Check out this article on piracy in Mexico. Here’s are some quotes:
“Illegal sales already account for 65 percent of CD sales in Mexico, and the entertainment industry is bracing for things to get much worse now that fast broadband connections have become more common, doubling to 61 percent of Web-enabled Mexicans in the last two years.”
“Internet use in Mexico increased about 20 percent per year from 2001 to 2006, and nearly one-fifth of the population of 107 million will have Web access by year’s end, according to the Mexican Internet Association, which represents Web-related businesses.”
“According to the IFPI, with a pirate market valued at $111 million in 2004, Mexico is now within the top ten countries for music piracy. The major labels say Mexican computer users download about 568 million songs per year.”
“The movie industry already lost about $483 million to counterfeit sales in Mexico in 2005, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.”
What does this mean for youth ministry in Mexico? Probably a lot. I would be willing to bet that the people who are buying and distributing the pirated versions of CDs are young people. It’s not uncommon to see booths with pirated music, movies, or video games. It is done in the open. This is definitely an issue in youth ministry in Mexico.
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Mexico’s soccer team is on its way to the World Cup. But, according to this article by Reuters, they didn’t leave until they sought divine intervention in the Basillica de Guadalupe.
I know, it’s hard to believe they didn’t invite me to participate in the farewell ceremony, but that’s okay.
In other soccer news, Pachuca defeated San Luis today in final of the Mexican soccer league. Too bad, too, because we know the wife of the San Luis coach. Oh well. There’s always next season (they play two seasons per year).
So, I went with Paco to the soccer game last night between Mexico and the Congo. It was a great experience. We left at 5 pm so we could get there and get our general admission seats (about $15). We got to Estadio Azteca around 7 pm because there was a ton of traffic due to the fact that they closed down one of the main roads in Mexico City for a huge protest.
When we arrived, we parked and went in to the stadium, where there was a ton of activity. We painted our faces with red, white, and green, and we went to look for our seats. We got some decent seats in the upper deck (general admission, remember), and we were ready for the game. After our two hour wait, the game started, and the only way I can describe it (even before the game) is as a whole bunch of constant noise. Mexico won, 2-1, and when we left, we could barely hear anything. The stadium was rocking and everyone went home happy, except for the Congo team. I’ll post a video later so you can hear the crowd.
Of course, even though there was little traffic on the road we would usually take home, it took us a long time to get home bacause they had closed it for repairs. So, we had to go a different way, and at 11:30 pm, there was tons of traffic. Ahhh…Mexico City.
I’m getting ready to see “El Tri,” Mexico’s national soccer team play against the Republic of Congo in Estadio Azteca. It’s the last game for the team before the world cup. Ooooh, so exciting.
The crazy thing about this horrible story is that we were just on that road Friday. It really is a very dangerous road with lots of curves and drops.
Day Three of our trip was the day we were working with the National Baptist Youth Union to give a full day of workshops to leaders involved in the youth groups at their churches. We had planned it all around the fact that youth ministry revolves around 6 relationships. Oscar, Huberto, Juan, Salomon, Isaac, and I all had a one hour time slot to share.
The group of leaders was about 25 people, and we also spoke about the seminary with the rest of the group. As usual, there was a lot of stuff that we had to do that wasn’t planned, and the day was long. The place we were in was beautiful and hot. Overall, it was a good day. I shortened my workshop because the schedule went long. It was okay, though, and I’ve heard some comments on the fact that is was beneficial. We left the campsite and went to the Fiesta Inn for a GREAT night’s rest.
