Recap: Good Morning, From Here, October 04 – 10
Monday
The weekend flew by on top of expectations of rain and storms, and nothing happened. Lots of people are champing at the bit for Season to hurry up. We are impatiently tapping our toes and planning outdoor renovations that won’t be altered by a massive storm or, god forbid, a hurricane. It’s early to assume the rains are done with October 15th, still 10 days away, that is usually the marker of the last storm. Let’s not forget Hurricane Kenna that smashed Vallarta in 2002, on October 25.
Vallarta Mirror existential columnist Sandra Bradley and I met on our corner and walked through a sprinkle of rain along the river to the Arte Vallarta Museo for their last indoor Salon of the summer. A small crowd enjoyed wine and seeing one another, reviewing the paintings, and ogling Armando Mafud’s coffee table book.
One of Mexico’s finest clothing designers, Mafud will present an altar at the Museum on the next First Saturday, November 1. That will be a highlight, I am sure.
Doctor Mitch Kushner posed for a photo with a painting that was likely done in the house he now owns in Gringo Gulch, just up the hill from me.
Sandra and I walked from the Museo through downtown and along the Malecon, past Casa Ley, until we hit Paraguay and joined the big party at El Solar, already in progress. We just missed the band (the videos were awesome), Tirso was still knocking down the equipment as we carefully made our way down the wooden steps to the sand.
The occasion was the 39th birthday of Chris Lopez who welcomed us with open arms and drinks materialized in an instant.
Chris is one of the most brilliant stars in Vallarta’s entertainment industry. Whether singing or dancing in a solo show (Tribute to Sam Smith) or producing, directing (or both) another performer, and he creates videos that are stunning. His video editing skills are superb and all self-taught!
Originally from Buenos Airies, Chris has been in Vallarta at the Palm for five years and now also at the sister venue, Coco Cabaret. He has set a very high bar, indeed, and every year the bar inches up a little higher. His nimble fingers are in a variety of pies.
The Corp players of the Palm/Coco Cabarets were together on the beach celebrating Chris. Sandra and I first chatted with Roy Cruz, his beautiful wife Karla, and their two equally beautiful children. Roy stars as Freddie Mercury at The Palm and opens his fifth season, “The Man, The Voice, The Legend,” on October 17. Roy channels Freddie and has taken his sold-out tribute to the Queen frontman to London, England, and all over the US. I see Roy’s shows at least twice a season. He is forever tweaking, adding, and altering so that no two performances are identical, but all are mesmerizing.
Tomorrow, more conversations and surprises with Chris’s stellar guests. Happy Birthday, Superstar, From Here.
Tuesday
Stepping right back onto the sand at El Solar, at Chris Lopez’s birthday party, Sandra Bradley and I, snifters of mezcal in hand, made a beeline for a small clump of gorgeous men – Sebastian Coronel, Alejandro Barron Ortiz, and Daniel Celis. Dani’s show, a spectacular tribute to Elton John, “The Rocketman Concert,” opens The Palm Cabaret’s 26th season, at 5 pm, on October 16, and continues every Thursday. Daniel’s band, Monaco, is extraordinary, and you’ll have a tough time staying still in your seat.
Just as we walked up, Daniel was finding out from Sebastian and Alejandro that “The Superheroes” debuted LAST season: Daniel was all excited to see the show. Well…he will see parts of it when Boys on Fire, headed by Sebastian, open Coco Cabaret with the Best of Boys on Fire, at 9 pm, October 15th. The B of B on F will highlight the juiciest parts of the past five seasons. I am so looking forward to that opening.
Alejandro asked which of the three new shows he and his compadres in Boys on Fire I was most looking forward to seeing. I answered “Humans,” having seen some of the steamy rehearsals. That debuts at Coco at 9 pm, October 19th. Their third show, “Dia de Muertos – Traditions of Life and Death,” debuts at 5 pm on October 18, also at Coco Cabaret.
After that performance, I will stop at La Catrina Cantina to see how the game show is unraveling with Christian Manly. From there, a short walk up to The Palm for the fourth season opener at 9 pm of the new tribute to Lady Gaga. Maru Prado Conti stars in “Mother Mayhem,” featuring her hard-working dancers, not her adorable puppy, which is with her everywhere, and occasionally on stage.
And, speaking of dancers, my favorite in the city walked up, drink in hand, and a big smile, for hugs. Francisco Guizar Martinez Dosart, aka “Paco,” was as charming as ever, fit as ever, and exuding that undefinable edginess he can barely contain. (Whew, I need a minute…). Happy Birthday to you, Paco, in a couple more days!
We ended our conversations with Nacho Granados, who raved about a recent concert in Ajijic put together by the irrepressible Steve Balfour, starring himself (Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra), the Birthday Boy, Chris Lopez (Sam Smith), and Roy Cruz (aka Freddie Mercury). They sang music from the ’60s and ’70s and brought the house down, according to all reports. Not only will this remake of “Remake” from a couple of seasons ago make a comeback here in Vallarta with this fantastic new trio, but Nacho is teaming up with Armando Chakam for a Sinatra/Michael Bublé blowout that will be fabulous. Stay tuned here for news on dates and locations.
The beautiful and talented Laura ‘Sol’ Reyes, former Miss Colombia and the last winner of Voice of Vallarta, was on the beach with her wonderfully supportive husband Joe Liimatta, originally from Victoria, Canada, wishing with the rest of us another spectacular turn around the sun for Chris Lopez, From Here.
Wednesday
Humpday means Scrabble – yay! Everybody is still out of town; we’ll have to wait and see if there is anyone to play with.
I was busy yesterday sorting through things, mostly books. Dusting them, then making piles, in alphabetical order. Then, stacking repeat offenders – the piles of David Baldacci, Lee Child, Harlen Coben next to the rest of the Bs and Cs. The non-novels: an atlas, dictionaries in two languages, cookbooks (how the hell did I end up with those?), travel books (again, why?), poetry and art books. I do not want anything reminding me of what I cannot do, like paint and have my canvas rival Rembrandt. I have a paperback on how to make Japanese clothes. No idea wherethehell that one came from, and, believe me, I have never once made the effort.
Others I remember, not so much for the content as for how the books moved me. Colum McCann, from Ireland, broke my heart a million times.
Then there are writers like James Patterson, who was so good and distinctive when he first started, but now churns out best-selling books co-written with whoever he chooses to team up with, and his work becomes increasingly less appealing and harder to read, so I haven’t bothered in years. BUT, James Patterson also wrote a small book that I will never part with. I read it, then reread it immediately, continuously checking the back cover to believe that he could write something so profoundly beautiful.
So, I spent yesterday reminiscing on various reads. I found a book that belonged to my dad. He had the terrible habit of writing his name in pen on every book he bought. I remember scolding him decades ago; clearly he ignored me. I may reread this one, and I am keeping it, only because it’s falling apart.
Most of the 288 books are in good shape. Good enough to put on shelves in a brand-new used English-language bookstore that will be opening soon in 5 de diciembre, Colombia 1377.
My cherished friend, colleague, past editor for eight years, published author, and now real estate agent and bookstore/cafe owner times two, Madeline Milne, is going to take all these books for her Living Room Book Store annex that I mentioned in the last paragraph.
The new store will succeed beautifully – it is what Madeline does. She will create another coveted space that is comfortably welcoming to all. She will serve up curated Mexican coffee, fab desserts, and light lunches. She will likely throw cultural events at her new storefront as she does from time to time at the Marina.
And there is Cora, short for Corazon, Madeline’s adorable dog, who will continue to make herself known at the new locale whenever Mads visits.
Books I will never part with are the ones written by my friends, including Sandra Bradley, Sandra Cesca, Pat Henry, and Sid Goodman. A couple of them I edited.
Have a wonderful day. Read a book and we’ll catch you back here in the morning, From Here.
Thursday
My living room floor has been returned to me, and all my old books are gone to their new home – The Living Room Bookstore and Cafe. Thanks go to Madeline Milne for taking them off my hands and leaving me with barren shelves.
I won’t allow that to accumulate again. The books, I mean. I have a handful of books left that friends wrote, but the current lot I read every night, which either put me to sleep or rob me of it, will go back to the Living Room with me to trade.
Now, about my closet. Ugh. I do occasionally purge, bundling up a few things I no longer wear and dropping them at Deja New. Still, because I either remake or severely alter clothes I buy for practically no money at the tianguis, they are not ‘professionally’ sewn. They therefore aren’t up to clothing store standards. As anyone learning to sew knows, “they have to look as good on the inside as the outside when it’s finished.” My clothes aren’t like that, but they’re perfect for me, and I don’t care how they look on the inside. A dilemma, and how lucky am I if that’s my biggest problem in life?
Hurricane Priscilla, which bounced by our coast this week without leaving us a drop of rain but created some enormous wave action, also destroyed the solar panels that run Vallarta Cares (formerly the Vallarta Food Bank). This community-based charitable organization is among the most important of the dozens of worthy causes out there. Vallarta Cares deals with humans on the simplest, most basic elements of life – food, water, and love. What began during COVID as feeding a few people every day that had lost their jobs grew into providing packages for families in outlying areas containing basic foodstuffs.
As the world got back on its collective feet, Vallarta Cares expanded into disaster relief, providing potable water in minutes with a donated system to hurricane victims. Vallarta Cares fights forest fires, going far beyond just putting out the flames.
And getting back to basics, they are still feeding dozens daily.
And where does the money come from to first source the cheapest beans, then buy them? Cook them. Then dispense the beans that go with the rest of lunch.
You. You are it. The only source of Vallarta Cares’ income. They did the right thing by leaving the CFE grid and biting the bullet to buy solar panels, at least easing that burden on their tenuous supply of money. And now the solar panels are gone, and the good work of Vallarta Cares comes to a screeching halt.
My good friend Bri Bott told me about the solar panels this morning and has come up with a wonderful fundraising idea: “Here’s my birthday wish: If you were thinking of buying me a drink, you can do even better. Donate that amount (or more!) to help re-energize Vallarta Cares When you donate, please include “HBD Brian” in the comment box so I can track our collective give/get total and personally express my gratitude. Let’s light up Vallarta again and show what community love can do. Click here to donate: https://vallartacares.org/“
The ball, as they say, is in your court, From Here.
Friday
Yesterday I sat down with Brian Peters, aka Mama Tits, over mango smoothies at the Vallarta Factory. I wanted to find out how he was feeling and his plans for the near future, given his recent stage three cancer diagnosis. Friends have set up a GoFundMe for Brian’s uninsured medical bills, which could easily reach 300,000 USD. We won’t even discuss what that would cost in the US.
Brian laid out the bare bones of his upcoming treatments, almost all of which would take place in Guadalajara, so no friends or family to help there. Surgery is scheduled for the first week of November to remove Brian’s prostate and nearby lymph nodes.
He spoke candidly about his sexuality, which is hugely important in his life; as it should be at only 46. His doctors tell him he might be sexually active after the surgery; he won’t live six more months without it.
The overwhelming shock of all of this information had both of us in tears on and off for the short 90 minutes we had together over smoothies. His career as Mama Tits is in a holding pattern. Still, he hopes to get into rehearsals with Diego Guerrero before his surgery and unveil his new show, ironically titled “Side Effects May Vary,” in January at The Palm Cabaret, where he has sold out almost every single show for a decade.
He will have to take pills to remove all the testosterone from his body. Not only will he have to undergo menopause, which no woman would wish on their worst enemy, but he will have to pay six thousand dollars a month for that pleasure. And, the doctors are projecting that for Brian’s next three years.
It’s a bleak prognosis, and Brian has gone from sad to angry, but twice in our conversation, he came up with two situations that gay men in Vallarta can find themselves in, and Brian said he wanted to help eliminate both of them by educating the public.
First would be to change the medical system to routinely do a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test before males are 50, long before they turn 50. Brian is sure if he had had a test in his early forties, we wouldn’t have had our conversation about impending surgery yesterday.
And the other involves random pick-ups in bars and how to protect yourself somewhat, so that doesn’t lead to danger or death.
So, there stands Brian right next to Hope. He is afraid he will lose his voice with all the chemical changes. The ramifications of that alone are daunting, his life’s work hanging in the balance..
It’s hard for him to ask for help; he also knows that if he doesn’t ask, he will die. So, if you have ever watched Mama Tits in action, laughed at her jokes, been moved to tears with her beautiful voice, please help keep this dynamo of an entertainer on her sparkly tippy toes for at least another 46 years. You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mama-tits-fight-prostate-cancer
Have a lovely weekend. Fill it full of gratitude for your healthy, beautiful life, From Here.
