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SHE SAID…
May 25, 2003
There are those who believe that
mid-May in Vallarta marks the beginning of the “low”
season… until the summer vacations begin all around
the northern hemisphere and the town fills up with the
welcome throngs of tourists again. That may be so as
far as the occupancy numbers of the local hotels go,
however it is anything but “low” when it
comes to entertainment and fun at this particular time
of year.
 This
is the time of Vallarta’s annual Festival Cultural
de Mayo. This is one of the times when Maria José
Zorrilla, the head of the city’s Department of
Culture, outdoes herself in bringing in the most diverse,
exciting, unusual acts to entertain the locals and foreigners
alike. (The other big festival she and her department
organize is in November.) Personally, I love it because
it enables me to cram in all sorts of experiences in
a period of two weeks, like an immersion course in culture.
It reminds me of the summertime “up north”
when cities that hibernate through the winter come out
to blossom with festivals of all sorts. Entire sections
are closed off and we can find jazz, comedy, song and
dance, cuisine, fireworks, etc. all over. Over the years,
Vallarta’s festivals have grown to the point where
they can compete with any other anywhere else.
One of the events I attended was
the concert put on by the classical string quartet from
Hungary on the island in the middle of the Cuale river.
Apart from the fact that the performers did such an
excellent job that they were called back for encores
by the audience’s standing ovations, I was impressed
by the audience itself, mostly by the absolute silence
that reigned out of respect for the musicians. On the
one hand it surprised me because silence is something
very rare in the movie theaters here, where anyone can
carry on a conversation out loud in the middle of a
movie without anyone seeming to care. On the other hand
I was delighted to see how many youngsters were there,
accompanied by one or both parents, sitting in silent
admiration. I’m a firm believer in the priceless
value of introducing children to all forms of art and
culture as early as possible. Maybe that is one of the
many reasons why I’ve become such a staunch fan
of Nacho Cadena and the innumerable cultural events
he’s always organizing, for everyone, regardless
of age.
While we were on the island, we bumped
into our colleague-counterparts from the other local
English-language publications. We always do and as our
regular readers know, it is a most enjoyable, friendly
and non-competitive relationship of mutual admiration
that we enjoy among ourselves. I mention this because
whenever we do meet, we get a chance to share bits of
gossip (both on and off the record). That evening, I
asked Angela about the new restaurant mentioned in the
Times’ issue of last week. Personally, she gave
it a two thumbs up so we went to check it out after
the concert (see separate article). I am so glad that
we’re all in this together for a common goal:
to help anyone and everyone in this town who wants to
contribute their two centavos’ worth to see it
grow and prosper.
On the subject of joining forces
towards a common goal, the tourism authorities in this
town are at it again, as if everyone’s memory
span was that of a fruit fly. When I first moved down
to Vallarta nine years ago, the promotional aspect of
the town was handled by a “fondo mixto”
or mixed fund wherein the city would contribute one-third,
the state one-third and the federal government one-third.
If my memory serves me well, that formula was scrapped
in 1996 to make way for a “fideicomiso”
or trust. Then that gave way to a split formula consisting
of an “office of conventions and visitors”
(OCV) and a trust. Then they decided that the OCV wasn’t
functioning well in the same offices as the trust so
they moved it to a separate location. That still didn’t
work as they had hoped so they dismantled it entirely,
leaving only the “fideicomiso de turismo”
to handle the town’s promotion. By that time,
its operating funds derived from the 2% tax collected
in each hotel for each room/night, that had come into
effect a few years prior. Today, they’ve come
full circle, reinstating the OCV and there’s even
talk about a “fondo mixto” again. They did
make a movie called “The Neverending Story”,
didn’t they?
Did you all get a chance to witness
that incredible total lunar eclipse on Thursday, May
15th? I don’t remember the last time I saw one
so clearly. It looked as if the full moon that night
was much closer to earth than usual, like in a science
fiction movie. And the color! Wow!
The girls at the Tribune decided
they would take the editor out for dinner to celebrate
her 2nd anniversary at the helm. By the way, because
I know that she would never publish the letters of congratulations
she received on that occasion, I am taking it upon myself
to thank all of you who sent them in - on her behalf.
To get back to the dinner, we went to Coco Tropical
because the quality of the food is always guaranteed
to be superb and because we all love it there (among
other great dining spots on the beach).
The reason I mention this is because
of all the children who came up to us - from the beach
side - to offer us roses and Chiclets and such. I thought
the authorities were conducting a major campaign along
the beach restaurants to eliminate this “child
labor”. I guess it’s not quite as major
or efficient a campaign as I thought. I understand these
same authorities are going to renew their efforts against
sexual abuse against children. I’ve always supported
the efforts made in that direction, but I sincerely
hope they don’t go back to using that godawful
poster with the screaming child in front of an American
passport. What a shameful gaffe that was!
And on the topic of things shameful,
I have to tell you that I am still appalled at the line-ups
to reach a teller at the Bancomer branch in Plaza Caracol.
Every so often but on a regular basis, I try to make
contact with our bank accounts there, always without
success. Last week, I tried again …to pay my electricity
bill. It was a regular day, not a 15th or 30th of the
month, not a day after a holiday, just a regular weekday.
There were people lined up all along the snaking cordoned
area and all the way to the door, but the wickets marked
“empresas” (companies) were free. I went
there as ours are company accounts. I was immediately
stopped by two of the people in line, plus one of the
tellers behind the glass. “Do you have your executive
card? You can’t go there unless you have your
executive card.” What executive card? We’ve
had an account there for 9 years and we’ve never
been issued an executive card. “Oh, well then,
you will have to go speak with one of the managers in
order to get one.” Problem was, the lines of people
waiting to see the two or three managers there were
just as long as those waiting to get to a teller. I
gave up and went to the Bital branch right next to La
Fuente del Puente. What a delight! Air-conditioned,
two people ahead of me, friendly, smiling tellers, what
more could I ask for? And I don’t even have an
account there!
Have a fabulous week, Happy Memorial
Day to all our American readers, if you’re here
in Vallarta, drink plenty of fluids to replace what
you lose due to the increased heat, enjoy as many of
the Cultural Festival events as you can and get ready
for Saturday night’s big bash to celebrate Puerto
Vallarta’s big day! Happy Birthday, Vallarta,
and may you grow ever better!
Hasta luego.
pvmomto3@hotmail.com
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