Recap: Good Morning, From Here, October 11 -17
Monday
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians out there! A number of fine restaurants in town are offering traditional turkey feasts; you can check VallartaCalendar.com for a comprehensive list. Enjoy the food and company, and give thanks for our remarkable abundance of all things necessary to life —the biggest and most important thing we have in Vallarta: love.
That was on full display at La Catrina Cantina last Friday night when Edward Lucker and Pamala Sheppard celebrated their birthdays with a costume party – and a contest. The winner was no surprise to me. The uber-gifted designer, Neothy Lavender, who favors intricate corset tops with miles of cording paired with curvy trousers made of pattable fabric. All the costumes reflected the ‘Under the Sea Theme’, but Lavender’s was outstanding.
Pamala and husband John prepared all the food and the desserts. Exquisite and gooey brownies made a sweet end to the homemade Mexican favorites.
The entertainment kicked off with Tonny Kenneth, who shared his stage with some of Vallarta’s finest voices, including Gloria Fiona and Mitchell Rivadeneyra, singing some of Pam’s favorite songs.
At 8 pm, Nacho Granados’ weekly show began. This Argentine can sing anything; his range is expansive and his voice is powerful – think Tom Jones and you’ll have it in a nutshell. And he is fun, gregarious, and the sharpest host in the city.
Happy Birthdays to Pamala Sheppard and Edward Lucker again; thank you for inviting me to share your special day with you.
On Saturday, I wandered around standing puddles of rainwater on the Isla Cuale to stock up on my weekly herbal remedies at Ricardo Mazcal’s Saturday Market. This amazing man has kept me alive for more than a decade with his tinctures and potions that reflect his lifetime study of natural ancestral ways of preventing and treating illnesses. Now in his 80s, I would match his energy levels against anybody in their 40s.
His fascinating story about returning to Mexico, leaving his high-powered, stressful job in the US, to deal with stage-four prostate cancer. He returned to Nayarit and began translating his great-grandmother’s journals from Nahuatl into Spanish, while also treating and curing himself. Here he is, fifty years after a terminal diagnosis with six months to get his affairs in order, getting stronger with every passing year.
Ricardo writes weekly for Vallarta Mirror, and I urge him to write more about his successes with his clients. He hesitates because he doesn’t feel comfortable writing about himself. I will keep pushing, however, because the public deserves to know precisely the incredible benefits of herbal medicine, which is often considered only as a last resort.
The key, of course, is prevention and building a strong immune system to ward off disease. Failing that, however, there is help out there, naturally. Ricardo Mazcal is living, shining proof of the wisdom that comes from using specific endemic plants in Mexico. I am so grateful to him, especially on this Thanksgiving Day, for how much he has helped me over the years, From Here.
Tuesday
Today is going to be so great on so many levels, I can hardly stand it! First, at the crack of 8:30 this morning, Deborah Cole is picking me up and we are going to the Coapinole tianguis. Her, for the first time. Deborah is a gifted photographer, specializing in black and white dramatic pics of all kinds of subjects. We shall see what we shall see.
Our plan is to then hit the other two C’s – Costco and La Comer. So a morning filled with shopping and ogling. Then, one of my favorite parts of Season is the Out & About Puerto Vallarta Magazine’s Gay Mixers. They start at 6 pm tonight at the Cuale Condo Hotel on Aquiles Serdan. Last year, half the city descended upon the Cuale Condo Hotel to be blown away by their gracious and generous service. It set the bar for the season. – a really high bar.
And I get to see and visit with my dear friend, publisher of O & A, Jerry Jones, who is responsible for these great get-togethers that occur almost weekly, all Season long. A brilliant idea that showcases the advertisers of Jerry’s Out & About Puerto Vallarta magazine: I have developed so many contacts, met amazing people, and have become hard and fast friends with a lot of them. Nobody seems to mind that I am not gay. Next life!
From the Cuale, I plan to leave a bit early and run over to The Palm Cabaret, for their Opening Night featuring everybody who has a show this year.
The Palm, and its sister Cabaret, Coco (which opens tomorrow night at 9), have nothing but superstars under their roofs. The Palm starts its 26th year in the entertainment business in Vallarta; it has come a long, long way, and every year, another layer of greatness is added.
At the heart of their success lies cooperation. From the owners, the singers, dancers, directors, and producers, the ones who man the box office, the tech crew, the wait staff, and the volunteers who help find seats with a smile — all of them there for a single purpose—to entertain you and me.
Gathering all the loose ends, handling phone calls, managing bruised egos, conducting numerous meetings, and coordinating the schedule for all performances for the entire season for both theatres is the responsibility of Mark Rome. Unflappable and so kind, he is quick to answer a message, handle any unforeseen calamity, and he keeps smiling even under the enormous pressure. He is a rare talent.
I am excited to see what changes – if any – have been made to the inside of the Palm. It’ll be super to see familiar wait staff for hugs, and the audience members will be almost as important as those on stage. Opening Nights are my fave. Hundreds of hours of rehearsals, fittings for costumes, learning new songs, new moves, practicing and failing, then, boom: It’s Showtime, From Here.
Wednesday
I have a new word to use for last night’s weather as a couple of hundred of us squeezed onto the rooftop of Cuale, a chi-chi renovated condo hotel on Aquiles Serdan – S U L T R Y. Another rendition of hot and humid. Still, it has a flick-feeling to it, as in moving deliberately to get the standing water off a body part.
The first Out & About Puerto Vallarta Gay Mixer is in the can. What a great party! I am heartened by these events, at the number of new people who have joined our community. Or, perhaps they have been here, but haven’t felt like engaging. Anyway, I talked to lots of lovely newbies and many old timers, including throuple Jamie, Josh, and Mau, Jerry Jones, of course, from O & A, and Herschel, climbing back from his health issues.
Overall, a fabulous kickstart to the season; see you at the next one, next Tuesday at Canto on Lazaro Cardenas, 6 to 8 pm.
I walked through the sultry air and quiet streets to the heart of the Gayborhood and The Palm Cabaret for their Opening Night. A ”Themed Movie Show” with some terrific clips shown as background. The night was full of surprises, hearing these voices we know and love singing songs we would never expect from them. Each singer promoted their upcoming shows, including Patriz, who celebrated her 20th birthday while working hard onstage. She will bring her Amy Winehouse show to The Palm on November 9th.
Nacho Granados was in perfect host mode, introducing his friends and colleagues with unabashed respect and love, and a couple of songs had him reunited with Roy Cruz (Freddie Mercury) and Chris Lopez (Sam Smith) in a remake of Remake – more on that collab when dates are announced.
Gloria Fiona (Adele), Cecille (Beyonce), and Maru (Lady Gaga) were all gorgeous in floor-length gowns and in perfect voice.
Mau Jimenez sang an oldy in Spanish from the film, ”Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas.” Don’t miss his brilliant tribute to Bruce Springsteen debuting on November 08, at 5 pm. (How I LOVE these early shows!!)
Armando Chakam (Michael Buble), all decked out in a sparkly sequined jacket, gave up the theme song from Ghost – Unchained Melody. I remember hearing that Righteous Brothers mega hit for the first time in the mid-60s, and I think today, 60 years later!, what I thought then, that I had never been so moved by a song’s lyrics as that one. Tears prick at my eyes from the first note, and the lump in my throat will not subside until the last one soars away.
Daniel Celis (Elton John) gave us some John Travolta disco moves from Saturday Night Fever and an incredible Barry Gibb interpretation. More on that bit of fomenting news, again, when the dates are announced. Dani’s ”Rocketman” returns tomorrow at 5 pm with his incredible band Monaco. The energy level is extraordinary.
Okay, Scrabble at the Q today, followed by Bingo at Nacho Daddy and the opening of Coco Cabaret tonight at 9. Where will you be? From Here.
Thursday
Oh! What a night at Coco Cabaret! Their Opening Night with Boys on Fire. No amount of air conditioning could have cooled off that room. The Boys – Sebastian, Alex, Pedro, Angel, Woody, and their host and compadre, Nacho, obviously spent the last five months training like maniacs in the gym. Maybe not Nacho so much, but the rest of the cast was in competition shape to be sure. No mean feat when you are also learning new choreography and tending to your day job!
Boys on Fire’s second season at Coco is a ‘Best of’ compilation of the past seasons at The Palm and last year’s Superheroes, which I thought was their best production ever.
The newest Boy, Woody Fox, an Australian bodybuilder, gymnast, aerialist, and strongman, gave us some tricky rope work that had the audience leaping back in their seats more than once when Woody seemed ready to fall off the thick rope from the roof! A looooong fall. He has settled into his skin with his cast mates and truly looks like he is having so much fun teasing the audience. His smile rarely left his face. Good on ya, Mate. (I couldn’t resist!)
Angel, whom I have adored for years, reprised his surprise to me from years ago at The Palm, during the ”policeman fantasy.” The dancers fanned out through the audience and picked two or three of us. I don’t even know how many of us were propelled onto the stage, but Angel pulled me from my seat again and into another chair facing a very crowded house. The rest of that was a delicious blur of Angel flesh in my face, and he put my hands in places they maybe would have gone on their own accord, but not in public! The press table had Zack from Out and About Puerto Vallarta Magazine videotaping the whole thing. Ufff.
Nacho Granados is the best host and is lightning fast on his feet, keeping up the patter between the vignettes and often nipping backstage to change and reappear as a singer, or a dancer, or a stripper, and sometimes all of those at the same time. He is a delight from start to finish, not shy (anymore!), and could be the poster child for Accepting Oneself! I love him!
Bravos to Sebastian Coronel, the Buenos Airies native and leader of the Boys on Fire, for his creativity and great sense of color. The Brazilian-themed ending is a riot of extravagant green and gold glitter and feathers.
The Boys on Fire have conscientiously raised money every year for two charities: Casa Hogar and Canirac. The first is an orphanage, and the second supports kids with cancer. They want to raise 100,000 pesos this Season, so take some extra cash with you and buy a calendar for 2026, a T-shirt, or whatever they are auctioning off to help them reach this lofty goal.
A fun, energetic show! Join me tomorrow for a look at the Rocketman and Pink debuts From Here.
Friday
There is something endearing about Elton John and his music. He is wonderfully weird and complicated, but under the layers of bejeweled eyeglasses, sequins, and feathers, I believe, is a kind and loving man. Daniel Celis captures that aspect of Elton John in ‘Rocketman Concert’ and embodies the sheer joy of entertaining, after first making a big visual impression on an adoring audience.
He had a couple of minor technical difficulties on Opening Night of The Palm Cabaret’s 26th season, which will be easily ironed out for next week’s Thursday matinee at 5 pm. Dani’s band, Monaco, provided seamless accompaniment and backup vocals. We can expect a blockbuster concert from them soon, mashing up the music from four musicals, Grease, Footloose, Saturday Night Fever, and one more whose name I have forgotten.
Another second-season debut last night at Coco Cabaret. Very close to a sold-out house, eagerly awaited Eva Jimenez and her dancers, in her brand new tribute to Pink.
Clearly, Eva has been training hard, and the addition of Aussie acrobat Woody Fox from Boys on Fire has added a superb layer of strength and motion to her show. The aerials were spectacular, and Eva’s voice didn’t even waver, hanging upside down and spinning. Yipes! (Woody told me after the show that he is opening a school in the Zona Romantica to teach aerial work!)
All of Pink’s hits remained from last season, with some added numbers, new choreography, and all-new costumes for the entire cast. The sound quality in Coco’s has been fine-tuned to perfection.
Eva appeared completely relaxed, well-rehearsed, and comfortable. She is, in turn, as cute as a button, then fierce as a pissed off house cat, and then, that radiant smile makes everything in our world right again. Her soft poignancy brought tears to my eyes more than once.
Her two big brothers were there: Alejandro Balderas (The Art Convention) in the audience and Mau Jimenez (Who’s the Boss? A Bruce Springsteen Tribute) backstage, helping his sister shine even brighter.
The entire audience lined up to congratulate Eva after a masterful performance; how I love her and her siblings. Brava, chica.
Coming up tonight, Roy Cruz stars as, make that channels, Freddie Mercury in ‘The Man, The Voice, The Legend’ at The Palm at 7 pm, and Musical Dreams premieres at Coco Cabaret at 9 pm.
Saturday night features Dia de Muertos, celebrating Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions through dance and song, premiering at Coco Cabaret at 5 pm, and Maru Prado Conti will debut as Lady Gaga performing ‘Mother Mayhem’ at The Palm at 9 pm.
Opening Nights on Sunday at Coco has Madonna (a Chris Lopez Production) starring Waleska at 7 pm, followed by Humans at 9.
Lots of voices and dance this weekend. Enjoy and support our immensely talented locals in their efforts to continue to bring you the caliber of entertainment seen in New York, London, and Los Angeles, right here in our beloved Puerto Vallarta, From Here.
