Tuktuk operators and their passengers, and other motorists,  were punished Thursday because many houses in Panajachel do not currently have potable water ... (to read more on this, and the latest on Moulin Rouge, scroll down two inches and click "Leer Mas")

It was an event ahead of its time --- and mine, too. We Las Vegans still talk about it, although it happened in 1955. We wrote about it in books like The Green Felt Jungle, a kiss-and-tell about our city.

It was the maiden voyage of integration in Las Vegas' entertainment industry. It was called Moulin Rouge.

Back then --- in 1955 --- discrimination still abounded.  There is the story about how Sammy Davis, Jr. was told that because of his star status, he could sleep in a "white" hotel room; but his valet, who presumably was black, would stay in the "Negro quarters."

But, oops! --- Davis' valet was a white guy!

So boxer Joe Louis and three white guys launched the Moulin Rouge Casino in Las Vegas. On opening night, they went where no other casino had ever gone: they mixed showgirls of different color on the stage. The bold stroke made the cover of Life, but it jinxed the Moulin Rouge, which was soon abandoned. Its skeleton sat north of Downtown for decades, never to rise again.

But Moulin Rouge is not just an  abortive social experiment in Las Vegas. It is a famous caberet inspired by Pierre La Mure, whose novel was in turn inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus, and Verdi's La Traviata. It has been made into film no less than seven times, so the story is a compelling one.

Moulin Rouge has seen the stage, too, in innumerable cities --- most recently Panajachel, where it is the Christening of another maiden voyage, one with better auguries  than the hotel-casino.

Vermonters Andy Hauty and Joby Dan'Sy have pleased us for four years  with  A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Producers, and West Side Story. Their troupe, Atitlán Youth Theatre, brings Moulin Rouge to the Lakeside Delta this week.

This year's production will, they believe, supercede the pageantry of all previous ones; it will include, among other things, such firsts for Panajachel as acrobats on stage.

Another first is that this will be an inauguration --- or maiden voyage, if you will --- for Panajachel's River House Activity Center. The new playhouse is located on the north end of town, above the Ubico Bridge.

Panajachel today has two theatre companies, which are potential engines for the recovery of our community from the one-two punch of recession and cyanobacteria. So I urge everyone, if you are in town, to come out and give the River House a good send-off. Let us still be talking about Moulin Rouge decades from now ... not how it flopped, but how it broke the box office.

Tickets are Q45 for grownups, Q25 for kids. Performances are at 7:00 pm, Friday and Saturday of this week. There will also be a discounted matinee tomorrow (i.e., Thursday) at 4:00 pm. Note that, back in 2007, Andy and Joby's production of The Producers sold out, so get your tickets now by calling 4090-1912.

Underdevelopment [is not solely about economic problems whose consequences are easily understood], but about a series of circumstances and reasons, prominent among them being neglect, irresponsibility, ignorance, and the absence of logic as well. These elements are found in people of whatever socioeconomic class [regardless of education level, sex, or ethnicity]. It is worthwhile to explore the validity of these considerations as they apply to a new and national ecological tragedy, the algae occasioned by the current cyanobacteria infestation of the waters of Lake Atitlán, which is on the verge of becoming, if it has not done so already, a new Amatitlán.

At this moment, there is a reaction over the the possible death agony of one of the world's most beautiful lakes, which is a prime source, as well, of tourism revenues and, consequently, of thousands of people living on its shores. The government proclaims its readiness to carry out the necessary measures to fix the problem; the private sector is redoubling its efforts to initiate the battle; Guatemalan scientists are preparing their recommendations to avert the death of the lake; and [our national legislators] are rushing to craft laws to protect it. And so on --- the list is long. But if the true causes of the aforementioned ecological tragedy are not removed, then all this activity will be merely palliative and without genuine impact.

What has happened in Atitlán is a test of the interplay of a series of factors which have combined to produce a situation from which it is difficult and sometimes impossible to rectify. The main questions [at this point] should be about why this happened. Why is there algae? Why were the wake-up calls made by scientists ignored? Why are there still no laws against the dumping of human wastes in the [formerly] crystalline waters? Why have the municipalities not gotten interested until now? Why hasn't adequate information about the nature of algae cycles been provided ... Why has the construction of water treatment plants been thwarted, and the contamination allowed to run unchecked?

Education is essential, but above all is the conscience of individual responsibility. The absence of this is the real cause of the dumping of [gray and black water residues] and of every sort of garbage taht originates from municipalities as well as from vacation cottages and even, in some cases, from hotels [or varying levels of luxury] located near the shoreline. [The growth of individual responsibility is] a slow process, but it must be given teeth by the resolve to severely punish those who violate laws relating to the protection of Atitlán. The building of the treatment plants needs to take place under the urgency of keeping the implementation time to a minimum. For all this, the affected public must be duly informed.

This challenge, which is in some ways herculean, must take place place through a an entity which includes representatives of the government, the academe, the cities, and the private sector. It needs to be independent [and empowered] to take decisions and actions. Furthermore, it is imperative to analyze the similarities and the differences [between the plight of Atitlán and that] of Amatitlán. or of any other Guatemalan lake, so that the political commitment of mayors, governors, legislators, ministers, and presidents to refrain from politics as usual and think about the negative effect, in the medium and long run, of not giving due consideration to the death agony of Lake Atitlán, a circumstance that forces us to forget, for the moment, political and ideological differences.

Translator's Note: If you would like to see the original text of this article in Spanish, click here.

END

"Doctor, why aren't there more patients coming to your clinic?" 

Panajachel's Fundabiem clinic may have to close its doors or move to Sololá, the Foundation's founder told the API News Service on Wednesday. The clinic was a favorite mission for our longtime neighbor, Maxine "Makki" Bigman.

In the photo, Enrique Pablo, a city official and local Telethon committee member, addresses Dr. Silvia Ortiz, Fundabiem medical boss, and founder, Blanca de Eggenberger (seated in front of the neon Telethon marquée).