Pro Paramedicos

On March 31, the same day BCS registered its first COVID-19 deaths, a group of volunteers comprised of marine biologists and medical personnel began a project they call “Pro Paramedicos.”

The handwriting was on the wall, the crisis was coming and our First Responders were nowhere near being ready. “These Paramedics, young people with big hearts and excellent training, many of whom are volunteers, have little or no equipment,” said Dr. Xchel Palafox, one of the founders of the project.

That same day in March they began to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Paramedics in the La Paz Fire Department and Proteccion Civil La Paz. The effort expanded to cover more than 120 Paramedics in 9 different teams.

“The farthest to the north is Las Pocitas,” explained Pablo Ahuja, cofounder of Pro Paramedicos, “They cover 100 kilometers of highway, from marker 50 to marker 150, from Puerto Chale on the Pacific to San Evaristo on the Sea of Cortez. Small towns like Conquista Agraria, El Cien, and Dolores are part of their range. “

Before being supplied by “Pro Paramedicos” this team had no protection against the virus but now they are equipped with Faceshields, Full Body Suits, N95 masks and surgical gloves as well as surgical masks to put on every patient they treat, anyone of whom could be CV19 positive.

“To the south we supply the Bomberos and Paramedicos of Pescadero. This team is led by Comandante Griselda Sotelo, the first female Comandante Firefighter in Mexico. Her adult son Fernando is also in the unit. We stay in constant contact and visit them every few weeks to resupply their PPE,” said Ahuja.

The rest of the teams that are supplied with donations used to purchase PPE include Proteccion Civil in Los Barriles, Grupo Sierra in La Ventana/El Sargento, Los Planes, Todos Santos Bomberos and Grupo Calafia based in Camino Real.

“Calafia is the largest and most active unit and they have transported more Covid-19 cases than the other units. They have 27 Paramedics and five rigs that seem to be constantly on the move,” said Ahuja, “What´s even more amazing is that they are an all-volunteer team.”

While Covid-19 cases increase every day and the death toll mounts in the state we have seen more than 100 hospital personnel become infected and some have even died from the virus. The most recent being a Doctor from the ER at the ISSTE Hospital who died earlier this week.

A testament to the effectiveness of “Pro Paramedicos” and their PPE campaign is that not a single paramedic in the Municipality of La Paz has become infected by the virus despite their ever-increasing caseload in the last three months.

“We know Covid-19 is not going away, that the numbers keep growing and that the virus forced the Government to reverse the reopening as far as access to beaches and the Malecon. We pledge to keep seeking donations and keep buying PPE even though every day the prices go up and the PPE becomes harder to find,” said Ahuja. “On behalf of the Paramedics and their families I would like to thank all the donors.”

You can participate in this lifesaving project by calling Pablo at 612 154 9859 or by making a donation through PayPal to an account set up by Dr. Xchel Palafox https://www.paypal.me/xchelapp.

Cheers to Three Years!

Todos Santos Brewing, Todos Santos, Baja, MexicoTodos Santos Brewing’s 3rd Anniversary

Just over four years ago, Liz and Ted Mitchell flew to Mexico with the plan of staying one month. They fell in love with the area, bought property and opened a brewery!

Todos Santos Brewing (TSB) opened its doors in June 2017, and since then Liz and Ted have shared a lifetime of beer, laughs, and memories with locals and visitors alike. After starting off strong on their opening day–serving the amount of beer they had planned for the month in the first three hours–they have made and served over 39,000 liters of beer. This is a remarkable feat considering they run a single-beer barrel system, meaning they brew 100 liters at a time. They’ve brewed over 397 batches including their gluten free FAB (Fermented Alcoholic Beverages) and Ginga Ninja.

Todos Santos Brewing regularly has fifteen small-batch brews to choose from, plus four non-alcoholic beverages, and three rotational or guest taps. They are predominantly an “ale” house with varieties from Summer and Blonde Ales to Brown and India Pale Ales. Not to mention their gluten-free alcoholic ginger beer.

Liz and Ted are proud to have participated in several competitions over the years and came away with awards for their Dizzee Lizzee Summer Ale at the Copa Cerveza; and for the Gaslamp IPA, Dizzee Lizzee and Brown Owl Brown Ale at the Baja Sur State competition.

People raved when they opened their kitchen offering a menu of gastropub food, including specialty gourmet hamburgers, and fish and chips. They also serve traditional Mexican fare, as well as vegan options.

Locals and visitors enjoy the Sunday Sessions live music, a popular event that showcases talented local musicians.

This year plans for their annual anniversary party and just normal dining out changed with the stay at home and social distancing orders of the BCS government due to Covid-19.

But that hasn’t slow them down!

Todos Santos Brewing, Todos Santos, Baja, MexicoYou can refill your growler every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12 to 2 pm. Apocalyptic times have called for an apocalyptic beer and so they have introduced a beer appropriate for the current times, the HOP-APOCALYPSE their Double Hazy IPA. This beer comes in at 8.7% ABV (alcohol by volume) and with the IBU (International Bitterness Unit) at 53, this has a much higher perceived bitterness due to this ale having a whopping four pounds of hops per beer barrel!

And on Sunday, June 14, Todos Santos Brewing will celebrate their 3rd year anniversary with a special SUPER SUNDAY SESSIONS online music event featuring an amazing line up of their favorite regular musical artists, including BrewMaster Ted. TSB’s online concert will benefit TODOS UNIDOS: Relief for Todos Santos and Pescadero. Providing much needed food, medical and community needs led by ACTS , Padrino Children’s Foundation and The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C.

Keep posted on the TSB Facebook page for further details, times, artists, etc. that will be shared soon. And be sure to checkout JDP Tv’s TSB one year anniversary video at: https://www.facebook.com/JournaldelPacifico/videos/1708430289210191/

Liz and Ted add, “We’re so grateful for the warm welcome we received from the very start and love the support we continue to get from our local community here in Todos Santos. Come for the beer, stay for the experience!”

Todos Santos Brewing is located on Alvaro Obregón between Militar and Rangel in Todos Santos. Growler refills on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12 to 2 pm. For more information, visit them on Facebook and Instagram.

Que Rico Foods in Todos Santos

María Lacurain and Norma Redo, Que Rico Foods, Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

María Lacurain and Norma Redo

We are delighted to welcome the new owners of ¡Que Rico! Foods in Todos Santos, María Lacurain and Norma Redo. After many years of providing delicious homemade and natural foods to the community, Deborah Horn has now retired.

While Norma is in charge of the production and kitchen, Maria oversees the store, with the continuing help of Paulina Avila, who had previously worked for Deborah.

Maria and Norma are both originally from Mexico City and have been living in Baja for two years now. Norma lives in Cabo San Lucas, and Maria in Todos Santos. They both spent a lot of time in the peninsula growing up but did not know each other back then. Norma is a chef and Maria specialized in environment and development. They are incredibly happy that Paulina will continue to work in the shop, she, like Maria and Norma, is a mom and from Mexico City, so they have a lot in common.

Baja Olive Oil from Que Rico, Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

Baja Olive Oil from Que Rico

When Deborah Horn decided to retire and sell ¡Que Rico! Foods, Maria and Norma saw a great opportunity with a lot of potential. They see ¡Que Rico! as a shared intention to start a process that will allow them to channel different interests in a structured way, such as sustainable sourcing, running a high-quality kitchen, and taking on a business responsibility while raising children. That’s quite an undertaking!

While honoring the incredible work that Deborah and Jaime did at ¡Que Rico! Foods, Maria and Norma hope to grow as individuals and as partners, providing new and better products for the Todos Santos community for many years to come. The current shop space is small, but they are planning to increase its size.

Smoked Chicken from Que Rico, Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

Smoked Chicken from Que Rico

In spite of these challenging times, Maria and Norma are working hard to improve the quality of their products and are looking for more exciting things to offer. In addition to all the great products that we know and love, they now have Black Forest ham, some different varieties of cheese, and a couple of new recipes like the pesto, and the Chili con Carne. Please let them know what you would like to see in the store.

Maria, Norma, and Paulina wish to thank the community for its continued support, are grateful for everybody’s patience with the changeover. They appreciate the well-wishes and loving words that customers offer when they visit the shop. Maria and Norma are enjoying the opportunity to get to know more people in the community and shared with us that it´s a beautiful feeling to be accompanied in this journey.

Stop in and say hello! The current hours of operation are Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am to 5 pm. Orders and requests can be called in at 612-118-6031. Home delivery service is available.

They publish regularly on the ¡Que Rico! Facebook page and have a new Instagram account: @quericofoods. The e-mail is the same as always: quericofoods@gmail.com

¡Bienvenidos!

A Conversation with Irving de La Rosa, Architect

Casa Dara, Irving de La Rosa, Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

Casa Dara, Todos Santos

Why did you choose to be an architect?

When I was a child, my parents took my brother and me on many beautiful trips during the summer holidays, we visited several cities in the United States. I remember spending many hours on the road in a van. When I was thirteen, we went to Los Angeles and visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and saw an exhibit of the celebrated architect Frank Gehry. It was the first time that I felt a space–the high ceilings, the light, the materials–that enveloped me in a magic called architecture.

Many years later when I work in the design or construction process of a project, I feel that magic in my stomach, like when I was a child.

Cuando era niño, en las vacaciones de verano mis padres nos llevaron a hacer viajes muy bonitos a ni hermano y a mí, conocí varias ciudades de USA, recuerdo que pasábamos muchas horas en carretera en una furgoneta. A la edad de trece años en LA, visitamos un museo del célebre arquitecto Frank Gehry. Fue la primera vez sentí un espacio, los techos altos, la luz, los materiales me envolvieron en una magia llamada arquitectura.

Muchos años después cuando trabajo en el proceso de diseño o constructivo de un proyecto siento esa magia en el estómago, como cuando era niño.

Where did you study?

I studied architecture in two beautiful places: in Mexico City (UNAM) and Barcelona, Spain (UPC). I consider these two cities my home, the first was the capital of the great Tenochtitlan at the time of the Aztec empire and the second is a city that was born in the midst of modern Europe. I learned a great deal in these schools of architecture, from my friends, from all the people with whom I have worked, and above all have been able to visit places, buildings, and cities that have inspired me.

Estudie en dos ciudades muy bonitas, en la ciudad de México (UNAM) y Barcelona, España (UPC). A estas dos ciudades las considero mi casa, la primera fue la capital de la gran Tenochtitlan en la época del imperio Azteca y la segunda es una ciudad que nació en medio de la modernidad europea. Aprendí mucho de toda la gente que conocí en las escuelas de arquitectura, de mis amigos, de toda la gente con quien he trabajado y sobre todo haber podido visitar lugares, edificios o ciudades que me han inspirado mucho.

Casa Dara, Irving de La Rosa, Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico

Casa Dara, Todos Santos

What is your design philosophy?

To me, the important thing is that the people who will live in the spaces that I design are happy. As they look out their window, they see something beautiful: the ocean, the mountains, a tree, a bougainvillea. And that the spaces are bright, warm, and pleasant. If I could talk briefly about my philosophy that I believe is the most important thing in life, it is the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of a person–his connection with his environment, with nature. What I try to do in my spaces is create an equilibrium, a harmony in the person’s habitat.

Lo importante para mí es que la gente que vive en los espacios que diseño, sea feliz. Que en tu ventana veas algo bonito; el mar, la montaña, un árbol, una buganvilia. Que los espacios sean luminosos, cálidos y agradables.

Si pudiera hablar de una filosofía, creo que para mí lo más importante en la vida; es la salud física, emocional y espiritual de una persona, su conexión con su entorno, con la naturaleza. Lo que intento hacer en mis espacios, es que haya un equilibrio, una armonía en el hábitat de las personas.

What is your creative process when presented with a potential project?

Each project for me is an adventure or rather a trip, the important thing is to understand my clients, to know what they want, their wishes and dreams, and then together we begin the journey called architecture.

Cada proyecto para mi es una aventura o mejor dicho un viaje, lo importante es trabajar y entender a mis clientes, saber que quieren, que desean y después juntos comenzar el viaje llamado arquitectura.

Do you work on both residential or public projects or both?

Right now, I am concentrating on residential projects, but ten years ago when I lived in Barcelona I worked on many public projects, especially landscape and buildings. Design is a matter of scale, one day you are designing the detail of a kitchen drawer and another day you are working on a large city project.

Ahora mismo trabajo proyectos residenciales, pero diez años antes cuando vivía en Barcelona trabaje muchos proyectos públicos, sobre todo landscape y edificios. El diseño es una cuestión de escala, un día estas diseñando el detalle de un cajón de cocina y otro día estas proyectando una parte de la ciudad.

What brought you to Baja California Sur?

Every novel has characters and places. There is a town, a city, the person who cuts hair, the one who makes bread, the one who builds houses. When I first came to Baja, I fell in love with the nature, the people, the food, and the light. Baja California Sur is a fantastic place to share stories, our histories, to meet new people, and together write the great novel of life.

Toda novela tiene personajes y lugares. Hay un pueblo, una ciudad, la persona que corta el pelo, el que hace pan, el que hace casas. Cuando conocí por primera vez la Baja quedé enamorado de la naturaleza, de la gente, de la comida, de la luz del sol. La Baja es un lugar fantástico para contar historias, nuestras historias, para conocerlos a ustedes y juntos escribir la gran novela de la vida.

Irving de la Rosa

Email: irving_dra@hotmail.com, www.draaw.org