LAS HACIENDAS Y LOS CONDOMINIOS

The old Hacienda Restaurant was located across the street from my present apartment.  I had visited it a couple of times shortly after I arrived in Vallarta.  It had the most beautiful garden patio, but the food was not good and the service was worse.  It was only open until 2:00 pm so basically it was just breakfast.  The waiters seemed to adapt the attitude of the owner or manager.  He had a permanent sneer on his face so instead looking like he was happy to see you; it looked like he was thinking "why are you here?"  After I did move across the street, I never went back.  I was not surprised when it closed.  Then a large For Sale sign went up and I feared what might happen to the lovely old building.  Sure enough a few months later I saw a construction crew ripping off the roof.  I thought "Oh No! is it going to be another concrete high rise?  I loved that it was a one story building and I have no one behind me, giving me almost total privacy on my deck.

I immediately went across the street and found the foreman who luckily spoke a little English (although I did begin in Spanish).  He said they were just during a remodel as it would be another restaurant that would be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  He assured me it would remain a one story although they were raising the ceiling in a few areas.  I was very happy and anxious to try the new restaurant.  But construction went on for a year.  The noise and dust were awful, but they did a beautiful job and spent so much money on it, I wonder if it is "laundry money"  Since they finished so late, it did not open until the following winter season.  I was there the second day it was open.  It has a great menu and the food was good, but alas the service was terrible.  It is such a gorgeous place I was hoping that it was just because they had just opened.  Sadly, NO!  They just cannot seem to get their act together or maybe it really is drug money and they do not care.  Still I am very happy not to have one of those awful concrete structures there.

Unlike San Miguel who has preserved its beautiful old colonial buildings, Vallarta seems intend on tearing them all down.  They are going to destroy the charm of the city that brings tourists here.  You might think "how dumb" (which it is) but the main culprit was the old mayor.  He issued over 500 building permits during his six years, including 20 permits for high rise condominiums just on my side of the river.  This area named the "romantic zone" is only about 12 by 14 blocks.  Way too many for a small area. Why? you might ask.  Simple, For the Money.  He also granted a horribly expensive trash collection contract.  Not only was the trash collection spotty and messy, it was bankrupting the city.  When the new mayor took over, he found the treasury empty.  What happened to this crook?  Oh he went to Mexico City where they made him finance manager.  Who knows more about money that he does.  Yes! It is Mexico!  The new mayor had to lay off half the police force and a lot of the City employees just to pay the horrendous trash collection contract.   Somehow he got out of it and now the City does its own collection and it is much better (although it is still the one thing I dislike most about Vallarta).  He is a good guy and has started up neighborhood committees that are making lots of improvements.

But the ugly condominiums keep popping up.  There is not only a tall skinny one on my street but around the corner a huge complex is going up.  Why?  We are five or six blocks to the beach?  The real estate market has tanked because there are now hundreds of new condo for sale.  I think that 90% are still empty.  Thank God because I am sure no one figured out what replacing a one family home with 20 or 40 units will do to the infrastructure.  What about the sewage, garbage and the additional traffic and cars?   There are already two huge empty buildings that I know of that have been empty since they were built ten years ago.  The worst is that awful eight story building on Plaza Cardenas at the end of my street.  It looks across the park to the ocean but is now falling apart.  Some balconies are collapsing onto each other.  No one knows why it just sits there.  A block from me is another two or three story white building, occupying half a block.  Several bars have opened on the corner unit (never lasting one season) but all the apartments are empty.  They just build a strange concrete tower on top of it.  Why ??

This post was started almost two year ago.  I never finished it because first the construction took so long and then with the loss of two computers and my camera, all the photos I had taken were gone and I was just too lazy to go out and retake them.  I now have a small collection of these ugly high rises.  They are all the same, just a concrete monolith.  Why couldn't they add a little brick and red tiles or something?  Also the construction varies.  The skinny one down my street and the huge one around the corner were constructed of concrete blocks and cement that was mixed in the street and hauled up one bucket at a time you can see the scaffolding is just wood..  How solid can that be?  Some near the ocean are steel beams and they actually have cement mixer pouring in the concrete. But this steel tower's foundation was built in a lake.  They reach the water level about ten feet down. It is sad how all the old haciendas are being torn down.  There was a gorgeous white marble one on Badillo that is now gone,  I went into the sales office and took a photo of the model for the building.  It looks like a stack of ice trays.

It is so sad what greed is doing to this town.  There are still a few lovely old haciendas so I took photos of some near me.  Even with the poor service I do go to the new Hacienda Carlotta for it is convenient for me.  They did a great job on the old building, but it lacks a lot of plants.  Luckily they managed to save some of the large flowering trees.  I spoke to the manager and told him that for $50 to $100.00 I could turn it into a tropical paradise, but he wasn't interested.  Mexico ???

EL TRES DE MAYO

Everyone (at least in California)  knows the 5th of May or Cinco de Mayo.  A major Mexican holiday!  Well No! Actually it is not.  Basically it is ignored my the Mexican.   The infamous Hussongs Bar in Ensenada created the holiday in order to attract tourist during the off season.  Many came in their yachts and the Cinco de Mayo Yacht race was begun.  Hundreds of ships race from Newport Beach to Ensenada every year.  But outside of Ensenada the date means very little..  It was the date of a victory for Mexico during the war against the occupying France, but basically ignored.

Now the 3rd of  May is the biggest day of the year in my little neighborhood.  It is called the May Festival even though most of it takes place in April, but the finally is on May 3rd.  It is basically a celebration of the founding of the Santa Cruz church across from me.   For about two weeks my street is closed to traffic.  Carnival rides and booths are set up in the street and run from my block to the river.  Directly under my balcony they set up a stage where for 10 or 12 days people perform, some singers, mostly dancers.  The cross streets are open until evening when they are closed to put up hundreds of folding chairs in the intersection.  I counted over 300 chairs and many nights there were as many more standing.  I, of course have the best seats in town.  I could sell tickets.

Instead I give a party every 3rd of May.  It cannot be as big as my former annual cocktail party for everyone will crowd around the upstairs railing.  Also I have no help on that night and I am lazy.  I had always hoped my bar tender friend Felipe could come and bring his wife and five year old boy, but he always seems to work on the 3rd.  Expecting his family, I asked Richard not to invite his neighbors who have been here the past three years.  Then Jennifer told me that her best friend Rikki wanted to bring her family as she had enjoyed it so much the year before.  This would bring the total up to twelve.  I was not happy but what could I do.

Although the 3rd is the Grand Fiesta, every night there were dancers, singers and bands playing.  So a couple of nights I invited a few friends to watch the show.  The groups came from all over Mexico and South America.  Peru, Chili and Argentina sent dance groups.  The schedule said the first group would be from 8:30 to 9:30 and the second group from 9:30 to 10:30.  This meant that for the most part the loud music was over by around 11:00.  The sound is deafening as they set up speakers as big as a Volkswagen with two groups of three tweeters hanging from a scaffolding.   The stage consists of 4 x 4 squares of plywood set in metal frames.  Being Mexico, the first night two of the platforms collapsed leaving gaping holes in the dance floor.  Somehow the dancers managed to move around them with no one falling in.

Some dance groups were better than others, but all had fantastic costumes.  The dancers are not paid a dime, but sponsors pay for their lodging and every night they serve them dinner after the show on tables set up in front of the church.  Sponsors are local companies and wealthy patrons of the church and the church charges 5,000 pesos for space for each carnival ride and for the booths.  Since they are all set up on city streets, one wonders why the church gets the money.  They also plead each night for donations from the audience.  So even though the show must cost thousands to put on, the church makes money on it (of course).

One night Jennifer was coming over to watch the show and asked if she could bring a friend.  Sure, why not.  She brought wine, he did not.  I had set out cheese and crackers and after he had devoured most of the cheese, he announced that this was not enough for him so he would have to go out and buy a taco or torta.  Fine with me, I was glad to be rid of him.  I thought he was a dork. But, he returned and asked if we did this every night.  I told him the show goes on every night, but I plan on being gone.  Then he announced that he would have to leave early as he had to catch the last bus to Mismaloya.  Good !  I told him to just slam the door so it locks when he leaves.  As he opened the door he not only found the threshold blocked by costumes, but a girl was standing there in her bra and panties.  He closed the door not knowing what to do.  I told him to just open the door and push pass her, trying not to step on her costumes.  I said, "Dancers are not ashamed or their bodies and not to worry."  He did.

The problem with the dressing room even though quite large could not accommodate two groups at once or many nights the dancers laid their costumes on the sidewalk and changed in the street.  Also some nights they had tables and chairs set up in the dressing room as well as a large bottle of water and plastic glasses, but not every night.  Those elaborate costumes are just lying on the dirty cobble stones.   You never know what you will get in Mexico.  I loved the show every night, even with all the loud music and stomping dancers.  It is so colorful.  This year they did not invite the group of Indian dancers who wore only a g-string.  I think the priest must have thought it was not good family entertainment.  We have conservatives even in Mexico.

The night before my big party Richard called to say they were not coming and I never heard from Felipe.  This brought my party down from 12 to 7.  Fine with me.  Rikki's family consists of her real son Chris and her adopted Mexican boy, who thinks he is a girl and sometimes dresses as one (though not very successfully).  Nikki arrived alone with some guacamole  and four cans of beer.  Jennifer arrived with Brad, and two bottles of red, but he and his partner had had a fight and John flew back to Canada even though they were scheduled to fly out the following day for several weeks in Jamaica.  Brad is a nice guy but was not in a festive mood.  Rikki said her other kids would come later.

Chris arrived with a girl friend with no food or beverages.  I asked what they would like to drink and he looked at the red wine and said, "that will do"  With four people drinking red wine, I knew it would not last.  I have my own white wine.   We were all settled upstairs waiting for the show to start when Chris explained that his girl friend was spending a year traveling with her mother and her mother's boy friend.  Next stop was to be Cancun. According to Chris she had just left her home and husband in Paris and was getting a divorce. So mother was taking her around the world.  Wouldn't it be nice to invite them!  I was so taken back that all I could think to say was,  "I only bought two pizzas"  He said, not to worry as they didn't need food.  (Okay, but what are they going to drink?)  Since so many people had cancelled or flaked out, two more would not have mattered that much.  But I would rather have people I knew, or at least might see again.  Reluctantly I said,  "Sure, why not?"  I am not a good poker player and I am sure he read my face and what I was thinking.  He did call them, but apparently the mother doesn't like to walk far and no cab could get near my house that night so they declined.  Rikki's adopted son also never showed.  Maybe he could not decide how to dress for the occasion.  Chris' girl friend was  pretty I guess.  She was tall and thin and had that elegant demeanor that the privileged always seem to have.  She said almost nothing and spent most of the time on a stool I set up next to the railing.  I had the feeling she thought she was slumming and we should be gracious just for her presence.  I was not !

In late afternoon they set up the four story fireworks display.  They call it the Castillo de Fuego (Castle of Fire).  It is an amazing sight.   The stage was set up as an altar where the priest would give mass.  There was cross behind him and a half naked Jesus next to him.  He even went into the masses to hand out the bread crumbs or what ever they are.  Also the choir sang and they are really good.  I love to listen to them.  The dancers were also quite good, costumes amazing but the show was running an hour late.  Nothing happens here on time.  There is a good reason so few Mexicans wear a watch.  They do not care what time it is.  Jennifer realized the problem with the wine and went across the street to the tienda to buy another bottle.  She stopped by me to tell me she was so upset she could hardly contain herself.  I told her not to worry about even though she blamed herself for all the guests were friends of hers.  I told her it is one night in my 80 years that will be forgotten tomorrow and it will not happen again, so forget it.  She did not and stewed all night.  Chris picked up the last empty bottle of wine and looked around.  I said, "Oh is that the bottle Jennifer just bought from the tienda?:  He got the point and went to buy another one.

Jennifer never goes anywhere without her chihuahua ,  Pili is a sweet cute little dog that is very well behaved and rarely barks (except at small fluffy white dogs)  I think she is afraid they are prettier than she is. .  But she is terrified of loud noises.  Jennifer arrived after the last of the 7:30 bells.  During the festival they first fire off cannons, then send four little boys up to the bell tower where each of them had a ball banging the four huge bells, but the noise is awful.  It was Pili's first May Festival and she was not prepared for the constant noise and stomping.   Jennifer was so upset she wanted to leave before the fireworks began, but I convinced her to stay.  She had to sit under the palapa with Pili in her arms but could still see the fantastic display.  The tower actually revolves and then at the end the top shoots up into the sky with lots of bursting fireworks.  It is a show you would not believe.

The show did not end until after midnight and while everyone was leaving I convinced Jennifer to stay for one more tequila  while it was quiet and we could talk.  I hope she does not say anything to Rikki as I like her and the kids are just kids.  I am done with all my parties.  Jennifer and I will have quiet dinners with maybe some of my snow bird friends, but that is all.  She decided it was too late to catch a cab and stayed over night.  Just another ordinary evening at Casa Laguna Lary.