An Interview with Danny Mininni, Owner of Act II Entertainment Stages in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We Talk about His Lovely Theater and What It’s Like to Run a Business in Puerto Vallarta.
Semana Santa in Puerto Vallarta is in Full Swing and Learn how to Make Aguas Frescas
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
That music you were just listing to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, The El Dorado Restaurant, and at night for dinner The El Dorado transforms into the ever so romantic Vista Grill with those dramatic views of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors. Of course, at La Palapa you can enjoy that same view of the Los Muertos Pier all day long for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so Puerto Vallarta my friends!
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This week I have a really great guest for you, Danny Mininni from Act II Entertainment Stages, but first, what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta the 28th of March, 2018.
Semana Santa
Semana Santa is in full swing in Puerto Vallarta as we head into Easter Sunday, comes Pascua, and another week of Spring Break for tourists and locals and the surrounding towns and cities in Nayarit and Jalisco. So, Occupancy rates are through the roof. The beaches are crowded and well, this time of year along with New Years and Christmas are the busiest times to be in Puerto Vallarta.
Now with that being said, if you are going to be in town, make sure you stay safe, and follow all the safety procedures we’ve covered before. No
fancy jewelry, don’t lay down your cell phone somewhere. Be aware of your surroundings, don’t get too drunk and stumble all over the place.
Take cabs late at night. Oh, and by the way, next week I’ll talk about the Uber situation. I took Uber last time and it worked great. Took taxis too, don’t get me wrong, but Uber works in Vallarta. And also speaking about taxis, they will be looking to gouge you this time of year so don’t get mad, do the math in your head and decide if an extra buck is going to ruin your day okay? And another thing, Uber works on a scale according to availability so Uber is not always the cheapest way to go if it’s high volume time. But we’ll talk about that next week.
Aguas Frescas
In last week’s episode I was interviewing Mavi Graf from Arte Culinario, her cooking classes and catering services and so forth, and in listening back to the conversation, I noticed I passed up an opportunity to probe further when she asked me if I knew what Aqua Fresca was. And I answered, yes, but what I really should have said was yes, I love aguas Frescas, how do you make them?
So, I went online and found out a bunch of stuff. Agua Fresca can be made with fruits, vegetables, even rice and other grains.
And you have seen aguas frescas in Vallarta as this concoction in these huge glass jars, very colorful juices, and the venders dip a ladle into the jar, mix it up a little so you get some of the pulp from the fruit of whatever you have in the concoction, and pour it into a cup.
All you are doing when you make this is taking let’s say watermelon, you cut up about 2 cups of watermelon and throw it into a blender and
cover it with water. Maybe another 2 cups of water, then you just blend. Then add sugar to taste. You can use strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew, cucumber, all kinds of stuff. And you can combine fruits with vegetables. Mix in mint, all sorts of stuff. It’s really easy to do at home and it’s a great way to use fruit that is on the edge. And it’s so natural and refreshing. You need to try it next time you are in town if you haven’t.
Abuela’s Kitchen
While I was researching Aguas Frescas, I stumbled upon a youtube channel that I wanted to share with you called Abuela’s Kitchen. It features Abuela’s, which is grandmother in Spanish, and it’s filmed and produced by the granddaughter who has her 84 year old Abuela teach us how to cook Mexican Food. The cool thing about the show is that the grandmother speaks Spanish only, and there are English subtitles, and the granddaughter also explains things in English and Spanish. The Abuela is so cute, sometimes the granddaughter speaks to her in English, asking her a question, and the grandmother rolls her eyes and says, espanol, espanol. It’s so sweet. Anyway, not to take away from the local Vallarta cooking classes, but this is a good way to learn some Spanish, and how to cook at the same time.
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Listener E-Mail
I got this email from listener Skip. Skip if you remember was going to be spending a month in Vallarta and reached out to me for suggestions and sent me quite a few of his own. Anyway, Skip just got back from his stay in Nuevo Vallarta and he wants to share some of his experiences with us, so here goes….
Barry,
I have been back a couple weeks now from our month-long Airbnb stay in the PV area. I want to share some of my experiences with you a little bit at a time. A lot of what I wish to share relates to the help your podcasts provided me in my adventures.
I wish to extend a personal thank you to “Brett in Seattle” who told us listeners about the FMM on line web site.
The forms do not look a lot like the official paper forms that the flight attendant hands out and that worried me. Still, I filled them out on line and printed them for myself and my wife and every visitor we had during that month. The web site only allows forms to be submitted within 30 days of the arrival date in Mexico. The official paper forms are divided horizontally and the online forms are divided vertically. I was also concerned that the back of the online form needed to be inverted so I printed them both ways.
When I asked our flight attendant about these forms she said that the airlines get fewer forms to hand out to passengers as time progresses and that Mexican officials want travelers to use the online forms- neatly filled out and generally error free. She said that very few people use them.
The forms worked perfectly for me and all of our guests! The custom official looked at it twice- seemingly a bit surprised- and stamped both the left and right sides (entry and exit) and never even looked at the back of the form I had been concerned about. I had perforated a vertical line in the middle for easy separation and he smiled and nodded when I said “perforado”. When we left the airport agent again looked trice at it before stapling it to our ticket.
I had attempted to fill out a Customs Declaration online but could not find a current one. I did bring a current blank one home with me and will scan it for our next trip. You may wish to ask your listeners if anyone has done this.
I will share more in the coming weeks.
FMM Online Get Your Tourist Visa Online Here!
Okay Skip, Thanks for that report. And I’m looking forward to more in the coming weeks. And Thanks again to Brett-in Seattle, I also used the online form last time down and it really does work folks!
Okay let’s get to the show.
Act II Entertainment Stages in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Gary Beck and I did an episode on entertainment in Puerto Vallarta, and if you haven’t heard it, you may want to listen. Gary is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to food and entertainment in Puerto Vallarta so listen to his episode on restaurants too, but back to entertainment, he talks about our next guest, Danny Mininni with such excitement and joy. Danny is the guy in charge at his place Act II Entertainment Stages on Basillio Badillo on the southside of Puerto Vallarta. Walking in from the street, it’s a large building with lots happening inside. A beautiful Bar and lounge area, and then the stages. Theaters. I’m going to let Danny describe the place to you and allow him to tell you his story, about how his vision came to fruition, and more, so let’s go right now to 330 Basillio Badillo, on the Southside of Puerto Vallarta, in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood and meet Danny Mininni, owner of Act II.
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Thank you, Danny,
Man, that guy is busy! I have all his information in the show notes including contact info, links to their website and great photos of Act II Stages so go check them out at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com. Including the restaurants that Danny loves. And his breakfast favorite Mi Café? I love Mi Café and you can hear about that place in the episode I had with the owner there Adalberto Perez. I have a link to that episode in the show notes as well if you haven’t heard that already.
That should do it for this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show.
Danny’s Favorite Places to Eat
Breakfast
- Mi Cafe, Puerto Vallarta—–Likes the Tortilla Española
- Coco’s Kitchen, Puerto Vallarta
Dinner
- Bravos Restaurant, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—-Likes the Caesar Salad, Shrimp with Risotto, Carrot Cake for Desert.
- Di Vino Dante, Puerto Vallarta, México
- Joe Jack’s Fish Shack, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Archie’s Wok, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Hole in the Wall
- Eat at David’s, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—– Likes the Tuesday Fried Chicken and Meatloaf
- Snack Shop on the corner of Olas Altas and Basillio Badillo.
- The Wild and Hungry Cougar, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—Likes the Salisbury Steak
Favorite Day Trip
San Sebastián del Oeste and——– Eats at Montebello Italian Restaurant, San Sebastian
Nicest Property in Vallarta—- La Cima #1 Ground Floor Puerto Vallarta
Favorite Hotel
Advice to a First Time Visitor to Puerto Vallarta
- Don’t Rent a Car
- Explore the Neighborhoods
- Go to The Beaches South of Vallarta like a Panga From Boca de Tomatlan to Las Animas
- Take in at least One Show at Act II. 27 Shows Per Week!
- Visit the Botanical Garden for Great food and a Walk Down to The River
- Have a Ziplining Day
- Have a ATV Tour Day
Contact Act II Entertainment Stages in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Like the Act II Facebook Page Click Here
- Like the Red Room Cabaret Facebook Page
- Shows at Act II Entertainment Stages
- Act II Entertainment Stages Website
Next week, stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and his revitalized Happy Hour Board. I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and give me a good review on iTunes if you would. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
So, thanks to Danny Mininni from Act II Entertainment Stages. Make sure next time you are in Vallarta to take some time and see a show. It’s a really nice place for sure. Hey get some culture while in Mexico next time all right? And hey, thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos!
