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| Lifestyles
Profile - Faces around Town By Josef Kandoll W. The enchantment of Puerto Vallarta is reflected in the faces of the people who live and work here. Smiles rival sunsets along the Malecón; and along the sandy beaches or unhurried streets of downtown, faces express candor and openness in the city named the “friendliest in the world” in a recent Condé Nast reader’s poll. Come along and meet some of the people whose paths you might cross in your explorations. As Puerto Vallarta becomes more familiar, as the faces resonate and become people instead of characters in an exotic theater, you will find yourself practically a local. If you don’t remember the name, the face still stays the same. A face with history creates a beauty quite unlike those in your home neighborhood. |
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Tickets
to Paradise Sauntering along the malecón near the pier in Emiliano Zapata, the smiling face of Alberto Carbajalxx greets passersby. For over 12 years, this friendly transplanted Vallartense has sold excursion tickets, primarily “to Quimixto, to Yelapa, to the waterfalls.” Prices are reasonable, he asserts, and “seeing Vallarta and other towns and areas along the shores of Banderas Bay is essential to understanding history.” Over 40 years ago he came to Puerto Vallarta from Sinaloa. As maitre d’ of the popular Las Margaritas for 15 years, Carbajalxx married Mildred Manning, a prominent member of the foreign community. After her death, he remarried, and “I have children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. We are everywhere.” Selling tickets early in the morning, he heads back to his comfortable home before midday, ready to spend time with his family. |
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Seniors
Contribute Sauntering along the malecón near the pier in Emiliano Zapata, the smiling face of Alberto Carbajalxx greets passersby. For over 12 years, this friendly transplanted Vallartense has sold excursion tickets, primarily “to Quimixto, to Yelapa, to the waterfalls.” Prices are reasonable, he asserts, and “seeing Vallarta and other towns and areas along the shores of Banderas Bay is essential to understanding history.” Over 40 years ago he came to Puerto Vallarta from Sinaloa. As maitre d’ of the popular Las Margaritas for 15 years, Carbajalxx married Mildred Manning, a prominent member of the foreign community. After her death, he remarried, and “I have children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. We are everywhere.” Selling tickets early in the morning, he heads back to his comfortable home before midday, ready to spend time with his family. |
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Put
your best Foot Forward With three years at her shoeshine post at the Main Plaza, Maria Teresa Sandoval Mendoza of nearby Ixtapa has it made. “I have clients who come to me regularly for their shine,” she says, smiling. She spends the day from 8 am to 8 pm working, just going home to sleep. “At first it took time to learn the tones, especially the browns, which can vary from tan to other earth tones. So me people want just a neutral shine, but others want to match the tone.” She learned the craft at home from family and already has eight years of experience. “There are two places where you can get a good shoe-shine: here in the Main Plaza and in the plaza in Pitillal.” |
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Drawing
on Experience Originally from the highlands of Guanajuato, Jesús Ramírez Rodríguez now spends his days drawing caricatures and portraits on the Malecón in El Centro and explains, “What better place to meet people? I like working with people, and spend most of my time out here.” For the past 12 years, since his first visit at age 19 with his father and uncles, who followed fairs around the country drawing portraits and caricatures, he’s been in love with Vallarta. Next to the sea, Ramírez Rodríguez experiences a freedom he didn’t find back home. “People are unusually nice to work with, and the days go by quickly. We always worked with tourists, but now I don’t have to travel around like we used to do.” |
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The
Sweet Life With over 20 years selling honey here, don Teodosio Contreras Plazola has a lot to say about local politics, and even though he doesn’t read or write, he has something to say about even complex international issues. “I lived in the USA in the early ‘50s, when things were different. Whenever there were problems with immigrant workers, they were ironed out quite quickly.” Originally from San Sebastian del Oeste, he worked in agriculture in Nayarít in the ‘60s. Now selling honey on Hidalgo just two blocks from the church, he notes, “Prices for honey have gone up recently, but it’s the best quality from Nayarít.” The cost of living increases, but he has little overhead. “I live alone and can sell up to 20 liters of honey a day.” |
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Art
in a Can At the edge of Plaza Lázaro Cárdenas in Emiliano Zapata, spray-can artist Juan Maceira layers colors in quick sweeping motions to tag board. Pausing to gauge the effect, the artist slaps a bottle cap near the right corner and a tarnished soup bowl, upside-down, near the center. Objects still in place, he grabs a ragged piece of cardboard dripping with white paint and shakes it over the board so the dribbles form star-like splashes. Grabbing an old newspaper, he crumples it and makes mountains. Not quite ready, he makes some quick movements, smearing here, adjusting there. Voila: a scene that would put Star Wars to shame. Coming to Puerto Vallarta 12 years ago after several years of study in art school in Culiacán, Maceira sprays new worlds yet to be discovered. |
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