Recap: Good Morning, From Here, August 30 – September 05
Monday
Not only the start of a new week, but the first day of September, Labor Day up north in Canada and the US, and therefore, a long weekend. Mexico celebrates Labor Day by not working on May 1, like most countries in Europe.
The whole time I was on vacation, at the mercy of restaurants for the most part, I didn’t eat beans because they did not appear on a single menu. How do people survive without beans? I am cooking a kilo of black beans as we speak, and the aroma has permeated the house, reminding me of my deprivation. In exchange, I ate fabulous Swedish pastries. O.M.G. Where surrounding countries are heavy on the bready part of pastry, Sweden throws itself magnificently into cream-filled, vanilla-laden, uber-rich concoctions I could try to live on. My sister and I even bought stuff at supermarkets we knew were packaged ”at the end of day” and went back the next morning to the same store to buy more. There were none.
While beans are great to come home to, pasta at Il Pesce, with mushrooms and truffle oil, almost made me weep with happiness. My dear and excellent smart friends, and the creator of Vallarta Calendar, Kevin Feltner, and husband Rob Dornan took me to dinner last week. Owner Carlos and his great team were madly cleaning out their fridges for the big move up the street; more on that in future columns. I am happy they will soon have more space. The night we were there, there was not a seat to be had. Excellent for the end of August to be at maximum capacity.
Nacho Daddy reopens for Year 17 today. I am going on Wednesday for bingo to support the free Colina Spay and Neuter Clinics. That starts at 4 pm and continues all season long every other Wednesday. While all the dog and cat rescues in Vallarta are equally important, it makes sense to me not to let animals reproduce in the first place. Interrupt Conception and you are not faced with Adoption. Or worse. And it’s a blast with Lydia Damato calling the balls as only she can, and the prizes are terrific indeed.
I saw Lydia last night for a quick hug at Langostinos Restaurant on the beach. They were celebrating the end of another fabulous season with their annual Customer Appreciation Day, with free drinks and appetizers. The place was full for their last night with owner Colette Zarry, personally greeting everyone with her gorgeous smile and sincere gratitude for the fifteen years she has owned this iconic business on Los Muertos Beach. Colette is also co-founder of Colina Spay and Neuter Clinic. That grim story is another for the annals of Puerto Vallarta. Colette donates a percentage of all Langostinos sales to her charity, so after they reopen in mid-September, go and enjoy the terrific food and watch the waves come and go, knowing you are making a difference in the lives of Vallarta’s animals, From Here.
Tuesday
I went to bingo last night at Awaysis to see if I could do better than I did the other time I went before my vacation. That night, I left with more pesos in my pocket than when I walked in.
I figured with the pouring rain, and the small venue, I would be a shoo-in for a win last night. It has been my experience at Colina Spay and Neuter Clinic Bingo that I almost always win something, whether it’s a raffle or a game. Ask anyone. Not last night.
The games are interesting at Awaysis, and can be far more complicated than straight-line bingo, and having the board on the wall is very helpful indeed.
So what makes luck? How does it work, really? Is it random, or can you make your own, as I have read is possible? It seems that good or bad luck attaches itself to you and can stick like glue. Some people thrive on calamity, and all kinds of strange things happen to them that don’t seem to happen to most other people. They get a lot of attention, and maybe that’s the secret to it.
Everybody loves a winner, but there is that sneaky, visceral joy when a winner falls down, can’t quite make it to the finish line, when the underdog finally bashes through that barrier to win. Against all the odds. What a champion! Then, look at the L O S E R. Crestfallen, crushed, unable to stand tall, and might be that way forever.
”Some people are happy just playing the game. Win some, lose some; it all evens out eventually.”
I don’t believe that for one second! Somebody else said, ”Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a LOSER.” My second husband, I think.
So, all of that meandering was because I didn’t win at bingo. Imagine how I would be if bingo were actually important? It’s a game, for the sake of all that’s holy, and no amount of practice will make you better at it. It is luck, plain and simple, added to a modicum of knowledge of numbers and letters. A chimpanzee would do as well.
Humans are competitive – it makes us interesting. Always striving to do better the next time, but seriously, not at bingo. However, as one of the 200 million bingo players worldwide, somebody out there has to have the secret to luck, and maybe even ‘dumb luck’ to boot.
There is the Law of Averages that may be the platform on which all gamblers stand: my turn to win is coming up because it always has in the past. Entire cities have been built around that foolishness that keeps us throwing coins in fountains, going to fortune tellers, and tea-leaf readers, and freaking bingo games.
I am trying to reverse my thinking: That I am contributing to the betterment of animals. See you at bingo tomorrow at Nacho Daddy. My fingers are crossed, From Here.
Wednesday
It’s like a cool fall day outside this morning; the weather carried forward from last night, when I enjoyed a short walkabout in the Zona Romantica with my friend, colleague, and owner of the iconic, now closed El Rio BBQ and Bar, in Paso Ancho, Kurt Sinner.
We started out at Jardin Cafe Lounge on Lazaro Cardenas to listen to Duncan Shadrack sing and play guitar. A number of birthdays were being celebrated in the balloon-festooned, crowded bar, including Duncan’s wife, Sarah, and the Lymans, who were toasting Mike.
Duncan retains a Kentucky twang that suits his chosen song list of soft country, easy listening, and a few self-penned Jimmy Buffett-inspired tunes.
Kurt and I had lots to talk about – our recent vacations, his last season of hosting Merv Buchanan’s Tribute shows at Rancho Santiago, and frequently, in our hours-long conversation over pizza, cherished El Rio memories popped up.
We ended up at El Granero, fitting as it was there we last saw each other in the Spring. We had a big, roomy booth to ourselves with the ambient music covering our voices perfectly.
We have known one another for about a dozen years, and here we are looking at the back half of our lives. One American, one Canadian living and growing old in Vallarta. We spent some time talking about our early visits to Vallarta – his memories from the 70s; mine from the 80s, and what finally pushed us to pack a few things and leave our respective native countries permanently.
It was a lovely evening. Thanks, Kurt.
We have a Scrabble Battle today at Qulture at 12:30. If you’d like to join in, feel free to bring pom-poms and cheer on your favorite player. It’s Happy Hour all day Wednesday, just in case you aren’t sure you can sit through possibly three games of Scrabble without alcohol. A friend once told me that observing people play Scrabble is as much fun as watching paint dry. Regular play will also be available, albeit slightly apart and quietly, from the contestants.
I will go directly from Qulture to Nacho Daddy for the 2025-26 season opener of Bingo to benefit the Colina Spay and Neuter Clinic. It will be wonderful to hug everybody involved at Nacho Daddy, including co-owner Tammy Carruthers Prust, Colina Founder Colette Zarry, ball caller Lydia Damato, Andrea Jackson, who spiffs up the prize tables, and Bonnie Cretzman, faithful volunteer and Bogie’s cat sitter.
Colina spays and neuters 20 animals every Saturday for free. In their 13th year, they will accomplish more than a thousand surgeries. The number of dogs and cats NOT born to these animals runs into the millions. Like all of Vallarta’s charities, Colina needs constant financial help to pay its veterinarians and cover supplies. There are many ways to provide support. Playing bingo is one, donating prizes if you are in business is another. Nacho Daddy has a special food and drink menu available so, let the games begin, From Here.
Thursday
I am looking forward to tonight’s fundraiser for Vallarta Cares at The Social Club on Basilio Badillo, brought to you by my dear and kind friend Brian Bott. I have never been to the speakeasy, but I’ve heard rave reviews, and I plan to wear a vintage dress that mimics the style worn in the late 20s and early 30s. (Another great find at the Coapinole tianguis.) A full report tomorrow morning.
As Qulture had a late start opening yesterday, Sharon Gerber Scherer and I moved the monthly Scrabble Tournament to a venerable old resto on the river. We played three very tight, stressful games, and as you can see from the photo, Sharon crowned herself Scrabble Queen for the second time in a row! A well-deserved win!
I won a game at bingo at Nacho Daddy and brought home a bottle of red wine in anticipation of my sister’s arrival next month. The next bingo will be on the 17th, following Mexico’s liveliest celebration on the 16th, Independence Day.
That’s not actually true. There is a parade on the 16th, and it’s a revered National holiday, but the real fun starts on the night before. All you newbies listen up: be downtown by 10 pm – you’ll have to walk because Morelos will be closed to traffic and Juarez will become a two-way street for a few hours.
Around 11 pm, in every town and city in the country, on September 15th, the Cry for Independence – El Grito – will ring out, with the current Mayor recreating the words of Father Miguel Hidalgo, who encouraged his parishioners to rise up against Spain. And thus began the eleven years of social unrest that resulted in the free nation of Mexico.
The story, and the actual words spoken, are unknown because they weren’t written down, so liberties have been taken with the text, but the final two words echo across the entire country – ¡Viva, Mexico! and closer to our hearts, ¡Viva, Puerto Vallarta!
That is followed by the church bells ringing, the National Hymn being sung fervently by everyone, fireworks that go on and on, and a street dance that continues until the last person standing can start the clean up.
I have only missed a few Gritos over the three decades I have lived here, and they never fail to move me.
The children, including babes in arms, are dressed and made up as mustachioed, fierce revolutionaries, and thousands come together, shoulder to shoulder, to peacefully celebrate an independent Mexico. Nobody throws parties like the Mexicans, and The Grito is the best fiesta of the year, so don’t miss it!
Another thing not to miss is the Rearview Mirror, which is published every Friday morning and pops up in your inbox like a regular weekly newspaper or magazine. It consists of everything published in the past week in Vallarta Mirror, all bundled together for an easy read to kick off the weekend. Subscribe here easily: https://vallartamirror.com/rearview-mirror-signup/
Enjoy this gorgeous day and smile at everyone you pass on the street. It’s a small but significant gift, From Here.
Friday
So, the ‘gorgeous’ day yesterday unleashed the heaviest rainfall I have heard since I moved into this house 11 or 12 years ago. I have quite a few acrylic panels on my roof that let in wonderful light, but blazing sun and other elements eat that stuff like candy. I can see daylight popping through in a half dozen new places this morning, and my floors are dotted with rags. I foresee this weekend being full of ladder work, armed with bright green duct tape!
At least 40 people turned out to support Vallarta Cares last night at the fundraiser at The Social Club PV on Basilio Badillo. If you are yearning for a glimpse into Prohibition and want a dimly-lit place to go to, perhaps with seduction in mind, then steer your date up the sharp incline of the staircase and step into the strangely intimate space that is Vallarta’s only speakeasy.
The only thing missing from the ambiance is a heavy veil of mostly cigar smoke (for which we were grateful because it IS intentionally close). The no-nonsense waiters wear white, tight, wife-beaters held in place by suspenders. They are competent and efficient but not warm and fuzzy. They add a touch of urgency – get the drinks out fast and be ready to run if the coppers show up!
Owner Bryan showed me around the warren of rooms that are crammed with antiques from Vallarta’s past; the tchotchkes and paintings deserve a day’s worth of ogling. I loved spotting tiny things perched on crevices in the walls near the low ceiling.
There is a lot I didn’t see, and I’m looking forward to returning and spending more time exploring this short stretch of Vallarta on Basilio Badillo near the tunnel, which is up and coming fast.
The reason we gathered at this red velvet-draped bar was to raise money for Vallarta Cares. Brian Bott put the fundraiser together with some incredible prizes donated by loving and caring Vallartenses like Cassandra Shaw, who not only donated a 1000 peso gift certificate but brought her sister, Candace, and a table full of friends that included Kevin Anthony, Sunny and Rob Rossi, Art and Angela Curley, Georgia Darehshori, and Hardy Madhur. Steven Retchless and Shannon Maracle entertained, among others.
Jimmy Plouff from Vallarta Cares was in attendance. I hope the evening eased a bit of the enormous financial burden that charity has been up against. Find Vallarta Cares on Facebook and see the various ways you can help them continue helping our underserved population. They are so much more than a soup kitchen.
Coming up tonight, from 6 to 8 pm, the City salutes one of its finest and first artists – Javier Niño, who is also celebrating his 75th birthday. Join us at the Presidencia for the ceremony, cake, and new paintings, immediately following the Burlesque-Tied Up performance starring Gloria Fiona, Sargento Dan, Dabit Azofeifa, and Ale Matus at La Catrina Cantina, From Here.
