Give
Credit Where Credit Is Due
By Nacho Cadena
February, 2004
It all began with a phone
call, about two years ago. Following a number of
concrete and well-aimed questions, and my corresponding
answers given as well as I could formulate them,
he accepted the invitation. "Yes, I
agree," he said.
He was born in England and he chose Puerto Vallarta
as his residence. You might find him at an art gallery,
an exhibit or giving out toys in the outlying neighborhoods
or looking for sponsors for the BECAS scholarship organization
or working as a volunteer with the international golf
tournaments or maybe in front of an easel in his studio,
painting something in that very particular style of
his, or at a meeting of the local Navy League chapter,
another charitable organization. Another possibility
is that you find him at City Hall, trying to accomplish
one thing or another for the people of Conchas Chinas
whom he represents. Maybe you'll find him quietly writing
another book on advertising or a tale or an article
for the Tribune or Vallarta Golf. Perhaps you'll find
him at a good restaurant, behaving like a well-mannered,
educated gentleman or visiting an art collector or
an artist, trying to acquire a piece as a donation
to the Permanent Art Gallery of the Coastal University
Center (CUC), our foremost academic center.
The CUC's Cultural Council had been established for
a little over two years and I had called him to invite
him to join. I knew his qualifications, but I never
imagined it would come to this. I knew that he was
a marketing man, I knew he was an artist, I knew he
was a great promoter of noble causes, I knew he was
a hard worker, enthusiastic and organized, I knew he
enjoyed working for the benefit of children and youngsters...
but if truth be told, I fell far short in what I knew
about him.
One day, around five in the
afternoon, at the end of a Cultural Council meeting,
when dealing with general matters, I raised my hand
and said: "I have an idea
I would like to propose." And I exposed the idea that
the CUC should have an art gallery, as patrimony and
I added, maybe dreaming, that sometime in the future
it could turn into a little museum. This sparked everyone's
interest. It looked like a very good ideal. Approved.
To promote culture at the University is to promote
values, humanism, an indispensable complement to the
technical training of students, to the complete training
of men and women, accomplished and in search of the
beautiful, the good and at the same time, in search
of happiness.
He came to the next meeting with a plan and a specific
project, and as movement is demonstrated by action,
he also came with his decision to donate seventeen
works of art from his private collection.
And that is how it was born,
and today, thanks to his efforts, the Galería
de Arte Permanente (GAP) already owns more than thirty
valuable pieces... a real cultural and also economic
heritage.
This British Vallartan's name
is Peter Gray. He was born in Saint Albans, England,
some time ago, not recently nor a long time ago,
because generosity has no age. He studied at Cambridge
and he worked for forty years for the Procter & Gamble company, forty years of
professional life with the most advanced company in
marketing, in the United States, Mexico and Venezuela.
He retired from that profession just when he was Marketing
Director for Latin America - fifteen countries in all.
He retired and chose the town of Puerto Vallarta, of
all the places in the world, to live in and devote
himself to his social, artistic and cultural endeavors.
With time, he wrote a book
on advertising, his last professional contribution
to Procter & Gamble.
It is entitled "Publicity and the Ignorant Savage" (1977);
a book filled with wisdom, with unparalleled simplicity
and logic, something acquired only through dedication
and experience. In the year 2002, he presented his
book "All Is Safely Gathered In", a story that takes
place in one of those old English towns, a delightful
book. He is a columnist in various publications.
As a painter, he has put on
exhibits in Cambridge, England; at the Art Show in
Mexico City, at the Young & Rubican
Gallery and at Banobras; in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at
the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. He is the author
of 500 reproductions that were donated to the Becas
Vallarta scholarship organization, and his works are
part of private collections in England, Mexico, the
U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy, Venezuela and Peru.
Behind him, no, that's not right, beside him there
is a marvelous woman, who stimulates this creativity,
this momentum and this generosity... her name is Buri
Salinas, a marvel of a lady, pleasant, organized, hard-working,
happy, fantastic. Together they are a treasure, a chest
filled with joy.
Now the Coastal University Center has a reality, an
art gallery, over thirty pieces permanently exhibited
in the lobby of the University's Auditorium, for the
solace of the thousands of students, professors, workers
and visitors to this academic center. This cultural
heritage of the university is due to the generosity
of the donators of works and most of all to the idea,
the project, the plan and the ability to accomplish
of one Vallartan, a lover of art and of the place where
he lives. His name is Peter Gray and in virtue of the
decision of the University Council, that is the name
the University's gallery will bear as of last January
22 nd , 2004, and from then on. TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE
CREDIT IS DUE.
This is a real life story, a Brit, a Latin American,
who chose to be Vallartans and who give their daily
work, their time, their resources and their art collection
so that many, many youngsters of Vallarta may enjoy
them and fill themselves with this joy, this pleasure
that only art and culture can bring. We all know how
difficult it is to part with a beautiful and valuable
painting or sculpture. He, Peter, parted with seventeen
of them... it makes me think of the queen of all virtues:
generosity.
Thank you, Peter Gray, for this great example. Thank
you to the University Council for recognizing the merit
of a citizen. FOR GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
That's all for today. Muchas Gracias.
nachocadena@lapetitefrance.com.mx
Besides being the President of the University's
Cultural Council, Nacho Cadena is the owner of La
Petite France, the French restaurant located right
next to the entrance to the Fiesta Americana Hotel.
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