000072 Visit since
I arrived in this beautiful place May
12, 1918. The high season had started on March 20. I learned pilgrims used to
stop here at this particular time of the year to enjoy the beach on their way
to see the image of the Virgin of Talpa. Along with the pilgrims were peddlers
with cages on their backs full of all different bird species such as zenzontles,
(mocking birds) goldfinches, blackbirds and canaries. The peddlers would go door-to-door
non-stop until they sold all their birds. Afterwards, they would sit and rest
under shading trees by the river mouth. The peddlers would continue later collecting
seashells, sea stars and snails from the beach to sell them to other neighboring
towns. During the months of April and May, locals used
to get a lot of company from out of the town. It was usually relatives visiting
from Mascota, Talpa, Ameca, and from the mineral area of St. Sebastian. The Visitors,
in the majority, were wealthy ranchers who traveled in heavy expeditions convoys.
They brought along maids, housemen, peons, etc. The housemen
would be in charge of loading and unloading the mules. It was fun to watch all
of this! They unloaded everything from tents, cots, and supplies, to chests full
of unimaginable items! When the expeditions arrived, they caused a big stir up
in the town. Among the visitors, were many merry, beautiful maidens traveling
with their parents who came to enjoy the beach and awoke the interest of our local
young men. We could hear horses trotting, riders dismounting,
people jabbering. From the visitors from Mascota, I remember the Merinos, the
Cuevas, the Niz, the Robles Guzmán, the Llaugers, and the Gûitrón
Tejada. From the families from Talpa, I remember the Gonzáles, including
their beautiful sisters María and Rosa. The young men were Dr. Rafael Cueva,
Fernando Gûitron, Dr. Luis Gonzáles, Ponciano Guzmán and Attorney
Carlos Guzmán; they were all young handsome, and merry. The Landeros family
came also from those areas. To get to Puerto Vallarta
from the town of Mascota. Travelers were weary when they finally arrived in Vallarta.
They could not wait to go to the beach where they would spend most of their time.
Those were great times! There were neither taxicabs nor
cars to go to the beach. It was interesting to see how everybody managed for transportation.
Our family would choose go to Los Muertos ( Beach of the Dead) beach either riding
horseback or on mules. The wealthier people used luxurious
saddles for thir horses and the rest used large packsaddles. Women would dress
in long circular dresses made out of fine Dutch linen, covering thir shoulders
with short capes of the same material. They would wear hats with wide brims to
protect their faces from the sunrays. I enjoyed watching the fashions and liked
dressing up myself. My Uncle Rafael Contreras gave me
for wedding present, a nice large packsaddle embroidered with silver threads and
a gorgeous sorrel-colored horse. My comadre, Cuca Betancourt, the wife of Attorney
Rodríguez Pedroza, and I used to race horseback on the beach. To
get to Los Muertos beach, we had to take the long way bye the mouth of the Cuale
River. It was right about where it merged with the ocean passing throught swampy
lands. The land located on the other side of the river shore, where Emiliano Zapata
Colony sits now, had many corrals and several acres of agricultural land to grow
yams, potatoes and jicama (tropical edible root). The whole area was fenced with
rock obstructing the way to the other side of town. In
order to get to the other side of town, we had to go across the beach. When we
walked by the beach, we were able to see all the mango orchards, property of Señor
Don Pablo Landeros. This property later became a small resort named Posada de
la Selva, (Jungle Inn) which later changed the name to the actual Molino de Agual
Hotel (Watermill). Sometimes we passed Olas Altas (High
Waves) beach on our way to Los Muertos beach. The dressing rooms built by Valentín
Murillo at the beach were made of palapa, and were very original. Valentín
followed in the steps of his father, who started the business many years before.
His father was a reserved, grave looking sailor with melancholic eyes. There
were Manzanilla (chamomile) shade trees all along the beach near the foothills
of the mountain. The line of trees extended back to the dressing rooms, and caused
allergic reactions to some people. The bathing suit styles were so different at
that time! Some styles were knee length, navy tunics with wide collars and elbow
length sleeves. The women looked pretty wearing feminine swimming caps in a variety
of colors. After spending all morning at the beach, we came back home starving.
There were neither restaurants nor food consignments at the beach. Sometimes,
on our way home, we would stop by Olas Altas beach and sit on the sand to enjoy
eating the typical roasted flame fish on a stick sold by children. It was delicious!
Fishermen inserted the fish on a stick, then roasted the fish over and over the
hot ashes until it was golden brown. It was then sold by the children at only
20 centavos a piece. The fish came accompanied with hot, freshly homemade tortillas
and salsa. Mauricia Puga, well known as Gûichita,
was one of those vivacious little girls on the beach selling the roasted flame
fish on a stick. When she grew older, she became a humble woman who fought each
day to make ends meet. She bought some land with the money she had carefully saved,
and grew cactus to made Posi, a custard dessert made of tinted cactus juice. She
used to sell Posi at the market everyday, almost until the day she died. After
eating fish on the beach, we usually stayed to watch the sunset. We always hoped
to be the lucky ones to see the green ray, which is the last flash of light when
the sun goes down. (It is said wishes come true when one sees the green ray).
After we retuned home from the beach, we would gather with friends and walked
to cool down from our horseback ride. In the evenings, the sidewalks became mangers
to animals eating dry Agave leaves and corn fed by the housemen.
 |
A group of fishermen selling
a roasted fish in a stick on the beach | The
were no hotels in the port. Visitors would stay with relatives in spite of the
lack of conforms and commodities. There were no mattresses, no air condioning,
etc. They would adjust to the cool breeze and slept in rows of cots provided by
their hosts ourt in the open hallways. The visitors made the best out of these
situations and took them with a great sense of humor. Local people could hear
their friends laughing at jokes said at night while lying to sleep in their back
porches. I befriended a lot of these people. They were
not only my fellow countrymen but also my husband's friends. We organized soirees
(afternoon outings) that took place at the mango orchards. The Malecon was not
built at that time, but only a long strip of shore. On full moon nights, we gathered
around a bonfire at the beach and sang accompanied by acoustic guitars until late
hours of the night. We played entertaining games and everybody cheered and had
fun. Among the games we played were Garment Games, The Sneeze of the Giant Game,
and others. Local young men would charm visiting girls
by serenading under their bedroom windows. This custom is traditionally called
"llevar El Gallo" (to take the cock-a-doodle-doo); because the serenades
are performed at wee hours of the morning, close to the time the rooster crows. Another
diversion was betting at the peleas de gallos or cockfights. The cockfights arena
was located where Morelos Theater is at present. The proprietor was Cristóbal
Ruelas and sons. We played the roulette and betted with gold and silver coins,
which was the only circulating trading value. The serenades
at El Cuadro (the Square) were not to be missed. The young local girls clicked
and walked around the square, holding arms and dressed in filmy dresses. Their
hair was usually braided and tied with big, bright butterfly bows. The
girls of that time were full of life, full of hopes, full of youth. The combination
of these three qualities made life beautiful for them. It was a tradition that
during the serenades at the Square, the boys would walk in the opposite direction
of the girls, and when they met face to face, they would exchange love letters
of flowers in a way of courting. Sr. José García
Bernal was the directing Maestro of the orchestra that performed at the Gazebo.
Young local Teodoro Ponce sponsored the orchestra. He was the son of Señor
Félix Ponce. Teodoro became the second Mayor of Puerto Vallarta in 1919.
He loved music and made special trips to Guadalajara City to bring back the newest
musical scores of waltzes, such as Viva mi Desgracia, (Viva my Misfortune), Fany,
(Fanny) Así es la vida, (Such is Life), O Sole Mio, (Italian song), Alejandra,
(Alexandra), Río Rosa, (Pink River),and others that slip my mind. Teodoro
was married to great orator Rosa Niz, from Mascota, Jalisco. The
Square was surrounded with tents made of palapa, where a few drunkards accompanied
by mariachi female singers, would dance the traditional Mexican hot dance, showing
their macho-man ways by shooting their guns in the air and whooping. The mariachi
bands used to play Mexican songs of joy inside the tents. There was a particular
mariachi band ironically called the Three Eyes. The group was formed of three
musicians with disabilities, Melquiades was blind, his brother Pancho was missing
an eye, and Prudencio, well, he was the only one of the trio who had two sighted
eyes. The combination of games, music and peddlers at
the Square made the place come to life. There were booths with food, sweets, mounds
of glazed fruits and hard candy. On top of charbroil burners, there were steaming
earthen ports smelling like cinnamon. One could hear constant music, loud voices
from people winning board games played on tables such as Lotería (hominy
and pork) and tostadas. The food and game tables were busy with patrons. All the
activities took place under the waning light of oil lamps, which were set at each
corner of the Square. Wick tin lamps provided additional lighting to the food
booths. The roulette tables were illuminated with the glaring teal lights from
carbide torches. The month of May and part of June were
spent in dances and other diversions. This was my fist season in Vallarta. It
was a season of fun. After the festivities when the visitors
returned to their homes, the port would go back to its normal quietness. This
was about the beginning of June. 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
in PVMirror.com with the express authorization of Sra. Yolanda Contreras de Garduño,
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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