Freak Hailstorm Slams Puebla, Mexico

Freak hailstorm hits Puebla, Mexico according to Jon Erdman at the Weathernews.

Hail covers streets in Puebla, Mexico on July 8, 2014. (Carmen Salyastep Sanchez via The Weather Channel Facebook page)

Photos submitted to The Weather Channel Facebook page by Carmen Salyastep Sanchez shows streets covered in accumulated, small hail. According toEl Universal.mx the city's municipal department of civil protection urged residents to avoid driving, if possible.

Cars are submerged in a combination of accumulated hail and flood water in Puebla, Mexico on July 8, 2014. (Carmen Salyastep Sanchez via The Weather Channel Facebook)

Mexico’s Cristero War

It's easy to be a fan of Carmen Amato. She has written a number of books about detective Emilia Cruz fighting murder, corruption and the drug wars in Acapulco. Amato's novels are addictive. She has been described as a writer who "...knows this territory like a jaguar!"

Her latest book "Diablo Nights" incorporates the Cristero War the story of the priests who’d been executed or driven out of Mexico in the late 1920′s and early 1930′s when the Mexican government decided to get rid of the Catholic Church.

Miguel Juarez Pro was a Jesuit targeted by the government purge of priests. For months, as he was hunted throughout Mexico City, he employed disguises, safe houses, and quick thinking to stay ahead of the army troops on his tail. His story sounded like something from the annals of the French Resistance.

There was a movie made about the war. Here's a trailer:

 

Orange Is the New Color of Heartbreak for Mexico.

With El Tri just minutes from clinching a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, the Netherlands scored two late goals to flip the scoreline for a 2-1 win in a gripping Round of 16 clash at Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza on Sunday. The Netherlands' rally began in the 88th minute when midfielder Wesley Sneijder scored the equalizer following a corner kick. Soon after Sneijder's right-footed blast beat standout Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, reserve forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the winning goal on a penalty kick in stoppage time. The penalty was awarded by referee Pedro Proenca when Dutch striker Arjen Robben went down after contact from Mexico defender Rafael Marquez. Once again Mexico suffers heartbreak

Mexico Wins 3-1 Over Croatia

Mexico surged into the World Cup's knockout stage for a sixth straight time Monday with a 3-1 win over Croatia.

 Rafael Marquez, Andres Guardado and Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez scored in a 10-minute span in the second half, dooming a talented Croatia side to elimination from the group stage.

Popocatépetl Explodes On June 19

Popocatépetl (Central Mexico): A moderate explosion occurred yesterday morning at 11:10 local time and generated a 2.5 km high ash column drifting NW. Overall, the activity at the volcano has been low during the past weeks. The alert status remains at Yellow Phase 2 (CENAPRED).

Rude Mexican Soccer Fans

The fans of Mexico at the World Cup soccer are being criticized for calling the players on the other side "puto." Even Brazil fans got into trading chants with Mexico.

"Mexico coach Miguel Herrera downplayed a homophobic chant that Mexican fans hurl at opposing goalkeepers during matches, arguing that it’s just a “folksy” part of the game, and is not being used in discriminatory fashion. Herrera told Mexico’s Radio Red on Friday that fans who chant the word “puto” during Mexico games are not attempting to offend homosexuals. “This is something that’s used to pressure the opposing team’s goalie…it’s something that we’re not really worried about,” Herrera said from Mexico’s training camp in Brazil. “FIFA shuold be worried about more serious things,” the Mexican coach added in his interview with Radio Red. Puto translates roughly into faggot, in English, though in Mexico the word is also used to describe someone who is cowardly."

Check your Spanish to English on line  and it also could mean male prostitute or f--king. Homophobic is not what I would call this word. Doesn't phobic mean fear of? I doubt many Mexican men are afraid of being homosexual. In most of my reading of Latino writers it often is combined with" madre" and you don't need a Spanish dictionary to understand puta madre.

Brazil hunts for Mexican who fell from cruise ship of World Cup soccer fans

The Brazilian navy is searching for a man who fell from a cruise ship carrying Mexican World Cup soccer fans, Mexico's ambassador to the South American country said Thursday.

Ambassador Beatriz Paredes told the Televisa network that the man was missing from the cruise aboard the MSC Divina, which was carrying about 3,500 Mexican fans between the cities of Fortaleza and Recife when the incident occurred. Officials have not said how the man went overboard, though witnesses interviewed by Televisa said he had apparently jumped.

 The company that operates the vessel, MSC Cruises, said in a statement that it notified Brazilian authorities immediately after the incident at 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday.