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| Puerto Vallarta | | February
16th - 22nd, 2003 | City Buses Cause
Chaos Two of the city's three public bus transportation
operating companies organized a blockade during the weekend of February 9th, in
three different strategic locations in the area. At the same time, they also suspended
service in reaction to City Hall's actions the previous week, when many buses
were impounded for lack of permits. The purpose of the
municipal government's actions was to check each unit to ensure that it had the
proper circulation permit, license plates and that their drivers were properly
authorized, with the appropriate permits. Vallartans were
taken by surprise by the blockades which also caused many delays besides blocking
access to Marina Vallarta, Pitillal, the road to Mismaloya and Hidalgo Park. The
drivers' unions' spokespersons said they organized the blockade to demand that
they be given the license plates they had been promised years ago, which have
never been delivered despite the fact that the unions purportedly pay their permit
fees every 90 days. Sr. Procoro Hernandez, General Director of this publication,
entitled his opinion column "City held hostage by bus drivers". As
a result of the blockades, at least 15 bus drivers were handcuffed and taken to
the Public Security facilities by the police. The following
day, a survey was taken by Tribuna staff members among the residents of this town.
Overall, they qualified the service offered by local buses as "pésimo"
(dreadful, terrible). They complained that drivers treat passengers like animals
while they race through the streets of town. Last year, the Municipal Transit
Department reported 6,469 official complaints lodged against bus drivers, 869
for driving at excessive speeds and 879 for driving through red lights. 26 drivers
were accused of lack of caution and 16 were handed over to the Attorney General's
office, while only 2 victims backed out. All the rest lodged formal criminal complaints. Public
transportation in this town is a problem confronted on a daily basis. The government
of the state of Jalisco headed by Gov. Francisco Ramírez intends to send
a proposal to the State Congress to enact a law that would deem as qualified homicide
any accident causing the death of a person, caused by the city's public transportation
buses. In the city of Guadalajara, there have been already 16 fatal accidents
reported this year. Furthermore, the cancellation of the service and the suspension
of the guilty driver's permit was also demanded. Faced
with the critical situation surrounding the public transportation system in Puerto
Vallarta, the Centro Estatal de Investigación de Vialidad y el Transporte
(CEIT) proposed an operative modification of the service as well as the "regularization"
of the bus fleet according to the law of the state of Jalisco. Based on those
standards, the Municipal Transit Department is authorized to withdraw from circulation
all units circulating without plates or permits. The demonstration by the public
transportation drivers against these measures has brought about a revision of
the CEIT's study commissioned by the municipal authorities and the three bus companies
a year and a half ago, who stated that they wanted to "work together to modernize
the system". Regarding the more than 150 buses circulating
without permits or licenses, city trustee Francisco Vallejo stated that before
blocking roads, drivers should seek legal recourses against the Roads & Transportation
Department who have not responded to their demands. For
her part, Councilwoman Gloria Palacios asked the parties involved in the bus conflict
not to politicize the problem as that would not bring about a solution to it.
She added that unfortunately like in the case of all administrations, when they
approach the end of their term, they try to appear as if they are solving problems
even though they know how difficult it is …because no one wants to lose their
political position. She called for the regularization of permits, believing that
a consensus could still be reached through dialogue and negotiation to prove to
the drivers that the intention is there to assure them of definite permits.
XIth
Bahía de Banderas Festival The Organizing
Committee of the Bahía de Banderas Festival met a week ago to inform the
media of the program of activities scheduled for the 7-day festival set to begin
on Monday, February 24th. According to a decree from the Congress of the State
of Nayarit, this festival entitled "The Fiesta of Tradition" is to be
an annual event, taking place on the same dates each year, with this year's marking
the 11th since its inception. The Mayor of Bahía
de Banderas expressed his desire that all travel agents spread the word and information
among the tourists in the region, inviting them all to participate in the activities
that have been scheduled. The very first event, set for
the day prior to the official start of the Festival, will be a mountain bike race
from Aguamilpa to San Juan de Abajo, starting at 8 a.m. Once
the Festival begins, there will be cultural evenings, fishing, golf, volleyball,
basketball and chess tournaments, karate and judo exhibitions, gastronomical demonstrations,
a photo contest entitled "Hunting for Whales", a sand sculpture contest,
music concerts, and a half-marathon to name but a few of the many fun activities
to be enjoyed.
VIIth Film Festival
of Vallarta At a press conference held at La Petite
France recently, Jeffry Fernandez, Rector of the Coastal University Center (CUC)
of the University of Guadalajara, and Nacho Cadena, President of the Center's
Cultural Committee, informed the media of the VIIth Film Festival to be held from
March 28th to April 3rd of this year. During his address,
Sr. Cadena (who is also the owner of La Petite France and a regular contributor
to this publication) stated that he had always dreamt of promoting Vallarta as
a tourist destination. He stressed the importance of festivals and big cultural
or sports events as they are the ones whose worth is doubled because they position
the destination on both the national and international scene. He added that films
are a "very natural" medium to entertain and bring culture to people. World-renowned
cinematographer Angel Godel addressed the audience next. He spoke of the organizing
committee's intention to award the "Golden Iguana" as a prize to the
best film. The theaters to be used for the festival will be Cinema Versalles,
the CUC's own theater and L'Opera.
Martinizing
Opens Fourth Branch Benjamin Aguayo, owner of the
Martinizing franchise, showed his pride as he recently opened the doors to his
fourth dry cleaning shop in the region, this one in Paradise Plaza in Nuevo Vallarta. In
the company of his lovely wife Adriana, and his general manager César García,
he welcomed the guests to the event, among which many hotel managers from Puerto
Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta, all very interested in this company's offerings. The
first Martinizing venue opened 8 years ago in Plaza Marina. "They kept losing
my clothes, so I thought of bringing a big brand name dry cleaning firm to this
town. I did an intensive search and ended up with Martinizing, a prestigious chain
of dry cleaning franchises whose high quality is the same all over the world,"
Benjamin reminisced. "We use the most modern, error-proof equipment on the
market. Our staff now has 8 years' experience in the field." This allows
Benjamin's stores to guarantee various advantages over his competitors, things
that are important to customers, among which making sure that there is no shine
on the clothes, and that they will be 100% satisfied with the care given to them.
"S.O.S.
Animal" Fundraising Dinner "S.O.S. Animal"
organizes various events in order to reach its goal: to build an animal shelter.
This time, it was a Saturday night dinner at the Playa Los Arcos hotel where guests
enjoyed a buffet dinner that included a wide range of dishes, desserts and drinks. To
raise funds and reach its goal, the group conducted the raffle of prizes and all
the proceeds will be used to give a better home to street dogs and cats in our
town, as well as to promote better education and awareness among people. Winners
walked away with wonderful prizes ranging from handicrafts to small kitchen appliances
and sound systems. Many of those present were American tourists from Chicago,
California and other parts of the States. This group's
organizing committee is made up of five ladies concerned with the well-being and
protection of animals, ladies who do everything they can to provide them with
good homes and food. One of their many goals is to find
a space where they may build a shelter to offer medical attention and plenty of
green spaces for our four-legged friends and the visitors who will come to adopt
them.
Navy League Press Release Stethem
Crew Does Good - Again! After the generous onboard
reception for members of the Navy League last Thursday, the crew of USS Stethem
got down to serious business on Saturday. For many of them it was their second
visit to Puerto Vallarta, since the Stethem was here just one year ago. On its
first visit, members of the crew spent a day painting the RISE orphanage. This
time a party of twenty-five, led by Lt. Com. Joe Darlak who hails from Buffalo,N.Y.,gave
their time to painting the exterior of the City Library. Also
among the volunteers was Chief Jason Osborne from Minnesota. While he wasorganizing
the painting party I discovered he had just been told that he had been promoted
to Ensign after serving 12 years in the U.S.Navy. Which made him what is popularly
known as a "Mustang" - making the grade to officer rank. From what I
saw - richly deserved! I also talked to Ensign Rachel
Benton from Annapolis, Marylnd. She was also among the "second-timers,"
from the Stetham and happily remembered her good experience working at the RISE
orphanage a year ago. By the time the work-party left,
the façade and forecourt of the library were absolutely dazzling in the
sunlight. The library looked as if it had only just been completed. Earlier
in the morning, the work-party had offloaded a substantial amount of medical supplies
that had been waiting to be delivered from San Diego. The personal interest of
the Stethem's Commanding officer, David W. Melin, in bringing these needed supplies
down to Puerto Vallarta deserves the praise and thanks of the entire community. Among
the items - apart from the normal medical supplies - were wheel-chairs, crutches,
an electrically operated bed and an updraft breathing machine destined for the
local Navy Hospital.
When one sees these very young men and women volunteers,
casually dressed in their T-shirts and shorts, kidding each other as they work,
it is easy to forget that they are really part of a fighting force, quite likely
with life and death challenges ahead of them.. Only recently, I saw pictures on
CNN of one of the naval ships that visited Puerto Vallarta a few months ago, heading
out to the Middle East. We should be truly grateful that these sailors also have
the grace and energy to devote to helping communities such as ours.
REMINDER:
Did You Get Your Tickets for the Ball? The annual
dinner dance put on by the Becas Vallarta organization will be held on Friday,
February 28th at the Westin Regina hotel. With so many
events marking the high season, some people might wonder whether this is definitely
one that they should make a point of attending. So it may be helpful to provide
some reasons why this evening is as incredibly rewarding as it is enjoyable. First
of all, it has been for many years, the biggest social event of the year. The
one occasion for many residents to really dress up and amaze their friends, who
have seen them only in shorts, sandals and T-shirts for months on end. It provides
a cocktail hour in which old friendships can be renewed and new friendships be
created. It provides a fine dinner in an elegant setting with a special décor
themed to the idea of bringing happiness to children who need a helping hand to
progress in life as educated adults. It provides a splendid band that will sweep
young and old onto the dance floor for a romantic end to the night. And some lucky
raffle-winners will take home grand prizes such as a 20/21" Sony flat screen
TV - color and stereo sound : a Daewoo DVD/VCD/S-VCD/Audio CD//MP3 Player: a Sears
micro-wave oven: a Sharp VCR or an AIWA Boombox- CD/Cassette/Radio. Also there
is a fantastic assortment of goods and services you can bid on at the silent auction.
All this for only 45 dollars (450 pesos) per person. Raffle tickets are only one
dollar or ten pesos each. And that's only the enjoyable
part. The rewarding part is the satisfaction of knowing that the proceeds of this
event go directly and entirely into providing scholarships for many of the brightest
and poorest children in and around Puerto Vallarta. This
is a task that Becas Vallarta has undertaken for the past forty-two years. When
it started there was only one high school in the city. Now there are twelve. Clearly,
Becas Vallarta needs an ever-growing level of support to keep up with this ever
increasing demand. There are so many children in Puerto Vallarta who have all
that it takes to succeed - except the financial means to stay on the rungs of
the educational ladder that would make all the difference to their lives. Yet
we know that educated children will become better citizens, better neighbors,
better wives and better husbands. For the year 2002-03,
Becas Vallarta will support 110 students in junior high, 149 in senior high, and
47 at university level. "Support" covers the provision of uniforms,
shoes, gym clothes, school supplies, a solar calculator and dictionaries in Spanish
and English plus modest monthly allowances in cash to senior high and university
students. Each student is personally monitored throughout
the time they receive Becas support. High standards are expected and they are
met. Becas students served as volunteers at the concession
stands at the World Golf Tournament held here in mid-December. The U.S.catering
company personnel were enormously impressed by the enthusiasm, intelligence and
competence of the students, which more than matched what they were accustomed
to in the States. Which is evidence of the all round value that flows from the
Becas program. Whether one finds the enjoyment part of
the Becas Ball more important than the rewarding part is up to each individual.
Put the two together and you have an irresistible reason for attending on February
28th. Tickets are still available at Galleria Dante located
at 269 Basilio Badillo Street and at both of Galeria Vallarta's locations, at
263 Juarez Street downtown and in Plaza Neptuno, Local D 14-15 in Marina Vallarta.
Or, you can call Mary Ellis at 222-1478 or Pat Bendix at 221-5730.
Dancing
Lessons at Santa Barbara For those who want to do
more than listen to music, join us for dance lessons at 6:00 - 8:00 pm on Tuesday
evenings at Santa Barbara on Olas Altas. International
level judges for ballroom competitions, Tom and Nancy, are here for their annual
visit and offering classes in samba, tango, foxtrot, meringue, and more. 100 pesos
per session.
Art Auction at the Vallarta
Public Library The Board of Directors of Pro Biblioteca
de Vallarta cordially invites all Vallarta residents and visitors to a live art
auction on Friday, February 21, 2003 from 6 to 8 P.M. at the Public Library, 1001
Francisco Villa, Los Mangos. Food and beverages will be served. Works
to be auctioned include paintings and sculptures by local established and promising
new artists, many of whom will be in attendance. Raffle tickets, at $50 pesos
each, can be purchased from members of the Library Board or at the event. The
prize? A 20" RCA color TV! All proceeds from the
auction and raffle will be used to support the operations of the library. The
City generously provides partial funding of the operating expenses but the balance
of the maintenance and operation depends exclusively on donations from the community
and events such as this auction. Your attendance and participation in the auction
will help to keep the library open for the average of 2,600 young people who use
it each month. For further information contact Barbara
Poindexter at 222 6652 or Jimmie Ellis at 222 1478.
Honario
Has a New Bike Kevin is the owner of Milagros de México
at 270 Cardenas St. While one of our readers was collecting a wonderful Huichol
piece from him for the Becas Ball auction sale, he told her about a boy who needed
a mountain bike to make the trip to school each day. The
story went as follows: A Huichol boy by the name of Honario Lopez Carrillo is
13 years old and lives on a small family ranch called Agua Zarca just over an
hour by foot from the air strip in San Andres Cohamiata, the ceremonial center.
Honario comes from a very traditional Huichol family and actually plays the role
of 'Capitan' in charge of all of the traditional ceremonies that take place on
his family ranch. It is a position that was given to him by his grandfather Jacinto
Lopez Ramirez, an elder shaman or mara'akame who wants Honario to learn his culture's
traditions. Honario goes to a school in Santa Clara that
is run by Franciscan Missionaries. Santa Clara is almost an hour and a half walk
from his house, and because it is such a long walk he has to be boarded at the
school. Honario doesn't like that and has expressed a desire to leave the school.
Kevin spoke with him and his father about getting a bike for him to ride back
and forth from school and Honario said that he will finish school if he could
ride back to his house and didn't have to be boarded there. Kevin
hoped to find someone with an old mountain bike that they would be willing to
donate or sell so Honario could use it to travel back and forth from school everyday,
so he wouldn't have to be boarded there. He gave our reader a photo of Honario
and his family in front of their house in Agua Zarca, and another shot of Honario
and his sister Liliana planting corn by hand. The letter
was forwarded to the Tribune, but too late to be inserted in last week's issue
which had already gone to press. Nevertheless, it was forwarded by e-mail to everyone. Last
Monday, we received the following e-mail from Kevin: I
have actually been overwhelmed by the responses that I have gotten from the letter
that was emailed out for me. Joe and Claire from Gallery Dante were kind enough
to give me a bike that I will send up to Honario, the Huichol boy I was writing
about. A couple of other people have said that they would get bikes for me and
I'm happy to say the I spoke with Jesus Jimenez the Presidente del Comite del
Padres de Familia of the rural school in the Huichol Indigenous Community of San
Andres Cohamiata. He said that I could send the other bikes up to him and he would
give them out during the 'clausura' of the school to the best students who not
only had a need, but also expressed an interest in finishing school. I
would like to give thanks to everyone who expressed an interest in helping the
Huichol. If anyone is interested, I work with the Huichol Traditional Government
of San Andres Cohamiata and am actively involved in a number of community service
projects aimed at helping the Huichol that live in the Sierra. Gracias,
Kevin Simpson, Milagros de Mexico, www.peyotepeople.com If
you want to check out Kevin's store, you'll find some excellent quality Huichol
and Oaxacan fantasy animal work AND Chiapas coffee. The store is open from 10
to 2 and from 5 to 8.
Pedophile Thomas
White Arrested in Thailand Attorney General Office
Delegate Marco Roberto Juarez confirmed the arrest of Frank Thomas White at the
Oriental Hotel in Pattaya, about 110 kilometers south of Bangkok in Thailand.
He said he received the news directly from the national central office of Interpol
Mexico. The report was aired on Televisa, Mexico's No. 1 TV network, last week. According
to investigators, the suspect arrived in Thailand last September 3rd from Russia.
Thailand is known in many circles as being a haven of child prostitution and White
had been seen on various occasions enjoying himself on the beaches of Thailand
in the company of young boys. White, 67, who is the heir
to the White-Westinghouse fortune, fled Puerto Vallarta when the authorities of
this town and of Guadalajara issued warrants for his arrest on charges of corruption
of minors, child pornography and sexual prostitution of minors among others. Like
he did in the exclusive neighborhood of Conchas Chinas where he built his million-dollar
"White House", and in Mismaloya where he built what he said would be
a shelter for homeless boys, his financial resources enabled him to set himself
up in Thailand too as a philanthropist looking to build a shelter for that country's
homeless kids. The accused is presently awaiting extradition
to Mexico and Puerto Vallarta in particular to stand trial for the acts he has
been accused of committing. Archives
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