November 11, 2019
Paellas Event to Benefit the Recent Fire Victims
In a recent press conference Rubén Barrau, presented us with the “Paellaton” event, organized by business groups CANACO and CANIRAC, in order to provide support to all those who were affected by the recent fires in the region.
This event will present an approximate of 27 restaurants that will be offering paella; with several bands brightening up the event. In addition, assistants will have the opportunity to participate in raffles for free nights at participant hotels.
The cost of the tickets will be $350 MXN (about $19 USD) which will include a plate of paella and a glass of wine, with all the proceeds going to those affected by the recent fires.
Tickets may be purchased the same day of the event at the box office, which will be held this Sunday, November 10, 2019 at the facilities of Riviera, Ensenada Social, Civic and Cultural Center starting at 12:00 pm.
Luis Tirado, president of the National Chamber of Restaurants and Seasoned Foods of Ensenada (CANIRAC), mentioned that some of the restaurants which will be present on the day of the event will be: Agua de Vid, Cantera, Casa Frida, La 4ta, La Cevichería, Mesón de Don Fernando, as well as several wineries and more.
Accountant Marco Estudillo, also an organizer of the event, said that they will be extra careful on the handling of the collected funds, making sure they get where they are needed the most, in the most transparent way possible. All proceeds will be clearly inventoried and channeled to both the firefighters and more than 30 families that lost everything to the fires.
Finally, Jorge Menchaca, president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Ensenada (CANACO), emphasized that the idea of replicating the Paellaton each year could be an alternative to solve community problems from inside the society itself.
Civil Protection Reveals the Total Damage Caused by the Fires
More than 21,000 acres were burned by the wildfires in different places around the Ensenada and Playas de Rosarito municipalities. Affecting mostly bushland and scrubland zones.
According to the civil protection office, the southern part of Rosarito was the most affected, mainly Santa Anita, Alisitos, El Morro, Villas San Pedro and La Mision, which left one dead person, as well as the loss of several livestock animals due to the strong Santa Ana winds.
Other affected areas in Rosarito were Morelos neighborhood, Lomas Altas I and II, El Aguajito, Huahuatay, and Constitución. The fires left a total of 41 burned houses in southern Rosarito and another 15 in the city. Meanwhile in Ensenada, a total of 53 houses were consumed by fire and unfortunately, two people died.
City official Julio Obregón Angulo, also reported that 76 persons were left homeless, so they are living temporally with their friends or family. He also commented that both civil protection and the firefighters remain alert under the possibility of more fires. In the meantime, they are asking the community for their support in being careful not to throw cigarettes butts, make bonfires or throw garbage outside of trash cans, they are also asking everyone to call 911 in case they watch any wildfires as soon as possible to stop them from spreading.
SOURCES: El Vigia, Ecos de Rosarito
Photo by: Alejandro Zepeda
Rewritten in English for the Gringo Gazette North by Alondra Arce
Fins Up! It’s 5:00 o’clock Somewhere
There is a new social club coming to Rosarito and Ensenada. Many of you may already qualify for membership even if you don’t know it. If you have a “laid back” attitude, you enjoy having fun with people who are a lot like you, and escaping to the beach is your lifetime goal (and let’s face it…we are HERE aren’t we?) then you just might be a Parrot Head.
No, I didn’t just insult your intelligence. Baja’s two newest Parrot Head Clubs (yes, there IS such a thing) are submitting their charter applications this November for inclusion into the Parrot Heads in Paradise Inc., which was created back in 1994.
Now, these clubs are not just another excuse to party. But as Chapters President Larry Norman explained to me, their tag line is “Party with a purpose.” And we can “party with a purpose while supporting our community and have fun doing it!” Over the last 16 years, Parrot Head Clubs have contributed $53.5 million to charitable organizations all over the world, and members have donated 4.2 million volunteer hours to their communities.
Larry described the Club’s Mission Statement is to “promote friendship and organized activities for people that share an affection for the tropical spirit of singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and a desire to contribute to the betterment of our community and environment through a variety of volunteer efforts.” Just think, with all of the post-fire labor we all have been doing, those hours can be made part of our local Parrot Head charitable experience. The principle charities that will be supported by the Rosarito and Ensenada chapters are Hearts of Baja and Blues Against Hunger Society, which are charities near and dear to our hearts.
The first organizational meeting for the Ensenada chapter is 4 pm on November 12 at the Hotel Coral and Marina and in Rosarito November 14 at the Club at Number 18, Pikin Zip Line Park at 4 pm. Both meetings will be followed by a free three-hour concert by Mike Nash, one of Nashville’s top artists. Don’t worry if you miss the first meetings. The Parrot Head clubs will meet every month on the first Tuesday in Ensenada and first Thursday in Rosarito, with “It’s 5 o’clock” social hours to follow. Concerts will be performed every three months.
Mike Nash has played with Jimmy Buffet, Charlie Daniels, and Lynyrd Skynrd, to drop just a few names. He tours the United States, including Alaska, ever year in his motor home. Larry convinced him to come down to Baja as long as he was going to be in San Diego on his Stay Thirsty 2020 Winter Tour anyway.
I visited the Rosarito Chapter clubhouse, which is in Larry’s home and has been renovated into a club atmosphere complete with two indoor bars, comfy concert seating, fully stocked kitchen for food at the events, and (for sunnier weather) an outdoor bandstand with a beautiful ocean backdrop.
Membership is $20, and Larry hopes to have 40 Charter Members signed up during these first two meetings. But don’t worry if you miss the meetings as they will meet every month. Contact Larry at larrynormanctc@gmail.com or at US 1-619-554-2438 with any questions you have or to RSVP. In time Larry would like to see more Parrot Head Clubs in Baja than in California (which has 6).
Some of you may still be asking “So why ‘Parrot Head?’” Originally it was said to be as “Dead Heads” followed the Grateful Dead, Buffet fans followed the message of Buffet’s music. For some reason unclear to me, these fans took to wearing stuffed parrots on their heads at concerts. So if this story has you humming “Margaritaville” right now, you just might be a Parrot Head.
Foreigners in Baja California react to the LeBaron family attack
Many American citizens reacted to the LeBarón family massacre, which happened last Monday. Some of them talked with Telemundo 20 about the violence in Mexico and if this makes them want to return to their country.
The three women and six children killed by armed men who were allegedly members of a drug cartel belonged to a Mormon, remote agricultural community where most of the inhabitants have US and Mexican citizenship.
“It’s heartbreaking to see how people can hurt a 5-year-old boy,” said Ramón Salcedo of Indiana and who has lived in Tijuana for 3 three years.
Others said, “This level of violence is something that anyone can experience regardless of their nationality; Mexicans, Americans, Hondurans, Haitians. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a safe environment. ”
Salcedo also said he’d rather not visit downtown Tijuana at night.
However, despite the video where a car can be seen on fire, the interviewed say they do not want to return to North America. They recognize that violence is part of the sacrifice of living in Tijuana or the rest of Mexico.
Citizens living in Baja California said the event is disturbing since they are aware of the risks regardless of whether they are in Mexico or in the States, where they have seen in the news the different attacks on shopping centers and cinemas.
SOURCE: Telemundo20.com
By: Marinee Zavala y Fabiola Berriozábal
Rewritten in English by: Alondra Arce
Governor Bonilla states that San Quintin could be an independent municipality in two months
Baja California’s State Governor, Jaime Bonilla, asserted that as soon as January, San Quintin could become independent from Ensenada. Bonilla said that this process was already advanced and that previous work regarding this subject is just being resumed by his administration. Furthermore, he emphasized the full support from the state congress, and that Rep. Miriam Cano Núñez is working on the commissions’ attaining to this matter and that soon San Quintin will be determining his own destiny.
Also, during his visit to the southern area of Ensenada for the presentation of the concert “Baja California, tierra que sueña”, where the song of the same name was performed, composed by Enrique González Medina and created especially for the occasion, the governor mentioned that the construction of the desalination plant that has been stopped for some time, now will be reviewed and continued in San Quintin. He said that water is not only important for agricultural productivity, but also for urban social development.
With information from Gerardo Sanchez / EL VIGIA
Rewritten in English by Alondra Arce
October 28, 2019 Edition
Baja Burns!
Wildfires have been a common sight in Baja for years, but we had never seen something as extreme as what has been going on for the last couple days.
Severe heat and dry Santa Ana winds have caused dry vegetation to burn.
4 people have been reported dead, 2 in Tecate, 1 in Tijuana, and another one in Rosarito. Almost 100 houses have been lost to the fires, most of them yesterday, which was the day that had the worst Santa Ana winds condition.
About 50 families were evacuated from Real Del Mar, which was impressively affected by the fire.
Incredible enough, two persons were detained for causing fires that, in one case, resulted in one death. One was detained in Rosarito and another one in Tijuana.
For a couple of hours on Friday, both the toll road and the free road were closed because of the fires that were making driving there dangerous.
Authorities are recommending drinking lots of water to and of course avoid being near fires, sometimes it doesn’t look as bad until its too late.
October 14, 2019 Edition
September 30, 2019 Edition
