Category Archives: La Yacata Revolution

September 4, 2015 · 7:00 am

Hate thy neighbor

shadow

Our lovely girl Shadow, grazing peaceably.

Yesterday, someone injured our lovely lady Shadow. She and Joey were behind that house. While my son was just up the road with the goats, someone sliced Shadow’s leg, unclipped her rope and startled her so that she, Joey and Chokis the dog, bolted down the road to the main intersection. It was our good fortune that the neighbor, the cow barn guy, was coming to collect one of his cows and passed them on the road. He stopped to let me know and urged me to use my moto to catch up with them before they reached the highway. He even loaned my son a lasso since Shadow’s lasso was still tied to the mesquite. I pulled out the moto and my son hopped on behind. He had come a-running as soon as he realized the horses were gone, leaving the goats to fend for themselves.

At top speed, we raced down the road and found the three escapees under a tree off the road. My son walked back home with them. Joey was ornery as all get out, but Shadow had been injured. We put the horses back in their stalls and went in search of the goats, who had wandered up the hill. Seeing the gravity of the injury to Shadow’s leg, I determined that my husband should be notified immediately. Only, he had left his phone at the house. So I raced to his work to tell him and somehow or other he beat me home to take stock of the damage.

Shadow was injured in two places. One was a clean, deep gash all the way to the bone. The other was a jagged edge wound like she got caught on some barbed wire. We won’t know if she has nerve damage until the wounds heal up, but she’s in a lot of pain right now.

This isn’t the first time one of our animals has been deliberately harmed.  Our poor, defenseless donkey Fiona was shot in the hind leg.  Our babies’ mama Beauty‘s hoof was sliced nearly in half.  Countless dogs and cats have been poisoned. Makes you want to cry sometimes.

We suspect C as having done the deed this time. (See Buying a piece of heaven) There’s no proof of course. And really, there isn’t any valid reason, at least in our opinion, for him to have done so. Although he planted corn this year where my husband usually sharecrops (See Sharecropping) our horses have NEVER been in his corn. On the contrary, we have reason to complain about his pig farming. Every few days, another one of his pigs has died and he throws the corpse wherever where Chokis discovers the tasty morsel of raw, rotting bacon and hauls big sections of it down to our house and leaves it at the front door as a present. It’s disgusting! However, we haven’t called the Department of Ecologia yet.

grazing Shadow

Notice there is not a corn plant to be seen!

This week we have also had a complaint from another neighbor. He claims that it was our horses that have been nibbling his corn. It simply isn’t true. Ever since our other neighbor’s horses were stolen last year, including Spirit one of Beauty’s babies, we have kept our horses close to home. They are either tied or within sight. When no one is there to mind them, they remain in their stalls. The neighbor’s reasoning is that our horses are the closest to his corn field. But we are by no means the only neighbors with horses.

loose horses

Caught in the act! These horses happily munching the corn crop belong to the horse guy!

The horse guy, up the hill, has three horses, two of which are the same size and coloring as Joey and Shadow. Having heard hoof clopping late at night, we suspect that he may let his horses loose at night to graze. But again, we can’t prove anything.

He and the chicken feather guy were recently feuding. The chicken feather guy had a goat in with his pigs. The goat was not a happy goat and we could hear it bleating and bleating, probably because it was alone. One day, the goat disappeared. The horse guy accused my father-in-law of stealing the goat. The chicken feather guy went over to where my father-in-law keeps his goats to look for it. Boy, did that make my father-in-law mad. Not finding his goat there, the chicken feather guy scurried off, tail between his legs. If you think a 67-year-old man isn’t scary, you haven’t seen my father-in-law in the throes of righteous indignation with a machete in his hand.

So the suspect in the goat kidnapping fell back on the horse guy, who hotly denied it, of course. In retribution, the chicken feather guy set La Yacata on fire, destroying the grazing area of the horse guy’s horses. So now he lets them free graze.

The chicken feather guy and the horse guy outdo themselves as ladrones (thieves). Just last week, my son was bringing the goats home and came across the chicken feather guy loading various and sundry building material items into the back of his truck from the lot that belongs to the cholo boracho (drunk punk), another neighbor. I think perhaps cholo boracho is in jail at the moment, otherwise, I don’t think the chicken feather guy would have had the guts to steal from him. When he saw my son, he covered his face as if he was suddenly unrecognizable. Feel free to take a moment to roll your eyes here.

The horse guy has been sighted making off with building materials wherever he may find them as well. He has tried to pin the thefts on us, after all, we live full-time in La Yacata, as that were evidence enough or something. For instance, the newest neighbors recently returned from a 20-year stint in el Norte (the US), are constructing a cabaña (cabin) in La Yacata. Every week or so, something goes missing. The horse guy is very vocal about it being us. It isn’t. Having spent so long in the US, the newest neighbors have a fond prejudice for gringos and a belief in their overall honesty. So, as far as I know, they don’t believe us to have sticky fingers, but I could be wrong.

If “Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.” –Plato, and the hearts and souls of La Yacata are representative of all of Mexico it is no wonder that 43 students are still missing, that journalists and activists are murdered, and that the countryside is full of mass graves.

Well, as my husband says “El cantaro da muchos vueltas” (what goes around comes around)

I counter with “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) and Karma is sweet.

********************************************************

disclosure

11 Comments

Filed under Animal Husbandry, Cultural Challenges, Homesteading, La Yacata Revolution

Tagged as , , , , ,

August 28, 2015 · 4:29 pm

Fighting for Flowers

flowering tree

Yesterday afternoon, I turned into the neighborhood where I live and came upon three men with machetes cutting down the flowering trees at the entrance. Without thought, I stopped and demanded to know what they were doing

The leader of the two said he was beautifying the neighborhood since the branches were low hanging and ugly. I asked if he had permission. I meant permission from the owner of the lot who borders the trees, although I suppose the trees were technically in the public thoroughfare. He thought I meant permission from the Departmento de Ecología (Department of ecology) since cutting green trees is a fine-able offense. He said he didn’t need permission to tidy up the place.

So I asked who he was. He said he was the owner of the trees–of course. I told him I didn’t believe him. As I am part of the community board of directors, I know nearly all of the people who own lots in the community. These three men were strangers to me. Not that my neighbors in La Yacata are any better.  (See Good Fences make good neighbors, unless your neighbor steals it) He told me that I should contact the town council and tell them to come and trim the trees in the neighborhood.

My Spanish failed me at this point. I wanted to say eloquently that the town council would not come and trim trees until after they installed water, sewer and electricity in our community. I wanted to say that cutting such beautiful trees is a crime against nature. I wanted to say that he was a lying piece of poop that really had some gall thinking I would believe his altruistic motives for cutting the trees when we both knew he would take and sell the leña (firewood) in town.

tree cutter

What I said was that I would take pictures and show them to the owner when he asks me who cut down his trees. So I did, not that it did much good. One man turned his back to me, the other partially covered his face. I thought maybe I could get some identification from the moto (motorcycle) that was parked there, but it didn’t have any license plates.

I remained on edge the rest of the afternoon and into the next day. I tried to go and see the president of the neighborhood, but he wasn’t in his office. So I sent an email with the pictures and an account of my interaction with the men. He wrote back and said that he would investigate the matter.

My husband scolded me afterward. I shouldn’t be going around taking pictures of men with machetes. What was I thinking?

I have to admit to being impetuous at times. These men were destroying that which I enjoyed every day. The flowers on these trees and the scent they emit are my welcome home. How DARE they destroy that?

You see, that morning the mother of three of my students was shot and killed while heading to the gym. Last week, the father of a former student was kidnaped and is being held for ransom. Last month, someone in front of Waldo’s (a local discount store) was shot “accidentally” by police officers. The month before that two transito (traffic) officers were shot and killed by “unknown” assailants. Not so very long ago, my nephew was taken and tortured by rival drug members. Before that, my mother-in-law was run down by a police vehicle and killed. And before that, my husband was kidnapped right in our own neighborhood.

Those are the local issues. Looking beyond the borders of my own town– Last month, 42 people and one police officer were executed by the police just a few hours away in Michoacan. Last September, 43 students disappeared in Guerrero.  Mexico averages nearly 100 murders a day. In the past three years, more than 10,000 people have disappeared. Last week, a reporter and 4 female activists were tortured and murdered. Femicide is commonplace.

tree stump

And I can do NOTHING about any of these things. This place that I now call home is lawless, corrupt, and dying. The beauty that has existed for thousands of years is threatened by the unethical actions of man.

However, I could threaten the bejeezus out of these three men. Maybe word will get out that a crazy “gringa” (white lady) lives in La Yacata that goes around hugging trees and dancing in the rain–someone these would-be wrongdoers should steer clear of. It’s a small, unrealistic hope. The truth is there is no enforceable consequence for their actions. They know it. I know it. The government knows it. The world knows it. But I have to try.

*********************

disclosure

2 Comments

Filed under La Yacata Revolution, Native fauna and flora, Safety and Security

Tagged as , , , , , ,

June 13, 2014 · 3:35 pm

Buying property — as easy as buying a piece of heaven Part 3

for sale

Lot for sale

My husband decided to go and visit Don R and see if there still was a lien on the lots. Don R said that yes, in fact, he was thinking of contacting us to see if we were still interested in buying. Apparently, C’s girlfriend had come to his house to try and renegotiate the repayment schedule but had insulted Don R’s wife and was in danger of defaulting. Only, the thing was, Don R had developed cataracts and been left blind. He had given his son all his current outstanding loans until such time as he had an operation to improve his vision. He sent my husband to the son with the idea that we could purchase the contract.

So my husband went to see the son. The son said that yes, he had the papers transferring ownership from G to C’s girlfriend and that she had until December to repay the loan. To date, she had only paid $3,000 of the $20,000 loan and interest was accumulating. My husband said he would be willing to make good on the loan, $20,000 plus interest, provided the lot that was next to us became ours. The lot behind it, which was also part of the lien, he would give to C’s girlfriend. So basically, C’s girlfriend would be out of debt and still have one lot to sell or do whatever she wanted with.

The son thought it might be a good deal and made arrangements to contact C’s girlfriend and set up a meeting. Meanwhile, I talked to my sister-in-law T about the deal. I explained the drawbacks and benefits to her and asked if she would go with my husband to the meeting. I knew I couldn’t go and not lose my temper and my husband would need someone there to make sure he didn’t just agree to any old deal. I told her that if we could get the lot for $20,000 or thereabouts, to close the deal, but if it was to be higher than that, no deal.

The meeting was set up a few days later and off they went. They were gone more than 2 hours. They came back without the lot. It seems the girlfriend was not interested in selling less than $45,000, which we weren’t interested in paying. She went on and on about how she wanted to sell in La Yacata because of the mala fama (bad reputation) it had and lack of water, sewer, and electricity. (You can lead a horse to water.) She talked about this as if this would convince my husband to buy the property at the price she wanted. Never mind that he was fully aware of the problems, and enumerated several others with the lot. For instance, not only was there no water, sewer, or electricity, the lot had an outstanding debt of $250 for lawyer’s fees. That lot also had never made a payment for sidewalks, road paving or the pozo (never mind that the pozo was a fraud perpetrated by Chuchi—See Demanda 3). Therefore, the lot did not have a value of the $45,000 she was asking.

C’s girlfriend concluded the meeting by saying that she already had a buyer that was willing to pay $45,000 in payments and that we should take her offer immediately so as not to lose out. That is the type of pressure my husband caves under, but T took hold of his elbow and walked him out.

C’s girlfriend then turned her attention to Don R’s son. My sister-in-law said there were some sparks flying between the two when they took their leave. Perhaps she offered the son some incentive to renegotiate the repayment schedule with her, for whatever it was worth. The lien can not be canceled, nor the lots sold, without the written permission of Don R, blind or not. The son even said as much during the meeting.

And as for this supposed buyer….no shit, Sherlock!  That would be our aborted negotiation with C. The girlfriend didn’t know my husband personally and I had sent T instead of going myself since I am all too readily identifiable. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during the conversation between C and his girlfriend after the meeting!

So, disappointed, we have decided to wait it out. There is still a possibility that in December, the girlfriend will default and the lot will come up for sale. It seems a lame ending to this saga, but whoever said buying a piece of heaven was easy?

*************

disclosure

3 Comments

Filed under La Yacata Revolution

Tagged as , , , ,