Martini en Fuego is one of Puerto Vallarta’s best new Restaurants. We visit With Roberto Gonzalez, the Owner. He Has Worked at Some of Vallarta’s Greatest Restaurants
Puerto Vallarta Taxis Get an App to Keep Up With Uber
Some History of the Mexico City Marathon
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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.
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That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach,
and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with our toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week we are going we are going to a hot new restaurant in the Romantic Zone, Martini en Fuego, and you will meet Roberto Gonzalez the owner, a really interesting guy, but before we get to Roberto let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta the 22nd of July 2019.
Rainfall has Surpassed 2018 Levels to Date
It looks like the rainy season has finally arrived and in fact, rainfall levels have surpassed 2018 levels by 4 inches year to date, so yes, the drought is over. The measurements were taken by Angela who’s weather station in up near Que Pasa, in the Emiliano Zapata Neighborhood.
El Banquito, the Smallest Taqueria in Puerto Vallarta is Growing
Tino Perez let me know that the Lancheria next door to him became available, and he will be opening El
Banqueto 2, right there on Libertad just past where the buses turn to head out of town. I’ll post pictures as he gets the restaurant ready, but make sure you go over there and say hello, check out his delicious tacos dorados de birria. Bueno suerte Tino. Glad you finally came out of the closet. Got out, oh never mind.
Ceviche and Aguachile Festival
Sunday the 28th of July will be the 8th edition of the Ceviche and Aguachile Festival. They will have
around 40 different combinations of ceviche and aguachile with fish, shrimp, tuna, oysters, octopus, and many more. All will be prepared and presented by local restaurants and this year they have 10 restaurants confirmed so far and we´ll have like 40 different recipes.
Along with the fish three beer makers, 3 breweries as special guest, barrio chico y euro cervezas from Guadalajara and Nervo from Tepic.
Dan Rodriguez as mixologist doing craft cocktails with raicilla, mezcal and tequila. We´ll have the contest to choose the best recipe from the festival and giving small samples from 3 to 5pm.
Entrance it´s free and prices per tostada start on $25 pesos
There will be music but that’s still to be decided as to who will be performing so Ill remind you next week
and hopefully, we will have a band. And thanks to our buddy Edgar Rivas for setting these events up. So much fun, and it gives us something to do even in the off season. Thanks Edgar.
The event will have music as well, and the whole thing starts at 1 PM and will go till 8 at night.
Puerto Vallarta’s Taxistas Going Technical
The local Vallarta taxi trade union has been working on something to counter UBER, but this time it isn’t a protest, or a roadblock, or someone beating an UBER driver to a pulp, no it’s an application for your phone, It’s called Hola Taxi or TAXI PVR Oficial…. And here’s all about it from the Banderas News….
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – The Secretary General of the Puerto Vallarta Taxi Drivers Trade Union, Jaime Aguilar Mejía, recently announced the development of a smartphone application that will connect drivers with people in need of cab service.
He said that this initiative is in the testing phase and that taxi drivers are now being trained in the use of the digital platform, saying that it is just one part of a comprehensive program to improve service that is already well underway.
He went on to say that upgrading was necessary to make adequate use of the technology which, when completed, will not only benefit the taxi drivers’ guild operating in Puerto Vallarta, but also make it easier for users to request transportation services. For more information and updates, (in Spanish) visit the HolaTaxi on Facebook.
The Benefits of Taxis
Regarding the price differences observed between the union taxi service and the ride-share companies operating in Puerto Vallarta that offer similar services through digital platforms, Mejía said that these companies continue to work irregularly since they do not yet have the concessions, and was very emphatic in pointing out the benefits that taxis offer, including:
- Service is provided by fully equipped recent model vehicles that meet all safety regulations and requirements.
- Drivers have been granted the concession by the Jalisco State Government and are registered in the Taxi Drivers’ Union.
- All vehicles are easily identifiable through a unique number that provides passengers with better security.
- Rates are fixed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He pointed out that almost 80% of vehicles in the taxi fleet have recently been renovated, which means most of the cars in circulation comply with all safety measures.
Finally, Aguilar Mejía invited users to report any complaint or anomaly by calling (322) 225-8633 during office hours. He stressed that, when calling, it is important to have the number that is located on the rear doors of all taxis to identify the service provider that did not comply with the service protocol.
http://www.banderasnews.com/1907/nb-puerto-vallarta-launches-taxi-service-app.htm
So we’ll see how that works out.
Salvador Getting Ready for His Second Mexico City Marathon
Our buddy and friend of the show Salvador Estrada, the Candyman on the Malecon who is also a marathoner, using his special tricycle that he powers whit his arms, since he has no use of his legs and is wheelchair bound, is getting ready for the Mexico City marathon.
From an article online…. Next August 25th, the annual running of the International Marathon of Mexico City will start at 6:45 am . The competition will count on the participation of 30 thousand runners from more than 60 countries worldwide. This year the race will start in the Estadio Olimpico Universitario and will finish at the Zócalo. Mexico City Telcel Marathon is one of the most important events in the world that have reached gold category. The International Mexico City Telcel Marathon (Marathon Internacional de la Ciudad de Mexico Telcel) is the largest athletic event of national importance.
But the Mexico City Marathon has not been without its issues and problems. Nothing to do with Salvador, but it seems cheating is widespread in the Mexico City Marathon. For instance, in 2017 More than 5,800 people were disqualified from the marathon after an investigation revealed that over 20 percent of participants failed to complete the course. Of those disqualified, 1,296 posted times that would have qualified them for the Boston Marathon.
Then last year this…. After last year’s fiasco, the Mexico City Marathon Race Director Javier Carvallo claimed that they were taking steps to cut down on cheating. Last year over 5,000 runners were disqualified for cutting the course.
It does not appear that the race did enough, if anything, to curtail cheating at the 2018 race. Despite his announcement that they would not be handing out medals on race day, nothing changed. Pictures of runners with their medals are all over social media.
Initial reports out of Mexico City claim that as many as 13,000 runners were suspected of cutting the course in order to claim their medal. Carvallo had hoped that the rates of cheating would fall in line with other major marathons. Clearly that was not the case. This should not be unexpected as there were no obvious steps implemented to stop the cheating.
And it’s not just regular Mexico City Citizens, it seems Mexican politicians have shown a proclivity to Marathon cheatery, for instance…
Jorge Zárate Medina and his wife, Ana Vanessa Vázquez, trotted into the Estadio Olímpico Universitario after passing the cheering onlookers spurring the 2017 Mexico City marathon runners on. Husband and wife crossed the finish line together, sporting identical times, in 3 hours, 24 minutes, 25 seconds. So impressive, Vázquez even qualified to the 2018 Boston Marathon.
There was one problem. Zárate and Vázquez hadn’t run the whole race. Far from it.
Along the marathon course, electronic checkpoints were set up at every five kilometers. As runners passed these markers, a chip in the official shirt handed to runners before the race logged their splits and automatically posted it to the official Mexico City marathon app.
Zárate and Vázquez didn’t log seven checkpoints, between the 5K and the 30K markers. They reappeared at the 35K mark with matching times of 2:34:34 — a pace of 4 minutes, 25 seconds per kilometer. By comparison, the winner of the female division of the race, Peru’s Gladys Tejeda, maintained a pace of 3 minutes, 42 seconds per kilometer.
“We lived the Mexico City marathon to its fullest! Let’s go, Oaxaca!” Vázquez exclaimed on a Facebook post, since deleted.
The couple, who had posted training pictures on Facebook prior to the race, was disqualified from the race when official results were announced on Sept. 12, a little more than two weeks after the marathon. In all, 5,806 runners — one in every five who began the race — were deemed ineligible. “All of the people who were disqualified from the race were found to have crossed the finish line in a fraudulent manner,” said Javier Carvallo, the race director for the Mexico City marathon. “Most cases, we found, was course-cutting via the skipping of checkpoints.”
Zárate, who is running for Mexico’s Congress in the upcoming July elections, was singled out by media outlets in the aftermath of the race, just one of several incidents exposed in the days following the competition.
“O” No!! – Mass Cheating at Mexico City Once Again – Initial Reports Claim 13,000 Cheated
And this one from 2006, involving a Mexican Presidential Candidate no less….
I’m no marathon cheat, Mexican politician says
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A former Mexican presidential candidate who was disqualified from the Berlin marathon for cheating says he is innocent and is blaming political mudslinging for the scandal.
Roberto Madrazo, a veteran of 36 marathons who played up his running-man credentials in the 2006 election campaign, said on Wednesday he had always planned to run only part of the Berlin race last week.
Sporting a bright-red jacket, the 55-year-old politician was photographed with his arms aloft and beaming after he broke through the finish line in first place for his age group.
But race organizers later stripped him of the title after finding he did not run a 9 mile (15 km) stretch of the course. The saga has riveted Mexico for several days with Madrazo being widely ridiculed.
Madrazo came third in the 2006 election, his campaign hurt by claims that he rigged his own victory in a state governor election earlier in his career.
In a public letter, Madrazo said he never claimed the age-group title at the Berlin marathon and blamed political rivals for trying to tarnish his image and scupper his plans for a marathon running foundation.
“It is political. By doing this, they are seeking to throw mud on a sporting activity that I have practised for many years and on my new social project,” Madrazo said.
He said he had always wanted to run the five most important marathons — Boston, New York, Chicago, London and Berlin — and only the German city was missing on his list, but he was carrying an injury.
Of course, the Mexico City Marathon isn’t the only venue to have cheating problems, all marathons do, and in fact the most famous Marathon Cheater was Rosie Ruiz Vivas (born 1953) is a runner who was declared the winner in the female category for the 84th Boston Marathon in 1980, only to have her title stripped eight days after the race when it was discovered that she had not run the entire course. She is believed to have jumped onto the course about a half-mile before the finish.
Was Rosie a Mexican???, no, Rosie was born in Havana Cuba. So see!
Okay anyway if you see Salvador if you are in town, drop him some cash for his Marathon Run, It’s to help him and his family make the trip. He has a big support team. A loving one too, so help Salvador out when you see him.
https://worldsmarathons.com/marathon/telcel-mexico-city-marathon
ctmvallarta.org press release translated and edited by Luis Antonio for BanderasNews.com.
New Developments on Rio Horcones Dam Coming Soon
Now, there has been a couple of developments regarding the dam on the Rio Horcones, some of it depressing, and some of it really good, but that’s going to wait till next week so stay tuned for that. Let’s get to the interview, shall we?
Martini en Fuego Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Contact Information for Martini en Fuego, Puerto Vallarta
- Website: http://martinifuego.restaurantwebexperts.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinienFuego/
- Address: Francisco Madero 260, Col. Emiliano Zapata, Puerto Vallarta
- Phone: +52 322 228 0088
For me, Puerto Vallarta is about the people number one, the beauty number two and the food, number 3. And this restaurant I’m going to take you to is a real gem. The owner and chef is Roberto Gonzalez. Roberto as you will find out has been in the food business his whole life. You will be amazed at his experiences and where he has worked, all leading him to where he is today, His Restaurant Martini en Fuego.
I was sitting across the street from Martini en Fuego, having dinner with listeners my friends listeners Cheryl and Jim, from Indiana, at Adobe’s restaurant, great place by the way, and Jim asked if I had been over
to Martini en fuego and met Roberto. I said no, and he says you need to have Roberto on your show.
We’ve known him forever. He has a great story, and his restaurant is so good. They insisted after dinner we go over there, they would introduce me to Roberto. Of course I love it when I get introduced to someone I don’t know, but had been looking forward to interviewing. Thanks Cheryl and Jim. This was
perfect. We sat down and had a few drinks. Well immediately, I liked this guy. And I asked if he would share his story with you and he said yes, so I came back the next afternoon before they opened for
business, and I had a talk with my new friend and now yours, so let’s go right now to Francisco I. Madero 260, Col. Emiliano Zapata and let’s meet Roberto Gonzalez, The Owner of Martini en Fuego, Puerto Vallarta.
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Wow, what a resume right? A cavalcade of the finest Vallarta restaurants that led him to where he is today.
I will keep in touch with Roberto and let you know about the developments, but his food you guys, his food is just so good! You won’t be disappointed. There’s something for everybody in your party.
I have pictures in the show-notes, a map to take you to his front door, and links to the website, Facebook page and so forth, so check that out please.
Okay that should do it for this week.
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.
Thanks to Roberto Gonzalez form Martini en Fuego. Add this restaurant to your list of don’t miss places the next time you are in paradise. His food hits all the notes, it’s a full-on orchestra in there my friends. It’s so good.
And 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!
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