Now, flyblown and forgotten, it has learned the hard way about thirst. No more fishing. Trees are dead. No one plants. The wells are dry.
Men catch the odd catfish or bass to supplement wages as laborers when work can be found.
But nothing much grows in their parched, salty fields. Mostly, the village languishes. The plight of El Mayor typifies what is happening around the world as politics and engineering shape access to dwindling water sources. Commonly, water flows uphill toward money. Each year, Mexico gets only 1.5 million acre feet of Colorado River water, one-tenth of what is drawn off above the border.