Mas Noticias

More local responses to the influenza porcina, courtesy of the morning paper in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico...

"Eliminan Besos En Telenovelas" - Yep, they're getting rid of kisses in the daily telenovelas, or prime time TV soap operas, in order to encourage people not to engage in physical contact of any kind. Now if only they would also get rid of the hideously bad stories...

"Se Suspenderán Las Siguientes Actividades" - The municipal government in Lagos is eliminating all sporting events, all cultural events including the Clown Festival, the Miss Tourism 2009 competition (I think they should do this anyway, but with surgical masks), visits to the municipal jail (?), and, perhaps worst of all, the Festival Día del Niño, or the celebration of "Children's Day" on April 30. In Mexico, there is Mother's Day, for which you actually get a day off of work (i.e. three day weekend), and there is Children's Day, for which there are all kinds of celebrations and special deals in toy stores. Oh yes, and Father's Day. No day off work for that one, though.

"Como Leprosos" - The Chivas of Guadalajara traveled to Chile this week to play Everton in the town of Viña del Mar (Hannah, do you know where this is?). Apparently (if my Spanish translation of the news article is right) the players went to a mall and were ostracized. People were overheard to say "Ahí vienen los mexicanos, nos van a infectar" - "Here come the Mexicans, they are going to infect us!" This made them feel "como leprosos" - like lepers. But hey, Chivas, at least you're going to have fans at your Chilean match, right? Because that will not be happening in Guadalajara this weekend...again.

"Evitan Robo en Farmacia" - Apparently four people tried to rob a pharmacy in downtown Lagos. Their nefarious plot was foiled, and, as is custom, their mug shots were placed in the local paper.

And those are just the headlines. The worst flu-induced shutdown? Our local coffee shop! Well, it wasn't exactly closed down, but they removed all the chairs to discourage people from sitting a spell and, presumably, sharing germs in the process. This is no fun at all. Especially because there still no confirmed cases in Jalisco. None. So at this point, we are in a safer place than New York, Texas, California, South Carolina, Connecticut, and Ohio. Just for the record.

Yet because of the all the shutdowns of public places, there are still lots of people out in the parks and plazas, most of them looking for something to do. And if they finally close this Casa de la Cultura and cut off my Internet supply, I'm going to join them...


Editor's note: One of the best places to get updates on the flu from a Mexico City perspective is at the English-language Mexico Today blog, accessible in my blog list on the left hand side of this page. Check it out.