16th Rocky Point Rally Surpasses Expectations

    By José Antonio Perez

He stated indicators concerning this year's goals could already be measured starting Thursday, with a 30% increase in motorcycles in town over last year. He added most hotels reported 100% occupancy levels while local businesses, particularly along Calle 13 and in the Old Port, reported sales increases of between 25% to 35% over 2015.

It's also important to note, he expressed, that within the city itself there were no fatalities to report, nor serious incidents of violence, and praised the efforts and work done by the municipal administration in achieving these results.

The President of the Rocky Point Rally Organizing Committee stated given the success from this year, they have already begun to think about organizing for 2017 for what has surely become the Greatest Motorcycle Fiesta Just South of the Border...and in the northwestern part of Mexico.

Dates for the 17 ^th Annual Rocky Point Rally are  Nov. 9 ^th - 12 ^th, 2017   Look for more information and initial promotion to begin in the Spring.  www.rockypointrally.com

Organizers are still evaluating the number of registrants, which along with the voluntary donation represents a small percentage of the actual number of rally participants.  Numbers concerning this year's Rocky Point Rally donations to local charities will be made known in the coming days. Expectations are that this number too will surpass that of last year.

Turbo Ocho album.  They captured the process with an HD video camera and uploaded the highlights daily on the band's website.  Much of that video is available today on the DVD side of the the Turbo Ocho CD available at peacetimegoods.com.   

Excitement to perform those songs coupled with cabin fever fed the idea to announce an impromptu sunset concert on the patio at JJ's Cantina on the 8th day. With very little notice, a few hundred fans dropped everything and headed for Mexico to hear those songs performed for the first time.

Since then, January Jam at JJ's has become an annual mainstay on RCPM's touring calendar. Response from the greatest rock-n-roll fan base in the world has given RCPM a chance to create another weekend where the rock sizzles while much of the U.S. remains frozen. Here is the schedule for the 2017 shows: 

More than 300 Volunteers Take Part in Beach Clean-Up

"It is very important for the municipal administration of Mayor Kiko Munro to achieve clean beach certification," detailed Rivera Núñez, "which is why resorts, business leaders, service providers and non-governmental organizations, along with civil society, have joined this conservation effort and clean beach campaign."

He detailed during the recent clean-up effort, volunteers collected 300 kilos of trash ranging in items from cigarette butts, glass, and coal, among other inorganic materials.

Marcia Ortega, Operative Manager of the local Clean Beach Committee, noted the International Coastal Cleanup Campaign of the Ocean Conservancy began in 1987 and includes participation of approximately 100 countries across the globe.  

Puerto Peñasco awaits Clean Beach Certification

In coming days, Puerto Peñasco may find itself listed as one of the Mexican Beaches Certified by the Mexican Institution of Standardization and Certification (IMNC) given 85% of evaluated criteria has been approved, reported Municipal Director of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Tlacaelel Rivera Núñez.

Rivera Núñez explained from Nov. 14^th - 18^th, two evaluators from the IMNC audited 1,520 meters of beach stretching from Playa Bonita to Las Palomas. Their evaluation included 68 requirements, of which 61 were approved with only 7 that did not meet goals.

The Ecology Director expressed appreciation for the efforts of the local Clean Beach Committee, as well as all the volunteers who have participated in clean-up campaigns for months with the goal of seeing Puerto Peñasco become the 14^th beach to be certified by the IMNC. It would also become the first certified beach in Sonora, making it the ninth state to be listed as having Certified Clean Beaches in Mexico.

Marcia Ortega, Operative Manager of the local Clean Beach Committee, indicated they have been given a month to address the 7 remaining requirements. She noted these will be reevaluated on December 18^th, therefore called on the community to continue with efforts to conserve the beaches currently under consideration for certification.

"The beach certification process takes quite a bit of time, as well as efforts of numerous participants and volunteers. This is why we call on residents and tourists to help us in conserving the beaches clean while abiding by ordinances for the use of beaches and the federal zone," she emphasized. 

In ancient Greek and Roman civilizations marriages were private agreements between individuals and families. Community recognition of a marriage was, by-and-large, the qualifier, and the state had only limited interests in assessing the legitimacy of marriages.

Civil and religious officials normally took no part in marriage ceremonies; nor did they keep registries. It was common for couples to cohabit with no ceremony, and cohabiting for a moderate period was sufficient for the relationship to be considered a marriage: cohabiting in this way carried no social stigma.

At the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 the Catholic Church forbade private agreement marriages or clandestine marriages, as they were defined by the Catholic Church. The Lateran Council required all marriages to be announced in a church by a priest.

Spain followed church doctrine unquestionably, and this was certainly the case when the Spaniards arrived in Mexico. Private agreement marriages in Mexico were not recognized by either the Church or whatever government happened to be in administration at the time.

However, what came to be practiced was often different to the official line, especially in Mexico's rural areas. A not uncommon ritual consisted of the would-be groom's parents presenting themselves at the home of the intended bride, asking to enter and bringing with them a candle and a basket of gifts. Although a wedding date may be set during this ritual, the church wedding was not always forthcoming. The expense of a church wedding was borne by the groom's family and reasons would be given as to why the church wedding could not follow immediately; for example, that the future groom's older brother had recently married and they needed time to save to meet the expenses.

Most studies show that in 1857 when the Ley Iglesias made Mexican marriages a civil contract between the couple and the State - and took away the Church's authority over marriages - the number of private agreement marriages increased dramatically. Despite two great movements of reform in slightly over a century, Mexican legal codes did not veer too far from the austere provisions of Spanish law denying spouses and children of private agreement marriages the legal rights of support and inheritance.

In 1928 Mexico's Federal Civil Code adopted a provision granting partial recognition of the rights of women and children of private agreement marriages. Under the Federal Civil Code Mexico recognizes a concubinage relationship, and for the surviving partner to receive the benefits, that partner must prove a concubino status. However, not all Mexican states have ratified this federal law.

Why might the concubinage relationship be important to expatriates living in Mexico?

Increasing numbers of couples in committed relationships decide not to go through a marriage ceremony. The reasons for this include the desire to keep their finances separate, each partner may have children from previous relationships, and the possible loss of government benefits if they remarry.

Now that some Mexican states have adopted a legal process that recognizes concubinage relationships, in many of those states the relationship can no longer be established by evidence, as was previously the case. Under the new civil law in some Mexican states, if a couple is living together under a private marriage agreement, the state will not recognize it, unless the couple has registered with the civil registrar.

To ensure the survivor of a private agreement marriage receives the property rights to which he or she is entitled, an expatriate couple living together, but not "legally married" who consider themselves husband and wife must take affirmative action to protect the rights, which they may have possessed before the law came into existence.

It would be a pity if a foreign resident in Mexico were to discover after the death of their partner that the property rights to which he or she thought they would be entitled to were lost merely because they failed to take advantage of a civil ceremony available to them or to preserve the evidence necessary to prove the existence of a concubinage relationship. 

Tortilla Soup 

There is very little available history about tortilla soup. Some trace it to Central Mexico. Others say it originated in Mexico City where it remains a favorite. Still others claim its lack of history indicates it originated in the Southwest in the 1960s. Diane Kennedy, "the Julia Child of Mexican Cuisine" , has studied Mexican cuisine, its lore and history, extensively since she moved to Mexico from Wales in 1957. In fact, in 1981 she was awarded the Order Of The Aztec Eagle, by the Government of the Republic of Mexico for her contributions to the documentation of regional Mexican cuisine. In her book Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico, Harper & Row 1978, while not getting into the history and origin of the dish, she comments that it is quite common in Central Mexico.  

If you haven't noticed before, there are so many different recipes for tortilla soup. It seems like everywhere you go there is a different recipe. Some people make chicken soup topped with sour cream, fried tortillas, diced tomatoes and diced avocados. Others claim their authentic recipe includes shredded lettuce and green chiles. Still others use ancho chiles and chipotle in adobo. Rick Bayless' famous Topolobampo has a recipe for tortilla soup using low fat chicken broth and chile powder.  

Unlike the authentic tortilla soup, this recipe doesn't call to fry the chiles and crumble them into the soup at the end. Instead, like others, it uses a chile paste. Many believe the chile paste provides greater depth of flavor. It's all in your preference.  Give this one a try. Hope you like it.

Ingredients:

• 2 qts rich chicken stock
• 3 pasilla negra chiles, seeded and toasted
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 1 medium white onion, rough chop
• 3 medium-large tomatoes, roasted
• 1-1/2 cups grated cheese (we used a combo of cheddar and monterrey jack)
• 2 acovados, pitted, skinned and sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb chicken, diced
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 12 white corn tortillas, cut into strips
• salt, to taste
• Mexican crema

Instructions:

Fry the tortilla strips.

Drain, place on a paper towel and set aside.

Take the chiles and toast them on a hot comal.

Roast tomatoes under the broiler until blistered.

Put the tomatoes, chiles, garlic and 2 cups chicken stock in the Vita-Mix.

Puree.

Saute onions in olive oil until soft.

Add puree

Add oregano and cumin

Cook over medium-high heat to blend flavors and reduce the puree to a thick consistency, roughly 8 - 10 minutes. Now add the remaining 6 cups of chicken stock and meat.

Cook another 15 - 20 minutes to let the flavors fully develop.

To serve, place some of the tortilla strips in the bottom of the bowl and ladle soup over the top.

Garnish with sliced avocado.

Drizzle crema over the top

Add grated cheese

Top with more tortilla strips and enjoy.

NOTES: Traditionally, this is served with lime wedges on the side. Some people like the brightness the lime brings to the soup.  

Also, if you do not have homemade chicken stock and precooked chicken meat, get 1-1/2 lbs chicken breast and 2 qts low salt chicken broth. Dice the chicken, add it to the broth and bring it to a boil. Cook until the chicken is done. Allow to cool. Strain the chicken broth through a sieve, reserving the broth, to remove the cooked grey scum (protein) from cooking the meat.

* Pasilla chiles are NOT ancho chiles. Pasilla means little raisin. As such, many Hispanics in the US have commonly (and incorrectly) called pasillas ancho chile because ancho chiles are wrinkled raisin-like chiles. Pasilla chiles are called pasilla, pasilla negra or chile negro. They are the dried form of a chilaca pepper. Chilaca peppers are a mild to medium-hot, rich-flavored, narrow pepper that can measure up to 9 inches in length and often has a twisted or curvy shape. It turns from dark green to dark brown when fully mature. When dried is is so dark that it looks black, the basis for its name chile negro. So, when you see a recipe calling for pasilla chile or pasilla negra chiles, they are not referring to the dark green poblano pepper or its dried form ancho chile. The ancho chile is sweeter and fruitier in flavor. Pasilla chiles, on the other hand, add a distinctive, slightly astringent flavor to dishes, making them well suited to balancing out heavy stews, rich sauces and soups like Sopa Azteca.

Enjoy!