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SHE SAID…
June 29, 2003
We’ve all heard Andy Warhol’s
famous quote about “15 minutes of fame”.
Well, Puerto Vallarta got way more than that lately
what with the capture, arrest and extradition of Andrew
Luster, the heir to the Max Factor cosmetics empire
who was convicted to 124 years in prison and escaped
to our very own little Puerto Vallarta! Following that
Wednesday night when he was caught near the corner of
Mexico Avenue and Honduras, CNN and other television
networks have shown Puerto Vallarta and mentioned its
name over and over and over. Under different circumstances,
this kind of publicity may not be the kind the Tourism
Board had in mind, but considering that the CNN announcers
kept talking about our town as being a fun resort, full
of nightclubs and night life, a place where the laws
are enforced… as Martha would say, “that’s
a good thing!”
Think about it. Criminals of Luster’s
ilk will think twice about coming down here. After all,
the laws are enforced here and bounty hunters lurk behind
every palm tree, right? And all those folks around the
world who watch CNN and see that beautiful panoramic
shot of Vallarta repeated over and over, and our Malecon,
and the mountains with their lush vegetation, will start
thinking about coming down here …because the laws
are enforced here and it’s such a fun place! Even
in the wee hours of the morning when Mr. Luster was
unlucky enough to be apprehended, we saw how taco stands
are full of people, eating and having fun …in
Vallarta! What a great place this is!
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin
even pondered, “Why would this man choose such
a well-known place to run to? Why didn’t he flee
to some remote place on the Mexican coastline, why Vallarta,
one of Americans’ favorite beach resorts in Mexico?
Vallarta has plenty of nightclubs, exciting night life,
and surfing. Luster’s passions…” Yeay!
Let’s all go to Puerto Vallarta! And now, CNN
correspondent Ms. Gutierrez is remaining on location
until the bounty hunter’s fate is decided by the
local courts. And she interviews people and shows all
the nice spots in town. Excellent!
If my memory serves me well, the
last couple of times our town was considered “newsworthy”
by the decision makers at CNN was during Hurricane Kenna’s
unwelcome visit last October, followed by the more pleasant
EMC2 World Golf Cup event in December. A propos, I had
always wondered how it was that no one had come out
with T-shirts that said “I survived Hurricane
Kenna” the day after its passage. In Canada, and
probably in the U.S.A. too, they would be all over the
streets right away. In any case, I found one place that
had them, it’s called Fidencio’s. It is
a restaurant near the end of the beach, just south of
El Dorado restaurant. They had run out of them the last
time I had gone over there but last week they got a
new shipment and so I bought a few of them for my friends
who really did survive that awful morning. The shirt’s
design is really funny.
On an entirely personal level, this
has been a most exciting time - apart from the Puerto
Vallarta’s resurgence on the international scene.
In fact, it has been a time where I learned much about
spirits, spirits of alcohol and pre-Hispanic -spiritual-
ones, and how they are linked on certain occasions.
(See separate article.) Furthermore, I had the pleasure
and honor of getting to know places and witnessing things
I had never seen before.
Exactly one year ago, a headline
in the Tribune read “Construction of Bridge Over
Cuale River Approved”. The article went on to
say that “…although vehemently questioned
by business owners in the “Romantic Zone”,
the third bridge over the Cuale River will be built
according to the original plans -approved five years
ago- to link the two banks of the river at its westernmost
point, just as it meets the ocean… The total cost
of the work is estimated at approximately $4.5 Million
Pesos… business owners complained that they would
lose the business of tourists who will use the bridge
to go from Morelos Street to Ignacio I. Vallarta Street.”
So now, here we are one year later, the bridge -which
has yet to be finished- has cost about double from what
I understand and no one is happy.
And near there, in the vicinity of
the market, at the curb in the road on Morelos Street,
leading to the southbound bridge, the drains were blocked
again, as they are each year whenever it rains for longer
than a few minutes. The stench from the backed up sewage
that rises as the rain continues is unbearable at times.
It’s as if all the seafood vendors that used to
be in front of Rizo’s and have now been moved
to the 5 de Diciembre marketplace were trying to get
even with the authorities… It’s as if they
had somehow managed to turn all the foul smells that
used to emanate from their stalls into a concentrate
which they release into the city sewers whenever it
rains. When the water finally recedes, it leaves a layer
of muck about three inches thick on the surface of the
cobblestones in front of the stalls… where all
the tourists still walk while they await the completion
of the bridge. There. We’ve gone full circle.
I just read a wonderful message posted
on the Vallarta music web site (music-puerto-vallarta@yahoogroups.com)
It was sent in by a couple who obviously enjoy Willie
and Lobo’s music as much as I do. As the duo will
be performing out on the north shore, at Papasito's,
the couple hired a bus to provide transportation for
the 28 folks who will be accompanying them to see the
show! Now that’s another good thing, don’t
you agree? We here in town can get to see them at the
River Café.
While I’m on the internet thing,
I have to tell you that the www.ofertasvallarta.com
site really works. I saved $250. pesos on a pair of
glasses recently, and there are all sorts of discount
coupons for the top restaurants in town - among many
other things. Of course, when you leave Vallarta, I
hope you’ll stay in touch with us through the
www.pvmirror.com web site.
And on the topic of restaurants,
the young couple at “Once Upon A Time…”
(my favorite ice cream / espresso coffee shop in town)
are back from their long-overdue honeymoon. They’re
open and they’ve made new ice cream flavors inspired
by the unusual, unique flavors they encountered during
their voyage across Mexico.
They were the ones who told me of
this restaurant on Olas Altas that only opened recently,
where they found what they called “the tastiest
bar-b-q’d ribs in a long time”. My cousin
and I went there the other night and of course, we ordered
the ribs. Yes indeed, they were delicious, finger lickin’
good as a matter of fact - with all due respect to Colonel
Sanders. The name of the place is Sweeney’s and
it’s located on the upper floor, right next to
Café San Angel. They’ve got Fish ‘n
Chips and Mahi-Mahi and the best matchstick fries I’ve
had in a long time, pork chops and salads and all sorts
of good stuff. Prices are truly reasonable and the portions
are generous. Furthermore, there’s a big bar that
has obviously become a favorite hang-out for many of
this town’s foreigners. Sweeney’s is going
to have an Independence Day picnic and party and everything
starting at 4 p.m. on the Fourth of July. Try it, you
might like it.
I’ve got to stop here so that
I may get to work on the article on that pre-Hispanic
spa I promised to tell you about. They will probably
publish it in next week’s issue of the Tribune
(if they like it) because I understand this one’s
already full …there’s no space left and
I’ve got lots too many pictures.
Happy Canada Day to all my fellow
Canajuns out there! Happy Independence Day to all our
American friends! And then, when those two major holidays
are over, we’ll just have to get ready to celebrate
Bastille Day. What a fun month July always is in Vallarta!
Take good care of each other.
Hasta luego
pvmomto3@hotmail.com
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