Ignacio Cadena, a man with full pockets
A happy man, a friend who is in love with Puerto Vallarta, who is filled with a profound desire to experience life to its fullest. This is a description of Ignacio Cadena Beraud, a human being in every sense of the word, a free spirit, committed to his own ideals which he often shares with a huge part of society thanks to his columns that are published in several local papers, describing his most predominant concern: the well-being of this Mexican town which he got to know for the first time in 1975.
Attracted by the cleanliness and the character of the town, with its huge houses roofed with red tiles designed by inhabitants of the close-by mountains, Ignacio Cadena or "Nacho" as he is called by his long list of friends, allowed himself to be completely fascinated by the magic of the coast, offering him, in contrast to his native state of Sonora, a warm and humid atmosphere, filled with exuberant vegetation.
"31 years ago the place was absolutely captivating. The city had been well divided, having a downtown area on one hand and on the other hand a hotel zone to the south and to the north. There was no contamination between the hotel constructions and the small village. However there were already plans to build what today is known as Conchas Chinas in the mountains south of Vallarta but with protection from the mountains and the necessary water drainage" recalls Ignacio Cadena. One of his special memories of those times is the red highway: "it attracted my attention that every morning the small road that led from the airport to downtown was full of red color caused by a certain specie of crabs who were drawn by the light of the automobiles and while traveling along the road it was impossible to avoid them and we ran them over. At dawn the highway looked red, night after night, morning after morning. The El Salado swamp and the natural systems of the place functioned up to this degree."
Before getting to know Puerto Vallarta, this singular character had already left behind an endless number of labor activities – immigrating to the United States at the age of 15 where he worked several jobs, from gardener to kitchen helper – which turned him into a very mature individual. All of this helped him to visualize a goal and to achieve it years later. "I arrived here to develop a real estate complex called Los Tules, a combined hotel and residential project. At that time it was a place that was admired by visitors and locals and it still continues to be beautiful. And right next door to the same group of developers we started the Hotel Fiesta Americana which I can tell you, by the way, was the first hotel of this successful hotel chain. With pride I tell you that the first hotel was not in Mexico City but in Puerto Vallarta, and it was up to me, together with the now deceased Don Gaston Azcarraga, to make the necessary arrangements to create this chain that up to now is the most important hotel chain in Mexico and Latin America".
The names of people he met during those years remain in his memories that he shared during this interview: Polo Celis, who was in charge of the whole carpentry. He was a local inhabitant of Vallarta, able not only to build with his own force 1200 hotel rooms but also to be innovating enough to create a beautiful decoration. Also Felix Avila Felix Ávila who then was a bearer with a small donkey used to transport sand and gravel, among other materials.
 Ignacio Cadena has seen the growth and development of Puerto Vallarta. His public opinions always show his concern about the advantages and disadvantages left behind by progress. He has requested emphatically an organized zoning for the city in order not to take away the quality of life from the inhabitants of the bay, he has asked investors not only to invest their money in the area, but also to cooperate in always making the area a better place to live and to live every day with respect for nature: "the vegetation, the mountains, the greenery, the flowers, the palm trees, the natural ferns, this green of all greens with we all have fallen in love with. The wonderful climate of Vallarta also represents a commitment for the present local inhabitants to be accountable for everything we have inherited from our ancestors and nature" are notions of Cadena Beraud.
In his office of the General Management of the Hotel Hola Puerto Vallarta, this burly man with a noticeable preference for light colored clothes, did not forget his culinary memories (that stem from a French mother who was an excellent cook and contemplative woman), which have accompanied him until a year ago when he took charge of his restaurant La Petite France, a place known not only for its cuisine but also for its free cultural events carried out there which have become a tradition of great value for the locals.
During this new stage Ignacio Cadena follows his own tradition "life taught me to fight for what I have, even though it is not so much about material things, this is not what matters most to me. Instead of having my pockets full of gold coins, I prefer another kind of wealth: to have my pockets full of a profound desire to experience life, because with this desire you can achieve many things that gold can’t buy. I have fought all my life to do things, to turn inwards, to learn more, but the value that has always captivated most is to feel good about myself and to be happy, and this becomes a virtuous circle. I like to make friends and I like it very much to walk on the street listening to people shouting on the street "Nacho! How are you?" It gives me great satisfaction to have friends, friends that are measured by their importance in my heart".
Thus the life of this multi-sided man begins every day at six o’clock in the morning. He prepares his coffee and at six fifteen he sits down at his balcony to observe a bay full of natural, personal and timeless stories that become part of his mind, "in this moment I enjoy, I contemplate, I watch and I allow my senses to talk to me, during those minutes I am not alone because I give myself the time to fall in love with the wind, the sounds, the barks of the dogs, the rooster singing all out of tune, a close-by school that at eight o’clock sharp pledges allegiance to the flag. You do not really live alone, you are surrounded by nature, feelings, illusions, imagining things. Sometimes I see a boat and I imagine the crew, and I make up stories, even for myself. I am a happy man and this is how I would like to be remembered. "
Thanks Mr. Nacho Cadena for your quality contribution of building and promoting our Puerto Vallarta. Happy New Year 2007!
Silvia Alvarez
E-mail: silvialvarezb@yahoo.com.mx
Archives by date |
Current
Weather Report
