Uxmal and Yaxcopoil

Tuesday Dec. 30, 2008

We left the Kaxil Kiuic Reserve early in the morning in search of more Mayan ruins. It wasn't long before we arrived at Uxmal, a large ancient Mayan city located not far from Muna and Ticul in the Yucatan. The city was founded around 700 A.D. and is thought to once have had an estimated 25,000 inhabitants. Needless to say, this was a very interesting site to see, but it was even better because we were able to learn about it from the best Uxmal tour guide--the famous Greggorio. We began our tour with a pronunciation lecture given by Greggorio--Uxmal is pronounced "Ooosh-maaahl". He then led us around the ruined city, pointing out the well-designed stone monuments decorated with many symbolic motifs and sculptures depicting the Mayan god of rain, Chaac. We also learned from Greggorio that the ancient Mayans were a very intelligent and meticulous people. Everything in their city had a specific meaning and was perfectly planned out--from the number of rooms in a building to the number of steps up a pyramid. We took many pictures of the ancient monuments, and we were even allowed to climb most of the structures. It was amazing to view the entire city from atop one of the tall structures. The weather that day also made our visit even more enjoyable--the clear blue sky and white fluffy clouds served as the perfect background to the stone buildings. When our tour of Uxmal ended, we waved goodbye to the many iguanas, said adios to Greggorio, and got in the van to leave.

Uxmal joins a list of many cultural monuments and natural sites that are recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention, one of the many conservation agreements supported by International Environmental Law. This 1972 agreement seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world that is considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. Uxmal was inscribed into the World Heritage Convention in 1996 and is listed on the World Heritage Site which allows it to obtain technical or financial assistance for its various conservation projects.

We left Uxmal and didn't drive very far before we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. There were many tourists there which livened the place up tremendously. As we ate our tostadas and guacamole, we watched in amazement as the entire group of Austrian and German families (small children included) took multiple shots of tequila. They were definitely having a great (but maybe not so memorable) tour of Uxmal! We were not offered any free tequila, but our food was good, nonetheless.

On our way back to Merida, we stopped in a small town called Yaxcopoil and walked through an old hacienda which is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, factories or a mixture of these productive activities. Located on this vast area of land was a henequen shredding plantation, cattle ranches, and state of the art irrigation systems used for growing henequen and other crops. To our amazement, the estate furniture and the plantation machinery was preserved very well. Our tour around the antique hacienda and museum was very fascinating and gave us a taste of the early Spanish culture. Soon, our exciting day ended, and we journeyed back to the great city of Merida.

Kaxil Kiuic Biocultural Reserve and Yaxhachen

Monday Dec. 29, 2008

After our brief acquaintance with the lovely city of Merida, Mexico, we set off on an adventurous journey to the Helen Moyers Biocultural Reserve known as Kaxil Kiuic. On the way, we encountered many unforgettable sites and bites (in every sense of the word).. It all began as we slammed the non-electric doors of the stylish, white Millsaps van--we were on the road! We passed village after village, discussing/arguing the true meaning of the different "bump" signs, until we finally arrived at the small but interesting town of Oxkutzcab. Here, we walked through the market where many exotic fruits caught our eye! The friendly Mayan ladies let us taste the unique fruits, although some were not as appetising as others. Only the brave few dared to taste the sapote negro, a rotten-looking fruit with a black, mushy inside--luckily, they were surprised to find that it actually had no taste at all!

After leaving the market, we stopped at a local restaurant to get a bite to eat. The cuisine was delicious; their specialty was Poc Chuc--a tender, smoked pork chopped and served in sour orange juice. When our stomachs were filled with guacamole and chips, we got back in the van, saying a few hopeful prayers as we started up the narrow, curvy road through the Puuc Hills to the Reserve. We arrived at Kaxil Kiuic in the late afternoon and were greeted by James Callahan, the director of the Biocultural Reserve. Before partaking in a homemade Mayan dinner, James took us on an informative tour of the Mayan ruins located around the Reserve. The Reserve consists of over 4,000 acres of tropical forest and protects the ancient Maya center of Kiuic. We learned that "kiuic" is the Mayan term for a gathering place--these were very prevalent among the ruins. As James explained, these ruins were probably home to a few Mayan families. There was evidence of a temple, an entertainment center, living quarters, and many gathering areas--all made of limestone. The architecture the people left behind was incredible; one can only imagine what it was like during their time. The Reserve has been designated as a "Unit of Environmental Management", a legal status which allows it to work closely with Mexican institutions and organizations to carry out its vision for "research and education for conservation". Powered by solar energy, the Reserve supports an alternative form of living dedicated to the conservation of the Mayan environment and to the study of their unique culture, as well as to the protection of biological diversity within the area. This conforms to the International Environmental Law concerned with the preservation and enhancement of the global environment.

Soon, the sun was disappearing on the horizon, the mosquitoes and unknown Mayan bugs were nibbling at our heels, and we were tired and hungry after a long Yucatecan day. We took the trail back to the big yellow huts and made it back just in time to see the sunset atop the sky-high wooden tower. After eating a delicious Mayan dinner, we decided to accompany James on a night excursion to a small town called Yaxhachen. Before we got in the van to leave, we noticed the millions of bright stars beaming down at us--it was breathtaking! As we arrived in Yaxhachen, we did not see very much, but as we got closer, we heard a good beat and knew that someone must be having a party. But our minds were completely blown when we saw "the party"--it was a huge concert with loud speakers, strobe lights, and hundreds of Mayan children running everywhere! The music was fantastic, but, unfortunately, no one was dancing. Rows of seats were set up and everyone was quietly seated listening to the music. It was a sight to see! We asked James, and he said that it was a religious concert and that dancing was against their rules. This was strange and disappointing, but it did not stop us from enjoying the awesome concert! We took a short walk with James around the small town, as we literally stepped over thousands of stray, unfriendly dogs, and then got back in the van to leave.

When we got back to the Reserve, we were shown to our huts and hammocks--where we would sleep for the night. We unpacked our belongings and tested out different sleeping positions in the unusual, but--for the most part--comfortable, hammocks. Before going to sleep, we left our huts and gathered together around candlelight in the middle of the dark Mayan woods to tell stories of ghosts and other scary creatures. As we slept that night in the pitch black darkness with our spider friends all around us, our dreams were anything but uneventful. But, nevertheless, we woke up the next morning to a bright, new Yucatecan day and set off on a new adventure!

The Story of a Man Named Greggorio

Greggorio is a simple man who leads a simple life giving tours at the Mayan ruins in Uxmal, well that is his day job at least. Very few men know the great life of a man named Greggorio. After leaving his work during the day he goes to what appears to be a broken down Mayan hut. Just like the rest in the area it is a pastel colored concrete government built house in front, and his mud and domed shaped stick hut in back. He of course continues to live in the hut because the heat of the Yucatan makes staying in the concrete facade miserable. Greggorio, however, unlike the locals, has two dogs, which he cares for and has trained. The dogs sit, stay, and most importantly guard his modest domicile.
Even though Greggorio is respected around his small village, because he makes good money and speaks three languages, he is not to be considered anyone special. As a matter of fact he is considered to be a bit of a wierdo. The reason being is that Greggorio never partakes in any of the village activities, he has no wife or kids, and at night when he comes home he visits with no one and goes straight to bed. Most recently there has been an uproar because the whole town had decided to convert to Presbyterianism, and Greggorio refused to do so.
As Greggorio grew older he stopped working and refused to leave his house. Before too long he became part of the urban legends that consume such a small village as his. Kids would refuse to walk by his hut at night. Stories even arose the proclaimed he ventured out into the forest late at night when everyone was asleep, and killed people from neighboring villages, and feasted on there flesh during the day.
As the mystery of Greggorio grew so did the village’s fear of the man, for now no one had seen him in several years, and those who said they did would only talk about it with no greater than a whisper. One day a man from the Vatican came looking for Greggorio. He wondered throughout the village asking for him by name, but no one knew whom he spoke of, for at that point the people of the village had all forgotten his name. They just referred to him as "Dzixmcha" which in Mayan means he who has no name. There was only one elder of the village old enough to remember who he was, and she told the man from the Vatican where Greggorio was, but would not go with him to Greggorio’s hut.
After the initial introduction Greggorio, and the man from the Vatican began to speak of business. It turns out for the years Greggorio was working as a guide at the Mayan ruins in Uxmal he was protecting them and their secret. When the Catholics came through Yucatan years ago they discovered an artifact, one that had great power, and one that if it were to fall into the wrong hands could mean the devastation of the world as we know it. The Catholics charged Greggorio and his family with making sure the artifact was safe and remained hidden within the Mayan ruins. For even though it laid in the possession of the Mayan's for hundred of years they had no idea how to use it.
The direct descendants of God and God himself had left the artifact there. Although not in the since of the offspring of Jesus Christ. These are a people way more ancient than Jesus, and something the Catholic Church would never want anyone to know. At one point God roamed the earth in the physical form man now takes. He had a hierarchy of friends and family much like the system of Roman and Greeks gods. These people ruled over all the earth until one-day unrest came between them, and much like in the bible a great battle ensued between those with God and those against him. After God had taken the battlefield he created a sort of heaven and hell. Although not really the same connotation as those words are associated with in the bible. It was merely like creating a separate house so two feuding sides could have there own place of residence, the core of the earth being the fence between the two houses. Although some how in the fray some things that God had blessed were left behind. Although it is not know by many, a blessed object of God allows the person touching it to assume some of the powers of God thus the importance of the artifact.
Well time went on and as certain animals found this object, and began to play with it or try to eat it etc. the creatures began to evolve and take the shape of God. The Catholics figured out the true powers of this object some time in the dark ages, which allowed them to prosper and become such a powerful religion. The Mayans did not figure it out, but merely knew having the artifact seemed to benefit the nation. As time went on the Mayans forgot about it, and lost their way, thus allowing for the Ticult and other nations to come in and take over.
With all of this knowledge in hand Greggorio guarded the artifact the best he could. Then one day he became to old to give tours at Uxmal and was there for unable to watch over it, but he knew he could not leave the artifact to be discovered. So late one night he snuck in, and unearthed it and brought it back to his hut. He then buried it knowing he could never tell anyone. The problem was the artifact kept him young, and while everyone was aging he still looked the same. So he had to stop leaving his hut during the day because then the people of his village would see him and suspect something. So he used his trained dogs to guard the house while he was out at night.
One day he realized that even though the artifact prolonged your life and kept you looking the same age, you slowly became weaker. Even though he appeared to not have aged a day in 30 years, he could hardly function anymore, and realized he was going to die soon. So Greggorio traveled out one night in order to get a message to the Vatican that they would soon need to send someone to take over his duties. Soon a messenger from the Vatican showed up at Greggorio’s stoop, and this is where we find ourselves in the tale of a man named Greggorio.
Greggorio and the man conversed for several hours, Greggorio, having never seen or visited the Vatican was very curious and wanted to know all about it. After several hours of conversation, and the swapping of life philosophies Greggorio began to notice that this man that had come from the Vatican was no ordinary man. However, Greggorio could not figure it out because he had spent his whole life guarding the artifact completely oblivious to the outside world. As their conversation came to an end the man asked a question of Greggorio. The man asked him if he had ever regretted the burden that guarding the artifact had put on his life. Greggorio was taking by surprise, but answered truthfully that some times the burden was heavy, and he often wondered what life would have been like had he not been charged with such a duty, but he had no regrets and was honored to have such a duty. The man having heard this told Greggorio to put his hand on the artifact, Greggorio did so and the man said something in a language that Greggorio did not understand, but he could tell it was a prayer of some sort. The room then became illuminated by a light so bright it was impossible for it to have been of this earth, and the next thing Greggorio knew he felt better and could breath easy, and walk without it hurting, his strength seemed to be restored. The man before departing merely explained to him that the Vatican thanked him for his service and due to his willingness to fulfill his duty they would allow him to have back the time he had lost.
Greggorio after that day moved with his dogs into the resort at Uxmal, and began giving tours again because that’s what made him truly happy. To this day Greggorio gives tours at Uxmal, and you can go see him, and ask him of his story, but he well just smile, and say I have no idea what you are talking about, followed with a correction of the city’s name, it is not Uxmal, but OOOOSHMAAL.

Celestun

Saturday Jan. 3, 2009
Today we ventured out to Celestun, which is home to a very unique lagoon. In the aforementioned lagoon lives a colony of Caribbean Flamingos that live there predominantly year round. During hurriacane season a portion of the colony ventures east towards Cancun because of the rising waters, which make it harder for a large colony of flamingos to subsist on a smaller availability of food. Due to the lagoon's unique housing of a flamingo colony of that size, the entire area is protected under international environmental law, which among other things, prohibits fishing and hunting in that area. Celestun is a floursihing marine habitat because of its brackish waters. In a portion of the lagoon there can be found several fresh water springs pouring through the mangroves. This mixture of fresh and salt water houses a great deal of crustaceans, which the flamingos feed upon and receive their pink color. Environmental law is becoming increasingly important so as to protect certain species and areas from the zealousness of mankind. So long as there is enforcement on treaties to protect the flora and fauna of the world, this generation and future generations will be able to enjoy the splendor of this planet.

Intellectual Property

I arose that morning at approximately 6 A.M. I then departed from my room, and headed upstairs to prepare my morning coffee. After having a few cups, I began to bone up on the laws governing U.S. Intellectual property, the World Trade Organizations "suggested" laws on intellectual property, and Mexico's laws regarding intellectual property, not to mention I was trying to accomplish this in four hours time. After reading several cases, as well as reading the back bone of the laws established by the various governing bodies, I realized one important thing, the World Trade Organization effects nothing. So having learned this I stuck mainly to the difference between what U.S. law dictated and what Mexican law dictated, and moved forward to the differences on paper as opposed to practice. After a grueling study session I then attempted to communicate to my classmates what exactly Intellectual property was in terms of definitions, and what the differences were throughout the governing bodies. We then as a class took lunch with a man I like to affectionately call "Nacho", a predominant lawyer in the region who works with foreign companies who wish to do business in Mexico. Through talking to him it became quite evident that in Mexico it was near impossible to get something pushed through the government that since Mexico was governed by civil law, and not common law trying to accomplish what we do in America would be nearly impossible. The reason is that copyright and patent infringements where there, but impossible to correct and not worth corporations time. That things were based strictly on what was written in the books, and there was no room for interpretation of anything, even if the situation of the groups involved should affect the outcome. After lunch that day, the class went on a scavenger hunt where we took pictures of Intellectual property violations throughout the city of Merida, having completed the assignment given by professor Fiser we went to lunch. Oh but only if it had been as easy as going to eat lunch. The class through professor Fiser and a student by the name of Murphy had heard great things of a place they called the "hippster cafe", so we partook in a journey searching for the place in order to enjoy its fine facilities. However, it was unknown to the other three that it was not going to be as simple as walking to the cafe, something I now consider to be a mythical place. So after walking all over Merida, and multiple phones calls to professor Fiser we give up on finding the cafe, and head to a place professor Fiser recommends called La Parrilla. Well after another fairly long walk, and a conversation with a restaurant owner trying to convince us to eat at a place called La Parrada, we give up on finding La Parrilla and plop down at some place whose name escapes me, later to find out professor Fiser was talking about La Parrada. The rest of the day we spent imbibing alcoholic beverages of our choice, because after all it was New Years Eve. The night was a tale of a boy and a women. A tale of a man’s coming of age. The young man started his evening out at a place called Boston's, a family oriented chain restaurant. After drinking several liters of beer with his classmates and playing bar games, he receives a tip from a bartender to go to a club called Tequila. Him and his classmates had only been at the club for a short while when a bartender approached him and asked him to go talk to a lady. The lady was 29, but did not look a day over 22, she had dark black hair, rich olive skin, and the body of an eighteen year old. Unfortunately she spoke very little English, and the young man spoke no Spanish, but for some reason that night it did not matter. They danced with there bodies pressed hard against each other moving in sync to the music of the club, knowing exactly what each other was thinking, but not knowing how to voice it. It was not too long before their eyes met one song, and there bodies reacted in one of the most beautiful things God enabled people to do, moving to the beat as his hands moved over her, and her hands moved over him. Then there lips touched, and what happened after that you can all imagine.

The Applications of Internation Law to Mexico - CAFTA/NAFTA and the Textile Industy

unedited -

Today, January 5th, we visited a local industrial park specifically to get an incite into the world of the Mexican working class. Our trip consisted of visiting Gonso Azul, a privately owned corporation who serves as a facility for producing uniforms. They produce everything from State uniforms (DNR, Police), work clothing and jackets to custom made products. Most of their contracts are sourced from the United States where companies use their production facility for the actual clothing production. American companies send them plans for an article of clothing, they make a sample, send it back to the US and then make changes. After all is good with the client Gonso Azul then begins full fledged production for whatever the product: a pair of trousers, etc. Guss Gordon, one of the co-owners of the biz gave us a full tour of the sewing machines, holding areas and computer aided machines for cutting fabric. Also, Guss talked politics and policy with us about dealing with the Mexican government (import, export, customs, taxes, law), employees and simply keeping a buisness running in Merida. NAFTA and CAFTA have really affected the way Mexican buisnesses operate with CAFTA having the most negative impact on the corporate buisness level (for campanies like Gonso Azul who import/export constantly). Since Mexico is not part of CAFTA and with the growing competition of the Chinese machine, the maquilladora industry has taken large hits over the last 5 years. NAFTA essentially lifted a lot of tarriffs the Mexican goverment had in place but with CAFTA a lot of buisness is being taken away from Mexico and being relocated to the Central American countries. Gonso Azul through the custom work that they can produce has managed to stay afloat but overall the maquilladora system is not ass strong as it once was.

We also got a flavor of domestic policy especially with the Mexican laborer. As owners of the company, Guss and ??? have to constantly fight law suits and jump through hoops just to keep the buisness running. In Mexico, a worker can be fired but the owner/ employer of the buisness must pay 3 months pay after the initial date of firing. Laws like these seem ancient but were put into place to protect the Mexican people after the hacienda boss's used the people from slaves on the plantations. In the USA, if you are fired that is it! Mexico has not ammended these laws in some time and presents many problems for owners. Groso Azul has 550 employee's and keeping them content takes a lot of work.

Overall, I was surprised witht eh working conditions in the shop area. These type of institutions are not sweat shops and the owners have gone to many lengths to keep and maintain employees well being like A/C, bus routes to go out and pick up workers becasue out of the 550 wokers there are only about 18 car owners! Also, there is a incentive system where employess can get more pesos by showing up to work on time andhaving high effeciency rates of production. So, the minimum wage rate in Mexico which is about 5 US dollars a day is what the workers in Groso Azul make but they have many oppertunities to make much more. On average, every worker at Groso Azul is responsible for about 4 mouths at home so essntially Guss looks after 2000+ people and those extra pesos go a long way! This trip was a great way to put into the effects of world policy into the cultural and doemstic policies where buisnesses in Mexico are consantly dealing with and working towards figuring out a practical solituon so operations in the USA and elsewhere can continue to bring buisness to Mexico.

Cuzama

Sunday Jan. 4, 2009
We took a trip down to Cuzama to visit their famous cenotes, which are sinkholes filled with water from underground springs. The cenotes were filled with crystal blue water and were adorned with various limestone formations. On top of that they made for a great swim. One of the most interesting things about the trip was the transportation from the town to and amongst the various cenotes. We rode in a very small, horse-drawn cart via a narrow railway. The carts were once used in the town's henequen industry to transport supplies and, most importantly, the final product of rope made from the henequen plant fibers. However, a hurricane destroyed the town's factory, thus leaving its people with quite a dilemma. Salvation came in the form of their horse drawn carts (which were modified to carry passengers) and the local cenotes. The Mexican government paid to repair the damaged tracks and Cuzama once again had work for its residents. This goes to show that even small towns in rural Yucatan must adapt to changes in the business environment.