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It's just like clockwork, the way the rain for the past month or so has started about half an hour before I get off work at 6 and keeps things interesting all the way home. And I hope I remember this for next year, because would-be tourists are always emailing me to ask whether it rains all day in the summer or just at certain times and I never know what to tell them. So if this year's pattern is any indication of the future, listen up: Most days, when you would want to be out and about at the beach, are rain free, evenings another story.
Also with machinelike regularity, free monthly concerts took place at what was formerly the Camino Real for 20-something years until the hotel changed hands last June. And everyone I know felt the loss of this cultural event, not only because it was top-drawer entertainment and free, but because they knew they'd bump into old friends over complimentary cocktails. Happily, the Marina Vallarta Mayan Palace caught the ball and is continuing this wonderful Vallarta tradition. Their first event was a classic guitar concert in September on the first Thursday of the month, just like always.
Speaking of culture, our first Puerto Vallarta Film Festival of the Americas is rapidly approaching. November 6 - 14 will see the town bustling with several dozen screenings of movies and documentaries made by filmmakers from Canada to Chile and everywhere in between. I just learned today from organizer Robert Roessel that among the special film festival events will be a November 7 violin concert by Yang Liu following an Art Expo at the Sheraton, and a November 9 concert by the king of nouveau swing, Donald Harrison Jr., at the Playa del Sol Grand in Nuevo Vallarta following the premiere of "Delovely" with Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd.
Meanwhile, the 10th Annual Festival Gourmet happens that month too, 11 - 21, when 27 local restaurants will present dazzling one-of-a-kind menus in concert with world-renowned visiting chefs. So I'm anticipating the month before Christmas just as much as I am December with all its festivities, because it will kickstart the high season and be a feast for all the senses.
And this town should be spic ‘n span by then, with City Hall's new "The Morning Starts with Cleanup" campaign levying fines against anyone caught littering the streets from September 13 on. Fines will range from five to 30 times the daily minimum wage - $45.24 pesos here in Vallarta, or about $4 USD. It will be interesting to see if and how this is enforced, with the Mexican culture viewing littering much differently than, say, the Swiss. But it's a start in the right direction, the town in desperate need of garbage cans in strategic locations, however. And schools and parents need to educate children about the importance of respecting public spaces as much as one's own home by setting an example and disposing of wrappers, beer bottles and the like in appropriate places rather than just where they happen to be.
In attempting to compile a thorough list of local faith groups and their contact numbers for the benefit of visitors, it struck me that perhaps the reason it was so hard to get my calls returned or even to find phone numbers or addresses was that for some reason they may prefer operating by word of mouth. There were exceptions, of course, but all in all, many of Vallarta's churches, what they do and when they do it, remain mysteries.
And being Canadian, I was bemused to note recently that the Canadian Consul's outdoor flag is now red and pink, thanks to our rainy Vallarta summer. Soon many homes and businesses will be engaged in painting, plastering and other repairs once our perfect weather reappears - which is just around the corner.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about what you’re reading, you’re encouraged to let me know at heather@mexmags.com.
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