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November 17, 2002.
Due to the
inordinate amount of e-mails received at this publication over this past week,
either directly or through pvmirror.com, I was advised
that there would be no space for this column in the Tribune this issue. This was
fine with me as my muse hadn't made the slightest attempt to visit me anyway.
Then, at the very last minute, I was told that yes, there would be some space
- if I didn't mind being relegated to the back of the paper. Personally, it doesn't
matter to me either way. Nevertheless, I would like to issue a fair warning: if
my blather appears more disjointed than usual, you now know why. As
if the TV networks just couldn't get enough fodder from the hurricane story, now
they've decided to sensationalize the dengue issue. Did they make a big deal about
the bubonic plague in New York City? No… We've received e-mails from travel
agents and common folk all over the world, all looking for "trustworthy"
information. This is something I've never understood. I figured that in this age
of instant communication, it would be an automatic thing for an agent to communicate
with his or her contact here to find out the real scoop. But such is not the case. Of
course, it is most flattering to us, both at the Tribune and the pvmirror.com
site, to have so many (712,000 hits in the first two weeks of this month) put
their trust in us, but why has it come to this? Well, I have seen with my own
eyes how the TV station in Guadalajara broadcast news telling viewers that they
should cancel their reservations in Vallarta …because it was raining! That
was last season, when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It reminded me of the ongoing
vendetta between Toronto and Montreal in Canada. If one could sink its teeth into
anything that would discredit the other, it would make a big deal about it. Could
it be politics? You think? A friend of mine sent me an e-mail that said, "Politics
is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it
bears a very close resemblance to the first." Hmmm. Okay,
so they've allowed the buses back into the downtown "historical center".
And they tell us that only half of the fleet will be circulating in that area
at any one time …just like it was prior to the hurricane (despite the fact
that we all know that the number of buses downtown on October 24th was not lesser
than that prior to June 1st - the date originally set for halving the number of
buses in the center…) The authorities tell us that
they will hire one, yes, one person to check that the bus companies are respecting
the agreement. How a single individual could possibly accomplish such a Herculean
task is beyond the comprehension of this writer, but that's irrelevant. I read
that the method they're going to use is one that is in effect -and functions very
well- in many large cities: vehicles whose license plates are even numbered will
be allowed in on even-numbered days (like November 18th, 20th, etc.) and odd-numbered
ones will circulate on odd-numbered days. Logical? Yes. But that method assumes
that all buses have license plates, something that is not a fact in Vallarta. Most
of the blue buses do not have license plates. Many of the green ones don't either.
Between those two of the three bus companies, 90% don't have license plates. And
if they're going to base themselves on the unit numbers painted on the buses,
we already know for a fact that the same number is used for more than one unit…
And besides, it only takes a few minutes to change the numbers… So how is
this one poor individual expected to keep track of which buses are allowed in
on any particular day and which are not? And then there's
the whole story about the reconstruction of the Malecon. At first, we were told
that it would be ready in time for December 12th, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe,
one of Mexico's biggest holidays. Then, the date was moved back a few days. Today
(November 14th) we read that it will not be ready before the end of the year…
I just feel bad for the tourists who've made reservations for the Christmas season. Last
year, the authorities decided to do their renovation work in the main square right
in the middle of the 12 days of the Guadalupe celebrations. This year, it's the
Malecon. And as of today, no agreement has been reached as to what exactly they
will do with the Malecon, design, materials to be used, etc. etc. So again, I'm
thinking, how do they expect the work to be done by the 31st if there's no agreement
as to what work is to be done - with six weeks to go? What happened to the project
that was submitted at the beginning of the year by one of Vallarta's top architects? On
to better, tastier matters. I was lucky enough to savor the offerings of four
of the restaurants participating in this year's edition of Puerto Vallarta's Gourmet
Festival. At the risk of making some of you jealous, let me tell you: It was fabulous!
I'll try to tell you a little more about it in the weeks to come, but for now
all I can say is that they truly outdid themselves this year. My congratulations
to all, local chefs and invited chefs, organizers and restaurant staffs. The service,
the quality, the selection of novel, creative and delicious dishes in each of
the establishments I visited were all first class. Here's
a typical Vallarta story for your scrapbooks. As we know, one of the many sculptures
installed on the Malecon depicts a strange-looking character looking up to two
others of the same ilk that are climbing a ladder to the sky. The work was created
by famous surrealist sculptor-artist Sergio Bustamante. When Hurricane Kenna hit,
the bronze character on the ground was heaved into the middle of the street. The
two little guys on the ladder survived. Our photographer Javier said that the
joke going around was that the one on the lower rung yelled to the one above,
"C'mon, c'mon, climb higher!" Anyway, no one paid attention to the character
lying face down in the middle of the street, in the river of mud and debris. It
was picked up by the heavy machinery responsible for cleaning up the mess and
dumped along the river bank, along with all the rest of the stuff they picked
up. Some fellows came by, noticed the bronze statue and took it. But then they
tried to sell it. Big mistake. Someone heard about it, the fellows were arrested
and charged (I don't know with what) and the famous little guy was returned to
the authorities… All's well that ends well. And while
we're still on good things, we just found out (too late to publish it as a separate
article) that the folks at Chiles will be holding an event for the benefit of
the people of San Blas in Nayarit. San Blas is the community that suffered the
full force of Kenna last October 25th, head on. The hurricane took everything
they had, their homes, their crops, everything. If you want to help those poor
folks, do come and join us this Saturday, November 23rd, at Chiles Restaurant
at 122 Pulpito in the Zona Romantica anytime after 7 p.m. You'll enjoy an evening
of great TexMex food as only Hank and Conrad can prepare, lots of entertainment
and great company! I understand that tickets go for $150. pesos and all the proceeds
will go to the people of San Blas. We are asked to bring donations of canned goods,
dried goods, clothing & lines - either new or used. Tickets are available
from the folks at Bayside Properties at 160 Francisca Rodriguez St. in the Olas
Altas area. For more information or tickets, call 222-7474. That's
all the space I have this week, dear readers, so I shall leave you for now. Have
a wonderful time. Enjoy yourselves in our little paradise and take good care of
each other. Hasta Luego! pvmomto3@hotmail.com Archives
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