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February 2, 2003.
In its infinite
wisdom, the Universe makes sure that everything remains in a constant state of
evolution. Just like our planet's most recent hiccup, the earthquake and resulting
movement and rearrangement of the tectonic plates that meet in our beloved Bay
of Banderas, we mere mortals continue to evolve and change with the times… On
a much more down-to-earth and personal level, I find myself doing things I've
never done before …and enjoying myself in the process. A couple of weeks
ago, I went to the inauguration of Ada Colorina's gallery (see
separate article) and to the Art Night in the Marina, all on the same night!
That's twice that I've gone to the Art Night in as many months, an unheard of
event in my life here. And unlike last time, I confess that I spent a lot more
time looking at the people there than at the art works themselves, except for
Ian Sanchez' at Galeria Flores. Unacquainted as I was with this gifted young man's
(child?) works, I was impressed by his talent and imagination, his whimsy and
especially the delicacy of his brushstroke. If you haven't done so yet, you really
should take a look at his work. As I am not an art critic by any stretch of the
imagination and thus unknowledgeable in the proper terminology, I would simply
categorize Ian's watercolors as "make-you-feel-good" art. And I would
put Ada's paintings in the same category. By the way,
there's an added attraction to visiting Ada's studio-gallery: on the way back,
you'll be passing a restaurant called Cuale Paradise. We didn't have time to do
so or sample its fare, but the setting alone is going to get me back there very
soon, that's for sure. What a beautiful, peaceful place, right on the banks of
the river, up there where it still flows as if it were in the middle of the rainy
season, sheltered by the rock walls of the canyon on either side. And if you remember
to take your camera with you, you'll be able to take photos of the women doing
their wash in the river, just as they have for ages. Anyway,
to get back to that evening at Marina Vallarta, besides an attendance that I am
sure made the organizers extremely happy, I noticed something else very pleasing,
something I had never been aware of until then, despite all the years I've spent
living in Vallarta: there is an extremely strong, vibrant, happy and warm community
feeling there among what we used to call the "snowbirds" in Florida,
the folks who have condos and apartments and villas in Marina Vallarta, but who
only live there during the winter months. I have a sneaking suspicion that kind
of community feeling does not exist among the condo owners around the Conchas
Chinas area, though it may exist on the South Side, where the buildings are closer
and the restaurants serve as gathering points. After having
walked through all the galleries located to the right of the lighthouse as you
face the water, my friend and I ended up at "Victor's Place - La Tacuba".
This is a terrace restaurant with bar -outdoors of course- located right at that
end of the promenade. Friday night, late at night, that place was filled. There
was not one empty chair. Actually, looking at the setting as yet another huge
canvas, the beautiful sailboats and yachts floating perfectly still and silent
on the mirror-like surface of the water, the tiny, sparkling lights adorning the
restaurant terraces, the cool ocean breeze …and the items on the menu, the
success of the place was easy to understand. Ten pesos for two tostadas with enough
ceviche scooped on top to turn them into a whole meal, fifty pesos for a whole
plate of fresh dorado in a light tempura-like beer batter, rice, veggies, etc.
No wonder the place was filled! As the evening wore on and patrons had had a few
more drinks, the laughter and the music grew louder and more and more people joined
in. What great fun! (Although I'm not sure I'd like to own a place in the building
overlooking it…) It's that time of year when many
of my friends from the Great White North reach that point where they ask themselves,
"What on earth am I doing here, freezing my (insert appropriate term here)
off?" So they come down here to warm their bones and reconnect with all that
is beautiful and regenerative on our little planet. Showing
off the beauty that surrounds us to our visitors, especially to "first timers",
never ceases to be a source of great pleasure for me. And I'm not talking just
about the natural kind of beauty, some man-made ones are also worthy... The other
night, two friends of mine from Montreal and I went for dinner at Coco Tropical.
There was no visible sunset that night, but the meal more than made up for it.
I always get a kick out of finding that one of my (many) favorite restaurants
has added new items to its menu, and that they are as delicious -if not more-
as the ones I thought were my favorites. Besides the yummy spinach salad with
nuts and bacon bits and mushrooms with that dressing that I enjoy so much, I ordered
a dish of pork loin tips in a creamy mushroom sauce served with rösti potatoes
that was incredibly good. I won't even mention the efforts my girlfriends made
to sop up every last little drop of sauce on their own plates… And
while I'm on the topic of favorite restaurants, I have just been advised that
Cazuelas, that wonderful tiny gem of a restaurant located at the easternmost end
of Basilio Badillo is offering a 15% discount on all its delicious dishes this
whole week, in celebration of its 34th Anniversary in Vallarta! (There's a very
good reason why it's been around for so long…) I
really can't end this without mentioning the latest events in my ongoing saga
with the local utility companies. The day after I paid my cell phone bill at Telcel
(one of the cell phone service providers in Mexico), my doorbell rang. It was
a young man with a telegram addressed to me. Yes, you read right, a telegram!
Now when was the last time you got one of those? I knew it couldn't be anything
bad because I would have received an "instant" e-mail... It was from
Telcel, advising me that I owed them money. On January 30th, I received a notice
-by mail- advising me that due to the amount I "owed" on my account,
my service would be suspended. Then, in a separate paragraph, they suggest that
in order to avoid running into this kind of problem in the future, I should give
them permission to withdraw funds from my bank account automatically. Yeah, right! And
on the same day, January 30th, TelMex instituted their new voice mail service
so now whenever you pick up the phone you have to listen to a recording telling
you to dial "asterisk-eight-six" to pick up your messages …even
if you don't have any. So now we have no dial tone -ever- and as a result computers
cannot connect with their internet servers ...because they need a dial tone to
start the protocol. Furthermore, you can't even push any of the buttons until
the recording has ended… Unwittingly, Telefonos de Mexico may have discovered
the ultimate weapon. Now all it has to do is offer this service to the U.S. (under
the NAFTA of course) so that the Americans may in turn offer it -free- to any
and all of its enemies, thus causing them all to go mad. Result? There would be
no more wars. Enough said. Have I ever told you how much I love this place? I
hope you all have a great week, dear readers, and I hope you are practicing opening
up your hearts to the less fortunate and to your loved ones for next week…
after all, it will be St. Valentine's Day, and wouldn't it be wonderful if we
could show love every day the way we show it on that day? Hasta luego.pvmomto3@hotmail.com Archives
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