By Bill Wilson, Deputy Editor
Fall is in just a few days.
On September 22, Autumn will begin and here in the mountains of central Mexico (we are at 6,000 feet in elevation) and being below the Tropic of Cancer, we don’t experience wide changes in weather. Cool mornings and evenings and pleasant days with rains diminishing prevail.The US Weather Service notes, "There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a 'nearly' equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes". These events are referred to as Equinoxes.
“The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on these two equinoxes. The "nearly" equal hours of day and night are due to refraction of sunlight or a bending of the light's rays that causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon. Additionally, the days become a little longer at the higher latitudes (those at a distance from the equator) because it takes the sun longer to rise and set.”
‘Therefore, on the equinox and for several days before and after the equinox, the length of day will range from about 12 hours and six and one-half minutes at the equator, to 12 hours and 8 minutes at 30 degrees latitude, to 12 hours and 16 minutes at 60 degrees latitude.”
Don’t forget for streaming, up-to-date local weather information check stations in SMA on WeatherUnderground and Ambient Weather Net. Apps on most platforms are available as well as websites.
Tip Of The Hat
Mil Gracias to fellow writer and staffer Natalie Taylor who taught me a new word Cantinflismo. We might say jabberwocky in English. (see below)
Don't forget to tip the many baggers --often older folks--who work at our local food stores.
And a raspberry to security folks inside big box stores and supermarkets who often seem just a bit too overzealous.
BITS AND PIECES
Fun Facts
Chocolate was a Mexican discovery. We have the Olmec, Aztec, Toltec and Mayan civilizations to thank!
Word Salad
Tecolote
We call him the owl but in Mexico it is tecolote. Búho- is also used over much of Latin America and Spain. Supposedly, because the word is like an onomatopoeia. Tecolote- Nahual origin is most popular in Mexico, as well as part of Guatemala and Honduras. There is even a song name “Tecolote.”
Cantinflismo
A master of the evasive answer, Cantinflas' manner of speaking became known in Spanish as “cantinflear,” defined by the Real Academia Española dictionary as “talking in an absurd or incongruous manner without saying anything” (hablar de forma disparatada e incongruente y sin decir nada). The world famous actor has SMA connections.
You Don’t Say (Dichos)
Creerse la última Coca-Cola del desierto
Meaning the “last Coke in the desert” or a person who thinks they're the most important. Mr. Big Shot.
Passages & Passings
Jane Sallis
Jane was a solid SMA volunteer. The Board of Directors, Staff, Volunteers and Beneficiaries of Patronato Pro Niños de San Miguel de Allende, A.C. send their deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ms Sallis’ passing
José Ortíz Moya
“God send you to call because he was busy with one more photographer in his ranks, my deepest condolences to your family,” read a notice on the passing of El Negrito, the photographer. José Ortíz Moya was everywhere. Be it a big event, car crash, fire, our town’s news photographer was there with his camera.
Car Talk
The Ford Motor Company in Mexico has announced a planned investment of US $273 million in its Irapuato Electric Powertrain Center (IEPC) in the state of Guanajuato, which manufactures motors and transaxles for the first 100 percent mass-produced electric vehicle completely made in Mexico.--Mexico News Daily
Poetry in Motion
The (Not Yet) Dead Poets Society has been meeting every Sunday, 3-4:30 pm, for more than 13 years. Come join us. Read your work, that of another, or just come to listen and be with interesting people. They gather at Casa de la Noche B&B, 19 Organos, Centro.
Hasta el próximo mes!
Bill Wilson has lived in San Miguel for 17 years and has been a journalist for more than 50 years covering everyting as an editor and reporter from the United Nations to Cub Scout news. He’s also know as “The Weather Dude” and a ham radio operator.
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