Yazmin, resiliency and determination

Sean Petty and Yazmin Aguirre - photo from her FB page.  

It’s the smile that catches your attention then her upbeat personality pulls you in to her orbit - Yazmin Aguirre Rivera.

Originally from Tamaulipas and Nuevo León in the northern part of Mexico her family, mom, dad, and two sisters now live in Mexico City. She moved to the Caribbean side of Mexico about thirteen years ago working in both Cancun and on Isla Mujeres. Many of you will know her as the capable rental manager for Isla Mujeres Vacations, a company created in 2014 by Susan Marchon, of Mundaca Realty, and Yazmin.

Yazmin  Dia De La Independencia! 

We first met Yazmin a few years ago at the monthly Art Fair in the square. She happened to be walking by a display of Catrinas, the fancy-dress Day of the Dead skeletons, that are popular at the end of October and beginning of November. The vendor was one of her friends and Yazmin playfully started to hype the Catrinas creating interest from the crowd and resulting in a few sales. It was all light-hearted fun, smiles and laughter. That’s the Yazmin we know.  

So, about eighteen months ago when I was beginning to write my first novel in the Isla Mujeres Mystery series, I asked Yazmin Aguirre if she would mind me using a name similar to hers, Yasmin Medina, for one of the main characters. The character from my novel has golden streaks through her dark curly hair, and deep green eyes like La Trigueña the young Maya woman whom pirate Fermin Mundaca lusted after in the 1870’s. I wanted the character to have a great smile and curly hair, and the only name that seemed to fit was Yasmin. I tried a dozen other names, and just kept coming back to the same one. But as I said to Yazmin Aguirre, she’s not you. My character is shyer and wrestles with her role as a smart, determined woman in a very macho-society.

Yazmin - from her FB page 

When Yazmin read the first draft of Treasure Isla, she laughed, and said, “Well that could have been me when I was younger and shy.”  

Lawrie and I smiled at that thought. Yazmin shy? We just couldn’t see it. She’s confident, bold, caring and has an amazing energy for helping others. While she was in Mexico City recovering from major surgery for colon cancer, she was also fundraising for the victims of the two major earthquakes and the volcano eruption that was triggered by the earthquakes.

On the island she is an active promoter of the Isla Mujeres Scholarship program, providing financial assistance to students. Yazmin is also deeply involved with the annual Island Time Musical Festival. The proceeds from the six-day event go to the Little Yellow School House, a local facility for children with developmental problems.

Yazmin teaching the kids - Pamela Ballo photo

And for fun she teaches yoga, a combination of Hatha and Vinyasa practices, plus specializing in instructing children. Yazmin recently told me that once she has ‘kicked the cancer’s butt’ she plans to offer free lessons for local kids in Las Glorias as she said, a karma payback.  

Now it Yazmin’s turn to get a helping hand from her many friends and acquaintances. Her medical bills will exceed $60,000.00 USD for her cancer treatments plus the six rounds of chemo therapy. Generous donations are happening hourly but there is still a long way to go.

Yazmin - Andrea Luff photo

One islander came up with an inventive way to raise more money for Yazmin. Laurence Levy otherwise known as the creative owner-chef of Lolo Lorena’s Restaurant on Isla Mujeres was planning to donate $250, but then she had the idea to turn that $250 into $2500 with a 7 course dinner, all proceeds going to Yazmin’s gofundme campaign. And she did, all while confined to a wheelchair the result of her accident several years ago. Islanders continue to amaze us with their resiliency and determination.

So, if you are interested in helping Yazmin ‘kick cancer’s butt’ here’s how:

There is a Go Fund Me account set up on the internet to facilitate donations. The link is added below. https://www.gofundme.com/yazmin-battle-against-cancer

Donations can also be made anytime at Javi’s Cantina on Juarez Avenue on Isla (Javi’s will be closed November 1^st to 15^th for kitchen renovations.)

And please share this blog post on your social network accounts; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goggle Plus.

That's another good thing about living here, everyone (locals, ex-pats, tourists, and friends) are willing to pitch in and do what they can to help.

Cheers from paradise

Lynda & Lawrie

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast and furious

CA review on September 26, 2017

Yasmin and Jessica are back and the gold they found in Treasure Isla is still haunting them, especially when Carlos, their boss at the Loco Lobo, and Yasmin’s new lover, is kidnapped. No spoilers here, but his captivity and the girls’ efforts to free him, with the help of Carlos’s pals—including local Isla Mujeres fishermen and a Mexico City cop—are the crux of this fast-paced story. Lock has created not only a compelling and authentic setting, but a well-developed ensemble cast. The next Isla mystery can’t come fast enough.

Dia De La Independencia De Mexico

¡Viva México! ¡Viva México! ¡Viva México!  Long live Mexico!

Grito of Delores!    

At eleven at night, on September 15^th Presidente Agapito Magaña Sanchez tugged on a thick ribbon-bedecked rope, ringing a large brass bell and shouting the traditional cry of independence. The huge crowd shouted back: ¡Viva! ¡Viva! ¡Viva! The energy in the air send frissons of excitement through our blood, tingling our nerve endings: Wow!

Overhead fireworks in centro

And then the fireworks started – blasting from two different directions above the crowd gathered in the city square. Whistling shrieks, then a series of booms, followed by a slight pause and the atmosphere exploded into constellations of red, green, blue, and yellow, the billowing phosphorescent smoke slowly dissipating over the city.

We, along with family members Richard and Linda Grierson, had been enjoying a late night dinner just up the street from centro at Pita Amore Restaurante, before heading to the celebrations. We fully expected everything to be running behind schedule, as is the norm, but discovered that was not the case. The event was clicking along, right on schedule.

When we arrived in centro a number of dancers were on stage. The women were dressed in huipils – the beautiful lacy tunics created from fine white cloth, colourful ribbons, and intricate embroidery. 

They had fanciful flower headdresses woven into their beautiful dark hair, topped by traditional white straw hats. Their escorts were attired entirely in white as a counterpoint to their colourful female partners.

The men in another dance troupe wore a stylized cowboy outfit while the ladies were decked out in red and blue multi-layered fiesta dresses that could be swirled high in the air when dancing. 

The music, the smiles, and the colour – an amazing sight.

We missed the very beginning of program but were able to enjoy the dancers for an hour before the cry of independence: the Grito de Delores. The original Cry of Delores was shouted in the early morning hours of September 16^th 1810 by a Roman Catholic priest, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in the small town of Delores near Guanajuato. His proclamation marked the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence, demanding independence from the Spanish colonial government.

And no, Cinco de Mayo is not Independence Day in Mexico. 

That date commemorates a battle between the Mexican army and the French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5^th 1862. The Cinco de Mayo is more popular in the USA – especially since the advent of beer commercials promoting the celebration!

As the fireworks ended the ten-person band began to play fun traditional music signaling the start of the all-night festivities. The four of us looked at each other and laughed: yep, it was past our bedtime. We aren't conditioned for the all-night parties. 

Walking back to our vehicle, Lawrie picked up a couple of large pieces of tough black plastic – smoking hot pieces of plastic that had fallen out of the sky during the fireworks display. 

The shower of hot debris had sent a number of people scurrying for shelter. It's normal. Fireworks displays are always an adventure in Mexico.

Love this country!   

Feliz Dia De La Independencia!

¡Viva México! ¡Viva Isla Mujeres!

Hasta Luego

Lynda & Lawrie

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