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•  Hotels in the News The Westin Regina celebrated its 70th anniversary last week. Beginning in 1930 as a group of 17 hotels, the global chain now has 123 hotels in 24 countries. The latest to hotel to remodel its convention facilities is the multi-award-winning La Jolla de Mismaloya. While there has been talk for over a long time of building a convention center from the ground up, and possibly using some of the ground around the El Salado estuary for this purpose, this city already has at least 15 hotels with meeting rooms large enough to accommodate conventions. Other hotels that have modernized their convention facilities in the last couple of years include Camino Real, Sheraton, Krystal and Westin Regina.

•  Gourmet Cooking with Tequila! The Café des Artistes is joining the patriotic celebrations of this month by incorporating the national beverage into new gourmet dishes. From September 1 to 20, the Festival del Tequila will include tequila tasting with each special dish.

•  Tequila@Web Cyber Cantina While Puerto Vallarta is rich in cyber coffee shops, there is only one cyber cantina. It's the new addition to the museum-shop Mi Amigo el Tequila across from the Lobby Bar of the Hotel Camino Real. For $50 per half hour you can use a computer from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. An hour of computer use comes with a glass of tequila. Of course you can just stop in to see the collection of some of the finest tequilas in Mexico or buy a bottle to take with you.

•  Association to Restore Crown In August, an association was formed in Puerto Vallarta to raise funds to rebuild the crown of the church of Guadalupe (thrown to the ground and destroyed in the earthquake of 1995) and to eventually restore the church. The association is considering a permanent crown of brass, or possibly copper. As such a crown would weigh 14,330 pounds, the principal tower would have to be reinforced. According to Miguel Angel Valdés Mora, head of the new Association of Vallarta Friends of the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the first stage (crown and tower) will cost about 3 million pesos and the complete project (restoring the church) about one million USD. The crown atop the landmark church, long a symbol of Puerto Vallarta, was replaced in 1996 with a fiberglass replica using funds contributed by the community and is already showing signs of age. The crown is a replica of the one worn by Empress Carlota (wife of Emperor of Mexico Maximilian) in the mid 1860's.

•  Don't Ask the Taxi Driver If you're looking for a good restaurant, you will find helpful hotel concierges prepared to make recommendations. Other residents and visitors are usually eager to share personal experiences; and you will find mouth-watering photos in Vallarta Lifestyles and other publications to tempt you. Perhaps the last person you should ask for a recommendation is your taxi driver. It is well known that some of Vallarta's 2,000 taxi drivers (perhaps only 5% ) recommend only those restaurants that reward them with commissions or raffle tickets for meals, air conditioners, tires or other auto parts. Gregorio Peña Montes, president of the taxi drivers' union, says that there is no organized relationship between the union and restaurant owners, but he acknowledges that some restaurants do use this method of advertising.

•  Discovery Channel Discovers the Bay Cable TV's Discovery Channel is here taping various areas of the bay for a series of documentaries about the underwater sea life. According to co-producer, John Mitchell, the series, to be called 'Vallarta Adventure', will be taped in consultation with local marine biologists. The plan calls for taping marine turtle egg laying at several sites, crocodiles, birds and mangle at El Quelele, rare marine mammals in the Yelapa-Cabo Corrientes area, and numerous species and thermal phenomena around Bahía de Banderas, the Marietas Islands.

•  There has been talk about an impending strike for Mexico's air traffic controllers. A Federal court has ruled the plan illegal; and hopes are that such a strike, which would affect Puerto Vallarta among other airports, will be avoided. The Union of Air Traffic Controllers has been in negotiations for some time with the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation over many issues including the fact that their pay increases have lagged far behind the rate of inflation for several years.

•  Hot Politics in Puerto Vallarta Maybe you thought that once the national presidential race was over, those political posters would come down. But active politicking continues in Puerto Vallarta with six parties running slates for several municipal offices including the post of president (mayor).

•  Calendar to Promote Puerto Vallarta Once again the natural beauty Puerto Vallarta has been selected as an exotic setting for photographic sessions. This time the project features 12 swimsuit-clad models (female) posing for a calendar called 'Summer All Year.' It is expected that more than 40 thousand copies of the calendar for 2001 will be distributed internationally. Last year's 'Summer All Year' calendar was shot in Los Cabos and according to JosÌ Ludwig Estrada of the local tourism office, it was of 'high quality.' The new calendar will show off some of Vallarta's natural attractions, as well as those of the models, and will include information about what there is to see and do here. A company in Chula Vista, California, will publish the calendar. Let's hope they do a better job than Telmex's directory designers did.

•  Fiestas in El Pitillal Lots of celebrating is going on in Vallarta's 'suburb', El Pitillal, during this month of patriotic festivals: Independence Day, Charro Day, Mariachi Day and San Miguel Archangel (patron saint of the town) Day. The church and plaza are adorned with green, white and red pennants; while food stands, rides and all the excitement of an important fiesta are energizing downtown Pitillal rain or shine. Parades, a beauty & culture contest, music, fireworks and more are all taking place in and around the central plaza. If you haven't been to El Pitillal yet, this month is a great time to go. From downtown PV, take any green bus marked El Pitillal. You can take any bus marked 'El Pitillal.' You'll know when you get there. Sundays are the best time to share the excitement with locals as they turn out for this, their biggest festival of the year.

•  The Best of the Best Award The Holiday Inn of Puerto Vallarta received a wonderful 'gift' on its 25th anniversary that many employees worked long and hard to earn. The Food and Beverage Department was chosen for 'The Best of the Best Award' by Bass Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. The selection was based on the department's 100% fulfillment of standards of quality, its excellent service to guests, financial results and the comments of members of Holiday Inn's Priority Club. The Director of the Department of Food and Beverages, Patrick Louis and Fernando Garcça Rossette, Director of Corporate Operations and General Manager of the Puerto Vallarta Holiday Inn, will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, in October officially to receive this prestigious award.

•  New Courses on Rço Cuale They've just begun and it's not too late to enroll for a class in music, or art or children's theater. You can learn to sing or play an instrument from piano to Baroque flute to Latin American traditional music makers. Painting and tin working will also be taught in workshops given at various hours throughout the week and on Saturdays. Most courses cost $100 pesos per month. For complete information call the Dept. of Culture at 223-2500 Ext. 120 or register at the Cultural Center at the far eastern end of the Island of the Rço Cuale.

•  New CafÌ in Olas Altas A Taste of Italy, popular outdoor mini-cafÌ in Marina Vallarta, is now serving its delicious Italian hot subs and tortas from a second location next to Daiquiri Dick's at Los Muertos Beach. Unfortunately its original location has been closed since the new one opened.

•  Mariachis at Camino Real A lively mariachi concert was one of the ways in which the hotel Camino Real celebrated this patriotic month. Wearing the traditional charro costume and singing well-known songs that obviously were favorites of the audience, the 13 musicians of Mariachi Real de AmÌrica delighted the hotel's packed Gran SalÊn. The concert was one in the monthly series of cultural events taking place at the hotel the first Thursday of every month.

•  Where Young Visitors Go This summer's young visitors, brought to Puerto Vallarta by GET Travel, voted for their favorite places to go in Vallarta. Bearing in mind that they didn't have a chance to visit every place that they might have enjoyed, their recommendations they made just before leaving might be helpful to other young adults visiting the area. Best Restaurant: 1st place: Hard Rock CafÌ, 2nd place: Cheeseburger In Paradise, 3rd place: Hooters. Best clubs: 1st: Christine Disco, 2nd:Seúor Frog's, 3rd: Carlos O'Brian's. Best Theme Night: 1st: Foam Party at Collage (Emporium), 2nd : Water Pistol party at Seúor Frog's, 3rd: Mardi Gras at Carlos O'Brian's.

•  Photography Exhibit At City Hall Some of Puerto Vallarta's top photographers have gotten together and formed an association called, you guessed it, the Professional Photographers' Association of Puerto Vallarta. Until the end of this month they will have their work on display at City Hall. A wide range of subjects have been included from fireworks to sunsets to weddings on the sand (a sample of the complete "Brides and Grooms on the Sand" that the photographer, Arturo Paso opened last Wednesday at the Westin Regina.) Among those photographers taking part in the exibition are Alfonso Lepe, Gerardo Medina, Roberto Bermejo, Roberto Aceves and Carlos PÌrez, president of the new association.

•  River Crocodiles Roaming Vallarta Crocodiles used to roam where Marina Vallarta is now and once in a while they still do. This summer a three-foot long crocodile was observed slithering down the streets of Marina Vallarta and another one, four feet in length was found sleeping on a local patio. Rescued from contact with humans by the local fire department, they were taken to a crocodile protection area. What's left of the River Crocodile population after relentless encroachment by humans on its habitat, is concentrated in the area of the El Salado Estuary. Several national, state and local organizations are working to protect this reptile, and there is a hospital-study area at the University of Guadalajara campus that receives the full support of all these groups. Conservationists hope that study of the crocs' habits and protection of their habitat will prevent the extinction of this ancient reptile.

•  Whale Sculpture Guiness Ready The bronze sculpture of the humpback whale and her calf is almost finished, according to its creator, Octavio Gonz¶les GutiÌrrez. Located at the entrance to Marina Vallarta, the work is receiving its final treatments of patina, waxing and polishing. Lighting and finishing its base will be the last step. Vallartenses are hopeful the sculpture will make it into the Guiness Book of Records as the largest whale sculpture. If it is true that there is a larger one in California, as reported recently, perhaps it can get into the book as the sculpture that took the longest time to prepare and install. More than three and a half years have passed since construction was begun on this 42-foot long work of art.

•  New Vallarta Newspaper Vallarta Voice', a new monthly newspaper will soon be making its debut in the Costa Vallarta area from San Pancho to Yelapa. Dedicated to serving the English-speaking community rather than the short-term visitor, each issue will feature a number of local writers with articles, investigative reports, fiction and regular columns. Subjects will vary greatly, but editors say all will be of interest to local residents. 'Vallarta Voice' will pay writers for professional quality work and is now soliciting contributions. For information contact Jonathon Smart, tel: 221-0106, fax: 221-2255, E-mail: thevoice@mexmags.com. 'Vallarta Voice' is a product of Producciones Viva, publishers of the magazines 'Vallarta Lifestyles' and 'Yates y Villas' as well as web sites VirtualVallarta.com, PortalVallarta.com, mlsVallarta.com PvPropertyRentals.com and Mexico Boutique Hotels.com.

•  500 Baby Turtles Released Never before have so many baby turtles been released in one evening from a protection corral at a hotel. On Friday, September 29, 2000 staff of the Camino Real and many excited observers were thrilled to participate in the in this massive immersion in the bay of newly-hatched Olive Ridley sea turtles. This was an especially rewarding moment for all who are concerned about the conservation of this endangered species.

•  Top Clown Not Just For Kids Timmy Bond, prize-winning clown at the San Francisco, California, Clown Convention, will be entertaining adults along with children at the 'El Palmar Restaurant' at Westin Regina Resort. Shows, which include fantastic balloon figures and general clowning around, will take place from 9 to 12 in the morning; and a different show, in the swimming pool area will be held from 1 to 2 pm during the months of October and December.

•  New Art Gallery Opens JEM Contemporary Art recently opened at the corner of Guerrero and Miramar in Old Vallarta. Curator, Director and featured artist, Judith Ewing Morland plans to present a series of two-week exhibits of well-known artists working in both two and three dimensions. Each exhibit will have a formal inauguration.

•  Exhibition at Library A major exhibition of painting, sculpture, photography and prints will be on display at the Los Mangos Public Library on Francisco Villa until the end of October. 'Salon Vallarta 2000 has attracted some of the best of local talent with significant cash prizes for best work in each category. ($10,000 pesos first prize in all categories except photography, which has a first prize of $5,000 pesos. Judges, who are all from Guadalajara to ensure objectivity, will announce their decisions on Friday, October 13. Participants are as follows: Painters: Cassandra Shaw, Ireri Topete, Bernice Starr, Edgar Martínez, Fernando Sánchez, Miguel Pérez, Cesar López, Oscar Noe Ramírez, Sergio Martínez, Francisco Rodríguez, Jaime Antonio Rodríguez, Pere Greenham, Roberto Bermejo, Marisa Zepeda, Lucille Shipley, José Manuel del Río and Hania Leñero. Sculptors: Eva Barreña, Erika Aceves, Miguel Holeck, Hania Leñero, Francisco Sanmiguel, Pedro Tello. Printmakers: Fernando Sánchez, Carlos Michel, Miguel Pérez, Sergio Martínez, Ireri Topete, Felipe Burgueño. Photographers: Carlos Michel, Pedro Tello, Gonzalo Ramírez, Sergio Martínez, Hania Leñero.

•  Expresso Pizzeria Pub Opens The owners of La Dolce Vita have joined with two other Italian businessmen to open a pizzeria in Old Vallarta across from Sr. Frog's and El Torito. The two-level restaurant/pub serves draft beer, has a pool table and plans to have live music on its breezy upper level.

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