LATEST RESOLUTION FOR MEXICAN FOREIGN BOAT TIPS FROM PRE-2005
LATEST RESOLUTION FOR
MEXICAN FOREIGN BOAT TIPS FROM PRE-2005
The Ocean Posse is pleased to share information directly from a recent success story. As reported in our October 20, 2024 newsletter there is hope yet for foreign flagged vessels that were issued TIP's (Temporary Import Permits) and are now attempting to enter Mexican waters. Last year all vessels with open TIPs from before 2005 were flat out turned back and refused entry because the office that had issued the TIPs had been dissolved and therefore any TIPS issued by this office that had not been properly closed were not able to be resolved. This year Sally & Michael Aldridge on SV SWEETHEEART took this matter into their own hands with conviction and seem to have found a solution. Sally shares below what worked for them so that others may have similar success.
Oct 17 2024 by Sally and Michael Aldridge on S/V Sweetheart
Canceling pre 2005 Aduana TIPs in Ensenada
We had two pre 2005 TIPs to cancel, one in 2001, and the other in 2004
On Oct 16, we walked across the border at PedEast at San Ysidro in the morning and caught the ABC bus down to Ensenada from Tijuana because we didn’t want to mess with driving a vehicle across the border and dealing with a motor vehicle TIP and insurance (too many TIPs already !) Walking over the border turned out to be super easy, with no lines and the bus is nearby and is comfortable and inexpensive.
When in Ensenada (we got there at around 10:30am) we started with the
Banjercito Ensenada
On Ave Teniente Jose Azueta
(Building marked with a thin red line on attached image)
We spoke to Elia Beatriz Urquidi Cobos, who is a manager there
She speaks great English
We showed her relevant boat documentation as per the attached form from the Mexican consulate in Sacramento.
Elia made 3 copies of each, and also verified and checked the report in her system.
Elia explained we needed to go to the Aduana office down the street to start the process.
At this point Elia stepped outside to direct us and she and the manager of the Aduana, Jorge Badille spoke in person on the street. Not sure if they just “ran into each other” or whether this was planned, but it turned out to be a very fruitful conversation. Jorge reviewed our documents right there, and confirmed that everything was in order, and told Elia what else we needed to do
Which was the following:
Write a letter to the Aduana asking for the TIPs to be cancelled
Including the tip number, previous owner names etc.
State that we are the new owners
Print it
Sign it
Make 3 copies
We went to the tourist information office around the corner to do this and they were very helpful and made print outs and copies for us for free.
Then we went to the Aduana de Ensenada with all the paperwork. The office is marked with thick red line on the image and address is here. Blvd, P.º Olas Altas 110, Recinto Portuario, 22800 Ensenada, B.C., Mexico
This office is behind a heavy layer of security and they told us that only one person can go through, so Michael, my husband, did this for us as he is the appointed “manager” of our LLC. He spoke to the woman at the desk and she asked for the letter to be in Spanish, so she translated it for Michael and he wrote it out by hand and she stamped it. She told him it would take one week to get the TIP cancellations done.
We then showed the stamped letter to Elia back at the Banjercito, but she said she actually needs a printed and stamped image of a “cancellation screen” from Aduana to get the process going on the Banjercito side. She said once she has that, she can send it to the Mexico City Banjercito and it could be canceled out of the system intraday, depending on time differences.
So we went back to Jorge at the Aduana to ask for that and he committed to doing just that the next day. Jorge promised to email it to Elia it at 10am the next morning, so we stayed overnight just to make sure that happened.
We stayed at the Hotel Coral, as it was a good chance to speak with Fito Espinoza, the dock master, who is very experienced with TIPs and immigration. He suggested we stay on it till it is done. He was very interested to hear about the results of our efforts as it will allow him to help many other boats.
Michael went back to the Aduana office the next day at 10am on 10/17 and he stayed there until he had the right docs in hand.
At this point we have now cancelled the two old TIPs !
We then took those pages to Elia who scanned them and sent them to her superiors. The old tips were cleared out of the Banjercito system within a few hours and we were able to successfully apply for a new TIP that day. Again we sat in the office until this was all done (about 30 mins) and we now have the TIP in hand.
Summary: The Sacramento consulate was correct: It is now possible to cancel pre 2005 TIPs with the Aduana in Ensenada, and the Banjercito in Ensenada can get it cleared from their system with the right documentation from Aduana (see attached process from the Mexican consulate in Sacramento). Fito confirmed this is exactly how the process worked in the past, but he did not know it was working again at this time, and neither did BC Connections.
Jorge (Aduana Ensenada manager) and Elia (Banjercito Ensenada manager) are competent people who seem to have a good working relationship and they are collaborating together to make it happen. It helps that these offices are down the street from each other. Not sure if it’s dumb luck and they have started canceling old TIPs again at just the right time for us, or we are geniuses. Either way, we will take it !
There are no charges for the process of TIP cancellation and it can be done by the boat owner through the official channels without an agent in one or two days. Be prepared for multiple visits to each office.
Hopefully this bodes well for other boats in this situation.
Feel free to send any questions to sally.aldridge@mac.com
THANK YOU SV SWEETHEART FOR SHARING YOUR SUCCESS!
ROOTS OF THE DAY OF THE DEAD TODAY
ROOTS OF THE DIA DE LOS MUERTOS:
DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION TODAY
Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico (particularly in Central and Southern Mexico) over a two day period: November 1st (Dia de los Angelitos dedicated to deceased children) and 2nd (Dia de los Muertos dedicated to deceased adults). Today, Dia day Los Muertos is celebrated by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere throughout the world as well. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for, remember, and honor friends and family members who have died. Today, traditions connected with the holiday include building altars called ofrendas. Oferendas are build in people's homes or in public spaces. During this time people also visit cemeteries to clean the gravesite or headstone of a deceased loved one and decorate their grave with gifts such as calaveras (skulls), calacas (skulls), strings of marigolds, the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves. In some regions there are parades and women dress as Catrinas in lavish gowns, their faces painted. The parades include music and performance dancing. Today, Dia De Los Muertos is a time for those in the mortal realm to help support the spiritual journey of the dead. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. Mexicans view this holiday not as a day of sadness, but as a day of celebration.
The Dia De Los Muertos holiday of today is a product of the different faiths and traditions of both indigenous people of Mexico (dating back thousands of years), Roman Catholicisim (dating back hundreds of years), and modern culture mixing over time. In the case of celebrating life and death in today's Dia de los Muertos, the roots of these indigenous and traditional beliefs go back thousands of years to indigenous Aztec people of what is now central and southern Mexico. The Aztecs did not see death as the end of one's existence, rather, another stage of one's life. One can not live without death and one cannot die without living. It is thought that they believed that the realm of the living world, the divine, and the spirit world all exist. Originally, Día de los Muertos was the entire ninth month of the Aztec calendar. The Aztecs dedicated the month to honoring both the people that would reincarnate as well as the god that allowed humans to reincarnate. In particular, they honored the god Mictlantecuhtli. The festivities celebrating it were known as Miccailhuitontli or Huey Micailhuitl, which translates to ‘The Great Feast of the Dead’.
According to the Great Nahuatl Dictionary, Mictlán means underworld. Others translate MICTLÁN as “place of the dead.” Different legends, visual representations and ancient codices define Mictlán as an unknown, dangerous and dark place, which has nine levels. In this worldview, the Earth was considered a being that devoured the flesh of the deceased. At the time of death, the deceased was thought to be paying off their debt with the Earth, since when they died, they gave continuity to the cycle of the universe. These nine levels are related to rot, fetid, cold, damp, watery, darkness, and night. The animals related to the Mictlán were owls, bats, worms and centipedes, which were in the service of Mictlantecuhtli and his consort Mictecacíhuatl.
The Nine Levels:
1. Itzcuintlan
Place of the dogs
2. Tepectli monamictlan
Place of the hills that come together
3. Iztepetl
Hills of the very sharp flints
4. Itzehecayan
Place of the obsidian wind
5. Paniecatacoyan
Place where people fly like flags
6. Timiminaloayan
Place where people are smitten
7. Teocoyohuehualoyan
Where the jaguars eat your heart
8. Izmictlan Apochcalolca
Smoke water lagoon
9. Chicunamictla
The nine waters.
Death was seen in the underworld of the Aztec world view where much transpires. Over thousands of years this worldview has maintained life in the spirituality if indigenous people of Mexico. 500 years ago, when the Spanish empire colonized what is now Mexico they brought with them Catholicism and made a devout effort to introduce and convert indigenous people to this faith and view of the world. Churches were built and people were brought into the Catholic religion. Catholicism celebrates All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2), both of which also commemorate those who have passed. These celebrations commemorating those that have passed is an area in which the Catholic faith and the indigenous faith found common ground. It's a syncretism, where indigenous religious practices have merged with the Christian belief systems introduced, or opposed, by the Spanish during the colonial era. There are actually many examples of syncretism throughout Mexico, most notably found at the main church in San Juan de Chamula in Chiapas. While the details and beliefs around death and the afterlife diverge greatly the people of Mexico today have a celebration in Dia de los Muertos that has roots spanning thousands of years of indigenous spirituality, hundreds of years or Catholic religious influence, and the modern constant of cultural expression.
