Profile: Warren Johnson
By Heather Wilson
spring-summer 2001

The unassuming founder and past president of Puerto Vallarta’s Navy League, which contributes greatly to the quality of life here, personifies humanitarian values in action. In an interview, Warren Johnson praises the efforts of others to help those in need, inviting no credit. It seems that, for him, the answer to the age-old question is clear: Life is about service.
Unabashedly “patriotic to the core,” the retired U.S. Naval Reserve Commander says, “The essence of that fervor is to do what’s good and right. It’s important to help, but not be ‘the ugly American.’ I can’t stress this enough. Too many gringos tell Mexicans what to do and how to do it. We need to remember we are guests in a completely different culture. And that difference is what I love most about living here.”
“From May to October we live on a 24-acre island in Minnesota that’s been in our family nearly a hundred years. My dad, my kids, we’ve all grown up there. It’s the family legacy. My parents were good people and very patriotic. My dad served in both World Wars, my bother and I in WW II. I’ve just finished writing a book titled Incidents of War, a philosophical, cultural and historical adventure-commentary with two related incidents 50 years apart. There are good Japanese and bad Japanese, good Americans and bad Americans. Like it says in Plato’s Republic, ‘I now know that I know nothing.’ Unfortunately, Congress is fed by young people who don’t know that yet.”

Profile: Cindy and Kiyoki Alpenia
By Heather Wilson
spring-summer 2001

“When Archie lay in his hammock in Quimixto dreaming about a restaurant where people would come to be nurtured and leave transformed, he had no idea that one day it would be our daughter and me,” says Cindy. “Archie’s Wok has given us the opportunity to explore our relationship in ways we wouldn’t otherwise share.” Kiyoki was 21 when Archie died eight years ago and had just started a job she loved, teaching kindergarten. For three years, after working all day, she helped her mom at Archie’s Wok every night.
“Our relationship goes beyond mother and daughter, beyond personalities. It’s a soul relationship. We’re playing out archetypal roles as ancient as life. Food devas bringing people together to share food, spirits, music, dialogue, and a bit of magic. There are those great nights when the energy is palpable and our mother-daughter dance becomes a giving and receiving of two feminine qualities – nurturing and enchantment.”
“We’re good friends. Of course we experience trials and tribulations and could get caught up in family games. But we both know that’s not where we want to be in a relationship. The key is caring enough. We’re really quite different and we honor one another’s qualities. Kiyoki is very honest and direct, readily says what’s on her mind. She’s brave emotionally and stands up for herself in ways that are hard for me. She nurtures me. So who is the mother? Who is the daughter? The distinction becomes hazy. We seem to dance between roles, living in the moment.”
“I can always feel dad around here,” Kiyoki says.
“Me too,” agrees Cindy. “The prime ingredient for Archie’s original recipe is love.”

Profile: Kassiano
By Heather Wilson
spring-summer 2001

Music, purportedly, can cure depression, make us more intelligent, and charm cobras. In Jamaica, Kassiano tells us, music is everywhere. He distinctly remembers his earliest “instrument”: a Clorox bottle half-filled with gravel he started playing with at the age of three.
Roger Kassiano Smith won his first award as a singer when he was only nine years old. At the time he was part of a choral group offering performances of mento, a folk calypso fused with Cuban influences.
Later on, while studying management at the University of the West Indies, he continued making waves on the entertainment scene; and in 1990 the Jamaica Federation of Musicians appointed him Best New Cabaret Artist. During a presentation of his show in a Jamaican hotel, the manager of a PV resort hired him on the spot. With his group, Kassiano arrived in Mexico in 1992. Almost immediately, he recorded an album, Kukaramákara, and began presentations in popular music TV shows and festivals.
Kassiano is the king of reggae in Mexico and has the power to move people with his energetic, soulful renditions. But he knows how to make music work in other ways, too. Although it may be impossible to see him play at any of PV’s restaurants or clubs—because of the cost it represents to perform with the 16-member group that makes up his show—Kassiano always says “yes” when volunteering for a good cause. “Helping others can only bring more happiness to your own life.” He has participated in countless charity functions, including fundraisers for the Children with Cancer association and PV’s organization against AIDS.
Kassiano loves Vallarta because it allows him to nurture his three passions: family, music and spiritual realization. This summer he plans on having a reggae concert on the beach at least monthly … free for all. More detail info in: www.kassiano.com

Profile: Mayor and Son
By Heather Wilson
spring-summer 2001

A father and son cut from the same cloth. While Pedro Ruiz Higuera’s mayorship of Puerto Vallarta demonstrates the faith the National Action Party (PAN) has in him to run this town, it’s also a wonderful tribute to his father.
Back in 1939, when the PAN party existed in just two states out of Mexico’s 31, Guillermo Ruiz Vasquez founded it in Jalisco. Inspired at the tender age of 18 by active involvement in Roman Catholic church groups, the father of seven and grandfather of 25 already “understood not only the possibilities, but the obligation, to work for a government with ethics and morals that would care about all citizens.”
Up until nine years ago, when asked if he’d follow the path forged by his father, who served two three-year terms in the state congress and was national party boss from 1960 to 1965, “Not me!” was his automatic response. He knew, firsthand, the dedication involved.
But at 31, when the politically disinterested son supported his father by campaigning for him during the 1992 Puerto Vallarta mayoral race, he found himself increasingly involved in the issues it raised. Today, just three mayoral terms later, it’s he who governs this town.
“My first thought when called on was ‘What a responsibility!’ My next was ‘What a challenge to fight to improve things.’”
His dad is “very happy” with his youngest son, though he stresses, “I respect the decisions of each of my childen to do what they want.”