Yazmin, resiliency and determination

Yazmin Aguirre from her FB page.  

It’s the smile that catches your attention, then her upbeat personality pulls you into 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 Día 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 1870s. 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 volcanic 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 specializes 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's 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 chemotherapy. 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 Lolo 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.

(Yazmin unfortunately passed away in 2020.)

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.

Colourful Juarez Avenue on Isla Mujeres

Colourful Juarez Avenue

It’s almost 2017, time for that inevitable New Year’s Resolution – get more exercise! So, here’s an idea for you: take a stroll along colourful Juarez Avenue on Isla Mujeres. Enjoy the fun buildings. Enjoy the sunshine. 

And stop for lunch or a cold beverage. Hey, you are still exercising; you are just rewarding yourself for the effort.

There are more than a dozen interesting structures on Juarez Avenue with wild colour combinations and murals, or covered in bits of mosaic. Starting at the southern end, behind the navy base and heading north, there is a lot to see.  

Fluffy white dog and kitty share their chairs

First, there is Dede Clark’s tall, narrow home featuring a recent street-side addition of two benches painted to resemble delicate chairs. 

Friendly images of a fluffy white dog plus a black and white cat invite you to join them in quiet contemplation of their neighbourhood.  

Across the street from her house is a single-level house decorated in hot pink and fuchsia, with a wild assortment of mythical trees, psychedelic flowers and solar images.  

La Lomita Restaurante

A few steps further is the busy La Lomita Restaurante, decked out in flowers and images, welcoming its guests to enter. 

As you crest the small rise, look to the left. Red Buddha Yoga & Wellness centre glows a ruby red in the morning sun, directly across from another multi-coloured, artistically decorated home.  

At the first cross street, a solitary woman boldly stands at the corner of a derelict building. 

She is wearing an eclectic mix of leather and feathers or perhaps tatty fur. What appears to be a World War Two pilot’s helmet is pulled tightly over her short hair, the goggles pushed up and away from her eyes. She has an oddly compelling face. Defiant, yet apprehensive, staring at something only she can see.

Don’t give up exploring when you come to the more commercial-looking buildings that are prevalent in the next two blocks; there is more to be discovered. A little further north of the pedestrian-only street is another home covered in a mosaic of tiles, glass, paint and poetry. It was a painstaking process for the young artist as she studied each piece before adding it to her creation.

Then there are a few of the old original wood homes with tin roofs, built when Isla Mujeres was a fishing village. We call them the ‘painted ladies.’ 

They resemble the Victorian-era homes with their intricate architectural details and interesting colour combinations. 

The interior-decorating business at 13 Juarez Galeria is another fun older building highlighted with orange, green, turquoise and yellow.

Cafe Cito

At the corner of Juarez and Matamoras, there are four beautiful structures: the terracotta-coloured Mundaca Real Estate office, the pink, yellow, and blue Café Cito, the wooden painted lady belonging to Tony Garcia’s auntie, and the hand-crafted stonewall surrounding the home of long time-islander Hettie Veneziano, who recently passed away.

Our current favourite is close by.  It is a newly remodelled space with a sky-blue wall, pink-trimmed doors and windows, and mango-coloured interior courtyard walls.  

Love the colours!

We don’t know who owns the property, but what a cheerful addition to the neighbourhood.

There are many more buildings with murals and amusing paint combinations scattered all along the street.  

Get out there and enjoy colourful Juarez Avenue.

On a personal note, thank you to the many readers of my new e-book novel, Treasure Isla, for leaving reviews on Amazon. It’s a huge boost to my energy level as I am working through the intricacies of the sequel.

A very happy and prosperous New Year to everyone,

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky and Tommy

Happy New Year, everyone from Sparky

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Or

Death in the Vineyards

What do Nashville entertainers and migrating sailfish have in common?

The 7^th annual Island Time Music and Fishing Fest.  This fun event features world-class catch-and-release sail fishing and top-notch entertainment from Nashville, Tennessee. It all happens here in paradise.

Almost seven years ago, the Island Time Fishing Tournament and Country Music Concert held its first event featuring an intimate evening with Nashville artist Phil Vassar, who has a personal connection with Isla Mujeres. He was joined by entertainers and songwriters Tim Nichols, Tim Johnson, James Dean Hicks, Jon Stone, and Nick Norman.  Recently renamed the Island Time Music and Fishing Fest, it has now burgeoned into a large music festival, with the added attraction of great fishing. 

Margarita Madness at the Soggy Peso 

In past years, we have enjoyed the tequila-fueled entertainment of Jon Stone, Nick Norman, and Lewis Brice during the wild Margarita Madness at the Soggy Peso Bar & Grill. This outrageously fun event has been relocated to a larger venue featuring six artists, including the original three very popular guys. Jax Bar & Grill was the original host restaurant for several years, offering intimate concerts with the performers, and auctions of crazy items such as Reba McIntyre’s teeny-tiny autographed jeans. 

The bigger festival has necessitated a move to larger venues and an increase in ticket prices. Because this is a charity event with the proceeds earmarked to help the local school for developmentally challenged children, the organizers are trying to keep the costs to a bare minimum. The Little Yellow School House on Isla Mujeres began with one room, six students, and a really big dream. The school now has six classrooms, full-time teachers, and over 50 students, with fifteen more on a waiting list.

For the Music Fest, the list of entertainers includes Kellie Pickler, Jerrod Niemann, Blackjack Billy, Love & Theft, Kyle Jacobs, American Young, Nick Norman, Natalie Stovall, Lewis Brice, Joal Rush, Hailey Steele, Rob Hatch, and islander Ryan Rickman.  Although the artists are generously donating their time, the non-profit society is responsible for covering expenses for travel, accommodation, and meals.  Venue tickets per person for the 2016 events range from $199 for All Access Except the Opening Show to $249 for All Access Including the Opening Show at Casa Fenix. (Food and beverages not included.)

Here’s the link for tickets:   http://www.islandtimemusicfest.com/#!events/c8k2

If you want to have a great time listening to current country hits, up close and personal with some of Nashville’s best talent – head to Isla. 

Day one, the beginning

Or maybe you actually want to go fishing, getting up before the crack of dawn to head out on the bumpy ocean and put squiggly wet things on sharp hooks to catch big and hard-fighting fish. (You can probably guess, I won’t be doing that!)  In between the entertainment and the many cold beers, tournament competitors usually find time to go fishin’. Trophies and bragging rights are awarded to the boats, anglers, and junior anglers with the most releases.

Whatever your choice, it's a fun way to enjoy a week in paradise and to give something back to the community.  

We’ll be waiting for you!

Cheers, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or 

Death in the Vineyards

Grab your copy today!!

Isla is Booming!

2015 concrete docks, bigger boats, new signs

Our little paradise here on Isla Mujeres is rapidly changing.  We think it’s great.  The focus has been gradually shifting from a sleepy fishing village to a tourist-based economy with more amenities available for everyone.

Our Presidente Agapito Magaña was ahead of the curve on this.  A great many of the projects he has introduced have the tourism industry front and foremost, from having our beaches designated as the coveted Blue Flag status, to getting Isla Mujeres chosen as a Pueblo Mágico destination in Mexico. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Isla has been frequently mentioned in the news:

Ferry terminal - 2007 Lawrie waiting for friends

TripAdvisor - Top Beaches in Mexico

NBC News – Best Islands to Live On

Travel & Leisure - World’s Best Islands

Islands – Best Islands for Retiring Early

And as you explore the island on a golf cart, you can’t help but notice the construction of new homes, condos, and resorts, including the infilling of vacant lots in the local neighbourhoods.  

2015 Street entrance to the new terminal

On our street, in the last seven years, there have been twelve new houses built, plus several other existing homes have undergone major renovations.  Chris Shannon, Managing Director of Mundaca Real Estate (Isla’s biggest real estate company), told us that it is hard to keep up with the requests to show property.  Their sales team is busy, and it’s a good busy!

At Punta Sam, the continental part of Isla Mujeres, a larger car ferry terminal is under construction.  We haven’t heard what the projected completion date is, but it looks like the project is well underway.  Hopefully, the new facility will have a better system for selling tickets to drivers.  

It is amusing, and unnerving, to wait, and wait, and wait until mere minutes before sailing time to see if you are actually going to be able to get your vehicle on the ferry.  It’s all part of the adventure of living here.

Feb 2015 starting to remove tower 

At the south end of the island, Punta Sur, the large observation tower that was built shortly before, and severely damaged by, Hurricane Wilma in 2005, was finally demolished and removed in February of this year.  The newspaper report said that there were 100 tons (metric tons) of metal to be removed.  The demolition company cut the tower into several slightly more manageable chunks and lowered them to the ground.  
At the present time, there are four modern homes/townhouses being built in the same area.  The removal of that towering menace is certainly a relief to everyone living within its considerable reach, had it broken off and crashed to the ground.

Oct 2015 Four new homes at Punta Sur

Another new project this year was the completion of a new fire hall, next door to the renovated police station and across the street from the soccer fields.  Now the new fire truck has a home out of the weather, and hopefully will last longer than the last vehicle.  The previous vehicle disintegrated into a heap of rust.  As we have often mentioned, living on an island surrounded by warm, salty water creates a huge corrosion and rust problem for anything electronic or mechanical, although for humans, it’s a perfect environment. 

New fire hall and new truck

We know some of you will lament the changes to Isla, remembering the sand-covered streets, the small tiendas (shops), and the slower pace, but change happens, and we can’t go back.  We wouldn’t want to.  We love our large, well-stocked grocery store, the new hospital, a second gas station, the larger passenger ferry terminal, reliable electricity, paved streets and sidewalks.  And the internet – well, it works, most of the time. 

The island people have not changed.  They are still the most welcoming and friendly folks you would ever meet, but now they have more employment opportunities to provide for their families.

Hasta luego, Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or 

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky