Recap: Good Morning, From Here. November 23 – 29
Monday
Every Friday, Argentine Nacho Granados takes the stage at La Catrina Cantina and entertains in two languages – he is one funny, saucy crooner. If you have any Tom Jones favorites, let him know; you will be astonished! It was lovely to hear Nacho again and enjoy his quirky humor and energy in the friendliest bar in Vallarta.
My sister and I love the Abbraccio Italian Restaurant near Puerto Magico and eat there whenever we are in that part of town. We devoured designer pizza and indulged in their delicious homemade bread before heading to the Marina for a play by Teatro Sin Borders.
Beware the House on Haunted Hill is a campy, well-acted adaptation of the 1959 film that starred Vincent Price. Chris Manly did a fine job filling those boots! Sound – except for formidable screaming by Melina Querel as Nora Manning – and lights by Santiago Tello, and ably directed by John Sheppard, writer for the MacGyver TV series. John’s wife, Pamala, plays Ruth Bridgers, a theater critic.
Teatro Sin Borders celebrates its third season at the American School, and is overseen by founder and executive producer Sandi McDonald. Haunted Hill has four more shows this week and will close on November 30th. Check VallartaCalendar.com for details.
We joined Robert Henry, who calls the balls every Sunday at 4 pm, at Beefcakes Bar Bingo and cleaned up, winning six of the ten games! We hurried home to drop off a bag of hard-earned goodies and returned to Nacho Daddy in time for Kevin Anthony’s monthly show backed by the Roxsand Band. The house was full of adoring fans – Kevin Anthony is a master storyteller and Broadway veteran. We love him in all aspects of his life in Vallarta; he shines the brightest light From Here.
Tuesday
It’s Tuesday, so it’s time to head to Coapinole for the weekly tianguis. It is a shopping free-for-all that can be overwhelming at first. It is block after block of tables piled high with merchandise, much of it second-hand, but I have found many pieces with original tags. It’s a treasure hunt, to be sure, and oddly enough, my sister Patrice has found her best Southern Alberta winter clothing here in Vallarta!
If you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe and that whole era of extravagant production numbers onstage, you have to check out Diamonds – A Marilyn Celebration at Coco Cabaret, with seven dancers flying around gorgeous Venezuelan Paris Aguilar in her first solo show.
Costuming is detailed and highly sequined, and the changes are numerous for the entire cast. Every significant song sung by Monroe is recreated; however, in my opinion, Aguilar has a better voice. Film clips of Munroe’s movies unfold on the giant Coco screens (thank you, Chris Lopez!) with a special nod to Joe DiMaggio and baseball.
Diamonds is the most fun drag show celebrating glamour, red lipstick, lovely bodies in lovely clothes, fast-paced dance numbers, and J-O-Y. The next exuberant show is on Monday, December 02.
See you tonight from 6 to 8 pm at Daiquiri Dick’s on the Beach for Out & About Puerto Vallarta Magazine’s Gay Mixer, From Here!
Wednesday
The tianguis in Coapinole was a blast; it was busy but not frantic. The first table we hit offered three pieces for 20 pesos – we were burdened in minutes! Buena Semilla had lots of amaranth for a change, so we loaded up then went to Costco. That was in full-court Christmas press with lines nearly to the back of the store. Their cashiers are a marvel, unflappable and fast.
Daiquiri Dick’s was shoulder to shoulder by the time we got to the Gay Mixer. Owner and publisher Jerry Jones of Out & About Puerto Vallarta magazine met everybody at the door, ensured they had name tags, and quickly filled the space – 135 and counting when we arrived with another hour+ to go. It was another great success in marketing and networking.
Gouda Gabor’s Open Mic was quieter this week, allowing everybody two shots at the microphone. Boy Wonder, Angeloo, 11 years old, gave the audience three choices of the last song to finish the night. We all shouted OPERA, and he flawlessly delivered Queen of the Night aria from Mozart’s Magic Flute. Angeloo could be Vallarta’s next countertenor!
Dash Robles, gifted self-taught guitarist, and his love Jordan Rae Walker, vocalist, came in late and sang beautifully. They are performing at Intimo, (as is Angeloo). Check VallartaCalendar.com for daily live entertainment schedules and special Deals of the Day at the new restaurant/wine bar high up on Costa Rica overlooking the city and the bay. It is a gorgeous space!
Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow to all our American readers. To the rest of the world, look around you and give thanks for all the abundance. It will always be there and more if you share From Here.
Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving! I have a list a mile-long of things and people I am grateful for, and yesterday’s trek out to Marina Vallarta added one more name to the mix. It is Armando Soto, Doctor of Chiropractic, who, along with Doctora Simona Pop, will give my sister Patrice Wolf the tools to correct her worsening back problems – without surgery and mind-numbing drug protocols.
Both spent considerable time asking questions and picking up on non-verbal signs instantly. Patrice will have a high learning curve for the next six months, embarking on a regimen to heal herself by herself when she returns to Canada in mid-December. We are both, finally, hopeful that these two holistic doctors who steadfastly practice what they preach have put Patrice on the road to a pain-free future.
Earlier in the day, over at Qulture, our burgeoning Scrabble Club had its busiest turnout, with a dozen players creating words on every board. It was a monumental day for Tom Nussbaum, who has studiously played since the club got scrabbled together three years ago by our founder, Randy Thomas, who beat me soundly in the first game I played.
I slid down the table to play opposite Tom, scolding him several times for using his esses just to add one point to his score. I shoulda kept quiet because Tom put down a 117-point word: E-X-P-O-S-E-D out of the blue. It was his first seven-letter word (called a Scrabble or Bingo, don’t ask me why, it just is) in his life, AND he beat me. Two monumental events. Just. Like. That.
I will carry his look of utter disbelief in my heart for the rest of my life.
Patrice and I are off to spend the day at the gorgeous Botanical Garden. A full report on Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow morning; have a blessed day, everyone From Here.
Friday
The Botanical Garden looked its best yesterday in celebration of American Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the sun, sitting in a corner of the terrace overlooking the jungle spotted with splashes of colored flowers. I loved the Spanish moss dripping from the towering Sorpresa bougainvillea close to the entrance. The peace and quiet of this gorgeous sanctuary was punctuated with happy chatter, oohs and aahs from the food and drink, and the overwhelming sense of gratitude moving with the music from Hector’s violin floating in the air. A perfectly lovely day that ended with sharing a taxi back to town with a delightful Texas couple and their newly purchased plants for their Vallarta garden. Many thanks to my dear friend, owner, and curator of the Garden, Bob Price, my Georgia Peach!
A tryptophan-induced power nap prepared Patrice and me for the Beyonce Tribute show at the Palm. In a word, it was spectacular! New costumes, new Grammy-winning songs, and choreography, and Cecille is simply extraordinary. She has energy to burn, and the show – over 90 minutes long had everyone in the sold-out audience dancing, singing along, and marveling at this beautiful woman on stage who doesn’t break a sweat or a stride and gives as much at the end of her shows as she does with the opening number. Cecille also has Chris Lopez as her producer. It is a match made in entertainment heaven here in Vallarta. Catch this amazing show at the Palm Cabaret next Thursday, December 05, at 9 pm.
Don’t miss herbalist Ricardo Mazcal’s Weekend Market on the Isla Cuale on Saturday from 10 to 2. And this afternoon, from 4 to 6, help Tricia Lyman celebrate the tenth anniversary of her “… Everything… Vallarta” Facebook page, now the largest group in Mexico with over 150,000 members. I am her 350th member or something like that! Congrats, dear Tricia, on a monumental job that has helped thousands From Here.
