|
| Puerto Vallarta |
| April, 2006 |
Virtual U de G Opens University Houses in La Gloria and Villa del Mar
Provided By Ambito
The University of Guadalajara (UdeG) last weekend marked the opening of two new venues of the University CASA (Spanish acronym for Learning and Academic Remote Services) program in the agricultural communities of La Gloria and Villa del Mar in the coastal municipalities of Tomatlán and Cabo Corrientes, which will operate as remote seats of the Virtual UdeG System with the support of the Coastal University Center (CUC) of the same university to the end of broadening academic services of the University in the State of Jalisco.
At the opening ceremonies, Maestro Manuel Moreno Castañeda, Rector of Virtual UdeG said that the opening of both University CASAs is part of a non-conventional modality the university offers to college students to take courses through internet and videoconferences, with the support of educational materiasl and acces to degrees on  Education, Library and Information Technologies all of them under the on-line modality.
Through these CASAs, Maestro Moreno explained “not only tend to students of these areas, but to the whole community to have the internet as support for their economic, work and family activities. University extension services will be offered, such as basic courses to children and specialized certificate courses to both communities, among them programs related to agricultural production, organic fertilizers and food preservation with regional produces.”
In turn Doctor Javier Orozco, Rector of CUCosta, said that this university center based in Puerto Vallarta will support both University CASAs to the end of contributing to the development of the families and communities in the municipalities of Tomatlan and Cabo Corrientes. Mayor Macedonio Leon Rodriguez of Cabo Corrientes said that the Univeristy CASA will enable youth to come near to studying a college career without leaving their communities, and the presidents of the ejidos from La Gloria and Villa del Mar, Aurelio GArcía Corona and José Arreola Ramirez, emphasized that the CASAs will help diminish migration of young students from both ejido communities and surrounding villages.
CASA program is a social linking and equality strategy as to university coverage, based on facilities equipped for distant access to UdeG’s educational services, established in spaces provided by the community. Services offered by CASA are: open and distant studies, on-line curriculum courses, academic Bachelor programs, continuing education, virtual library, academic tutoring and counseling.
University CASAS are equipped with computers, books, magazines and distant education manuals; television sets, video library, VHS and DVD players.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Jim Demetro at Work with New Malecon Sculpture
Provided By Ambito
The new extension of the Malecon between Los Arcos and the pedestrian bridge in Puerto Vallarta will receive a pair of life-size, bronze statues honoring the traditional Mexican dancers. Part-time resident sculptor Jim Demetro is in the process of sculpting a male and female dancer where the man and woman circle one another in joyous flirtation, the woman arching her back and flaring her skirts while the man leans close for a kiss.
 This piece has been approved by the Mayor to be placed on the Malecon. While the city provides the placement of the sculpture, artist Jim Demetro will still have to raise the funding to create it and have it cast in bronze. He is hoping there will be some significant donors contributing to this beautiful life-size bronze. He is also offering a 14 inch tall version, limited-edition bronze of the Mexican Dancers at a favorable price. Of course, any donation is much appreciated.
People who are curious can come to Plaza Mar Condos on Lazaro Cardenas 155 to watch Demetro sculpt the life-size dancers in the courtyard and also see the small version that they could buy to contribute to the fundraiser. To donate, people can also call Jim Demetro at 222-3411 ext 601.
Demetro has said that he chose the folkloric dancer theme because he wanted to honor the Mexican culture that is rich with artistic expression, and he chose this particular traditional folkloric dance because it is one of the most dramatic, evocative and colorful.
In a professional sculpting career that has spanned over fourteen years and produced hundreds of bronze sculptures, Jim Demetro has over thirty-five life-size bronze statues in public places around the United States. He sculpts statues as realistically as possible, in the tradition of the masters of Italy. Each creation may be a year-long process that includes building an armature and sculpting the piece first out of clay and then making molds out of it to bring to a bronze foundry. The foundry process includes casting the piece first in wax, making a second mold, and then melting the wax to pour bronze into it instead. The sculpture pieces are then welded together and colored with a patina for a beautiful finish.
Demetro is delighted if a sculpture can give the viewer an uplifting feeling of inspiration, and he hopes the traditional Mexican dancers sculpture will do just that. Demetro invites the public to view his website at www.jimdemetro.com or email him at Demetro@e-z.net to see first hand the variety of life-size sculptures he has created in the last fourteen years. He especially welcomes visitors and locals to come see the sculpture-in-process at the Plaza Mar Condos courtyard, before it is cast in bronze and finds its permanent home on the Malecon.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Puerto Vallarta Soon to Have a Seismic Station
Provided By Ambito
The project is being promoted by the Municipal Government and the University of Guadalajara, and it will make it possible to carry out a study of the zone
 In view of the need to have up-to-date information as to the levels of the seismic activity in the municipality, Puerto Vallarta will soon have a seismic station of its own. Such a project is being promoted by the city of Puerto Vallarta and the University of Guadalajara, through the Coastal University Center in Ixtapa, and it will enable the university to carry out a study of the reality as to risks of seism in the zone, as informed by Francisco Javier Nuñez Cornu, researcher of the university and the person in charge of the Western Seismology and Volcanology Center.
Nuñez Cornu explained that due to the fact that Puerto Vallarta is located in a seismic zone, it was resolved to create a nearby station, in order to maintain greater control of seismic activity on the bay.
He emphasized that in spite of having presented this project to former municipal administrations, it is the current Municipal Government that has undertaken this important project, due largely to negotiations by the Head of Ecology Benjamin Baumgarten Macedo, thus making Puerto Vallarta the first municipality to have its own seismic station.
He went on to say that by means of this instrument, the necessary information to put together a risk atlas of Puerto Vallarta, and with it the Program of Ecological Regulation of the Municipality, crucial in the urban development of the destination. The researcher said that the installation of the equipment is 75% into completion, and the station is expected to begin operations in two weeks.
He added that the University of Guadalajara, through the Seismology and Volcanology Center will be in charge of the operation of the station, as well as the assessment of seismic records, which will enable a continuous monitoring of this phenomenon, and to learn about local seismography, which is largely needed.
Finally, he said that the seismic station represents an important advancement as to evaluation of seismic risk in the municipality, since through it, regulations as to construction and establishment of urban areas can be established to better protect the citizens.
Source: Ambito Puerto Vallarta Weekly Newspaper
Archives
by date |
Current
Weather Report
