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Don Paco Fernandez a Spanish
gentleman who became a renowed local businessman | When
I arrived at the Port, I witnessed the initial development of commercial businesses.
I remember Señor José Baumgarten Escudero's line of business was
wood, oil, coquito, groceries and clothing. There were other businessmen like
the Gûereña brothers, Joaquín Antonio; the Guzmán Barraza
Company; and the store of Don Eulalio Villaseñor. He sold miscellaneous
and medical herbs and it was located cater-cornered from the City Hall. Then,
there was Don Lauro Morett´s store located across from the Square. Another
business was the hardware and miscellaneous store that had been the home of Paco
Fernández and was left to his children María, Lola and Paco Junior.
This particular store always kept and old fashioned classic flair. One could find
in there everything from the smallest screw to specialty- discontinued items that
are no longer manufactured. Progress has not affected the appearance of this store.
It is located at the southeast corner of Juárez Avenue and Iturbide Street.
The store never had a sign or a name, but everybody knew it always as "Paco's
shop". All the stores had a rural country aspect
at that time. The décor was heavy wooden counters and rustic shelves. There
were hemp bags hanging from the doors containing all sorts of trinkets to sell.
The general aspect of the stores was simple, clean and nice. Even the mixed smell
of tar and variety spices was nice! There was always a good supply of primary
items for the town demands. Added to the supplies were a variety of clothing materials
such as manta, (coarse cotton cloth) percale, calico, dove's gauze, and others.
Little by little, the tastes of people changed, becoming
more sophisticated. The demand for finer materials to sew grew higher. People
started ordering silks, chermesse and eyelet embroidery materials. We started
sewing our own long dresses, pleated, cool and filmy. Sunday was the day to show
off our newly made fashions. Around 1924 to 1926 Vallarta
developed into a commercial center. There were no stores
to supply the nearby villages. Therefore, on Saturdays, the people from other
villages came to Vallarta to do their food and miscellaneous shopping. Ranchers
and farmers came to town on horseback, traveling expedition style. They stirred
up the Port every time they came! While they went shopping they left their weary
horses tied outside the stores. Every time my friends and I went by, we could
smell the sweat of horses from a distance away. The animals grew impatient after
waiting hours for their masters. They would try getting attention snorting, biting
on the reins and pawing until their masters came out of spurs from the ranchers'
boots each Saturday as they walked up and down the streets of Vallarta, wiping
sweat drops with their bandanas. Catalina
Montes de Oca Aguilar
Read Doña
Catalina Montes de Oca Aguilar Autobiography
Archives
by date Note: The segments from
the book "Puerto Vallarta en mis Recuerdos" -both versions- are published
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co-author of the work and owner of the copyrights thereto. Any reproduction thereof,
partial or total, in any medium is prohibited. Note:
Distinguished reader, if you know of any story, anecdote, biography or event,
or if you have any photographs that you feel should be presented to the world
through this section, or if you know someone we should interview to get more information
on the history of Vallarta, please feel free to contact us at: editor@pvmirror.com To
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