San Miguel FAQ

Bumping this up to include in the newsletter for the benefit of any new subscribers in the last 8 months. This post has been viewed over 2500 times since first posted in Sept, 2019 and it has helped a lot of people use La Comer delivery.

Learn Spanish with Qroo Paul (link above) is a fun, free and very useful.

I found it to fit in well with the Warren Hardy Spanish School approach. I've taken the Warren Hardy Level 1, Level 2 and Storytelling classes here in San Miguel de Allende. During this pandemic I've had very few opportunities for natural practice and my Spanish has been suffering.

I recently started reviewing the Warren Hardy material using his Webtutor videos. Webtutor is great! It has really helped refresh my Spanish. I recommend it for review if you've already taken the class or as an alternative to taking the class in person.

I noticed lately that they are currently offering a "discount price for the Level 1 Webtutor." If interested please contact Tuli Hardy at: infoatwarrenhardydotcom .

Warren Hardy is hoping to open again starting in January 2021. Here is their course calendar with information on the special sanitation requirements.

This YouTube video from Warren Hardy is a great introduction for complete beginners to both the local language and local culture.

Is that a trick question?

You are unique whether anyone else got that email or not. For the record, I am a member of that group (even though it has very little activity), but I did not receive that email.

A groups.io group that I recommend is :https://groups.io/g/CivilSMA1/

Last Update: Status of U.S. Consular Operations in Mexico in Light of COVID-19 (Updated November 25, 2020).

For this specific situation of depositing a tax refund check we have had success with
1) Endorsing the check for deposit only, then,
2) Mailing it with a deposit slip to our bank's address for banking by mail using
3) La Conexion here in SMA.

It was recently sold ...
From above: "Hence, after the cost of storage, this essentially brand new version below sold for $140,000 yesterday, netting a real profit of $100,000+."

and, ... More at The Big Picture: 1976 Datsun 280Z.

It is showing up because new replies add it to the list of posts included in the SMAFAQ email so people can see / notice the new replies.

I'm sorry that you're not enjoying Henri. The good news is that there are only two more Henri videos and then we'll be back to our more random programming.

Used to? You don't like the Henri the cat videos?

How does someone sign up for or attend this?

Jose recently installed a cistern for us.

Update: Nov 12, 2020. I wrote the above almost a month ago. Here is an update to the current stats. 91-Divoc had shown this data per million of population, but they now show it per 100,000 so the math is a little different.

The current stats are from Coronavirus Dashboard November 12, 2020.

GTO: 3,679 deaths or (divide by 60): 61.3 per 100,000.
SMA: 43 deaths or (divide by 2) 21.5 per 100,000.

Deaths from COVID-19, normalized by population (Nov 12, 2020).


Not much different. GTO and Sweden have switched places and SMA is still between Canada and Denmark but we are moving up on Canada.

If GTO were a country it would be number 17 out of 150 countries for deaths per million according to statista, and, SMA would be number 45.

The low amount of testing and methodology changes over time do create a challenge. I basically agree that one should look at the rate of deaths and not the rate of infections if comparing Mexico (or GTO or SMA) with other places in the world.

I wrote a four-part series about that:
See: Understanding Mexico's Covid Statistics.

If you are just interested in the SMA analysis, that is in:
Part IV: GTO and SMA Death Rates: Understanding Mexico's Covid Statistics Part IV.

From Covid? We report the official numbers every day in the Coronavirus Dashboard.

See: Coronavirus Dashboard November 10, 2020.

The latest reported value for Covid-19 deaths in SMA is 43.

November 9, RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENT FOR PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES.

ACUERDO-RESTRICTIVO-PARA-ACTIVIDADES-PRODUCTIVAS-1 (pdf).

Luis Alberto Villarreal García, Constitutional President of the Municipality of San Miguel de Allende, State of Guanajuato; I let the inhabitants of the same know:

That the City Council that I preside, based on the powers provided for in articles 115 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States; 1, third paragraph, 107 and 117, section IX, of the Political Constitution for the State of Guanajuato; 77, section VI of the Municipal Organic Law for the State of Guanajuato; 402, 403, 404, section XIII, 416, 417 and 418 of the General Health Law; 1st, 3rd, Section A, section XIV, 4th, section III, 16, section IV, 113, section II, 117, section II of the Health Law of the State of Guanajuato, in Ordinary Session number LXVI dated November 9, 2020, approved the following:

AGREEMENT:

SOLE: RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENT FOR PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE ON THE REASON OF THE INCREASE IN CONTAGES AND DEATH FROM COVID-19, in the following terms:

According to the Federal Government's report, at November 7, 2020, in Mexico 961,938 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, and 94,808 deaths.

As of the same date, the State of Guanajuato reported 53,423 confirmed cases and 3,588 deaths. In San Miguel de Allende, the State Health Secretariat reports 764 confirmed cases and 42 deaths.

Derived from the increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 registered in the State, the Government of the State of Guanajuato has decreed the return to the Orange Traffic Light, for the period from November 9 to 15.

Based on the foregoing, the Municipal Government in coordination with the State Health Secretariat have determined to take restrictive actions to control the spread of COVID-19 among the San Miguel population, in terms of the following

AGREEMENTS:

FIRST: Regarding CAPACITIES by Activities will be as follows:

I. The capacity of HOTELS are maintained at 75% of their capacity.

II. The capacity of RESTAURANTS AND RESTAURANTS-BAR are restricted to 50% of their capacity indoors and on an outdoor terrace, the authorized capacity, maintaining a 2-meter distance between each table.

III. The capacity allowed for WORSHIP CENTERS will be 30% of their capacity.

IV. The capacity allowed for SPA AND RECREATIONAL PARKS is maintained at 30% of their capacity.

V. In PARKS, JARDINES AND ALAMEDAS that are currently operating, a capacity of 50% of their capacity will be allowed.

VI. Operations at GYMNASIUM are maintained at 50% of their capacity.

VII. The AESTHETICS, BARBERIES AND HAIRDRESSERS may operate only with reservation, waiting rooms being prohibited.

VIII. The SOCIAL EVENTS, CONGRESSES AND CONVENTIONS will maintain the capacity authorization in certified venues, in open spaces with up to 150 people, between attendees and staff. And up to 100 people in closed spaces, between assistants and staff.

SECOND: Regarding SCHEDULES , the following is decreed:

I. Restaurants and restaurant-bars may receive their last orders at 10:00 p.m., and the establishment must be closed and the diners and staff evicted at 10:30 p.m.

II. The schedule for weddings, social events or conventions in the Municipality of San Miguel de Allende is restricted, and the venue must be closed and guests and staff evicted at 10:30 p.m.

III. The semi-fixed trade with the sale of take away food may receive their last orders at 10:00 p.m. and must be removed from the public space at 10:30 p.m.

IV. The parks that are operating will close at 8:00 p.m.

THIRD: Restaurants are required to comply with ALL municipal guidelines and protocols for their area approved by the City Council. Must apply strictly:

I. Use of digital (QR) or disposable menus,

II. Healthy distance of 2 meters between tables,

III. Limit the number of people per table to no more than eight (8) people,

IV. MANDATORY use of face masks by diners at all times who are not sitting at their table and

V. Periodic sanitization of the areas with greater contact, flow and common areas.

VI. Only the common bars of establishments that do not have table services may operate and must implement acrylic protections between each diner and the service personnel, leaving a free space between each seat.

VII. The music must meet the following ranges:
a) Until 20:00 hours 65 decibels.
b) Until 10:00 p.m. 55 decibels.

VIII. Live music presentations must be made in spaces that have isolation that guarantees the safety of customers.

FOURTH: In the markets and tianguis of the municipality, only merchants who reliably prove that they reside permanently in the municipality. The installation of premises of people who are not residents of the municipality is strictly prohibited, as determined by the municipal authority.

FIFTH: In the food areas of the markets or tianguis as well as the semi-fixed trade, only the sale of take away food will be allowed.

SIXTH: The suspension of the following activities is maintained:

I. Festivities (including, couple races, bullfights, horseback riding, jaripeos, processions, festivities, dances), massive cultural, religious, civic events and of any kind.

II. Group and contact sports activities.

III. The common recreation or social areas of subdivisions and condominiums.

IV. Operation of bars, canteens, casinos and nightclubs.

SEVENTH: It is reiterated that the lines generated inside and outside the establishments, which by their nature cannot avoid them, must respect the healthy distance of 1.5 meters between people, being the responsibility of the owner of the establishment to strictly comply with this measure.

EIGHTH: To reinforce the correct application of the actions decreed by the City Council through an agreement that authorized the General Health and Safety Measures for the Reactivation of the Establishments in the Municipality of San Miguel de Allende, Gto., It is reiterated that the breach of the sanitary protocols and the provisions of this agreement, will result in the CANCELLATION OF THE "HEALTH FIRST" CERTIFICATION and will force the closure and closure of the business until the aforementioned certificate is issued again, the foregoing without prejudice to the administrative sanctions provided for in article 417 of the General Health Law and article 292 of the Health Law for the State of Guanajuato.

NINTH: What is ordered by the City Council is reiterated through an agreement dated April 30, 2020, published in the official newspaper of the Government of the State of Guanajuato on May 12, 2020, so it will be presumed that private parties or meetings ( house-room) of more than 20 people generate the dangers of contagion and risks to public health, for which they may be punished in terms of the provisions of article 427 of the General Health Law that establishes ARREST UP TO 36 HOURS to the person who in default refuses to comply with the requirements and provisions of the health authority, thereby causing a danger to people's health.

TRANSITORY

FIRST: This agreement will enter into force as of its approval by the Plenary of the City Council and will be disseminated through the Municipal Gazette and official media.

SECOND: All the agreements made by the City Council in health matters that do not oppose the content of this agreement remain in force.

Therefore, based on the provisions of articles 77, section VI of the Municipal Organic Law for the State of Guanajuato, I order it to be printed, published, circulated and duly complied with.

Given at the residence of the City Council of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato on the 9th day of the month of November 2020.

Luis Alberto Villarreal García
Municipal President

Jesús Gonzalo González Rodríguez
Secretary of Government and City Council

On the other hand, ...
Can a 1,000-horsepower electric SUV with a polarizing heritage really help blaze a path to transportation decarbonization? (GW: See Betteridge's Law, below).

The GMC Hummer EV, the rebooted version of the brand revealed last week, preserves most of those elements. It’s enormous and expensive, but it uses battery power in place of gasoline. The company says that the massive vehicle, which is racing the rival Tesla Cybertruck and others to the nascent e-pickup market, “reimagines an instantly-recognizable silhouette for a modern, all-electric future.” Could a $100,000 electric supertruck convince skeptical SUV fans to give up on internal combustion and thus speed the decarbonization of transportation? Or is it the worst kind of greenwashing? ...
...

In truth, many published plans to decarbonize the economy effectively follow the Hummer EV’s just-electrify-it model: Americans can keep driving the way we do, but our increasingly large cars and SUVs would be converted to electric drive, and that electricity would be generated by a growing supply of renewable power. The argument is that we won’t need to change our lifestyles to get to zero emissions. Given the controversy that greets suggestions that Americans transition away from gas-powered vehicles, being able to tiptoe past the War on Cars rhetoric has obvious appeal.

But many others aren’t convinced we can bring climate change under control without fundamentally changing our relationship with cars. In this view, electrification, while an improvement, does not solve the problems of the current system. They point out that EVs produce more carbon dioxide in their manufacture than internal combustion engine vehicles, though they emit less while they operate.
On the Rocky Road to Zero Emissions, Make Room for the Hummer EV.

Betteridge's law of headlines is an adage that states: "Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no."
Wiki: Betteridge's Law

I'll just pile on to what Wolf says. If you are buying Tesla stock you are not investing, you are speculating. If you disagree with that then I think we have different definitions of investing and speculating.

Nothing wrong with speculating, so long as you understand that's what you're doing.

Gracias.

I think there is some COVID fatigue. There are rules. They are starting to be publicly enforced, at least to some extent, again. See the bank closure and store closure in SMA News and Coronavirus Update November 4, 2020. I think part of that is the city signaling that they are serious about enforcing the rules. I would not be surprised to see someone(s) arrested for refusing to wear a mask for the same purpose.

This Henri video is one of my favorites. I agree it is brilliant. Maybe next year I'll remember to include it on Halloween or Halloween eve?

And, we have another Henri video in today's SMA News ...

The rate as of last Sunday had exceeded 400 confirmed cases per million inhabitants. — Mexpatriate Steve

Best I can tell, but I'm not sure, that is actually the number of new confirmed infections in the last week per million population.

The Jalisco population is approximately 8 million.

The weekly incidence of COVID-19 infections in Jalisco was 416.1 cases per million inhabitants, which exceeded the limit set for the activation of the emergency button and re-apply some restrictions. — Informador: Coronavirus: Jalisco exceeds the rate of 400 cases per million inhabitants

For comparison, in GTO we have had 2303 new confirmed cases in the last week and we have a population of 6 million. That works out to about 384 (2303/6) new weekly cases per million inhabitants.

The presentation:

I know enough about law in the U.S. to know that the plain and obvious meaning is not always the legal interpretation. I don't want to try to interpret Mexican law. The article quoted was written by Angel Marin Díaz. I would suggest contacting him.

For all notary and immigration services, questions or information, contact the author, Angel Marin Díaz, at infoatinmtecdotnet or by phone at 415 121 9005. — Angel Marin Díaz

Post updated Oct 27, 2020: Mexico reported 193,170 “excess deaths” through Sept 26.