an appetite for foreign dignitaries who deny US citizens their human rights."

Pena Nieto did not discuss the issue of the migrant children or the Tahmooressi case.

[readon1 url="http://www.news24.com/World/News/Mexico-thanks-California-for-helping-migrants-20140827"]Source:www.news24.com[/readon1]