About six months ago, we were cruising through town on the way to do some errands, and I saw several sets of windows and doors propped outside a house with a for sale sign. I made my husband circle back around and stop to ask about them. The owners were remodeling and selling them cheaply. Really cheap. We paid $1500 pesos for a wall of windows and a door with a frame. Seeing how my sister-in-law just bought a new door for her house and paid $ 4,000 pesos for that alone and nearly $20,000 for a set of windows, this was a steal!
My husband and son headed back with the truck and brought our new-to-us building materials home. They have been leaning against the wall of my son’s house since then until last month when they were finally installed.
Initially, my husband wanted to cut the windows into pieces and turn them on their sides, and I don’t know what else. I vetoed that idea. They were in perfect condition as they were. We just needed to shape the back wall around their measurements. So that’s what we did.
This involved the three of us hoisting it up to set it in place. Or rather, my son hoisting, me holding firmly to the sides, and my husband securing the top with wire until it was in position, about a foot and a half above the ground. Suspending it this way allowed my husband to build a base beneath it, which firmly holds it in place.
Next, the door frame was positioned, and the open areas filled in, which included a half-wall. He used stones and cement since we’d run out of bricks, but after “patching” (applying a layer of cement), it should be indistinguishable from the other walls. We’ll need to commission a set of windows for that area, but the end result will be a fraction of what we’d have paid had we not stumbled across those used building materials.
My son’s dogs, Fred, George, and Bruce, are not too happy with the new addition. They aren’t able to come and go to the back garden as they please anymore.
Since we were rockin’-and’rollin’ in the construction department, we went ahead and rented the mixer to finish up the floor on the ground floor. It didn’t require rebar like the second-floor, so all we needed to purchase was some cement. My son and husband spent the day shoveling sand, gravel, cement, and water into the mixer and hauling it bucket by bucket to the designated area. Finally, it was finished, and it doesn’t look too bad if I do say so myself.
The next project, according to my husband, is the plumbing.
When many people think about Mexico, pine trees are not in their concept of native plants. However, believe it or not, Mexico has the highest number of native pine species globally, between 43 to 51 species.
Many of these species are used in traditional herbalism in Mexico. In fact, the resin from ocote (Pinus montezumae), called oxitl, was given to humans by Tzapotlatena, the goddess of medicine herself. According to Bernardino de Sahagún, this resin was used in remedies for fever and cracked skin. The name ocote comes from the Nahuatl ocotl. Ocotzotl, the resin or turpentine from the pine, is known as trementina. Another indigenous remedy was cuauh ocotl, a tea made from the needles for respiratory illnesses.
Trementina de ocote is prescribed for nail fungus and as an anti-lice repellent. It is also combined with alcanfor (Cinnamomum camphora) or gobernadora (Larrea tridentata) for a rheumatism liniment. Trementina is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient, and anti-parasitic.
In the state of Puebla, ocote is used to alleviate cold symptoms, and in Tlaxcala, it is prescribed as a remedy for bronchitis. It is also used in wound healing. It is considered a “hot” plant and is often used for “cold” illnesses through steam baths and infusions.
Ocote is a hard pine and is used in construction. The resin is so flammable that cut branches will burn like torches. A vanillin flavoring can be obtained from the resin and pulpwood. Like other pine species, the seeds of the Pinus montezumae are edible but small.
Té de Ocote for Congestion
1 ocote branch with needles about 6 inches long (Pinus montezumae)
Boil the branch in 1 liter of water for five minutes. Strain and sweeten with miel (honey) if desired. Drink one cup a day to help with respiration.
Things are moving along on the quest for organization and utilities in La Yacata. We had another community meeting and collected enough to pay for the avalúo catastral, the study done by the Presidencia to access taxes and property values in the upper quadrant. The next step is to pay the predial, the actual tax fee. Brick by brick, as they say….
Anyway, even though I was exceedingly clear at the meeting that I was ONLY available after 4 p.m., that has not deterred the vast majority from knocking on the door starting before 7 a.m. And what do they want? Oh, it varies.
Some “couldn’t make it” to the meeting and wanted to know what it was about, even though I had a sign posted on the door with the main points covered. Of course, to be fair, a good percentage of property owners are illiterate, so the sign doesn’t help them figure things out, so I need to go through what we covered several times a day for those folks. However, the other percentage are just too lazy to read the sign.
Then, several came to pick up their new certificates. Remember, we’re trying to determine ownership of as close to 100% of the properties as possible. That meant I compiled a list of possible owners and posted it on my door, at my sister-in-law’s tortilla shop in town, and on the mesquite by the road. I also read off the list during the meetings we’ve had and asked anyone who knows these individuals to tell them to come and see me (after 4 p.m., mind you).
Next come those who bought lots some time ago but never got around to registering their ownership. One couple brought folders and folders of papers, and I went through them paper by paper to find the original documents, only to find that none of the certificates had “cedo los derechos a” (I transfer ownership to…), and they needed to go back to the person they bought the lots from to get that written on the documents making the property transfer all nice and legal. When they came back I went through the papers again. This time, I discovered that the original certificate and contract of one of the lots were not the same as the reissued certificate. Apparently, there was some mix-up with certificates, and the originals had been lost, misplaced, or something. The transaction could go through since the most recent certificate had been verified by the current mesa directiva (board of directors), but I took possession of those other certificates since we can’t have excess property certificates floating about.
Then there were those that have everything in order but wanted to double or even triple-check. One elderly man arrived after I had set out on my walk with Cocoa and literally chased me up the hill. I put Cocoa back in the house (he can’t abide anyone) and looked at his documents, which were all in order. I had also reassured him at the last meeting that according to my records (showing him the registry), the two lots were correctly registered to his sons, and he didn’t need to do anything further at this time. Another woman came by to double check she didn’t owe anything. She didn’t. I checked my records. Her lots were registered, and she had already paid the cooperación (voluntary fee) of 250 pesos toward the lawyer’s fees, which is the only fee we’ve levied in 10 years.
Then, there were those who were ready and willing to pay something towards the transactions, projects, and work we were trying to organize. At the last meeting, a motion and vote carrying the motion were made to start making regular deposits towards the water, sewer, and electric projects so that there wouldn’t be a HUGE bill when it came time to start the installation. However, I don’t want all that cash in the house, so the Assocación is going to open a bank account, and people can start depositing funds there.
We haven’t done so yet because #1, we need to ratify the members of the mesa directiva again, and #2, everybody now needs an RFC (tax ID number Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) to open a bank account, and they are a pain in the tuckus to get via SAT ( Servicio de Administración Tributaria). Not only do you need an RFC number, but you need a second document, Constancia de Situación Fiscal, which requires yet another transaction. When I was working at the local elementary school, my boss, who was an accountant, registered me for an RFC. However, I didn’t have the second document. I went to visit her and asked how to get that one, and she explained what I needed to do. I was able to do it online with minimal frustration, and now I’m all good, but the remaining members of the mesa directiva still don’t have theirs.
Anyway, until the bank account is set up, I can’t accept their money. Let’s hope they remain open to contributing when that does happen.
Then there was the neighbor, by far the worst of the bunch. Or maybe it was my reaction to her. She knocked a few minutes before I was scheduled to teach a class. I answered the door. She wanted to know what the last community meeting was about. I told her. I also told her she needed to register her lots. She told me that she didn’t because La Yacata was an ejido, an area designated as common land without a deed. That’s not true. La Yacata is classified as a fraccionamiento privado irregular (a private neighborhood not meeting urbanization requirements) currently, and we’re working towards becoming fully compliant. Then she said she hadn’t registered her lots because there was no registry for La Yacata. That’s not true. I turned in the most current padrón (registry) to Desarrollo Urbano (Urban Planning department) at our last meeting. Then she said she hadn’t registered because there’s been no progress towards urbanization, which is true mostly due to property owners like her. And finally, she said that my husband knows her. That’s another true statement, but it’s irrelevant. She’s from the same little town my husband was born in, and yes, my husband knows her since we’ve tried several times to buy the lot next door from her.
Finally, I had enough. I lost my temper. I had classes to teach, after all. I asked explicitly what she wanted. She wanted to give me her phone number so I could call with updates about the community meetings. I told her she needed to register her lots first. She asked how to do that. I told her she needed to bring all her original documents to me. I’m pretty sure I was trembling with rage at this point. She said there was no reason for me to be pissed off and left. It’s very doubtful that she’ll register her lots. She’s had more than ten years to do so. She’s been told several times over the years that it’s necessary, so claiming ignorance isn’t going to cut it with me.
I told Super Prez about this last interaction, and he said we need to set a deadline for lot registration and move on to the next item. So that’s a proposal that we will bring to the next meeting. The issue that will arise for those who have not registered their lots is there will be no escrituras (individual deeds) unless and until everything is in order. Those that have everything in order will be able to pick up their escrituras with no delay when the time comes. It’s like a game of legal chicken–who’s going to cave first?
Meanwhile, they keep knocking on the front door, whistling perched on their motos in front of the house, or shouting through the front window, “¿No está la Maestra?” (Is the teacher here?), which upset Bear and Cocoa enormously. When I’m teaching a class, their frenzied barking at the intruders means I need to mute my microphone and hope they calm down soon. And if I get fired because of these constant interruptions, well, I’m not going to be happy about that.
Surviving Mexico 
