Recap: Good Morning, From Here, October 12 – 18
Monday
Boys on Fire, headed by Sebastian Coronel, have created “Buenos Aires – A Tango Murder Mystery” that is inventive, gorgeously intense to watch, and might be the Sleeper of the Season.
The pace is fast and seductive, with the three couples interchanging as rapidly as the scenic background of Argentina unfolding on video in all its majesty. The photos must have pulled a few heartstrings with all the expat Argentines in town and made me want to visit!
Weeks of intensive tango training took place in Buenos Aires this summer, and the results were nothing short of breathtaking. I have to go back and indulge my eyes on perfect bodies, exquisitely tailored costumes, and feet flying in precision. A couple of death-defying moves caught the audience off-guard – the collective gasps could be heard over the sensual, heart-pounding music.
While I always thought of tango as only being sexy and provocative, the dance takes on new meaning when anger, jealousy, rage, and revenge are guiding the feet. Imagine a high, spiked heel flying toward your eyes.
This “tale of love, loss and longing” comes with a printed program that is as stylish as this entire production. What a feast for the senses “Buenos Aires” is; I cannot wait to see it again!
There’s a new bingo in town at Beefcakes, under Act2PV Theater on Basilio Badillo and Insurgentes. Under new ownership and already supporting one of Vallarta’s most worthwhile charities – RISE Children’s Shelter- this nightclub has raised the bingo bar in the city. There is lots of room and A/C, but it isn’t freezing; friendly and helpful wait staff, excellent food delivered from Nacho Daddy, and bingo screens so you can check what balls have been called.
Beefcakes provided a generous supply of several salty snacks on every table. I tried one piece of what appeared to be popcorn. It was, but candied with cajeta and sprinkled with Tajin. OMG. Two bowls of that disappeared.
Four hundred pesos gets you ten games (bring your own dauber if you have one; there are loaners if you don’t!) and a shot of house tequila. Raffles, blackout game, and 50/50 draws are extra at a nominal fee. I look forward to introducing this Saturday bingo to my sister when she arrives at the end of the month. Many thanks and birthday wishes go to Robert Henry, Bingo Ball Caller at Beefcakes.
I left my lucky table – we were six and won four games, during the blackout game as I had a date with Kathleen Palmer to see “Born This Way – The Best of Gaga” at The Palm. We had a delightful reunion; our friendship goes back nearly two decades, and we always pick up right where we left off with a flawless long hug.
Kathleen, who has seen Lady Gaga in concert, had two words after the performance: “I’m impressed.” So were all the diehard Gaga fans in the audience who sang along, cheered, and cried in all the right places.
This is a brand new show top to bottom – I think Maru Prado Conti, producer and star of the show, kept one piece of wardrobe from past seasons – that iconic Argentiine-gaucho-style pink hat, everything else is brand new. Loads of new songs, and Maru introduced her new costar, Diego Guerrero, who is taking over for uber-busy Chris Lopez.
Mama Tits’s new show, Escandalo, preceded Gaga and also costars Diego Guerrero; I imagine he slept like a baby after two back-to-back blockbuster premieres!
The video work in this Gaga Tribute is the best I have seen anywhere. The editing is perfectly seamless with the music, and the synchronization of the singers in the film and onstage is superb. I know what Chris Lopez did all summer! Extraordinary, Maestro!
Sound and lights, choreography, everything rehearsed to the most minute detail. The exceptional teamwork across the board makes the entire production look like a walk in the park, with everyone committed to excellence and one another. Maru, you were simply splendid, Brava!
Next up, ABBA!
Daniel Celis, who starred in two sold-out weekly shows last season – Rocketman, as Elton John, and the Fleetwood Mac/Eagles Tribute show with his band Monaco, brings us the best of ABBA. Gina Ramirez, as Stevie Nicks (and later Sade), took one of “As” as Anni-Frid, and Ale Matus (Tromba Vetusta) completed that part of the band’s name as Agnetha. The band members’ costumes were absurdly perfect, with gigantic bellbottoms screaming 1970s and the shiny silver platform boots right out of Mamma Mia. The “AAs” covered the stage, sang into everyone’s heart, and delighted the nearly sold-out early show. I looked around The Palm and saw nothing but smiling happy faces, singing along, and the odd tears escaping, recalling some memory from long, long ago. It was joyful and lovely from start to finish. It impresses me no end when a group of singers can nail lyrics sung in a foreign language and bring those lyrics – two and nearly three generations removed from them – to life. ABBA: Memorable artistry onstage.
It’s Thanksgiving in my Old Country today, so to all my Canadian readers, have a wonderful time with family and friends, enjoy the sumptuous food, be grateful for that, cherish all you have, and always share the love From Here.
Tuesday
I was honored yesterday to sit down over mango smoothies with Eva Jimenez, who opened her tribute to Pink last week at The Palm. The show was so well received last season that Mark Rome, Entertainment Director at The Palm, wisely added it to the 2024/25 schedule.
Eva has been working hard to increase her flexibility and stamina and add even more physicality to an already taxing performance. Ninety minutes of stretching a few times a week takes enormous dedication, but Eva is determined to honor Pink (and herself) righteously.
Born and raised in Puebla with two talented and adoring brothers and a mother who was a star in her own right, Eva never felt she fit into that society. She won scholarships to private schools that continued to amplify her differences. That followed her through university. She fell in love, moved to England, and lived there for two years (hence her perfect English). A visit home to Mexico and Vallarta with the boyfriend and a looming pandemic made for some hard decisions. Eva chose (along with all of her family) to move to Vallarta alone.
Eva teamed up with her brother Mau (as they had done growing up, playing guitar and singing together) and performed shows primarily at Incanto and later La Catrina Cantina, a couple of appearances solo at Act2PV, and wherever work found them.
About a year ago, Eva asked her dear friend, singer Losanna, if she thought she could pull off a tribute to Pink. They worked together, ran with the idea, formed a production company, and in April of this year, at the Palm, debuted “Get The Party Started.”
With only a handful of performances under her belt, she blushed when she told me that people on the street greet her with a “Hey! Pink!”
Eva has evolved with this project, learning new skills, perfecting what she knows already, and busting her sequined leotard to do even more.
Keep your eyes here for developments that are right around the corner. In the meantime, catch Eva Jimenez at The Palm Cabaret every Wednesday (that’s tomorrow, people!) at 9 pm for the fabulous tribute to Pink ‘Get The Party Started’ From Here.
Wednesday
My lovely friend, author Sandra Bradley (read her every Monday in Vallarta Mirror), walked over to my house yesterday for our luncheon date at the just reopened after a month of vacation, Veggitalia Pizza & Osteria Vegetariana.
We took our time strolling through the streets of downtown, chatting a mile a minute, catching up and enjoying the hot but clear day. We were, as we always are, greeted warmly at the door with solid and loving hugs by long, tall owner Marco, who gave us our choice of tables in the small, bustling place.
Veggitalia always asks their clients if they are vegetarian, vegan, or ‘normal.’ Sandra and I are vegetarian, and we wanted everything on the menu, so a split in half was made in the kitchen for our salad, pasta puttanesca, and veggie pizza. The latter had a line of spinach separating Sandra’s half riddled with bell peppers.
Lunch took hours, and we left just before the early dinner crowd wanted in!
On our way home, I took Sandra into the gigantic new Waldo’s on Juarez. I bet thousands of people walk by the unmarked front door and don’t even see it. The store is beautiful and bright and packed with stuff you actually need and lots you don’t, but the choice is yours! Tons of Halloween candies, costumes, make-up kits, etc, and more Christmas stuff will be added next month, I am sure.
Scrabble this aft at Qulture at 12:30; we expect a couple of new players today. Let the games begin From Here!
Thursday
I played a couple of Scrabble games with Sandy Lopez with Kathleen Palmer in the cheering section. The former has finally moved to Vallarta permanently with her husband, and Kathleen will play next week. All that means is we start at 12:30!
I met up with Madeline Milne, my editor from the now-defunct Vallarta Tribune, for dinner at Il Pesce last night. It has been over a year since we have laid eyes on one another and spent a couple of hours catching up on our lives. Madeline has been selling real estate with Jimmy Nash for a couple of years and is, of course, doing spendidly at it. She has also taken over the lovely bookstore in the Marina called “The Living Room.”
Mads will have a coffee shop with some small bites, and a wine bar could be in the offing. Baby steps to create a creative and inviting space for the Marina crowd to gather and spend time perusing the shelves, imbibing something delicious, and making friends with new neighbors. Madeline will also have used books; I will let you know when she will reopen. It’ll be soon!
The food at Il Pesce was extraordinary, as usual, and owner Carlos told me that he is opening another locale in Versalles that will feature ‘regular’ Italian cuisine, as opposed to his expansive fish options in Zona Romantica with an emphasis on pizza. Again, I will let you know when that open-air spot is ready for business.
Gloria Fiona Presents Enel Ram tonight at Casa Karma in “La Llorona” at 6:30. A couple of seats are still available for an engaging, magical performance/experience. I will see you there.
Vallarta is painting, renovating, and planning the best season ever to welcome the millions of visitors who have already started arriving. If you see someone on a corner struggling to read a map or clearly bewildered, stop and try to help. Each of us, so lucky to live here, is responsible for sharing our love of this city; take the time, extend a hand in friendship, and make somebody’s day better From Here.
Friday
I first heard Enel Ram sing at the auditions for the 2021/22 So, You Think You Can Rise talent contest, coached by Jan Dorland and Rob Burton. Then, she competed in the Voice of Vallarta contest in the summer of 2022. In the wonderful production Vacare, last year, Enel Ram played four non-speaking roles with finesse; her blowfish, as adorable as her cleaning girl was miserable and perfectly cranky. Then, her bored, impatient waitress became an enchanted bystander with the rest of the cast.
She can act. She can sing. She is tiny and fragile, with a nervous, breathless laugh that she uses when she needs to focus and gather her forces to give her the courage to continue.
What Enel did at Casa Karma last night to celebrate one of her country’s favorite festivities – the Day of the Dead, left us filled with awe and hope.
It was one of those performances delicately balanced on the edge of brilliance. If we could have thrown enough flowers (marigolds) at her feet in tribute, Enel would have become engulfed. At 22, she is this close to stardom.
Gloria Fiona, a Voice of Vallarta alum, directed Enel in this tribute to “La Llorona,” a creepy legend of a woman who forever haunts the riverbanks searching for her two children that she drowned. Enel’s gorgeous gown, headdress and veil were made by her mom, who was in the intimate candlelit surroundings in Casa Karma’s living room.
All the songs were in Spanish and were interspersed with two AcroYoga dancers executing some of the most intricate, powerful moves I have seen outside of a full-blown Cirque du Soleil performance. So close we could have touched their non-wobbly perfection. Every move was slow, precise, and breathtaking.
Everything about the night was hauntingly flawless. As Enel summed up her solo show in a nutshell, “We are a country obsessed with death; of course, we are also obsessed with tortillas,” From Here.
