Page 12 - aruba-today-20190506

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 6 May 2019
Mexican villagers beseech volcano goddess for rain, safety

By MARCELO VIANO ter has increasingly been
AMY GUTHRIE belching lava and spew-
Associated Press ing ash that sometimes
SANTIAGO XALITZINTLA, reaches Mexico City, 90
Mexico (AP) — The inhabit- kilometers (55 miles) to the
ants of Santiago Xalitzintla northwest. The community
rise well before dawn to is now on evacuation alert,
prepare their offerings to with alarms sounding to tell
The Sleeping Woman, as residents when they should
they affectionately call the escape to the nearby city
dormant Iztaccíhuatl vol- of Cholula.
cano that hovers above The hike to pay homage
their town in central Mexi- to The Sleeping Woman —
co. the volcano's silhouette re-
There are potatoes to fry sembles a reclining female
for the feast, and heap- — is a tradition that goes
ing bunches of red carna- back generations. The resi-
tions to lug up to the stone dents of Santiago Xalitzintla
altar 3,800 meters (12,470 celebrate over two days
feet) above sea level. Hun- in early May, shooting fire-
dreds of villagers —includ- works into the sky above
ing infants, preschool-aged In this Friday, May 3, 2019 photo, a resident blows on a conch shell to honor Tonantzin, the Aztec their town, drinking copi-
children and the elderly— mother earth goddess that’s often celebrated alongside the Virgin Mary, during the Day of the ous amounts of tequila and
make the biannual three- Cross celebrations near Santiago Xalitzintla, Mexico. cooking communal meals
hour trek through steep Associated Press over open fires. Twice a
pine forest and past bab- year, they embark on a
bling brooks to ask for the halations of her neighbor, nickname for Popocate- in boiling water. "The scare similar climb up Popocate-
volcano's aid and protec- the unnervingly active Po- petl. When Don Goyo gets passes," says Agustin. petl.
tion. They beseech her to pocatepetl volcano. angry, the ground vibrates, Santiago Xalitzintla has Underneath a small water-
bring rain for their crops, Veronica Agustin says the doors and windows shake the distinction of being fall on the slopes of Iztacci-
shield their harvests from community has gotten used -- she compares the sound the community closest to huatl, the offerings are laid
hail and calm the ashy ex- to living with Don Goyo, a to that of beans cooking Popocatepetl, whose cra- out on an altar. q

Cause of Venezuelan chopper crash is under investigation

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA tions, political options, op-
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) tions with our allies, and
— Venezuelan authorities then ultimately, a set of
are investigating the cause options that would involve
of a helicopter crash that use of U.S. military," Pom-
killed seven military offi- peo said. "We're preparing
cers while they were while those for him so that when
heading to a state where the situation arises, we're
President Nicolás Maduro not flatfooted."
was visiting troops. Lavrov met Venezuela's for-
The crash of the Cougar eign minister, Jorge Arrea-
helicopter on the south- za, in Moscow on Sunday
eastern outskirts of Cara- and said afterward that he
cas on Saturday followed hoped U.S. talk of a military
days of upheaval during option does "not reflect the
which opposition leader intentions" of Trump.
Juan Guaidó called in "We call on both the Ameri-
vain for a military uprising cans and those who sup-
to overthrow Maduro, and port them to drop irrespon-
five people were killed in sible plans and act exclu-
clashes between protesters sively within the frames of
and police. international law," the Rus-
The armed forces said the sian foreign minister said.
chopper was heading to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza The U.S. and over 50 other
San Carlos in Cojedes state, shake hands after their joint news conference following the talks in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May nations recognize Guaidó
near a military base where 5, 2019. as Venezuela's rightful lead-
Maduro addressed cadets Associated Press er, saying Maduro's re-elec-
on Saturday. The statement tion last year was rigged.
didn't say if the aircraft was people were injured. said ABC's "This Week" pro- ezuela. Russia, in turn, has Washington has imposed
part of the presidential del- Meanwhile the Venezuelan gram that he planned to accused the United States economic sanctions on
egation. opposition planned a me- meet Russian Foreign Min- of aggressively interfering in Venezuela's oil industry and
In late April, a Venezuelan morial service Sunday for ister Sergey Lavrov soon to Venezuela's internal affairs. individuals linked to Mad-
National Guard general those killed in street fighting discuss U.S. concerns that U.S. officials are working to uro, who alleges he is the
and a pilot died in a police over the past week. Russian support for Maduro provide President Donald target of a U.S.-engineered
helicopter crash in the city Also Sunday, U.S. Secre- is fueling the political and Trump with "a full-scale set coup plot in which Guaidó
of Maracaibo. Two other tary of State Mike Pompeo humanitarian crisis in Ven- of options; diplomatic op- is a key collaborator.q