www.pvmcitypaper.com Issue 275 Saturday 1 to Friday 7 February

Transcription

www.pvmcitypaper.com
Issue 275
Issue 275
Saturday 1 to Friday 7
February 2014
February 2014
2
Need to Know
manners to present the check before it is
requested, so when you’re ready to leave,
ask «La cuenta, por favor» and your bill
will be delivered to you.
MONEY EXCHANGE: Although
you may have to wait in line for a few
minutes, remember that the banks will
give you a higher rate of exchange than
the exchange booths (caja de cambio).
Better yet, if you have a «bank card»,
withdraw funds from your account back
home. Try to avoid exchanging money at
your hotel. Traditionally, those offer the
worst rates.
I
f you’ve been meaning to find a little information on the region,
but never quite got around to it, we hope that the following will help.
Look at the map in this issue, you will note that PV (as the locals call
it) is on the west coast of Mexico, in the middle of the Bay of Banderas,
the largest bay in this country, that includes southern part of the state
of Nayarit to the north and the northern part of Jalisco to the south.
Thanks to its privileged location -sheltered by the Sierra Madre
mountains- the Bay is well protected against the hurricanes spawned
in the Pacific. Hurricane Kenna came close on October 25, 2002,
but actually touched down in San Blas, Nayarit, some 200 miles
north of PV. The town sits on the same parallel as the Hawaiian
Islands, thus the similarities in the climate of the two destinations.
AREA: 1,300 sq. kilometers
POPULATION: Approx. 325,000
inhabitants
CLIMATE: Tropical, humid, with
an average of 300 sunny days per year.
The temperature averages 28oC (82oF)
and the rainy season extends from late
June to early October.
allowed under certain circumstances
but fishing of any kind is prohibited.
Every year, the Bay receives the visit
of the humpback whales, dolphins and
manta rays in the winter. During the
summer, sea turtles, a protected species,
arrive to its shores to lay their eggs.
FAUNA: Nearby Sierra Vallejo
hosts a great variety of animal species
such as iguana, guacamaya, deer,
raccoon, etc.
ECONOMY: Local economy is
based mainly on tourism, construction
and to a lesser degree, on agriculture,
mainly tropical fruit such as mango,
papaya,
watermelon,
pineapple,
guanabana, cantaloupe and bananas.
SANCTUARIES:
Bahía
de
Banderas encloses two Marine
National Parks - Los Arcos and the
Marieta Islands - where diving is
CURRENCY: The Mexican Peso is
the legal currency in Mexico although
Canadian and American dollars are
widely accepted.
Index
BUSES: A system of urban buses
with different routes. Current fare is
$7.50 Pesos per ticket and passengers
must purchase a new ticket every time
they board another bus. There are no
“transfers”.
TAXIS: There are set rates within
defined zones of the town. Do not enter
a taxi without agreeing on the price with
the driver FIRST. If you are staying in a
hotel, you may want to check the rates
usually posted in the lobby. Also, if you
know which restaurant you want to go,
do not let the driver change your mind.
Many restaurateurs pay commissions to
taxi drivers and you may end up paying
more than you should, in a secondrate establishment! There are 2 kinds
of taxi cabs: those at the airport and
the maritime port are usually vans that
Issue 275
can only be boarded there. They have
pre-fixed rates per passenger. City cabs
are yellow cars that charge by the ride,
not by passenger. When you ask to go
downtown, many drivers let you off at
the beginning of the area, near Hidalgo
Park. However, your fare covers the
ENTIRE central area, so why walk 10 to
15 blocks to the main plaza, the Church
or the flea market? Pick up a free map,
and insist on your full value from the
driver! Note the number of your taxi in
case of any problem, or if you forget
something in the cab. Then your hotel or
travel rep can help you check it out or
lodge a complaint.
TIME ZONE: The entire State of
Jalisco is on Central Time, as is the
area of the State of Nayarit from Lo
de Marcos in the north to the Ameca
River, i.e.: Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías,
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Sayulita, San
Pancho, Punta Mita, etc. North of Lo
De Marcos, Guayabitos, La Peñita,
San Blas, etc. are on Mountain Time,
i.e.: one hour behind PV time.
TELEPHONE CALLS: Always
check on the cost of long distance
calls from your hotel room. Some
establishments charge as much as U.S.
$7.00 per minute!
CELL PHONES: Most cellular
phones from the U.S. and Canada may
be programmed for local use, through
Telcel and IUSAcell, the local carriers.
To dial cell to cell, use the prefix 322,
then the seven digit number of the
person you’re calling. Omit the prefix if
dialling a land line.
LOCAL CUSTOMS: Tipping is
usually 10%-15% of the bill at restaurants
and bars. Tip bellboys, taxis, waiters,
maids, etc. depending on the service.
Some businesses and offices close from
2 p.m. to 4 p.m., reopening until 7 p.m. or
later. In restaurants, it is considered poor
February 2014
WHAT TO DO: Even if your allinclusive hotel is everything you ever
dreamed of, you should experience at
least a little of all that Vallarta has to
offer - it is truly a condensed version of
all that is Mexican and existed before
«Planned Tourist Resorts», such as
Cancun, Los Cabos and Ixtapa, were
developed. Millions have been spent to
ensure that the original “small town”
flavor is maintained downtown, in the
Old Town and on the South Side.
DRINKING WATER: The false
belief that a Mexican vacation must
inevitably lead to an encounter with
Moctezuma’s revenge is just that:
false. For the 21st year in a row, Puerto
Vallarta’s water has been awarded
a certification of purity for human
consumption. It is one of only two
cities in Mexico that can boast of such
accomplishment. True, the quality of
the water tested at the purification plant
varies greatly from what comes out of
the tap at the other end. So do be careful.
On the other hand, most large hotels
have their own purification equipment
and most restaurants use purified water.
If you want to be doubly sure, you can
pick up purified bottled water just about
anywhere.
EXPORTING PETS: Canadian and
American tourists often fall in love with
one of the many stray dogs and cats in
Vallarta. Many would like to bring it
back with them, but believe that the laws
do not allow them to do so. Wrong. If
you would like to bring a cat or a dog
back home, call the local animal shelter
for more info: 293-3690.
LOCAL SIGHTSEEING: A good
beginning would be to take one of the City
Tours offered by the local tour agencies.
Before boarding, make sure you have a
map and take note of the places you want
to return to. Then venture off the beaten
path. Explore a little. Go farther than the
tour bus takes you. And don’t worry this is a safe place.
Sound Off
3
It seems we always have to be on our guard
wherever we go, but talking to other people,
things seem to be getting worse all the time
here. I hope that is not the case.
When you park in those underground
parking locations, good idea to put valuables
in the trunk or leave them home.
I still love the place.
Your Comments
[email protected]
Dear Allyna,
Please invite your readers to join us in
our celebration of the International Day of
Children with Cancer.
We are having a wonderful Buffet Style
breakfast on February 11th at 9:30 a.m., at the
Old Town Bistro Restaurant located at #180
Basilio Badillo, in the Romantic Zone on the
south side of town. Please feel free to bring
a gift for one of the children to the restaurant,
the boys and girls are ages 3 to 20 years old.
The Canicas Children have requested tennis
shoes or backpacks.
The funds from this event will be used to
pay for very expensive medical tests and
medication which is not provided free by the
hosptal, as well as for expenses they incur
while they are hospitalized for chemotherapy
in Guadalajara. Puerto Vallarta does not
have a clinic to treat children with cancer,
therefore; the children must travel 5 to 6
hours to Guadalajara.
For information on The Children of Canicas,
please email Sra. Evelia Basañes, President of
Canicas at: [email protected] for
information in Spanish. For English, please
email Dra. Maryjose Cuevas at dramaryjo@
hotmail.com For tickets, please call me at:
322-293-4777.
Thank you, Ms. Vineberg, for allowing us
to inform and invite your PV Mirror weekly
readers to this very important event. (The
contribution is $200. Pesos.)
Aurora de la Torre
Dear Editor,
I have spent many years visiting Puerto
Vallarta and have had a few problems with
break-ins and things stolen over the years…
This past Saturday, I attended the Farmers’
Market at Lazaro Cardenas Park and parked
my car in the underground parking, which
I assumed would be a secure place, returned
within thirty minutes and found my car had
been broken into and a satellite radio and other
valuables had been removed from the car.
Issue 275
M. Mitchell
Dear Editor,
We had the BEST time watching Tommy
Koenig [Baby Boom Baby Show] perform last
night. We couldn’t stop laughing! I’ve told
everyone to come see him! It was our first
time to The Boutique, but not our last! You
have a great venue and more people need to
know the level of talent we have in PV!
Thanks for a hilariously good time. Please
let Tommy know. Wish he lived here
permanently!
Pam Sullivan
Dear Editor,
Puerto Vallarta is such a SPECIAL place,
we all agree. However, one thing that
distresses me is the bridge over the River
Cuale, going South.
Evidently a vehicle crashed into the brick/
concrete wall, and a gaping hole remains!! It
looks terrible. I did see a workman plastering
another crack in the wall recently, and thought
‘Great, they’re finally going to fix it’. Sadly
not.
The economy of this town relies on tourism,
and whilst faded/mouldy paint on buildings
can look quite charming, neglected damage
is not! Surely officials from the city see it like
the rest of us!
My husband would be willing to pay for the
repair on the bridge, if cost is the problem.
Who do we contact? We love Vallarta, (it
is our home for six months a year) and we
applaud the many improvements we have
seen over the past few years, including the
sidewalks, the Malecon, and the new Pier.
Suzanne French-Smith
Continued on Next Page
February 2014
4
Sound Off
Continued from Previous Page
Dear Editor:
I just want your readers to know about a beauty salon in PV that
quotes you one price, then upon paying for their services, they charge
a hundred more pesos.
The salon is Urban Studio Hair Salon, Playa de Oro Local 126 C
Zona Hotelera Norte. It is located on the side street beside Soriana and
behind Oxxo. Last year for my last manicure and pedicure, I stopped
by and asked the price. A few days later, I went for the services and
they charged me a hundred pesos over the quoted price. I chalked it up
to not speaking good English and she had got her numbers confused.
However, this year, since this salon is close to my condo and is so
convenient, I stopped by again and asked the price of a manicure and
pedicure and she quoted me a price, which I repeated to her. A couple
of days later, I called and made an appointment and again confirmed
the quoted price on the phone. After my appointment, I paid and she
again said that it was a hundred pesos more than the price she quoted.
I now am convinced that she is doing this intentionally to
unsuspecting tourists. I know she can speak good English because she
had a conversation with another customer.
Be aware of this unethical business practice of the salon.
Gloria Thompson
[email protected]
Contributors:
Anna Reisman
Joe Harrington
Harriet Murray
Giselle Belanger
Krystal Frost
Stan Gabruk
Ronnie Bravo
Tommy Clarkson
Luis Melgoza
Dr. Fabio Cupul
Dr. Jim Starr
Gil Gevins
Charlynn Robertson
Astrid Van Dam
Janie Albright Blank
Norma Schuh
Julie Anne Montagano
Saskia Claudine Geul
Graphic Designer:
It was with great interest that I read the review of Maurice Monnette’s
book, Confessions of a Gay Married Priest, but must point out one
small error. While the May commitment ceremony for 25 couples
mentioned in the review is a wonderful thing, it was not Vallarta’s
first “Pride event.” In 2005, a young gay man named Jose Hernandez
organized what was one of Puerto Vallarta’s early, if not first, Gay Pride
events - a parade from near the Sheraton Hotel along the Malecon to
City Hall on the main plaza.
We were visiting PV at the time and had every intention of marching
with Jose and the others but were met by the U.S. consul who told us it
was a violation of the Mexican Constitution for foreigners to participate
in any political activity in Mexico. In addition, we faced possible
arrest and deportation if we persisted and, in fact, that had happened in
Guadalajara just a few weeks before. It’s never my intention to violate
the laws of a country I visit, so we headed to centro and grabbed a
window table at Mi Querencia to cheer on Jose and the marchers as
they went by. Jose and a few other marchers were invited into the city
council chambers and later emerged with a proclamation of support for
their Gay Pride Parade with assurances of Puerto Vallarta’s position of
non-discrimination regarding its gay community.
Sadly, a few years later Jose succumbed to HIV and his partner,
Robert (a good friend from Seattle), organized a small memorial here
in PV. We all stayed at Casa de Las Flores and were graciously and
warmly welcomed by Maurice and his husband, Jeff.
I don’t want to quibble over a small detail, but I cannot allow the
efforts of my friend Jose to be ignored. He had many friends in Vallarta;
he was very proud to be Mexican, proud to be gay and I am honoured
to have been his friend.
Ken Cado
Allyna Vineberg
Office & Sales: 223-1128
Dear Editor,
Issue 275
Publisher / Editor:
February 2014
Leo Robby R.R.
Webmaster:
PVMCITYPAPER.COM
Online Team
Cover Photo:
“From up in Amapas”
by Anna Reisman
PV Mirror es una publicación semanal.
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sin previa autorización por escrito del editor.
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Letters and articles become the property
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Note:
To Advertisers & Contributors
and those with public interest
announcements, the deadline
for publication is:
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week prior to publication.
Sound Off
Dear Editor,
I first want to thank the PV Mirror for printing my
letters, and allowing me to share good stuff that I have
found in this great city.
Once again, the girl from Ontario has good stuff to
share. I have already told you about:
Dr. Miguel A. Saldana Salas, plastic surgeon,
Dr. Martin I. Guillen Calderon (dentist), and Dra.
Guillermina Estrada Gonzalez (dentist).
This time it is Dra. Alma Vargas (dermatologist)
website: www.draalmavargas.com
116 Av. Los Tules by Plaza Caracol, tells: 225-3440
and 225-3445. The spots will be removed on your
first visit. She is very good.
My next share is a real treat: Erika Lamas
(Esthetician), tel.: 221-0102, email: erika@
permanentmakeup.mx Her clinic is located in the
Royal Pacific Yatch Club, No. 1A Timon in Marina
Vallarta. If you have ever thought of having permanent
eye liner, permanent lips, permanent eyebrows ...well,
this is the girl to see! She is very good.
Hair Hair Hair... we women are always looking for
a good hairdresser when we are away from home... I
have found this salon to be very, very good. English
spoken, and great results. It is
Joel Salon, 5 Francisco Medina Ascencio Ave.
Last but not least, the shopping AOB/AOBBlack at
223 Aguacate is a great store for men & women, and
the very best thing is they have a business card with
all their other locations (6) in all and each shop has
different articles.
Thank you for your emails and if you have more
questions, my email address is [email protected]
Thanks again to the Mirror for printing my good
stuff letters!
Regards,
Judy Gerber
Issue 275
5
Something new at June Rosen’s!
O
n Wednesday and Thursday,
February 12th and 13th, from 2 to
8 p.m., you and your friends are
invited to drop by and relax with a
glass of wine and tempting treats
for June’s First Annual Valentine’s
Day Jewelry Party.
There you’ll get to view this gifted
jewelry designer’s latest work,
whose collection includes great gift
items for Valentine’s Day, in every
price range.
June has been making and
designing jewelry since 1973 and
has evolved tremendously in the
last 40 years, both as a craftsperson
and designer. She’s lived between
Puerto Vallarta, Yelapa and New
York since 1979, and her Christmas
shows have become an annual event
here in Vallarta.
One of the interesting things about
June’s work is the price range. It
enables you to buy a signed piece of
completely handmade jewelry at a
very reasonable price, even though
all her pieces are still completely
hand made as opposed to cast, or
stamped out. There are few jewelers
in Mexico still doing work of this
caliber. Her work combines various
styles, from modern to classic
antique designs.
February 2014
Please drop by the gallery to say
hi, browse for gifts and marvel at
the new direction June’s collectible
work has taken.
You can call her ahead of time if
you would like, her regular hours
are 12 to 6 Monday through Friday.
It is easy to find June’s gallery, it
is one block up from Olas Altas on
Francisca Rodriguez, the same street
where Archie’s Wok Restaurant and
the new pier are located... You just
walk up the hill and she is on the
right corner... everyone is welcome,
new clients, old clients, friends, etc.
200 Francisca Rodriguez, corner
of Pino Suarez in colonia Emiliano
Zapata.
Please join her for a toast any day!
6
Within PV
OBITUARY
RUBEN
MORALES
DIAZ
(1929 – 2014)
B
orn in Vera Cruz, raised and educated in Mexico City, Dr.
Morales had several science and medical degrees. He was one of the
leading veterinarians in Puerto Vallarta.
Dr. Morales is survived by his wife of 30 years, Lisa, and Socorro
who is the mother of his 6 children, Francisco, Alexandro, Adriana,
Mauricio, Mariza and Ricardo – all of whom live in Jalisco except for
Francisco and Ricardo who live in Minnesota.
There are also 9 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and a loving
gaggle of nephews, nieces and girlfriends on both sides of the border
who will miss him. His daughter Adriana was singing a song in
Spanish to him recently, about “how many women in your life…
100”. His answer was “more”.
Dr. Morales was cremated in Guadalajara on January 27th and upon
her return to Vallarta, Lisa will spread his ashes on his beloved ranch.
R.I.P. dear Ruben.
Issue 275
February 2014
Within PV
7
From the Saturday Market Co-0p…
By Charlynn Robertson
T
ransitions are exciting, so
let’s recognize Bill Kelly in his.
What a positive force! As vendors
at the market know, Bill is a great
promoter of all of us. His passion
is phenomenal!
Bill is also a
great mentor. Fellow vendors and
customers will miss him dearly as
he is a colorful element contributing
to the success of the market. More
importantly, it is now time for all
of us to support your decision to
relocate to Ajijic, Bill, giving you all
our love and wishing you the best! A
HUGE Thank You from all of us at
the Saturday Market Co-Op!
Another thrilling transition is
the return of Rebecca Roth and the
Prison Dolls. Officially known as
the Original Friends Dolls - The
Prison Project, this initiative passed
its 5-year anniversary. It was the
love of a child born and living inside
a women’s prison near Guadalajara
that gave Rebecca the idea to start
The Prison Project. She launched a
significant program teaching sewing
and benefitting female prisoners.
Five years later, the program is
stronger than ever. This is a tribute
to Rebecca’s perseverance and belief
in the value of all people. She has
helped the female prisoners transition
from feeling worthless to valued
human beings, giving them skills
beyond sewing in the process.
Women prisoners design and sew
each doll. No doll design is ever
repeated. This is quite a feat given
that The Prison Project is quickly
approaching its 1,000th doll! All dolls
are named, numbered and signed
with the name of the sewer. Rebecca
has each woman write what it means
for them to make their doll. It is
fascinating to hear Rebecca tell the
story of each doll. She formalized
The Prison Project dolls by obtaining
a Mexican patent.
No sale is
complete without a photo. Each doll
is photographed with its new owner
before being lovingly sent on to its
new forever home. Website: www.
prisondolls.com
Krystal Frost is another person
interested in transitions... Ours! She
focuses on helping us transition to
become the healthiest we can be by
concentrating on our body, mind,
and spirit. She gives us the tools to
maintain that healthy transition. As
owner of Organic Select and author
of the “Body & Sol” column for over
10 years, Krystal substantiates her
practice with applicable research.
Taking a holistic approach, she guides
clients in obtaining maximum health.
Organic Select’s goals are simple, yet
powerful: supporting organic farming
and living a healthy lifestyle.
For over 10 years, Organic Select
has supported wellness with an
organic market and gluten-free
bakery. Each product is harvested
or baked as close to market time
as possible in order to deliver the
freshest merchandise to you. These
fresh products are available at the
Saturday Market Co-Op, in addition
to the markets in La Cruz, Sayulita,
Tuito, and San Sebastian.
Issue 275
Organic Select is progressive, too.
It introduced the cultivation of ancient
grains such as quinoa (huinzontle in
Mexico), buckwheat and amaranth.
It supports local schools with seeding
programs and conducts educational
tours for children and parents at
its experimental gardens with
organic growing using permaculture
principles.
Plus, the company
employs 99% Mexican women in the
market, bakery, farm and processing
kitchen. Krystal makes up the other
1% of the employees!
With a degree in Traditional
Chinese
Medicine
from
the
University of Guadalajara, plus post
February 2014
graduate work from Bastyr University
in Washington, Krystal’s practice
includes herbology, acupuncture,
massage therapy, nutrition, yoga and
tai chi. Krystal truly comes from a
healthy place and provides that same
opportunity to us all. Check out the
web site at: http://organic-select.com/
and their Facebook page.
The Saturday Market Co-op opens
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday of the
year at 127 Pulpito, across the street
from Coco’s Kitchen and a block up
from the beach.
8
Within PV
Genetically Modified Organisms:
Science vs Capitalism
By Janie Albright Blank
T
he use of geneticallymodified organisms (GMOs)
is one of the most hotly
debated issues in the United
States and many other
countries including Canada,
Mexico, Brazil, Europe and
much of Asia. Plant biologist
and IFC member Eric Davies,
Ph.D.
comments,
“The
opponents of GMOs use
terms such as “Frankenfoods” to deter people
from their use, whereas proponents point out
the benefits especially in terms of crop yield
and enhancing the world food supply. However,
the potential dangers and benefits of GMOs
have been massively overshadowed by the
role of agrochemical companies in their
relentless pursuit of profit, lack of regard for the
environment, damage to the livelihood of farmers
and indigenous people, and bribery of politicians
and government agencies.”
Plant Biologist Eric Davies, Ph.D. will
address the topic at the IFC on Thursday,
February 6th, at 7 p.m. ($50 peso donation).
Davies will explain the science behind the
controversy in lay terms. “Genetically modified
crops are crop plants that have had (usually) a
single gene added to their regular complement. This is usually done by mimicking a natural
process achieved by a special bacterium which
inserts its own genes into those of a plant.”
“The science that was done to decipher the
mechanism used by the bacterium is fascinating
and I happen to know many of the major players,”
says Davies. “The technology developed to
mimic the bacterium is equally fascinating and
bypasses the conventional breeding methods
which often take 40 generations or more to
achieve the same goal.”
However, Davies adds, “The tactics being
employed by major agrochemical companies and
the quest for profit via monopoly and lobbying
Congress to pass laws in their favor are rather
less than commendable.”
Issue 275
February 2014
As a plant biologist working in
the area of molecular biology, Eric
has used GMOs and generated novel
GMOs for scientific purposes, and
has met and worked with many of the
scientists involved. There is nothing
intrinsically wrong with constructing
GMOs, he argues, the ethical questions
are raised by how they are used and
who profits from them.
When used properly, Davies says,
GMOs can generate plants with resistance to heat,
cold, drought, flooding, insects, herbicides, and
many other environmental factors and can be
done much more effectively than conventional
breeding. They can be used to generate biomass
(as bio-energy producers), and can absorb
valuable ions (gold, silver, platinum) as well as
toxic heavy metals from soils or streams.
Davies was born and raised near Liverpool,
England, and did a BS in horticulture at London
University and a PhD in Botany at McGill
University in Montreal (Canada). He was a
professor at the University of Nebraska and
North Carolina State University and has worked
in England, Holland, Belgium, France, and Japan.
He is currently a partner in a small company that
makes a biological, non-toxic product that gets
rid of fungal problems on golf greens and other
lawns
The lecture will include ample time for
questions and answers so audience participation
is welcome. The $50 peso donation at the door
helps fund IFC charities. Please join us for
what should prove to be a very interesting and
informative evening!
The International Friendship Club is a
registered charitable organization in Mexico
listed as Club Internacional de la Amistad
de Puerto Vallarta A.C. It is located at the
northeast corner of the Rio Cuale Bridge
above the HSBC Bank downtown PV.
Phone: 222-5466. Website: ifcvallarta.com
Email: [email protected]
Within PV
9
There’s more to our history than just great flavors
S
ometimes we all need more than just chips,
guacamole and margaritas. Archie’s Wok is your haven
for bold and innovative flavors when you are looking for
a change from that Mexican groove.
Since 1986, Archie’s Wok has been legendary in
Banderas Bay for serving up original cuisine influenced
by the exotic flavors of Thailand, the Philippines and
the Pacific Rim. Archie’s helped establish the culinary
foundation of Puerto Vallarta and continues to be one of
the bay’s most beloved, longtime established restaurants.
It all began in 1976 when Archie was asked to become
Hollywood director John Huston’s private chef at his
personal retreat on Banderas Bay’s south shore. Only
reachable by boat, Las Caletas (The Coves) was John
Huston’s rustic jungle villa by the sea.
Carlo Ponti’s Visit: Carlo Ponti, famed Italian film producer and
husband to Sophia Loren, enjoyed dropping in on John occasionally
to renew old friendships. One day around noon Ponti’s helicopter
surprised everybody by descending onto a very small strip of beach
in front of John’s house, its blades sucking fish out of the ocean - like
a scene from the Apocalypse. Issue 275
Sardines were raining down on the
beach as Maricela, John’s partner, ordered
everyone to run down with her and start
tossing them back into the ocean before
they died. Carlo Ponti stepped out of the
helicopter bearing a couple of bottles of
his finest Italian Chiantis, ready to settle in
for some serious backgammon with John.
Today, Archie’s family upholds his legacy
of welcoming guests, famous or not, to this
tranquil Asian-inspired restaurant.
So when you finally say “let’s try something
new”, head on over to Archie’s Wok and
discover a world of flavors. Named “Best Asian” in Vallarta since
2005. Ask about their “gluten free” options. Open Monday through
Saturday from 2 to 11 p.m. The ever-popular d’Rachael continues
to perform classical and contemporary music on harp, flute & vocals
each Friday evening from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Located in Vallarta’s
South Side at 130 Francisca Rodriguez. You know the street, the one
that meets the new pier. 222-0411. No reservations needed.
February 2014
The 7 Arts
10
Starring comedienne, film and television personality, February 1 – 13
An Evening with Coco Peru
T
*Adult* Bingo at The Palm
F
asten your seat belts and batten down
the hatches ~ it’s the first ever
*Adult* Bingo at The Palm, with the one
and only Miss Coco Peru calling the
numbers! For a preview of this fabulous
performer, you can see her at The
Palm beginning February 1 - go to www.
thepalmpv.com for more info.
The poop on *Adult* Bingo at The Palm is:
Sunday, February 9
4:30 p.m. tickets go on sale /
5 p.m. the fun starts
Free popcorn/cash bar, 50/50 raffle
Special *adult* prizes
Grab a friend, grab a table
and come play with us!
* * * * * * *
Proceeds benefit the 130+ cats residing
at PuRR Project, a no-kill feline sanctuary
north of Puerto Vallarta.
* Donations 501(c)(3)
tax-deductible in the U.S. *
Issue 275
he Palm Cabaret and
Bar is excited to announce
the Puerto Vallarta debut of
popular comedienne, film and
television personality, Miss
Coco Peru in her new show An
Evening with Coco Peru.
Miss Coco Peru is the drag
persona of American actor,
comedian and drag performer
Clinton Leupp, known for her
role in the 1999 independent
film Trick and for her series
of live theater performances.
Recognizable by her trademark
copper-toned flip hairdo, Peru
also starred in Richard Day’s
Girls Will Be Girls and was one of six performers
featured in the Logo original stand-up comedy
series Wisecrack. She has also appeared in a
number of other supporting and guest-starring
roles in film and television
For 20 years, Peru has starred in various onewoman shows across the US and other countries,
and hosted LGBT events. Since 2005, Peru has
appeared in the “Conversations With Coco”
series in which she interviews and celebrates
the lives and careers of the LGBT community’s
favorite icons. Peru’s guests have included Bea
Arthur, Lesley Ann Warren, Karen Black, Lily
Tomlin and Jane Fonda.
Leupp is a native of City Island, NY, and a 1983
graduate of Cardinal Spellman High School in the
Bronx, NY. Leupp’s first one-person show was
Miss Coco Peru in My Goddamn
Cabaret in 1992. Several more
Coco Peru shows followed,
as well as a 1994 guest role
on New York Undercover and
appearances in both Wigstock
and the movie To Wong Foo
Thanks for Everything, Julie
Newmar in 1995. Peru next had a
role in the 1997 romantic comedy
Nick and Jane. Her follow-up
was the 1999 independent film
Trick. According to Peru, Trick
director Jim Fall was a friend
and fan, and five years before
the film was shot, she helped him
audition actors by reading the
February 2014
role which ultimately went to
Tori Spelling. Peru’s role in
the film was added specifically
for her: “They wrote me a part,
which I rewrote using my own
experiences. I wrote that line
‘It burns.’ Most of the part was
written by me, which is why I
played it so well.”
She has appeared in a number
of other supporting and gueststarring roles in television and
film, including Will & Grace,
Arrested Development, and
Twins in 2006, and the Bravo
network’s reality series Boy
Meets Boy and Welcome to
the Parker. Peru also performed the voice of
“Mama Hippo” in the 2006 Disney animated
feature The Wild. In 2004 Peru appeared in an
Orbitz TV commercial that was later nominated
for a GLAAD Media Award. In 2008 Leupp
said, “I’m not impersonating a woman. It’s just
an extension of me. I’m telling autobiographical
stories,
In An Evening with Coco Peru, Coco will
tell stories about her life, sing some songs, and
basically change lives. Well, maybe that last
part is a little too much, but all she asks of her
audience is to pretend that they’re at a big group
therapy session… and it’s her turn to talk. It’s
sure to be an hysterical evening!
The Palm is well-known for bringing top
notch, cutting-edge entertainment to Vallarta.
Inside you’ll find an intimate,
completely refurbished 90-seat
cabaret club with outstanding
sound and lighting, creating the
ambience of cabarets from days
gone by. Shows are scheduled
seven nights per week with two
different shows nightly through
April 5, 2014. A full calendar
of performances is available
online at www.thepalmpv.com
The Palm is non-smoking (a
patio is provided for smokers)
and is located at 508 Olas Altas.
You can also find the Palm on
Facebook at The Palm Cabaret
and Bar.
The 7 Arts
Happenings at The Boutique
D
id you hear that noise last Friday? It was from a standing
ovation for FOSSE ...and all that Dance! performing to a sold out
crowd (and, in truth, there were NO empty seats). The audience had
a two-year old girl who sat in the front row and took in the whole
program with wide eyed delight. The magical audience gave the
dancers the extra boost to perform at their best. If you haven’t seen
FOSSE ...and all that Dance! come this Friday at 7 p.m. If you have
seen it, come again!
Mikki Prost is back with Shades of the Blues – Season 2 on
Tuesday. A consummate professional, Mikki’s show is high energy
with terrific songs. Many of her guests are regulars as they can’t get
enough of this woman’s shows! She is also doing a special Saturday
Feb 15 show for all her fans who can’t make the regular Tuesday
show. This one will be in lieu of her Tuesday Feb 18th show. Look
for some great surprises for you fans!
A rare evening in Puerto Vallarta is being shared by famous
psychologist Ellen Langer and her presentation of Mindfulness: the
Psychology of Possibility. Her last presentation at the Boutique was
three years ago and sold out very quickly. Get your tickets now and
learn how to better enjoy life!
Issue 275
11
Garry Carson and crew of Time 2 Play are planning a special 2-night
show celebrating love and life. Look forward to February 13 and 14.
Bring your favourite valentine out for a fine evening of music.
As Mass Appeal, From the Heart, Calendar Girls and Radio
WXFPB are in rehearsal, the house will be dark for a few nights as
directors, performers, carpenters and wardrobers get things sorted out
and ready for your enjoyment. The Boutique is ALWAYS looking
for those of you who need the smell of makeup, sawdust and sweat
to remind you what theatre is all about.
Friday 31st
Monday 3rd Tuesday 4th Friday 7th Monday 9th Tuesday 10th Thursday 13th Friday 14th Saturday 15th FOSSE..and all that Dance! 7:00pm
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 7:00pm
Shades of the Blues – Season 2
7:00pm
Mindfulness with Ellen Langer
7:00pm
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat 7:00pm
Patsy Cline
7:00pm
From the Heart with Time 2 Play
7:00pm
From the Heart with Time 2 Play
7:00pm
Special Patsy Cline post Valentines Show 7:00pm
Come to The Boutique where the gumdrops are free and refreshments
are optional. We’re at the corner of Basilio Badillo and Narango, just
before the little tunnel. Tickets are available at the Boutique Box Office
Monday thru Friday 10 am to 6 pm and one hour before shows, online
at www.theboutiquepv.com or VallartaTickets.com
February 2014
12
Cocktails
6 to 10 pm
The 7 Arts
Opening at Galleria Dante
Cherie Sibley W.
Galleria Dante
is located at
269 Basilio Badillo.
Edgar Martinez
February 7 , 2014
February 7th, 2014
th
Edgar Martinez, born in Toluca, Mexico, came to Vallarta at the age of 6.
C
herie’s focus over the last few years has turned to Water
Birds in their natural environment. Her sensitivity to their
habits and relationship with the water that supports them is
captured profoundly in her paintings. Her mastery of both
birds and their watery environment are second to none.
Water Birds, as with all things in nature, bring one a sense
of calm and peace. Cherie’s art mission is to provide the
viewer with a tranquil moment amid a world filled with
chaos.
The stillness of her work counteracts the rapid pace of
everyday life, reminding us all that there is so much beauty
and peace to be found in nature, just by being quiet and
observing it.
The focus of her work this year has been The Great
Northern Loon (Gavia immer). These birds are found in the
northern parts of North American, Greenland, Iceland and
Great Britain. They spend the summers in lakes where fish
are abundant and there are suitable nesting grounds. They
fly to the coasts and winter in the oceans. They sport distinctive, black and white plumage (when
breeding), have a wing span of 5 ft and weight about 9
lbs. They are ungainly on land (due to their legs being
positioned at the back of their bodies), contributing to their
name “loon”, but the joke stops there. They are efficient
predators (for both fresh and saltwater fish), powerful
swimmers and adroit divers.
Perhaps the most striking thing about these birds is their
call. It has been called “haunting”, “mystical”, “thrilling”,
“and enchanting”. She will also be presenting a video of
her work and the loons, bringing the viewer full circle in
experiencing these most wondrous of birds.
Cherie is a native of Southern Louisiana, with a BFA and
has taught adult art classes for the last 13 years. Her work
is collected internationally and her reputation has steadily
grown over the years. She now divides her time between
Mexico and Canada, when not traveling elsewhere.
Issue 275
He studied art for 5 years in Guadalajara. He feels inspired and influenced
by the great masters, but has worked diligently to create his own style,
compositions and perspective through his study of their masterpieces. He
considers himself a surrealist with a basis in the classics. There is a richness
to his paintings that makes one ask if he was trained in Europe.
Edgar also draws from his Mexican culture to create the subjects in his
paintings, often depicting bull fighters or bulls, or village scenes, street
scenes, horses, continuing to work
in a medium of marble powder
mixed with oil, painstakingly
layered to create textures. He
feels the technique allows him
to express himself more as an
“expressionist than a realist”.
Light is crucial in his work
and he feels the layers give his
paintings life. In his recurring
theme of the circus, he sees it as
a reflection of daily life. Symbols
like the horse refer to strength.
The people have a more symbolic
form, sometimes exaggerated.
There is a strength transmitted by
the textures in the human figures
or in the tones of his main colors: ochre, red and blue.
One thing for sure, Edgar’s confidence and his discipline in his own works
never fails to surprise us and always leaves us wanting to see more.
“Seashells! - the primary element of this show - is an exclamation of
surprise, an adequate word to express an emotion that traps the senses. It is
important to succeed in taking the spectator on an imaginary trip, our mind is
unique, only the power of creating and materializing an idea is an
extraordinary event and this, in essence makes the pieces have a cultural,
esthetic and historic value. I have created a firm step to conscience in the
elaboration of the work and it is important that the work speaks for itself,
there is success when the senses of an individual move. And we achieve
and expression like this; Seashells! I have been working for several years in
oil, as a technique like no other, even though I may dominate and appreciate
other, oil is the only medium that fascinates me.
In relation to the art: Creating, imagining, to share one’s own, is without a
doubt a great satisfaction. The gestures of the characters, and the attire tend
toward classic renaissance . The chiaroscuro is elemental in the composition
that defines the style. An expression that is both creative and magical that
maintain all these characteristics achieve a difference between that ordinary
and the unimaginable.”
February 2014
The 7 Arts
13
New location downtown
and at The St Regis in Punta Mita
For its 12
season in Puerto Vallarta, Galería
Corsica has moved to a different location to what
used to be the house of renowned artist Jesús
Botello “Tellosa”, right across the street from the
Café des Artistes tower, and just a few steps away
from where it used to be located for the last 12
years.
During all these years, Galería Corsica has
represented more than 50 Mexican and Latin
American artists and has performed a large
number of solo and collective exhibitions
in their premises or cultural art venues. The
gallery has worked with museums including the
Dolores Olmedo Museum, the José Luis Cuevas
Museum, the Palacio del Arzobispado Museum
and the Universidad Metropolitana Museum - all
of them located in Mexico City, and it has also
participated in national and international art fairs.
Activities have also diversified to producing
exhibitions in alternative spaces and partnership
projects with other galleries at a national and
international level.
The new space has six rooms to display
outstanding fine art pieces coming from all over
Mexico and, starting this season, Latin America.
After focusing from the very beginning on
Mexican Fine Art, partners Jean Pierre Renucci
and José Villavicencio have decided to broaden
up to art from countries like Colombia and Cuba.
Particularly interesting is the courtyard, where
you can see “outdoor art” - a space filled with
bronze sculptures out in the open which are a true
delight for your senses.
This year, Galería Corsica has also opened a
new space at the St. Regis Hotel in Punta Mita,
right at the entrance, where they display some
of the artists that have made them earn their
th
Issue 275
good reputation, together with new ones since
the owners always keep on looking to add more
talent to their artist catalogue. At the St. Regis,
art is displayed not only in their own space, but
also in different places such as the lobby and the
outdoor areas.
Showcasing a wide range of the best traditional
and contemporary Mexican fine art, Galeria
Corsica is the right place for the discriminating
collector and for anyone interested in top Mexican
fine art.
Galería Corsica is located at 756 Guadalupe
Sánchez in downtown Puerto Vallarta and has an
exclusive exhibiting space at the St. Regis Hotel
in Punta Mita. Phone: 223-1821.
www.galeriacorsica.com
Every Wednesday from 6 to 10 p.m.”
February 2014
14
The 7 Arts
This Week: Live on the Paradise Stage
T
his Wednesday, The Paradise
Stage at the Paradise Community
Center
presents
well-known
recording artists Latcho and Andrea,
also known as the Blonde Gypsies.
On Friday, the Banderas Bay Jazz
Allstars invite you to be part of the
excitement of a live recording. On
Saturday, the encore performance of
Bedazzled Broadway will continue.
First, the Blonde Gypsies: Just back
from a European tour and headed to
the Pacific Northwest for another
tour in June, we are so excited to
have Latcho and Andrea performing
Gypsy Rumba and Flamenco Guitar
on the Paradise Stage.
Their music blends influences from
around the world and back through
time: the mysterious and passionate
sounds of Gypsy Flamenco. To trace
their origins, you have to go back
some 30 years to El Sacromonte,
the gypsy quarter of Granada, Spain,
where Latcho lived and learned to
play Spanish guitar from the masters
of flamenco. With his band, Latcho
played with Antonio Reyes, a
member of the Gypsy Kings family
and other notable musicians of the
time in Europe.
For years the Blond Gypsies have
been selling out places all over the
north shore and recently received two
standing ovations at the Taste of La
Cruz. They are quickly becoming a
Paradise favorite. With nine recorded
albums and a DVD, this world class
entertainment is not to be missed.
Then on Friday at 8 p.m., last year’s
runaway sensation The Banderas
Bay Jazz Allstars return; this year
recording their concerts live on the
Paradise Stage.
A review of last week from Dave
Ganapoler: “We went to the Paradise
Community Center, in downtown
Puerto Vallarta, to hear the Bandaras
Bay Allstars.
Everyone in the band is a virtuoso
in their own right. Bryan Savage,
on flute and saxophone, blows the
sweetest melodies and burning
improvisational solos. Chaz Eller,
on keyboards, maintains a solid
foundation over which everyone
weaves a musical spell.
He plays driving solos and soulful
melodies through a collection of
piano, synthesizer and Hammond
organ sounds. Steve York’s bass
playing has unique qualities as he
sings his solos with heart and soul;
both melodic and metered, he’s
a rock. Lazaro Poey, on drums,
well, it’s hard to put words down to
describe what he does. Perhaps one
of the greatest groove masters of all
time, he has you moving in your seat
in ways you’ve never moved before!
Issue 275
Complex rhythms pour through
timing changes and dynamics that
will blow your mind and keep your
head engaged.
Together they create a force
that takes you on a joyous
musical romp. Don’t miss them!”
And there is more!
The early season hit, BeDazzled
Broadway, returns for encore
performances on Saturday nights
through February 15. Featuring a
professional cast of favorite Vallarta
entertainers, this dazzling production
showcases best loved numbers from
Broadway hits like Les Misérables,
Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, ABBA
and South Pacific.
The stellar cast of actors / singers
have played to rave reviews in many
Vallarta shows.
Credits include
Kathy Overly in (Mama Mia and This
Thing Called Love), Gaye and Todd
Ringness (Dolly Would If Kenny
Could), Sharon Baughman-White and
David White (Moments to Remember
and This Thing Called Love), Elvis
Martinez (recently featured at the
Christmas Concert for the Puerto
Vallarta Men’s Chorus).
Produced and directed by Sharon
Baughman-White,
Bedazzled
Broadway vibrates with a fast pace,
unique audio visual effects, creative
staging, and colorful costumes. February 2014
As a member of The Sound of
Music’s original Austrian cast, Sharon
leads a special 50-year anniversary
tribute.
Program highlights include award
winning classics like“ Don’t Cry For
Me Argentina” (Evita), ”With One
Look” (Sunset Blvd), “I’m Not That
Girl” (Wicked), “Music of the Night”
(Phantom), “Stars” (Les Misérables),
and Oscar winning “I Dreamed a
Dream” (Les Misérables).
All shows start at 8 p.m. and, being
good neighbors, end by 10 p.m.
General seating is only 200 pesos.
Reserved and VIP seats also available
for purchase.
Tickets can be purchased at the
Paradise Community Center Tuesday
through Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or
online at ParadiseCommunityCenter.
com
Come early for dinner and drinks
and socializing with other Puerto
Vallarta music lovers. A bonus
benefit of attending shows on the
Paradise Stage is all net profits
from ticket, food and drinks benefit
CompassioNet Impact Mexico.
CompassioNet currently serves
approximately 500 hot meals each
week to children living in underresourced neighborhoods. For more
information: www.4compassion.org
or cell: (322) 133-7263.
The 7 Arts
15
The Kinsey Sicks return to PV
in two outrageous shows!
T
HE KINSEY SICKS, America’s Favorite
Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet, are bringing their
wicked ways back to PV, returning to Act II’s Red
Room to offer two distinct yet equally appalling shows.
Combining rich, four-part a cappella singing,
wicked satire and over-the-top drag, now celebrating
their 20th Anniversary, THE KINSEY SICKS
have written and performed scores of musicals,
starred in their own Off-Broadway show at New
York’s legendary Studio 54, toured internationally,
recorded eight albums and been the subject of
two feature films. The New York Times praises
their “voices sweet as birdsong” and Variety calls
them “one act that should not be missed.” The San
Francisco Chronicle says, “Their mangling of hit songs hits genius level.” Honoring
their longevity as a professional comedy and music act, KQED San Francisco (NPR
affiliate) recently referred to them as “the Royal Shakespeare Company of drag
performance.” The Huffington Post wrote: ““Only one a cappella group has remained
steadfastly lewd, crude, and rapturously reviewed... Legendary for their succulence,
sarcasm, and style, the Kinsey Sicks can easily shock and awe unsuspecting audiences...
[They] never fail to bring down the house.” Read, see and hear more about them at
www.kinseysicks.com
This February, the will present their Reality TV spoof, “America’s Next Top Bachelor
Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild” in PV after having toured
the show in 18 states, the UK and Mexico. In this brilliant reality TV send-up, we
find Rachel, Winnie, Trixie and Trampolina in the jungle, trying their best to score at
challenges that involve singing, dancing, dating, dieting and, of course, large insects.
On alternating nights, THE KINSEY SICKS will present a completely different show,
“Sickest of the Sicks”, which includes the most outrageous material ever brought forth by
these sick queens. “SICKEST OF THE SICKS” will demonstrate why the Washington
Post called THE KINSEY SICKS “a drag quartet that has never encountered a tune it
couldn’t twist and bend to suit its own wickedly amusing purposes.”
Scheduled are: a special midnight show on February 10th and 7:30 shows on the 6th,
th
8 , 11th, 12th and 13th, but you should get in touch with the Box Office or vallartatickets.
com for exact, up-to-date information.
For more information about THE KINSEY SICKS, please visit www.kinseysicks.com
Back by popular demand at Act II STAGES… The Judy Show!
“What do you get when you
mix an internationally acclaimed
impersonator, outrageous comedy,
great standards and a bevy of icons?
The hysterical parody of Judy Garland
and her guests found in Michael
Holmes’ riotous, ‘The Judy Show!’” Encore Magazine
The spirit of Judy Garland is alive and well and
coming to Act II STAGES Red Room Cabaret
February 1-8!
This blend of hysterical comedy
and outstanding music explode into an
evening of nonstop belly laughs, glamour
and high camp, as celebrated entertainer
Michael Holmes parodies Judy Garland,
who in her 1964 television variety show,
played host to some of the greatest female
icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
With a killer wardrobe and razor-sharp
wit, Holmes plays and nails them all, singing your
favorite songs and thrilling the audience with charm,
zingers and stories.
Issue 275
February 2014
The Judy Show’s guests are always changing,
so audiences never know who will surprise and
delight them on stage on any given evening. Be on
the lookout for Carol Channing, Mae West, Bette
Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Pearl Bailey, Peggy Lee,
Tallulah Bankhead, and of course, Judy Garland!
The Judy Show! opens at Act II STAGES on
February 1, and is only here a week!
For tickets, please visit the Box Office at Act II
STAGES or go to www.actiientertainment.com,
www.vallartatickets.com, or look for ticket sales
at the Saturday markets.
16
The 7 Arts
By Joe Harrington
I, Frankenstein
T
he recommendation for this
movie is very simple – if you like
Gothic tales based on a comic book,
then this movie is for you. If you like
almost non-stop violence, then this
movie is for you. If you love vivid
special effects extremely well done,
then this movie is for you.
I was also surprised that it had
– for this type of presentation – a
reasonable plot. That is, if you accept
the premise. I have harped over the
years that a viewer has to give a movie
its premise, and then the movie has to
stay true to that premise.
I, Frankenstein’s plot: The creature,
stitched together by Doctor Victor
Frankenstein, is filled with hate –
towards his maker. His revenge is
killing his maker’s wife. The doctor,
grief stricken, becomes obsessed with
thoughts of revenge and stalks the
creature he created. He tracks him
into a stark and frozen region of Earth,
and, not being already dead like his
prey, succumbs and freezes to death.
His creation buries him, then wanders
the most isolated regions on the planet
for 200 years – seeking some meaning
to his life.
That’s not a bad spin off on a classic
story. There have been many movies
made from Mary Shelley’s gripping
story. And many fine actors, directors
and screenwriters who have tackled
various approaches. For instance –
Boris Karloff (Frankenstein (1931),
Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of
Frankenstein (1939). Other offerings:
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942),
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman
(1943), House of Frankenstein (1944),
House of Frankenstein (1945).
I guess audiences back then had
their fill of the world at war and
needed escapism to an artificial, yet
scary place.
Doing research, I learned there have
been sixty-four movies made with
Doctor Frankenstein’s monster as a
character. There have been humorous
presentations on this theme, most
notably Abbott and Costello meet
Frankenstein (1948), and Young
Frankenstein (1974). Peter Boyle –
directed by Mel Brooks presented a
bizarre and hilarious story. Who can
forget Boyle’s facial contortions and
painful grunts when the monk, Gene
Hackman, ladled scalding soup onto
the monster’s lap or the ending where
Gene Wilder and the monster do a
two step and singing, “Puttin’ on the
Ritz?” Side splittingly funny. The
American Film Institute rates Brook’s
effort as 13th funniest movie ever
made and Rotten Tomatoes gave it an
approval rating of 94%.
I, Frankenstein makes no attempt at
humor, and every attempt at presenting
some of the most visually stunning
computer graphics I have ever seen.
Issue 275
While watching, I wondered what
would Cecil B. DeMille think if he
was suddenly whisked from his grave
to the present, with no information of
what’s been discovered over the last
half century, and watched this movie.
DeMille was known for his use of
thousands of extras – extras that were
real people – think Cleopatra (with
Claudette Colbert, not Elizabeth
Taylor) – thousands and thousands
of extras dressed as roman warriors,
who had to be fed, provided sanitation
needs, given instructions on what to do.
I visualized DeMille, mouth agape,
watching people slain with various
weapons and bursting into flames and
gigantic recreations of gothic places
collapsing in thunderous chaos, and
shouting at the top of his lungs, “How
much did this thing cost?!?!?!” A lot,
Cecil. Even for a fantasy coming off
the skills of a bunch of nerd/genius
kids who’d have been lucky to be
hired to serve lunch to DeMille’s cast
of thousands.
I, Frankenstein is worth watching
as long as you enter knowing exactly
what it is. It is a movie that delivers
in spades and without apologies what
you should expect when going to a
movie based on a Gothic comic book.
This is not my genre, but I have to
admit it was mesmerizing and it was –
as long as one didn’t delve too deeply
into the concept that gargoyles are
angels fighting demons.
My beloved wife said on exiting the
theater, “I’ll never look at a gargoyle
the same way again.” She’s right,
they’re everywhere. Go to Manhattan
and you will see them, as you will in
London, Paris, all major cities.
As mentioned up front, if you like
this type genre, then this is a must see
– if not see something based on reality
like 12 Years a Slave.
Joe
Is an internationally published
true crime writer and
documentary filmmaker.
Send comments or criticism
to JoeMovieMadness@Yahoo.
com. Artwork by Bob Crabb.
February 2014
The 7 Arts
17
Sweethearts and lovers unite:
ROMANTICA hits The Red Room
Ever
since music was invented
(why not google THAT!), it has played
an important part in relationships the
world over. Most people who are
happy in love sooner or later stumble
across a special song that brings extra
meaning to their relationship. From
that point on, the strains of a familiar
melody in nearly any situation cause
us to fondly recall the who has our
heart; it’s even more special if you’re
together when you hear it.
That’s why this just might be the
very BEST way to celebrate love
this Valentine’s Day… a quiver full
of special love songs, exploding
like love capsules of memories and
tingly feelings for a current love, the
melancholic memories of a love lost,
and even the hopeful feelings and
fantasy of a love still to come. And
get this… keep reading to discover
that this is an excellent choice for a full
night out for two, for under fifty bucks!
Todd & Gaye Ringness have been
happy in love for more than 14 years.
They met through what they believe
was a bizarre twist of destiny, carefully
orchestrated at just the right time and
place when two hearts could meet as
one. Their story is a unique one…
perhaps they’ll share some of the details
with you, if you decide to join them
on February 14th in The Red Room
Cabaret, inside the Act II Entertainment
Stages center on the corner of Basilio
Badillo and Insurgentes (just above
Wing’s Army restaurant).
These real-life lovers have
carefully crafted a special evening
for your enjoyment. “ROMANTICA:
Celebrating Love and Other Songs” is
a chance to dive headfirst into a wide
variety of popular love -- and other
-- songs from many different genres
and eras. And true to form, this duo
is going to throw in a few surprises
with the goal of recreating some of the
excitement that comes from finding a
new love.
For those of us lucky to have been
there and done (or doing) that, it will
be a lovely evening that’s perfect to
share with our special sweetness.
For the rest of us who might be
stifling a “bah humbug” when all
things Cupid come up like they do at
this time of year, Todd & Gaye say
that they remember those years VERY
well. “ROMANTICA appeals to
anyone who has loved, is loving right
now, or hopes to love one day soon,”
shares the couple about their new
show. They add, “We are SO excited
to be performing in the new Red Room
Cabaret by Act II Entertainment…
this is our first time in this beautiful
one-of-a-kind space. We are humbled
to share their stage with such highcaliber talent.”
Featured duets and solos performed
by Todd & Gaye during ROMANTICA
include: Lady (Kenny Rogers), Don’t
Go Breakin’ My Heart (Elton John
& Kiki Dee), Endless Love (Lionel
Richie & Diana Ross), You Don’t Bring
Me Flowers (Neil Diamond & Barbra
Streisand), All I Ask of You (Phantom of
the Opera), I Got You Babe (Sonny &
Cher), I Will Always Love You (Whitney
Houston), and of course, Islands in the
Stream (Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers),
plus many others including a special
Disney love song, another hit song
featured in the television series Touched
By an Angel, and a hit or two from the
classic movie Grease.
Issue 275
Originally from Kelowna, B.C.,
Todd & Gaye first moved to Vallarta
in 2002 and just can’t seem to shake
off its spell. They are co-starring
in the current hit show Bedazzled
Broadway delighting audiences on
Saturday nights at the Paradise Stage.
They were also the stars of Dolly
Would if Kenny Could, a show with
13 consecutive sold-out performances
to its credit. Gaye has starred in
Little Shop of Horrors, Nunsense,
and the Sassy Sixties, and was also
part of the music team at Paradise
Church. Gaye has nearly completed
her undergraduate coursework in
Music Therapy. Todd has an associate
degree in Communications as a
television writer/producer and helped
launch CJIL in Lethbridge, Alberta,
and worked for CTV during the XV
Olympic Winter Games in Calgary.
Here in Vallarta, Todd started out
serving many an event behind the
sound and light boards, before taking
the stage in Godspell, and then the
original Bedazzled show at the old
Santa Barbara Theater.
Valentine’s Day is celebrated more
as a friendship day and the love that
special friends share throughout the
year. El Dia del Amor y la Amistad is
February 14th here in Puerto Vallarta
and all around this wonderful country.
February 2014
ROMANTICA is an easy and hearttugging celebration of love that is
bound to form special memories for
you… wherever your heart is at.
ROMANTICA
has
partnered
with the La Fonda Steak & Seafood
Restaurant to offer you a wonderful
dinner and show package. You can
enjoy a romantic pre-show dinner
right across Basilio Badillo in the Zona
Romantica, and then make your way
over to the concert in The Red Room
at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 14th.
This special ROMANTICA dinner
includes either grilled sweet & sour
chicken over a blend of quinoa and
rice, or spicy chile relleno with rice
and refried beans, followed by a light
dessert; beverages and gratuities are
not included.
The special Dinner & Show package
price for ROMANTICA is only USD
$24 or $300 pesos per person, or the
show only for US $16 or $200 pesos.
There are two seating times to choose
from for dinner: 5:30 pm and 6:15 pm,
and the concert begins at 7:30 pm in
The Red Room. Tickets are VERY
limited, so don’t delay and purchase
your tickets online 24/7 at www.
VallartaTickets.com or call 222-4198
for more information.
18
Beyond PV
Your Mountain Retreat
My wife, Xochitl, and I are going to live in a log cabin. You can live
in a cabin, too. Right next door - but not too close. It’s a low density
development called Tierra Alta. Minimum lot size: 1,600 meters or nearly
a half acre. It’s just a mile from El Tuito, which is about 48 minutes from
Puerto Vallarta. It is also about the same distance from the magnificent,
wild beaches along the Pacific coast of Cabo Corrientes, Vallarta’s little
known municipal neighbor to the south.
You might well ask why we’re going to do this. And why a log cabin?
Why near el Tuito? Log cabins are affordable, durable and beautiful, if they
are built correctly. Quick construction, too. Start to finish in five months or
less. Prices start at under $100,000. U.S. Tierra Alta covers seven hectares
(17 acres) of rugged, oak-forested foothills. Master planned. Gated.
Back at your cabin, you can enjoy the evening view of the valley below
or join friends by the pool where you can prepare a sociable meal at the
common area grill next to the covered dining table. There is an outdoor fire
circle nearby, ideal for getting to know your neighbors. They will probably
be like you and like us: Nature lovers. Some of us birdwatchers. Always
in need of a weekend or a week long escape from the heat and humidity
and congestion of Vallarta, especially in the long rainy season. Tierra Alta
is also for retirement. Cabins can be built entirely on a single floor level
and with parking also at the same level as the cabin for easy access. And,
there is now a 24/7 doctor right there in El Tuito. Next step: come and see
us. Just call Tropicasa for an appointment. Tour the model cabin. Walk
the land. You’ll love it.
David and Xochitl Kimball
Clear title. And, you can now have the electronic gadgetry not normally
associated with cabins. Cell phones (Vallarta is a local call). Satellite TV.
Internet. Even a remote control for the entrance gate.
More whys?
Why not just live in Vallarta? Because Tierra Alta gives you low
density and serenity. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity. No traffic
congestion. Excellent restaurants. Low cost domestic help. Lower cost
of living. Beautiful views over the quiet valley of El Tuito, a town that
has been there for 500 years. Peace. Quiet. And 48 minute access to the
beaches of Cabo Corrientes, where nobody goes except you. You walk
along the empty beach at Mayto accompanied by pelicans. Then you go
5 minutes down the coast to Tehuamixtle for the best oysters and grilled
lobsters you’ve ever eaten.
Issue 275
Toll-Free México: 01.800.877.7000
Toll-Free USA: 1.866.978.5539
Puerto Vallarta: 322.222.6505
www.tierraaltatuito.com
February 2014
Beyond PV
Do you know EntreAmigos?
EntreAmigos is a very successful
community project in San Pancho
that has attracted participants and
followers from all over the world,
including the World Economic
Forum, the team from Cirque du
Soleil, and many others.
Founder Nicole Swedlow offers
a guided tour of this impressive,
sustainably-designed, award-winning
education center.
“You will be amazed at
EntreAmigos, what people can
make... fun and crazy items that
can’t be found anywhere else in
this region... and all made of reused or recycled materials,” said
Superior Tours’ organizer Astrid Van
Dam as she described the center’s
amazing recycling and repurposing
philosophy. A store is set up for
visitors to help support their projects
by purchasing items, so don’t forget
to bring some extra money as well.
After visiting EntreAmigos, the
tour takes a spin through San Pancho
to see and learn a bit more about
this cultural, artistic community
including an overview of the new, La
Patrona Polo Club, one of only two
such clubs from Riviera Nayarit to
Costalegre.
Participants receive plenty of tips
on the secrets spots of San Pancho
before heading out to Sayulita for
an afternoon of shopping, people
watching or enjoying the afternoon at
this super popular surfing beach.
Good to know:
The cost of the tour is $40 USD or
$535 MX per person. Meals are not
included. Tickets must be purchased
in advance at the Superior Tours
Vallarta office at Plaza Romy on I.L.
Vallarta in the Romantic Zone on the
south side of town.
A portion of the cost of the tour
is a direct donation to EntreAmigos
as it is funded primarily by private
donations and relies heavily on the
support of volunteers. EntreAmigos
also is funded by sales in their two
stores. One of the EntreAmigos
stores, Recicla Shop, sells secondhand items to fund their educational
projects. It is always a good thing to
donate your gently used clothes and
household goods, the proceeds will
be used for an amazing cause. Just
bring them on the bus!!
EntreAmigos strives to achieve
its mission to increase learning
opportunities for children and
families through the implementation
of educational programs based
on principles of integration and
collective community action. Their
vision is to provide the children and
families of San Pancho with the skills
needed to contribute to their changing
communities in a positive way.
Superior Tours Vallarta will visit
EntreAmigos every week as part
of their Thursday tour to La Peñita
de Jaltemba’s enormous outdoor
market. For more information, please
contact Astrid Van Dam at info@
superiortoursvallarta.com
www.
superiortoursvallarta.com
(Source: www.virtualvallarta.com)
Issue 275
February 2014
19
20
Issue 275
Map
February 2014
Map
Issue 275
21
February 2014
22
Beyond PV
Destination of the week: San Sebastian del Oeste
By Astrid Van Dam
Hi Astrid!
We enjoy reading your weekly
column a lot, and we would love to
visit all those places with you in the
future! This year we come down to
Vallarta only one week, so out time is
too limited to go on overnight tours.
What is your favorite tour or place to
visit within our time frame?
Michael and Roger,
Portland, OR
Hola Michael and Roger!
You are so right, these last weeks
I have been writing only about
destinations with a distance of at
least several hundreds of miles from
Vallarta, and if you come down for
a week it will be impossible to visit
those cities! While writing about
these great destinations in other parts
of Mexico, I almost forget that closeby we have some neat places to visit
too. Of course, it depends a bit on
your interest, for me to recommend
a place, but personally I think a tour
to San Sebastian del Oeste is a must
when visiting Puerto Vallarta.
This village is one of approximately
80 “Magical Towns” of Mexico;
and besides Tequila, Tapalpa and
Mazamitla, it is one of only four
located in our state Jalisco.
San Sebastian of the West
(translated into English), is a
mountain village about two hours
from Puerto Vallarta at an altitude
of approx 4,500 ft. above sea level,
and with a unique history. We are
not really sure yet when the first
people started to live in the area,
but historians believe that San
Issue 275
Sebastian was founded around 1605,
and was very likely built on top of
a place which was probably called
Hostotipac. Translated from Nahuatl,
the old Aztec language, this means
“Place over the caves”. People have
been living in this area since the
early 1300`s. It is not certain where
the name San Sebastian comes from,
in Colonial times it was called Real
de San Sebastian, and only long
after the Mexican Revolution was
the place called as we know it today
- San Sebastian of the West. The
name San Sebastian was very likely
given by a Spanish Franciscan priest.
San Sebastian is a former mining
village; at the end of the 17th
Century, the first people discovered
mainly silver in this area. Not
until the 19th Century were the
mines commercially explored, with
around 50 silver mines active and
approximately 20,000 people living
in the village. Beautiful haciendas
were built, some of them you can still
visit today, like the Hacienda Jalisco.
The haciendas were a village on their
own; on every hacienda there was
production, the people lived within
the hacienda, it had its own cattle, a
Chapel and stores. The town became
one of the wealthiest in the whole
country.
February 2014
After the Mexican Revolution
of 1810, most haciendas were
abandoned and some have been
restored only as recently as a few
decades ago. Actually at Hacienda
Jalisco you can witness a lot of the
local history, a visit there is highly
recommended!
Nowadays, only about 600 people
live in the town, and tourism is the
most important income. There are
several places to eat, including
some really good local Mexican
restaurants, and a fantastic Italian
restaurant as well. Make sure you
visit some of the little museums,
the Church and local stores. You
might even want to consider to stay
overnight; if so, Hacienda Jalisco
is one of the most unique -and thus
recommended- places to stay. Let
me know anytime if you are looking
for more specific info!
Astrid Van Dam
Every week, Mexico expert Astrid
Van Dam writes about different
destinations in Mexico. Astrid is a
Federally-licensed guide for tours
in the whole country (!) who has
guided hundreds of trips in Mexico,
Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.
For any travel advice in Mexico, or
if you have any questions about a
specific destination in Mexico, just ask
her! Feel free to send her an email to:
[email protected]
Your question -and her responsemight be published in one of the
next issues of the Mirror.
Good Bites
Cuban Grilled Chicken Salad
Now that we are so lucky as to find sweet and luscious
fresh pineapples available at any street corner, on the back
of trucks and in the markets, we thought you might enjoy the
following, refreshing and healthy salad.
Issue 275
23
Ingredients for 4 servings
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 small red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
½ cup red or yellow bell pepper, diced
¾ cup canned black beans, drained
¾ cup diced fresh pineapple
2 cups cooked chicken meat, chopped or in strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Directions
Toss the romaine with the onion, avocado, and peppers in
a large bowl. Divide among four salad plates.
Top each salad with a mound of black beans, some
pineapple chunks, and the chicken meat.
Whisk together the olive oil with the garlic, salt, and
pepper. Drizzle this dressing over each salad along with a
little lime juice.
(Source: COCOADAWN at allrecipes.com)
February 2014
24
Vallarta Voices
By Anna Reisman
W
e received a letter from one of
the Mirror’s Facebook friends which
arrived too late to insert in the letters
section of this issue, but which I think
is very important and should be shared
with everyone. I know because this
happened to me and to a few friends
of ours over the last couple of years.
“I want to let you know about an all
too common scam that is still being
perpetrated here in Mexico.
I just returned for my annual visit
to Puerto Vallarta, been coming here
since the mid-90’s. After getting
settled, I went to visit one of my
favorite restaurants and people.
This is an established restaurant in
Vallarta and the owner (a Mexicana)
has been here for many, many years.
When I went to the restaurant and
approached her, she curtly said
“Where’s my money?” I thought
it was a joke. She then told me that
someone claiming to be me called
her and told her they were me and in
some kind of trouble and asked her for
money. She is a very sweet woman
and believed whomever it was, she
does not have a lot of money. She
then got money from what she would
use to pay her employees and sent it to
an account in Guadalajara!!
Issue 275
Which I have only ever been to
once, in 2012. She is, rightfully, very
upset by this and is out the money, a
substantial sum.
After talking to several people
about this, I have found that this is a
very common scam here in Mexico.
Similar to the Nigerian email scams
in the US. Someone calls claiming to
be or is a friend of someone
you know that is allegedly in
trouble and asks for money.
Unless you know them very
well and can verify that it
is in fact the person who
they say they are, DO NOT
SEND ANYTHING. Get the
number they are calling from
and call the police.
IF ANYONE CALLS
AND ASKS FOR MONEY,
TELL THEM YOU ARE
CALLING THE POLICE
AND HANG UP!! DO NOT
FALL FOR THIS SCAM.
I hope that you can get the word out
about this to prevent anyone else from
being scammed. I am a yoga teacher
and transformational business coach;
and this is about as far from who I
am as is imaginable. It has been very
hurtful and upsetting to me and I may
have lost a friend through no fault of
my own. Namaste.
Todd Wheeler”
In the case of one of my personal
friends who lives in Mexico City,
someone called him to tell him that he
was with me (?) at the airport, that his
bags had been confiscated for some
reason, and that he had to pay some
huge sum of money to have them
released… Luckily –and wisely- my
friend had the presence of mind to
call me. He told me the whole story
and I told him that, should that person
called back, he should tell him that he
had spoken to me, and that I couldn’t
possibly be in Puerto Vallarta and at
the airport in Mexico City at the same
time. It worked, but others may not be
thinking quickly enough. Be careful,
dear readers, with such phone calls …
and emails too.
Dr. Ruben Morales was a dear
friend of mine. He passed away a
couple of days ago; he will be dearly
February 2014
missed by all the folks in Vallarta
whose pets he cared for. What a
delightful man he was! We could see
him scooting around town in his old
silver Kharmann-Ghia that he loved
so much and on which he probably
devoted as much time as he did to his
four-legged patients.
Dr. Ruben made house calls, and
especially in my case, with
so many furries to tend to, his
visits always ended up taking
hours, filled with enjoyable
banter, great jokes, and of
course… coffee! Though
he was a veterinarian with
clinics in both Puerto Vallarta
and Guadalajara, he was
also a dog trainer, probably
better than any “trainer” I’ve
ever met. He picked up my
first Rottweiler, Kahlua, at
a breeder’s in Guadalajara,
and he trained her. She
remembered the lessons he
taught her to the day she died. Rest
in peace, my dear friend. You did so
much good, for so many!
This year marks the year of the
Horse in the Chinese zodiac. For those
following the lunar calendar, New
Year’s celebrations will be observed
on Friday, January 31st this year.
The Mirror was “born” in 2008,
thus under the Chinese sign of the
rat. According to it, “it will like the
action, growth and opportunities that
the coming year is set to bring.” Yeay!
For my part, being a Chinese “dog”,
they say “The coming year will
bring success to dogs in love, career
and money, though you should tread
carefully in matters of your career. Be
flexible in order to reap your rewards.”
In order to live here, one has no choice
but be “flexible”… Career? What
career?
The entire month of February is
devoted to the celebration of love and
friendship in Mexico. Consequently,
I wish you lovingkindness and hope
that you will share your good fortune
with those who have less. May your
Mirror always reflect a happy, healthy
you. Hasta la próxima vez.
[email protected]
Health Matters
25
A unique and exceptional learning opportunity!
By Norma Schuh
Ellen Langer
W
hat I miss most living in
Vallarta -aside from TJ Max, the
morning newspaper delivered to my
door and the world-class Guthrie
Theatre (based in Minneapolis,
where we live 6 months of the year)is more opportunities for personal
development. Residing in a large
progressive U.S. urban center, which
is home to multiple universities,
colleges,
vocational
schools,
literary enclaves, wellness centers,
performing arts organizations and
spiritual communities -each offering
classes, seminars and programsaffords unabashed learning junkies
like me a limitless educational
playground to nourish mind and
spirit.
Imagine my delight, then, upon
discovering recently that Vallarta
will soon have within its midst a
renowned Harvard educator/author/
social psychologist/speaker -Ellen
Langer- who will share her insights
on mindfulness for cultivating/
enjoying a Healthy Happy Life, at
The Boutique Theatre, February 7,
from 7 to 9 p.m. (Cost is MX $250
pesos.)
Professor Langer received her
PhD from Yale, and has been the
recipient of multiple distinguished
scientist awards throughout her
career, including The World
Congress Award, a Guggenheim
Fellowship, and the Staats Award for
Unifying Psychology. In addition,
she was nominated for a BAFTA
(British Emmy) for her groundbreaking Counterclockwise study, in
which a controlled group of mature
adults “turned back the clock,”
and experienced life together for a
week, as it was 20 years earlier in
their youth, via a retrofitted retreat
- complete with food, films, photos,
and news/political discussions
from that prior period. Langer
shared the results of her study
(astonishing physical/psychological
improvements in all participants) in
a fascinating sold-out presentation 3
years ago at The Boutique’s former
location on Manuel. M. Dieguez.
Her innovative and empowering
research demonstrates the influence
of expectation and belief on how our
bodies function, how we heal and
how we age.
In addition to the Feb. 7
presentation, Langer will also conduct
a limited enrollment Master Class on
Feb. 14th and Feb. 15th from 9 a.m. to
noon for those who wish to further
explore related topics including new
ways of looking at stress, mistakes,
incompetence and physical illness,
along with techniques for increasing
relationship satisfaction, sports
proficiency,
innovation/creativity
(painting without brushes), and
leadership/charisma - all from a
mindfulness perspective. Participants
will determine course emphasis. The
cost of this 2-day, 6-hour intensive is
$US 1200. The goal of the 2-hour
presentation as well as the longer
class is to help attendees -through
the practice of mindfulness- learn
to put aside negative emotions and
break self- imposed limitations that
restrict living life to the fullest.
Issue 275
A part-time resident of Vallarta
for the past 18 years, Langer lives
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where
she has been a full professor at
Harvard since 1977 (the first female
to gain tenure in the University’s
psychology department). In addition
to her impressive credentials in
academia, she is an accomplished
artist, whose work is exhibited
in galleries, and also a tennis
enthusiast. The author of 11 books
and more than 200 research articles,
Langer has been a guest speaker all
over the world, including Japan,
Malaysia, Germany, Australia,
Switzerland, Argentina and China,
where her message repeatedly
illustrates how our limits are of our
own making. She is the founder of
February 2014
the Langer Mindfulness Institute
(Langermindfulnessinstitute.com),
whose focus is researching the impact
of mindfulness on challenging health
issues, teaching attendees (through
experiential retreats) how to live
boldly, based on validated research,
and redesigning the workplace to
encourage mindfulness on the job.
She is soon to be the subject of a
major article in the New York Times.
To purchase tickets on-line for
either the 2-hour presentation or
the 2-day master class, please visit:
vallartatickets.com or theboutiquepv.
com. You may also obtain tickets in
person at The Boutique box office,
located at the corner of Basilio
Badillo and Naranjo.
26
Health Matters
Have you learned
to forgive?
By Giselle Belanger
RN, LCSW
O
ne ex-prisoner of war asked
another, “Have you forgiven your
captors yet?” The second one replied,
“No, never.” And the other turned
and said, “Then it seems like they
still have you in prison don’t they?”
(cover of “Spirituality and Health”,
Winter 1999)
Are you still being held captive?
Are you still trapped in your anger
and resentment for what has been
done to you? Your need to hold onto
such feelings is keeping you stuck in
the moment or event; you have not
moved on from that period of time.
You are not in the present. You are
dragging your past into your present
everywhere you go, like a heavy ball
and chain. It’s there infiltrating every
aspect of your life; your thoughts,
your decisions, your relationships,
and is keeping you from really living,
from experiencing happiness and joy.
Nelson
Mandela
said
that
“Resentment is like drinking poison
and then hoping it will kill your
enemies”.
You are not free until you forgive
and let go of the anger and resentment.
The perpetrator or person who has
wronged you still has power over you
until you set yourself free.
Myths
An extremely common myth: in
order to forgive, the person must
deserve to be forgiven. The truth is
that it is not for you to judge whether
they deserve it or not. Life will take
care of that. Each of us eventually
suffers whatever “consequence”
for our actions or wrongdoings we
“deserve”. It is not about waiting for
them to apologize or admitting they
were wrong.
Similarly, another myth: forgiving
means you are condoning that
person’s behavior. Again, it isn’t your
place to condone or not; to approve or
pardon or not. Forgiving does not
mean what they did is acceptable.
Another myth: in order to forgive
you must forget. You do not need
to be able to forget it… ever, in
fact, depending on the severity, you
probably won’t. There is a beautiful
book on forgiveness that addresses
this common myth right in the title:
How to Forgive When You Can’t
Forget, written by Charles Klein,
(Liebling Press, Inc 1995).
So why forgive?
You do not forgive for the good of
the other person. Instead, you forgive
for your own good so that you can
be free and move on. Tian Dayton
states in her daily affirmation book
(Forgiving and Moving On), that “we
forgive not to erase a wrong, but to
relieve the residue of the wrong that is
alive within us.” (pp367) In essence,
we forgive because it restores us to a
sense of inner balance.
Issue 275
It’s a process
In the book The Magic of
Forgiveness, Tian Dayton describes
five stages of forgiveness: 1) waking
up, 2) anger and resentment, 3) hurt and
sadness, 4) acceptance, integration,
and letting go, 5) reorganization and
reinvestment. She explains that the
process of feeling the feelings, going
through the pain, and then letting go
of the pain and resentment, is very
freeing and healing. She states, “We
cannot do a flying leap over pain and
resentment to forgiveness without
first working through those feelings
and restoring our lost sense of self.”
Cherie Carter-Scott, author of If
Life is a Game, These are the Rules,
(Broadway Books: 1998), defines
forgiveness as the “act of erasing an
emotional debt” and says you engage
in a “conscious and deliberate release
of resentment”. She reminds us that
it is “impossible to learn anything
meaningful while you are engaged
in blaming”. She describes four
kinds of forgiveness; beginner and
advanced forgiveness of yourself,
which requires extending compassion
toward yourself, and beginner and
advanced forgiveness for another,
which requires letting go of harboring
resentments and revenge, which keep
you trapped in victimhood (pp 41-45).
Forgiveness is especially difficult
when the event or wrongdoing was
especially traumatizing. Victims of
abuse suffer for years unable to forgive
their perpetrator and unable to forgive
themselves for somehow “allowing
it” or “inviting it”. It is classic for
victims to blame themselves, however
incorrect and misconstrued that is,
they need to forgive themselves. “The
process of forgiving, letting go, and
moving on, requires a willingness to
know one’s own truth and the courage
and strength to feel pain that has been
hidden in silence.” (Tian Dayton,
Daily Affirmations for Forgiving and
Moving On, 1992, pp 370)
There is another side to
forgiveness; the feeling
or need to be forgiven
How many times have you said
February 2014
that someone “will never forgive me
for that” or tried to figure out what
excuses or lies to tell them in order to
get someone to forgive you? We need
to be forgiven in order to alleviate our
guilt. We don’t want to feel the pain
of having hurt someone else. We need
to fix things; to make them better. We
need to repair the relationship before
it is lost or damaged.
There is a sense of relief once
someone has forgiven us, which often
times does not include consequences
or punishments. “I thought she
was going to…” kick me out of the
house, never call again, tell my boss,
etc, “but instead she forgave me
and I promised not to do it again.”
Promising not to do it again implies
a child pleading with an authoritarian
figure and finally convincing them of
your good intentions.
There is a psychiatrist who treats
addiction and codependency (Dr. Paco
Cantu, Clinica Cantu, Cuernavaca,
Mexico) who teaches that “asking
for forgiveness (from others) is the
same as asking for permission to do
it again”. He insists that until you
forgive yourself the behavior won’t
change. Forgiveness must begin as an
internal experience and then may or
may not include external forgiveness
from others. Self-forgiveness relieves
some of the guilt and allows us to
move on, whereas waiting to be
forgiven keeps us stuck.
Learning to forgive others and
yourself is a powerfully healing
lesson to learn in life. Each of us
deserves to move on past the pain and
resentment. It is within our power to
let go and free ourselves and that is
the “gift of forgiveness”.
Giselle Belanger
RN, LCSW (psychotherapist)
is available for appointments
in person, by phone, or by
skype webcam. Contact info:
[email protected]
Mex cell: 044 (322) 138-9552
or US cell: (312) 914-5203.
Health Matters
The Spinal Column
By Dr. Jim Starr
Chiropractor
Flu Shot? Forget it!
“So last year I got a flu shot,” Gary
told me, “because everyone kept telling
me I needed one. And then I got the flu.
I’ll be darned if I’m doing that again
this year. But what am I supposed to
do to stay healthy?
Since we’re seeing the “Get Your
Flu Shot Now” signs springing up
everywhere, I’ll share with you what I
told Gary. If you have plans to get a flu
shot, but have not done so yet, I urge
you to read the rest of this article. It
just may change your mind.
Where’s the Proof?
“There is no evidence that any
influenza vaccine, thus far developed,
is effective in preventing or mitigating
any attack of influenza. The producers
of these vaccines know that they are
worthless, but they go on selling them,
anyway.” That is a direct quote from
the Food and Drug Administration’s
(FDA) former Chief Vaccine Control
Officer, Dr. J. Anthony Morris. Dr.
Morris made this statement during the
notorious swine flu madness of 1976.
Terrified, millions of people got
the recommended vaccines. But the
epidemic never happened.
More than five hundred people,
however, developed Guillain-Barre
syndrome, a serious, debilitating
autoimmune disorder, after being
vaccinated, and at least 25 people died.
Are you at Risk?
By now it should be clear that the
value of flu shots is questionable at best.
As Gary’s experience (and that of many
others) shows, the shot is no guarantee
that you’ll be protected from illness. But
why can’t flu shots be made effective?
Part of the problem is that no one
knows exactly which of the many
strains of flu in existence may be headed
our way in a certain year. Experts can
make educated guesses based on history,
but that’s all they are – guesses. And
since flu viruses can mutate quickly,
concocting a vaccine based on what
happened during the past few years and
what might happen in the coming year is
obviously an iffy proposition.
Been There, Tried That
Remember the panic over H1N1
flu a couple years ago — the one the
media mavens insisted was a terrifying
pandemic in the making? We were
told that since swine and bird flus had
Issue 275
27
combined with human flu virus, the
results would be lethal. The World
Health Organization (WHO) even
raised the worldwide pandemic phase
to 6, the highest level available. Good
grief, the fear mongering was enough
to make anyone sick.
Fortunately, researchers figured out
early on that fatality estimates were
grossly overblown. Instead of the
four deaths per 1,000 flu cases in the
original estimate, the actual figure
turned out to be somewhere between 1
in 10,000 and 1 in 100,000.
One Shot, Too Many Toxins
Finally, let’s take a look at three
additional aspects of flu vaccines that
you really need to know about to make
an informed decision.
First, there’s the fact that new
vaccines are tested for a mere one to
three weeks before being released to the
public. Rushing products to market with
inadequate testing is rarely a good idea.
Second, know that flu shots are a
toxic stew of chemicals that no one
should be ingesting. Here’s a very
partial list of flu shot ingredients:
- ethylene glycol, the scientific name
for antifreeze;
- formaldehyde, nicknamed ‘the
embalmer’s friend’;
- aluminum, a known carcinogen
with links to Alzheimer’s disease;
- thimerosal, a form of mercury, the
most toxic of all the heavy metals.
Let’s take a closer look at just one
of these ingredients, thimerosal.
Ostensibly, thimerosal is a preservative.
High levels of mercury in the body
affect everything, but especially the
neurological system, causing memory
February 2014
issues, emotional disturbances, sensory
and co-ordination difficulties, vertigo,
and a long list of other problems. This
is why I recommend eating fish only
occasionally.
The health benefits
of fish are outweighed by the toxic
impact of mercury found in most fish
these days. To make matters worse,
mercury tends to accumulate in the
brain.
So an annual vaccination
just adds to whatever mercury may
already be in your body. Furthermore,
mercury decomposes, creating even
more toxic substances. Finally, many
scientists are also concerned about the
fact that there have been no studies
evaluating the combination of mercury
and aluminum, two common vaccine
ingredients, in the body.
ACTION PLAN
- Getting sufficient sleep is an absolute
must during cold and flu season.
- Drinking plenty of fresh, filtered
water helps your lymph system
eliminate germs and toxins.
- Being active supports a healthy
immune system, providing oxygen to
virus-fighting natural killer T cells.
- Call us at Holistic Bio Spa and our
Naturopath Zoli Hargitai will set you
up for your personalized Detox Plan.
Dr. Jim Starr
Is part of the Integrated
Medical Group along with
Naturopathic and Medical
Doctors at Bio-Spa and
Chiropractic Center. Plaza
Marina, Local B-10. Call 2211607 for your appointment.
28
Health Matters
Body & Sol
By Krystal Frost
Buckwheat
The ancient super
grain of the Gringos.
Who would know???
Since
the super commercial growing and
political support for wheat has taken
hold of the grain industry! However,
buckwheat was largely cultivated
when most North Americans were
closer to the land than to computers
and cell phones... now we know
why... Read on, Dear Reader, for
new/old knowledge about this North
American super grain.
Buckwheat is not a cereal grain,
although its name might lead you to
think it is. Rather, it is a flowering
plant. Buckwheat is a relative of
sorrel, dock and rhubarb, whose ‘fruit
seeds’ are a great source of nutrition,
cancer fighting phytonutrients,
antioxidants and fiber.
A major crop which has been
cultivated throughout the world for
centuries, buckwheat production in
the U.S. is far lower then anytime
in the past, while China, Russia
and other parts of the world have
taken over most of the cultivation
In the U.S. it is often planted not for
the harvest of its seeds but as a weed
control cover crop, a green manure
to be cut and either tilled or left on
the soil as organic matter, or as a
honey crop for bees.
There are some powerful benefits
offered by buckwheat in the garden
and in the diet, not the least of
which is its ease of growing and
ability to thrive without fertilizers
or pesticides.
1. Buckwheat is a great gluten
free grain substitute.
A source of high quality protein,
it contains all eight essential amino
acids. Use it to make pancakes,
porridge, as a substitute for rice,
or sprout it and add it to salads
and sandwiches for an antioxidant
boost. Research has shown that
sprouting buckwheat changes its
nutrient profile and provides a super
antioxidant boost. To super enhance
that antioxidant boost, add trace
minerals to the sprouting water.
2. Buckwheat improves blood
cholesterol levels.
In populations where buckwheat
is a staple in the diet, it has been
shown to lower serum cholesterol
and particularly to lower LDL
cholesterol, earning it a reputation
as a heart healthy grain substitute.
I will add, this is because the grain
is gluten free and therefore does not
CLOG up the kidneys with pasty
residue.
3. Cancer fighting properties.
Studies have shown that various
parts of the buckwheat seed inhibit
tumor growth and slow cancer cell
growth in a variety of different
types of cancer.
4. Buckwheat is a clean crop.
Common buckwheat is one of the
traditional ancient foods of people
around the world. It has never been
engineered, gone through breeding
programs or modified, so you don’t
have to worry whether it’s safe.
5. Buckwheat shows results as
an appetite suppressant.
It may even reduce your appetite
and help you lose weight. In studies
of grain substitutes, buckwheat was
found to provide a higher sense of
satiety than staple western grains
such as rice and wheat. It’s tasty
too… we love buckwheat pancakes..
6. An important bee crop.
Bees adore it. It blooms later
Issue 275
than most spring pollen producers
and can be a very important food
source for bees. Like borage, it will
continue blooming and producing
new flower clusters and seed heads
all season right up to the first frost,
providing a major food source for
the honey bee.
7. Buckwheat flowers are the
source of buckwheat honey, which
has proven antioxidant and anti
inflammatory properties.
Not only does the buckwheat
flower sustain the bees during
the mid and late season when
traditional pollen sources are low;
but the honey it produces is also
medicinal. According to research:
“As buckwheat honey was most
effective in reducing ROS levels,
it was selected for use in woundhealing products.
The major
antioxidant properties in buckwheat
honey derive from its phenolic
constituents, which are present
in relatively large amounts. Its
phenolic compounds may also exert
antibacterial activity, whereas its
low pH and high free acid content
may assist wound healing.”
8. It makes an attractive
addition to the garden and has a
fragrant flower.
No matter where it is planted in
the garden, it adds flowering beauty
and a pleasing scent. It can go in the
vegetable gardens, herb gardens or
along borders and edges. It can be
broadcast seeded in meadows. Plant
it around the main vegetable and
fruit gardens to attract pollinators.
9. It’s a great cover crop for
garden beds
Buckwheat can crowd out some
of the toughest spring weeds.
While it’s growing, it is adding
phosphorous to the soil for any
vegetable crops which can be interplanted later in the season once the
buckwheat has been established. In polyculture gardens it is left to
continue blooming and plants are
planted in among the stalks.
So, even if you don’t grow enough
to harvest the seeds and make
your own grain substitutes, adding
February 2014
buckwheat in the garden provides
food for bees, nourishes the soil
and fills the air with a delightful
fragrance.
For those not fortunate enough
to have a garden, this information
might inspire a local seed bomb
project.
Remember, common
buckwheat grows easily, without
fertilizers or pesticides, so it’s easy
enough to make up small clay ‘seed
packages’ and deliver them to edge
lands, open spaces where little
care is being taken of the property.
Organic common buckwheat is sold
by many organic specialty seed
farmers.
Oh, one more thing: buckwheat
can be used as a replacement for
barley to make a gluten free beer. So,
if it’s really true that humans began
growing grains and developing
agriculture in order to make alcohol,
as some anthropologists have
suggested... Now there’s the reason
we were waiting for to get truly
motivated!
On a local note... www.organicselect.com has brought the seed to
our area to produce for the use in
gluten free breads, grain, chicken
feed, bee food and green mulch.
They grow it, mill it into flour and
make up a very yummy pancake
mix.
Buckwheat: steam it, sprout it,
mill it, and eat it.
Krystal Frost
Is a long time resident of Puerto
Vallarta. Graduate of University
of Guadalajara, and specialized
in cosmetic acupuncture at
Bastyr University in Washington
State. She is the owner of Body
& Sol for over 15 years where
she practices traditional Chinese
medicine, acupuncture, massage
therapy, yoga, meditation and
nutritional counseling. She has
created healing programs for
individuals, retreats and spas.
Questions and comments
may be directed to
[email protected]
Health Matters
Using the body to heal itself
By Julie Anne Montagano
I
n my 40s, I started having problems
with my right leg. It would get stiff and
sore after sitting for long periods at my
desk and at night, it would throb with
some kind of burning pain. By my
mid-50s, I became totally consumed
by the pain and walked many days with
a limp. I was finally diagnosed with
osteoarthritis in my right hip at age 54.
At the clinic in Canada, they told me
to come back when I couldn’t put my
socks on and they would schedule hip
replacement surgery.
During last year’s Medical Matters
conference in Puerto Vallarta, a friend
attended a lecture given by a doctor
using stem cells to treat arthritic knees.
She told me that he also “did” hips and
that I should go see him. I made an
appointment with Dr. Alberto Marrón
Mc Naught at Amerimed the following
week.
After examining me and
reviewing my x-rays, he determined
that I was between Stage 2 and 3
of arthritis (Stage 4 being bone-onbone with no cartilage) and therefore
an ideal candidate for the stem cell
treatment.
When combined with
blood platelets, the stem cells work to
regenerate EXISTING cartilage. Since
the x-rays clearly showed cartilage
in my hip joint, we scheduled the
procedure immediately.
The stem cell procedure is just that - a
procedure. No cutting is involved. After
being prepped by kind, caring nurses
in my brand new, super clean hospital
room (flat screen TV, WiFi, a large AC
unit and a motorized recliner which
my husband immediately claimed), I
was taken to the operating room and
mildly sedated. While I was out, they
gave me an epidural that anesthetized
me from the waist down. Then they
carefully extracted bone marrow from
my iliac crest (large hip bone in the
back). The doctor told me that my bone
marrow came out “like butter”. The
bone marrow was sent to the lab so
that my stem cells and blood platelets
could be harvested. When the stem
cells and blood platelets were returned
to theatre, I was awake (although still
frozen) and Dr. Marrón injected a large
syringe filled with a pinkish yellowish
substance into my cartilage.
So it is a relatively simple procedure
with three steps: (1) epidural injection,
(2) bone marrow extraction and (3)
injection of the stem cell / blood
platelet mix. I had one tiny round
bandage on either the epidural or
extraction site. I still can’t figure out
which one it was. I spent a bit of time
in Recovery before being returned to
my room and discharged several hours
later. I was not allowed to put weight
on my hip joint for 10 days. Luckily,
we had a wheelchair and crutches
available, as well as grab bars in our
master bathroom.
The burning pain I had endured for
years in my right leg has been gone
since the night of the procedure and
has never returned. I’ve been back
many times to see Dr. Marrón so that
he can review my progress. He says
I am one of his best patients because
I do everything he tells me: exercise,
Issue 275
29
stretching, swimming, etc. Every
six months, I must return for a PRP
(platelet-rich plasma) injection directly
into my hip joint as a booster shot for
the stem cells. In November, after
giving my blood at the hospital lab first
thing in the morning, we went back
a couple of hours later (after eating a
late breakfast) and Dr. Marrón gave
me the small injection into my hip
joint. Fortunately, I did not experience
any pain or burning as he predicted
might happen.
I opted for this treatment as a way
to defend myself from undergoing
invasive hip replacement surgery.
Since the x-rays show I have arthritis
in both hips, I will no doubt need to
do something for my left leg sometime
in the future. I would not hesitate to
have this stem cell procedure done
again. Compared to a hip replacement,
it seems like a no-brainer: no surgery,
no incision, no infection, no drugs, no
rejection, no extended recovery time
and no chance of failure or breakdown
of the device. It’s pretty miraculous in
its simplicity. You use your own body
to heal yourself.
This year’s Medical Matters
Conference is taking place on Monday,
February 10, 2014 at the Hotel Marriott
CasaMagna in Marina Vallarta from
9AM to 5PM with free admission and
free lectures. For more information
on stem cell procedures and the other
innovation treatments available in
Puerto Vallarta, please contact Pamela
Thompson by emailing her at pamela@
healthcareresourcespv.com
February 2014
30
Legal Matters
Ask Luis
By Luis Melgoza
To C.P. who complained about
a ticket vendor in a letter to the
editor last issue: It was you, not the
ticket vendor, who was at fault. You
missed the boat and were given the
opportunity to use your ticket at a later
date, as a courtesy. The vendor was
under no obligation to refund your
money.
Try missing your plane through no
fault of the airline sometime and see
if you can get your money back from
them (please write back if you do).
Dear Luis: We live in a gated
community, “Coto” they call them
here. The HOA is imposing a series
of regulations that are seriously
overreaching, attempt to control what
we do in our own home and curb the
free use of common areas. Is there any
way to stop them? They have serious
delusions of grandeur!
Among other things, they want to
limit the number and kinds of pets per
household and set hours when work
can be done in the home.
Dear Reader: Unless your coto or
gated community is a condominium,
all “common” areas are actually
public places (i.e. city streets and
public green areas).
HOAs have absolutely no authority
over city streets and other public areas.
Even if yours was a condo, the HOA’s
authority ends at your door.
Only the city, state or federal
authorities may set limitations on the
enjoyment or lawful use of a private
residence —again, unless it is part of a
condominium.
Furthermore,
many
gated
communities in PV’s greater metro
area lack any authorization to block
city streets or to interfere with the
free use of those streets by the general
public.
If yours is not a condominium, the
solution is to simply ignore the HOA
and any of their rules and regulations
you deem impertinent; they are
unenforceable.
If, on the other hand, you live in a
condo, you must abide to the rules and
regulations regarding common areas
as voted by the majority; within your
unit, you can do as you please as long
as it is lawful, regardless of what the
HOA says. You may challenge HOA’s
regulations in court if you feel that
they are overreaching.
However, if the majority of your
neighbors supports the HOA; do you
really want to live among them?
Issue 275
Dear Luis:
With a dealer’s
employee, I went to transfer title in my
name of a used car I had just bought.
We had to stand in line twice, first for
about 2 hours, to have the paperwork
reviewed by a nice gentleman who
gave us a number to pay the fees.
In the second line, the lady skipped
over our number and continued with
others. I was the only gringo standing
in line. We asked her if there was a
problem, she just smiled and told us to
sit down and wait for our turn. Finally,
another lady approached her almost
two hours later and said something to
her. She called our number, so quietly
that we didn’t hear her. A gentleman
next to hear called it out in louder
voice so we could hear it.
I’ve lived full-time in PV for four
years and I had never felt discriminated
against until now. I purchased the car
for $75,000 pesos, as shown in the
dealer’s invoice, but the lady used the
amount paid by the original owner,
$140,000 pesos, as the basis for the
transfer of title. Did she do it right?
Dear Dan: I don’t have enough
data to know whether you were being
discriminated or if there was actually
some issue being investigated before
you were allowed to proceed. If you
were, in fact, discriminated; that is
despicable and the teller should have
been reported to her supervisor.
To your question: Unless the used
car you bought is the current or the
next model year, in which case the
original selling price —including all
accessories and aftermarket items—
is the basis, Jalisco’s official index
February 2014
of transfer fees should have been
used, unless the specific make and
model you purchased is not listed in
that index, in which case, a formal
appraisal is needed.
Dear Readers: You are cordially
invited to attend my conference “No
Need For Hysteria: The Truth About
Mexico’s 2014 Legal Reforms” and
Q&A session on February 13th at 7 PM,
hosted by the International Friendship
Club (IFC). I will do my best to dispel,
with factual information, the myths
developed by a few fearmongers
about the effects of these reforms,
particularly the tax reform, on expats
and foreign visitors alike.
The IFC is requesting a $50 peso
donation at the door. 100% of proceeds
go to benefit IFC charities, I am not
charging a penny.
Send me your questions to askluis@
pvgeeks.com, I am not able to answer
each message privately due to the
volume of mail I receive. Should you
need personal attention, please call
me at (322) 164-4049 to schedule a
private consultation.
Luis Melgoza
Is a former PRI (Mexico’s ruling party) Head
Counsel and Legal Adviser to the Mexican
Congress. Although retired from the legal
profession, he is a highly respected consultant
for both the foreign and Mexican communities
in Puerto Vallarta. Luis’ PVGeeks are the
premiere commercial and residential computer
and networks solutions experts in Puerto
Vallarta. For computer or network issues, you
can reach Luis at [email protected]
Real Estate
31
The best luxury vacation rentals in Old Town
By Saskia Claudine Geul
I
f you are thinking about spoiling
yourself with a week or two of total
luxury, in the most perfect location,
Vallarta Getaways has the ideal
option: Residencias Molino de Agua.
Located right on Los Muertos beach,
Molino de Agua represents modern
Mexican deluxe at its best.
In fact, almost every visitor to
Puerto Vallarta will already be familiar
with this condominium building.
From almost anywhere in the Bay
it is visible, rising monolithically
alongside the Cuale River mouth and
towering over the beach, the Malecon,
the picturesque river island and the
foot bridge. But the location is only
part of why I recommend this property
- let me tell you more…
Offering 12 storeys of very spacious
and luxurious accommodation, the
building is laid out such that every
unit has an unimpeded panoramic
view of the entire bay, a huge, covered
terrace from which to enjoy it and an
elevator leading directly from private
parking spots to every front door.
The elevated, crystal clear, saline
infinity pool lives up to similar
expectations in terms of its size,
features and eye catching design,
from a swimmer’s perspective melts
seamlessly into the ocean beyond it.
Really for sheer bathing pleasure, this
one must be hard to beat and many
blissful hours can be wiled away
simply floating about. When it all
gets too much, the sunken, palaparoofed, wet bar can help, alternatively
order a gourmet take away snack from
selected local restaurants and have it
delivered to the pool side. Despite
the location right in the midst of
everything, once you step though the
gates, you feel you have entered an
environment of peaceful tranquility.
This is largely thanks to the extensive
gardens with large open expanses
of lawn, pathways that meander
between flower borders and mature
trees, fountains and little patios and,
of course, a few colorful hammocks
strung between the palm trees to
complete the picture of tropical bliss.
The units themselves offer you 3,300
sq. ft. of tasteful luxury and comfort
and
state-of-the-art
appliances.
From fully equipped gourmet
kitchens designed for entertaining,
to the enormous bedrooms and king
size beds, satellite TV, wireless
internet and Vonage phone lines,
24-hour security and concierge, air
conditioning throughout and LCD
TV’s in every room, Molino de Agua
has everything you need for the perfect
family vacation or relaxing retreat.
Issue 275
The current property is immaculately
maintained by a team of courteous
and friendly, uniformed staff, who
are there to welcome you every time
you arrive, and to man the garden gate
which opens right onto the Malecon,
just 4 or 5 steps to the beach itself.
If you are planning to visit Vallarta
for longer, and you want the same
perfect location and high level of
luxury and comfort, then Rivera
Molino may be the answer for you.
Located right beside Molino de Agua
on the same site of the old hotel, Rivera
Molino was completed just a few years
ago. The building is crescent-shaped
and encloses the tropical garden and
“fish eye” pool, which is bordered
on the far side by the Cuale River.
Like Molino de Agua, Rivera Molino
offers every comfort and luxury, but
on a smaller scale than its neighbor.
One, two and three-bedroom units are
available here at a more economical
rate. Rivera Molino is therefore ideal
for longer stays of a month or more.
February 2014
Saskia Claudine Geul
Is the owner manager of Vallarta
Getaways – specialists in vacation
rentals and property management.
Vallarta Getaways is located in
charming Plaza Romy, right in
the heart of the Romantic Zone.
Working hand in hand with Emma
Cobb, Vallarta Getaways offer you a
handpicked selection of properties
to suit every budget. Saskia and
Emma are so well acquainted with
this part of Vallarta that whether
you are looking for a one bed, beach
front condo for an idyllic, romantic
getaway or the perfect, 6 bed
Mexican Casa for that unforgettably
special family occasion, you can be
sure that you have come to the right
place. For personal attention and a
quick, friendly and knowledgeable
response, call Vallarta Getaways
and speak to Saskia or Emma right
now, or visit them in Plaza Romy.
Emails: Saskia@vallarta-getaways.
com or Emma@vallarta-getways.
com www.vallarta-getaways.com
32
Real Estate
VIEWPOINT
By Harriet Murray
Recent guidelines on ISR exemption for tax upon
sale of Mexican real estate
L
ast week, notaries in the
area met to discuss and decide
upon the guidelines they would
release for sellers of Mexican
real estate. As is often the case,
there was misunderstanding or
lack of understanding of what the
current criteria have become. It
is also difficult when the persons
explaining and those asking are not
totally fluent in each other’s first
language.
As I understand it, foreign
persons registered correctly for
doing business in Mexico, as
temporary or permanent residents,
must obtain a constancia (proof) of
their business address to show that
it is separate from their personal
home (which they wish to sell with
benefit of an ISR or capital gains
tax exemption.) The Mexican
government does not want to allow
an exemption of tax reduction to
a person who has been using his
home as a business address.
This statement below has been
written to help explain this new
change to the layman. The author
is attorney Jose Maria Gallardo,
partner in the law firm Robles,
Sánchez, Lazo, Gallardo & Valdez;
with offices in Guadalajara and
Puerto Vallarta.
Prior to the current Immigration
and Income Tax Laws, Mexican
Authorities resolved that:
(i)
Non-residents or temporal
visitors were considered as nontax payers in Mexico and therefore
not allowed to take the exemption
benefit, unless proof to the contrary;
while
(ii) Permanent
residents
were considered tax payers in
Mexico and beneficiaries of the
tax exemption, unless proof to the
contrary:
Although both Laws include
substantial changes, including the
limits on the tax exemption, it is my
opinion that basics have not changed.
Issue 275
Using the same principles,
under the new Immigration Law,
foreigners with immigration status
of permanent or temporal residence
(other than students) should be
considered as beneficiaries of the
exemption.
I must say that what the tax
authorities resolved differs from my
personal opinion, since the Income
Tax Law chapter citied applies only
to tax payers in Mexico. Proof of
being a tax payer in Mexico should
be obtained by Notaries.
Until tax authorities confirm
their opinion making reference to
the new laws, I would recommend
the Notary Public obtain from
foreigners intending to obtain
this benefit at least a copy of
their immigration document and
Mexican tax payer evidence (in
addition to the other documents
February 2014
expressly required by law – i.e.
electricity bills).
In any event, foreigners should
always evaluate whether it is more
beneficial to take the exemption
(considering the limits) or calculate
their taxes using their cost and
other deductions.
This article is based upon legal
opinions, current practices and my
personal experiences. I recommend
that each potential buyer or seller
of real estate conduct his own due
diligence and review.
Information for this article has
been provided by AMPI Flex MLS.
Harriet Murray
Can be contacted at
[email protected]
Gil Gevins’ Page
The Big Wheeze
By Gil Gevins
www.gilgevins.com
W
hen
my
internist,
Dr.
Pulga, moved to Guadalajara,
I was left without a “Medico
Exmentedescompuesto” (a “cheap
doctor who doesn’t really know what
he’s doing, but at least knows enough
to send you to someone who does”).
Then I came down with a nasty
respiratory infection and was forced
to search for a replacement.
Too ill to look myself, I put my
wife in charge. Lucy promptly
called all her girlfriends, coming up
with a list of four highly qualified
gynecologists. “No, no, no!” I told
my wife, “I need to get my lungs
clear, not a pap smear!”
Relief came ultimately from
an unexpected source, Ruben the
mechanic. He’d run into Lucy at the
fish market, and in response to her
tale of woe, came up with the name
of a fabulous doctor.
Dr. Juan Carlos Constantino
Mendoza was a rotund, neck-less
young man with no hair and the
thickest pair of soda bottle bottomeye glasses I’d ever seen. His
examination
was
infuriatingly
thorough. After dabbing my upper
torso repeatedly with his clammy
stethoscope, peering down my throat,
up my nose and inside my ears,
taking my blood pressure and testing
my reflexes, he proceeded to ask me
an endless series of questions.
The first queries were pure boiler
plate: Allergies?
Operations?
Conditions? Etc.? But then he began
to wander off into unchartered waters.
“Tell me,” Dr. Mendoza said,
“about your sex-life.”
“Dr. Mendoza,” I wheezed, “I
have bronchitis. Or pneumonia.
Something amiss with my respiratory
tract. Why are you asking me about
my sex life?”
“Everything is connected,” the
doctor proclaimed.
“Yes, I agree, doctor. The holistic
approach. Very commendable. But
claiming that my penis is connected
to my trachea is, in my opinion, a real
stretch.”
“Your emotional state,” Dr.
Mendoza intoned, “has a profound
effect on your health. So. Tell me
about your sex-life.”
“Well,” I said, glaring at the
massive medico, “I’m very fond of
unwashed feet.”
The doctor frowned. “You don’t
want to discuss this subject?”
“No.”
“I see. Hmm.” Dr. Mendoza rubbed
his chin and stared off into space for a
minute, coughing every ten or fifteen
seconds. “Do you ever get angry for
no reason?” he finally said.
“No.”
“Are you always depressed?”
“Is that one of those trick questions,
doctor? Like, have you stopped
beating your wife yet?’”
“Your blood pressure is high,” he
said.
“Just nerves. If you take it again
in five minutes, it’ll be normal. They
even have a name for it: White Coat
Syndrome.”
“Do you beat your wife?” Dr.
Mendoza asked.
Suddenly, I was coughing so hard I
couldn’t think. If I had been capable
of thought, I would have asked
myself the following question: Is this
bald bean bag pulling my leg?
When I could breathe again, I said,
Issue 275
33
“Only at cards.”
“How often do you get up in the
night to urinate?”
“Dr. Mendoza, isn’t that a ‘prostate’
question?”
“Do you have prostate problems?”
“Not that I know of. Dr. Mendoza,
what about the infection? This
phlegm I have. It’s like Night of the
Living Dead in there!”
“Everything is connected,” the
pudgy practitioner said smugly.
“Doctor, are you saying - are you
saying that enlarged prostates cause
bronchitis? Do you even know where
the prostate is located?”
“Do you lose your temper often, or
for no reason?”
A little while later, once I’d stopped
coughing again, I said, “Dr. Mendoza,
we just met. Yet for some reason, you
seem to have decided that I’m some
kind of mental case.”
“Do you believe that I think that
you’re a mental case?” he asked in a
monotone.
“Let’s rephrase the question,” I
said, restraining the urge to reach out
and wring his neck, if I could find
it. “Why don’t you ask me if I think
you’re a mental case.”
Ordinarily, I have a high tolerance
for problematic, offensive and/
or obnoxious people: after all,
they supply me with some of my
best material. But I was feeling
immeasurably bad at that moment. I
just wanted to get my prescription, go
home and go back to bed.
“Have you ever been diagnosed,”
Dr. Mendoza asked, “with paranoid
schizophrenia?”
“Okay, doctor, that does it. I’m out
of here.”
The phone rang. Mendoza picked
it up. “Yes, send him in,” he said into
the receiver.
Before I could negotiate my way
out of the room, the cute, coughing
young receptionist led in an old
shuffling gringo. Between the two
of them, they effectively blocked my
escape. The elderly fellow looked
dazed and confused and, oddly,
considering where we were, badly in
need of some sun.
February 2014
“This man does not speak Spanish,”
Dr. Mendoza said, “and, unfortunately,
I do not speak English.”
“What do you speak, doctor?” I
asked.
“Could you please translate for us?
It will only take a minute.”
“I’m a professional translator,” I
said proudly.
“That’s wonderful!”
“And I don’t work for free. Let’s
call it a wash. Your, eh, consultation
equals my translation.”
“I hardly think,” Mendoza said,
“in all due modesty, that my years of
studying and practicing medicine are
on a par with your simply learning a
language.”
“I don’t know, doctor. I’ve been
practicing Spanish for thirty years,
and you’ve been a doctor for - what,
ten years? No, never mind. I’ll
swallow my pride. Just give me
eighty per cent off.”
Then, turning to the elderly
gentleman, who probably wasn’t
much older than me, I said, “Sir, what
is the nature of your problem?”
“You’re a doctor?” he croaked.
“No,” I said, “but I speak English.
That globular individual over there is
the doctor. I’m the translator.”
The old man began to cough. He
had it. Our maid had it. Five of our
friends had it. Everybody had it. For
a little while, he and I coughed in a
weird off-kilter unison. Once we’d
subsided, I said to Mendoza, “Come
on, doctor, half the town is down with
this lousy infection. Can we forget
the sex-life crap, cut to the chase and
get out the prescription pad? Please?”
“I have a cough,” the geezer
wheezed.
Gil Gevins
Is the author of four hilarious
books, including, PUERTO
VALLARTA ON 49 BRAIN
CELLS A DAY, and SLIME AND
PUNISHMENT. Signed copies of
all Gil’s books are available at
LUCY’S CUCU CABAÑA, located
at 295 Basilio Badillo, or as
E-Books on Amazon Kindle.
34
Hi-Tech
The Browser War… 2014
W
ell, it’s time to look at the
internet browser wars again. Things
are heating up with the newly released
Internet Explorer 11 and Firefox 26,
while Google Chrome 32 is out now!
Personally I think the numbering of
versions for Firefox and Chrome
is getting out of hand - Chrome
though… version 114 anyone?
The browser race is hotter than
it’s been in years, with all 3 major
browsers ramping up support for
HTML5 and all the latest associated
technologies. The latest area of focus
is hardware acceleration — this is
where the browser sends heavy tasks
to the computer’s graphics hardware
to make animations and page
rendering faster and smoother.
Let’s start off by saying sorry
Windows XP and Windows Vista
users… “No Internet Explorer 11
for YOU!” IE11 is only available
for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 operating
systems. Now this is not a mean
spirited slap in the face from
Microsoft (they say) but rather the
reality that IE11 uses “hardware
acceleration” which Windows XP
and Vista can’t do.
Now if you have an older operating
system, take heart. Firefox 26 and
Google Chrome 32 will run on
Windows XP and Vista, but not with
all the bells and whistles of hardware
acceleration. I find it funny that nonMicrosoft browsers will support XP,
but Microsoft will not support their
own (older) product!! So if you’re
having problems viewing web pages
and are still running XP/Vista, I
highly recommend you download
and install the Chrome browser.
www.google.com/chrome This will
keep you connected.
I do have to say, I like Google
Chrome 32 so far. It’s fast and no
nonsense. Even the set-up process
shows Chrome’s commitment to
speed: Just click the Install button
on the Chrome Web page, and you’ll
have the new browser up and running
in less than a minute, with no wizard
to go through and no system restart.
It also updates itself automatically in
the background.
Issue 275
Another big plus to Chrome is
the built-in Flash and PDF Support.
Chrome is the only browser to
come with Adobe Flash built in,
rather than requiring a separate
(and annoying) installation. And
not having to perform the frequent
required updates of the Flash plugin separately is another bonus - it
updates automatically within the
browser.
Chrome boasts a PDF reader built
in as well, so you don’t have to worry
about installing any Adobe plug-ins
for viewing specialized Web content.
You can also print the PDF from
online as you would any Web page.
Minimalism has been a hallmark
of Chrome since its first beta release.
Tabs are above everything, and
the only row below them holds the
combined search/address bar, or
“Omnibar.” Yes this is for you those
of you who have the browser with
7 toolbars installed, so you almost
can’t see the web page itself!
Chrome “instant” is one of the
coolest things to be added to Chrome
in a while. Start typing a Web address
in the address-bar, and before you’re
even done, a page from your history
or a search result page is displayed
below in the main browser window.
I just type “PC,” and PCMag.com is
already loaded.
Now as far as security goes, this
is where Chrome really shines.
The entire program architecture is
internally sandboxed so that almost
all vulnerabilities are unexploitable in
a practical sense. And by integrating
Flash they automatically update
February 2014
it, which is certainly an important
security advance.
To help protect from crashes due
to both malicious and poorly coded
sites, Chrome runs each tab in a
separate process. If a website on one
tab freaks out, it won’t take down
the whole browser (Firefox has this
same feature). I don’t know how
many times I’ve had 10 tabs open to
various web pages and sure enough
one site hangs up on me and crashes
my whole Internet Explorer and the
other 9 pages I was viewing.
So how is all this playing out
in the real world? Well, Internet
Explorer has dropped from over 80%
of worldwide usage just a few years
ago, to around 50% by the end of
2013. Google Chrome has passed
Firefox to take second place globally
at almost 20%. Firefox hit a peak
of 40% a couple of years ago but
has settled in around 17%, based on
recent numbers. Safari and “others”
make up the last 13%.
That’s all my time for now. See
you again next week... until then,
Remember: only safe Internet!
Ron
Can be found at CANMEX
Computers. Sales, Repairs,
Networking, Wi-Fi,
Hardware upgrades, Graphic
Design, Data Recovery,
House-calls available. www.
RonnieBravo.com Cellular
044-322-157-0688 or just
email to [email protected]
Fish Tales
Punta Mita still rocking
with Rooster Fish / Sailfish
By Stan Gabruk
Owner of Master Baiter’s Sportfishing & Tackle
F
or late January, the fishing is
surprisingly good. Normally Sailfish,
Dorado, Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna
are long gone by now, but we’re
seeing these fish hanging out around
Punta Mita. By contrast, the deep
water locations of Corbeteña and El
Banco are disappointing at best. But
then again, these are summer species
locations so this is no surprise as we
expect these conditions to continue for
the short term. For the visiting angler,
there is plenty of action to be had, so
don’t be discouraged, you just have to
know where to go.
First, El Banco and Corbeteña are,
for all practical purposes, not the
best places to head out to as Marlin
and Yellowfin Tuna are pretty much
done for the winter. Corbeteña has
Cubera Snapper to 60 lbs., Bonito,
Jack Crevalle and that’s about it for
now. El Banco has Spinner Dolphin
in the area so Yellowfin Tuna of 25
to 40 lbs. are running with them for
now, but this is no reason to head out
this far as the fuel dollar is going to
become a concern as prices continue
to sky rocket in Mexico. Don’t waste
your time or money for now.
Once more the point off Punta Mita
is the place to be and will most likely
stay that way for the months to come.
It’s not far from Puerto Vallarta and an
8-hour trip will produce the desired
results. Rooster fish are still in the
area and running very large at 60 to 70
lbs.! Dorado are thinning out as you’d
expect but still out there in the 40 to 60lb range as well. Sailfish are thinning
out too, but they’ll be in the area for
some time to come, just not in larger
numbers. As long as you understand
that, it’s worth a shot with these other
desirable species hanging out. Skip
Jack Tuna -¨Skippies¨- are large,
bait-size large, up to 35 lbs. Great
tasting and fun to catch, smaller folk
will appreciate these exciting fighters.
Sailfish in the area will be found 13 to
15 miles off the point on a heading of
300 degrees. Same place I always tell
you about, so keep this information
handy for future reference. You may
also find Striped Marlin in the area as
water temps drop as expected weekly.
The Marieta Islands are not far from
Punta Mita so you can imagine things
are improving here as well. Pompano
in the 25 to 40-lb range are abundant in
number and sized nicely as I write this
article. Not the most popular species
for some reason, they’re great tasting
fish. Rooster fish in the 35-lb range,
Jack Crevalle (they’re everywhere),
Bonito, and Spanish Mackerel are still
in the area and also taste great.
Great small game fishing inside the
bay will be like this for the foreseeable
future, Jack Crevalle in the 30-lb range
and plentiful, Snapper around the
structure and schooling, Snook at the
river mouths and shoreline, Bonito,
Sierra Mackerel for the near term
Issue 275
35
and the list goes on. Four to 8-hour
fishing days are your best fishing bet
for the next few months as should be
expected.
As far as early winter fishing goes,
we’re doing great with plenty of
action, perfect fishing conditions
and decent water temperatures of 76
degrees. Water conditions are mostly
blue, but the bottom muck has stirred
up a bit with changing currents so
the water is not perfect, though still
good enough at most locations. Lures
have been working well for Tuna
and Sailfish, jet heads are working
best. Color wise, purple and yellow
lures, Blue and Pink and Brown with
black stripes are the ones you want in
your bag of tricks this week. Dead
bait trolled is working well too. As
mentioned earlier, water temperatures
are inching their way south which for
the near term means Striped Marlin
will be coming in for a short time as
they head south to warmer waters with
their cousins.
Something to think about, fuel prices
due to the new laws that began Jan. 1,
are rising at a brisk clip. Calculating
the break down to dollars and gallons,
you’ll be looking at about 30 cents
a gallon increase monthly for the
foreseeable future. No kidding, this is
going to make fishing more expensive.
The new tax laws that were scheduled
to go into effect on Jan. 1 have been
postponed until April 1. This is also
a giant pain and will put fishing boats
that operate under the radar more
difficult to operate, impossible in fact,
but it’s Mexico they’ll find a way
around it.
February 2014
For now we’re looking at some
challenges to keep the industry ¨afloat¨
but as with all increases, clients will
bear the burden. We’re looking at
some interesting times ahead in the
next year, if you have any questions
on how this will affect you and your
fishing, feel free to contact me.
Until next time, don’t forget to kiss
your fish and remember: at Master
Baiter’s Sportfishing & Tackle “We
Won’t Jerk You Around!”
Master Baiter’s has changed
locations in Marina Vallarta and
are now near Victors Café Tecuba.
Look for me at the least traveled end
of Marina Vallarta and I will be there
in my new place. Email your questions
to me at: CatchFish@MasterBaiters.
com.mx
Web page:
www.
MasterBaiters.com.mx , Local Phone
at: (044) 322 779-7571 or if roaming:
011 521 322 779-7571 (this is my cell
phone directly until the shop phone
is working. Facebook: http://www.
facebook.com/pages/Master-BaitersSportfishing-Tackle/88817121325
The trade name Master Baiter’s ®
Sportfishing and Tackle is protected
under trade mark law and is the sole
property of Stan Gabruk.
36
Calendar / Directories
Solution to crossword on page 39
Solution to Sudoku on page 39
Issue 275
February 2014
Nature’s World
The enigmatic
behavior of animals
By Dr. Fabio Cupul
A
mong the cowboys and
cattlemen in various parts of Mexico
and Latin America, stories are told
about the ability of jaguars (Panthera
onca) to imitate perfectly the neighing
of mares that have recently given
birth, with the sole intention of
attracting their foals to hunt them
and easily feed on them.
At first, those stories of talking
jaguars with such skills for deceit
and trickery may seem false and
even fantastic. Of course, but
what is really surprising and
marvelous about the jaguar is
that it is the largest feline to
inhabit America (an adult’s
weight varies between 45 and
130 kgs, and they have a long,
robust body).
But curiously, this idea of felines
using vocalization to attract potential
preys does not seem completely crazy.
For example, in Brazil’s Amazonia,
it has been documented that margays
(Leopardus wiedii) manage to imitate
the calls of the squirrel monkeys
to attract them within their fighting
distance. Also the “calls” of jaguars
and pumas (Puma concolor) have
been recorded, imitating their
detainees. It has been proposed that
the vocal manipulation of the prey by
these felines indicates a psychological
astuteness (in this case ethological,
since we are dealing with animals)
that must be studied. Therefore, the
cowboys and cattlemen’s affirmation
that the jaguars’ imitation of the
neighing of mares that have recently
given birth will have to be considered
and be a topic of future studies.
On the other hand, there is a
widespread belief that dolphins protect
castaways from shark attacks and that
they will only feed on them if they
should die. Thus, as extraordinary as
this seems, the evidence of castaways
protected by dolphins can be proven
Issue 275
37
scientifically, since the socialization
and peripheral contact between
humans and dolphins is inevitable as
they frequent the same areas.
Many contacts begin when dolphins
follow or swim near boats, when
they ride waves with surfers or come
close to divers and swimmers. This
socialization develops into an increase
in familiarity. There is the famous case
of the dolphin “Opo” of New Zealand
that allowed children to mount him
and ride him. On the other hand, there
is no evidence whatsoever to support
the claim that they will feed on dying
or dead castaways, no documented
cases of any dolphin systematically
feeding on human flesh.
Curiously, in addition to humans,
there is evidence of the use of
psychoactive substances among wild
fauna. On this matter, the Tucanos
of Colombia believe that jaguars
regularly chew a hallucinogenic
liana called “yajé” or “ayahuasca”
(Banisteriopsis caapi). The shaman
of the tribe uses the same plant in his
rituals, generally mixed with fungi, to
intensify its effect. After taking the
plant, the shaman believes that he is
transported to a kingdom where he can
communicate with the animal spirits
and turn into an animal, mainly
a jaguar. It is known that when
natives take “yajé”, it sharpen
their visual capacities and sensory
states. They believe that the
plant has the same effect on the
jaguar, which causes its fighting
powers to sharpen notably. These
remarks are only speculative;
nevertheless, it is very tantalizing
to think that the jaguar “learned”
that the consumption of the drug
improved its sense of smell or
sight to maximize its success in
the hunt for preys.
On the other hand, some animals
eliminate the parasites that invade
their skin by using poisons of other
animals or plants. For example, the
wild pig rolls around on ant nests so
that these release formic acid as a
defense mechanism. The acid will act
as a fumigant or insecticide that will
eliminate or repel annoying parasites.
Like the European wild boar, it has
February 2014
been observed that some 250 species
of singing birds use the formic acid
released by ants when they defend
themselves, to fumigate their plumage
and eliminate arthropods parasites,
fungi and bacteria. For their part,
some birds, including a wide variety
of eagle species decorate their nests
with plant foliage. The foliage releases
poisonous compounds that act like
as insect repellent, thus keeping the
nests free of undesirable parasite
infestations.
Dr. Fabio G. Cupul Magaña
Was born in Mexicali, in the
northern part of Baja California.
His university studies have
qualified him in the fields of
oceanography, biology, physics,
chemistry and mathematics.
He took part in the very first
studies of El Salado Estuary in
Vallarta and is the founder of the
Cipactli Reptile sanctuary located
a little north of Puerto Vallarta.
The Doctor is a Permanent
Member of SOMEDICYT, the
prestigious Mexican Society for
the Dissemination of Science
and Techniques. He has been
professor and researcher at the
Coastal University Center (CUC)
of the University of
Guadalajara since 1992.
Dr. Cupul has published six
scientific research books in
Mexico and Cuba, on crocodiles,
venomous plants and animals,
and natural history in general.
Today he is doing research on the
diversity of centipedes in Mexico.
Email: [email protected]
38
Nature’s World
Planting Roots
in Mexico
By Tommy Clarkson
Flame Vine
Pyrostegia venusta
Family: Bignoniaceae
(Also known as Orange
Trumpet Vine, Orange
Trumpet Creeper, Flaming
Trumpet Vine, Firecracker
Vine, Golden Shower,
Llamarada, or Huapala
and, incorrectly by some,
Honeysuckle, Orange
Flowered Stephanotis or
Mexican Flame Vine)
C
ommonly now grown in tropical
and subtropical areas, as well as
in mild Mediterranean climates,
Pyrostegia venusta is a vigorous liana
(a long-stemmed, woody vine, rooted
in the soil at ground level, which uses
an array of means for vertical support)
that makes a beautiful ornamental
plant with cascades of orange flowers.
In fact, a while back, on the Orlando
Sentinel’s web site, I saw the Flame
Vine described as an “evergreen,
woody, rampant, vine.” It is that
… with major league emphasis on
“rampant!” Originally from Argentina,
Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, this sunloving, fast grower - up to over thirty
feet (over nine meters) in length - is a
climber, a hanger and a creeper! (Patty
says it sounds somewhat similar to an
old boyfriend from her youth!)
Like the Axis Powers at their zenith
in the 30’s, these guys strive to take
over everything around them! They
are, suffice it to say, aggressive and can
smother the more benign – so, beware
trees, shrubs, and bushes. Mine reach
out onto my Date Palms, Crotons and
Silk Floss Tree and, regularly, have to
be aggressively “encouraged” to not
be such expansionists!
The genus name refers to the color
of the flowers – pyro (flame) and
stege (covering) while venusta means
“pleasing”. Another of my secondary
research sources asserts that the species
name translates as “handsome.” What
with its profusion of bright, brilliant
and bunched flowers, I would, most
assuredly, agree with all of these!
In full bloom, with its medium
to dark green leaves and bold,
abundantly lush, dense, terminal
clusters of two to eight, two to fourinch (five to ten centimeters) long,
slender, orange (occasionally yellow),
tubular flowers cascading down, it is
simply brilliant. Climbing via threadlike tendrils, its shiny, pinnatelycompound leaves (somewhat like a
feather with parts branching from a
central stem) are comprised of two or
three leaflets. These ovate leaflets are
two to three inches (five to seven and
a half centimeters) long with one of
them, sometimes, being modified into
a terminal tendril.
But, at the risk of repeating my
earlier warning, when growing the
Flame Vine, keep in mind that - in but
a short time - it can well cover walls,
trellises, arbors, car ports, rooftops,
overhead lines …and slow moving
gardeners!
In his tremendous tome, “The
Tropical Look, An Encyclopedia of
Dramatic Landscape Plants” (available
through our web site via Amazon),
Robert Lee Riffle – in my opinion, the
quintessential “Plant Person” – said
of them, “When it does bloom, there
is probably no other flowering vine
that is more spectacular, especially if
one likes the color of deep orange.” I
know of few who would not but fully
concur.
It can handle a wide range of welldraining soils and likes moderate,
regular waterings.
Issue 275
Beautiful blooms but… at the bottom
left can be seen a couple of Croton
leaves quaking before the pending,
overwhelming, onslaught of the
Flame Vine from above.
Nervously peering over its
“shoulder” fronds, a Bottle Palm
on our Boulder Terrace sees the
rapidly encroaching Flame Vine
fast growing ever nearer from
the Grand Terrace above.
This one grows on a wall on the
highway leading into PV from
Manzanillo. Gorgeous, isn’t it?!
You may wish to prune them
following their flowering. It can be
propagated by cuttings or air layering.
But while loving copious, direct sun
light, it prefers slightly cooler areas
and, if it had its “druthers”, would
choose slightly higher altitudes.
Hence, around here, it may cease
flowering during the hottest times of
February 2014
the year. (By the way, some folks
also confuse this vine with the South
African Tecomaria capensis whose
flowers are more funnel shaped and
two-lipped, while sporting five to nine
leaflets with toothed margins.)
These copious, trumpet bloomed
vines are salt tolerant and suitable for
planting along the coast. And as an
aside, it has another climbing cousin –
Bignonia magnifica – that boasts large
purple or mauve-pink flowers and can
be pruned into a bush.
Yearly maintenance to remove dead
wood is a good idea - after cessation
of blooming. I’ve read that scales,
caterpillars, and mites can be a
problem for the Flame Vine but I have,
to date, not experienced such.
And, closing with a bit of “upper
crust” class, according to the Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens site, “The plant
from which the painting of P. venusta
in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine was
illustrated was collected in Brazil in
1815 by Admiral Sir John Beresford
(Second Sea Lord and Conservative
politician). It was brought to the editor
of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine by
William Smith, who looked after Lord
Liverpool’s garden at Combe Wood in
Surrey. Lord Liverpool became Prime
Minister in 1812 after the assassination
of Spencer Perceval.”
Tommy Clarkson
In Manzanillo, visit Ola Brisa
Gardens, Tommy and Patty’s
verdant, multi-terraced tropical
paradise nestled on a hill
overlooking the magnificent vista of
Santiago Bay. Leisurely meander
its curved, paved path, experiencing,
first hand, a delicious array of palms,
plants and flowers from all over the
world. Or, e-mail questions to him at
[email protected]
For back issues of “Roots”, gardening
tips, tropical plant book reviews
and videos of numerous, highly
unique eco/adventure/nature tours,
as well as memorable “Ultimate
Experiences” such a Tropical Garden
Brunches and Spa Services, please
visit www.olabrisagardens.com
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34.
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71. Alternative to plastic
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64.
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63. Van Gogh biography 9. Lumberjack's call
he aim of the puzzle is to enter a numerical digit
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67. Refinable rock
10.
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66.Each
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wife
Agent's due
68.
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down
11. Tomb
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only
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cells
(the prop
“givens”). Each___
row,Croft
column, and region must contain only one instance of
42. Paddler's target
12.the
Comparison
70.
Pa.numeral.
neighbor Completing
each
puzzle requires patience.
connectorbecause some studies
is recommended
have suggested they might
71. ItAlternative
to plasticas therapy
site
13.
Foul
mood
improve
memory,
attention
and
problem
solving
while
staving off mental decline
72. Colorado's ___ Park
48. Housetop laborer
The New York Times Tuesday Crossword Puzzle
SUDOKU!
Sudoku is a logic-based placement puzzle.
T
and perhaps reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Solution to Sudoku on Page 36
Issue 275
February 2014
Issue 275
February 2014

www.pvmcitypaper.com Issue 275 Saturday 1 to Friday 7 February

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