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SHE SAID…
September 7, 2003
One year ago exactly, the municipal
DIF (the system for the Integral Development of the
Family) family services department launched a campaign
to fight child prostitution and sexual abuse in this
town. It caused a great furor at the time because it
used posters and decals showing a child screaming, surrounded
by a red circle with a line across it and an American
passport in the background, implying that Americans
were the perpetrators of such abuse. At the time, the
director of one local Spanish daily wrote: “…someone
must make the authorities understand that this “campaign”
can lead to more damage than the little fruit it might
bear.”
Now here we are, one year later,
tourism is the lowest it’s been in a quarter century
and they’re at it again, except that this time
those well-meaning folks are waging their new campaign
through radio ads on the local stations. Sure, the tourists
will probably not hear the ads, but Vallartans will.
And many locals have already commented to me with regards
to those ads. They are sponsored by a group called “Para
Nuestros Niños” whose goal is the same
as the DIF’s last year: to fight child sexual
abuse, and a most commendable and worthy goal it is.
The problem arises when the ads lead the listeners to
believe that the abuse is wrought on the children by
FOREIGNERS. The ads are very clear, “the sexual
abuse of a child … committed by foreigner …
is a criminal offense. It must be reported.”
There's a nasty little habit that
has been circulating lately, we could call it restaurant
bashing. Maybe it's because so many good restaurants
have popped up recently. Suddenly everyone's a critic.
Not that I consider myself a critic by any stretch of
the imagination, but you should read some of the e-mails
we’ve received from people who’ve read my
“reviews”… "Well, I expected
more." “The fish was overcooked. I should
have ordered what you ordered…” "The
service wasn’t that great." "The food
was just OK." And then there's my favourite: "Frankly,
I can't understand why you gave them such a good review."
I guess it’s to be expected. We’re all entitled
to have a bad hair day, even restaurants. And some are
better at preparing certain dishes than they are with
others…
So now when people approach me for
a recommendation, I tend to hold back, just to protect
those fragile restaurants I feel could become victimized
in a moment of weakness. A slip in service or an over-salting
of the chicken and the bashers are sure to pounce. This
week's restaurant, though, might just be the exception.
Based on my own, one-time experience, Da’ Antonio
is a restaurant I would recommend to everyone. Take
a look.
Some good news: Police officers and
inspectors of the city’s Regulations Department
recently launched an operation on the island and around
the flea market by the Rio Cuale in order to catch those
fellows who devote their time to selling alpaca (silver
plated items) as pure silver to unsuspecting tourists.
The operation was the city’s response to the complaints
of some 25 of the market’s shop owners who demanded
that the mayor come up with a solution to what they
called illegal competition. These street vendors dupe
tourists by selling them items marked with the well-known
“925”, making them believe they are purchasing
real silver. The mayor said he issued instructions to
the police and inspectors to catch those vendors “in
the act”. The way I see it, all they have to do
is send out some plainclothes guys out there, on Morelos,
in that section between the flea market, the kids’
“park” by the unfinished footbridge and
the ice cream shop. They are out there all day long,
in the open, …“in the act”.
Another bit of good news: The Grupo
Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP - the folks that
manage the local international airport) and the time
share companies that installed the in-famous module
at the exit of the international arrivals area in the
lobby of the building agreed to “remodel”
it - entirely. The decision was taken after three days
of what the press called “exhaustive” meetings
where the time share reps assumed a “conciliatory
attitude”. The idea is for the work to begin next
week. Sr. Carlos Porrón, the GAP’s Commercial
Director, explained that one of the module’s walls
would be torn down while another would be “modified”.
I can’t wait to see what the final thing will
look like. All I know is that the way it is right now
is incredibly irritating, not to mention downright unsafe
in case of an emergency situation.
This week we will be marking the
second anniversary of that dreadful date, September
11th, 2001. I believe that we should never forget, nor
should we allow others to forget the horror of that
day. I believe that we should never allow ourselves
to become apathetic, as if everything had returned to
normal. It hasn’t and I doubt that it ever will.
There seem to be no more limits to the evil that men
can do to each other and the entire world seems to be
heading towards total chaos. My deepest sympathies to
all those who lost friends and family members on September
11, 2001, be they American or not.
I want to thank all the visitors
to www.pvmirror.com (over 500,000 hits
per month!) who have written in to thank us for putting
the best of the best on line. As many of them have said,
“at least we don’t have to run around town
looking for the Tribune!” Once again, I’m
sorry, folks, it’s just that the Tribune is so
popular that it gets snatched up as soon as it is delivered
to our more than 100 outlets ...and we only come out
once a week.
Get out there, enjoy the exciting
"Fiestas de la Patria" festivities that will
start this weekend, eat, drink, sing and dance! To quote
Laura Esquivel: "Celebrate life!" I wish you
all a week filled with passion ...and PEACE. Hasta
Luego
pvmomto3@hotmail.com
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