Recap: Good Morning, From Here, May 31 – June 06
Monday
It’s the end of the season, and there has to be one final show. One that combines the talent of two cabarets but without the dancers that bring much to the fore, but there is no space.
There is also not a lot of time to create a show with everyone still working their final performances.
What would I have done? Easy! Roy Cruz would sing his two fave cuts from his Freddie Mercury tribute, same with Eva and Pink, Chris and Sam Smith, Mau and Bruce Springsteen. Cecile could bring both Rihanna and Beyonce, Nacho, Tom Jones, and some Sinatra, Maru and Gaga, Waleska, Madonna, Losanna, Christina Aguilera, Nick, his wonderful Josh Groban. Steven Retchless could bring the best of Britney Spears and Buble would shine one more time through Armando Chakam and Daniel and his Monaco Band could do some Billy Joel, Elton John and maybe some ABBA.
Hoo-boy, did I miss the mark? By a mile.
Chris Lopez and Roy Cruz combined their talents and produced a variety show that surpassed all expectations and left us smiling and weak with joy from being bombarded with song choices that were over the top, kitschy, catchy, singalongable, and absolutely brilliant in their delivery!
The energy was palpable, and it proved impossible for some to remain dancing in their seats; they had to get up and move!
Everyone was dressed in white, including Lisa Manoogian from RISE who graciously thanked everyone from the stage for supporting the Children’s Shelter. Proceeds from both shows went to the kids – yes, they blew the first sold-out house away at 7 pm and went back and did it again at 9 o’clock.
After the opening couple of ABBA tunes with the entire cast stretched across the Palm’s stage, the duets that ensued were unusual, to say the least, like Chris Lopez and Armando Chakam making a whole new world in Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” and taking the harmonies to an unearthly level. Eva played guitar for Steven Retchless, and everybody was encouraged to sing along. And we did.
The 70s and 80s ruled with songs like Footloose, Hotel California, and that amazing time capsule when Freddy Mercury and David Bowie created Under Pressure. And, no, Roy Cruz did not sing it!
Every minute of the almost 90-minute-long performance was high energy, and joyful. Jump up and dance, sing your heart out, get out of your box, and do something new experience.
But that’s the Palm Cabaret. In their 25-year existence, they have learned what works and what doesn’t. The owners, managers, staff, sound and light crew, and entertainers work together as a team.
And, they love one another – that is so clearly evident. They are full of gratitude, each one, to be able to do what they do, make a good living at it, and provide the caliber of entertainment that we have come to expect and receive over and over again. Every year it gets better.
Mil gracias to the Palm and sister, Coco, Cabarets, for the finest season to date in Puerto Vallarta, From Here.
Tuesday
So, on Sunday afternoon, I was rummaging through some paperwork and came across a page stamped RENOVACION and noticed a date surrounded with bright orange marker. Hmmm, I thought, I don’t remember paying for my IMSS, so I looked closer at the date. Yep, the time frame to pay my annual fee expired May 31.
First thing Monday morning, I am at the IMSS office in the Hotel Zone, papers in hand, hoping against hope that I have not thrown away my health insurance that I have had for close to 20 years because I forgot to pay it.
I have. I did. At least temporarily.
The kind young woman explained that my coverage had changed at midnight 31 of May to EXTEMPORANEO. which basically means ‘without thought’ or ‘poorly planned.’ Ya’ think? I have prepaid for the coming year, which is still no guarantee that I will be accepted back into the fold.
It will take about a month for my regular clinic to re-accept me (What if they don’t?) and then I will have restrictions slapped on my coverage for the next two years. I don’t know what the restrictions will be yet. Probably like they were when I first joined IMSS in 2007, to cover them in case I lied on my application form. The kind young woman said she would call me to let me know when I can resume my coverage. – with restrictions. So, I said, if I leave here and get hit by a bus, she looked at me with concern and said, “You cannot use the system.”
There are hundreds of people employed at the IMSS office. Every desk is piled high with papers that are worked on earnestly. How will this woman remember to call me?
I have stopped beating myself up, kind of, and now I need to find out if there is such a thing as health insurance for Permanent Residents who are healthy but clearly don’t have a working brain. (Maybe that will be a restriction?). Seriously, whatever happened to fines? Late fees? I would have happily paid almost any penalty. Which brings me to the conclusion: There is no cure for stupid.
So, if you have read this sorry piece of news thus far and have any information on interim health insurance that’s available in Vallarta, I sure would be happy to hear it. Thank you in advance. I will share this good news as well, should any come my way.
The moral of the story is, if you have a month to pay a bill, pay it today! Be done with it: remember Murphy’s Law. That puppy is hanging over my head like a guillotine.
Heading to the tianguis in Coapinole today. Sharon and I are taking a couple of friends who have never been; newbies’ reactions are restricted to Glee or Horror. Nothing in between.
I’ll have a full report on how it went tomorrow morning From Here.
Wednesday
First, this morning, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who commented on the self-inflicted disaster of losing my health insurance. I have reason to believe there is a solution and hope to find out by week’s end what is involved. So, thank you.
Another gray, dull morning today with a couple of spits of rain to add to the entertainment.Yawn. It’s 28 degrees and 89% humidity at 6 am for those of you in temperate climates. Which means it’s really cool and dry! Even though it’s raining intermittently, the air is not sodden.
I met Sharon in front of Incanto yesterday at 9 am, and we led a convoy to Coapinole to shop. If you are following, the newbies’ reaction to the controlled chaos of the outdoor market was Glee! Yay!
We loaded up on fresh veggies and parted ways with Vicki and Starla who had other errands to run and a pool party to attend. They went home with a treasure or two that didn’t break the bank, and I hope they had fun on the small adventure.
Sharon and I hit Costco and La Comer after the tianguis and were safely home before noon. I loaded up on cat food for my darling Bogie in anticipation of my trip to Europe next month! Many thanks to Sharon for driving her capacious car Claire, like the fearless Amazon she is. We’ll see how she fares at today’s Scrabble Tournament at Qulture at 12:30; everyone is welcome to come and cheer. It’s Happy Hour all day!
Last night I double-checked VallartaCalendar.com to make sure Open Mic was still forging on at Nacho Daddy. I sat with funny girl Jody Wolk, who was not performing but keeping me company. We were joined by Isabel and her daughter, Annabelle. The latter sang a song that she wrote, accompanied by a guitarist, on a 12-string.
Hosted by Selena Luna in the name of Open Mic goddess Gouda Gabor, currently in absentia in Canada, Mic and Cheese entertained us for 90 minutes with Jack’s amazing cabaret voice, Patriz Fomitchev, a comedian from Toronto, a couple of other guitarists/singers with Kimberly Grandi popping in just as I was leaving. I will let you know if there will be another Tuesday Open Mic at Nacho Daddy early next week.
I am waiting for confirmation of Kevin Anthony’s great concert live with the Roxsand Band at the end of this month. Stay tuned!
After our scintillating Scrabble Tourney today, the penultimate Colina Spay and Neuter Clinic Bingo starts at 4 pm. The prizes are terrific, the atmosphere congenial, the air is cool, and ball caller, Lydia Damato is hilariously funny. The cause could not be more critical, so we’ll see you at Nacho Daddy again today at 4, From Here.
Thursday
It’s funny, the difference in how we spend our lives in Vallarta at this time of the year, compared to Canada and, I am sure, in parts of the US. All around me, things are slowing, closing, and stopping altogether, and it is the opposite up north. The frenzied gardening and building things outside quickly that must be done before the ground freezes solid again. The window is narrow.
Up north, they wake up and throw themselves outside to mow the grass and then watering everything like crazy, and we wake up damp, put on not-quite-dry clothes, and slowly gauge what the weather will do over coffee that will determine how far we want to travel away from our fans and A/C. The energies have shifted.
Every day, my sister Patrice, now retired from the boutique hotel business, gives me a report on how high her flowers are (and the weeds) and how dry the ground is despite watering for hours the day before. That’s funny too, because she lives on an old seabed and is as likely to find sea shells in her garden as I could walking down to real water; when things become extinct.
We had a boisterous bingo yesterday at Nacho Daddy. My tablemates were lucky, winning twice, but again, I won nothing. However, I am still the Scrabble Queen (Sharon – note spelling, please!), defeating her and Jonathan Lander in three games straight. We return to regularly scheduled programming for Scrabble next week and the last bingo of the season for Colina Spay & Neuter Clinic will be on June 18th, at 4 pm. Nacho Daddy will take July and August off to paint, clean, and will regroup in the Fall. Oh, and yes, Open Mic will also take place this coming Tuesday, June 10, at 7:30 pm.
Speaking of dogs, there are cool things happening this weekend at Arte Vallarta Museo. Starting with the First Saturday of the Month. A big fiesta, always with food, live music, great people converging over the love of art. Then, a new thing on Sunday evening from 5 to 9 called Workout and Caridad (Charity). Bring money and dry dog food, please (if you can) to aid DoggyRescuePV. The premise is to mix art with walking dogs and working out at the same time. I don’t believe one has to work out on Sunday at the Museo (hard to do that and not spill your wine), but it sounds like there may be demonstrations. Anything at the Museo is worth a look-see, so I will find you there.
I am having lunch with friends today, and also in discussions with someone who can help sort out my mess with IMSS. I hope by this time tomorrow, I will have some firm answers about that and interim health insurance. Join me for coffee in the morning, and we’ll have some news From Here.
Friday
This morning, I will be shouting out love to women in general and a handful in particular – some I have known and loved for years, a couple of new friends, and one woman I have never met but whose kindness and knowledge explained the intricacies of a system that I am a part of but wouldn’t understand fully if it all took place in English.
Enter Doctora Laura Manzano from medhelp.mx, a new organization from the look of their Facebook page, who guides expats gently into the massive Federal healthcare/pension system called IMSS – Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. First order of business: do not be late with payments. I could repeat that a hundred times, and the importance may still not sink in. If you are, like me, enrolled in the “Seguro para la Familia” plan at IMSS and pay monthly or twice a year, change it to annual if you can – it’s a cushion and a benefit, and it’s done. Presumably, you will be less likely to forget to pay on time. (Ahem.) My dear friend, Chiara Montante, told me about Dr. Laura with glowing reviews. Thank you, amiga, for sharing her information with me and thereby saving my sanity. And, thank you, Doctora Laura, for restoring that sanity! Thanks to Pam Thompson, who reached out instantly with info on interim health insurance that I do not need.
I went straight from that remarkable phone call, happily up the hill on Inturbide to meet Gloria Fiona and Maria Felix Macias (aka Angel) for lunch at the Planeta Vegetariano. Two more women who unexpectedly impacted my life over broccoli with joy, love, and trust.
Remember Gloria and (Good) Irene’s secret wedding at Mayto a few weeks ago? The unveiling of that truly sacred ceremony will be unfolding in Vallarta Mirror over the next few weeks with photographs and text so sweetly written you will want a wedding just like this one.
And, guess what? You, too, can be married by Maria Felix on an exquisite beach without cell towers mangling the frequency of the abundant nature surrounding that piece of coastal heaven 90 minutes south of Vallarta.
Gloria, Maria Felix, and I covered so much ground in an hour and a half at lunch that my brain is still racing, chasing this idea one way and that idea another. Just get ready to be inspired, from your painted tootsies through each and every chakra and emerge in peace at the end of it. Or is it a beginning?
Go to Georgia Darehshori’s apartment at Avida at 6 pm, Monday, June 09, where painter Rene Nieto will paint a new canvas that will be auctioned off with a percentage of that sale going to our beloved Vallarta Garden Club. Gloria’s voice will be raised as she feels; be ready for spontaneous creations. Donations will be accepted, and Georgia will have non-alcoholic beverages available.
Sandra Bradley, another woman in my life I love to pieces, and I, are going for dinner at Hacienda San Angel this evening for Restaurant Week. Tomorrow is the First Saturday of the Month at Arte Vallarta Museo. I never miss this super event. See you here, there, and everywhere From Here.
