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December 22, 2002.
Diary of
a Serendipitous Day  This
week's column should really go under our "Musings" section rather than
"Opinion". I would like to devote it to sharing with you a most unusual
and fulfilling experience I lived last week. And if I can convey even a fraction
of the emotions involved, I will have accomplished my purpose. It
all started a few weeks ago when guitarist extraordinaire Paco Renteria returned
to Vallarta to perform at the beautiful Camino Real Hotel right after the hurricane.
As some of you may recall, he brought with him a young Mexican musician who played
the didgeridoo, that mystic instrument of the Australian aborigines. After
that show and the following night when they gave a repeat performance in the main
square of the town, I had the pleasure of chatting with the young man in question,
whose name is Rafael. It was a fascinating encounter. He lives in Guadalajara,
but he intended to return to Vallarta very soon, he told me. I gave him my card. Then
on Thursday the 12th, after the Tribune had gone to press, I received an e-mail
from my friend Claire of Galería Dante advising me of an impromptu book
signing set for the following Saturday evening, organized by my other friend,
John Youden (publisher of Vallarta Lifestyles and Vallarta Voice) for the benefit
of our common friend, gifted Australian photographer Mark Callanan. On
Saturday afternoon, I received a phone call from Rafael. He had been hired to
perform for the World Cup golfers at a gala dinner organized for them the previous
evening. He asked me what my plans were and I told him about the book signing.
He asked if I wanted him to play. I was speechless! I told him I would check with
Claire and Mark and get back to him. Needless to say, both were absolutely delighted
with the idea. I called Rafael back and we agreed to meet at Galeria Dante at
six. Here in Mexico, there is word "tocayo"
that denotes two or more people who have the same name. As it turned out, another
Rafael, this one owner of Daiquiri Dick's Restaurant, an accomplished piano player
himself, was also scheduled to play at the book signing. That was wonderful, as
they would take turns entertaining the visitors… the two tocayos, the two
Rafaels. Even though I arrived at the gallery at six o'clock
sharp, Rafael (the didgeridoo-player) was already there, as was everyone else:
John, Mark, John's lovely wife Florence, etc. etc. …and people! The gallery
was full. Many came to admire Leah Poller's exhibit of whimsical bronze beds,
but many had also come specifically to buy Mark's book of impressive photographs,
having been advised by e-mail. Rafael was playing and everyone was silent, listening
to the haunting notes of that ancient instrument. When
he stopped, people rushed to buy his CD's while Mark was furiously signing dedications
as his books were flying off the shelf. What was supposed
to be a one-hour stop on our way to dinner together turned out to be a three-hour
deal. No one would let Rafael leave. Could he play just once more? Yes, of course.
Did he have any CD's left to sell? Yes, of course. (The boy came well prepared.)
And so it went on, Mark furiously signing dedications and Rafael inching his way
to the gallery entrance to make his exit… By the time we made it to the sidewalk,
he had already been hired to offer a private concert the next day and to perform
at Terra Noble for the fabulous event owner Jorge Rubio has planned there for
New Year's Eve. We finally made it back to my car and
we were off. I wanted to introduce Rafael to Nacho Cadena, the President of the
CUC's Cultural Committee (and owner of La Petite France Restaurant). Maybe he
could set something up for this gifted young man. That
evening, La Petite France was featuring Manuel Argudín, a delightful Cuban
singer / troubadour / minstrel. Sr. Cadena was busily flitting about, making sure
everything was okay with everyone, setting up for the Cuban singer's performance.
He came to sit with us and I introduced him to Rafael. The Cuban singer sang,
then the restaurant's own resident singer, Cesareo, sang, then the leader of Puerto
Vallarta's church choir, tenor Octavo, took the microphone and sang (a rare event
indeed!) and then Nacho asked if Rafael would play. He smiled, "Sure!"
It took about three seconds for the entire restaurant to become totally silent.
You could hear a pin drop. As the last haunting, mystical notes filled the room,
everyone there applauded wildly. The dean of the Coastal
University Center was there. He asked Rafael for his card and bought some of his
CD's - as did many of the others present, including the Cuban singer. Good things
are definitely shaping up for this talented young man. He intends to spend a great
deal of time in Vallarta in the next few months, sharing the wealth of knowledge
he has acquired from the Australian aborigines during the months he spent living
with them. I promise I'll let you know more as soon as he gives me more definite
info. By the time I got home, it was past 2 a.m. Now that's
what I call a serendipitous day. Wouldn't you? Well, here
we are already at the Winter Equinox. I love it because it means that the days
will be getting longer as of this weekend. The days are perfectly beautiful, the
ocean has acquired that awesome deep blue color we see in all the postcards, the
air is clear, hot in the daytime, cool at night, what else can we ask for? I
wish a warm, wonderfully happy and merry Christmas to all our readers. May we
all enjoy serendipitous days! May the warmth of our little paradise linger in
your hearts throughout the coming year. Feliz Navidad y Hasta Luego! pvmomto3@hotmail.com Archives
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