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Ajijic Pueblo Magico?


Mainecoons

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Reported in the GDL Reporter this week is the visit of the Pueblo Magico selection committee.  Ajijic is in competition with 6 other communities in Jalisco.  The Reporter asked some of the committee members their impressions.  See the paragraph beginning with, "Throughout the day this newspaper engaged with...."

Interesting isn't it our visitors noticed how trashy Ajijic has become under the current local government and also apparently some of the very undesirable development said government has given approval to.  Of course if you are opposed to Pueblo Magico status for Ajijic you may be very appreciative of the obvious success the Chapala government has had in failing to pick up the trash, keep the major streets swept and repaired and in approving truly ugly, neighborhood damaging development.  After nearly 3 years of this we will probably have a better shot at "Pueblo Trashico" status.  :D

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I think this is hilarious. I always wanted to write a short story about a couple who moves from the U.K. to Chicago. They don't want to live in the suburbs, in a "MacMansion" - they want to live in the "real" Chicago. So they buy a brick town house, in an urban neighbourhood, for a very low price. They start blogging about their experiences. About the interesting murals which seem to spring up every where, on anything. They hear the kids letting off firecrackers in the night. They get hostile glares, but believe that will change once people get to know them and appreciate pouring their wealth back into the local community. Homeless people, sleeping in abandoned cars is considered "innovative".

Finally someone sets them straight "You are living in a GHETTO, man, a freaking GHETTO!".

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One of the other applicants is the town of Jamay on Hwy. 35 between Ocatalan and La Barca.  The town has made a very concerted effort to present the town as a "must see" tourist destination.  Their central plaza is simply one of the most beautiful I have seen anywhere.   Unlike Ajijic, the town of Jamay gets my vote.  I hope they get it.

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Interesting our Mexican visitors who are visiting other communities noticed just how trashy this town is, eh?  Do you think perhaps they notice this because it is unusual?  How unusual?  Here are just a few local examples of why it is unusual:  Tapalpa, Mazamitla, Atemajac, Tizapan El Alto, Villa Corona, Etzatlan, San Jose de Gracia just to name a few.  And Chapala town of course. 

You don't have to travel far to notice that something is amiss here as this committee apparently has.

Yep and Jamay too thanks Ezzie.

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10 years here and the traffic has finally driven me away.  They could have forced people encroaching on federal property to comply with the law, but instead paid them for facelifts to disrupt the frontage, while they put in bike paths. Bike paths are great. But this plan didn't fix anything, and this is just my re-locating opinion... not a slight against the governments decisions.

That said, tourism and Tapatios are coming more to this Puebla Magico. I am not an engineer, but fail to see any easy fix. (I know, not an engineer, so just shut up.) I will. And "If you don't like it, leave." I will do that also.

 

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1 hour ago, Mainecoons said:

As for the bike lane I am curious as to how users of this great masterpiece will get from the end of it at Juarez up and over the hill west to where it now ends.  Maybe it is intended this part as some sort of a survivalist exercise for cyclists.  :)

 

From two very reliable sources I have been told that the hill will be used only for going down and mainly for the folks going and coming from work. Go figure!

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My first three years in Mexico were spent in San Miguel Allende.  When you are sitting in the main plaza with the church bells ringing in that amazing building; when the first class parades are happening; when the colonial buildings dominate the downtown....you know why it was designated a "Pueblo Magico".  It's well deserved.

I moved here for its lower altitude because of health problems ten years ago, but never, ever saw a potential "Pueblo Magico" surrounding me.  It's just a town that happens to border a lake, but although the lake is a great asset, it's not what the town is about.  It's a nice place to live except for the neglected streets and a few other problems, but "magico"?.....whoever came up with that idea was a real dreamer.

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4 hours ago, Aquaponicsman said:

10 years here and the traffic has finally driven me away.  They could have forced people encroaching on federal property to comply with the law, but instead paid them for facelifts to disrupt the frontage, while they put in bike paths. Bike paths are great. But this plan didn't fix anything, and this is just my re-locating opinion... not a slight against the governments decisions.

That said, tourism and Tapatios are coming more to this Puebla Magico. I am not an engineer, but fail to see any easy fix. (I know, not an engineer, so just shut up.) I will. And "If you don't like it, leave." I will do that also.

 

To where did you relocate and how do you like it?

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Seriously, instead of applying for a status that it has no legitimate chance of earning - and which has already been achieved by innumerable places with real depth of culture and ambiance - why not apply for something more unique and appropriate? "Pueblo Geriatrico" - now that's a slam dunk (though there will be protests from the jewelry-rattling set in San Miguel de Allende but we'll just give them "Pueblo Disneylandico" status as a consolation prize). :D

As for Chapala, land of endless (and endlessly incompetent) street construction and even more endless promotion of totally out-of-scale Tapatio tourism (witness the recent two week shutdown with 120,000 drunken Tapatios for carneval - a mere 400% of the town's population), Pueblo de Polvo y Ruido has just the right ring. 

Let other villages have their Magico status. We have plenty of Tragico to go around. 

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I already covered that.  "Pueblo Trashico" is obviously the one which our Chapala government has worked long and hard to prepare us for.  Trashico covers all the attributes of noise, dust, litter, sporadically collected trash, pot holes, mega watt rave style concerts at the bull ring, drunken Tapatios bused in to attend same, towering pawnshops, illegal lakeside high rises, and the like all bestowed on us by our "friends" in city hall.

More seriously though, after having visited several dozen of these places now I can assure you a clean and well run Ajijic would certainly be a contender.   Fortunately for those who oppose this designation we are in no danger of having that happen.  So Trashico is the sure winner and no doubt the most profitable. 

Quote

.....whoever came up with that idea was a real dreamer.

The same guy who can't manage to get the trash picked up after two long years is the dreamer.  Pueblos Magicos get some significant extra funding from the state and federal levels.  The dream is obviously one of still more money to divert and pocket.  The trash still wouldn't get picked up.

For them, business as usual.  For us, more like a nightmare.

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6 hours ago, hammerhead said:

From two very reliable sources I have been told that the hill will be used only for going down and mainly for the folks going and coming from work. Go figure!

Anyone with half a brain knows that before adding a lane for bikes or HOV you have to know how many people one of the regular lanes carries an hour for various times of day. Then you calculate, best you can, if the new lane will carry that many people? If not it's a no go, This new endeavor will not be carrying it's fair share. Any public funds spent will be unfairly wasted. This is pretty basic science.

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Went to a restaurant on the west side and noticed cars parked all over the already complete part of the bike path to nowhere.  :D

Not surprised fewer people trying to bike to work.  With the traffic we have now it is simply suicidal to do so.  That stretch going up the hill west from Juarez is beyond suicidal and apparently will remain so.  The original idea was to make the bike path continuous but this project certainly will not accomplish that.  As it stands it appears it will only benefit bike riders coming from the east who want to ride into Ajijic.  Unless, of course, it ends up being just a fancy place to park cars.

Just a small clarification about Pueblo Magico, the designation isn't only about historical or significant buildings.  Some of these places feature specialties that are of unusual attraction.  In the case of Ajijic I believe the very active art scene and quaint streets around Centro and the Malecon would qualify, particularly if some additional effort were put into more street murals. 

Once you've visited a number of these places you find there is quite a variety of attractions that qualified them and some, quite frankly, seem to have been chosen for political reasons (such as passing them out with some geographical equality) rather than really being distinctive.  And some of them are really outstanding.  It is my goal to visit all of them either by moto or car and I've made a good start.

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13 hours ago, El Cartero said:

To where did you relocate and how do you like it?

I am relocating to Grand Cayman. It is nice. You need air conditioning and they do have hurricanes. I still have 5 more years before retirement and I work for a bank which is represented there. Here, I was working from home. I will have a big bump in pay there that makes up for the cost of living difference. My love for Lakeside will always stay with me.

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Ajijic is a cute place in the centro, the malecon area is nice and  is more attractive than some of the pueblos magicos I have been too.. Anyone has seen Palenque, the town not the ruins? It is butt ugly and is a pueblo magico.. Several pueblos magicos are places I would not spend more than a couple of hours  visiting.. so I do not see why Ajijic cannot compete. Granted the government should get on the ball, fix the streets and pick up garbage on a timely basis would be a nice start.. The carretera  will probably not considered as part of the pueblo magico just like the poverty belt in San Cristobal is not  or the ugly outside of centro areas of many other villages are not considered part of the  pueblo magico.  ie Comitan, Chiapa de Corzo , San Cristobal and many others..

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Ajijic is a charming little village .Government service should just .pick up the garbage regularly and do minor repairs on the roads . Thanks to Gringos its free of graffiti and the houses  are in good repair and attractive. Very photogenic.   Some of the vistas in the area are breathtaking. Sunsets from Malecon are second to none.

The only problem I have is some of our Nobies attitude and arrogance .They can ruin my feeling towards the village, but for a short time visitor this should not be an issue.

I hope the village gets the title It deserves it.

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I hope they get it and get the money that goes with it and use the money to  caer to some of the needs of the village The traffic is already awful so that is not going to be ruined.. I live n Ajijic and cannot see why people from Ajijic wouldbe against it.. Maybe instead of bike lanes they could put in some municipal parking to help the traffic on some of the streets.

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I read that Ajijic is asking residents to convert vacant land to parking lots.  One at the intersection of Aquiles Serdan and Hidalgo to be the first new one.  To entice people to do this, there will be no charge for the building permits and no tax imposed the first year.  The city will also help with some of the prep work (grading and entrance).  

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On 2/24/2018 at 12:45 PM, Mainecoons said:

Reported in the GDL Reporter this week is the visit of the Pueblo Magico selection committee.  Ajijic is in competition with 6 other communities in Jalisco.  The Reporter asked some of the committee members their impressions.  See the paragraph beginning with, "Throughout the day this newspaper engaged with...."

Interesting isn't it our visitors noticed how trashy Ajijic has become under the current local government and also apparently some of the very undesirable development said government has given approval to.  Of course if you are opposed to Pueblo Magico status for Ajijic you may be very appreciative of the obvious success the Chapala government has had in failing to pick up the trash, keep the major streets swept and repaired and in approving truly ugly, neighborhood damaging development.  After nearly 3 years of this we will probably have a better shot at "Pueblo Trashico" status.  :D

Screenshot (1).png

Have to agree with you.........it can't possibly be a magic town...its dirty, littered, and no one seems to care or clean it up...any monies received for P. Magico may not ever go to that cause either!!    Then making a bike path when there is such limited car parking...how many bikes use it daily...this is not a big city..ie: Toronto, Guad, etc.........    Possibly bike groups on weekends, but surely they don't intend to leave that whole area empty MOST of the time for a bike or two.?   I have been here 12-13 years, and saw great improvement for a while with less dog feces,  added garbage cans around town, the Librimento much cleaner...but this season...it's disgraceful!!     The roads are horrific for cars and walkers alike..esp. Revolution....trees grow where they want to with no heed to increased traffic,  traffic lights out most of the time,  when branches or construction messes are left where they land forever, and they want it to be a Puebla Magico???  Not likely.....   Ajijic needs new administration and to get seriously  'cleaned up', and fixed up....make Ajijic limpio again!!!!!!       I own here and plan to stay...so please don't tell me to go NOB!   It would be nice to see things cleaned up....and fixed.   Traffic lights are a safety issue, why are they so neglected??   Infrastructure already can't handle the population and new builds, and they want to have even more tourists?        Not likely......in MHO.......      

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