Recap: Good Morning, From Here, October 18 – 24
Monday
Opening Night(s) Week is behind us for the start of the 2026 Season. All I can say to that is, WHEW! We have a minute or two, like a couple of days to breathe and remember what it’s like to try and be in two places at once. After a four-and-a-half-month break, it is nothing short of exhilarating! From zero to sixty like that! Boom!
I have watched Roy Cruz perform at The Palm as Freddie Mercury for five years now. He started with an incredible rock band from Guadalajara before COVID reared its ugly head and nearly brought the entertainment business to its knees here in Vallarta. The band eventually had commitments elsewhere, and so did Roy, as in marrying his lovely wife Karla and welcoming baby number one, Siena. Baby Number Two, a big strapping boy, joined his sister about six months ago, and that happy family is firmly ensconced in Vallarta.
Most singers go from singing to tracks, then progress to being accompanied by musicians onstage. Here was Roy doing the reverse.
I was anxious to see the start of THAT season a couple of years back thinking maybe it would be less of a great concert experience. I was dead wrong. Having Roy alone on the stage gave him the opportunity to cover the entire stage with three or four strides with the exaggerated flamboyance of the late, great Freddie Mercury. And it gives us in the audience a chance to devote our attention to Roy as he fills the whole space with his vast love for the Zanzibar native who became a legend before he died almost 35 years ago.
Roy’s dancers, Mery Zambrano, from Venezuela, Brayan Santana, and the remarkable Francisco (Paco) Guizar weave the music around Roy, the stage, and the audience like a mystic blanket. In the heartbreaking ballad, ‘Love of My Life’ that Freddie wrote in honor of Mary Austin in 1975, is one of the many highlights of Roy’s show.
I watched Mery, dressed in white, kneeling on the stage within touching distance of me, her face turned toward the spotlight across the room as Freddie and Paco reveal Freddie’s innate love of men. Mery has performed this number dozens of times, but the atmosphere of Opening Night after a four-month break, and the electricity in the air had her fighting for composure. Her jaw was tight as she fought back tears, and I don’t think she took a breath. As I watched her, I couldn’t see anything else. What control. What a night.
The pas de deux that follows with Paco and Brayan is an extraordinary piece of choreography. The two men fight, embrace, circle around one another, remain two separate beings, struggling to get away from each other, yet never breaking their grip. It is stunning work.
Tonight at The Palm at 5 pm is the returning Tribute to ABBA starring Ale Matus and Gina Ibarra, with live music provided by Daniel Celis and his Monaco band. See you there, From Here.
Tuesday
Musical Dreams is the accumulation of months and months of work by students of Sebastian Coronel and Chris Lopez. About 35 students began the program in June, following the last show of the season at Coco Cabaret. Classes took place twice a week for two hours and stretched over four months. I popped into one class, as the students were learning the moves, lyrics, and dreaming of their spotlight on stage for the Footloose segment of Musical Dreams. The title song played over and over (and freaking over…) until everyone had a shot at singing and performing the steps.
Some students had danced but never sang in public (for good reason); the singers who had never danced learned how. It was a long, patience-filled summer.
The results are fantastic! Musical Dreams is fun, certainly worth seeing, and a great way to cheer on your faves. There were a couple of stand-out students, and it will be interesting to see where and when they pop up on another stage on the road to stardom. Musical Dreams has one more show this coming Friday at 9 pm at Coco Cabaret.
The Day of the Dead is a complex tradition blending pagan and Catholic rituals celebrated by all Latino cultures, but nobody does it bigger, better, and with more gusto than Mexicans.
A simply superb homage to this mystical day, November 02, can be seen at Coco Cabaret every Saturday at 5 pm, continuing through November. Produced by Alejandro Barron and Sebastian Coronel (who also stars), ”Dia de Muertos” is hosted by Roy Cruz, alternating with Nacho Granados, and the lovely if unrecognizable Ale Matus! The costumes are elaborate, the hair and makeup (that must have taken an entire team of face painters hours!) are absolutely outstanding, and the voices… straight from heaven.
Death and tears go hand in hand, so bring some Kleenex to dry your eyes watching Boys on Fire superstar Angel fall in love, then experience his tragic loss when she dies in his arms. Her return for one day is joyful, and her spirit lives on in the carefully tended flame of Angel’s candle.
Ale Matus sings La Llorona (The Weeping Woman), the epic tale of a woman driven mad by her husband’s infidelity that results in her drowning her three children. Remorseful and damned, she haunts rivers searching to no avail to recover her family and terrifying everyone who hears her lament or sees her ghost.
The history of this pre-Hispanic day is told by the cast in two languages in filmed vignettes, and even Mexican folk art, brightly colored alebrijes, spring to life and cavort overhead in Cirque du Soleil-worthy visuals.
There truly is magic afoot in this breathtaking depiction of Mexico, beautifully presenting itself to the world. Run and get tickets to this show; bring your kids and your grandparents. Mexican or foreigner, I guarantee you will learn something new and will leave Coco Cabaret with a hope-infused heart, From Here.
Wednesday
I love Mylar! It reflects light in all directions, and the magpie that lives in my heart loves to see this shimmering fabric under uber-bright spotlights on stage. The latest (and greatest!) Lady Gaga tribute at The Palm Cabaret, ‘Mother Mayhem’ has a gazillion meters of it on the dancers, superstar Maru Prado Conti, and it even creates a waterway for the boat. You’ll see.
This production is a breakthrough spectacular across the board, from the blood red cabaña center stage, the raised prison cell stage right, and a roving cameraman in everybody’s face, capturing fabulous video shots that were immediately projected onto the Palm’s three giant screens. A technological feat that Maru had been planning for ages, and pulled off without a hitch, to the surprise and delight of the audience. I can’t even imagine the hours of rehearsal this show must have taken. It was a full-blown ballet with the cast and camera flying across the stage, knowing precisely where the lens was and whose face was supposed to be in it. Amazing choreographing, planning, and mapping.
Lady Gaga herself said that putting Mother Mayhem together was like “reassembling a shattered mirror.” Besides the pace being chaotic and frantic, there are moments of quiet that are breathtakingly glorious. I couldn’t capture the golden light showering Maru with my imperfect phone. The guy sitting beside me, who knew every single word to every song, heard my gasp and whispered, ”Beautiful, isn’t it?” Oh my, yes.
And, there is a ton of fun in this production with the cast – about mid-way through, they make their way out the front door of the theatre, dancing and singing in the street. All of it is captured on film to entertain us while everyone scurries backstage for yet another costume change. It was seamlessly done and pure cinematic genius. Again, I think of the endless rehearsals!
After five years, Argentina native Maru Prado Conti doesn’t seem to be tiring of presenting Lady Gaga. Her inspired shows regularly sell out, of course, and consume every ounce of her energy. And her dancers. If they are not moving every body part at breakneck speed, they are posed perfectly. They are truly a well-oiled machine.
The brilliant pianist and composer Edgar Bernache created the score for Maru’s Mother Mayhem, mashing up some of Lady Gaga’s superhits rolling them one into another. He took a well-deserved bow with the cast onstage at the end of Opening Night. Bravo, Maestro!
If you are looking for a fast-paced show with super high-energy dancing, singing, and orchestration, Mother Mayhem is waiting at The Palm Cabaret to knock your socks off permanently, every Saturday night at 9. If you go straight home afterwards, you will be unable to sleep (ask me how I know…), so plan to start the night being blown away and carry on creating your own special Mayhem in some of Vallarta’s welcoming bars, From Here.
Thursday
The cast of Humans flew across the ceiling of Coco Cabaret in a decidedly different approach to center stage! The aerial acrobatics in this third show of the new season (with Boys on Fire and Dia de Muertos), created by Sebastian Coronel and Alejandro Barron, were stunning.
I am thrilled with the latest capabilities at Coco Cabaret that are bringing Cirque du Soleil-style entertainment to Vallarta. The childish awe that accompanies watching aerial work is precisely what the world needs more of now. The entire lovely production of Humans stems from a love-filled space, seeking inclusion into our hearts through dance and visual reminders that we are all one. Another show for the entire family.
ABBA is one of those phenomena in the music industry that, on the outside, make no sense: The costumes and hair are so outdated, and those boots! Although it looks like the boots might just be coming back into style.
ABBA music, however, has to be almost as well-known worldwide as the Beatles. Two notes in and everybody knows it’s an ABBA song. It is impossible to listen to without tapping your foot or irresistibly dancing in your seat. The sheer joy of ABBA’s songs, especially when delivered by the gorgeous likes of Ale Matus and Gina Ibarra, backed by one of the best bands around, Monaco, and right there is a smash hit.
Producer Daniel Celis has brought ABBA back from last season and can be seen at The Palm Cabaret and Bar every Monday at 5 pm. A super refreshing way to kick off the week and start your evening.
The second Gay Mixer of the 2026 Season was held inside and outside at Canto Modern Cantonese Bistro on Lazaro Cardenas. This small but fierce restaurant has really taken off this past year, and if attendance at this year’s Gay Mixer is any indication of how beloved they have become—over 150 people enjoyed themselves—I foresee expansion in their plans. Every table was removed from the air-conditioned space inside, and it was shoulder-to-shoulder within minutes of opening. Small tastes were passed around, and a special, delicious tofu sampler was thoughtfully prepared by the owners, Jeremy and Henry, who remembered I was a vegetarian. I would buy a bottle of whatever sauce the tofu came in —it was so good!
The team, headed by Jerry Jones, publisher of Out & About Puerto Vallarta Magazine, was on hand, making sure everyone had a name tag and complimentary sangria to help cool off from the beastly heat and humidity. A few luminaries spotted in the crowd – Ryan Donner and some Associates, man about town Herschel Weisfeld, internationally known pianist Terry Jordan, and the uber helpful gals from Dulceria La Holandesa around the corner from my house on Hidalgo – with tons of sweets, balloons, and gifts ready to give this Christmas and before and after, of course.
The tequila samples from Finca 18 are prompting a trip to their distillery in Ixtapa – lovely!
Tonight at 9, Beyoncé returns to The Palm Cabaret. A full report on that spectacle in the morning, From Here.
Friday
Here we are, the last day of the rainy season in Vallarta. Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of Hurricane Kenna, and the latest occurring ‘big event’ weather-wise in the 34 years I have lived here. Kenna gave us only her tail end as she flew by up to San Blas, where she made landfall and did so much damage there that her name was retired from the list of named tropical disturbances. We were disturbed alright, but made it through that mess that took two months to the day (Merry Christmas) just to fix the Malecon working 24/7 under huge lights.
We can now plan to get dressed in the morning without having to dry off first! To be able to hug our friends on the street without starting with the obligatory apology about how sweaty we are. To enjoy a stiff breeze without worrying it will escalate into some terrifying banshee wind that’ll rip your roof off. To settle into our fabulous winter weather that millions will come soon and enjoy, leave us some money, become friends, then return to their homes in the dead of winter and dream about us gliding through our always warm paradise without a worry in the world. Nice fantasy.
Speaking of fantasy…the Beyoncé Tribute had its second show of the 2025/26 season last night at The Palm Cabaret. I cannot say enough about the talented and beautiful Cecille. She is stunning to look at and wonderful to watch move—and can she ever! She has mastered the art of insouciance, making everything she does look as easy as a seal slipping into water. It is such a pleasure to see her.
Her costumes, and those of her team of dancers, this year are gorgeous, of course, with lots of sparkly sequins and my friend, Mylar.
I was struck again last night by the new gold spotlights on the stage at The Palm. They create otherworldly, rich, warm, and almost tactile color—so lovely! Bravo to whoever found them and had them installed; they make an enormous difference.
Producer of the Beyoncé Tribute, Chris Lopez, told me he is putting a show together for the Grand (Re)Opening Night at the Palm’s sister Cabaret, Coco. That’ll be Halloween night, and the roster of entertainers keeps growing. That’s a week from today; I will let you know what time soon. In the meantime, be sure to catch Cecille as Beyoncé next Thursday at 9 pm.
Tomorrow at the hot, new Social Club on Basilio Badillo is Opening Night of Shannon Maracle’s Nina Simone Experience, with musical director the incomparable David Maiocco. Created and directed by JT Horenstein, this show will likely add another notch of excellence to the trendy underground vibe of Vallarta’s first Speakeasy. I will let you know on Monday how it went.
Have a spectacular weekend, From Here.
