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Vallarta Restaurant News

Que Raro (How strange) and this from Seth, former chef at Coconuts who will be opening soon
inside Manana:

“Hello all. I just wanted to let you know that we will not be opening
on July 8th - this coming Tuesday. We are now shooting for July 15th.
There have been some snags in the kitchen installation but it appears
they have been resolved. Just as soon as I know, I will confirm the
opening night and the Grand Opening party which will be shortly after
the first night of service. Thanks. Seth Ps - the name of the
restaurant is “Que Raro” at Club Manana featuring Regional American
Comfort Food. And we are opening now from 12 noon to 7:00 pm Tuesday
through Sunday for soups, salads and sandwiches. Hope to see you
soon.”

Some sad news….Mesa61 owner Bill (sorry I am not sure of the last name) passed away last week after an extended illness. Rumor is his partner/s will continue operating as they have been for some time now due to his illness. I hope this recently opened restaurant continues as it has great potential and the people watching from those windows down front is perfect.

Plans to open a gourmet restaurant inside the Abbey Hotel fell through last week.\

Bar and Club News

New owners of the old Bench and Bar on Olas Altas, will (wisely) open in mid July as, “The Palm”. Good idea. Now, for the four hundredth time, can we just get Ida Slapter back on her stool there? My life hasn’t been the same since she left. What about all those great drag artists that used to set up camp for a few nights from NYC and Toronto like Sofonda Cox (fabulous!)? We need this! A real cabaret joint.

More Kim Kuzma. The Kinsey Sicks. Hell, lets do theatre there too. Maybe Mama Dolores could finally get a real show there now that her sidewalk gig is up. That’d be a hoot! I guess she and partner Keran are very busy now redecorating the hacienda as we saw them hauling pots and plants down L. Cardenas a few days back.

Paco Paco’s renovated Ranch on the upper level was drawing huge crowds last week. There’s a spot, and I ain’t sayin’ where, that you can stand and well, you can kinda see right down into the new dressing room for the strippers. Hurry before Benito boards it up! Upper Terrace getting a facelift too.

Puerto Vallarta Cathedral Photo by chucogm

I came across this great photo of the Puerto Vallarta Cathedral and knew it had to be a featured photo on Puerto Vallarta Satellite! For anyone who’s ever tried to take a picture of this cathedral, you know how difficult it is because there isn’t the usual (for Mexico) big empty square in front where you can back up and get a good view of it. Instead it’s nestled in among other buildings.

I love the light and shadows that has been captured in this photo. It’s also great that the second most prominent thing in the picture is the Tatoo sign which really points out the contrast of this city!

Congratulations to chucogm for this photo of the week!

The gay community in Vallarta is organizing a collection of basic necessities for fellow Mexicans affected by the disastrous flooding in Tabasco State. As you may have heard, 80% of the state is under water. The residents are in dire need of food, medicines and other basics:

• Non-perishable items such as canned tuna or other meats, canned vegetables
• Rice, beans, sugar
• Ultra-pasteurized milk – non refrigerated type
• Baby formula
• Basic medicines including antibiotics, anti-diarrhea medicines, aspirin, skin creams (skin infections are common in flooding situations), etc.
• Cash donations are not recommended for this effort, but the banks all have accounts set up to accept donations if you prefer to donate cash.

Please bring your donation to:

Hotel Mercurio
Calle Francisca Rodríguez #168
Colonia Emiliano Zapata
(click here to see location on map)

Questions? Call Hotel Mercurio at 222-4793. Anyone on staff will be able to assist you.

No later than MONDAY NOVEMBER 5, at 3 PM. The residents of Tabasco need help TODAY!

They will deliver the collected items to the local Red Cross (Cruz Roja) in the name of the local PV Gay Business Community and Supporters, on Monday afternoon.

This effort will be communicated to the local media, and we will ask reporters to publish a short article listing the businesses who donated to this important project. This will be an opportunity for our local Gay businesses to do something worthwhile to help people outside of our community who are in serious need NOW, while gaining some positive local media exposure for Gay businesses and the Gay community of Puerto Vallarta.

Tropical Storm Henriette is now forecast to miss Puerto Vallarta. But the storm warning remains for Manzanillo south to Acapulco.

Whew!

Of course, the season is just beginning so there’s lots still to come.

The US state department is estimating that of the 4,000,000 Americans living overseas, approximately 600,000 to 1,000,000 are living in Mexico. This is creating a land rush and pushing prime beachfront and beach view property prices through the roof in Mexico. One realtor says of Punta Mita:

Punta Mita is the boomers’ most recent find, with sales tripling for the local real estate association’s MLS (Multiple Listing Service)

You can read the whole article on the CNW Group website.

Or, see Punta Mita on the map.

Here’s what they had to say:

If Caribbean adventures don’t suit your taste, check out one of Mexico’s most beautiful western beach destinations — Puerto Vallarta. This seaside town has a deep Mexican culture and beautiful landscape that will captivate your senses. In addition to its laid-back beach attitude, Puerto Vallarta also offers wonderful local art and some of the best in traditional Mexican dining as well as other eclectic food options. The city is full of galleries and five-star cuisine from chefs around the world.

But then we knew that didn’t we?

If you’re curious what the other beaches on the list were, you can check out the full article at Earth Times.

The Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve. Map courtesy of The New York Times. The Goldsmith/Marcaccini family’s La Loma estate. Photo by Adriana Zehbrauskas for the New York Times.

The New York Times in today’s edition has a feature article on the battle brewing over the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve. The reserve is 13,142 hectares (32,473 acres) of federally protected coastal land located about 3 hours south of Puerto Vallarta.

The battle not only pits environmentalists against developers but is also a fight between some of Mexico’s most powerful families. One the one side, the Goldsmith/Marcaccinis, whose 2,000 acres La Loma estate is within the boundaries of the reserve. Do they want to protect the environment of the area as claimed or do they simply want to maintain the exclusivity of their own super-luxurious estate.

On the other side are two resorts planned for the area. The developers are led by Roberto Hernández with partners Gian Franco Brignone and his son Giorgio, the Italian real-estate tycoons who have developed a series of super-luxury resorts in Jalisco state.

Tragically, the battle seems to be over which segment of the rich will be allowed to enjoy this land. Will it be the super-rich, super-exclusive resorts that cater to a more environmentally sensitive unspoiled vacation for the very few? Or will it be the simply very rich who can come to large resorts with golf courses and swimming pools; a development which will certainly be harsher on the environment.

The article is well worth a read both for it’s analysis of how the environment is playing as a political issue in the new Mexico as well as the more traditional issue of the power struggle between the wealthy families of Mexico.

Read the article: New York Times: Who Controls Paradise (free registration required).

Locate it on the map: Chamela.

Paletas from the Queen of Michoacan  Originally uploaded by dry the rain.

This picture does capture the character of the paleta (ice-cream bar) salesman who are all over Mexico.

If you’ve every wondered what the connection betweeen that state of Michoacan and ice cream is, check out the excellent book True Tales from Another Mexico by Sam Quinones.

In 16 chapters Quinones tells us 16 stories of a Mexico we don’t see as a tourist including the lively story of how the small village of Tocumbo in Michoacan came to so dominate the ice cream business.

Here’s his chapter outline for the ice cream story:

The Popsicle Kings of Tocumbo: In 1946, Ignacio Alcazar, a homeless waif from the village of Tocumbo, Michoacan, established an ice cream shop in downtown Mexico City. That shop he started is the most successful small-business idea in Mexico in the last half century, known across the country as “La Michoacana.” More than 10,000 Michoacana outlets exist around Mexico, most of them owned by people from his village of Tocumbo. Mexico City has more than 1,000 Michoacana outlets. No town with more than 1,000 residents is without one. Only Pemex, the state oil monopoly, has penetrated the country so completely. Tocumbo is “the wealthiest pueblo in Mexico,” in the words of one historian. This is the story of how illiterate rancheros found a way to prosper without having to leave Mexico for the United States.

And the great picture is our photo of the week on Puerto Vallarta Satellite.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS organization in the US which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, including twelve clinics throughout California; and Vallarta Contra el SIDA, a respected, local Mexican non-governmental organization (NGO), are joining forces with federal, state and local government bodies in Mexico to partner together in a new, free AIDS clinic in Puerto Vallarta - Mexico’s newest community-based comprehensive HIV/AIDS clinic - which will provide medical care and life-saving anti-retroviral treatment.

The clinic is the second by AHF in Mexico. The first was opened in Tijuana in 2005. A third is planned for Cancun.

Read the full story: AHF & Mexican Gov’t to Partner in New, Free AIDS Clinic in Puerto Vallarta.

Voladores de Papantla - Papantla Flyers. Photo by photofool.

The Voladores de Papantla are

a Mexican tradition, they dance in order to please the Gods. A group of men are attached to a rope hanging from the top of a 50 feet pole. They come down from the pole, turning around with open arms and the head towards the earth. At the same time, one of them plays indian music with hand made wooden musical instruments. The flute represents the voice of birds. The “tambor” represents the voice of God. This dance is also a symbol of the 4 cardinal points. The pole represents Tlazoleotl, the godess of fertility. The main dancer, the musician, dances on top of the pole and turns first to the East, the origin of the world. Each “volador” turns 13 times around the pole. 13 circles multiplied by 4, for a total of 52 circles. According to the Mayan calendar, every 52 years make a solar cycle. And every 52 weeks make a year, that gives birth to a new sun so that life may go on.

The “voladores” risk ther lives in this spiritual gift to the gods so that the Earth is filled with joy and the new sun can come to life.”

— quote from baxtion.com/us/mx/papantla_flyers.htm.

The photo is a beautiful capture at sunset from the Puerto Vallarta malecón by photofool and it is our photo of the week here on Puerto Vallarta Satellite.

Performances of the Papantla Flyers, take place every Saturday and Sunday nights at 6, 6:30, 8, 8:30, 9 and 10pm, on the malecón, adjacent to the “Boy on a Seahorse” statue.

Puerto Vallarta Satellite is part of the travel blogs network at Blogads.

Vallarta's Top Picks! Hotel Mercurio  Gay owned, friendly, near gay beach! Casa Cupula  Luxury gay/lesbian boutique hotel

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