With New Year’s Eve just four days away, the targeted date for the reopening of our popular seawall promenade the Malecon, I checked it out to see how things were progressing. Until a few days ago it had been under blue and white wraps since Kenna did her storm-surge number on it. Now, I’m delighted to report, it’s basically ready and better than ever! I was able to walk the entire length of it, from the Los Arcos amphitheater, where it is now much wider so it can accommodate more spectators at the frequent cultural events held here, to the Hotel Rosita at its northern end. Some flower boxes need completing, as well as a few other minor details, but otherwise it looks fabulous. Congratulations to the hundreds of workers who toiled day and night to get it ready in time for our big bash welcoming in 2003.

Now the bridge connecting the El Centro Malecon to the Los Muertos walkway is another kettle of fish entirely. For years it was talked about. Would it ever happen or not? Well, I can tell you definitively, it’s a go. Now the question is what are the politicians thinking? I, and most others I’ve talked with, expected an atmospheric little footbridge to facilitate strollers across the mouth of the Rio Cuale – just a hop, skip and jump really, but a very wet one, particularly during the rainy season. But to my horror, I found monster-sized foundations in place for a bridge that is to be as wide as the Ignacio Vallarta one! Five meters! Now tell me that’s just for pedestrians! Not only that, its elevation will block ocean and sunset views from the island and make it difficult for the elderly and the infirm to navigate its many stairs.

Several representatives for those protesting this project were on site when I passed by, Jose Luis Hernandez of the Posada Rio Cuale and restaurant Le Gourmet, among them. Spotting a monument dedicated to young men who died protecting this country right in the path of the bridge, I asked him if the powers that be would be bold enough to move it to make way for the project. He said that while he doubted that, since “moving monuments in Mexico is serious business, this bridge is a death sentence for Vallarta.”

“And everybody knows it, but the city won’t listen. Travel agents, wholesalers, everyone who has seen what’s happened to Mazatlan and other places where people get diverted from exploring the town knows what this means.” When told that I thought he would have been all for the project since it will bring people to the south part of town where his businesses are, he disagreed. “No, they’re a block away. When this is done, vendors, other restaurants, jewelry stores and T-shirt places will open up and visitors will stay right here on the water, walking back and forth and that’s it.” Rosa Limon of the Iguana Ecological Group is also dead set against the bridge and worries about the impact of the “massive amounts of concrete they are going to pour into the mouth of the river, which will affect every living thing in it.”

When asked who was behind pushing through the project, she said it’s just one more action that City Hall, backed by federal money, has taken without thinking through its implications. “This bridge not only will cut off the view from the island, but it will eliminate the beach, and we don’t know what its ecological impact will be.”

Although it looks like this project can’t be stopped, I am thankful there are concerned citizens like these two and Ron Walker of the Ecology Group, who tirelessly devote energy to doing what they can to protect our environment. Many of us, myself included, have opinions about things that matter, but don’t do the hard work of effecting change – or preventing it, when appropriate. Walker, however, says there’s a relatively painless way that every one of us can take a stand. “Fill out a Denuncia Popular or Ecological Complaint and hand it in to City Hall.”
This form is considered a legal procedure whereby any individual can advise the city of any source of contamination or environmental impact, as well as those who may be responsible for those damages, so that the authority with jurisdiction over the complaint can respond to and resolve the situation. Request it by email from his office at re_walkermx@yahoo.com.mx or from City Hall by fax at 225-0678. It’s brief, in both English and Spanish, and the authorities are obliged to keep what you tell them in strict confidence.
Hey, we all know there are no guarantees in life. But grassroots efforts do eventually become a critical mass. If you care about this town, you might consider getting involved in what happens to it.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about what you’re reading, you’re encouraged to let me know at heather@mexmags.com.