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Mascota Highway Construction Advances
Jalisco governor Francisco Ramirez Acuna recently visited Puerto Vallarta to review progress on the new Puerto Vallarta–Mascota highway. Mascota is a thriving town of 8,000 located in the mountains of Jalisco. The challenge of building a new road through the steep mountains of the region requires the implementation of construction techniques previously used only in other countries such as Germany, Japan and Spain. Once completed sometime in 2005, the road will considerably shorten the travel time between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.
Vallarta Celebrates 86th Birthday
It was 86 years ago that Puerto Vallarta officially became a Jalisco municipality—it became an official city 50 years later. The anniversary celebration included official proclamations at City Hall, historical exhibitions and a spectacular concert at the Malecon featuring pianist Raul DiBlasio. DiBlasio will dedicate a performance to the City of Puerto Vallarta that will subsequently become a videoclip used to promote our destination in 150 cities around the world where he will perform within the next few months.
Vallarta May Music Festival Ends Successfully
Vallarta's May Music Festival, with its new jazz and classical twist, ended successfully and was received favorably by citizens and visitors alike. The four-day program organized by the city's Department of Culture included performances of local groups, the Zapopan Youth Symphony, as well as prestigious jazz ensembles from Mexico City and Europe.
Efforts to Revitalize Vallarta's Downtown Area Continue
Vallarta Mayor Gustavo Gonzalez Villasenor met this week with neighborhood organizations in El Centro and Emiliano Zapata to address issues particular to each neighborhood – parking and street vendors, respectively. Negotiations have begun to develop parking lots under Hidalgo and Lazaro Cardenas Parks, a project that was first proposed during the previous administration. Gonzalez Villasenor also promised the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood to closely supervise the distribution of new permits for semi-permanent vendors located near the beach and at Lazaro Cardenas Park. The Mayor also continues to explore the relocation of City Hall offices to a lot behind the bus terminal and utilize the current City Hall offices for cultural purposes.

Vallarta Artists Travel to Holland
Vallarta painters Meg Munro and Bill Megrail departed for Holland last week, having accepted an invitation to represent Vallarta during a six-week workshop. The workshop will take place in Domberg, a small town where famous Dutch painter Piet Mondrian explored modernism. Both Munro and Megrail expressed pride in being able to bring their unique painting styles and present them to other worldwide artists that will also participate in the event. All works created during the workshop will be displayed all over Holland by means of a traveling exhibition.

Vallarta Municipality Contemplates Relocation
The topic of relocating City Hall offices and using the current space as a cultural center was brought up again during the weekly municipality directors meeting. This proposal, originally mentioned by Vallarta Mayor Gustavo Gonzalez Villasenor during his campaign, looks to find a suitable building or parcel and move all administrative offices to that location, freeing El Centro from some of its traffic problems. This move would also help restore some of downtown Vallarta's much-needed vitality. Several locations are being considered, including a piece of land in front of the Vallarta 500 development behind Wal-Mart, as well as a location behind the bus terminal.

AeroMexico Opens New Boston-Puerto Vallarta Route
Hoping to attract more tourists from the Northeast, AeroMexico began operating a new Boston-Puerto Vallarta route last week, with a stop in Mexico City. Hector Perez Pena, regional manager for the company, indicated that the new route is the result of the significant increase in tourism the company has experienced in the past two months, when the Boston-Mexico City nonstop flight was first offered. AeroMexico will test the waters and, depending on demand, could even introduce a non-stop flight to Vallarta, Perez Peña added.

Disney to Offer West Coast Cruises
The Walt Disney Co. will dock the Disney Magic, one of its two cruise ships, in California for 12 weeks next year as part of the celebration for the 50th anniversary of its Disneyland theme park, the company said. The vessel will travel from its homeport through the Panama Canal next year and offer cruises leaving from the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro and docking in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. The decision to offer 12 seven-night cruises beginning next May also will test the waters for a possible future expansion of the cruise line, which has been extremely successful since it began operating out of Florida in 1998. No decision to permanently add a West Coast operation has been reached at this time.
 
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