El Graduado
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CAPA started repairs on the sewer and water lines under Avenida Melgar in March of last year (10 months ago). They had a little over 1,700 meters of trench to open, replace the pipes, and cover back over, starting at Playa Casitas and ending at Calle 7 sur. At the beginning, they said they would be finished by October 8, then they pushed it back to November, and then they just quit estimating the time the job would be finished. Part of the problem is that they had to go back and redo some of the work when leaks sprang up from the newly-laid pipes. Another part of the problem is that they are not working at night, nor do they have many people working on the job. Unlike the US, there are no penalties in the contract for finishing the job late.
So far, they have completed 1,000 meters and still have a little over 700 meters to go. The eventual finish line is in front of Punta Langosta.
My guess is they won’t be finished in time for Carnival, which is a month away.
The city government is touting the 2024 Carnival as Cozumel's 150th Carnival. That is a bogus number, pulled out of a hat. We don't know when the first Carnival in Cozumel took place. The earliest mention I have ever seen was in a pamphlet printed in 1874, describing a trip the author made to the island in 1873. That was 151 years ago. The pamphlet was written and published by Claude L. Goodrich, and titled Cozumel Island, the New Tropical Paradise; Its History, its Government, Character, Resources, Climate, Location, Soil, Products, Inhabitants, Etc., with the inducements offered immigrants to go there; free lands, perfect healthfulness and beauty of climate, splendid chance for homes and fortunes. I have a copy. On page 29, it says: “All classes and ages are fond of music, dancing, gambling a little, feast-day sports, the recurrence of which are frequent, the innocent revelry of the Pastories, the parade and pomp of the Carnival.”
In 1909, Channing Arnold and Frederick J. Tabor Frost, another traveler published their description of Cozumel's 1907 Carnival in The American Egypt: A Record of Travel in Yucatan: “…to San Miguel. There the carnival was at its height. It was enough for them that the sun shone, that they had habanero and anise to drink, and that there were girls to dance with and make love to. Tin-tray music and a charivari of drum and horn fought for mastery over wild whistlings and cat-callings and the "loud laugh which spoke the vacant mind." The few horses of the island had been requisitioned to carry ludicrously drunk Yucatecans in paper caps and masks up and down the beach and round the plaza. Those who could not ride found satisfaction sufficient for their senseless mirth in running behind and shouting. We were hungry to escape from this very unsatisfying gaiety, and we wanted to cross to the mainland.”
You can see images of Cozumel's Carnival from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s in my newest book, Cozumel's Golden Years, available on Amazon.
So far, they have completed 1,000 meters and still have a little over 700 meters to go. The eventual finish line is in front of Punta Langosta.
My guess is they won’t be finished in time for Carnival, which is a month away.
The city government is touting the 2024 Carnival as Cozumel's 150th Carnival. That is a bogus number, pulled out of a hat. We don't know when the first Carnival in Cozumel took place. The earliest mention I have ever seen was in a pamphlet printed in 1874, describing a trip the author made to the island in 1873. That was 151 years ago. The pamphlet was written and published by Claude L. Goodrich, and titled Cozumel Island, the New Tropical Paradise; Its History, its Government, Character, Resources, Climate, Location, Soil, Products, Inhabitants, Etc., with the inducements offered immigrants to go there; free lands, perfect healthfulness and beauty of climate, splendid chance for homes and fortunes. I have a copy. On page 29, it says: “All classes and ages are fond of music, dancing, gambling a little, feast-day sports, the recurrence of which are frequent, the innocent revelry of the Pastories, the parade and pomp of the Carnival.”
In 1909, Channing Arnold and Frederick J. Tabor Frost, another traveler published their description of Cozumel's 1907 Carnival in The American Egypt: A Record of Travel in Yucatan: “…to San Miguel. There the carnival was at its height. It was enough for them that the sun shone, that they had habanero and anise to drink, and that there were girls to dance with and make love to. Tin-tray music and a charivari of drum and horn fought for mastery over wild whistlings and cat-callings and the "loud laugh which spoke the vacant mind." The few horses of the island had been requisitioned to carry ludicrously drunk Yucatecans in paper caps and masks up and down the beach and round the plaza. Those who could not ride found satisfaction sufficient for their senseless mirth in running behind and shouting. We were hungry to escape from this very unsatisfying gaiety, and we wanted to cross to the mainland.”
You can see images of Cozumel's Carnival from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s in my newest book, Cozumel's Golden Years, available on Amazon.