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May 6, 2002.
I lived most of my life in a country
where trees bloom but once a year. Here in the tropical
paradise that is Vallarta, nature behaves very differently.
Here, you can admire blooms on the same tree at two
or three or more different times of the year. And I'm
not talking about climbing vines, I'm referring to real
trees! It is absolutely beautiful and I always marvel
when I see new blooms appear two months after I think
that's it for the season…
When the Easter holidays began, the
local movie theaters started showing animated films
intended for the whole family. As adults, our choice
was that, a war movie, the re-release of "E.T."
(which is wonderful, I admit) or that Schwartzenegger
thing. That was okay I guess, but those holidays ended
a number of weeks ago, all the children returned to
school, and still the choice for adults remained meager
at best… ("Shallow Hal"?) Then, once
all the "snowbirds" had gone back up north,
all of a sudden the theaters announced a half-dozen
"good" movies …all at the same time.
Those friends of mine who live here year 'round breathed
a little sigh of contentment. "Finally," they
said. Only one problem: For last week's "Día
del Niño" (Day of the Child), when the kids
got a day off from school, there was not one movie to
which parents could bring the kids on their day! Not
even a matinée! Am I missing something here?
Who is it that decides what films will be shown anyway?
Maybe that is why we see tykes fidgeting in their seats
at movies that are rated "R"… Just asking.
A couple of weeks ago, one of my
colleagues at the Tribune wrote an article that appeared
in the Tribuna de la Bahía entitled "One
Million Collected in Fines". I read it with great
interest as I am always amazed at the lack of law enforcement
regarding traffic violations in Vallarta. I have often
expressed my thoughts on the matter in this column,
and they are always the same. I think that if there
were police officers posted at various contentious intersections
in town -officers that would stop and fine some of the
crazy drivers around here- the city coffers would be
filled in no time at all.
Anyway, if I read her article correctly,
it goes on to state that City Hall took in about $1,048,000.
Pesos in fines and penalties in the last two months
alone! However, in a totally separate article that was
published at about the same time last month, it appeared
that only a small fraction of the tools at the police's
disposal (hand-held radars, radios, etc.) is being used.
The rest is stored, gathering dust. Enough said.
After I was first introduced to the
new Commercial Director at the Tribune, he and I ended
up chatting for a long, long time. When we realized
that it was getting really late and our stomachs were
grumbling, we left the office to find a bite to eat.
Being new to Vallarta, Alvaro had no suggestions, so
we just started walking. One block away, at the corner
of Lazaro Cardenas and Aguacate, I remembered my colleague's
article as I looked up at the stop sign. I said to Alvaro,
"See this street? It's a one-way, right?"
"Right," he answered, wondering why I would
ask him such a stupid question. "Now look at the
stop sign. Which way is it facing?" He looked up,
realizing that it was facing the wrong way (as it has
done ever since it was put up some four years ago) and
started laughing. And there are still no stop signs
along Constitución, the street along which there
have been so many accidents.
Getting back to the stats in my friend's
articles, they reminded me of other stats that appeared
in another local (Spanish-language) daily. That particular
publication has one reporter who covers topics dealing
with tourism-related statistics. Last week, he wrote
about the great job our Tourism Trust is doing abroad,
in Spain to be exact. He went on to state that 300,000
promotional videos would be distributed to the "main
magazines" in that Iberian country. The last time
the Tourism Trust made copies of its promotional videos
of Vallarta, they ordered around 5,000 and that was
for the whole wide world. At an average cost of nearly
U.S.$3. each, that translates into nearly ONE MILLION
U.S. DOLLARS for videos alone, not including taxes,
shipping or handling. That's nearly half of the Trust's
budget for the promotion of Vallarta for the whole year.
In exchange, Spain has promised to send one plane with
300 passengers per week. You figure it out. Maybe it
was just a typo error.
Remember, this Sunday has been set
apart for us to honor our moms - even more than usual.
They deserve it! Next month, we can honor our dads...
There is a quote from Washington Irving that I would
like to share with our readers on the occasion of the
very special day that is Mother's Day: "A mother
is the truest friend we have. When trials, heavy and
sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place
of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our
sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us,
still will she cling to us, and endeavors by her kind
precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness,
and cause peace to return to our hearts."
Only some of us have children, but
all of us have mothers. If yours is still alive, remember
her on Mother's Day. If not, remember her kindly. To
all the mothers reading this, I wish a most Happy and
Joyous Mother's Day filled with hugs and sloppy kisses.
Keep up the great work, ladies, and remember that ours
is the only occupation that doesn't come with a "How
To" manual. We all do the best we can, don't we?
With time, our children do see the light and stop blaming
us for their woes. Hasta luego, friends.
anna@pvmirror.com
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